MATT_B
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Posts posted by MATT_B
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What about Mazama Glacier on Adams? I was up there once that time of year and it was great but that was a long time ago. If memory serves me, no rock, easy ice, reasonable to navigate over and around cravases. Another one that is within striking distance form from Portland would be Jefferson. I did the Jefferson Park Glacier in October once and really liked it. That too was a while ago but I remember having not too much rock fall, easy ice, and easy rock. The rock was even relatively solid compared to the other local volcanic choss piles.
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"crossed a distance of 40m (44 yards) in just over two minutes at a height of 1,800m (1,968 yards)" There must be something wrong with this. That would mean the canyon walls are almost vertical and 6000 feet high???? Not that it would matter too much if things went bad . . .
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Wish I could swing something like that. Just out of curiosity, what is on your list of "major volcanoes"? I think it goes without saying that Rainer and Shasta should be on the list. I somehow doubt Mt. Tabor will meet your criteria. Where are you drawing the line? Is it a height thing? Does difficulty play into it? I look forward to seeing a TR when all is said and done.
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You have a week so make a road trip out of it. Smith is a weekend trip for Salem. Leavenworth is a long weekend trip. If you haven't already been there, I would hit Yosemite Valley and do some classics. The weather could crap out on you but it is a must visit place and there is so much to do and see. You might could be climbing in a t-shirt, snow or anything in-between. I wouldn't discount Bishop either. There is a lot more than pebble pulling down there. Why limit it to 13 or so hours? In the grand scheme of things a few more hours of driving opens up a lot more doors and can still be done in a day. After a winter of rain wouldn't it be nice to climb in shorts and a t-shirt for a week before classes start up again?
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Not really. Just trying to figure out how far away from a cliff face would you be if you were jugging a rope that was 200 feet long on a 110 degree average slope? Silly question. But fun to muse about.
Plaidman
kind of depends on how far up the 200 foot rope you are . . .
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You would get much better bang for your buck by doing long routs out at index (upper town wall). It is a bit of a drive for a weekend but that is where I would go. Practice even in marginal conditions. May in the valley can be very like so be prepared, even the end of may. A1, A2, A3 just numbers. If you are really ready and efficient enought for the mescalito you shouldn't be woried if it is really A2+ or just A2. Don't fortet to practice halling setting up your ledge and the like. Get on it and lets see some index TRs
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I used a hub cap we found along the road once. Not the best but it worked . . . I'v found a but bag is much better. Maybe not quite as comfortable but lighter and a lot easier to hall around.
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I cant remember what I had even though it's only been a couple of years since my little one could ride on the front. When they are that small they are not very heavy at all and carrying them is not much of an issue. I would recommend not getting anything too bulky. When they are small enough to stay up front they need to be protected from the elements. I would make sure that all your jackets can zip over the kid to keep him/her warm and sheltered. When they got bigger we went to a frame backpack style. I looked at a bunch of them and came to the conclusion that most of the medium to high end packs road roughly the same. Some of the VERY expensive ones were a little more comfortable but not much. Most had more bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at. Personally I think simple is better. I went with a used bear bones Kelty of off c-list for 25 bucks and it has survived my two kids and many many miles.
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Just out of curiosity, has a MLU ever been a key component to a rescue? I seem to remember a number of years back a news report about a rescue where the MLU was used to "help" find the injured party. If I remember correctly it was some relatively minor injury on the south side in an easily accessible location on a day with near perfect conditions. Even though the MLU was used it wasn't really needed. I agree with Mtguide, the MLU technology is outdated and that sash blows. There is better technology out there and even that can be improved. It is just another toy in our bag of tricks. That being said I would not like the state to tell me what I will be putting into that bag.
Dane, Thank you for your comments. Agree or disagree it's nice to see an educated, reasoned argument that differs from the masses.
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I've been wondering how well an old climbing rope would hold up for crabbing . . .
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To leave beautiful faces (if there are such there) that can only protect with bolts....is a waste of precious rock. There is only so much rock to go around.....God I wish I was single with a shit load of time on my hands.....i would come down there and add a few bolts and there would nothing anyone could do about it......
Statements like this make me think that a ban on bolting in the wilderness might not be such a bad thing . . .
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Tequila, Triple sec, Lime, Glacier ice and a nalgene with a salted rim.
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Sounds like you have not done a lot of multi pitch climbing. Get your systems worked out such as swinging leads, halling, jugging, setting up a wall anchor, managing large amounts of gear, ect. You can burn a ton of time futsing around at the anchors trying to figurre things out. It may sound crazy but my partner and I did some of the worlds shortest 2 pitch climbs at the collums halling a small bag of rocks and everything. It was painfully slow and a big mess at first but it payed off in the long run. Best to do on a wet day with no crowds. Another thing to consider is that a wall rack (usually) is going to be heavier than a free rack. It will drain your energy faster and make freeing that 5.whatever pitch feel harder. Even if you plan on doing an all or mostly free route get at least some aid experience under your belt. As to where to climb, I bet you know all the local areas. Do lots of cracks and avoid the bolts. Basalt is more similar to granet than smith tuft is but it's all good. Have fun and drink lots of water.
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We only had a single 60m rope. I don't remember any problems rapping off but I don't really remember exactly where we rapped off either. Lots of different ways to go. Lots of simo climbing for a long ways. Just keept climbing until the leader only had a couple stoppers left then swing leads. Unicorn is only about a pitch of 5.4 by the easy route. It is kind of in the oposite direction of you stay at cathedral lake. Check out the Echo peaks. They would be right on the way back to camp. Cathedral peak is also well worth braving the crouds.
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The trail around Mt Hood is right around 40 miles. It was a very good trip for me when I did it.
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Well as a musician, I always try to hear my music the way a non-musician listener might hear it, raw. That way I get the perspective of what is "honest" in the music, no trade secrets that only the musician knows - ei polished, overly produced, rehearsed, they even have gadgets that will correct your tone if it's off pitch!
So from a non-climbers perspective, (ie beginners mind Zen sorta thing) it looks like this: Whoa! dude climbed that freakin mountain without a rope! Man is he crazy? Dude gets the girl and golden cookie award for his ego and for having giant size gonads!
But the climber (solo'r) knows that half the battle never really happened. The intricacies of working out the moves has at least been greatly diminished if not removed entirely. Route finding - a fundamental problem (challenge) that is essential to what most people think of as climbing - has been taken out of the equation.
Tell the girl (ego) that "well, really I have done this route a dozen times before.. etc.." and see if she still goes home with you. Im not saying that there is no challenge to soloing, just that if were honest about it, we will see it for what it really is - ei Dru's "..driving without a seatbelt..".
I guess im simply saying lets get honest about this and trash the image of the solitary super human zen solo'r, completely one with the rock who wants nothing to do with ego, an audience, topo or rope for that matter. Its mostly illusion (rehearsed) with few (maybe a handful in the world) exceptions.
Personally, I believe safe climbing is an art in itself. I like this saying I read hear a while ago, "if you can't protect the pitch, you got no buisness climbing it." Not that that is completely the case here, but it illustrates that there are things about climbing that only climbers know.
So have at it, it's cool and all that - and yes Ive "soloed" easy shit 5.6 and below - mostly when I wanted to get the hell off of it. But in fact, I'll revoke my earlier statement and say that I am probably impressed by intentional free solo climbing to an extent - just not as much as I would be if I didn't know certain things about it. And like other aspects of climbing "sport" and "siege climbing" it's just not what I got into it for. Mountains dudes, I want to climb mountains, with ropes and gear and well.., thats just me.
I think dmuja is missing the point. It's not about a battle or ego or being super human for the vast majority of people that solo at what ever level or style they do it at. There are probably as many reasons that people solo as there are soloists. I bet for most it is a deeply personal thing. I kind of look at it like "armchair mountaineers". They know all about climbing, they may have even been climbing a little bit but they aren't really climbers and don't really understand it. You can't really understand it unless you do it. Soloing does not make any one any more or less of a climber. The same can be said for those that don't solo. We have all seen the big glossy photos of the climber of the week soloing what ever big impressive route. It is easy to question their motivations to "solo" the route with all the cameras around. But we all know that is the exception, not the rule. Most of the time it is just people doing their own thing on their own terms.
On a somewhat similar note, did anyone catch frontline last night about the first solo non stop round the world sail boat race? That is a different bread of solo.
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I'm fucked
in Spray
How much will you part with it for?Actually between my wife and I there are 7. It really is a bad thing. It has cut into climbing quite a bit. It takes you to some of the most increadable places. There are not may better ways to spend a really hot day than on a nice river. . . It's an addiction I tell you. I'm not ready to start the 12 step program so I'm sorry to say I'm not ready to part with any of them. As a matter of fact I'm probably going to expand the fleet and build a couple of sea kayaks. The only delema is do I go with a class or kit or build my own; stitch and glue or skin on frame or strip built.
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I'm fucked
in Spray
What ever you do, don't try a white water kayak. I have a garage full of plastic that proves it's a bad idea. . .
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Cathedral peak is one of my favorites but it can get crounded. Lots of other peaks right in the same area that can be done in the same day. Mathes crest is another good one. Look up bear creek spire too (south of the park). Weather usually starts to take a turn some time in september. It is more often good than not but can be hit or miss that time of year. Tioga pass usually closes some time in October. Give us an idea of difficulty, length and location (Sierras are a big range) your looking for and we could probably get you a better list.
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lots of ropes and knots involved
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I going to be down in that area next week for a bit. I really have not spent much time down there. I've heard there is some bouldering/climbing in the Bandon area but I think that is about another hour south. Any recommendations about places to go check out preferably closer to Reedsport? I'll probably just be bouldering.
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Maybe the insuranc co. wanted a police report but the theives didn't want to file one. That could throw up some red flags.
ICE??
in Columbia River Gorge
Posted
Found this picture. Not exactly sure when it was taken but it looks a little thin . . . .
http://www.kgw.com/news/Snow-falling-in-Portland-Metro-area--185317242.html?gallery=y&img=3&c=y