chelle

Thanks everyone. I'm not going to worry so much about the rope and just focus on gear placements so that the pieces are bomber. I've been pushing myself more lately and am taking more falls. This was my first fall where a piece blew and I didn't think twice about it until I read the discussion on the gear blowing out at the coulee. Maybe I'll just use my double ropes for awhile... Michelle

I've been thinking about my rope since reading the thread on G. Kropp's accident and the discussion on how dynamic ropes react to a fall. And got to thinking about a fall I took last weekend (although not on my rope). I have a Sterling 60m 9.6mm dynamic rope. I bought it because I wanted something lightweight and figure it is safe since I don't weigh that much. I weigh about 130 lbs. If I fall on my rope and a piece pulls and I fall another 10 feet to the next piece of gear, will I generate the static load forces people are talking about? Is this a "safe" rope to use cragging or should I get a 10mm rope for cragging? The fall I took last weekend was on Classic Crack in Leavenworth just below the second buldge where the climb eases. Leading in the dark with shitty Tikka and didn't judge the size of the crack right. Put in a #1 cam, where I should have used a #2. The piece popped a second or two after I slipped out and weighted it (piece was at my waist). I then fell on a #3 cam which was maybe 5-6 feet below the 1st piece. Thankfully noone got hurt, we all just laughed I swapped headlights so I could see better and finished off the climb. Can any of you tech heads who like to (and can) calculate this stuff help me figure this out?

Chris -is that Spiderman doing an impersonation of Michael Jackson?

We haven't been to the Ballard Grill & Alehouse (the place across from Hale's) in awhile. Good parking situation there.

I can't vote against the Ballroom since it's just around the corner. All too convenient for drinking and walking home.

How about the Owl & Thistle?

Mattp, thanks for the great pics. TG, that beer was awesome. It was a great party and some really good climbing. Glad I made it home in time to join in the fun!

This is the second year in a row that they are late in publishing and sending the books. Last year they sent a letter and emails out to members. I agree they could have notified the members. All they had to do was dust off last year's letters and change the dates... [ 10-18-2002, 12:43 PM: Message edited by: ehmmic ]

Faust - what's the date on the pic? Looks like an incredible meadowed valley prior to the dam. There are also some good looking granite walls up the Toloumne River valley in the Grand Canyon of the Toloumne. Hiked it about two weeks ago. A really beautiful place.

My understanding is that Ken is setting up a non-profit who will own the gear he has collected. He told me he was concerned that ist would end up in some warehouse if given to the park service. I think this is a good idea and will give the rock monkeys a place to see cool pieces of history and also restore a place to hang out. There is some gear and photos at the Ahwahnee hotel but not very much compared to what I understand Ken has in the collection. The museum idea needs support. If you climb in Yosemite or like climbing history, send an email to help out.

what will they think of next...

Leavenworth in October. Yeah! Can't wait to hang with y'all.

AA - it was fun hanging with you too. Thanks for the good wishes. You bet I appreciate it all much more. I won't be complaining about how heavy my tent is any time soon. I'll pm you when I'm back in town.

RURP, I can't dispute that you may be right, given the evidence. It is possible that it was there the whole time and I got confused on a not very familiar street. One thing I know is that I had only two beers that night and did not smoke any herb. In the big scheme of things I guess it doesn't really matter if someone played a joke, borrowed it for a drug run, or if I was clueless. I got my stuff back and am leaving for the valley this afternoon. I think it's good to laugh at oneself and this was a funny story I thought would entertain some of the gang on this board. As for my homeless style of packing. I was planning to leave on Wednesday at 6 am for my trip. The fact is that my truck, climbing and camping gear, my CDs and my computer are my only posessions of value (other than a bit of furnature that stays in my house). Usually I keep my gear in my house. Next time I'll wait until just before I hit the road to pack the truck. Cheers!

Doug - My dad asked the same quesiton. I suppose that's possible, but to do that one day before I was supposed to leave on my road trip would be pretty mean. A few friends know where my spare key is, but they haven't fessed up. My first thought was that my roommates were playing a joke. If someone was trying to teach me a lesson, 1) Don't drive to pub club when it's only 8 blocks from home. 2) testing whether I really believe that people and experiences are more important than things. 3) who knows what else I was supposed to learn...I got it. Please don't do it again. Michelle

For those of you who are bored and want a laugh (at my expense)... 4:15 pm: Tuesday evening in Seattle was beautiful. I spent the afternoon with Chris_w getting my computer dialed in so I could print some topos for my Yosemite road trip. 6:00 pm: We decided to grab some Thai food before the pub club at the Ballroom. Saw 009 hanging out at the Ballroom and caught up on the work soap opera. Said we'd chat more later and crossed the street to eat. Had a good dinner. 7:20 pm: Got to pub club. Enjoyed a couple (note only two beers consumed) of beers, saw friends, shared some climbing stories, and finalized the plans for the road trip. 10:38 pm: Left the bar to get some sleep. 10:45 pm: I'd parked my truck a few blocks from the bar and when I walked up the hill I started to wonder where it was. I didn't see it where I had left it, walked up and down the corner where I thought I parked. Crossed the street to the street sign and checked that I was on the right block. Paniced because my truck was loaded with nearly all of my material possessions. My complete climbing rack, my tent, my down sleeping bag, my down coat, my CD collection... Oh shit! How could this be happening? 10:50 pm: Ran home. Called the cops and filed a report. Ranted with my roommates about what a jerk someone has to be to do something like this. 12:30 pm: Tried to get sleep, but maybe got 4 hours. Wednesday 7:30 am: Got up feeling totally violated, but thankful that I had insurance that covered my losses. Called the insurance company. Called Chris_w to see what time he got home to see if he saw the truck. He didn't see it when he got home. 8:10 am: Called Erik to get some advice from an expert on what to expect from the insurance company. Hung up after a brief chat and then got really angry at my situation. Cried out of frustration. Told myself it isn't that bad. Stuff can be replaced. I should focus on being thankful for a lot of the really good things in my life. 9:30 am: Erik suggested getting out of town to climb at Castle Rock. Grabbed my glacier harness and my 5.10 mountain Masters, and my one remaining Petzl spirit caribiner. Waited for my ride. 12:30 pm: Got to Castle had a great day climing in the sunshine. Tried to forget about my situation. Chilled out on the rocks thinking about letting go of my anger and that there is so much to be happy about. Good friends, good weather, my health, nine months off work to climb and travel... If I let this upset me then the jerk who took my stuff would win twice. Steal my stuff and also steal my spirit. 9:08 pm: Got home. Talked to family on the phone. Hung out with my roommate. Watched a little t.v. 11:10 pm: Went to bed to get some sleep. 11:30 pm: Cell phone rings in the other room. Chris_w on the line asking if I drove by his house. Said he thinks he saw my truck. Offers to pick me up and drive over. Get dressed and wait on the curb. 11:35 pm: Stare dumbfounded at my truck. Doors locked, stuff inside, no damage... Parked in nearly the exact spot it was left on Tuesday night. WTF! I am not crazy! The damned thing WAS NOT THERE 24 hours earlier. Don't have any idea what to say. Get in. Drive home. 11:40 pm: Call the police and cancel the stolen truck report. Nice woman on the phone laughs with me about the situation. Whew! Not in trouble with the cops. Midnight: Unload all of my stuff from the truck. Go to bed still scratching my head about what happened and giggling with embarrassment. I have no explanation about this whole Twilight Zone experience. Perhaps it was abducted by aliens who are curious about the life of a road tripping climbing chick. Spray away! [ 09-12-2002, 10:36 AM: Message edited by: ehmmic ]

The Ballroom is a great idea Kurt. See you and anyone else interested there around 7ish. [ 09-10-2002, 04:07 PM: Message edited by: ehmmic ]

I climb with a 50m 9mm rope, and 6mm prussiks. I think you're supposed to have a minimum of 3mm difference in the diameter between the rope and the prussik cords.

No gear to swap and no money to spend on more gear... If there's a group interested in Seattle, speak up! AlpineK - I'm up for somewhere in Ballard or Fremont.

Looks like a fine nap in the sun to me. Too conveinent for him to pass out for some other reason on such a comfy looking spot. Oh yeah... I think it is none other than AlpineK. [ 09-10-2002, 11:15 AM: Message edited by: ehmmic ]

The East Ridge is a great climb. Have done it twice. The first time we did not bypass the spires and it was a lot of fun to go up and over on the full ridge. The second time we bypassed the last tower in the name of speed. One the first trip we descended via the East ledges descent. 5 single rope raps to the ledges, traversed towards the gully and started following ramps up to avoid going up the gully. Got into some loose stuff and scared ourselves a bit, but made it without incident. Ended up getting to the ridge about half way up the first pitch and rapped back to the gendarme. Last time (a couple weeks ago) we decided to traverse the thing by going down the west ridge. This was a fun way to go too, but I wouldn't recommend it on a weekend with crowds. We had the mountain to ourselves on a Friday. Rapped down the gully to the left of the snow gully descent. Not that big a deal, but there are a few funky rap anchors up there. You may want to bring some extra webbing to reinforce things if you aren't comfortable with what you find. Enjoy! p.s. when we were up there a couple weeks ago the approach was sweet. steep snow nearly all the way up to the gendarme. Much nicer than the kitty litter covered slab climbing last year. [ 09-05-2002, 11:38 AM: Message edited by: ehmmic ]

quote: Originally posted by freeclimb9: quote:Originally posted by Dru:

Hey Cavie, are we going to see you there tonight? Lawgoddess - the Alki Tavern is more of a biker bar than a pub, but it's pretty cool. 75 cent burgers and good beer.

Alki would be way cool. Haven't been out there in awhile.

Had a stellar time climbing in Squamish last week. Saturday was a perfect "Fall" day. Climbed up the apron and then over to a new route called the Ultimate Everything. 10 pitches of face climbing with a few cracks sprinkled in. If you like that sort of thing it will live up to it's name. Clouds threatening rain all day. Cool temps made for sticky feet. Was sweet to be climbing with fun friends. Now I'm looking forward to seeing the leaves change in the Valley down south... Anyone else planning to be down there during the later part of Sep.?