catbirdseat

Jens, you are dreaming! Are you on pain killers? Mountaineers creek would fill up with gapers driving off the road. Of course it would give the FS headaches. More like a huge migraine.

I think it is ironic posting that on a climbing site. The guy needs to sign up for a gym membership.

Kane is a 5.11 climber.

Layton, isn't it good to know that your buddies have some much confidence in you? It's truly heartwarming, that's what it is.

Small world. I met James Lucas one year after the accident, while he was still limping around and just starting to climb again. I'd heard that he was free soloing 5.9's when he could barely climb 5.10b at the time. Is that true?

I'll bite. I don't think voters are irrational. The reality is that when you vote for a candidate you are voting for a complex platform and a person who will make a large number of decisions during his term. But people tend to seize on only one or two issues and ignore all the others. The issues they care about are voted on rationally, but the end result is that all the other issues are voted on irrationally. Case in point: abortion. There are a number of people for whom this one issue trumps all others. They could really care less about ANY of the other issues, trivial ones, like war and peace, the economy...

"We are the knights who say 'Ni!'. Bring me a shrubbery!"

I think some people have a need to suffer. If they don't get it, they figure out how make it happen. I think they should just pair these kids up with Layton or Colin for a weekend. Those guys would take them along on one of their little climbing trips and show 'em what suffering is really like. A lifetime of suffering compressed into two days.

Whoever made the post on Craigslist we should buy him a beer whether he finds the owner or not.

If you are a 5.11 climber, I think there are better climbs to be had in the area than the Fin.

I thought about sleeping out but opted for the tent at the last minute. Even so, one of those big black monsters found its way inside anyway.

I don't call someone a liar until I have evidence to prove it. Just because a story sounds unlikely doesn't give you the right to call it a lie.

That was really cool video footage. Thanks. According to the PI, the man's name was John Williams.

Kent, a likely place to find the wretch.

Ay, when ye be readin' pirate poetry, ye must sound like a pirate, not like some landsman!

Yo Ho Ho and a bottle of rum. This be interesting readin', it be.

He's not leading yet, but he's getting there. I'm not sure his doc has given the okay for that yet.

I wouldn't recommend anyone ride with a kid.

...and now you're talking sideways? Nice try. When was the last time you skied in the US Fairweather? They all subscribe to the nanny model. Ahh JayB. Your resistance of trial by jury is so touchingly liberal. After all, democracy is all well and good when it gets the result you want. Refuting statistics at the same time? You sure you aren't a Kennedy? If you want to see what happens when you don't have juries, just look at Japan. 90% of the time they get a confession out of the defendant.

I think you meant to say "cannot trust juries".

Knock on wood.

Hey! Trying to take over, are you, MisterE? This town ain't big enough for the two of us. Hot water feels good and gets you clean. Okay?

By the way, Jeff and I were having supper at the Good Food place in Marblemount when we saw two or three police vehicles speed by under lights and sirens. After we left, we saw three more cop cars heading the other way. We figured something big was going down. Turns out something big WAS going down.

Trip: Goat Wall, Mazama, WA - Prime Rib Date: 5/27/2007 Trip Report: Despite good weather forecasts for the weekend, my past experience has led me to never count on good weather for Memorial Day weekend, hence my decision to head east to climb. On Saturday, I rode down to Kent with Trogdortheburninator and spouse to attend Brian Massey's memorial, which was quite moving, with full color guard and bagpipes. I rode back with Weekend_Climberz, grabbed his stuff and then picked up Michael (triggerhappy), got my stuff and headed off for Hwy 20 and Mazama. We arrived at the Mazama store so we could see if there were copies of the topo to be had at the Guide Shack, but they were both closed. We did get to see people walking the road with huge packs, with pickets hanging off them. Could not figure that one out. There were about 20 people assembled at the cabin for the Ski-in, some I knew, some I did not. All were busy cooking up good things to eat and trying to put dent in contents of the keg. Jeff showed up shortly after we arrived so we were all set. AlpineK was looking to do a climb, so we said, sure come along. We headed out Sunday morning about 7 am. After hiking up the scree field, we realize we'd brought two 60 m singles rather than the doubles which would have been better for a group of three, but we made do. Weekend_Climberz and triggerhappy tied in together to one rope and Jeff, Kurt and I on the other. We had Kurt tie in close to the end which worked out fine, except for one long pitch where we needed all the rope. I ran short and ended up belaying from a single bolt (but from a great ledge stance). I probably could have reached the belay, but couldn't see it when they hollered "rope 10 feet". We ended up being a bit slower (okay a lot slower) than those two twenty somethings, but we made steady progress and enjoyed ourselves on the way up. It got windier as we ascended, and it was making my cough flare up. On about the 10th pitch we saw climbers coming up from below. Kurt with his sharp eyes recognized Fern's truck down below, so we guess rightly it was Fern and Julie. One of them was in shirtsleeves. We guessed rightly she was freezing her ass off. Topped out and didn't waste any time heading back down, as it was windy and Scott and Mike had been there two hours already. We did all single rope raps and leapfrogged using the two ropes, which saved maybe a little time. About halfway down we met Blake and Mythosgirl along with MG's friend, Lisa. Still further down we met Ivan and his partner. They'd been up at the pass and hit nasty weather and bailed. Altogether there were 12 cc.com'ers on the route! The two highly motivated ladies (they were cold) actually caught up to us on the descent, thanks to simulrapping. It was much warmer down at the base of the route. This was Kurt's first multipitch route since his severe accident last year. It was quite a jump up from a couple forays to Exit 38. He did great. He seemed pretty stoked. I'd say he's primed for even greater adventures. As for my impressions of the route, it was pretty cool. Good, but not great. It was the perfect place to be considering the weather, etc. If you follow the topo you will not go wrong. If you are wondering weather you are up to the grade or not, don't worry, ratings are soft and the only real 5.9 is on the last pitch. The bolts are really close together wherever there is a move. Two ropes won't really be more useful than one except in one place, getting down pitches 8 and 9. If you are going to turn around, do it after Pitch 8. That's the best one by far. It's sustained 5.8-ish climbing with 13 clips (!) There is a bit of third class downclimbing here and there on the descent, but nothing bad. With the SW exposure, the route could get hot on a sunny day which this was not. Climb in the morning or bring lots of water. Boots would have been nice to have when descending the scree. I'll add some pictures later as soon as I have them. Gear Notes: 14 draws, or fewer if you like to skip clips. 60 meter rope mandatory

My only previous attempt on Tomyhoi was similar. By the time we reached Yellow Aster Butte it was raining and we turned around. It rains a lot up there.