boatskiclimbsail

In lieu of mountaineering boots, when we ran out we would outfit students with tele boots and sabretooths. They are pretty secure, just make sure the height of the rear bale is correct or they can peel off. Front points are about 1/2" shorter, even with the bale in the close notch.

Didn't know this included aid/ice. Aid (add to trad): Another set of Smileys 1-13 HB Brass offsets 1-6 RPs 1-4 Frost nuts (the long ones) BD Hex Nuts 1-4 BD Hexes on 5.5 #10, 11 Metolius TCUs 1-4 Metolius FCUs 2,3 WC Forged .5-2.5 WC Tech 6 ("The panty cam") Big bro #2 Barrel of monkeys er, I mean hooks Ice: 3 BD Stubbys with BSCS's custom handles 5 BD 17s 3 BD 22s 3 CAMP POS 17s Various old poundins and Ti crap Two of those nasty looking hooks (am I the only one who loves to use these?) Ancient long/fatty pins

"Fixed" pins are rarely fixed. Just because they've been there for 10 years doesn't mean they'll be any more useful than a pad on the ground. They shouldn't be considered reliable pro. Runouts are part of trad, and I have to agree with fern here...

Smileys nuts 4-13 HB offsets 7-11 BD hexes slung on 5.5 4-9 Pink & Red Tricams Ballnutz 1-4 First 5 aliens Trango monocams 1-5 WC forged 3-4

I disagree with reccomending certain models of shoes. In my opinion (which is mine) shoes shoult fit YOUR feet. If you buy ski boots, mtn boots, bike shoes, etc. etc. it's the same game, the first priority is to find which shoes fit YOU and then pick from the available pool of fitting shoes. That being said, most shoes will stretch to conform to your feet a certain amount. I agree that there is going to be no performance difference between a board lasted tank and a bananna peel sport shoe when you are starting out. I would get the cheapest thing you can that fits your foot.

Not sure what rei calls 'basic', but here are a few things I rarely find in FA kits that shoul dbe there. Not that pain killers are a 'neccesary' part of a first aid kit, but some people are allergic or opposed to some of them. Throw in some Tylenol or something as well. The kodine over the counter stuff works miricles but you need ot be careful who you give it to. Benedryl is a must for any kind of allergic reaction. If you are certified to administer them, epinephrine and a sucher kit really should be standard items, especially for climbing. A big (50-100cc) syringe has many uses. Glutose is usually in those already. Does it have a CPR face shield and latex gloves?

7000 rpms!! Geez what kind of mill do you have? I did the same thing once building a tubular car frame once. We had the vice locked down but the rotary base the vice to which the vice was mounted was loose. We ended up cutting a convex contour in the end of the tube (as the vice rotated with each spin of the cutter) instead of the concave shape of the tube to which it was to be welded. Got quite a laugh out of it.

Fern's house is an excellent choice. Sometimes you just won't notice fundamental problems, best to let someone else deal with them Should she become unavailible, I volunteer to take good care of your rope as well. I won't use it either. The typical convention is to keep it in a rope bag, to keep the dirt and dust off of it. The only major no-nos of storing your rope are direct UV and acid of any kind. Accident analysis of one rope after it snapped revealed it had been stored near a set of jumper cables that had acid corrosion on them. Nasty stuff, man, and the fumes are as bad as the liquid so watch it in the car.

I agree that your body is an excellent shock absorber, but if they fall and you are belaying them through the anchor, it still sees the weight of both people weather you are on the same side or on either side of a rope. Besides, if your partner yanks you off and you are both hanging on an anchor that has just bee shockloaded, is it still sketchy?

Careful using paddling gloves (neoprene, sealskinz) on ice; they will freeze solid and be nearly impossible to take off and even harder to put back on. Put them in your sleeping bag at night with your boots. We learned this the hard way on boating trips. There really is nothing like 'thawing out' a frozen solid wetsuit in 35 degree water - and then stipping down and putting it on in 20 degree weather 'to keep warm'.

Any of the classic .10s will satisfy your craving for "5.12" climbing. Some I don't think were mentioned (with my own stars): V-3, 5.8 ** Three pines, dangler variation 5.8 (super picture spot) Birdland, 5.9 White Pillar, 5.8 *** CCK Direct, 5.8(+?) Doubleissima, 5.8 Something interesting, 5.8 ** Modern Times, 5.9 **** Fat City, 5.10 Directississima, 5.10 For the girlfriend: Baby - 5.5 Easy O - 5.2 Disneyland - 5.6 (2nd (3rd) pitch spectacular) Hawk - 5.5 Souther Pillar - 5.2 Three pines - 5.3

Other than the yuppie-packaged "tactical static rope" I've rarely seen a pre-cut length of static rope for sale. Usually you will come across the giant 1200' wooden spools of BWII or the nice beefy PMI stuff. Maybe it's because I always get static at caving shops... As for the hauling setup, there are dozens of different ways people rig ratcheting setups. When you are soloing a wall with a big load, there aint' no other way to do it. If you've never seen it, I'd spend some more time on a wall. We (my aid partner and I) rarely use them because we started using a funky counterbalance system where one of us just hangs on the free side of the rope while the other pulls a few times, then he jugs back up and we repeat. Quicker to set up that the ratchet stuff and we only have to pull 1x the rope length. Get it over with quick!

Colorado Custom Hardware: 307-721-9385 cchaliens@aol.com

Pull out your aiders and climb the roof/traverse backward. All the gear is placed already (unless you're doing some crazy sh*t in which case you probably shouldn't be on this board) and you just clip and swing, clip and swing. The quickdraw thing will work, but will be a pain in the butt on anything other than slight overhangs. Your ascenders will help a great deal if you are intent on following your rope all the way down. Depending on where the roof/traverse lies in the pitch, it is often easier to just lower past it and swing in/over to the rope below the feature. Watch sharp edges on the roofs if you're swinging...

Maybe I should have preceded "ovals" and "d"s with "cheap". $8 apiece for an oval?? I'll pay it for the Sprits because there is nothing comparable but for a workhorse biner of which one needs 80 or so, I'll stick to the $2 variety... ...and I'll be dipped, last I knew Pezl only made a locking oval.

Despite the lack of ovals and super light D's, I think Petzl makes some of the best sh*t going. They used to make a screwgate spirit, but haven't done so for 6 or 7 years. Kong makes a strikingly similar product. As for the big lockers, I dislike the Attache, I find the top to be too wide to stay put and the bottom too narrow to seat properly in a sling or harness. I'm a huge fan of the William and Am'D though. I'm all about the ball-lock. Some of my partners have cursed the ball-lock system to the point where I use different biners when climbing with them to avoid crucifixion. I've had one that I've been using since just after they came out (4 years?) and still have no problems with it, even iced up with heavy gloves. I like the William because it is huge and the bottom curve is just the right size to sit on a belay loop or harness tie point. The Am'D balllocks are sweet for anything you need to be locked that you aren't attending (top-rope anchors for example)

Yeah, good for you....I really wasn't planning to make sure my wife would be okay and my daughter could go to college when I was TWELVE! There are quotes around it for a reason...

Fortunately for me I got my life policy "before I started" climbing.

Can't you get a pair of whatever the smallest shell boot is and have a custom bootfitter make you some uber-thick liners for them?

Who put the "Y" above the "H"!?? Maybe I should start looking at the keys to type again. Damn you Sholes...

Flatten a piece of copper pipe about a foot long. This is the same pipe used to run gas and water in your house. bend it into an upside down "U", with the middle of the "U" over the burner (so it will get hot). The two ends should get a sharp bend that will "snap" into the rolled edge at the bottom of the canister. Needless to say, this isn't really "safe" but neither is climbing in general, and this works really well. Don't blow yourself up.

Well, I spent the last two years of college ice climbing instead of going to class in that neck of the woods, I've got some advise for ya . I'd highly reccomend Smuggs and Lake Willoughby for some good long moderate climbs. Easier stuff (girlfriend friendly) can be found off the side of the road at both Chapel Pond (camp in the middle of the pond for that special romantic effect) and at Pitchoff, about 40 and 20 minutes (respectively) South of Lake Placid both on Rt 73. Both of these places have very easy, top-rope accessible climbs. They will also be very crowded on the weekends, socializing is always good for the girlfriend factor. Pick up a copy of the Mellor guide at the Mountaineer, it has all the route descriptions. You can also just show up and usually people are way cool about you sharing the routes / ropes if you've got one up as well. Go to the Noonmark Diner (NMD) in "downtown" Keene Valley for dinner and the best pie in the whole world. There are dozens of off-road campsites to be discovered that I'm not going to publicize but aren't hard to find. There is a big marked one about 1/4 mile hike off the road at Roaring Brook Falls. Very scenic. If it's cold enough, you can even climb the falls. You can see the falls off the East side of 73 (very obvious), continue North and find a parking area for Giant mtn on the same side of the road. Hike in and take the right fork. Say hi to CUOC if you meet them. The hard stuff in Keene valley (if she wants to shop for the day) is on Poke-o-Moonshine, on rt 9N in the gigantic town of Keesville. The park is closed in the winter to camping, but that mainly means you can't park in the lot. Keep on the trails at Poke-o, there are some access issues and the "direct" approach route cuts straight across some angry private land. Other hard and mixed stuff can be found on Canon in Franconia Notch in NY. North conway has equally splendorous ice as it does rock in the summer. I haven't seen it for myself but I hear that they are doing some sick bolted mixed stuff at Rumney these days. I wouldn't bother with Mt Washington if you are looking for vertical ice or are with a newbie. Lots of people die up there. Most of these places also have good near-road campsites.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2001843726_mars26.html

The easy aiders are too much of a hassle to adjust every step when you are making 1000s of steps. Get the Yates big wall ladders and your feet (and the rest of your body) will thank you. The easy daisies on the other hand, after a bit of getting used to are pretty snappy! I used the Yates adj. daisies (with the big ankra buckle) for a long time, and have had them slip on me unexpectadly. The Metolius lock down tight and release in a second. They're light too. I have heard some talk that after awhile the aluminum wears down but I have not yet had this problem after 2 seasons of occasional moderate aid. The blue ones are pretty.

Just because they fit every size doesn't mean they will fit every crack. Trango seems to forget this when advertising their products. Bigbros, for example rarely fit well in anything but a laser cut, parallel crack. I would suspect the same will be true with these torture-device looking cams.