curtveld

Actually it hardly ever snows at Erie. Now the minimal snow at Cascade Pass, that is odd.

Now if it they'd been out there on March 22nd, there might a be a legitimate gripe...

And only another month or two until the extra daylight is even noticable. But hell, at least we're moving in the right direction.

Oh yeah…and what’s so great about J Tree anyway? Just a bunch of half-rope-wonders on grainy boulders with line-ups and crowded camping. And there’s that dry desert smell and you can solo a couple of easy climbs before breakfast or casually wander around half the monument in the moonlight and …and…get a break from this soggy friggen place. Damn.

Different show every night – kinda like the Dead. Apparently the local sponsor has some control over which films get shown in their venue. Of the ones you mentioned Dru, in Bham we saw the TGR, the Red Bull bike cruncher and the chairlift shortie. The Ladakh one you saw sounds like the type I thought was missing this year.

A pretty somber ending, I agree. Too bad poor Patrick didn’t hang up the axe in favor of snowboarding off cornices or Red-Bull-fueled cliff biking - those youngsters came out OK!

Right, or maybe Violet Beauregard from the recent Wonka remake? I thought the parasailing short was weak, but a buddy of mine loved it. If Will had spouted one more time "I can't beleive I'm FLY-ing over the GRAND CAN-yon!!" I was going to lose it.

Solid on the adrenaline and testosterone. Weaker than past years in terms of humor, originality and international flavor. Stone Thrower and Solilochairliftquist were clever but short. Overall: C- but still worth seeing. Other takes?

I think you’ve touched into a pitfall in building a stepladder list – grading inconsistencies. If some cranks a couple of Squamish 5.9s and decides to step up, they’re in for a shock if they choose an Index 5.10a like Pisces or Breakfast of Champs - which are really 3-4 letter grades harder. Not saying whether Squamish or Index ratings are right, but if you want to mix them, you need to adjust for such differences.

All of em, but Touching the Void, far as I can tell. My nod goes to that 80s Star Trek flick that opened with Kirk free-soloing El Cap.

Sounds pretty cool, but now that the word's out, I might have to have to take a spot in line once I get there. But I kind of doubt it.

The basalt punchbowls of Silver Falls state park would be incredible if located in a colder climate - but they hardly ever freeze! Occasionally you'll get a long enough cold snap for some ice to form in the Columbia Gorge - Crown Point or Multnomah Falls area. Nothing remotely predictable though...

That Dragontail North Face route looks intriguing, Off-white. Looks like it follows a small rib, which would keep it pretty safe from rockfall, yes? Is there much 5th class climbing prior to the Fin?

Keith I sent you a PM with Marc's info.

Pugh has a very airy trail to the top – built back in the 20’s to access the fire lookout. Haven’t heard of any technical routes, but it does appear to have potential.

Plenty’s been said and written about the classics. Anyone care to offer up some unheralded Cascade routes that gave more value than expected. Just to get the ball rolling: White Chuck – NE ridge: Varied climbing (lots of 3rd class, a glacier crossing and a bit of steep 5th class), solid rock and good access (via USFS #2436) make this a relatively painless alpine outing. Not a beginner’s route as protection is spotty. Robinson Mtn. – North or “Crusoe” Couloir: An aesthetic couloir on the quiet side of a big mountain. Probably best in spring or early summer.

No, it's granite, though a bit decomposed in places. Routes are mostly crack lines.

Since it's a pretty long traverse from the Eldo-Triad col over to EMS, getting a closer bivy would make for a shorter summit day. You thinking it'd be tough to find a safe bivy spot somewhere near the base of Eldo W ridge?

Sure, I'll see if I can track him down. I think there were probably about a dozen climbs put up during that era - hardest were mid-10s.

Can't help but wonder if your recommendation is based on personal experience, Skeezix? Having done the Triad approach (nice but long!), I'm thinking I'd take the Roush Creek approach to Eldo-Triad col. With an early start, might get into the cirque and bivy there to shorten the approach and descent.

ISTJ am I. The book I read linked ISTP with adventurous hobbies such as climbing and piloting.

In the AS table, the french ratings track the standard roman numerals pretty closely: TD = V, D = IV, AD = III, etc. (high technical grades seems to bump the french grade up a bit). Makes me wonder why to switch to the french system, as McLane argues. In reply to the previous post, maybe either system work fine as long as the ratings get adjusted for consistency?

Depending on which side of the mountain you want, the Suiattle road (#26) might be worth a look. Its driveable up to Downey Creek. The FS road conditions web site is a good resource when the ranger stations are closed: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/conditions/road_conditions_report.shtml

Looks like you've got enough nice shots to publish a calendar (maybe add a couple of winter shots). Seriously, I'd buy one!

Uh…yeah…that’s kinda why we go out into the mountains, right? The TR just passes on a little flavor of the actual experience. And some info, for folks that are interested. Or did I miss the point?