mattp

Right you are, Trask: there is no comparison. Clinton was elected; Bush wasn't. Clinton was impeached for lying about a blow job and failing to get away with it; Bush has repeatedly lied about his justification for this war and so far he's gotten away with it. The corruption in the Clinton administration was junior league compared to Bush, too. There truly IS no comparison.

Mine was the Grateful Dead, Asleep at the Wheel, Commander Cody, and Ann Arbor's own Boogie Brothers. 1971.

The large flake that you sit on to belay at the top of what I show as the third pitch of the "Blueberry Route" is gone. This same flake formed the "crack" system that one formerly climbed to get to that belay. It'll be interesting to see what we find when we go up there this spring. By the way, the approach to Blueberry Hill, and the climbs on that side of the dome, are particularly worriesome in the Spring if you don't like the idea of getting beat up in a climax avalanche.

Two months ago, the road to Three O'Clock Rock was fine and several of us are waiting for it to dry up a bit so we can go check out the winter's damage. There are always surprises in store each year and we know, for example, that a large (like maybe sixty feet tall) flake on the West Buttress route on Blueberry Hill has completely fallen off, and it may have taken out part of Dark Rhythm. If you do head up there in the next few weeks, bring a saw and be ready to find a tree accross the road somewhere. Also, expect snow in the woods and along the bottom of the crags -- there are likely to be steep, hard snow "aprons" at the base of the routes and water dripping from snow patches up on the crags into May and possibly June. Also, realize that lingering snow patches on the rock have a habit of cutting loose in a spectacular fasion sometimes, so you may want to avoid routes that have these on the approach or above the climb itself.

I'm really commenting on my own personal problem, I guess. The "tick list" effect of "Fifty Classic Climbs" and "Select Climbs" is so strong that for years I found it difficult to find partners for routes that were not featured in those books -- everybody seemed to think that if a route was not featured there, it COULDN'T be any good. This website has really helped to put me in touch with a wider base of like-minded climbers, but I still carry a grudge.

Aha. Another vote for quality. Apparently I just wasn't having all that great of a day when I did the route and maybe I should try that one again some time. But you and PMS do not answer the question: would you have repeated it so many times (I presume this means many times more than any other similary sized route at the Pass) if it were not on THE LIST? In other words, has it drawn more of your attention, at least in part, because of its status as a "classic?" I did not mean to suggest that the routes in that book are bad ones, but (1) they are not always the best choices in the area where they may be found and (2) those who pursue those climbs over others, simply because they are in that book, are not going to be choosing the best climbs available to them on any given outing.

If you've climbed that route 12 times, you'd certainly know the climb better than I do and I bet you are right that the second half is better than I remember it -- but if it were not on THE LIST, would you still have climbed it twelve times? Is it THAT good?

Ian's picture show's cross loading. The thing about it that can be deceptive is that a relatively small terrain change, such as a non-descript moraine or even just a little creek gully, can be loaded up and unstable even where the overall slope is otherwise just fine. I once triggered a very impressive hard slab avalanche on the south side of Granite Mountain in the spring, when the slope had rocks and grass showing through just about all over it and I had no idea there was any potential danger at all. Your classic lee-slope snow bowl is much more obvious.

The entire slope from Colchuck Lake to Aasgard Pass is 3,000 feet of non-stop avalanche hazard. It probably has been mostly wind-scoured lately, and not as hazardous as some other slopes in the vicinity, but do not ignore the reality that there could be cross-loading on some of it and you will be taking your chances. I think that nearly all of this year's avalanche deaths, or most of them, occurred in times of "considerable" or lower overall hazard rating. Upon checking the avalanche site, I see that you did not look at the applicable forecast. That one says: EAST SLOPES WASHINGTON CASCADES.... Moderate avalanche danger below 7000 feet slightly increasing later Tuesday morning through Tuesday night with greatest danger close to the crest. Moderate avalanche danger slightly increasing Wednesday afternoon, decreasing Wednesday night. Moderate is better than "considerable," and I would probably head up there and have a look if that was somewhere I really wanted to go .... but BE CAREFUL. If anybody tells you "its safe," don't listen.

Agreed. I've had an enjoyable day of skiing on the Fryingpan Glacier in early August, but all of the September trips I've made, and some of the October ones, pretty much were worth it only so I could put a checkmark on the calendar. Watch out for that tick list cause it will cause you to do silly things!!!

The W. Ridge of Forbidden is fantastic, but the bozo factor takes away considerably from my enjoyment of the route. I enjoyed the NW Face - and certainly enjoyed it more than I did the W. Ridge - because of its more remote start and more complex approach, the high bivvy that we did, and then the fact that we just plain had fun on the route. I'm not sure it is a "better route," but a "better choice," perhaps, if one is looking for something resembling an alpine experience. And I haven't climbed it but I think the N. Ridge probably is more the classic alpine ridge climb than the W. Ridge. The West Ridge, on a fair weather weekend in July, is not something that I would want to repeat any time soon unless I had some partner who was only interested in the tick list.

I understand the tick list, Erik, but what I'm saying is that for Forbidden, Liberty Bell, and Shuksan I think the list misses better nearby options. And on Mount Rainier, the "classic" status of Liberty Ridge draws the unknowing to their deaths. Watch out for that tick list.

What do you folks think about Liberty Crack? It is clearly the classic line, has a classy name, and is historic -- but I'm talking about the climbing. The rock is clean and nice for five pitches and then it generally goes to hell, and diagonal's off into a bunch of crumbling "rock" with bushes. For aid climbing, isn't Index Town wall better? For an Alpine rock climb, isn't the E. Buttress of the S. Spire more fun?

He told me yesterday that he expects to have it out in a month or something. Tripple that, and it will still be available by the time the real Darrington climbing season gets under way. Lots of folks will be wanting to head up there as soon as possible, but summer begins the week after 4th of July, right?

I think the issue with the Price is that it gets a hundred times the attention that it would get if it were not in that book, and some feel it may even be a poor choice. I would not describe the Price Glacier route as "garbage" but a climb of that route will require you to spend more time beneath seracs, cornices, avalanche-prone slopes and rockfall than all but a few other routes in the entire State -- like maybe Willis Wall or possibly something on the East side of Mount Adams. Then, after you "top out," you are nowhere near the top of the mountain and will likely either descend without climbing the summit pyramid or, if you have the extra time and energy, some parties do walk around to the south side of the mountain and complete their climb with all the hoards that came up the Sulphide or the Fischer Chimneys. In my opinion, Nooksack Tower is the real prize in that cirque. It is not without its own dangers, and it definitely has some bad rock on it, but it is cool.

How 'bout April 26-27. That's before May, and the road is certainliy going to be open by then. Mr. Parker?

The basin on the NE side of Frisco is a very good ski bowl. In telelmark boots, I once found the last 200 feet to be more than I wanted to scramble without a rope or ice axe, but if you were up there planing to climb the thing I bet it wouldn't be very hard.

I have heard it postulated that if you fold it, and particularly if you fold it the same way every time, you will cause more damage than stuffing because you will develope creases and/or stress the same places every time. However, it seems apparent that there are more "folds" or more "crunching," if you stuff it. I bet this debate could be one of those unaswerable chicken-and-egg things. I think the answer is really dependent on your personality type. Do you, or how do you, fold your tee shirts before you throw them into your bureau? When you pull one out, do you try to leave the others undisturbed?

I've been there twice at that time of year and did plenty of climbing each time. You CAN get snow or rain, and I had a pretty exciting time retreating from the wall when this happened to us on the Half Dome once in May, but the above statements that it can clear up and dry off quickly are right on. In my opinion, May is the best month of the year to go to the Valley because the waterfalls are roaring, the days are long, and the summer crowds have not quite hit yet. If you're there when the moon is full, check out the moonbow on Yosemite Falls.

To carry the "doubles" (those that are, what, 48") I fold it in two and clip the two ends together. Then, when I hang it over a shoulder along with the "singles," all I have to do is to unclip the biner from one end, and pull it off my shoulder. Note that if you do this, the biner is not actually clipped to the sling at all if you should straighten the whole thing out witout first unclipping one end.

Not if we go to a bowling alley owned by that *&^%% who fired my ex friends second cousin for no reason.

About a month ago we talked here about having a Spring get-together in a Seattle park. Golden Gardens was nice last year, and it would work again. Alternatively, we might want to get a picnic shelter at Woodland Park, or Magnuson Park or someplace - the ones at Golden Gardens are too close to the street and traffic and too public. With a picnic shelter, there'd be rain coverage if it was drippy outside and so there'd be a more readily identifiable meeting place so those who aren't pubclub regulars would not fear they might not find us (once in a while we get this question here on the board -- how will I recognize you guys at pub club -- so I am sure it is a concern for some). Regarding hours: I don't know what the closure hours are for the picnic shelters, but we could find out. The various parks probably all have consistent closure policies, but enforcement and on-the-ground reality may vary. I know that Golden Gardens is always heavily patrolled in May and June because of all the high school partying. When I've gone there in September, we've been able to stay there as late as we wanted. The UW Climbing Rock would be cool, but I wonder if we might have a problem with the rent-a-cops. Officially, the rock is not a fully public facility and the grounds there are not really intended to be used as a park.

Just the weekend before last, the game warden or somebody told my friend that he could not climb at either The Bend or Royal Collums. My friend said the guy was unpleasant about it, as well, and I can't imagine my buddy being the slightest bit rude or threatening.

Particularly if it is windy, and more often when the rock is not quite vertical, but in either case quite often when the cliff has lots of bushes or flakes or loose blocks, I often do not tie a knot in the ends of the rope before I throw it. In these situations I am frightened by the possibility that I could rappel right off the end, but I have already decided that I am more worried about the possibility of getting the rope stuck somewhere I don't want it to be stuck or pulling a block on my head. So I just rappel slowly and cautiously, ever mindful of the danger should I lose track of the end of the rope or lose control of the rappel. This is one of those scary situations that lead me to walk off a climb rather than rappel if there is a reasonable walk-off option.

I think there are two sides to this issue, and I tilt slightly to the anti-rappel route camp but I can understand some of the arguments or it. In my view, the trail IS a sandy mess and people DO get hurt on it - on a regular basis. Usually it is only a sprained ankle or something, but I believe that over the years there have been broken legs and perhaps worse (wasn't there a tumble and head injury a few years back?). I agree with those who say that, given the chance, they just about always will walk off rather than rappel -- but there are times when, in failing light, I might have opted for a rappel route rather than walking down that trail if I knew it was a "good" rappel route. I'm not so concerned about the erosion issue, because the sandy soil in that canyon has erosion gullies all over it with or without climber-traffic. But I'm mostly interested in safety and convenience when it comes to what is in my view essentially a crag climb, and not a wilderness experience. On the other hand, I absolutely agree with the idea that if people start feeling free to add bolts at will on Snow Creek Wall, the place will fill up with sport climbs and this traditional playground will be forever altered for the worse. There are lots of sport crags out there, and we are seeing an increasing number of multipitch sport climbs in Washington, so I don't think it would be a serious crimp in any sport-climber's style to leave Snow Creek Wall as it is, and with its historic and very enjoyable climbs like Orbit, Mary Jane, Iconoclast, and Outer Space, I like the wall in its present form. In addition, I agree that a multipitch rappel on steep terrain can be a dangerous matter and that, if the rappel route becomes popular, we are almost certainly going to see people epic when they get their rope stuck, rappel off the end of their rope, or drop a friction device, or whatever.