catbirdseat

In other words, don't climb anything you can't free solo? There is a difference between runout and unprotected. A route can be run out and still protect you from ground fall.

I'm not saying I WOULD use a pad. There are some routes where you aren't quite sure what you are in for until you head up the thing. At vantage, I started up a route that was very thin at the bottom. It was supposed to have three fixed pins. It was only when I got on it that I discovered that the two lowest ones had been removed. I did, in fact, get in some small wired stoppers and finished climbing the route, but the start was a bit intimidating. Binoculars would have been nice, I suppose.

You have to consider the time you might save also. But, I agree with you though, it's probably more of an expedition tool.

You've seen them with sport climbers? A stick clip is a lot easier to carry than a pad.

Perhaps I should have posted this in Newbies, but here goes. On some harder single pitch trad routes, it is sometimes difficult to get pro in to protect the first moves of a climb, or the pro you do get in might be unreliable. Do climbers ever bring along pads to protect against ground fall on roped lead climbs at cragging areas? It seems like it might be cheap insurance.

Scary eh? Yeah it is That's the biggest crock of shit you've foisted on us yet, Martlet.

Yes they will. Of course they will. Can there be any doubt?

This one paragraph from the Slate article stands out for me as the single most important reason why Shrub is such a poor president. He doesn't carefully consider his decisions before he makes them. He'd serve the public just as well by rolling a pair of dice. "A fourth and final quality of Bush's mind is that it does not think. The president can't tolerate debate about issues. Offered an option, he makes up his mind quickly and never reconsiders. At an elementary school, a child once asked him whether it was hard to make decisions as president. "Most of the decisions come pretty easily for me, to be frank with you." By leaping to conclusions based on what he "believes," Bush avoids contemplating even the most obvious basic contradictions: between his policy of tax cuts and reducing the deficit; between his call for a humble foreign policy based on alliances and his unilateral assertion of American power; between his support for in-vitro fertilization (which destroys embryos) and his opposition to fetal stem-cell research (because it destroys embryos). "

Olyclimber, are you a Scientologist? You must have somehow reached level OT III. http://www.xenu.net/archive/leaflet/xenuleaf.htm

Mmmmm... waffles. Yep, that's what I had for breakfast this morning with home made quince syrup. Yummy!

Interesting article on Lewis and Clark in last Sunday's PI

Images are getting swapped, for one thing.

I have the MSR heat exchanger and yes, it is bulky. I'll bring it when I have to melt a lot of snow for water, usually only if I'm spending more than one night out. You need to save more weight in fuel to justify the weight of the exchanger. If it saves a second fuel bottle, then it is worth it.

The rack I carry varies depending on what I am climbing and where. My single favorite piece is my yellow Alien. It is always there every time. I almost always have a single set of Smileys wired stoppers too, since they are so light.

I've scrambled the north face an it is steep. The south face is even steeper. Bring a rope.

I think you are referring to Vikings Horns on Long Mountain. I think that it is choss. Bring pitons.

I had heard that the spring can actually be too hot to stand and must be diluted with steam water. The enclosures are made of piled up rocks and get destroyed each year by avalanches. They have to be rebuilt each year and engineered to mix the right proportions of spring water and stream water.

Martlet: DustinB's alter ego.

I just led Steel Grille, 5.9 at King Pins. I had top roped it a couple months before and knew I'd have a hard time with it, and I did. I had to aid a move I had had no trouble with on top rope. Conversely, I had no trouble with the move that had been toughest previously. Oh well, no redpoint this time, but it was a worthwhile experience anyway. I'd say this is a quality route because it feels like it has 8 cruxes on it. There isn't just one hard spot. It's very sustained. It's a climb that is hard to forget. If you go, take along some medium to large hexes in addition to a bunch of 2-4" cams. Placed endwise, the hexes work great where the crack flares inward and cams wouldn't do as well.

I'll put in a plug for Erden's slide presentations. They are very interesting and entertaining. Lots of really nice photographs. I heard lots of great comments from other people too.

All they have to do is put a miniature video camera up in a tree at Exit 38 and they will have all the information they would need to make an arrest. Sounds simple enough to me.

A whole week without a post. I'd rather cut off my right arm.

I tried Superfeet after I developed plantar fasciitis in my right foot. They helped a little, but the inflammation didn't go away until I had custom orthotic insoles built. The orthotics are made from a plaster cast of the foot and are constructed using carbon fiber and epoxy.

Apparently, nails don't do nearly as much damage as bullets do.

You need to find a girlfriend.