Rad

Dane, Your heliski comment doesn't reflect what I've seen. Whistler Heliski, at least, monitors weather closely and tells you early am if they'll fly that day or not. If they don't fly on the day of your booking you don't get charged at all. When they do fly, the guides assess potential slopes by a variety of means before clients arrive, so clients typically don't get to choose the slopes/routes. Unlike a climb up Rainier, the heliski folks have a wide range of slopes and aspects to choose from. Bottom line is that they are almost certainly not going to take you to the top of the mountain, call it off at that point, and then fly you back down and charge you for the run. Private charters may be a different story. Regardless, perhaps the main reason to hire a mtn guide is to have someone to help keep you safe. Deciding when/if to attempt the summit is a huge part of that, and if I were the client I wouldn't want to second guess the guide.

June weather is notoriously fickle. Could be sunny and 70s or rainy and 50, and you won't know until just a few days beforehand so come up with a great weather plan (e.g. Forbidden Direct E Ridge) an OK on East side but wet on West side option (e.g. Serpentine on Dragontail) and a wet most everywhere plan (Goat wall in Mazama?). Good luck.

And ample mosquitoes too! The WA pass area is the only place in WA where I've had hoards of buzzing bloodsuckers chase me two pitches up a route.

P, Like you, I was a trad climber for years before coming to sport and then a little bouldering. Bouldering in the gym regularly made a big difference for me. It can expand your repertoire of moves, increase finger and forearm strength, and help you become more dynamic when needed. You'll also get to watch how better climbers float up the moves that stump you and connect with partners stronger than you. You may find that up to 5.8 or 5.9 you are solid and can stop at any point to place gear or snap a pic etc. Trad climbing is often equated with static climbing, but it doesn't have to be that way. As you go from 5.9 into 10s and 11s there will probably be sections of climbs that feel at your limit, where you can't pause without falling. Learn to climb through these to the next stance where you can rest/clip/place gear. Work rests as noted above and gun through the sections that are harder. In a similar vein, sometimes it's more efficient to dyno/deadpoint to a good hold than burn energy on crappy intermediate holds. Also, it helps to try climbs harder than you think you can do, even if it gets ugly, so you get the feeling of harder moves. If shooting for easy 10s make sure to get on some hard 10s. If shooting for mid to hard 10s then try some 11s etc. There are some good training books out there, and some good thoughts in this thread. I used to think that climbing harder is just about pulling harder, and that the mental aspect was a separate dimension. Now I'm learning that strength and training are part of the mental game too. In short, everything is in your head. If you are motivated, persistent and intelligent in your training, and stay healthy you should easily achieve your goals. I set myself some redpoint goals to hit before turning 40. I wasn't sure if I could make them, but I knew that trying would likely bump up my level, and it has, opening a whole new set of possible routes to target. I finally hit my objectives this spring, at 42, and although it was later than intended, it was very satisfying. If you want it bad enough I'm sure you can achieve your goals. Good luck!

Let me know if you figure out the difference between "mostly sunny" and "partly cloudy". Sounds like two ways to look at the same glass of milk.

sickie sickie sickie Update: My intial 500 has been matched by Colt45 (200), Marko (50), summitCJB (50) LAB (50), OrionSonya (300 for initial pledge). So I made my payment. OrionSonya has offered to match 300 in contributions. Fenderfour has offered to match 500 in contributions. Toward that 800 so far we have: MountainMatt (50), NKane (50), Sherri/Crillz?? So there is still another $700 in match money to double your contribution. Anyone? Please note that we are not checking the Index website so the only way matchers will know if you've donated is if you post here or send a pm to one of us. Also, Fenderfour has set a deadline of Monday May 24th for his match. So act now, don't delay! Thanks so much! Now we just need the darn rock to dry... sickie sickie sickie

Rope burns are only going to occur if the rope is sliding through your hands. If your brake hand is on the rope and goes to a lockoff position to catch a fall then the rope shouldn't be sliding. Some people do a 'soft catch' in certain circumstances (steep terrain, bad gear, etc), but this is only advisable for experienced climbers and is inadvisable where a longer fall might mean hitting a slab or anything else. So while Steve's message seems harsh, it may be correct.

Echoing comments above: Many X38 crags suffer from seepage issues, so they will be wet after it rains even if their overhanging nature keeps them dry during the rain.

Work (out) hard. Play (outside) hard. Nice.

Wow Thanks!!! I don't think $50 is modest. Even $10 helps. Thank you all. I'll chip in my max of $500. That brings us to $1150 here so far, including my contribution. FYI, this is on the honor system. Don't post or send your receipt. Hopefully Index will repay you with good karma and sick sends! If anyone else wants to offer another match (smaller or larger or whatever) that would keep the stoke going. Thanks again. Rad

Camalots can be often be 'rocked' just a bit to set them, and I usually do this. It reduces the liklihood they will rotate later, which may help prevent failure or keep them from walking somewhere you don't want them to go etc. Doesn't work for three cam units.

I've decided to try to double your contribution to the Index Fund, and mine, by matching the first $500 of contributions made between now and midnight, Saturday May 22nd. You can post in this thread or send me a pm if you wish to remain anonymous. I'll post the tally at the end of each day. If we get to $500 really fast then maybe someone else can make a similar offer for the next block. So if you love to climb at Index lower town wall... or enjoyed it immensely back in the day... or are excited to finally see a bathroom installed... and want to see it preserved for future generations of climbers instead of being closed and turned into a mine... Then please consider contributing to the Index Climbing Fund. $300,000 is needed. MattP can comment on where we stand in that regard. http://www.washingtonclimbers.org/IndexFund/ Donations are tax deductible. Please find out if your employer matches charitible donations, because then we can go even higher. Thank you.

Please post the time and date of your event as I might be interested in attending if it's open to the public. Thx (Sorry, I don't have a device for you, but you can rent a PLB)

Trip: Index - isn't all loose rock... Date: 5/15/2010 Trip Report: despite what you may have heard. That said, Mike's wife was out of commission because a block fell out of Orc Tower and landed on her leg last weekend. She'll be fine, and in the meantime I got to steal Mike for a perfect day at the crag. The sun was out, everything was amazingly green, and the birds were singing. Even the Grinch would be hard pressed to frown. We linked GM to Heart of the Country to warm up. HotC (p3) has got to be in the running for one of the most perfect hand cracks in WA. Too bad it's not longer. This variation is probably more fun and easier than the final pitch of GM. We thought about leading Phone Calls but that upper mantle looks hard and quite a bit above a rusty bolt. Is it possible to get a small nut in to protect the final mantle? If so, I might be willing to give it a go next time. Zoom was occupied so we headed up Mourning Star and on to the Zoom anchor via vertical jungle. MS has cleaned up nicely since I was on it a couple of years ago. It looks like if the chopped stump is cleaned out it will pull out a few blocks that will change the route. We sent Mike up Leave My Face Alone as he hadn't been on it before. What a wonderful climb. Don't be deterred by the moss and lichen down low. It isn't a factor. It was getting pretty hot in the sun at this point, causing some foot creep on knobs, but it was still doable. Looks like someone has ticked spots for better bolt placements. A few of the upper bolts are not in good clipping stances, but the route is well-protected. Definitely bring a 70m rope so you can get back to the Zoom anchor. I then lead Hairway to Stephen. This one has some really fun moves involving multiple mantles. Thin in places, huge jugs in others. Balancy, great rock. I'm not sure where the crux was, but on the second to last mantle I got in so tight, holding onto the tiniest of holds for balance while standing up, that I scraped my sunglasses on the wall. Good thing they only cost ten bucks. A great route. I was psyched to get the onsight. You definitely need a 70m to get down to the Zoom anchor. Time for one more before heading out. Mike drew the straw and headed up Elvis Nixon (aka Kite Flying Blind p1). It took multiple tries to get past the first crux, and then he got stymied by the second crux. I didn't fare much better but did manage to get to the anchors. Mike then got the whole thing clean on TR. We'll have to come back to lead it cleanly on a cooler day when we're a bit fresher. But we did have fun TRing Just Say No to Frank Sinatra. Mike is 6.3" and I am 6' with a positive ape index of +3 so we were able to make both of the reaches without too much difficulty. It's basically a three bolt boulder problem to a much easier finger crack. Worth coming back to lead next time. The country was very popular today. When we left there were 12 people around the base. Two were climbing, two were belaying, and the other eight were lying on the ground staring up at the clouds and the climbers. Everyone was sharing ropes and chilling. We jumped in the river and headed home and found one last bonus: no traffic on route 2, 522, 405, or 520. Now that's a miracle! I made it back in plenty of time for a family dinner followed by my son's first school musical. A different kind of fun. A wonderful day at a wonderful crag. Makes me want to make another contribution to the Index Fund. What about you? http://www.washingtonclimbers.org/IndexFund/ Gear Notes: Rack and QDs Approach Notes: Flip flops.

for Sol and Doug! Trust people and it makes the world a better place.

W Ridge Conness. Probably longer than 3000 ft too.

I think Crest Jewel is much better than Royal Arches, though very different creatures. Hike in and out from Tuolumne, leave the rack behind, and avoid the North Dome Gully descent.

NE Buttress of Higher Cathedral is choice. Braille book is fun too. Nutcracker is crazy popular, and I think both of the routes above are better. If you do it maybe go in the late afternoon to avoid a mid-morning crunch. It has several variations that all lead into the third pitch, so there tends to be a funnel of newbies channeling their enegies there. Better yet, go solo the thing first thing Monday morning and score yourself a new set of cams they left behind.

or at least Uranus

Thanks. Best case is dry. Worst case is A0. In the middle is free with a little xtra adrenaline like when pi DHLA is wet, which it often is. I feel confident the goodness above it will be dry

I've only been on it in the summer. Any comment on whether it is likely to be wet the day after some showers and rain? thanks.

Yes, but we're not telling you what they're rated

I don't understand the fuss about ratings. If a climb is great does it matter if one book calls it 10d and another 11a? Or if one person's TR calls it 11- and someone else 10c? The climb is what it is. Ratings are subjective. As long as they are within a letter grade or two of the consensus then any would be suitors have some approximation of what they might expect. In this day of videos and endless internet beta, it is sometimes really fun to go climb something where you have no idea what it's rated. You stand at the base with your partner and say, "yeah, that looks fun and doable with solid gear, let's give it a go". Then one can be free of preconceptions of "this will be a total cruise" or "no way I can free that route" both of which detract from one's ability to be positive, focused, and climbing at one's best.

summit, newsflash: the internet records all of your annoying gadfly tactics for the whole world to see for all eternity. Avatar anonymity is a sham as anyone with half a brain will eventually connect you to you. Try sharing some positive energy here and you may find partners and friends. Or you can just keep digging your hole deeper and end up a grouchy old geezer who hates bolts. Golden rule... cheers, Radrigo