mtngrrrl

What a serious downer. I have some friends to contact who I know are feeling really sad right now.

i bet most, if not all, of us if given a choice between using a cell phone and hypothermia/frostbite/death would choose the phone. not that i think lambone's group was close to death, but i think a phone is a valid back up instrument to have in the pack. anyway, thanks to lambone for going out on a limb and sharing all the details publicly like this. i agree with your decision given the situation, and i'm glad we all have the opportunity to learn from it directly, instead of speculating "what if". cheers mate.

No way! Prussick was FANTASTIC!! I loved the rock! I'm craaaaaaavin' more! The top pitch ruled. Nice dihedral, nicer flake, puff and grunt chimney. Yeah baby. The bugs sucked, and, well SUCKED! It wasn't much of a reward to get bitten by the bastards on the summit, however the view was nice. BTW, your summit cannister is there, but no register.

In another city I used to do all my travel by bike, including grocery shopping WITH BEER, Mr. Trask. In Seattle I can happily walk to get hooch, but I still commute to my crummy job, about 5 miles each way. I've found that it pays to make eye contact and give a friendly wave to a driver who yields to me as I come screaming down a hill and they're waiting to turn left across traffic in front of me. Most people are OK if you smile and wave and give the "thanks" vibe. On the other hand, I think a lot of drivers don't realize how much space their cars take up. Riding next to parked cars and having a steady stream of SUVs, trucks and minivans passing is not a nice position. Sometimes I take up more space in the lane if it's a dicey stretch to make it clear that I'M HERE, AND I DON'T WANT TO DIE. What's this guy's deal with signaling? I'd bet 9 out of 10 drivers don't know the three hand signals. I used to signal all the time, but no one ever seemed to get it. My only confrontations out here were in Bellevue. I was on a downtown four lane road. Plenty of room to pass me in the OTHER LANE. Some bozo told me I should ride on the sidewalk. I guess there's no pleasing some idiots. Thanks for the post. I'm sending that lardass a message.

Uh, what's PDX?

There were mosquitos on the summit of Prussik Peak a few weeks ago. That SUCKED, but the West Ridge climb was dandy. There's some sticky granite up there. Yeahhhhhh!

Vertical World has three locations: Seattle, near the Fisherman's Terminal; Redmond; Bremerton. One membership grants access to all. www.verticalworld.com Stone Gardens, located in Ballard near the locks. www.stonegardens.com. You should check out both gyms to see which has what you're looking for. I don't think either gym is accurately represented by their websites. YMMV.

A good friend of mine was an organizer for the IDEA2000 group of diabetic climbers who did Aconcagua. Check out http://www.idea2000.org/ for more info. I'm sure someone from that group would be more than willing to answer questions.

Great TR and photos! I'm headed up there this weekend, so I'm grateful for the condition update. Thanks!

Thanks for all the info. I'll have to make some calls on the prescription glasses and see if I can find a good deal from a local opthomologist. Might be the best option in the long run. I looked some years back, but it was a chunk of change so I didn't bother to investigate further. Turns out I DID find one last pair of contacts, so I cleaned them up for this weekend. I prefer glasses to contacts, so I appreciate the advice along those lines. Other than the stylin' fitovers, it doesn't sound like there are many options in the way of googles.

Hey all you four-eyed geeks out there, I need your advice on good eye protection. I used to wear contact lenses and glacier goggles when I went up high or on snow. Now, however, I'm out of contacts with no immediate plans to replace them. Do any of you use ski goggles over your eye glasses with success? It seems to me that most ski googles would not give adequate UV protection for a snow and high altitude combination. I had been under the impression that if you are looking at my face and can see my eyes through the lens, the lens wouldn't give enough protection at high elevation. If I'm wrong, please let me know. Finally, I need a quick (and hopefully not spendy!) fix, so for now I can't wait for someone to make me custom prescription goggles. I'd love to do that someday when I have the money! Thanks in advance. I'm out for the day, but I'll check in tonight.

Just curious, but do most of you glissade on your butts? I've only done it on my feet, kinda like skating down the snow field.

Good lord have people actually lightened up around here??? Mike, grammar checking is strictly a voluntary activity, though some take it more seriously than others: http://www.apostrophe.fsnet.co.uk/ I, personally, chose not to associate with such wankers (to coin a phrase). Since I have you on the (on)line, did you know that the message on the cc.com home page is very out of date? Reported Route Conditions as of April 26, 2002: Reported by Mike Gauthier in Climber's Wall Any chance on an update?

Cripes, I can handle plenty of spelling errors, but can't you freakin' get ORGASMS right??? Work on your seduction technique, buddy. Other than that, blah, blah, blah.

quote: Originally posted by ajosephfd: Get this. Bolting is for fags. Aw jeez. Get a real argument.

bellemontagne, surely you are not REALLY French. Maybe you should change avatars. Especially when throwing around words like wanker.

I started on trad, and I was pretty anti-sport for many years, I even spewed that whole "aesthetics" crap that I no longer adhere to. Then I actually climbed sport for the first time in the SD Needles and "discovered" it for myself. I've since moved on to mountaineering as well. I enjoy it all, but just tonight I was telling someone that even after ten years of climbing, I'm still pretty crummy. I've no desire to play the numbers game, enjoying long easy alpine routes, though I'd hardly identify with any particular label. I hated the gym for years for the contrived nature of the climbing and the plasticity. Then I climbed in a gym that was lead only, and I loved it. But really, like a lot of you (I'm happy to hear), I like it all, though *maybe* I derive the most pleasure from easy trad because that was my first exposure to climbing. On the other hand, if you asked me to hang up my rack in favor of only climbing sport in France forever, I could probably do it. As much as it may be about how you started, it's also about the experience you have in each type of climbing.

I'd say, "Finally, we have a rope gun in the family!" and send them up all the stuff I'm too weak/chicken to lead, even on bolts. Then we'd hit the Calanques where I'd show them how sport climbing is really done. Hell, I defy ANY of you anti-sport climbers to spend a couple of weeks in the glorious South of France and continue to hate the activity. sk, you're right on.

At least get the grammar correct.

quote: Hey Dru, how come the Russian guy at Climb On in Squamish hates your beloved Tri-cams? I went in there a while ago wanting to get one to play around with, but he went off on a tirade about how much they suck. Something about them being too hard to place and remove ("only if you want the second to hate you") and how Abalakov invented them and someone else stole the design... Hmmm, sounds like he doesn't place them well. (Though I don't know the guy. Could be other "issues".) Tricams are cool, but have worked the best for me in horizontal cracks. I like that they can be placed as camming devices and as passive stoppers. Placed in the camming position, they should pop out easily. Even a well set one should only need a tap with a cleaning tool. If you're going to get your first tricam, get pinkie.... pink tricam... nice. [ 05-04-2002, 11:31 PM: Message edited by: mtngrrrl ]

quote: Originally posted by Backcountry: How do you propose to limit a snowmobile to X altitude...Hand out altimeters in the Sno-Park? Well, how are climbers/hikers supposed to know that they've reached the 4800+ marker and thus need the additional permit? Isn't it the same level of responsibility?

This raises a question that my partner and were contemplating on Sunday. What would happen if we were busted on St. Helens without a permit? Answer: we would be fined. (right??) Ok, so what happens if we refuse to pay the fine? Anyone know? We were pretty chafed about getting to the little store (Jack's?) outside of Cougar past closing time on Saturday night and thus unable to purchase a permit for Sunday. Mind you, we are still in the no-quota time period, so I'm wondering why there isn't a self-serve option. The store doesn't open until 7:00, and we planned to start earlier than that. I just read through the thread on the Forest Service Pass, and I just want to add that I'm getting more than a little sick of all these permits and fees. Sno park fee, NW Forest pass, climbing above 4800 feet on St. Helen's fee. NOW I hear that snow-machines can go up to the top PERMIT AND FEE FREE??? WTF. I am ticked off. I'm down with philfort. From now on it goes like this: Oh I'm not a CLIMBER. My snowmobile is around here somehwere... I just thought I'd walk around a bit and stretch. ------------- Madam, you appear to be enjoying yourself. Can I see your permit for having fun? [ 04-23-2002, 12:40 AM: Message edited by: mtngrrrl ]

quote: Originally posted by specialed: I do also think tied slings are fairly obsolete. Of course its good to carry webbbing and cord of assorted length with you on multi-pitch climbs. But if thats all you use - you're way old school! I've never been called old school before. I... I feel so... HONORED!! Oh wait, I actually DO own three sewn runners, and even with my big pile o' webbing, I guess I'm not quite there yet.

I agree with bathtub, no soap. You can run the shower on the rope to keep the dirt flowing down the drain instead of having the rope sit in the dirty water. Then string it up to dry so that there is good airflow. I'm pretty sure that Woolite has some amount of bleach in it.