Rad

Wow, I think I agree with every word from Pope. Well said.

I hear lots of reasons for low numbers of people in the alpine, but none of the arguments address why this supposed shift away from alpine climbing is happening now as opposed to ten or more years ago. Cams and fancy gear has always been expensive. Gyms and sport climbers have been around for 20+ years. People picking up other sports is not new, nor is the transition from carefree youth to responsible parenthood. In fact, I'll suggest that CC is making it EASIER for people to get into the alpine than ever before. Here's how: 1 - Increased beta on routes, from classics to new FAs. 2 - Detailed condition reports on same. 3 - Forums for ride shares and finding partners of all sorts. 4 - Yard sales where one can buy gear on the cheap. 5 - Copious advice (good, bad and ugly) about how to do everything, including transition from the gym to climbing outdoors. For me, the lack of skilled partners kept me out of the alpine when I first moved here. Thanks to CC I have a pretty good network now. If you think newbies are not interested in getting into the alpine go to the newbies forum and see how many hits the 'alpine tips for newbies' has gotten. Look up the 'alpine camping/climbing tips thread' and you'll see the same thing. In the past year I've climbed with partners who are in their early to mid-20s who are into alpine climbing, and I've found a few beautiful unclimbed lines waiting for FAs. If you want to rationalize your own shift away from climbing using one of the arguments above that's fine. If you are passionate about climbing you will find a way to do it. If not, then happy trails on the golf course or whatever floats your (sail) boat.

As a one-time editor of NWMJ, I can say that the leads for the short reports come straight from CC TRs plus those that the editors know about. Mr. Monkey, if you know people who are doing FAs that would be a good fit for the journal I am sure Lowell would be glad to hear about them and would take them seriously. For those of you who claim large numbers of FAs that are not reported on CC, what evidence to you have to back up your claim (Mr. Monkey claims new slings)? I was just having a conversation yesterday with someone about how many WA people climb >=5.10 in the back country/mountains (let's say >3 miles from the nearest road). 50? 500? 5000? What fraction of these people are doing FAs? How many of them post on CC? It would be interesting to know. If climbers were perceived as a significant user group for park/wilderness/forest resources, and they were organized, they might stand a better chance of getting their voices heard at policy time. MattP can certainly comment on that.

Follow the sun and you should be fine. WAZ518-519-252315- WEST SLOPES NORTHERN CASCADES AND PASSES- WEST SLOPES CENTRAL CASCADES AND PASSES- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...DARRINGTON...MARBLEMOUNT...CONCRETE... INDEX...SNOQUALMIE PASS...RANDLE...PACKWOOD...ASHFORD...MORTON 400 AM PDT THU SEP 25 2008 .TODAY...SHOWERS. SNOW LEVEL 6000 FEET. AFTERNOON PASS TEMPERATURES AROUND 50. LIGHT WIND BECOMING WEST AROUND 10 MPH THIS AFTERNOON. .TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. SNOW LEVEL 7500 FEET. WEST WIND IN THE PASSES 10 TO 15 MPH DECREASING TO 10 MPH OR LESS AFTER MIDNIGHT. .FRIDAY...PARTLY SUNNY. FREEZING LEVEL 10000 FEET. AFTERNOON PASS TEMPERATURES IN THE MID 50S TO LOWER 60S. LIGHT WIND. .FRIDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL 10000 FEET. LIGHT WIND. .SATURDAY...PARTLY SUNNY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS. SNOW LEVEL 8000 FEET. AFTERNOON PASS TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER 50S. WEST WIND IN THE PASSES 10 TO 15 MPH. .SATURDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL 11000 FEET. .SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR. FREEZING LEVEL 13000 FEET. .MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. FREEZING LEVEL 13000 FEET. .TUESDAY...PARTLY SUNNY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN. SNOW LEVEL 11500 FEET. .TUESDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN. SNOW LEVEL 10500 FEET. .WEDNESDAY...RAIN LIKELY. SNOW LEVEL 8000 FEET.

I disagree. It is longish but that's about it. Slab moves are cheatable with holds, it would only be rated 5.7-5.8 at Darrington, is over-bolted, is often occupied, and freeway noise is LOUD. I will refrain from rattling off a long list of better (IMHO) X38 climbs as this thread is about wasps. I am with Dru: wasps are not bees. One key difference is that bees have barbs on the end of the stingers so they can only sting once, their bodies are torn apart after they sting you, and they die shortly thereafter. Wasps have barbless stingers, can sting more than once, and tend to have meaner dispositions, perhaps relating to the low cost of stinging you. Still, you have my sympathy. My wife and I stumbled on a nest above little Si and were chased down the trail hundreds of yards. We each got four stings that hurt for days.

Please write a guide in haiku using only pictures with lines because Google and CC are aid.

There is a big difference between key nubbins that pop and make routes harder and large belayer slayers that can ruin your day/life. I guess you climb what you've got. Have fun and be careful and keep posting cool pics for us.

I recently did Rock and Resole in CO and was pleased with speed, price, and quality.

I understand, first hand, how much hard, dirty work it takes to clean a route on a chossy cliff, and I respect your efforts. Congrats on the new area! That said, and this will probably not be well-received, I certainly wouldn't send the general public out to climb routes I'd developed if I thought they might get badly hurt or killed because I didn't finish cleaning out the dangerous choss. If people are well aware of the risks then that's another story. Hopefully the guidebook has a LARGE warning about potential hazards, perhaps route by route.

Climb on!

caffeine is aid

nevermind

Tigers are carnivores and hunters, as are all cats. Bears are omnivores and opportunists that mostly scavenge. I feel much safer in bear territory than tiger territory. Very few bear attacks result from bears hunting people. Not true for tigers. Interesting you chose bears in Alaska. There are probably as about the same number of brown bears on Admiralty Island as wild tigers in the entire world. Much scarier, in my mind, are crocodiles, which are big, smart, predators that steathily hunt, kill, and eat people when given a chance. crocodile eats harborview doc

What about their joker in the plastic bag? Seriously, though, this is probably the best FA of the year so far. Nice work!

So, the best trad rock climbing in Oregon is in Washington? I was in a conference in the hopping town of Vancouver, WA last week but couldn't steal away for a visit Beacon. Someday.... Except for a few bumps, it sure is flat down that way. Carry on...

Thanks for investing the effort. I've narrowed my arsenal to this (not all at the same time): Good gloves. A lightweight saw (replaces clippers of various sizes). A lightweight hammer (Yos hammer is nice but usually you can get the same done with a smaller one). The claw can be used to pry off loose flakes/blocks etc or dig out dirt. A weeding tool (great for digging out cracks). A nylon brush. Sunglasses for eye protection. Dust mask when serious dirt/lichen are involved. Onsight FAs on clean rock are easy by comparison. If it's really green and doesn't get traffic odds are good it will go back to green. go get some!

Nice work Marc. Perseverance is a quality that will take you a long way in life. Keep it up!

Very sad indeed. RIP.

I've met Alex and he does have a 3 digit IQ. Still, to call for bolt chopping despite having a Bosch avatar suggests some kind of identity crisis. Maybe he's being possessed by Raindawg or Pope.

That talus above Melakwa Lake is longer than you think it's going to be. If your son hopped all the way to the top and back again then I'd say he got a good dose of alpine travel and earned his pizza. Good job.

I like how the letters on the side say "ZZR". That's the sound my 4 yr old son would make while imitating it!

Nice report. Given the gender imbalance of this website, perhaps Porter should sponsor YOU to take trips and post photo-laden trip reports.

Nice work. How long is the approach?

Cool! Plenty more lines on that formation await first ascents...

JayB captured my thoughts exactly.