jlag

It's actually Thin Slice, and it goes at 10b. Week at the City during freak Aug. cool down. Hot as hell everywhere else but perfect weather at City of Rocks. Place was empty. Tieton, Cougar, The Guillotine at Pete's(awesome route), and vendetta at Red Rocks with Walla Walla Pete. Great guy and blind date climbing partner. 5th pitch of Requim for a Tadpole is my favorite bolted pitch to date in my 38 years of life. Not climbing as hard, but having a lot more fun and adventure. JL

I'd prefer to go right for the big boy Bachy. Get a group of 10+ folks and just park at the snow park across the street. Head up uber early and just go up Rainbow and on to summit. Bring video camera as well. should be interesting. Maybe a good idea to wait a bit as all the folks are meeting this Tuesday.

I don't know firsthand, but i would say Paulina must have decent ice. 4 days of low temps below zero? 2 nights in La Pine with -20 as the low should do it.

what's the length on that Lib TRS? JL

Right, cuz i drive a Tahoe, and i'm snooty. Seems to be just as many Latte drinkers in PDX as anywhere else. Why i would come to Hood to b/c ski? They'll wrestle you down at Meadows and half the time anything above T-Line is ice and rime. Anybody wanna guinea-pig this policy w/me at Bachelor? I imagine they'll send F.S. up to bring me down, but it would be nice to just see what happens. I want to get in on this meeting(as well as lots of others) but it doesn't sound public? What's the deal? JL

Funny part is we had some folks call the local Sheriff and he just laughed. Stated point blank that he is not coming up to the mountain to arrest a skinner for breaking some policy that Mt.Bachy made up. All public input should be heard on this topic. Mt Bachy is trying to do things behind closed doors, and then crying "safety". Winch cable grooming is one the concerns for uphill traffic. They don't have anyone certified to run the "Avalauncher" yet. And they don't plan on shooting it any higher than the moraine, not in the bowl. At least that is what i have heard from Patrol.

Great photos Bill. I will get on one of those slab routes next time i'm in town. Glad to have finally met you, even it was at a Blackjack table sitting with Ken and not climbing. We knew you were in town, just funny that ended up crossing paths there.Can't say enough about the Fetish Pit dancers/dealers eh? JL

"it can't be done well" What do you mean by well? Like i couldn't keep up with ya? Let's go out sometime, i beg to differ. Unless your putting up M7 with your ski's on your back, then count me out. I climb well with soft boots and crampons, pretty much anything around here. I mean, i wouldn't wear them up the N.F. of Hood but i would up Cooper Spur. With the BOA system on my boots i can loosen or super-tighten them on the fly. I rode PMB on the split for an entire year, i can ride anything with them. JL

I guess i'm just confused as why some of you think i can't tour/climb in the mountains with my splitboard? Are you saying i can't ride icy exits the same as you with ski's? If it's no big deal i just use my Voile crampons. Or i throw my BD contact cramps on my snowboard boots to climb. If i anticipate steeper icy stuff then i just climb in plastic Mt. boots/cramps and ride down in them. Works for me everytime, i guess i don't understand what all the fuss is about. My guess would be that some of you just don't have much exposure with folks that have been splitboarding/climbing for a while now. Of course i gaped at first, but now i pretty much keep up with anyone i'm out with. All 3 Sisters, Mt Jefferson, tons on Hoody, Broken Top, Thielsen, whatever. Really no difference between me and any skier i'm travelling with. The rolling flats are the only catch with a split board, but i'm learning to ski them with the board in ski mode. JL

you might want to re-check the weather for Smith Rock. Cold with a 30% chance of rain. Sunday looks clear, and a high of 45. Just FYI.

All this coming from someone who if i remember correctly wrote a TR about climbing Super Slab at Smith. Which is a great route i must admit. But how is that different that anyone else's? I guess that falls in your "must be a 3 hour drive" rule? Oh, now i know how you came up with 3 hours. Ivan, your all good. We got your back. JL

What bothers him is that he's teeming with envy about Ivan getting out. He has to cut him down to size everytime. Kevbone never has anything positive to say about Ivan's climbing. Make weak-ass comments about how much time he spends with his family? None of your business. Grow up. Reminds me of the teenagers i work with. Step on another to make yourself feel higher. I love reading Ivan's TR's, in my opinion he's a good writer. Lots of humour in his writing and the guy sacks up. Much more than i can say about the guy starting this thread. He thinks a 15 foot fall is a huge whipper. Keep Ivan's TR just as is. JL

Uber-Classic? Maybe if someone painted the holds cool colors it would be classic, gym-rat style. Or maybe perma-chain draws? JL

Radek Did you see bolts continuing up next to The Mitten? I thought i saw an anchor up there at the base of it, i'm sure that's what you rapped off. Quite a feature, i'd like to get a better look at it. I can't believe how cool The Wombat is, such a huge wall. Will, i tend to concentrate more on climbing and less on photos. Why don't you grow some balls and go climb it? Or should i say aid it. JL

Trip: Smith Rocks- The Wombat - Santiam Hwy Ledges Date: 9/21/2009 Trip Report: Big up to Tyler for bringing this route back up to par. We got on this yesterday and had a ball. The new bolt spacing is awesome, not too sporty so bring some gear to supplement the crux. Great 5.10 moves with pucker-up exposure. Great ledges for belays. Of course we took no pictures, too busy climbing. With the traversing nature of the climb, it would be hard to get any climbing photos. Do not discount the scrambling to get off this route, route finding is not a gimme and pro is a joke. Barely 5th class with lots of loose and suspect rock. Felt like alpine Tuft climbing with some serious no-fall zones. One question for Tyler, the line doesn't follow the actual Santiam Hwy route line in Watt's guide? Variation? Does the old line actually exist. Noticed a new bolt line leaving the belay for pitch one, going up to The Mitten. Does this line punch through to the top? I'd be up for that route. once again thanks JL

My advice would be get someone to pick you up at the Green Lks TH after S. Sister. Hiking back to Pole Creek after the Marathon would be pretty brutal. I think it's around 6-8 miles depending on how you come off South. but burly may be your thing.

You've got the right idea, but i'd really have to see the situation to provide a decent assessment. The risk you take is making the backcut with that pressure already applied. If there is any heart-rot or insect damage on the inside of that tree, it could blow out/barber chair the back while your backcutting. A pretty serious situation if your right there. Wedges might be a good idea, with the rope used just to stop it from falling back in case. JL

If those drawings are Native American art, then i'm the Jolly Green Giant. They are right at the base of Entering Relativity, which sports a weird spot of heavy red gloss on the rock. All you have to do is dip your finger in the red, and presto, you can draw on the rock. The red stick figures do look very similiar to other "real" art that i've seen in Dry Canyon. But i do believe these were recently added and not the real deal. Anyone could add them anytime. I was in that area a year ago and don't remember ever seeing the stick figures or lines. They are a bit faded which makes them look more real. I'm no professional but i call B.S. The new stick figures drawn in chalk under Blackened are pretty comical.

Unless your a competent climber in both the Gorge and on Tuff, it's really hard to be giving out accurate info on grades. I wouldn't begin to grade stuff in the Gorge, as i suck down there. It depends so much on trad experience, height, hand size, etc. Also remember grading started out as a base opinion on if one was ON-SIGHTING the climb, not TR or following. At least that's why my old school ass was always taught. This makes a really big difference. Just climb and have a good time. Too much empasis on grading leads to EGO climbing and not enough just moving over stone. If your a climber it runs in your blood, period. JL

It's been there for over a week, i didn't pull it as i was concerned it was from some sort of incident. I coiled up the bottom, threw it in the rope bag and tucked it away. Looks like the large block on the start of Moscow has shifted considerably, and has a big yuck face drawn in chalk on it. Not sure if that had something to do with it, as it's been a while since i was in that area. Made the start easier, but sketchy if that block moves again. If it's still up there next week i'll pull it down, unless someone beats me to it. Not a new rope, ok condition. JL

FGW is that something on the Wombat? JL

OMG It's monumental, i agree with Kevbone. Great, now noyone will climb with me. JL

I agree with all those posted for solid for the grade. And with all of Shapp's stuff too. That's funny as shit about EEC, that's stout and scary for 10D, let alone 10B. First time i did it i whipped on a tiny nut above the last bolt, almost hit me in the face. I didn't really get into the Gorge, as it's a whole different medium down there. JL

This is just for 5.10 sport routes .10A- hard for grade(don't really know any sport) .10A- easy for the grade(Caffeine Free, Pop goes the Nubbin) .10B- hard for the grade(BBQ, Wedding Day, Iguana's on Elm St) .10B- easy for the grade(Bay of Pigs) .10C- hard for the grade(Ryan's Arete, Fish and Chips) .10C- easy for the grade(Manic Nirvana) .10D- hard for the grade(Hemp Liberation, Reason to Be, Powder up the Nose 5.10D- easy(Butterknife) just off the top of my head, i'm sure there's plenty more. JL

sizes? JL