Bug

Why aren't you working? And why won't you respond to my troll?

Yes. I'll send you a PM with my contact info. Sat may be rainy. Sunday should be good. I am willing to go both days regardless and hike something if it is raining SAT. But I am totally flexible.

I am up for that. You want to stay both days?

I have always disliked hexes. I have a couple tcu's I'd sell cheap ($20). But they do get stuck if you are not careful.

Don't go with Billygoat. He'll leave the tent behind.

And what does "Big Lou" mean to the British anyway?

cool. Can she hump gear to the base yet?

I used these last summer http://www.sierratradingpost.com/p/,65843_Asolo-Echo-Hiking-Boots-For-Men-.html I use my aluminum Stubai's on ice with no problems. I'm not talking vertical ice but low angle water ice doing gullies, Rainier, Adams, etc. They hold their point pretty well as long as you don't hit rocks. You can "file" them sharp with a flat rock.

Looks like there will be one other party up there anyway. Saturday could be nice too.

Thanks for the pics. Was it cold or really f..... cold?

Bump. Takers?

I have my girls (9 and 11) this weekend and we are going to Leavenworth to climb and burn stuff. All are welcome. We will be in the little green Toyota Paseo missing the left front blinker. I will have a rack and rope and would like to get some 5.8-5.10 climbing in. If you want to carpool, pm me and I can take my van instead. Bug

Nice. Thanks for the pics.

I never argue with moose. My father used to work for the Forest Circus. He and a very overweight associate were riding little Honda 90's into the "proposed" Rattlesnake wilderness to assess the recreational value. A moose decided she did not like scooters in her swamp and the trail was too narrow to turn around quickly. Dad climbed a tree easily except for busting a gut watching his 350lb friend shinnying up a young lodgepole pine. The scooters lost the arguement. They walked home. Dad said that he was glad it happened because he didn't think it was appropriate to ride the scooters in there in the first place. But the other guy wasn't about to walk.

That's sick man.

Beer here too!

He probably got sick because he wasn't healthy anymore. Is there an electronic device that climbers need to carry that would prevent this? Get well soon Porter!!!!!!

Hey. Some edit job. I must have been bit by one too many ticks. Or maybe its giardia. Or both. Shit. Don't go there. Its a Frigin toxic waste dump.

Ahhh, Montana in the springtime! It didn't take long to find a partner for Shoshone. There were a couple other interested parties but they didn't commit. Joe was clearly into it from the start. We arranged to meet 10 AM Saturday at my camp below Shoshone. I got up there Friday afternoon and walked to the top of Nez Pierce to re-take in the view after about 20 years. I did a lot of climbing in Blodget and the rest of the Bitterroots back then. It was really nice to be back. The`ticks were still there and it didn't help that I was following a small herd of mule deer up the gulley. On the way up, the end of ice climbing season was signaled by the collapse of the Swan slabs iceflow. The rumbles filled the valley. One-ton chunks crashed through the brush in the alluvial fan at the base. The next day dawned clear and warm. Before Joe got there, a couple of climbers wandered by camp on their way to My Mom's Muscle Shirt and beyond. We talked for awhile about the activity level in the Bitterroot and the local climbing community then and now. They saw one guy at the trailhead so I figured it was Joe. I canceled my solo plans and it was a good thing. I was way out of shape and out of touch. Joe showed up about 10:15 after being bluffed off the trail by the resident moose and her calf. I liked him right away. He was casual and upbeat. Besides that, he was clearly in good shape and was an experienced climber. We walked up the talus and skirted the base to the southwest corner where the classic route begins. Joe led up the first pitch climbing smoothly and placing good pro at wide intervals. He seemed to be having a good time. The sun was shining and the wind was light. It was a classic Bitterroot spring day. I followed with a little too much effort and after a short 4th class pitch we coiled the rope and scrambled to the base of the main wall. Again Joe led up through the "crux" pitch and belayed me up. He was cruising and I was feeling slow so Joe took the lead on the rest of the pitches as well. He followed the cracks up the left side. The cracks are mostly consistent with a few surprises here and there. My grip was faltering here and there but I was able to climb for the most part. We topped out and ate lunch between Flathead and Nez Pierce with a nice buffer between us and the creek. The wind had picked up and was blowing the smell of wet snow down from the divide. This was how I remembered Blodget. It will not be 20 years until the next time. Standard rack to 4" http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/503/medium/March_17_2007_Blodget_036.jpg[/img

I love my Stubai aluminum crampons. Strap-in variety. They wouldn't last long if I was going to use them a lot for mixed climbing but they are perfect for Rainier. At least they are for me. I also used Asolo light boots the last time I went up there. My feet got a little cold once when we were stopped on steep ground up high but my feet usually stay warm very well. I have also used insulated leather boots and had cold feet. That was due to having only one pair of socks and feet sweating on the approach. Plastics are clearly warmer but leather is more comfortable. Use good wool socks and plastic bread bags over those. Mom taught me that one in Montana walking to school in the winter. It was up hill both ways.

I tried to enter a TR here but when I was just about done, I was zipped back to the CC entrance. Lost the whole thing. So just imagine Blodget in the spring. This really sucks. Is there a time limit or something? It wasn't even ten minutes.

I have some holds for you. PM me. I'm in Redmond.

I once dropped a row of bricks off a third story roof. When I looked down, their dog was standing by the bricks looking up at me wagging his tail. Some game eh Fido? On another occaision, I was taking out a tree for a friend. It fell wrong and backsnapped toward me. I was in thick brush with one way out and it was right in the path of the falling tree top. I ran as fast as I could and I would have beat it if I hadn't snagged a foot on a blackberry branch and landed flat on my face. I knew it was "be quick or die" so I instantly sprang into the brush. The tree top missed me by a couple inches. My friend's wife witnessed the whole thing. They didn't ask me to take out any more trees.

Should have brought the ice tols to MT. But the rock will be clean and dry on the S faces. Shoshone on Sat. Semi-alpine

Is that Panama gold?