rr666

I have used OP 'biners for a long time. I do not have any of their newer ones, but like the old one a bunch, especially for the price. When they went to the ISO cold forged design though, the gate clearance really shrunk down. They are cheap and light, but I would not recommend them. I am planning on buying some of their omegalights, or JC's soon. The Doval's look interesting also. Might grab a couple of those to try asl well.

Stu

quote: Originally posted by Dru: have you ever noticed that no one refers to moderate sport climbs by name, only by grade? You mean to tell me that sport climbs actually have names

I am curious what all you aid climbers out there use as your 'biner of choice. So far I have always taken the approach that I already have enough 'biners, why should I buy more. However, aid climbing requires many biners, and there is a lot of weight to be saved... If I buy more, I might grab a few wires, but can they handle aid climbing, or do the wires get bent to s$*@#...

hmmmmm, alpine666 has a nice ring!

Stone Gardens is closer to my place, so I go there, plus I hear it is cheaper... It is also not quite as big, but they both get crowded... SG does have more bouldering than VW, but less lead climbs and TR's. I think those are the basic reasons.

quote: Originally posted by erik: all i was doing was making an oberservation, next thing i know hiwerwa and sloppy were hitting on me.....i am inncoent!!! as usuall!!! Well I gotta say that I do agree with your observation. There are a few groups that are always sociallizing, then there is the rest of us who don't know anybody there and we just climb!!

we can start the whole anti-gym thread all over. my basic opinion is that gyms really suck compared to real rock, but when it is all you have to get a pump and stay in shape, I will take it. I go to climb rather than socialize. I would very much rather be out at Index jamming up a crack than pulling on plastic any day.

I try to head there once or twice a week as I live less than a couple miles from it... Usually Tuesday/Thursday night generally around 7 or 8, unless I can get there early and miss the crowds... When do you usually show up? I am always willing to belay and hit the routes rather than staying on the ground bouldering. I am the guy with curly long blond hair, and a rasta colored chalk bag. Give me a shout if you see me there. Michael

stupidity

Cheers to the pioneer. It is a sad day for the climbing community.

Just curious, but did your friend pay $400 for a 200 ft piece of cord??

Mission impossible 2. I can't believe no one has mentioned this one yet. Tom Cruise is the best Hollywood climber around!!

What do all you trad climbers out there use for your cordellettes? (i am sure that is spelled wrong!) Last time I bought 8mm cord and was unhappy at how fat it was. I think i meant to get 6, but I must have been drunk that day... Anybody use 5mm? 4mm? How small is too small for some serious trad and aid climbing? Thanks,

Thanks all, I think I may just wing it and hope for the best. Looks like it will be doable, if I can handle getting a bit wet here and there!! Worse comes to worse, I will climb at lower town wall.

Anybody been out to Index recently? Just wondering if the weather is going to hold enough and the rock will be dry enough to hop on either Green Dragon or Town Crier as a good warm up for this year.

My good friend and climbing partner always took his dog there, until one weekend the Rangers went out on patrol and were giving anyone and everyone a ticket for having their dogs beyond the trails. Asking the ranger for some clarification, he basically said that dogs are ok on the leash on all park trails close to the roads, such as the real hidden valley trail. Dogs are not allowed at all in the designated wilderness areas, which is pretty much everything else. Been back many a time with dogs and just stayed far enough away from the roads that it has not been an issue. So you can take your dog, and make sure that when you get out of your car, that no rangers are around and you should be fine. But if smokey is watchin' and feelin' mean, you may end up with a ticket... Hope this helps..

Wow, onto page 5 of this group. Who would have thought... My two cents: Any large group of newbies is going to be annoying no matter where they are, be it the mounties, NOLS, outward bound, and i am sure there are a bunch of others out there. I appreciate that they do try to teach safe climbing, but do agree they take everything a bit too far considering everything has to be there way. They should realize that people are just out to have a good time, and not be anal about everything. I don't have too much experience with them, but do with other hordes of guided newbies. And they all think they own the place. When are they all going to learn, that they are really no better than everybody else, and have no more right than you and I. Lets just climb and have a good time, and hope we miss their classes. Check their website if you are worried about having a run in with them. and climb elsewhere.

I also agree that having a dog at a crag is a priviledge. I think people just need to be responsible and realize that they are not the sh&t and own the place and realize that there are going to be other people and dogs at the crags. I have two dogs and try to take them to the crag with me when I am going sport climbing. I do keep them on their leashes but I understand how annoying they can be. If the crag is going to be crowded, like lets say Smith, I leave them home. No matter how friendly your dog can be, if there is a mangy mutt, mangy climber, or just too many people around, the dog will go bonkers. Something or someone will antagonize them eventually and cause a problem. Feel free to take your dog to the crags, just be responsible and remember that it is a priviledge, and many people around probably would prefer if your dog was not there.

Hit Little Si yesterday and played in the Rain!! Belaying was miserable, but had a good time on Aborigine, the one to the left of it, and hung and pulled up on the draws quite a bit working my way up Chronic... Boy that one is tough, got a long way to go before i can even think about getting that one clean.. But thankfully the cliff overhangs enough that the rock was nice and dry, just an occasional slimy hold.

I have not met Krakauer, so I am not one to say how he is personally, all I have to base him on is his public personality. And most of what it is, is Krakauer-centric. So I do not know if it is his job as a journalist to talk about himself. If it is, he is doing a great job. Also, I do not see anything wrong with someone making a buck writing about climbing or anything else. It is not wrong to want some cash to buy stuff. If i was talented enough to write and make money, I probably would. But if the writing comes across as egotistical, I am not going to read it. I agree with Holly, Into the Wild was a tough book to read. I was very into the story, but found that the book jumped around quite a bit and was hard to follow after awhile. It really did not flow. Yes, it could be because of lack of information, because no one really knew what happened... After about half of the book, I just started skimming, catching the interesting parts and skipping the rest.

I don't know why you call Kraukauer a damn good writer. I do agree, he is not a bad writer, but is far from being damn good. The reason I am not fond of him is his ego. In his Everest retelling he consistently wrote as if he knew more than the guides, and was the stud of the group. Yes hind-sight is 20-20, but don't write like you knew it at the time. Most of the other stuff I see from him always show him as the hero, know-it-all. That sh*t jsut annoys me. Now some of his new stuff may be different, I haven't read much of his stuff recently, but I am defintely not going to go out of my way to read it either...

That is just so sick. I think I am going to crawl into my hole and never climb again, because I am never going to be crankin on the Petit bro's hangboard by Enterprise and send sick 5.17's. Oh wait, I don't care. I just enjoy climbing, be it 5.5, 5.9 or 5.11, trad, sport, aid, alpine. And I don't talk like a wannabe fool (at least I don't think so). Me

See: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/001050.html

Anyone hear how the winter is supposed to be this year? Are we looking at a wet winter to make up for our drought, or is the drought going to continue? Also, other than Vantage, are there any good places around here for winter rock?