OlympicMtnBoy

Woohoo, I didn't even notice that Matt posted up a TR of our trip!

The gates are still closed (although you can drive to a couple sites at Bridge Creek), but you can carry your stuff to a site and camp for free for the moment (so sayeth the official sign). Make sure you park all the way off the road and carry your trash out.

Bump for a good cause! You know you want cheap beer on this ugly rainy day!

Woohoo, I'm there! How much are raffle tickets and do I need to be there to win? Is there one drawing at the end or several?

Damnit Lisa, quit following me! ;-) Were you on Frogland on Friday? I thought the person I talked to in the parking lot for Black Velvet Canyon was familiar, just wasn't expecting to see you there! Matt and I were headed in to Dream of Wild Turkeys. First Rainier in winter and now Red Rocks!

That looks cool, I've always like tarptents, I wonder how much it weighs with the different options (freestanding poles or fabric vs. mesh inner tent.

When is this thing? May 9th is a Saturday.

Do some searching here on aluminum crampons and find many reviews of both. I have a pair of the CAMP ones and actually use them more often than my other two pairs of steel crampons (anything where I won't be on steep ice). They are awesome for summer routes, approaching alpine rock routes, and on volcano slogs. They don't frontpoint well of course and won't penetrate hard ice (but walk on top fine). When I was looking I thought the frontpoints were a tad more aggressive on the CAMP than the stubai, but I'm sure both work fine.

Kind of a moot question for me, aside from the crappy weather this weekend. It's not like the first time you have sex, it's just leading rock. My first lead was so unmemorable I actually can't even remember where it was, let alone what route (either Two Sisters, a tiny crag near Walla Walla, or Spring Mtn). That's because I picked something that was so easy I didn't have to think about climbing it so I could really focus on placing gear, and it was something I had climbed before. There isn't any reason to make it momentous, you're just trying to get a new skill down. You shouldn't have to focus on the actual climb that much, you should focus on the gear and have an experienced partner clean it for you and criteque. If you're really looking to go seeking out a route then there have already been some good suggestions. I've had partners do their first trad leads on that 5.2 easy route at Tieton (good choice) and the 5.6 right of Moscow at Smith (chossy choice).

Nice job guys, welcome to the obscure wall climbing club! Suffering is more of a requirement than summiting.

Welcome to cc.com and thanks for the TR. The standard route really isn't so bad in summer, it gets pretty beat down if you want to go try again. I haven't been up there in skis but I imagine the tour up to Upper Lena Lake and going up Mt. Lena or Mt. Bretherton would also be fun with more snow.

Yep, there's a sign that lists the rules and says they're open to the public. Please use a pee bottle when camping on your portaledge.

I haven't had anything stolen (fingers crossed) but I did have UPS deliver a package to the wrong address (who then accepted and signed for it). It was marked as delivered, but I called and had them go back to the driver, who went and retrieved the package the next day and brought it to me. It probably helped that I was at home at the exact time it was marked "delivered" so was sure it didn't actually come. And the driver remembered having difficulty finding my poorly labeled building.

Great running into you again Lisa! Congrads on the first summit. Now you have to go back and do it when it's a real slog. ;-)

We were pretty lucky to get that nice weather over the weekend (as were the 10 or so other parties up the mountain). Here are my pics (ie: some with Matt in them): http://picasaweb.google.com/matthiesen/MtRainierGibralterLedges# I'll try to embed some after work.

I've had some partners who have become noticeably less attentive belayers when stoned (short roping me on sport climbs), although they wouldn't say so. Does that count?

Good discussion of skiing in leathers just a bit ago, also a good discussion of short skis for approach last year. I'm in Hawaii and too lazy to find it for ya, but try search for Rossignol Free Trek Venture which is what I have.

Nice job keeping it warm (or at least not frozen).

I didn't wanna have to be the one to say it first. ;-) Nice job though Lisa, looks like fun! At this rate we'll have exactly the same conditions when we hit winter.

I've got one of the golite vests, silnylon in the back, breathable nylon in the front. I think it rarely gets cold enough around here that I'm wearing my puffy insulation while working hard. It does work but I end up with the top rear of my pants getting wet instead, not sure which is more uncomfortable. I keep mine around just in case it's gonna be below zero (F) on a multiday trip.

I find a tiny nail puller hammer works great, look in the hardware store with the crowbars. It's about the same length as my nut tool but has a tiny hammer head. It's easier to deal with when clean aiding than a normal hammer.

Somebody go beat down the fresh snow so i can get on it next week.

I don't know about newer chipsets and stuff, my Garmin Geko 301 is a tad slow and doesn't work as well under really heavy tree cover, but in practice I take waypoints anytime I stop for a minute and it works great, I've never been in a forest so thick I couldn't find a patch of sky within 15 mins. It's worked great for mountaineering. I won't argue with folks with newer ones though or fancy electronic maps (weight is a concern for me too). The 301 is on sale at mgear.com for $130.

Mine went through at the right price ($28) no prob, but it took a few tries to get things to finally load right. Sweet deal!

I'd probably just clip a biner on it and rack it like a cam. I wonder how prone the sling will be to freezing into the ice. Pheww, $75? I still kick myself for not buying more of the Petzl's when REI had em for like $30 a couple seasons ago. The one I have remains my favorite screw.