mattp

Question about Zig Zag: do you climb what Dallas called Zig Zag for pitch 2, and miss out on "Undercover" or whatever he calls it?

I'm planning on it and I'll be looking to climb with somebody afterward. Thanks for organizing.

So you're going to vote for Jindal, Bachman, Palin, Gingrinch, or Donald Trump? Who else you got?

I agree. Many of the 5/16 buttonheads I've tried to replace have proven to be very strong. Stronger than some 25 year younger wedge bolts. Bolts of all different size and make seem to show a surprising variety in strength when I try to remove and replace them. I'm not sure what the take away message is other than that one should not assume that they know how strong an anchor is upon visual inspection. Even if faced with a good looking bolt a climber should not assume it is bomber (a rusty old relic may also be strong but that is not as much of a concern).

Good luck with the mosquito's. Seriously. Beat the hatch or late season may be a better bet.

Taking pot shots at "the club" on cc.com is good sport, but groups like the Mountaineers, Boealps, Mazama's, WAC, Skagit Alpine Club or Bushwhackers offer climbing instruction that is enjoyed by many and I believe that all of these clubs promote at least some measure of individual participation in stewardship which I, personally, think is a good thing. The Mountaineers and their members donated a large amount to the Washington Climbers Coalition's Index fund raising effort last year. The Mountaineers have supported a variety of conservation programs over the years and their publications are excellent. They have also hosted the Northwest Mountaineering Journal (NWMJ.ORG) the last several years, and they have hosted a lot of really great events at their new Magnuson Park clubhouse. I can understand somebody who may complain when large groups descend on the Icicle, and the kinds of criticism's referred to by Layback are certainly not without merit. I've kept my distance over the years. However, over the last few years I've been creeping toward more engagement as I see the Club making real movement toward becoming more modern, engaged, or whatever it is that they are becoming. The ice wall looks cool. Wayne's contribution to their program is going to be great.

I have spent several almost complete months of may in the Sierra and would agree with what you found there, Mr. Veld. It can be cold and unstable with late winter storms cycling through. I have also had some damn nice weather and it can be a good month in the Valley.

P.M. sent.

I have one or two you can have for free.

Chirp, Keeping an idea alive is a good thing and I don't blame you for getting defensive if you see a problem. I also agree that the Dawg has a point. Given ten years' history, however, the current status of these topics in the cc.com ethernet, and his status on this site, I think that Dwayner is beating a dead horse more than spreading any important idea. I'd like to see maybe you take up the reins, or I'd hope the Dawg could figure out a way to make his real point without his personality becoming the focal point of "the discussion" every time he posts. Dawg is showing more restraint now than he did in the past, and I appreciate that. But the basic posturing remains. (I include myself in this last statement, by the way. My basic posture has not changed much in ten years.)

Many years ago I got a ticket driving a little too fast down the hill into Sultan, and I thought I'd drive out to court in Monroe and see if I could get out of it. I didn't have much of an argument, though, or at least the Judge didn't think so, because all I could really say was that I missed the change in speed limit because it was raining buckets and I was busy watching the road. I managed only to get $8.00 shaved off my ticket. It barely paid for my gas. The best advice is to obey the speed limit. You can drive like an idiot and you might get to the ski area ten minutes quicker but no matter what you do it won't be a lot more than that. If you are driving to California and keep it 5 mph over the speed limit for twelve hours you will pick up an hour or a little more. Not so much if you are speeding through Gold Bar or hitting 70 for that brief interval of open road on a straight away further up toward the pass. What adds to your travel time are the stops along the way - drive there without stopping for gas, coffee and deli sandwiches at Safeway and you'll save a half hour.

I'm with Wallstein here. If you are talking about a situation where a follower cannot or does not want to climb the crux, and by this I think we are talking about a short crux as opposed to a lengthy stretch of hard climbing, just have them batman up the rope. The belayer is going to have to be ready to hold their weight for this brief period of time, but the belay was already supposed to be able to do that, right? No equipment and no communication is needed. The follower simply pulls on the rope, moves past the crux, and the belayer then takes up slack. There is no need to fix the rope, break out jumars, or do anything else. Assuming there is a relatively short crux instead of a lengthy section of batman involved, this is the easiest solution for everybody. And it is almost certainly both less strenuous and less time-consuming that having the leader fix the rope so that the follower can jumar. I have typically used this technique where the crux was not longer than what I thought would expose me (when I was following) or the other party (who was the follower) to a large fall. If there is an extensive bit of hard climbing involved, or if the hard part is significantly overhanging, maybe it would be safer or more efficient for the leader to set a fixed rope (assuming they can communicate with the follower).

The "moat" around a boulder that Gene refers to may be more akin to thin ice that often is found around the perimeter of frozen lakes. Very often, you will find that you fall into a lake when entering or leaving the ice but the actual main body of ice is plenty strong. I think this is probably because the ground around the perimeter of the lake is closer to the surface, and to where the ice would or did not form. Ground is warmer than freezing and the ice is therefore not as thick when it is formed near solid ground. The same kind of thing happens around rocks. A buried rock, which either has some intrinsic warmth itself or maybe due to a transfer of heat from the ground below, seems to have a tendency to melt the snow around it and thereby create a void that lies beneath the surface that is not detectable from above-surface observation. In the case of both the buried rock or the shoreline around the lake it may be that the phenomenon has to do with a penetration of sun rays through the snow or ice surface, heating the buried rock or the shoreline. Anybody have information or theories?

Sandy, Hike, snowshoe or ski through the woods in a heavy snowpack area and you will find deep holes around the conifer trees. I think these occur because snow falling on the trees remains on the branches and does not reach the ground. With our sub-alpine trees having downward sloping branches to shed rather than carry snow, some snow may be "shed" outside the profile of the tree but much is also melted as it sits on the branches and never reaches the ground. Either way, spaces between the trees are more deeply buried than are the areas immediately around tree trunks. These tree wells can be deep, and often have very steep sides. You may find a wind scoop around rocks that may be exposed to wind. This is the result of the fact that when the wind hits that rock, some of its effect can be diverted downward. I'm not sure about how someone would have been trapped by "falling through" as mentioned in your post. Perhaps "falling in" is a better descriptor. Taking shelter in a tree-well is not a dangerous proposition. Skiers and boarders sometimes fall in and are caught there as a result of how they fell in (their skis may be hung up in tree branches or they may have been injured when they hit the tree trunk or something). Taking shelter behind a rock is not particularly dangerous either, though I have nearly been injured falling into a wind-scoop next to a rock when skiing in whiteout conditions.

What I remember is "It's after the end of the world. Don't you know that yet?" Sun Ra was quite something. I am told he and the Arkestra used to live in a communal house in New York City where there were strict rules: no women and no drugs. In the 1970's his shows were full of pagentry and the ethereal. You sure as hell wouldn't have gotten the impression that he was not into either women or drugs from their stage production! I enjoyed his live performances and I have some vinyl that I enjoy even more: straight up Jazz that kicks butt.

Shuksan and Silver Star Mountain are two high peaks with easy routes to the summit that include a bit of glacier travel. Responding to your earlier question I'd suggest that if it was me and I was taking time off from work and buying airplane tickets and such I'd probably want to increase my odds of success by going late July or early August instead of June.

June is typically unstable. Last year it started out with REALLY bad weather and then a lot of folks climbed high alpine routes, even rock routes, later in the month. This was rather unusual. You should be prepared with an alternate plan that does not include alpine mountaineering. If you fly out here and find yourself with some time in Seattle, might you be interested in hiking on the Olympic coast, perhaps? Even if it is rainy you can still enjoy the sea-stacks and the seafood that can be harvested from the tidepools. Are you interested in Seattle tourist sites, or Vancouver B.C.? Rock climbing in the eastern Washington desert? Camping on the Cascade River Road (leading to Eldorado) will probably be had at the Mineral Park campground. The campground on the way to Mount Adams' south side may well not be open yet (Morrison Springs). I've had good luck just driving up a forest road and looking for a place to park, though.

Loveshack is giving good advice but aren't the more traditional lines skied on the N. Sister on the NE side? May in the Sisters can be excellent.

White Salmon route on Shuksan would probably be the way to go in April - assuming that it had rained to 8,000' the week before you go or you had an unusual stable weather period or .... there was other reason for N. facing slopes to be in shape.

In response to this thread: my goals for the year are to (1) take advantage of improving health to climb with my friends, and (2) to enjoy a climbing season. Tick list? (1) Finish my 4 year project with a 5 pitch crag climb; (2) climb a new route on a significant Cascade peak over-looked by local hardmen because it appears easy; and (3) enjoy barbeque at tailhead upon completion of more than one climb that I think deserves a celebration.

Nice one, Rad. The NWMJ has been a major "tick" of CC.COM posters, for nearly ten years, and keeping it going is on both yours and my 2011 tick list. Anybody who doesn't know what we are talking about should check here: Northwest Mountaineering Journal Look at last year's edition and check the "archive" link to see what you've been missing. This is a project that has been fed by cc.com and the broader community of Northwest climbers for many years but is now in particular need of contributions.

There is no link here so maybe Panther was referring to something specific and maybe even specialized. What I've seen in general use is a plastic tub like the kids on the golf course behind my house use when we get 2" of snow. Are we talking about kids' sleds (plastic tubs)? They work great for melting snow and do well for moving camp up a flat glacier, but these are not devices for moving gear or supplies up a route, right? The lack of runners makes them "difficult" when moving across a slope.

Nice!

Nice, Tyson. I went to AAC events Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Indoors. Good times, though.

Glacier Ice, by Austin Post, is on my coffee table. It is not just a climbing or climber's book but a book of stunning images that my non-climbing friends find compelling. It is a large format book, horizontally oriented, and the dust jacket image is exciting.