slaphappy

I just purchased pair two. They seem to fit a wider foot quite well. Sensitive enough even close to shoe size. I used to only wear the Sportiva Miuras, but the doc said I'll need surgery if I don't start wearing wider more comfortable shoes. The Marathons have been great. They smear, climb cracks and face well enough for my humble abilities. Love that EVA sole. Second ascent recently had quite a few for around $80.

Why hard boots on the split setup? (just curious)

we could call it bannedkamp We need NEW BANNEDKAMP FORUM I would propose a TAG TEAM BATTLECAGE DEATH MATCH with Pope n' Dwayner vs. TRASK n' CBS... fuckin' awesome. We need action figures too, so my kid can play in the back seat on the road trips to yosemite. I WANT A MUFFY ACTION FIGURE oh wait ahhh errrr ummmmm okay I realy do I want some action from Muffy's figure too... Did I say that out loud?

Yes, and by hand.

"Dribble" 5.8+ G/1" - B/3 RS/165' Dribble starts just right and slightly above The Dog Ate My Topo behind a large fire scorched tree. Route: Friction up to the first bolt located in a bulge on a smooth stretch of stone. Climb slightly left on good face holds and then back right over the top of the bolt to a short finger crack. Jam crack to an overlap leading to a large clean well featured slab. Climb slab using 2 bolts and small horizontals for protection, heading a bit left to a good stance and a two bolt anchor. Descent: Rappel from anchors to the ledge above The Dog Ate My Topo using caution it is more than 100' to the chains, but the station can be scrambled too easily. Rap to ground 100'. Note: The route was not cleaned, done on lead, and drilled by hand. Expect some dirt and 5/16" button head bolts. Anyone climb it late last year? Rating? Any quality what-so-ever? -slap

No not at all. No interference while riding the board or with helmet on the machine. The top lid folds far enough down the "face" of the pack not to restrict motion what-so-ever; even fully loaded. I have noticed it's necessary to tuck the end of the shovel handle under the top lid to hold it snug. Otherwise it rotates around and has been bothersome/potentially dangerous, particularly on the snowmachine. It is obvious to me the designers of DaKine's packs truly use them for their intended purposes. A frequent BC partner of mine skis with the Heli-pro and loves it as well.

Have em, love em. Warm, dry*, burly, and comfortable. Perhaps a bit bulky but when dexterity is crucial I bring a thinner set of gloves as well. * any dampness from condensation build up or exterior superficial wetness dries quickly when seperated and heated.

Why do so many people like the Reverso so much? It turns into a razor blade in six months and gives a shitty lead belay. In most situations, climbing in a party of three blows, so you don't need the two at a time deal often. I tried two in one year and decided they suck. I use the HB Sheriff. No cable to jam it up and a smooth feed on lead belays. I add a second HMS when rapping with a pack (or terrified ) to increase friction.

I purchased one last fall to replace a Cirque Works board pack that I had been extremely happy with, I now like the Guide even more. Every aspect of the pack is well thought out, from the back panel access (essential when carrying a board or skis) to the probe and shovel pockets. The suspension system carrys well without loss of mobility while riding. I purchased it with the thought of carrying it as an overnight pack but after using it, carry it as my primary winter "touring" (hate the word, I'm a snowboarder) pack. It might be a tad big at times but cinches down easily enough to carry well. You might consider the Chute if you're a skier and the Guide is a bit big. The only negative thing I can think of about the Guide is I did tear off one of the load adjusting buckles on the shovel blade pocket but I was on a snowmobile and pretty sure I caught it on a tree limb or something... I'll send it back to be repaired after the season is over. I highly recommend the pack for the $.

Yup.

Bird- I think your talkin about "z-clipping" not back clipping. Muff, I mean Muffy- The rope leading to your waist should be over the biner not under when you clip correctly. Remeber to try and face the gate away from the direction of climbing, but if your gripped any old clip is better than fumbling and falling with a lot of rope out. Draw wise I prefer Petzl Spirits to any other biners, set in draws of varying lengths with one straight and one bent gate. They have a smooth action (even after they are WELL used), key-locks that don't catch on shit, and are fairly light weight. That said: I also use a lot of Omega Pacific and Trango wire gates on mountain and long trad routes. They are lighter, the gates don't chatter (better chance of falling on a closed gate), and they are far cheaper than Spirits.

Why on earth does it matter when Tony climbed the route? Does everyone need to immediately run home and blah blah blah what they did the day previous or earlier that day? Does this delay in time effect anyones decision on repeating a fine route? Perhaps he was gettin motivated for the up-in-coming season and tryin to share some of his enthusiasm.

Headspacer owns plenty of wire brushes and has the time and energy to revive one of these "lost classics". I'll bet he has the ability to upgrade any faulty hardware as well. Get to work Beyotch!

They got him out, but a day late. What a tragedy. Be careful out there no matter what your passion is.

Go back to being a newbie, smart guy. You know nothing.

Your assumptions about snowboarders are gay. If I snow shoed up and you dropped my line as I was takin a break cause you don't think I'm qualified to make turns to your liking, be prepared to have 2" paddle marks imbedded in your back when you're "touring" out. Fuckin holier than thou skiers. And Bobbyperu, you're a wank!

Why, when we have one of the finest early season snow packs in years, do you folks insist on squabbling over a few wet drippy unformed mountain routes. Go make some turns! and Crackbolter...

Colorado= Intermediate

Not that I have any say in the matter but.. only if he promises to stop posting pictures of Richard Simmons... YUCK!

That is obvious by your uneducated comments.

I have actually found that marking bolt placements, leaving and coming back another day, and re-checking my marks usually ends up with the best result. I sometimes regret hasty decisions.

Matt- I do agree. I guess I was making more of a comparison to 1-pitch lines, like those found at Frenchman's, bolted by hand versus a power drill. The logistics become increasingly more difficult the longer the route is. Getting to the top, rapping in, and rapping off or ascending back up can easily leave very little time for any actual work on the route. It can certainly become a HUGE effort. In this circumstance the actual drilling really doesn't take that much time, particularly if done with a power drill. Ground up on routes that are long multi-pitch endeavors may go faster but how much "cleaning" is actually done on lead? I would say the very minimal amount possible to ascend the line. This, in my opinion, is one of many reasons why the end result of a ground up effort rarely climbs as well as a top down route. It is very difficult to go back and clean a new route that has already been climbed ground up, kinda anti-climactic. In fact, I would say cleaning continuous crack systems may take the longest of all. I definately agree that 5.12 climbers "aren't qualified" to put up 5.6 routes. The end result is rarely a climb that can be safely enjoyed by a 5.6 or 5.7 leader.

On one of my cazillion trips to the Pearly Gates I sat around chuggin beers heckling all the tuff guys hanging at the same spot on Milky Way. Late in the day I watch a chick step up, name tape on the helmet and everything, and just fire it off no problem. How I loved that! Or the young hottie this fall up at Clem's try and lead Gun Rack as her first lead. She took numerous falls at the crux roof. She couldn't make the clip cause she was so short but refused to give up. Chicks do truly rock!

The Secret Dome climb would best be left as a top-rope, if it had started that way. I clipped on some wire brushes and a hand drill and just started climbing. The result is a fair climb, and the only true lead-established route there. The bolt by Carnival Crack was initially drilled on lead, but the bit I'd purchased didn't truly match the bolt size I had with me (not my fault). Because it was the only pro for the crux, and since if the bolt failed it would be really terrible, I decided to borrow a power drill and place a 1/2" bolt. A few people do establish routes on rap and do a nice job, and I've agreed with that point many times. But in general, too many rap-bolted routes turn out to be low-adventure, low challenge, unaesthetic bolt trails. If we were to agree that placing bolts should be done on the lead, and if we could get everybody on board, a crisis like what we witnessed in Vantage would never happen again. Could it not be seen from the ground that the variation at Secret Dome would be better suited as a top-rope? I do not subscribe to the idea that just because a bolted crag climb was put up on lead that it is a more "valid" route. It really only means more to the FA party. Nor from my experience (and yes, I do have some) does it produce a "better" or more aesthetic route, often times quite the contrary. I do however agree that the amount of new routes being established and those establishing them would diminish drasticly if they were only being developed on lead. Rap bolted routes with a power drill can be put up at a staggering rate. Bolting by hand on lead can be terrifying and time consuming. Ahhh consume... gotta love that Molly...