chelle

I have a Bibler bivy sack that is nice, but I get a bit claustrophobic in it if it is fully zipped up. It hasa hoop, but the bug net droops on my face. If you're trying to save money check with stores like second ascent about factory seconds. I got mine in Berkeley at a good discount just cause the fabric had a wrinkle in it that was considered a blemish. Saved about $70.

Spoken like a guy who only carries quickdraws and a 9.8mm rope. Leg muscles are where it's at in a lot of sports.

That's more disgusting than a lot of the stuff you post Trask. What's up with your avatar photo? Is it some kind of subliminal message. Just flashes for a fraction of a second...

They compelety ! I'm an addict!

It's a little tired at this point. But at least I can laugh it off now.

No mention of the billions of dollars they stole from the bank before leaving town though...

Sounds like sex...wazzit good? Awesome, but then I make it a habit of not playing kiss and tell, so I can't make any direct comparisons.

When I did Tatoosh the first time we did the squeeze you're talking about on the first pitch and approached the pitch around the corner to the right side of Thin Fingers. You top out at a ledge with some trees for anchors. Then we went on up through the trees to a ledge where you can build an anchor -- 5.fun dirt scrambling. On the left side of this is a squeeze chimney that is maybe 15 feet tall. You have to really wrestle yourself into it and then squirm up to where you can reach a face hold and help pull yourself up and scramble to another rampy anchor point. I think 2 more pitches gets you to the top of Narrow Arrow, but it was January and a storm came in so we bailed. The second time we did it as an alternative to finishing the "2nd" pitch of Thin Fingers, and stopped at the first ledge of trees (is this the park benches?) and then down climbed through the trees to the top Thin Fingers anchors and my partner TR'd it before we rapped. If you like squeezes, you gotta check out that upper chimney.

You're funny Bronco. We didn't have any pins, next time I'll make sure I bring them just in case. Overall the tree climbing wasn't that bad, but reversing it with heavy packs, especially after getting up the short cliffs/rocks near the creek wouldn't be too fun. What I thought was dangerous was the flagging that lead us off route, don't know if there was a missing piece that the rangers had removed or not, but whatever... I was more pissed at the ranger's attitude and losing time because we were camped on the opposite side of the valley. Mattp - you're probably right about encouraging people to do trail maintenance. I figured any letter I wrote would get some canned response and not make a difference in the long run. I noticed that Kelly's comments were from last season, so I doubt I'll hear back from her in this forum.

Okay... I guess you're right about the first few moves.

But many companies I've worked with have built a culture on building consensus and complain about the lack of stuff getting done. We used to call that "problem" syndication of risk, because if they all just talked about the need to make a decision for a few months then finally did it, no one could even remember who started the discussion... Corporate America sucks.

I love that Aries chimney. It's the perfect size for me. So ChucK, are you talking about the wide section on the first pitch of Tatoosh or the squeeze chimney higher up above the tree scrambling above the Thin Fingers anchors. Both are fun, but I don't remember a handcrack in the upper squeeze chimney. But that thing too a lot of grunting and groaning to get into. It was sweet! Anyone with hands big enough to be locker on the first part of Damnation must be related to the Incredible Hulk IMO. That part was all elbows and knees. Chimneys and wide cracks Thrutch...thrutch...breathe...grunt...

Too bad you missed the views Russ. Here's a couple photos for you from my hike up to Kennedy Ridge on Friday. Perfect blue bird day. (The pics are just teasers cause the light sucked by the time we got to the full views of the peak from the ridge and they're too washed out to post...) http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/showphoto.php?photo=1450&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500 http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/showphoto.php?photo=1449&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500 Next time check out the Frostbite Ridge climb. That is a kick your ass worth it experience. The approach hike isn't too bad, it's doing those 15 miles to get back to the car after the summit that is grueling.

I assume it errors on the high side and you just KNOW you're not THAT fat. Does sound to be a cruel toy. Probably better than getting the SO involved in the discussion though. Honey, do you think...

JGowans - The only person's opinion that matters is your own. If to you taking the life is the best style for the climb then do that, as long as doing that won't mess up your ability to aclimate and not have issues on the climb due to poor acclimatization. I assume you're climbing the thing for yourself, not because you'll get bragging rights that might be tarnished if you took the lift. Have fun on the climb. p.s. a friend who skied it last year said that was the way to go. Makes the descent a lot easier.

Kelly: Last season before there was a very clear path through the debris, my party unfortunately ended up following a lemming path up the zone and once we realized it thought it would be more dangerous to down climb the logs and trees we'd already gone over. We followed some flagging that lead to this "trail". We climbed up the whole zone and ended up on a ridge below Sahale. Some of the scrambling, especially on the polished rock near the creek, could have led to serious injury if we'd fallen. Possibly needing rescue and placing other lives at risk. Later in a discussion with the ranger I asked who was maintaining the flagging and with such an obvious trail elsewhere in the "cross-country zone" --including trail rerouting and closures of old trail when erosion was an issue -- was there no work to show the way across the debris. He told me that not only is the NPS NOT placing flagging or removing debris, they were removing the flagging if they saw it and fining people if they caught them "improving" the trail. Frankly, I think there has been precedent as the climbers trail has been rerouted to keep people on paths that do not erode the hillside. I also think that with (at the time) a public who is very critical of rescue efforts, the NPS would at least spend $5 on some flagging to make sure people don't get off route and get hurt. Your employee was also pretty condescending in his attitude and "informed" us that we should be prepared to navigate this type of hazard or spend time outside cross-country zones. He told us we could express our opinion to the superintendent in Sedro-Wolly, but that there were much higher priorities on the agenda. Admittedly we were off route and fortunately nothing happened. However, I believe that the NPS has behaved in conflicting ways in the past with respect to the trails and trail maintenance in the "cross-country zone". And the attitidue of the ranger we spoke with was pretty poor and did nothing to improve my opinion of their presence in MY back-country. As for whoever is doing the trail maintenace, great job. Continue the stealth work.

Right at the gendarme there are two flat spots big enough for a person to bivy on. No big ledges though.

Hiked up to the camp at Kennedy Ridge on Friday for a picnic. The route looked great from that vantage point, but had a lot less snow than when I climbed it a few years ago. We saw a couple parties heading up that way. Maybe they post here?

Now Distel is etched in my mind's eye climbing in a superhero outfit -- complete with mask and cape blowing in the wind. a Prana logo on the front and Boulder Boy on the back.

That's why they get paid big $$$ to ride their bikes all day long.

Well now that explains everything...

The bus station here is no different (sketchier) than any other 3rd world country. I was impressed that the buses were on time and clean and comfy. For US$9.60 a ticket from Mendoza to Penitentes, I was pretty amazed. I'd advise going early in the season (mid-Dec) to beat the crowds and take advantage of more snow still coving up the choss on the route. That sidde of the peak is getting more popular and doesn't handle the crowds well IMO.

Oh I forgot about that place. Thanks for the reminder. They've got the best espresso on Hwy. 2! p.s. 'cause I'm a reasonable kinda gal.

So you order Soy Latte's too, Bungle? I have to watch my figure Ahh. But soy has more fat than 2% milk. If you can do dairy, just get the skim.

May have cool socials, but if their teens get caught having sex they have to confess to the whole "community". At least they did in my home town. I had a couple friends who were humiliated by the experience.