cracked

Like this?

Done after 5, weekends off. Work rocks. School sucks worse than I thought. N. Cascades

I used this bag on Baker last night. I like it. But REI (and Marmot) still suck.

For an extra $100 bucks. No thanks.

Skied the Squak/Easton on Baker with Jeff, Sky, Amar, and Dave. The headwall was decent snow. The glaciers were mainly frozen 6in runnels, in other words, so suck. The last 1500 feet to camp was some of the best corn I've ever skied.

Crazy Jeff recently climbed it in socks and a speedo. I think he took a whippet, too.

Damn. Do you ever do anything but boulder?

they do have some decent gear: REI Sub Kilo, long, left zip, 20 degrees, 2lbs 4oz, $219. And unlike Marmot, they give accurate bag weights. An added bonus is the compression stuff sack they toss in. I like this bag.

I am NOT old, I amexperienced, and most definately real! Face it, Ryland, you're a dinosaur. I can vouch for that!

Never tried it, but it would beat sitting around. Maybe it's time for a new sport.

I've never seen any avy beepers on sale. Why not? $300 is a lot for me.

I will, once I've got them. It'll be a few weeks. Dru: I was about to, but then I had to leave. Sorry. Erik: Nope, very solid limestone, though it looks like choss. The best jugs (no, the other kind, Trask) I've ever held!

Oops, I mean COOL! Three days, four routes. Based in Canazei. FUCKING AWESOME. Where else do you find 26 pitch 5.6s(no, we didn't climb it)? UNBELIEVABLE! We got used to the rock and the climbing after three days, then we had to leave, so we didn't get to do anything hard. We did some arete thing and the Trenker Crack on the First Sella Tower, then the Mariakante on Pitz Pordoi, and then the Little Micheluzzi on some wall that I forgot the name of. Now I'm stuck in Dresden, bored. But if you have the chance, go to the Dolomites!

Climbed it in 5 hrs up, skied down. Many, many Mazamas . Lots of snow has melted in the past week, judging from Cletus' and Timm@y's photos; we had to go to the skiers right to find continuous snow. Oh, and take sneakers, the route is much faster and easier if you don't hike in ski boots. We had an epic drive, though, hitting an elk on the highway in the morning, deploying airbags, smashing the windshield, overheating car, etc. Got to the trailhead, climbed, skied, and the POS actually got us back to Springfield! And the next morning it barely made it to the junkyard without dying! So go ski the mountain , but watch out for elks .

Matt, Flagstone is one large hunk of ryolite (?). One crag alone. It isn't an industrial junk yard, just turning into it. No previous quarrying, etc. There are some old clear-cuts in the area, but it's pretty pristine anyhow. The crag has several different areas, one is a huge slab (nothern slab) that's low-angled, is about two or three pitches high, and has about 30 (?) pitches on it. Many are about five to ten feet apart. On the slab proper the hardest route is maybe 5.8. After the first pitch there is a mini-headwall that is somewhat steeper and harder. It was first discovered and developed in the very early 90s. Many moderate, poorly-protected routes were put up, as Dave said, due to a lack of bolts. So there is no real overriding ethic. Uphill from the slab there is a overhanging wall that has a few 12s and 13s. Two or three of the 5 or 6 routes are glued and chipped, and it is common knowledge who did that. The problem is that flag is one piece of stone, and is rather small. The Northern Slab comprises perhaps 30% of the routes at Flag by now. I might be off on my numbers, I've never counted, but that's pretty much what Flag is like. Oh, and there is very little to no pro to be found. Bolts are essentially required for any routes that are not going to be X-rated.

Eric, it's a SPORT CRAG. I support bolting there, but I do not support rabid overbolting. Saying we should solo everything is stupid. However, I believe that we shouldn't make everything accessible to the mass population. If you bolt for the lowest common denominator you'd better be bolting for overweight drunks, toddlers, etc. Beginners who want to learn to lead should get used to what routes are REALLY like, so they don't get hurt when they move away from the outdoor gym called Flag. Dave: I've talked to Mark, and as far as I can tell, his position is: if you don't like the bolt, don't clip it. This argument is flawed. I'll go quarry half the crag, if you don't like it, don't look at it. I'll go clear-cut the enchantments, if you don't like it, go somewhere else. I'm going to drill buckets up every route that is too hard for me, if you don't like it, don't use em. The issue is not so simple.

I have indeed climbed one of the routes to the left of Acne Problem, I forget which one. Those are on the other end of the extreme. I agree that the largest impact on Smith comes from travel to the routes. We should try to minimize impact whether hiking or climbing. However, ignoring bolting issues isn't going to happen, either. Yes, I agree that falling off of Dancer, Jete, Bunny Face, or some of the other easier routes at Smith is a bad idea. BUT falling off of routes like Barbeque the Pope, or other older, harder routes is a bad idea as well. I'd say it's more of a problem with Smith slabs rather than bolt placement. Yes, bolts look closer from the ground due to foreshortening. But I have climbed most of the Northern Slab routes, and find that often relatively easy sections of routes have bolts spaced at the same intervals as on the cruxes. This is not necessary. "Flag can give some climbers the confidence to move on to harder routes and routes with wider bolt spacing… out there in the real climbing world. " IMHO, this is what the gym is for. This is similar to the argument for chipping steep, hard routes, for use as a "training route". As for the counterexamples that you mention, those routes exemplefy the ethics of the initial developers of the area. Shouldn't we respect those ethics, too? And I didn't say that all harder routes are not as well protected as all the easier routes; I said that the typical Northern Slab easy route is FAR better protected than most of the 5.10s and 5.11s.

This sounds like a threat. Threats are not the answer. Making the area even more scarred will do nothing but harm the situation.

Dave, I understand your argument. You wanted to put up easy bolted routes that would be accessible to beginners. A few routes would be understandable. But there are at least 10 different routes on that slab. All overbolted in the sense that they would be safe with fewer bolts. Sure, the question is where is the line between making it safe and overbolting. I don't have a clear-cut answer to that question, but I must say that I find the number of bolts on that slab excessive. There is no need for a bolt every three to four feet on a 5.6. Go to Smith, the classic "beginner routes", ie bunny face, or the buckets, etc, have a bolt every six feet, if that. There is absolutely no comparison between these routes and the 'beginner' routes at Flag. What about the 5.3 or so slab that tops out after the headwall of Northern Lights. I still cannot believe you bolted that. There is no need for bolts on 30 degree stone. Another issue: what happens when the beginning climbers that you bolted these routes for decide to venture beyond the confines of Flag? You will not find routes bolted like this in many areas. All that beginners gain from Flag is how to keep from backclipping. Learning to lead is more than learning to clip. Rather, it is more important to learn how to judge your abilities, and develop psychological strength. I also believe that 5.6 climbers on 5.6 routes should be as well protected as 5.10 climbers on 5.10 routes. While usually the harder routes are better protected, the opposite is true at Flag. Once your beginners have climbed all the 5.6s on the Northern Slab, they will still not be able to lead routes like Acne problem. I do appreciate your efforts, and many of your routes are very enjoyable, but I see the lower slab as a blemish. Too many bolts, and they are too obvious. But now I'm curious, how many beginners complained about there not being any routes for them?

I was up there on Memorial Day weekend, skiing. We hit a whiteout and didn't summit that time. Expect snow on the approach. The pinnacle was totally bare, so there's even less of a chance of finding snow there now. Just be careful, the rock is easy, but if you fall, it would really suck.

Actually, I went to the slideshow. Backes specifically said that he used a 10degree bag on Hunter, while Twight used a 20. He also said that on the Czech they had NO bags. And in his book, he refers to a TWO pound 20degree bag. A sub 2lb 40degree bag is easy to find. BTW, it was a great show.

Ok, here goes: I CHOOSE NOT TO!!!! And you're wrong. Going by the heated 'discussion' going on, many people do care. I gotta finish my essay, but I'll happily argue later.

Shades of Muir on Saturday!