catbirdseat

We have a winner! Best run on sentence of the day.

VOC = Volatile Organic Compounds

Trip: Vantage, Frenchman Coulee - Various at Sunshine Far End Date: 8/26/2007 Trip Report: Neverenough (John), OkeyPlus (Vladimir) and I drove out to Vantage in my trusty rusty to escape a bleak and rainy Seattle. It drizzled as we passed North Bend. We considered diverting to Leavenworth when it started looking sunny in Cle Elum, but decided to stick to our plan and get some guaranteed sun. We passed a potato truck wreck on the way. It had gone off the road into a field and caught fire. Most of the left wall of the trailer was burnt away. I wanted to stop because I thought some of those potatoes were likely baked just right, but we kept on going at the insistence of my partners. At Vantage it was sunny and warm with a wind blowing from the west. The parking lot had perhaps ten cars in it. All the trash had been picked up from the porta potty area, a great improvement from last time. We took the trail to Gully #3 and headed for Riverview Columns which my buddies had not visited before. We did the four leftmost sport routes (5.8-5.10b. all by Leland) and enjoyed them. With the SE exposure it was pretty warm, but still pleasant. In the afternoon we moved down to Tomato Wall and did some trad climbing. John led Whale of the Wanapum, 5.9. I led Burning Spears, 5.10c, Vladimir lead Tomato Paste, 5.10a and he and I collaborated on Go Cat Go, 5.10b. I started the pitch and ran out of gas above the roof and lowered off, Vladimir finished it off. So the redpoint continues to elude me on Go Cat Go. So we each got in 8 pitches and at least 4 leads a piece. That's a pretty good day for a party of three. It was enough to tire me out, so I was happy. On the way out we saw a large group of rescue and fire trucks at the edge of the big dropoff to Frenchman Coulee. They had rescue pulleys, etc set up. We were pretty sure it was a practice because the folks looked pretty light hearted and casual. A stop at the El Caporal in Cle Elum finished off a very nice day of climbing. Gear Notes: Draw and Rack to 4". Lots of small nuts for Burning Spears. Approach Notes: From the bottom of Gully #3 (marked on mesa top with sign), go right to reach Riverview Columns or left to reach Tomato Wall.

Right on! Good work!

I'll answer your question assuming it's not a troll. Sport climbing is leading on usually steep rock where permanent bolts have been placed to protect the pitch. The climbing is almost always face climbing. The bolts are placed in such a way that the climb is quite safe, assuming all proper precautions are taken. In contrast, trad climbing is done with mostly removeable anchors such as chocks and camming devices placed in cracks and crevices. There can be bolts, but only located distantly from protectable cracks. Sport climbing places all the emphasis on the climbing skills and little on the protection, since it takes little thought to clip a bolt. Trad climbing in contrast takes a great deal more expertise and experience to do safely. The fact that more time and thought is required to protect a pitch means that usually trad climbs of the same grade are harder than sport climbs. Personally, I enjoy doing both. I like the mindless athleticism of clipping bolts, but I also like the mental challenge of protecting a scary, hard pitch while hanging on with one hand. If you like climbing in the mountains then you need to learn trad climbing because bolts are few and far between in alpine situation, for the most part. There are a few exceptions.

We might have a cockatiel we can give you, if you like. We have many, but they are not tame. If you want a finger trained one, you'll have to buy a baby.

How did it get in? Did it chew through the plastic base? That sucks. We have birds but we also have cats. They tend to keep the rats away.

I don't know where you got your information on sugars, but it is news to me. I do know that sugar tends to bring on adult onset diabetes.

When two axes are needed, as on steep ice, specialized axes are used. These are referred to as ice tools. They are shorter than the standard ice axe and are different in other ways. The ice axe is used for glacier and snow travel. One can self-arrest using an ice axe, but it would be difficult with an ice tool.

Johanesburg, for a wild guess.

I wish I'd thought of that one

I think so. It's going to rain in Darrington. 50% chance of rain all weekend. I like camping, but not in the rain. Been there, done that.

I'd be up for Vantage on Sunday. It should be dry and reasonably cool.

Pictures from a wet day on Dreamer

I'm going to get me some of those "mirco" cams.

One way trans fat may mess us up is through its affect on prostaglandin synthesis. The essential fatty acids when isomerized to the trans configuration no longer act in that capacity.

There's always booze and cigars.

For one thing it involves deliberately raising dogs to be viscious. A woman was just attacked in her own home by two pitbulls. It has a risk for people not involved in the animal fights.

It wasn't I who gave him the nickname. It was his partner Brian. It became necessary to avoid confusion when calling "off belay".

I don't think it's a funny joke and I don't think the good folks are Arcteryx think it's funny to besmirch their reputation for no reason.

It's a good idea. There are some moderates at Three O'Clock rock, but you can't ask someone who's never been there to just head up there on their own. Anyone interested, just PM any of the people on the Darrington Thread. They could arrange to have you follow them up there or some other arrangment.

They are usually on Tuesday nights and usually in Ballard or Freemont. They are called Pub Clubs and they aren't held every week. Someone will start a thread and people will (hopefully) all agree on a place.

I used #3.5 and #4 Friends. They fit perfectly. The reason the #4 Camalot is fixed is because it is too big for the crack. The #4 Friend is smaller- just right.

There is another approach via Seventy-six Gulch, but I haven't tried that one. It is said there is a trail to a cabin up there now.

We had a 60 meter rope and were glad of it on the second rappel. We skipped the fifth and last rappel and downclimbed instead. I agree that the fourth pitch seemed hard for 5.9. I guess I need to put in more time on offwidths. I'd like to do the S. Face of Prussik and then Backbone Ridge.