fenderfour

Bring a #11 hex for the top "offwidth" move.

a ring?

"He shouted back that he's been better... but that he's taken worse falls" WTF? Worse falls? are you shitting me? Somebody is in the wrong sport. FYI - you get a parachute for base jumping.

I helped teach a climbing class and bumped into LUCKY at a mutual friends' property in Leavenworth. Called dad from Gustav's

I managed to lose a lot of weight by playing Ultimate Frisbee 3 times a week at lunch and being a little more aware of what I was eating. I climbed as normal on weekends. It took a little while (6 months), but almost no effort on my part. I was weighing in at 255+ before. Now I'm at 215- I'm a big guy with a large build, and like Bill, I thought that meeting my goal (under 220) would be enough, but i still feel like I've got another 10-15 lbs to lose. I no longer have any reason for sucking.

I think Chaps really likes this place. Welcome to Spray.

I think the "driving" part was between the mountains once they started.

I just heard about a couple of Colorado climbers who climbed Rainier, Adams, and Hood in about 28 hours, including driving. ...damn

About the floppy cams - as a dirtbag aid climber, I have an assortment of cams. The Trangos are the only ones that flop. A quick idea of what I have: DMM, WC Tech Friends, Camalots, HB Flexi-fix, Clog, Metolius, and a couple HB Quadcams. Since most of these are single axle, I would argue that the floppiness has more to do with the springs that trango uses. I found some time to play with the smaller splitter cams from Trango. I set two of the cam lobes in some dirty, loose rock and bounce tested with a normal aider. They all held with my 200+ pound self beating on them. I would avoid too much movement when hanging on half of the cam, but it worked very well for a downward pull. I want to do more "testing" before telling anyone that they are worth while. It looks very promising, but I need to get them on an aid climb instead of a chossheap two feet off the ground.

Wild Country has the cam book available for download. It's pretty damn interesting seeing the early prototypes.

A quick FYI on cell phone coverage - Verizon picked up most of the older cell phone companies back in the day. These older companies built their towers higher in order to get more bang for the buck. That's why Verizon has better coverage in the hills.

I would avoid using hooks on established routes, but I'm sure you can find an undeveloped area that can be hooked without pissing anyone off. You don't need to buy an $85 Black Diamond hammer. Buy a 12-16 oz $12 ball-peen and drill a hole in the bottom of the handle for a keeper sling... or use a #11 hex.

FYI - Hooks are generally considered clean aid. They can scar the rock or pull off delicate flakes. I would bring a hammer to make cleaning a little easier. It can be a bitch to pull out nuts after weighting them on aid. A few taps with a hammer will get them out much quicker and with less frustration than yarding on a sling.

I posted this in the Newbies forum: In addition to this, I've noticed that the cam lobes on the Trangos are "floppy". They don't stay oriented properly along the stem. THis is a very minor annoyance, but it makes me wonder how long the springs will last. That all being said, I would definitely buy the C4's over the Trangos at list prices. If you were going to buy any of the Trangos, I would stick to the smaller splitter sizes. THere seems to be an advantage to the design, but I haven't been able to fully explore the possibilities. Unlike the original splitter cams, the trangos are made very well.

Verizon has coverage on the summit on a clear day.

City park - Cam hook popped and fell onto a #4 nut. I didn't have much gear, so I was protecting every third move and leapfrogging the rest. It was my second aid pitch.

Thanks, I hadn't noticed that feature.

A couple of newbies want to climb at Exit 38, but they aren't comfortable leading yet. Are there any areas with decent walk-offs for them to set toprope anchors? The only place that came to mind was Gritscone at The Far Side. What about some others? Thanks Y'all

I bought a set of the new Trango Flex Cams on the cheap - Here's my take: Pros: They are pretty lightweight and easy to control with the loop on the back. The stem is more flexible than most other single-stem cams. Aliens are still more flexible. The splitter design of the smaller sizes can hold with only 2 of the 4 lobes engaged. This could be very cool when aid climbing. I haven't dangled off half a cam before... Cons: The springs are soft allowing the cams to walk more than I would like them to. The springs are also a bit exposed, especially on the smaller sizes. I thought this would be a problem, but it hasn't been yet. I would pay about $30/cam for these, certainly not the $50 list price.

I'd like to point out that the evil empire has the old style DMM cams on sale right - $40 each. Normally $50 each. I've used them for the past year. They are very lightweight and have great action. I prefer U-stem cams because they are easier for me to control when placing. That being said, I haven't tried the C4's with the loop on the end.

Look everybody! I found a dick in the forum!

...Can't help it, must post... Story

The party of 12 was from the Boealps Basic Class. A couple of tents were destroyed by the wind, so they stumbled out with the help of a GPS. It was a great intro to "weather" for the budding climbers.

I could be wrong, but I doubt that the manufacturer (EADS) gives a damn about climbers. It's a publicity stunt to sell more belly-poppers. Nothing has changed. Please go back to work.

I'm in, but I wear flip-flops. Anything heavier will slow me down.