catbirdseat

That's gotta hurt!

Why would you want to put a bolt anchor on that one when you can belay comfortably from a nice ledge with a gear anchor behind you and then walk over to an existing rap route? There is a similar 5.6 double crack to the left of Level Head, called Bridger, that actually would be a better candidate for an anchor because of the fact that the top out is in dirt. I've never seen anyone climb that route and it is darned good. It's a little harder than Level Head because it has a longer steep section near the top.

Spring this year has got me feeling Like a horse that never left the post. I lie in my room Staring up at the ceiling. Spring can really hang you up the most. Morning's kiss wakes trees and flowers, And to them I'd like to drink a toast. But I walk in the park Just to kill the lonely hours. Spring can really hang you up the most. All afternoon the birds twitter-twitt. I know the tune. This is love, this is it. Heard it before and don't I know the score. And I've decided that spring is a bore. Love seems sure around the new year. Now it's April. Love is just a ghost. Spring arrived on time, Only what became of you, dear? Spring can really hang you up the most. Spring can really hang you up the most. College boys are writing sonnets In their tender passion they’re engrossed While I’m on the shelf With last years easter bonnets. Spring can really hang you up the most. Love came my way. I thought it would last. We had our day, now it's all in the past. Spring came along, a season of song, full of sweet promise but something went wrong. Doctors once prescribed a tonic. Sulfur and molasses was the dose. Didn't help one bit. My condition must be chronic. Spring can really hang you up the most. All alone, the party is over. Old man winter was a gracious host. But when you keep praying For snow to hide the clover, Spring can really hang you up the most.

It is strong enough but I don't tie into it because the rope would get in the way of my belay device. But think of it this way- whether you use the belay loop for belaying or rappelling, it never sees as much loading as your two tie in loops would in a fall, and that is the main reason why you tie into the tie in loops, that and because there is no reason not to. And Raindawg, do you know what a cathead is? It's what a ship's anchor was secured to when not in use. They used to call it "catting the anchor".

Dru, the vast majority of these incidents are NOT reported, because they don't result in serious injury. I was dropped once in the gym. It knocked the wind out of me, but I was okay because I landed on foam on my back. It wasn't reported. I agree that Joseph must have pulled his stat right out of thin air. I've been a member of a climbing gym for a couple years now, with about 100 visits and have never witnessed a drop.

Wow, what a story. An amazing recovery.

Gotta put in a can of Spam. Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, love me Spam, Wonderful Spam!

The Rooster is not going to like this- not one bit.

You guys are really serious about this hyper-redundancy. You should use two ropes with two belay device and two belay biners while you are at it. How about just replacing your harness every couple of years, your rope every five years and your biners when they get a noticable groove worn in them? We see one death by belay loop failure AND one in which it was known in advance that the loop was worn. There may be a couple of deaths from belay biner failure, maybe one or two from ropes being cut. But look at the hundreds who have died from rapping off the ends of their ropes, from rockfall, from improper placement of protection, from exposure, from improper belays. You have to focus on the things that matter the most. I think belay loops and harnesses are the least of a climber's worries, provided they are replaced when they should be. I just replaced my harness, in fact.

I think Matt's philosophy allows for the first ascensionist to embrace a greater variety of styles whereas Pope seems to have a narrower definition of what acceptable style is. I think that a lot of it has to do with "protectable features". I think that Mr. Pope would not put up a route unless it had a large number of protectable features, that is cracks, etc. Matt, on the other hand, is a slab climb master and fond of certain places where protectable features can be quite rare, although exceptional climbing can be found.

Jim, at least you had in good pro and a rope. James Lucas fell off nearby North Overhang, a variation, while soloing. I met the young fellow the year after his accident. He was hobbling around on a messed up leg. Decking while soloing

WC, I've been thinking about your situation on Weeping Wall, which is not having a partner to go down first to test the V-thread while it is backed up. I've been meaning to ask, did you have it backed up with a screw? You can at least go on rappel while still at the anchor, bounce a couple of times, and THEN take out your backup.

I don't think the loading is much different between rappelling and top roping. The issue here is having a back up. The vast majority of V-threads are secure, but you don't want to test that one in a thousand that fails without a backup screw. There is no reason not to have a backup. Takes a minute to put in. Presumably, the backup screw can be pulled when you are done. Just be sure your backup is NOT loaded, otherwise the primary V-thread never is properly tested.

Yeah, and he can name drop with the best of 'em.

I see the first semi-naked corpse to adorn the slopes of the world's highest mountain.

Alpine Ascents? Do you mean to say there are guide services in Washington besides RMI?

Loose is all relative.

Active posters? Speak of the devil!

It's too bad Rainy Pass isn't around anymore. We could have a North Cascades Bluegrass festival. The Mandolin player, John Tubbs, is now with a new band called Down the Road. They are playing in George on Saint Patrick's Day. One could spend the day climbing at the Coulee and catch Bluegrass in the evening.

There is not a shortage of non-serious topics these days. One can attract more attention by (trying) to be serious.

Those dirty bastards! They thought they could "pull the plug" on the Earth!

Don't go to Green Wall. There is a great deal of loose rock on all those routes. You can't just go by ratings in a book. They are a lot more serious than the ratings would suggest. Even the best of those, which sees the most ascents, Hand Jive, 5.8, has a lot of loose rock (even by Vantage standards). As if the loose rock were not enough there is lots of that ubiquitous yellow-green lichen carpeting all smearable surfaces. Also, none of the routes have permanent anchors and frequently there isn't even a decent crack on the mesa top with which to build an anchor. Try these routes: Chapstick, 5.6, Near Gully #2 at the Tilted Pillars of Sunshine Crack in the Back, 5.6, Kotick Memorial Wall Big Black Rooster, 5.5, Hen House Wall Edge of Mistakes, 5.6, ZigZag Wall Seven Virgins and a Mule, 5.7, Sunshine Shady Chimney, 5.7 (Offwidth to Chimney), Sunshine Strokin' the Chicken, 5.6, Sunshine Don't do Strokin' the Chicken until you have done all the others first, because it is scarier than the rest of them, and a little harder, despite the rating. If you do SVAAM, Shady, or Strokin' be prepared to build your own anchor. The others have chain anchors.

I just think it is pretty low to use Skinner as an example to support an argument for your own way of doing things. That's like saying we should stop using ropes because ropes can break. What we should be saying is "keep all your equipment in proper condition and retire anything that is obviously worn".

This issue has been covered, ad nauseum in other threads on this site and on rockclimbing.com. I have no wish to discuss it. Sorry if you were offended with my comment, but it's pretty much true that the only people who eschew belay loops are those who began climbing in the days before belay loops were standard on harnesses. I don't buy the triaxial loading argument, since the maximum force a belay device can apply is less than the gate open rating of most parabiners. My argument against Raindawg's method is not safety related. It is just less convenient, can bind the rope on rappel, and increases rope twisting on belay.

Is he using Russian aiders? There is a photo in the newspaper that isn't on the web article which shows them.