John Frieh

Preferences/opinions on replacing bolts on an alpine rock route? Before shouting "chop them" please consider these are bolts that were placed on lead only when natural protection was not an option. Size recommendations? Is removing them and leaving the bolt holes for removable bolts a viable option? Current bolts are quarters… Thanks in advance for a friendly constructive discussion.

I agree: Kearney's description is the best one out there though I think he rates it 5.10- A1... I think pitch 6 is 5.9 at best (maybe perhaps a 5.10a move but you'll miss it if you blink) but the undercling on 4 is 5.10- for sure... just my two cents...

You can protect the first 40ish feet of NW corner (the widest part) with a 4 and a 4.5 camalot. Others might claim one needs doubles or even # 5 camalot, but if you plan you placements prior to launching off from the belay station (you can see most of the wideness from there) you can get by with a singles in 3, 3.5, 4 and 4.5 camalots (and is kinda sewing it up). The 5.8 pitch prior to that (3 I believe) has an excellent flake that takes the 4.5 so take it with you... don’t assume the only pitch you need it on is #4. For other beta you can see this TR (sorry about the hijack/chest beat). A truly awesome climb and pitch in its own right... and you can link pitches! Also the NW corner is an excellent prerequisite for the wideness of the east face of Lexington… another stellar route at the pass.

Link em up! Did you find 6 the easiest 5.10- you have ever done? Becky calls it 10b and Nelson says 10- but I swear it wasn't harder then 5.9... thoughts? Its weird too as NW corner has always felt sandbagged to me…

Pedro's Liquid X Lubricant or any other dry lubricant. I suggest exercising your cams in a pot of boiling water to remove the larger dirt. Following this spray your cams with some type of cleaner: brake, carburetor, something (just don't get it on your slings). Wide off the excess cleaner, and repeat if necessary. When satisfied hang them to dry. Once dry give them a liberal dose of lube and let them dry again before using (this is crucial they dry... if you use them "wet" the lube will collect dirt and then dry making the dirt extra hard to remove the next time. Do this as often as necessary (if you use your cams in the winter plan on 1 every few months).

Great TR Will. The pitches on the w. face route of NEWS are super short. With a 60 m rope one can link: - 1 and 2 - 3 and 4 at least... with a 70 m could easily link 3, 4 and 5... you might be able to link 3, 4, and 5 with a 60 m but it would be close... if you link them with a 70 it makes for an awesome pitch! Highly recommended! - 6 and 7 (unlikely to link with a 60 m though I expect most will free solo 7 as it goes at 5.0). Linking them up will save you some time to sample the wideness of the NW corner.

Intend to clean some alpine rock routes in the next few weeks; expecting to only have to deal with mostly lichen and maybe a loose rock/flake or two (i.e. no dirt). Other consideration is weight: the approach is lengthy so I would like to go as light as possible with everything I take. What works? Size? Brush material? Quantity? Insights into cleaning? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

This is the Mem route... The way Jason worded his TR it sounded like we were off route from pitch one which wasn't what he intended/what happened... the route follows the left buttress (when viewed from the base of the route… the NR has two) which is what we followed. What we found didn’t really match the route description... (expected) specifically the minor details… the major landmarks were there: snow patch in late season, switch back up the butt, etc but beyond that it doesn't match especially near the top. Specifically: The 40’ “unprotectable” 5.6ish pitch on questionable rock does exist however the book calls for 2 4th class pitches to follow which lead to the summit. These two pitches if anything are 5.7ish on extremely questionable rock… I would describe them as vertical tombstones… the rock itself is good (mostly andesite) but the question is “it is attached?” The 3 pitches of low 4th class that are suppose to come after the snow patch are actually before it. If you consider climbing this take many screamers (I had one in every belay anchor) and lots of brass, KBs (I didn’t have any), and small cams. Pull test all your cams… expando is prevalent. Also keep in mind bailing is not a luxury on this route… after about pitch 3 it is safer to continue then to rappel off. You will find this route is very similar to the rockies: the steeper the more solid.

Found them! Many thanks: I owe you s

Need them soon or I would order them online... and I would prefer cinderella tries them on first... thanks though!

Anybody know a shop on the west coast (CAN or US) that stocks the Garmont Pinnacle in Women's sizes? Only place google came up with is mtnmagic out of Banff... I would like to avoid driving that far but... Any help would earn many s And no they are not for me.

Tim: Fair enough... to each their own however I would argue that the scree on the traverse is much more solid than the scree on the mountains that are generally climbed as a part of the traverse... so if you can't stand the travel portion definitely don't bother with the climbing portion.

You could get it under 12 regardless of your party affiliation if you knew the shortcut ...

Hold on cowboy... summer (at least weather) isn't over until Oct. I am willing to bet the best is yet to come for a number of individuals on this site. Then we will worry about winter...

Doc Generally the type of climbing you are doing will dictate how much headlamp you need. If you plan on just mountaineering you can probably get by with a pure LED headlamp (Tikka, Ion, etc). I say this as in mtneering the features ones uses to navigate on a route are generally separated by distances that no headlamp could cover. People use their compass, altimeter, map, GPS, etc to navigate a route. The headlamp is more to light up the inside of your pack when you can’t find your watermelon lip balm. If you plan to use it in the alpine realm you will find that you will be using it for route finding during each pitch… ex: climb the left hand crack 50’; exit left to a chimney, etc etc… With an LED one could easily “miss the turn” on a route purely because they didn’t see it as one’s LED didn’t illuminate/cast light far enough. And as you already know the more battery the greater the distance of illumination. The only time I have ever needed illumination at great distances is route finding (either up or down) on alpine rock routes in low light/night conditions. Being able to spot route features and match them to your topo to stay on route is critical so a headlamp that can focus a light at greater distances is highly preferred. To date I have not found a pure LED headlamp that can focus light at greater distances. My experiences with LEDs are that they produce a considerable amount of light for the weight but the type of light is more illumination type or “glow”…. that is they light up everything around you up to 15’ or so but after that the light diffuses to a point that you can’t see much. Because of that on alpine routes I carry a headlamp that has a traditional bulb (there are a number of them on the market… I think it is outside the realm of this discussion though). I think the best thing going is the hybrid model (such as the one you are looking at); I would say purchase the lightest one you can find. I have a Gemini from BD: one led and one normal bulb. I carry it on all alpine routes. Additionally I have a Tikka which use for everything else: mountaineering, trail running, trad routes that might take longer than planned, etc A few other tips for if plan on an alpine route: Only take one “leader” headlamp (traditional bulb). Who ever is leading carry/wear this one. The second (and third if applicable) should share the lightest headlamp you have (tikka, whatever) as they don’t need the illumination power when they second. Less is more! If you expect to finish the route in a day but there is a chance of not making it carry one super light headlamp: rapping in the dark without a headlamp is so suck. Reclimbing a pitch to free your stuck ropes in the dark is even more so suck . If you do end up rapping a route in the dark give the first rapper the headlamp so they can find the next rap anchor; the second should be able to put their rap device on the line and rap without a headlamp. Initially carry extra batteries but try to learn how dim your bulb gets prior to needing a change. Learn to anticipate this so that you can change them prior to a trip (and save yourself the weight of not carrying extra batteries). Do carry an extra bulb (most come with one hidden somewhere on the headlamp. Check that it works prior to each trip. If you want specific model reqs let the board know... Hope this helps!

Best source for phone beta for the sawtooth’s/city of rocks: http://www.elephantsperch.com If you think you are stopping at the sawtooth's and would like some topos drop me a line. FYI there is a new area being developed east of the city... common consensus is it is better than the city and many FAs remain (for what it's worth).

Patagonia NOLS! W00t! Semester course? Corvallis climb on this site completed one last year... Have fun!

I know of at least 4 people headed out there... 2 of them are in search of a 5.9 rope gun for the perch and the finger…hmmm. I might be out there but am unsure yet... still waiting for direction from the boss. If I am you could join us… And careful what you admit in public... even hinting at vest approval or even acceptance is a guaranteed gay label in these parts. Let me know if you want topos or anything for the perch, etc. and have fun!

Squid: mountaineers route? You going out there with Ireneo_Funes?

Tim: Just to clarify are you asking if this is still a good idea because the conditions (icy, scree) would: 1) make the traverse unenjoyable or 2) would take more than 4 days

Got rained off of Triumph on Sat; drove back to PDX and continued south to Mt. Thielsen (across the street from diamond lake/mt bailey on the way to crater lake). Climbed the McLaughlin Memorial route/North Face (or at least where the guide book says it should be) car to car Sunday with Illini…

From glacier but yes facing west. I would say the bottom line is this: everyone has a different comfort level on snow which is based on how much physical time you have had on snow. I would venture a guess that your comfort level on snow with sneakers on isn't at a point that will allow you to sneak by without an ice ax. Take an ice ax. Look at the forecast and if the freezing level is lower than the pass elevation take crampons (this is very rare in the cascades this time of year). Personally I would say belay the first down: have him her use only a nut tool for balance and if they do slip the belay will prevent a run away. At end of ropelength have second come down with the one ice axe you brought. If they slip they can self arrest with the ax. Repeat until on flat portion of glacier. Finally on weekends when it rains (like last weekend) go practice running around on steep snow with sneakers and a nut tool. Become comfortable in sneakers.

Taken in early July of this year (sorry about quality):

Blue Water makes ice floss (which is a double): the original production was 7.8 mm; it is now made in 8.0 mm available in 42, 60 and 70 m lengths. Like snoboy said: Beal makes Ice Twin (7.7 twin) and 8.1 double which you can clip as a double or a twin (though they don't advertise it this year).

However the snow isn't that steep so you could slide (perhaps slide isn't the best word usage there) by with a nut tool or sharp rock...