matt_m

See I'm looking at this going " Are you crazy? Now you have TWO sets of aliens and are exponentially cooler because of that."

to whoever goes up Outer Space soon. My "new to trad multi-pitch" partner for the romp left some serious booty right off of two tree. REd #2 WC friend and new DMM draw! Doh! I've since explained the "leave no gear behind" ethic... To late in the day to go back up and get it...

As they should be - Wish they were treated even more harshly here as well. Tell me again why we're reading about how to avoid customs and skirt repercussions from past mistakes?

This one hits fairly close to home. One of the victims was the brother of a coworker of mine. Any other details are greatly appreciated as the local news coverage is already frustrating. Reporters need to learn that the phrase "equipment failure" is a VERY broad term and often implies the wrong thing. Not sure how else to succinctly describe it but one AP report makes it sound as if their harnesses ripped off or something. Not fair to the families or community at large.

Anyone done the approach (road) recently. Trying to see which paint job will get the abuse this time... Might be to hot though....

That thing is awesome! Yep - soft stuff like Pinnacles or the soft sand stone around the bay area (Mt Diablo for example). Is that sucker SS? Side note - why the heck are Rawl SS bolts so much more than Fixe SS of the same size? They can't be THAT much harder to manufacture...

Yes and no - Yes they are both the stiffest shoes sportiva sells (or sold) but they fit very differently. Focus is based on the mythos last which means it is narrow and has a fairly pointed toes area. Megas are on the same last as their cliff shoes with a much more rounded toe box. Try them both on if you haven't already.

freeway?

Secondary thought here and not a knock on narrow feet people. It;s been my experience with all types of shoes (esp climbing shoes) That if you have narrow feet - It's ALOT harder to comment on shoe fit because you're more than likely to fit into something without pressure, tightness etc. That's why I always laugh when people say things like the Katana is GREAT for narrow feet (It's a wider shoe - say to the comparable 5.10 anasazi) Of course it is! anyway - just a rant there

15 years running in Adidas TR et al. I've also gone through two pairs of the Montrail Hurricane Ridge (Best GTX Low Top EVER - my feet survived college in NH with them) Anyway - I actually tried on the D7 at a store and didn't like the fit. I have a wide foot with narrow heel (wide toe box and bunion area - bony heel) They weren't horrible but I'd say both the adidas trails and hurricanes are noticeably wider (perhaps because of their more sneaker orientation as opposed to approach shoe with the D7) So I'd vote nay on a comparable fit. I'd liken it to the difference between a Sportiva boulder and Exum ridge - Boulder = Narrow Exum=Awesome.

Especially if you live in the PNW. All the pin scars and the nature of the granite (Squamish and Index in particular) eat the offsets up! I love em and carry them every time I go out now. One set TCUs one set Hybrids and then the regular aliens if it's lots of small stuff.

All gear tested and approved by me! Green, Yellow and Red Aliens (Or Offesets) - Cry when I don't have them TriCams pink - brown (but not around here - Gunks etc) Metolius Nuts - Smith / WC Rocks elsewhere Yellow TCU - that sucker makes love to pin scars around the world! Beal 8.1mm Ropes - Da Bomb in Black Velvet Canyon WC 10mm slings - nothing else comes close Old Style BD positrons - BD shot be shot for changing them! The flat gate keylock rocked Not sure I have a Favorite REgular cam yet - I moved to my WC rack this season and like it BUT I need to compare it mroe to my BD rack before the jury makes a decision Not climbing specific BUT... Patagonia Dragonfly - Great ultralight softshell Marmort DriClime wind shirt - greatest.jacket.ever Sickle Pants - the cotton carhart like ones - Subtle, comfy and you can climb in them! Plus they don't scream LOOK! I JUST GOT NEW PRANA overpriced Bouldering stuff (OR BLURR OR FLASHED) Sportiva Miuras - Greatest Shoe Ever thats it for now

Bah - another lame "chopper" response. The route is a long way from anywhere, is not over bolted and with proper management will have little impact on its surroundings (As opposed to the semi-auto GUNFIRE I got to hear for an hour while climbing it - WTF? people are concerned about climbers and their impact?!? - I'd venture that the small arms fire down below was effecting my wilderness experience ALOT more than the sound of my wire gate snapping closed) I'm against retro-bolting, grid bolting, poor bolting (ie next to a crack) chipping, lycra and bad beer among other things but bolting evangelists need to get over themselves. This route is no different than a long multi-pitch route you'd find in Tuolumne - should we chop all those too?

Climb: Mt Garfield-Infinite Bliss Date of Climb: 7/4/2004 Trip Report: Did this on the Holiday and had a blast. Started hiking around 7am and started the climb at 7:50. There was a party starting P2 above us so someone had even more motivation then us to get up early that morning. Weather was pretty dank - we kept saying it would burn off but visibility was poor almost all the way to the top - I'm talking max 100' most of the way and less at some points - we basically climbed in a cloud the whole way up. It cleared off on the way down though which was wild because all of a sudden the clouds clear and you get 2500' of exposure - SWEET. Back to the climb... We quickly simul-climbed up to the part above and they we nice enough to let us climb though. So we turned the first four pitches into one big one. Good stuff. Linked the next two to the top of 6 (End of the very polished granite slabs). We had brought about 20 draws and next time I'll probably bring even more (well - draws and 2' slings) This lets you link LOTS of stuff. Key to moving quickly. P7 runs you up some chunky metamorphic rock to a large ledge/dish system. Had some trouble route finding because visibility was below 50'. The huge dike to right is obvious IF you can see it though - It was laughable on the way down. Onward and Upward. p11 .10b is really good and clean - classic granite face climbing. With enough toys you can link 11 and 12 - I didn't but would next time. A full 60m if you do. Ok - so at the top of 15 - here's where all the "problems" occur. Keep in mind I couldn't see more than 80' right now. From the top of 15 you scramble up and right along a fairly obvious ramp for about 250'. You'll pass two scrubby low bushes before you reach and larger, obvious cedar bush - maybe 2 or 3' high. From the cedar bush go STRAIGHT UP about 100'. 3 bolt anchor with red tat tied on it. this is the only pitch where you have to simul but you could probably get in a small cam or two along the way. Head up 170 feet with no bolts to next anchor (4th class). Route is obvious from here. Topped out in 8 1/2 hrs with two stops to snack and hydrate. Not bad considering the weather. Descent is LONG and you need to be really careful about sending rocks down. We simul-rapped most of the route but on the low angle 4th class pitch we fed the rope off our shoulders as we went - definitely the way to do this. The long 3rd class down climb would be hairy if it was wet so watch yourself - Not possible to rap (also dangerous because you would send a basket full of missiles down pulling your ropes) Once back at the top of 15 - straight forward rapping from here. Took us 3 hours. CTC in 13:20. Not bad although I definitely think this can be done CTC in less than 11. That would be a huge day with you hauling ass! Good route - long clip up.[Edit - probably a poor choice of words - you clip bolts on the way up but they are often spaced a good distance apart - so no, it's not a Frenchman's "Clip Up"] With the loose rock and scramble on the 16th and 17th combined with its length and weather potential people should be aware however that this isn't a cruiser casual route - solid skills are a must. Have fun and be safe.

I want to say that this was a special request piece for Rich Goldstone (long time gunks climber and i think current owner of Rock and Snow in New Paltz - great shop) A lot of gunkies swear this piece rocks and fits a missing hole in the gunks rack. Maybe - I won't be in the gunks till the fall though. I did buy one though - mainly because I'm a gear slut/collector and wanted this rare piece - It does seem like it has some usefulness - Esp if you want to double up on the smaller stuff the gray will serve as an alt sized piece in that range. Amazon carries a lot of climbing gear but usually it's just a listing for a "real" climbing store - I think norther mountain supply has a lot of their gear listed on amazon...

the article is online now at climbing.com great read - a good article in a mag! something I haven't scene to often recently. Anyway - it did raise a lot of questions for me related to how the climbing world reports stuff. I'd read all those rumors PUBLISHED in both climbing and Rock and Ice - one in particular in R&I by the "master beta" saying Fred had a huge ape index. Climbers are a petty lot sometimes - Fred seems to be a bad ass guy that doesn't hide stuff - he's straight forward about it and if it's controversial - so be it. good article - makes the US hero worship look even more lame...

Points well made but you overlook the fact that climbing grades are totally subjective. Why strive to achieve a number that constantly changes. 5.7 in J-tree can be twice as hard as a 5.10 clipup at Vantage. Does that make 5.7's there 5.14? And does that mean that 5.10's there are actually 5.20. If so, I rock, all you sponsors had better show up and start licking my boots. Enjoy climbing for what it is to you but if you're gonna chase numbers, chase the almighty dollar, at least it is fairly consistent. I don't treat them like gospel - I use them as a reference - Index is harder than Vantage so I adjust to some degree - what my "numbers" are. Like a wind aided time in running - sure I ran 14.5 but there was a 3m/s tailwind - The numbers may be subjective and change but people can be pretty smart on occasion and know about their subjectivity. Hence the reason I don't get all excited onsigting hard grades at Vantage but do grin when I do hard stuff at Index or the Gunks.

I'm gonna have to side with this guy on a lot of what he says. Hear me out because I've already read all the people screaming murder that the guy's some 140 pound kid who's got no soul. Climbing means different things to different people - some like it for the peace and tranquility it provides them. (Earthy Group) To each their own but I come from this guys camp (It could have been stated a lot more eloquently but alas it was not) 18 years of competitive sports with numbers as the gauge of success (Track and Field) was what I lived for. If I could shave another tenth of a second off my time I'd accomplished a great feat. Same thing goes for climbing numbers - one more grade means I've pushed myself that much more. I've challenged myself and answered the call. I enjoy the long soulful easy climbs as well but numbers - numbers are great. All those who scream and posture and question and say "if he judges his life by numbers then he misses the point" miss the point as well. Somethings are meaningful to some and not others - for some reason - climbers like to rag on the numbers chasers and claim them selves "soulful climbers" Great. I don't rag on the prana/hug-the-rock types (much!) I respect their reasons for climbing - I don't always claim to understand it all- but I respect it. You can rag on the number guys all you want but that's because you don't "get" us and probably never will

Go with good 3/8th bolts. Clipping bolts is clipping bolts - "preserving the nature of the route" by putting in gear that will be bad in ten years is just plain dumb. Like a poster above said - if you want to scare yourself - go play on hard, natural scary lines. Making something artificially un-safe is silly. "Hey - I just led that route on-sight at 5.11 X!" "Wait - that whole route has great gear?!?" "Yeah - but I only used a single 8.1mm Ice Line so it was super sketch!" C'mon - If this argument held water "real" people would be pounding pins on the Nose using Hemp ropes. Big fat stainless is the way to go - years from now people will respect you more for being a steward than a cheap bolter. Now I would say that using cammo hangers would be responsible so you don't have this shinny line going up the rock...

Yep - I've head about this too - psyched because when I'm on the seattle side Ballard SUCKS to drive to. Think it's a VW project so mention your support to them so they know they've got a good thing on their hands This of course is based on nothing but rumors and myths - but one can hope.

Cool - check it out Description: Name: Revolver Description: Carabiner Application: Rope end quick draw 'biner Weight: 45 g Material: 7075 T6/316 SS Production Method: Hot Forge/CNC Machining Location groove protects and locates 12 mm dyneema express sling (supplied with carabiner) Hot forged 7075 T6 I beam back Protective ribs for smooth transition from back to roller Roller made of 7075 T6 High tensile 3 mm diameter 316 stainless steel rivet Shrouded nose protects wire gate Kinked wire gate encourages easier clipping 30% of the energy generated throughout the world is spent on FRICTION With this staggering fact in mind, DMM has abandoned convention, thrown away the rule book and approached the energy issue from a completely new angle knowing that weight is the enemy of the climber. The weight of a rope and the friction that occurs in use make it the crucial issue. DMM believes they have redefined the carabiner by introducing the concept of a rolling component in the safety chain. The Revolver™ is a unique patented design by DMM. By using a revolving roller as opposed to a conventional static surface, the Revolver™ considerably reduces the load applied to the climber via rope mass and drag from protection. Climbers will have a new freedom to concentrate their limited energy on the complexities the rock may offer without the inhibiting weight factors assocciated with a conventional safety system. However, not only is the Revolver™ a revolutionary climbing carabiner but has innovative applications for rescue, hauling and rigging. The Revolver™ meets the requirement for both carabiners EN 12275, UIAA 121 and pulleys EN 12278, UIAA 127 making it a lightweight alternative to a classic pulley/carabiner combination. Reduces rope drag significantly Large rolling rope radius 5.5 rad (11 mm diameter) Roller action and size dramatically extends rope life Extremely strong and light Hot Forged I beam construction Innovative lightweight rescue, hauling and rigging appplications Meets CE standard EN 12275 for carabiners as well as EN 12278 for pulleys DMM patent pending design Comes complete with 12 mm dyneema express sling Designed for use at the rope clipping end of a quickdraw, this extremely light and strong biner works mechanically in your favor.

Megas or Focus are my shoes of choice - make sure you can keep the toes flat like stated above so you can smear and/or edge in them. I'd highly recommend against mocs as they don't "bite" very well on edges when you smear in them - they tend to just roll off stuff.

Hopefully you can just buy a supplement too - I've got all sorts of notes, info etc written in the '01 ver. and don't want to have to carry TWO books around...

Anyone done this recently? Thinking about it as a continuation of the grand off Bellygood. McLane says it's good but looking for more recent info as well.

Usually these suck but it looks like BW ropes in 60m lengths are there for good deals - $99 - $125 one or two looks like they're venerable accelerator line - personal fav of mine fwiw