plexus

Was up at Rosalie Peak on Wednesday. Wind was breezy at the trailhead, fine through the forest and got pretty strong when we got to the saddle W of the peak. Beautiful day to be out in a t-shirt.

Would be a nice backup for cragging as long as it doesn't weigh 8 pounds.

When what looks like a crack below, ends up being a seam with no pro possibilities once you get to it. You have no choice but to refocus and just get up it running it way the hell out. Have done that numerous times at Erie and several times up in the mountains.

Complete and utter animosity!! Little buggers! I remember childhood memories of going to Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago as a kid with my family, giving out bread to the squirrels and birds on Christmas morning. And how do they repay me, by trying to knock me off!!! Seriously this past August while finishing up a five-day trip in the Pasaytan, on the return trip up the M. Fork Pasaytan trail, a squirrel drops a Jurrassic-sized pine cone that misses my noggin by three feet, then the bastard screams at me. Today, my wife and I climbed a 13er here in CO, had squirrels yelling at me all through the forest. Had one yell, run down his tree, stand two feet in front of my snowshoes, face me and yell some more and then scurry off. WTF??!!! Have the been spreading the word out. I swear, you chase two pikas from your lunch ONCE, and the entire rodent family is after you. It's not like I'm Richard Gere!!

Teaching my wife how to trad climb. She was cleaning a route up at Mt. Erie. I was explaining to her about how cams can walk. So she wiggles it, walks it up into the crack and then can't get it out. It was pretty funny seeing her face go white when she realized her mistake. Thankfully I was able to get it out in about two minutes with a nut tool.

Dru, why didn't you use the holy hand grenade of Antioch? I usually dressed in black and white and make whale sounds. They took me for an orca and skidaddled!!

I always liked the third pitch on Snake. Just good climbing, nice views and there are usually so many people on the apron, that it seems almost like you're going for a walk in the park than climbing a few hundred feet up. Getting to the anchors of Mosquito is fun too, because you didn't have to wait in line. Smoke Bluff Connection I think is a classic. Lots of climbing but you don't feel strung out there (then again I haven't done the fourth pitch). To feeling the exposure, I think towards the top of Black Peak NE ridge felt kinda airy.

Ahh, makes me reminisce about living in Anacortes. It always surprised me not to see anybody else at the beach bouldering years ago. Also some good stuff at Washington Park and more at Erie, if you don't mind a factor 2 fall on your vertibrae if you miss!! There's some good stuff by the top of the main wall and also to the west of the upper wall.

I've ripped out the ass on my shorts on the descent on that nice grippy rock. A point to make about the North Side. If there isn't any snow, don't do it!!! It's loose as all hell and pretty crappy. My wife and I did it in August and we made the mistake of following some cairns away from the ridge. It has been the only time my wife has been scared climbing, because it was absolute shite and a pretty good drop-off at one section. After doing a 5.7 mantle up to the final shelf, I realized any more forward progress would create an avalanche of debris. So backtracked and got on the ridge. I have descended the North Slope with snow in May and it is definitely worth it then, just not after July.

I'm 28, so not quite old. But I had the same problem, pulled each of my shoulders on two separate occasions. I am a firm believer in stretching before hand (back, shoulders, quads, hamstrings, calves, the whole body). Since I've gotten strict about that, I haven't had any muscular problems. Also I stretch a bit afterwards. It's just like lifting, many people are good about stretching before hand, but not afterwards. That is how your muscles get tight, and more importantly, your tendons and ligaments. Also I live six blocks from the climbing gym, so I usually look like a fool and job with my shoes and chalk bag dangling from one hand. But what the hell, I am a fool anyways.

That's what I've done with some of my rigid stems. Grab some slings, double fisherman, ta-da. Not streamlined, but then neither are the cams

And leave your ring at home!!

Climbed Sidewinder after making a mistake and thinking it was the Beckey route. I got a piece 10 feet up and a piece 5 feet below the anchor, 90-foot pitch!! Oh, I also stepped on my shoelace while doing it. Doh! Almost killed my partner, stepped on a ledge the length of my arm from my elbow to hand, about half a foot deep, and it just completely broke off and missed his head by a foot. And I was the third person to use that ledge!! Also got hit by a snowslide earlier that climb and we had shit sluffing off all around us. My friend almost kileld us on Hwy 20 going to do SilverStar, was going 60 mph, looking away when we came to one of those 20mph curves in front of solid rock!! It's the driving that will kill you!!

Do you mind if I breast feed my child?

Could somebody perhaps provide a diagram. I rope-soloed a couple of weeks ago for the first time on some easy stuff and it was work and also quite scary. I used clove hitches at the pieces, had a bomber anchor and worked it through me with a plate and a prussik. My biggest concern was the prussik melting, never took a fall, although there was an off-balanced move when freeing up the rope.

Get the posse together and sharpen them crampons boys!!

Alright this unemployment shit is starting to wear on me!! It seems every job out there I'm either too qualified or not qualified enough for. I've had four interviews in the past four months for positions I didn't really want, and the only job I've seen since I've moved to Denver that got me hard, pulled the position because they don't have the funds right now !! I'm getting kinda tired of this OddTodd.com life I'm a-living!! And it's winter, so there hasn't been enough good days to hit the rocks to make it worth my while. (and to you plankers, I left my skis in Wa. when I moved out here so that option isn't there.) WTF!!! I'm gonna have to get a cardboard sign soon and start poaching at the exit ramps!!

Yeah that's Copper in the right of the latest photo. BTW Klenke, Pika is not on the same ridge as Blue Lake Peak. Blue Lake is to the SW of the Liberty Bell Group. Pika is on the E ridge that terminates into Copper Peak and forms the ridge on your right when you hike up to Kangaroo Pass. Good solo spring jaunt and some loose easy fifth on the NE ridge.

Some friends did it as an overnighter in April. They wallowed, especially through the STEEP trail through old-growth. I did it in summer as an overnighter (not a single person in this beautiful place), and by far the toughest part was the trail. They said they would do it as a 1-day affair when covered with snow. If you can get up the forest, should be real doable. There is one point on the ridge it gets blocky and kinda narrow (about 2 miles from Cyclone Lake), might have some cornice issues there.

J'berg actually looks quite tame from Kindy Ridge. Mutchler is pretty frickin cool from Cyclone Lake...wished I climbed that when we were in there this summer.

That first one is Blum...is the second further south down the same ridge. Looks like the multi-summit Hagen, but it don't have no snow?!

Shoulda posted the view of Shuksan and Nooksack Tower from Ruth. One of my favorite views in the Cascades. Granite Mtn there on the N side of the valley is not worth the bushwack...had close encounter with bear (20 ft) and the rock and climbing wasn't all that great. Mind you it beat sitting at home on that day, but when the wack is pretty crappy, you want a reward a little bit better at the end.

So am I crazy and taking my wife's and my own life into our hands by using a single 9mm double for easy stuff (NE Black Peak, SEWS punter route, Flatirons)? Any of the tech gods here know what the strength is of using a single double rope as opposed to using two? Mind you, this is stuff that you would never take a whipper on.

Shoot I was going to go to a slideshow on Thursday by Brad Johnson about the area. Be an interesting topic to bring up to him. I know it is my friend's favorite place down in S. America.

Don't worry, I've "taken my climbing gear for a walk" many times in the past and I know I will many times in the future. Look at the bright side, you could have been at home cleaning the shower or something.