Lambone

Why does everyone want to practice to climb big walls by doing something other than climbing big walls? Climbing a trade route Grade VI involves being at the wall, and having a shit ton of gear. If you're climbing El Cap you don't have to be fast and you can always bail. If you know how to aid climb ok, haul a pig, and set up a portaledge you're all good. Just go do it and learn on the job. As far as I could tell he was asking for info on some good "walls" to practice on... "and was wondering if anyone has suggestions on some good walls to practice on in the area?" But yeah, i agree with you...you can practice all ya wan't, but eventually you just gotta suck it up and commit. Bail is a four letter word, and first to speak it gets bitch slapped.

that dude is lucky he didn't smack his head. looks like his only peice blew...

there ya go masternate...lots of good advice. I think the route you are planning makes all the difference, if you were thinking something like Zodiac, I'd probly give you totaly different advice. One thing I would recomend is to pick a Plan B that you will be satisfied with should your HD plans fall through. Sometimes you can't get on a route because of time, weather, crowds or whatever. Having a second choice that will still make you happy is a smart thing. Someday I'd like to do the Reg NWF of Half Dome, and when I do I'll spend 2 weeks in the Valley doing long free climbs in prep for it. I think thats the best way to go, but if your short on time just go to Squamish and Index alot and do the longest routes you can. Whatever you do, don't haul.

sheesh dude, give the guy a break. what the fuck crawled up your shorts this morning...

Which wall are you planning to do?

Lummox makes a good point. I use to respond to this question by saying, fill up a haul bag with heavy shit, rocks or water or soomething, then go drag it back and forth across a huge parking lot all day. Then you'll know if you really want to climb a big wall or not. The biggest difference between a Grade V and VI is that you get alot more tiered. Being in good shape helps alot. It's possible to climb walls off the couch, but you'll pay for it afterward...speaking from recent experience here. However, practicing your rope + anchor systems and bivi set-ups will help reduce the clusterfuck factor on the Big Stone, and make your chances for sucess much higher. It's better to do as much aid climbing as you can before you go, it will pay off. Of course Squamish has lots of cool aid routes. I haven't done any of them. But closer to Seattle you can hit the Upper Wall of Mt Index. Town Crier and Green Dragon are both fun, relatively safe and easy classics. Do both of them, then do them again faster, then again, then do them both in a day...then do something harder like the Golden Arch. If you haven't worked with a ledge much, it might be worth it to just go out to the Lower Wall some evening, climb a pitch and set up your bivi and get things sussed out. Go in the rain, figure out how the Fly works and how to keep all your shit dry, this could be the most important practice you can get for the real deal. Don't forget to bring plenty of whiskey. Drink it all...this will give you an idea of how you'll feel on the thrid morning of your grade VI. Have fun!

Yeah, but if you think about it...he's probly the most baddass of all those guys. I mean, he climbed most of those walls they jumped off by himself via new routes...now that is some burly stuff....not to mention all the other huge stuff he's done. Impressive.

It sounds like it....they fall forever...in real time. And shoot away from the wall like a rocket, you can hear them flying all the way from the ground cam angles. It's a fucking sick film. Try the reevolution link above, I think you are able to download the movie. Seems like the wing suit could also really fuck you if you screwed up. Send you back into the wall like a big kite...

Vertical World - lost and found.

My main frustration with these things has been in trying to find the right size on the fly. Their range of motion is much smaller then most cams on the market. Their biggest niche seems to be shallow placements like boxed out pinscars or "pods." This is because they have the narrowest cam axel on the market. i've carried a Yellow one that I got for free on two or three big walls and only used it once or twice. Extra weight on the rack INMHO, I'd rather have an extra Alien any day.

Saw just about the coolest/sickest show I have ever seen on TV last night. A group of BASE jumpers escorted by Mike Lebeki (sp?) went to Baffin for a few weeks and jumped off a bunch of big walls. SICK stuff. They were dropping for 30+ seconds before pulling. They were also tracking practicaly a 1/4 mile out from the walls and landing out in the middle of the Fjiord. It was freaking amazing to watch...even on the tube. I can't remember all the walls they jumped, but the two that may be familiar to climbers were Polar Sun Spire, and The Fin. They walked up the backside of all the walls, and Mike L. acted as tech support to help belay the jumpers to inspect their "exit points." i don't think Mike jumped, although they didn't really say. This was really some of the craziest footage I have ever seen. Way cool. It was on the Fox Sports Network, and a copy should be available through their web site. Bummer...seems the web site is no longer active: http://www.reevolution.tv/main.php But I did find this site, looks somebody is running a helicoptered guide service for ASE jumpers in there in 2005. Resume of 50 jumps required. http://www.polarsafari.com/baffinbase/index.htm

nice job! regardless of a cold bivi, doing the route in a day and 1/2 is very respectable. hey, curious. Was it your first time up the death slabs? just wondering if it'd be wise to attempt them for the first time in the dark, or if a scouting mission would be needed. thanks...cheers

um...not sure where he is now. he was living in his van in the Valley last summer/fall. i've emailed back and forth a bit with him since the climb, but it seems he's still floating around. He could be back in Seattle for all I know. That was our first and only time climbing together. Wes is a solid wall climber, and a safe partner....but the attention he paid to minute detail drove me insane. My problem, not his...I guess I'm just impatient. Cool guy though, made me laugh harder then I ever have on a wall.

Just in case you liked that first shot and want to see more, here ya go: http://share-dell.shutterfly.com/action/share/view?i=EeBNGLNk5ZNnAQ&open=1&sm=1&sl=1 Lambone in action :

yeah, well just be glad you can't smell those socks through your screen...

Like my man-boobs? Tangerine Trip, Bivy 2 - Pitch 8, July '03

Snowy and Cold....well maybe. Or it could be like 70 degrees and sunny...or it could be both in the same day. I was in Tahoe visiting my folks last weekend, the snow is melting fast. Can't offer much help on camping, just avoid the tourist camping traps... Check this out, new supertopo guide... http://www.supertopo.com/packs/southlaketahoe.html

I have noticed the rust on my tools goes away when i use them, same with on screws...then comes back when I let them brew in my pack for a week after the trip. no worries.

I worked at the North Face for 4 years back in the early 90's. It was right during the their change from US production to China production. I looked at the stuff everyday, and logged warranty items a day long. when I first started the majority of warranty stuff was tents and sleeping bags from the 80's, maybe a jacket or two with fried Gortex. After the transition I saw tons of stuff that was only a year, or months old coming in all the time. Miss-cut fabrics, faulty stitching, bad zippers and buttons. Seriously...all the time. There was a huge difference. Still I think it has more to do with volumes of production and quality control rather then the skill of the production employee. US brands typicaly have smaller volumes and better quality control systems in place. What is really funny is if you go over to Nepal and see all the mock up North Face and Patagonia crap that local vendos sell. They stitch on fake labels and try to pass it off on tourists. But if you look close it is total back alley junk.

I agree with Dale here. I've used a gri-gri quite a bit while soloing aid routes, and I'll never trust it completely, I allways use some sort of back up knot to my harness. I've seen all kinds of weird things happen to it that would prevent it from locking, like having a fifi hook get wrapped around it. There was a story on RC.com a while back about a guy who took a huge fall while soloing with a gri-gri when the locking biner broke. Luckily he was tied into the end of the rope.

Josh...what exactly are you talking about? sorry this is getting off topic... But do you think that outdoor soft goods manufactured in Asia are produced on some fully automated assmbely line? No, they are made by laborers with sewing machines. Lots of them. Same as here in the States, only we pay our laborers a living wage and give them breaks and stuff like that...

No the argument is that Fabrizio acctually climbs, and designs his own stuff. His designs are not all "Marketing and Image," they are based on years of experience and testing that he's put in. People seem to be confusing The Magic Line with The North Face or something. TNF pays good Poster Boy climbers for face shots in magazine and put out crappy non-functional products made in sweat shops. word is North Face is also movinbg to Boulder...

So Cracked, spill the beans...what is it about those designs that you don't like? Mark Husbands bagged on Fabrizio for being from Boulder. We are just saying that he's a cool guy whos climbed lots of stuff. I'd hasten to say more stuff then anyone on this board. Personally I think they have some good design concepts. For instance, I really like that they put different weights of insulation in different areas of their bags and jackets. You don't see this alot out there. For an alpin bag I want something that will keep my feet warm, but I am ussualy wearing my belay jacket, so I don't need so much insulation up there. I do think their whole "System" thing is kind of a gimmic. They seem more like standalone products then anything else...I don't see what benefit using their pack and jacket together has...??? And the prices are steep compared to say Wild Things or Integral Designs. I wonder where the stuff is made? Maybe you should try to sell them your "Gort" design?

whatever... I spent a month on Ama Dablam with Fabrizio. He is the real deal, he climbs hard, big peaks and is funny as hell. He's not some Boulder yuppie. He spends most of his time guiding in Chamonix and the rest traveling around the world to cllimb gnarly stuff. When I was there with him he held the speed record on the SW Ridge. I'm not sure about their claim to be the only company using "integrated systems" though...

The Free Blast was more like an Aid Slog for me...