Lambone

WOW that sounds like a burly trip...have fun!

Can't speak for the Canadian Rockies ya know, but Ice in Montana is definately over rated compared to the ice in Wyoming, right. Ah ha, nice beta on de alcohal sales bro, I'll havta hit it up next time eh!

It looks kinda south facing...dat true?

Fer sure...that one looked damn hard, depending on which line you took. Looked like it'd be a short step of 4 in fat conditions though...it's all relative I guess. But 11 dollars Canadian for a 6er of Lucky's...come on! [ 01-29-2002: Message edited by: Lambone ]

quote: Originally posted by monkeyboy: I took a drill and made the holes on my hexes slightly {this is key} larger to fit the cord I wanted to sling them with. Ya I know someones going to say this is potentialy harmful, or not reccomended or blah blah blah. As long as you file off the insides smooth when your done it's fine. The only thing I'd be worried about is affecting the temper of the aluminum with the heat of the drill bit...maybe it's not a problem, but something to consider.

A friend of mine climbed one of those earlier this season. He said it was a scary slush fest. They look cool in that pic though...can you see them from the road?

Nice, hey were those pool oponents Locals? If so, your probably lucky that you got outa there alive.(Most of the locals seem super nice though, way cooler than most Seattleites) I'd agree that most of the routes in West Coast Ice seem over rated (or at least the few that I have done.) I suppose you could call syncro a 4+ or whatever...but only about 15ft of it. I could see how Carlsberg could be a 5 in very thin conditions...but wern't conditions very thin this year? I've done 4's in Montana that were just as sustained and steeper. Anyway...what to do? The beers over priced in Canada too! [ 01-29-2002: Message edited by: Lambone ]

I'm not a big fan of the Arva, but that shouldn't happen. I have never heard of it happening to them before. Good chance you just got a bunk one with a bad seal or something. For three hundredbucks I'd send it back, or take it back to where you bought it. Try to make water condense in it again first, so they believe you!

quote: Originally posted by mtnrgr: What is the best cord to sling BD hexes? I recently purchased a few, but the 5mm cord I have won't fit. How do you fuse Maxim tech cord? The core won't melt with a regular lighter. If you bring them down to the gym (VW) you can use our hot knife. It might work better than a lighter. One thing I used to do was pull some extra core out of the sheath and cut it. Then pull the sheath back over the core, so that the core is burried inside(so to speak). Then just melt the sheath and be done with it. This works nicely to seal off the end of any cord...and gets rid of the freying issue. Hope that helps.

Yup thats the one, there is about half as much ice there now, and lots of running water. I don't see how someone could get two long pitches out of that... There also looked to be something cool to the left tucked back in the trees. I caught a glimpse of some kinda pillar that looked fun, couldn't see the lower portion though. Anyway, cool...its allways fun to spot unfamilair ice...and its one more reason to go back to Crystal!

How much duct tape is on it? Will you replace the old duct tape with some new stuff?

Whoa! Funky moves to the belay, looks pumpy! Nice

ooops, sorry...I keep telling myself that ice climbing is not work...

Cool, nice job dude!

Didn't somebody take a big whipper...whats the story?

quote: Originally posted by Crack: after spending the last week touring through the rockies we were ready for some ugly american partyin' -where were you washingtonians? colder than shit, dale and crew made it in the family van and caddie so no excuses on road conditions...either way the small crowd was friendly, and the whole event was very low key. kudos to the moose and lyle and the dude from mec, great people...sorry about the cave again, lyle. yo, you shouldn't duk in the canuks caves, its bad form...plus where's ray supposed to sleep!

oops [ 01-28-2002: Message edited by: Lambone ]

I have used a carpentry hammer a bit...they work, but here are a couple of things to think about. 1. It needs to be good and heavy in the head so you can drive pins with 1 or 2 blows. 2. It needs to have a super bomber attachment point so that you don't kill your partner.(I had a crazy dream/nightmare about dropping my hammer on my partner one night on El Cap...it turned into a very bad situation...then I woke up. It felt like a bad omen...and later the next day the sling holding my hammer almost came untied!) 3. The hole in the head to yank with a funkness is crucial. I guess you could rig something else, but you need the weight of the head for it to work. 4. One main purpose of carrying a hammer on a "clean" route is to replace missing or broken copperheads. They nose on the Yosemite hammer works ok for this as a quik fix, otherwise you will always need some kind of chisel. I don't know how someone could break a Yosemite hammer...they are so solid. You'd have to bang on a pin for hours, or hit the wood handle on a sharp edge. They are reinforced with a steel plate just below the head, but most carpentry hammers are not, I'd be worried about breaking one on a wall. As far as the clean aid debate... Just because you buy a hammer doesn't mean you must use it. Think of it as a last resort. Or just leave it behind until you do a route that you know will require nailing. If you leave the hammer in the bottom of the bag, you and your partner will be reluctant to take the time to get it out and send it up the tag line unless that is the only possible solution. Otherwise it will be more appealing to trust some sketchy clean piece. Have fun! There are other good cheaper hammers out there, but I only have experience with the spendy BD one. It works well. [ 01-28-2002: Message edited by: Lambone ]

Oh, I just meant the spend alot of $ to go sit in the rain for a month or two mold...you know, just like we do here in Seattle! I guess technically the weather broke the mold huh... oh well,nice work! Yosemite makes for a good edumacation eh!!

quote: Originally posted by gregm: in summary: 1) i don't were all this first descent allegations came from. Yeah, me neither...

Yeah, thats kinda what I figured...oh well. And yes, Crystal kicks ass...for a Washington ski aea that is. Got a couple runs of waist deep fluff, the rest of the day was spent hanging out on the groomers with my lady...it'll be worth it someday, by the rate shes learning she'll be better than me by next season! Caveman,Alex Lowe once threw a coil on my head without yelling rope first. If you could do it then you'd only have two degrees of seperation between you and "the mutant."

I went up to Crystal (first time up there) to get some freshies today and noticed some potential for good ice right off the road. It was on Highway 410 about 1-2 miles past The Dalles Campground, and about 4-5 miles before the turn off for Crystal. There are some obvious steep slabs directly across the river that you can easily see through a clearing in the trees. Looks like you'd have to ford the river to get over there... Anyway, there is some ice, but it didn't look climbable now. It had just the right amount of running water to produce some wide 50m 3+(ish) flows and some steep pillars tucked in gullies and trees. Looks like there would be a good amount of ice there if it were only cold enough... This assesment was made in about 30 seconds while driving past at 50 miles an hour. Does anyone have more info on this spot? To anyones knowledge has it ever come in??

naw, hexes have their place...good for building alpine belays and such. Light easy to pack, plus they make good bear bells in grizzly country.

Kamloops....impossible to say without a chuckle!

Right on dude! Way to break the mold! [ 01-26-2002: Message edited by: Lambone ]