fenderfour

...and you are comparing alpine to crag climbing. Alpine climbs are usually not as sustained, especially at those grades. The "easy" way up the North Ridge of Stuart was originally rated 5.4.

Trip: Darrington, 3 O'Clock Rock - Silent Running 5.9+./5.10b Date: 7/11/2009 Trip Report: Counterfeitfake and I went to D-town for some climbing. We brought along a couple of "n00bs". "n00bs" is in quotes because this is only their second season climbing and these guys are sending 5.10 on gear. Bastards. Since this is supposed to be an alpine climbing class, our first objective was the North Ridge of Mt. Stuart. The forecast of rain and thunderstorms pushed us toward a less committing objective; one that might lead to something more than a hike to a wet bivy site and a hike out. None of us had done much climbing in Darrington, so it was on. The approach to Silent Running is cake. Park at the 8 Mile Creek TH and walk about 20 minutes to the start of the climb. It was hot as balls on Saturday. CFF discussed different terms for the swampy condition that is created in man's crotch as he is hiking on a day like that. The obvious "swamp balls" was thrown out, as well as "bog crotch" and "the fen". Eventually talk switched to "duck butter" which is something I've never experienced and I hope I never will. Silent Running is a 6 pitch 5.9+ or a 7 pitch 5.10b. P1: pretty easy and a little run out. If you work for it, you can find a small nut placement or two to ease the length between bolts. P2: Like P1, but with more features. P3: the first "crux" of the route. Yes, this is where you go up to the bolt. Yes, I know there aren't any holds, its' called "friction". Keep moving and don't be skerred. It's going to be ok. It's well protected through the hard bits. P4. run out 5.8 climbing with some gear to ease the run out again. P5: less run out 5.8 climbing I don't remember any available gear placements, or wanting any. P6: the second "crux". Again, it's very well protected, just keep moving and have fun. P7: the bonus 5.10b pitch. If you survived the lower pitches, you need to do this one too. The steps look intimidating, but they are all bolted just before you make the step. There are a lot more bolts than shown on the topo. Do bring some gear. I placed a couple of nuts and a #2 cam on this pitch, and I was happy to have them. Sorry I don't have any pics. I left my camera at home. As a side note - the road into Dreamer is a bit rough. We stopped not too far from the 8 Mile Creek TH. A new-ish wash would be rough to get over with my little Subaru. Trucks can still get back to the big log. We parked back at the TH and walked in. It took about 15 minutes to get to the log. Save your paint job and walk in. The trail is also getting pretty rough. The road bed is rather overgrown. A few hours with a machete will clear it out. Just short of the first boulder field, a large slide has covered the trail with deadfall. Don't fret the trail is still there. Climb up/over/through for abbot 30 yards and find the trail again. Once we could see the sky again, it was clear that heavy rain was coming soon. We checked out a little more of the approach and left as it started to rain. Gear Notes: 12 draws, small rack to #2. The gear isn't necessary for the first 6 pitches, but it does reduce the runouts on the easier sections. Gear is needed for pitch #7. Approach Notes: Follow the trail for 20 minutes. Climb

Trip: Washington Pass - East Face of Lexington Tower Date: 7/4/2009 Trip Report: I just realized that I haven't posted a TR in a while. Argus and I climbed the East Face of Lexington Tower last Saturday. Holy shit is that a good route. I mean, that is a fantastic route. Did I mention how terrific that thing is? Argus projecting success with the #6 A casual start had us on route at about 10:00 am. The snowpatch leading up to the first belay ledge was soft enough for us to kick steps with tennis shoes which prevented the need to carry ice axes up there. Greg and Graham on Liberty Crack Side note: You can grab a bamboo pole near the Liberty Crack turnout and use it instead of an ice axe if you think you will need it. I got the first lead up the 5.7 protectable bit to the 5.7 unprotectable bit. Sure, it's only 5.7, but 30+ feet above your last piece of gear is still 30+ feet above your last piece of gear. I did a little gardening and managed to slot a #3 nut. I also found a boxed out pin scar that took half of a .4 camalot. A Red/yelly or yellow/green alien would be das schisse here. I finally got in a decnet .5 about 20' above the two shitty pieces. That good piece allowed my balls to redescend and put me in send mode. It's not hard to be in send mode when on 5.7 terrain. I climbed and climbed and climbed. I yelled down to Argus "How much rope is left?" Argus replied "Shit, I've been climbing for 50 feet" We ran pitches 1 and 2 together, simul-climbing for about 70 feet. Pitch 3 was a nice 5.8'is crack that had a little #5 action right at the top. It was a warm up for the upper pitches. We were leading in blocks, so I kept going on pitch 4, a 5.7 flake that protected very nicely. This pitch was kind of short and I was at the belay at the end of pitch 5 without noticing the 5.9+ section at all. By the numbers, that was the crux, but it really isn't. Pitch 4-5 (I think) This is where it gets all 5.9+ BTW - the belay in the pod at the end of pitch 5 is pretty darn cool. Argus took over for the second half of the climb. He is much better at the wide than I am. Pitch 6 starts with an airy foot traverse that could be protected if you want to put gear in at your ankle, and if you want to set up some rope drag for the difficult lieback. The lieback/flaring jam move was athletic and fun. I bet it was a little spicy on lead as Argus requested a little extra attention as he went up. The infamous offwidth was next. Yes, the 2x4 is stil there. It's still in good condition, Argus did clip it. There are also 2 fresh(ish) bolts that protect the pitch nicely even though you could get through it with one #6 cam. Both bolts are on the left side of the crack. The first one is a few moves up the crack facing the climber, the other is on the face outside the crack. The 2x4 from the belay That was a fantastic pitch. It wasn't too hard, it wasn't too easy, even dragging a pack below me. Looking over at Counterfeitfake climbing Rebel Yell You belay in a chimney above the 6" crack and climb straight up into another less appealing OW. This leads to a second short chimney and finally to an unprotectable, but lower angle decaying OW above that. As a follower, I opted for the unprotected 5.9 face to the left. F*ck that crack. You kind of top out here, but you aren't at the top of the tower. The final climb up the tower looked pretty unappealing from this side, so we skipped it. It was about 2:00 when we finished climbing. There s about 130' of low-fifth that gets you to the descent walk-off. (all pics from Argus) Gear Notes: Set of nuts Single cams .3-1 Double cams 2-4 Single 5 #6 was never needed thanks to the bolts Approach Notes: Park at the Liberty Crack pond, hike up for Liberty Crack, head left up the snow or scree to the rampy ledge on the left side of Lexington.

listen up, people, the king of all gumbies is speaking here! Oh Snap!

I thought about drilling a fresh hole beside a broken bolt, then chisel over to the bolt. You should be able to chisel the old bolt out and repair the larger hole with epoxy. I didn't do this because it seemed like too much work and would leave more of a mess than I currently had.

There is something you can use instead of tape... Technique Hands bleed because they slip. They slip because your jam sucks. Stop sucking, stop bleeding.

You're welcome I keep bumping in to people hiking a little to check out these climbs. It's encouraging. Hey Porter - Can we add a sticky topic with just a list of recently cleaned routes?

I cleaned "Index Air Force" 5.10a beside "Them" on the wall of 10,000 insects with Argus and BHerc yesterday. It's in good shape and a lot of fun, even in approach shoes. I will be coming back with an axe and a crowbar to remove the stump. I forgot to add chains to the rap station on PI. Next time...

I will be there on Saturday doing some work. I can fix it up then.

crazy cavers...

Really? I bet you can't tell the difference between a factory swage and a swage set with the kit IF the person repairing spent some time to do it right.

Please guys, we don't want this to turn into RC.com.

I came out of the womb with a gnarly thatch on my back. I must be a sport climber.

"bouldery start"

Werd. I need to finish setting the trail bed so it doesn't wash out.

We haven't scrubbed the second pitch of Magic Fern. It will take a shovel, a few wire brushes and a broom to clean it up. The route above Private Idaho is called "Peanuts to Serve You" near Bobcat Cringe. It's worth the 5 minute walk.

I don't think there is. Sky Valley rock has a good topo of the area.

The moral of the story is "Don't leave your leftovers in the car at a trail head."

Nice job Porter. That second pitch is sooo good.

http://www.thecamdoctor.com/

Hey now, don't bash the sailrite too much. It's not meant to be an industrial machine. It's for hobbyists who want some horsepower but don't need to run the machine for 8 hours a day. If I were starting a business I wouldn't get a sailrite, but I'm not. I'm just playing around.

Hey now, don't bash the sailrite too much. It's not meant to be an industrial machine. It's for hobbyists who want some horsepower but don't need to run the machine for 8 hours a day. If I were starting a business I wouldn't get a sailrite, but I'm not. I'm just playing around.

JONG!

This is very sad. I bumped into Micah one day at the Smoke Bluffs. We chatted for a bit before he and his partner took off. He was very supportive of all climbers. They will all be missed.

I will be teaching a class at the Great Northern Slab. We will be teaching rock climbing skills including how to place trad gear. We have 8 students and I'm hoping they can each get their first lead climb in this weekend. We did get a couple pair of those hand jammie things. I'm definitely not calling "dibs" on the routes, but we are starting the approach at first light. Everyone is welcome to climb through if they want. There may be a rope, a helmet or a dropped #11 hex in the way...