Coondog

Last I heard from the former roommate was he'd settled into his eco-friendly cabin in Twisp with his puppy and had even found a dreaded 'job' thereabouts... And that he was climbing like a fiend at WA Pass. Given his lack of TR's lately he unfortunately doesn't appear to have regular internet access, or 'Elmer' finally tracked him down...

This is horrible news. R.I.P., climb strong in the afterworld and may your be cold & tasty after. FWIW re: route & conditions, I just returned from a roadtrip which included the Tetons; we'd planned on N Face and N Ridge of the Grand, but bailed after talking to locals who explained that a recent storm had left 2' of snow at 11,000' and higher. Apparently the first guys to climb the Exum 5-6 days following this storm, had taken & used their crampons at several points along upper Exum (5.5 rock under normal conditions). We also followed a guide (from Exum) up the Durrance at Devil's Tower and he confirmed that a lot of Teton routes are full-on Winter conditions now... Thought I'd mention since I think these conditions likely contributed to the decision to turn around...

Uncle T- Hope you experimented with some almost on-route 10c and fun downclimbing... as always, another high entertainment factor UT TR. --Cd.

I've practiced 2 man rescue w/ kiwi coils: found trying to wiggle out of pack while holding arrest, and pounding in a picket to be a pain... but workable on moderate terrain... Z+C offered plenty of leverage to pull lightweight (ex-)girlfriend up; only have 1 pulley so used ovals for rest, which is more resistant so better for bulking up your upper-body. And I carry at least one screw in case you come across steep, icy terrain in which it might be near impossible to get out of arrest to pound a picket... my $0.02. --cd

Umm, we were talking about milf in college, back when i was young, in like '89/90... but good luck on the royalties... --cd.

Looks like i'll be taking 3-6 weeks off from hard climbing... good thing its mid-july... wanted to reiterate that my PT said "eliminate straight bar curls from your future, period" and also no more pull-ups on hangboard -- if you want to do pull-ups, get rock rings so you've got some give for your arms to rotate.... help preserve your fragile tendons... stupid tendons -- don't they know it's (warm, dry, tasty) climbing season? i'm going to ice my shoulder with empty beer bottles now... --cd.

Will likely be trying the 3-day approach to Rainier 1st or 2nd wkend of August (1 day up to Muir, 2nd to Ingraham & some arrest practice, 3rd day attempt & out). PM me if int'd. woof- --cd.

Tex- I'll be in L'worth this weekend (w/ some gumbies who'll probably bail on climbing) so think it'd be great to have at least one day locked in for some solid climbing. Pearly Gates? Btw, I'm mostly recovered from a torn muscle in my shoulder, and should be happy leading up to 10b/c and willing to try top-roping 10d-11a/b, but probably not up for leading 11... unless my wheaties, bier & HC kick in strong, or something... Cheers- --Cd. PS: what's a "bamf?"

Umm, yeah, another vote for the Genie. For picket(s), I used 3mm cord to rig an extra loop off the bottom of the daisy chain, then biner'd to the top of the lid.... not quite as sexy to quickdraw gunslinger style if you were in arrest, but workable (if you're gumby flexible like me 'spose)

hybrid/offset Aliens, 3 smallest. when nuts or cams won't sit, i've never really struggled to find somewhere to lock in a hybrid... http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/climbdetail.cfm/CCH1050

Stronger gene-pool via Darwinian selection by avy or crevasse... Someone should tell them its super cool to huck off N Ridge's ice-cliff...

It's about time... Thought UT may have been lost in the bandwidth challenged Methow...

Hug porcelain. Then, scrambled eggs with lotsa cheddar, maybe sprinkle in some HC if you're man enough for it for the flava and extra fat. Lotsa water, couple aspirin after you've eaten, and a hot shower That normally does it for me. Eat big lunch too... --cd.

Unless you only climb splitter cracks without flare, the alien offsets are great. I've got 3 of the offset micros, and they're awesome. taken one 20'-er off the smallest, which it held without moving at all. all this free banter and i don't even work for cch... if you find them around here please post where. thanks- --cd.

Holy sheeeeeit do I wanna go ice-climbing...

World Cup, Bellevue -- by far the best tuners & boot-fitters in town, even though they employed a friend of mine. Boot selection is limited, so buy whatever you want then take it there to get fitted -- best $45 you'll spend in a long long time of pow-pow cruising. --cd.

Just climbed it for the first time Friday... Second Erik's post that extras in the purple & red cam's are handy. Enjoy the start of the third pitch too... easier than it looks. didn't do Lovin' Arms but can't wait to go back for it... woof.

Stick with Bostons -- find yourself a pair of HD9's -- they're 3-ways, and have great range down into the 70kHz range, which is where your sub-wooofer should be picking up for the serious floorshaking anyway. I got mine at a Scratch&Dent sale at Magnolia years ago, but you might luck into a pair on eBay or somewhere... for $90 each they're still be best speaker deal I could imagine. woof- --cd.

After work today I'm heading to my latest secret crag, which I've now dubbed the "Porcelain Messiah Wall" to finish setting my new routes, which I'm thinking of naming: Left Side:: 1. Beckey's Gotta Bible (first trad line) 2. But He Ain't No Messiah (obvious crack directly right of "Beckey's Gotta Bible") 3. Cup-Check The Messiah (first 'hard' trad line) Right side:: 1. Heathen Rack Trade-In (my first sport line) 2. Defiled With Bolts (2nd sport line) 3. Humbled Quickdraws (my first "hard" sport line) Futon Boulder (obvious large rock between L & R) problems:: 1. Squamish Teenagers Need A Messiah 2. Sportos & Prostitutes 3. Trads & Pharisees woof- --cd.

Waytogo Squish Search&Rescue (and assorted climbers no doubt). Those guys deserve a 4x4 Budweiser rocket they can crank AceO'Base in... or maybe just plenty of cold O' course, maybe next time some climber takes an uber-whipper on a face and gets a hangnail which requires attention, some local area BASE jumpers could air in and supply necessary bolt-guns, band-aids and for rescue... serious, that'd be sweet. Glad all's well and all are still woof- --cd.

Eldorado... nothing like an approach of 5000' of vertical in 3 miles or so... which I've done 3 times now, just to: 1st time: get to the glacier and hunker in tents for 14 hours listening to thunder, hammering rain and whipper winds... after every single group coming down said "o' my gawd, we had such awesome perfect weather, the summit ridge was spectacular, blah blah blah..." But learned how to prop up dead trees as lightning rods, so not all was lost. 2nd time: get to near top of the boulder field to have one of the group slip on wet moss and badly sprain ankle, so had to split up his pack, escort him down boulder field, then limp back to cars and home that night.. 3rd time: get to glacier and set camp just in time to watch white-out blow in... up early to confirm still white-out... wait couple hours checking every 20min to confirm, "yep, we're still in a white-out..." Finally got tired of tryin to convince folks weather might break and we had plenty of time, so hoofed out... bout 2 hours later were down in the spectacular sun, bout the time the white-out woulda been burning off... Eldorado, I say you, you many times! But I'll be back for you... At Smiff was BBQPope, til I could actually lead 10b then was okay... time I sent it I was completely wigged from memory of couple falls I'd taken previously... then zen'd out thinking of summit HC snack and was otay. My goal for first onsight 11 trad is Sword on Grand Wall... hoping to work up my skeels for that as my finale this summer... have climbed GrandWall up to beneath it cause of hawk nesting... Split Pillar still one of my fav pitches ever... can't wait to go back. woof woof- --cd

When????? Token redheaded stepchild in search of sun & rock may join unexpectedly.. I hope. kickass.

Yo FenceSitter, you around??? ping... ping... ping... PM'g you my cel#, if you're around this afternoon gimme a shout.. otherwise I'm stuck at work... -deeeaaammmit-

new route on Ibex... bastard. Hmm, Squamish or Anderson River area today... bastard. so there, last post on your thread... woof- --cd.

Not familiar with details, but will crack Beckey book and have a look at E Willman spire. Found a pic online and it looks cool to me... Where/when to meet up? I'll be in Redmond in morning; could meet up wherever though to carpool. --cd.