Bug

That's funny. I wonder if that is the same Wally that was flying cocaine for George senior's Iran Contra arrangement. Ask her if she would like an antenna tickle and see what her reaction is.

Ahhhh. I thought I smelled battery acid.

Shit. I was hoping he was slowing down so I could keep up with him next time.

Sounds like good advice. We would definately have to talk it over carefully once we got together. Everyone would have to be fired up about doing the hike in and the carry over. We would also be fairly committed to getting everybody over, or everybody turns back, once we got out onto the glacier. But it would be my first choice for what I would "like" to do. Any route will be fun if nobody turns into a flaming asshole. And for those, there are crevasses.

What about Rob_Bob? Robbie and Bobbie? Rob and Bobbie? Rob and Bob? etc. And what if it's Rob and Bobbie and it isn't a couple? Now who's confused?

Would you have gone faster without Greg? Nice TR.

So true. Care is needed and the willingness to say "I'm not going any further with you." This I have done. Everybody needs to be aware of that up front. But on the other hand, I have met some great climbers this way and had some really good trips. Who knows, it might be me who gets left behind. Several years ago I took my brother and his friend up Rainier. We met at Paradise but on the way there that morning I grabbed a frozen burrito at a quick stop and nuked it. When I got on the road and started eating it, it was still frozen in the middle. Since I was hungry as a spring snake, I ate it anyway. I was exploding for the rest of the day nad had some trouble getting to Muir. My brother and his friend thought I was a total looser but the next morning I was recovered and we beat -'s time by 37 seconds.

It's a plan then.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGGGHHHH. BRING ER ABOUT AND RIDE THE WIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

maybe you should do a little research and think about what your skills and abilities are. mount rainier can be fairly serious business. I've been up Rainier several times and would be happy to do one of the easier routes with you. I've done a couple "internet climbs" with people I didn't know. More than 50% end up staying below 11000 because they just aren't in good enough shape. If this is true of you, I will know after the first day to base camp and I will climb without you. I am not a mountain racer by any means but if we can't make a thousand feet an hour we should be close at least. I run about five mile every day for a month before a climb. That run includes a couple big hills. It is also important to hump a heavy pack up a steep hill a few times. The glacier skills can be taught at base camp. Read a few books though. There are a lot of good glacier skills books out there. Just make sure you have the concepts of self arrest, prussicking and the z-pulley extraction system down in theory. Practice prussicking in a tree if you can. Set up a z system on flat ground and pull a box or a lame dog. Do all this and post on this site. PM me when you are ready. It's not that big a deal if you are in shape. We can get another one or two off this site. I like June because the bridges are still intact. Disappointment Cleaver Route is too crowded. Emmons Glacier route is OK but still e few too many people. I would like to try the South Tahoma Glacier route. It looks real nice but would be best done as a carry over. Maybe camp on the summit? Cheers!

My hero. I'll bet she doesn't run into any five-year-olds.

Here here. My favorite all time footage of someone sliding down snow was of that cute Alaska girl ripin down the face of some huge deathzone dodging avalanches like she was waterskiing on glass.

You would be right about the static but not right about the effect IF you adjust your style. My point is that you would have to adjust your style to provide for the forces. When there are two, use a dynamic belay. When alone weigh the options of free soloing or using the rope as a swing line. This is almost always the way I use my dynamic 7mm anyway. There are time when I am extended beyond my comfort zone of a fall on the rope but I keep those at a minimum and can usually slow my fall by grabbing the rope and swinging or prevent a fall by leaning against the rope. It is really kind of silly all in all since soloing with kids at home is pretty selfish. But what can I say? I love what I love.

It is dynamic. Lots of stretch. Too much stretch. Compare 11mm to 9mm and extrapolate. Even if it were static, I would use it over nothing. A short fall with friction etc would not snap me like a twig. Do not assume that I would be leading out like I was on a normal rope with a belayer. I am soloing. Hemp ropes were used for a lot of climbs before our current technology. It was not as good but with the proper adjustments to style, it was better than nothing. If it is true that, as you say, "you WILL die" in a fall. Hemp rope would never have been used at all. When soloing, I always try to avoid using the rope. Too slow. When I have to, I use it for short pitches and place pro with slings that I can grab easily. The likelyhood of a freefall generating massive forces is low. The chances I do take are my own. I use the techniques after a lot of free soloing and soloing and normal trad climbing for many years. I doubt that many people would argue that free soloing is safer than climbing with a doubled 7mm. And it is certainly safer to rap on a 7mm than on a 6mm or less.

So you had a few drinks before you drove down? There goes another life. That reminds me of another time I almost bit it. A friend and I were driving home in the Red Shark, my 1969 Mercury Monterey hard top. The party favors were in full swing. I pulled up behind a car that was stopped and waited for awhile but he would not go. Finally I honked at him. Nothing. I honked again. Suddenly there was a man knocking on my window. I rolled it down and he asked me why I was honking at his parked car. When he saw my reaction he was rolling on the ground. He reached in, turned my car off and told me to come back for my keys in the morning. DOH!

uhm. isn't perlon static? This is a 7mm Mannut 1/2 rope. It is the only one I have seen anywhere. I bought it at a shop in Missoula. Cracked. When I lead on a doubled 7mm, it is with great care. First, I tie into two loops. Second, It is for soloing where the option is to go totally unroped. Third, Edges are the only real problem anyway according to the test data. But I try really hard not to test it. Fourth, Do not try this at home. I have been climbing solo for decades.

When my son was first learning to snowboard he side slid everything steep. He and his adolescent friends thought it was cool to "board the steep stuff" even if they side slide to whole thing. I used to give him a little crap about it but I am sure that has nothing to do with why he changed. He finally got better and actually carves now. So it is the newbies who are sideslipping which is easier to do on a board than on skiis which is why we are having this discussion. My pet peeve with boarders is that they keep hitting my 5-6 yearold and we are on intermediate slopes cutting downhill lines. If they are so out of control, why don't they ever hit me? I am always right with her. It's because they are wimps. They chose to hit the smaller obstacle. From now on, I am confiscating boards, I shit you not. It will be all I can do to keep from taking a head with it. Oh yeah. My other daughter has been hit twice and my wife has been hit once. None of us has EVER been hit by a skier. FUCK snowboarders and their unsafe attitudes. Good snowboarders should give bad snowboarders a hard time. It would promote the sport.

Right on. Nice pics.

Once in awhile, you make a coherent point. This wasn't one of those times.

At this point, I am into multiples of nine. You have to live a little bit on the edge to get the most out of life. But then, if you want to survive, you also have to decide to never give up. I wouldn't say I have never been afraid. I would say that fear has never dominated my reactions.

Would you free solo it? It sounds like you pretty much did anyway. Nice TR.

Poor planning.

Misguided rewrites of a best seller. There is lots of money to be made there. They probably won't be dissappearing.

How about 1) Best technical shot. Washburn photos. 2) Best of each board on CC.com. Each winner gets to buy a pitcher at pub club and we'll do it quarterly.

I use 60 m of 7mm perlon for alpine soloing. It is light enough to not be a big concern. It is strong enough to double and lead on. It is long enough to rap off lots o stuff. It handles pretty nicely which has been a good thing late in the day/night a couple times.