Dane

Obviously some missed the sarcasm. 105mm shells last I looked were expensive. Signage isn't. Avi control guys don't generally just roll out the big guns, bombs or avi lauchers for fun. People keep track of that stuff and it isn't usually the same guys who get to play with it. Control work is suppose to be a public safety issue on the highway or in a ski area, based on current forcasts. You just don't just walk away and come back tomorrow (or in this case 3 days later!) if your forcast says you'll have big slides and you need to shoot now. You get paid to "solve" those issues with as little damage as possible. You are suppose to post easily seen and understood signs, you then physically clear the area if required and then proceed to blow shit up. Anyone gives you a hard time, like ignoring signs, you address accordingly. Complaining about it in the news paper and 2nd hand on the internet sounds like they are looking for a budget windfall or someone was just our playing with the toys and wanted to finish off this year's ammo allotment. Simply because if it was important enough the guys would have hung around, cleared the area and did the control work. Instead they, "pack up the howitzer and drive back to Twisp". Nice...on so many levels

Absolutely Free is a great 5.9...couple of ways to do it as well. The Doggie climbs Diversions/Diviations and Lancelot are as very good but not multi pitch.. You get three pitches on Reeds. Commissioneers Buttress, Pos. 4th Street come to mind as well. Rad already mentioned Braille Book. Grack and Mr. Natural are short ones on the Apron, both way fun one easy one hard. Something that is fun but some aid is a quick trip (easy one day) of the s face of the column. Easier and resonably long is Arrowhead Arête. Here is some recent beta (not mine) off Rixon's which is one of my favorites..and better than it sounds. Mostly 5.9/.10a. p1 was challenging, with the crack a bit too thin for solid fingerlocks.It took good wired stoppers for pro, though, and once I committed to using my feet it was not too desperate (5.9). p2 had the famous 5.10c long reach or "cartwheel move" to traverse to the right crack. I took one hang when I could not make the reach my first try. I went back to the corner, and tried it with my left foot on the smaller right foothold, which gained me a little more distance but not enough to make a solid reach. So I told Chris to watch me and I lunged for the hand jam, which worked just fine. I ran it out up the easy crack to the belay, so I could belay to the left and give Chris a proper overhead belay for the crux. Chris is 5'3" and was able to reach her foot over to the flake, but couldn't set up for a lunge, so she made 2 solid attempts, but fell twice and then left it for another day. p3 is the fun low angle crack to the undercling - no problems. p4 is a steeper face with a couple of fixed pins, which I have always thought of as the "Gunks simulator". It had a fun reach left from a big pocket to a flake which I had forgotten about. Chris took a couple of falls on the last part of this pitch, which is a left-leaning corner which is a combination lieback and jam. p5 has a brief but intense slightly overhanging corner hand crack that I remembered well. Chris had a couple of hangs on it, which I explained had happened to all my other partners on it in the past!

Which reminds me. All that water makes the Devils bath tubb (by Serenity) something not to be missed late in the day. Visuals can be stunning Kinda like this.

Central Pillar on Middle is likely as busy as Nutcracker. But well worth it as is East But of Middle. West Face of Rixons and the Good Book are excellent as well. Serenity and Sons is a must do. Snake Dike worth the walk over RArches which is a good solo as well. Best advice on Nutcraker has already been said..solo it by the 5.9 crack start. Spend some time at Sunny side bench and do Jam crack, Bummer, Lazy Bum and then Bishop's Terrace. All of Reeds and Lunatic Fringe are also short must does down the Valley. List can go on forever of "must does". Tough part about Yosemite is wanting to do everything you have done before plus all the new stuff every trip. Have a great trip!

Generally the sox lasted shoes are slipper like. The Scarpa Techno is getting close to a cross over from sox to board lasted support. Obviously a huge difference between the Katana lace up or the TC pro's lasts and fit. Lots of input here on current slipper technology shoes but they are not really trad shoes by the generally accepted historical definition. No question you can use any shoe on trad routes and many will then pull their shoes off at the end of every pitch. Wear a good board lasted shoe super tight as I have done and you'll still want to pull it off on long routes and rest your feet. I find the comments below on true board last shoes interesting in that same historical perspective. Obviously they are not shoe designs in vogue and you won't see them in the gym. The slipper shoes were born in the Gym and originally designed for trianing to make your feet stronger. "The ACE is a medium stiff, all-around, lightweight low cut shoe equally competent climbing micro-edges, thin cracks and steep friction slabs. The ACE has probably been used to put up more hard crack climbs in Yosemite and Joshua Tree than any other shoe. It is a favorite of trad climbers for its versatility and comfort - on routes ranging from one pitch crag climbs to do-it-in-a-day Grade V's and VI's. Board lasted for super support" "Hans' Florine choose this shoe for his record ascent of the Nose on El Capitan - check out Masters of Stone VI for the beta! The BALLET is one of the classics and one of the few meticulously hand made, board lasted climbing shoes! Ankle high cut gives extra support for technical edging and protection in ankle eating fist and off-width cracks." "Ask the man who's put more time in free climbing El Cap routes - Tommy Caldwell - and he'll tell you this is "his shoe". The TC Pro was designed to be his versatile weapon for all day, all kind climbing. " Worth pausing to think why Caldwell put his name on this particular shoe and how hard he is climbing and has for years. There is a reason all three of these shoes look very similar. One of the things I agree with is technique goes a long ways on shoe will work for you. Slipper thin shoes that slot your big toe into thin cracks can be an advantage on thin finger cracks. Sometimes a huge advantage. But the older style board lasted shoes will climb them easily as well you just use different techniques. Rand smears become a way of life as do rand torques and the extra support offers more chances to face climb on small holds as well as smear the edges of thin cracks. Coldfinger offers good info as well, "if you really liked the VS for fit go with the Miura". The laces will offer more support than the velcro. Bachar's last trad shoe design which seems a lot like a updated Ace. The Acopa Legend. Croft flashing .13c in '87 in the still available Boreal Ballet. And what the Huber's think is a trad shoe Muira VS i think? All this is just food for thought.

Looks like nothing under a 41 in the country yet or no one bought them which is possible. Which has got to suck either way. Might be worth trying Scarpa direct...but sadly no deals to be had there ;(

Yep, having done control work you either need to shoot or you don't. The guys were idiots for not paying attention to the signs and being on route. And should have been tracked down and cited. But you don't flip a coin on control work. If you think it needs to be shot, you shoot. The idea is public safety trumps public access every time.

Depends on what you want/call a "trad" shoe. Mythos do climb most terrain well but is not a trad shoe in any form. It is a laced slipper. Edging performance depends on how tightly they are fit to support edging or loose for comfort. Mythos stretch generally a full size if you can stand the pain till they do. Most trad shoes are board lasted with a leather or synthetic mid sole. Which is why they will edge so well and offer some comfort and support in cracks. The TC Pro is good as is the Boreal Ace, Equinox, Ballet and the Tradmaster. Same reason many of the old Boreals and Sportiva trad shoes bring high dollars on ebay. Easy to resole and they last almost forever. Lots of support and they climb well. Crertainly not in vogue these days but the Ace rocks for long crack climbs. Not the place many will be using a Mythos. The trick going from a sport shoe to a trad shoe is no longer being on point. It is all about more comfort. Trad shoes should fit with your toes snug, not folded. Lost of examples here: http://www.mtntools.com/cat/rclimb/rshoes/02rshoes.htm

Just curios what day this was...today..Friday morning? Lots of TRs from up there recently.

Make a date and let me know when...it would be fun.

IVAN! You obviously NEED this book...send me a mailing address I think I might even have one autographed specially for you.

Hey Sobo! Just reread the original post....dude, that was grim. We should have a reunion Your lead this time though!

4 down two to go.........

on sale... http://www.bentgate.com/scphgumobo.html

2 down 4 to go...

Hey there! Mike Layton (the "Layton" at CC.com) has been a big supporter of "Pay it Forward" here at CC.com from the beginning. I have 6 copies of Mike's training/climbing/lifestyle book to give to those that might be able to use them. The first 6 folks under 20 years old to post to this thread and send me a PM with your mailing address will get a copy. "Climbing Sronger, Faster, Healthier By Michael A Layton, D.C. Great book btw! Here is the original thread. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/922495/1

Hey Matt, I'll give you a serious answer. A guy named Jim comes to mind, hiking boots, blue jeans and a cowboy hat I met on top of DC. Windy, cold day and he should have never left Muir with the gear he had in those conditons. His party had dumped him there on top DC at the flat. Same place RMI use to dump the stragglers and pick them up on the way back down. And where real climbing skills are then needed to get to the summit and down safely with no more cow path to follow. Anyway the guy was in rough shape. We gave him something to eat and drink, a warm jacket, And he ended up summiting with us. Better than his other option which was to attempt to get off DC on his own. The guy was a little freaked when we ran into him and rightfully so. My point? Rainier on a good day can be "easy". You can see the crevasses and there is a literal cow path up DC that is hard to fall down in let alone get out of. On a bad day Rainier can hand anyone their ass with crevasses, weather, wind and altitude. It is not a mountain to take lightly in any month. Self arrest, crevasse rescue, altitude experience and winter navigation skills are mandatory if you are going on your own imo. Good suggestions on doing other peaks first...Hood, St Helens this time of year, Baker, Shasta and Adams use to be the right of passage to Rainier and with good reason. Rainier is not Mt Whitney or any 14K peak in Colorado. But both are good places to climb/hike before doing Rainier. Just not the only places. Rainier is a BIG and heavy glaciated mtn. Reading a book is a good start to a climbing education. By simply asking the question, "can I do Rainier without a guide" tells me you have no business on the mt above 10K feet by yourself. Pays to remember, guides, clients and some good climbers have all been killed on DC for all sorts of reasons. The mtn will still be there when you are ready.

List of injuries is too long to write down. But really no serious injuries until the last couple of years. At least what I would call "serious". To me "serious" now is a few months off instead of a few weeks so my perspective has changed. And "serious" means you are reminded of it daily for a few years to come. Best rehab is what you can do. When I couldn't walk inside, I walked in a pool. When I could swim I started there. Still couldn't walk though. Then on my bike with a trainier and finally on the road. When I couldn't climb, I hiked. There was a time not long ago I couldn't walk to the end of the block. Then later I could walk a mile. Then 10. I ice climb because I still can't climb difficult rock. See a pattern? Do what you can and let pain be your guide as long as you aren't reinjuring yourself. You have to be your own advocate no matter how good your Doc or PT folks are. Nothing is forever...well very few things anyway....if you are willing to put in the work. FWIW I am 2 years out on my last major injury. And not a day goes by that I am not reminded of something physically. But I also get a little better every day as well. So there is always progress if I am willing to put in the effort. In the end it never seems like a long time to wait and the injuries don't seem all that bad. Good luck!

Rudi I am thinking it is the #4 size shoes that help as well That and having the power to weight ratio of a cyborg!

Just out of curiosity I had Dave Page rip off the original heavier Vibram sole and add a lwt factory La Sportiva sole. Save 3+oz per boot and added some insulation in the sole. (not that I thought the insulation was needed mind you) Thought someone else might like to see how they came out. Still a couple hundred under the Spantik's retail with the resole if you buy smart and I suspect very close in warmth. Some added benefits as well imo. Details and specs on the blog. LWT sole installed Factory fresh

Ya, you are right Wayne, I feel so much better now

Geeeesus, any chance you can remove my name from a thread titled "old guys" I used some manky shit early on but nothing that scary!

Ya, Marc's project brought back some memories. So fun for me that way. The plan was to film from 2 tree but the weather and the 2 other teams Marc jumped ahead of made that seem unattractive. Never even considered filming from the ground till I got to the base of the rock. If nothing else Marc will have a record of what he did. Gotta be a free program out there to stabilize the video.

More...sorry it is 10x and a long ways away so lots of shaking. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyWtODXHCzY and the cocoa puff kids

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HN3HcYJJM6A May be more stressful to watch in person than to do I have to laugh at myself for holding my breath while Marc worked the moves.