summitseeker

Call me old fashion if you like, but I'm gonna stick with BD Bod w/out the belay loop. It's a manner of preference, really. I do believe that the belay loop is plenty strong, but it makes me sleep better knowing I'm through both. One less single point of failure is always a good thing. Also, it's worth mentioning that I've seen countless climbers actually tie into the belay loop on both TR and lead. This isn't the recommended practice (I don't think), so here's a case where having a belay loop on harnesses potentially isn't a good thing. Then again, these people ought to read the damn instructions anyway! [This message has been edited by summitseeker (edited 10-23-2001).]

Carolyn from MN: Ever been to the Palisades? Some awesome rock climbing right above Lake Superior. Rapp in, climb out type stuff. Check it out sometime, if you haven't already.

Spent Sunday at Leavenworth and cranked a bunch of routes. Arrived early in the morning and started up R&D just as the rain began to fall. It was slick as a badger's ass on the last pitch, but it was a kick in the pants. Only saw one other group of climbers the whole day! The climbs at the mouth of the "canyon" were reasonably dry until late in the afternoon, so we had a few good bouts of TR as well. What did everyone else do? [This message has been edited by summitseeker (edited 10-23-2001).]

This discussion of knots and rope strengh peaked my interest, so here's an interesting article on rope care (from a rope manufacturer): http://www.lehighgroup.com/CARE.HTM It contains the quote "Knots reduce the breaking strength of rope as much as 40%; energy which is normally spread over the entire length of the rope directs itself to the knot." There are many such articles. One other thing that's worth mentioning is that failing to properly dress a knot can reduce its strength by as much as 50%!

Oh, and: > The double fisherman's is probably as close or even stronger than the rope Is it *really* possible for a knot to be stronger than the rope? My guess is no.

At risk of being anal: > One of my first 'interesting' climbing > weekends revolved around the use of the > double fisherman vs. the water knot. Note that a water knot is not the same as an EDK (sorry if you didn't mean that they were). The EDK is an overhand (tails together) and the water knot is an overhand-follow-through with tails opposed. I don't know the strength of a overhand-follow-through when tied in cord/rope -- I certainly use it for tying webbing together, though, as do most/all of us I imagine. I love talking about knots.

Yup, pullups, pullups and more pullups. It works for me. I remember reading somewhere that Alex Lowe used to do pyramids of 400 pullups after a day of hauling gear up and down a mountain. What worked for him ought to work for the rest of us, I figure.

I use both knots, but typically prefer the EDK. One thing worth mentioning is that it is _not_ a good idea to use the EDK with two different diameter ropes. In this situation, I prefer to use the DF or perhaps even better, the figure-eight-follow-through (tails opposed -- some call it the flemish bend) with a fisherman's stopper knot on each tail. Of course, both of the latter are more prone to hanging up. [This message has been edited by summitseeker (edited 10-17-2001).] [This message has been edited by summitseeker (edited 10-17-2001).]

Phew! Good thing it's before Survivor!

Had a blast on these peaks (easy scrambles/hikes) this past weekend. Went in to enjoy fall on the Golden Lakes Loop and knock off a couple of peaks while we were at it. It turned out to be both a shorter and a longer trip than expected. I had called ahead and was assured by the ranger that the loop in question was open despite concern about the fires. So we arrived Saturday morning early and set off. About an hour or so below Horsehead pass (and quite a good distance in), we were "caught" by two rangers on motorcycles and informed that the way ahead was closed due to an active fire (currently covering some 60,000 acres!). Shit, we thought. So much for those plans. So, we turned around and hiked all the way back to the trail intersection with Cooney Lake Trail and practically ran up to the lake (a bit too much adrenaline, I guess). An absolutely beautiful place, with the larches and meadows turned golden and a surprisingly cold wind blowing down from on-high. We pitched camp quickly on the shores of the lake and started up Angel's Staircase towards Switchback/Cooney Peak. It was a good and pretty trail, with amazing views down to the lake and the Chelan Mtns. around. At the col, we turned right and walked up through boulders to the summit of Switchback, all 8,321 feet of it. A pretty amazing view, with the turquoise green of Sunrise lake and the smoke of the fire below and the flat plains of the high desert beyond. Down-scrambled the north ridge of Switchback and gaining the high ridge joining to Martin (all above 8,000 feet). It was an exhilarating ridge walk. Easy w/ no exposure and commanding views of the meadows below and to the west and the lake on the east. It took less than an hour to traverse around the east side of an 8,200+ foot subsidiary peak (complete with a good number of gendarmes) and make my way to the summit of Martin, 8,375 ft. Sat with my back to the summit cairn and read the summit register (from 1994) and enjoyed the views. Then a 1/8 mile southwards traverse to gain the easy alpine slopes above Cooney Lake and a beautiful descent back to camp. Round trip from camp: less than 2 hours. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a couple of easy scrambles in a beautiful place. Still time to do it this season.

So, who went? I saw Drew Jones there at least. It was enjoyable.

Just a reminder: Peter (author of Selected Climbs among many other things) will be talking tonight, starting at 7:00pm at the Seattle REI. I had the pleasure of being one of the climbers on this historic traverse of S. Georgia Island. It's an incredible place, and Peter's slides are great. See you there.

Yes, I believe it's at the Seattle REI (I haven't checked myself since I heard directly from Peter). I'll check it out and post again.

Nice climb Steven!

Peter Potterfield (co-author of Selected Climbs Vol. 1 and 2, among many other things) is giving a slide show at REI on October 4th. He'll be talking about repeating Shackleton's (a famous British Antarctic explorer) infamous crossing of the island of S. Georgia. I was along on the crossing and it was a heck of an experience. Peter has some fantastic slides and spins a good yarn, so I am sure it will be enjoyable. I think it starts at 7:00 PM. See you there. [This message has been edited by summitseeker (edited 09-21-2001).] [This message has been edited by summitseeker (edited 09-21-2001).]

Boston Peak. Really up there to climb the N. Face of Buckner, but it wasn't in. So enjoyed a scramble to the summit of Boston with absolutely awesome views. Watched a forest fire light up the Stehekin Drainage -- the whole valley was orange -- and picked out more constellations that I have seen in a long time.

I was just up there this past weekend, and another weekend three weeks before that. Assuming you are climbing mid morning and you don't hit a cold spell, you won't need the crampons, IMHO (obviously you will need an axe though). There is a well worn trail and the snow is soft enough to kick steps. You've only got about 800 feet of snow (moderate angle) and then it gives way to scree and scrambling for the rest. You won't need to rope up for the glacier either, but depending on your comfort, you might want a rope and a bit of pro for the last 40 feet (low 5th). [This message has been edited by summitseeker (edited 09-14-2001).]

BTW, I am not saying that it is unclimable. Just stating that it's not the asthetic route that it would be earlier in the season. We thought about battling our way up it but decided to wait until next year when it's in better shape. We also scoped out the SW descent. It's almost completely melted out -- scree all the way. You don't hit snow again until about 7,000 feet once you bypass the buttress and start climbing back to Sahale Glacier Camp.

I second what savaiusini said. I only inspected from the base and summit of Boston Peak, so it is an oblique view. I can't speak to the condition of the couloir since it's not visible behind the cleaver.

Did you do it? I imagine the approach will be a pretty heinous bushwhack this time of year since the snow won't be there to cover the slide alder. I haven't done it myself, but I've been told by friends who have that it can be tough. So what else is new for the Cascades?

Yeah, I could see the approach couloir from Sahale Arm this past weekend and it was thin, complete with schrund part of the way up.

I approached via Rainy Pass PCT over Cutthroat pass. Follow the trail down to Granite Pass and traverse across the seemingly endless Swamp Creek Drainage. Then take the small side-trail up to the lakes (about 12 miles from the trailhead). You can also go in via the Cutthroat Lake trailhead and over Methow pass I believe.

I haven't actually read the route description in Beckey. But it is one imposing precipice and it does have a striking profile. I'll check it out tonight.

Should have been more clear on what I meant by "waste your time". It is actually quite fun to try to find the way to the top of the east horn -- there is an exposed ledge you can traverse around on with a clear view down the ~1,000 ft. North Face, but I couldn't find a way to get to the top that I was willing to try solo. It's way exposed. The north face looks like it would be a great climb. [This message has been edited by summitseeker (edited 09-12-2001).]

Climbed this one a few weeks back from the lakes. Not much to report for most of it -- just a long screen slog up until the last two moves. Don't believe what you read in Beckey. The last two moves to the summit block are mid-5th (approx. 5.6) and exposed to a 30-40 foot fall. There is a rap anchor on the summit, although I didn't inspect it (I was solo w/no rope). And, don't waste your time on the east horn. The summit's on the west one.