catbirdseat

Trip: Washington Pass, North Early Winters Spire - Northwest Corner Date: 8/22/2007 Trip Report: MarkMcKillop and I arrived at the Blue Lake Parking Lot at 8 am in company with another pair of climbers intent on the same route. They got onto the trail before we did. The weather was cool and there was no dust on the trail, as it had rained hard the previous day. We made good time to the base of the route where Brian and Motown were racking up. One was from Seattle and the other had recently moved from Bellingham to Detroit, hence the nickname. Mark led up close behind on the somewhat manky first pitch. When I arrived he whispered to me that the other two climbers were off route and appeared to be headed up the West Face route. By the time I have finished leading the second pitch, the others were back on route below us. I opted to also lead the third, since I didn't feel up to the crux fourth pitch. Rather than reflaking the rope we decided to exchange rope ends. I was starting the third pitch when I noticed I was only tied through the leg loops. Doh! I solved the problem temporarily by clipping a locking carabiner through the loop in the rope and the top tie-in. Mark did a fine job of the crux pitch which was wet in a few places. We actually had more big cams than we needed. I took the fifth pitch, the start of which was pretty wet, but it went okay anyway. I thought it was a really fun pitch. We topped out at 2 pm and rummaged through the ammo box that was the summit register as we ate lunch. Some exhibitionist had crowed about doing the West Face in three pitches and how he was off to the Karakorum. He had taped his card to the inside of the lid to make sure all would see it. Also in the box was what looked like a tiny photo of Mike Layton with another fellow we couldn't identify. WTF? The descent started with three single rope raps. The second one seemed to require a 60 m rope, unless we missed something. None of the slings appeared to have been swapped out this year. If you go you might like to bring some new webbing. I thought this was a really fine route and we both enjoyed it a lot. Gear Notes: Single 60 m rope. Doubles from #0.5 to #4 Camalot plus #5. We had a #6, but it wasn't really needed. Approach Notes: Trail is quite easy to follow. No water in stream where climber's trail leaves main trail.

What a prick! Bicycles are a great idea! We should invest more in bike trails. It saves oil, decreases greenhouse gasses, and improves fitness. What's not there to like?

Nice job. I've done the route three times and 12 hours car to car is close to the fastest I've done it. As you say, this route really does test your alpine skills. It throws different conditions at you each time you climb it.

Natural unsaturated fatty acids have their double bonds in the cis configuration. The metal catalysts used in the hydrogenation process convert some of the double bonds from cis to trans. The purpose of hydrogenation is to make the fats more solid. Increasing the percentage of saturated fats is one way of doing this. The other way is converting cis double bonds to trans double bonds. On strategy is to mix fully hydrogenated oils with unsaturated oils. There are no trans fats in such a mixture.

9 out of 10. Identified one legitimate email as phishing. Better that than the other way around.

I think the Leepers were on Offline and only a few of them. The hangers on Online are SMC. I also saw some on the third(?) pitch of Granite Jihad.

I'm there, providing the weather forecast improves. I expect it will.

Lightweight and tough are often opposing requirements. I have a down jacket that I got at a thrift store for $5. It has a canvas shell, so it can take a lot of abuse. It's not the lightest jacket around, but it's great for the desert.

Start reading. Then if you haven't found the answer in those 53 pages, there are twenty more pages to look at.

There are stock titles that are assigned based on post count. Then there are those that are manually set by the moderators.

It has all the makings of a good hoax, the most important of which is believability.

Consider it a special honor.

PS: Don't be a jerk. We didn't give them anything, they stole it. I know you probably think you're too smart to make any of these mistakes but you're probably not. Don't mistake statistics for your own invulnerability. I am sorry. I felt like a jerk by phrasing the way I did. When one gets the pin number from the bank, one should memorize the number and then burn the paper. Do not write or record the number anywhere for any reason. If you forget the number, you just get a new one. Your girlfriend obviously left a record somewhere.

How did they get at the money without the PIN? Or did you give them that too?

Thanks for your input.

What is the latest this route can be done? I've seen TRs into early August. I've done this route in late July. The snow on the traverse helped a bit, though I'm sure it could be done without. I suppose the limiting factor would be the snow melting out of the bottom of the couloir presenting one with wet rock to get on the ice.

Lowering Children? Just cut 'em off at the knees! Sorry, I couldn't help myself. Seriously, the trick is to practice lowering while they are only a short distance off the ground, say ten feet. If that works, try 20 feet. If they can do that they can lower from the top. They have to get the mechanics of it while they are still free from fear.

Well Ketch, a two man team on the DC has lots of potential assistance from other rope teams, depending on day of week and time of ascent.

Very interesting. Is this surprising at all? If you are at one extreme, there is only one way you can move and that is away from the extreme and towards your opponent's viewpoint. If you are in the middle, you can go in either direction. You have more degrees of freedom and hence there is not the same need for defensiveness.

Tvash isn't exaggerating. The Pasayten Wilderness can afford you some great wilderness experiences.

The thing I remember about Mush Maker is that there are certain places where pro just drops in like a dream and others where it's fussy. When you get a good placement you can rely on it and focus just on the climbing. About 10 feet above the top I remember starting to fuss with a placement and then thinking, "these jams are bomber, why are you wasting your energy. Just go for it!" So I did, and it was fine. So what if I fell? It would have been a big one, but I was way off the ground, with many pieces below me.

Are those $300 Makita 18V Lithium Ion drills sold at Home Depot able to drill holes in rock? Or do you have to pay $600 to get a serviceable unit from Hilti?

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How about Chumstick Snag or Trigger Finger?