Beck

...tunnel vents would probably cost about twenty bucks apiece if you get friendly with a seamstress... also the fly is 350, and the Bibler Big Wall I tent is on sale for a only little over one hundred more than that- it would also be a fully functional big muntains shelter, with ground access holes even! - bchamps, we discussed the alpine big wall options and versatility of the I-tent, versus the portaledge fly with nothing- looking at spending an extra one hundred bucks to get a killer tent on top of that was a viable, worthy option for a well rounded mountaineer looking to get the most bang for the buck- the dude

.. and if you can find a pair of the TNF Vector 2 bibs that fit, BUY THEM NOW! High alpine, big mountain bib styling, made out of super stretchy (triple the stretch of dryskin) Scholler outer shell PLUS fleece PLUS WB laminate- under 200 bucks on sale real practical cold weather features (dropseat, high back and chest, chest pockets, triple front sliders, integrated gaiter loops/hooks) did I say stretchy? SUPER STRETCHY! best mid winter high mountain use bib i've ever owned- its a true one layer system-above 10,000 feet in midwinter storms, icestorms, fifty mile/hr winds, these and a set of briefs was all i needed last winter. liftserviced skiing, supurb. Don't wear them ski touring pineapple Pass in april though...

...Me and a buddy were on a two week mid winter trip in the cold climate of the laurentian shield and the Huron mountains (small m, but great granite) on an ambitious 100 mile traverse. we had a feature to cross to get into another part of the hurons, a five mile wide swamp. This thing was thirty five plus miles long, and an end run was out of the question. We planned on a beeline due north thru the swamp, being mid winter. hit the swamp early morning, began the struggle fest. we ate lunch in the swamp. Lucky it was mid winter. It was fighting deadfalls on snow all day. we made it thru, exhausted, at dusk, to some higher ground. In the morning, we look around us, and realize we cannot recognize any of the landmarks and match them up on the map. Oh well, we're going to run into some part of the Hurons soon, so we continue due north, and promply hit ANOTHER swamp in two hours time. We head on in. During the morning a coast guard C-130 overflights us, buzzing at treeline, so they must have seen us in the middle of Bumfuck, in the middle of a huge swamp, and wondered what we were up too, but no biggee, it just scared the begeezus out of us. at some point in the afternoon, we find a thirty foot granite mound in the middle of the swamp. my buddy Rich says, "I know exactly where we are", digs into his pack, and pulls out ANOTHER Quad (we had fifteen or more for that trip) than the one we had in the nav bag. we had gotten so far off route fighting swamps for two days, we wound up on the next quad over! -he had seen that feature during the planning for the trip, and thought is was interesting- we were totally on the wrong quad evertime we tried to orient ourselves!! by nightfall we were on top of one of the Hurons, making camp for a rest day. lesson learned- Don't assume you even know what quad you are in, once you realize you are lost.

I woke up at five AM, worked two hours on writing book, then rode 730 AM monorail to office and had breakfast with a columnist in my newspaper. Then, up to the office (HUGE picture window, great view and people watching, free beer ALWAYS, new computer coming soon courtesy of mayor's office) to plot newspaper domination and have a quick beer with my boss admiring one of the best views in the city at 10AM, then, across the water to work 8 hours, selling gear to people, and now, back, writing... but I just thought I'd check in. Hows everyone doing?

sorry Kitten, I wound up going to a Mountaineers Books shindig at the clubhouse with free food and beer at the launch party for 7th edition of freedom of the hills... saw SEF and a few other CC.comers. I feel i missed out by not meeting you all at the eastside pubclub, though...

where is Redmond anyway? I work in Bellevue but have absolutely no clue where "Redmond" and "Kirkland" are, it's too scary in suburbia to do any exploring over there, kitten but I'll brush up on the map skills and find it!!

Tijuana Cantina up in old town Monroe has charred steak tacos for $2.50 each, cactus salad, authentic SOB refreshments, tounge and tripe served several ways, and is arguably one of the best mexican restaurants here in the northwest

dru, it doesn't suck. it's more like a reflection off a pond at night, a bucket full of water, overflowing in the rain. and the grant was for my newspaper i am editor of, not ropeup, "avatar" and planning for ropeup continues daily. alpinek and anyone else who wants to submit some input- i think it will be under discussion at tonights pub club-

i believe it is still going to be one helluva party- and a worthy one as well- some of you must think a party with free gear, food and beer for dirtbag climbers is a BAD idea??? it's not going to be a sponsorfest like the WTA trails day, Marylou!!! there isn't going to be a "beergarden"!! there's going to be free beer! and grub as well! it's going to be a rockfest- it's a climbers party.

Who: Rock climbers and members of the general public interested in rock climbing What: 3rd annual Cascade Climbers Full Moon Ropeup When: Fri, October 10th thru Sun, October 12th, 2003 Where: Bridge Creek Group Campground, Icicle Canyon, Leavenworth, WA Why: Fostering stewardship of the vertical environment. Come join fellow Northwest climbers at the third annual Cascade Climbers Full Moon Ropeup at beautiful Bridge Creek campground outside Leavenworth, Washington for a weekend of camaraderie, climbing and communication. Participate in the trail project, gear swap, or campfire tales. Events planned for this fun filled event include: free rock shoe demos, beginning climber toprope/mini instructional clinics, trail project, Saturday afternoon potluck, raffle to benefit the Access Fund and the American Alpine Journal, slide presentations and safety demonstrations, a pancake breakfast Sunday, and free gear giveaways. Event is FREE and open to all ages. Free camping at Bridge Creek Group Campground until full. Overflow camping nearby. Three years ago, the founding focus of the Cascade Climbers Ropeup was an effort to build solidarity among climbers in the Northwest. Many climbers were taking access issues too lightly. There had been closures at Frenchmans Coulee, the Forest Service wanted to close roads leading to Darrington crags, a bolt chopping/rebolting war was going on around Leavenworth, and climbers seemed to be oblivious to the necessity of limiting impacts in high mountain environments. In the spirit of better communication about our common goals: climbing without fear of closure, missing belay stations, or overcrowding in the alpine zone, our mission statement grew: “Fostering stewardship of the vertical environment.” This event has grown significantly since the first year. It is always 100% free, including camping at the group site. Some of the activities and events planned for the festival include: beginner’s climbing top rope area, a trails project with the Forest Service and the Access Fund, a bratwurst feed Saturday afternoon and a pancake breakfast Sunday morning. The main event: a slideshow Saturday evening by Steve Swenson and raffle to benefit the Access Fund and the American Alpine Journal. John Harlin, editor of the American Alpine Journal, will be presiding. We already have sponsorship from Marmot International, Omega Pacific, Outdoor Research, The Access Fund, The American Alpine Club, Cascade Climbers.com, Cascade Crags, Second Ascent, Pro Mountain Sports, a local newspaper, and more are anticipated by the time the festival kicks off Friday, Oct10. thru Sunday Oct. 12.

Who: Rock climbers and members of the general public interested in rock climbing What: 3rd annual Cascade Climbers Full Moon Ropeup When: Fri, October 10th thru Sun, October 12th, 2003 Where: Bridge Creek Group Campground, Icicle Canyon, Leavenworth, WA Why: Fostering stewardship of the vertical environment. Come join fellow Northwest climbers at the third annual Cascade Climbers Full Moon Ropeup at beautiful Bridge Creek campground outside Leavenworth, Washington for a weekend of camaraderie, climbing and communication. Participate in the trail project, gear swap, or campfire tales. Events planned for this fun filled event include: free rock shoe demos, beginning climber toprope/mini instructional clinics, trail project, Saturday afternoon potluck, raffle to benefit the Access Fund and the American Alpine Journal, slide presentations and safety demonstrations, a pancake breakfast Sunday, and free gear giveaways. Event is FREE and open to all ages. Free camping at Bridge Creek Group Campground until full. Overflow camping nearby. Three years ago, the founding focus of the Cascade Climbers Ropeup was an effort to build solidarity among climbers in the Northwest. Many climbers were taking access issues too lightly. There had been closures at Frenchmans Coulee, the Forest Service wanted to close roads leading to Darrington crags, a bolt chopping/rebolting war was going on around Leavenworth, and climbers seemed to be oblivious to the necessity of limiting impacts in high mountain environments. In the spirit of better communication about our common goals: climbing without fear of closure, missing belay stations, or overcrowding in the alpine zone, our mission statement grew: “Fostering stewardship of the vertical environment.” This event has grown significantly since the first year. It is always 100% free, including camping at the group site. Some of the activities and events planned for the festival include: beginner’s climbing top rope area, a trails project with the Forest Service and the Access Fund, a bratwurst feed Saturday afternoon and a pancake breakfast Sunday morning. The main event: a slideshow Saturday evening by Steve Swenson and raffle to benefit the Access Fund and the American Alpine Journal. John Harlin, editor of the American Alpine Journal, will be presiding. We already have sponsorship from Marmot International, Omega Pacific, Outdoor Research, The Access Fund, The American Alpine Club, Cascade Climbers.com, Cascade Crags, Second Ascent, Pro Mountain Sports, a local newspaper, and more are anticipated by the time the festival kicks off Friday, Oct10. thru Sunday Oct. 12.

huh? i might not even show up! you people need to take the chill pill about the ropeup

i think it was a festival from the get go, back in 2001 maryloo, thanks for all your valuable input about the ropeup!

and how old are you now mary lou, twelve? heheheheh what are you complaining about?

it's really a lot more than that. who is this elusive mary lou anyway?LOL

rolling on floor, laughing

Jim's donating some gear for the raffle, and we're talking to him about buying you guys breakfast too!

you people must be PMS ing!

I think most of you all need to calm down. It's not "my" party, its a party for YOU guys! I'm laughing my ass off... of course the rat 86'ing was a troll. there have been meetings since may about the shindig. as well as earlier posts here to garner interest and ideas. anyone who wants to volunteer, contact me or hikerwa. we're the guys behind the damn thing from day one in Leavenworth. year one we rented the group campsite. this year we rented the group campsite. this year the american alpine club got outdoor research to donate kegs of beer and servers as well. I hope TG can make it with a keg of his own as well, i've tried to call him at the taproom but no luck. cascade crags is contributing by setting up some top ropes and staffing them. the alpine club is contributing some money to buy everyone some grub as well. we've got manufacturers donating hundreds of dollars of gear to raffle off for the access fund and the alpine journal. we've got the editor of the alpine journal (who is pretty damn cool) hanging out. pretty sure there's going to be music (reggae). there's going to be a slide show. it's a party. Its a full moon weekend in october. come join the fun.

the ropeup is going on, waste management addressed already I don't know where these erstwhile "planners" get ...

foo that, fence sitter! Ropeup GOES, folks...

the ropeup is fully 'in process' as we speak any volunteerism would be welcomed we have a groundswell of support this year, folks! if you think you are involved in the ropeup planning, you are four months behind the rest of the team, sorry

you guys, this is 2003 and a new year, the ropeup has ten times the sponsorship, and cc.comers aren't behind it? WTF is wrong here? It shows the climbing community is interested in the NW scene and you guys are bitching that Outdoor Research wants to serve us beer??? WTF?? Leave it alone, volunteer if you want. the beer is a sponsorship the ropeup is not going to thumb our noses at anyone who wants to assist in the planning process is welcome to volunteer

...unless you people are planning this thing, I'd reserve comment and opinion, and just show up to enjoy it... I could care less if ehmic or alpine k are concerned about the 'grassrootsieness' of OR serving beer, if you guys can line up a gear manufacturer willing to serve free beer to dirtbag climbers, feel free to add them to the list.... this is not a festival open to the democratic process,-join in on the planning proccess if you are interested... as to the trails project, it looks to be a forest service approved event, not up to Careno Crags, unfortunately, for the reasons Jon mentioned above

6 oz bivy recommended...