fenderfour

I know, you are looking for a partner, not a book recommendation but... Buy a set of aiders and daisy chains. Some ascenders are nice, but not required. Get an old ball-peen hammer and drill a hole in the handle. Tie a cord to it. Why do I need a hammer? You need it to clean the nuts you will get stuck while aiding. Also pick up some reading material. I recommend starting with Freedom of The Hills, Big Walls (by Long and Middendorf) and Big Wall Climbing: Elite Technique (By Ogden). Read and learn. When you think you are ready, recruit a patient belayer and climb City Park. If you back clean every other piece, you can climb it with two sets of nuts and a set of cams. The first 20 feet of the route is a bolt ladder, which makes it a very safe first lead (IMHO). When I started aiding, I found it difficult to find a mentor. Quite frankly, teaching someone how to aid climb sucks. It amounts to spending 3+ hours per pitch holding on to a cold wet rope while the student is scared sh*itless on an easy pitch of aid. Instead of a mentor, you might want to find someone else who wants to learn and is willing to brave a cold new world with you. Everything will be more fun.

Free climbers should be kicked in the head when they are climbing a route that was originally an aid line.

If you are ever down at Smith, Redpoint usually has a bin of $1 Metolius draws.

They could have skimmed it. THere are protable readers that will pull the info from a card and enable them to make a fake. Snopes on Skimming More on Skimming and protecting yourself

They are neat. They need more maintenance (cleaning) than other cams. There are none of the speculated shortcomings of the design (increased walking, the flaccid lobes sticking, etc..)

Video on Metacafe I couldn't find the original parasite post to add this to. Oh well.

It may be wide open, but it's hardly worth the travel time for a sunday afternoon climb.

This is pure crap. I don't think such slap-dickery should be displayed on any route. I certainly don't think a blow-hard jackass should threaten an ass-whuppin on the internet. Maybe YOU were lucky that you didn't try to beat someone's ass.

My response was meant as humor, not to get anybody riled up. But... There is a point where you need to sack up and go, pro or no. More gear does not mean more safety. It does mean more slowly.

Spent a day in the park with a friend's lab puppy. On Sunday I got very frustrated trying to climb the lower wall at Index. Talk about zoo...

"Gear Notes: Double cams from 0.5 to 3...shouda had 4 x #2 BDs" When in doubt, run it out.

Did everything work out ok, or are you still full of shit?

I'm 6'3" I went on one date with a woman who is 6'2" and one date with a woman who is 5'11" Miss 6'2" was a grad student at the U and ate, slept and shat her work. I wasn't smart enough to keep up with her. Miss 5'11" knew too much about me. I was scared. I think she was really satan.

Where do you find those wonderful pictures?

I will be gaping at Index on Sunday. I might go for a bike ride on Saturday if I can pull my lazy ass out of bed. PRE-SLEEP CHESTBEAT BEEEEYOTCH!

? Why not a gravity dump?

Read Freakonomics for an interesting chapter on baby names.

Fatty McBadass

I was in the same boat last year. I bought some gear - Atomix MX-7 skis - $100 on Steep and Cheap.com. It's a beginner tele/AT ski Dynafit Comfort bindings - $180 on Craigslist, NOS. No brakes Scarpa Matrix - $500 at Marmot Mtn. I've got the big dogs at mondo 32, so I had to buy new. You can get used boots for waaaay less than that. BD Clipfix Ascension Skins - $100 at Marmot My assessment - The bindings are difficult to get in. Not a huge deal for me. Sure, I crash and my bindings release, but I can still get back in them. The boots are great. Thermofit liners with the typical AT flex ankle. My skis chatter a bit, but I doubt that will be too much of an issue this year. I plan to get some Shuksans at the end of the 2007 season. It's nice having a really lightweight setup when you decide to embarass yourself in the back country. I skinned up to Muir in July and tried to ski down. It was a nice day and a lot of folks were milling around in camp. They all waited for me to whip out the Mad Skillz and tear it up on the Gnar-Gnar suncups. I fell. A lot. Goodtimes.

Tied runners are nice for rap slings. My singles are all the 8mm Mammut, my doubles (usually 2-3 on a climb) are tied.

What about the Alp Monster and Little Monster ?

What a dickbag. The stoke is building for my second season.

I've been up Gumby Direct many times, but I stil don't have a haulbag. My thoughts on a crag pack - I prefer top loaders over clamshell designs. The simplicity speaks to me. If you were going to make a clamshell, a rope tarp would be nice. A fat back pad (bivy pad?) would be sweet to sit around and belay on. A few daisy-ish points inside and out Mesh sack or panel to hold shoes outsid the pack Effective rope tie down outside bag

Are there no valid A5 pitches in WA because there is no rock that will yield the route, or is it because there are no climbers that will do it? FYI - My intent isn't to troll, i'm curious.

Typically, TR's are treated with a modicum of respect even by the "hoodlums". Other reasons to NOT post a TR. -It was a lame trip -It was the same trip others have recently taken -It takes work -nothing special happened -...