chris

I've purchased two camera's recently. One was to run on AA batteries, so that it could be taken to Asia and South America, and on multi-day trips here in North America and batteries are much easier to find than to carry around cords and plugs and adapters and whatnot. The second camera was to be as small as possible for day trips. I wanted both to be at least 5mpeg. That's it. Both models ended up being Sony's, which is nice cause it means I can exchange the memory card (which you have to purchase seperately).

We have an insane amount of mozzy's right now, and there is still a lot of snow above 10000 feet.

This #7 is almost in mint condition. It was given to me on a rack of anchor material to be used for a rappel route here in the Sierra's, and I couldn't bare to use it.

The only time I've ever needed the Petzl Arctic was when I wintered over at McMurdo Station back in 1998. Otherwise, its extreme overkill. I used a Petzl Zoom on Rainier until the Gemini came out. Now I just use the Gemini when I need to do routefinding in the dark, and if I don't I use a Tikka.

I just really like having one belay/rappel tool that does it all, and I'm willing to put up with a little rougher handling to have it.

So I have a #7, straight-sided, with shrink wrap and "tested" like you described. Is it correct to believe it was produced in 1980?

So is the new guidebook going to follow the Indian Creek example of grading the climbs solely on the width of the crack?

Well, I've been here for three weeks, climbing from Tioga Pass to Whitney, and here is my conditions report for the Eastern and High Sierra as of today. The snow is melting incredibly fast, though the snowpack is still above average. From the Palisades to the north significant snow can be found from 10,000 feet and higher. As of June 1, the snowpack was still equal to the April 1 annual average snowpack, but incredible heat for the last week of June and first week of July melted things FAST. Although the Whitney region received above average snowfall this past winter, it still had a lower snowpack than farther north, and the snow line is respectively higher. The monsoon season is upon us and thunderstorms can be expected in the afternoon whenever a humid weather front comes in from the Pacific. The mozzies, sand-flys, and other insects that bite are vicious but unpredictable. Last week in the Whitney Portal you could be bled to death. This week I was bit once in eight hours. Better to bring the bug-dope then risk your sanity. In the Whitney region, the trail is almost snow-free all the way to Iceberg lake. The deep snowpack that had filled the mountaineers route is now ice in the upper 1000' of the lower and upper gullies. Climbers ascending Day, Keeler, or the East face/buttress routes of Whitney are recommended to cary crampons and/or ice axes for the descent down the Mountaineers route. Further north, the low elevation snowpack makes for excellent approaches to the alpine rock routes. Bring light crampons and ski poles to reach Middle Pal, Temple Crag, anything in Palisade Basin, or similar elevations and basin in the High Sierra. Conness has snow as low as Saddlebag Lakes, making for a wet, sloppy descent after climbing. U-Notch, V-Notch, and North Couloir on North Peak are still primarily neve, but should be melting down to ice fast - I'm expecting these to be in condition within a week to 10 days from now. If anyone has any specific questions about conditions in the area, feel free to send me a PM.

You can always email BD's customer service...

That's right. They all suck. You won't want to bother with them...

I'm on my third Reverso. It is pretty sweet thought, and for a while was the only one of its kind. I'm getting ready to purchase an BD ATC Guide, and will try to post a review of it towards the end of the summer...

I was dropped aproximately 20m, to the deck, by my belayer in 1990. He thought I was down climbing the 5.7 slab route I had just finished leading, and I thought he was going to lower me. I was lucky to walk away with a severly sprained wrist and a bone bruise on my left ass cheek that kept me sitting on half of a chair for the next three weeks. This was before Gri-gri's, and he was using a simple tube device. Apparently my weighting the rope shocked him so much that the brake strand was pulled from his light grip and he couldn't grab the whipping rope before I hit the deck. We had climbed with each other numerous times, and we climbed together again after my wrist healed up. In another incident in 1996, I watched my friend Dan allow the rope end snake through his hand and belay device, dropping Amy the last three or four meters onto her ass. She walked away with nothing more than the shakes. This incident occurred on a route that all three of us were familiar with - the common practice was to downclimb the last bit (this was before 70m ropes were commonly sold). The lesson in both of these cases is attention. Both accidents were preventable by attentive belayers (a stopper knot in the second incident too). In the first incident, a Gri-gri probably would have saved me a month of discomfort and a season of overcoming my fear of being lowered from a climb. Even now I'm more comfortable rappelling than lowering. Gri-gri's have saved me too. This winter I took a 40+ footer in El Potrero, which lifted my 110 lbs belayer up to the first bolt - 20+ feet off the ground. If she hadn't been using a Gri-gri (she intentionally was), what were the odds that she would hold onto the break strand while being cheese-grated across the limestone? Nonetheless, you have to trust your belayer. You have to. Because the chance that your partner might make a mistake is a subjective hazard of the sport, and you can't claim negligence because they made a mistake, no more than your belayer has the right to claim negligence when that obviously loose block you pulled on falls and breaks their arm (another accident I've witnessed, in which the belayer still held the fall!). Lawyers can practice climbing, but climbers can't practice law..

Get well soon, Kurt!

Joseph, You've made this claim before - what evidence is there that this route was bolted on rappel? Does anyone know? Matt P? I also can't see how it was done. Did they climb 23 pitches and then place bolts? It was my understanding that they bolted ground up, over two (or three?) summers. There is no easy way to the summit - even Preiss recommended against the cross-country route down the northern aspects. So how did it happen?

Joeseph and the numbers 1-8 took it too far. Take it outside to fight, boys. What I got out of this is an understanding about the history of that face, and the similarities and differences between the 1963 Route, the Preiss Route, and Infinite Bliss. Thanks to the moderators for moderating.

In light of this conversation, I've edited my orginal post in this conversation. Thanks CJ!

I'm sure they also considered the fact that they can't afford to maintain the road since some dickhead in Washington DC diverted their budget to pay for a war.

Ahhh, and I didn't mean to imply that I thought you were being a stick-in-the-mud-Mountie...

Gary, that test data gets thrown around ever time this conversation is started. But the knot flipps at loads much higher than any rappel load will encounter - 1200 and 900 lbs in your two examples. And a second double-strand overhand knot (is that a better description Matt? I hate calling it an EDK) stops flipping.

I've had a couple of close calls. Bags inspected. I even got pulled out of line for a flight from Santiago, Chile, when my fuel bottles - empty and washed - were inspected for fuel residue.

CJ, , I didn't think about those explosive hairspray canisters before I shot off my mouth, hmmm.... No, seriously, the reason we always get our chops busted about stoves on flights is because of stupid stunts like this.

Screw top canisters have become the industry majority. You should have no problem finding them in Cham. Freeburg, you're X XXXX XXX. Freeburg, I apologize for calling you a dumb ass. The following conversation shows that what you did was an understandable, if foolish, decision. And I was a bit quick to judge and run my mouth. So you're not a dumb ass. You're a fool. Or a tool. I can understand flying with empty stoves. I can even justify flying with empty liquid fuel bottles that aren't capped. But to knowingly allow a pressurized, higly flamable canister to be checked in with your luggage - essentially a bomb in the right conditions - was stupid.

more candles to light tonight...

Chirp, if anything this proves that the application of the death penalty DOES NOT reduce crime rates. Why is it that Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have lower crime rates than the United States and China, but do not apply the death penalty?