olyclimber

Yeah shits been like that for a while my man. Sorry. Right now focused on keeping the site around, many sites have died, good ones. We are still going. I was working on getting a better TR system in place and made progress. But then that fell apart as the developer kind of went his own direction. You can still find stuff. And yes it could be better. I'm the only one running the site from the technical side. @JasonG and a few other mods keep things clean. Honestly I'd like to eventually hand the site over to a new guard of younger folks who will not commercialize the site and keep the community aspect alive...but also can make it better. Life has been taking me personally in a lot of different directions, but I still love this site and am committed to keeping it going. Also invite new energy and drive, but it has to be selfless, and directed towards keeping this going like a non-profit entity. Thankfully we have a great sponsor in the American Alpine Insitute, and we have had generous donations from the users of the site. There is a TON of great stories here, and they continue to grow. We will find a way to keep that alive.

I just have regular health insurance which paid (outside of deductible) for my collarbone break last year .

Another link to the declaration in case you ran into a paywall: https://ecology.wa.gov/about-us/who-we-are/news/2024-news-stories/april-16-drought-declaration#:~:text=In Washington%2C drought is declared,water right permits and transfers.

Not “recent” and not this site but: https://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=578637 I’ll search this site later for you

Well if you're really a sleuth, it seems there is a long list of well known people that should know Mr Creeden, at least enough to trust him with some historical documents: https://statisticalclimbingguideforfredbeckey.webador.com/acknowledgements

Ha this is a gem of a report. Thanks for digging it up, and to @Tom Beirne for sharing

Imagine the Enchantments “opened up” by instead of a lottery….an auction. Highest bidder gets to camp. ‘Merica! Fuck yeah!

Never heard this before, seems like something everyone should know about:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/2024/03/27/mountaineer-everest-rainier-jim-whittaker/af7007b4-ec92-11ee-8f2c-380a821c02db_story.html

I know it’s long been sport to rip on REI, I’ve even at one point torn up my membership after they pissed me off with whatever, but man they have fallen since the days back when they were on Capitol Hill. I even now know multiple really good people who work for them (or I think they still work for them…been lots of layoffs). But man they just keep digging deeper into the shite hole in my opinion. I admit I still do have a membership. Bought a pair of cycling shoes a couple weeks ago with the sale. But this kind of crap: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/experience/national-parks/2024/03/24/rei-signature-campground-grand-canyon/73085605007/ Its sad. The concept of a coop for outdoor gear is nice but they are instead of a corporate beast that lays off the people in the store who actually know anything and only hires seasonally to avoid paying benefits. With Promountain Sports going out of business where do you shop these days? I think our sponsor has an American Alpine Institute has a store up in Bellingham (never made it up during the right hours to check it out). There is the place in Ballard, that just moved to somewhere else (used to be Second Ascent). I’m talking places the actually have a good chosen selection of climbing, mountaineering, and skiing gear.

Maybe Easter Overhang at Midnight Rock?

Carnival Crack up in Leavenworth i think meets your criteria.

Damn. Steve was so nice . Got me two kegs for the first Rooeup I did, the one up at Chatter Creek. Then for all them after too. That is sad news.

https://www.wired.com/story/morbid-war-online-obituaries/

I’m really sorry to hear of this, I did not know the deceased but I can tell you that obituary reposting (even if inaccurate) is a full on cottage industry. I read an article a while back about it. Definitely a dark corner of the internet IMO. I’ll probably remove Jason’s link soon because it has a scammy fake virus pop up. Don’t click on it or believe it!

I saw the biggest collection of "hippy stacks" last year in the Austria Alps. It was crazy. At the pass between the Dresdner and Sulzenau Huts, overlooking the lake and glacier. But Europe is in its own universe as far as man's interaction with nature.

I don't know, but you could give him a call. MIght be when he feels he has sold enough of the inventory? IDK.

I went in and visited Jim yesterday. Definitely get in there and help a friend close out his business. Really good deals on some great quality equipment. Western Mountaineering sleeping bags, Montbell stuff, the usual great selection but at going out of business prices. It was good to see him!

A reminder of continued gratitude to @Jason_D_Martin and AAI. They continue to be the sole business sponsors of CascadeClimbers. So its between them and user support that keeps us going. Thank you!

Well good for Jim and well, not so good for connoisseurs of climbing gear. You certainly can't just go to REI to get what JIm has been selling....especially the advice, but also the thoughtful selection of quality gear. Thanks Jim, for your support of Cascadeclimber.com over the years, your support came in many forms. For instance, helping me get the Guzzler to do a slide show one year for Ropeup. I'm sure you'll be glad to be done with the rat race and spend more up in the Methow.

So fun! I concur with Jason. Need less desk jockey time. Thanks for sharing @Alisse

Whatever sort of bouldering ice climby thing you did up there, congrats and thanks for sharing!

You’re a nerd @JasonG!

Still remember vividly my flight with John. I was pretty lucky. Heck, I'll even plug his book again. https://www.jaggedridgeimaging.com/snow-spire-the-book

https://craftmtn.com/features/above-alpine nice article about @John_Scurlock and the small hardcore group PNWers on cascadeclimbers.com