Tom

I emailed them this morning, and encouraged everyone in our party to do the same. I didn't think to take a picture - I guess I was thinking it was a waste of film - but you're right, that would have been graphic.

The Climber's Guide to the Olympic Mountains has good route descriptions. I've climbed Brothers twice, although not recently. The common mistake I see many make is failing to bear right a hundred feet below the summit. Watch for falling rock from other climbing groups, especially near the hourglass. This climb has some of the longest glissades in the Olympics! Tom

I've summited twice, and had to hold at the false summit a third time. I've yet to find the class 2/3 scramble - I know it's there though. I've always done the west route... - go up the steep snow to the summit block- travel around to the west side to an open book- ascend about 70 feet there to an anchor, and then make the summit easily- this is also a good anchor for a repel down The guide book rates this approach at 5.4, but both times I've ascended it easily in regular boots, the second time in a light mist. We did shed our packs for the this pitch though. Tom

I agree with Dox, take 5 or 6 days and enjoy the locale. Contact me off list if you want the specifics...

I plan to go back to BHP also - we want to redo Archer, and find the 8 pitch. Hopefully, I'll be racing in the Northwest Endurance series, helping out Randy G on his SV. Racing is definitely fun, but costs major $$$ and time. Climbing is giving me a ton more for those investments.

We didn't get a good look at the 8 pitch, we're still skeptical about the routes - but we're going to go back and try again this summer. After my friend got nailed in the hand by the rock, he was toast for the rest of the weekend as far as climbing was concerned. Tom

Allison... I race motorcycles (road race, not dirt) in addition to climbing. I specifically asked Group Health concerning the limits of coverage, and there were no additional limits. Climbing, being far more recreational, is no problem.

Good places to start leading... Ditto on Clamshell Cave (my first lead area), also Saber at Castle Rock. Get there early though. Once you've done those, try ZigZag at Mt. Erie - it has a couple 5.7 moves, and also has a section where it wants to spit you out, but the exposure isn't that sharp. This is an excellent thread - all good comments!

I've got one from Avocet, it's worked pretty good. The cowner is you have to send it back to them to have the battery changed (2 to 6 weeks), for $25. The upper is they update the firmware if necessary, and it usually comes back with a fresh crystal. I've had mine for a little over 6 years...

So home base needs less rain... I'm assuming you're not worried about where you need to work, so that aside, there are some places up here in Washington State that may fit the bill. Sequim which is on the Straits of Juan de Fuca, at the west entry to Puget Sound averages around 15 inches of rain a year. It's in an Olympic mountain shadow zone. It's on the north coast Olympic peninsula which has great back country and alpine climbing, but the rock is bassalt - which pretty much sucks. But your a couple hours away from Index or Mt Erie via a ferry, and a little over 4 hours from Leavenworth or Squamish in BC. Then there's Leavenworth, which has great rock in Icicle Canyon, decent downhill skiing at Mission Ridge or Steven Pass, and is on the eastern (drier) edge of the North Cascades. It's hot in the summer, cold in the winter. It would be my pick - that, or one of the numerous towns on the east side like Chelan or Winthrop... I live in Poulsbo, about 45 minutes away from Sequim. Everything is just a few hours away except for the North Cascades across the pass...

I do conceed point and shoots are great for there size and durability. But, a point and shoot wouldn't have been able to get me my sunset shots from Dickerman last fall, among others. Tom

This is a copout - I still don't use a digital camera simply to get the pictures I want, it's not $300 bucks, it's more like $800. I want a through the lense system so I can directly control the composition. Too many digital cameras just don't get the colors right also. With prints, even if the developer fucks them up, you can perform corrections during and after the scanning process. Point and shoot cameras (print or digital) are only good for parties... Tom

Go for a down bag - but if you do, go for some extra ounces and get one with a moisture resistant shell. It allows you to be a little careless and not worry about getting the loft wet. It'll woork better in bivy sacks also. I've got a Marmot 0 degree that's on it's 4th season in good shape - although I don't have the resistant shell. If it's not below 15 or 20, I have to leave it partially unzipped so I don't sweat like a pig - very warm. Tom

I bought a conversion kit for my Duo. The low beam is a single LED, and the halogen is now 4.5v instead of 6v. The halogen is just as bright as before, the LED is about half the brightness of the previous incadescent - but still provides about 20 feet of light. I find I need to switch to the halogen more frequently for route finding, but the LED is fine for night hiking on the trail or snow. I did need to adjust to the different color of the LED though... The conversion cost $20. Tom

Hey brock... I learned at a community college. It lasted a full quarter, lecture one night during the week, climbing or some other activity on the weekend. In 13 weeks, we climbed 8 summits, spent a day at Olympic Mountain Rescue learning compass work, route finding, and prussiks on their training equipment, spent a weekend at Paradise and dug and slept in a snow cave, performed crevasse rescue on the Roosevelt on Baker and so on. Freedom of the Hills was the text for the course, and while published by the mounties, it is a good reference. This was probably similar to the mountie experience, expect my leaders didn't have egos, and we shared the glaciers... The bottom line is go with someone experienced on several different types of trips. Dig a cave and sleep in it. Get up on some rock with someone who is competent and patient so you can learn... Tom

I'm pretty lucky - something my single friends constantly remind me of. But I didn't race motorcycles or climb until I'd been married over 5 years to begin with. I'm now at almost 25... Her passion is fire-fighting, and during the summer, she's gone a ton more than I am, putting out wildfires. She used to go out in the woods with me, but not much anymore. She knows why I do it, and it's a facet of me she both respects and would miss if I quit. Hey Heinous, let him go man, there will be others. And like Rodchester said, if he's using bowling to fill in the cracks, he's already gone... Tom

Yeah, like a Murphy's Irish Stout at the end of a long day!

If you turn to pass the Dungeness Campgrounds, that will bypass the slide. The slide directions are posted on the Olympic National Forest website. The slide has been there for over a year now - they don't plan to fix it soon, since there is a detour available. Tom

Another possibility, and good for the 4-5 day variety is Olympus. Although a trudge to get in to base at Glacier Meadows (2 days, normally), it provides the total Olympic experience - rain forest, big trees, glacier fed rivers, big glaciers, large snowfield in the snow dome, and several summit opportunities in the 3 peaks of Olympus, Tom, Panic (a scramble near the weather station)... I tried to do it the week prior to Thanksgiving - we wanted to watch the meteor shower from the top of Snow Dome or the false summit, but one of my feet blistered early in the hike. I've done it three times in the summer though. The trail up to South Brothers between Lower Lena and the bivy is scenic also. And there should be enough snow to cover the scree on the ascent. Watch the hour-glass for avalanchge and rock though. As stated earlier, it's pretty much a 2 dayer. Angeles via the east ridge is a fun day trip also, although not very challenging... One climb we always do in winter is Cloudy Peak, near the ridge of the Gargoyles, north of Warrior. There's some potential avalanche there though, as experienced at Camp Boulder a couple years ago. For those that were looking fo a picture of Constance, here is a pretty good one from the north, near Buckhorn. Constance from the north... Tom

Hey Jedi! I watched the VIR race on Speedvision - interesting track! I'm glad you enjoyed my site. Hope your arm gets most of its functionality back, I know the track can be brutal at times... If you ever out on the west coast, drop me a line. I can show you some great places to climb, and if you have your bike, some great rides (I've got a Y2K R1...)! Merry Christmas!

Woo-hoo - Everything was migrated by this morning, and the site is back up! Thanks everyone for your positive comments - I need to keep climbing so I can keep creating content!

Well, frickin' Excite@Home is dead, so until AT&T transfers the Excite network over into their system, my site is dead also. I'm hoping they'll get things fixed sometime this next week. Thanks to all who came by, hope you enjoyed...

For anyone that likes pictures and some narrative from a competent intermediate climber, please check out my web site at themarxes.net. I'm also an avid motorcyclist, so you might want to go straight to the Climbing section. Enjoy!