MATT_B

A friend of mine said he thought it opened up last weekend. He also said you have to pay $5 to park there now.

Climb with someone you know well. you will have a better idea of how fast or slow they can move. You will also have a good idea of what they can and can not do. If you end up with some one you just met it will be a crap shoot.

I keep hearing of people being described as “experienced” climbers by the media and other climbers. What does this mean? If I read something in the newspapers about an experienced climber it could mean anything. I find that most reporters are clueless and will label anyone that has been up more than one mountain as experienced. If you where to label someone as experienced, what would you mean?

I got this from a friend of mine: "About last night... As I lay on my bed, thinking about you, I feel this strong urge to grab you and squeeze you, because I can't forget last night. You came to me unexpectedly during the balmy and calm night, and what happened in my bed still leaves a tingling sensation in me. You appeared from nowhere and shamelessly, without any reservations, you laid on my naked body...you sensed my indifference, so you started to bite my body without any guilt or humiliation, and you drove me crazy while you sucked me dry. Finally I went to sleep. Today when I woke up, you were gone, I searched for you but to no avail, only the sheets bore witness to last nights events. My body still shows your marks, making it harder to forget you. Tonight I will remain awake waiting for you. ...you fucking mosquito."

Didn't someone get hurt there a few years ago? did they get clocked by a rock or take a dumble down the scree? There is a lot of loose rock in the area. The North ridge is fairly solid compaired to the rest of the hill. I was on a route between the N. ridge and the W. face and pulled off a block the size of a small TV set despite being extremely careful for loose rock. I was able to hold it in place for a while but there was nothing I could do but let it go. Thank god my buddy was not belaying in the fall line. It went a LONG way down before it stopped. Ware your helmet and don't decend driectly below the sumit block!

Walking around the base of elcap one spring day my buddy said stop! do you hear something? It took about a half a second to realize what it was so we made a V line to the trees and cowered behind the bigest boulders we could find. When it hit there where big rock and ice chunks flying over our heads. Never saw how big it was but we both trundled our pants.

Has anyone climbed there? This study throws out a lot of statistics about "rock climbers" impacts on vegitation. Wouldn't it be kind of important to have an idea of things like how many climbers use the are in a given day, how big of an are are we talking about, how many routes in that area, sport or trad, etc. Without this info it is difficult to get an idea of what is going on. I assume that this is a heavily used area. Is there more to this report than what is posted above?

I carry a flat head screwdirver in addition to a nut tool. A large handle will allow you to hit it fairly hard to pop out a stubbern nut. The narrow probing head can be easier to get into some tight spots that nut tools can,t. It can be very useful for clean aid, especially if your partner bounce tests a lot.

For shorter routes with a small rack I like my gear loops. I prefer not to have the sling flooping raound and getting in my way. For longer routes where you are swinging leads, taking a biger rack and/or climbing chimneys a gear sling is the way to go.

Too bad Harding didn't put up any routes around here (or did he?). We could go all go repeat one of his routes in his honor. Maybe a trip to the valley is in order. . . I will have to settle with a bottle of red wine, Christian Borthers was the wine of choice on the new dawn wall if I remember correctly.

quote: Originally posted by ScottP: El Capitan. The film by Fred Padula featuring the third ascent of the Nose by Dick McCracken, Gary Colliver, and Lito Tejada-Flores. Yvon Chouinard calls it the best climbing film he has ever seen. I have to agree. I have heard this is a good one. Any idea where I can find a copy?

I seem to have lit some flames. It seems that many of you got the impression that my gear is 10 years old beat to shit and I just want new ones. Not quite true. If it were I would go buy new ones. Yes it is ten year old. It is used but far far from beet to shit. The problem is that the edges of the velcro were not sealed correctly so they are coming unraveled. This started from day one with the gloves. I dont think OR even uses velcro on their overmits any more (wondery why) I should have taken then back at the first sign of a problem but I didn't. Finaly I don't want them replaced, that would be a waste. I just want them fixed. If I take them in and they say no, so be it. Although some make it sound like a capitol offence for trying. As for lifetime of product is it measured in quality and condition or number of years?

My girlfriends parents bought two overpriced yuppy mountain bikes at REI. A couple weeks later some A-hole ripped off the bikes, so they went back and bought two more new bikes. The cool part is they used my card!!!! I think my girlfriend needs a new rope.

I have not tryed to return anything to REI in a while. Last time I checked (long time ago) they stand behind anything they sell for the life of the product. In the past I have had mixed results taking things back. I have had old beat to S#@% stoves replaced and I have also had them refuse to repair a blown out seam on a slightly worn backpack. I have a pare of OR gaitors and OR overmitts that the velcro is coming unraveled to the point that the material is coming apart around the stiching. They are 8 to 10 years old but but not at all overly beet up (too much time rock climbing, too little time in the mountains). I could fix them my self but 1. screw that I'm lazy and 2. REI charges too much anyway. I am going to try and take them back and get them fixed (no real need for new ones). Anyone have winning stratagies to win over the idiot behind the service desk? (I know, they are not all idiots but . . . . . . ) PS Do they all play cheesy mall music like the one in portland?

Back in my college days we took off for a spring break trip to Levinworth. When we got to protland (from corvalis) I realized I left the rack and rope in the dorm. Over spring break the dorms get locked up and no one can get in. A quick phone call revealed that we were SOL. The next day I got a call from my room mate. He noticed I had left my gear and figured I would be looking for it. He grabbed it just befor the dorms where locked up. A quick drive back to salem to pick up the gear and we were back on track. One day lost but better than nothing.

I was there about 6 years ago and for the most part we had very good weather. It rained the day before we got there and the rock was still a little soft so we lost a half day (arrived in the afternoon) waiting for things to dry out. The rule of thunb is wait at least 24 hours to climb after rain otherwise the sandstone will just fall apart. We had about 7 days with temps in the 70's to 80's. One day was very windy but the rest where calm. Our last day was cold, cloudy and threadening rain. We could see that it had snowed in the higher elevations of the canyons. Driving home that night we were in snow most the way to Reno. The skys cleared and there was a full moon lighting up the desert with a fresh blanket of snow!!!!!! Any way my point is the weather can be very good but have a contingency plan just incase. As far as resolutin arete, I dont know but would love to hear a trip report. If I ever get my lazy ass back in shape it is a route I have always wanted to do.

Other than keep your break hand on the rope, there is no "best" way to belay a leader. There are a million variables to consider like what type of climbing you are doing, how much does your partner weigh, are you on the ground, a ledge or hanging, on snow, ice, or rock, how good is the anchor, etc, etc, The key is learning how to evaluate the set up to get what you want out of the belay like safety, confort, and speed. As you gain experience this will become more automatic.

quote: Originally posted by ScottP: Six days into a trip into the Southern Picketts, I was awakened one night by something tugging at my hair. I have no idea what it was, but it must have liked what it tasted because it kept coming back. I had the same experience in the bugaboos. I roled over and saw a big fat marmot with ugly yellow teeth grinning at me. He also ate my buddies sox, boy was he pissed in the morning!

I thought about it once (for about 5 minutes). I remember finding something written about a winter assent of Liberty Crack. I could be wrong but try AAJ from around the late 70's.

quote: Do you arrange your own schedule and is she hot? As far as the kayak goes; is spring boating takeas away from spring climbing, yes, you've got a problem. Kayaks are dangerous, you could drown. Yes, Yes, and Yes. I think 2 out of 3 correct answers is OK but deep down I know I am just in denial. Please help. Is there a good 12 step program I can start? Isn't the first step admitting I have a problem?

I was there in early june about 2 years ago. It was hot, mostly in the 90 but not too bad. We made sure to get a very early start every day. By noon it was getting hot. I also seem to remmber some of the walls got a good amount of shade in the late afternoon. If you are passing through the area I would deffinetly stop by, you may get lucky with reasonable temps. As for bird closures call the backcountry desk. There were some closures when I was there but not many, mostly in less traveled areas. I would also recomend checking out some of the slot canyons.

quote: Originally posted by Zenolith:[Just register and come here and say, "I have a problem but I want to face it. My name is X and I need help." I have a problem but I want to face it. My name is Matt and I I need help. About 3 years ago I moved from Yosemite, got a job, got a girlfriend and got a kayak. Is there a cure for me