OlympicMtnBoy

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!

Marmot Mountain Works in Bellevue had one or two of these old bits in their bargain bin yesterday.

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!

I think that one was available up until ~5 years ago. I always thought it was funny that they didn't have a way to fully seal the face off. The really old red/orange ones didn't have silnylon floors or fancy hood type things.

You can also reasonably approximate a bar tack with a close zig-zag stitch on a beefy home machine and running a straight stitch back through it. Basically what a bar-tacker does just not quite as controlled and standardized. I would guess you can get 10KN pretty consistently with some careful work which should be fine for a dog who isn't taking lead falls.

Some old boot discussions have been popular at supertopo.com before if you really need to know, but I'd guess mid-1980s too although that was before I really started paying attention to such things. If you are just using them for stuff near the road then use em till they bust. Get a few trips in and you got a good deal and can spend some time to find a good deal on something newer if you really get into the ice game. If you are considering a long approach where a shattered boot shell could be more painful you might want to stick em in a cold freezer or leave em outside then beat on em a bunch and see if they crack. Somewhere on here there was a hilarious story of someone ice climbing and taking a step on the approach where there the plastic shell broke and left the sole entirely detached (i.e. not just a crack you could duct tape over for the day).

I think I'm more like 60-70% work for me that I've bought, the others were good deals that I thought could work but didn't. If they really don't work I don't buy em and thus don't count them in the percentage, tried on a few that just didn't feel right. At least one pair required some extra playing around with insoles and liner to get just right but then worked fine. Also not counting boots I exchanged for a different size to get them right (mostly approach shoes).

Sraight from my ass as well, but I heard that Nov/Dec were actually supposed to be moderate but Jan-Mar colder/wetter as the La Nina because the more dominant pattern. High temps are dropping 15 degrees tonight. :-)