catbirdseat

This discussion of the zipper effect makes this a good time to discuss omnidirectional anchors. This is something that often gets short shrift when learning to lead. An omnidirectional anchor CAN be a SLCD, but not all SLCD placements are suitable as omnis. Depending on the route, I will often put some combination of two nuts, hexes or cams in opposition so that they can take a load from any direction and not pull out. The omni redirects the pull on the rope from the belayer and decreases the likelihood that the pieces above will zipper out. There still is no guarantee that this will not happen. I was watching a father belay his son at Tieton. They had an omni in as the first piece. The route steepened half-way up. This mean that the rope took an upwards bend. When the son took a leader fall, several of the nuts below zippered out and he was hanging with his life dependent on the last one or two pieces. A cam placement at the deepest part of the pitch, would have been more resistant to zippering out because cams have a greater ability to take loads from various directions.

Here's my take on why they don't make Ti carabiners. Titanium is more dense than aluminum. Therefore, if you wanted to make the biner the same or less weight than the Al one, you would have to either use a thinner stock or make the entire biner smaller. You don't want to do the former because it would break the loaded rope because of the smaller radius and you wouldn't want the latter because you couldn't easily fit the rope through the gate. You may have noticed some of the newer biner designs are hollowed out or otherwise have grooves in them. The logic behind this is to remove metal while maintaining the radius that the rope must turn over.

If the rope was stored in a closet in Seattle for 5 years I would use it. If it were stored in a closet in Los Angeles or Houston for 5 years, I would not. Why? LA and Houston are smoggy and there is a lot of ozone in the air which attacks almost all plastics. Seattle's air is comparitively clean.

I would use it. Nylon is resistant to gasoline. If you spilled halogenated solvents such as chloroform or methylene chloride, that would be a different story. I am an analytical chemist and have used Nylon 66 filters with very sensitive instruments and have had no trouble with anything but halogenated solvents. I've used hexane (like gasoline) and ethyl acetate, acetone, methyl tert-butyl ether, isopropanol, ethanol, and methanol. Having said all that, don't sue me if your rope breaks.

"The Gritscone is a chunk of conglomerate sandstone deposited in a terminal moraine during the last ice age about 12,000 years ago. Translation - it's a big rock... "...The upper left portion of the rock has a uniquiely course texture which makes for some interesting slamb climbing and if you're not careful, quick skin removal. " The gritscone if it is an erratic would have to be the largest one I've ever seen. The presence of similar rock in other areas suggests that it is native to the area. Some similar gritty rock can be seen up at Interstate Park. For you climbers more talented than I, the Gritscone does have a 5.11a and a 5.11d. I managed to get up the 11a once on top rope with a very active belayer.

Even experienced climbers sometimes make mistakes when placing gear, which is why one might want to put in more gear than needed to protect the route, just in case one placement fails. The climber in question was really running out the pitch. 20 ft between placements. Also she wasn't wearing a helmet. She is lucky to be alive. Sounds an awful lot like what happened to Goran Kropp.

Yeah, Fee Demo. Interesting name. The last time I was there I was unable to make out any bolts, but that doesn't mean they weren't there. My eyesight isn't that great.

I remember it too. The jet was a Lockeed F-104.

Dryad was asking about the same thing earlier in the week. I don't think there is too much information about them.

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings; Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth of sun-split clouds,--and done a hundred things You have not dreamed of wheeled and soared and swung High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there, I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung My eager craft through footless falls of air... Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace Where never lark, nor eer eagle flew-- And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod The high, untrespassed sanctity of space, Put out my hand and WAS SUCKED OUT THE WINDOW. ... with apologies to John Gillespie Magee

Not all of it is rhinoite. Some of it is a conglomerate sandstone that is not blocky and very grippy. I agree that the gunfire sucks. I noticed that the gun freaks tend to show up on Friday evenings. Some of them are firing assault rifles and think nothing of popping off about $200 worth of ammo in an evening.

I've been to almost all of the areas at Exit 38. I haven't yet been to Exit 32. Yes it is often wet and there are bugs and some of the areas have highway noise, but who's calling it a destination? As a place to go after work, it can't be beat. Who's going to drive to Index after work anyway? As far as overcrowded is concerned, the only crowded areas are the ones with extremely short approaches and all easy routes. If you climb harder stuff you can have it all to yourself.

I'm trying to get a better handle on just why so many people think that Exit 38 sucks. I heard one explanation that made sense, and that was that the ratings are all screwed up. I believe it. There are 10c routes that I think are easy and 10a routes that are impossible (for me), for example Iguanarama, 5.10a feels like 5.10d or 11a. There is a route called Ultra Mega Crack that is rated 5.8, which is totally ridiculous. It couldn't be harder than 5.6. I'm thinking the other reasons people hate exit 38 is (1) the near total lack of crack climbs, and (2) the slippery nature of the rock and lack of slab routes, although not everyone knows about Interstate Park and Gun Show.

Fleblebleb, you should get serious. This is Newbies, not Spray. There are people posting here who are being very helpful, but you are not. I can't remember the last time you made a post that wasn't cynical garbage. Surely you have something constructive to offer, at least once in a while.

I've climbed with dryad before and I can tell you that she asks a ton of good questions. She is getting to the point where she knows enough that she should start dipping her toe in the waters of leading. She has been reluctant to start, but is starting to come around to the idea.

My advice is to have an experienced climber follow your lead and give his or her unvarnished opinion of your placements. You might even have him leave the pieces in and pull them on rappel so you can see what he is talking about. You'll get comments like: 1) this nut doesn't have good contact 2) this nut wasn't set with a tug, it could have jiggled out 3) this cam is almost tipped out 4) you should have gone with the next size bigger hex 5) you should have put a long sling on this piece etc... The important thing is to get feedback on your placements. That's how you learn. You don't want to learn by falling, having the piece pull out and hurting yourself.

fda you TOOL, we all know you don't climb (a barstool perhaps) Kettle calls the pot black.

Ed, you ARE pathetic. The reason for the heavy packs is extra clothes. It's a class, not a climb. They are TRAINING. They will be diving into wet snow to practice ice axe arrest. They will get wet. They will be camping in the snow. Stop being such a knucklehead. If you want to climb the Tooth, leave the lot at 6 am and enjoy yourself.

Imposing = thick

I bought it but haven't yet cracked it. It looks pretty imposing.

No f---'in way!

This thread is a hidden gem. Some of the guys are adding some great thoughts, but Dru seems to be adding mostly chestbeating. The point is not whether highly experienced and competetent climbers should be doing ultralight climbs, but whether less experienced ones like myself should be doing it. Dru sounds like a guy who seldom will take out a newbie, which would explain why he has so little empathy. My two cents.

Klenke and I had a similar trip much earlier in the season on Lewis Peak which is right next to Morning Star Peak. We got very wet, but did make the summit. We had a lot of brush to contend with. You might have had a chance to summit with a larger party, but I kind of doubt it given your description.

...From a married man, no doubt.