John Frieh

bump Anyone tried the DL + BC recently?

I watched Sean Issac climb M8 in a pair of BD contacts (10 point horizontal front point crampons) and plastic boots... I'm convinced just about anyone can climb hard routes in just about anything if they put the time in learning the subtleties of what every piece of equipment they choose... pick a pair and climb on them as much as you can... I'd bet just about any one on this page that it isn't their gear that is holding them back from harder routes. Sarkens are/were a great crampon... I traded mine for dartwins largely because I didnt own a pair of vertical dual point pons... I really like them so far... they don't displace as much as ice as the sarkens did. I am on my third pair of darts and I really like them also. I know Don Serl has raved about the Vasak for pure ice also. Hope this helps!

Dont know. I'm guessing the FA team. PS: Red Jacket = me

Trip: Ice Bender - Cody, WY & Montana Date: 12/13/2007 Summary: Day 0: PDX -> SEA -> BZN -> Cody, WY Day 1: Sendero Iluminoso (1 p/55 m), The Moratorium (2 p/100 m) Day 2: Bitches Brew (1st 2 p only/70 m) Day 3: One Arm Bandit (6 p/235 m) Day 4: Too Cold to Fire (1 p/70 m), Cody -> Bozeman Day 5: Bozeman -> East Rosebud Canyon, MT: California Ice (4 p/200 m) -> Bozeman Day 6 (today!): BZN -> SEA -> PDX Slander and Lies: So after ~5 months of dirt bagging and womanizing (and maybe a little climbing ) his way across the United States Bryan (Powderhound) was back in Bozeman to get ready to start his Master’s next term and called to see if I could escape the clutches of the cube farm and come out for some ice climbing before he was buried in books. As usual Bryan’s timing was impeccable: I had just been assigned to a new boss at work which can only mean one thing: Ummm… so… yeah… I like have some vacation that I haven’t used yet and it ummm… is going to expire at the end of this year. So yeah. Some vacation. I think if they actually kept track of it they’d realize I owe them like 4 years of uninterrupted work. I packed the bags and hopped a flight to BZN. Bryan met me at the airport still sporting the same mohawk he shaved the day he left for the crusades 5 months earlier… ice climbing and mohawks… could this trip get any better? It did: Cody was currently enjoying epic fatness. We pointed the car south and were in Cody that evening. Day 1: eeny-meeny-miney-moe So word on the street was that Sendero Iluminoso was in after a decade hiatus. JoJo describes Sendero in Winter Dance as When formed, the first pitch of this route is perhaps the most aesthetic in the entire book... We hustled off to climb Sendero Iluminoso before it got beat out... When formed Sendero is roughly 18” wide and very thin (think 10s and 13s) for a good portion of the route. Sendero Iluminoso: Can you see it? Following Sendero we ran over to The Moratorium… though The Moratorium forms more often than Sendero it is another Cody route that doesn’t form every year. So how fat is Cody this year? Compare this photo to the one on p270 in Winter Dance. Smoke 'em if you got 'em Moratorium pitch 2 Day 2: Day 2 saw us head up the Deer Creek drainage for another rarely forming Cody route Bitches Brew. We should have known better as this route was a Todd "Mr South Fork" Cozzens problem child. Bitches Brew p1: Bryan stole my pitch by linking 1 and 2 which brought us to this: Cody 5+ We hung out for awhile to see if the pillar would go back into the shade (which it didnt). We waited for a bit before Bryan headed up... Bryan climbed up to the business, took a long look at it and declined. I was glad he did as I doubted my ability to follow that pitch in the condition that it was in. Day 3: Bummed that we hadn't completed a longer Cody route yet (Bitches Brew was suppose to be 5 pitches) we headed up to One Arm Bandit. One Arm Bandit: climbers left Yes the book is right: the approach sucks but it's worth it As Bryan sucks at estimating how much rope is left he ended up simuling p1 and 2 with me. One Arm Bandit p1: Pitch 3: the business So when fully formed the LH pillar touches down... as you can see it isn't. After some discussion we thought the ice in the back of the chimney could go... it did He just... ...might... ...go... ...all... ...the way!!! STOKED @ the top of 3: Bryan brought me up and we punched it for the top. To The Top! 3 pitches, 2 ice screws, and 0 change overs brought us to the top of the ice. We hiked up a little further to see if any unclimbed ice had happened to make an appearance considering the conditions but no ice was found so we headed for the car. I snapped a pic of p2 while on rap in case you were wondering what the chimney looks like. Day 4: As we had plans to climb near Bozeman on Day 5 we opted to make Day 4 a 1/2 day. We headed back up the Deer Creek drainage for Too Cold to Fire. Deer Creek: Too Cold to Fire: We soloed the initial steps Too Cold: Bryan: After Too Cold we hiked another 10 minutes up Deer Creek where you can see a sandstone arch over the frozen river as well as huge sandstone walls. Absolutely beautiful! I'd post some pics but I think I am setting a new record for # of pics in a TR so I'm going to leave them out. Highly highly recommended if you have the time. Though we were sad to leave Cody we hiked out packed the car and headed to Bozeman. Cody: Goodbye for now... Secret shortcut back to Bozeman! Day 5: Somehow we managed to pull our tired, sore butts out of bed and get an alpine start for East Rosebud Canyon. zoom zoom: East Rosebud Canyon hosts a number of ice routes including California Ice... a route both of us have wanted to climb for awhile. In addition to ice routes the canyon has some huge granite faces and spires... After a short jaunt on the trail we hit the drainage that leads to Cali Ice and started up. Always dress appropriately :laf: Dream of californication I'm going going... ...back back to Cali Cali Bryan took p1... I took p2 to the top of the WI4 section. Bryan came up and we simuled the last two pitches to the top of the ice. At this point the weather started to deteriorate... Bryan: Spindrifter: Looking down the route: To The Top! To The Car! We stopped in Absorkee for a and to sign the wall @ the five spot. We then rushed back to Bozeman only to find out I wasn't holding the right cards... what can I say... story of my life. Bryan and I ended up hitting McKenzie River Pizza for some non paleo food and drink before succumbing to food coma and the culminative effects of 5 days of ice climbing. Epilogue: All good things come to an end and well I'm back at the cube farm reading email that the Stanley Headwall is in super fat right now. Hmmm... I wonder at what temperature do laptop screens freeze at...? Cheers to Bryan for my first trip to Cody! Is it officially winter yet? Gear Notes: Winter Dance by Joe Josephson Stumptown

Bump. Cody is off to an awesome start... lots of rare routes are in. Also Bison Willy's is reopen for business so you can stay in the canyon.

:lmao: Well... at least now you have next year's Xmas card covered :laf: Team Harro pulling into an early lead for most days of ice this year... the race is on!

Nice TR Jason! Too bad we didnt bump into you guys... maybe next time.

Have you guys done that WOD before? What were the best time(s)? What loads for the KB, Clean/Jerk, etc etc?

On Friday, Dec 14th, 2007, CrossFit Human Evolution Labs is having a holiday party for all members, member candidates, and guests. The party will start at 4:00PM and go until everyone leaves. RSVP's are encouraged so they can get an idea on how much food to get - and how many kegs to get! To RSVP, call or email. www.crossfithel.com Good opportunity to see what crossfit is all about.

Can't make this one... unfortunately rarely formed ice routes east of here require my immediate attention Everyone should drink one for me and buy Mr Bill Coe a for being such a great guy! Happy holidays you nerds!

Latest update on Access: www.hyalite.org

Reports from the festival: http://www.firstascentpress.com/icebreaker.html

Quit stalling Wayne. Send me the pictures!

Could be wrong on this but I have heard from a few people that CAN sleeping bag temp ratings are a survival rating and not a comfort rating... that is the temp the bag is rated to is the lowest temp it can get and you will still wake up in the morning. ID is CAN based so you might want to contact them and see which one they use.

Oh and my favorite part of xfit? I get to workout with some SMOKING HOT girls. 8D

Great info and discussion Eric. For me in the first month of xfit I lost 10 lbs... since then I have stabilized @ 185 (still MOG status ) however I continue to get stronger (3 cheers for lean muscle mass ). I have found that even though I climb less (2x a week now vs 3-4x a week before xfit) I am climbing at the same or harder than I was before xfit. Last weekend was my first weekend on ice and I can tell I am pulling way harder already this year. I agree xfit is still very much in the minority for climbers who use it but I suspect we will see it gain popularity especially for those who dont have a lot of time for training (married/kids/50 hour work week/etc etc) But yeah... whatever works...

Absolutely. # of pullups does not directly relate to climbing ability. And yes... being good at or doing xfit doesnt necessarily make you a better climber. Absolutely. Twight chooses to list some stats on the site not as a boast to all of us but more as an internal motivator to the athletes of his gym... plant the seed that "everyone is looking at you"... this is why almost all xfit sites post the results everyday. Competition for the sake of better times/working harder is a large part of the xfit approach. I have met some amazing athletes in xfit that were/are amazingly fit but were sucky climbers because a large part of harder climbing is the mental game... learning to deal with the fear. And IMO xfit isnt the best vehicle to train for trad or sport climbing (though some climbers do choose to use it like Rob Miller). Like we all know there isnt just one single entity we have to focus on to be good alpine climbers: cardio, strength, rock skill, the mental game, on and on all factor in. So I really dont understand why everyone is arguing for choosing just one training program... I xfit 5x a week but I also climb 2x a week and more than anything try and climb on the weekends. I might also mix in some runs. This is what works for me... My advice to anyone is try xfit for a month. If you see gains in the areas you are trying to train for (ice, rock, alpine, etc) awesome stick with it. If no then shit try something else. And Rob Miller is a big time xfitter/instructor.

New petzl ice tools & pons slanted for next fall.

Did you read the part about wanting to train for Kili? Or did you just want to use this thread as another opportunity to remind everyone that yes in fact pink has climbed el cap? Just to be safe you might consider posting 80 more times about it. Just to be safe. Marie: check out crossfit. You'll love it and do really well @ it considering your background in gymnastics/tumbling/etc. PM Fern if you want a female take on crossfit.

The Royal 7 and the Imperial Inn are both the best values I have found. The Blue Sky Motel is the cheapest in Bozeman AFAIK but is ghetto... small rooms, dirty, etc... not worth it. The Royal 7 gives an AAA discount (I think the Imperial does also) and the rooms are very large. They dont have a kitchenette but I have cooked in the room before with no problem (just hide the stove before you leave in the morning). Both have free wifi. The imperial is a little closer to downtown if you do decide to go out to dinner.

You guys need to add something like a google calendar that everyone can post on that is looking for a partner for a particular day/weekend/etc etc. I think it would make it easier to find a partner for something as one could look at just a date instead of 20 or so posts. One could also use it for carpooling. ???

Bump FYI what was climbed as of last weekend (12/1-12/2):

The lab offers free sessions on Saturday's @ 1 pm... you should drop in and check it out. Also the lab now offers a 6:30 am session 5x a week for those of us who have to be at the cube farm by 8. Season's here... what are you waiting for? Last Friday...

If I'm in town Ill be there if Bill shows and Melissa promises to not bring her camera :eveeel:

Ill be in Bozeman tomorrow See all you little bitches there! Shoot me a PM if you want to connect for a