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Where do you figure the avalanche debris that buried your skis came out of? Beckey mentions that the lower part of the buttress is protected from rockfall by its own protrusion or something like that, I'm wondering whether your skis got gradually buried in spindrift or whether something big came down at the base of the rib.

There was a 10 line post by MtnGoat somewhere in there, I actually managed to read it (!) and then I realized that the very next post was another humdinger, ugh. Deadguy was more interesting than this. Go climb something. No more posting from you until you post a summit photo of yourself, or a TR, or something like that.

I'd like to see some grades for winter stuff, that would be cool. I don't know if there is a mapping, I mean, of course there is, but the Alpine Grades seem better to me because there is more granularity. Edit: Err, my post further down kind of calls bullshit on this post, heh. I don't think there is a mapping. Changed my mind, heh.

Actually, I think an educational video of the trask oral school of pedicure would be even more entertaining, albeit a little bit gruesome. You know, like watching a splatter movie? Maybe you could get Muffy to costar with you, and jon and gapertimmy to produce?

I like how Kevin McLane, Don Serl and David Jones are applying alpine grades in their BC guidebooks, and including a graded list of climbs. I'd like to see how people grade more routes in the Cascades on that scale, care to help me out? I think the scale is F, PD (+/-), AD (+/-), D (+/-), TD (+/-), ED (1, 2, ...) Some examples from Kevin McLane's Alpine Select book: TD+: Bear N Buttress Direct TD: Slesse NE Buttress D+: Stuart Complete N Ridge D: Shuksan Price Glacier, Rainier Lib Ridge D-: Shuksan NW Buttress AD+: Baker Coleman Headwall AD: Forbidden W Ridge, Shuksan N Face, Baker N Ridge AD-: Shuksan Fisher Chimneys (or PD+?) PD+: Rainier DC F: Baker Coleman-Deming This kind of breaks down with the last three or so doesn't it? I didn't think Fisher Chimneys was that hard. Anybody got suggestions/grades for winter routes around Snoqualmie Pass and in the Stuart Range?

I don't know if I'm that easily entertained trask.

I don't know, do you want me to ask? If they are, does that make plucking the toe hairs more or less of a prize?

Actually, Microsoft succeeded on a playing field dominated by IBM. They essentially won the game. Isn't 4) supposed to be "put in results for one's pay"?

Plucking her toe hairs is a prize for me because... I hate her?

I use the butterfly knot for tieing in to the middle, it's cool. Forgot about that. I'd use a bowline to tow a car, it's a simple, elegant knot, easy to untie and works for all kinds of stuff, but I don't have any use for it when climbing. I might try that equalizing trick sometime.

Yeah, and how much gu did you bring?

Or alternatively jb and goat can go off and climb something and write about it afterwards. Call it penance, hahaha

Actually, it's great for tieing off a Muenter hitch belay because it aligns the strands right. The wrap-around-leg way keeps better friction on a regular belay with a device, but still requires attention. That web page is great, thanks for posting the URL! I hadn't thought of passing the bight through the biner. Matt, start tieing an overhand on a looped piece of webbing or cord and you'll get a slip knot. A girth hitch works just as well almost all the time but with the slip knot you get a tight fit and only one strand goes around the tree/horn.

Whoah. Welcome to the land of the long posts. How about some LONG POSTS ABOUT CLIMBING y'all? Try to throw some in there when you get time off from saving the world.

Woo-hoo! I got it right! Do I get a prize?

What happened?

I was going to post to the Best anchor thread but figured this might be fun on its own - What do you guys figure is the quintessential set of knots to know and use when climbing? Isn't there some big name climber who (proclaimed he) only knew 4 knots and that was enough for anything he needed to do? Was it Jim Donini? Maybe not, I don't remember at all and it doesn't really matter, but it's kind of a cool idea. I can't really reduce anywhere close to four, but here is the set of knots I use - it's sufficient to solve the best anchor problem in many different ways. Water knot - make a loop out of webbing Fisherman knot - make a loop out of accessory cord, or connect two ropes Euro death knot - connect two ropes for rappelling Girth hitch - anchor a loop to tree/horn/pro Slip knot - anchor tied webbing/cord tightly to tree/horn Clove hitch - anchor rope to a biner Figure 8 - tie in, equalize anchor with cordelette Muenter hitch - belay/rap without device Mule knot - tie off belay Prusik knot - ascend rope, backup rappel Did I miss something? Is something redundant?

Friggin sweet.

At least you have a good pair of crampons Do you think your ice climbing would improve significantly if you got the perfect boot? I have never worn the boots you have but I could believe they would be hard to improve on for alpine ice routes in WA. If you're going to do extensive frontpointing, i.e. steep, sustained ice, then a full shank boot is going to work better but it's going to be a lot less comfortable to hike in. If you want to do alpine rock routes in winter then I would imagine a lighter boot, with a small toe and only newmatics-compatible, would work best. Oh, and then there are some boots out there that have no insulation and are just a full shank with crampon grooves and enough leather to attach the whole thing to your foot. You might want to move to Canmore first though, heh. Hey Lambone, isn't the flex kind of irritating? Wouldn't you rather have a lightweight full shank boot? Curious...

The Palmer is great in December, the bergschrund was pretty much filled both times. But there is a thread somewhere else on the board about avy danger on Hood (and elsewhere).

A related question is why do we have single ropes ranging from 9.low mm to 10.5 or 11 mm? I always thought it's a durability and cut resistance vs. weight tradeoff. And, what's the difference between a 9 mm half rope and a thin single rope? What if the half rope has monofilament and the single doesn't? How thin do half ropes get, anyway?

We were so concerned even the spray was clean and on topic Please post the TR, will be a good read!

Ah yes, the classic you-should-stop-climbing-so-there-will-be-more-solitude-for-me argument

LOL What exactly are the characteristics of a dishonorable profession as described by a climber? Methinks you're in a quandary here, unless you were just thinking of all the prostitutes and dealers of hard drugs that post on the board...

Alright, but I'm not too keen if you're going to divvy the iron with the group gear, or bring a big laundry bag