catbirdseat

I top roped Steel Grille and agree that it is a quality route. It's definitely 5.9, but with all the rests it has, it probably is something I can do on lead.

Thanks, guys for the tips. Lummox, I'd hazard to say that the 5.8's at Vantage are steep enough in most cases that you don't worry about hitting stuff when you fall. The bigger worry is getting good pro in that won't pull out.

We've had this discussion before. Yes, I can't wait to get to Squamish this summer. Tell me about 5.8's at Vantage.

I am aware of those Index and Leavenworth climbs, but I was referring to Vantage. There was a thread in the Rock Climbing Forum asking about crack climbs at Vantage in the 5.6 to 5.8 range. Why 5.8? That's where I'm comfortable leading trad at the moment.

There just aren't a lot of them at Vantage. Can anyone give me the names of some crack climbs at 5.8 that you have done that you thought were good enough you'd be willing to do them again, besides Crossing the Threshold and Party In Your Pants? In particular, I'm looking for single cracks, as opposed to double cracks such as the two mentioned.

Chapstick at Tilted Pillars is 5.6 easy. Stroken the Chicken, 5.6, is a chimney, but you can do parts of it like a crack climb instead. Seven Virgins and A Mule, and Shady Chimney are both 5.7 Chimneys with cracks in the back that you can climb instead of making the stemming moves. If you did just the cracks, it would feel 5.8-5.9 ish. There really aren't many good 5.8's at Vantage and it is a shame, really. There are lots of 5.8 climbs with no stars, mainly because the cracks are rotten, that is they flare or are full of rubble. Parts of Old Friends is quality, but the upper part is so nasty, I wouldn't recommend it. There are lots of good 5.9's, some of which are much harder than others. For example Pony Keg has easy moves, but is pumpy to lead. Tangled up in Blue has harder moves but more rests. There was a 5.9 at Tomato Wall that I just top roped, called Whale of the Wanapum which seemed pretty easy for a 5.9. It might be a good one for those just breaking into 5.9's, like me.

I think they ought to hire a witch doctor to lift the curse. There's got to be a bunch of them that want out of Haiti right now.

I sure hope so. Pretty sad they are trying to add this to a document that is supossed to protect rights not deny them. This has gotta be troll of the year. Bush knows it would never pass. Do you think he is some idiot? It has a purpose for the here and now. It's really brilliant, a wedge to drive into the heart of the democratic party. Every pol is going to have to take a stand on this one.

Dru, you've been so mean the "little" guy lately.

Of all the devices I've seen in this thread, this is the one I'd most like to give a try, other than the Reverso. It seems the most versatile, allowing you to vary the friction to account for diameter, weight of climbers etc.

They want to share the moment with you.

The old, "divide and conquer", eh?

It came from the poop deck of ships. The officers would "take their ease" from a platform that extended over the transom from the poop deck. To take a wave over the stern is to be "pooped". Common sailors took their ease at the "heads", that is, seats located on either side of the bows.

"How can you tell?" Answer, "See how he's pulling on gear?"

That would be the B-29 and the B-17, respectively. Those devices are both obsolete.

"There's no chalk marks. How does he know where to put his hands?"

"Hideeho, neighbor! "

How about, "If that idiot would just move THREE FEET to the right or the left to a bolt line, he wouldn't need all those heavy cams!"

Schoeller is not very wind proof. I don't think it would be a wise choice.

Eeewwwwhh!

You have to allow for the person making the statement. From ChucK it's sarcasm. From GregW it's a statement of fact.

That's pretty idealistic. There are only so many positions that can be filled with trained professionals. Don't we need ditch diggers too? If a ditch digger wants to become a programmer would you feel good about your taxes being used to send them to school while you get buried beneath student loans or your family depletes their personal riches to support you? Personally I would rather pay for my own way and have my parents sitting on a beach somewhere than letting Uncle Sam carve another 2% of my paycheck to pay for someone else's tuition. There are all sorts of jobs going unfilled because there aren't enough trained people. And you'll pay for poverty one way of the other in the form of illness, crime and the salaries of police officers.

Right, whatever floats your boat. I still think its funny when the sportos give you such funny looks when you rack up to do a crack. Like, "why in hell would you want to do THAT, when you could just clip a bolt?"

bcollins were talking about this the other day. The bolted arete routes are all pretty much alike when you get down to it, but the cracks routes have an incredible amount of variety. They widen from the bottom up. Some require technical stemming. Some have odd combinations of edging and stemming. Cracks are where its at at Vantage, and yet the vast majority of people who go there are on the clip ups.