billcoe

Both shoulders are trashed. Doing a lot of hiking recently myself. Have lapped the easy SE corner 2 times recently which has been it and maxing and taxing as far as climbing: other than hiking in to get some Plaidman shots doing his new route. Tomorrow I'm going to try to hike into a new cliff that has no routes on it. Might be a reason for that:-) How did you tear it? I wouldn't trade a rotator cuff for an Achilles, you have my sympathy: hope you heal up fast! opps, obligatory Plaidman shot from a bit back, he's higher now:

Stan, Gent and Dave tuning up for the valley. Dave had a Pika hammock to hang under the double ledge. Don't know if it got deployed or not.

Drew, I don't necessarily care nor think it's nuts when you dress a shop vac up like a sheep and have your way with it. In fact, after volunteering/working for 4 years at the VA hospital primarily working with mental patients I suppose I'd consider that more along the lines of a normal thing which one of the staff workers might do, rather than one of the patients. I'm kind of old school and have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy here, not my business what you do with it, her, ummmm THAT hussy! As long as it's 2 consenting adults...err, a consenting adult and a consenting machine...err, I mean, no one is hurt or forced and it's voluntary....... Hey, ya crazy canadian, didn't mean to out ya, I'm just sayin' it's OK to be yourself buddy.

As there have been a bunch of shit talking already and no takers, I wanted to bump the thread and wish you well on the quest. People should exhibit more empathy and less shit talkin IMO. There shouldn't be a stigma for seeking some assistance in our country but there is. It seems fine to get a chiropractor for your back, or a personal trainer for your body, but lord forbid if anyone simply wants a bit of help with their thoughts. For almost all of us humans, few of us truly knows how close to crazy we all are. Right now, YOU reading this, are much closer to doing something which many or all would describe as way off the charts of normalcy. It is but a thin curtain for us all, we live on one side of it, and on the other side of that curtain is often a litany of strange, sick and horrible things. People tend to be blissfully unaware of it though and chose to go through life with their eyes closed. When you describe to others this thing (how close to the edge we all are, all of us) that goes with being human, they blow if off in disbelief that it applies to them: but it does. That's been my experience and it certainly applies to everyone who's posted on this thread that I can see except for maybe the first guy, as I don't know him and haven't seen any of his posts. He at least is choosing to look into his mind while the rest of you choose to put it on ignore. To fool yourselves into believing that the curtain isn't there for you. Sooooo, my point to the first guy is I wish you luck on your search for a competent Psychiatrist. My point to the rest of you should be clear. Don't think you are so damned special cause you're not. LOL regards to all Bill

Pfft, of course you could Ivan. Back to the original question, seems like if it's too hot right in the valley, instead of staying the the sun all day (and they are good choices up thread it seems to me) maybe the East Buttress of Middle Cathedral or Braille Book might be in order. No one has mentioned Snake Dike, that would be another good one. Maybe 10 pitches, only 2 are 5.7, long hike to get it. Not "walls" per see, still long routes that kick ass and are fun and in your range. You don't say how much protection you have, but certainly Snake Dike should be in there:-). One of my fiends remembers which 2 pieces it takes and the rest is draws or slings. I think it's a something like a #7 wired nut and a 3/4" range cam, but I usually take a handful in that range and don't (want to) remember exact pieces. Snake Dike has the added bonus of being a great hike, amazing summit and unusual but super fun route as well. it's usually 10-15 degrees cooler up there than in the valley, so if its hot, maybe start hiking like at 4am or so. Just going to touleme is a good idea if it's real hot below. Anyway, theres some more options.

Shit, Winston Churchill lookalikes are better than Chairman Mao Lookalikes any day of the week....(psst, don't tell my boy I said that) LOL Took about a year an a half for the "Hanabata Boy" marked in photo below with grandparents to grow out of that phase and finally get some hair. Good looking kids up thread there. Cracks me up seeing Scotts boy with the rope. Now you need to start letting the tyke monkey hang off yer new wall. I always advertised in advance that I would refuse to accept a "fathers day" present or gift. I told them I wasn't playing that game, "every day is fathers day and don't forget it, I want yer respect every day and don't show up one day a year with a gift cause I'm not interested" haha! Last gift my boy gave me was hooking me up with a pro deal for the Wild Country helium cams. Schweet! They grow up so fast. I miss them both all the time. I did spend last weekend climbing/hanging with the youngest there who showed up at home with a buddy. Did a lap up the corner Sunday too. Nice! Here they were Sat on The Dragons Spine at Coethdral just clipping bolts. Checked in on Plaidman too seen (or not seen as the case may be) here about half way up his new route, taught my son to yell "yer gonna die" as a greeting to let yer buddies know that you are present and keeping an eye on their back, lOL! He's got the hunter orange on. Never a bad idea in cougar county where the cougar hunting season is year round (actually it's Jan. 1 - Dec. 31) I guess.

Nice pics Colin! Clearly the point is (spelling it out here for the slow....you know who you are LOL) get a frikkan single over the shoulder style "padded" sling rack. As you plop yer ass down on a multipitch ledge, no matter on a small Arapiles ledge (I really do envy you 4 years there, great place and Natamook is a tidy town ) or on a small US made ledge, move the crap out of the way. Furthermore, when you are trying to turn and burn, and get back to the car after a 25 pitch day followed by a long death march hike out, gear trade offs are hella faster with a sling than clipping crap to your harness and unclipping it every pitch. Even if you save 2 min a pitch, that's close to an hour saved in the day. The difference between sleeping in dirt and cold someplace near a cliff where a false step means death while storm clouds approach your exposed position, or sitting 5 feet from your tent and drinking beer in your camp site. So get sling and don't sit on cams. ...especially if you are pregnant. ...and have hemorrhoids..... ...just sayin', I feel for you pregnant women.....check these selections out (close your eyes if you are sensitive as MORE inappropriate pictures are about to follow!): Classic Climb High brand from Ebay ($16.50) great price. Classic padded adjustable Black Diamond: Classic padded NON-adjustable Yates: Metolius multi-loop: There is a lot of personal preference here: for myself, the Metolius single over the shoulder padded multi-loop sling looks the best in the store, but I rate it lowest. In fact I frikkan hate it and don't even use it for racking shit for toproping, preferring a hand tied 1" tubular webbing sling or an old school POS Chouinard that will rub ya raw if you actually wear it on a lead, the loops suck. The front loops of the Metolius get full and you can't slide the gear around. Thus, you seem forced to accept it where it is and might actually sit on it on a small ledge in Aus. The Black Diamond is a single loop and all the gear is next to each other: this works great. Because the design is so good, it's been copied a lot. In fact, the BD is a copy of the old Chouinard, Forrest and Climb Highs and works great. REI has copied it, as have many others. The Yates is very similar but a tad stiff, but as with all Yates items, so burly that it will outlive you. Whatever you get, get an adjustable one or fit it to yourself first. Yates makes both an adjustable, and 3 different sizes of non-adjustable. If you are going to to primarily singe pitch routes and not find ledges to sit on, by all means, use your harness. For long gear intensive trad routes, get an over the shoulder gear sling. In fact, they make over the shoulder double gear slings for those :"extra burly moments and heavy times of the months" Some do double duty as both gear slings and as chest harnesses, some don't. (OMG !!! "It's a floor wax AND a desert topping!) which is great for soloing or aiding with large heavy weight on the racks where you might flip upside down if things go south. Misty Mountain, Yates, Fish, Black Diamond and Mammut all have solid and good models out. I own them all as it turns out, and a few others too. But in fact, the Metolius double is the schnizz for that as they have a stash place on the back to put some water, a snack bar, a lost Neutrino and a wind shirt. So does the Mammut and the BD, but they are less burly. I've even worn the Metolius up Epinephrine with crap in the pack part without too much issue on the chimneys. Note that the ass, despite being world class wide and taking up excessive real estate, is NOT sitting on any cams. They have 3 loops which seems to work pretty good, unlike the single over the shoulder 5 loop model. Again, it's a personal preference thing. The Metolius will take all the pitons, biners, lead fishing weights, blow up sheep and all the other crap you want to put on it for long routes. Looks like this topping out on Epi: or a different view without the fat and the grey hair- Of course, that was years ago so although the Metolius thing is the same, there is no hair, and age has hit me a bit. That's why you want to be looking at Colins pictures, cause they all look so young...and in shape too LOL! Chachch changes! Woot! Good stuff.

Arapiles, topping out on that route to the left of the Watchtower. No cams to be seen under my wyde ass. Probably had a gear sling like all normal climbers. Good times. Warming up on Icicle Ethyl below with gear sling seen, great route.

You bet babe, that's the last place you want to be when yer water breaks. Congrats BTW, kids are a joy. Spent the weekend hanging out with my youngest and getting a little climbing in myself (little). On the left with the dorky hunters cap watching his dad heckle Plaidman (YER GONNA DIEEEEEEeeeeee!!!!!) at the days start pre-climb. (wanted him to know he wasn't alone anymore, thought he'd get a kick out of it) Good times. ps, LOL on the lube thing denalidave!

YAHOOOOOOO!!!!!! The Eiger Birds smell blood and come flocking for the show! Shaun and Mark watch the progress on Brother Mike, Scott's route on The Steeple. Here's yer close up picture/overview of the Steeple. Watching Scott lead is like watching paint dry, Rhonda and Rick will get sainthood nominations for their belay patience. Scott has been going it solo as well. Anyone who climbs in this area knows that feeling of aloneness? Well, it takes huge stones to crawl up there ground up like the Plaidman is doing. It is both scary and meditative at the same time. I have 3 solo routes or part of routes done in that area and will confess that doing a 4th one scares the shit out of me and doesn't seem possible. I would have pussed out and rap bolted that one Scott chose, as that seems like scary shit to me now. There's still plenty of new lines to be done in that area if anyone wants a project. Scotts about halfway and I heard that he was going to leave the hand drill at home and take a rotohammer so that he could put in 7" bolts for the belay in something less than 2 hours a hole or whatever it would take to drill 2 7" deep holes in the rock going tap tap tap tap tap tap ...well, you get that picture. Anyway, it was time to move over and get a better shot. Hiked to the top of Coethedral, about 1/2 a mile further away and zoomed it in on the ragin' clansman. About 200 more feet to go. Here it is: If anyone wants to pack a lunch and watch the show, there's dirt road to where I took that first shot. Click this: http://mapper.acme.com/ Then copy/paste these co-ordinates in the find space lower right hand corner: N 45.07728 W 122.11849 Tralllaaaaaa, The Steeple! You can chose map/topo/ or satellite picture upper right. Zoom in and out is the upper left. Have fun! ps, thanks for letting us go first Sunday out at Beacon Scott, we were back at the car by 10:40am. The lads needed to have family dinner and then drive to Eastern Oregon later, so it was nice to get a lap done early, and my shoulder was telling me that even the corner was too much for it. But I did a lap anyway. It still hurts 2 days later. Get er done up there!!!!

What removable bolt? What's that mean? You can remove a 5 piece or a Fixe. People call them removable bolts. Or the alien looking device that is way overpriced, sucks, is not made in 3/8 anymore and no one only one or 2 folks owns? They are radically different.

Hood might be the bomb! But it might suck too, too far out to tell. There will be 2 brand new Rock Climbing areas on Hood in the brand new NW Oregon guidebook I believe. All real close to Timberline. That makes a total of 3 with in spitting distance. Rhododendron, Hunchback and Pete's Pile. Unfortunately, they are all higher up, and November can be cold and/or snowy for them as well. If it was me and the weather on the Mt looked any kind of marginal, I'd spend the am skiing, then drive down to lower elevations. Beacon in particular gets full on sun and can be very pleasant in November. If the weather is good you should be able to get a partner. The Hood River guys have some dryer spots they go to if the weather is wet, (nothing like Beacon) maybe they can chime in. Rock Creek is dryer than Beacon, but is much smaller. Ozone and Farside in the gorge tend to being nice fall cragging as well. The new book: http://www.portlandrockclimbs.com/portland-rock-climbs I have one on order and don't know specifically what is in it, other than rumors. I can check back in when it shows up.

I got the email, as I'm sure a few other thousand of you did as well, on Tim Olsen's long awaited guidebook now being available. He doesn't really spell out what's in it, I had heard of many new areas being included but am not sure which or how many went in. I heard the rumor that there were 400 pages of new areas/new routes throughout the Oregon area. Damned exciting. I've got one on order. Buy it here with and there's links to stores to get it as well: http://www.portlandrockclimbs.com/portland-rock-climbs

Today I was out at the cliff, and I sat down on a fist sized rock that was on the ground. So I moved the rock and it became much softer.

Ivan - what would you rate the first pitch of the Dragons Spine? We (Ujahn and I) think it's either 5.10 or 5.8.

Well, include an Ivan to English dictionary too will ya:-) (I jokemake, love reading Ivans stuff- abiet sometimes it takes 2 passes) Congrats all on the send!

Somebody put a Burqa on that babe before the Taliban whack her. Have some common decency. Here', I have it, don't want to piss off jb again. I'm going red cause it's so sexy though. Sorry to make jokes jb, it will stop immediately. Wait, is that yer mom ya say? opps, sorry. A guy can't win. Soooo, we sent Sobo over there to clean up the mess? WTF? Who's bright idea was that? He's going to have them all tipping back cold ones and next thing ya know they'll all be wanting to live in peace. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1064420/Sobo_s_Updates Sobos suitcase get's empty upon arrival:

It's been 30 days, checking in to see how it's going Mel.

Yup - same same. bad juju no matter what it's called, it's got Urishal in it. I'm surprised more climbers and hikers don't put some round up or crossbow into a little sprayer and spray the stuff on hikes in. Putting it into a dry bag would keep it off yer stuff. If it's good enough to spray on yer crops twice a year, or coat the edge of every state highway, a small squirt only on the leaves shouldn't be an issue. Old growth Poison oak cleanup below. Some (very few) folks can rip it out with their bare hands and don't need sprays.

Richard Lord would be, but Jon? Don't see it. Uhhh, "Deep Purple" I believe he was referring too as a great porn star name Steven. In which case - LOL!

Then the multi-level correct choice as Max said and Blake may have been thinking is:

Went up to get some shots of Plaidman on his new route on the Steeple today. No Plaidman. Can see the rope in photo #2. Scott estimates he's 150' up, doing it partially solo ground up, or sometimes with Ricky and or Rhonda. Went for a hike on the Indian Henry/Fish Creek Clackamas river trail afterwards. Was pretty good. Anyway, maybe Scott will weigh in if I have the location picked correctly as I'm guessing. I couldn't see it with my Steiner Binocs, but the camera has a 14mp and 20x optical zoom and I thought that I could see the rope hanging once I got home. Clicking on the pics should enlarge them. Overview Closeup In retrospect, I think I can see the rope going higher than my mark. Weather notes. Sweltering in the valley, was somewhat pleasant (@70s) up here at 3500' level.

Way to turn and burn! Woot!

That might not read the way you think Kenny? Or was it something you saw? .......anyway, good seeing you there, and teh Phussy got a lift out and a fast lap to start yer day. Good tieing in with you teh. Quite the turnout for a week day! Woot!

It's a personal choice. No one can make it for us. We all make these choices based on many things that we often unconsciously bring to the table. That my father died when I was 18 months old (brain tumor) weighed heavily with me. I lived my entire life with no dad and I didn't want that for my kids. My wife wanted the kids about the time I was just hitting my stride in climbing. First one popped out: I jacked up my life insurance, stopped climbing Mts and ice and doing lots of other things as well, and prayed daily that I would live till my child was at least 5 years old. It was my manta I chanted at night. Daily. Not a joke. Every frikkan day I considered this very topic and strove to achieve that objective. I made it, and was out backpacking last week with the lad, the youngest at 22, seen below out climbing in Red Rocks with me a few months back. I got here due to conscious choices. Good times. My choices are not anyone elses, mine alone, and none of us ultimately get out alive. That I delayed the inevitable was my thing. Can't speak for anyone else or their choices. If someone choses to go for it, balls out, more power to them. I tend to respect those who think, then chose the path. A choice thus made is usually much more worthy and worth fulfilling IMO. Alex Lowes choice was as valid as mine. For me, it would have been a bad thing, it was not for him though and I respect that. Those who do not chose and let the current of life cause them to drift, are a different -perhaps lower, category. It is for each of us to make that choice. Or not. That's all I have.