Rad

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.

Great. Looks like the alpine. Maybe another page for rock climbers w Ltown, Dtown, North Bend, Index, Erie, New Halem, WA Pass, Smiff, Trout?

That's the spirit!

To all the volunteers and professionals who work hard to rescue climbers: THANK YOU!

We arrived on the scene of an accident at the Gun Show today shortly after first responders. Some poor guy fell 35 feet and had multiple lower limb fractures. We offered help to the first responding team, but they had things well in hand. After about 90 minutes volunteer SAR arrived with a team of helpers and supplies. An hour after that the chopper hauled the subject out and presumably flew him off to Harborview. I hope he makes a full recovery. I didn't ask the Sheriff's office deputy or the shell-shocked non-injured climbers how the accident happened. It just didn't seem like the right thing to do. The Sheriff's office lead said last year they brought a chopper in to pull out a woman who broke her hip. She was getting ready to lower off Endless Bliss and leaned back, but her partner had taken her off belay and she decked. Freeway noise is substantial at the Gun Show. Please make a very clear plan with your partner BEFORE either one of you leaves the ground. And don't change it. This is one spot where a radio might be helpful. Or heck, pull out your cell phone and call your belayer - I've done it - reception is good and mis-communication can have terrible consequences. STOP BEFORE YOU WEIGHT THE ROPE TO RAP/LOWER, CHECK TWICE, AND BE SAFE! Even a short fall to the deck can mess you up.

Shitty TR, though the pics and prose didn't stink. Did you tell the ranger that 'tobacco' is now legal in WA and that O has promised not to prosecute white males with double-bagged stashes as long as they don't text and drive?

Well, you have to wait until they dig out the road before you can be cured of those demons.

The article Mike posted answers Gene's and my questions about when you would want to use this fixed anchor point and why: In the event of a long leader fall it eliminates risks of the belayer slamming into the wall at the belay, which might cause them to let go of their brake hand and drop the leader further or completely. "Summary Belaying a leader off a fixed point is a valid and useful technique that should be included in a guide’s “bag of tricks”. For guides, it may offer an effective way to safeguard the leader in situations where there is any doubt about a belayer’s ability to reliably or comfortably hold a hard fall. And it may protect the belayer in situations where catching a hard fall may cause injury. The technique should be taught in AMGA’s rock and alpine programs."

Obviously, you don't want the leader to hit the ground or a large ledge, but slippage with an ATC is not likely to be more than 1-3 feet, unless it's a huge fall and your hand is sucked through the device. And if that distance makes the difference between hitting the ledge/deck or not then the leader needs to be prepared for that possibility or not lead the pitch. Second, there is a big difference in the impact forces generated by static vs dynamic belay devices. The main thing to be concerned about is the highest piece of gear below the leader, which may be the anchor if no gear has been placed. A good basic explanation of the physics involved is here Auto locking belay devices DO cause significantly higher forces on the top piece of protection, so if you're climbing a trad route with small or questionable gear this may mean the difference between having that piece hold or having it fail: See R&I article on static vs dynamic belays See mythbusters website

They say several times that this is only intended for situations where you have a bomb-proof anchor point. So is the goal to make sure the forces are absorbed by the anchor and not by the belayer in the event of a possible long fall? I agree with you that this looks like it has potential to place high loads on the fixed anchor point. Generally, the more dynamic the system is the lower the forces on all components, including the anchor point or points, the protection points en route, and the climber on the other end. Things that increase dynamics and reduce these loads include: 1 - Using a dynamic climbing rope. 2 - Having a belay device that allows some rope slippage in the event of a fall (e.g. ATC or similar device or a munter hitch or this Italian hitch shown). 3 - Belaying off your harness from a stance where your body can absorb some of the energy. This may hurt in the event of a long fall, but it will definitely reduce loads on the anchor. See below for more on this. 4 - Use the rope as part of the anchor instead of a static material like dyneema. If you have marginal pieces, and your goal is to minimize the chance of total anchor failure in the event of a leader fall, and you know the leader will have at least one solid piece in before falling (i.e. won't produce a downward pull on the anchor) then you might even consider lowering down below the anchor and belaying off your harness. Then when the leader falls they will pull the belayer back up to the anchor. Lifting the belayer in this way (like when Beth catches Tommy or Daila catches Chris) will absorb a significant amount of energy before the anchor is loaded at all. Equalizing the anchor pieces will also reduce the forces on each one by half depending on angles. More experienced folks can chime in with ideas of correct errors I've made here.

Chad, You're right that the interwebs are full of tall tales and bs, but this site has some regular long-time contributors who are solid folks that post useful info. Climb with some, read their reports and suggestions, climb their routes, and you can get a sense of how to interpret their comments and TRs. Soloing is a very personal experience. One person's solo is another's lifetime project, so there is no formula. At the end of the day, each of us must find our own path and take responsibility for our own actions. see you at SBP! Rad

Terrible indeed. RIP Chris. Your love for Darrington will live on in many who follow in the footsteps of your routes. Condolences to your family.

Awesome adventure. And nice write-up. Congrats.

SPOT has uses and limitations like any other tool. There are many situations where you will want to communicate complex, non-standard messages and have 2-way communication, which no SPOT or PLB will do. I'll refrain from linking the Climber 9-1-1 NWMJ article that talks about accidents and signaling devices. You can find it with google if you want it.