Paco

I was expecting this thread to have been started by Mike_Layton.

Keep it up Mike. It's good to see some folks trying to push themselves around here and also get away from the standard routes. The NW needs a few more personalities like yours. When are we gonna get together and climb some shiz? Keep the posts coming!

I'm looking for a solid partner to climb with in Smith or 11-worth this weekend depending on the weather. I would prefer someone who climbs 11's trad to get me up the pitches I can't. I'm climbing 10's and will lead plenty of pitches, even easy 11's if the gear is good and the falls are clean. I'm looking for someone to get me on some climbs that I can't lead myself. Clipping bolts is okay too, but trad is preferred. It's time to get out and climb hard (for me) this weekend. Who's game?

I know I'll be there with a few other cc.comers this weekend. Look for the silver tacoma at the grasslands. Who else is going to be there? And WTF is up with the climbers carnival?

...some of the cc.comers doing harder alpine routes this summer. It seems like I've been reading more TR's about the Girth Piller and CBR-west face then prior summers. Maybe people are just spraying more about their climbs, but regardless it's cool to hear that some cc.comers out there are throwing down. Let's keep the stoke going for winter ice routes!!

Attempt to climb in Darrington on Saturday. Get totally soaked from the brush on the approach. Come home, sleep, watch "Hero", sleep some more. Sunday wake up and realize that my bike has a broken spoke. Call Dave and bail out of planned road ride. Drink coffee and wait for bike shop to open. Replace spoke and change smaller chain ring. Climb like shit at Stone Gardens so I road around Mercer Island. No climbing for this gaper.

I recall seeing a moderate looking rock and ice route up the north face of the Triads that caught my atttention a few years back. Does anyone have a picture of the north face of the triads around october - november? Ken, As far as fall ice routes in the cascades the geography to look for is high elevation couloirs and/or rock faces with permanent snowfields or glaciers above them. It's hard to count on enough precipitation to create a meaningful amount of ice/neve before winter really settles in. Routes like the NF Couloir on Eldo form because of the melt freeze from the permanent snow above it. Precipitation can help this route some, but it will quickly change the route from a technical rock and ice route into a snow/neve/easier ice route. Most people seem to head into the NF of Eldo in early November, but I think it would be really cool to go in during October. The route would be much more technical rock and ice at this time. Routes like the East Face couloir on Cutthroat need a lot of precipitation to form to create a source for the melt freeze. Routes like this are spring routes. Another thing I have noticed is that the rain starts falling in Seattle around October, but the Cascades (at least in my two years here) seem very prone to temperature inversions in the fall. Meaning it might be lousy on raining in Seattle, but the mountains above are dry. More reason to look for climbs with melt freeze sources already above them for fall ice routes. Scope those topo maps and do a little exploring. Also, skykilo climbed the NF of Shuksan last fall and said there was a cool looking water ice between sections of glacial ice. A few guys also climbed some fall ice on the rock cliffs on the left hand side of the Nisqually. Click Here! Hope all of this helps. There's also this route!

Yesterday I went for two laps around Magnolia on my bike for the first time. The hill coming down out of Discovery Park is really fun, too bad it's not longer. I recently replaced the battery in my cyclo-computer so I now have a better idea of how fast I am going. Cranking down the hill it said I reached a max speed of 45 MPH. Pretty fast, but I want faster. Anyone know of any good hills to cut loose on and SPEED. Long, straight, steep, minimal traffic, and with mellow runouts prefered. TIA I haven't been back over the I-90 floating bridge yet since I replaced the battery, but I think I can get moving pretty fast going down that hill.

Very cool! I've eyed this route ever since it was pointed out to me a few years ago on a trip up Shuksan via the Sulphide. It looks like a 'schwack getting up to it though.

Later BEEEEYOTCH. Catch you at Smith this fall.

Yeah, I think so. The crevasses should be pretty obvious this time of year, and the route takes a pretty straightforward line up the glacier where there are only a few crevasses.

I always enjoy the Sulphide Glacier route on Shuksan. You can do it in about 12-14 hours car-to-car. You get beautiful views of Mt. Baker, some nice glacier travelling, and 500 ft of class 3/4 scrambling at the top.

I started a similar thread a while back and got a variety of answers. The biggest thing to consider when buying slab shoes is the fit. When slab climbing all your weight is on your feet so if your shoes hurt when a lot of weight is applied, then they will not make good slab shoes. The next thing to consider is what grade slab you are trying to climb. When I wrote my thread I was interested in hard slab routes. I want to climb the Squamish 11's. 5.11 slab is way different then 5.8 slab. With 5.8 slab any comfortable shoe will do fine. When the slabs get harder the edges get thinner and the smears get steeper so a higher performance shoe helps a lot. I like the 5.10 lasts because they fit my feet well. I have climbed squamish 5.10 slab in my moccasyms and they have performed well. The shoes are a few years old now so they are pretty soft which makes my feet work MUCH harder. I love their sensitivity though. One complaint is that they do not edge too well because it's soft underfoot and the edges get rounded quickly. I basically smear everything when I climb in them. I bought a pair of anasazi laceups, but haven't climbed much in them yet. I think they will be an awesome shoe. I can edge like a mofo in them because they are stiff underfoot. They also have great sticky rubber, but the shoes are not as sensitive as the moccasyms. I also might have bought them a little too tight for slab, but I'll have to use them more to find out. When I smear in the Anasazi's I cannot lift my heal up as high as when I'm wearing my moccasyms because my toes get pushed into the front of the shoe. This may change after use. This makes it harder to stand on a smear because the end result is that my ass is farther away from the wall and I'm not pushing down as directly. I hope this helps.

You can count me in on all of the tuff love debauchery!

Awesome trip report!!! Nice job guys.

I'm headed up, solo it seams since all my huniez are decidedly not playing me close at the moment. I'll be splitting out of Seattle in a few hours. Howe Sound brew pub tonight. Wirlwind, I'll see you up there.

This is kind of an offshoot from Pandora's random advice thread (which was funny, but nowhere near as good as Michael Layton's Random Beta thread) , but a little more on the serious side. What's the best advice you have ever received, either solicited or not? The best advice about life that I remember is a sign I saw in the locker room trying to get the soccer team pumped up for a championship game. "If you want something you've never had before, you have to do something you've never done before."

So when's addie's "friend" gonna be here?

The reason is because most people on this site are alpine climbers at heart regardless of ability. I can surely appreciate someone doing some very hard technical climbing, but we're only talking about 30 ft of rock. If you want to truely stir the emotions of people on this board you need to post about a sick multi-day and/or mutli-pitch ascent. Search back through the posts about the Hubers on Zodiac or Dean Potter in Patagonia. People were giving them lots of props.

Well, I didn't try Magic Carpet Ride this weekend, but I did get on Local Boys Do Good. It's going to take a little to get used to the shoes, but I think they will do really well. The rubber needed to get a little worn to increase the friction. Also, they don't flex as much fore and aft at the ball of the foot as my moccasyms so they feel different while smearing. They also hurt my toes a little, but what else can I expect from new climbing shoes. I also learned that I smear more than edge. It's a funny feeling when you're "crimping" with all your might just to stay on the rock, and all that "crimping" is with your toes while your hands are palm to the rock just for balance. Anyone wanna head out and try some of the harder slab routes on the Apron or by Shannon Falls? If you won't lead it I will, just catch me when I skid off.

I had a fantastic weekend at Squamish. Saturday was a three-star only day. Sunblessed in the morning, then Klahanie Crack and Local Boys Do Good in the afternoon. I was pretty worn out from Saturday so Sunday was a toprope hero day for me at Burgers and Fries.

I bought a pair of 5.10 Anasazi lace-ups last night. The 5.10 lasts really fit my feet well, the 5.10 rubber is super sticky for smearing, and the sole under the footbed is firmer then the moccasyms so I'll be able to edge a lot better. I think this shoe will rock!!! I'll let y'all know how things go this weekend. I'm planning on hopping on Magic Carpet Ride again, and hopefully getting past the second pitch this time.

Some things never change...the wifebeater will just be hidden beneath the suit Rumr - Electrical

I passed my exam and now I'm liscensed by the state...and, no, not as a sex offender, as a professional engineer. Next up is to ask the boss man for a raise. Cha-ching! (Hopefully)

Stay the weekend fool! I'll be in Squamish Saturday and Sunday. The boss man won't let me out early this Friday.