Jens

Scotchguard rocks on gore tex. I quit using it though after seeing all the scary stuff on TV about it. Linked to testicular cancer! I would say if you are a girl, definitely use it.

Or perhaps the insole sucks? Try tinkering with the lacing method and put in some different insoles. Maybee I'm an oddball but I like em'. In my humble opinion they climb rock and walk better then any of the high end ice boots. They climb rock and walk better than my 39 ounce c. fiber ice comps that sportiva gave me.

Little T rocks. Its got some of my favorite ski mountainerring and scenery around. It's seems to be a mystery why it goes begging for climbers and skiiers? Especially since it is the sixth volcano and one of Washington's highest mountains. Not a sattelite of Rainier.

Amen brotha Try timing an after work commute to either of the Ballard gyms from Kent! You are looking at least 75 minutes on a bad day. I think I'd rather run up west tiger cable line or something.

Bring your skiis. I ran in for a tooth climb early this morning and noticed that if you wanted you could actually get some great skiing in if you wanted. I hope those cool new mixed climbs (above source lake) don't attract to much attention from wilderness types.

Good luck. I couldn't find any spare replacements for some older flexible friends. (This was about 10 months ago.)

I 've always liked both the photos, and the drawings in the Smoot books. I also like the little mini pargraph about each route.

Definitely a better weekend for cragging. My weather radio said that the freezing level was supposed to get up to 13,000 feet.

I was high on icicle buttress once and watched a dude look in all my windows of my car and check to see if the doors were locked. Maybee he wanted my jacket and stuff that was inside. If I scream at him, he'll know I can't get him and take his time. If I throw rocks it'll hit my car! ---- Not to drift away from your thread, but I hope you get your stuff back. If you don't, karma will catch up with the dude who took your stuff. He'll die wearing it while avalanched or something.

It will come down to who you get behind. Lots of people like to climb just the top of the split pillar and rap. The route can be clogged down low. As for comparing the two, I would call the split pillar much easier than the sword pitch. But Perry's lb is harder than both of those. The route is good fun though and is very feasible for the 5.11 leader.

Has anybody else beside Skinner done it? Wasn't there a reference to it on climbingwashington.com about how it was really supposed to be a 13 but skinner wanted to rate it stout becasue he was eyeing the real prize city park and didn't want to be called a soft grader? Looks like lock off strength will be critical for nnc--- to make the long reaches between the workable jams?

Great topic My two cents: Overhanging Faces =better be short Overhanging cracks = doesn't matter Vertical faces = better to be tall Slabs = better to be tall limestone = better to be short granite = usually better to be tall hard offwidthing = better to be smaller snow slogging = better to be tall extreme high altitude = better to be small

Good point Have their really been any eastside pubclubs in the last 9 months? There might be a completely new mix of folks that post who would show up? ___ PS? Is the index tavern ever gonna reopen- Now the neverending index rainouts end with a drive home.

From what I've read, HGH may be fine until you stop taking it.... Your body will no longer produce hormone naturally, so unless you want to stay on the stuff for the rest of your life you are screwed. When you stop taking it you will actually quickly produce much less hormone than everyone else. I'm sure somebody that posts will have more info.

speed traps getting to our climbs: 1. Concrete (they've got some really creative hiding spots.) 2. North Bend area 3. First overpass as you head westbound on i-90 from sno. pass 4. Sultan 5. The long straigtaway on icicle creek road 6. US 2 around peshastin 7. Heading Eastbound on i90 from elk heights 8. Eatonvillle on way to Rainier- Cops and locals are real a-holes! Spend your money in Elbe oe ashford instead. 9. Hood-Just before you start gaining elevation on your way to gov.t camp. Others I forgot anyone?

It was very cool of you to open up about the pins. I agree with what has been said about "if you leave the hammer, you'll find a way". _______ As a sidenote, hard clean aid is definitely trickier on wet stone- and that is while placing a wide variety of types of tricks and toys. Also body postitioning and body scumming to make that next placement is harder. _______________ Also it seems like long standing fixed pins on free routes are disappearing at a ferocious pace. It's a bummer to have to get more pumped at a spot where you've clipped a fixed pin on lots of previous outings. Well enough whining from me. ------- Good discussions.

I like exit 38 because I get scared at areas that actually have more moves than bolts.

The routes are fun to monkey around on. The cave tends to seep some water in the spring but a least a couple routes should be climbable. It would be a really cool dry tool area but we don't do that. Not to offend anyone but...... PS. Don't let anybody put you down for climbing at 38. Sure it's choss but the area has a couple of routes that 99.9% of the people that post on this site can't do.- And if you are looking for an after work pump, traffic getting to index sux bad. Time for one route at index vs. nine at exit 38 after work. Easy choice for me.

My friend has that exact howling wolf for a tattoo. ______________ As for funny, My brother Hans and I were descending from muir once and got flagged down at about 9,000 feet by a rather peculiar fellow. He was wearing blue jeans, penny loafers, a members only jacket, and was carrying a huge hard shelled suitcase in one arm and a camcorder in the other. (This was back when camcorders were very large). His suticase had a fresh airline tag on it. He said that he had just landed at sea-tac a few hours earlier on a flight in from somewhere like Georgia or South Carloina. He said that he had hithchiked out to Paradise. He said he was going to the top and wanted an estimate of how long it much longer it would take him.

I know there are a lot of people like myself that climb and have a wife and kids. We need life insurance. It seems that as of late, the insurance companies have it listed on all their applications "Do you climb mountains, rocks, snow, or ice?" If you say yes, you are now either denied coverage or are given an astronomical price that literally only Bill Gates could afford. If you lie, that automatically nixes the contract when you really do die. I just got outpriced through the roof for my life insurance plan and as of this very moment, have zero life insurance. Anyone have any ideas? Please Help

I think you are right on the money about Leavenworth stuff Carnival Crack Big Bertha I TR'd something on the far side of punk rock a long time ago that is not in any guides that was long and would require big gear We all have seen the ocaasionaly mossy ow somewhere up high off the beaten track in the encahnments or Stuart area. ----------------- Supercrack takes the pink camalot up high (#4) ---------------- Leavenworth kicks ass! Diverse climbing and good weather. And I don't care what anybody says, I love Gustav's!

I have a bunch of the Metolius cams and I think they are for sure the worst available. They walk big time, they do not have predictable loading, their cable stems deform (for life), the cams are to close together, the cams are narrow, and a lot of other reasons. Show me a metolius cam that has been on rack for 10+years. My metoluis cams have been booty gear. I would never buy them. They are pretty light though. Good for an alpine route with a long approach where you may or may not need a cam. Just my two cents.

Be really careful with ultimate orange. I used to put in my thermos at the sport crag. It gave me big time heart pressure. I also once slammed a major dose before strapping my skis to my pack for a jaunt up to muir. My heart was racing and it did weird stuff to my chest. I think the stuff could really be dangerous if mixed with let's say a morning cup of coffee. I threw my ultimate orange out.

Thanx Josh

Any tips on getting little ones on the rock? We just had a little baby girl and I'm already eyeing those ABC and animal holds for my wall.