Farrgo

I just got an e-mail from Matt Menely the new owner of Mountain Soles. He says that he would not have taken my shoes if I tried to turn them in for a resole again. Sounds like an REI employee didn't know what they were talking about, big surprise. Anyhow, I want to apologize to Matt, I should have talked to him before posting here. I will start to take my shoes back to Mountain Soles again.

I had a buddy who went up a weekend ago and he said you could get to withing .5 miles of the trailhead.

I agree, I take a whole set of rockcentrics (windchims) everytime, just so it seems like I have more gear than I actually do. (7 cams, set hexes, set stoppers)

i also take a big ass first aid kit, but it seems like you could dumb it down quite a bit especially for just day/w/e trips. i think as long as you have some basic meds, Ibu, tums, etc. and some bandages you should be good for most trips in the cascades.

omp, check your pms

minus, check your pm's

Go climb at index or indian creek and then say you rarely need two sets of cams. for crack climbs that are near my top ability i always carry two sets of cams for the crack range. forget the hexes unless 1) you are desperately short of pro for a pitch or 2) you can spend a little bit fiddling with the thing to get it into a good placement without worrying about a whipper.

butterFly, that is a great idea. I was trying to decide whether to get some forged friends or flex cams for a second cheaper set. the only thing that holds the f-friends back is that they can usually only be placed in vertical, clean cracks.

Unless it is really icy, I wouldn't worry about bringing too many screws. I think last year I used two, both on the "crux" section. I would bring a very small rock rack, say some nuts and some pins. Also, a picket or two couldn't hurt either.

I love tech friends. They're really light weight great for alpine climbing. I tried most of the sizes larger than .5. Anything smaller than that I think you would have a hard time placing. I have used a few forged friends, mostly in the smaller sizes and have found that they can be hard to place unless you have a really clean crack. If you get forged friends just get ones that are bigger than a number 1, because the rigid stem is practically the same size as the camming range which makes it very hard to get a worthwhile placement with the thing.

thanks for the hints, all. i'm getting ready for some epic days at squish and index. wish i could have gotten out more this weekend but the rain sucks. at least i got a good day of free climbing at index on thursday and a wet day of aiding on friday.

Lambone, I'm only going after the reg. route on half dome. But were gonna try and do it in a day. Both of us are pretty proficent with free climbing up to 5.10, so were sure that we've got that dialed. Neither of us has aiding experience, or any big wall experience bigger than the chief. we just wanted to get on a long route that we could completely botch so that when we actually are in yos, we can climb quick and efficent. thanks for the help all. i am thinking that the u-wall at squish would be a good one. does anybody know where i can find a topo? do you need a ledge to do that one or not?

I'm getting ready to try my first grade VI wall in a couple months and was wondering if anyone has suggestions on some good walls to practice on in the area? thanks.

I don't know anything about Shannon Creek road but I was up on the summit pyramid a couple weeks ago and it was still snow covered so it was easy to climb.

I don't think there is any real difference between cheap and very expensive quickdraws. The main difference is just weight. In my own opinion I feel that quickdraws have a very limited purpose, namely keeping biners steady and well oriented when clipping up pumpy sport routes. For trad climbing I just use rapid runners which in most cases are lighter than your basic quickdraw and quickly extend from 12 to 24 inches. I say go cheaply with the draws unless you are fanatical about weight.

Ya, I also had the pleasure of talking with Dave when he did a show up in B'ham earlier this year. The rock is supposed to be insanely bad to the tune of multiple 40+foot falls while aiding as well as many many shorter ones. Too bad the scenery is incredible.

Gunsmoke is a v2 traverse. It blem me away, by far the pumpiest v2 i've ever done, at least you can lay down on that ledge midway while you dry hurl. Awesome problem.

Beckey is going to be on Western's Campus at Fraser Hall 4, 7 PM on April 6. The show is about climbing all over North America and its free. See you there!

The entire problem of when or when not to do cpr really boils down to whether or not you are putting yourself in danger by performing it. This includes the fact that if you are deep in the backcountry and there is basically no chance that anyone will come by, then you simply cannot keep doing cpr indefinately. Although, does that mean that you don't start doing cpr and continue to do so up until you need to stop for your own safety? I agree that there are some injuries where if someone needs chest compressions, they are not going to be revived (i.e, a huge fall), but there are circumstances where cpr is completely appropriate (lightning). Just based off the training I've had I'm always going to give cpr for as long as I can just on the off chance that something miraculous happens.

Latex gloves are completely inappropriate in a wilderness medical setting. Chances are if you come on somebody and you need to do body substance isolation, your gonna have to keep your gloves on for a long time. Try it, latex gloves get ripped to hell really quickly. Most first aid kits are coming with these nitrite (sp?) gloves now. There extremely durable and you don't have to worry about latex allergies.

I always carry a cpr mask with me. I have a full on mask in my climbing first aid kit, than I carry a barrier in my wallet. when i took my wfr, my instructor indicated that if someone stops breathing and has no pulse than the chances of recovery (without a aed) are slim to none. apparently all chest compresions can do is bring you into venticular fibrulation. however, rescue breathing can go on for hours and is effective. a decent cpr mask will definately make this situation easier. so if you were in the goat rocks and your buddy stopped breathing and you expected that somebody might come by in a reasonable amount of time, start rescue breathing.

I heard about a guy who tried to do this trip and to save on weight he brought mostly white rice to eat. He got all sorts of malnutrition problems and didn't make it either time. he tried twice.

You can purchase them over the phone, the number is 360-650-6146

Just got an update the shows going to be in WWU's PAC Concert Hallat 7pm, tickets can be bought from the same place.

Ya, I've primarily used OP screws and when the ice is brittle and hard from lower temperatures it is really f'ing hard to get those things started. BD's seem to crank right in there even if I try and place them not right at my hip or with my left hand, there still easier than op's. I didn't believe the hype until I tried 'em, now I'm only gonna get BD's. Anybody want to buy some op's?