Terminal_Gravity

Werd up ... Or... I hear you ,man ...Or... Yes, I believe I agree with your response, Iain.

4 & 1/2 weeks and a whole lotta driving, I'm back from southern Mexico. I managed to get in just a bit of climbing, but then it was supposed to be a family vacation first. I did drag my wife & 8 year old daughter to a col on Navado de Toluca at 15,034 feet! I summited the remainder to make my 7th highest peak at 15,400' (and I did it in jeans!??)! I scored about $1500 worth of anejo tequilla (15 liters) for $100 bucks US...so the trip did have it's merits. Anyway, what did I miss? Did the type of rope Kropp fell on ever get determined? Any great posts I should look up? I look forward to climbing a lot in the coming weeks and enjoying NOT spending days lazing in the sun at 80 degrees with my biggest challange of the moment being the decision of " drink another Bohemia? or switch to Mezcal?". glad to be home - TG

Will they work as a liner or are they to sticky to slide into a glove? How thick & how dexterous are they? thanks...I'm marginally interested.

I'm INTP as well...what ever the hell that means. JK, Does that mean that we would climb well together or that you would want to keep me away from Muffy? :yellaf:

All of my ropes are less than or equal to 11mm.

Nice TR...good climb, congrates!

Dru, Looks like I lost my esteemed user title. Whaa!

quote: Originally posted by iain: quote:Originally posted by Terminal Gravity: They will all go; any time of year; in any conditions. It's just up to you. It's just a question of whether you want to post your trip report here, or in Accidents in NA Mountaineering. WERD UP! Don't get me wrong, I bailed on the west gully last May because of Slab avy potential.

quote: Originally posted by Crackman: Planning to head up Fri-Sat and see if any of the NE routes might go - Cooper Spur, N Face, Elliot HW or Sunshine. Curious to hear conditions if anyone has been on that side of the mountain recently. I'm guessing it's pretty thin. May be looking for a partner as well. They will all go; any time of year; in any conditions. It's just up to you.

Tim, is the whole board going to be down or just PM stuff?

quote: Originally posted by rbw1966: quote:Originally posted by Terminal Gravity: I look forward to bumping into you again sometime. Maybe we could compare bruises on our shoulders. You guys serve time in prison together? Prison would have probably been safer. But probably would have a had a greater ass puckering quotent. [ 11-27-2002, 08:18 AM: Message edited by: Terminal Gravity ]

Hey Pete, Nice TR. It was goood to chat with you guys as we crossed paths. I look forward to bumping into you again sometime. Maybe we could compare bruises on our shoulders. - steve PS How windy was it at the top? [ 11-27-2002, 08:11 AM: Message edited by: Terminal Gravity ]

For what it's worth, Mike. I returned ( to REI of course) an old two wire #2 Camalot because I found a hairline fracture on the aluminum block that supports the two cam axles. The cam had not seen that much use & I strongly suspect that it was a casting problem, not a fall induced weakness. Unfortunatly, I did not record the lot number. REI said that they were sure BD would like to see the piece and I assume that they sent it to them. I wonder if this was an anomily or a problem with the whole lot. I know this info is pretty obscure, but I thought I would share it. I have sold off all my old cams so I can't help you directly, sorry. Good Luck. - TG

No, Thank YOU, Texplorer for thr experience. ( Not meaning to sound like George Carlin) Tex, I suspect that we acctually picked one of the worst times to attempt the route. Clearly, Full rime would be best but even if it had been on a warm day in August we could have more easily assessed the rock and been able to climb with out those pesky gloves. The little dusting of snow only made things slippery and hard to judge without adding any security. Live & learn! Carpe Diem (later) [ 11-26-2002, 08:45 AM: Message edited by: Terminal Gravity ]

quote: Originally posted by shredmaximus: Yep it was MtHigh up on Leuthold. I was over at Beacon with B-rock and Funguy wondering what shenanigans were taking place high above. Congrats on a great trip and great TR! Oops! Sorry Shread, Sorry Mountain High. I guess after 3 pints & 2 bourbons at the pdx Pub club I got things a bit confused. cheers

quote: Originally posted by Muffy The Wanker Sprayer: RIVITING!!! thanks TG! What a great experience to read about sk Thank Muffy...you made my day!

Oh Yeah, There are 3 pins, 4 slings and 3 carabiners up there. If you want to go get'em, you can have 'em.

In order of importance... Be safe, Come back friends, Have fun and reach the top. That being said, I sure do like the summit.

Twice in the last 15 months I have had the very good fortune to find myself on a climb that altered my mental reality, changed my perceptions, expanded and focused my awareness and blew fresh intensity into the inner fire of my desire to become a better climber. The first was a failed solo attempt of the southface of Mt. Robson and the second was last Saturday morning on the Yokum Ridge of Mt. Hood with Texplorer. I think loose rock is to climbing what hot sauce is to food. The sauce itself adds flavor, but the real reason we dump on the good stuff is for the heat, the fire, even the pain. It wakes us up, focuses our attention and makes us sit up straight, pay attention and feel more alive. The Yokum was pretty spicy! We left the parking lot at a quarter past ten Friday night. The moon was bright above a cloudless sky and the wind was taking a siesta. If any thing the temperature was on the balmy side, just barely below freezing. We kept a steady but easy pace to Illumination saddle. The biggest challenge was to keep from sweating too much, but as we got higher and the night turned into morning the temperature dropped faster than we expected and the snow became nicely crunchy. We cruised across the Reid, easily avoiding the crevasses. The visibility was spectacular. As it turned out, we headed up to reach the ridge proper a bit early on steeper and rockier terrain than was necessary. It provided a good warm up to what was about to come. I have never climbed with Texplorer before. I’m sure at the back of both of our minds was the question of how well the other would perform when the intensity was ratcheted up a few notches. We worked surprisingly well together, fast, smooth and in our own space; each distantly aware of the increasing exposure, and the increasingly loose rock. There was virtually no ice and the rock was only loosely bonded with dustings of snow. I was getting in the groove, feeling the mountain and getting in touch with the looseness of the route. So was Tex. There was no way to avoid creating a rain of detritus from falling. Every step and hand hold had to be evaluated. Several times a foot hold would blow with out warning. But we both got in the zone and simul-soloed cautiously and quickly never relying on any single hold of question. About 2:00am we passed the crotch below the first gendarme where most climbers escape right and traverse below and than regain the ridge. Without much discussion we headed up the direct line. About 30 feet below the near vertical step I found a little alcove and we dug the ropes out of our packs for the first time and I set anchor. We didn’t really know what to expect when we left the car. Our rack was varied but anemic. It consisted of 3 screws, 2 pickets, 1 snarg, 1 specter, 5 pins and 4 Camalots ( 0.5-2). Of those we only used the pins & cams. As it turned out, a rock rack would have been appropriate and our ice tools were used more for excavation than for upward movement. Tex took the first lead and started up. Just before the step he protected the belay with a good cam. To that point, the rocks he kicked off were trivial and went to either side of the ridge. I was concentrating on keeping the twin 70m’s from developing a tangle fuck. As he continued, I could only imagine what he was dealing with amid the almost constant chatter of stonefall. Another cam in and half way up the step I heard a curdling “OH SHIT”. The first split second I didn’t know if the large mass falling was him or rock. I tightened my belay hand and ducked into the ridge, trying to be small. A pony keg exploded 15 feet from me and defying reason followed the ridge line. A cantaloupe simultaneously hit the rock against which I was pressed and my helmet and an apple thunked my shoulder blade. Amazingly the rock missed the rope completely and didn’t sweep Tex from his stance. A piece barely nicked one of the anchor slings, but really no harm was dealt. Tex continued on. The only comment of the challenge I knew he must be struggling with was a calm “ This may be beyond me.”. Later, a freely falling watermelon missed me (and the puddled rope) by less than two feet sending a high speed lime into my other shoulder. 120 feet with only four pieces of value Tex finished what, I think, was a brilliant lead. He had placed gear evenly and with forethought. A lesser climber would have burnt though the cams way too early. He found a little crotch in the rock and drove in a couple of pins. I followed as quickly as I could appreciating the fact that he lead that pitch. I backed up his anchor with a precious cam, shuffled gear and continued up. I managed to get a very solid, thank god #2 cam in about 10 feet up to protect the belay. Up didn’t look good. The character of the rock changed. It went from relatively large pieces of hard rock to small poorly stacked chunks of soft conglomerate. 15 feet higher I managed to lasso a pile of stone with a double length sling. Knowing that I would get absolutely nothing more in the near future I paused to focus. The ridge was about 2 1/2 feet wide, slightly overhanging at first on the left edge and near vertical on the right for hundreds of feet in both directions. Spicy indeed! I scrabbled on. I found that if I peeled the first layer of the left lip back I could find purchase with my left hand. The choss had about one half of an inch of snow on it. Enough to cover any real view of what was beneath but way to little to provide purchase. Sometimes I could get the ax in my right hand to stick in the mud between the soft rocks but usually I just clawed with my gloves, kicked with crampons and hugged the ridge and moved up. The angle decreased but so did my security. Just below the top I stopped to take a situation assessment. I absolutely could not trust any hold. My feet were blowing more often than they were sticking, The left lip had gotten soft. Once I had held on by only my tool, stuck two teeth into mud and the friction of the ridge on my belly as first one foot than the other blew and the rock in my left lifted from the ridge. I was maybe 50 feet above that slung pile and any fall would have involved serious injury at best. It may even have ripped Tex from his anchor. I poked my head as high as possible and could not see anything better on the top. I could not imagine getting over and setting a rappel sling that would hold and there was no way that it could be made safe for Tex to follow. I dug around in the mud looking for something; anything that might work. It was too hard and rocky to cut a grove but way too soft for a pin. I was at the line beyond which there was no return and I doubted there was a solution higher. By the time I managed to down climb, first light was tingeing the sky. Tex patiently pulled in rope while he froze at his perch. About half way back to the slung pile I got in a body weight pin and was able to let him slip into his parka. We re-arranged the anchor as Helens, Adams, Rainier and Jefferson brightened in the distance. Low clouds swirled, water like, down in the valleys. The beauty and peace didn’t quite match the feeling in my gut, the self doubts, the questions of failure and what ifs. Three rappels later (the last of which was 71 meters), directly off the right side and we were on the snow slope above the Reid and heading back to the car. We met Shredmaximus and his partner Drew coming down from the saddle and on their way up the Leuthold, craving ice. Tex and I climbed very well together and have already found a bond, a friendship that comes from a shared struggle. We had fun and pushed and succeeded in many ways. I look forward to climbing with him again. The only casualty was my helmet, which upon close inspection has a hairline crack half way through it. We didn’t even have to leave any cams on the mountain! Of course I am plagued by thoughts of “did I puss out?”, “would a climber harder than me just have stood up and walked to the top?” or “if I had just had more of the right gear and wove the two ropes to each side of the ridge would it have been safer”. I’ll try it again someday and see what happens. [ 11-25-2002, 01:21 PM: Message edited by: Terminal Gravity ]

I'll post a TR in a little while. We didn't summit, but climbed really well together and had a great time. We both felt as though the climb was a success in all ways but the summit.

quote: Originally posted by sketchfest: [QB]Good morning all Portland pub clubbers. Good turn out last night and great to meet some more of the cc.com crew. Thanks to TG for the first round and incredible tasting Festivale (WOW 6.5 by volume..nice) Sounded like good conversations all around the table, everything from my soap box on the poor state of primary education to actual talk of climbing. Great to meet you all, let's do it again soon. QB] OOPS! You said 6.5 ABV. The Fest is acctually 8.4% It was great to hook up with all of you. I'm sure I was one beer shy of the hangover that all of you felt. Besides all the talk & bullshit I gotta say that the best part was passin' the doob. I couldn't believe the waiter didn't bust us. He had to have smelled it. later - steve p.s. I think Texplorer is going to post a TR. The route was awe inspiring, didn't summit though.

quote: Originally posted by Dru: Does flapping your wings count as a "no hands" mantle? Yes, but not if you use your beak to pinch a nubbin.

quote: Originally posted by wdietsch: take your sunscreen and hibachi ... coldest temp @ 7K (Top of the Mile Ski Lift)in the last 24 hours was 47 .. registered this morning between 5 and 7 am. I know of a couple more bodies that shall be in the "Saddle" this weekend as well sounds like you guys should pool your money and haul in a keg. Texplorer & I are the "bodies" that wdietsch that is talking about. I'll be at the saddle fri afternoon w/ a yellow marmot tent. Look for us coming down Sat morning & say Hi. Jarred might be around as well... sounds like a big party. ( it also sounds like it will be warm enough for Pina Coladas )

I'll be there. Whose coming? Later

Thanks, erden. I wish you and Göran's loved one's heartfelt condolences.