Alpinfox

Thanks OWC. I assume they made that regulation to protect the city from liability. Little Johnny's mommy and daddy might sue the pants off the city if he fell and got an owie. It all comes down to money....

I wanna go flying! Any of you pilots need any extra ballast or whatever, let me know. Anytime.

Could someone please remind me of the location of that "glacial erratic" boulder in wedgewood? I don't want to go there or anything (I know it's illegal), I'm just curious.

I know its a bit out of the way, but City of Rocks is undoubtably The Shiznit. If you can finagle your way into getting those youngsters out there, it would be a life-changing experience for them. Permission slips.

"There I lay staring upward, while the stars wheeled over...Faint to my ears came the gathered rumour of all lands: the springing and the dying, the song and the weeping, and the slow everlasting groan of overburdened stone." J.R.R. Tolkien

Flying Circus? I ran into some other Seattle-ites camped out below that one and had to wait my turn. What a fantastic climb (I didn't solo it though). How did your friends react to you soloing it? Term.Grav. Great TR. One of my favorites I have read on CC.com. *****

Toast said: Heading out on the trail, we came across a big ass garbage pile that we encountered coming in. It was some abandoned squatter's camp full of shit: two stinky army down sleeping bags, clothing, batteries, a duffle bag and miscellaneous garbage. We left the sleeping bags as they were damp and heavy, but we managed to scoop up a good chunk of what was left and packed it out. I don't mean to rank too hard on the park service, but that shit had to have been sitting there for months. Anyway, we dumped it on the front door of the ranger station in Glacier. ____________________________________ Hey Toast, Thanks for cleaning that stuff up. That is a thing to do. However, I don't blame the FS for not cleaning that stuff up. Did you leave them a note telling them the story or just leave them with some mysterious garbage? Anyway, great job on Challenger (on my list) and thanks again for making an extraordinary effort to keep the backcountry beautiful.

Trail is clear all the way to Glacier Meadows. GM is completely snow free. Very obvious boot track all the way up from GM to summit pyramid. Right now the route takes a relatively direct line up from the flat part of the Blue Glacier through the rocks up to Snow Dome, but there is a lot of melting going on, so the route will probably divert further to the climber's left as the season progresses. The bergshrund/crevasse crossing getting from the snow dome side of the blue glacier to the Middle/West Peak side through the rock cleaver is a bit dicey. I wouldn't be surprised if that falls down in a few weeks. On our descent we heard a loud rumble indicating some settling in that area. A short (one rope length), ~60-degree snow slope leads up to the final rock summit pyramid. Nice steps kicked in, placed a couple pickets, no problems. That slope was not there last time I was up Olympus. Two easy rock scramble options from the base of the rock to the top (one pitch of 5.0ish stuff either way). Amazing how different the snow structure is around the summit from the last time I was up there! Different wind patterns this winter???? Three yellowjacket bites among the four of us on the hike out. My left hand looks like a sausage. Saw Elk, Blue Grouse (adult and chicks), deer, frogs, and even some ripe huckleberries and salmonberries , but no bears . Surprisingly few people at GM or above for this time of year. Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, beautiful hike, good partners, good snow conditions... If the guy who found my glove and returned it to me at GM reads this, thanks and IOU one

Fred Beckey was spotted at the Howe Sound Brewery this weekend. I noticed some blood on his knuckles. It looked like Canadian blood. I think he whooooped some Canadian rowdys asses. Go Fred.

I climbed that route a few years ago and on that last bit climbed past some MountainEars wearing plastic boots (in early October!, Hot!, no snow!) with a fixed line up to the summit. Great views and some fun bouldering on those wierd lava towers near the summit. Ahhh, Climbing... It takes all kinds.

That is a horrific story. I thought it was a joke at first... I would like to say that I had a very GOOD interaction w/ the Squamish police. Last year a bunch of shit got stolen out of the trunk of my car while climbing on the Apron. Most of it belonged to my GF. We filed a police report (not really expecting anything) about a week later, we get a call, they found our stuff and mailed it back to us (they paid about $40USD postage!). Yeah Squamish Police! Sorry to hear about this incident though, seems very out of character for the Canadians I've met. I bet Dru was the ringleader.

Here is some correspondence I just had with someone "in the know": Hi, Someone told me that a significant portion (perhaps all?) of the NCNP was once privately owned and was donated to the US Park Service under the condition that entrance fees never be charged. Is that true? If you could give me some details about the ownership history of the park, I would appreciate it. No particular reason, just curious. -ME That is not really true. The majority of today's national park was and always has been federally owned, first as public domain, then as US Forest Service lands, and now as a national park. There are sections within the park complex, such as the Stehekin Valley, that were and are still in private ownership, as well as some scattered mining claims. The reason for not charging entrance fees stems from an agreement with Washington State, which owns highway 20. The highway, also known as the North Cascades Highway, is the main route through the park complex. I hope this helps. Kind regards, (Name Removed) ****************************** (Name Removed), Ph.D. History Program National Park Service, Seattle

Hola, Here is NPS beta on trail conditions as of 7/1: This trail has been cleared of down trees to Olympus Guard Station (OGS). There is one 3.5 foot in diameter down tree at mile 12.2 that is impassable for stock. Patchy snow begins near Glacier Meadows. Some campsites at Glacier Meadows are still snow covered. Anyone been up the trail or blue glacier rte recently with any info to add to this? Any beta appreciated. Snow? Treefall? Snaffle Infestations?

:golf clap:

He didn't call you a ignorant-punk-ass-bitch-wanker-fucker or anything, he just SUGGESTED that you "should have maybe" turned around and offered that he himself doesn't always follow his own advice. Don't be so sensitive. If that's the worst you get flamed on this site, you are getting off pretty damn well. And BTW: black rocks in white snow should be pretty easy to see, even in the "dark". Cheers

Who?

Hey TLG (aka Queen of Icons) Where do you get all those nifty icons?

Great bumper sticker seen in Seattle: "Anyone But Bush 2004"

I think the montails are "D7" not "D9". Second Ascent (Seattle) has them. I have a pair of them and they climb pretty well. I've climbed some easy 5.10s in em and used them on Da Toof a coupla weeks ago. They are the first "approach" shoe I've ever owned though, so I don't have anything to compare them to except running shoes. They look a bit dorky in my opinion, but I just bust out my EBs when I wanna look fly.

Well done SM. It's a bit pessimistic, but I agree. I have also read quite a bit of Chomsky and agree that the real power structures in this country operate behind a curtain of "democratic" government and whether the curtain has a donkey or an elephant on it is pretty irrelevant. It just gives the rabble (and I include myself here) something to argue about and think they have control over while those behind the scenes proceed with their plans to make themselves even richer and more powerful then they already are. It seems that those behind the scenes folks do better with a Republican cover though.... Sometimes I even start indulging in conspiracy theory fantasies such as... Al Gore was a decoy to sneak GW in.

I have an alpine bod and have even used it for sport climbing. It doesn't hurt that bad and I'm a skinny fucker. I have worn it for years (even while glissading) and it's got a bit of fraying, but is still in great shape. I haven't used the other harnesses, but having "wimpy" gear loops and leg loops doesn't sound like a big drawback to me. The only harness I know of with "non-wimpy", i.e. clippable, gear loops and leg loops is that Metolius "SuperSafe" harness or whatever. And I'm sure that thing weighs a ton. Get a lightweight harness and just trust yourself to tie in properly. I've seen BD alpine bods on ebay pretty cheap. If you can find a store that carries all three, maybe you could try them on and hang from a pull-up bar in them or something. In any case, please post your final decision here as I may have to replace my Bod one day...

I haven't read the whole thread, so maybe someone already mentioned this, but maybe folks around the world hate us because we drop bombs on them?

Me thinkgs the Bird would dispute that one. Gaston, I've just spent the first hour of my day at work trying to verify (by internet search) the source of the above quote. I couldn't find it anywhere, but I'm pretty sure I read it in a book many years ago, and it was attributed to Paul Petzoldt in that book. By "the Bird" I'm assuming you mean Jim Bridwell. It could very well have been him, given his reputation as THE hard man of his day. Can you verify him as the source? If so, I will stand humbly corrected. It seems GL thinks that Jim Bridwell IS an Old/Bold climber, not that The Bird actually SAID that quote. John Bachar is still alive too as far as I know. Maybe not terribly "old" yet, but certainly "older" and certainly bold. As someone said on a different thread, "no points for reading comprehension"

Quote This one is for Ropegun: "Once drunk, we'll sleep on the bare mountain with the sky as a blanket and the Earth as a pillow." — Li Po