todd

i like having them on my pack. i guess one disadvantage is that the buckles could break, but ive beaten the hell out of mine and theyve been ok. just be sure to keep them clipped when not carrying tools and they shouldnt break. i really like to have them when making transitions in couloirs and mixed terrain. sometimes i find myself making a few difficult rock moves with one tool dangling, then hitting some ice or another unforseen obstacle that i want both tools for. since downclimbing such moves is often not an option, it is really nice to be able to just reach around and grab the other tool.

thanks for the info everyone - that is kinda what i was guessing based what i saw on previous trips, just wanted to see if anyone who had actually brought a dog had problems. and i agree with you erik, but the thing is that its not my dog - its my friends dog and he is pretty set on bringing her. cheers.

does anybody know what the deal is with bringing a dog to joshua tree? i know that you can bring a dog into the park, but the website says they are forbidden on trails. if anyone has brought a dog to the park, please let me know how it went. did you bring your dog on trails? did you get hasseled for it? thanks.

"'RADO"?

nope, ive never heard of it. only climbed a few routes at leavenworth. stopped there again on the way home from canadia in august, but we were evacuated because of the fires. with a name like that, i might have to check it out next time through.

i know your thread is old, but if you happen to check it, id think of something else to do if i were you. the ice in cody aint worth the drive (even for me, and its only 6 hours) right now. things really arent forming up well this year.

ok ok, i found it on another site. ampalang, right, of course. do you find that works for you dru? seems kinda risky...

ok, i followed your orders dru. i found myself on a german site about piercing and branding. does this have anything to do with anything?

wdietsch, that is good stuff! havent heard that one before. thanks for the laugh!

i own both, and use my axars for alpine and my machines for steep ice. i think if you can afford it, two pairs of tools is the way to go. of course i acquired both over a period of time and got deals on them, and i recognize that buying both is, economically, probably not an option. ive climbed quite a bit of steep ice on my axars and they work well (i always tell myself that there were guys who could do it back in the 70's with gear that comes nowhere near to even the worse stuff on the market today, so whatever i have in my hand should get the job done). just be sure to add head weights to them for waterfall ice - its surprising what a difference they make. if youve narrowed it down to those two pairs and only plan on owning one pair of tools, go with the axars, theyre far more versatile.

whatever...basically what i am saying is that if i lived in seattle, id go to the canadian rockies and save cody for when it is actually cody. really, there wasnt even any snow on the ground! NONE! and just a trace under bushes and such on north aspects. erik and lambone, i wouldnt tell you what conditions are in your backyard, so maybe you should listen to "clod".

unless a LOT has changed in the past two weeks, the conditions in the south fork are not to be raved about. broken hearts did not appear to be in completely, although the top pitches looked good. i went there in the middle of december 00 (last season) and found better conditions then i found two weeks ago. if anyone else is curious and doesnt already know this, you can call "the beta coffeehouse" in cody for up-to-date conditions reports.

i think ill probably stick with this site. they dont have any of the funny emoticons on that site. but again, thanks for the suggestion.

thanks jayb, never heard of that one. ill give it a shot.

yup, it was another one of our fort collins guys. first rod, now mike. im either going to stop climbing or move.

id start to list the must dos at the new, but it would pretty much be the same thing as reading the guide book and looking for the stars. thats what i always did and with the number of routes in each area, its impossible to go somewhere and not find something you like. but if your going up that way, head to seneca rocks. i think that place would be the solution to your problem (if you want to call it that). the routes there are pretty short yet because of the nature of the formation feel extremely airy, and the south summit is still one of the coolest places ive ever been. there are also a number of moderate routes that protect pretty well and will get you adjusted to that steep, bulgy climbing on moderate routes. everyone will steer you towards "ecstasy" (5.7) and it deserves all the credit it gets. but i recommend trying "west pole" (5.7). it has a big, exposed roof at the top that looks pretty scary from the parking lot but once youre in it, it goes smooth and the protection is pretty decent. if you dont really want to start out on the senceca "5.7+'s" (but i think youll find that the fearsome, sketchy reputation seneca has is sometimes overstated), try "conn's east" (5.5) the 2nd pitch gets pretty steep and airy but only for a short bit, and its hard to find those situations on other climbs at that grade.

sorry to bore you nw guys with colorado-related questions, but it seems like a lot of you have lived/climbed here. has anyone ever climbed blitzen ridge on mt. ypsilon in the winter? if so, how did you descend, since the normal summer descent off the backside to the second car isnt an option? thanks, makin' plans for the weekend.

special ed is right. you ARE "the magnificent with a sensational style". the pizza isnt too bad for the middle of west virginia, and im not sure if they still have them, but when i used to go there a bunch the pizza joint had these placements describing appalachian slang. the placemats themselves are worth the trip. so if the climbing pysches you out too much, go to the store (there is only one), grab some booze, walk upstairs, sit on the porch and drink the booze and stare at the rocks talking about how "that route really isnt THAT bad", and make promises with your buddy that youll go back tomorrow and do it. wake up early enough in the campground to escape paying and so that the haze is still present (i.e. you will still think that last night's pact was a good idea), then go do the route. that is how things usually get done at seneca. and dont be too psyched out - the climbing back there really isnt too bad - its just different.

dru, it sounds like youve been back there. i picked up a copy of "alpine select" last spring, and went up there with a friend during the summer. the picture in the book made steinbok look absolutely incredible, and it only listed a couple of routes. so we were surprised (and indeed suspicious of the things you said) when some people had never heard of it, or when those that had at least heard of it knew nothing about it. a canadian friend who was living in squamish at the time and has climbed pretty extensively said that although he had never been there, he heard that the cracks were dirty, a lot of it was lower angle than it looks in the book, and the rock wasnt very clean. however, he said its probably worth taking a look (of course that is his view on everything). but as that was the only information we had, and our vacation was coming to an end, we decided to go elsewhere. in your honest opinion, is it not worth the trip back there? does the photo in the book make it look like something it is not?

thanks guys, that mustve been it. saw it on the way to the east ridge - looked like a pretty direct and beautiful line on a wild looking face.

no erik, nothing really bad happened this weekend. ill level with you. im new to this site and signed up originally to ask if anyone had f.a. info on a peak called steinbok. i asked a lot of my friends that live up there and climb a lot, and they didnt know much about it, so they recommended i check here. then i realized that it just basically a bunch of guys talking smack. my friends warned me about this as well. i tried to avoid that, and only posted when i had something worth saying. besides, im finishing up my last semester and this is a great way to kill time on a short break. anyway, everyone jumped on me and called me a bitch and a poser, and there seems to be no way around that. so im just going to go with it. but no my feelings are not hurt, im just playing along with the rest of you. even when im the victim of it, i enjoy the smart-ass comments found by the few key users of this site. i hope to climb with some of them one of these days. and a final word on the splitter gear thing since i suspect that is the source of a lot of this hatred (or is it simply that i live in colorado)...ok, ok i did talk them up a little, a friend is one of the guys that started them, and he is a great guy and i was just trying to help him out. and really, theyre not that as bad as everyone is saying...

todd is already a bitch, that has been established. and since he is wafer thin, he could slip his lanky-ass through the bars if you locked him up. besides, he might hang himself from one of his dreadlocks if left in prison. find him, beat him down, then pee on him from great heights - the only solution.

im sick of this todd character. i bet he is a real puss. what do you say we all hunt him down and kill him? then we'll annex colorado!

i just posted something on "fave routes of all times" and it got me thinking. i asked this question there but since its an old thread, it probably wont be read (i.e. sorry if youre reading this twice). i remember a route on the south face of mt. cook that looked pretty nice, and i remember it had a profane name. i think it was called "the clit", but its been several years since i was there. i also remember someone writing that one of their favorite routes was on cook. can you, or anyone else clear this up for me?

1. whymper couloir, aiguille verte 2. fred beckey (until i went on a trip with him), currently my buddy pete - he only has one arm and climbs damn well, and is just basically a good guy. 3. there were several routes on the south side of mt. cook that looked nice, i think the one i remember is called "the clit" ? (yes im serious) can anyone clear that up for me?