catbirdseat

Nice pictures. Next time, eschew the comfortable hotel in Lone Pine and camp in squalor at Whitney Portal. It makes all the difference in the world for acclimation.

As Dwayner would say, "it's all because of the bolts". If you bolt it, they will come.

Hey Muffy, long time. I have found that Omega-3 supplementation helps me a lot with inflammation. The Vitamin D suggestion is a good one. People tend not to get enough sunshine in the PNW. I read the other day that niacin supplements can help Raynaud's Syndrome. Try the inositol hexaniconiate. It doesn't cause flushing like regular niacin. If you can find it you might try a new supplement called nicotinamide riboside.

Has anyone seen the slide on Jumbo Mountain from about ten years ago? It was big and cut the road up Squire Creek. I wonder in what ways this is similar or different to that one.

Still getting into shit after all these years. Same old Ivan.

Killing people from China is a rather bad move. The Pak government is trying to encourage Chinese investment at the moment.

Order from McMaster-Carr a cable cutter, a crimper, a box of copper 3/64" Nicropress fittings and ten feet of 3/64" galvanized 7x7 wire. The galvanized is less brittle than the SS most cams come with and will last longer. You'll be set for years.

People have a very distorted sense of risk. We have much less fear of things we feel we have control over as opposed to things we don't have control over, like terrorists. Many people are killed by their own guns and their own cars, but they don't fear these things. We feel we have "control" over them when the reality is we have control only some of the time.

You mentioned hanging from a bolt. I don't remember any "good" bolts when I last climbed that route. There were several nasty, rusty spinners. Got any additional comments about the walk down to Pearly Gates? Is it brushy?

The video wasn't targeted towards climbers. That's the only reason it seems lame to you, Mike.

I have wondered about the use of knots in the rope to slow the rate of falling. If you have to prussik out, how do you deal with the knots? You'd have to take the prussiks off and retie then around each knot. If hauling with a z-pulley, they would make the job more difficult. In the video in which Barter fell in, he mentions that his buddies pulled him out as he bridged using his feet and axe. On a team of 4, I imagine that one could put one guy to work as a belayer using the hip belay while the other two heaved. The knots would not be a problem with a hip belay.

His posts have been few, but he has probably contributed more useful tips on climbing safety than most members.

Best of luck, Dane and the will to persevere.

We saw numerous bees in places on Sunshine Wall too. Watch out if you are allergic to stings.