Drederek

There are lots of methods that work once you've learned them, even a figure eight can catch a whipper. I think the rigid attitude about belaying at the gym has more to do with the experience of the employees than the climbers - they've been told that "x" way is the shit and management doesn't trust them to be able to evaluate other methods.

Theres a reporting station at Clearwood on the National weather service site, its about 5 mi from Fossil. .02 inch of rain last nite

Kinda what I was thinkin, best style would be led on sight with natural (or no) pro. Then led onsight with bolts hand drilled or TR'd and headpoint. By the time you get to the fourth best option just make sure its done well.

Yah it woulda looked good in the parkin lot at WRG

Well Caustic Cock is indeed a fine line but its about the least extreme route I've ever done at Red Rock. A few hundred feet from the car, 30 feet long, and closely (for RR) spaced bolts make it a fun route for the morning before flying home.

So where is it now?

It does take me a few sessions to get used to the roughness of the holds at the gym every winter and I works with my hands. My approach is almost 180 degrees from Eldiente's, especially early in the winter. I avoid crimpy things and bouldering for a few weeks and then start to work them in. Jug hauls and routes with large slopey holds work well for me to maintain the larger muscles and get used to pulling plastic. Its a whole different skillset indoors from out. Shorter, more intense routes really stress your weakest links, which in my case is tendons. Once you damage a ring tendon its gonna hurt all winter unless you take time off. And thats no fun!

I don't wanna play with you! I'm taking my ball and going home!

The fact that you got within a coupla miles without much info bodes well for your future explorations. Theres a side road (third after turning off the mainline) that'll lead you into what was called fern gully, a low swampy area with lots of boulders and very easy to get lost in. Staying on the mainline to the next road on the right leads to more boulders and a view of Fossil rock from the east. Have a ball!

The easiest way to get to Fossil is thru yelm to 5 corners, theres an am/pm there, and veer right onto Bald Hills rd. Follow it past Piessner rd and the gated Clear lake community (small store at gate one) to a huge gravel road thats gated. park here and walk/ride about 2 miles to a road angling up and right from the main line directly across from another road (which is an extension of the piessner road, might be parking issues at that gate) Follow this up about a mile choosing the steeper options and you'll eventually end up on top of Fossil rock.

Check out Fossil Rock, its a lot closer to Oly and theres bouldering and routes to do after a day or two of dryness. Lots of exploring to be done as well. A bike helps a lot and don't forget a lock.

You got to know the limitations of your equipment in the mountains. As ppl have pointed out even a map can be wrong and a compass malfunction. I encountered one of those two options hiking off trail a long time ago. I've gotten hundreds of bad readings with my GPS as well, but its usually easy to tell when its off. I would hate to rely on it in a life or death situation unless it had a clear view of the sky down to 30* above the horizon and no trees, which is often not the case in alpine adventures. This is great!

Someone drove their Jeep to the Mt Washington trailhead yesterday and headed up the hill, hope they made it. pics are from last friday

Do "beacons" even work 20 or 50 feet down into a crevasse?

Became a grandparent, Snowboarded off the top of Ellinor, went to JT, Went to Red Rock, Soloed Constance, turned 50, soloed WR Stuart, went to CoR, climbed some 11's at Smith and got up a half dozen routes in Tenino in December.

watched 'Touching the Void' last nite, if you're as tough as Joe Simpson you don't need one.

"Anarchy! Anarchy! Anarchy! I don't know what it means but I like it!" Texas Ranger

Lots of snow in the southern end, as you're probably experiencing right now, I doubt you'll make the lower th of Ellinor (2700')

The weather looks good tomorrow Off, I may be able get some of the afternoon off if you want and we're able to get on something, just let me know and I'm in. If the weather holds into the weekend (and its dry) a few regulars will make it out for sure

Hey Off, do you think it'll dry out by the weekend? I'm guessing its not dry yet. D

Baiting an old crackpot is one of the more enjoyable online activities for a mad scientist to do!

Is that coleman stove fuel you're drinking?

theres a partner forum that seems pretty active on mountainproject, you'll probably do ok there.

The bear was way more scared of me than I was of him, he sounded like an elk running away. I ended up on the wrong side of the gate on one Mt Stone attempt.

Saw a black bear on the way up Mt Ellinor, about 2/3 of the way from Big creek campground to the "lower trailhead" 8 days ago.