ScottP

http://www.break.com/index/death-metal-puppy.html

A guy I know refers to the south face of the Tooth as the "Mountaineer's runner donation station." He goes up every year and scores fresh webbing for all his climbing needs. He's told me stories about soloing up behind a party of Mountaineers, waiting on the summit until they've rapped off and then soloing down, snagging the new runners that were just left at each station.

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It's been interestine to see the various fixed pieces on the crux of Outer Space go through stages over time. I remember one 1.5 or 2 rigid friend going from reliable fixed piece to mangled garbage to no longer there over the years. The rotten tree at the top of the Slab routes at Index used to be a reliable anchor that is now a bit of a menace. I imagine some climber of a future generation is going to be mighty surprised when the railroad bolt they are rapping from finally blows. I can't remember what route I was on, but I do remember girth hitching a railroad spike at Index once.

"Climbers have been immortalized as adventurers and described with time-worn phrases. They have been neatly catagorized as 'masochists' and said to be 'possessors of a death wish.' While these descriptives may in fact be accurate, they miss the point entirely. " -- Mead Hargis

I call bullshit on that. <.5mm is about the thickness of two sheets of printer paper. (Yes, I measured). Not enough to adequately secure a tailhook.

“Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could.” -WF Buckley

Some time between Feb 19th and now the snowcat groomer from 11worth made it up the road from Blewett Pass to the intitial aid station (17+ miles). That leaves about 2-3 miles of ungroomed touring at the start. All but the most noob of noobs survive that first bit relatively intact.

I'm hoping for better views than last year.

Security Cam View

What shall we do with a drunken sailor What shall we do with a drunken sailor What shall we do with a drunken sailor Ear-ly in the morning Way, hey, up she rises Way, hey, up she rises Way, hey, up she rises Ear-ly in the morning Put him in the long boat til he's sober Put him in the long boat til he's sober Put him in the long boat til he's sober Ear-ly in the morning Put him in the bilge and make him drink it Put him in a leaky boat and make him bail her Tie him to the scuppers with the hose pipe on him Shave his belly with a rusty razor Slit his pinky with a rusty razor Tie him to the topmast while she's yardarm under Heave him by the leg in a runnin bowline Keel haul him til he's sober Put him in the cabin with the captain's daughter Put him in the cabin with the drunken sailor I went to sea with a drunken sailor Six long months in a leaky whaler Put him in the hold and I made him bail her Ear-ly in the morning

In his book, 100 Classic Backcountry Ski and Snowboard Routes in Washington, Rainier Burgdorfer mentions a Bullsnake Traverse starting from Cascade Pass. I have never heard of it before this. Does any body know where it goes?

http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=8775.0

That fucker looks like a chainsaw from the Island of Misfit Powertools.. Either that or one of those mutant toys created by Sid in Toy Story.

I didn't see the word 'it' in any of those quotes.

I guess that would depend... If I saw this beautiful line and I wanted to climb it, and could, I would. If there was somebody at the base saying they had worked on it for a year and they were hoping to do the FA, I'd give them the consideration.

SC's perspective is what I was thinking as I read through this thread.. The answer to the original question depends on the intentions and personality of the person who started working on the line. Let's say I am bushwacking somewhere up the Stillaguamish drainage and I come across a nice white granite wall with a beautiful splitter hand crack running up the middle of it that obviously needs to be cleaned before it's climable. I think to myself, "Man, that's a beautiful line. I am going to climb it." I come back later with all my digging and scrubbing tools and spend x amount of time prepping the crack so it will be climable. I come back later to do my ascent and when I get to the top I find evidence that someone else has climbed the route. To me, I got to do what I intended, which was to climb this beautiful handcrack. Am I pissed because someone else climbed it before me? No, because my ego isn't stroked or extended by being first. To someone else, it might be considered an invasion of what they perceive as theirs. I believe because this issue involves different egos/personalities/whatever, the question is moot; those who jump on someone else's efforts are going to do so because they are inconsiderate and don't care about social convention. We have no basis for stopping them from doing so short of camping at the base of the route and resorting to violence to fend them off if they try. Those who are considerate won't try.

I was wondering more about the statement that they were carrying "an avalanche beacon." This gives the impression that one beacon would keep these three people safe.

Then there's this... "The men are reported to be carrying an avalanche beacon with them, but the beacon is good for only about 50 yards." WTF?!?

In response ScottP's comment about the Patagonia's fabric being abrasion resistant, I beg to differ. Since when was 22 denier fabric abrasion resistant? Resistant, perhaps, to abrasion against a fluffy bunny rabbit. You know the fabric is not going to be tough when you can actually SEE the individual down clusters through the material, as you can with the Patagonia Down Sweater. Yo, knucklehead! My post was kyped nearly verbatim from the "Patagonia Down Sweater MORE INFO" page. Why? Because it seems a piece of clothing that would fit nicely into a Project Runway episode. You, as an agent of all things retail, should have recognized the prose, though the subtlety of the sarcasm was apparently lost.

The reason for the popularity of this super-compressible Down Sweater is simple: its minimal weight and excellent warmth. The new shell fabric does more than look sharp; it’s tear-resistant, windproof and water-repellent, and made from 50% recycled polyester. It includes top-quality European goose down, a quilted-through construction, lightweight coiled zippers throughout and a stretch-mesh interior chest pocket that doubles as a zippered stuff sack, two zippered hand pockets and a regular fit.

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