erden

I was there this Saturday. The moat was very manageable, although at just one spot that conveniently led to the start of the climb. You can always get yourself lowered into the moat, gain the rock, climb up, anchor and have your second then scoot into the same moat on tension from above. Be sure to not leave pro clipped down low though - kinda like leading a pendulum. The rest of the climb is fun. The difficulty is short lived down low within the first couple pitches off the ice. Then run the lush gulley up and find the easy slab up on your left. This is a great run on all fours with Copper Lake below/behind in the distance. You can see Baker, Puget Sound, etc in the distance - great spot to hang out at the summit. Erden. [ 08-28-2002, 03:55 PM: Message edited by: erden ]

[ 08-24-2002, 12:09 AM: Message edited by: erden ]

Thinker: that would be Steve Firebaugh, and he posts as SEF here... Look for his profile and send him a PM. Erden.

This is what you are looking for... I attempted South Buttress of Denali with Mike Pelchat in 1997. At the time, Mike was on the SAR team on Cannon Mountain in winters, and worked at the station on the summit of Mt. Washington in NH during the summers... Erden.

Please see this, guys. Hot off the press... If you are an AAC member, consider attending the Leavenworth event, and make your concerns heard. That is the way to change an organization from within. Unless your voices are heard, the organization will take its own direction, not reflecting what you would like it to be. If you are not a member, contact Peter Ackroyd to find out if you can be there to find out more... OK, I am done preaching now. Erden. -------------------------------- Following up on the survey and also responses from people who wanted to meet to help the section, I offered some dates and this was the most popular. I apologize to those who cannot attend on this date but want to help. Please let me know your thoughts and if you would like to be nominated to the team please let me know before the meeting and state your interest and availability. If you know a member who does not have email please pass this on. We are in the process of re-thinking our web site (thanks to Ade Miller) and will be posting these, and other items of interest, soon. Keep an eye on it AAC Cascades Section I hope you can join us in Leavenworth. Peter Ackroyd Cascade Section Chair SECTION MEETING, 5:30PM SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 21ST, 2002, AT THE ENZIAN INN, LEAVENWORTH All section members are invited to attend this meeting. We want to hear your ideas about goals, organization structure and activities for the section. We will be looking for volunteers and nominations to form a small team to run things and will vote to elect those persons. This is your opportunity to participate and affect the future of the AAC in this region. Food and drinks will be provided (sponsors welcome!) and there will be a chance to socialize and maybe even arrange some climbing for Sunday (AAC members do climb!). Provisionally, buffet dinner will be served from 6pm to 7pm and the meeting will follow. There are lots of places to stay in Leavenworth (book early) and campsites should not be too crowded this time of year. The Enzian Inn has 7 Queen size rooms on hold until August 30th. If you want to book one of those call 800.223.8511 and ask for a room under Group #6559. PLEASE let me know if you plan to attend and how many in your party so enough food will be available. Email Peter Ackroyd – pdack1@attbi.com - or call 206.329.3447 before August 30th. RECEPTION AND SLIDESHOW WITH CARLOS BUHLER, FRIDAY DECEMBER 13TH, 2002 The location details will be confirmed soon for this excellent event. There will be a reception for AAC members prior to the show. Carlos is one of our pre-eminent AAC members and will give a great slideshow. You can check out his web site http://www.carlosbuhler.com/ for background. Members will be asked to reserve seats ahead of time so we can offer the remainder to the public to help pay for the evening. We will also be looking for sponsors for this event. PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDAR!! FUTURE EVENTS These will be discussed at the Leavenworth meeting. We hope to have section dinner around the beginning of February, 2003. If you have any ideas for events or for speakers please contact Peter Ackroyd. [ 08-13-2002, 05:09 PM: Message edited by: erden ]

... and what time are you meeting at the Ballroom?

So where did you end up meeting??? I was looking in here to see the decision and all I saw was suggestions for different pubs... Should we not have a clear destination with directions and a time to meet for Tuesdays? Maybe one person should be the moderator on that and have the final word, then we can look for that person's posting to show up! Erden.

OK - OK - I left just the links in the above post... If you do not have WSJ online subscription, see the MSNBC link! Erden. [ 08-05-2002, 09:13 AM: Message edited by: erden ]

Some here seem to prefer gun boat policies above all. Read this recent article from Wall Street Journal - trigger happy administrations that suffer from tunnel vision, responding to populist pressures do not help our cause... The Taliban were looking for ways to kick Al Qaida out; imagine the Taliban doing our work for us! Certainly a much cheaper option... and an option that would not have required my brother to be risking his life in Kabul, Afghanistan with the international force as we speak... Erden. ---------------------------------- A Once-Stormy Terror Alliance Was Solidified by Cruise Missiles -- Al Qaeda Had Sour Days in Afghanistan, But a U.S. Attack United bin Laden, Omar By ALAN CULLISON and ANDREW HIGGINS Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL URL for this article on WSJ Same on MSNBC.com [ 08-05-2002, 09:11 AM: Message edited by: erden ]

Is a barking dog at the crags any better than bringing a crying baby to a concert hall or ballet??? Should we be annoyed by the parents or by the dog? Dogs that bark and distract are just as annoying as people who are talking up a storm at the base of climbs, that keep lead climbers from focusing on the job at hand. While trying to muster up that last bit of concentration to pull a crux, the last thing I want here is loud valley talk 'that goes like you know dude...' This is especially a problem at indoor gyms. IMHO humans can learn to respect each other, owners must demand it of their pets. Erden. [ 08-02-2002, 08:34 PM: Message edited by: erden ]

The second has to be the better climber on steep ground as a fall by the second is not allowed. A fall by the second will pull the leader off her stance on steep ground and send her rocketing into the last pro that she placed... Erden. [ 07-30-2002, 01:57 PM: Message edited by: erden ]

Try this web page... A few cautions: Use high speed with the Dremel, let the disk remove the excess material by its peripheral speed rather than applied pressure against the screw's teeth. This will allow you more dexterity with the Dremel, remove less material so as not to get ahead of yourself while sharpening the teeth and it will keep the disk intact on the Dremel - disk will chip and shatter if not careful. Also give the screw teeth time to cool as you sharpen them, do not go all out on them so as not to ruin the tempering of the metal... [ 07-19-2002, 09:50 AM: Message edited by: erden ]

yeah, right! you must be a double-clicker ;-) Erden

I have not checked the Barrabes site lately. I would think that some of the advantages of that site may have been lost with the Euro gaining on the US Dollar. The parity is about 1-to-1 by now. I would have to do my homework before I spend my hard earned US Dollars, both to figure out the total cost including S&H and to make sure that I would not have to send any purchases back for silly exchanges - so bottom line, I have no problem trying the gear here and then ordering it from Barrabes as long as it proves to be cheaper. Erden.

still got these sweet boots, any takers so I can go get me a larger pair that fits ???

Well, here I was climbing at the Redmond VW last night. This lady was climbing with a ring on her middle finger. I was next to her belayer, and told him that he should tell her to take the ring off when she comes down, cuz she may leave skin, or at worst a finger up there. He laughed, and when she came down, I observed no such effort on his part. Then she proceeded to belay him. I told her the same, and she said "I have been climbing 20 years and had no problem ever." I said that I knew of people who now have four fingers on one hand because they got their ring caught while falling; and she went "lalalala"... What's the general concensus on this? The shame is the same lady would sue Vertical World if she actually did cut/lose her finger if something did catch !!! Erden. [ 05-23-2002, 03:03 PM: Message edited by: erden ]

I use two aiders and have adopted three daisies. Two daisies keep the aiders with me, and the third one I use to clip to the upper piece should I choose to move both aiders up at the same time, while hanging on the third daisy... In this case, I would test the upper piece with my body weight by crouching, while standing in the two aiders. When satisfied, I would sit and hang in the third daisy that I just used to test the upper piece, then unclip both aiders from the last piece, and move them both to the upper piece. This simulates in most circumstances the feel of the four aider scheme. I do not use this approach unless I am in situations like stemming with aiders where I feel that it would have been easier to progress on four aiders. And the rest of the time, I have the freedom of the two aider method, and less gear to manage or to tangle... Erden. [ 05-13-2002, 10:00 AM: Message edited by: erden ]

I will remember to take handy wipes with me, and a fresh shirt to exchange into once I get to the BSL!!! ;-) I am familiar with the Slabs approach as that was how we gained the base of the Regular route way back when. I can't wait to get there. Erden.

Lambone: I would be happy to go on a Tis-sa-ack bolt refurbishment expedition. I have not placed a bolt ever, but it is not rocket science; we can practice on junk rock beforehand and head up... Erden.

Thank you all for the encouragement. I will be in the Valley May 14-22. A bit early in the season - it will be cool and the weather iffy at times. I will play it by ear. If not this time, I want to go back in September for another try... I did go to Supertopos but did not see that Chris assembled a pdf for HD Direct NW Face; the route is not listed among the betas. I posted a similar topic on the Supertopos forum, and a gentleman there pointed me to Google.com (DUH!!!). When I did that, a few references popped up. Yes, they do refer to the free line being a bit different than the aid line. Also there were references to bringing a couple RURPs and a hammer in case the end of pitch 11 is missing the resident RURPs. There is reference to the quality of the Grand Terrace bivy on top of pitch 12 which is about half way in the # of pitches and in labor. One trip report referenced the horror stories that since the HD Direct NW Face route gains the Big Sandy Ledges on climber's right and is less traveled, it's supposed to be the dumping grounds from the Big Sandy. I guess since the Regular route gains the BSL from the climber's left and is more heavily traveled, people think that if they dump their garbage down the other side, it is better. So these guys were climbing up, imagining pulling down on turd mounds, and shimmying up offwidths lined with doo. It was not that bad, after all, so they say. Makes me think twice ;-p But everyone uses poop tubes now and use pee bottles right? ;-) Erden.

Hey tivoli_mike, you say you were going to be "tooling around the Marymoor Rock." If you were just bouldering or toproping, please ignore this post... Just wanted to point out that no hardware is to be used on Marymoor Rock except quickdraws and your rope. I hope that you did not use any of your hexes'n such on that structure. We need to preserve these rare resources, and to follow the rules to avoid any undue attention. Erden. [ 05-05-2002, 06:30 PM: Message edited by: erden ]

Thanks Lambone. I found a copy of Reid's guidebook that I was able to browse briefly. That one is newer version... Reid says that the route goes free at 13c/d. If so, I think you may be right that the rivets would have been replaced by bolts, and anchors reinforced. I am no 5.13 climber, so I still have to find out if I can progress on that route with clean aid, now that it goes free. I did do the Regular NW Face a while ago and I do remember that particular route with plenty of chimney pitches leading up to the Sandy Ledges. I will email Chris as you suggest. Erden. [ 05-03-2002, 06:33 PM: Message edited by: erden ]

Sorry, AlpineK. I guess I broke a rule? I did do what you said first, then it did not appear in new posts. So I posted it here with a link to the gear area... Won't do that again! E.

Does anyone have recent beta on this route? I have the Meyers "Yosemite Climbs" book with the yellow cover and that is quite dated. In that book, the route is rated as 5.10 A3+ with fixed bolts (rivets?). I wonder if the bolts are still there, or have been replaced/enhanced, how the per pitch ratings been affected over the years... Any other useful info would be nice. I am planning to leave the bolt kit at home. Once I get to the valley, I will grab the latest guide as well, that may make a difference!!! Erden.

Please see: Asolo Ottomila (Asolo 8000) boots These are new, unused, received as a gift. Trying to get $200 for them to apply toward a pair that will fit me... Erden.