catbirdseat

That's a false choice. You'd still want a compass, even if you do have a GPS. At least I would.

He shows 5.9+ getting to the first anchor. First meaning about 40' off the deck. Seems right to me. I don't think I would call that a pitch. Call it what you will, I wouldn't think that rope drag would let you continue above that hanging belay.

Garden Burgers.

Did you know that you can get a Flying Spaghetti Monster emblem from the people who brought you the Darwin Fish? Gotta get me one o' them. http://www.evolvefish.com/fish/emblems.html

Ordinarily it's [2], but in the case of SC Parking Lot, it's [1].

For the Maya, doomsday came early in the form of Francisco Pizarro.

And how is that short sited? You realy think we have made it to the moon? Did you know that there are plans to go back to the moon?

Could that be Timberjack, 5.8? That's the only 5.9ish route it could be.

Sounds awfully familiar.

The other day I was listening to the radio and the topic of dicussion was CAFE and greenhouse gasses. Some guy was saying stuff like: If you make cars more fuel efficient people will just drive more and offset the gains. If you make cars lighter they will be a lot more dangerous and more people will die in traffic accidents. The only way to make a meaningful impact on greenhouse gas emissions is to check population growth.

Please provide a picture of yourself so we can see the proper way to wear a daisy chain. We promise we won't laugh (fingers crossed behind back). Floss thong.

What is needed is a "Noobs Guide to Royal Columns" with all the ratings based on a consensus from new leaders.

Great idea, unless you are at some chossy place like Vantage and you want your belayer to stand away from the base where he/she won't get nailed by falling rock.

Sagg is the mother of all sandbags.

Great pictures! Great trip.

It's like stopping a leak in your radiator with StopLeak. It stops the leak long enough for you to sell the car. Too bad you can't trade your feet in for a new pair.

Someone's got to say it. We know you are out climbing this weekend. So out with the TRs. Don't be shy. Jon and Timmy have made it quite painless for you. So let's see those reports.

Yeah, but you used that one before.

Just because I once told you to tie in with a slip knot. Jeeze, Rudy, can't you take a joke?

I don't think that's true to the extent that a lot of people say it is. There are a handful of really popular routes at those places that have super soft ratings and people assume the entire area is the same way. Having said that, Exit 38 and Vantage are soft, those areas are indeed soft. Tieton is sandbagged even compared to Index, at least in the easier grades.

I have a theory about why Tieton seems so difficult for new leaders. In most other climbing areas of similar rating there are lots and lots of faceholds one can use, even though you are protecting in a crack. Because of this, you are not forced to jam. Now at Tieton there are far fewer face holds and you have no choice but to jam. If you are familiar with jamming, you will be very comfortable leading because you can rest on a jam. If you can't jam, you will find even easy routes very difficult.

I predict that the sun will shine at Vantage on May 29. I am the soothsayer.

Are you absolutely certain you were on the right route?

Middle East Wall is closed until August for prarie falcon nesting. I noticed people were climbing there anyway. The mosquitoes are bad right now, so bring repellant if you go.