rat

we's just funnin'. it took 3 pieces of bait over 2 days before glassgowkiss would bite. fuck, i'm bored. drury is usually formed by late december and lasts into february, give or take a few weeks. the pencil is much more ephemeral since it faces a little more to the south. a pair of binocs will help determine the condition of upper drury. the 1-2 lower pitches are difficult to see from the highway but you can walk around these if necessary. you can ford the river about 1 mile upsteam near swiftwater picnic area. it is up to 3' deep, depending on your line. a boat is more efficient. approach from the boat take-out is 1-2 hours depending on snow/trail conditions (add about 30-45 minutes if fording). generally, glassgowkiss is right. ice climbing in washington sucks. go to lillooet with the other sheep shaggers.

yeah, that's what i like to see---animosity. keep it up. chase the numbers or have a bit of adventure. yep, we bailed on pyramid. why did you guys go for the less aesthetic line (honest question)?

i walk on water, others walk through it.

you're a total fucking pussy. for a competent party it's a long day with or without a boat.

now accepting bets in the first annual "northwest avalanche death betting pool". go ahead, jump into the deep end.

i was hoping for a more stridently nationalistic response laced with profanities.

hey bob, does 3 guys popping off it on top-rope constitute "thrashing"? how delicately can one fall off a mixed climb anyway? would the route be the next great unsolved problem if some of those oh-so-delicate edges went the way of the dodo bird?

i think, or at least hope, you're missing the sarcasm

if you're driving down and have the time, you may want to check out wheeler peak as well.

you might try selenium falls (aka spray river falls) near banff. it's a pain to break the trail later in the winter.

1. iraq, iran, syria. 2. increasing debt. 2. greater disparity between rich and poor. 3. dilution/elimination of environmental laws. 4. stacking the supreme court. 5. assaults on women's right to choose in this country and any global health initiatives that don't toe the religious line. 6. attempts at 2 stupid constitutional amendments: banning gay unions and repealing the requirement that presidents be natural born u.s. citizens. ya don't think dickhead cheney is going to run in 2008 do ya? 7. and, certainly not last, seeing that chameleon mccain rewarded for getting down on all fours for george. my guess is an administrative reach-around in the form of secretary of state. i'm so excited about 4 more years of letting freedom ring that i want to puke. fuck you, george. oh, shit. was that a PERSONAL attack? go get the fucking secret service to ban me.

oh boy, dolomite tower safe for roto-hammers for another year. drink, spew, fight.

mastectomize the mechanized man-tits.

somebody just take down the draws. give me 20 bucks for gas and i'll waste a day of my weekend to do it. then you all can stfu.

we climbed the thompson/abrons north face route on north trapper peak prior to publication of brunkhorst's book. we asked at the major shop in missoula (pipestone, i guess) and though no one had firsthand knowledge, they dug up an old climbing rag with a bit of info. i thought that was damn nice of them considering we didn't buy anything there. the rock on the thompson/abrons route is a bit chossy. it's probably better to finish on the lowe variation than traverse the unstable ledge/blocks rightward at mid-height as for t/a route---more aesthetic line and a bit harder. the antonilli route to the left also looks nice. either way, the rock improves above mid-height. brunkhorst says to descend east but we headed west to an easy gully that took us right back to the base of the face. the approach is slack by cascade standards. expect 1 1/2 days cooler-to-cooler (a long day if you know the approach). there are lots of other walls lining the approach trail. there is some info in more recent aaj's for routes in blodgett, tin cup, fred burr and roaring lion canyons. hope that helps.

nice job. guess i should have reminded you to take a double set (thought you knew--makes linking pitches easier too). no hyperspace the next day? wtf? hahaha.

yea, wilford climbed the upper northeast ridge to retreat off the north face above the yellow bands. i don't remember the year. including wilford, who climbed the hardest part of the route during his epic, there have been at least 4 recorded ascents prior to peter and i. put up in 1985, it likely has had some anonymous ascents as well.

the north face looked considerably worse than 2003. the first icefield was almost black from the constant rockfall, the small ice slope above the yellow bands was basically gone, the upper rock band was streaming water and the newly formed seracs on top cut loose at least once. amazing changes going on up there. gonna have to change tactics if you wanna tick those faces. overall, a very successful trip. thanks for slowing down so i could keep up. the youth these days sure are strong--too well fed as pups, i guess.

feck, you should know by now that disagreeing with mark only invites suffering. consider yourself let off easy.

nice to see some reactions here. i'm always happy to stir things up. drink, spew, fight.

part of learning how to climb is learning how to deal with those situations. this isn't europe. as i said, fixed hand lines are garbage.

fine job on the route. however, what is the justification for the fixed ropes? that is just dumbed-down trash. i just don't understand it---hand rails for climbers in a mountain environment?

check your pm's.

for what it's worth, i caught someone's 40 footer using twin ropes on h2o2 early last winter. the first screw, in wet ice, pulled lickity split. the force on the next screw, in good ice with a screamer, ripped all the tacks but the rope's biner broke. never found the biner but the leader insisted it was a wire gate. he fell onto the next screw placed in aerated ice with a screamer. the force ripped the screw halfway out, pulled half the tacks and held. he ended up about 15' above the ground bruised and badly shaken. screamers: i use 'em if i got 'em. and wire gate biners are a fine idea.

hardware seems to be sold unless people change their minds. shoes are still up for grabs---if you're a dirt bag, sans trust fund, i send 'em to ya for free.