jshamster

Not one of the ones you asked about, but I'll give a vote for the BD Shadow. Just got this winter & I love it. Did a lot of research between the two you mention and the BD packs. Shadow seemed like the best compromise of capacity, weight, and function.

Any figure 8 belay/rappel device. (I've got one, and have never abused my ropes with it.) I love my .4 camelot, but aliens are better.

I am planning on going up there around Nov. 15. Don't have a partner yet. Will be in B'ham on the 14th. Anything in mind? I was kinda thinking Rampart Creek hostel, but having not been to the are before I am open. PM if you're down. Jimbo

Another nice trip Darin! I made it out to Static Point for the first time this past summer & was seriously intrigued by the amount of other granite in the area. Good to hear someone is out gettin' it. BTW, I was the other guy with Sol on the Dreamer a few years back when we made it down way late. Love to do some exploring/climbing with you next summer, when I become a full time PNW resident again. , Jimbo

Can't remember the name, but Joe Josephson has a new, and supposedly comprehensive, guide to Montana and Northern Wyoming. Cody, Hyalite, etc. If it's anything like his Canadian Rockies guide, it'll be top notch. Cheers, Jimbo

Campus Burger in Ellensburg. Pizza place in Roslyn. Excellent pizza & good beer.

Howz the Rampart Creek Hostel? Looks like a good location.

You could probably do it yourself using the swages and tools at West Marine on Meridian. They have a self use rigging bench. Can also make homemade heads for aiding.

I could easily make it there for all of next week. Have to be back in S.F. Sat. October 23. I have also been wanting to check out R.R., and the grades you suggest sound perfect. P.M. or email at: jimboshokes@earthlink.net if interested.

You talkin' Dark Star? If so it is Temple Crag/Third Lake/Palisades area/Eastern Sierra. See Good, Great, Awesome for all the shizzle.

Pretty much any pitch of Clean Break. Especially the first two & wide crack connection.

Mythos are great shoes. Just make sure you wear out the rubber as soon as possible. Then get resoled with 5.10 stealth. La Sportiva rubber sucks.

Climb: Slesse/Yak-NEB/Yak Check Date of Climb: 7/25/2004 Trip Report: This is a bit late, but I been outside. frostythetradman & I drove to the Chilliwack River Valley Tuesday afternoon to climb the NEB on Slesse Wednesday. We brought mtn. bikes for the ride back to the car after decent & locked them to a tree near where they are repairing the bridge on the Slesse Creek rd. We then proceeded as far as the Subaru could take us, about 2km from the trailhead. That evening we carried all climbing gear up the trail about 2hrs in order to have an easy hike in the morning. Got a few hours sleep & left the car at 2:15am. Wore short sleeves & knickers from 2:30am on. We reached the gear stash at about 4:15am and roasted the 420. On up to the propeller cairn, over the notch, across the slabs (no glacier), and on route at 7:30. We saw some Albertan hardmen on the East Face about five pitches up & a couple of days to go. Overall the route is pretty straightforward. We did the entire climb in 14 pitch/block type things. Lots of rope stretchers. The top 4 or 5 pitches really make up for the rock quality in general. This route is really all about "the line." So, about halfway up the route we have a kinda funny realization. We have locked our mtn. bikes to a tree and each other, but we left the key to the lock at the car. Fuck!!! Guess we get an extra 15 mile hike after the decent. Oh well, we can deal...right? Route went great, decent went fine. Down to the road/bikes by 8:30pm. Stash all climbing gear with the bikes and it's time to slog the FS roads. About 1.5 miles into the hike, there's a truck! Yes! Chilliwack samaritans agree to take to the blacktop. There's a few miles off the hike. 1/4 mile later another Chillawacker is coming down the road and ends up taking us all the way back to the car! 9:45pm, still light out, and we've climbed Slesse in a day. Great fun. Next day we rolled the Subaru with the dead battery down 4 miles of dirt road & water bars & got a jump from another Chilliwack samaritan. People are awesome up there. Time to head for Yak Peak. Got to the Coquahalla summit area the evening of 7/27, and bivied across the highway from the rest area. After an alpine start of 7am or so we found the trail and headed up Yak Check. This is a very fun route with its fair share of chossy oatmeal & kitty litter, and splitter, easy cracks. The only real downer about Yak Check is that the crux .10a pitches are really 5.8 & 5.7 respectively. Still, a really fun climb. Back to car about 2pm, and home to B'ham. Gear Notes: 8.6mm double ropes. one single rope would be fine. medium rack approch shoes light rain jacket & wind shirt (never used) gu & water & salami samwiches Approach Notes: easy, but time consuming initial slabs after notch are very dirty & slippery river crossing at trailhead is an easy log crossing

Yup. And then a couple thousand feet straight up to the bivy. Super fun route!

Thanks for the info. TR to follow. mmmmm....whiskey.

frostythetradman & I are headed to Goode this week, and have a few questions in the interest of keeping things simple & light: 1. Single or double ropes? Pretty sure that we will simul-climb the entire butress. How 'bout one skinny rope doubled? 2. Boots or approach shoes? Fucking long approach. Like to be comfortable, but maybe boots for glacier? 3. How much ice gear? Tools needed, or just aluminum poons & axe? Screws/pickets? We are approaching from Rainy Pass. Glacier travel & simul-climbing up to 5.7 no problem. I did read the most recent TR, but am interested in other opinions. Thanks for any info. Jimbo

Just checked the NPS website, and they are anticipating a May 14 road opening for both Tioga & Glacier Point roads. Too bad I have to be in San Diego for the next three weeks. After that Tuolumne is on! Anyone coming down this way in June?? Dome climbing . Jimbo

Are you talking about the very large couloir behind Herman? Or the small, rocky ones directly above Bagley Creek? The big one behind Herman is Stoneman's. Most fun approach is to summit Herman, ride backside, and hike straight out to, and up, couloir. You can also skirt around the right side of Herman, but this is a lot more hiking. This is your return route, btw. If'n your talking about the chutes on the face of Herman, I can't imagine there being much snow in those, although they are quite fun in mid-season. Course I don't know what the snow pack up there is like right now. Either way, have fun. Jimbo

Dovals Too small to rack a set of stoppers with, but great for draws.

The top of Walk On The Wild Side at J-Tree at 6am, before the masses show up, with a full thermos of coffee. This was just the latest place for me. And the Bighorn Mating Grotto.

Lover's Leap, Phantom Spires & Sugarloaf should all be climbable this time of year. Maybe cold, but dry rock for sure. Have fun!

There's a couple of very short slab TR's on Bruce's Boulder. 5.llish I think.

5500' is pretty low IMHO. 8K & above is where it's at.

I got a permit on the night of July 3rd for Boston Basin. Climbed W. ridge Forbidden July 4th with only a party of two for company. I camped instead of car-to-car because it's a magnificent place to bivy. Have fun.

Yup. All of the campgrounds have info boards with place for messages on the back. Good way to connect. See y'all in the desert.