Rad

Fantabulous! Good thing you were acclimatized before doing Conness. With a topout around 12,400 that thing can get your sea lungs pumping.

Sweet! Aluminum crampons on running shoes? Great idea. Too bad you didn't get any good pics on your trip

There are a few two pitch lines at the Gun Show. All are less than 60m total and so can be lead as one pitch if desired, and rapped with a single rope. There are two on Deception Wall, but probably not what you're looking for as they are harder than most newbie routes. They are: Pop Bottle (7) to Rat Face (10) to some 5.12. There is an unnamed 10ish thing that leads to Overture (11). A few multipitch lines at a new Far Side crag that fall in the 10/11 range. Great Northern Slab is pretty darn friendly. Many variations possible. Then there is the 26 pitch bolted line on the N fork road that shall remain unnamed so as to avoid waking sleeping trolls....

If wikipedia has the facts straight, "Dan Osman (February 11, 1963 – November 23, 1998) was an American extreme sport practitioner, known for the dangerous sports of "free-soloing" (rock climbing without ropes or other safety gear); and "rope jumping" (falling several hundred feet from a cliff then being caught by a safety rope), for which his record was over 1000 feet / 304.8 meters. He was known for living a bohemian lifestyle, rarely working, and living in a tree house for months at a time. He was the star of several rock climbing videos, which brought free-soloing to a wider audience. Dan had one daughter.[1]" "Dan Osman died November 23, 1998 at the age of 35 after his rope failed while performing a "controlled free-fall" jump from the Leaning Tower rock formation in Yosemite National Park. Osman had come back to Yosemite to dismantle the jump tower but apparently decided to make several jumps (over a few days) before doing so.[1] The failure was investigated by the National Park Service with assistance from Chris Harmston, Quality Assurance Manager at Black Diamond Equipment. Harmston concluded that a change in jump site angle probably caused the ropes to cross and entangle, leading to the rope cutting by melting.[2] Miles Daisher, who was with Osman when he made the jump, stated that the ropes used in his fatal jump had been exposed to inclement weather — including rain and snow — for more than a month before the fatal jump, but that the same ropes were used for several shorter jumps on the previous and same day. [1]" The guys in this vid are doing a swing, not a fall/catch. And the distances are much shorter than what Osman was doing. It also looks like they haven't left their gear in the elements for a month.

Jens put up that steep route across from block of doom. We both think 11c sounds about right. Powerful and bouldery. There is a cool route just above block of doom on the uphill side of the cave (approach from top). Felt 11-ish, assuming you don't cheat right as I did the first time.

GB did updates after the first edition. Not much since then. Several folks are contemplating writing new I90 corridor guides, but talk is cheap.

Thanks for getting out there and for the update. MacBeth is very solid rock except for one band between the slab and steep face. We cleaned that as much as we could, but stopped short of a full-on mining effort. Hopefully you got on Midsummer Night's dream, the best route there. It's on the far right and traverses under and then over a diagonalling roof. I haven't been up in that area for a bit, but I remember anchors on a wall on your right as you're heading up the trail. Didn't look particularly appealing, but maybe you're thinking of another line.

It seems there are two kinds of solutions: Two pairs of shoes. A pair of rock shoes good for friction, cracks, and edges (many options), and a pair of sturdy, lightweight approach shoes (also many available). One pair of shoes. This is a tough nut to crack because anything with decent rock performance will be tight, not have padding, not be stiff enough to take a crampon or work on hard snow, and wear down and get dirty quickly on trails.

Sweet. Sounds like you would've been hating life just as much hunkered down on the summit in a storm as muntering through the elements.

Nice. So has this thing seen an FFA yet?

Bump. Who out there enjoys reading NWMJ articles and drooling over the fantastic photos? It doesn't just materialize out of thin air every year. The journal needs your help! Please consider volunteering some of your time and passion to keep it going strong.

Bummer. No experience with cervical discs, but I had L4/L5 and L5/S1 hernias that were pretty bad. Vioxx and aggressive PT brought me back to 100%. Vioxx is off the mkt now, but a strong anti-inflammatory may be in order, but check with your doc first. Remember that you're not taking it for pain but to reduce internal inflammation that is pressing on the nerve bundle. Tingling and numbness and reduced motor function are not good signs. You need to address this to ensure you don't end up with permanent nerve damage. Good luck.

Sweet! Amazing rock. Looks like it would be REALLY bad to fall off on that traverse on p6...long pendulum into a corner. The only thing more dangerous is hitting your head.

I use a trango cinch and have myself on a long leash to a prussik on a second rope. Probably overkill, but it's safe. The problem with the prussik on the same line is that it's difficult to move up and down as you know. Another backup, though a bit more sketchy, is to tie a beefy knot in the line you're on and clip a small locking biner (or two) on the rope. That way if the device somehow fails or comes off (don't know how this would happen) then you'd slide down the rope until the biner hit the beefy know. Have never tested this, thank goodness. It does stay out of your way. Just make sure to tie the knot at a point so it will keep you from hitting anything nasty. I look forward to hearing what smarter folks have to say.

N Ridge of Stuart is also great. The 5.9 sections could easily be aided if necessary.

I'd suggest E Ridge Direct on Forbidden (5.8). It is much longer, has much better views, and more interesting climbing than Prusik W Ridge.

Bump. We'd like to include this route in the NWMJ short reports section. If anyone knows how to get in touch with motomata please send me a pm. Thanks a ton, Rad ps. Any repeats?

Bump. We'd like to include this route in the NWMJ short reports section this year. If anyone knows how to get in touch with leearden or his comrades please send me a pm. Thanks a ton, Rad

Cool knot site. You didn't mention, but I'm guessing you'd plan to clip each loop to a biner on a bolt. What you want to avoid is clipping both loops to both bolts, which essentially replicates the american death triangle.

Probably waiting for a bold first ascent. Go for it, and don't forget to write it up on MtnProj.

Those wires remind me of times when I've slung hangerless bolts using nuts, sliding the nut up against the bolt so it doesn't pop off. Fun times.

@SCJB, grabbing quickdraws can be dangerous if you catch your hand or finger in the biner. Generally better to take the fall. @Bill, this particular line only has 5 bolts. Time and climbers will tell whether it merits fixed draws or not.

Actually, I think you can be pretty confident that Garth did not consult with all the developers. I'm not sure why everyone seems all fired up about this. Replacement gear is simply not that expensive unless you have a lot of routes to maintain. A quick check of the HD website shows that: 3/8" galvanized chain is $3.60 per foot. Smaller guage is cheaper. One 3/8" zinc plated quicklink is $2.89. One stainless 5/16" quicklink is $7. If the last link of an otherwise good chain is getting worn through, simply pull it down, take it to Home Depot, cut off the last link, and put it back. No equipment cost at all. Sometimes lowering is safer than rapping, particularly on overhanging or traversing routes. One of the biggest reasons to rap, when feasible, is to minimize wear and tear on the rope. Abrasion on rough rock and over edges is much, much harsher on ropes than simply passing over a chain/quicklink. New ropes cost a lot more than the items above. These are usually the two factors I balance when deciding to rap or lower. If I know what the standard practice is for a route then I'll usually adhere to that. Route developers usually do what they do as a labor of love. If my routes become used so much that the chain links wear through then I'd be delighted to upgrade hardware to keep them safe. As it is, I have finally found a use for all those booty biners I've accumulated over the years: leave them on the chains to make it faster and easier for people to get down. Perhaps extensive use of a route is a sign it is well-loved and has become 'real', like the velveteen rabbit. This is well worth the inevitable wear and tear.

Thanks for the input. Probably overhangs 10-20 feet in 35-50 ht, depending on the line. Strenuous is relative. Not placing draws may make a difference for my redpoint, but I'm sure stronger climbers would be fine placing draws. The issue is more of convenience and ease of cleaning. My intention is to complete the first route on the wall, perhaps work on others, and get people out to climb the routes. Just as I would prefer to have follow-on users develop consensus ratings for the routes, I expect they will help determine whether/which fixed draws/chains/wires should be left in situ. And yes, my goal is to create a route that will be enjoyed by climbers of all statures. @wknd: same.

I have taken people there but haven't posted detailed info on the interweb yet. So far there are about a dozen pitches, mostly in the 10-11 range. Starting to work on one or two harder lines, including the one that sparked this thread. If you want a tour send a pm.