retired

1st pitch soft shoe ballet, picnic lunch wall, smith rock. a sharp flake sits on the ground and points right at your puckering butthole...once was enough, other two pitches not bad.

Mt. Adams south side road access?- Just wondering how far up the road is drivable, anyone been up recently?

You gals should be lining up to climb with Cody, he looks like Jude Laws better looking more buff older brother, and very available...now pay up dude!

Hey big boy why you looking for a climbing partner when you got me?

If you are using adjustable aiders and adjustable daisies there is just too much adjusting going on and the cluster factor becomes intolerable. In additon if you ever have a problem with the adjutable daisies getting twisted around (everyone does) intensify this by about double for the aiders with their added length. The wall ladders are just a straight up and down ladder with seven steps, not like and aider that has steps to either side, that ambidextriousness (is that a word?)is how I get by with just two. With the Yates the steps are two inches wide, there is a great plastic grab handle and loop at the top, the second and third steps from the bottom have a little elastic band sewn under the step that you can attach to keep your foot in while jugging, they are a little heavy but just going with two more than makes up for that. I'm now in my second period of big wall climbing and couldn't believe how much the gear has improved from my first addiction in the late 70's early 80's cam hooks, hybrid aliens, and adjustable daisies make things a lot easier and cleaner, jugging with one ascender and gri gri, leading in blocks with short fixing, all great inovations to help speed things up.

I climb a lot of aid and was given a set of the easy aiders. I gave them a good test and I'm back with my Yates wall ladders, just 2 for all aid. the easy aiders are great for jugging however and if you have a compatable partner a good system might be to trade off lead and cleaning set ups. I also prefer the Yates adjustable not only because of the increased saftey factor(they are rated at 1.5K) but you can also release them under load...impossible with the Metolius adjustable. I have witnessed my partner taking a daisey fall on a newer metolius adjustable and it held (180 lb + heavy rack), friends that work for metoliius tell me they actually test out around 1K but they won't rate them that high. those that really know swear by the russian aiders just to make things even more complex....but hey that's aid climbing in a nutshell. Jim

Just back from Smith and it felt like May, passing the sad sight of meadows is the crux. After that sliding fall I saw you take on the news, are you sure you're up for it;-)

I have a pair mounted for tele with hammerhead bindings. Great stable platform and don't feel soft to my 150 lbs, a powerfull ski. already sctatched up due to the poor coverage and my quest for new snow. I know you were talking AT but with the hammerhead in position 4, it's pretty close.

If you decide to "go do Bubbas", bring a cheat stick for the second pitch. A crucial hook move blew out on me last winter on the bolted traverse, it needs a bolt unless you're very good at nailing mud...straight up! 3 feet with a hook on the end will work. What kind of a joker would use hangers like those?

Friends? Does Bad Bob have any friends, figured he would have switched to camalots like most folks by now. I'm more an aquaintence than a friend but give him my best. A more unforgettable person doesn't exist. My first contact was at Castle rock where totally univited he started marking new routes in my brand new guide book with a pen. The whole time he was parting my and my partners hair (back in 78 I had hair) with his enthuiastic gushing beta while wearing a funny little sailor hat, we never had a chance to even think about trying to get a word in. Jim

Buddy it's hard to find partners for the menagerie, That's why I perfected my rope soloing technique up there. My friend Kent has been talking about climbing there this weekend, we're climbing together tomorrow I'll ask if he wants a partner.

Thought I would answer the pm here incase there are some other prospective monster climbers out there, and thanks for the kind words John. I have climbed the Turkey free and with aid and believe me it's easier as a free climb. I'm talking the regular north face route. Pitch 1 is mostly bolts (of various age and soundness) and goes around 10a, pitch 2 is the crux on aid because of the horrible rock thru the overhang, it goes free around 10c. The 3rd pitch is the free climbing crux 11a but on aid is a bolt ladder up to an easy slab to the summit. Be carefull and test pull your ropes if rapping the route, numerous stuck ropes have occured here. For a rack you will need no pins but a pretty good selection up to 3.5 inch ( when I aided it we had a few early friends but used a lot of big hexes, the crux was body weighting on the bad rock of the second pitch). A good idea might be a bolt kit and extra webbing for replacing ancient bolts and for rap anchors that are seldom used. This weekend looks great but it wont be long till the upper road is snowed in. good luck and post back how it went. wish I could be up there this weekend but have family obligaions Jim

Here are some samples of the rope mats I make or will make for you...p.m. me if interested http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/showphoto.php?photo=7842&sort=1&cat=503&page=1

touching the void will be a lot easier with a tool like that!

No, it like Beacon rock are in Washington but for some reason considered Oregon by most folks?

Enjoyed a beautiful shirtless day at Horsethief butte today, bouldering and top rope soloing. Noticed some slings halfway up one of the highest but chossiest sections (what were you thinking???) and the booty run was on. Quite a little pile was in my pack 20 minutes later but shit it's nothing I need, don't you people have cams? so name it and it's yours for the story.

the photo captioned astro chicken is incorrect. Kent is on The Beak 11a, Rooster rock.

I'll spice it up...been putting up route after route at Area-51. It won't be too much longer before the cat slips out of the bag a little further. don't forget the menagerie for a great fall adventure, sits above the valley fog up in the sunshine. So i've been traveling from Washington to climb in Oregon, not to bring up a sore subject. peace and climb

My friend and guide book author Greg Orton has been trying to unite the world of climbers and wildlife biologists. He has been spearheading a movment to have climbers monitor peregrine nesting sites for the forest service. during a training session last winter a bio named Pegal claimed there was a peregrine killed at Beacon by climbers sometime in the 90's Greg would like to have any info on this incident, which quite frankly I believe is false, so he can call the man on his fabrication. thanks. Jim

Regarding the ratings on the west face, about 1990 30 feet of the origninal route fell off changing the climb. I felt like it was about 5.7 pre rock fall. Seeing the yellow dots( which didn't offend me in the least) in the picture west face came to mind but falling anywhere in the vicinity would end where they were found. Very sad news condolences to any freinds and family

July 23rd 1980. I remember cramponing straight up to just south of the pinnacle at the top of the ridge. On top of north at 8:40, middle 10:30 and south 2:37. thanks for the thread so I could look up a great memory in my climbing journal.

When I did it, we climbed North up the Thayer glacier, Middle from the saddle then the long slog up the north ridge of south. 14 hours car to car with an hour spent being lost trying to find the pole creek trail coming off south. Summer time lots of scree but no skeeters.

right on Tex...sounds like fun??? Hope to get down there for the shield in the fall maybe we should climb togeether some time. Jim

You have made me so homesick! In the shot after the rabbit ears you're looking at boulder dome, cockatoo tower, royal arch and thin left to right with just the head of the coyote in the foreground. the next shot is of the cathedral, it only has one route and the first ascent party can't remember where it went??? it may be one of the biggest formations but the approach is beyond horrendous. I'll be back up there soon! Jim

right on corvallis, welcome to the Menagerie, climb rawhide on chicken next time.