Chad_A

Thanks so much for looking, Dan; I certainly appreciate it Gene- I still need a pair. PM coming your way! ---Chad

Hey everyone; Thanks for the responses. Sounds like there's about five of us going as of now. We're meeting at 3:00, barring any total downpours. Alan, there's another guy who's going to borrow my tools, so you can as well. I also have an old set of Omega Pacific Bulldogs that are up for use. To anyone that shows up: I have enough stuff for one TR, but will need more, by the sounds of it. Might want to throw in anything you have to contribute, to be on the safe side. Also, we'll meet at the same place we met on Wednesday. Hope to see you all there. Oh, and be ready for beer; probably hit the Mexican restaurant on 82nd afterward, or maybe we can head to the Alameda brewpub. Cheers, everyone, looking forward to seeing you all. ---Chad

Dan- thanks much! Hope you can find them. I'll pay you whatever you want for them. Keep in touch, man. Haven't talked to you for a while; Sorry 'bout that. Being a new homeowner has responsibilities that I never dreamed of. ---Chad

Need a pair of them for my Axars. You could buy them separate for 10 bucks a piece, or they came standard on either Pulars or Quasars; can't remember which. Petzl doesn't seem to offer them anymore, although they've emailed me stating that they're looking into it. I will pay for shipping. Post here, or PM me. Thanks!

Today, Saturday afternoon/evening, or Sunday. Just thought I'd try. Yep, might rain, but since the Smith thing is out for me this weekend, wouldn't mind scraping up some rock and metal. I have a rope, and stuff to set up one TR. If someone wants to bring another rope n' stuff, we can set up another, and get some laps in. PM me here, or send me an email at anderson7149atcomcastdotnet.

Ok, if anyone wants to head out to Rocky Butte to scrape up some metal and rock, send me a PM. Had a great time Wednesday; would like to do it again. Saturday morning is a possibility, too. I have a rope, slings and lockers; just need someone to swap belays with. Anyone?

Awwrright! I'm there. John, what time do you head down? I'll give you a call, and we can set up the place to meet. Maybe at my house, then I can drive from there? ---Chad

John- I'm out for tomorrow, but if you're around on Wednesday for a drytool, let me know. I can meet you, or anyone else, out there for a session. Post it here; when I'm at work, not able to turn on the cell. Peace-out.

As I'm sure you've all guessed, with the warm weather, the ice lines are history; when I was up there last week, they'd begun to form a bit; been too warm for them to hang around. Nothing up there was worth taking pictures of. Looks like the weather is sucking ass this next weekend. I know I have Friday through Monday off to get some drytooling done, unless the weather clears up enough to head up to the Eliot, then I'd be game for that, too. Oleg, if you read this, ideas? I don't think our plans for our climb would work out, with the forecast...but I did get some schweet recon photos for you if you want 'em Y'all let me know what the plans are for this weekend.

Funny- I almost missed your post! Windows is being weird; it automatically forwarded me to Fromage's post. I'm glad you spoke up, as well. It's nice to get useful input on this; it's much easier to get an idea of this in front of my PC, then sitting on a glacier with a file, frustrated, and potentially doing more harm than good. I'm fully aware that it still could be my technique, and these problems could be my fault, in particular. I tried applying more power, but it seemed that the ice would fracture, or dinner plate more. By the time I hit the ice the fourth time, which became tiring to say the least, a crater in the ice existed. Would make it easy to place a screw in that spot, but doesn't do much good for getting in a good tool placement! Might try the weight add-ons. Ideas as to where to get them now? Thanks again! ---Chad

Good input! Thanks much. So, from what I'm getting, the Cascade pick is actually a newer style pick? And, also so I understand, the teeth are beveled just a tad, so they don't come to a point, but instead are still flat on top? Good to hear I'm not the only one still climbing without a Cobra or a Quark (although Cobras are mighty sexy). Cheers-

I have a set of Axars; went up with a pal to the Eliot to do some ice craggin'. He's a good climber, but on top of that, my tools kept blowing out, or took 3-4 hits to get the pick to stick, or both. Following him up some vertical bits (and occasional bulges of overhangs) proved to be difficult. I should add that he watched me swing, and said that it wasn't my problem. Also, my pinky is right at the "nub" at the end of the grip, so I'm pretty sure I'm not gripping too high. I've seen the 4x4 picks, and the "Upgrade" that they make (or made) for the Axar. I had the originals on them that had been filed by a previous owner (I think these are called the Cascade pick); my pal took a look at them, and said that the shape was inefficient, and would be hard to get them back to where they need to be. So, I just put Upgrades on them, and before I change anything, I was wondering if anyone had any experience with these. The guy at the shop said that the pick was so thin (3mm), and the teeth were so small, that he'd be apprehensive to bevel the teeth at all. I'd also like to bevel the upper cutting edge some more, but again, there's not much metal there, so I'm apprehensive. If anyone has come up with a preference for this pick, let me know. I'd like to spend my time climbing on them, not lowering of and filing, or climbing any worse than I already do. Or, simply post a picture of your filed pick. Thanks in advance. ---Chad

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/500599/an/0/page/0#500599 Thought I'd put it up here as well as in the Lost and Found; I'm not so sure how many people would go looking for it there.

Found on the Eliot while seracing yesterday. Looks like it's been there for a while. No liner; I assume whoever lost it, gave up looking for it and skittered down to their car in their liner, pissed off. I have it here in NE Portland. PM me.

Holy shit...is that a recent pic of Rainier? Very nice if so. Justin- The "A" shaped rock in right-center is the "Fuhrer" area; the right side is the Finger, the left side of it is the Thumb. Left of that, is the Wilson Headwall, then the rocky, shadowed ridge is the Wapowerty Cleaver, then the main, broad area going right up the center is (lower) the Turtle Snowfield, and above, the Kautz Glacier route. You can see the Kautz icefall above, but it blends in with the snow.

Oleg- You crazy man, you. I'm going to Peru first to cut my teeth on other-than-Cascadian turf before taking a hack at that one. You're welcome to come along Good luck to you, if you go, though I'd never be a naysayer and tell you that you couldn't do it.

Gotcha!

Still have an old school Petzl Artic with the remote batt. pack (uses lithium AAs) for really good routefinding (alpine starts getting across the Coleman Glacier, for instance) Tikka Plus for basic slogs, or later starts. My g/f bought a Zenix IQ that I love. I've kinda hoarded it for myself, since she hasn't been climbing much this year. For the weight of it, it throws a helluva beam; the only problem I have is that, while it throws light far, it doesn't provide good "washout" in front of you, that helps you see your footing at the same time. If I'm on technical ground, I can't just glance down with my eyes, I have to physically point the light down at my feet to see what I'm standing on. Minor point, though.

Looking for beta; I've looked at the maps, but somehow, it seems like it'd be a bit too easy to get to Torment from Eldorado, to make the T-F traverse. Trying to do a link-up here, yes I am. Most of the guidebooks state approaches from the south. How easy is it to get onto Torment from the north/northwest aspect? Anyone done it? This is my first time into that area, so I'm finding it hard to grasp by piecing Fred's info together, and looking at the pictures in the books. Maybe I'm just not very good at that, and it'll be rather easy once I'm up there in person. Thanks for any input. I'd like to make this work, but if it won't, I'd like to spend my hard-fought time off elsewhere. Thanks in advance. ---Chad

Mike and Erik- Congratulations! Way to persevere. You're an inspiration. Thanks very much for posting the TR, it's been fun reading it. That's a helluva first multi-day trip for you, Erik! Next time I'm stressed out on a climb, I'll try to remember your trip, and I'm sure I'll instantly feel like a pansy. Cheers to you both.

Once again, nice TR, Donn. Don't know if I'll make it up there this year, but I think it'll be the destination for Rob and Megan for next year. Congrats! Looks like you had a good time.

Oh, and then we'll have to do a pub club somewhere, and talk lots of shit.

Oleg, look me up. I live a mile away from Rocky Butte. NOLSe will get a date set, you can meet me here, and we'll go scrape up some rock. Maybe we can rope Donn into that, eh?

I'll have to put this on the list for a one-day outing; sounds more than doable. Any pics? Thanks for posting.

Nice climb, sounds burly. What kind of piece did he fall on, with that kind of a whipper? Thanks for posting the TR; fun to read.