Alpinfox

Honey Bucket and a parking lot... Voila! Services! I'd like them to provide an anti-car-prowling service. Maybe something like this:

I'd be into doin' that witcha Kenny. While we are at it, we should tag da Norf Ridge on Stewy, eh? I'll call ya when I get back to SEA town.

Crampons Ice-axe Helmet Crevasse rescue rig Go get em tiger!

Or leave your wallet in your back pocket. Built-in crash pad (if you're rich or collect coupons).

That is a potential problem with double-rope raps as well, though its less likely because you usually are not forcing the knot into the anchor with all of your weight as in the "retrieval line + fat line" method. That said, I've never had a knot jam into an anchor and get stuck in the rings/chains/whatever while using either rappel method. Note that when relying on a knot-jam for rappelling, you don't want the rope just running through a loop of webbing. You want it running through a metal ring/carabiner/chain that the knot absolutely cannot pass through.

Senor Ramsey, When using a very thin cord (less than 7mm) as your second rope, you don't put it through your belay device, you just rapel on the thick cord. The knot jams against the rap ring/anchor and holds the thick line in place. You rap on the thick cord, then pull on thin cord to get both ropes down. You just have to make sure that the knot is jammed against anchor before weighting it. If the knot is on the wrong side of the anchor, and you weight it, you take the big ride. This potential for a fatal mistake makes the technique kind of scary, especially when you consider that when you are tired, delerious, hungry, in the dark, etc, you sometimes are not as observant/careful as you would otherwise be. 60m of 5mm line sure is lightweight though! Decide for yourself. Note that you can't rap on thin cords (less than 7mm) because you don't get enough friction through your belay device. An Aside: Rappeling using a Gri-gri (scary) is done similarly.

Anyone ever taken a fall on a tibloc attached to an intermediate pro piece while simul-climbing? Rope damage? I've seen a tibloc rip up a sheath on a rope while being used as an ascender... Fortunately it wasn't me that did it and it wasn't my rope. I've placed a tibloc on a piece while simulclimbing (twice I think) but the second didn't fall. Didn't get to test the idea, Darn!

Forgive my ignorance... Where is this?

What are ya'll's favorite hand cracks. I'm sure those of you who have been to Zion or Indian Creek or that sort of shizzle have a big fat list (and please share), but I'm more interested in PNW stuff. Please list: route name, grade, crag name Outer Space (last 2 pitches), 5.9, SCW Toxic Shock (upper half), 5.8?, Index

No need for rope on Das Toof. Just stay directly on North ridge while descending. DO NOT get suckered off onto the west face. A great day: from Pineapple notch, descend down to below pineapple. Ascend west face of pineapple, descend north side of pineapple to notch between pineapple and Das Toof. CLimb S.F. of Toof, descend North ridge. Ascend West face of Bryant peak, descend North side. There are a couple more pinnacles north of Bryant you can climb too. Easy. Be sure to take a peak off the east side of Bryant and the pinnacles north of it. Big exposure. Hike back below the west face of das toof to Pineapple pass and descend. West ridge of Thompson has much longer approach and has mediocre rock. Descend of east ridge would be sketchy in a couple spots without rope I think (I haven't tried it). Good luck and post your results.

Another reason for alpine starts is to minimize sun exposure on glaciers/snowfields. This can be a huge deal on multi-day glacier trips. Sunburns suck. I wonder if icefalls are really any more likely during the heat of the day than they are at night. I suspect that it really doesn't make that much difference. I don't think the sun really warms up the ice appreciably. Snow and rockfall is definately more common when it is warm in my experience.

How bad are the bugs in the Trillium Lake area and/or ZigZag area these days?

MaryK, Are your shoes really tight? If so, maybe you should get a more comfortable/looser pair. I doubt it will make that much difference in your climbing ability/agility. A very interesting book that deals with loss of feeling in body parts is "A Leg To Stand On" by Oliver Sacks (he also wrote, "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat"). It's a great read and has a great description of him "climbing" a mountain and breaking his leg. Anyway, congrats on Dreamer and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

What he said.

BOAT!?!?!? Pfffttt!!! Who needs a boat?

my favorite so far

Let's have fewer posts about and more about and

There is a group called "Girls Rock" that partners an adult female belayer/coach/mentor with a "troubled" girl. Vertical World in Seattle hosted the program. I looked into it, but apparently there is not a male equivalent in Seattle, so I was out of luck. A couple of people suggested I start the program from ground zero, but I'm too lazy for that. Maybe you have more energy? Does Outward Bound have volunteer mentors?

and the "dangerous" loose daisy chain could be trimmed off too! With a bit of work she could be climbing Fitz Roy! Yeah Photoshop!

I believe Komo 4 (Seattle) is going to do a story about this on their 11pm broadcast.

I used to work as an EMT on the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado. When storms rolled in, one of my jobs was to go outside with a bullhorn and tell tourons that the reason their hair was standing up was that they were about to be struck by lightening, so they should stop giggling and taking pictures of themselves and get inside the lodge or their cars. No one ever got zapped on my watch, but we had some close calls.

p.s. Sorry to hear about the ankle. Get well soon. Oh, and regarding your autosig: "The illusion of knowledge is the greatest obstacle to discovery" -I don't know who said that