willstrickland

C'mon now, 43 of you fuckers have looked at the ad...I'm basically offering you a free pair of new shoes...just throw me something in trade to cover the shipping...couple of biners, old copy of the AAJ, something, anything...

Ahh, the Gunks...where the millipedes go squish under your feet and the 5.2 routes have roofs. The Gunks used to called "home of the hardest 5.9s in the world"....and it was true before the updates to the guidebooks. I've personally found the climbing to be roughly on-par with the stuff out west (Index, Yos, whatever) as far as difficulty , but just a different type of climbing altogether. It runs toward steep juggy climbing on horizontals, with less than ideal friction. My own weakness is pitch-long endurance and I find long crack pitches tougher than shorter bouldery pitches, consequently I do ok at the Gunks. The southeastern sandstone is much the same...lots of horizontals and typically short, steep pitches. One thing for any would-be visitors...avoid any holiday or weekend like the plague, if you think the routes in Yos get crowded, you'll freak at how many people go to the Gunks.

I'll second that. I've been riding a 2001 Giant OCR 1 for a couple of years...retailed for about $1100, Shimano 105, great deal for the money. It is a compact (sloping top tube) frame design and it's aluminum w/ carbon aero fork. Personally, I like this bike alot. I don't weigh much and after a couple of hours you start to notice the aluminum road buzz, but my typical rides are around 1-2 hours and the carbon fork defintely helps. For the money I don't think you can beat what Giant is putting out there. Drawbacks: The frame only comes in 3 or 4 sizes and uses an adjustable stem and long seatpost to tweak the fit. Some people complain that the stem is flexy...I've not noticed this, however I'm not a heavy dude. Another option: Check out used bikes, particularly through the triathlon channels...I've seen plenty of 3 year old carbon bikes (Cervelo, Kestrel, Quinta Roo) that probably retailed for $3k going for $1k. Those tri folks seem to have more money than sense. Yet another option: Check out bikes by Iron Horse (steel) and Raleigh (aluminum) for great bang for the buck. You can probably get into an Iron Horse Reynolds 853 steel frame bike in your price range and man those 853 tubesets ride smoooothhhh.

One of the scariest pitches I ever led was the 3rd on Kor-Ingalls, I had never climbed a chimney pitch harder than about 5.5 before that and ended up liebacking about 30ft through the crux, sweating bullets, cursing, breathing so hard I thought I was gonna puke. Came very very close to taking a big ride on that one. The Priest is just disgusting it looks so scary. And I hear Erik knows something about the scary chimneys on Tricks in Zion. I'm suprised Tex didn't put in votes for a road trip to Yos to train on Steck Salathe', Hollow Flake, Midterm, Texas Flake. Lost Arrow Chimney...

Resolution Arete - Red Rocks (screwed up the approach once, moved too slow once, wrong partner once) This one is still high on my "to-do" list. It's just a long (about 20 pitches) fairly continuous trad route with a good even distribution of pitches...about 1/4 5.7, 1/4 5.8, 1/4 5.9, 1/4 5.10, and a short mid .11 roof crux.

I've owned bladders by Platypus, Camelbak, and Hydrapack, and packs by Camelbak and Hydrapak. My experiences: I loved the Platypus bladders...hiked the AT with them, they're super light and virtually indestructible....then one of mine sprung a leak on the NF of Hood...no more f#*&% Platypus for me (in truth it was an old bladder I should have retired long ago). Bottom line...they're good stuff, but get one of the zip-top bladders (easier to fill,clean, add mixes or ice to) and replace the mouthpiece with a higher flow model and a on/off stopcock valve. I don't care for the Camelbak bladders either, they seem too flimsy and likely to puncture, but Camelbak makes well thought out packs and the openings are wide. I had a Mule pack, and have an unbottle that I use fairly often. What I'm using lately (mainly mountain biking) is a $20 pack and bladder from Hydrapak (the "Overflow" model on clearance at pricepoint.com) which is a pack similar in size to the Mule and a bladder with a drybag type closure. It's very easy to clean etc. I was sketpical about the closure system, but even after some over-the-bars crashes on the bike where I landed flat on the pack/bladder it hasn't leaked a drop. The bite valve on these are unique in that they have a built-in on/off in the mouthpiece that you bite and twist a quarter turn. For $20, this is a hell of a deal. My ideal set-up would be a platypus zip-top bladder with a double-flow platypus mouthpiece, with a camelbak in-line on/off valve, placed in a camelbak pack.

I lived out of my '81 Westie when I was in Utah. The first water cooled were actually the '83 1/2 year model, and the biggest set of problems with the heads were from the 83-84 models. They got the probs worked out by '85 for the most part. They were still making and selling the Vanagon style in Canada up to '92 I think . THE trick really is to do the Subaru 4cyl engine swap (search the web...there are a few sites out there with details). That way you have a more powerful and reliable powerplant. It takes some serious wiring work and a tranny plate adapter, but all reports from people who've done the swap are positive. I loved my Westie, but it was way underpowered, had no A/C, required alot of attention when driving in hills in summer. I lived in my 85 Ford wheelchair van converted to camping status, it had a raised roof, 300ci V6, AC, etc, also lived out of a '99 Tacoma with shell...after all that I think the full sized domestic was the ticket (put one of those roll-out awnings on the side and you'll never miss the pop-top). What do I drive now? Like E, I'm sporting the ragged Subaru...'91 Legacy L Wagon with 147k on the clock.

Here's the deal: I've got a pair of barely used Garmont Sticky Weekend, US Size 8 1/2. They have almost no visible wear. They are the old color style that were Tan/Blue/Salmon. I bought these to use as a wall/aid shoe and they are too small. I seam-sealed the stitching on the front, so there is seam-grip visible on the shoes. I want to basically just get them out of my house, so I'd prefer a trade of some sort. Make me a trade offer, I'm not looking for much, just something to offset the shipping more or less. Or if you want, make me a cash offer. Kind green trades would be especially welcome. PM me if you want 'em.

Just a thought...if you're going to hike all the way up there, do the Direct Exum, much better climbing on those lower six pitches than anything on the upper. It's straightforward, nothing harder than 5.7 with a .10 something variation on one pitch if you're so inclined. You can start the Direct by either climbing a pitch of 4th or walking farther right toward the Petzoldt Ridge and then angling back left on a series of grassy ramps. I recommend the ramps (it is a little confusing when to gain the ramps, it's maybe 30-50yards past the 4th class start). The last week of Aug - first week of Sept is usually prime, so get over there. It's a fun climb.

My $0.02 Stiff: ZION free climbs I thought Index and Yos ratings were the same, I've definitely been 'bagged at Josh.

Iggy & Stooges - Raw Power Dr Dre - The Chronic Miles Davis - Bitches Brew, Kind of Blue Santana - Abraxas Black Eyed Peas - all of em Leo Kottke - 6 & 12 String Guitars Beastie Boys - Ill Communication Wes Montgomery - Incredible Guitar MMW - all of em Thelonious Monk - Alone in San Franciso

Both mags are coming out of Carbondale, CO

I second that emotion, that pitch is pure fun

I like Metolius up to a #2 TCU (yellow) then I'm all about the camalots (.5 and up). I rarely carry anything over a #3 anyway. They ain't that heavy, and I'd rather have the extra range than worry about a few ounces. If weight's that big of a deal, take a piss before you start the pitch, that's about all the weight you'll be saving anyway. I own Metolius TCUs, Camalots, Aliens, Flex Friends, Rigid Friends, and a solitary Wired Bliss TCU (booty). All total I've got triples of everything up to about a #3 camalot and quads in the .5-.75 camalot size (2 sets tcus + 2 sets camalots). That said, I typically rack up the TCUs to yellow and the camalots above that first, and then add the other crap if it's a continuous size. I don't like the Friends, but they were all booty. I used to own Metolius up to #10, but traded the #5-#10 for camalots. I had a HB TCU once with the trigger ring thingy (also booty) and chucked that fucker off a climb when I got pissed at not being able to get ahold of the trigger. My aliens are offsets, and in that application (typically pin-scar aid), they rock the house. The DMMs look nice, the color coding is bonus, and they seem to be basically the same thing as any other TCU. Hope that helps.

Dude, I lived IN that boulderfield in my van for about six months while working hoods in the woods out there. The town is Loa. It's actually a shitty place to boulder. Lots of rock, but not lots of problems. By Bob, I assume you mean Van Belle, and "discovered" it is laughable. The place is on USGS topos as "BIG ROCKS" and visible from both the town of Loa and Hwy24. If driving west on 24 from Loa, at the edge of town there's a triangular dirt parking lot where the road makes a sharp bend to the left. If you go straight here the road turn to dirt and goes into the boulderfield. It's a funky andesite, and looks much better than it is. Van Belles kid was in a Patagonia ad about four years ago bouldering there, kid was maybe 4 yrs old at the time. Joes is about 1 1/2 hours north northwest from Loa if you drive as fast as I do. Don't mean to be harsh, but sending someone there to boulder when Joes and LCC are nearby is just plain wrong.

I heard some dude from Tahoe (Mark Miller I think) just soloed Grand Illusion, once the hardest crack climb, and perhaps the hardest climb in the States period when it went up.

Thanks Dru.

look man, I just want to know if it's a problem with the connection I'm using. There's a phone number in my pm-mailbox over there and I can't get it. Yes, it's an ugly site, yes it's full of punters, nevertheless....

can you access it Dru?

Anyone know? I can't access it.

These are about 1/2 size too small for me. The Kaukulator Dru is a modified version of the Kaukulator with a vibram mini-lug sole and edging platform. I used my last pair for easy rock climbs with dirty/gravelly descents, easy alpine rock routes, but mainly for aiding. This pair is BRAND NEW, never touched rock. I wore them around the house for a while, but they just aren't quite big enough. Take advantage of my screw-up, new they were about $150, yours for $75 and shipping. PM me if you want 'em.

One thing you will want to note about Beacon: Many routes above 5.10 are very dirty and it would be wise to clean them before climbing. Due to the short season (mid-July to end Jan, but effectively to Nov because of rain), the routes don't stay cleaned. Popular lines like Blownout, Dod's Jam, Free for All, Right Gull, Wrong Gull, SE Face, etc will usually be dirt-free, but stuff like Steppenwolf, Pipeline, Jensen's will (in my experience) be in need of a brushing unless you enjoy whippers. Great place, wish they'd open the E Face for some roofy madness.

Actually, most years. You can see that it's pretty thin though. There are three or four reasonably reliable areas in N. GA, but two of them are small (like 40-70ft). Mt Yonah has some good 60m lines, but they get way slabby in the middle. Rabun Cliffs area (in the photo) has good stuff when it's in, and when it gets really, really cold Amicalola Falls comes in and it's multi-pitch. The stuff on Whitesides in NC is pretty sweet, good multi-pitch. Check out Southeastern Ice for beta/conditions

Man, the key to make Zion C2 feel like any other C2 is offset nuts and Alien Hybrids. I've got something like triples in the brass offsets, and like a fool I sold one of my sets of Alien Hybrids...big mistake, double sets are the shiznit, especically on Yos trade routes,so many pin scars, so solid on hybrids.

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