cracked

Screw weather. I'm going to go scare myself silly. (Climbing, that is, on Sat.)

LMAO

I think the issue is with the gate being open at the moment of impact. After all, the force required to open the gate is substantially lower than the force to bend the gate. Either way, the biners are plenty strong as long as the gate is closed.

You can pay me anytime.

I am beginning to understand that. I have almost accepted it.

Peace???!? Where's the ice? Where's the snow? Where's the rain? Where is WINTER? OK, fine, it is nice outside, but some ice would be nice too.

Yeah, that would be great, but I already donated $10 to this site. I'm too poor (everybody is, it's an economic principle).

In response to the original question: when you have a bomber piece near the belay, people often clip both half ropes to it. This will keep the force from a hard fall from coming onto only one skinny rope. Higher up, the fall factor will be less, so one rope is plenty. Also, the skinnier a rope, in general, the lower the impact force, so a sketchy piece is more likely to stay in.

What are your heavy leathers? I already have the Sportiva Eiger (new version of the Karakoram), and have found that the flex, using Grivel G12's, is noticeable.

Even DFA, who is undoubtedly the world's wisest sage, has only two stars. What is the world coming to?

I picked up the Smith Monashee at Berg's today (I am currently near Eugene). I have yet to try them while skiing, but hope they will work. One point of interest: Smith says that when wet, the inner lens becomes soft (!), and easily scratched. WTF? Can't they keep lenses hard when wet? Apparently not.

I was going on the bus, but nobody signed up, so the bus is cancelled. I am now located in Springfield, but will be able to get to Eugene Sat. morning. If anybody could give me a ride, I'd appreciate it. I have gas money! PM me or email, pbelitz@u.washington.edu. Thanks. Paul

Hah, I was there with my parents on New Year's Eve. The weather was perfect, warm, and 6, yes, only SIX people were in the park (not including tourons). We did all the route on Morning Glory (except Zebra Zion). God, Smith is SO much nicer when nobody is around!

Wait till next week. I'll email you.

Yeah, rock shoes are simple (now that I've got them figured out), but I am trying to decide what ice boots to buy.

I am looking for some ski goggles. I want something with a low price, and very little fogging, and a lens that improves contrasts. Style doesn't matter, and neither does helmet-compatibility. Any suggestions?

After wearing them for three years they are extremely floppy. My sport shoes are Scarpa Dominators.

Again, I haven't noticed an extreme boost from tight sport shoes, compared to reasonably tight all-around shoes, even in the gym. And the slip-the-heel-under-your-foot idea doesn't work for me. IMHO, it seems like it only works for slippers and velcro shoes.

Guk mal! Est ist der Schlangeschmecker. Und er riecht auch nach Fisch, ich wiess dass gantz genau.

It depends. For tight sport shoes, numb feet after standing around for a while isn't uncommon. Numb feet this time of year at Smith aren't uncommon either. I still swear by relatively loose all-around shoes for everything rock-related.

Yeah, but what if the liners are replaced with stiffer foam, something like the intuitions?

They do run a size big. Both in rock shoes and in tele boots. (I have the T3)

Yes. Tele is far superior to AT when you own tele equipment. AT is far superior to tele when you own AT equipment. I own tele. Hence, tele is far superior to AT. I have never used AT. Any questions? (How's this for a biased, uninformed opinion? )

I do a lot or rock climbing, inside and outside, both sport and trad. (5.12 and 5.10, respectively, for those wondering). I use a beat-up pair of Boreal Aces for everything, and I have yet to find a route that I can climb in my tight, painful, cambered Scarpas and not in my Aces. Yet many people swear that for anything harder than 5.10 you need a high-performance shoe. Now my question is as follows: does this also occur with the plastic vs leather ice boot debate? How many people can climb harder in "high-performance" boots than in "all-around" boots? (Excluding hard mixed, where weight is a huge factor).

I seem to remember a "tech tip" in an ancient issue of Climbing magazine on this issue. The author reccomended using a tuoluene-based rubberizing goo to cover tool handles with, adding a shoelace beneath the goo to give more texture. Rand rubber (I assume you are talking about rock shoe rubber) probably wouldn't work, IMO. It is too hard for good adhesive properties. And wet rock shoes don't stick very well. Good luck.