mike1

I hiked Wheeler the last time I visited my dad in Ely (now he rests up there in the wind). The hike only takes a few hours and wasn’t as boring as you’d think. I saw a few big bucks in velvet, a bunch of Bristlecone Pines, and a pack of rabid boy scouts... Looking down from the summit I remember thinking you'd have to have a screw loose to want to climb that face. Huge loose blocks teetering for eons (and being tested & trundled by rabid scouts)... It had never occurred to me that someone would climb it. That being said, do you need a screwdriver? Seriously, it looks like an interesting day out. I really enjoyed reading your TR and seeing pictures from an area I grew up around. Thanks! P.S. Did you guys see any bristlecone pines? You can find big crystals in that approach basin too.

Has anyone seen a comparison of the whippet and these LifeLink claws, or the similar old Ramer self arrest grips?

From, heads up - we're monopolizing a bunch of routes in your area - to bolts are destroying the environment... You people need to go climb some new routes... if you can’t find any, chip some new holds on your old routes!!!

I love this!

I might look at this differently with a paid professional rescue organization, but I think PMR has the right take.

It worked for me just now.

Where’d ya get your piercings?

Personally I would stay away from building a habit of girth hitching soft to soft as you're describing. I’d do it in a heart beat if I had to, but I just think it should be considered a last resort instead of a primary method. The loose sewn or tied slings are a much safer way to go as mentioned above in pindude's post. my $0.019999999999

I personally won't be in the area and am not upset about it at all. I'm just saying there will likely be some folks annoyed at the monopolization of the "easier bolted routes around the Feathers, Sunshine Wall, Riverview, Green Wall", AKA the popular newbie routes. I say have at it... just be aware of others.

I've seen the Mazamas pull this crap and cork entire climbing areas. They hung ropes and just let them sit so they could garantee they had the area to themselves. You have the right... just know you WILL be pissing people off.

Honestly - ya we had it coming and you all know it too. Hell, our government knew it, but they were just to inept to coordinate agencies and prioritize. Fucking travesty man.

When you take a fall, a good technique for arresting with a self arrest grip is to shoulder one of the picks into the slope with both hands on it. So I’m thinking about picking up one grip. Does anybody out there ski with two? Have you found it beneficial (how/why)? Anyone actually pull off a gnarly self arrest with them? Lets here some whippet stories...

That is amazing and he's only going to get better.

God???? No god... (30 days of night) Only chaos in my universe. But if I did believe in a god... well, your god explains a lot and I wouldn’t need to have faith ttk. By the way, I do claim this universe as mine! Get out!

buy gear.

seems to be an inordinate amount of them this season...

There are plenty of long and difficult routes on PNW volcanoes that include ice climbing. The Cascades, Olympics and Alpine Lakes peaks can provide a lifetime of difficult rock and ice climbs but they aren’t as long as say something in AK, Canada, or Peru. My advice? Get out there and look for it. Do a Pickets traverse and recon some climbs. Make it up as you go. Leave your phone, I-Pod, PLB, and GPS. You want harder - make it harder. Hang it out there and feel alive!!! Ah crap... don’t listen to me, I’m a purest.

:lmao: :lmao:

It depends... watch the weather over the next few months to gage conditions. Fall season mountaineering can be a bit more hazardous due to crevasses and/or bergshrunds being covered with week snow bridges. Take precautions and do some more training with your partner. Have fun!

i think that might be a ptarmigan... looks like a cool trip. Thanks for sharing!

and they taste like chicken...

some skillfully use luck to survive

True. I think placing screws at or around your chest height and out a foot or two is best. Typically the tools are 2' to 3' couple feet higher (given you are on a relatively straight forward climb). Conditions dictate.

no respect.