slothrop

Early April is a loooong time ago, I'm sure there's a lot less snow up there. Isn't the highway open by now?

Here she is in 30 years, trask:

Kali's that goddess they worship in the Temple of Doom, the one who eats still-beating hearts You're a gaper if you went to see Star Wars instead of climbing last weekend

Sweet jesus. I think this will all end badly.

I clip one of the loops if it's more comfortable to be close to the belay. This sort of adjustability (without having to mess with a buckle or something) is a definite advantage, though I guess you could just knot a sling to make it shorter. Does the daisy loop's bartacking actually work like a mini-screamer? Assuming you only clip *one* of the loops, your biner will just slide up to the next loop if the one you're clipped into blows.

There isn't much exposure at all on the DC route, except for possibly a crevasse or two, and maybe a narrow walkway (with handline) near the base of the cleaver. Still, don't fall, especially in that rental Gore-Tex slip-n-slide suit. RMI is expensive (insert anti-guide BS here), but I guess you know that

Cage match: snarling dog vs. Fairweather (armed only with a roll of duct tape)

2 miles round trip. Aw yeah. I make up for it by riding almost everywhere instead of driving. My girlfriend loves it when I roll up to her house on the top of Queen Anne all sweaty from the ride

Dude, you're the only one here who can read that. Does Icelandic for "Australia" sound like "Australia" somehow?

I got some o' them Clog cams a while back and I like them pretty well. The stems get twisted easily, though, so that the lobes get out of line with the trigger. This isn't a huge deal, and I seriously doubt it affects the holding power of the cams, but it's a little annoying for placements. You just have to put a twist in yer wrist. They're also not as smoooooth as my partner's Camalots (but almost half-price!).

Will he be bringing his entourage of hot ladiez?

Yes, bring your ice axe to remove Mounties (and WACkos!) from your path, but be prepared to endure a lecture from the Mountie leaders on how to hold the ice axe properly as you do so. The two leaders we dealt with that day were nuts... one guy was the most impatient person I've ever met, cursing and grunting his way through every pitch and belay. The other smirked at me as I started rapping, saying he hoped I didn't lose any skin or my grip on the rope as I went (I wasn't wearing the 145th essential, rappel gloves).

Wired hexes rule. Especially that #1, even if I didn't find a placement for it on the Tooth this weekend

Eldorado is fun, though be sure to be in shape for approach. I was there in mid-September last year and didn't have any problems with crevasses, though we did cross a few thin snow bridges (that was a low snow year, too). The final bit of climbing on the summit ridge will give newbies a good taste of exposure.

And, in case you missed it, there was some discussion here at good ol' cc.com: Smokestacks at Smith Rocks

I am also mostly unemployed and itching to climb: alpine (Wine Spires sounds good), local cragging, anything really. I have to work a few days a week, but it's very flexible. I have a mostly roadworthy car and gear. Send me an email (rkb at speakeasy.org) or private msg. [ 05-07-2002, 12:44 AM: Message edited by: slothrop ]

Only 1050 more posts before this thread surpasses Muir on Saturday in sheer inanity.

quote: Originally posted by chucK: Wow, you must have a pretty small rack! (i.e. Don't listen to that guy! He is (should buy) nuts! ) Yeah, I don't have any small cams (like aliens), too expensive. The #1 hex rules, man. You get two differently-sized placements out of one piece, and thats just counting using the wide surface of the hex. At least twice recently I've used it for a better placement than I could get with any nut. The bigger sizes of hexes are great for scaring off (or fighting off) bears. Hey Dru, how come the Russian guy at Climb On in Squamish hates your beloved Tri-cams? I went in there a while ago wanting to get one to play around with, but he went off on a tirade about how much they suck. Something about them being too hard to place and remove ("only if you want the second to hate you") and how Abalakov invented them and someone else stole the design... [ 05-04-2002, 12:24 PM: Message edited by: slothrop ]

This is certain to become a prized item for your truck's back window. Available on eBay! [ 05-04-2002, 12:01 PM: Message edited by: slothrop ]

Wasn't the last slide show at TNF called Denali Dreaming or something? Couldn't someone come up with a more original fucking title? Karakoram Dreaming makes me think of the Mamas and the Papas and that horrible nightmare of a song.

There are a couple easy short cracks at Exit 32 if you want to start somewhere close to Seattle. One in particular takes mostly nuts, as a matter of fact, so you'll do fine if you don't have cams. There are also one or two moderate routes there with bolts and some gear placements, which seems like a next step toward leading harder gear routes. Of course, I've been told that Squamish rocks your dome (and it does indeed). There are a few good easy cracks there, too. My partner and I have been going to Exit 32 weekday afternoons when the weather's nice. Send email if you'd like to join us (rkb at speakeasy.net). Oh, and get a #1 Hexentric. I've placed it on nearly every route, and sometimes it's the only piece on my little rack that works.

I've got the Asics Gel Trabucco and I'm a little disappointed with their durability. The little rubber part on the nose of the right one is peeling away, as is the sole on the outside edge. I haven't been abusing them too badly, only used them for a handful of cragging approaches and road runs. I've put much more walking mileage on them than running mileage, and have only had them since the end of December 2001. They're comfortable and supportive, but the rubber on the bottom is slippery on smooth wet surfaces, even some sidewalks.

Whoa, I didn't see anyone take a whipper. Was it Katja's partner? The waves pitch... that's the one with the steps, right? Two guys passed us on Broadway just as I finished belaying my buddy up to the top. Was that you, fern? I don't have tape on my helmet, but maybe John does *shrug* Dru, were you cleaning some new route up in Squamish this weekend?

Ah, the joys of recent unemployment! I went up to Squamish late last week with my new climbing partner John for some multipitch granite action. We left Thursday morning and John went on a mad shopping spree in Vancouver (cams, shoes, biners, hexes... it was like payday at Wal-Mart). We got to Squamish in the late afternoon and scoped the place out, since neither of us had been there before. The campground at the Chief viewpoint was closed (i.e., free), with only one other tent in sight. I was itching to climb something before the beautiful blue skies turned to night, so we swung over to the Smoke Bluffs. I wanted to get on Cat Crack to boost my confidence for the next day, where we planned on doing what would be my first multipitch route. I've just started learning to lead on gear. We wander around and end up at Penny Lane, where we got good knowledge from some folks on Squamish climbing: Me: "Has someone climbed that? (pointing at the Sheriff's Badge), Dude: "Yup, that's the Sheriff's Badge.", Me: "Whoa." Finally, we make it to the right spot and see a party just starting up a top rope on Cat Crack Corner Crack's right next door and looks pretty ok, so I rack up with much gear and start up as the sun starts to set. Looking back, it was easy as hell, but I was still completely freaked out. I got to place nuts, cams, and my new big honkin' hex, so it was good practice. At the part where the crack turns into a flaring dirty corner, I flailed until I could take it no longer, only ten feet from the top. John suggested I try getting on the crack to the right. The step across was exciting, and I scrambled up the last few feet to the top, getting in one more piece along the way. John was freezing down below, glad to clean my gear to get some blood flowing. He rapped off and we walked back to the car with headlamps. I sure felt like a goober, but John gave me the minimum of razzing. He must have forgiven me for the time I let a nasty fart loose right at face level as he belayed me on my first trad lead the week before After a hearty dinner at Yianni's (yum! ), where John downed two orders of gyros and a very girly peach cider, we set up the tent. A huge tree had fallen right in the middle of the gravel pad next to ours. We documented this display of arborial anger at invasive human campers with several humorous photos. The next day, filled with eggs and hash browns, we stopped at the parking lot below the Apron to get ready for some sweet granite friction. We talked with a party who had bailed on Unfinished Symphony (too wet) and a German girl and a guy who were planning on trying Diedre before any crowds showed up. On the way over, we had decided on going for Banana Peel. Outside of Smoke Bluffs, the only other climbers we saw were a couple guys who were headed for Uncle Ben's. The German girl was belaying the guy up the first pitch of Diedre when we reached the ledge and started up. We started far to the right and ran our first pitch well into what's described as the second in the guide. I led the next and saw a single bolt between me and a crack leading through the "upper fault". Left of that was a short line of bolts up to a finger crack. I wandered up and down around the single bolt, not sure if the route went farther right, where the slab was polished and steep. Finally, I smeared up past the bolt and set up a belay at the base of the crack with three good cams. We swung leads the rest of the way. The climbing was super fun: open slabs, a big pocket here and there, laybacks on big flakes, and water-carved steps up a groove. Our last pitch was about 58 meters, from the last tree ledge to the block just below Broadway. It was windy most of the time and a little chilly, but the clouds stayed on the other side of the sound the whole time. The pair on Diedre bailed (it was wet) and caught up to us as John was setting up the last belay at the block. On the way back down, we found a bunch of crusty oval biners in the bushes. If you can describe the corrosion and mud caked on them accurately, they're yours Back in town, we chowed down on Chinese food, elated at the fine route we had just experienced. John wanted to climb Mosquito, so we went back to the Smoke Bluffs and got right on it. After that and the fun bolted route to the right (Sphinx'ter Quits), we tossed a stick for a curious dog for a bit before heading out for Seattle. After a stop at the duty free store to get our GST refund, John's nervous jokes at the border crossing (that guy must have something to hide), and lots of Rage Against the Machine on the radio, we got back to Seattle around 11pm. [ 04-22-2002, 04:45 PM: Message edited by: slothrop ]

I was looking for the same cordage at REI this past winter and they were also OUT OF STOCK. Musta been a run on climbing gear in November...