Chad_A

True, true, it can be nice up there; it can just be a bit lonely up there, since you're so high above everything around you. And, by the way, you can be Chad Anderson any day of the week, Oleg But, you can't have my credit card number

3. As I try to increase my fitness, skill level, and climbing experience, my personal life responsibility suffers in direct proportion. That's what I should've written; it's what I get for putting this together at two in the morning! As I try to get better in many areas, I seem to end up screwing up other things in my life to make time for training, fitness, etc. I'm not good at juggling, yet...or will I ever be??? Who knows. Having kids, well, that would be tenfold harder.

Aww, my old Axars Oleg, goddamn, isn't it about time we got out again? I haven't drank beer with you for....months!

Fuschia, or Periwinkle? Accessorizing is key!

...about climbing. The night shift is hard to stay awake; so I started jotting stuff down. Yeah, most of it's obvious. So what. I only started alpine climbing two years ago. Feel free to follow suit. What I know (or don’t know)…about climbing By Chad Anderson 1. I have no natural talent, and I am not “gifted”. On any given trip, in some manner, I struggle in one way or another. I work for what skill that I have, and I do the best with what I’ve got. 2. I am not interested in chasing first ascents, as much as I am interested in what pioneering climbers have done before me with so much less than what I have. 3. As I try to increase my fitness, skill level, and climbing experience, my personal life responsibility decreases in direct proportion. 4. Just because a climb from afar has “a beautiful line” to it, doesn’t mean that it’s going to feel beautiful once I’m on it. 5. There is such a thing as Heaven, in one way or another; the North Cascades are proof of this. There’s also Hell, as I’m sure to pass a Wal-Mart on the way there. 6. Once, a climber referred to “keeping his head bolted down”; that is, keeping mental control. For me, this will always be a bigger challenge than anything physical in the mountains. 7. I learn something new on each climbing trip from my partners, whether they have 30 years of experience, or 6 months of experience. I try my best to never forget it. 8. House, Miller, Mahoney, Gilmore, Beckey…they’re all my heroes. And they’d probably tell me to fuck off if I told them that. 9. I’ll probably never be as good as House, Miller, Mahoney, Gilmore, or Beckey. 10. Climbing partners make it all worthwhile. I could never be a soloist. 11. People ask me why I climb…usually family, or a non-climber. I’ve never known how to put in one sentence, but my best guess is “to keep each day from being the same as the previous one.” 12. I’m continually morphing as a climber, as far as what my focus is. I started on rock; the direction I’m heading now is toward ice, and harder alpine routes. But I probably won’t be climbing the Rupal Face. 13. It’s a significant help if your spouse/partner is interested in climbing, as well. It also helps if I support her in her endeavors…so I feel less guilty in mine. 14. I’m a gear hound. Deal with it. 15. I’d much rather do four or five climbs in a year, that are high quality, and of some level of difficulty, then getting out of the house twenty times, only to do slogs up dog routes. I’d rather stay home and work on the house, or my Volkswagen, if it were to come to that. 16. Having a good job is a double-edged sword. It affords you the bank account to take climbing holidays, but not the time. I’m somewhat jealous of people I know that climb 200 days of the year, and live out of the back of their Toyota pickup. 17. Rainier is beautiful. But the summit view is lacking; for that, I’d rather stand on top of Sahale. 18. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be a proficient crack climber. But I need to try; being a well-rounded climber is one of the keys to a successful climbing career. 19. I don’t give a shit about ever climbing Everest…and I wish people at social gatherings would quit asking me about that. 20. I like to believe that the past is an indicator of the future, as far as what choices I’ve made. If it has any merit to it at all, I’m destined to get better, more skilled…and do something great someday.

Hey! Good to hear that some stuff is hanging out there. I was advised to check out Guiness Gully, but didn't get around to it. So, no, wasn't us. Could've been Kurt, though?

Thanks, Kurt! I also thank all who posted on the thread, when I was asking about accomodations and moderate ice suggestions, and to Alex for his suggestions, as well. It all helped! FYI, the Akai would've been a good deal, but they decided to raise the rate to 100 bucks for us CDN, for some reason, after quoting us 70 on the phone (they knew that there were four of us). We went down to the Rocky Mountain, and paid less than 70 CDN, with the help of an AAA card.

Thanks, Chris! Here's some more pics. The wild animals at the Rocky Mountain Inn: 1st pitch of Cascade Falls: Chris and Mt. Rundle: Chris starting out the WI3 money pitch of Cascade. It got a bit spicier and thinner than this, for sure To the Haffner Creek area. Donn here practice leading steep stuff. He'd already done some other proud (real)leading to the left of this: Here I am TRing an overhanging section of pillar. Chris had done a great job on the mixed ground to the left; I wanted to see what it would be like to stay purely on the ice; much harder than I thought. Both tools ripped out of the chandaliered stuff a couple moves above this. A couple of pics to overview the Haffner area. There was some neat looking bolted dry tool routes around that people were doing. Looked pretty hard. Here's Rodney, mixing it up. Awesome trip! The moderate stuff was mostly in; the harder, thinner stuff, we heard, was not in good shape. It was supposed to get cold again, though, so maybe some of it will form up again.

Okay, so you've used them. Any thoughts? My impression is that they bite really fast. The down side is that the spinner knob mechanism is a bit clumsy, and that the knob itself is grabby. It seems to help to grab it between your index and thumb in the "OK" hand position, with your pinky facing out. I like the idea of the design, though. I just oiled the knob a bit, and it seems to rotate within the metal wire a little easier, now. Hope to get out and try it again soon.

Neat idea. Screws in like a 360 Grivel, but racks nicely like a BD Express. And, you can clip two biners to the hanger. Anyone have any experience with these?

Camp? A hotel does sound better, though from what I know of the routes, I doubt I'll be getting on the Weeping Wall, or Polar Circus

Oh, okay, I think I might be pretty up to date on that one, though it's the third edition. I'll look around today and see if I can find the fourth edition. Thanks!

That sounds cool. We'll look into that one

Looking for meager accomodations; taking my first trip up there this week. I don't want to armwrestle the cockroaches for my food, but don't need great accomodations, either. Suggestions? Also, suggestions for an area to spend time doing WI3-4s (maybe more 3s) in one area would be nice. I plan on picking up a guidebook. Winter Dance by JoJo?

How do you like your Sabretooths on WI? I'd guess that you'd prefer the G14s, but I know folk who still prefer horizontal points. Myself: Quarks, and old set of Omega Pacific Bulldogs (my first pair...I'd sell them, but I don't think anyone would want 'em), G14s, Camp Ice Riders, and a couple fistfulls of screws. John, don't let 'em get ya down!

Yeah, I was kind of thinking about that. My pal who climbs down in Peru regularly says that it's changing by the year down there.

Nice! Well, that tells me what the conditions are there Glad you guys had a good time. Maybe I can have Sam talk to my g/f Megan. She likes the idea of ice climbing, she just can't get swing down (yet).

Whew! What was the crux?

Damn. I'm screwed! That's a great quote, haha!

Thanks for all the insight. Guess it pays to ask around a bit. How the hell does a guidebook get so far off? Maybe the author never climbed any of the routes? Glad Dru posted that, I would've never known about that one. Gene, check your PMs. Foraker- still glad you chimed in. Thanks for taking the time. -Chad

Thanks much! Looks like this is the one to get; if anyone knows of any others that are good, feel free to post it.

I don't remember hearing of, or seeing one, in particular. Robson, Athabasca, Andromeda, etc. Is there one "best" guidebook for this area?

That's what it is. Thanks, Larry!

May not be all related to climbing directly...but all are motivated by it, so I'll do it this way. More of: Training- Strength and cardio. Climbing outside the Cascades, even if I don't make it to Alaska. Climbing on rock. Kind of lost the love for it, but it's mandatory to be good at it in the mountains (especially crack) and I'm slowly slipping away from it. When I can't get out of the Cascades...to spend more time in the North Cascades, and/or being willing to drive all night for weekend trips, and lose sleep. Oh! I'll throw in ice climbing by itself. I know that people argue that it's the least pure form of climbing (tools are aid, blah blah), but to me, it's the most beautiful and the most challenging medium, and has the sexiest gear by far. Less of: Working (on the house and at my job). Climbing on the Volcanoes (though I still want to do something hard on the North Mowich Face). Drinking. Easy to tip the bottle more when you're stuck at home more. These are goals, but I'd like to see at least half of them happen.

Good flick; I enjoyed that one. Happy New Year, everybody. Have a beer or three for me; I'm on call, can't enjoy one.