Eerie

I've heard 522 can be a real nightmare. How bad is traffic getting out to Index from downtown Seattle in the afternoons/evenings?

sorry, don't remember much about the approach other than it was on an old access/logging road with *at the time* a bunch of fallen trees and some dirt bike activity. You should just call Dallas Kloke up in Anacortes. He should be listed in the phone book and can probably tell you exactly how to get there.

Yeah, they were near featureless though and any flakes would easily cruble off. Again, that was several years ago...if you've got the time on a rainy day may as well go for a little bit more adventuring.

I only remember one decent(?) bolted route possibly hard 10 easy 11....not a fun hike, not good views, really nothing spectacular. I remember rapelling from the top to get to the routes....I also remembering seeing a big chunk or sharp rock with blood on it at the base of one very steep "project." Apparently several weeks before I was up there a couple of guys were climbing and the leader pulled the rock off the wall. The 50+ lb rock landed on his leg = compound fracture and a helicopter ride to the hospital. That was several years ago so who knows? Maybe the local developer up there has done more digging around but Eldorado of the NW??? I dunno about that.

P - You must be REALLY hard up if you're looking for THAT place!!

Bouldering at Mt. Erie I kept falling off a problem I was attempting. The problem was below a lookout area and a group of tourists where watching me. After I had slipped off what seemed like the hundreth time one of em says to me "looks like you need better shoes." - - The funny thing is I was wearing a very tight fitting pair of anasazi lace ups! Oh yeah, and if you don't like broken glass you shouldn't go to Mt. Erie either.

Check out these websites.... http://kxly.com/outdoors/climbing/ http://www.inlandnwclimb.homestead.com/inlandnwclimb.html

Did anyone venture to this clinic with Tony Yaniro? How was it and how did he present crack climbing techniques?

I also gave a shot at locating Mad Meadows and after ascending the embankment followed a trail east for about 10 minutes. Figured I would have reached MM by then so turned around. Another 20 minutes later after backtracking and hiking uphill a bit more I was at the base of Clamshell Cave. Any ideas on whether I was on the correct trail?

New book? I went to crack climbing school at 8-Mile Rock. Led Twin Cracks, TR'd Classic and Deception cracks. Great couple of days. Is the exit for cleaning anchors from Twin Cracks really through the slot and up the gulley?

The conditions on Cowboy Mtn should be good. Maybe you should check it out for some Prime Time Rippin' ! !

Speaking of camping in Icicle... what would be the best campground to head to with 8-10 people who want to be loud and have a big fire until late in the night? Scottryx - I'm headed over Fri in the a.m. and could probably save one for you.

what does sz 40 translate to in US (womens) scale? How many resole jobs? my girlfriend and her sister are both looking for shoes and I'm a cheapskate.

I have never been able to channel anger into better climbing. All that seems to happen is I get pissed off even more as I keep flailing from not being able to concentrate on climbing. Best thing for me to do is go for a strenuous run and do an extra long stretching sesh afterwards.

OW - list it up and give a reason why....its as subjective as a routes grade.....that is "until the majority agree."

Is a Testpiece?....a route that has several or more qualities that typify routes of higher grades. i.e. pumpy, requires good pro placement skills, exposure,...etc??? Isn't the route Stevens Pass Motel often considered a Leavenworth testpiece?

I saw the following post on a GUNKS forum..... anyone interested in adding their Northwest Testpieces??? "When you've led a testpiece route, that means you're definitely ready for the next grade. Give the rating it's a testpiece of, the route name, and a short description of what makes it so fearsome at its grade. No spoilers! Here's an example: 5.8 Yellow Belly - Rated 5.9 in the red guide! Thin face climbing to some overhangs, a baffling off-width -- and that's just the warm-up pitch. Then comes some superthin face climbing, more overhangs and one of the most puzzling, exposed moves in the Gunks. Rack up!"

The Verbier shot looks like a pure adrenaline straightline shot over exposed rocks down a chute with varying snow conditions. Yes, fun....check it out. How many turns do you think that rider is gonna make? The Whistler shot looks like the beginning of a chute that is asking to be ridden with nice flowing lines cutting up both sides and maybe a couple of lip slashes. Just two different means of attack. aggression or flowing the line and I'd choose flowing the line.

I'll take the second photo (Whistler) over rock climbing every single time. thanks for the photos iain.

nice helmet wankster... what montana do you ride at??

Yup, Stevens was great all weekend long. I rode Fri-Sun up there. Each day seemed like there was about 2' of fresh as tracks from previous days were filled in. I would, however, be hard pressed to agree Stevens accumulated 50" of *unconsolidated* snow. No matter the amount of snow reported, buried and suffocated in a tree well would be a rough way to go.

where did this 50" + at Crystal come from??? The nwac data site for Crystal Mtn "Ski" area shows something like less than 30" over the previous 4 days.

try these: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT/nepac-ir4-loop.html http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT/nepac-wv-loop.html and all of 'em http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics.shtml

hey jon, contrary to popular belief snowboarders do not practice falling on their asses. thats a good one though. answering the threads original question.... it seems this gentleman has two concerns. 1) Time 2) Muscular & Cardio advancement. Personally, my workouts depend on what type of equipment I have access to at the time. My preferred workouts take up less than 40 minutes. In this time I would begin with a series of calistenics that include jumping jacks, push ups, crunches, squat thrusts, and 75% squats (squat action never in the rest mode of standing upright). I prefer to do a series of 20 jumping jacks between each other type of activity in order to prep the heart for the workout to come. The next thing is to jump on a stationary bicycle for some interval training. I prefer the stationary bicycle primarily because it is easy to get a good cardio workout while building your leg muscles. My interval workout on the stationary bike consists of: 5 min. 60% 2 min. 90-max% 3 min. 40-50% think heart rate to slow jog 2 min. 90-max% .......repeat intervals finishing with a 5 min cool down. I prefer to think of the 2 min max intervals as muscle building mode. So bump the resistance/level up so that with each pedal I have to exert a lot of force (I am not trying to see how fast I can pedal but to get a good/faster cadence where the force is maximized). For the HR thing...I am 28 so my "slow jog" rate is about 140-150 and I bump it up to 170-180 for the 90%-max interval. Without access to the stationary bicycle I prefer to do hill workouts (running) after about a 10minute warmup. If you have a decent hill to workout on try doing wind sprints up and augment the decline with sidesteps, backwards lunges, or forward lunges (just do the declines SLOWLY). You can also switch up your ascents with forward hops, one leg bounds, or what have you...be creative and have fun with it. The cool thing I find about hills and interval training is you can easily reach your threshold of pain (is it called Anaerobic Threshold? Scientists?). Doing these workouts 2 to 3 times per week you will begin to feel better about your hiking and climbing. Peace Out - Eerie

Why do people even go to MtErie? Seems like a waste of time to me.