mattp

At last. Somebody who can address these critiques and accusations? I'm sincere: let's hear it.

I agree, maybe. If your point is that "liberals" can be closed minded, that is. I recently received a referral to this site: sensible Washington My liberal friends are unwilling to discuss it. I'm wondering if anybody here has information or opinions on this. Is the current Marijuana proposal a bad idea even if you favor legalization?

I once climbed on snow where I thought pickets would hold. That was on Mt. Cook in New Zealand where the snow was hard, frozen, compacted, and of even density for at least the depth of a picket. It took a bunch of hammer blows to set one and they were difficult to remove. In summer snow around here I have used them, buried deadman style, for belay anchors. In winter snow I have generally had no faith whatsoever. I agree with the comments here but there can be situations where a picket might be OK but don't fall on snow anchors!

While cracks behind flakes are more common, there are straight in cracks on quite a few Darrington routes.

The entire collection is awesome. Thanks, Jason.

Just because we usually experience 25 weeks of generally wet weather from this date forward you expect the worst? Sad.

Most of the routes are in Echo Basin - not Frenchman Coulee.

I think part of it has to do with the fact that Washington has the best alpine climbing in the 48 states, but if you want to pursue serious technical rock or ice or technical alpine climbing you are going to head elsewhere.

Yes, it is an ungodly pile of tottering choss. I climbed it about six or eight years ago and damn near every step of the way for - what was it? 4,000 or 5,000 feet? - was loose and featured loose debris over shattered substrate. But I thought it a great climb. I realize it is not a "hard" climb, but if you are up for the crap rock, it is full value.

For cragging my favorite world wide is Verdon. There might be better than that but it is hard to imagine. Back to the 'Gunks, though, there is no better place to go for a few days with some old friends or a sibling for a few days of walk-up adventure. The climb in question - High Exposure - is a full value 5.6 that, even though Val says it isn't "exposed" in her rating book, is action packed. Really. The 'Gunks, at any normal climbing grade, are as exciting as climbing can be (I don't know about how many 5.14's they have). Val could not find better in the Northwest.

My favorite crag in the '48. Thanks for posting.

I've posted this many times before and I know that many people disagree. But: I don't know why everyone buys bivvy sacks. If you are sleeping out with a good stable forecast, why bring it? Dew? I don't think it is worth the weight if you are climbing in the Northwest on a high pressure forecast and rain is not in the offing. Should tragedy strike, you will make it through the night and go home in the morning. If it does not rain, You will sleep just fine in the sleeping bag dampened by dew. Many people say: the bivvy sack adds "x" degrees to my sleeping bag. A few ounces of down will add more. If you are heading out with a questionable forecast, or maybe just plain a good chance of rain or snow, why bring a bivvy sack? Tents are 3 pounds these days. Tarps are less. Take one. It is much more comfortable than a bivvy sack. Even a micro sized single walled tent offers more comfort than a bivvy sack. A tarp offers a lot more comfort - unless you are camped in a long established campsite that may be overrun with mice or unless you are camping above timberline. There are specific applications where a bivvy sack would be good, like where there is not room for a tent, but really very few, in my opinion.

1000 years of history aside, and I don't know but Glasgow maybe right, but over the last 11 years we have not been anything like clear about what we are trying to do. We invaded in response to 9-11, but we didn't attack training camps or AlQueda sites. We gave six weeks' public notice so any bad guys could get away, and we took over the country rather than to go after those who might actually have been behind the attack (yes, I know, we argued that the government allowed the training camps on their soil). We let Osama go at Tora Bora. Then we killed him in Pakistan. We are now preparing to pull out, but clearly the place is a mess and I don't think any better than when we went in. What the hell are we doing there, anyway?

In my opinion public lands should be open to the public and user fees are generally contrary to that notion but maybe not always so. I can understand and accept an entrance fee to drive to Paradise (especially in the Winter when they spend a ridiculous amount of money keeping the road open) more readily than a fee to park at the end of a logging road that was built with taxpayer money subsidizing a logging operation. I understand and more readily accept the notion of fees to park at a snow park that is specially maintained for snowmobiling or a fee for commercial activity, or ... I could think of a number of other applications. The problem is, though, our taxes are too low and our politics have been hijacked by people who think that the government should not run public lands in the public interest. That's why we have user fees that grow every day and it is also why we have rent-a-cops running campgrounds in Leavenworth instead of public servants with an interest in public recreation. It is not going to get better anytime soon. As to the question of permits? We have a few small areas where you can't just show up and head out such as Mt. Rainier, Leavenworth, and Cascade Pass. And Mt. Saint Helens is kind of a goofy. But there is a reason these restrictions are in place in these areas even if you don't think they are properly executed. And I am one who does not think they are properly managed but I don't know how they can limit entry without at least to some degree inconveniencing visitors. Policing? I think we enjoy remarkable freedom to go damn near wherever we want, whenever we want. The people I meet in the ranger stations or even on patrol are increasingly friendly to climbing and climbers (there are some, of course, and some with considerable clout, who don't fit this pattern). They maintain trails and roads so you can get where you want on a weekend and they help coordinate the rescue if you get in trouble. They support an incredibly broad range of activity from dirt bikes to hunting to climbing. I'm glad there are some rules and, yes, some policemen. I wouldn't want to see motorcycle riders heading over the pass to Ingalls Lake, woodcutters cutting firewood at the Stuart Lake trailhead, or large crowds of people denuding fragile meadows in the upper Enchantment Lakes area. I'm glad they allow hunting in the National Forest but not in a National Park. As much as it pisses me off, I'm willing to tolerate a ranger at Cascade Pass tell me to stay on the trail. If you don't like the way things are run you should volunteer or look for other ways to interact with the rangers so you can express your concerns, get involved in user groups, look for ways to pressure your Congressional representatives to vote for funding, or whatever else you think may help.

If we are talking about a stuck camelot or a misplaced stopper, I agree that "lost gear" has been treated as "booty" for decades. If it was a cell phone or something, I would not feel the same way. If it was a personal journal or a wedding ring or a key chain, definitely not. The original post is not clear but it sounds to me as if you booty hounds may be assuming information here. If it is a really expensive or a really personal item, I would hope that Mr. Fake or Mr. Warf would conduct themselves as Mr. Hehn has here.

I've known some local climbers to become "all around" 5.11 climbers, Rad, but it is certainly true that we tend to specialize in what we like, or what our friends like, or what is easiest to get to, or whatever. I also agree that families and jobs tend to hold promising climbers back from their "all around" 5.11 potential, but I bet that, at the end of the day, most of them end up thinking that the trade off was worth it. I like the premise here: that climbing 5.11 sport or crack or whatever is not the same as climbing 5.11 everything. But I think a "true" 5.11 climber is one who is true (and I think this means honest) about what they actually climb -- and that includes that they climb 5.11. I disrespect gym climbing, so maybe not that - but the logical extension of my argument here is that the honest gym climber who climbs 5.11 is a 5.11 climber even though they might not be able to climb 5.9 at Index.

I think much of the commentary here but really mostly over "there" has missed one important point: the stranded party looked out and SAW Pinedale and it was really easy to dial the rescue people on the phone. The caller may or may not be unqualified or whatever else you may think they were, but this technology changes what we do. Pinedale (Mtn. Rescue) did what they did, but the whole thing arose because the climber SAW Pinedale and could talk to someone there without moving.

As to dollars per student, it has been asserted by KK that we spend more than other nations. That may well be so. But assuming KK is correct, and without any information about how our expenditures break down as opposed to other nations, it is hard to draw any conclusion other than that education is expensive here (is it those evil teachers unions or the special education laws, a different method of accounting for those expenses, or something else?). I disagree if KK is suggesting that simply cutting funding would be an improvement.

I did my first climbs elsewhere but practiced and trained (both?) at Grand Ledge in my formative years. Living in Michigan it was our only local option. I went back for a visit some years ago and I thought it a friendly place even though the climbing would not draw someone from out of the area. I had a great day. And the rations were hard!

I'm up for a moderate day at DTown this weekend. 3:00, Exfo, or Spring. Late notice, so my buddies appear to have other plans.

My comment was intended to suggest that there must be lighter rigs out there that are worthy of consideration. I've used the TE6 and it is a monster. It is more than I needed and the pack gets very heavy indeed when you carry one of those and a bag of bolts and hangers and maybe some chains and ... Does anybody know about lesser options other than a hand drill? The old Flintstone rig is not a bad option lots of times, but what other drills are out there?

My thought was that there are probably some lighter drills out there that will function well if mass amount of power is not your #1 criteria.

I've used the TE6 and it is a good tool but maybe in some respects overkill. In nice soft granite it will drill more holes on a charge than one probably should in a day.Most of us are going to make some mistakes anyway but if you try to place 20 bolts at a time (and I've seen 30 2 1/4 wedge anchors installed on a single charge with the TE6) there will probably be a lot of misfires.

I have never climbed there but from everything I've heard about loose rock on the top-out as well as the routes, Goose Egg would not be my recommendation for anyone's first multi-pitch climb. It looks awesome from the road and I look forward to climbing there but I'm guessing that newer climbers might be better served elsewhere.

I left my car unlocked much of the weekend, with nothing real theft-attractive inside. Hopefully the vandals will check the doors before they break a window.