genepires

yeah the sport is a complete waste of time and money. I hope they lose a lot of money on that product and get there common sense back.

From someone who was up at the pass last weekend, there was lots of postholing. With the rain that is coming now and during the weekend, I would suspect that the route is mostly snow free but damp.

when my doubts of the ropes have gone on for around 2 years and I can't stand it anymore. Since I am afraid to fall, my ropes don't get any air time, only rap use. So the ropes often get to be 6 years old and not look it. Then the doubts start and two years later, time to do something about it. This probably doesn't help, but you seem to know all the reasons to retire a rope. Probably best after 5 years with no obvious reasons to retire before.

prime rib is old school 10b. It seems like many of the routes on warrior wall are old school and a bit harder than elsewhere in the icicle. very sweet area with lots of work going into it this last year. did you start prime rib on the far left side of the formation? The start, like Rad states, is a straight in, sort of crummy, wide, feels slight overhanging crack. I don't think any other climb on the wall has such a start. the second pitch, after a short corner and fat ledge rest, has a wicked short traverse to an bolt protected slabby arete. hope that helps.

I am sorry if I sounded like I was bad mouthing peshastin. I wasn't trying to. I rather like the occasional day spent there. It is an excellent place to get in some variety and additional rock skills in our local cragging environment. Just trying to give an honest assessment of what to expect for a first time visitor.

das toof. it will actually be a good climb this time of year with all the snow everywhere. In the sun all day. should be good. are you looking for snow lines or any kind of routes?

according to the guidebook there are 17 routes with stars and only need draws. There breakdown is: route rating 5.6 1 skull w star rating 5.7 none 5.8 1 with stars rating 1 skull w star 5.9 2 with stars rating 2 without star rating, 1 skull w star 5.10 4 with stars rating 1 without star rating 2 skull w star 5.11 3 with stars rating As you can see it is rather limiting to pure sport climbers as the non star climbs are probably crap so that leaves 10 routes that are not run out. The west face route has some 12 bolts for 30 meters or so. (5.8)

it is real sporty sport climbing that needs a serious trad rack for. The routes are old school so expect healthy old school runouts (with a few exceptions of course) and also need to finangle in the trad gear in flaring cracks. definatley a unusual and interesting place to go a few times every year. (if not remember how good granite is) You can find some well protected bolt climbing and also some TR walk around setups but it ain't no smoke bluffs fur sure.

Mike Layton says "just use a nut tool!"

the new guide in question is the 2003 version. the book calls it " steep climb on impeccable white stone is climaxed by airy hand crack through roof" It could be impeccacbly white kitty litter stone. Does kitty litter get two stars?

screw boulder problems. how about big wall problems? throw a crash pad on it and set up as you work your way bouldering up el cap. a whole new crazy way to climb. maybe the new trend for the 2010's?

Setting up a ledge in Tieton? On Basalt columns that are 30 meters high? If you meant Teton, that is a long way to carry a ledge of any weight.

I don't know the specifics but grivel tools may not be available in the near future. SOmething about the American distributor (Twight I believe)hanging it up. Not sure if replacement picks will be available. Maybe someone else will distribute them. It is a shame as I have a pair of grivels that I really like, not as light as you are looking at. My buddy has an older aztar and it felt really good on waterfall ice and handles good on alpine ice. Never used the bd.

Hey Justin, Scott Decapio broke a v thread once while rappeling down in new england somewhere. He was rapping off and came to a existing v thread that was in the sun. He clipped into it without a backup. I think when his partner put his weight also on it, the anchor blew. Their rope got tangled up in another teams rope, which kept them from going all the way to the ground. I think that is how he related it to me. So there, you know one person now.

What are you looking to get out of it? There has got to be several people on this board who actually taught the course. (self included) I like to think it is a worthwhile course but it depends on where you are starting and what you want to learn. If you have no experience with alpine or glaciated mtn climbing then it is very worthwhile.

When I was into the south side of baker in march, we were able to drive within 4 miles of the trailhead. But it seems like the snow line is still fairly low. (as evident by looking out the window!) So I would bet that there is a lot more snowed over logging road right now. The mobilers going up there has an effect of keeping the road open for farther that others. One year, the entire logging road to shuksan was snowed in, from baker lake road which then involved a days walk to get to the trailhead. I would expect any glaciated peak to have significant logging road time, except for routes off ski areas. South side of baker is a bit smoggy due to the snow machines but once you get to shriebers meadowns, it is not as bad as they tend to disburse off in many directions. Their tracks are good for walking in though. One of favorite glaciated climbs was south side baker in april once you get up high. get skiis if you want to get out this time of year.

In addition to the fine advice above: On days that you don't have a partner, go hiking into places that you want to climb when you have the experience. Get to know the area. Even go up the descent routes if possible to know them well. You will learn many things like personal maintenance, travel on rough terrain and get some great conditioning in too. While out there, practice with the map and compass. While at it, go camping out there too. Buy everything super light weight but adequate. It may be a little more expensive, but if not now, then you will later. The rock gyms are a good idea, just be careful with giving your tendons time to recover properly. Tendons take much longer to strengthen than muscle and skill development. Takes years actually. So get in there but don't go balls out and hold back if you feel any twinge. A blown tendon is a very bad way to start a climbing career. Unless you are a teenager who still has their body under warranty. enjoy! starting climbing is such an exciting time. many of the most amazing memories where from the starting days.

While it is not a good idea to put your finger into things (insert Beavid & Butthead snicker) the probability of hurting your finger while clipping a rope into the biner is very low. The above example of damaging the finger when you suddenly load it (blown piece or slip while free climbing) doesn't apply while clipping the rope. When people have damaged the finger, it usually with the finger tightly curled around some biner or bolt or something like that. With the rope clipping technique, usually only the first pad of the finger is in contact with the biner. Putting the whole finger in (2nd or 3rd digit) makes it very hard to get the rope in. (more snickers) If you fall while clipping with only one digit in the biner, it slips out easily without damaging the finger. That said, I usually use the grab the whole biner in the palm of the hand and push in the rope with the thumb technique.

I remember reading somewhere there was something positive about the deformation of the foam that absorbs force while the hard lid either "shatters" or transfers the force directly to the head. Maybe it was in reference to lead falls.

but it what mike says is true, then as long as a complete essential amino acid profile is present in adequate amounts, then why pay the extra money for "superior" protien source. The bio availability just means you gotta consume a little extra of the less good stuff to get the same amount of protein. My thinking was mainly geared towards the whey concentrate vs whey isolate products. I have read some disturbing things against soy being estrogenetic (warrior diet) so it makes sense to steer clear of that. Maybe for that rare (extremely rare) day I am pulling a twight alpine assault,(like the mighty tooth!) I would be concerned about using soy as a fuel source to mitigate muscle canabalism.

I assume you checked out the supertopo alaska climbing book with fairly detailed advice. as per book: double carry up crosson w 2 weeks supplies if acclimitizing on route. if already acclimitized, then you need 5 days. manage risk: 60 to 100 wands! for along the ridge due to tricky route finding through crevasses. there is a photo of the ridge and damn if there isn't a ton of cracks. check it out if you hadn't already. tons of things to do there in the kahiltna if you get shut down from foraker. It looks like a small single wall tent is a good idea due to narrow ridge camping is expected. Also, it looks advisable to go as a larger rather than a smaller team. (shared trail breaking, load carrying, crevasse rescuing, ect) If you are a team of two or three, maybe look at mating up with another team while you got time to plan on it. I haven't been on the route but have spent a fair bit of time in the range on other routes. Just my 2 cents. Ask Westman for a experienced answer to your questions. Maybe try some alaskan equivelant to cascadeclimbers?

I have used the grivel ultra light thing and it has worked very well for volcano sloggin and such. Been too scared to try to front point.

Generally, if asolos fit your feet, then I would stick with that brand but find a model that fits the trip. They tend to use the same last (foot shape) for different models so there is a greater chance that it will work for you. Sometimes this doesn't work as they may use a different last for different boots. People. What model of boot were you thinking about? Enter the ongoing discussions of what to wear on rainier. Plastic vs leather debate. Oh I just read your post again and it looks like you are asking what asolo model is best for rainier. Am I right? (I don't know squat about asolo) Rainier in july is a fine time. enjoy!

My question was based on Mike's comment that the body breaks all protein down to base components then creates whatever it needs. So you can get whey concentrate and isolate or soy or egg or milk casein or on and on. But does the content really matter? I got that costco bag with a mix of whey iso, soy iso and something else and it tastes pretty good. At only about $35/ big 5lb bag, it is a bargain too. But i have been trying to steer clear of soy due to it's possible estrogenetic effects. Is they extra $10 for a high quality bag of protien worth it?

3 day trip = 4000 cubic inch 1 day trip = 2500 cubic inch I am sure someone will argue that a 3999 cubic inch is better for a 3 day. The best pack is the one that fits you best and can hold all the stuff you really NEED. Not the stuff you "want" to bring. Need is less than want. Except that as we get older and more tired, we all want less on our back than we need and maybe left unprepared. Whatever. How about get all your gear together including food and water and try your packs out to see what holds it all in. Then go for a couple mile walk and see if it sucks or not. I would suggest a very lightweight summit pack like the MEC genie when they used to make them. while it is extra weight, it might be worth it on summit day. enjoy rainier!