Jake_Gano

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.

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.

Where is Stone Hill?

Also, does any have experience with evolv shoes? I knew the climbing club here at the UI gets a deal with them. They look solid, I could pick some up cheap, and they are made in the US by a small company.

I have been climbing on the same older scarpa infernos for a few years now and had them resold about a year ago. After I got them back the fit of the toebox changed some. Between that and the stiffening of the leather with age, they pretty much grind up my feet. Earlier this fall I went down to hyperspud and tried on every shoe they had there in my size. About every one in my size seemed to have saggy fabric on the tops and sides of the shoe. I have very narrow foot and very flat arches. Anyways, I settled on a pair of five-ten coyote lace ups because they fit the best, but a few months later I still end up wearing the Scarpa the vast majority of the time. Comfort aside, everything the Coyotes can do the Scarpas can to better. So does anyone else out there with long flat feet have favorite shoes? Things I like: -Lace-up seems like a must for narrow feet -I noticed the scarpas have a sharply curved sole, while the five-tens are pretty much flat. I think that gives it some extra aggressiveness smearing. -For the scarpas, With the exception of where the laces are, the toes and about the first third of your foot is completely wrapped in rubber. This is great for jamming your toes or most of your feet into cracks and twisting on them. Any ideas?

Here are some thoughts I wrote up re: alp wing vs. aztar a while back. These are copy and pasted from another thread: I have only fondeled the aztar's at hyperspud, so I may be talking out my ass, but I do have alp wings, so here is my $.02 . Though they are both marketed similarly as a crossover between waterice tools and alpine tools, they have a different feel to them. Alp wings are long and a bit heavier (thought pretty light as well). This gives them a more 'throw of a ball' type swing, whereas the aztars (and, I am told, most CM tools) have a easy 'flick of the wrist' type swing. Also, the Grivel tool have a high degree of modularity. The adze/hammer can be remove (it's fixed on aztars, I believe) and come with a removable 'horn', as well as another finger rest you can buy from Grivel. With these toys you can use the Alp wing to drytool pretty well. The CM lacks some of that modularity. Anyways both are probably excellent tools, just get a deal, use the $ you save to buy some overpriced gas, and get out and climb more.

A big part of why I like north Idaho is that their hasn't been a guidebook available for 15 or 20 years, so a lot of the information that is out there is word of mouth. There's still a lot of 'adventure' in the climbing around here. I don't know what you mean buy north Idaho but I certainly hope that doesn't mean areas in north-central Idaho like the South Fork, Clearwater Mountains, etc. Do you know if it's going to be a widely published Mountaineers-type book or something smaller circulation, ala the Buckhorst montana guides? Also, is it supposed to have ice climbs? What area is it supposed to cover? I've had a lot of fun putting together my own little 'guidebook,' a notebook of all the hand-drawn topos and rumors and info I've picked up over time. I hope this doesn't draw crouds to the quieter spots of the area.

I have the older ones, without the extra pocket. They rock, and I only paid what was about $45us for them. Yeah they are about all you'd need for rock climbing in nasty weather or alpine climbs.

I know of a 8 pitch 5.8 bolted route that I believe is right of the standard route on Slick Rock, then a runout-sounding .10c(?)R route to the right. Check RC.com, I think they have details. It was discussed at some lenght on Tom Lopez's page, I don't have the URL handy though. Good Luck

I'm heading back to Illinois to visit family on Tuesday 6/21, until 7/7. I'd like to hit up some of the crags in southern Illinois while I'm back. Does anyone know anyone who climbs down there? I have a rope, rack, guidebook, etc., but I would prefer to only drag a set of shoes, a harness, and a belay back with me because I'm flying. I've tried RC.com and climbingcentral without luck. I should be available to climb most of the time I'm back and will probably have a car to use. Post here or drop me a line at jgano2@yahoo.com . Later, Jake

Lightweight polypro vapor barrier socks under your rock shoes won't effect the fit or performance, and will keep you a little warmer and keep your shoes a lot drier, so no more clammy feet and cold days.