billcoe

Great stuff! Thanks for that TR. More fantastic photos here http://archive.mikeyschaeferphotography.com/ for anyone stuck at work needing to perv on some pure granitic goodness.

The classics. [video:youtube] and [video:youtube]

From Rockclimbing.com hot deals. Cavet, I've never heard of Lecordee, so do your due diligence. Tenon ropes are good, especially for $84 WOOT!.

email with questions sent.

I see that the pants sold out for now. Congrats. How's this for a headline? [font:Arial Black]ALL PANTS HALF OFF!!!![/font] and a picture similar to this except with NW Alpine pants in the photo. jus trying to help:-) Let us know when the pants get back in stock. Thanks

T-EEEE-SHIRTS, SOBO T-EE SHIRTS, GET YER SOBO TEE SHIRTS RIGHT HERE....

Is this cause you live in SLC and talk to the Black Diamond folks? LOL

Hola Mike: My thoughts/experience incomplete info to add to the knowledge base for what it's worth. I have a Beal 9.1 Joker (that's the size we are discussing?) that looks like it will last longer than I want to lead on it. Appears to have next to zero wear after 4 years or so (bought it Jan 20th 2007). I've never had a skinny Mammut but have had good wear on their other sized ropes over many years so I can't compare Mammutt to Beal directly. HOWEVER, the caveat is that I don't record pitches on ropes and have a lot of other ropes that I rotate. Also, I don't dog routes with the Joker. It's seen a few falls for sure but don't know how many as I don't keep track of small falls like when you're clipping bolts. Of all my ropes, the 9.1 is my favorite and the most used as it's the lightest fullsized #1 rope (single rope) I own and so I tend to drag it on long adventures. It gets pressed into high mileage free climbing kind of trips, Red Rocks and Yosemite. Did 25 pitches 2nd day we were in Yos with it last May. That kind of thing, I take this rope. So it's gotten a shit load of pitches in. Unfortunately, it's time to retire it from lead climbing soon based on age alone, and the price has gone up. I bought a Petzl skinny on sale for a crazy $83 at REI but before I opened it I climbed on my buddies and the handling sucks (in comparison to the Joker IMO). As does Petzl and their ropes. (google failures on red Petzl Zephyr ropes for instance) I love Beal. Good products, good people. Unfortunately, I bought the sale rope for like $109 (back when it was new and hot and rarely went on sale), and they (online sale store) got to pick the color. Black. ...Ever see a middle mark on a black rope? Me either. I know I could do the dental floss whip stitch but am too lazy:-) so, that's didn't actually answer the first part of your question..... Maybe you can direct this thread and the 2nd part of your question to Beal to get a clearer answer on the cut/abrasion resistance. Most likely none of us will know that. I had some solid info exchanged back when with them on discussing middle marks. We'd all get the info then, I'd like to know the answer and suspect most of us would.

How about you rub some rock salt in there while your at it. Hooo man, you call that shit a trip report? I was looking to see that you guys had sent and not gotten sent! ps, I just leave the tree sap on the rope. It seems to wear off on it's own fast enough.

Cinderella part 2 times 2! Good luck on the search.

Part of the process is weeding out folks who burn you. Eventually, what's left are the jewels who climb hard, have fun, give stoke and are always there for you.... PS, great pictures on your web site! This looks crazy.......like maybe soon to be crazy painful if you don't stick the landing:-) picture very very nice, but really really too big for my little screen:-) , click the link, overhanging ice, no pro picture. Woot! great shot!

I think it's ok to quit and not have to endure the pain if that's the options. Find something you love to do and reveling it. Lifes too short already. Wish you the best! Warm regards and thank YOU for the memories too.

Hey year, mine massages my neck and rubs and scratches my back. I gotta say I love that. Helps me stay awake too. Seen too many fine folks die over the years in the car on the way back from climbing. Usually it's on the way back, going to in Bruce Binders case. I figure nothing is so important that I can't catch a quick nap. I don't set my alarm, it just seems like I wake up in 10-20 min feeling refreshed and alert. Can't speak for anyone else, that's what works for me. In Off's case of crashing with his buddies in the car coming back form skiing, I'll do a survey and see if anyone is feeling awake or if they're cool with me taking a nap. They drive and I catch some sleep. Nobody has crashed my car yet:-)

Tim has @ 20 pages of Gorge ice listed in the new book....when it forms. LOL. This site is a great find for a local ice climber. The area has some great ice climbers who are always talking current conditions, and it also offers some opportunities to crank on it even when the local ice is missing (most of the time:-) John Frieh and Marcus put on a dry tool fest annually at the Portland Rock Gym (aka PRG -can't say it's on this year cause I don't know), and people do some dry tooling locally on the East side of the cliffs at Rocky Butte (bad form to tool on the existing rock climbs! Look left of Silver Bullet bluff and you'll see tool marks) for exercise. This ice climbing forum would probably be a great place to find a partner to go do some laps on the lower Elliot glacier icefall next weekend. Lots of people just top rope the ice there. Sometimes you'll see people on this site just jump up and run to wherever the ice is forming, check the trip reports and you'll see this thing happening. Pretty incredible what guys are getting done in a weekend these days. Have fun!

Welcome!~!! Nice first post. I came through the gorge Saturday. It was 102 degrees Fahrenheit. I did not see any ice there at all, even cocktail ice in my soda, although Tim Olsen's new book erroneously shows that there is ice climbing there. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1077849/Re_New_Oregon_Guidebook#Post1077849 That's all I know. Edit: actually, you can head up to the Elliot glacier on Hood right now and get some nice ice in on the glacier crevasse walls. Sweet stuff for glacier ice when it's 100 degrees down here. Good all summer. It's not too bad of a hike above Cloud Cap Chalet on the NE side of Mt Hood. Real pretty. Highly recommended and crazy to be on ice when it's 100 degrees everywhere.

LOL, love it. Nothing like a family vacation to remember why you like some things and hate others. You almost could have ducked over to the Black Canyon for a lap.....they got nasty poison oak/ivy in most of the gullies there which makes ours look like polite shit having high tea. Looks like you were out of the growth zone where you were at least.

Nice job Daniel! Woot! Classic and epic in a single bundle. Awefriggan some. Way to get on it and get it done youse guys. Wow! Good job. How the hell did I miss this TR?

Yes. Maybe worse. I have a pair for sale which are like new that has only jugged a couple pitches if anyone is interested. THEY TOTALLY SUCK!!! To own this sucakage will be $100. It's not just me, some real well known valley rats have had the same issue, which is you are cruising along and zippppp, they don't grab for an inch or 2. It is caused by not having the jug oriented to the rope properly results in the jug slipping right down in a heart stopping pants filling free fall for you. Followed by an expletive "@@#X!!!@". And it slows me down and wind up getting hesitant. Fortunately, it's short then they grab. I suspect that as it doesn't happen with Petzls...or any other jumar, that old dogs who are use to sliding the jug up the rope in a casual and fast manner are more prone to having it occur. Not everyone has this happen to them, basically, you need to train yourself to slide the thing straight up the rope. Which sounds like an easy thing put that way, but when you're in the groove and cruzin high off the deck...whoosh. @@#X!!!@ Good ones: As for the Totem recall. Non-issue. First, lots of companies are still selling cams that have anodised lobes. Ever see BD even give a shit about that? NO? Me either. BD,DMM, Wild Country still selling anodized cam lobes. Next, Totem did the recall when Totem realized that they could get a marginally better stick on marginal (polished limestone) rock. Realize that their cams already stick as good or better than most anyone elses, even anodized. As they said in the notice, anodizing "...may affect their holding power in certain areas of polished limestone and when the cams still retain their layer of anodizing on the area in contact with the rock." That's only when new, one trip to red rocks and they are all scuffed up. Look at Black Diamond Camalots, Wild Country or DMM's new stuff. Are you suggesting that they are selling gear that should be recalled right now but are ignoring it? See? Totem recognized they could get an incrementally better bite for their already superior cam, so they allowed their existing customers to trade up to what Totem perceived to be a slightly better grip on polished limestone. If they wanted. Or they could take a bit of sandpaper and rub for 3 min. That's amazing customer service IMO, and the Totem folks should be lauded and rewarded for it.

I'd love to crash at your friends house's Gene, but find that the zonking occurs too quick. I'm usually happy to make it as far as the next pull over spot where I won't get hit by the next tired driver. When I was younger, gutsing it out was fine, and could drive the 22-24 hours to Joshua Tree via will power. Now, getting the 24 miles home from the farside at days end can entail a pull over in Vancouver, a scant 5 miles from home. But I feel much better:-) The before and after difference for me is huge. regards: Bill

Uhh, find that story for me will ya? I want to see what "bad things" you are referencing.

My Favorites/rock: Carabiners- Wild Country Heliums, runner up nanos There are lighter and there is stronger, but the size, clipping, hooded nose, wire gate and high strength to low weight combo make me like Heliums the most. Nanos are close to too small, but so lightweight that they are nice to carry. I like the way they clip better than the little Metolius. Nuts: DMM Wallnuts large, HB/DMM offsets small. Wallnuts have a great strength to weight ration and are tapered to fit well. The offsets seem to have a great niche, but for me, in the larger sizes, even though I carry them, the weight is a turn off. Cams: Totems, Totem Basics (Aliens), Metolius These cams seem to grip in all conditions in more places than other cams. Harness's: Misty Mountain Sonic and Cadillac. Runner up for hanging all day, Metolius Waldo. These are the most comfortable harness's: FOR ME. Helmets: Petzl Meteor 3 So light you'll think there might be a small insect on your head, but nope: just a helmet. Belay devices: GriGri2, Black Diamond Guide ATC Great gripping, ropes run well when you need them too. The range of ropes for both is good as well. Jumars: Petzl Strength to weight ration, grip well. Aiders: Yates and Misty Mt. Yates are burly and stay open, great grab bar. The Mistys are light and pack small but have nice features. Over the shoulder slings: Yates, Jrat, Black Diamond adjustable. Personal opinion. No recent mt or ice I'm so out of date I'd be worthless.

Whoh, glad you're OK, you might try napping like Kev says, it works for me. Even 10 min and I'm alert and good to go.

LOL

Well, trying to say something positive here, if Obama isn't reelected at least we can expect to see the banks continue to rip off all the US taxpayers, and our wasteful global military presence that ratchets up anger at the US to continue like the Obama and Bush policies. Same same, no difference. http://www.mybudget360.com/wealth-in-america-corporations-control-grow-income-inequality-top-25-percent-control-87-percent-finanical-wealth/