catbirdseat

That would solve all my problems. At least once a month, I've been getting stuck in ten foot deep holes. It costs like crazy to have a crane haul my Acura out of the hole.

Hey we talked about bailing to Index, but that "Static Stoke was on". Gotta scratch that itch, baby.

Stupidest route? That's got to be the traverse route in the Cave at Interstate Park at Exit 38.

That is sound advice.

Infinite Bliss is a route, not a climbing area, like all the others. I can think of good routes at all the areas listed as well as bad ones. As you mentioned, there are only stupid TIMES to climb, like Exit 38 when it's raining in Seattle and Vantage or Static Point on a hot day in August. But you know what? We all have to have some stupid in us to even want to be climbers.

You calling us stupid! When we scheduled our climb on Monday the weather forecast had a high of 73 degrees and mostly cloudy. What can you do?

Chuck, if you read carefully, there is no place where I stated that I thought Online was the "best". I said we had a good time, and I was speculating about reasons why it is a popular route. I don't need to be a local expert to recognize shoddy hardware when I see it. Old, obsolete hardware is, old obsolete hardware, whereever it is found.

You can climb in the shade there if you like.

Chuck I found gear early on in Pitch 1, but didn't notice much on the second half of the pitch. Perhaps I wasn't looking very hard, as it is pretty easy, moving from one feature to another.

Poor planning is the cause of many a failure. I have only bailed on a handful of climbs, but then perhaps my reach is not as great as yours. The greater the ambition, the greater one can expect to fail.

Dude, that's awesome!

When one stops to consider that more people die from slamming into stationary objects than from falling objects, perhaps most helmets are not properly designed. We wear helmets to protect ourselves. We don't care what the source of trauma is. We want to protect our noggins. In my opinion, climbing helmets are the single most poorly designed piece of equipment we use today.

While I don't think those anchors are quite the death anchors, Mark would suggest, they really don't inspire a lot of confidence with the rusty appearance of the bolts. I'd like to see them replaced. I think beyond convenience there is a further reason for the popularity of Online. That section of rock is the cleanest and longest continuous section of rock on the formation. It follows a crest of sorts starting about half way up which gives it a commanding vantage point. It deserves to be upgraded with modern hardware. I also think the first pitch should have a second bolt added, but I'm sure everyone would make a stink if one were added. A little bird just told me that we were on Granite Jihad 5.10a/b PG.

No, Vantage, as in Frenchman's Coulee. I could go Sunday-Monday.

So, naturalists observe, a flea Hath smaller fleas that on him prey; And these have smaller still to bit 'em; And so proceed ad infinitum. Thus every poet, in his kind, Is bit by him that comes behind.

The red ones just aren't the same. An ok substitute but it's all about the purple ones! The darker the color the better The purple ones are harder to find. They are closely related to blueberries. I know where there are lots of them but I'm not saying where. It's not easy to get to anyway.

The red huckleberries on the trail to Static Point are just awesome. They are more numerous, larger and sweeter than I have ever seen them. They are gorgeous.

Perhaps more than just "psychopro", but real climbers just run it out. Cool it wasn't. It was pretty dang hot. But it was fun.

Did he just devour one of those rawhide bones? Those give my dog the stinkiest toots ever.

There are plenty of helmets that can burst on impact and there are plenty of helmets that can break if you clip them to the back of your pack and happen to drop the pack carelessly. If the helmet can pass UIAA tests then it is probably as good as the rest of them. I'll stick with my Ecrin Roc, thanks.

Do we like this guy? Of course not. Should we start a war or use subversion to get rid of him? No. We tried that with Allende and we got Augusto Pinochet. The US should avoid meddling in South American countries, as much as we'd like to.

I was probably either working at the South Coast Shipyard and Design Center, or on a sailboat.

Trip: Static Point (Sultan, WA) - Online and Lost Charms Date: 8/15/2007 Trip Report: MarkMcKillop, JHamaker, Toast and I headed out in James's minivan this morning from Monroe. We couldn't figure out why the girls didn't think we were cool. We thought we were cool. Must've been the sunglasses. This was Mark's first visit to Static Point in 12 years and for the rest of us, our first visit ever. We came armed with a photocopy of Smoot's guide, which we brought, and Weekend Rock, which we inconveniently left in the car. The road is washed out a ways before the parking area mentioned in the guides. When you see a tree over the road with a sign saying, "No Dumping", go back and park at the last wide spot in the road. We'd heard much ado from lost souls bumbling around on the approach. We discussed finding the one true culvert above all others that guards the trail to Static Point. I noticed James checking out out some of the culverts as possible bivy sites, but I think he rejected them all as unsuitable. When it came down to it, the one true culvert was the one full of dirt with a cairn next to it and an obvious trail going left uphill. The trail reaches the climbing area in the vicinity of Online, so we decided to start there. I led the first pitch and suspect that I started a bit to the left of where I should have. I got some gear in early and then traversed right to a bolt, which was the only one. The last 100 ft or so has no protection, but it's easy. The climbing gradually gets harder as you go up, but the protection possibilities also increase. As near as I can tell, Online is the one with the chain anchors and old hardware. Offline is to the right with slings on the anchors. Anyway, James dispatched the crux 5.10a fifth pitch, even though it was starting to get hot. We opted to skip the 5.2 pitch at the top and go down for lunch. Since we were waiting for Mark and Tony, James and I decided to go try Lost Charms. I suppose we were on it for the first two pitches or so, but made the mistake of going up the left side of the Pillar, instead of the right side and missing the turn onto Bridge Flake. From the top of the Pillar, we decided to continue up a bolted line featuring brand new hardware with camouflaged hangers. This route that starts just right of the top of the pillar is called Granite Jihad, 5.10a/b PG, it goes at about 5.9, 5.9+, and then about 5.10b and features some fine climbing. By this time, it was baking hot in the afternoon, and the ol' rubber just wasn't sticking, so we backed off the 5.10b pitch (which still had ancient hardware) and simulrapped down. I went through three liters of water and it still wasn't enough. Try to pick an overcast day to visit. I'd like to see more of the hardware updated there, starting with the anchors. The Fixe anchors are really nice. I'd be willing to help any of you experts with the work. Mark starting up first pitch Toast belaying Gear Notes: Set of nuts and single set of cams from Black Alien to Yellow Camalot and a couple of slider nuts, which we used. Approach Notes: The trail on the abandoned road is a bit overgrown these days. Consider bringing some pruners. The trail up hill through the forest is fine.

The secret to long life is inheriting the right genes. Primarily, genes for the right kind of lipoprotein that doesn't allow your arteries to clog with plaque. Then if you avoid getting cancer, you stand a good chance of living to a ripe old age...unless you fall and take a "dirt nap".

I found a rifle shell casing below Goat Pass. Are permits issued for goat hunting? Just curious.