John Frieh

Go see your friends in WA; OR is nothing more than the world's largest collection of gravel piles. Thielsen is tolerable at best... when I lived in Eugene I would run it car to car (once the approach was snow free) for training. Bailey is shit (unless you enjoy climbing 3rd class scree) and diamond is worth it only if you ski (and even that is debatable). What are you in search of? Alpine rock? Post it and the board will gladly steer you towards some fine climbs in WA.

I know this sounds wack, but is some what accurate. A few reasons for plateauing are: Doing the same workout (same number of reps and lifts) day in and out only results in your body acclimating to it which results in plateauing over time. Secondly (and more important) bulk and pure strength tends to increase from high weight/low rep work outs where as endurance is the opposite: lower weights/higher reps (too many reps will result in no gain or even loss in max lift). You can still increase you max lift through a lean muscle mass approach, but it is much slower compared to the bulk approach. Generally one can lift 80-65% of their max for a few reps (which results in bulking) and 65% or less many times (which results in endurance). The whole idea behind it is how much muscle you are destroying; with a few reps not that much is destroyed so each time your body recovers you build a little more than last time hence the bulking. On the flip side lots of reps results in more damage, so only the endurance muscle fibers (I am glossing over a lot of science here sorry) last and over time you build more and more of those (bulking is slower, if not at all). The workout I use specifies how much percentage of your max you should lift for that particular set in addition to recovery times. It’s scary; when I first started doing it I almost puked a few times as the amount (high rep volume) in combo with the time frame (it tell you how long to rest in between sets) beat the shit out of me. One other thing: generally I ignore climbing books advice on weight training as I lift weight for alpine, not rock climbing. I would recommend these: Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness: A Comprehensive Training Guide, A Step Beyond: A Definitive Guide to Ultrarunning , and How to be a badass for some good reading.

Yes (kinda). The amount of reps and amount of time you take to complete the program (no more than 1 hour a day) is structured to increase muscle endurance (high rep low weight) more than strength (low rep high weight). As you get stronger you will gain some weight, but overall your strength to weight ratio will increase and you will benefit. That is why lifting is better for alpine as the increased body weight is worth the increase in strength, where in sport or aid it isn’t. Make sense?

No; football players aren't looking to bulk up; bulking up = slower. The scary part is when they build enough lean muscle mass that they appear bulky but are actually fast. Case in point Igor Olshansky: he can bench press 225 lbs 41 times (his max is over 500 lbs) but he can run a sub 5 second 40. You better hope he doesn't catch you... And please don't turn this perfectly applicable thread into squabbling over whose team is better... college is about who offers the best education; not whose football team is best. If football was what matter then how do you explain all the people who would go to Harvard or MIT if given the chance (does MIT even have a football team?)? If you want to debate football, please go to rivals.com.

Blake: I cycle lifting weights (months on followed by a month off) with other forms of exercise. I use the U. of Oregon's football team lifting program that is designed to build lean muscle mass... i.e strength without the bulk. I have found it helps me in the alpine realm when combined with excellent cardio conditioning (though I would say cardio is much more important for alpine than strength). Speaking of which; lifting weights will help for alpine climbing the most; all other types it is debatable, if not detrimental (i.e. sport and aid). The way to look at it is if you increase you maximum squat (one rep) for example; you can then do more reps at a lower weight than someone whose maximum squat is less than yours. Translate this to alpine and you can carry more weight in your pack as fast as someone with a lighter pack or…. even better you can go further and/or longer with a pack weight than someone with the same weight on their back but squats less than you. The big disclaimer is that both people have the same cardio. You have to be careful not to bulk though; my trad leading ability jumped a grade once I stopped lifting weights in a manner oriented to benefit me for football… when I stopped I could bench 290 and squat 350; these days there is no way I could put that up, however by lifting in a manner geared towards lean muscle mass I can do more reps with lower weights (ex: as many reps before burnout with 100 lbs) then I could when I was a meat head. I would recommend reading a few books before you go throwing iron around; I can gladly provide you with some titles or the lifting program I use. And before all you flame on about football players or lifting weights; remember Mugs Stumps was a linebacker at Penn State (if you even know who that is ).

You can do thielsen (the climb and the approach) year round... blue diamonds mark the way, but if ample snow coverage exists (which might still be the case) you can cut some time off the approach by taking a more east heading out of the parking lot. Are you looking to ski or climb or both?

Hey Justin: What size and hand (left or right) is the new ice glove? I might be interested... pm me.

Holla!

JoshK!

Here you go fatty: Powell and Armitage Intend to Step Down Are we still going to go bouldering if I come out to Boston?

Shit... I flipped them. ChucK is right.

This depends on where you choose to get onto the route. I would recommend starting at goat pass; how you approach goat pass is up to you. Currently the Leavenworth side approach would be faster (and less up and down). Some people (you can see a few TRs in this forum on this option) will climb Stuart Couloir and then catch the last 5ish (depends on rope length) pitches to the summit. I don't know if SC is still in shape though... kinda getting late for that route. I know Mtnhigh and Terry McClain on this site have climbed the ridge in its entirety; you might want to pm them if you have specific questions. Beautiful route; beautiful mountain... enjoy!

I've an Eldo and an I-tent that BD/Bibler made specifically to fit on BD ledge (zippers in the floor for the fins, abrasion resistance on one side of the tent, etc) but can also be used with out the ledge. These two have preformed within my expectations such that I have had no reason to want to change teams. BD has also given excellent warranty coverage on the eldo (always free of charge even though it was my fault). A good person to talk to would be Jim at Pro Mountain sports; he could offer a lot of insight into this question that no other shop (even REI… that’s for you cracked) could offer. I would encourage you to lay down in an I tent (and any others you are considering) to ensure its the correct height.

I love it when people associate "man" with the harder or more difficult way (and all the implications stemming from this)... good to know misogyny is still rampant. I wonder when "man" will become a synonym for stupid or arrogant… In regards to the couloir approach; the sooner the better as the melt is on and with each day a few more rocks are poised to let entropy run its course. Once on the ridge you shouldn’t have too much of a problem with snow; there will be a few spots (nothing you can’t handle in tennies). PM me if you have specific questions or would like to see some photos for route finding purposes. J

Who is that poser?

Which couloir? Which approach? Which descent? If you want beta please be more specific.

A few years ago when I was still living in Eugene I was in the left turn only lane at a stop light. The exit I wanted to get back onto I-5 was behind me for the opposite flow of traffic so instead of obeying the no u turn sign, I flipped a bitch. A motorcycle stater was in further back in line to turn left also (I didn't see him until I flipped it); once I did see him I just pulled over and waited. 175 bucks! which if you know ticket prices, you know that is the equivalent of being cited for speeding in OR for 15+ miles over the speed limit (this has likely changed as its been 3 years+ since I got a ticket in OR). Normally these types of U turns are allowed; however the cop explained they had seen a number of accidents resulting from someone turning right at the red striking a u turner. Make sense?

If you break any traffic law; it will catch up with you sooner or later. In the 8 years I have had my license I have managed: 1 seatbelt violation 1 u turn (more expensive than speeding! avoid this one!) 4 speeding tickets in OR (stopped 7 times so I was let go on 3) 4 speeding tickets in WA (stopped 5 times so I was let go on 1) 1 warning in CA 1 striking an immovable object (dismissed in court) 2 no proof of insurance (dismissed both times as I was insured) 1 reckless endangerment (dismissed in court... parents: don't let your kids watch Dukes of Hazard reruns... also: as cool as it looks on tv; jumping your 1980's Toyota wagon at the BMX track is not a good idea and it hurts) Be honest with the cop; they are a little more likely to let you go if you admit fault and say "there was no reason to justify my speed." Don't act like "why are you pulling me over" if I drive through a speed trap and see them pull on, I just pull over and wait for them before they ever get there lights on.

Bullshit. That or you must have man boobs...

Start with the alpine lakes thread... you will find a few TRs (including one I was on) there.

What races? Have you raced any 100Ks? 100 milers? Are you training for any races currently?

Who told you that? And why didn't they tell me?

The first time I read that sentance I inferred you were running 25 miles in two hours - shesh ;-) I was gonna call bullshit on running 12.5mph on trails for 2 hours straight too, until I re-read it 12.5 mph for two hours... no problem… don’t you people know I’m Alberto Salazar? I'm lucky to keep 10 mph for 26.2. Since we are on the subject (sorry to hijack the thread) are there any trad/alpine climbers out there that also run marathon/ultra marathon distances? I'd love to do some running link ups this summer... an acquaintance of mine ran the approach, climbed stuart n. ridge and ran the descent car to car (Long's pass both ways!) in 8 hours 2 or 3 summers ago and I'd like to see how I would fair... Holla at your boy!

Let's just say black diamond gave me a new portaledge when I bent all four of the corner bolts. Mike aka Elmo (who I should note is no longer working at BD so don't ask for him when you call) hooked me up yet again when I told him how I managed to bend them... I thought they were going to replace the bolts, but no... new ledge. Did I mention I love BD? In other news I am still accepting applications for a big wall partner.

Specifying which approach would allow people to answer your question.