eriknusanet

Regarding first pitch of Liberty Crack: I think the hardest move is at the dihedral about midway, and there is usually a fixed rope you can grab if you want to. It's Index-style tricky climbing there, maybe similar in difficulty to Thin Fingers crux. It's a nice pitch.

When do the crags at Index go into the shade? I seem to recall that The Country goes into the shade earlier than the Lower Wall. Maybe 2pm? How about the Upper Wall? I'm hoping to climb there tomorrow, but seems like it will be too hot in the sun now. Thanks, --erikn@myphysicslab.com

(sorry I posted this to the Gear Critic section by mistake earlier) Here's the avalanche forecast for yesterday (Monday Mar 11)"WASHINGTON CASCADES NEAR AND WEST OF THE CREST................AVALANCHE WARNING.........High avalanche danger below 7000 feet early Monday, gradually decreasing lower elevations later Monday becoming high above 4 to 5000 feet and considerable below through Monday night." And here's a news item from today's report:"Yet another close call for this winter came at Granite Mountain west of Snoqualmie on Monday where a climber was buried without a transceiver, but managed to get a hand out of the snow after a 1500 foot ride, and survived a 20 minute plus burial." Granite Mountain has got to have some of the worst slopes I can imagine for avalanche hazard. Can anyone fathom why someone would be up there yesterday???

Here's the avalanche forecast for yesterday (Monday Mar 11)"WASHINGTON CASCADES NEAR AND WEST OF THE CREST................AVALANCHE WARNING.........High avalanche danger below 7000 feet early Monday, gradually decreasing lower elevations later Monday becoming high above 4 to 5000 feet and considerable below through Monday night." And here's a news item from today's report:"Yet another close call for this winter came at Granite Mountain west of Snoqualmie on Monday where a climber was buried without a transceiver, but managed to get a hand out of the snow after a 1500 foot ride, and survived a 20 minute plus burial." Granite Mountain has got to have some of the worst slopes I can imagine for avalanche hazard. --erikn@myphysicslab.com

I've heard there is some reasonable ice at Pan Dome Falls at Mt. Baker ski area. Can anyone say where it is located within the ski area? Sounds like it is one pitch and top-ropable. Also, any clues on other ice reasonably near Seattle? I top-roped some ice above Source Lake near Chair Peak a month ago, haven't been there since. Thanks.erikn@myphysicslab.com

Vertical World climbing gym membership for sale. Good through June 19th, 2002. Asking $200 (a good deal). Contact Ed Schwartz, 206-932-3647

Here's a simple crack machine I have on my wall: just bolt a vise onto your wall. I had to get a couple of pieces of hardwood and cut them so I could attach them to the vise (make sure the vise has screws so you can do this). I put some sandpaper type stuff on the wood to get better friction (its actually for treads on stairs). The vise sticks out from the wall which is wierd, but you can adjust it from fingers to off-fist. I pretty much use the wall as a hangboard anyway so I can throw in some finger jams to a session.-- Erik N

Eiger Dreams by Jon Krakauer is an excellent collection of stories. One of the most memorable was his personal story of climbing a remote peak in Alaska solo... at around 20 years old, he just left his construction job and set out for Alaska because it seemed like doing the climb would straighten out his life -- hair raising misadventures result, and his commentary (from age 35 or whatever) on his youthful idealism is pretty funny and real ------------------ erik@MyPhysicsLab.com

I agree, the book is really nicely done. I did Mt. Matier, Northeast Face using the book, it was a great day. I put a trip report up in the "BC" section of this website. ------------------ erik@MyPhysicsLab.com

My friend Julie REALLY wants to go to Smith this weekend. She was there last weekend and says it was "awesome... perfect..." She climbs 10s and easy 11s. She can drive (pickup truck, room for 2) or ride. Call her tonight (Thurs) after 8pm at 206-784-3913.

Did anyone make it onto the N. Face of Shuksan? If so, how did it go? I'm considering it for this weekend... Do folks think the current snow would make it dangerous or unpleasant? ------------------ erik@MyPhysicsLab.com

Saw a poster at the gym... some guy who is doing high end mixed climbs in Canada... slide show at 911 arts (?) next door to Feathered Friends ... Weds Oct 10, "refreshments 7pm, presentation 8pm" ... and its FREE! ------------------ erik@MyPhysicsLab.com

Max, what specific areas do you think are under a threat at this time? Or are you suggesting that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? I just doubt that climbers will participate in such a process without a substantial threat. ------------------ erik@MyPhysicsLab.com

That looks like a pretty good process they have going for Eldorado Canyon. What areas in the PNW would need this kind of approach? I can imagine Snow Creek Wall since its in a wilderness area. It would take quite a bit of effort (and ability to endure criticism) on someone's part to set up the process. I imagine it only happened at Eldorado Canyon because the alternative was a government imposed ban on new fixed hardware. ------------------ erik@MyPhysicsLab.com

Climbing Classic Crack by moonlight Saturday night was one of the highlights for me... good practice for some future epic! Thanks to Beck, Michelle and whoever else organized and contributed to the rope up! ------------------ erik@MyPhysicsLab.com