Rad

New policy looks fine. This is just the next step in the nice-ification you've been doing for some time. I sometimes worry that you'll be cutting out the dead wood without replanting anything to take its place. And I like Ivan and Tvash despite -nay, perhaps because of - their brash behavior. Do you have a plan for attracting new eyeballs and posters? Is cleaning out the deadwood the first of many steps along that path? Here's a possible next step: add a bouldering forum. There's probably a lot more bouldering in the PNW than ice climbing, and the bouldering scene seems to be growing faster than any other aspect of our sport. Surely content on ethics, environmental stewardship, new areas, and land use issues will be of interest to readers. Another idea: think about making the site more like a wiki, where people can contribute and connect content. At present it's all little dead-end threads that are not cross connected except by Google. As an aside, I've never found the search tools useful within the site and just use Google to find threads I'm seeking. Some better organization and searchability, with indexing and keywords, might make the site a better planning tool. That's my 2 cents.

Actually, Ivan, you've captured the biggest way I save weight: don't carry water. Look at the map and identify water sources along your route. Hydrate well at the trailhead, plan to hydrate at each water crossing, carry as little as you can in the intervening regions. That said, serious dehydration will cause you serious problems, so be careful. Other messages above sound very reasonable.

But who can unlearn all the facts that I've learned As I sat in their chairs and my synapses burned And the torture of chalk dust collects on my tongue Thoughts follow my vision and dance in the sun All my vasoconstrictors they come slowly undone Can't this wait 'til I'm old Can't I live while I'm young?

Confuse what you can of the ending And revise your despise so impending 'Cause I soak on the wrath That you didn't quite mask I'm getting it clearly through alternate paths Or mixed in with the signal you're sending

If accidents and tragedies don't rattle your cage and make you think, then you need a brain, like the straw man, and a heart, like the tin man.

Tvash: the door is black. Rob: But the roof is red! Tvash: No, idiot, the door is black. R: Roof is red yadda yadda yadda T: Beebly bobbly bum! R: Kibbly Kobbly Kum! Zzzzzz.

Might want to watch this forecast as part of your prep: http://www.nwac.us/avalanche-forecast/current/mt-hood/

I know someone who was rear-ended hard in a car, was offered a ride to the hospital, and refused to go. He then tightened up over the next 48 hours and has had lingering back problems since. Adrenaline was probably what had him feeling no pain immediately after the accident. Later on, insurance refused to pay anything because he'd denied care at the scene. Might have been better to go to the doc right away to get checked out, or so he thinks now.

I agree also, sometimes its nice to enjoy the alpin slowly I agree as well, but it's sure nice to climb wo bivy gear on your back.

I, for one, am grateful for all that you have provided thus far. I feel like I got my money's worth, and I even donated at one or two points. Thank you. I don't have miracle suggestions or cures. Like the rest of the interwebs, this site has both garbage and gems. I'm able to skip the former and find the latter when needed. I have some stories I hope to write up in TRs at some point, but I've been busy with A, B, C... Z. I'm not here as often as I was before, but I have not left the building yet either.

Thursday is the only night I'm available next week so I hope it lands then. For those that haven't been, these are fun.

There are many mountaineering skills that are taken for granted by most of those posting above but can kill you if you do them wrong. For example, many mountain outings will have some sections of unroped class three scrambling over loose and exposed terrain. A misstep or pull on a loose block could be catastrophic, even fatal. Ditto a trip on steep hard snow above rocks. River crossings can also be sketchy. In short, try to look at the whole experience, not just the "technical" part of the climb. The section where you're actually roped up and on belay may actually be the safest part of your trip. Anyone who's been to the Pickets will probably agree. There are some really easy outings that are truly spectacular. One is the Sahale Arm. Risks are low. Views are unbelievable, and you are close to some amazing terrain. The full N Ridge of Stuart is amazing, and carries few non-rock hazards, but you need to be able to move fast and efficiently over a lot of terrain. Backbone ridge on Dtail is outstanding, but again you need to be able to move fast, and the snow entry and exit can be sketchy without an ax at certain times of the year. IMHO glaciers should probably be avoided unless you have a team of 3-4 on a rope and at most of them have solid arrest and crevasse rescue skills. Have I violated that advice? Yes. Would I take my kids on that terrain in similar circumstances? No. We look forward to photos of your trip and don't want to hear you've gotten in an accident. Learn, have fun, be safe, and live to climb another day.

Index is certainly lovely, and deservedly popular. I look forward to more granite goodness. Still, I loathe Rt 2 traffic and am not eager to have my windows smashed by tweakers. X38 Far Side has rock outstanding rock, and there are plenty of 10s and 11s even some 12s to keep you happy. A new guide is in the works. Here's a shot of Franklin's Tower, a new 12a finished last fall. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the start is powerful and overhanging. That slabby looking dihedral is actually vertical. This is a great time for climbing as everything is very dry. 35 minutes from Seattle.

Beautiful adventure! Keep exploring!

Several people were wronged by Garth on the old books, but that's water under the bridge. It looks like Kurt is going forward with a new, much-needed guide. More power to him. Route developers and others with detailed knowledge basically have two options: 1 - Share info with the author. You might help correct some errors in old guides, transmit good info on new routes, and contribute FA and other information for a new guide. 2 - Don't share info with the author. In this case, he'll go around and figure out what he can on his own and from others. There's a good chance some of what gets published will be wrong and incomplete. I've chosen #1.

Franklin's Tower - 12a? V4+, jug, V2. This is a short line just uphill from the Gun Show. Take the trail past the GS turnoff, at the second switchback look up hill and follow a faint path 100ft to the base of the route. Stick clip as the crux is off the ground. If you follow the trail past GS you eventually arrive at some super easy bolted lines at the South end of the Interstate Park cliff band. Look into the woods to your right and you'll see a glimpse of an overhanging cliff. Make your way down to it. The left steep route is Snaggletooth - 11b. Just right of it is Third Stone from the Sun - 11c. Just right of it is a 5.10 whose name I've forgotten. All of these are overhanging and stay pretty dry with minimal seepage. No sun at any of them. For that go to Shangri-La or Gun Show.

Sounds like you were on Hypertension at Shangri-La. That one is just left of the giant dihedral and starts with a boulder problem over a bulge. The last moves to the anchor are slopey if you go left. Try liebacking the arete on the right and you'll be straight over the bolt. The other two 12s are on the overhanging wall right of the giant corner. They're both super clean and well bolted. I suppose you could pitch off going for the Bladerunner anchor on the slopers and sidepulls, but if you pulled the crux these moves shouldn't stop you. The falls are clean and overhanging in any case. The newest 12-, 11+, and 11 lines out there are close by but not exactly the same crag. Glad to show you or try to send you directions. cheers, Rad

I misread your note and thought you meant summer rock. Winter is a different story. Access is good so hopefully someone will climb it.

W Face of Sloan is broken by many horizontal ledges and looks dirty from several angles, so it might not be as aesthetic as photos from below might suggest. Bunker did a long route on the left side.

There are a number of spinner's on Heaven's Gate. Bring your adjustable wrench as they're not all the same size. A shot of the final pitch today... And the second to last pitch:

Finding the thank God hold above the second roof on the last pitch of Heaven's Gate. BTW, this was taken today. Upper town wall is great right now. Get some!

Great weekend to get off the couch and climb. See ya out there!