SmokeShow

My trusty 5.10 Spires just blewout slightly above where the suede meets the rubber on the outside of my foot... that point at the ball of your foot where it is widest. Is there anyway I can repair this? I know the shoe is cheap but the rubber is still good and I think there's some use left in 'em. And please don't say duct tape.

Seems like this thread is better suited for 'Gear Critic' I found this browsing the forum recently... it should help. Belay Devices

Considering seasonal employment in Bend... Done some research and learned about all the cool outdoor options. Took a visit today and checked out town and dug it. Looking for info on apartments (such as the best resource to use to find one), nice part of town to live, hidden jems, anything else not apparent to the out of towner. Muchas Gracias, SS

Nice lead on the mushrooms. Check the gallery, Shred' posted some pics. Here's one I captured starting up Reid.

That painting is dope.

Werd.

Post deleted by SmokeShow

Once something like this is so simply explained I really have to wonder about my Intelligence Quotient.

I just watched this flick and can someone please tell me WTF is going on? The only reasonable explanation for this movie is that Stanley was on some serious pyschadelics. Please... discuss, and help my small mind comprehend.

What is conduit? I can't seem to find any info on it... not even in the Bible (aka Freedom of the Hills).

If you're into the all natural thing try Arnica montana, it's an extract of the plant. Works good on serious muscle fatigue. I used it after long marathon training runs and it worked damn well for me. It's not suggested that you take it internally, however I did (according to the directions on the tincture I bought). It's most often used as an external rub. I can't say how effective it is in that form.

As defined in 'An Ice Climber's Guide to Northern New England' Grade I - low angle ice less than 50 degrees Grade II - low angle ice routes with short bulges up to 60 degrees Grade III - steeper ice of 50-60 degrees with short 70-90 degree bulges Grade IV - short vertical columns interspersed with rests on 50-60 degree ice Grade V - generally multi-pitch ice climbs with sustained difficulties and/or strenuous vertical columns with little rest possible As noted above, there is nothing greater than Grade V in NE so the list stops there (as far as the guide is concerned). With this grading system I think the difficulty of the climb becomes pretty clear. The NEI system was one of the first to be established and it provided a basis for the internationally accepted system.

Climb: Wallowas- Date of Climb: 1/19/2004 Trip Report: Two unemployed climbers, two great days of weather on tap, an open invitation to the Wallowas to hang and climb with a guy who brews loads of kick-ass beer. MtnHigh picked me up early Monday morning and we trucked across 'cowboy country' to meet up with Terminal Gravity at his brewpub shortly after noon. After we downed a pint of his liquid gold (for me it was the ESG - extra special golden) TG was ready to lead us to one of the Wallowas icy little gems. After about a two mile hike into a canyon we were introduced to Falls Creek Falls. The Falls were partially frozen and the flow was heavy, but it definitely looked like it would go. Being a 'newbie' to the Northwest and a first timer with MH and TG they generously offered me the lead. Ah yes, that beautiful moment of truth. What to do… accept and show some ‘sack’ or puss out and offer up some thinly veiled excuse about not having swung my tools since last winter. This was grade II at best and I’d led harder ice, but it wasn’t the route that scared me as much as the lack of opportunities for protection. I accepted the lead. I stepped up to the base of the route and took a look into the pit where the water was falling behind the snow and ice. It was dark and it looked scary. The ice adjacent to the water was thick but only partially attached. More to the right the ice was quite thin with a blanket of snow to help obscure what was ice and rock. After a few taps with my hammer, here and there, I started up. I managed to find decent ice, for a good twenty feet, mostly close to the water. Any time I tried to move right I just knocked ice off, exposing rock. As I climbed left I hoped the ice didn’t fail, resulting in me plunging into the dark pit below. Finally I found some thick ice that seemed well enough attached to place a screw. I felt comfortable. Just above the screw, ice gave way to snowy benches with no purchase. I tried to clear the snow away in hopes of finding some ice to hack at… nothing. I just sort of clawed and hacked and mantled up to the next step. Then again, not much ice and a snowy bench. Somewhere near the top I found another chunk of thick ice that seemed well attached and I placed a second screw. After that I climbed through a little more snow and topped out. Fun, but definitely mankey. I hoped I left enough ice on the route for MH and TG to follow. Either I did or these guys had some mixed skills because before long we were walking off and heading back to the pub for some more brew. TG had to work some Tuesday and Wednesday (if you call brewing beer work) so MH and I decided to head into the backcountry to explore. TG pointed us to Hurricane Creek Trail and we headed up early in the morning. We tromped all of eight miles in before we set up camp. Along the way I could hardly think of anything but how heavy my damn pack was, what a damn wimp I must be, and that ultimately my desires and aspirations probably exceed the limits of my candy ass tolerances. However, the beauty of the Wallowas often broke my masochistic concentration. The peaks that flanked the valley were gorgeous. The creek running adjacent to the trail was constantly offering solace with the sound of falling water. The snow was soft and nicely consolidated. The sky was blue, the wind was still, and we were the only guys in that whole blessed valley. I was reminded, as I always am, why I do this. The next morning was a tad chilly but well within my tolerances. The sky was clear blue again. We brewed some tea and boiled some water and soon got on our way to explore some more of the backcountry. Hiking with a stripped down pack was heaven. MH and I hiked about another mile in before we decided to head back to camp, break it down, and hike out. On the hike out I became convinced that this place is a backcountry skier’s paradise. If only I had some skies instead of that lousy pack. After about five miles of moving at a good pace I was back to focusing on nothing but the pain in my weak hips and white-collar feet. Soon, the thought of beer and a huge plate of good food was my only motivation to keep trudging along. The miles seemed to go so slow that way, but we were out of the canyon a couple hours before dark, on our way back to the brewpub that I was becoming very fond of. There, we downed plenty of pints to sooth our sore muscles. Thursday morning we met TG at the pub to head out for one more climb on one of the Wallowas treasures. TG powered his Bronco up through the snow, high up into the hills, saving us about a mile on a dreaded approach. Although the beer therapy from the previous night was effective, MH and I wanted nothing to do with an approach harder than a walkup. As we stepped out the vehicle MH and I realized we had left our snowshoes back at the pub. Ah yes, that brew does help numb the muscles. Idiots. I think we jinxed ourselves not wanting a big approach and all we had to look forward to now was a snow slog. Great. We started up the trail and soon hit the deeper snow. We took turns breaking trail and it went surprisingly well. The snow gods were kind and postholes were only calf deep most of the time with an occasional period of wading through thigh deep snow. After about two hours we gained Murray Saddle, the gap adjacent to Ruby Peak. Although the valley was socked in with fog, we were above the haze in beautiful blue sky and comfortable temps. A third day of beautiful weather. From the Saddle we traversed across the base of the cliff to a mass of lovely thick blue ice. We climbed up a steep snow slope and stomped out a ledge just the right of the ice. It looked difficult on the left, only slightly easier to the right. Probably solid grade III. TG and I looked at MH to signify the lead was all his and, I must say, he took it and executed beautifully. MH built an anchor up top and we spent the next few hours playing on that beauty. The snow was so beautiful up there we all wish we had skis coming down. The backcountry skier’s paradise. Winter hours at Terminal Gravity brewpub are Thursday through Saturday from 3:30 to 9:00 so the bar was in full effect when we got back into town. Once again MH and I indulged in several pints, this time with the company and cheer of the locals. The evening was capped with a much needed shower and home cooked meal at TG’s cabin up in the hills. His lovely wife was kind enough to cook vegetarian for me. The stove and bourbon kept us warm. The atmosphere was light and cozy, the conversation was stimulating, the mood was just right. Life was good. TG has my eternal gratitude for his generosity. MH has my respect for his performance in the hills and on ice. Until we climb again fellas… cheers.

BTW you can avoid shipping costs by having products shipped to the store... no charge.

I was able to widen the bail by bending it out with two crescent wrenches. Didn't mangle the metal with pliers. Fits great now.

Last night at the bar some dude told me that RBQ is a meth factory for the NW and local hoods nab your gear from TRs while you're climbing and chuck bottles down on you? Is this dude blowin' smoke?

Anyone have a problem putting the Charlet Moser M10 on a Koflach Boot? I have the Vertical and the toe bail is too narrow to seat properly. I think if I bend it out to widen it up it will fit fine but I'm not sure if it's a good idea. Will that affect the integrity of the metal toe bail? Suggestions? I can't bend it by hand, I think I need a vice.

Cruised through the Gorge today and didn't see much ice. Didn't expect to though. It just started getting cold early Sunday. I'm not familiar with Gorge ice so I'm not really the man to be posting on conditions... but I suspect that those climbs that form consistently will be in by Tuesday if the cold spell holds. Let it stay cold and let us climb Tuesday.

All this shit is lame. Ultra frisbee players worried about carbs? What the fuck. Ultra frisbee is queer anyway. They run enough... can't they consider that carbo loading? Drinking has nothing to do with health conscience. We drink because we like the way it makes us feel. If your concerned about carbs, calories, sugar or any other bullshit, you shouldn't be drinking... as I say all this with beer in hand. Cheers y'all. And fuck you sissy low carb drinkers, you're not even drinkers.

I'm game for climbing tuesday if something is in. PM me.

I found the book damn inspiring. If I ever find myself busted up on a snow bridge in a crevasse I'm going to think about Joe Simpson and hopefully muster the will to get my ass out alive... as opposed to rolling into the void thinking 'damn, Simpson must have made it up, I can't get out of here alive."

Looks to me like she's falling. If she was reaching hard for that left hand her pony tail and chalk bag would be pressed against her back. Looks like she may have been sitting on the rope contemplating it, then went for it and missed.

He looks like Tatoo (sp?) from that show Fantasy Island... with stubble and an afro.

Just something to think about regarding unions... I worked on the Big Dig as a surveyor about 4 years ago. I didn't work for the union, my partner did. As a surveyor I was not allowed to use a shovel, a broom, or even move orange construction barrels. These were jobs for a laborer. When the union steward caught me using a broom (to sweep dirt off the point I was trying to locate) he flew into a tirade about how my paycheck didn't feed his belly. I thought he was going to crush my face with his angry Irish fist. A union laborer from a completely different construction company reprimanded me for moving construction barrels to setup a traffic move that I was laying out, as a surveyor. Now when I followed the rules I would call a laborer to shovel some dirt for me so I could locate a point. It would take at least 20 minutes for a laborer to become available and walk over to my location to spend (no kidding) less than a minute to move some dirt. Working the evening shift, on a Friday night, the bar crowd would walk by and constantly coment on how 'it's no wonder that the Big Dig cost so much with everyone standing around'. And to them it did appear that about 5 people were standing around while 2 people would dig. The two guys in the hole were the laborers. One guy standing around would be an equipment operator waiting for direction from a laborer. Another guy standing around was the foreman. Another the project super' roving from hole to hole. The other two... surveyors waiting to locate utilities or something like that. One day I saw a man sitting on the back of a crane doing absolutely nothing for a very long time. When I inquired as to what he was doing there I was informed that he was the 'oiler' and that it was his job to maintenance the crane twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the afternoon. This process took about an hour each time. The other time he sat with the crane, getting paid about $25/hour. Big Dig cost overuns can hardly be blamed on union labor. The project is far too complex and political to sum up who/what is really resposible. All that aside, driving through Boston is sweet compared to what it was and the downtown is going to be extraordinary. A well intentioned project that provides positive improvements yet has a very bad reputation from a ridiculous price tag.

What's the deal with this route this time of year through March? Oregon High doesn't say much about winter conditions, nor could I find anything with a 'Hood' search on the board. Is it still a walk up (in deep snow)? Is the 'schrund completely covered? Any need to rope up near the summit? I understand the weather may be the most limiting factor?