Rad

MattP and Catbird are generous in sharing their time with stranger noobs, and I'm sure many others are too. In addition to rolling the dice in the partners forum, you can attend group outings and events and meet people that way. It's a bit more of a test drive before you buckle in for 5 pitches of Dierdre. Generally, you get what you give. I think of the cheesy church sign on Lake City: "Want a friend? Be one"

This thread is getting thin on content. Last year we went up Leave My Face Alone at Index and upon rapping down with our 60m rope we got stuck above the Zoom anchor and had to play rope games to get down. 70m would have been nice. On the flip side I remember going and climbing Braile Book on a 60m rope and getting all messed up because we wanted to run the full rope length and ended up at awkward belay points because the pitches were geared for a 50m rope or shorter. I'm glad y'all had such a golden time in the golden age with your goldline. Hope you are enjoying your golden years. I'm not ready to go there yet myself.

all fixed. Trees are OUT

Isn't that the org's own fault w/ branding, if indeed it is unfortunate? Probably. Note that I am not a Mountaineer, have never taken a class from them, and try to remain clear of the Mountie-bashing on this site. M-led groups have had some serious accidents in recent years, but the org doesn't deserve any bad press that follows from the follies of others.

Scary. Glad only minor injuries resulted. Perhaps you should send your version directly to Kelly Bush. PM me if you need her email address, but I think you can find it on the public NOCA website. BTW, the use of the word, "mountaineers" is unfortunate, because it unintentionally mirros the name of the organization. Perhaps simply, "climbers" would have been better.

A few years back a man got arrested for shooting a peregrine and he contested the fine. At his hearing, he told the judge he did it because his family was poor and they needed food. The judge let him off with a warning and community service. When the hearing ended, the judge leaned over to the man and asked, "So I'm just curious, what does Peregrine taste like?". The man replied, "Oh, almost as sweet as Spotted Owl but more meaty and tough like Bald Eagle".

Was there this morning climbing Just Dessert and Late for Dinner and mama falcon was swirling and talking. She didn't dive at us, but she checked us out until she decided we weren't getting closer to her. It would probably be best to stay off the following climbs until July - some of these are quite popular: Jiffy Pop. Rat Face. I can Fly. Underground Economy (very popular 5.9). Overture (A GREAT CLIMB BTW). Underture. Won't Get Fooled Again. Thanks. Rad

If you want views take him up the Sahale arm.

That guy looks a lot like my former landlord, except he was an ass.

How about posting links to your favorite helmet? Mine is in serious need of an update.

Since this thread started I got a 9.5 mammut, which I will probably only use for sport onsight or redpoint attempts. Thanks for all your thoughtful responses. In truth, I'm just responding to peer pressure to look cool. It's probably a lost cause because I still wear my helmet on most leads. I'm guessing that's why you haven't seen pics of me on the cover of Climbing Magazine yet... Fortunately, my wife likes skinny.

Don't worry so much about the ratings. Good routes are good fun and bad routes are crappy regardless of what people have rated them. Think less, climb more.

How about comparing ratings among gyms? Pretty wide range there...

Ego boosting, but not in all cases. For example, Negatherion, Overture, Architect Rally, and Primus all felt comparable to easy 11s at x32 and Index sport routes in the Country. Comparing sport to trad ratings is useless IMHO.

Thanks JH, I took my Hilti 36v battery (symptoms similar to your sawzall) to Batteries Plus. They looked at it and looked up the right cells for a rebuild and quoted me $230 for a rebuild. However, the tech said that rebuilding this exact battery was the final exam for battery cert program and it took him 8 hours to do it - and he'd rather not do mine because it's so old he is concerned we'd do a ton of work and it wouldn't work any better than now. Either he's right (quite possible) or it's a cop out. I asked them to try reconditioning and they did at no charge, but no benefit. So I'll go back to pick it up at no charge. But I'm back to square one. I can drill one hole per trip to the crag - makes you think carefully, but now I've decided where placements should go on a 30m bolted route so it would take 9 trips to the crag to complete the line! Maybe I'll send it off to Primecell or wait to hear how yours goes. Please post. thks.

20th down to U village around 47th. 2 good ones from E 10th to I5 around Howe (Cap hill). A nice series of steep streets between I5 and Latona around 52nd to 60th. I think there is a long stair set in Fremont but I am not sure where.

Clever, but if you fall on that girth hitch it could slide on you (unlikely), and if it slides you could burn through your belay loop (even less likely). It would probably take a really big fall to do that. Cool idea.

Maybe you just need a thinner rope.

I've been on skinny ropes a few times, and I've never worried about whether they'll hold a fall or not. What scares me most is lowering or working moves on a single line when the rope runs over an edge of any sort. Tension...SNAP! Aaaaahhhhh!!!!! Not sure if fatties are any better in those circumstances or if mantles are tough enough that I shouldn't worry about this too much.

8.9 would scare me too. I've been told 9.9 is too phat. I was wondering about 9.2 - 9.4. You're right that I should not blame the rope, but I want to have everything stacked in my favor. And ropes are supposed to stretch - that's why we call them dynamic. Another concern is whether thinner ropes will work in the belay devices my partners carry.

Looking to buy a lighter rope to save some weight on harder (for me) single pitch rock routes because I'm too lazy to train more. Recommendations? How thin is too thin? Some ropes out there are ex$pen$ive (>$230)! Thanks

That summit is one of the best I've been on in WA(still have Chianti on the list). If you boot ski down the scree it's wicked good fun. Just don't fall...

Nice. Perseverance plus shorts over polypro (last shot)!

OK, Ramuta-philes - please post his address or website. Tks.

Classic. This thread should get some stars.