lunger

i place the smallest 4 sizes regularly, and dig 'em. those, and the bigger sizes, both serve as comparably inexpensive and light doubles to your cams. big'uns also handy for belays where you might want to save the cams for the leader's next difficult pitch. lastly, alone they're good for fast and light alpine shots. more difficult to place correctly, but bomber in the right spot.

Steer clear of Dr. Clyde and his needle! I had the pleasure of 2 go 'rounds w/ the congenially named pneumothorax. If you break ribs, look forward to the pleasure of a large-gauge hollow instrument impaling your chest between yer ribs, causing some mild discomfort. First was in the field (long fall, impact ), second a few weeks later (spontaneous, of sorts). apparently a large percentage (> 50%) of those that get one can look forward to plasma seeping outta capillaries into the chest cavity, creating pressure, and eventually collapsing the lung. this fluid must be drained, and it can take a day, more or less. for the second piercing, checked into the hospital, the drug-person didn't quite administer correctly , and i got to feel docboy cut, work gloved finger a bit into me wee chestie. at this point he was surprised by my lucid protest, "you should be barely aware". he waited with his finger stuck in my ribs like the proverbial dutch boy w/ the dike, while went for more drugs. after they came running w/ some more hardcore and a machine that goes PING, i finally started fading as one o' those big-ass needles worked its way between tender, healing ribs. deeeeeluxe. more than you wanted to know--typed this while on hold with friggin' expedia, holy sheesh! they've spoilded my taste for vivaldi's four seasons thank you for holding the moral of the story is self-evident. use more drugs. or avoid hard impacts...

E - nice TR. last dance with mary jane? Anybody - where does Galaxy start in relation to the 'other two' routes? my guidebook grew legs...

i've used lambone's technique with success, though prefer to go big loops first as i belay the second, progressing to smaller. this way when #2 leads up, the smaller loops feed first--if smaller to bigger as L. suggests, then the bigger loops can catch/loop the smaller ones and cause a mess. go over the foot or tie-in for hanging belays, else the above recommendations work. yet another opinion....

gettin' a spring chubby reading this thread. is old style like that brown ale? 'nother tasty one. must agree w/ Godzilla, last of S Face Prussik consensus forming. Flatland's 3 also merit attention as some fine pitches.

free Inet services--you get what you pay for. unfortunate fact o' life: nullum gratuitum prandium

took a good whipper on that one last summer--even if you pull through the hard moves, your pumpin' arms must contend with some gritty shite afore you hug that tree. humiliated--definitely some unfinished business there. short, but a good climb if you are leading 10+/11-. i didn't find any 'secret squirrel holds'. goatboy, let's see that pic.

one of my favorite words, "quiver" must be some tasty wide stuff 'round there! (E, heading to Squampton this weekend; if you've interest lemme know.)

Anybody been up Olympus recently? Any news on condition of crevasses, moats, bridges appreciated--will likely solo later this week. Thanks in advance. from August TR--wonder if still the case: "The route is quite obvious with a well established boot track. No route finding there. The snow was nice and hard, ideal for camponing, the crevasses open and obvious. No tricky bridges to cross."

first three pitches of Davis Holland (i believe the name's Upper Town Wall) at Index: 9, 10a, 10c (this last one somewhat soft relative to most Index ratings). Or link GM to an upper pitch (10a/b) of Heart of the Country at the Country, Index. Def. concur w/ the above rec's for Angel, Breakfast, Exasperator. On this last you'll have difficulty not continuing for the sweet 10 second pitch. enjoy

olde school imp. lessons in ethics nu skool, style school of hard knocks -- humility

you just made my point, sprayload. i'm a lover not a wanker--now one post closer. just missed the appropriate time for this post.

Drew, the exalted moniker of Wanker is reserved for those souls who dare to post pertinent info. rather than chime in randomly and blather on like splaylords (spaylords?) , chronic bumblies , etc. (i recognize the irony of this paragraph--prob. on my way to HC lover .) back to the matter: Yes, our route differed substantially from yours, as we approached the mountain from the West and then South, while you came from the North. (So my approach beta above is specifically for those taking Bedal.) As a result, we didn't encounter (though we did view from the summit) the impressive crevasses you did, but did have to negotiate a moat to the lower shelf and somewhat steeper scrambling than that found higher on the Corkscrew proper. Given your avi debris challenges, a Bedal Creek approach might be indicated for others considering this scenic trip.

Not sure which approach Drew took, but can provide info. based on a Corkscrew-esque day-trip Thursday before last. (Don't read the below if you want to avoid approach beta.) We took the Bedal Creek approach, some minor brush to navigate on the trail. Much of the brush we encountered could be avoided by sticking closer to the creek shortly after the trail turns from SE to more Easterly at approx. 3800-4000'. The goal from here is to make the basin to the SE, and hence straightforward vertical dirt to the first of two saddles (vs. our left-ish detour alongside a red herring drainage). Climb in or alongside the creekbed until you tie into a trail (ultimately on the right side, NOT left) that gets you to the basin (some friendly bugs here, and a huge boulder to practice on), then up to the saddle from there. We took a tread on the left side that ended up depositing us a little below the Sloan/Bedal saddle before we could see our mistake--easily remedied by a talus traverse, but an undesirable detour nonetheless. Punch through a little brush on that first saddle, clear sailing from there to the second and a view of the snow/rock route. Using this approach, you'll take the lower shelf (as shown in Beckey) to a steep bit which gets you to the upper shelf. If conditions are wet, the initial moves of this steep bit will likely be the crux (otherwise 3rd or 4th class). The moat from the glacier to the lower shelf was navigable then, no telling now--but an end run around to the upper shelf could maybe go. A rope might be nice as insurance for any problems on the glacier or descent. Generally sound scrambling on the upper mountain, spectacular views, excellent route on a massive mountain. Have fun!

wish i'd known it was that easy, sparky.

sweet TR! that is one fine route; sustained fun. When we went last summer, I drew your pitches--similarly enjoyed the surprise slime, and chimney w/ backpack challenges. did you guys fire the 'boulder problem' on the rock perched up top? we had driven from seattle that day, and were feeling crunched for time, but would have been cool to get on top of that thing. I wonder how difficult that move is?

for me, strap-on crampons on approach shoes worked well for the short-ish traverse on Stuart glacier (and ice axe, as indicated above an unmitigated fall would be costly). two summers ago there was an over-cammed #4 Camalot stuck in the Gendarme OW--looked like a 3.5 would work fine. of course the hex is lighter, but perhaps less readily 'walked'. I used a big booty hex, don't know which number. as i recall the crux is short and difficulty quickly moderates. the Gendarme definitely adds to the climb. have fun! [ 08-09-2002, 04:12 PM: Message edited by: lunger ]

Did an early October ascent of Fisher Chimneys years ago, thought it scenic, varied, and fun. No brush (which is apparently a moot issue for either of the debated routes), and awesome berries. Recommend it--do it in a day for max effect. What's this top 100 shite?

Got to know this cat "grizzly" throughout the weekend; first through last impressions limn a competent, sturdy, and steadfast mountain bro, who acted admirably. Freak of nature. Deserves the recognition hands down.

Can anybody edify re: current condition of pocket glacier, or approach conditions/suggestions in general? Planning early- or mid-July ascent. Looks almost as committing as The Toof. TIA.

Thanks for the info. Sunday offered ideal conditions (firm snow up, softer on the descent) which made for an unexpectedly casual daytrip--back to the car early afternoon. Couldn't peel ourselves away from the S. Bro summit; basked in the sun for about an hour, admiring the outstanding views into the Olympics. A modest haze veiled most of the Cascades. Gorgeous day up there! No 'natural' rockfall, but while on the summit we heard some careless climbers scrambling the final 150' send rock down the main route. Reportedly they very nearly dicked some unfortunate followers. (A modicum of care on that slope should prevent rockfall.) Wear your lid and beware the hazard presented by those above. We made a speedy (but careful) descent for this reason, well aided by that incredibly convenient glissade! All tolled, a thoroughly enjoyable trip on a spectacular mountain.

Anybody been up to the Brothers since this good TR(the last couple weeks)? Daytrip planned Sunday. Any input on condtions appreciated, as are route suggestions on S Brother. Sounds like snowshoes are unnecessary.

POMB, nice work. Which route did you take? Thinking of a daytrip to S. Bro later this week/weekend, snowboard/shoes. Have never been; in your opinion, worth taking the snowboard?

those were my fumes you smelled Dan, skunkweed without the weed. Saturday was picture-perfect; did Sunday weather prohibit your summit?