Blake

The first photo is Mt. Sefton, and the second scenic "snowy mountain" photo is Mt. Cook. I couldn't believe how flat and open the valleys were, and how little forest there was on the sides of the peaks. Very different from the Cascades.

Climb: Mt. Cook Ntl. Park-Sebastopol Bluffs Date of Climb: 3/5/2006 Trip Report: Friday and Saturday called for good weather across much of the South Island. I borrowed a car, and brought two buddies along for some scenic multipitch climbing near Mt. Cook. We climbed everything from 1 to 5 pitch routes, trad and bolted, from 5.6-5.11. Both of my friends got to do their first leads as well! I had to chase off some aggressive Kea parrots after they woke us up one morning and tried to eat some nearby rubber bicycle seats. These things put camp-robbers to shame! The scenery was great, rolling dry hills like Eastern Washington that suddenly turned into glaciated peaks 10-12,000' high. Gear Notes: Standard set of gear, lots of runners, as some pitches are quite long. Approach Notes: 5 mins through the field from the town of Mt. Cook

I went to high school a couple blocks from there, and stopped by often for lunch. That was 2 years ago, but they sure did rock then!

TimL: Spain Colin: France Dru: Canadia

I think it's actually a guy!

How did you trick Erik into going with you?

Get the cheapest 60m single rope you can find for starting sport climbing. If your alpine climbs will require the rope for glacier use only, then yeah, get a dry-treated 8mm rope, 30meters is long enough. For an alpine rope that will be used for glaciers, and vertical rock pitches, you'd want a lighter-weight 60m single rope, or a set of half ropes.I don't think that's your situation though.

No way Dru, he would have made the sheep restless all over the Island if he were down here.

AAI shop in town is small but has good stuff and not a bunch of useless nonsense.

HB carbon fiber is lightest and strongest, and most 'darth vader' looking.

good call, some hardcore climber at my Uni gym one time asked me "so... do you toprope too, or just boulder?" I told him I climbed Sahale unroped, so it was sorta like bouldering, just less dynos.

next time, instead of asking new partners what climbs they have done or enjoyed, i'll just ask for the transcripts of pertinent online chat conversations. So If you "climb 5.10/11/12/13" is that a,b,c,d of the rating or, you can dependably lead .10a, so you climb 5.10?

John, where's your creative writing skills now? We need a new Uncle_Tricky after all!

No, don't put bolts on your trashy little crag. go lead decent routes, and toprope your choss-pile from anchors above.

Dru, i've been here for like 2 weeks, you got to explain the lingo a little, i don't know what a kakapo even is.

I have friends who have seen them near Bridge Creek, and near Purple Pass, in the NCNP. I think we already talked about wolverines in WA actually...

see PM I sent

http://www.spadout.com/rock_climbing/wiki/index.php/Climbing_Grades#International_Grading_Systems

Well, I'll keep my eye out for both of those things guys. The handcrack on the right, that splits the shade/sun was evidentally led by jamming sticks into the cracks and slinging them. It's rated 20/.10c and sorta a local benchmark. Before it was climbed, someone fell from 12 meters up, ripped out their "firewood pro" and landed in the sand but walked away.

go tend bar in Twisp with Uncle Tricky

The Black alien is the smallest, just trying to clear up confusion.

Probably, where is that?

what did you end up doing last summer after you made this same post?

Climb: Long Beach, New Zealand-Sunny Rock Date of Climb: 2/18/2006 Trip Report: Hello everyone, hope the cold weather is making for some good ice conditions! I miss the good climbing partners from the NW, but New Zealand has been sunny and friendly. I made it out to a beach-side cliff yesterday with a local fellow for a day of climbing around. The spot (Long Beach) is about 20 miles from my school/town in Dunedin. The grades system was a bit hard to get used to, but rock is rock the world over, and offwidths are hard everywhere too! Climbing was interrupted by swimming with nearby seals in the warm waves. I ran into a fellow on the beach who snagged a belay or too, and it turns out he's from WA. Funny to get into a big conversation about Thin Fingers and Sagitarius with a complete stranger while on a beach in New Zealand. ...then it was off to French lessons with Colin and Ken.