Rad

BS. The low number is probably only overnight backcountry permits. They can't accurately count day-hikers and -climbers. Try comparing over night bc permits across all three parks and let's see what you get. Apples to apples.

FW, what is the source for your NCNP visitation numbers? As there are no gates or entrance booths for NCNP, hikers, climbers, and other day users need not register and are thus not counted. Put a car counter across the road at the hairpin below WA pass and across the road above the New Halem dam and I suspect the numbers of NCNP visitors will be much higher. If you want to make a comparison with NCNP, choose one or more National Parks where there is a highway going through them that doesn't require visitors to stop at a gate and register, as you have to do to cross Tioga Pass.

Thanks for posting an inspiring TR! That's the best part of this site.

There's a new route right of Tea Time on the right end of the Gun Show wall at the Far Side of X38: Matchstick. 5 bolts, 11c or so (V2, rest, V3). Traverse right past the first bolt then straight up past four more bolts. Fun moves on great rock. Enjoy!

Post in the partners forum and see if you get a hit

If Rs are so convinced the ACA will crash and burn they should let it do so. They will then reap the benefits at the polls two years hence. If it succeeds they can take credit for it and not be on the wrong side of history. Now it looks like they've painted themselves into a corner with few options, much like Obama did by drawing a line in the sand over the use of chemical weapons in Syria, but that's another story...

Jon Stewart tells it like it is!

It's not about the content of Affordable Care Act. A black man beat some white guys at their own politics game to pass it, and they'll never get over that. So they'll fight him tooth and nail until the day they have a rich white guy in office again.

Gorgeous photos! I love the feeling of ticking off a climbing goal just hours before the weather shuts things down. Congrats.

I agree with Jordan. While human impact is something to mitigate, and perhaps concentrate to preserve the wildest areas, we want as many voters to have direct outdoor experiences with forests, rivers, cliffs, boulders, and mountains as possible. This will increase the chance they will vote and/or act to protect these resources. A trail may seem like a large impact to an area, but it's much smaller than a copper mine, a clearcut, or a sheep farm. Changes in land use designation are the real danger, not a few bolts or cairns. Rainier and the Enchantments may be safe, but less visible or visited areas might not be so safe. Darrington comes to mind. Logging jobs vs climbing access and preservation? Guess which way the vote would go there?

A narrow window of cool and sunshine. I want to finish a new line at the Far Side. Happy to belay you or ropegun on whatever routes suit your fancy from 5.6 to 5.12. I can leave Seattle around 10 and drive to/from. PM if interested.

Impressive outing. Nice work. "The climbing was often loose, sparsely protected, somewhat lichen-covered, and wet..." You're not selling it. Maybe "splitter" it up a bit: The rock was SPLITTER! The weather was SPLITTER! The approach was SPLITTER! The bivy was SPLITTER.

It's generally not good to mix metals because you can get galvanic corrosion. That only occurs in the presence of electrolyte (i.e. water that conducts electricity). In this situation galvanic corrosion might be extremely slow.

The question is not whether or not climbers want to be "managed". That decision has already been made. The question is whether climbers can have a say in HOW they are "managed".

To be clear, I am not pro-ranger. I am pro-engagement. There is a slippery slope from increased monitoring to new rules to restriction of access, and I don't want to see us slide down that slope. There are two ways I see that might help arrest that slide: 1 - get together as a community and figure out a way to change user behaviors that are causing concern, and 2 - engage in a respectful dialog where each party genuinely tries to understand the other's goals and find solutions that work for all parties. These are things the Access Fund, WCC, and others have been doing for years. Maybe something can be learned from them.

Yes, Rob. That's true. But a gesture of good will might be needed to break the us vs them paradigm.

In a time of deep budget cuts for parks and land management agencies at all levels, someone has decided to invest in creating a climbing ranger position. This means that they see climbers as important users. It's up to you, the climbing community, to reach out and partner with them to do something good so that when they review the program in two years they can point to successes that benefit all sides. Find those win-win items and run with them. Maybe pit toilets and improved trails that reduce impact might be a good place to start. Pointing fingers and slapping labels on people isn't likely to be helpful to anybody.

I think it was Petzl Elios. Dark gray. Left it up there September 2011 after our outing on Diamond in the Rough. Pics of helmet are in the TR

Truly tragic. Too many accidents this season. Condolences to friends and family of this young man. The East Ledges descent involves a set of single rope rappels followed by an unroped 3rd class traverse back to the notch at the start of the E Ridge Direct. The 3rd class terrain is unprotectable and exposed but not loose. It's what I call 'if you fall you die' terrain. If it were wet it might be sketchy. On the plus side, because it's a traverse you won't have party-inflicted rockfall too much. There are many moments on even on moderate alpine routes where a single mishap can spell disaster. If you're not attached to anything, as is often the case on terrain that isn't steep enough for a rope but isn't a flat trail, a single mishap at the wrong time could be fatal. We may learn lessons by analyzing accidents, but it's dangerous to say, "I would never make that mistake". You might. People do. Managing risk is a big part of what draws us all to climbing, and I'm not suggesting we stay on the couch. Just remember that your life, and often that of your partners, is in your hands. That's a lot of responsibility. Bear it well.

I wonder if anyone ever found the gray helmet I left where Diamond in the Rough joins the goat trail. Oh well. Hopefully someone's putting it to good use.

Wasn't too long ago you were trying to break into Index 5.9s. Awesome! Hope you find a partner.

Oh, I didn't realize you could click through to the details. That makes more sense now and makes my comments moot.

A general forecast is great, but I like to see percent precip and freezing levels. Still, a cool idea.

Wow. Scrubbing and bolting a multi-pitch line many hours from the road? Must be true love. Thanks for the effort. I enjoyed the lower part of the face but probably started further right than most do.