markwebster

aid climbing is an awesome way to learn to trust gear. We used to climb every weekend. If we got to the cliff and it was raining, we would aid climb whatever was on the agenda for a dry day. Arno Ilgner covers this in "the rock warriors way". I rarely take lead falls out of the gym. But occasionally, I get over my head on a crack and realize that I have to trust the gear or I'm not going to get up the climb. But I don't trust the gear...so what to do? Put in a few back up pieces...preferably a mix of bomber passive and active gear (stoppers and cams), make sure the landing is safe...no ledges to hit if gear pulls, and simply jump off. Make the first jump right by the piece. The next jump is from a foot above the piece. Next jump 3 feet above, etc. Eventually you will trust the gear and make the move.

Castle Rock, Leavenworth. 6 pitches of 5.4. Nuff said.

I teach web design at a technical college. Read an article recently that explained why ie6 is still holding on to a market share somewhere between 8 and 15%, depending on who is measuring, and what market. The IT departments of the large corporations have their support knowledge-base dialed in on IE6. They don't want to upgrade because it would cost money to retrain. For the same reason, our campus is still putting XP Pro on new machines. And as has been mentioned, some of the new and improved features of the new browsers are aimed more at entertainment than productivity. Imagine this 11AM phone call to IT: "I can't get my latest facebook update to work. I typed in a comment to my friends picture, and it doesn't show up. Can you come over and fix my computer?" As a teacher, we love IE6. Anyone can get a web page to work in the new browsers. Trouble shooting IE6 separates the men from the boys. Regarding the widely rumored death of flash: Nothing out there can compete with the smooth, **vector** based, bandwidth friendly web advertisements of flash. True it has been abused (games, broadband slideshows, videos, etc), but for everyday advertising on the internet, those irritating little animations that sell anything and everything, nothing else even comes close.

If you can still get out and climb at all, you are doing well. Almost all of the people I started climbing with have stopped. Hanging out with young climbers helps, they keep you going. Heading to the valley soon with the wife...going to hobble up some trade routes. Anyway, getting old beats the alternative.

I climb at the gym twice a week. We have a big bouldering area there. I hear big booms several times a night as people jump, fall off the top of the bouldering wall. I take falls all the time leading at the gym, but due to the overhangs, I just bounce in the air. My friends who boulder "safely" (the ones who haven't broken their ankles) say you learn how to land, just like in falling while leading with ropes. And obviously some of the best leaders are the ones who boulder a lot. I'm not denying that bouldering improves your climbing, or the obvious fun to be had catching your female partners. "I got choo!" But for me, having seen many of my friends get hurt bouldering, and very few of us hurt leading with ropes, the choice is clear. I did break my ankle leading once. But I was young, stupid, and full of myself, and basically deserved it. The pictures in the magazines of people high balling? I've never understood why they put such a low value on their lives.

awesome job on the carry out! I can't even imagine carrying a guy 150 pounds down a trail. But let me state for the record...again...I've lost track of how many climbing friends have broken/sprained/torn ligaments in their ankles bouldering. Even at the gym, on padded floors, a couple buddies have broken their ankles twice. I can clearly remember my friends who have been injured rope climbing...because it is rare. If you want to climb for a long time, as in decades, and stand a much better chance of being injury free...ropes are a wonderful invention. Flame on!

One thing I've never been too comfortable with is belaying off the anchor, especially in guide mode (auto block). When I can, I prefer to build my anchors at good stances. I give myself a tight leash, but I don't hang on the anchor if I can avoid it. I stand there and belay off my harness, using my legs and the stance to catch my follower. That way, the anchor is just for backup. It's one more level of redundancy I can add to the belay to make it safer. That also allows me to use my legs to haul the climber up the route if he or she starts to hang or want tension.

Slender thread was a "safe" lead back when your belayer and a spotter could catch you by standing on the tree. Now that the tree is gone, you start probably about 10 feet lower. I've not had a tape measure there, but it's become a climb that only suicidal, or very confident soloists do. Raindog says he still does it... Is it worth a bolt, yes, in my opinion. I won't add the bolt because I do have some respect for those sickos who still have the balls to solo up to that bolt. Anyway, you can still TR it from the anchors above....though top roping is for sissies. For me, it's one of those climbs where I look up at it, remember how fun it was when it was "safe", and walk on by.

I use the bd guide: http://www.rei.com/product/737857 and I like it, though belaying two partners up is a pain as there is so much friction when both ropes are 10.2mm. I've actually worn off the teeth on the jaws and need a new one. I'm going to try the new petzl reverso 3 http://www.rei.com/product/767731 next as several of my friends like it, and the unlocking hole is bigger when in guide mode. For beginning belayers, nothing beats my old stitch plate (without the spring). If you've not seen one, picture a 3 inch pancake of aluminum, 10mm thick with two slots in it for 11 and 9mm ropes. Stick the 10mm rope through the 9mm slot, clip it to the locker, tape their belay hand shut around the rope and start leading. The damn thing jams immediately. They have to constantly pull the stitch plate off the locker to give you slack as you move up, or it will jam solid. I've taken numerous complete newbies out climbing, and taught them to belay this way. Both my kids belayed me using that when they were around 10. On a side note, never let a newbie lower you. Always rappel. For belaying someone working (leading) a route, and falling/hanging a lot, I love my cinch. Nothing throws rope out faster and easier than a cinch. Lighter and better, simpler design than a grigri. Grabs everytime...as long as you follow directions. There is an instructional video at their website. It's sort of heavy, I don't use it on multipitch...but dang, it's awesome. I also swear by a steel autolocker. Yeah, it's heavy, but it's the last locker you will ever buy.

I carry two cameras in my pack. I have a canon sd1100 for when I don't want to carry my slr camera, which is a canon 50d, paired up with a sigma 10-20 wide, or a sigma 18-250. The 50d is heavy, noticably heavier than my old rebel xt, which Austin is still using in China. But the 50d has a metal body, and will probably last a good 10 years. It also shoots awesome low light photos, like around a campfire. If you are passionate about all forms of photography, from macro to telephoto, you will love a slr. The weight is a pain, probably lowers my lead ability a few levels, but the exposure and focus control makes the pictures worth the trouble. My little sd1100 shoots ok, occasionally shoots a great image, and the video is fun, but I am frequently frustrated with the lack of manual focus, and the grainyness at 100%. Not that little cameras can't take good pictures. Andy shot all these photos (or at least the bugaboos ones) with his little point and shoot: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/921316/TR_Bugaboo_Link_up_and_Squamis#Post921316 My buddy Craig just bought the Canon rebel t2i SLR. It is as light as the old xt, but shoots around 18megs clean with excellent dynamic range, and shoots hd video. That thing is nice!

Dang Austin, you're like a tour guide! Love the pictures. So that's the gal huh...She climbs? You are the lucky fellow. That looks like the adventure of a lifetime.

I told K., the guy who fell, about this thread. I'm guessing K. knows how facts and people get shredded on this board and doesn't want to deal with it yet. He is still on pain meds, has his arm in a massive cast and bandage, rope burns on his legs, looks like he might have had stitches in his forehead. He was in pain, but walking around the edgeworks gym yesterday, getting hugs from all the women. If you have a cam or something to give back to him, pm me with your contact info and I will pass it on to him, or call edgeworksclimbing.com. They can get a message to him. Everyone at the desk knows what happened, and to whom. I'd have to agree with someone earlier in this thread who commented that these two did the best they could at the time, with the skills that they had. She did catch him, maybe not as early as she might have, but we weren't there, and all this talk is just speculation. V. is a nice young lady and doesn't deserve a grand jury inquisition about this. No one died, K. will be fine after his arm heals. I'm sure they will learn from this. As Arno says: place gear like you vote, early and often.

crap. I saw my buddy K. at the gym tonight wearing a cast on his arm. He is the climber who this thread is about. I also know his belayer, she was also at the gym tonight. He said two cams popped, and they were placed correctly with the cam lobes in the middle of their range. The cams were not clipped directly to the rope. He had standard long alpine slings on them. He was trained well by my friend Lisa G. and has been climbing about a year and a half. He went to Yosemite with me and Christine last September. He told my partner Christine tonight that the cam that held him was at his knee when he fell...which sort of points toward the burned hands of his belayer. I told him about this thread, maybe he will come on and give us the first person account. Poor guy, he just got over a broken back from a bicycle accident. He got a lot of hugs tonight.

that was no rumor. I had a $200 petzl rope last 20 days of climbing. True, it was at jtree which is rough, but that thing was a major hairball. REI took it back. They may have fixed the problem as my buddy Craig got the same rope a year later, took the same jtree trip and his rope is fine.

Jeez, you guys shouldn't tempt me like this. You know I have a wild streak. Dropping everything and going to China sounds wonderful. Sadly though, I don't think running away from my problems is the solution. I need to deal with them here. Next summer after Lisa graduates and moves out is a possibility as Sue could join me. I have September off, both kids will be out of the house. Though there is this September...hmmmm. I'll mention this to Craig...he is crazy enough to consider it, but he just finished his aa degree and is starting to make big bucks at the shipyard. By the way, Austin, I deleted my facebook account. It was becoming too much of a distraction and impacting my productivity at work. More pictures?

Top roping is for sissies :-) I can afford the cam...need to buy myself something to make up for all this overtime I've been working. I'm gonna figure that crack out. That baby is goin' down.

gym/sport climbers transitioning to trad are a gold mine for us old has been trad climbers looking for partners. They are so thankful that someone will train them. If you do your job right, their skill will leave you in the dust in a year or two, and it's time to hookup with another one. Saving lives, one life at a time.

thanks for the link Crillz, I watched this video and learned a little that might be usefull. Carnival looks steeper and harder, but it might work. http://www.fishproducts.com/movies/bad_ass_momma.mov You may have to wait for it to load. To lead it I think I'm gonna have to buy one of those valley giant cams.

Sue and I were getting on the Vashon Ferry to come back to Tacoma on our bicycles. She had a cast on her wrist from falling through a window, I had a cast on my foot from falling off the Knobs, 5.9, Peshastin. The ferry worker told us to stop beating each other up, and by the way, did we hear St. Helens blew up? I'd never bothered to climb it, thought it was too easy. I was saving it for when I was old.

That looks awesome! The beauty alone is worth the visit, never mind the climbing. This job has been burning me out lately, I wonder if my wife would approve of a 5 year vacation over there... Just kidding. You guys are lucky to be young and carefree. I am very envious. What are the living conditions? Do you have houses and cars? Are there any other Americans? Can you buy climbing gear? How do you make money?

for sure aiding city park is awesome. I loved that. We used to climb every weekend in my twenties. If it rained, we would aid climb the routes we freed on dry days. You learn gear placements quickly when every piece is weighted. My apologies for my bad memory. Bill, is this where you bought your "valley giant" big cams: http://home.pacbell.net/takasper/slcd/no9cam.html

I've done 50 situps a day for 30 years, but that didn't allow me to not fall out. Have you tried it? My knee bar was only good for balance. The hands were what held me in. That crack is a demon. A rematch is in the offing. I may have to break down and top rope it.

I just did some research and couldn't find the 30% story online. It could be one of those rumors one hears around campfires at Joshua Tree and my twisted "old man mind" extrapolated it into truth. That was why I posted it as a question. 3 years ago I was leading a climb next to Arno Ilgner at Smith. I had placed one cam in twenty feet. It was a good cam. I looked over at Arno and asked him: "I should go for it right? The cam is good, your books says to trust the gear and take the fall?" Arno's response: "No, no! Place gear like you vote, early and often. Especially close to the ground or a ledge."

Wasn't it Metolious who did a study that found that 30% of all perfect looking cam placements would fail? That being said, I never trust just one cam in a fall situation to keep me off a ledge. If that is the case, I will downclimb and back off. No climb is worth a broken body...been there, done that. I've always thought Rogers Corner was too rotten and approached Breakfast of Champions from above. You can rap down from the top of the Lizard. Hope the guy recovers. That is every climbers worst nightmare.

Hey Mike, so, you are doing this with Austin right? When is he going to post some pictures? I'd love to see what you guys are up to over there. Mark