telemarker

cool, and let's also call CPS for parents who take illicit drugs, especially those who post public inquiries a about which drug is "better" - cocaine or heroine. Entirely appropriate when you take the larger picture into context. Rarely is an addiction to drugs not accompanied by a mental health disorder of some type that yes, would put a child at risk. Should mom breastfeed while high on meth?

Pinching your kid excessively as a form of discipline is not appropriate, especially to the point where it is painful to the child. Using a belt for discipline is old-school and flirts with 4th degree assault. In my line of work, I see welts in the shape of the buckle all the time, and the offending parent gets charged and hauled off to jail. If they're illegal, they then run the possibility of being deported for the next ten years. Was it worth it? If you ever suspect abuse/neglect you have to call it in. What if upon further investigation the child has bruises up and down his back? What if investigators find that the same parent is "disciplining" their 6 month old infant? "My parents used to beat the shit out of us..." just doesn't fly anymore...sorry.

I would agree, there are tons of great foot jugs for the right foot, and even the left if you want to give your torqued left leg a rest. Dirtyleaf and I climbed Backbone earlier this summer our biggest piece was a 3.5 inch cam. He led it and did just fine, never felt sketched keeping his left side in the crack. It was nice not having to carry a huge useless cam the rest of the route. The hardest pitch is the last one of the Fin, the undercling (Nelson Guide version) that takes you to the top. What a fantastic climb. The pitches I climb on Backbone I always find to be sufficiently clean.

Ben, did you guys approach up the ridge past pearly gates, or straight up the gullett to the base? This spring we found that ridge to be VASTLY foreshortened and got spanked.

Trip: Icicle High Country - Bong Buttress, Pipe Dreams Date: 7/19/2008 Trip Report: Kyle Flick and I climbed Pipe Dreams (5.10, 5 pitches) on Bong Buttress. Bong Buttress is essentially the neck, chin to the nose of the Sleeping Lady seen at the entrance of Icicle Canyon. Pipe Dreams is a route Ron Cottman and Bruce Ross climbed on this buttress in August, 2003. Each pitch of this climb is interesting, sustained, steep in a great alpine ambience. An added bonus was this route faces northwest, so we were in the shade throughout the climb. The best approach is up Hook Creek, and across Edward's Mesa to the buttress. You have to rap down to the start of the route. I and a couple friends had climbed Pipe Dreams 4 years ago and thought given the heat it would be a good route to repeat. Earlier this spring Kyle and I tried approaching up the ridge past Pearly Gates and behind Snow Creek Wall. This was brushy and endless with rotten snow, and we stopped exhausted about 500 feet before the buttress. So, Saturday we got a 3.30am start after a baked goods breakfast at Homefires Bakery. The hike up to Yellow Jacket Tower is best done in the dark. Having been up Hook several times, I have my own way of accessing Hook from YJT that seems to keep me up high and has a minimum of schwack. Either way it's still a pain. We made "normal" time up the the Mesa (4.5 hours) and walked the flat terrain over to Bong. From there, two short raps took us to the scrambling section to the start of the route. The pitches are thus: P1: 5.9 double cracks to a pine tree P2: Traverse straight left to a pedestal and corner, up then more traversing left to a stemming chimney. Belay below a steep, thin crack. 5.9 P3: Clmib the thin crack (5.10) then up some steep, outragesously fun jug hauling below an off-width. P4: Climb the O/W, up to a notch where the views open up, then cut right up then over to another notch where you are now belaying on a huge ledge facing west. 5.9 P5: Climb a splitter headwall crack up to some overhangs, then cut sharp right around the overhangs and belay on the summit ridge. 5.8 From here, scramble up the ridge around gendarmes up the the "nose" of the Lady, which is the summit. The views from the summit are amazing, all the way down to the road, Toketie Lake/Wall. This is a quality climb with no fluff pitches. One of these days it would be nice to camp in Hook and do this route at a leisurely pace. I didn't have a camera for this one, so all photos are a hodge-podge of several trips up there, and our spring venture of the ridge. BONG BUTTRESS MT. CASHMERE EARLIER THIS SPRING ICICLE CANYON IN SPRING BLOCKHOUSE EAST FACE, HOOK CREEK TOP OF HOOK CREEK

Hey, thanks for the tips. Is it me, or does Pink need to get laid more? 8D

I can't seem to shake calluses that have grown on a few of my toes, mostly from climbing. They get to be painful after a full day of climbing. Long approaches and de-proaches are painful. I'd like to know some remedies some climbers have used to get rid of calluses or managed them better than I have been able to do.

Paying it forward..I remember getting my 3.5 back from E. Face Chianti Spire when my climbing partner failed to remove it from the 2nd pitch!!!

Oh, and while we're on the subject of Red Camalots on OS...Craig, if you see this, I think I have yours from earlier this spring if you want it back.

...or RPM. BTW, guilty on the orange alien. My first time on SCW. 5 years ago. Apology goes out to Ed, who I insisted pay me 1/2 because he couldn't remove it.

Leavenworth Mtn. Sports is a great shop to pick up climbing gear. Apart from LMS, your next best bet is either Marmot in Bellevue or Mtn. Gear in Spokane.

This Sunday, anyone want to get an endurance fix by climbing the Burgner/Stanley of Prusik by way of Backbone Ridge? Lots of simul climbing on Backbone, moving quickly (but not in a hurry). It's been a couple years since I climbed B/S Route, and I'd rather approach Prusik by climnbing Backbone rather than Aasgard yet again. It would be fun to be thrashed back at the trailhead after having knocked off these two classic, beautiful routes! If this sounds fun, let's jump on it! PM or call: 509=699-9810 John

That's nuts! I spoke with those guys before and after their jump. Looking at Sandpiper, personally I'd want a lot more vertical drop. Geeze!

Well thanks! Though, it pales in comparison with what a lot of climbers on this site do on a regular basis. I have to admit it was a very fun day of solitude and climbing.

Exactly. It was still a great climb. No regrets!

Yer welcome!

Trip: Mt. Rainier - Fuhrer Finger Date: 6/25/2008 Trip Report: My friend Robbie and I trekked to Rainier with skis hoping to smuggly click in on the summit and ski all the way down to Paradise in paradisical corn snow, via the Fuhrer Finger. The reality turned out to be a bit different. We camped at about the 8,600'. First, I'm awakened from a deep sleep by, "John, it's almost 3am." Then I'm awakened again, "John, it's almost 4am..." Now this is getting annoying. So, we get a 4.30am start on this route. Making our way up the FF, we notice how the sun is already hitting the upper rock, and we get confirmation of this by two rocks WHIZZING by us before we even know what's happening. Since we're really, really smart we conclude perhaps the objective hazards of FF warrant an earlier start? The route is in great shape, with only a few minor crevasse crossings, nothing sketchy. We climbed corn snow in very warm temps anticipating the dreamy turns from the summit back to camp. We tag the summit in an icy bluster, remove crampons with wodden fingers and quickly ski back to our route. For the next 6,000' we sideslip and make sketchy turns on snow that SHOULD HAVE BEEN CORN! Instead, the temps have plummeted quickly and we end up "skiing" (and I use this term in the loosest possible meaning) refrozen pennitentes and bulletproof corn. The best turns are at the bottom of the Finger. To add to the bliss, we get to ski crust over rotten corn with heavy packs, and find the better turns are down the frozen bed surfce that is the HUGE avalanche below the Turtle Snowfield. So, no pics because we were just surviving and I wasn't too interested in shooting. I'm sure there are plenty of pics of this route from previous TR's. Otherwise, a very fun route, no need for ice screws. The only gear we used were ski poles and crampons, and the skis for the "descent".

Reading all the to-do about Backbone recently has me itching to get back onto this route. I've climbed it a number of times, so if you want to get out on this one...Or, the S. Face of Prusik b/s route I'd want to hit again too. Snowcreek Wall? Just a long fun day on rock would be great! PM me.

Here's how we do it: Scramble up to the belay tree, tie in; P1: Lead a 50 meter pitch to just below the double cracks; P2: Lead up to just below the 5.6 corner; P3: Lead up the corner to the plush alcove; P4: Lead up to the top with some easy simul-climbing... 60 meter rope is puhlenty.

Next time leave the fifth of Black Velvet at the car. Light and fast! Nice effort. Would Aasgard Pass/Prusik Pass be a better approach choice for these crags?

Craig, Three or four years we hiked up Crystal Creek and found some rusted out tin cans and pans, but no foundation...There is an old cabin below Wedge Mtn., however.

Nope. Not yet. There's quite a bit of snow left on and around them still. There's even a few stubborn patches around Colchuck Lake. Does it seem the snow is lingering a bit longer than usual?

That's right...didn't you do this last year?

Hah! That was you guys. Cool. Thanks for the photo!

I've heard Rat Creek isn't is bad as people say. But looking at that exit, it wouldn't be too hard to just scramble up to Edward's Mesa then descend Hook Creek, which I'v done a few times now.