fenderfour

knock-knock-knock.... Postman: Special Delivery, sign here. CBS: <signs> Sweet! The new issue of "Barely Tied"

Dammit! I was going to have a nice quiet weekend with my friend acting as ropegun to get me up Deirdre and Banana Peel, maybe even toprope Burgers & Fries.

Well, I haven't died yet, but I will stop using it. To tell the truth, I hadn't even noticed the knot roll in the manner described. EDK All the way!

The American Death Knot is another option - A figure eight knot tied with both ropes. Leave a long tail with this one as well.

Steve Fox has a list of winter summits and their relative avalanche potential as well as their relative level of exposure. Find it HERE

Cascade crags was reducing their inventory to focus on climbing. They liquidated all of their paddling stuff, non-climbing clothing, packs, etc... I know, Alpine is climbig too, but they don't see it that way.

I've been really happy with the Patagucci stretch element jacket that I picked up on the cheap from reioutlet. I have a simple windpro fleece that I usually layer under it and a Feathered Friends Helios jacket for when it gets cold.

Wa Pass closed yesterday while we were screwing around. The road didn't seem to bad as my Subaru made it out without incident, but it was closed nonetheless. FYI - We saw about 12 inches of powder fall yesterday in the Cutthroat Peak area.

I sweat like a pig while I'm climbing and I get some gnarly cramps in my quads and hamstrings. The sport and sport-recovery drinks didn't do anything to help. I tried Emergen-C and it didn't help either. Finally I tried dramitcally increasing my salt intake while climbing. I figured that I was losing a lot of salt in my sweat, and I just needed to replace it to feel better. Now for the nasty (sounding) part: I carry a dry boullion cube in my pocket and nibble off a bit from time to time and wash it down with a swig of water. No more cramps. It's way cheaper and lighter than a bunch of drink packets that make your water bottles smell funny.

I think you need to sound less creepy if you really want women to show.

Do attempts on Chicas at the climbing gym count?

I think the splitters failed because of quality. The wire used in the stem was very stiff, not really flexible at all. The trigger construction and action were terrible. The new Trango flex cams are using the splitter gear 4cu design - 2 sets of cam lobes in direct opposition. They look and feel pretty damn good, but I haven't placed one yet. My main concern are the eensy-weensy springs that are a bit exposed to abuse in the smaller sizes.

Aluminum oxide is porous.

Anodization is the part of the process that creates the aluminum oxide. For the record, it's a lot harder than most rock. It's on a softer substrate (aluminum) and gets scraped off. Anodization adds no color. After the part has been anodized, it's cooked in a vat of dye for XX hours. XX depends on the type of the dye and how intense you want the color to be. I'm gonna take off by Catbirdseat costume now.

New trail vehicle? Dammit I love those baja bugs.

Small cameras are cute, but they can be a real bitch to snap off a pic when wearing gloves.

Hey Gourd - Thanks for making some kick ass products at great prices. I picked up an icefall a couple of years ago and it is my pack of choice for almost everything. I hope to see the new improved MEC versions soon. The Brio is similar, but quite a bit heavier and could use fewer zippers.

Next weekend (3/26-27)we will be venturing into new territory due to lack of snow at our normal venue. We will be all over the Washington Pass area on easier slopes practicing ice axe arrest. We will be chumming up the parking lots and the approach slopes. We will not be chumming up the routes. A positive note - we should have a bomber boot path up those approach slopes for you to use.

We will be descending on the Icicle en masse this year. As a climber, I really hate to do it, but it is a necessary evil for our curriculum. I will let you know when it is scheduled. Maybe you can all climb something hard that weekend and leave the <5.7 climbs for us.

Kathy Bates has a full frontal nudity scene in "About Schmidt" That's some scary shizzle.

This weekend (3/19-3/20) we will be climbing at Mt. Erie. I'm not familiar with the crag, so I can't tell you exactly which areas, but there are two locations close to the top of the hill with a number of easy climbs.

I will update this thread weekly so that all of you know where the gapefest will be. Don't hate us. We don't hate you.

The gym allows people to push themselves in a safe environment. Hell, just last week I saw a couple toprope-leading a 5.8. They never would have done that outside.

Diameter of rope is measured under load. I assume the 80 kg test load, but I'm not sure.

Will future climbers malign FWA's done this year, or will they just see the first ascensionists as lucky for the great weather?