lunger

what matt said--more like a chimney w/ an ow crack in it, and cruisy for 5.9. we had an old style 4.5 Camalot as biggest piece, placed it approx. 2/3 way up in a relative constriction, worked fine.

yeah, as above. similar in length to snow creek descent, maybe a little bit longer. you won't need an axe either, any remnant snow should be fun to coast down. stellar route; recent report is that it's dry too (i've hit some wetness 2 for 2x).

if my feeble memory serves, the scramble to the top of Pao de Acucar (sp? aka Sugar Loaf, the signature monolith of the city) is ~4th class and pretty straightforward; one exposed move where some might like a rope or shoes. excellent views of the 2 main beaches (ipanema and copacabana), and you can ride the tram down for free. i also climbed rock routes (approx. 4-7 p.) on the Loaf, featured rock w/ drilled/glued bolts (i had nuts along and used 'em). i didn't climb the cliff Corcovado (again, sp?), but understand that's scenic as well. you drive from the top. there are access issues, though, for tourons,as you must tread some dangerous areas to get to the base (as of approx. '99). check carefully before you embark on that one. who to check w/? i hooked up w/ climbers via a club in downtown rio--a search or hotel help w/ a phone book could pop it up. escalada something or other... also some fun hikes to good views there. if you had time there's more in the interior of rio state. nothing big anywhere, but the beaches are where it's at anyway. have fun.

hearing huge concussions, diving for cover, waiting for impact--truly gripping experience. i oughtta have my head examined.

rock does look stupendous, even the part where you're lichen it nice work

yes, great pics. might head up there this weekend. don't have Kearney's book--can you give a general impression of his descent? I'm guessing staying descender's left of the snow cr glacier?

Hey Mike, From there (as i recall) you go up and left from the blocky belay, you'll see an improbably steep (for .10) wall, will feel like gear-protected sport climbing for a bit, moving left then up. Maybe see you in 11worth this weekend.

Impressive send Mike--last time I saw you, you'd just fired a .13 in Zion. Keep on tickin'. The rating sounds like full-on Zylon 7. -Eric

cbs, what kind of condition was the E face in as you descended? baked by the sun, scary (avy-wise) at all?

insert necrophilia gremlin here? nice line, pics. "high ice" trumps "bacon butty".

yeah, i didn't mind the spray either--though i do think that messrs. layton and harry should get their own Homoerotic Badinage Forum ... that said, layton doesn't deserve the the common courtesy of a reach-around, that leathery dasypygal t-rex mutant.

no just the two up higher--the 'schrund required minimal air time. i also had some loose ski hijinx that required shenanigans from rap 2, but am too shamefaced to detail. i made a fistful of 'turns' on the whole face, but want more of that once i get the appropriate skis & cajones. overall a super cool time--that shite talker is the man w/ the plan. some pics (unfortunately had camera set on low-res, dammit): Just emerging from the fog, first view of obj.: Sky on lead: Clouds flowing, Sky climbing in lower left corner: Sky skiing/photographing lower down: Onslaught! I've never posted photos before, so might need some help w/ size, etc. --gallery has a few more... ps, DirtyHarry, I will take you to the rack, then stomp you like a Narc at a bike rally.

talking heads

referring to what could've been added, a la gregm's post re: bananarama. they might be giants might actually be in there, i suppose, but a reach

Green Day other interesting additions could be They Might be Giants, black sabbath

The Cult

It's also the first to get replaced.

probably--squeeze portions of chimneys, or other awkwardness, sometimes necessitate such a tactic. v. cool looking chim!! where is it as you look at the main toketie wall, far left? climbing a line fairly central on the wall a couple years ago, i remember looking around at a lot of cool stuff. i wonder if anyone's climbed that tower to the E of the lake, looks like a rooster's head, has some beautiful looking splitters. prob. only a couple pitches of business. anybody?

hilarious. i had one of dox's tacos, damn good chef, you were lucky...

several IPAs + a few scotch + untolled pulls o'moonshine = one bourbon one scotch one beer, it was not. Drunkup it was. good times, fun meeting folks through the veil of fumes. y'all inspired me to pen this aphorism: all good things in moderation, including moderation.

as mentioned, there's pro on the right, smaller widget in a short vertical crack. believe it's a yellow tcu. then 'bout 15'+ to a blue one (tricky to find, on right again), then short distance to small-med gear back on your left, eventually a nice horizontal crack. the chimney is secure climbing, easier than the lower bit. you can make it go with a 2 or 3" cam and your sack. if you left your sack (or it's wet!), bring big shtuff. good seeing you last wknd MrE.

the robber baron took flight? how far, which route? details!

right on fellas! great effort

A medium-sized nut at the base of the final corner. I had climbed above it to the next so-so stance and gear opportunity (the crack was shallow and mungy), was excavating a placement when one of my licheny foot placements betrayed me. Pete said I pushed off a bit, but I don't explicitly recall that. I do remember the flight on my nice new skinny ropes, whose stretch increased the distance but decreased the force--v. soft landing in near vertical, unobstructed terrain. I was also probably 180' up from the belay. ha ha specialed, funny-ass TR. I still prefer Puff the Chronic, Draggin', but it's your world--thanks for shouldering the load and finishing strong. A fun line and time! There are a lot of nice cracks off that big ledge. I made some specific notes on the route, if anybody wants to check it, send me a msg.

yeah, we too got hassled by hornets w/ multiple stings. must tread carefully 'round those rotten logs, though often unavoidable. i think one of the most dangerous parts of our visit there was hurdling and high-stepping full-tilt downhill w/ several buggers clinging, stinging and swarming. I thought Bear had decent alpine rock; not phenomenal, but better than average in terms of cleanliness, competency. However, we did climb one long pitch (off-route? used Kearney) mid-climb that was horror-show orange-red rock. We believe we were too far right ~500' below the snowpatch, after traversing narrow grassy ledges. Not a "5.6 ramp", but looks appealing at first... good times