Off_White

You're over-employed anyway, lets give half your hours to someone who deserves it more. That way you can scrub more boulders, everyone wins.

Colt45: The starting corner you used, with the lovely 2" lieback up into that lower angle corner, is the start I've used on that route. Nice pro, no fat crack, and didn't you find the lower bit to be clean? The trick is, at the top of the corner, you have to traverse right quite a bit, mostly on a ledge if I recall, then you head up and wind up in some 5.9ish terrain that's right on track.

What route did you do on NEWS? I'd always assumed the "easy" way up was the rap route, but my last time down that I realized just how horrible that would be. I gather one goes up left around the huge chockstone, then continues up gully past the rap route to climb up? Would you call it fun and recommendable?

I'm going to lock this thread to keep from having too many copies of the same topic floating around. Please refer to the thread in the Rockclimbing Forum if you have comments or assistance to offer.

I think Lummox is happy to be in Southern California rather than Southern Louisiana. In case you haven't been following human history, God's a rotten bastard. Being pure may be it's own reward, but it's not a get-out-of-shit free card.

I know folks that have done the center line on the Willis Wall, the route with the slight rib and the whisker of a promise of some shelter. It was quite awhile ago though, they topped out just hours after St. Helens blew up. I think I know of someone doing Thermogenesis too, though that line may not qualify as a Willis Wall route.

Seems like I've read some pretty credible weather studies that suggest the warming waters in the gulf are part of a long term cycle that is not really understood, but since it has been cycling for a long time, the current increase is likely not related to man made global warming.

Okay Squid, welcome back. How about a TR?

Funding to be provided for this project through the Northwest Forest Pass.

Hello? Squid? Can you hear me? Don't worry, I'll reinstate you, certainly after climbing night in Olympia, which starts in 8 minutes...

Okay then, finally some reward for this moderator crap. Squid owes me a beer, and Knotzen owes me six. I'm rather fond of Bridgeport Blue Heron. PBR, while quaint and rich with trendy street cred, is really aimed towards the unemployed.

Do you have any pics from the route? If not, I won't bemoan the lack, because a little photography low down might have added, what, about five minutes? I'm very glad to be reading your words rather than reading about you.

Well, it helped that we were both up and awake, and not engaged in any amorous activities, but I agree, its generally better for all involved to be amused rather than offended.

I was climbing in Red Rocks once, staying in Vegas, when the town was hosting both Jimmy Buffet and Phish. Different shows, maybe one the night after the other? The place was awash in fans of one sort or another. Holy Culture Clash Batman! I wound up sending some dreadlocked phishboy up to the Gallery for tripping opportunities and directing a parrothead in a stunning Hawaiian shirt to a park with some grass where he could play with his dog. Chamber of Commerce should put me on the payroll...

Yeah, who knows, I don't know of anyone else who's gone looking for that route. The closest I've been (aside from climbing an easy route elsewhere on the NE Butt) was having Yoder and McGowan stumble into my camp at Colchuck on their way down from the FA. From the spewing and handwaving, I'd have expected to encounter little angels with trumpets hovering about the route. It was sort of like having travelling minstrels crash your party. We just applied intoxicants as payment for the entertainment and sent 'em down the trail.

fuckin' parrotheads.

That fall sounded pretty nervewracking, for saddling back up. I think you'd have to do a bit of buffing up of the route if you want to inspire any repeats, it sounds impressive, but horrible. Did I mis-read your TR? It sounds like a difficult three pitch variation to Dragonfly, which shares the upper moderate ridge with the Cauthorn NE Butt direct variation, all of which share the regular NE Butt completion on the (much easier) upper half of the mountain. If it were at Index or Careno Crag it would get it's own name for sure. But hey, naming things is fun, knock yourself out. That whole bit of Dragontail is rife with cracklines. If it weren't an effort to get to and a pain to get off (did you feel a bit of a disconnect between your start and the long easy bit to get to the top?) that buttress would be a very popular , not to mention cleaner, crag.

NOTE: there is a thread on a Northwest remembrance event for John over in the Events Forum.

I find this image disturbing, I think it's time we UNCAGE THE SOIL!

that's the sloped prone with a semi-breadloaf position, you're never going to make an olympic cat posing judge at this rate.

Joseph, I'll say it flat out, your gear skills are impressive. If you had the time to write up an article (with photos, illustrations?) about the use of Crack'N Ups, Skyhooks, and Ball nuts as free climbing protection, along with a diagonosis of ball nut design degradation, we'd publish it here on the site as an "article" and I bet you could also get it published (for $) in one of the print rags. I can easily imagine how the gear skills you've developed contribute to confidence when heading into unknown onsite steep terrain, since those things are going to be faster/easier to set up than bolts. If you'd like to see that approach to new routes expand, you're going to have to sell it to the climbing world at large. It's easy to sneer about "marketing" but without promotion your protection concepts will wind up as no more than betamax or some other outmarketed protocol. Have you actually taken falls on skyhooks?

Pleasuring Marie Privately, Messily, Poor MrE Prepares Morosely to be Punished Mightily by his Precious Mysterious Princess Master and her savage Penis Masher.

Seattle to the Bugaboos, I don't think that's anymore than Grade III+ at the most.

WA Pass is nice, but the Bugaboos are bigger and more impressive. Winter comes earlier up there though...