catbirdseat

I suppose what would make a more interesting discussion would be the degree to which one should clean a route of possible loose rock. Lots of places this isn't really an issue, but some places it is, for example North Bend and Vantage. When is one going too far? There are routes in Vantage where you'd never see the end of it when cleaning and just have to quit and say "good enough".

The forecast has it raining in Seattle, but dry in Squamish. Is this too good to believe?

Please elaborate.

I've seen discussions about holds that have been chipped to make a climb easier. Has anyone ever seen a route that was deliberately made harder by chipping? If there are holds that are loose and likely to pull out and fall on a belayer, I can see the logic in removing them for safety sake, but otherwise no. And I am sure there are lots of people who would say that if it can't be removed by hand it should be removed. I'm sure that the standard must vary from crag to crag.

or Mounties Yes, or Mounties.

I used the term "always" in a relative sense. If the bolt weren't there, guided groups would probably take that much longer to get past that section and everone else would suffer.

How timely.

The bolt was always there. You just never noticed it. It does seem like a strange place. Maybe whoever placed it wanted it that way.

So where is the trip report all ready?

That photo was from a reunion. They couldn't get the original Ginger to appear, so they had to get a stand-in.

Each hair grows for a certain time and then falls out. Your individual hairs are all in a different part of the cycle at any given time. The length of the cycle puts an upper limit on the length your hair can attain. Bald people have either very short cycles or hair follicles that have shut down completely.

It's easy for you to say no to camping when you live in Ellensburg, but what about those who live three hours away?

Could be a possible troll.

I should add that a hold broke off on the traverse to the project, so it may not be as easy now as it was when you did it.

That seems like throwing out the baby with the bath water. If I didn't like camping there I'd already be using Wanapum State Park. I like the convenience of being able to walk from camp to crag. What we have is a case of the tragedy of the commons. The concert goers don't give a shit about the place even though the climbers do.

I was waiting for RuMR to ask what knot one uses with a Drano-treated rope. I don't know the answer but you might use it to clean your drains.

Don't worry about it. Any alkali that may have been present in the ashes of the fire have long since dissolved and washed away by rains. Charcoal, on the other hand, is not soluble and persists in the soil. It is unsightly on your rope, but will not harm it. I suggest washing your rope in ordinary detergent and rinsing thoroughly with water. If black marks remain, don't worry about them.

Okay, we know what you were doing.

Climbed Sunday and Monday at Vantage. Saturday climbed at Middle East Wall and saw no others all day. Nice and shady with perfect climbing temperatures. Did 272, Theresea's Lingerie, Sex Party, The Elders, a 5.10b sport route, and Crazy Fingers. The last looks like it doesn't get done often, which is surprising because it is a fine route on solid rock. Sunday went to Sunshine wall and warmed up on some old favorites before attempting to lead George and Martha for the first time. Yikes! It was harder than I expected. It's way harder than either Air Guitar, Sex Party, or Crazy Fingers. I got to the top but only by virtue of an "active belay". Met some very friendly Canadians from Vancouver, one of which I belayed on top rope up Geo. and Martha. We were invited to come up and climb with them at Squamish.

This route at the center section of Middle East Wall is so popular that bushes are growing out the base and cobwebs adorn the face. It's a nice route, but it is shunned because it lacks a permanent anchor. The "anchor" on the adjacent project is not really an anchor but two bolts vertically separated by about five feet with a ribbon of tat connecting them. They also are not very easy to get to from Crazy Fingers. We ended up pulling the roof and finishing on top and walking off. It's not that bad, but it apparently turns off a lot of people. Sex party gets all the traffic and I think it is just a face climb with a crack to the right of it for protection. Crazy fingers actually has better jams. If you are over that way, I suggest giving Crazy Fingers a go.

It's concert season again at Frenchman's Coulee and the toilets are overflowing. A huge pile of garbage is stacked next to them. I get so tired of it. I wish there was some way deal with it. What if it were made a State Park? I'd gladly pay a few dollars to be able to camp and climb in a clean and sanitary place. I'm sure the idea would go over like a lead balloon. For my part, I cleaned up the camp site I used and the two or three nearby, filling a garbage sack, which I brought home with me.

The poor are the people who are used to taking orders, not giving them. All the people who ran New Orleans, who made the everyday decisions, were able to evacuate by car. The ones left were the ones lacking initiative. I don't think anyone should be surprised.

So you think sodium nitrite has a bad rap? It keeps hot dogs nice and red and delicious looking (horsecock connection, hence cc.com relevance). Then it was discovered that it reacts with amino acids to form highly carcinogenic nitrosamines. Now it's medicine. I thought this was pretty interesting, but then I'm a chemist. Sodium Nitrite

If we'd just have major disasters more often we'd be so much better at responding to them.

When you are sure you have the ropes cleaned up, go over them inch by inch and with a magnifying glass if you have to, to make sure not a single shard of glass is embedded in the sheath. Then I'd recommend wearing gloves for the first few times you use them to belay, just to be sure.