billcoe

FPA = First Proxy Ascent ! Now thats something truly SICK! Big wall climbing thru proxy? Brilliant idea, as it will take a lot of the work out of these kinds of endeavors and give hope to us elderly folks as well. I think I can get a crew together and finally have a shot at ZM. Maybe I'll commit them do a winter ascent over Christmas to keep it real, that would be a bold statement. Pink, I want to know if these Mexicans you got up there have been "working" the route for 5 weeks like Tommy and Justin. Not to take anything away from Caldwell: great climber and an inspiration.

OMG! I almost blew milk onto my keyboard! Awesomely funny Erik. ps She found her dad!

Good advice up there. I think one of the more interesting things, is that you will trip over placements that, due to the dikes, will pro with any passive piece from a #5 wired BD stopper to a #10 or so hex. It blew me away so much the first few times I encountered this I would stop on the route, and play with or try a variety of pieces to confirm that my eyes were not playing tricks on me and that it was true. I wish I'd taken some pics of this effect. Here's a route called Surrealistic Pillar, I don't remember it specifically having this effect, but it's a good route and I'll use the pic to demonstrate. (it's not my pic, I don't have any pics of Tahoe myself) If you look at the cracks closely, where the dikes continue through, You'll see what I mean. The dikes can pinch off a wide crack, so theres like a pocket there, and the pocket will literally take a #5 wired stopper or a #11 hex (even strung with perlon if you're careful!) AND EVERYTHING INBETWEEN. It's grea tto be able to just grab a piece and toss it in! If a route pro list says large hexes, and you own them and and are familiar with them, there certainly seems to be many places where they are bomber.

Alright, I just got trolled in too, it was the shock emoticaon that did it, but I want to see pictures.

Don't use wire brushes AT ALL. They polish the rock and make it slick. Get polyester or better yet, natural palmyra bristle brooms and brushes and leave the wire behind.

This sounds like a Paul Harvey "And now.............the rest of the story" kind of thing...........

I'd take ya up on it but my main part Ujahn is brewing and it's frikkan awesome crap that I almost get too much off. (That and I'm not in your area) I do wish you well, and frankly, I think that the gov't could do a free cheese kind of thing, only with good beer, and make folks very happy.

WOHHHH, that seems denigrating to women dude. The Cunt part. You might rethink that part of your post. Like this: Denigrating yes, but just for this woman, not all women like you got going. PS, do we have to sequentially move to those states and vote each election till they're all gone? I don't see anyone I recognize. PS I got Hillary on the phone and she wants to talk about this issue.

Sphincter: I think they mean this one. "At the anus, there are two sphincters which control the exit of feces from the body (see internal anal sphincter and external anal sphincter). The inner sphincter is involuntary and the outer is voluntary." Thats funny stuff! "The Sphincter offers limited protection in marginal situations such as iced-up cracks and some thin ice situations where conventional screws or hooks are useless. However, where they really shine is in seams and direct aid situations. The definition of "thin ice" depends upon whether you are climbing the ice or using ice for protection. For example, ice two inches thick does not require any different climbing technique than ice twenty inches thick. If you are not running the risk of blasting your tool through the ice and hitting rock it is not "thin ice" for climbing and requires no special tool placement technique. However, ice two inches thick is clearly "thin ice" from the point of view of protection. Tied-off screws do not offer much protection in such situations. Neither do conventional hooks. It may be reasonable to climb ice that is too thin to protect, and rock pro may not be an option. In these situations, a special tool is needed. The best ice placement for Sphincters is in a vacated tool placement. Slip a Sphincter into the hole made by your tool. Tap it in gently until its stem is against the ice and clip in. Do not expect a Sphincter to hold a hard fall when placed in ice. Always try to have some good pro as back-up below. If you have a lot of rope out, the Sphincter could conceivably hold a very short fall, or help as a back-up of other pro. If you have only a few feet of rope out, don't expect it to hold much at all. So often in difficult situations, you can place pro above your head and get limited protection for a move. The Sphincter falls into the category of limited protection in thin ice. Think of it as having the fall-holding capacity of a tiny micro nut/RP. Sphincters work well in vertical cracks or iced-up cracks, aside chock stones, or in frozen moss or mud. Serious climbers are discovering that an excellent application for the Sphincter is for direct-aid on rock! The versatility offered by the Sphincter makes it particularly useful for mixed climbs that may require unconventional rock and ice pro. Above all, climbers must understand that the reliability of the Sphincter depends upon its user being skilled at dealing with the conditions in which it will be used. It is not foolproof. It is limited protection and is difficult to place well in ice. However, in extreme situations on ice and as a direct-aid device, it is often the best thing you can get in - sometimes the only thing. "

Pink use to look like that too. Long hair and Uberbuild as well.

Ya got your "Great climbers" and then ya got "great people" who climb. Not having any "heros", I've been lucky to climb or hang with some great and awesome folks, some of you who posted on this thread, some of those named on this thread, and many others on this board. One not posting. Jim Opdycke, seen here following me last weekend at 64 years old. Picture by Ujahn Davisson: -also on my list of great people who climb but do not post here.

Check this runout - these "alpine fags" must be flying. Dey ain't no "Girly men":-) Awesome pics too. sorry for the size.

99 years old now. Like Walter Bonatti and Fred Becky: kicking ass and taking names way back when. Link to Climbing mag online. Interesting parts: "You might think that with him confined to a wheelchair, Cassin’s sprit might be broken, but when you ask Cassin how he feels, he smiles and says he is happy to be alive and that it was just four years ago when 30 minutes of push-ups and sit-ups were part of his morning routine. That is why at 85 he was able to climb the 5.10b Luna Nascente, in Val di Mello, Italy. " On if Maestri really climbed Cerro Torre: "I believe if we start doubting what he did up there, we should reconsider many of my ascents, as well—for example, Mount McKinley, since there are no pictures showing I actually reached the top. I tried to shoot one and almost froze my hand. What concerns me more about the event is that I lost a good friend who was a brother to my sons—Toni Egger, who was always at my house eating enormous dishes of pasta before each climb. " "SPORT CLIMBING IS STILL CLIMBING, but it is not the type of climbing I’m used to. Not because it is easier it is, [but] because the other one—the traditional one—is more normal for me." The whole thing is a great read.

Hey, How did Mark Markmckillop become "MarkMcJizzy" "enthusiast" overnight? Is this some other sneaky Irish trick or an underhanded Porter move? Begin 20 page speculation ....NOW!

Oh crap, I was thinking dude was going to make some sawed off angles, you know, shorties, for beat out Yos pin scars like on the prow or Shield headwall kind of thing. He's ACTUALLY talkin about making like a knifeblade or a lost arrow out of an angle. Whoh! My bad reading skillzz! Now that would be impressive! I want to see pics of this abortion when you finish eh!?

What hair? I need me one of those green things on Jimmys head. Al Jolsen! Nice call. Wish I had a pic of that! Sometimes when I'm out there sweatin and digging in the dirt and moss, it just coats you. I'll forget about the dirt and show up at home lookin like I'd been working in the coal mine at Sommerset all day. Wife stares and finally says "OMG, where the hell have you been all day?" "Uhhh: climbing".

Hey! I do that as a game up on the Pussy traverse at the Butte, but it still is extreme yoinkage that I have to breath that crap cause every beginner is taught that they need shoes, harness and chalkbag to start climbing and so they chalkup the 5.5 traverse where they are barely off the ground. Sometimes I go up high to avoid the stuff when it's bad. No one is talking about working at your personal max. In fact, to JH's credit, he and I once watched some poor young lady, like a Slovakian chick, do the 5.5 pitch on SE corner, chalked the crap out of it. Not only did JH not say a work to her, but when she got stuck higher up at the slab pitch as the sun was starting to get low: and the chicks partner couldn't hear her yelling that she needed to be lowered, but Jh soloed up and pointed out he moves and helped the communication process. Now for a random chalk pic from last Sunday. I have a new "Trad" chalkbag. I left the price tag on it. Chalked up on the ground and then totally forgot about it afterwards. The locks get real good right in here too.

Classic! How about : From hot chicks with douche bags.com

Ok Peter. BTW, here's a link to some Epoxy anchor info links on CC.com. Everyone whos not a current PE and does this for a living might consider reading it. Add to it if you can. epoxy anchor thread However, although the epoxy is the best stuff, going up and doing a single epoxy bolt probably isn't practical. Just pull the old one out with your fingers and go drill to the next larger size with a stainless wedge anchor. Unless the rock really is bad, then spend the time and money for epoxy, like Rudy says.....go re-read his post.

Different things Peter. (great looking picture though!) Star was an anchor company which had several products, including Tek screws later in it's life. Rawl use to market what Paul has as Saber-tooths. The Pioneer route on Monkey Face had these in them as replacements for the original 1/4"ers. Most have fallen out and been replaced by wedge anchors. A few problems with Saber-tooths Paul, was that you needed a bit of skill and care to place them, and furthermore, you wound up drilling a bigger hole than needed with what amounted to an inferior bit. (compared to current carbide bits for sure). A wedge anchor will increase the locking effect as it is pulled out, these did not. So once they started to wiggle, it was just a matter of time. I understand that in soft rock like Smith, they were fine to drill, but in granite they were a bear to place. I never used any of them, this is what I heard. For general construction and fixing machinery, they sucked as well because in addition to the time sucking labor costs, you often needed to layout the hole locations and then move the machine you were going to bolt down into place because of the oversized nature of the anchor. Sobo, great layout there! If you need some 3/8" stainless wedge anchors to join the 20th 21st century and the modern world, let me know!

Amen. BTW, I co-owned a Prowler with my bro, I like it but wish we'd got the vette instead. Vettes rule.

Thnks to you both for keeping THE STOKE ALIVE! Great stuff! Looks like the classic WI and Rock combo platter: Da Best! Hey Bryon, is that a roll starting to get around the stomach there? Oh oH! Watch out if you get married, I use to weigh 40 lbs less back when I was your age, so you see where that might take ya!

I hear that if you stop sitting down to pee Doug, this feeling you have about remotes and watching Oprah will pass!

I disagree.....Karate Crack would be 5.9 in the Valley..... 10b in the valley.