OlympicMtnBoy

It's a rope stretching 60 so make sure you have the exact middle, but it works fine. I wouldn't take two ropes if that was all I needed to do.

It's been a long time since I've been there, but at sea level you won't find any snow. It's not a huge park so I'd suggest beach combing and exploring, I don't think you could get more than a mile of hiking if that. Or are you referring to the Dosewallips River and not the state park? If you head up there I don't think you will hit snow before the old ranger station/campground which is ~3 miles past the road closure/washout (several years ago). Just hiking up the old road can be a nice mellow hike. The worst part will be getting around the washout but I think they may have completed a bypass trail since i was last there a few years ago. nwhikers.net may have more hiking info/conditions.

I dunno, we had a grand time there yesterday just chillin and climbing at the far end of sunshine. No crowds and mostly t-shirt's till the clouds came in in the afternoon. I was smiling! We didn't camp though, although I've had fun doing that too aside from the occasional loud music/generator/shit pile.

Nice TR! Your trip sounds eerily similar to our climb of Gib Ledges a couple Januaries ago, complete with malfunctioning stove, crappy skiing down from Muir at 4 PM, and the locked gate at the bottom/hotel visit. :-)

Sweet, looks like my kind of fun in the sun!

If you're purely going for pull cord and aren't worried about tangles, check out Amsteel too, 100% dyneema braided line. I think Matt Maddaloni even jugged on some 4mm or something silly, but it seems like an option for super light yet super strong skinny pull line. Gotta be a pain for handling though.

Let's keep it real in da hood and call em the "Bad Cops", kinda rhymes with Rad Mocs and sounds better than "Bad Lawyers". Get some more cachet with the urban climber folk that way!

I use a 7.1 half of a twin setup, but it's certainly not static. Mostly cause that's what I have and it works. Might be better options out there, wasn't Mikey or Colin talking about some "Alpine Escape Line" a few threads back? Maybe in that rehash of Colin's Mountie talk.

Since this has turned into a Feathered Friends bash, I just want to share that in general I have always had GOOD experiences there. Feathered Friends has often had things in stock that their neighbor across the street didn't, sometimes had better prices, and generally been friendly. I even had someone spend a good 45 minutes with me once helping to fit a pair of boots that I had not even bought there! And yes, I did tell them that first, and I bought a pair of footbeds afterwards. I also appreciate the numerous slide shows, gear nights, free beer events etc that they sponsor and that they support this very forum/website. Do I want to snuggle with every person there in a giant group hug, probably not. Did someone maybe not do the best job in terms of customer service, maybe so. I don't do my best job 100% of the time either and sometimes I come off as a jerk too. Thanks Feathered Friends (and Eddie)! - Stewart

So what's the cheapest dirk bike out there to haul lazy climbers up closed roads? http://www.powersportsmax.com/product_info.php/products_id/818?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=Dirt%20Bikes ;-)

Yeah, sounds exciting, nice blog!

My memory of that road is vague, how long is the walk/bike after this to get to the 3 O'Clock Rock trail? Is it before or after the turn-off for Exfoliation Dome?

Before that degenerates any further, I would suggest you try some clean routes at Index first and learn to aid climb clean (plenty of great routes, try City Park, Iron Horse, or TMPV for a good intro). Many of the aid routes listed in the guidebook have long since been climbed clean or freed (and you should try not to use a hammer on free routes). I've only done the bottom part of Snow White but you can use cam hooks instead of pitons easily and then clip the bolts (added for the free route). No need to scar it up further for that part. After you have done all those and Town Crier and Green Dragon clean then you might think about learning pin craft, but it isn't the place to start for modern aid climbing. If I had been the clerk I probably would have done my best to not sell you pitons if your stated experience was "beginner" and you were talking about using them on the Lower Town Wall. Obviously this can be done in a more or less friendly manner and it sucks if you got a bitch out lecture or something. I think it's a point in favor of the store that they still have some ethics though. I'd hope the hardware store clerk wouldn't sell me a sledge hammer if I told them I was trying to hang a picture on the wall too.

What? No pictures of this rodent architecture masterpiece?

Just edit your post, you can change the date of the trip, it doesn't have to be the same as the day of your post. I think it's great to see TR's even if they are six months after the fact, but putting the correct date on it means several years from now someone looking for past TRs might be able to find it and not think it really was a winter climb.

Nice, I was hoping to head out there today but the weather kinda turned and it looked a bit damp. Vantage was nice and sunny Saturday.

I have no idea how it is now but I'd be interested to hear what you find! Have fun!

2300 Commodore, isn't that right next to the current VW Seattle? They planning to move a door or two down the street?

I generally rack 3-4 and use them on the first few screws unless I'm sinking something great into really solid ice. I've never deployed one though (use em aid climbing too) and my only real ice lead fall was one an 11cm screw in bomber ice just below my feet (I had run out of my longer screws). It held just fine but I try not to repeat such things.

I don't know if they are "non-climbing" pants but Gramicci's can be found on SierraTradingPost.com for $20-30 pretty frequently in a variety of styles and materials. Most have gusseted crotches and pretty good movement. I've had good luck with them.

Thanks for the TR, I did these two routes for the first time myself last spring, also on the same day but in reverse order! ;-) Can't wait till it warms up and dries up!

My health insurance premiums have gone up every year for the past 4 but over 30% in some years (i.e. the trend has been going on long before Obama). Work finally dropped health care as a benefit (very small non-profit). I was on an individual plan and this year my premium went DOWN by $11 (Regence).

I'll be there, gonna climb the mounties wall in the rain with me? ;-)

I take it your mean the right fork spur road that heads to the Baldy/Tyler trailhead, at least that's where your coordinates point to and would make more sense. There are several rock outcrops up there coming down from Tyler Peak. Are the routes close visible from the road? I've looked up there a few times while driving by and wondered how crappy it was.

Second (third, fourth) all that. I also love my 60l and my only complaint (strap ripping out on an earlier version) was also met with great service! Thanks Graham!