OlympicMtnBoy

Looks like more fun with Fred, wish I could have made it!

I'm pretty sure your eyes will melt, but you will look funky doin it. I'd love to see those up on a big mountain!

We hiked past the mob at Alphabet rock (which in the morning was all over the 30 ft 5.2 routes leaving the good stuff open), and up to Giveler's. We were surprised to see no one lined up for the classic 5.7+ namesake. We climbed it (2 teams of 2), and walked down, still no one else in sight. So I led Bo Derek and everyone TR'd it and finally as we were packing up four more folks arrived (1:00 PM?). That was it. Super classic moderate climb, 45 min approach. Have at it!

I'm pretty sure there are worse shit piles. I climbed "The Center of the Earth" at zigzag earlier this year.

Maybe it's cause everyone and their brother was in Nevada last month and the cheap casinos/whorehouses don't offer free internet? I mean I love you guys, but I ain't paying $13/day just to spray here and check my work email. ;-)

Cool, I'll show up again! I liked the gear swap, whoever brought that big bin of old nuts should bring it again! I need a really big nut, and I forgot cash last year. Hopefully our weather will be better.

Nice Job! I like the plane in your first pic, that is always cool to be up above them!

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.

What's the inseam on these guys?