Marcus_Engley

quote: Originally posted by Gilles: Prices are $CAN. 2 MSR snow pickets 60 cm, $15each Gilles, check your PMs...m

quote: Originally posted by miker: Now if I have someone over and we are climbing and they break their leg, head, coxcyx, et al what is my exposure to liability? I kinda like the idea of a waiver although I don't know if it would really stand up in court as it is not a business but my own home.... On a related note, what is the best way to use half of my 2 car garage for the climbing wall? It looks like 10x20 and 7 or 8 feet tall right now, I might raise the attic a bit to give me more upward mobility. Well, the first thing I'd do is, as Figger Eight says, don't invite people who would sue you if they hurt themselves in your garage-- I can't imagine any of my friends doing that. Second, I'd say go to Value Village and pick up a bunch of junk mattresses. I've got five, and I paid about $15 for them-- reduce head-thumpage and coccyx-breakage. But that's not your question: A waiver would certainly indicate that your friend understood the chance of injury, whether or not it would hold up in court. That said, I think my friends would all look at me funny, and I wouldn't have many people to climb with if I busted out the waiver when they dropped by with a six-pack and their shoes. A better solution might be some kind of posted notice indicating the danger of climbing, blah blah blah. You could make it just serious enough that it covered your ass a little (in the unlikely event of someone actually going after you in court), and it would be something you and all your climbing buddies could laugh at a little-- kind of like your own mini- REI Pinnacle. Better than a waiver at least, in my mind. Oh, what I wouldn't give for a two car garage! If you're intent on using only half of it, here are some thoughts: My garage is about 12' by 20', with a roof peak at about 9 or 10'. It's got 16' of vertical panelling along one wall that butts into a 45/20 degree wall that covers the 12' width (6' for each, w/ a little transition panel between). On the other side is a 6' wide vertical section, then an 8' wide section that overhangs about 10 degrees. All of these are about 7.5 to 8' tall. Off the top of the 45/20 there's a roof that comes out to the peak at about 60 degrees, adding a little spice. It's much fun. If you've got the means and time to raise your garage ceiling and give more "up", I'd definitely do it. That's the only thing our wall lacks, I think... m

quote: Originally posted by rayborbon: Nothing is closed unless they catch you. I can deal with climbing in any of the hundreds of other spots nearby for the three months out of the year that golden eagles need for nesting.

Greetings, Got in a few pitches at Tieton this weekend, on a windy but otherwise gorgeous trip. On the way out (on Sunday) we saw a pair of climbers at the Bend, just finishing up the long, two pitch 5.8 (I think). I was under the impression that both the Bend and Royal Columns were closed until further notice, for golden eagle nesting. Anyone know for sure? I'm going to call the Naches Ranger Station and find out what the story is-- I'll post the details here. The sign indicating the closure was not posted in its usual spot on the other side of the bridge (by the Bend). Andy Fitz, are you out there? Thanks!m

quote: Originally posted by Geek the Greek: Anyone have any thoughts on 'biner to 'biner links in anchors? I learned a long time ago not to do this, but was never given a good reason why. Thinking about it, I think I generally do it to help equalize anchors (to lengthen a sling just a little bit, for instance), or as a directional on multi-pitch to belay up a second (so the rope goes from my belay to the biner and down, so the pull is upwards). Geek, I've done it for the same reason you cited above, though most frequently as a directional to belay the next leader (I usually belay the second straight off the anchor, unless they're sketchy). The reason I avoid it otherwise is mostly because it makes the anchor more complicated and I can usually account for the difference with some rearranging. Plus, as you said, it's another gate to bang open, or flip around, or get a piece of gear/rope hung up on. m

quote: Originally posted by none: Yes, the business about the prusik working both directions is one of those minor points hardly worth argueing, but the prusik is small and easy to make. To answer the question, I'm using it both at the running pulley on the "z", and at the anchor "master" point to prevent losing your gained rope. The very rare situation where one might have to monkey with the system in order to change directions, or change ropes, etc. is where you may use the prusik to now work in the opposite direction, wheras the bachman and the kliemheist would have to be replaced. Haven't worked much with the autoblock, but I found it bulky and a little unwieldy, kind of like the garda-- I'll need to work with it some more, though. Interesting. I use the prussik at the "z", but an autoblock at the master point. I'm having trouble picturing how you're using the knot to load in the opposite direction, but that may be because of a lack of coffee... I like the autoblock mostly because it's load-releasable unlike the prussik (unless you're superhuman). It is a little unwieldy, especially if you're working with a long piece of cord. I've got a couple of pieces cut with an autoblock in mind-- they're slightly shorter than a single length sling. Using cord instead of webbing makes the knot cleaner too... to each their own!m

quote: Originally posted by Alex: Wow a moveable gooseneck? My apologies, yes learn something new every day. Trippy. I guess I can totally envision that on smaller boats where the loads arent so large. Seems that that would require the main to have a foot shelf though, and I am also used to a free footed main. What kind of boat? No apologies. Different setup, for sure... The boat I was thinking of was a 17' marconi rigged Catboat. One big fat sail, and very beamy, but nowhere near the loads of a Hobie. I think the little FJ's and the 420s we had in college had a similar setup, but that may be wrong. The Cat has a keel-stepped (hull-stepped, really, since it's a centerboard boat) mast, but all the gooseneck tensioning was between an attachment point on the 'neck and a cleat on the mast itself. Mmmm, Hobie's always look like so much fun... I've sailed lots of Lazers, and they're plenty feisty, but nothing like a catamaran... m

quote: Originally posted by forrest_m: ahoy mateys, belay that sailin' talk, this is a climbing website. Aye aye... consider it belayed, skipper...

quote: Originally posted by Alex: The luff of the main? Is tensioned by the cunningham at the gooseneck, but doesnt have anything to do with the gooseneck per se. Cranking the boom down is, of course, physically impossible since the gooseneck is fixed to your mast. You can tension the boom, though with the boom vang? The downhaul on the boats I've sailed actually cranks the boom down, at the gooseneck, tensioning the luff. The gooseneck travels up or down in the slot that the sail feeds into. This is on smaller boats up to 15' to 18' or so. I'm not surprised that the gooseneck is immobile on larger boats. The boom vang runs from mast foot out to a point on the boom, somewhere away from the gooseneck (same as on the boats you sail, I imagine - yes?). quote: Originally posted by Alex: But I think I understand the confusion, if you do not sail with a spinnaker or masthead rig, and thats my only experience except for cats and tris with an asym. If you call the cunningham a downhaul, thats cool, but on a masthead rig with a spinnaker pole that does end-to-end gybes, the downhaul holds the spinnaker pole steady from below, while the topping lift holds it steady from above. Ahhh, no I've never sailed a spinnaker rig, much as I've wanted to. The cunningham, as I understand it, actually tightens the luff via a grommet and a line between it and the tack-- obviously doing the same thing as the downhaul for a fixed gooseneck boom... Learn something new every day! Thanks... m

quote: Originally posted by none: The thing about the prusik is, that it is the only friction knot that I know of (until proven wrong!) that runs both directions, whereas the autoblock and the bachman are one way. By runs in both directions, do you mean that it'll cinch down and catch either way the rope pulls? The autoblock will do that too, though it might take the knot a foot or two to reset itself. Are you using it from an anchor directly to the rope, but not at a pulley point? I can't think why you'd want it to catch in both directions, since it would just bind up and prevent you from hauling... Curious... m

quote: Originally posted by Alex: "bowline knot is commonly used by sailors when rigging sails" yes "and attaching downhaul to main sheet" The downhaul is used to hold the spinnaker pole in place while the main sheet controls the boom? These things are completely unrelated, so I'm not sure what you are trying to say here. Downhaul's used to tension the luff by cranking the boom down at the gooseneck. Certainly not related to the main sheet though... But this is a climbing website.

quote: Originally posted by tread tramp: Back on the issue of a self-tending prussik; there is a prussik alternative called the bachmann knot which will not jam in the pulley. It is tied with a series of wraps of the prussik sling around the spine of a carabiner and the rope. Freedom Of The Hills shows an illustration of it in its section on knots. You can do the same thing with an autoblock. Saves a biner, and tends itself beautifully...

Lambone... A topic I've given a lot of thought to, and one always worth discussing. I'm probably misplacing this quote, but I think Paul Petzoldt said that the first and most important thing to do in an emergency was to sit down and smoke a cigarette. Perhaps a more PC, modern-day solution would be to meditate or drink a bottle of mineral water, but the idea is the same-- take a deep breath, calm yourself, and do the best that you can. I was on a maritime SAR team while I was in college, and frequently found myself in situations that would challenge my abilities as a rescuer. The more training you have as a foundation, the better off you'll be, but eventually you'll run into something that you never thought you'd have to deal with, and you just have to ride it out and hope for the best. People you'd never think capable of handling themselves will pull it together and tie the fastest knot they've ever tied, or whip a backboard under a sinking victim and lash them down tight. It's not completely an innate ability-- people aren't programmed to panic or stay cool. It happens, you do what you hope is best, and you come out the other side. That's my take...

quote: Originally posted by pope: Mentioning historic artifacts, Dwayner and I got rained out of Index Monday and decided to check out the gym scene. We stopped by the Stone Gardens to check out this finger crack that my friend Brian had created in the bouldering pit (anybody know how hard that thing is?), then we sampled some of the other excellent crack climbs to be found there. Anyway, Dwayner noticed that a number of climbers just stopped what they were doing and gaped at the spectacle of these two old guys climbing cracks; we speculated that we must have looked like some kind of robotic museum pieces to these youngsters. BTW, hats off to KJ, to the saucy girl who loaned us the chalk bag, and to all of the Stone Gardens staff: they made us feel most welcome in what must have been our first trip to a gym in three years! I think that crack that Brian (he built the whole gym, didn't he?) (aha! unless you mean the younger Brian, not the carpenter) put up in the bouldering area is hard 12, maybe 13 something. Pretty gruesome affair. The cracks in there don't get a lot of mileage. I'm not surprised that you felt "observed". Glad you had a good experience with the SG staff-- a bunch of them are good friends of mine. m [ 02-21-2002: Message edited by: Marcus Engley ]

quote: Originally posted by epb: You guys are so lame. Where else you going to see Chris Sharma climbing revelation, Dave Grahman climbing dream time,etc ect for FREE! I found the quicktime videos excellent. Sorry you guys didn't.] FWIW epb, I got a kick out of the site. The video of Loskot and his buddies doing huge moves on steep limestone, popping off, and going for a 50 foot ride into the surf was pretty sweet... m

quote: Originally posted by payaso: I've actually tried both and actually prefer the simplicity of the MSR design. My concern is 1. Quality (you get what you pay for here?), and 2. Has anyone used the tails, and if so have you had any difficulties with them? I want to buy something soon because rentals cost $18 after tax!! Ouch! Go for the MSRs. That's a great price, and it's a good snowshoe. The tails work as easily as they're advertised to, and they add a lot of float. My only gripe about the whole rig is that the straps tend to slowly migrate out of the instep buckle, and I lost a strap on my first day out with them. With a little effort you can double them back through (don't know why they don't do that as standard), and alleviate that problem... m [ 02-14-2002: Message edited by: Marcus Engley ]

quote: Originally posted by Lambone: Fer sure. I'm not sure why so many people think SG bouldering is better than VW's. Is it because the problems are better, more bouldering space, better holds??? Whats up? I'm just curious, I don't go there much. Well, it seems like there's a lot more space, though part of that may be the layout. SG has that whole back area, and the big cave up front with a huge 45. Thinking about it, VW has a lot of space as well, but it seems like the setting and the gym in general is just catered more to TRs and leading (at which it stomps on SG, no doubt about it). Even that big back wall at VW, though it has a lot of potential, seems to be sparse, routewise, compared to SG. It's also got the whole lead section above it, so maybe that makes it feel less boulder friendly? Who knows... For a long while SG had some really good setters putting up some great problems on a regular basis-- less so now, though it's been improving in the last month or so. I did have a great time at a VW boulder comp a couple of years ago (Seattle). Good problems, lots of fun-- and they let me keep the finish hold that snapped off in my hand as a trophy. Too bad it snapped off just as people stopped spotting me... m

quote: Originally posted by offwidthclimber: i like SG for the bouldering and funky appeal (at least the old one... haven't been since the remodel). the crack in the bouldering area is fun for runing laps up and down in your tennies to completely waste yourself before heading out the door. i think it confuses the nearby mutants pulling V8 Sorry to tell you, offwidth, but with the remodel, that crack in the bouldering cave is now a flaring, crappy thin finger crack. Really frickin' hard, but fun to try and get a couple of moves on. If you could run laps on it, I'd buy you a pitcher at the Sloop, while I sat in awe... Lambone, The new texture isn't paint, it's a troweled on concrete stuff-- pretty durable, though they didn't add as many little edges and features as VW has. It's much better for friction than just plywood though... Oh, and about your new Redmond manager-- I expect you know him already, but if not, he's a great guy. The gym will do well by him, I think. For my part, I go to SG when I'm not in my garage-- the bouldering's better, and that's what I do most inside. Much as I think VW is an impressive gym, I always feel like I'm getting wierd looks from the people in there (not the staff, but the customers)-- who knows? Maybe I'm funny looking... Apart from that, SG is a little cheaper (not much), and they have student rates, which I don't think VW has. The routes don't get changed as often as they should maybe, but they've got a sparse group of setters right now. Certainly not as many as VW has... m

I don't think he and Tim had the photog with him on the record-breaker. Probably ran a lap afterwards to get some pictures...

AllenN This may sound a little ridiculous, but you could probably put a thin bead of weather stripping or silicone along the plastic on the boot, so the tongue presses down onto it when you lace up tight. I haven't done this with mine, but I'd bet it would work with some experimentation. m

Looks the same to me, but the second picture is taken from higher up in the couloir. If you look at the boulders off right of the couloir's exit, you can pick out the same big boulder's, from roughly the same angle, in both pics...

quote: Originally posted by crazyjz: 1) I don't think that they would chew up biners. Do wired nuts, ice screws, bolts, and pitons destroy biners? True. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of a stout cable in a biner, under a constant heavy load, which might saw into the biner eventually. Perhaps not, and admittedly not at all like the application Rafael was suggesting. Why then do you think cables would be a bad idea, crazy?

quote: Originally posted by Rafael H: I wonder if it is possible to use steel cable to resling BD, WC and even Metolius and Aliens? Does anybody have such experience or intelligent thoughts on this? Black Diamond, EW, what do you think? Thanks. Rafael, To add to Will's list, I think steel cable would be a bad idea because it would probably chew up your biners, unless you switched to SS. Aluminum's soft enough to wear fast, when up against something as stout as the cable would be... m

DM, The only way I'll get up a V8 is with a ladder, but I've got a bunch of friends who boulder pretty hard-- they all talk about Squamish. Maybe they just don't want to hike around here to find the stuff? Who knows... Leavenworth's got plenty of rock waiting to be climbed, as do many other spots I've hiked through (while wishing for stronger tendons), but they just haven't seen much development... m

1 - Angel's Crest 2 - My lady 3 - Gunsight Peak