curtveld

Sounds like an excellent solo outing! There's still time to upload a couple photos so you can qualify for the TR contest.

Hey John, I'd be up for that....so long as you promise me there won't be any rain in the deal. I'll PM you.

....and this is exactly the kind of near miss you see when trad climbers attempt to sport climb without proper instruction!

A fine day out, Jason. Thanks for making this one happen. Loved the easy staircase pitch in photo #3!

Not my size, but interested in your experience with these stretching. Will send you a PM.

Excellent advice above - not much to add. "Da Toof" = CC.com-speak for The Tooth, near Snoqualimie Pass. South Face is a favorite mini alpine rock climb and a great choice if weather is agreeable. +1 on Weekend Rock. Exactly what you need.

Um...yeah, sure Gene...old Conrad would have just scampered right on up the Dreamer in his hobnails. Now him chopping steps with a nut tool...that, I would love to watch.

FS had a road crew up there yesterday and now it's pretty much back to full drivability! Pretty bumpy for a Prius, but about as good as it's been in recent years. Thanks are clearly in order to FS road manager Jim Mitchell (jbmitchell@fs.fed.us), who once again 'pulled the rabbit out of the hat'. Given the challenges of dealing with widely scattered road damage with very limited $, Jim finds a way to come through for us.

"Gentlemen, that's as far as I can take you. Sticky rubber has yet to be invented"

Word is the road was opened up recently to the 3OC trailhead. Lots of rain up there this week, so no idea if rock will be dry ...or, for that matter, if crampons are required to access routes

Outstanding! Did the same trip last Sept (with Corolla assistance) and shared your response to the approach: After that, the climb is the icing on the cake

I went with the Caribou over one of the 'lites' because the fabric is a tiny bit sturdier. When you hold one of these things for the first time, it feels like you should be afraid to stick your leg in for fear of tearing something. But I've used it a bunch and washed it and it's held up fine.

Ever since I got one of these, I don't carry anything else in the summer. I've spent numerous nights up high and have been fine down to the mid-30's. I almost always have it in a bivy sack, and keep extra clothes handy. Pretty sweet cutting weight and bulk in half, relative to the warmer bag I had been hauling around. The only minor problem was a 5-night trip when the foot got a bit wet from condensation.

Wow, nice photos and beta. Better late than never, fo sho! I agree there are numerous pitches that look more vegetated from below than when climbing. Best plan is to find something that looks interesting and get on it. With Clear Creek road out (for who knows how long), will be nice to have the North Fork Sauk road reopened for this great crag.

Vitamin R is still in the rinse cycle for sure! Should be nice and clean once it dries - looks like a classic. The driest linkup was Tick Tock P1 to Romantica P3, a couple of solid 10s to rattle my way up. Speaking of ticks, found a couple little biters too. On the up side, didn't look like the moss had come back as strong as I would have expected.

I'm psyched! And thanks for the inspiring photo

Finally going to check out this place! (clue: it's east of Renton)

Can't get free Mon or Tues but am frequently looking for Friday partners. Interested in variety, but tend to favor multi-pitch and trad. Send me a PM if you want to connect. Curt

Bummer and narrow-minded in all the ways discussed above. So I guess the key to keeping our historic LOs legal will be finding willing bodies to haul in the tools and materials for repairs. Volunteers?

Lookout Wall update: The glass is pretty well cleared from the routes and topouts - big thanks to Dan and anyone else that contributed! Still LOTS of tiny shards around the base. So small and dispersed that an army of volunteers could not make much of a difference. It's all mixing into the dirt and natural debris, so not really a huge problem for climbing. Wouldn't hurt to bring a tarp or something to lay your rope out on, though. Unfortunately, based on the variety of older crap littered around the base, the Lookout is directly below the prime yahoo launching spot, so likely to be an ongoing concern. Too bad, because the routes are pretty fricken ....er, I mean...typical Erie choss. So not a great spot if you forgot your helmet.

Sound advice - keep it fun and the learning will happen. Specifically: pick good weather, keep their favorite snacks in your pocket, make sure clothes are comfy and warm, be super patient and prepared to go inside or home whenever goal #1 isn't happening.

I'll be there, not sure when yet. We might be able to connect. Email me if interested

Excellent! This feature is going to save me alot of digging! ..clearly you aren't including the "What's the best approach/descent...?" threads

Boy, with all the great JTree moderates, you've got lots of options, though the multi-pitch is pretty scarce. If you didn't do Walk on the Wild Side (5.7), it's the all-time easy multi of the park. Other long-ish favorites in the main area are Cyclops (mid 5th) and Fote Hog (5.6+). If you want a break from crowds and cheese-grater rock, hike up Queen Mtn and get on some of the finer-grained brown rock up there. If you've ready to break the 10 barrier, Solid Gold and Can't Believe it's a Girdle are world class 10as, though both solid for the grade. The "Trad Guide to JT" is a really nice book for the type of climbing you're looking for, with color photos to get the psych going. Enjoy!

The wave of the future - probably needs an entirely new grading system.