Rad

Maybe trade them for a razor or a gift certificate to a barber?

The data you want are in mtn project. Good luck.

Reindeer. Actually, it was more interesting. RIP grandpa.

Actually, it was on Jerry Springer.

Touching the Void is probably the best climbing adventure book I've read, but I haven't read that many. I look forward to seeing how the list shakes out so I can give myself an xmas present or two (the best kind of present). Thanks for the list Plaid! Mt Analogue is a POS IMHO. Like Samuel Beckett goes climbing. Long's Gorillas in the Mist isn't really a climbing book, but there are some great adventure stories. So long as we're considering non-climbing adventures, I'll toss out one of the best I've read: The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition by Caroline Alexander. The story is both riveting and fascinating, and the photographs by Hurley are amazing as well.

Cool. I love mind over matter stories like your 14a redpoint. Finding that headspace where everything flows is truly magical. I found it for my own project redpoints this year, albeit many many grades below yours. It's one of the reasons I've been hooked on climbing for 20 years and hope to be hooked for another 20. Hopefully lots of people will read your blog and you'll get the sponsorships you need to live your dream. cheers, Rad

Hey Ben, What's your blog or website link? We want to follow your world tour and imagine ourselves crimping down with your super-human strength and spirit on dry stone somewhere other than Wet Washington. cheers RAd

I think this new avatar is broken. It says exactly the same crap as the last one. You should return it.

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Cool. Looks like the rope is a tag line to haul up boards, saws, and a lunch box with smokes. I doubt if it provides any safety measure. This must have been before lawyers were invented.

Bad Guy is under the big roof right of Dairy Freeze and left of Megatherion. It might be dry under that roof, but the scramble to get there will be sopping wet so be careful.

Yeah I read a news article from last year about some idiots doing that. WAY TOO SUBTLE FOR THIS CROWD. POST PICS INSTEAD

Karst is rad, with amazingly complex and intricate features both above and below ground. I've was fortunate to have some fantastic (for me) caving adventures in Laos, Belize, and NZ. Look forward to more someday.

I have 2 for the Seattle BIFF Friday Dec 3rd and would like to trade for Thursday the 2nd. pm if interested

I don't remember it being that great, but it's been a while since I've been over there. I still have a few chads on my punch card so I'll check it out again sometime. VW Tacoma has very good bouldering.

Real rock is the best, but I do enjoy climbing indoors too, particularly good bouldering. So here's my two cents on the Seattle area gyms. Anyone else got opinions. You know you do! Bouldering: Stone Gardens > UW IMA > VW Seattle. Roped climbing VW Seattle > UW IMA > Stone Gardens. Main factors: wall space and variety, setter quality, and hold quality and variety. Anyone going to the SG comp this Saturday? I'll be flailing in the >35 division and look forward to seeing the open dudes and chicas strut their stuff. (full disclosure: I'm a UW volunteer setter so I may be biased)

It won't be lost. Just don't clip the bolts. Think of Sonny Trotter.

Disclaimor: the highest on Hood I've been is Timberline for the HTC. But it's definitely possible to get stuck in November or December. Avalanches are certainly possible, as are big storms, and if snow is low or late it may be possible to fall into a crevasse or bergshrund. Others will be more knowledgeable. Plenty of accident, signaling, and rescue data and anecdotes here too: http://www.mountaineers.org/nwmj/10/101_Rescue.html

Google pulls up a few incidents that may provide ideas. What I don't see right away was a case where a spring boarder rode into a crevasse and survived - and it was caught on video. Anyone? http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/backcounty_snowboarder_dies_at.html Looks like the Mooz character here has a video loop that might fit with your book: http://www.snowboardingforum.com/back-country-travel/16393-tr-another-mt-hood-climb.html http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/Report_Hood_Bergschrund.htm

I went 11 yrs ago and trekked in the Kanchenjunga region. We didn't see any other trekkers and stayed in fantastic villages. It wasn't a climbing trip, but I used one of our rest days at the highest camp to scramble a 6111 meter unnamed peak. It was fabulous. It may be too sketchy to head that far into the sticks now, but after that trip and many other travels in foreign lands I'll share my 2 cents: - People - Choose partners, guides, porters, etc, based on character and reputation. If you go trekking/climbing for a month you don't want to be stuck with someone who will steal your stuff or be causing you endless headaches. - Patience - Expect things will cost more and take longer than you think. Nepal and other developing nations move at a different pace. Not necessarily slower, but if you are in a hurry you'll invariably get stressed out and spend more money than you intended. - Learn to bargain. In the US we generally don't have bargaining as part of our daily lives, but it is an important skill and one that most everyone else does on a daily basis. - NEVER part with all of your money up front. - Culture - expect that the people and places you see, perhaps more than the peaks you tick, will bring the best memories of your trip. - Bring your lessons home. All of the things above will enrich your life back home too.

Don't worry, they rarely leave the couch.

Great list of routes! I almost got on Lucky Streaks many years ago and have been itching to get back ever since.

Cute. In case anyone reading this thread wants to learn about devices and mountain rescues, I wrote an article on this topic a few months ago that may be of interest: Climber 9-1-1 article

Doug Robinson told me that he and others believe that the southern sections of the Eastern Sierras were cleared of a lot of loose rock by nuclear testing in the Mojave. Hearsay upon hearsay, but it's an interesting idea. Maybe if Rainier blows up Tieton will be cleared of loose rock. Then again, St Helens didn't seem to help.

AC, welcome. A word of perspective: cc.com is like the rest of the interweb. There are many treasures to find, but they are often hidden in mountains of trash. Happy hunting.