Buckaroo

So someone posted another "Best Known Time" for HIKING the Ptarmigan Traverse (zero peaks climbed). This is the traverse which was put up by climbing every big peak along the way and then some in a pretty fast time for the day, which AFAIK has not ever been repeated in 74 years. ""I just took my special lady friend on a 4-day trip through the enchantments, but we didn't summit anything and as I understand it, that's a new requirement for posting TRs?"" that's not what I said. ""So if you didn't reach the summit, you can't write a TR? Or, you have to at least try and reach a summit before you can write a TR?"" You can write a TR about HIKING the approach to one of the states biggest CLIMBING traverses all you want. But if you are going to chest-beat about it and make the title and the post primarily just a chest-beat about how fast you were hiking, then you should be called out about it. Or at least it should be pointed out how this Traverse was first put up. "" Whatever happened to keeping the TR's spray free?"" I will delete the post if you guys are that sensitive about it. After all we can't have climbing dominate this forum. So you hiked the Ptarmigan in 12 hours? Sorry the guys from 1938, without helmets, cams, curved pick axes, sticky rubber, or cell phones... kicked your ass. And that's all there is to it.

I would say anyone that climbs sustained 5.11 trad at Index, be it crack, slab, or face, onsite or redpoint, is a 5.11 climber. The climber that climbs any style 5.11 onsite is a solid 5.11 climber.

AFAIK no one has ever repeated the original Ptarmigan traverse, the peaks they climbed and the time they did it in. This is Cascade CLIMBERS. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice TR, nice pics, and a nice accomplishment. But nothing got climbed.

DA RUSSIAN TERROR TAGS ANOTHER ONE!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEE HAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

I would settle for a zip line from the summits down to the trailhead

Yeah, just imagine if you were approaching the N face anywhere near the Angel glacier.

I'm wondering if say for Serpentine on Dragontail if you could just approach from the Stuart Lake TH and go up to the other side of the Dragontail Colchuck col. You're 1/2 way up there already for the start of the climb. But then you'd have to do a carry over or climb back up to the start to get your gear after.

Two years ago I was able to get a permit from the morning drawing. There was like 2 or 3 teams of 2 and we got the first one. It sucks though because you are there at the ranger station at 7:30am to get the permit when you could have left the trailhead at 4:00am, so it easily wastes 4 to 5 hrs. This screws climbers up who are trying to get up and off something in a day. Not particularly safe to waste that extra time. You want to talk about difficult permits, try Mt.Whitney. They have a similar system of a morning drawing. Only time to go is during the week. If you try Friday or the weekend there's like 40 people there trying for 4 permits. We went in on a Thur and there was 8 people, and only one other pair trying for Whitney, we got the permits by default.

Please be more specific, define "single skinny rope" thanks

Oh yeah? Well I saw a 1 year old climbing M-7 on NEB of Johannesburg. And he was smoking, drinking vodka, and eating bacon. Nice TR Keenwesh, I've been taking my nieces out doing things, but not climbing yet. One of them looks like she has potential, just have to clear it with her mom.

Meniscus doesnt heal. Has to be fixed. Heals real fast after fixed. Work other body parts. When my arm was broke did a lot of hard hiking

I tried gasoline, right after the battery acid. Didn't clean the tree sap but the rope did change color a bit and it feels a little funny now. But it should be good, are you up for some 5.10 at Index? I've got this rope we can use, it just has some tree sap stains on it, no big deal. In fact we could light it on fire while we're climbing and get the footage with Go-Pros and post a TR

Another thing to consider is the affect cleaners will have on the dry treatment

Sportiva Trango S Scarpa Charmoz both very light, 3/4 shank, GoreTex, heel bail both super sticky rubber. They'll climb 5.10 edging. Little bit light for a lot of hard ice. I always thought the Trango S was the lightest in this class, until the Charmoz came along

It took me 6+ hrs on Doug's direct so apples to apples. You are losing and gaining elevation also. The couloir is quite a bit safer with the bypass. Still probably not quite as easy as Doug's. And there is some exposure anywhere in the couloir, after all it is a gulley. But I don't think Doug's is hazard free either. In late season the couloir gets icy and I can imagine coming off the NEB and wanting an easier descent. Like the time me and Jameserous climbed the full N ridge of Stuart and descended the Cascadian instead of the planned W ridge. Sometimes you just have had enough exposure and take the longer/easier way. Maybe I didn't go exactly the way you did, but I thought I was following the description you speak of. There was some 5.0 on the East side of the crossover point near the top.

The snow was perfect styrofoam even later in the day with the sun hitting it. I think the couloir is at such an angle the sun has less detrimental effect. I actually got no ZZZ's. The bivy ring is not that safe. As I was watching you guys rocks came down 3 or 4 times, most of them away from the bivy. At one point I was adjusting my crampons at the bivy, preparing to go down, and heard a whistling noise. I looked up just in time to see this watermelon size rock come screaming in at terminal velocity. It came smoking in about 10 feet above my head, I had just enough time to flinch as it obliterated on the talus behind me. Wouldn't want to be sleeping there if anyone is on the East face. The bypass is perfect. Wet mossy smooth rock but surprisingly some good holds with the strata in the right direction. Sort of wandering route finding, might be difficult in the dark. But it starts 1000' below the col right where the couloir necks down and starts to become exposed to the Sill glacier. Then it comes back in another 1000' down, right as the exposure ends. I still think there is significant exposure here in the couloir because this glacier is sitting on wet polished slabs and it's sort of broken up. This mountain is still unfinished business for me. It would be nice to climb the NE buttress and then just come down the East face. The couloir is def the way to descend now that I know the bypass. Doug's direct is way more miles and hours and also entails routefinding and some 4th/5th downclimbing. I'm pretty sure the route goes left around the grey tower, the question is how do you get to the left side of it.

good input. I don't climb enough to really retire ropes from wear. It's usually time that does it.

1/2 rope is even better for running single than a twin. Pro Mountain Sports sells the Serenity, they will sometimes give you a deal, it depends. Also I believe Feathered Friends has it too. Serenity is not an edge rope though. Beal makes several 1/2 ropes with edge resistance. Personally I think edge resistance is more important than number of falls because usually the only times ropes break is over edges. the Joker is 53 gm/m the Serenity is 52 gm/m so the Joker is 2 oz heavier for a 60M, assuming the manuf weights are accurate. another thing to look at is what kind of dry treatment, either treated before weaving or after. Before is better, and it makes the rope slicker when running through gear.

Looks like Steph is almost back to her pre injury self. At least in terms of summits to days ratio. CONGRATS! That was a long hard road you took. this is my fave photo for some reason, amazing that it was taken at night.

The Sierra Designs gets bad reviews for water resistance but hits my weight requirement. Don't know if I want to compromise, this is primarily to keep dry. The O.R. is a layered material, too heavy at 13.5 oz which is the same as what I have now.

As far as I know Beal is the only manufacture left that offers edge resistance. Edelweiss was the leader and initial manufacture of edge protection ropes but they no longer make them. all 3 of Beal's twin ropes have edge resistance. The Joker is a unique rope in that it qualifies in all 3 rope categories, single, half, and twin. Joker 9.1 mm Ice Twin 7.7 mm Rando 8 mm Beal Ropes The Edelweiss technology to achieve edge protection was with an intermediate layer of monofilament. The Beal and Mammut tech was primarily with a different weave (if I'm not mistaken).

What Gene sez The common reference is half or twin, what do you mean by double? If you are going to double the rope then get a twin and climb 30M pitches. Many older routes have 30M or less pitches. Also look at a rope with edge protection like Beal. The UIAA discontinued the edge test in 2004(?) but Beal still makes them. Not all their ropes are edge resistant so look at the specs. The lightest single rope now is the Mammut Serenity at 8.9mm., holds 5-6 falls. Other factors are climbing skill and climber weight. If you climb 5.11 then 5.7 is probably safe with any rope. Also the weight of the climbers. Lighter climbers can get away with lighter ropes. The UIAA test is for 175 lbs but if you weigh 135 lbs you are better off and conversely if you weigh 210 lbs you are worse off.

How do you like that helmet? Did you carry-over the ski poles?

He didn't specify bird, other animals have gizzards, like some reptiles and earthworms Oh and that's not a grubworm, that's a snowman, get it right you neophyte.

I tried butter and jam together but it attracts juvenile snaffles. Not older ones, just juveniles.