willstrickland

Anyone climbed it recently? Last bolt on the ear pitch still gone?

quote: Originally posted by Zenolith: Hey guys, there's never been a pub clup in Portland or Eugene for that matter Au contraire, we've had a couple in Portland, and if you show up at the Lucky Labrador on just about any Monday (miser mondays, $6.75 pitchers)you'll find me, and quite a few of the gym regulars as well (although you won't see us at the same table...them being a sporto clique which, as a pissed off trad climber, I am banished from). Last night the porter was on cask-conditioned, I put in a HARD gym workout beforehand, and was still sore from ice climbing the day before...that's the makings of a pretty good night. If only that little hottie would have realized my extensive charm and wit...

quote: Originally posted by johnny: What freaks me out here...is that almost all the routes 5.9 and harder involve bulges, overhangs or scary roofs of some sort. Even the good 5.7-8 routes pull nastily intimidating roofs that may be straightforward(i.e. jugs) yet quite burly. Welcome to the south buddy! As one old partner used to say "these routes might not be long, but they're long enough!"

Since you're in NC, if you really want to deal with this there are more options than you might think. Arno Ilgner, a longtime southeastern climber who's put up and repeated many desperate trad routes down there runs a course called "Warriors Way" or something like that. It's all about fear/falling/headspace etc. I've never taken any of his clinics, but have spoken with folks who have and all claimed very good results. Personally, I second the idea that clean aid is great for trad climbing. So is climbing alot of mileage. Being able to eyeball a placement and sink it quickly is a big part of the battle on sustained routes.

I've used mine a couple of times and nothing but good things to say so far. My last plastics were Invernos, and although the Alphas don't seem quite as warm, they win on every other count. They're trimmer, lighter, better ankle flex and less shin-bang. Word is that the toungue gusset needs a little redesign...they're using the same "gasket" type closure as on the Invernos, but the softness of the plastic over the top of the foot is either too soft or not wide enough. I've not had any water/snow getting in, but I also haven't walked through a creek in them either. The things I appreciate most is the small profile, makes those invernos seem huge by comparison.

I got it displaying, look up a few posts.

[ 02-04-2002: Message edited by: willstrickland ]

I generally take a pair of cheap $20 coated nylon rain pants on wall routes. It's way light, and with full side zips you get your "breathing". If it's raining the WPB doesnt work for shit anyway, and why spend the bennies on something you'll kick holes in? Wear regular fleece, or whatever pants for breathability and insulation and layer on the nylon shell if it's wet. My set of jacket and pants coated nylon weighs less than my lightweight 3ply G-tex shell by itself, and this is one of the self-proclaimed "ultralight shells". I paid like $35 for the set, and it works fine. Side zips up to at least the mid thigh are crucial for venting and getting them on and off quickly over crampon laden mtn boots. About the only time I use WPB bottoms (and maybe this is because I only have bibs in WPB) is when conditions are very cold and windy. To be honest, I've used my bibs more for snowboarding than climbing and I don't get to ride very often. OTOH, I've worn my schoeller dryskin pants on almost every snow/ice route I've done since I bought them.

quote: Originally posted by Dru: In Canada, those "chain on a bolt with no hangar" things are known as "Barley anchors" because the only one who places them is cheap bastard Robin Barley - that is, when he's not skipping a bolt placement in favor of a 'drilled V-thread' (chipped nut placement) that you supposedly can place a #4 Wild Country Rock in. Weird man. Chipping nut placements? That's about the most contradictory thing I've heard. Maybe the sons of canada can all pitch in and buy the guy some hardware. "Here you cheap f$#&*, quit molesting the rock and leaving shit gear everywhere, use these" Might be the only way to solve the problem, or smash him in the head with a chisel...that'd probably work too.

quote: Originally posted by Lambone: I've seen a few horendous fixed pieces (like ancient rurps and shit)in Yosemite with mystery sling that you wouldn't wanna walk your dog with...but it held fine. Yeah, like that freakin 2 or 3mm ratty ass piece of cord on the fixed rurp on Touchstone, all frayed and bleached, I really thought it'd pop (I wasn't rapping off it) but it hung in there and is still there as far as I know. Lammy's comment about taking one if you leave one is also my own feeling. Having to weed through tons of slings makes analyzing the anchor a pain. Routes like Ancient Art, the Lost Arrow tip, etc always have a shitload of slings in varrying degrees of decay. I once cut six sets of slings off the "sidewalk belay" on ancient art (and if anyone goes to do the LA tip sometime soon, take something to cut that damn cable off the anchor, thing stabbed the shit out of me).

quote: Originally posted by Dru: How about: if you could define one day of ideal climbing - the best climbing day of your life - what would happen on that day? What would you do? With what and with who would you climb? 50 degrees, sunny, calm, not a single person in the Valley except me, my partner Jamie, his SO, and Malia Jones. We arrive at the base of the column pre-dawn and rack up. As the sun crests the horizon we start up Astroman cruising it with no falls in 2 hours. We smoke a bowl of some Dhurban on the summit and base jump back to the valley floor, skillfully riding the currents and landing at the base of the NW face of Half Dome, thereby avoiding the North Dome gully descent and the slabs approach. By now the women are well on their way up the John Muir trail toward the summit of HD with 20yr old single malt, smoked salmon, thai food, a 2ft glass bong, Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, Boddingtons, and bivy gear. The air temps now hitting 70 we jump on the Reg route and reel it off in a leisurely 6 hours, topping out two hours before sundown. Kicking back, smoking down, and drinking up, we enjoy the pristine silence of an empty Yosemite with our women. A nightful of shaggin (at least me and Malia will be shaggin) and we awake to the rising sun, completing the best day I could possibly ask for.

Granite Gear AlpineLite - $100 if you know where to get it. Check the old threads, there's tons of info from about a month or two ago. About everything you need in a ice pack/alpine day pack and features that make a forced bivy tolerable. Also extremely light.AlpineLite

quote: Originally posted by Wallstein: Will, how the hell did you brake a BD hammer. You are the first person i have ever heard of breaking one If you want to repeat this stunning feat of big wall trickery just do the following: Get on a pitch that leans drastically to your non-dominant hand side. Lean way the hell out there and try placing an angle with your "off" hand. After about eight misplaced blows smacking the handle into the end of the pin (head was glancing off the pin and then the handle took the impact) hear a loud "crack/crunch". Inspect handle to see large chunk of upper handle flopping to the side. Retire hammer to bag and pass remainingg hammer back and forth on the haul line to lead and clean pitches. Pray you don't break the second hammer. BTW, I've got two friends who've both broken hammers, a BD and an old A5. And both of those guys used to work general carpentry/framing! I was just lucky that the whole hammer head didn't go sailin' into the talus.

I had a BD hammer, broke the handle, replaced it and sold the hammer. I had one of those SMiley hammers with a non-wood shaft kinda like an Estwing. The grip sucked and I hated it so I gave it away to a dirtbag Russian in Camp4 who was short on loot (and a hell of a nice guy to boot). I now swing a Kong "Eagle" hammer. Cheaper than the BDs (I think I paid around $65),a little heavier, and I like the head design a little better. This is actually a "Jim Bridwell sig model" hence the "bird/eagle thing". I figure Jim's placed a few pins and knows what belongs in a wall hammer. As for using a carpentry hammer you absolutely could do so, but get one that is fairly hefty, has a square head (for nailing in corners) and preferably does not have a "claw" on the back end. Something resembling a dull pointed back end would be preferable to allow head pasting (a blunt set of chisels and a center punch will work much better though and you'll want them for long stretches of heads anyway). I've looked in quite a few tool stores and the Estwing catalog and never saw anything I'd personally want to take up a wall. If you're only wanting to try out wall climbing and looking to cut costs, there are plenty of ways to do it...like renting a ledge/haulbag/etc instead of buying. Growing to hate a hammer with 12 more pitches of nailing/cleaning ahead of you will not be fun.

This thread reminds me of something my mom used to tell me all the time: "Boy, you'd argue with a signboard with no letters"

never mind guys, I think it wss because E was moving the topic to Spray.

Just FYI admin dudes, the board was kicking back some "error trying to open zero sized thread" stuff when attempting to reply to a posting.

quote: Originally posted by ehmmic: BTW it was Ecuador, Bolivia will have to wait until next time.... Damn, and I think last week I even asked someone what you were climbing in Peru and got corrected. So much for the bong loads not affecting short term memory ehh?!

quote: Originally posted by ehmmic: I guess I'll finally get to live the climbing bum lifestyle I've been aspiring to... Cool! glad Bolivia treated you well. Now as a newbie climbing bum, a little advice. Never, ever sell your wetsuit (assuming you have one), it can mean the difference between feast or famine in those EXTREME dumpster diving situations , or the difference between sitting in the truck/tent in nasty rain being miserable in Zion and blasting some cool slot canyons while the other bums go "man, if I only had a wetsuit". BTW, I rejoin the brother/sisterhood of dirtbag climbing bums in April.

I recommend reading the recent thread on this board (do a search) concerning cordellettes and nylon vs spectra vs vectran etc. By all accounts, it looks like plain 'ol perlon/nylon is way cheaper, plenty strong, and with some other charactersitics preferable to the super techy cordage. Actually, here's the url for the Fish page that contained most of the pertinent infoCordage Article

quote: Originally posted by specialed: Look at that nasty ass free camping spot outside Zion. There's trash everywhere and if you walk two feet into the trees theres mounds of shit and tp Until it floods every spring and washes it all down stream! Yeah, a simple composting vault toilet (right next to river, pit wouldn't be sanitary) would solve the problem and add next to no cost to the BLM. It pisses me off when they rationlize that "ohh lots of people use this area, we'll add a toilet and collect fees". HELLO dumbfucks!(not you specialed) the reason lots of people use it is BECAUSE it's free. Without free camping the climbing bum lifestlye is even harder to live legally. I'll second the emotion of being cognizant of your impacts. There are well established, well done trails, to all the major crags, please use them. [ 01-25-2002: Message edited by: willstrickland ]

From R&I.com Preventive Medicine at Indian Creek January 25, 2002 At the request of the Access Fund, informal preliminary meetings with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to assess the impact issues at Indian Creek have begun. Due to the increased popularity of the area, camping, human waste and the trampling of cryptobiotic soil has increased dramatically. With an understaffed BLM overseeing the area (two recreation coordinators for over a million acres of land), the Access Fund is helping with area surveys, fundraising and impact awareness campaigns. "I want to emphasize that the BLM are the good guys here," said Jason Keith, policy analyst at the Access Find. "And there really aren’t any bad guys, there are just a lot more people climbing at Indian Creek now than twenty years ago." Right now, the Access Fund is asking that people tread lightly and stay in already established sites. The camping issue will likely be resolved by the installment of pit toilets at the popular areas around Bridger Jack, Superbowl and Donnelly Canyon. Of course, with the installations come fees. The Access Fund is currently trying to raise funds to pay for the toilets, and is also working toward having some self-pay and free sites. The Recreation Plan for the area is still in its infancy stage, and will tentatively be available for public comment sometime this fall. The plan will probably take affect around the spring 2003 season. --Alex McAfee I sure do hope they maintain some free camping there. If the BLM can subsidize cattle ranching on our public lands, surely they can empty a pit toilet or two a couple of times a season. Looks like the Access Fund would even foot the bill to install the shitter. Even if the sites become pay sites, don't fret my brothers, 98% of the land down there is public and there's free camping all over the place, you just may have to drive a few minutes instead of walking out of the site to the crag.

quote: Originally posted by Peter Puget: Will -Having both climbed and participated in gymnastics I can say that in my experience many parts of a routine are very scary and have the potential for injury. True it doesn't happen much but the same can be said for free soloing. Peter, perhaps a comparison to bouldering would be a lot more appropriate? Two big spotters, big cushy crash mats, not likely you'll be injured but possible...sounds like they have alot more in common ehh? A dude did die two years ago in a very short bouldering fall.

quote: Originally posted by Peter Puget: I do have to add a comment to those who say that sport climbing reduces climbing to a merely physical endeavor. That is tantamount to saying that for example, gymnastics, has only and physical component. Ask any gymnast if there is a mental component and I am sure the response will be hell yes!PP Peter, Read what I wrote, no what you want to hear. My statement was that if bolt proliferation continues climbing will eventually come down purely to genetics and grip strength/weight ratio. Yes technique is involved and for us mere mortals it's the technique that gets us up our hardest routes. Yes there is a mental component that has to do with digging deep to hang in there for a little longer on sport routes, but that's not the mental aspect most people think of as related to climbing..it's fear control and contructive vs destructive use of fear. You can say gymnast this gymnast that, but let's face it, it's apples and oranges. Gymnasts are judged, that's righted JUDGED..evaluated on a subjective basis, on precision of movement, climbers only need to make it to the top, an objective end. Have you ever seen Dave Graham climb? What about 3 years ago? The kid had less technique than half the climbers in your local gym at the time and was still climbing 5.12 as warm ups and climbing at the top of the scale. Ward somethingorother, a 40 something New England local, with John Long-type build who's climbed 5.14 himself said about the kid (paraphrased)"When I mfirt met him he was a wicked strong scrawny kid with zero technique, now he's wicked strong with medium technique". At the top of the scale, with no mind control involved the strongest climber will eventually come out on the top of the heap of climbers. If people were establishing "sport slab" routes in the 5.13-5.14 grades I'd say, yeah Peter, you're on the mark, but that's not the case. It's about how small of a hold you can pull on on a steep wall and for how long. [ 01-25-2002: Message edited by: willstrickland ]

quote: Originally posted by Jarred Jackman: Just wondering if you had a week in the UT desert and didn't want to drive around a lot where you would go for the best hiking and climbing given the time of year. We're looking for climbing in the 5.6-5.10 range, welcome multi-pitch, but don't want any aid. thanks Well you did say desert, otherwise I'd say Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood for the grades you're looking for. Here are a couple of ideas (I lived in Bicknell, UT). 1. Moab - The easy choice. Awesome biking, hiking, and climbing. Potash Road has the shortest approach of any climbing area in the country. Kind of sandy, biggest concentration of routes is 5.10-5.11. Indian Creek, possibly the best crack climbing area in the world, is about 40minutes to 1 hr away (depending on the amount of RVs) not much under 5.10 there though. River Road has bouldering and some adventure style stuff as well as Long Canyon. If you're up for FAs, Long Canyon has plenty of potential. Arches is on the edge of town and as mentioned already, Owl Rock is a fun 5.8 tower that goes in two short pitches or one long one, it sees tons of traffic. Kor Ingalls is probably the most climbed desert tower, goes at old school 5.9 (crux pitch 3 is runout 5.9 10" offwidth) located in Castle Valley, about 15-20 minutes from Moab to the parking lot. Here's a pic...Kor Ingalls hits the two prominent ledges and the offwidth appears as a dark corner in this pic. CASTLETON The Fisher Towers are about 20 minutes and Ancient Art (actually the Stolen Chimney route on ancient art) located there is THE coolest summit in the desert. Also, has one of the most nerve wrackingly exposed sections of climbing (actually walking on that section) I've ever been on. It'll go at .11a with the crux protected by cloesly spaced bolts, 5.10 A0 if you only aid the bolt ladder on the first pitch, or 5.8 A0 if you french free the bolt ladder and pull on gear a couple of times on the third and fourth pitch. The .11 section is short and actually pretty easy if you're decent with stemming and pebble pinching.If you ever wanted to climb in the Fishers (and they're beautiful, worth hiking out there if nothing else) but are put off by the legendarily bad rock, Ancient Art is your ticket. Here's a pic of the summit pitch..fucking incredible ehh! Canyonlands is close too (15 minutes to 2 hours depending on where you're trying to get anbd your vehicle) A couple more pics...Castleton form the Road and Ancient Art from the hike in.and Another option is (and this depends on how much climbing vs hiking you want) the Capitol Reef area. There are some 1 and 2 pitch wingate routes in Cap Reef, mostly 5.10-5.12, but there's a cool route by bro put up called Biscuits and Gravy that's 2 pitches and goes at 5.8. The hiking is excellent there, and most of the climbing is not in any guides, go to the Capitol Gorge parking area and look up to the left at the ampitheater left of where the road turns to dirt. There are about 10 routes up there from .10-.13. A little ways down that dirt road past the pakring lot, on the right side is the Classic Handcrack...a 60m rope stretcher .10a that's mostly 5.8 with one little crux down low protected by a yellow tcu. If you're there and do the route Pussy bolt, be aware the the bolt has been chopped, take a 4.5 and 5 camalot, you'll use them. Close to Cap Reef is the San Rafael swell with lots of wingate lines, arches (check out Hondoo Arch and the untouched splitters around there) desolate terrain, free camping, rad biking etc. velvet Ridge trail right outside Bicknell is a beautiful and fun ride. Goblin Valley State park is right there and is the trippiest sandstone I've seen. Best place ever to eat shroooms and cool hiking. Here's a pic Feel free to e-mail with specific questions. I lived in that area for quite a while.