Jake_Gano

What sort of picks and leashes are on the Cobras?

BTW Kurt, as per your website, the ice by klemgard was 'in' last weekend, though it was pretty steep and scary looking. I know where theres another climb just a steep and long very near moscow, but I'm gonna wait and bag it before I go spraying about it.

From iceclimb.com: "Yellowpine: Caton Creek--Take Warm Lake road to Stolle Meadows (20 miles), Turn left to Krassel/SF Salmon river(25 miles), turn right towards Yellowpine(8 miles). Ice on North side of road 1/2 mile before sign marking Caton Creek. Up to 10-12 climbs 80-100+ ft. WI 2-5 depending on route and conditions. Also some WI4+, M4/5 possibilities with good conditions. Fun playground for many abilities in a great setting. " It's not lack of water, cold, or vertical that's your crux, it's access. I bet the sawtooths or the 7 devs would have some steep mixed if you could get in there in the winter. I made a half-hearted attempted to get up in the 7ds last winter, but the long slog and bitter cold sapped our will. I think all over Idaho there is a good short period where there is ice up in the mountains but the roads accessing them aren't completely snowed in. Dean Lords has put up some excellent routes in oct/nov that set a precedent for this. You might want to check out hydnaman/old hyndaman routes in the AAJ (2004?). They are probably within 100 miles of McCall. As the crow flies, the wallowas are within 100 miles, though I bet it's way longer as you'd have to drive it in the winter. Good luck.

Nice work Kurt. That's been on my tick list for ages. How long did the fin turn out to be? I've heard anywhere from 10 pitches to '4 with some simul-climbing.'

We watched them takeoff... they're gliders, not jumpers.

Thanks for the info. We ended up going to Minne after we gave up trying to find the ros. There is a whole bunch of beautiful fresh graffitit right under Don Quixote.

Thank you for the Spokane Mountaineers link. It says they needed to raise the money by Sept. 9th. Does anyone in Spokane have an update how that went? It seems like they didn't try very hard to get this money raised. I didn't see any pitch on this website, and nothing on the mailing list of the UI climbing club, or the WSU alpine club. In the future if access issue for inland NW climbs comes up I'd love to here about it. I'm as poor as any college kid but I can put up fliers at the outdoor program or the climbing wall. I'd hate to have access to this nice crag restricted because noone was stirring up any attention.

Has anyone been up to ROS lately? I bought the Bland guide and headed up there last weekend. There has apparently been a lot of developement since the book was published. We followed the driving directions as far as we could but found that with all the new roads it was hard to tell what was going on. We could see the rocks, and followed the every road back there that we could, but everything either ended in a house or a big 'private property, trespassers will be strung up by the balls' type sign. So does anyone have current access info? Has some dickhead landowner cut off access via his road? Is there another approach?

Sounds like fun.

Kurt, when did you skip town for Bellingham? Who would want to leave wheat and basalt chosspiles for, you know, real mountains and the ocean? You better bring back some good pictures and stories this fall.

Any complaints about the padding on the tongue? I tried those shoes on about a month ago and thought the fleece-like padding and the dark color would be suck on hot days. I guess in Seattle you won't have to worry about that too much. Anyways I found the montrail splitter instead and have been quiet happy.

I replied, check again soon. 100th post. hell ya

Sobo, it looks like the tent is spoken for, $ pending. What you describe doesn't sound like the type of leash I'm thinking of.

Good deal. It would be a nice tent if it had poles. I think the tent, fleece, and rei gtx and spoken for. Thanks, Jake

Five Ten ‘Coyote’ rock shoes, size 11.5. Only slightly used, basically in new shape. These are a nice, medium-soft, all around shoe that edge pretty well. They lace all the way to the toe, so they can accommodate many different foot widths. I like the fit and I have super-narrow feet. They climb pretty well and are very comfortable. The only reason I am getting rid of them is I don’t think I need for sets of shoes, and I prefer shoes just a little stiffer. I think I paid $70; $40 would take them. Five Ten ‘Escalante’ rock shoes, size 11.5. These are also in pretty good shape. They’re a softer shoe, and very comfortable. The toe box is just too big for me, and I don’t boulder or do steep sport routes very often, so they haven’t seen much use. They’re $130 new, or $55 from me. REI goretex coat, men’s Medium or Large (no tag), blue. It has pit zips and a zip on/zip off hood, and a three ply shell. I don’t need it anymore and would like to just get it out of my closet. $10, or free if you pick it up in Moscow. TNF heavyweight fleece. I think the model is ‘Polar Sun.’ Men’s XL. Black. Pit zips, shoulder/elbow patches, four pockets. Older but still in ok shape. Just another thing I don’t need or use that often. $20 Seirra Designs ‘Clip Flashlight’ Tent. I got this for free, thinking that I would replace the poles myself and have a nice three-season backpacking tent. But I haven’t replaced the poles, and probably won’t, so if you want to get it some you would have a light (3.5 lb?), two person, three season tent. $20, or free if you want to pick it up in Moscow. Integral Designs ‘Baltura’ coat. Custom cut but fits like a men’s L or maybe XL. A very high quality coat with pit zips and reinforced shoulders. The hood is probably the nicest I have ever seen. It’s blue with red shoulders and elbows. Three ply gtx. $100. It was ~$300 new. Buyer pays shipping from Moscow, ID. I would trade for a set of grivel evolution picks, if they are basically new and haven’t been filed or abused, and set of old-school BD twist leashes or something similar, or one of those feather-light hardshells, Men’s L (Marmot precip or similar).

Try campmor for cheap wrap-around style glasses. They usually have $100 glasses for $40.

Where are you from in IL? I moved to Idaho from downstate (Charleston, just south of Champaign) a few years back and never looked back. You probably won't either.

I've heard there is a good variety of ice in Yellowpine, just east of McCall. Anyone ever been there?

Try Northwest Mountain School in Leavenworth as well. John Race and all the guys that work there are class acts, real first rate guides and people. PM me if you'd like more details.

Damn, if I'd have seen this sooner I'd definately be up. I might be heading to Banks on Sunday to see if there's ice around, gimme a call or a PM if you're interested.

Sorry Kurt, no can do. I'll forward your email to some of the guys I climbed with this weekend. They are legit and I would loan them my gear if they're interested.

WT denali has the same insulation, but it has a hardshell, not microfiber. Mine is about 8 years old and has a gtx outershell, but they switched over to sympatex in the last few years of production. I've used mine for skiing at -10f and been almost too warm. Too bad the sucker is huge and weighs something like three pounds.

Thanks all for the advice. I can't remember the names of the Sportiva models I tried aside from the Mythos (did anyone see the pic of one of the hubers soloing some 5.14 maddness in mythos in the last alpinist? ). Anyways, I will look into the anasazi lace ups, thanks distel. They look a little spendy but I don't mind throughing down the $$$ for a good rock shoe if I've finally found what I'm looking for.

pm

Thanks for the info Andrew, Kurt. As for sportivas, their shoes and boots have never seemed to fit me, at least not as well as 5.10s or scarpas. Kurt, I take it that you have a pair from your post? If so where did you find them and try on? Anyways, I'll drop you a PM later, I'm stuck in the midwest with the fam over break and have lots of time to sit behind a computer and scheme up the next big adventure. Maybe if conditions get better we can find some ice to climb. Thanks.