Rad

Went to see the BMFF tonight and was interested to see how they handled it there. Here's what went down. 1 - No mention of any possible controversy by the BMFF host. 2 - The movie was introduced as by Surdel, and there was no mention of Bertulis. 3 - The film ran, and we were reminded that it won the overall award. 4 - It was stated that Surdel won the award. 5 - Only AFTER the film was over did the host thank Bertulis for his generous restoration efforts. Seems like the BMFF is heading toward the right track, albeit without any acknowledgment of wrongdoing. Their lawyers may advise against that. IMHO award $ should go to Surdel, who, if he is any sort of gentleman, should give something ($ or a lot of polish ) to Bertulis for his efforts. Lastly, though I liked the film I wouldn't have voted it #1. Dude walks straight into an open crevasse and guess what? He falls in...

Options: 1 - Join AA, stop climbing, and cry in your coffee. 2 - Amputate with dull penknife, die from infectious complications, and have family apply for Darwin award. 3 - See the MD. What harm can the doc do? Perhaps you'll get a referral to a PT who can actually get you functional again.

tantalizing...

Leavenworth was dry today, even saw some sunshine!

Great shot of the summit of Constance. That spire is the perfect cap to an excellent peak.

Yo, just purchase the hold you want, and bolt it on in the same spot. Viola! Or buy several holds. Then you could set up the route at different grades depending on your mood.

I don't have the historical references to respond in riddle form, but you've given us the thinly veiled answer already: Inspiration and Pinnacle/Chopping Block were Colin winter FAs. The latter was the solo. We saw photos of the former at the Dwayner/Marko/Colin Pickets traverse last year. Good fun.

On the whole, this article is probably pretty good for the climbing community because it portrays climbers as responsible outdoor enthusiasts. The explanations were simple enough to be understood by reasonably bright non-climbers. The biggest flaw, as Slothrop points out, is the Little Si access error. Trad/sport/alpine distinctions are not central to the article, but it makes bolts sound like new and improved climbing rather than an alternative to trad placements. Mentioning the theft problems without slamming the police for inaction is probably the best way to raise awareness without riling the coppers.

I used to wash ropes in the bathtub. Pain in de arse, that. Care must be taken to make sure the rope load in your washer is balanced, just like any other load you'd put in there. I've never had problems.

Selkirk, Congrats on falling. Seriously. Being able to do it safely is an important part of the learning curve.

I also follow the school of Muffiness: New rope = lead rope. Lead rope becomes top rope when it is ready to retire from the sharp end (see below). Old top rope becomes anchor fodder when trees are really far back from the cliff you want to toprope (I haven't encountered this yet in the PNW but did in the Traprocks of CT. Older still gets cut up for dog leashes or otherwise discarded for the When to retire lead rope? People do different things. Mammut recommends you keep a log of falls (length, fall factor, date etc) and abseils (rapping for euros). I don't know anyone who really does this but it would be good. When the lead rope gets about half the number of recommended falls, or is otherwise damaged or just getting older, then buy a new lead rope and turn your old lead rope into a toprope. Unless you are working a route with long run-outs your rope will probably wear long before you max out on its UIAA fall rating. These factors include: Abrasion over rough rock or sharp edges (think about this when setting up those topropes). Dirt ground into the core can damage a rope. Keep your rope out of the dirt as much as possible and don't step on your rope. Wash it from time to time in the washing machine - woolite, slow spin, drip dry. Easy. Excessive UV exposure, heat, or exposure to gas fumes (don't leave your rope in your car). The actions of idiots wearing crampons. Lastly, if you're not falling you're not pushing yourself. However, if you're logging factor 2 falls you're not thinking.

Small potatoes: 1 - MF onsight attempt in the gunks. Was only 7 ft over my last 2 pieces, equalized cams in a flaring, shallow pocket. Ropedrag was horrendous so I pulled up enough to get me past the upper crux and to the anchor. Got most of the way there and pumped out - launched, pieces held. Fall was only 20-25 ft but I came swinging down right onto the edge of the roof on the route. I smacked into the roof edge with my crotch! Thankfully, my brand new locker took the hurt and not the family jewels. I checked for other injuries (cut on leg but otherwise ok) and headed back up. This time I took the same fall again, though not as far this time. Stopped above the roof. Third time's a charm. I went back up, found a foothold I'd been missing, and reached the anchor. The locker still has a nice gouge in it. Anyone need a belay? 2 - Was leading delicate 5.9 friction on sandstone at an SF bay area secret spot when a lizard came running up next to me. A second one sprinted up and jumped on the first, attempting to hump it. Entwined, they fell together, bouncing twice off the wall before hitting the deck. Both were dazed for a few seconds, but hormones soon kicked in and the humper chased the humpee off into the manzanita. I felt pretty silly with a rope and harness and shoes and bolts after that...

"They were whooping it up like kids over there." Um, they are kids...kids that rock.

Neat and Cool. Smoke Bluffs. Onsight attempt, being belayed by a lady friend who wanted to stand farther back (10ft) from the base to watch. I climbed 15 feet, placing a stopper and then a #1 camelot. In the crux (which I think is the left diagonalling crack 25 or so feet off the deck), I placed a blue tcu in what looked like a solid, if polished, undercling crack. I was making the delicate crux traverse moves toward a good hold when my left foot blew off the greasy slab where I had been willing it to stick. I launched and immediately flipped because my leg had been around the rope. The tcu popped in an instant, my belayer was lifted off the ground and swung until she stopped at the base of the route (now that's what I call a dynamic belay!). I flew down until the #1 caught me. I stopped completely sideways about 18 inches off the ground, and my head tipped slowly and tapped a rock. Thank you helmet. If I'd stayed vertical I would've decked. Other than a ropeburn behind my knee, which started to ooze but not bleed, I was fine. Shaken, but fine. We waited a few minutes. I headed up again, placed a 3/4 camelot a few feet before the crux and got into position. This time I was able to push upward with my right foot in a wide stem off the rampy roof on the right of the crack. This increased the pressure of my left foot on the greasy slab and it stayed put. I pulled the traverse, rested, came back across the ramp above and pulled through the lovely handcrack to the finish. It felt good to complete the redpoint after that fall, to face fear and conquer it in some small way on one summer afternoon a few years ago. Neat and cool.

W ridge Mt Thompson. Mediocre rock with only 2 interesting moves on the whole climb, and the interesting part is whether the plates you're pinching will pull off the choss pile of a route. It is a lovely setting, however. The rock reminded me of Chair Peak, which is another classic summit with great views guarded by choss. I agree with Dberdinka: it's all about expectations. I was on the N face route of Vesper, which is a moderate route with quality moves, quality rock, and an amazing alpine ambience, and a party of two we talked with en route said if we liked that route we should go do Thompson. Expectations were high and were not met.

5 Towers traverse and E ridge of Inspiration, Pickets Outer space, SCW E ridge, Forbidden Backbone Ridge, Dragontail W Ridge Stuart .......... looking forward to many more new ones!

We need a graemlin for the someone playing the world's smallest violin.

Pull up a bight of rope but don't bite it, then we can all live together in homonymy.

Carabiners and a rope will only help you if you have solid crevasse rescue skills.

Interesting. So if you climb 10m and don't place pro after the anchor you're looking at a 20m fall on 20m of rope (a factor 1 fall)? In that case the stout tree is starting to sound a lot better than the piton or single nut anchor. Placing slings or pro along the way could reduce the fall length by a lot, but then you'd have to leave that pro behind...

Calm, focused, and deliberate is good advice. Sounds like Peter Croft. Sometimes one wants a little more security... On a few occasions getting to or from a technical climb I have come to a move I hesitated to free solo. At those times I had the rack with me so I clipped a long sling to my harness, placed a piece above me (when going up, have done this downclimbing too) to protect the move and cleaned it after making the move. If you have more than one move you could place a piece, move up, place the 2nd piece, clean the first, move up, clean the 2nd etc. This quick and dirty system is just what I improvised at the time. It may not work in many situations, and I'd not recommend doing it for more than a few moves. Disadvantages: you're trusting yourself to one piece at a time. Best for short sections with good pro options. Pros: safer than free solo and faster than dealing with a rope. Sometimes safer/less exposed alternate routes can be found nearby so keep your eyes open. Turning around is sometimes the best option, even if it can be hard to make yourself do it. Good luck and use your head.

Plan of action. First, please remember: A - Someone died in this race. Treading respectfully will be important. B - The Seattletimes (and possibly national news services) ran an article that mentioned the race and the death. Thus, there is already media interest in this event. The pump has been primed, if you will. This means that the race organizers have already been scrutinzed by the media and have probably implemented some program to deal with public relations. I think there are many good suggestions in the thread above. Based on those here is the course of action I recommend: 1 - Collect photos etc to document damage. Make sure to include non-cliff areas where damage may have ocurred. 2 - Contact the race organizers first in a respectful manner inquiring when and how they intend to complete their clean-up and removal of bolts etc. We hope they will 'do the right thing'. 3 - If that doesn't work contact the Forest service to notify them of our 'concerns', and suggest we hope the race organizers will 'do the right thing'. 4 - If these don't work then contact the media (Seattletimes for a start), describe the damage, and suggest that we all hope that the race organizers will 'do the right thing'. 5 - Get attorneys to put together a complaint in the event they failed to 'do the right thing'. 6 - Go watch a Spike Lee movie called.... Seriously, it's now time to put words into action. I would volunteer to write letters as necessary, or help edit them, when appropriate. Interested parties pm me to coordinate.

Sunshine crack.

We never really own pink tricams. They inhabit our racks and then move on when they feel the urge to hit the road. Over the years I've had one to three on my rack. I've only ever purchased one, and it ditched me long ago. Long live the pink! ............. Blue tricams, on the otherhand, are largely useless and entirely sedentary, preferring to lounge in the bottom of an old pack, unused.

When in France...