catbirdseat

For the bear hug pitch a #4 will fit in near the bottom. A #4.5 or a #5 C4 can be placed in the left crack further up. Only lug those two if you really think you want it, because the climbing is really pretty easy there.

Roboboy is presently in the Adamants with Fred for the week. They were talking about heading for the Bugs after that. Robo wasn't too keen on hanging around the Bugs and would like to come home. Problem would be getting him the message and key to car.

Gosh, no, but now that you mention it...

As if Cheney didn't already have the reins.

It's like he can temporarily suspend the force of gravity.

fuck that, the damn rope is expensive. I would hope he would be kind enough to untie. CBS -- hauling systems are easy. I think a more challenging scenario is an unconcious leader, more than half a rope out. I bet there are lots of seconds in the alpine who wouldn't know how to handle this. I practiced it for the first time this year using gear anchors rather than bolts. It took about 45 min. Still screwed up some things even though I'd done it about 4 times before.

Awesome writing! Bravo! A cross between Irma Bombeck and Dave Berry. So let's hear it for Carol! Hip hip, Horray!

My problem at present is too many cherries. I've done a batch of cherry jelly and a double batch of cherry jam. Then I tried this recipe for brandied cherries. Oh, man, it tastes like ambrosia on ice cream. I made a total of three batches of the stuff. Courvoisier brandy.

Or at least what it feels like to go without for 10 days.

Rachel: (She screams) Oh my God! I'm sorry, I thought this was the baby's room. I'm really sorry. (She exits) George: I was in the pool! I was in the pool! % Jerry and George talking in Jerry's room. George: Did she do it on purpose? Jerry: It was my fault, I told her the wrong door. George: I was supposed to see her. She wasn't supposed to see me. Jerry: So what? George: Well ordinarily I wouldn't mind. But... Jerry: But... George: Well I just got back from swimming in the pool. And the water was cold... Jerry: Oh... You mean... shrinkage. George: Yes. Significant shrinkage! Jerry: So you feel you were short changed. George: Yes! I mean, if she thinks that's me she's under a complete misapprehension. That was not me, Jerry. That was not me. Jerry: Well, so what's the difference? George: What if she discusses it with Jane? Jerry: Oh, she's not gonna tell Jane. George: How do you know? Jerry: Women aren't like us. George: They're worse! They're much worse than us, they talk about everything! Couldn't you at least tell her about the shrinkage factor? Jerry: No, I'm not gonna tell her about your shrinkage. Besides, I think women know about shrinkage. George: How do women know about shrinkage? (They see Elaine walking down the hall) Elaine! Get! (She enters) Do women know about shrinkage? Elaine: What do you mean, like laundry? George: No. Jerry: Like when a man goes swimming... afterwards... Elaine: It shrinks? Jerry: Like a frightened turtle! Elaine: Why does it shrink? George: It just does. Elaine: I don't know how you guys walk around with those things.

I read it on RC.com in the super long Improved Sliding-X thread and also it's mentioned in Long's new book on anchors. There was a thread here on cc.com not too long ago where some of this was discussed. I think it was mattp who said something to the effect that bolts are super strong when placed correctly. If a bolt looks solid and does not show signs of obvious corrosion and the rock is sound, it probably is a good bolt. It might not be. There is a small chance that it was placed incorrectly or over torqued. If it fails, which is unlikely, you have another very strong bolt backing it up. The chances of two bolts failing are vanishingly small. I can't think of a case in which it has happened. Perhaps Dru will step in with his encyclopedic memory (and googling skill).

I've not seen it with my own two eyes, but it happens. When it does it isn't usually possible to know for certain why it happened. In the case of Goran Kropp's accident, for example, the best guess was that the carabiner was trapped in the crack, preventing it from rotating, and it thus broke from cross-loading.

Since the sliding-X was labelled the "death x" some testing has been done which has shown that, in the event of failure of one of the two bolts, the maximum loading of the remaining piece (bolt) does not exceed the initial loading on the anchor system. In other words, "shock loading" is a myth. And this makes sense, doesn't it? The climber is attached to a dynamic rope. That rope absorbs the energy which results from extension in the same way that it absorbs energy from the initial fall. Limiter knots will reduce extension and will reduce the load on the remaining bolt in event of a failure, but they are a hassle to tie and, worse, to remove after having been loaded. I don't use limiter knots on bolts. I sometimes use them on gear.

There you go again, making excuses.

Raindawg, you are correct in your assertion that there is not a GLOBAL consensus on bolts. But on the LOCAL level there are and that's what we are talking about here.

So Ken decided to right a wrong by committing another wrong. While he may represent your ethical view, he's a poor choice for a representative of that view.

Sherri you are a "studette" when it comes to arm muscles.

Quandrant Homes. Why have quality when you can have quantity?

A lot of you folks are just plain missing the point here. The point is that in certain areas climbers have been able to organize to reach a consensus on how areas are to be managed. Once that happens, individuals don't have the right to unilaterally come in throw bombs by either chopping bolts or placing bolts. Some places think bolts are okay, some places think they are not. If you want to have a say, join the group, attend the meetings and vote. If you don't like the prevailing ethics, go somewhere else.

Imagine you are the belayer in this situation. Furthermore, imagine that your fallen second does not have the skills necessary to climb the rope. Do you know how to set up a raise to haul him up to you?

Mr. Nichols committed his acts on private property. This property was being managed in accordance with agreements between the owners and an organization of climbers. Any conduct outside of that agreement is in violation. Bolt chopping on those particular properties is considered vandalism under the agreement. The property owner has a right to mangage his property in any lawful way he sees fit. He has a right to form agreements with climbers organizations. An individual who disagrees does NOT have the right to do as he pleases. That is called anarchy.

When I was a kid in Laguna Beach we used to train to self-rescue on rocky shores with big swells. It wasn't easy, even with Swim fins, and the water was warmer too. All it takes is a mistimed gulp and you inhale seawater and it's over. Sounds like a very difficult, if not impossible situation to recover from. Tragic.

I thought the beta was very good for Joshua Tree. I like the pictures too.

I hope to post some later tonight. Rob was the main photographer.

Trip: Pica Peak (Poster Peak, 7565')- Washington Pass - East North East Buttress, Left Date: 7/15/2007 Trip Report: Fred Beckey calls it Pica Peak. Many of the local skiers call it Poster Peak. Roboboy and I climbed the leftmost of the two buttresses and the one that leads most directly to the summit. We did the climb pretty much as described below in 2004 NW Mountaineering Journal, except that it wasn't twelve pitches. It was about nine, of which about four of those were simulclimbed. The quality of the rock is for the most part good. There are some sections of decomposing granite (aka kittylitter) and some loose blocks, but overall pretty good. There are only a couple of 5.7 cruxes and at least one can be avoided if desired. Most of the climbing is low fifth class, but quite enjoyable because of the nice exposure and views. Protection is rather sparse but generally sufficient. The descent is quite straightforward. Since we didn't bring ice axes on the route we got by with descending screen in the mote on the left until we we felt we could negotiate the firm snow safely. I'd rate the route Grade II-III, because it only took us 7.5 hours car to car and we aren't the world's fastest climbers by any means. Scott Johnston's Trip Report Gear Notes: Small alpine rack to 2 inches. Approach Notes: Approach takes about an hour, or an hour and a half if there isn't snow. Rob standing at start of first pitch The route Natural caves on left side of buttress Descent route