Bug

Thanks anyway Pandora. Anyone else have any info?

Hey Pandora. Did you go up there? How much snow was there on the southern exposure up to Ingalls lk? Where did the snow start? I might take my girls up there this weekend if it has some dry spots to camp on. Thanks for any info.

Going left "half way" up would take you out into the buttress where you would have to be up for some interesting rock climbing. Going left about 2/3 of the way up would put you in the left most exit gulley which is probably pretty steep and bare right now. My guess is that you will want to hang right up the main gulley to where you cut left into the afore mention 2/3 gulley by angling left passing just under the small rock outcrops. From there, under the current light snow conditions, I have no idea what you will find. Be ready for some mixed climbing. A few extra pins and some cams might be handy. Maybe some short screws too.

I took my little girls last year. They loved it. We will go again if I have them that weekend.

Short but tweet. Like a bird. When I was 19 I went to "the Valley" for the first time. I hadn't been climbing long enough to know much but long enough to think I did. And in those days I still had several functioning brain cells. Somehow I hooked up with the Texas Kid who was hot to climb but prone to lassooing things. Anyway, we went up the first half of Royal Arches and veered right to get to a nice splitter off a sandy ledge. We were all tied in and everything was ready for a major fall. I went up the first part quickly and ran out of big pro about 30 feet off the ledge. Looking up, I saw a fixed hex maybe 35 feet up. Looking down, I realized I would deck if I fucjed up. Naturally, I went for it. The crack widened and flared a bit near the top but I made it up there easily and was reaching for a sling when for no explainable reason, I popped off. I quickly flipped over and got my feet under me and realized I was about to die. The Valley floor was 800 feet below but the trees increased in size rather rapidly. I slammed into a sloping part of the wall after about 30 feet and that slammed my arms against the wall. Both forearms were left skinless for a two by eight inch swath. But the real pain was approaching fast. Realizing I was heading for a bush, I layed out flat so it would break my fall. It was then that my mind latched onto a memory of a story about a sailor who fell off the rigging and went limp "like a sack of potatoes" when he hit. I did the same. Now you might think it makes sense at first but you have to realize that in the last three seconds I have just fallen 60 feet, lost skin, and visualized my tibia protruding out the top of my big fat skull. The intensity of the effort to go limp forced me out of my body from where I watched my body fall through the bush. I came back together four feet in the air at the top of a bounce that was taking me over the edge of the 800 foot drop. I reached up and grabbed the rope with both hands and yanked. This blistered all eight fingers but stopped my progress toward the abyss. I swung into the ledge but was too dazed to get both feet in front of me which is how I got the gash on my knee. As I hand over handed up onto the ledge a couple feet, I noticed my glasses at the edge and put them on. Then I looked at my belayer, "The Texas Kid". He was white as a sheet sitting about two feet from my crater still holding my belay. I layed down and treated myself for shock and took inventory of the many diverging sensations of various realities as this one came back into view. Nothing seemed particularly damaged. My knee was barely bleeding. My arms were only oozing. And my fingers were very minor. I was mostly worried about internal damage and was trying to figure out if I was in pain or not. After a few minutes we pulled the rope and rapped off. I retrieved my gear the next day. It took about a month for the arms to fully heal but the self inflicted hydrogen peroxide treatments were cheap entertainment around boystown. I think I may have been one of the first people in the world to buy a 4 friend.

Post an address to this train wreck.

How about the Wild Rose on Capitol Hill?

Have you checked the 2nd hand stuff at Marmot? They had a few pairs a couple months ago.

I have used my MSR's for probably 500 miles. They are worn but still reliable. Side hilling is great and I like the heel lifters. A friend broke one shoe at the toe digging it out of a cache on Denali. It is the only breakage I have seen. Comfort and stride seem fine. The size is good for west coast mashed potatoes but would not be good for deep powder. Then you are far better off with skiis. But for thick brush, nasty trails, and generally unskiable deep snow conditions, the MSR's are tested and approved.

Oh. We all climb for glory.

I have had orthotics made by Hanson Orthopedics and footbeds made by Jim Mates of Custom Boot Service. The major difference was the posting or cross angle that the bottom of the foot is held in. Jim's footbeds were posted at the heel and a bit at the arch but not at thte toe. Hansen's orthotics were posted all the way out to the ball of the foot which gives me the same foot angle through the entire stride. It IS a noticable difference but my feet are pretty bad. I paid $200 plus office visits at Hansen orthopedics. I paid $125 flat at Custom boot. The footbeds Jim makes are weighted on a set of soft pads mounted on axels that run fron to back. So the posting at your natural position is built in to the heel of the footbed. Jim could build it into the length of the footbed but would have to do that by building up the front posting after the footbed is made. This is the same way Hansen did my orthotics. Problem is, Jim doesn't have a license to practice orthopedics and would get busted. But you could post your own toes if you knew what you were trying to do. I use Jims footbeds and post them myself. I have Hanse's orthotics to compare which is cheating but the theory is to get the ankle to hinge at the same lateral angle all the way through the stride. Without posting all the way through the foot will rotate at the ankle as you move onto your toes. The loss of power is notable. Just my two cents.

Check out Custom Boot in Fremont. Jim Mates is the owner/operator and has done my insoles twice. They ROCK! I still use both pair and haven't seen him for eight years. Tell him Keith says 'HI!'

Raynaud's SYNDROME. Thank you. It was driving me crazy.

Yeah. I've known two women now who have the lizard syndrome. I forget what it is really called but their exremities just shut down so all the heat stays in their core. Their fingers turn white knuckle by knuckle even if they are sweating. Core temp has nothing to do with it.

Thanks to all. She ended up getting Sportivas and she is working on a heel cup.

Newbies being trolled.........

Whatever gets you out! Didn't mean to dis you. In fact, I'm one of your secret admirers!

Old climbers get more routes done.

$129?! Your secret admirer is out of the closet honey.

Nickerson Street Saloon. 318 Nickerson Street, Seattle. Tel: (206) 284-8819. Beer: Fifteeen taps pour 13 craft beers, one regional lager, and Guinness.

I'll take 'How to Roll a Joint in Gale Force Winds', and 'Theories of Dope Preservation and Rationing on Big Walls'.

Did anyone notice if the practice gulley downstream of Alpintal was in?

Who is this Klinky guy? Is he tough? Or is he another CC.COM possier?

"Women always pee in pairs." "She liked me when we were dating." Women always think they can change their husbands. Men always think their fiance won't change after the wedding night." If marriage were easy, it wouldn't take a lifetime. "When I have kids they won't do that."

OK, Since it is looking like a good storm is hitting us this weekend, I am changing my plans to a winterfest on Index via the backside of Persis. This could easily be a day trip but it might be worth a night out to get in some good turns on Index Sun AM. That is if you like spending a night out in a storm. I have a bombproof 2 man and a bomb proof 3 man so this would be a good chance for anyone who needs experience in cold weather. The climbing is non technical (about 30 ft of 3rd class out of the gully down low). The skiing may be good if we get a big dump.