Bug

I came to climb. I bolted instead. Now I am shit.

There are a lot of projects on the east side. Out Novelty Hill Road there is a big project.

I once witnessed (it wasn't me I swear) a rappel where the survivor tied his prussik to the caribiner he was using as a brake bar. About half way down, the prussik grabbed and pulled the brake bar up above the main biner. This resulted in the rope coming down through the main biner at the survivor's harness, back up to the biner that was suspended by the prussik, and back down to the survivor's brake hand. Fortunately there was enough friction to maintain control and enough rope to allow him to descend to safe ground. He ran to the bushes and didn't come out for about ten minutes.

Jealous I am. But my 4 & 6 yrold daughters learned to ride their bikes without training wheels that day. I really want to do that traverse though. Thanks for the inspiration.

HMMMMMMMM. I would have thought that someone else would have responded by now. I haven't been to the Sawtooths for years. But it is my understanding the the basic logistics are the same. Go to Redfish lake and pay the man to take you to the other end of the lake. We walked back but you can have the boat meet you at a specified time. From the top of the lake it is not far to elephant's perch and lots of other climbing. As I remember, there are guide books available at a shop near Stanely. Local climbers are a little reluctant to share info. This may have changed. Good luck.

A few years ago I did the west ridge car to car from NF Teanaway/ Ingalls lk trailhead in about 10 hrs. I had water, food, raingear, and climbing shoes in my pack. There was no snow except on the descent of the SE gully. The summit block gave me a little rush in free solo mode in two places but it seemed like pretty easy 5.7. Just very exposed. There was a mountain goat in the west gully above me that kept dropping rocks in my general direction as I chased him up the route. I got bored with the gully and moved right onto the rib to get a little more actual climbing in. It was a good choice as there were some really nice hand cracks and ledges. I found one bivy site under a leaning block complete with abandoned sleeping bag and other rat chewed gear. It looked like someone bailed in a real hurry. I dropped down into Ingalls creek from the South east gully and cut straight up and over the ridge to the Teanaway drainage. There was a nice hunter's trail up through the brush and even up the head of the bowl. I highly reccommend the excursion for anyone willing to free solo 5.7.

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: What ridge comes down by Stuart Lake Confusing the way you describe it bug. There are two little lakes or ponds above Stuart Lake up a trail that is a little rustic. I think that is up by Goat pass. The ridge I am talking about is the one that comes down there. Anyway, if you are standing at Stuart lake looking up at the peak, the ridge I mean is the right skyline. Whatever the case, it is not for the faint of heart. It is a big wall and there are some routefinding difficulties.

OK I can't edit. I'm too stupid. Anyway, I think the Becky book describes a route up the west ridge proper. Not the west coulior but the ridge that comes down to the pass above lake Stuart. That route has a descent gully about 3/4 up to the notch at the west base of the summit pyramid. It is a series of rapps through some ugly terrain. It starts with a long sideways rapp to the west. I did it several years ago and would do it again if I were approaching from the north. There is a fair amount of loose rock in there so be extra careful.

quote: Originally posted by Jason Martin: Alan Kearney's new book has some great beta on the route. I don't understand how one would descend the North Face... The Sherpa Glacier is an option if you need to descend to the same side of the mountain as the climb or if not, the Cascadian Couloir will bring you down the other side. Jason [ 06-27-2002, 11:03 AM: Message edited by: Bug ]

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: Bug, Do you still have that axe for sale? Yes. The Flame is still for sale. $50 firm. PM me if you are interested.

I much prefer the approach via Stuart lake. Let nothing prevent you from doing the Gendarme. You will only have to go back the next weekend. Consider descending the N Face. This depends on your overall skills on a huge Mt but I prefer that to the traverse on the S side.

quote: Originally posted by haireball: Dru, my experience with catching falls while short-roping leads me to conclude that keeping the rope SNUG is critical - so that when a follower slips, he or she has no opportunity to accelerate (and increase the effective load on the leader). I've found this easier to manage with less rope out; thus I rarely short-rope with more than ten meters of rope. of course that means a more severe fall-factor if the leader peels - so don't! if the lead climber can't accurately judge when to ask for a brief belay, he or she shouldn't be leading the short-rope. I cannot stress enough that short-roping is an "experts only" technique, and requires PRACTICE to be safe. For what it's worth, I have short-roped clients in my guiding days, and I have led shortroping with expert amateur partners, however, I have only followed shortrope with professionally trained guides. among my many "expert" amateur climbing partners, I have yet to come across a climber without professional guide-training (UIAGM/AMGA)whose rope-handling skills and judgment were up to the task of safely/competently leading shortrope technique. Using a long stretch of rope makes it even more important to pay attention to rope slack/snugness. Too much slack and the forces get scarey pretty fast. A "crimper" won't do. I much prefer a doubled 50m 9m. French technique of clipping one and then the other. Then you reduce rope drag, have enough rope to absorb a fall, and the second is not locked into being right under the leader.

Warm weather for many days = rock fall and slides of heavy snow. Keep your eyes open a lot more than usual.

Ask Norman Clyde. He lost an ax up there somewhere this winter.

quote: Originally posted by mattp: I use both 50's and 60's but I actually carry the 50's more often. For mountain climbing and even most rock climbing, it is VERY RARE that I come up short and am unable to simulclimb or do whatever is necessary to make it work. For snow climbs or alpine ice the 60's are better, but in most situations I prefer the 50's because I just like the smaller coils a little better. My experience is alpine and remote craggs and I concur with mattp.

I will of course teach anyone who wants to learn. My wife forbids me from taking females out by themselves but find a willing partner and let's go. Single males don't seem to bother her. One project I kind of had a weird inclination to do was Town Crier with a bivouc on one of the ledges. This is a 5.9 C2 route perfect for teaching a wide variety of trad skills and big wall techniques. It is not a big wall so that makes it that much more reasonable. But any route at Index is worth considering. I used to lead 5.12 trad. You won't beleive it anymore so don't worry about being sandbagged. I'm willing to start on the slabs. If you are trying hard we should be able to do a 5.9 by the end of the day. PM me if you are interested.

The bolting issue is one of too few teachers in my opinion. This has already been said I know, but it is worth repeating if anyone will listen. There are a lot more climbers out there than there used to be. Many are coming out of the gyms. The number of climbers competent to teach trad leading skills is realatively small. It stands to reason that these new climbers are not all going to rush out and buy trad gear when they can't even be sure what they need, much less how to use it. So they stick to what they know which is wise and quite fun really. I enjoy an occaisional sport route. I just prefer the freedom to go where ever I want in the mountains wether there are bolts there or not. Certainly there are a lot of sport climbers who would never get into trad regardless. But my guess is that there are more who would branch out if it seemed reasonable. Whatever the case, it is very enjoyable to help someone learn how to trad climb. I think that the more of us who teach what we know about trad climbing, the more influence trad climbers will have on the bolting issue.

I would ask them which Catholic priest got ahold of them.

How about the west ridge of Stuart from the Ingalls parking lot? I would prefer the 22nd if that works.

I got a crowbar for father's day. I'm going to Leavenworth this weekend. Anyone have a hit list?

Paarteee. Partee.Partee.

"I'm doing my part! On Tuesday I started teaching my 6 year old to place gear. I'd get him into a stance about a foot off the ground, have him place some protection, attach a quickdraw between the placement and his harness, and then spot him as he weighted it. Once he got the hang of it, I couldn't get him to stop! Meanwhile, my 3 year old ran around with a helmet and a loaded gear sling made from a runner thrown over his shoulder." Cool. Yeah. I gave my 6 yr old a drill and showed her how to set up a 3/8" bolt grid around a crack. She calls it "Daddy's ethics game". We were just over in Leavenworth the other day.

Actually, I was hoping for a little flame action there. OK try this. If you own a drill, you are the problem. You can bolt faster than your nuerons can fire. Think morons! Your irresponsible, wanton bolting only inflames those of us who sometimes think about getting the crowbar out but usually don't.

Check. The screws would only be for the Colchuck glacier if it is frozen and hard. A newbie on ice could end up like the recent tragedies on Rainier. A running belay or two could be a life saver and at least make the trip a little more relaxed.

I have an REI 3-4 season tent I'd sell you for $125. http://www.rei.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/ProductDisplay?prmenbr=8000&prrfnbr=9320651. It's 2 years old but has only been used four times. I replaced it with a three man tent when my daughters got longer. PM me if you are interested.