matt_m

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

I've got one of the new CoVer ropes with extra wear resistance. Like it so far - low impact forces. Only been out a few times though. The old style (which can be found on sale right now - watch for them) handled great but didn't wear very well - much improved on the new design i'm told.

Damn - one last thing that these guys mention - Make sure you like the fit! If you don't you won't wear the the thing and then, what's the point? If you haven't noticed - I'm a helmet fan. I've just been involved in a lot of sports (Biking and Skiing specifically) where I once was a "Helmets are stupid" guy. BUT - I've had experiences wearing them that probably saved my life / kept me from being a veggie. Now I actually perform far worse if I don't have one (forgot the thing in another car etc) To each his own of course but I'm a big believer in them.

You need to be careful if doing this rig - the energy absorption in this type of helmet comes from the space between the webbing support and the top of the helmet - if your first aid kit is too large/firm it can transmit the impact force directly to your head essentially negating the helmet you're wearing.

I've got the HB Dyneema and it's great for long stuff - super durable and pretty comfortable. The elastic headlamp retaining system does leave something to be desired though. Check out the Elios as well if you're looking for a traditional hard shell helmet - the headlamp system Petzl uses is great. I've also just gotten myself one of the Petzl Meteors. The "bike helmet" climbing helmet. Wanted something super light for day trips and hot weather. I've got to say this thing is awesome. No headlamp support but man it's light and cool. Personal Rviews aside, are you looking to just get something on your head or for the "safest" helmet out there. I've been involved in a lot of discussion regarding helmets and safety and some interesting stuff has come up. Bottom line though is the soft shell foam helmets are generally going to provide you with the most protection but are the least durable. Hence my ownership of the Dyneema AND Foam meteor. Other info - UIAA certified is more stringent than the CE test (means less impact is translated to you head) good read HERE - PDF as well

PreCip - I'm on my second one... For occasion use - they rock. And at $99 or so - you don't sweat kicking them around like you would the Arc'tryx stuff. PreCip is my choice for everything you just described. Light, h2o proof for when things turn nasty and the soft shell doesn't cut it anymore.

So - I'm planning on trying to replace some old, sketchy anchors this summer and want to do it right. Where might I find that nice, ridiculously beefy chain that's on anchors at index like STP and Davis Holland? You know - the stuff that's like 1/2in plus and could hold a frigate. Very wear resistant. Put that stuff on some nice Fixe SS and you've got anchors that'll be good for quite some time.

Yep - own one. Placed maybe a half dozen bolts with it in granite. Nice and small. Can't imagine the pain in the ass the Hurricane drill is when you have to change out bits ( pecker has a quick release). Planing on replacing some scary bolts up at static sometime this year with it. Any requests? FWIW - Chris MAc and the ASCA crew have mentioned that for any hard core drilling effort - a Hurricane with a small sledge (bigger then a Yose Wall Hammer) is the way to go. check out their site for the details. For occasional replacement - Petzl is great edit: LEt me add to this a sec - The Hurricane has a full size bike grip that's huge. Great for long drill sessions. The Rockpec has a smaller grip that can get a little fatiguing or uncomfortable is long drilling sessions if you have big hands. Your pinky finger will ride on the collet area and top of the hand will be pressed against the rubber protection sleeve.

I think what's being asked here is if the leader takes a factor two onto the the anchors and the belayer is attached to the anchor via a homemade PAS, will that be considered strong enough... Short answer - NO Long answer - You shouldn't just be using as PAS, sling or daisy (worst) as your sole attachment point to an anchor. I use a PAS (strong) AND equalize with the rope in a simple 2 bolt setup common around here. I could go on and on about different ways to build and attach yourself to an anchor but the bottom line is to have some sort of redundancy if at all possible. Now this question does lead one to focus on the great issues at hand... Factor 2s on the anchor are BAD. We're talking REALLY REALLY bad. It's the place where gear can be stressed at it's maximum and thus closest to its breaking point. It is very important for the leader to place a piece of protection quickly after leaving the belay. Some of my more terrifying moments have been on runout slab 20+feet above the belay looking for the bolt. Not as much because of the fall but of the fact that I'd be hitting the belay HARD. Not fun. Petzl had a brief article on other risks associated with falls close to the belay. Petzl Belay Info Only thing they kinda dance around is the higher forces associated with the grigri but apparently, the thing starts slipping (more dynamic) around 4.5kn. Summary - Factor 2s onto the belay are one of the worst things you can do in climbing. Protect yourself (leader) properly ASAP. Use strong and redundant connections to the belay (belayer) and be aware of the high forces you could encounter. I know I'll get some flack for this BUT - Daisies are for personal connivence only - if you like to use an adjustable connection as part of your anchor - like myself - go get a PAS - they're just better for what most people do with them.

You read stuff like this and start figuring out how much to put aside now for your return to gear slut-dom later.... http://rockclimbing.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=61432 Already have a plan for my Helium upgrade too...

So as part of my semi-wasted weekend - I stopped into the REI insanity and checked out the DMM cams they now carry (Seattle). Man they're nicely put together and sick light. Too bad I have too much gear already - except in the TCU category. I've got one set of Metolius TCUs to orange but was wondering if people had experience with the DMM ones. They seemed to have smoother action and are definitely lighter. Only concern was the metal bar getting in the way. thoughts? and yes I realize that REI only has the 4CUs - I'd find the TCUs somewhere else. Ever in search of more stuff....

You in a white car? Not with a girl - but he's got long hair and it'll be great for mocking him when I see him next if it was you! I was in the green subaru...