willstrickland

quote: Originally posted by mikeadam: Donna is Lynn Hill. Wiley wench... Lynn Hill is Dwayner? Hey, good job on the Nose Dwayner!

quote: Originally posted by Eerie: Dru - that f-ing lame man. If you're referring to Dru's "active resistance" stance consider yourself a big freakin' hypocrite. Why? Because if it weren't for active resistance against bullshit taxes back in the 1700's we'd still be having crumpets and tea if you get my drift. Personally I just avoid the snowmobile conflicts, just like I avoided the heli-served backcountry areas when I lived (snowboarded) in Utah. I protested the heli issue through the official channels, which didn't accomplish much (big surprise with the amount of money involved.)I do oppose snowmobiles, dirt-bikes, and recreational 4x4ing because it's a wasteful use of polluting energy. If dirt-bikes were regulated to the extent that snowmobiles are I'd be a happy camper (or climber as the case might be). If you want to see some serious unregulated enviornmental destruction in a very sensitive area just go to the San Rafael desert on easter weekend...more damn 2 stroke dirt bikes than you can sugar the tanks of. Since it's BLM land, there's nothing approaching active regulation. While it doesn't cause much conflict with other recreational users (this place is REMOTE) it leaves lasting environmental destruction. The only solution I see is to lead by example. Go up to the Ingrahm on a free day and pack out a bunch of crap (pun clearly intended) and let everyone see what you are doing, chest beating is a good thing here. I have an idea about the parking/snomobile loading thing too: There's an "aisle" in the lot right? How hard is it to back your truck/trailer into the "aisle" and then load your snomobile? Seems like a reasonable solution to me, the use of space is maximized and everyone is able to meet their goals. But, I wouldn't know what these lots look like because I hate snomobiles in the backcountry and avoid them at all costs. Damn, I've got way too much time on my hands to be firing off these diatribes...I better get some work done.

I lived for a year out of a Toyota 4x4 Extra-Cab with a big fiberglass canopy and a wood deck built at top of the bed height. Pros: very reliable, expect over 200,000 miles easily. It stores tons of stuff under the deck (I sleep on the deck), decent gas mileage. Lived out of a '81 VW Westfalia for a year, too slow, bad mileage, unrealiable. I'm selling the Toyota to get the ultimate rig: A full sized (slightly extended) domestic van. With a 302 (Ford) or 305 (GM) they get ok gas miles, have power to spare, and since the Ford F150 truck is the best selling vehicle in the US, the parts are easy to come by (Econline vans are on the same basic chassis as F150s, and the 302s are identical) Same goes for the chevy vans/trucks and 305s. You can strip the interior and put in extra insulation. Bolt a steel "lock box" (Al Gore would be proud) to the floor for storing gear, put in a bunk or full sized bed on a deck and have plenty of storage underneath. Pull one of the middle seats and install a closet and stove. Pop a propane heater in there and use a T connection from the tank for the stove/heat lines. As for 4x4 capabilities, Ford mades/makes some 4x4 econlines (expensive) but you can essentially plop an econline body onto a F150 4x4 chassis with almost no modification. I'm eyeing an '84 15 passenger Ford with a little raised roof conversion that I'm gonna style out. It's set-up as a cushy traveller already with velour Capt chairs, back seat that coverts to bed, etc. A good way to quickly equip a cargo-style van is to find a VW Westfalia in a junk yard and strip the propane tank and Stove/sink/watertank/fridge console and bolt it in. There's also the option of finding a 83 or newer VW westy in good shape with a fried engine and do the Subaru 2.1L engine conversion (search the web, there are some details on this conversion). Then you have power, reliability, and a damn fine living set-up. If you can find a "synchro" version they even have 4wd. Good luck!

Screw the do rag! Where do we get some of that Kunta-Kente Kind bud?

quote: Originally posted by jtulinsk: Everyone knows you never run nylon over nylon but everyone also raps off of runners all the time. Well, not everyone...I certainly don't. I call it my 'biner retirement system, and it works pretty well. If I need to bail, there are no rings, and I don't have a couple on me I just take my shittiest racking 'biner and leave it. It keeps me from retaining antiquated gear and it'll be there for the next party. If they decide to filch it and rap the slings I don't care because it's their ass on those slings, not mine. A $3 biner...c'mon it's cheaper than a good pint. Good info on the details of the system though. While you should always knot the ends of your rap ropes, it's super critical in this case. If you forget to put the knot on the right side of the rings, or it's a small knot and could pass through a biner, etc, you could easily rap off the end of the skinny line since it'll be feeding faster. The feeding discrepancy is easy to remedy, just pay attention and brake a little harder on the skinny line to even out the feed rates.

My apologies, just saw that it was moved to the "spray" area.

Just curious why the moderators saw fit to remove Pope's "Hippy" post...sure it was trolling, but that's what fuels good natured ribbing of each other. Quite frankly I wouldn't be reading this board with anywhere near the frequency I currently do if it weren't for the heated debate and quip trading. Just my $.02, but I doubt I'm alone in this opinion.

quote: Originally posted by Eerie: wills- - how would you define adventure climbing? would you include the adjective epic in your definition? Eerie I wouldn't attempt to define it, it's purely subjective. For all I know you may feel that a sligshot top-rope is adventurous...and that's fine, we share a common interest of seeking out adventure. It's just not adventurous to me (anymore). The first time I went climbing, rapping off a 3ft diameter tree down a low angle slab from 40ft up seemed pretty adventurous... Another candidate for lamest jargon: "Jingus" which seems to mean bad, weird, or undesirable although I can't be sure. I've heard the "Allez" at the crags, but don't have a freakin clue what that one means, someone enlighten me

quote: Originally posted by Paul C: What is the problem between sport and trad (if I'm still allowed to say that) climbers that causes such angst?? ...there are alot worse things to complain about than $6 worth of metal bolted to the rock. Like Bush's environmental policy Not that I'm stirring the pot or anything. Paul Can't we have a little fun busting on the jargon slingers without someone getting their panties all bunched up? Hell, I'm ridiculing myself as much as anyone...but if we must go down this road: Angst: I have nothing against sport climbers personally, and I have many friends who don't even own any "rack" beyond a dozen draws. While they are crowded together enduring lines and endless spraying, I'd prefer to be eight pitches up communing with nature and my partner. The bad-blood comes in when sport climbers offend long standing tradition. Bolting an easily top-ropable climb is just such a transgression. Self Reliance: Trad climbing breeds it, sport doesn't. We could argue all day about rescues and self-reliance , but it ain't real hard to bail when there's a shiny 5-piece every six feet. I've seen many climbers who claim to be "5.11" climbers who would (and do) lose their shit on an easy route like Snake Dike 5.7(which is bolted, but has maybe eight bolts in 1000ft and full pitch runouts on easy terrain). At one time climbing was about adventure as much as difficulty, there's not a whole lot of adventure when you can clip the next bolt by standing in a sling on the last one. If you want to climb hard stuff "for the beauty of the moves and the sake of climbing at the limit of what is possible" then just boulder or TR. Obliterating Existing and Potential Lines: I've seen plenty of areas where squeeze jobs have gone up that were terrible routes, trad lines were retro-bolted (usually renamed and overgraded)and excessive bolting has occured fueled by the "we need more routes here because it's too crowded" argument. Someone could have rap-bolted the hard runout face lines in Eldo a long time ago, but that would make routes like To RP or Not to Be just another line rather than the legend it is. People will bolt a line without giving alot of consideration to the possibility of a bold trad ascent in the future which is a serious disservice to bold trad climbers. Many sport lines (or trad lines) could be top-roped rather than bolted and then sporties have their nice safe route and ballsy folks have their hard route and it is the same route. I've heard the "well just don't clip the bolts then" argument which is F*&^$ weak...you're defacing the rock and telling me to just ignore it if I don't like it? There are good sport routes out there, I'll readily admit...and they are typically roof climbs that you couldn't safely top-rope and have no gear placements. Grade Inflation: Many (not all) sport climbers seem to think that genuine hard climbing is a product of the last 15 years. There are boulder problems that were put up in the 60's (read: before sticky rubber)that check in at V8 today. I've been on plenty of 5.10 sport routes (I did my share of sport climbing in the mid 90's, that's one reason I feel I can check in on this issue) that were way, way easier than trad climbs of a similar grade. An example: Tommy Caldwell probably rarely fails to onsight a 5.12 sport route, especially if the sequence is obvious, however that poster of him taking a big whipper at Indian Creek is on Broken Brain, a 5.12 crack..no guess work there, the only holds are the crack. Environmental Ethics: You've got to be joking with the "more to worry about than $6 worth of metal in the rock" bit. We can vote Bush out in three more years, those bolts aren't coming out unless you go up with a crowbar. If you went out and started bolting lines at Stanage, or Llanaberis (i.e. Brittain) someone, or more likley a whole mob, would smash your face in. Retrobolting Master's Edge would likely get you killed. Personally, the term "climber" implies self-reliance, an adventerous spirit, and competence in the wilderness. These aren't characteristics I associate with sport climbers. I boulder with sport climbers all the time and enojoy it thoroughly, they're usually "sick strong" and "fully honed" and I mean that in a good way...FWIW

With all this jargon there must be some pretty confused non-climbers out there... Non climber hearing this: "Dude, I was fully in a backstep just camped on a dime, when the tweaker got too painful so I highsteped, used the drop knee and finally sent" Non climber interprets it as this: "I was out on the backporch, sitting on the steps just smoking from my dime bag when the girl tweaking my nipples twisted too hard so I got on the top step and told her to get on her knees and I finally got off"

How's this for lame: RETROBOLT Probably won't hear people spraying that one though, unless the mags start saying it's cool. Then you'll get this exchange: "Yo brah, I just got a hyper sick new Hilti, and I'm gonna fully retrobolt that jingus trad line, it'll have hella bolts when I get done" "Well don't do it yet, dude...let me sharpen the chisel first and we can get rid of that stupid finger lock and put a dope drive-by to a supersloper move there instead" Lest I be considered a hypocrite,Let me make it know that I've written letters to the mags before and I authored an article that will be in the Aug R&I. Gotta make money somehow and what better way to pay for my haul ropes than with some sport climber's money via the mags? I gotta agree about the commercialism in the mags, it's pretty rampant in media in general (can you tell I'm anti-consumer culture?) but it seems even more sacriligious when it's around the sport I pursue to "get away from it all" On a related note, a frequent partner of mine covers all the logos on his clothing with some tent repair tape...says they aren't paying him to be an advertisement and the only way he'll show the logos is if he's getting some form of sponsorship from them.

quote: Originally posted by mikeadam: Brittany Griffith is NADA compared to Rachel Babkirk (RI#107) and Patience Donahue (RI#108) Ahh, but you see Miss Donahue is actually Mrs. Donahue and Topher probably wouldn't be ready to loan her out anytime soon... Pretty quick with the issue references there mikeadam, sounds like maybe you need to confess to the pope lest your palms become too hairy to grip an ice tool.

I haven't used it, but I know a few people who have. None were impressed, it's basically a waste of money (their words). Here's the reasoning: When will you NEED a hanging set-up? Only a few scenarios come to mind for me. 1. An alpine big wall, where you could melt snow/ice and forgo hauling a bunch of water. 2. A winter big wall where hypothermia is a real concern. 3. A Grade VII, where you're hauling so much crap and spending so much time on the wall thatyou might as well have hot food. People will say "Oh, what about a hanging system in the tent on a peak climb" Are you $&%* nuts?! One screw up and POOF!! tent in flames, or carbon monoxide poisoning, or second degree burns from a bumped and dumped pot. Other will say "Oh, I need hot food on a wall climb" Take alot and you will suffer, luxury will amount to extra days which is not luxury on a wall (when you could be on the ground already, swilling OE and securing some lovin) On top of this, unless you're using a canister system (which is what you describe) you will spill fuel on your gear. If you are using a canister system, pray that it's not very cold or high otherwise they suck. If you must have hot food, take some military MREs with the heater packs...not too bad and no stove/fire/pots. And if you must have a hanging system, just make it...$15 in materials and two hours of time tops. Just my opinion of course, YMMV

quote: Originally posted by Pencil Pusher: ...I could wad up into a ball or strap on to the outside. uuhh huh huh, uhh huh huh, uhhhh you said "wad", uhhh "ball" yeah yeah, "STRAAAAAAPP ONNN!" uhhh huh huh What exactly are you packin' my friend?

Pope, Help me! I feel so dirty, so cheap...I had lust in my heart. I lusted for the numbers, the big .13 that would let the world know that I am a REAL climber. I started climbing at that Utah choss pile better known as American Fork. Surrounded by the beauty of countless desert tower routes and all time classics like Primrose Dihedrals on Moses, Fine Jade on the Rectory, Lightning Bolt Cracks on North Sixshooter and I was driving 3 hours each way to "climb" a five bolt .13a Eight days over two months produced "success" via the redpoint. "WHooo wee, I'm a big number climber now" I thought. Two weeks later a trip to Castleton Tower and the 5.9 offwidth no pro section of pitch 3 of the Kor-Ingalls had me seeing the error of my ways...I feel so, so...confused. Pope, I even sprayed about my "accomplishment" complete with mimed sequences for the route to anyone who would listen. I've since realized that hard climbing ain't nothing new and the hardest grade in the world is probably old school 5.9, or in the alpine world 5.8 A2. I need some cleansing... At my last confessional Father Bridwell made me say five "Layton Kor"s and lead the hollow flake of the Salathe, but after a flash of some hard rap-bolted thing in Red Rocks, my spraying continued...and then I burned off some traveling climbers on a boulder problem in Joe's Valley (of course on a tricky sequential problem that I had fully wired). Help me pope, I've been bad! While Katie is a little on the young side (is she legal yet?) I've been having some unclean fantasies about Brittany Griffith...wow, a hotty who climbs 5.12 trad routes, she's so...ahhhhhhhh what was I saying?

I use these: Tie him to the bumper and drag him behind your truck for two miles,preferably through heavy brush...viola! no more bitching about manzanita choked descents Find a "do anything" hooker and tell him you've got a special surprise. Have her tie him up and give him the golden shower/ poo on the head treatment...viola! no more bitching about close calls from parties above on big walls. Load your bowling ball into his pack before a peak ascent...when he finds it tell him "Hey, I carried the pins, fair is fair" Duct tape your week-old socks to his face while he's asleep...de-sensitization, ya know! On routes with non-fixed anchors periodically scream "Oh crap, sheet, ding-dangit, I dropped the rack...what are we gonna do?" The ever popular "Climb-on, don't fall though.."

Re: backing up the silent partner... This is one that depends alot on your own level of comfort. As long as you stay tied into the end of the rope, and the fall is clean I don't bother with it. Keep in mind though, if you whip from high on a pitch and the pro all pulls (a distinct possibility while aiding hard stuff) or if you whip low on a pitch (even if the pro holds)and the device does not lock up you're looking at a huge fall of 165-400 ft, and you'll load the anchor pretty hard. If it's wet, icy, muddy, or if the fall has groundfall, pendulum into a corner, or ledgefall potential I'll usually tie in short a few times along the pitch, just like you would while jumaring. I think the manufacturers are trying to cover their rear more than anything. The mechanism is essentially the same thing that's inside your car's seatbelt (a centrifugal clutch) and there aren't any "Warning: Strap your ass to the dashboard in case the seatbelt fails" stickers on your car. Your mileage may vary.

Hey Dru, How much do I charge 'em? Ya know, that depends on whether they give me the reach around or not... Yes I guide, but yes I am new to the NW, not settling permanently, just here to check out the climbing and pay off some debt. So, naturally I'm looking for partners for local stuff. Most of the guiding I do is on my "home" turf of southern UT, NC, TN, GA, AL...pays the bill for going home to see the folks for the holidays.

In reply to "Bad Ass Billy", hero mountaineer from cyberspace, who criticized my use of the "onsight" to describe a recent ascent of the Reid I offer the following: 1. I had never climbed the Reid, never climbed Hood, never been to Hood, did not set out to climb the Reid. 2. Originally having set out to do Leutholds, watching copious rockfall from the Yocum, I picked another line. I had never heard of the Reid, and had no route information. Only after we got down did we consult a guidebook and determine what route we had climbed. Now pick nits if you want, call me names if you want. Personally, I couldn't give a shit. I climbed the route, it was fun. I tried to give an account that accurately represented what we did...walked up and simul-soloed an unknown line (to us) on a new (to me) mountain. Using common climbing techno-speak seemed the best way to convey that. Sorry if I offended your mountaineer's sensibilites. As I said then, go solo the route with one 65cm axe...it's a good time. Now if you want to call me names, great...try "lazy dirtbag" always a favorite of the girfriend's parents, or "climber scum" which is poular with the rangers in Camp 4. The parents usually go with "waste of education" while roomates typically use "loud guitar playin' mutha-F#$%&" Now back to your regularly scheduled program.. -Will

Looking for trad partners...I'm in Portland. I typically onsight mid .10 on trad, when I'm climbing regularly. I'm fairly new to the NW, but have 8 years of experience from Yosemite and Zion wall routes to Tennessee Wall and J-Tree cracks, alpine rock and ice, etc. I get around...but enough about my sex life...I'll be primarily into climbing at Beacon when the raptior closures are off, with the goal of mileage. I figure I'll start at the moderates (mixing it up gradesise along the way, of course) and by the time I get to anything serious (i.e. 5.10+ and up)after a couple of weeks. I should be back in the trad-zone. I'm open to working harder routes that protect decently, or even aiding first and working it on TR to prep for a lead. I'm on the 9-5 M-F grind these days so it's weekend warrior status for now. E-mail me at willstrickland@hotmail.com

Alpine Tom wrote: "No place in the the US, except maybe Denali, is high enough for some sort of siege climbing to make sense." Au contraire Tom, try the some of SE Face routes on the Captain and tell me siege tactics aren't necessary in the US. Sure you could do them alpine style, but you'd be hauling a shit-ton of weight up the wall. Hell, the Polish dudes pushed the envelope on alpine style in the Himalaya back in the early 80's, but most of the ascents on those peaks are still done siege style. On many wall routes the best strategy is often to fix a bunch of pitches, get all the gear you'll need to finish to the high point, retreat to the ground, rest and wait for a good weather window, and evetually "blast off". I know you are talking about mountaineering as opposed to rock, but the lines are getting pretty blurred with wall routes going up in Pakistan, Nepal,Patagonia, etc that top out over 20,000ft involve snow, ice, rock, and aid climbing in the same route.

Two issues seem relevant here: 1. Mass-market climbing instruction 2. Experience, partnering, and attitude. 1. I've taught for several instructional programs, primarily rock, a couple of them college programs, and done private guiding. Organized instruction and a systematic learning process is a good thing, BUT... The drawbacks are what come out here...sometimes egos come into play, some instructors are underqualified, and some insistence on certain methods that often have alternatives. Students learn in different styles and at different paces. These are part of what you accept when you get low-cost, often volunteered instruction. I personally got my initial instruction back when I was in college through the university outdoor program. I learned alot, and I was safe. At some point I began leading alot of trad (after extensive experience building gear anchors and starting five number grades below what I could toprope), began meeting sage old trad climbers and learned alot about alternative methods of doing things and climbing in a "real" scneario rather than an institutional one. This is a MAJOR distinction...private vs. institutional. My climbing practices vary drastically depending on the route, partner, etc. If I am on a personal climb I am more willing to take risks, climb faster, etc because I have confidence in my ability and my partner's (otherwise I wouldn't be on the route with them). When I am guiding I teach sound basics and instill the "themes" rather than the "rules" in my clients. If you understand the principles of what's going on you can more easily problem solve for a particular situation rather than relying on the "rules". When I am instruction in institutional settings I am essentially bound by their curriculum and their "way". I teach what they prescribe because I am their agent, and that is my responsibility (although I would never teach something I thought unsafe). I may do it differently, but these program err on the side of safety. To learn more about the "real" side of climbing hire a guide, easily the best $150-$300 you'll ever spend in advancing your climbing, or be patient and work through the progression of routes in your area, build your skills (both climbing and protecting) on forgiving routes. Best advice ever..."Don't challenge yourself in climbing and protecting at the same time" and like any advice there are exceptions (i.e. the Hollow Flake on the Salathe Wall, El Cap where a sandbag 5.9 no-pro chimney awaits you and it's go hard or go home). 2. Partnering is akin to romantic relationships...common interests help, but it's the chemistry that counts. While I won't usually take beginners out anymore unless I'm getting paid for it (I'm usually focused on my own development), I still take at least a few days each year to "donate" to newbies. I benefitted from the same system when I was starting out and I know how hard it is to get out of the top-roping, sport climbing, glacier slogging realm when all the people you climb with are at your same level. I don't think people should be railing against the Mountaineers, you may not want to continue with their program, but it is an effective way to learn the basics quickly and cheaply. When you are ready to move on, do so, but it seems to me that the negativity against this organization came out because the original message poster was looking for partners while advertising his Mountaineers involvement as his experience base. This made alot of potential partners wary...new climber, just completed some course, excited, ready to tackle the world (we've all seen or been that guy too many times), and when that wary attitude came across it became necessary to diss the group to try to improve "street cred". It essentially did the opposite, you are dissing the group that taught you...how do I know you'll respect my practices and won't decide to root around in your pack while I'm 80' out on a sketchy hooking pitch? We are dealing with life/death situations here, just be honest, "I don't have alot of practical experience, but I've completed the XYZ aid climbing course. I've never done a Grade IV. I personally didn't care for the instructional practices of XYZ, and some of their members had ego issues, so i won't be continuing with them, I'd rather get real world experience at this point with someone a little more experienced." Something you'll remember long after that heinous crumbling A4 blade crack is the bond with your partner...reassuring you, inspiring you with his/her own leads, sending the pure vibes your way. I have had about 100 different partners and only three of them have I ever really clicked with. Everything is amplified when the climbing gets hard...including bad vibes between partners. I came close to a punch-up with one partner while descending a winter peak climb...a funny sight that would've been, trying to beat each other senseless between bouts of gasping for air and throwing up from the exertion. At the opposite end of the spectrum I did the Lost Arrow tip, with the complicated logistics of the tyrolean back to the rim, with two Koreans who I met in Camp 4 a week before that barely spoke english and it was a great, positive outing. Enough rambling and run on sentences, just keep climbing and practicing skills like anchor building, etc. You'll realize how small and accepting the climbing community is soon enough.

My cam rack: 2 sets of Camalots from 0.5 to 3.5; 1 ea 4.5 and 5. 2 sets Metolius TCUs, 1 set Metolius FCUs #4-10. I set of Metolius fat cams #3-#7. 1 set Alien offsets, many stragglers (Rigid friends, tech friends, wired bliss, trango). If I were starting over, I'd have two sets of Aliens, one set of offset Aliens, and two or more sets of Camalot from .5-3.5 plus a 4.5 and 5. There is a big caveat here and that is what type of climbing you do. I bought the Metolius fat cams when I was living and climbing in the Utah desert and had a metolius pro-deal. In the desert they rock, on grantite they suck. I keep-em because I still get to the desert often. People bitch about camalots being heavy, but go to Indian Creek where the typical rack for a route is 6-8 pieces in the same size and you'll see more camalots than anything else. The combination of performance,range, smooth action, and craftsmanship is unbeatable. The triggers do break more often on camalots...be prepared to repair them, but it's a small price to pay (to me). I love my Metolius TCU's, but they do pale in comparison to aliens in every aspect...especially in shallow placements in vertical rock where "U" shaped stems load funky. Offset aliens are aid and granite specialty pieces, but in shallow aid placements (two cams engaged) or flaring pin scars they rock. With a 2 cam engagement in way shallow stuff you have two sizes on the same piece (effectively giving you doubles in a size since the sizing overlaps on each unit). All aliens have very flexible stems, a boon for eastern climbers (Gunks, southeastern sandstone) where horizontal placements are more common than vertical ones. I have noticed that placements that I wouldn't have even have considered with normal cams are possible with the offsets. All in all I say aliens for the small stuff and camalots for the bigger stuff. Basically all the TCU's out there are good, and many people swear by the HB's, guess you either love or hate the "trigger ring" on them. If you don't have fat fingers, or won't be using them with gloves give them a look/feel. BTW, I've got a set of barely used Metolius FCU's for sale...nothing wrong with them, never taken a fall on any of them, just not my preference in cams.

This is simple. Just a matter of deciding what you will be using it for. I solo semi-often, usually while aid climbing and have soloed a couple of walls in Zion. 1. If you intend to solo wall routes you've got two options (IMO) Clove hitch or Silent Partner. The Silent partner is bigger than you'd expect, and a little pricey at $225, but if you're wall climbing in the first place you've got a few grand invested in gear already...bite the bullet and buy it, nothing else comes close for mixed aid and free (self-feeding, holding any fall,etc). If you don't want to shell out the cash and you won't be casting off on free climbing leads just use a clove hitch. The clove is free (you've already got a big locker), will hold anything, and is about the same pain in the ass as a soloist or solo-aid...aid climbing is a collosal pain in the ass anyway, get used to it. 2. If you intend to self-belay on top-rope they all work ok, but since I already have a gri-gri I just use it, UNMODIFIED. The only mod I've made to a gri-gri is to replace the tiny screw (non-structural)on the outside that holds the plastic plate. You replace it with an eye-screw of the same size...viola a place to rig a keeper loop so you don't drop the fucker when taking it off the rope (not good 1800' up an A3+)The reality is that you'll be reeling in all the slack every move or two and any fall you take will load the system almost immediately...eliminating the head-first scenario. If you don't have the caution to take up the slack continously you probably shouldn't be soloing in the first place...or you should be willing the free-solo the route. 3. If you plan on free-climbing trad routes, you sick bastard, just call me...you're the kind of partner I'm always looking for, hopefully you like squeeze chimneys too. Seriously though, the silent partner is the only thing that does what you really need...self feeds smoothly, catches anything. After using all five of these methods (clove, gri-gri, silent partner, solist, solo-aid) I say go do a multi-pitch aid climb solo with a clove, then decide how much you really want to be soloing...if you love it buy the S.P., if not just clove it. If you worry about having to feed out a bunch of slack to free a section when using a clove just treat it like a runout...place good gear (double up, equalize, whatever you need) find the next rest/stance and gun for it. A final thought...soloing is hard,hard,hard work on a wall, try something short before becoming that gumby on the fourth pitch of Prodgial Sun on their third on the route...that gumby was me and while I did finish that day and have excuses because of slow teams in front of me, bad beta on my topo, etc...the real limiting factor was my inefficient hauling and leading.

Wow, didn't know the West Side was that popular during that week. I simul-soled the Reid on 5/12 and encountered quite a bit of rock and icefall. Both my partner and I got beaned by baseball and larger sized ice and rock. We managed to on-sight the route with little route-finding difficulties. I wouldn't want to be up there after about 5am, rock/ice fall was insignificant until we were in the upper sections of the headwall (like 6am). At that point it was "keep your head down and climb as fast as you safely can" We summited at 7am after a 7 hour ascent. This was a great route, a blast to climb with only one tool (take two!), and the ice in and above the final narrow chutes was great (in a Cascades kind of way) We decided to solo due to time, and the fact that the rock is little more than frozen kitty litter, the ice sucks, and the snow wouldn't likely hold a fall of any distance. Took a single 8mm line with us, but never used it and didn't even put on the crampons until about 9,700. Highly recommended route, but do it in early season and get an early start. One other note, the traverse after Illumination saddle was thigh-deep postholing on a 30 degree slope...heinous! I still want to do Leutholds, maybe next year or this winter.