crazy_t

"its reputation worsened, its prestige was broken globally and it was bled dry economically" accurate assessment, unfortunately.

ti otkuda?

south platte rules. Cynical pinnacle!

Was on Easton last 4 days, it rained/snowed every day. Summitted on monday in snow from 8000' and up, there was 1' of new on upper mt. (crater and higher), wind was transporting some of it. Yesterday am looked the same up there from high camp.

that's what it's all about. Thanks for the nice TR and photos!

I was there in May, and scoped out that area; I climbed up Hotlum Bolam ridge and down the Hotlum. Not sure exactly what line you are talking about (hotlum glacier ice headwall). I looked at that right ice variation, in late may it was already blue ice and discontinuous (i.e. rock/scree) for at least 100' above the top of the main glacier to the upper "tongue". Scoped the headwall (rock), as I hadn't been able to find much info on it online; I spied a couple of doable lines, but it was super chossy, more the type of line a local who had done a lot of other routes there and wanted to add that one to his/her list would do. Don't know if this helps. In May they were saying they had had 29% of an average snowpack this winter, so it was pretty meager, and lines/ice that I had scene in pictures from previous years seemed to have deteriorated. Beautiful place though; I'll be back some time.

I went there yesterday for the 1st time. Cool little crag, but I was surprised by the bolting too. Especially the protectable crack on the L w/ bolts every 4-5 feet. We just climbed a couple of short cracks around the corner. Too bad about the bolting; the joke is now it will likely see more action!

sorry, I'm up at the pass and was hoping to climb there today (wed). Anyone have directions and beta? Which exit, where to park, anything else? Thanks!

I'm up at the pas

My intention was to embellish his accomplishment, rather than to take away from it or distract from the thread. And no worries, OW. That's quite amazing Don. Looking forward to learning more! Must have been exciting, to say the least.

My quote, in case it was misconstrued as spray, was actually a compliment/cheers, crafted via a contrast to a recent spray post involving RD.

beach boys that high? wack

Looks great! Is this what you are doing when you're not busy "jankin' up all people's styles"?

"Chuck Norris wasn't born with feet, just boots."

"Chuck Norris delivers more male with one thrust of his pelvis than the U.S. Postal Service and the Pony Express have combined for the last 146 years."

Raindawg (and Archie too), that's quality stuff! You guys are usually right on the money though. Hey sun, I'm sure your gf's parent's will be impressed by your "caveman on the beach" plan. Of course, simplicity is good and you have some elements of a good time there, but I don't see where she or they fit into your vision. Why are people dissing you? Tough one, I can't figure it out. Hey, should be fun though. Write about it afterwards, people will likely be more interested then.

White Center has a vibe, people are real (if spicy). One of the only diverse parts of Seattle.

if you are traveling mainly in one direction on the route (in relation to the sun or wind) during the worst part of the day that can happen, it's happened to me. Sounds like sun/snow issues.

Yeah, who are we kidding, "West Seattle blows". Cap' Hill is where all the cool people, and climbers, are at. Over here we're just posers, dreamers, gapers. "Wannabees". We're moving to slow here, not to mention the hindrance of that "WSB", to ever get ahead of the curve.

Part of the draw here in West Seattle is the "absence". Don't need to live directly in the city to benefit from the city; prefer the relative quiet. And the bridge "megacluster"? That's a joke. You have convenience to crack, drunken clowns etc. in your backyard on Capitol Hill, I don't envy you that. Having lived in some amazing mountain towns, this city on the whole has been a real step down (just like almost any city would be). Any climber, skier living here has to pack up their car and drive through town and highways for at least an hour to, and then back from our favorite outdoor activities. Kind of alters the experience and relationship with the hills. Nice mountains around us all, though.

yeah, Fremont etc. are way better "mountain towns".

"Fight Center", I wouldn't live there but I do like it. Authentic vibe, some good joints (taco bus/ taqueria Rincon on 16th/Ambaum is amazing). El Salvadorian bakery on Roxbury. McLendon's. I like it there. A friend and I went on a pub crawl in White Center a few years ago. We went to 6 or so places from 5-7 pm, saw some real flavor. Marv's Broiler, Triangle, Long Van (now Moon), Brewsky's, the Pacific Rim and a couple of more. We saw some sort of altercation or "challenge" at each place we went to, it was wild. Then we got called out as cops (untrue) by a guy we had seen at 3 consecutive places. Pretty lively locals there. That Pacific Rim brewery has a funky tasting room too. You can bring in your own to go containers of any size and shape, they charge you by the ounce for beer to go. West Seattle, hey it's pretty sweet. If you don't work regular 9-5 hours the driving issues are nil. Nice waterfront, parks, community feel, some good restaraunts/bars/coffee, close to the airport.... and close to White Center..

look into Remote Medical out of Seattle. Check out their pass rates, and they seem to have be recognized more widely. I just took a wfr with them, it was great.

"I believe there are various levels of defilement. Plowing a road up to 15,700 is one I'd put at the high end." Hopefully you don't find upon arrival that the human impact on Aconcagua is on (or above) your high end, too. You may have a challenge here, look into it before you go.

Apart from your issues with human encroachment on this peak, a big hurdle currently is route conditions/choice. The snow/ice on the mountain has deteriorated severely in the last 5 years making it more technical, prone to avalanche hazard from recent snowfall, and has generally changed the nature of the standard route. There is some good news in the route category though, from what I hear. Per your "chief complaint" I've never climbed it, and don't know how to answer that question for you. I have a lot of friends who have, even one there as we speak. "Defilement" is all around us, and is serious, but we are all really part of the problem. It seems like you are already at your own conclusion though.