Travis

Holy crap man, nice work Jake! BTW, have you even graduated high school yet? Man, I have so much catching up to do in this sport.

Some ratings here. http://www.matthewbuckle.net/climb/bcclimbing/squamish/squamishaid.html

A high resolution satalite pic of an alpine rock climb. click here Got any more?

My Nuts are Too Small and I Have No Friends

If you can't get Squamish Select, get the Whistler guide as well; also McLane. Lots of sport climbing just up the road.

I was out top-rope soloing in the bluffs yesterday but I'd like to try again during the week. Tomorrow might be it since it's supposed to rain Wednesday. Anyone?

We topped out about a minute ahead of you guys, making you stop and wait (and sing War Pigs) before simul-climibng the last pitch. Highly enjoyable climb, I think; we had an awesome day and I'd recommend it highly as a nice moderate, low-stress alpine route on nice rock. Some approach beta might be in order here since there were at least three other parties who missed the approach and two of them ended up dragging climbing gear up the scramble route instead. Basically, don't cross the creek after Headly Pass, follow the trail through the tent sites instead. From there its up to the col left of the waterfall and then it's obvious. We avoided the moat issues by traversing into the climb higher up. (stay low on the ledges)

We walked out Saturday, just missed you but met up with others in the hut. Like at least two other parties that week, (of stellar weather) we left with a prepaid day in the hut having climbed enough and accumulated enough bodily wear and tear, as well as avoiding the long-weekend mayhem. I had friends at Applebee who fell on Krause MacCarthy about the time you were arriving. They were able to lower him back to camp and after some rest he was able to hike out. By the end of the season the Bugaboo Snowpatch col will require about a three pitch ice climb to get to and any rocks coming off the Kain route will funnel right down the rap route. The heat in July and August will make for a dangerous fall season up there. (NPI) And don't feel bad about backing off on Kain, on the way back through Roger's Pass we got scared off of Uto by some clouds and had to down-climb past another party on the way up as we (sheepishly) bailed. Glad to here you were able to salvage something out of your trip.

The climbers in the picture are M. Spagnut and K.Lang doing the first ascent of Bugaboo Crack. (taken July 20,2003) Route info was found here... http://bivouac.com/PhotoPg.asp?PhotoId=4132 and here... http://www28.brinkster.com/mspagnut/snesak_bugaboo.asp

I tried and I tried, but it wouldn't attach. Here it is inlined.

The climbers I saw, and not until after I'd taken the photo, are highlighted here. The belayer is in shorts, and the climber hasn't left the ground. Not sure what Dru is seeing...

Just got back from a fantastic tour of the classic routes in the Bugs. We did McTech Arete, Kain Route on Bugaboo and the W. Ridge of Pigeon. I'll be comparing everything to Bugs quality granite now, so I'm fucked. Weather has been super stable for weeks so the hut was a zoo around the weekends but there is plenty of room for everyone on the climbs. Getting up a bit early will get you to most routes before anyone else. By the time you get there, they will have the new elaho guide to the area at the hut (to buy), they currently have a printer's proof that's getting a lot of use and is very accurate, showing new rap chains and better descent beta. It makes the new "Bugaboo Rock" look like crap, and I gather the new edition was rushed out in order to beat the elaho guide to press The condition of the glacier to the Bugaboo-Snowpatch col is deteriorating fast. There is bare ice, the bridge over the schrund is going fast and (more worrisome) the crevasse at the bottom is opening up. Last week we saw a couple of postholes into the abyss that were made late in the afternoon; by unroped parties The Applebee and Boulder campgrounds are open and being used for 5 bucks Cdn. The Applebee will save you some slogging before and after the vast majority of climbs but the Boulder camp is nicer with more private sites and softer tent pads. The hut is heavily booked, so get a reservation and bring your receipt. The system of telling the custodian who's coming is imperfect so he may not know how many reservations he's got. The hut contains all cooking/eating utensiles, and has a toaster and coffee maker (bring basket filters and be prepared to hike out the grinds) but no microwave. The electricity goes out a lot, (every night) but there is propane stove and lighting so it's no problem. (so don't bring a stove, pots, cups, forks spoons etc.) We arrived without chicken wire, but got the last available so I might be tempted to bring my own. Once we hiked out there was a car load of day hikers who required our parking spot and our chicken wire. As for the climbing, it's stellar but busy on the popular lines. Looking over from a few pitches up McTech we saw about 10 parties on the NE Ridge of Bugaboo. There were no fewer than 15 people on the west ridge of Pigeon (midweek) when we were there but we were ahead of everyone so get up early and you'll have no problems. We did the Kain route on Wednesday, started early and only saw one other party, but that one will bottleneck at the gendarme pitch so I'd go very early if it's busy.

Here's a pic I took up there Sunday, can you spot the climbers? Any idea what they're on?

Okay, so here's the deal. Walk out of the airport in Bangkok, continuing past the expensive guys offering you rides to a metered taxi stand outside. Say to a driver "Kao San Road", this is a code word they will understand fully. After a short drive your driver will stop. Get out, find a room, have a beer, meet some backpackers etc... Next day, get a tuk tuk to the Southern Bus terminal and hop a bus to Krabi. From there, (bus station in Krabi) arrange travel to Rai Ley; some dude at a 'travel agency' there can set this up (ride to Ao Nang, long tail boat to Rai Ley). Once at Rai Ley, all will be revealed to you. Endless, dripping, limestone walls and deserted pristine, white sand beaches. Your basic tropical paradise with tons of sport climbing, beach volleyball and other stuff too.

You're not alone in having the Grim Reaper as a 'not yet' climb. It also appears on this page. 'The Dirty Dozen: Climbs that scare me' page. A weird cosmic convergence occurred on the Squamish Buttress a couple of weeks ago. My partner and I were waiting on the ledge below the crux with a bunch of other parties, and the author of the dirty dozen climbs was there. I know this because he was wearing the same tights as he was here. Another party included a couple of old guys, one of which turned out to be Neil Bennet; first ascentionist of the Grim Reaper. At this point in my climbing carreer, my 'not yet' list is too lame to publish.

Oh yeah, nearly forgot Blazing Saddles! Absolutely the best climb I've ever done! Some other stuff that is good but gets overlooked.. Nubile Woman and The Kip in the Bluffs, everything at Up among the Firs, Stairway and Zoe in Murrin Park, among others... You realize of course, this list will never end.

Assuming 'long moderate' implies multi-pitch, here's my opinion. - Squamish Buttress, french free about three meters of the crux pitch. - Ultimate Everything, A0 on the last pitch. Both of these require getting above the apron. I did St Vitus to Buttress a couple of weeks ago, I wouldn't recommend it as a linkup just because St Vitus' Dance is so wide and you'll never place anything that big on Buttress, or need to on UE. So, to approach take Calculus Crack or Snake or Rock on or Deidre again, or even Banana Peel if you're in a hurry and it's not crowded. The newly cleaned South Arete might be interesting, but I haven't been. On the Squaw, I've only done Jungle Warfare, its fun and there's the bottom pitches of a bunch of others to do while you're there. Shorter moderate stuff (with stars) is available at the Bulletheads and base of the grand. Stop at Comic Rocks and do Garfield. Shannon Falls has a couple of one pitch cracks that are fun, (Klahanie and Cardue). All the stuff Dru lists, and there's tons more. Here's someone else's tick list . If you get rained out, hike up to the Cirque of the Uncrackables and aid Cobra Crack. It's awsome! Have fun.

This guy owns a few. (Climbing the same route as the other guy. Excalibur - El Capitan)

Can't tell if you were kidding or if I've failed in my explanation. Suffice it to say, gravity will always pull you in the same direction. In any event, if you're okay with this placement then you'd be right.

I don't disagree, judging from the pics I think I'd have tried passive pro there. The point isn't that Aliens fail more than TCUs, but that they're more difficult to get right in vertical cracks than TCUs. I don't think she'd have screwed up a TCU placement as badly in the same place. All small cams will butterfly if placed incorrectly, but with only 3 caming units, IMHO the TCU is easier to get right, even if you're gripped. Also, more fault tollerant if the placement is less than perfect. When placing an Alien vertically, I find it difficult to see how all 4 camming units are interacting with the rock, especially if the inside of the crack is fluted or irregular. In a horizontal crack, you can easily see how the Alien is sitting, and the flexible stem makes it better in that situation. Just my opinion,

Seems to me that Aliens were really meant for horizontal placements, and they work great in them. The TCU works better in shallow, vertical placements. I recently did an aid climb in Squamish where I was walking my 2 blue TCUs up the crack and leaving my blue Alien on my rack. The TCUs just worked better in that sort of rock, so I own a double set of TCUs and only one Alien. If I climbed in The Gunks that might be reversed; so it depends. Here's an accident report that is somewhat apropos here. http://www.pbase.com/phil_box/accident_at_frog_buttress_8303&page=1 http://www.pbase.com/phil_box/accident_at_frog_buttress_8303&page=3

From the Access Society website.... May 2003 Please post/circulate! LOWER MALEMUTE CLOSURE B.C. Rail expressed concerns about climbing at the lower Malemute in autumn 2001. Discussion and planning led to the Action Plan for Access, which was presented to B.C. Rail in May 2002. We believed the Action Plan addressed many if not all of the concerns, and that it was the kind of proposal that was needed, perhaps subject to discussion of the details, and implementation. CASBC received a written response from B.C. Rail to the Action Plan in early April 2003, in which the company unecquivocally stated its position, as follows: B.C. Rail will not grant public access to the lower Malemute. Any person on B.C. Rail property is considered a trespasser, and trespassers are subject to arrest or a $115 fine. (B.C. Rail’s property is all land within eight m/25 feet (horizontally) of the centre of the train tracks, on both sides. About half the climbs at the lower Malemute, and some access routes, are on B.C. Rail property. If you use any of these, or the tracks, you are trespassing.) B.C. Rail police advise us that climbers have been observed on the tracks on recent occasions, most recently the weekend of 11th/12th May, and that it plans to put up no trespassing signs and take enforcement action. Fixed anchors for climbs/pitches on the B.C. Rail right-of-way have been or may soon be removed by climbers. The main (north end) access trail may be blocked, before it reaches the tracks, and an information sign posted. Some climbs (or the upper pitches of climbs) and access routes at the lower Malemute are not on the B.C. Rail right-of-way. They are on undeveloped private land, as are climbs at the upper Malemute. We hope to publish a list of those climbs/pitches. CASBC wrote to B.C. Rail, noting that climbing at the lower Malemute is long-established, that the climbs there are internationally-known, and that many climbs/pitches at the lower Malemute are not on B.C. Rail property. We suggested a co-operative approach to these matters. Please don’t climb on B.C. Rail property at the lower Malemute! CASBC does not condone climbing there under any circumstances. We will publicize any further news as quickly as possible. More here... http://casbc.bivouac.com/news/access34.htm

Garfield 5.7 Take your 5.7-climbing friend and/or date up that one only if you want to scare the shit out of them and never climb with them again. Not a sandbag, and really fun but if you're not solid at the grade the thought of that swing on the initial traverse is a bit fillyourpants'ish and no one wants their partner backing off on TR due to fear. I found that out watching my buddy get all wide-eyed and ask to be lowered rather than clean the next peice.

It'll be busy enough to just ask around and borrow a peak at someone elses book. Try Ray's Sports Den, or whatever that shop is in Penticton. I'd be willing to guess they keep a lot in stock. There are some topos here, but not all that good I'm afraid. http://www.skaha.org

Anyone ever use one of these? Are they any good? Does Pika have any competition? TIA,