Sabertooth

If I had hands that big, my girlfriend would love me. In all seriousness, that sounds more like the pro for Steel Grille than TUIB, which is mostly 2 to 2.5" stuff. I remember Catbirdseat said he lead it recently. What did you use CBS?

I must say that I prefer the Zeros as well. No deformed stems after a whipper, and better in horizontal cracks with that super flexibility.

You mean like the last one we sent. Hey, atleast the Mars Global Surveyor is kicking some but... http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/

It is just you. Click on the first three selections at the top of the picture.

He asked for best alpine climbs. Stuff at 11worth is not alpine.

The prerequisite cource to Hiking 101, Blind Field Walking

http://www.dramaticwriter.com/beginners.html

Middle East Wall has a left facing offwidth to hand crack called 272. It is rated 2 stars, and is a pretty fun lead. You can do the wide start with a #4 friend. It is 2 climbs to the right of that awesome handcrack Sex Party. Disastor Factor is an 5.8 chimney climb at Middle East Wall. Getting past the chockstone is the crux. It's between Sex Party and Jihad. Under Duress near PIYP is a 5.8 offwidth. Haven't climbed it, I belive it is only 1 star in the book. Looks a bit dirty, but okay. That's all I can think of.

Crossing The Threashold

Why the hell would you stick your hand into that thing when there is this nice series of removable jugs only a few feet away.

Vantage has not been crowded at all recently. I agree that climbing on Granite is better, but I'd rather climb in the warm desert sun on nice long cracks (many of Vantage's sport routes suck) than freeze my ass of in the cold rain on Granite now.

The waterfall he climbed was clearly visible. He said he went up the fat one, which was on the right. I got a view of it from on the Northeast But., and it looked about 30 to 40 feet high and dead vertical. It probably just felt overhanging to him since he was soloing the route. Nice send dude!

I stashed my showshoes on Sunday before our climb, and they were gone when I got back. I would appreciate if you returned them, no questions asked. 30" Sherpa snowshoes with red frame. One of them had a broken binding, which I had a piece of blue webbing attached to to secure it. PM me.

Classic. Yes, it is suppose to snow this weekend at Vantage. Honest. Also, Sunshine Wall fell down. Also the FCCC is currently replacing all the bolts, so sport climbing is out. Middle East Wall has huge icycles all over it. I recommend climbing Granite in the rain and snow as an alternate.

Yes, they usually open mid to late May. You half to go around now (ie. over Snoqualmie Pass).

Anasazis are comfortable? They are just cut so small for supreme edging performance. Maybe you just got your's sized bigger. I hate mine on cracks, only use them on slabby to vertical sport. Any shoe with a stiff toe box and a board last that fits well should work well for crack climbing.

Jeezuschrist, Alex! 3,500 feet in 2 hours?! I'd say that's more than "decent" shape! 1,750 feet per hour on the Palmer is definately a good time. I'm ususally about 1,500 in boots, a bit faster on skins, and am only in decent shape. 1,500 gets you to the saddle in 2 hours 20 minutes. I'd rather stay in a comfy bunkbed at Timberline Lodge or at home.

Randle is on the north side. Any of the ridges on that side would be fun in winter. More protected from avys than one of the glacier routes too. The Northwest Ridge gets to about 40 to 45 degrees, if you wanted something steeper.

Some large icefall climbs like the Coleman Headwall are only doable early season. How many August or September ascents of routes like the Coleman Headwall or Klicitat Icefall do you hear about? I've seen photos of the headwall in late season and it looked SCARY.

Nice trip report. Thanks for posting the details.

BUMP Did anyone who summited this week take a look over the edge at the North Face. Big drifts? Leeward wind loaded? Somewhat consolidated? Any ideas? Anyone have a recent photo of the face?

Wow, that is an awesome shot!

3 or 4 Chicken Chalupa Supremes.

I thought you already knew that, but to refresh your memory, the current mountain is approximately 204.28 miles from the center of Yakima.

Hmmm. I'd prefer the actual book. How much do you want, including shipping, if you send me a copy of it?