Alpinfox

marketing. Color.

How bout them Mad Rock shoes eh? They's some weird-lookin', inexpensive, innovative kickers. I ain't used em yet.... Anyone? Rock&Ice editors liked em.

According to the forest service website, the road to the South Spur route (FS 8040) is closed at "Wicky Shelter" or something like that. I don't know where that is, but you might want to call the FS up and find out how close that is to the trailhead. Please post a note here if you get any info. Mt. Adams Ranger District office (509) 395-3400. http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation2003/roads/index.shtml

Ooops. What is your address, I'll mail it to you.

One of the mind-blowing things about soloing is that it doesn't have to be hard to be a lot of fun. Romping up the S. face of Da Toof in 15 minutes (especially if you pass some wide-eyed "Mountaineers") is a blast even though it's not hard. The sense of freedom and continuity of the climbing movement (no stopping every 150' to belay) is exhilirating. When you are alone, even just hiking, there are NO COMPROMISES. You stop and rest when you feel like it, you go faster when you feel like it. If you decide the original objective has lost some of its flair and you'd rather smoke a bowl and lay in the grass and watch the clouds, you don't have that internal dialogue "I can't do that because I don't want to let my partner down". I think that is the best part of soloing, be it on Cerro Torre or walking through discovery park. Of course soloing technical routes has the added niftiness of forcing you to be cool-headed and concentrate like nothing else I have ever done. Mind like a laser! Interesting note: I watched some video about Peter Croft soloing in the Sierras and he said he first started doing it because he couldn't find climbing partners, then he fell in love with it and did it even when partners were available. Since my main climbing partner is employed and I, thankfully, am not, I have had a similar experience recently. It really is fantastic to be out by yourself. Have fun out there

But seriously. There will be plenty of dry rock. I've been climbing there in January and it's fine. Some climbs will be dry, some won't. Please go to Exit 38 and leave the good crags for the rest of us.

Hey Alex, Ever "tied" into the middle of a rope while glacier travelling? If so, my guess is that you probably did it by tying a figure-8 on a bite, or maybe a butterfly knot if you know your shit, and then CLIPPED INTO IT WITH A LOCKING BINER! There is nothing unsafe or irresponsible about that. Granted, it is preferable to tie into your harness directly whenever possible, but what that guy was doing was certainly not stupid or reckless. Lead climbing with a braided nylon rope (I saw someone doing this at exit 38)? Most people would probably consider that stupid and reckless...

_____________________________________ Oh My! This is deeply disturbing! I just checked my official Mountaineers Mountain Manual, and that soloing stuff is strongly discouraged! In fact, my last "assistant leader" said that he had even seen people soloing stuff that was HARDER than the tooth! How irresponsible and stupid... I think we should post guards at all trailheads and make sure that only "properly trained and equipped" people, like the MOUNTAINEERS of course, can get up to the mountains. It's for the safety of everyone. La Ti Da, I'm a MOUNTAINEER! I think I'll take 10 other loud, yuppie wankers and go climb da toof in plastic boots and wear head to toe gore-tex in July and shake my head at those "irresponsible soloists". -Mightier than you

Lots of good suggestions here. I would like to add/reiterate: Music! (MP3 player or Minidisc) One of my partners last year brought a minidisc player and a little set of speakers that plugged into the headphone jack. Disco Tent! Booties! You will spend a LOT of time putzing around, walking around camp to socialize, piss, etc. You don't want to have to put yer big old boots on every time. These don't need to be humungous ultra-warm things that come up to your thighs, smaller/lighter is fine. Chair! Sitting in a tent all day is very preferable to laying in a tent all day. I brought a crazy creek, but I think the thermarest kits are lighter. Book! Bring one and trade it. I read five! Food: Try out your planned meals before the trip. Variety is good. Hot Chocolate, Cheese (cut up in chunks), Butter, Hot Sauce, Tuna (in those foil envelopes), "Sucking Candies" like peppermint disks. BOOZE! (leave some buried in your cache at the airstrip). We ate lots of pasta with cheese and butter. That was our standard meal and I didn't get very tired of it, but variety is good. We had a variety of mix-ins like dehydrated veggies (buy your own dehydrator!), tuna, etc. Dried fruit is good, especially whole dried bananas (not banana chips) and dried mango (not the really sugary stuff). I strongly urge you to buy a food dehydrator and prepare all this stuff yourself. It will taste better and be much cheaper and LIGHTER. We had instant grits with butter and hot sauce for breakfast several times. I prefer this over oatmeal which never seems to give me any energy. I used a Ziploc plastic bowl WITH LID and cut my spoon handle a bit so the spoon would fit inside. This was very handy and kept my dinnerware organized. Stove board (you can make one with an old license plate) is key. Advice: You will PROBABLY be able to get food and fuel from climbers heading down, especially at 17K & 14K, so be conservative with what you bring. Don't hump extra crap up there that you aren't going to need! Check out the free food bins at the air taxi places. Climbers dump lots of servicable food/gear there. Don't bring a lot of technical gear. The Butt is an easy route and the only technically hard part has fixed lines. Axe (w/ foam insulated head), lightweight crampons (aluminum are fine for the Butt), thin rope, Z-pulley stuff (a tibloc is a great addition), one picket each, prusik rig, a bit of stretchy bungees for shock-absorbers on sled (try to get a sled with the cord already on it). Keep in mind that there are hundreds of people on the West Buttress. You will be able to borrow/barter lots of stuff. Granted you should strive for self-sufficiency, but if you forget something, you will probably be able to get it. For example, my team of three carried two shovels, a snowsaw and a small spade (heavy but very useful for hardpacked snow/ice) and we loaned it out numerous times. We probably could have just borrowed shovels and the saw in the camps and could have left them all at home, except for the spade. We didn't bring a cell phone, but other teams let us use their cell/satelite phones once or twice. Remember, weight is the enemy. Digital cameras are nice. Canon Digital Elph is small and takes nice pictures. Performed fine in cold temps. Small film cameras are fine too. Zinc oxide for your nosey & lips. Sunhat of some sort (baseball cap with bandana works). Nose guard for sunglasses. Light colored lightweight longsleeve underwear top. The sun can be brutal, be prepared. Baby wipes are nice for cleanliness/comfort. SMALL bottle of hand sanitizer is probably a good idea. Don't bring: Ice screws, extra axes, most "extra"/"backup" shit in general, lots of extra clothes, air taxi radio (someone in camp will have one and share the weather forecast), big medical kit (bring ibuprofren, diamox and moleskin, that's it), your own sled, helmet, a "summit pack", bivy sack. Just my opinion on that stuff, make your own decision. And for Chrissake, DO NOT bring dehydrated chili! The human body does not digest that sort of protein well at altitude and HOLY SHIT does it stink for days and days!!! Canabis is an EXCELLENT idea, if you are into that sort of thing. Skis are far superior to snowshoes. Ski! I didn't, but I will next time. If you call your significant other from 14K or 17K, you will get SERIOUS brownie points. My GF still talks about it. Good Luck! Check out my Denali TR: http://www.tradgirl.com/climbing_faq/mountaineering/18days_on_denali.htm

Yup. I did notice that the bolted sport route ratings were much softer than the multipitch trad route ratings.

In my Falcon Guide to Red Rocks, the route description for the 4th pitch of Cloud Tower says "5.11+ Stem up the right-facing, right-leaning corner with a tips crack in its back to a ledge with 2 bolts and a loose block.... Maybe that was the block eh? Maybe you changed the rating of that pitch eh? In any case, glad to hear you and your partner ain't dead. p.s. I climbed at Red Rocks for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I second the opinion that RR 5.12 = Index 5.9+. I'm no 5.12 climber, but I am at RR.

Hey ya'll, This here is the greatest thing since quartz, mica, & feldspar decided to get together and make granite: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3604231720&category=1299

Are Collin and Forrest cc.comers? If so, maybe they could post a TR here so those of us who don't subscribe to R&I can get a vicarious FA? True you should climb (or do anything else) for personal enjoyment first and foremost, but it's nice to get some s'pect once in a while. I wouldn't say no if R&I or Climbing asked me for a TR. Nice work, cheers boyz.

Do you need a permit on the Saint yet? When does that come into effect? Damn the man! ...but I guess hordes suck too.... Damn the hordes of the man!

I'm curious, how much do they wanna charge ya fer a trip up the Blue Glacier? It might be a bit involved for a first unguided mountaineering objective due to the combination of LONG approach, potentially hidden crevasses above snow dome (early to mid season), weather of course, potentially steepish ice in late season (between blue glacier and snow dome), and steep rock finish. So if you really don't have much mountaineering experience, you might wanna go with a guide. However, why not get some experience on routes like Hood (south side), Baker (Coleman/Deming or Easton) and Adams (South spur) and then try Olympus on your own? Part of the beauty of climbing is the independence and the freedom. Just start on easy stuff, do some reading and practicing and do it yourself! ! Just my approach to things... Cheers in any case.

"Washington Pass" "North Cascades Highway" Eastside Progress Week of April 10, 2003 North Central Region, Maintenance Area 3 The North Cascades Highway is scheduled to reopen at 11:00 AM on Monday, April 14th barring unforeseen weather. The highway clearing operation has been completed. There may be intermittent closures over the next few weeks based on weather conditions.

from the DOT: "Washington Pass" "North Cascades Highway" Eastside Progress Week of April 10, 2003 North Central Region, Maintenance Area 3 The North Cascades Highway is scheduled to reopen at 11:00 AM on Monday, April 14th barring unforeseen weather. The highway clearing operation has been completed. There may be intermittent closures over the next few weeks based on weather conditions.

Amazingly, someone actually found our packs and turned them in to the Squamish police! A very polite "constable" (god I love those wacky Canadians) called me and said, get this, "We'll mail your stuff to you... no charge"!!! It's all rainsoaked, and I'm sure some shit is missing out of the packs, but it's great to know we'll get a lot of the stuff like clothes and the packs themselves back. Moral of the story: Don't leave anything of value in your car at a trailhead. If your car gets broken into, file a police report. Canadians are great. I LOVE CANADIANS! Well this is turning into quite a monologue... monothread.... monofilament... but I thought someone might learn something from all of this. Maybe even me!

I forgot to say that this thievery occured on Saturday, Sept, 29 sometime between noon and 5pm.

Howdy, If anyone comes across any backpacks or stuff around the Apron parking lot at Squamish, let me know. I had three packs stolen out of the trunk of my car while climbing and I'm hoping that the thieves might have discarded the stuff they weren't interested in like: Purple North Face daypack Yellow North Face daypack Large Lowe Alpine backpacking pack (Countor IV?) I don't expect to get the climbing gear back or anything, but maybe some of the stuff that had sentimental value to my girlfriend (bead necklace, clothes, etc.) will have been discarded in the bushes or something. Anyway. Beware of thieves if you go up to Squamish!

These got da toe bail er what? You be needin' that front crampon weltie thingy on yer DAS BOOT?

Anyone been up the Emmons glacier recently? I'm thinking of taking a newbie up. Is the route still pretty straightforward this late in the year? Any objective danger (rock/ice fall)? Thanks Ya'll ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- But we little know until tried how much of the uncontrollable there is in us, urging across glaciers and torrents, and up dangerous heights, let the judgement forbid as it may. - John Muir

quote: Originally posted by climbher: I was participating in a practice crevass rescue session last year when someone using tiblocs to ascend broke the rope with them. The rescue guys from Mt. Hood (Portland Mountain Rescue) only use prussiks for rescues. The rope "BROKE"!??!? Really? Did the guy fall on the tibloc or something? I don't see how that could happen otherwise. BTW: Just because some rescue team doesn't use a new piece of equipment doesn't mean it isn't any good. Teams, institutions, clubs, etc tend to be pretty conservative and old-fashioned, often to a fault.

I will preface this post by saying "I like my tiblocs a lot!". However, for glacier travel, they have some drawbacks. Prussiks stay put on the rope while you are hiking, so you can have them all hooked up and ready to go should you plunge into the depths of a crevase. Unfortunately, you can't really do that with tiblocs because they work their way down the rope and away from you while you are hiking along. No good. This might not be such a big problem with a large diameter rope (say 11mm), but most people use a thinner rope for glacier travel (mine is 8.8mm). My solution was to keep the tiblocs on my harness and just planned to slap them on the rope should I take a plunge. I think tiblocs are MUCH easier, faster, and more efficient than prussiks for ascending and they decend much easier as well. Cheers, -Alpinfox