billcoe

Well, it was bound to get put on the internet:-) The tags you see on the SR14 road in this area are for a road project. The last date to comment is rapidly approaching. It may have already passed and the last meeting to perhaps to pat themselves on the back, I don't know. "Public Meeting Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Project Open House SR 14 Camas-Washougal Widening 4:00 - 7:00 p.m. Camas Police Department, Community Room Camas, WA" Given that they are looking to spend $10 mil to make the road safer, do you not think it would be a good thing to let the design engineers know of the parking needed at Ozone. If the last public hearing passes without anyone saying a thing, and some climber gets plowed by a Log Truck pulling into the road right there, maybe just before the project starts or especially after they have "fixed it to make it safe" it could have huge long term negative impact on the Zone and those many who seem to be going there these days. I am wondering what all of your thoughts are on this issue. I would think that getting involved with this now would be important. I found this info and though I'd better share. Mind you, I'm not going or planning on doing this (organizing) myself, but want to give you all a heads up and the chance to do so if you are of a mind to do so. Thoughts? 1st) Road info here: Link to WDOT site Says: " These two SR 14 safety improvement projects have been combined into a single overall project for design, right of way acquisition and possibly construction. This combination project will help improve safety and mobility on State Route 14 between Marble Road and Salmon Falls Road in western Skamania County by straightening several curves, improving a passing shoulder for slow-moving trucks and adding turn lanes at the Salmon Falls Road and Belle Center Road intersections. Why is WSDOT constructing this project? SR 14 is a popular route for sightseeing and for accessing various historical and recreation sites inside the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. It is also utilized by many commercial trucks on their way to and from ports and cities along the Columbia River and the Washington-Oregon state line. Approximately 4,700 vehicles drive this section of SR 14 each day. Between 2001 and 2004, there were 113 reported collisions between Marble Road and Salmon Falls Road. In May 2004, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and Steering Committee, in conjunction with WSDOT, designated a portion of SR 14 in Skamania County between the Clark County line and North Bonneville a Traffic Safety Corridor The End Result This project will shift the highway to the north in order to straighten out several curves including those located: * just west of Marble Road (milepost 22.68-23); * at Belle Center Road (milepost 23.02-23.34); * between Belle Center Road and the Half Bridge near Cape Horn (milepost 23.34-23.6); and * just west of Salmon Falls Road (milepost 25.85-26.11). In addition, this project will improve the eastbound shoulder used by slow-moving trucks between Marble Road and Belle Center Road, and will add an eastbound left turn lane and a westbound right turn lane at the Salmon Falls Road and Belle Center Road intersections. Other improvements, recommended by the Value Engineering Study, may also be implemented. Project Benefits * Safety: This project will help reduce accidents along this section of SR 14 by straightening several curves and by adding turn lanes to the Salmon Falls Road intersection. * Mobility: This project will allow vehicles to pass slow-moving trucks more easily on the eastbound hill between Marble Road and Belle Center Road by improving the right passing shoulder to allow large trucks to pull out of traffic without stopping. What is the project timeline? Initial design work on this project has begun. Right of way acquisition is scheduled to begin in Spring 2008, lasting through Fall 2009. Construction is expected to begin in 2010."

I was looking at Spyorks recent pictures of Mideast Crisis on rches in Yosemite. I was thinking of Raindawgs continual "shock"" and "moral outrage" of the "environmental destruction" caused by this kind of "travesty."It was recently re-bolted with shiney new 3/8"ers, despite being on public land. Pics of this "outrage" and "enviromental atrocity" as Dawg calls it are right here, taken from as close as you can get: the base, telephoto. Find the offensive bolts Dawg: BTW, in case you are not thinking in terms of real "Environmental atrocities", think in terms of things you CAN see from outer space, including the recently added retro-bulldozed pull out by Manure Pile or the large earthmoving endeavors on Mt Rainier: you can see all that crap via Google Earth and more much more clearly than you can find a bolt in any of these pics. Let me know how many bolts you see in this "shocking picture". ______________________________________________________________ BTW, lil Dawg says lil dawg: Again in case you missed it:

OMG! THANKS FOR STARTING OUT MY DAY THAT WAY JAYB! LOL!

Yes sir, it is. The actual term "Rad", however, is reserved for drilling out a pipe in the rock at the top of a brand new route to toke away , thus achieving, once again, the Double Dawg wack-a-thon tri-fecta rim shot. Probably the pics will further clarify this complex thing. May I also add that this may be a "Rain"ny feeling for the Dawg, however, said rain, in this case, is yellow. Reference bait link Now, who's got a pipe screen sitting around they can spare:-)

You look better now than last winter Joseph, you were haveing shoulder issues then I think - so I expect you'll be kicking ass as usual, I'm think that I'm the one that needs to drop a few pounds to keep up with you.

Why do they do it? Not to be a nitpicker, but it looks like they didn't even actually reach the true summit.

Bug

I would recommend avoiding watching that You-tube post of her "Working" that aid roof at Smith for months Dawg, AFTER it had been done on aid many times, then after it was Rap bolted, then after it was toproped into submission, then after that it got "worked" good for a few months to become a free route. I can see your standard in women (or as this was a LaSportiva press release to support their "sponsored" climber, your standards in press releases) is higher than that!

_____________________________________________________________ What happened a bit later right after my post? Who made the call...Who made this call BABBBY! Who's yer daddy? Whooo friggan whoooo! Look, even lil Dawg, who is already embarking on his new job as an Sport bolter-setter looks happy at Big Dawgs predictably quotient. Don't ya think??

Good advice, I can highly recommend Dave Stephens if he'll go for it. ________________________________________________________ Bet you'd like to see the other 4...:-0 Oh, its a sickness for sure. And when Joseph makes those A5 wall hammers I'll be standing in that line to get one as well if possible.

Gonna put some rehashed stuff here: 503-823-3333, the police non-emergency line. ________________________________________________________ From last year: the much ridiculed and slightly modified "Terms and conditions" or disclaimer, or early season heads up. Hi all: Sunshine, finally. Looking forward to this. Short technical note: I figure that posting my rant thing here for everybody, just once, might be better than PMing everyone. As it’s a new year, with new folks, I want to restate my terms and conditions. Sorry if you heard this before. I don’t know the skill levels of people who will randomly just be showing up to hang, climb and belay so I’ll repeat. I only have 1 major issue. Safety. As such, I give and expect 100 percent perfect belays. 100 percent perfect means: good communication, ground checks for every climber/belayer, and brake hand on the rope ground to ground round trip for any climber off the deck who thinks they are on, or should be on, belay. If you've ever seen a person dropped by their belayer, you witnessed a less than perfect belay. Might have been a 99 percenter, hard to say, but it was less than 100 percent. 1 really don't give a rats ass if you can outclimb me, welcome to a huge club if like most people you can. I don't care. I don't want to hear anyone say it's just top roping or short climbs either. I choose to be safe and as part of that refuse to climb with anyone who expects to do less. If you don’t like what I’m saying here, don’t show up. Last year the rescue crews were called out for 10 cliff incidents, most in the area we will be in. Every Fucking one of which was avoidable, except that somebody chose to not be safe. Don’t think this can’t or won’t happen to you. I once carried out one of the most experienced Oregon climbers who had just finished the easy White Rabbit 5.3 down climb and while turning on relatively flat ground, banana-peeled on the wet mud and seriously pitched. The hospital stay was like a month or so with the broken ribs, punctured lungs, surgery to remove the spleen and permanent pins added to the wrist a week into the stay with more surgery. No one is immune and it’s a choice we can make. I free solo out here sometimes and it always shocks and surprised that rare person who sees me toping out - I’m fine with you doing so too, best not this time of year with this group please, let’s let it dry out and clean off some. I don’t want to teach belays either. If you don’t have your Sh*T together, don’t come out expecting that somebody will help you to get it together. Make arrangements with somebody else some other time, I’d rather solo. I like to get set up efficiently and rapidly to get maximum time to get pumped. That might mean running up 3 laps in a row without untying and/or down climbing. Given the time constraints, it’s not a good time to be dogging a route unless you have a belayer who’s toasted out and done in, and nobody is standing at the base: rock shoes on foot tapping hoping for another shot before dark. You want to smoke a bowl or drink some beers, pretty common and fine by me, stay in control and don’t get sparks on my rope or (more) glass on the ground is all I've ever asked. If you haven’t choked and blown spit on your screen due to my arrogance thus far heres some more: Communication from the top to the bottom can very difficult anywhere we head, the big three from closest to furtherst is RButte, Broughtons and Ozone. Specifics at the Butte: there is some white water rapids or something further below at the butte, and the continued roaring sound never abates and is very difficult to overcome. The hand signal for advising a belayer that you are over the edge, tied in safe and can be taken off belay is a wave of the hand for instance. Planning the hand signals in advance is a good idea. If my finger points down and makes a circular motion after I've topped out, that means please lower me. A fist means stop. Might want to clean some crap off so your trip up is cleaner, or perhaps reclimb a section that felt particularly great or difficult. As there is plenty of slippery wet mud early in the year, leaves and winter moss buildup, safety rules no matter where we are. Tieing a fixed line off a fir and rap to the ledge below even if it's an easy downclimb in the summer may be not just appropriate but smart. It might be dry, but probably not. Bringing headlamps anywhere we wind up isn't a bad idea either, and it can give us a bit more climbing time. I have beater rope and don’t mind getting sap on it. You show up and see a rope tied to a fir, feel free to rap on it as it's probably mine, don’t feel the need to ask permission if you don't see anyone, we're all climbers here. Side note about Rocky Butte: out there it's common to see a single party have 2, 3 or 4 climbs set up, tradition is that you can climb on their ropes. Nice to ask first. If you feel insecure on a single line rap and want a fireman’s belay, glad to do it, flip the rope around till some enquiring person at the base walks over below you and looks up, point or shout and we’ll pull on it to slow you down if you have a crappy rap device and/or hate single rope raps. Tossing an identical sized 2nd carabiner in most atc devices helps slow you down too. Conversely, if you want to lead or not lead but just follow or TR, thats good as well. For the Butte, it had been a active rock quarry, many of the anchors are into large blocks. We had a winter with some freezing; I always, but especially now, like to back up all the anchors with a backup rope tied solid to a fir or a rock further back. I have plenty of sections of retired ropes to do this. Bring your climbing ropes and personal gear, some lockers and such if you have it. Should be plenty of gear and ropes if you don’t own that stuff, so no worries. There are still some blocks at Ozone that may have done the freeze thaw thing as well. Rapping off, before hand communication with the base and trundling is an accepted practice as long as you have cleared the area before hand, and having a walkie takie or cell phone conversation isn't a bad idea if the rock is bigger than a fist and you think it's going to be headstrong and go it's own way. Someone needs to pry the microwave sized sucer off the 5.7 in the center of Ozone sooner or later, might as well be you, and sooner, not later, and planned. Have a warm jacket and water in your pack too, as soon as the sun goes down it's cold. If you want some early season warm up bouldering, you might drive to the top of the butte and jump on some of the short man-made stuff up there. It's pretty good. Have fun, be safe. PS, 2-4 is a great number of folks, I usually bag off if I see lots of cars and it's a big group, please don't be offended if that occurs. It's me, not you, sometimes for no apparent reason I will just walk past you to be solo just because I want to get my freak on alone. It's me, not you.

Working on my thread revival skillz. Someone noted that "spring forward shit and fall back in it" AKA gobment savings time AKA F*cking with the clocks happens this Sunday. So, darkness will be 7:30 pm starting next week. Gobment time 2008 Starts- March 9 Ends - November 2 How about a show of hands: anyone interested in reviving the after work laps Tue and Thus this year? Seems like the annual tradition is that last years generation burns out and a new crop of losers gapers posers ...errr, I mean real climbers , show up yearly. For myself, I'm thinking 1/2 a day Wednesdays may be a possible thing as well in addition to the tue-thurs sufferfest. After burning off work early and hanging out alone the other day, in response to the usual after work question the other day of "Hi honey, you're late today, where were you", I looked at my wife and said: "Took off work early, climbing......its my year ya know...". Going on 28 years together, she warmed my heart as she looked back and said "yes, it is...." At that very moment my 17 year old, the youngest, was on an airplane, in the air, heading to Japan for an extended trip. Just sayin...it's my year. Show of hands....who wants to do what and when? Pat McCarthy doesn't post online, but he had said he had mon-tues off. Maybe a Tuesday off day?...

Nader Oh wait, he's for the republicans. __________________________________________________ added: wrong guess per internet search.

I wouldn't think he'd be half baked:-)

Raindawg can still weigh in soon with a groupie post.... 3.........2...............1.................

I've got that figured out. The flags are a WDOT project where they are spending almost $10 million in 2 phases to widen the road through there to straighten it out a bit, make it safer, wider and handle the load better. They are starting the surveying and land acquisition now and the construction will be in 2010. I have not heard or seen of anyone messing with any of the tags.....hopefully no one does.

One more piece of advice, suggest you get a compentant, experienced partner for these mini-expeditions you do. have fun!

Jamin gets out into the far wilderness. He's not talkin about bolting sport routes if previous discussions enter into it. Here's the story jamin. For remote, rarely climbed areas, 1/4" diameter still gets used, but hangers are getting hard to find. So you might as well get a 3/8 x 6" SDS drill bit with a carbide tip. That's what fits that holder. You can get 5" of depth on that bit, although they say 4" in the literature, it is exactly a Red C$#@ hair over 5". I would think that a hammer like Forrest use to make would be the shizzel for you. It's lighter than a wall hammer, but will serve you well, buy one off ebay and make sure you get the picks you want. They have like 4 or so, including a round Lowe style water ice one. Forrest Moljinar top, Forrest wall hammer, Kong Eagle bottom. The top one is the Forrest you want, see the screws? You can change picks for what you want to do. Thats the rock pick on that one, for scraping crap out of cracks and knocking out hexes:-) It won't work as well for you as a stand alone ice hammer on ice, or as good a standard wall hammer on a wall, but you don't want to be carrying that weight anyway for the stuff you do, and you can change picks and use it as a 3rd tool for steep snow or ice as they are light. For hangers, if you are doing the remote climbs, Stainless Mad rocks will work and are lighter, I have some and think they suck next to the Fixe (which I like the best), but the Fixe are heavy. Use a stainless steel wedge anchor. If you are on Granite, you can get by with @ 2" length, for basalt go longer. You might carry a couple of sizes as you may be in a hurry and have to stuff a short bolt in in an emergency just to get down something: late in the day, bad weather or totally wasted kind of thing. Don't buy a Fixe 10mm bolt and think that a 3/8" drill bit will do the job. Both must be 3/8" or both must be 10mm. I'd recommend going out with some one and watching them do a bolt, but basically you tap (hit but not hit hard) then turn the holder 1/8-1/4 or so of a turn, tap turn tap turn, till you get a hole. Clean the hole by blowing the hole out with a straw and or a brush. ( you can skip this, but you might get an occasional spinner) Put the hanger washer and nut on, tap it in, tighten it down to spec. Spec on a 3/8" is 25-30 foot lbs per most Mfgs, but check the Mfg specs. I still use a torque wrench if it's gonna be a popular route and it's easy to transport there. A 6 in Cresent wrench real snug is right in there. Don't over tighten as it will weaken it. Check out this ASCA web site for more info. Where are you located? the web is a good place to buy this crap, but maybe you have someone local? PDX had Climbmax, if they don't have it they'll order it for you. Check out this site for more info: ASPCA site Lastly, be VERY judicious where you put one in, as people get yanked if you are on an existing route and put one in.

I thought you hated that place Joseph! About noon I'd heard that the weather was going to be wet for this weekend and with some office encouragement got the hell out for the afternoon. It worked out OK as I just wanted to be getting my freak on alone anyway. Man, it would have been a great day at Beacon.

Well, thats unexpected, this being spray and all. Welcome back to humanity:-) I'll give you a solid belay anytime you show up in these parts for a first date. My last regular partner was 2 steps this side of an environmental freak (read that ELF member) but we got along great even in the darkest of times. It made for some spirited discourse (like 12 hour argument on government policies concerning water resources and allocation in the western US on a trip to Yos once), but it was all good.

Me too. BTW, we can tell you're real as you started out dissing on this group of yahoos early:-)

Regardless of if it is classified terrorism or not (I think thats way over the top), the main point Robert, is this: You are walking away from the rule of law, and saying that this is OK for an individual to make a choice to arbritarily decide, because they are offended, to torch and destroy another's property because of any perceived real or imagined offense. By accepting that this is OK, you are saying it is fine for any other another with some perceived real or imagined offense to arbitrarily torch your car. If it happens to spread to your home, well, thats probably offensive as well to that person for some similar reason so thats fine with you. You understand, of course, that only rich folks like those in this country drive cars, and you are offending some random dickhead by owning a car, so if it's OK for the rule of any random dickhead to prevail over there and burn those homes down, then YOU are OK having a guy burn your car and house up some night. Your insurance will cover it. All you homeowners car owners are rich. That is the difference between us, you somehow think its OK to ruin a mans life who's been struggling to be a builder and build nice homes that are needed and wanted. Well, it also means that it's OK for that same dickhead to target you and yours next. I find that abhorrent to me Rob, and it makes me sick, angry and against everything I know about truth and justice. Just so you know - I hate urban sprawl, hate it. By way of backing up my words and thoughts, I have personally put more time and money into increasing density - in my backyard, not in another mans, than you could imagine. BTW, in case anyone gives a rats ass what I drive, last car, Civic, got traded in on a CR-V as I needed the extra room to make deliveries for my company. It's been getting 23-28 MPG, less than the civic, which had 180,000 miles on it....and I still miss it. My point is, lets see if you can cheer so lustily and so loudly when they come some night and burn up all your shit.

not really. we sell more aliens than tcu's at the shop i work at by a significant amount. i have used the new metolius cams and i agree they're good, i just don't think they're a finished product that should be on the market yet. IMHO, metolius has been going down hill at a rapid pace since they discontinued their original tcu and put out the ultralights. Mark, thank you for the heads up. I spent some time climbing with one of the folks who helped design the thing in the valley last year, and that person has huge cred. in my eyes. I trust your thoughts on this more than most of the folks on this site, so I'll do a wait and see on the new Master Cams, that and I already need to sell some Aliens cause I have too many. I wonder how much of your shops Alien sales would have formerly been REI and MGEAR purchases, 2 large company's of many who no longer sell the CCH Alien product. I've raged on the failures of the post-recall "tested" Aliens before so I'll spare everyone that rant, but it still pisses me off.

The people who will be feeling this particular pain is the poor, who will be forced to move to transportaionly (made that up) undesirable areas ...shacks in the hinterlands so to speak. Someone paying 2 mill for a home will be driving past the shacks in the Hummer and still paying $5 a gallon for gas. You dumb mf prick assholes who support this thing: I find your attitude: that the rule of law is not good enough for you, and that it's fine with you that any angry asswipe with a bic lighter gets to make the rules and risk life and property, abhorrent of the first order. Had the fire spread to the nearby woods then houses with low income families and burned some poor child or killed some of the firefighters who responded.....Jesus H Christ you dudes are fucked in the head. So when some other disagreeable shithead comes to burn your house down for some other imagined "offense" in his head, I hope you remember these words. If you really think increasing inner city density is a good thing, as I do, then put your money where you mouth is. Build inner city yourselves, and get involved to increase density and exclude growth on farmland.