billcoe

Denny's right - in fact both West Face of Monkey climbs are good cause you can usually see the rain coming. The bad is that they're a little far up and off the beaten track if it really unleashes and you're not in one of the caves. Both routes have great dry caves that would be fantastic to kick back and weather the weather. Justin. Speaking of dry routes. If you haven't tried the Great Roof, it's an awesome aid line and mostly dry. Dryer than about anything else anyway. Use to be awesome. Beth Rodden finally freed it, and I think it got some new bolts if the shiny ones in the magazine pics were any indication, so I can't say if it's still so good. We never had offset nuts, cam hooks or common sense back then, but bet they'd make it much easier as well.

LOL, is this one of those government polls? I would have gone for no.

It's not about cool, it's often what is inside of the skull that will keep you safe. In fact on hot days, having a helmet on a long route might help cause heatstroke and be totally counterproductive.

SHHHH: Atredies, you're upping the jackass percentage....LOL! I'm with Mark. It surprises me to walk over there to the busiest part of the park, and right in the middle of bunches of folks running around with draws and falling off absurdly hard, steep and interesting bolted lines: see no one on the uber classic crack Moonshine Dihedral. To add to the list, it's the same with Trezlar and the wonderful 10c crack down on the point of the istmus....? whatever it's called. These are wonderful, enjoyable and well protected cracks in the range you're looking at. have fun!

Broken record - I'd like to help you climb out of that hole you've allowed yourself to fall into Don....sigh....

..all that anger and passion...did nothing change except perhaps our perceptions?

This is a common journey as people learn and grow in wisdom. We often don't understand the passion either before or after, but can still respect it. When Jerry Rubin literally started working on wall street and spraying "wealth creation is the real American revolution" some of his old buddies didn't understand it, yet most of them still respected the man. And vice versa. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Rubin ps, the Song "Sweet Jane", done by the Underground and later Lou Reed solo, was later covered by Margo Timon's in the group "Cowboy Junkies"....sultry country Canadian voice....Wow! I was 3/4 of the way through listening to it before I'd recognized it as Lou Reed's tune. Wot! Good stuff. [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8W7VSS2ChY&feature=related The Ohhhh rigonal: God I still love that sound.... [video:youtube] Live with a Streisand rant... [video:youtube]

Froodish: use of an ice axe is great for gardening. The pick gets deep in the cracks, the adze can scrape out dirt pretty good or chop roots, while the length of the shaft helps both the wear on your hands and keeps your arms out of the poison oak or from getting scratched by blackberry bushes. Good on you for cleaning it off. The Poison Oak leaves are dropping off now, and although the potency of the bush diminishes with winter, I've learned that the roots are still remarkably potent all through the winter, so take care if you're not using gloves if you decide to start yanking on roots:-)

Yes, it's much better that we go with your ideology of big government no freedom wherein the government removes the right to choose if you want or need fire protection and makes it mandatory for everyone, NO EXCEPTIONS. Anyone who doesn't get it will go to jail. That will help this gentleman next time, as you seem so unprepared and reluctant to help him yourself this time. Pfft, lame is right.

LOL Bone! Clever.

Maybe his welfare check couldn't cover the $75 cause he wanted to spend it on beer huh? How come jb couldn't pony up the money for the poor soul from his big government paycheck? NOW who's the victim? THE RICH BEER SWILLERS, WHO'VE BEEN SCRIMPING AND SAVING TO BUY IMPORT BEER I THINK NOT!

JB obviously wants the federal government to pass a national law making fire insurance 100 percent mandatory 100 percent of the time. His wet dream.

Talking crags, not mountains here. Closely bolted safe leads can be had inside of any climbing gym inside of or near cities. A crag where a rescue would be protracted, lengthy, (no cell service, long hike) and dangerous (steep rocky ground in a treed setting where no heli's can land) for the rescue crew is something worth considering. If someone spends half a day rapping down to top rope some line, after 4 laps in 3 days then does the "bold" lead, and expects that everyone else will celebrate this "boldness", does a disservice to the rest of us. Close to town, someone boffs a runout route and eats dirt, a quick ambulance ride will fix them up. A different proposition than the remote one with the corresponding logistical nightmare for volunteers.

There are many ethical and stylistic considerations which each individual takes into account. Certainly these can be read up on via an internet search as they've been heatedly debated for will over 40 years. They can and do change even for each individual based on each cliffs history and prevailing ethics. For me, a factor worth considering is how distant and remote it is. An area up in the mountains that you have to Hump into would be different than a place inside of town. Those remote areas should be better equipped and safer IMO. Certainly there should be a thought given to all those who will follow, and sometimes it's nice to have a mix of it. Furthermore, if you are doing a big mountain it's a radically different thing than doing a 60' high cliff next to town.

Posting it here to start an argument is your wet dream.

She's not in Kansas anymore. Todd McFarlands updated Oz. Dorothy looks awesome, the Lions amazing, don't know about the scarecrow, but the Tin man really needs the funnel cap. I'd pay good money to see a McFarlane remake of this classic.

Columns? 2 hours from PDX? If these are those columns in Skinners Butte in Eugene, most of those have seen ascents. I have a hard time believing that there is a totally unknown crag of splitter columns. If it's visible eastern Or rimrock, a lot of that has been climbed. I would think that it depends on your attitude and the situation what you want to do. If you have to walk up a rattlesnake infested slope, you have to ask what would happen if you took a hit at the furthermost point from the car. Is it an easy short trail or are you on a long circuitous trail hopping over boulders.

LOL! So true:-)

Catbus ?

Double Dohhh! I went out to Coethedral yesterday (didn't climb anything though) and as I was grabbing my softshell coat for the hike in: the one that has been living under my car seat (probably since I was out at Beacon Thursday), I heard the telltale rattle that indicated my stupidity. FOUND THEM IN MY COAT POCKET. I could have sworn they were in my pants pocket as we left the car to go climbing. Nevermind

I see the Misty Mountain big wall gear slings for sale cheap on occasion. If you see one for sale, don't let your eye just pass over it thinking you don't want a wall harness as they work as a chest harness. Given that they adjust both ways (both rise and around), you can fit anyone you see used, even if the Jolly Green Giant was selling it, to you and your frame. http://www.mistymountain.com/bigwallsling.htm If you want one for use with a Soloist, a crossed full length sling will do the trick till you find a regular one. Good luck

LOL On Oct. 1, 1958 — 52 years ago Friday — self-professed to be in a "frenzy of drink," Thompson penned a letter of application to the Vancouver Sun. He had heard about the paper through an article in Time magazine — where he worked briefly as a copy boy for $50 U.S. a week — that praised the paper's new editorial direction under Jack Scott. Scott, whom Thompson had addressed his letter to, was a Sun columnist who was appointed editorial director in September 1958. According to Time, the "tart-tongued" Scott "unleashed all of his formidable flair for spectacular stunts" in his new role, which included sending the football editor to Formosa (now Taiwan) to interview Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Republic of China, and the women's page editor to Cuba to cover the aftermath of the revolution. He was promptly demoted in March 1959, summing up his brief stint with, "It was a ball while it lasted," according to Time. Thompson's letter is among hundreds — to friends, family, lovers, editors and debt collectors — published in The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967 (Ballantine, 1997). Vancouver Sun TO JACK SCOTT, VANCOUVER SUN October 1, 1958 57 Perry Street New York City Sir, I got a hell of a kick reading the piece Time magazine did this week on The Sun. In addition to wishing you the best of luck, I'd also like to offer my services. Since I haven't seen a copy of the "new" Sun yet, I'll have to make this a tentative offer. I stepped into a dung-hole the last time I took a job with a paper I didn't know anything about (see enclosed clippings) and I'm not quite ready to go charging up another blind alley. By the time you get this letter, I'll have gotten hold of some of the recent issues of The Sun. Unless it looks totally worthless, I'll let my offer stand. And don't think that my arrogance is unintentional: it's just that I'd rather offend you now than after I started working for you. I didn't make myself clear to the last man I worked for until after I took the job. It was as if the Marquis de Sade had suddenly found himself working for Billy Graham. The man despised me, of course, and I had nothing but contempt for him and everything he stood for. If you asked him, he'd tell you that I'm "not very likable, (that I) hate people, (that I) just want to be left alone, and (that I) feel too superior to mingle with the average person." (That's a direct quote from a memo he sent to the publisher.) Nothing beats having good references. Of course if you asked some of the other people I've worked for, you'd get a different set of answers. If you're interested enough to answer this letter, I'll be glad to furnish you with a list of references — including the lad I work for now. The enclosed clippings should give you a rough idea of who I am. It's a year old, however, and I've changed a bit since it was written. I've taken some writing courses from Columbia in my spare time, learned a hell of a lot about the newspaper business, and developed a healthy contempt for journalism as a profession. As far as I'm concerned, it's a damned shame that a field as potentially dynamic and vital as journalism should be overrun with dullards, bums, and hacks, hag-ridden with myopia, apathy, and complacence, and generally stuck in a bog of stagnant mediocrity. If this is what you're trying to get The Sun away from, then I think I'd like to work for you. Most of my experience has been in sports writing, but I can write everything from warmongering propaganda to learned book reviews. I can work 25 hours a day if necessary, live on any reasonable salary, and don't give a black damn for job security, office politics, or adverse public relations. I would rather be on the dole than work for a paper I was ashamed of. It's a long way from here to British Columbia, but I think I'd enjoy the trip. If you think you can use me, drop me a line. If not, good luck anyway. Sincerely, Hunter S. Thompson © Copyright © The Vancouver Sun Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/Hunter+Thompson+brutally+honest+Canadian+request/3606508/story.html#ixzz11GTzhFwq

Hi Mikel: I appreciate you passion and love for them. I'm sure you have a lot invested in the Totems, time and money. It is a new design. We as climbers all benefit from this. I have good news and bad news. I did give an honest opinion. Furthermore, as you don't have any Alien offsets, I would RUN, do not walk, RUN and go get some. I will send you a loaner if you need. The Silver/Red Alien Offset is the Purple Totem size. Get one and compare and you will be shocked to see this thing sticking where the Totem won't. Not saying that in standard cracks your's doesn't work well, it does. I'm saying in very marginal placements -the ones most people would not stick a cam into if they could avoid it, and when they do place it are almost peeing their pants in fear: Offset Aliens stick better. I only stuck it in basalt. I wish we had some limestone handy, but we don't. I have an extra Silver/Red offset if you can't find any, let me know. I'll send it over and if you don't trash it too bad send it back to me. Last spring they were selling for over $100 on ebay: used. Currently they are unavailable except used, although the price has dropped for now: it should be interesting to see what they sell for next spring when wall season opens. You may in fact be blessed beyond belief. Mostly because you do not have to compete in the marketplace, for now, with Aliens - they are out of business and not producing them any more. Here is the story. See, unlike your cams and everyone else's for that matter, which appear to be of consistent high quality, Aliens, despite being a superior design, were often shoddily and poorly made. If you do a search, you will find evidence of people tearing their hair out and agonizing over this very point. Misdrilled holes, inconsistent cam angles, and worst of all they occasionally would just fail in what appeared to be well below where they should have: just fall apart under little more than body weight. People got hurt. Climbers with Aliens got discouraged and started selling their cams. CCH offered to test anyones cams if they would send them back. I sent mine in and they all came back except for one: the Green one. The Green one they sent me a brand new one -with no explanation. They all came back stamped "tested". I was feeling pretty good about this until one of these "tested" cams fell apart on somebody. Then I was like.....crap. See, they were really the best designed cam in the small size range. Metolius tried to make one, and it's good, but not as good. Now yours come out, and they are good, but not as good. Metolius quality, unlike the Aliens, is superb! They have an awesome reputation of near perfect production. So lots of people had chosen to sell their Aliens and get the Metolius Mastercams. Although they are arguably not quite as good functionally, it's a huge plus that due to the awesome Metolius quality they are not falling apart either. Here's the important part coming up. My preliminary look shows that Alien offsets DO outperform your cam in marginal placements. They DO outperform Mastercams (Which are very good cams)...and everything else too. It's not me or my placement ability. I've climbed for 37 or 38 years, it's just that they are better. In basalt anyway. Hopefully you are still listening cause this is the part you need to read. Dave Waggoner, the former owner of Colorado Custom Hardware, the company who made the Aliens) passed away and the widow is - or was, selling the business. Buy it. Buy the business. Make Aliens of higher production quality than before, of consistent quality, and we will all be thanking you. Here's is the contact information of the widow, who is (or was) looking to sell. Nadia Waggoner production/office manager Colorado Custom Hardware 115 E.Lyon Street Laramie, Wyoming 82072 http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1132391&msg=1137223#msg1137223 I am no relation. I will gain nothing if you buy it. Be apprised that at least Trango and Metolius have been rumored to have chosen to NOT buy the business. Also, with the dollar dropping vs the Euro, it would be cheaper for you to buy it anyway. If she is still selling the shell of the old company, and you eventually take a trip to Wyoming, bring your climbing stuff as Wyoming has some great climbing in the state. Some of the best in the US with the Tetons, Devils Tower, the Wind River area and a bunch more. Good luck! Let us all know if you pick up this quest and need anything which we can help with. Perhaps do an internet search to get you started. LINK TO START YOU ON YOUR MAN OF LAMANCHA QUEST Warm regards Bill

Love the Cinch for belaying. However, like all mechanical things, they wear. My friend Stan Miller, who probably uses his Cinch as much or more than anyone on this board, has shared his method of replacing the Dowel Pin that is the main wear point. Allowing the Dowel pin to get too low will allow faster wear on the body. As Stan is not just a better climber, but much smarter than me, his replacement went much better. So I'll share Stans routine on this. Here's a newer one, this is the way the dowel pin is supposed to look. ie, new. You can see that as the pin wears, the metal off to the left of the pin wears as well. Putting a new dowel pin in there reduces the wear on the surrounding base metal. Stans, with some markings pointing things out. I figured I'd just grab our little press at work and use the new dowel pin to replace the old without doing anything to the existing jig. This is called laziness. My son had jigged up some PDFE for a job, which I took about 3 seconds to blow out. Dohh. Furthermore, as it wasn't straight, I actually blew a few thousands of the edge of the Cinch where the rope will be running away. You can see that error where the metal isn't flush to the pin in the last pic. Stan had said that the pin came out with very little pressure. Tore the jig out and hammered the wood in half with a hammer and a screwdriver, then used the PDFE to support the Cinch. Out with the old and in with the new. Gear notes: Cheapo press. 5/16 x 3/4 Dowel pin Wear reading glasses, not safety glasses so you can see what you are doing. I have extra dowel pins if you want to try this yourself, ask me for one if you see me out and about. You can easily get a 5/16" x 3/4" long dowel pin at any hardware store as well.