russ

1. Flask of Bombay Saffire 2. Olives (only the good ones)

quote: Originally posted by projecthex: go back to seattle 206er! and stop reading this site! projecthex - got a problem bud?

quote: Originally posted by Jman: It's my understanding (correct me if I'm wrong) that the lower shaft is actually thinner than the upper. That way the rubber grip is flush (or level) to the upper shaft, unlike most axes. So if you cut it off, you'll end up with a rather silly looking axe and possible very difficult to hold/manage. You can follow the links on the Marmot site http://www.marmotgear.com/ to see a picture of the Air Tech - looks like the rubber is not flush to the upper shaft.

When you cut off the rubber on the Air Tech, is the shaft finished underneath the same as the upper part?

I've never heard much mention of it, but "The Zip" in the lower Smoke Bluff is an awesome 10b. If it was on one of the upper formations there would be a constant waiting line.

quote: Originally posted by JERRY SANCHEZ: sAY IF I DO THE RACE DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE WISE TO LEARN HOW TO TAKE THE SKINS OFF AND ON WITHOUT TAKING YOUR BOOTS OUT OF THE BINDING? i CAN TAKE THE SKINS OUT BUT CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO PUT IT BACK ON. aNY SUGGESTIONS? If you can figure out how to take your skins off without taking your skis off, surely you can figure out how to turn off the cap lock button!

More votes for some routes, several already mentioned: N. Ridge Stuart - completeIngalls - South FaceSlesseYak Crack (& variations) Multipitch rock Davis-Holland - Lovin' ArmsGonzilla to Slow ChildrenCenterfoldOuterspace/Orbit/MJ diherdralCruel ShoesAngel CrestDreamerCareno Crag I agree with Mattp concerning Liberty Crack - overall I was surprised how poor the rock quality is - a must do, but not necessarily a must repeat.

Nice job Lowell. You're right that someone needs to record those early events before they're lost. Watching the film of the traverse over Baker really showed the spirit of the early ski mountineers. One question I had, before the "senor historian" took over the question session - Were S. Hall's underware Patagonia or Black Diamond?? and the guy must have spend a fortune on sun block.

quote: Originally posted by gearbot: Hello All,...For those of you who do not have the book (and after this tour I can not recommend buying the book),...... Have anyone else tried this route? Has anyone completed it (beside Mr. Volken)?..... Has anyone else tried other tours from this book? I am interested, if I should burn the book or give it a second chance,....G.B. gearbot - a guidebook is just that - a guide. You may have noticed conditions change in the mountains - one day a particular section is a piece of cake - another day it's a bitch. Try learning from it instead of blaming the author. Yes, I've used the guide and I think it's excellent. Why? because it gives me ideas I haven't thought of since I don't know the area as well as M.V. Btw, we skied one of the tours in the book this past weekend with the author of another Wa backcountry ski guide - he thought M.V's book was superb as well. Definitely don't burn it - I'm sure someone will take it off your hands for the right price.

quote: Originally posted by Bug: Another classic 5.9 is Solid Gold near Barker Canyon Dam. Or has that been mentioned already? It is a sport route but still very ascetic. Got to disagree with Solid Gold being a "sport route" - if you only do the first pitch I could see the argument, but IMHO you haven't done the route if you rap after the first pitch.

quote: Originally posted by Zenolith: re: re: axe. i have a 60 cm cassin dragonfly (got it for $50 from climb max in ptld) it is about the same weight as the air tech -maybe a tiny bit heavier. has a nice sliding ring leash and swings well enough due to the steel head. I hate the spike on the air tech. "Steel head"? I've got a cassin dragonfly, but mine is a very light aluminum head - do they make different models of the dragonfly? I find I rarely use it because I prefer the strength/weight of the chrome moly head on the Air Tech Racer. Anyone tried chopping glacier ice with the alum. dragonfly - is it up to the job?

quote: Originally posted by Peter Puget: I think someone mentioned Illusion Dweller. That climb is unbelievably overrated. Peter - do you mean overrated in difficulty or overrated in quality?

quote: Originally posted by miker:Has anyone done Figures on a Landscape? It's out on North Astro Dome near Solid Gold, 10c-d, 3 pitches. miker[/QB] Great route - I started to write some beta, but realized that in the 20 years since I did the route, details have gotten a little fuzzy. Grab the lead on the 1st pitch if you want the best pitch. [ 03-12-2002: Message edited by: russ ]

A couple of my favorites are Illusion Dweller (10a) and Run For Your Life (10a/b) in the Real Hidden Valley. Have fun, you'll have lots of great routes to choose from.

Pretty amazing story - I doubt there is any debate left in his mind over whether an Avalung is worth the trouble.

I had lasik surgery 3-4 years ago, and for the most part of have been very please with the results. However, rockclimbing has been the one activity where it's had a negative effect for me. Lasik surgery can't do anything about presbyopia -which is loss of elasticity of the lens effecting the ability to focus clearly. Unfortunely, people experience it as we get older - well, I guess I'm there. Within a few days of surgery my vision was 20/20 in both eyes, but I required reading glasses unless the light was really bright. I immediately noticed in the climbing gym I couldn't see the holds or surface variations as well, but it was not big deal to adapt. Climbing outside on cracks or routes with med.-big holds was no problem (I mean seeing them, whether I could do the route is different issue!). But routes that you have to look for little irregularities has been problem - I've had a lot harder time finding the little smear edges for my feet and sometimes locating small finger holds. The real problem is friction slabs where you have to see the slightest irregularity to make the move. The first time I noticed it was on Goat Dome in Icicle Canyon. We started by warming up on a route which I had done before without the slightest problem. I took off on lead and suddenly I couldn't find any features to get me past a section - I couldn't figure out what the problem was - how had I done this is the past??? It took me a couple of pitches to figure out I just couldn't see the little irregularities needed to smear off of. We had gone up with the intention of doing pretty much all the routes left - right on the cliff (which I had done previously). No way - I couldn't even get off the ground on the harder ones - I was bummed. I talked to my optomitrist and he had no experience with someone wanting glasses with a working range of about 18" - 5'. He's was going to try having some made, but I've gotten sidetracked with focusing on alpine route and haven't gotten back to him. Got to do that.... Those scary, runnout friction routes (Static Point, Squamish apron, etc) use to be a "favorite" of mine - now I don't even consider them. Otherwise, total positive experience with lasik. [ 03-08-2002: Message edited by: russ ]

The orginal poster is from Virginia, he probably doesn't know Dave Page. http://www.davepagecobbler.com/

I sent a pair of old Chouinards to BD for them to replace the rands. Could have been done, except I had so much duct tape on them, BD was afraid they would gum up their machine. Instead they offered 25% off on new Supergaitors - I took it. You can buy the rubber rands from BD.

Check out this site http://cascadeclassics.alpinelite.com/Skiing/Skiing.htm - they've done some nice stuff.

I've got a pair Asolo AFS 103's size 10 - excellent shape (bought them too small) - $100