chris

Gene, There is still ass-kicking ice to be had in the Sierra. This year I'm betting U-Notch, V-Notch, and Mendel will be out. The North Couloir on North Peak can be done in a long day (I've only climbed it in September, but with the snow this year?) Check out the Left and Right Couloirs on Thompson (I'm forgetting their actual names), and the North Couloir on Mt Gilbert. You can base camp right in between these two peaks and climb all three in long trip. 60m rap anchors are established on the left side of the Left Couloir on Thompson, and on the East Ridge of Gilbert. PM me and I can send you better details about how to approach, where to camp, and where the rap stations are. Chris

I just saw two climbers with overnight packs bicycling up Icicle Creek Canyon this afternoon - another adventure in the making?

My homeowners/renters insurance specifically includes loss of property inside my car (my auto insurance specifically doesn't) and while travelling. Its cheap, simple and practical.

Just for the record, its my understanding that bouldering developement - especially the "improvement" of landing zones, is what caught the NCPS attention in Newhalem. Until they finish a new management plan that includes climbing/bouldering along the National Recreation Area corridor, there is a voluntary stop on development. As far as I know, the online link that Off White provided is still the best resource. Have fun!

Ditto. The WWU gym is relatively the best. Don't know what access is like for the public.

I agree with Bob. Not necessarily that the bolts didn't need to be chopped, but that those who did so should step up, and those that know who they are should speak up too. If you're brave enough to act, surely you're brave enough to speak for your actions.

I use one all summer between 10'000 and 14'000 feet in the Sierra.

The lodge is called the Tambopaxi: http://www.tambopaxi.com/

Interesting thoughts, all. For what its worth, the AMGA (MtnFund's second "A") is indeed a nonprofit. And rightfully so. While MtnFund did a great job quoting the mission statement, you didn't do a very good job looking into what the AMGA does. It is first an educational non-profit, offering courses and exams that create a national standard and raise the level of technical skills in the guiding community. It also provides guide services a national accreditation standard, which is a useful tool for clients. Since the United States government doesn't have a national standard for guides or guide services operating in the U.S. (each NPS, BLM, and USFS is responsible for setting their own requirements), the AMGA is also lobbying to raise awareness of the AMGA and the need for a national standard (PM me or start another thread if you really want me to rant on about this). The majority of the outdoor industry's support of the AMGA is in the form of grants to students to help lower the cost of courses and exams (running programs at a 3:1 or 2:1 ratio isn't cheap), and the AMGA is working to create an endowment fund for tuition costs. It pays its office staff equivalent salaries of other non-profits of its financial size. Personally, I think overseas climbing-educational nonprofits, like the Khumbu Climbing School, go hand-in-hand with other more traditional non-profits like the Central Asia Institute. The KCS provides job training that can raise a participant's annual income, while the CAI provides a service by building a community resource. So they both deserve my support and promotion. Mountain climbing is a selfish endeavor, and I never believe that climbers are some unique form of tourist that impact local communities less than others. When I'm guiding in the United States or abroad, I have a point of making my clients aware of local non-profits that could benefit from their support. P.S. MtnFund, please check your PM's

I'm going to be going on the "Five Weeks In Western China" weight loss program this summer.

I think that's the last "bowl" before gaining the saddle and starting up Pumice Ridge on the C-D route. That icefalls is constantly calving, and I often notice a high route traversing the bowl, often right through the debris. If you look closely in John's photos, you'll see another track crossing the very toe of the debris field. I think people use the upper side of the bowl as a "handrail" in adverse weather instead of a compass bearing, either (a)ignorant of , or (b) ignoring the hazard hanging above their head. A third option is that they're taking a "calculated risk", but I can't speak very highly of their math.

There's also a great program paying Sherpa staffs for bringing down loads of trash from the high camps. I'm told that the famous pictures - like what Dru showed above - don't reflect the current view. Edit: I just broke my own ban. Goddamnit.

Doesn't Redpoint still have a shop in Bend too?

I'm looking for a CAMP STH harness, size Large.

Wow, I find the Millet, Lafuma, and North Face packs to not fit my back very well. I've had a lot of luck lately with Black Diamond, and I'm looking at Deuter and Marmot for next season.

Timy, Things are pretty busy that time of year, you should be able to pick up a partner in the Portal parking lot or at Iceberg Lake. You can also check out RockClimbing.com - a lot more California climbers are there. Chris

Choada, There's a for real library at WWU's Outdoor Center - If you offer to leave behind a driver's license they'll let even non-students borrow a guidebook to take up to the photocopier on the 6th floor.

This REAL climber thinks the "route" is an ethical atrocity. "Enjoy" it while it lasts....its days are numbered. And you say you're from Exit 39!

Latest news is that they're working to open the Nisqually Road by 15 May, and the White River Road by 25 May. http://www.nps.gov/mora/parknews/upload/RebuildingRainier022607.pdf

I climbed it a few years ago. This year my goal is to climb it again, then to repeat the original West Face solo ascent - I'm convinced that the WF solo only shares a few pitches with IB, and I want to see for myself.

True, but I have always been surprised by this. Set up a test anchor biner that is somehow fixed in place such as maybe loaded with something else hanging from it. Then tie a clove hitch to it and wiggle and whip the ends around. It is distressingly easy to deform the "knot" and open it up so that it looks not at all like any kind of knot but merely some loose loopes around a carabiner. I have actually had this happen spontaneously while I was messing around with haul bags and stuff at a belay. I haven't tested it, but I bet the "knot" will slip a ways before it catches again (I hope testing would reveal that it will always catch again, but I have seen this result in loops running through the "top" of the carabiner in such a fashion that I could imagine it might be possible for a pull from the wrong direction to cause one to spontanesouly unclip). Anyway, it is distressing. I'm guessing this is why it is called a "hitch" and not a "knot." I never rely on a single clove hitch for an anchor even if it may be AMGA approved. I have discussed this with several guides and they have uniformly rejected my concern. Matt, I'd argue that an appropriately tightened clove will not "shake-out" as you've described in normal circumstances. At least, it never has for me. Any knot, and any technique, needs to be applied appropriately.

As my girlfriend just pointed out, people's hand size plays a huge role in deciding what qualifies as OW. For her, #1 is hands, #2 is fist, and #3 starts OW...I'm like you, #2-hands, #3-fist, and +3 starts OW. Your climbs are added to The List. Blake, enough alpine out of you. No one is going to hike hours to climb a multipitch route just to climb the OW pitch at the top!

I hear you. I don't climb with a daisy anymore. Another cool feature of a clove is that it can be tied one-handed on the biner.

Check again, especially at the bottom. With a 9mm rope, correctly tied knot failure was at 2600 lbs, meaning an incorrectly tied knot could cause a carabiner failure as low as 1560 lbs. Not inconceivable to have this occur before your gear fails. The point of the article was to be aware, and be careful. And for what its worth, the clove is considered a suitable tie in knot without a "backup" by the ACMG and AMGA.

Dudes, I don't make the news, I just report it...