markwebster
-
Posts
603 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by markwebster
-
-
rock gyms are absolutely the best for finger strength. I climbed for 28 years before one came to my town and thought I didn't need one. Now that I frequent one, I'm totally sold. Not only do you get "hands of iron", you also get leading practice, airtime, and meet climbing partners. The people who frequent gyms are very healthy...can you say babes?
the only downside is the cost, but most gyms have a program in place where you can volunteer belay at birthday parties 6 hours a month in exchange for membership. They are always looking for reliable belayers. I go to edgeworksclimbing.com in tacoma.
-
yeah, this thread is off course. But, regarding climbing with your kids, very painful process. You spend their whole life protecting them from danger, then they get interested in mom and dad's sport. I remember my son's first serious lead. He was 20 years old, 15 feet above a leg breaker ledge, struggling to get to the safety of the bolt. If he had fallen and broken his spine, would that make me a good dad or a bad dad? I was agonizing on the ground over my stupidity in letting him ever start climbing.
He chose to lead the climb, I've never pushed him, he actually dropped the sport for 5 years in his teens. They are adults, they can choose what they want to do, just like we do.
He is a great partner, a careful and thoughtful leader, like me. Sadly, I don't see either of them much as they are busy with college.
-
My wife and I, both still climbers, have two kids, 22 and 19 who both climb. Sue and I gave up mountain climbing 5 years before we had kids because of too many close calls. We were slow in the mountains, belaying things that faster climbers would free solo. We would watch them solo by us and wonder if they put less value on life, or were simply that much more sure footed.
We had a few friends die in the mountains, both in the Himalayas and around here. We put that together with our own close calls and decided rock climbing had less variables. You aren't 7 miles from the car, and you are unlikely to get caught in a snowstorm 6000 feet up a mountain in the dark...all of which we survived...barely.
Rockclimbing is still quite dangerous compared to watching tv, but we pick our poisons and I choose not to live without something that makes me happy, knowing full well that it may kill me prematurely some day. But, then, driving cars kills 40,000 people a year and we all still drive.
When I first held Clint in my arms at the hospital, I could have cared less about climbing ever again. But...a few weeks later, I needed my adrenaline fix and found a way to have my cake and eat it too. We brought our 5 week old to the cliff.
Being a good parent is all about being there for them, guiding them along, and making them feel secure. They don't need you there every second, so striking a balance between still having fun, and being there for them seems to be the key.
When I read about all those Himalayan climbers who bite it over there, even knowing the odds ahead of time, and then people talk about what great parents they were....no, they chose to make climbing more important than parenting.
There has to be a balance between having fun and parenting, or your kids well pay the price. For those of you who decide never to have kids, you are missing one of the best parts of life. You can do both, just keep things in balance.
Besides, if you do it right, they make great partners!
-
There are 3 of us so far, we're still looking for a few more to fill up a car and cut the gas costs down. pm me or email through my website contact page:
http://www.websterart.com/html/contact2.php
We the few, the proud, the...dirt bag climbers :-)
-
I've also climbed trigger finger, which dates me pretty badly. There are perfectly safe routes there that are worth a day of climbing.
Westface of grand central tower is very nice with super close bolts, though it is run-out between the second and third...but the rating in the runout is 5.2.
Windward Direct 5.7 is safe all the way up, no run out bolts. Take a couple finger and hand size cams.
Tunnel route is totally safe, and all gear 5.6. Same for the "A crack" 5.7 on the back side of Orchard, nice gear route with a fun alley oop move.
Porpoise (5.6) is save, though a bit sandy at the top, but not a deal breaker.
Potholes (5.7) is a 4 star, two pitch route, very close bolts (used to be aided), clean rock, take a couple cams fingers to hand for the top.
when you are warmed up, washboards is awesome (and safe) and can be toproped from potholes if needed.
Sunset slab is quite runout in places, but if you can handle soloing 5.5, there is some nice climbing.
All this talk about rotten rock is exaggerated. Yes, you may need to brush off a few holds, but big deal. At least whole plates won't come loose like at Vantage.
I've also replaced bolts in the pinacles. The new 3/8's bolts are plenty bomber. The quarter incher's are risky, in that sandstone. I think most of them are gone.
Climbing friction is skill all by itself, and the pinnacles is a great place to learn it. Choose your routes carefully and avoid the run out routes until you are comfortable. Lots of good climbing there.
-
I'm off from december 14 to january 2. I'm toying with a possible trip to Joshua Tree. When I don't work, I don't get paid, so this needs to be a top ramon and tuna kind of trip.
I'd love to find a car full of like minded climbers, and, hopefully, someone who has a station wagon/minivan. I've just got a little pickup. With at least 4 people, gas from Tacoma/Seattle wouldn't be too bad. This is a photo of the wife and I with a buddy in 1985. Sue was pregnant, and that Gremlin was tiny, but man, we had some serious fun: EBGB's, Illusion Dweller, Bearded Cabbage.
Pictures of my summer road trip here:
http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=727882
-
It's a bummer hearing about all these gear thefts. Like someone else said, watch craigs list and ebay as these turkeys have to sell it somewhere.
From the day I got my first apartment, I've always had renters insurance and/or homeowners. It's a pain to pay, but is worth the money.
I take pictures of my rack every year, and keep all receipts to prove it's mine in case of theft. I have my camera equipment and laptop on a special rider on my insurance policy, so it's covered even if I drop it in a lake, replacement value.
One of the reasons I've held onto my 30 year old lowe backpack is that it looks horrible, stained, ripped and patched...surely no worthwhile gear could be in that old beater?
I also usually use a pedal lock on my clutch pedal (similar to the club but better) to make stealing my car less attractive, and make the criminals aware that I'm aware of them and thinking about security.
If I have something valuable in my car, I cover it up with a coat or old blanket to make it look more like a pile of laundry.
Last but not least, I keep a rubber chicken visible in the car as my security system.
I know you're all laughing, but think about it...chickens are used as voodoo appliances in some cultures. They're also fun to have around, kids go crazy over them, especially the screaming yellow chickens at the joke shops. I've had perfect strangers ask to have their pictures taken with the chicken.
I can't see into the minds of criminals, but if there is a chance I can make them pause and wonder about the meaning of that rubber chicken...maybe they'll just move onto the next car.
I don't know if it's just luck, or karma, or the rubber chicken in all three of our cars, but we've never been robbed. The one time my son got busted into at college in Tacoma, he'd left the chicken behind the seat where it couldn't be seen.
I guess a car alarm might be cool too. A guy at work had a car alarm that paged him if it was triggered. Seems like most people ignore them now, I've never had one.
Anyway, sorry to hear about these losses. With all the work we put into buying and caring for our rack and ropes and stuff, to have it ripped off would hurt bad.
-
There are no wide rock climbing shoes, period. You can make your own wide climbing shoes by following these instructions.
Buy the shoe you want, in the brand you want, but buy it long, to get your width, and cut off the heel.
I've been very frustrated finding a rock shoe that fits my super wide 7 EEEEEE foot. Rock Shoe makers have abandoned climbers with wide feet. I went to REI recently to try on climbing shoes, and nothing even came close to fitting my wide foot. On a whim, I started trying longer rock shoes to try to get the width my wide foot needed. I'm a 7, 6E so I tried on a size 9...still too narrow. Finally I tried on a size 15 and the width was perfect, comfortable even. The only trouble was that there was an extra inch of shoe sticking out the back of my heel as shown in this picture. I bought the 5.10 brand because it had the least amount of reinforcing on the heel and looked easier to cut.
I called Dave Page Cobbler in Seattle to ask him if he would like to help me shorten the heel. Dave said that it would be a waste of his time because he'd have to have one of his guys spend half a day on the modifications, and it would only have a 50% chance of working. He basically told me to forget it and recommended mekanboot.com, who I'd already researched and tried unsuccessfully to contact (via email). In fact, 4 different shoe repair shops, cobblers and climbing shoe manufacturers either totally ignored me, or told me it was impossible.
I made some marks on the shoe sole with some white artist pastel chalk (conte crayon) indicating approximately where I thought the heel should start. I very carefully cut down both sides of the back spine of the shoe to the point where I thought the sole should begin to bend upward to form the heel cup. I wrapped (and overlapped) the sides around the back of my heel, then pulled the spine over that to sort of make the back of the shoe "closed". I found that I had to trim down the sides as there was more leather than I needed. I also found that the rubber reinforcing wear panels on the sides of the shoe were too thick, and not needed at all since the spine (the former bottom of the size 15 shoe) was going to cover up the overlapping sides behind my heel.
I tried to sand off the rubber heel side panel strips, but they were bulletproof. I got out a $30 torch from home depot and heated up the unneeded rubber to the point where it started to crackle and smoke (Don't try this indoors!). When the rubber is hot, you can peel it back from the leather like a banana.
This is the shoe after burning and peeling off the uneeded rubber to make stitching easier. I used aluminum foil and thin brass shim material to shield the good rubber as I heated the bad rubber.
I've folded the "wings" under the heel spine, pinched it together and secured the heel for a test wearing, using Gorilla duct tape. It turned out to be too long so I pulled off the tape, which left a messy residue (remove with WD40) and cut everything shorter by a quarter of an inch. Still too short so I cut it all down again by another quarter inch and wore it around the house.
Here I am using my leather punch. The first time I sewed these, I kept the gorilla tape on and punched and sewed at the same time. After I'd finished and realized the shoes were still too long anyway, I got smarter. I cut the stitches out with a sharp razor blade, cut the sole and side shorter again, and carefully marked out new (shorter) hole locations on the wings that matched the existing holes along the heel spine. You can see this in the next photo.
the second shoe...I'm getting more efficient.
Hand sewing the heel together with thick waxed thread from a shoe repair shop
These are the finished shoes. Note the heel on the left has a more aggressive curve inward at the top. Both heel shapes work, but the more relaxed heel on the right shoe allowed my heel to slip upward a tad, so I changed the curve on the second shoe. Because I have those long wings inside, I can always let them out if the heel starts to rub.
For more pictures and details, click the picture below. Modifying these climbing shoes took me two days, and I wanted to have a clear record as I'll have to make another pair in a couple years.
-
My wife and I took the mountaineers basic climbing course in 77. I think the first time we were roped was on a field trip to Spire Rock where I met raindawg, who, if memory serves, ran out of the woods stark naked and soloed the overhang, causing mass hysteria amongst the tightly wound hardies.
First outdoor climb was the south face of the tooth.
First lead climb was with Will Greenough (also a friend of raindawg). At the end of the basic class, we took our metal framed hiking backpacks filled with tents, sleeping bags, stoves, extra clothes and pads up a 3 pitch 5.4 above eight mile campground. We bivied in a spot where the crack opened up into a 6 foot wide gully. I can still remember the campers shining their headlamps up at our headlamps on the cliff and shouting at us while we cooked dinner. We imagined that was how Warren Harding must have felt.
There were no cams back then. The pictures I have from those years show lots of hexes and stoppers. I'm thinking it might be fun to try to lead midway (castle rock) without any cams, just for old times sake.
-
I've been with the same woman since 1976. She started out as my hiking partner, turned into my climbing partner, then the mother of my children, and is still my climbing partner, though not as often as I'd like...the climbing, that is.
Before I met her, it was the sixties and early seventies and for three years while other people were in college, I was living on communes and exploring the multiple partner, free love stuff, woodstock, rainbow family of life, walkabout, hitch hiking the country...etc....massive waste of time.
Looking back on it, I think the mind altering substances (including alcohol) that were common back then played a large part in my experimentation, and that of the women around me. Getting laid was as easy as "Do you want to?", 5 minutes after we met. But always there was the drugs or wine beforehand. I wonder if people who still do that, still do the drugs?
I shudder, thinking back on how stupid I was then at 17. Maybe just a backlash against the church? ...gramps was a missionary. I would not even consider that now. I think it helped to get it out of my system then, sewing my wild oats so to speak.
Bottom line: marry a climber, make sure you both stay fit and attractive, and keep climbing. We made a pre-nuptial agreement in '79: if either one of us got fat, automatic divorce. Sounds harsh, I know, but it keeps us in shape and together.
-
I figured I'd get in trouble for those shorts. I must have slumped on the rock and they rode up. There weren't that short really, just running shorts like Sue's. It is weird how shorts fashions go up and down over the decades.
I am very lucky to have met her. So many people get divorced these days. Even when I might have thought about bailing, I still needed a partner that weekend...and here we are, still together. She's also a great mom, pictures of Sue and our kids here:
http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=722055
and here's a picture of me 3 years ago on r&d
-
Chris (crillz) and I hooked up again via cc.com and came over for the festivities. We stopped at index on the way over saturday am and did princely ambitions. I backed off at the crux and Chris finished it out very cleanly.
Next we let a variation on Lizard, finishing on the beautiful 5.6 hand crack up to the 5 bolt station. While I was getting ready to belay there, a woman began top roping the 5.6 crack. She was very photogenic and I snapped these photos of her. Her belayer was amused and commented: "Those will end up on cascadeclimbers.com, right?". I replied that they might actually, surprised that he'd heard about cc.com. As we went through the weekend, it seemed that everyone was talking about cc.com.
Her partner commented that he'd been out of climbing for a couple decades. I asked him what he'd been doing instead. He said one of his diversions was singing opera. I asked him if he'd sing a few bars, and damned if he didn't...the dude was awesome. Who would have thought I'd ever hear opera sung, 2 pitches up on a granite cliff? Climbers are cool!
We stopped in at the eight mile group site and watched a couple slide shows, but didn't get to socialize as we were tired and headed off to the secret free spot to crash.
The next morning we hiked up to Poison Ivy crack, which turned out to be much shorter than I'd imagined, though it's a great spot for taking pictures of your follower. That exit move is easier than I thought, next time perhaps I can do it without hanging, and falling, and sewing in so much gear.
Does anyone know who owns that bizarre hippie kind of house below Poison Ivy? The house looks kind of like something you'd expect to see on a commune back in the sixties: built into the boulders with very little woodwork.
We headed over to castle after that and did south face of jello combined with midway direct. Midway direct is a very cool climb as it's only 5.6, but has some vertical sections that look scary, but turn out to have monster jugs you can't see until you commit. Much cleaner rock than the standard second pitch of Midway.
thanks again to cascadeclimbers for giving us a place to meet!
-
All summer I've been scratching for partners, and last weekend was no exception. My wife has been down with various minor injuries since the spring, but last weekend she was back in shape and we went to Leavenworth together. After climbing with a variety of partners all summer it was strange climbing with my old, best partner after so long.
There are some distinct advantages to climbing with ones wife instead of just another buddy. It reminds me of an old song from the early eighties called the Pina Colada song. I've shortened it down a bit for brevity:
"I was tired of my lady
We'd been together too long
Like a worn-out recording
Of a favorite song
So while she lay there sleeping
I read the paper in bed
And in the personal columns
There was this letter I read
Yes I like Pina Coladas
And getting caught in the rain
I'm not much into health food
I am into champagne
I've got to meet you by tomorrow noon
And cut through all this red-tape
At a bar called O'Malley's
Where we'll plan our escape.
So I waited with high hopes
And she walked in the place
I knew her smile in an instant
I knew the curve of her face
It was my own lovely lady
And she said, "Oh it's you."
Then we laughed for a moment
And I said, "I never knew."
That you like Pina Coladas
Getting caught in the rain
And the feel of the ocean
And the taste of champagne
If you'd like making love at midnight
In the dunes of the Cape
You're the lady I've looked for
Come with me and escape
this is Sue and I in Yosemite in 1983:
-
does anyone know anything about this company:
He makes custom fitted rock shoes. I have a bizarre foot that is size eight, with a width of five E's, as in 8 EEEEE.
I hesitate to blow the couple hundred dollars, but I'm tired of buying new shoes that don't fit and having them blow out in 2 months from my wide feet.
my old fierys used to fit ok, and were wide enuf, but they will not accept any more rebuilds.
-
Trip: 11 days in Squamish, Tieton and Smith - road trip
Date: 9/23/2007
Trip Report:
so there I was, fresh from 9 days in Yosemite and stuck back in the house without a partner. I figured there must be someone out there who was a student or teacher and had September off, but I was having a heck of a time finding them. I even invited the clerk at Rei to quit her job...sheesh, everyone is so responsible these days.
I was about ready to hire the guy on the freeway with the work wanted sign, until I thought of Cascade Climbers dot com. Two days after I posted my note I had a bite and arranged to meet my new best friend on the way to Squamish for 11 days of fun in the sun.
It's always kind of scary going on trips with people you've never met before. I've had some "interesting" people show up for blind dates to go climbing. This time I got lucky. When I saw Chris walking off the ferry I could tell immediately he'd be a great partner. He was in shape, and he had new ropes, what more could I ask?
We arrived at Little Smoke Bluffs in Squamish after lunch and started warming up on the easy routes, doing about 5 routes a day until we woke up to rain on the third day. Squamish is much more casual than Yosemite as the Smoke Bluffs are arranged in terraces of about 80 feet high. You can walk off many climbs, and most of them also have stainless steel rap bolts.
It's become much more developed since I was last there 13 years ago. The housing boom is in full swing, and the town has built trails with signposts and fancy stairs that make finding the cliffs very easy. Before the rain started I was once again falling in love with squamish. This is a beautiful 5.8 finger crack just right of Pixie Corner.
this is the neat and cool area where there is one 5.6, three 5.7s and a 5.8, plus some harder routes. You can walk along the top and top rope everything, though the routes are perfectly safe to lead with awesome pro using the standard rack of nuts and friends.
this is Chris following a very clean 5.8 called Quarryman. It is a one minute walk left from Penny Lane.
We drove into the starbucks in town to commiserate with all the other wet climbers in the morning. It was funny seeing soaking wet climbers walk in to the ritzy coffee shop carrying their muddy rock packs.
We drove down to Tieton and spent two great days working our way through moderates at royal columns. We were the only climbers
on the cliff both days. After about 10 routes we were running out of the heavily traveled routes and I led a 5.7 right of the 5.9
moondancer climb. At the top, there were 3 blocks the size of redneck beer coolers. They were hanging out in space, and blocking my way to the rap station. They appeared to be on route, and there was really no way around them other than much harder face
climbing on the right. If I pulled them off, they would have killed us both. I got though it but we left the next day for Smith, arriving there on the Wednesday before the big smith rendezvous. This is Chris at Tieton.
Once again, we began working our way through the moderates, bolts and cracks. This is Chris on cinnamon toast, an exposed 5.9 bolt route above Karate Crack. Note the climbers far below on the trail. I must have gone up and down that crux move about 5 times
before getting up the nerve for the simple 5.9 mantle. Someday I'll do it without resting on the bolt. The awesome exposure seems to make me stupid.
This is Chris on Lions Jaw 5.8. The two girls below were waiting their turn, and yes, they did lead it more gracefully.
the next three pictures are Arno Ilgner getting air on the hard roof route to the right of bunny face. He's a great guy. He was giving a lesson to a couple ladies on Bunny while Chris and I led the two cracks left of bunny face. He gave me a bunch of free advice after I kidded him about some stuff I'd read in his book. When I commented that I was trying to not sew up my routes quite as much, he suggested protecting like I voted: early and often. He had a great sense of humor.
The last picture is Chris and I after leading Karate Crack. 11 days of dirtbag living, ya gotta love it! Thanks to cascadeclimbers for giving me a place to find another great partner.
-
I just returned from Yosemite yosemite trip report and I didn't get enough. My wife and kids all had to go back to work, but I'm off still from 9-12 to 9-23. Anyone want to spend a week in Squamish? It looks sunny up there for seven days. If you twisted my arm, I might even consider Yosemite again or lovers leap. I prefer short approaches, and like sevens to nines with an occasional 10.
Old guys are ok, hell, I'm 53, but I'm in good shape, like to climb all day, every day.
Prefer someone who doesn't drink and drive, nutin' wrong with a brew in the evening though
Also like to find someone who lives near Puget Sound for the gas sharing.
PM me, or email through my website:
http://www.websterart.com/html/contact2.php
road trip!
-
Trip: yosemite - family climbing on moderates - pictures
Date: 9/8/2007
Trip Report:
My wife and I and our two kids (20 and 23) just got back from Yosemite yesterday. I was the only leader this time, and my wife had a sore back, so the kids took turns following, keeping me busy every day.
We worked our way through a bunch of sixes through nines, trying to stay in the shade as it was 100 degrees or higher most days.
The first day we did the three pitch Grack (5.6 on the apron). It goes into the shade around 3 ish and looked doable with a party of three. It has a very clean splitter hand and finger crack that is clearly visible from the trail along the left side of the Apron.
At the top of the second pitch, I had to belay in a painful toe jam crack using 4 stoppers, none of which was over one quarter of an inch thick. That wasn't a lot of pro for 3 people, especially when they're your kids.
Looking up, all I could see from below was a very thin seam that had tufts of grass growing sporadically out of the apparently blank slab. It looked about 10c, and made me wonder if we were on the wrong route. Once I got up on it though I found it to be beautiful finger locks with great pro.
This is Lisa, following the third and last pitch in the twilight. She was a little nervous about the approaching darkness.
I'd had the foresight to bring two headlamps and we needed them to find the anchors on the pitch dark slab, two sixty meter raps, and a ninety foot rap. It's an ocean of stone up there, and those anchor stations are so small. Watching my son rap down with a headlamp was bizarre. He was a moving cone of light on a black wall against the stars. Note to self: walk back to Monday Morning Slab to exit the Grack area. Do not try to hike straight down! We got lost in the marsh of Happy Isles in muck up to our knees.
We did a few short one pitch climbs at Church Bowl and Maneur pile, but it was really too hot unless you got there in the afternoon. I scored some nice booty on After Seven. Someone had left 2 nice stoppers and a .5 camalot. They weren't even stuck, just sitting there in the crack without biniers. We found a cam last year as well.
Back in the day, Sue and I had never checked out Glacier Point so we drove up there one night. It's tourist city but worth the trouble. You look straight down on the Apron and across at Half Dome, really a breath taking spot. This is Sue, Lisa and Half Dome.
Tuesday we drove up to Tuolumne to escape the heat and climbed Hermaphrodite Flake 5.4 at Polly Dome. I'd wanted to do the great white book, but the 100 foot runnout on the 5th pitch sounded like bad news. We saw a guy free solo all 5 pitches in 20 minutes, car to car.
Clint and I did Munginella 5.6 in 2 long pitches. We'd backed off the last pitch in the dark last year so it was nice to finish it out. Because the five open books area faces East, the dihedrals provide nice shade earlier than other areas.
The next day, Thursday, Clint and I climbed all three pitches of Commitment 5.9, five open books area. I had to hang once at the lip of the big roof. There is a killer jug there on the left wall past the lip that I remembered in a kind of deja vu moment. It'd been 25 years, but my body still knew where that jug was. Without that hold, it'd be a tough nine. This is Clint following the beautiful 5.7 second pitch layback.
Clint approaching the belay below the crux roof pitch.
Friday afternoon I led Grant's crack and Lena's Layback (both 5.9's) on the camp 4 wall. I had to hang once on each of them...maybe it was the heat, or my slowly improving technique. Lena's takes pro really nicely.
Saturday Clint and I led Harry Daley, a gorgeous 5.8 finger fest that climbs 2 pitches of pin scars up the middle of Monday Morning Slab. It has a scary section where you are climbing up a nice crack, with lots of pro, but then the crack turns left and runs horizontal, and the seam bottoms out. You have to traverse with your fingers in shallow flaring seam, and your feet on very steep friction. I got scared there, not believing my shoes would stick...but they did, and I was able to place a couple cams as I traversed. The next pitch has a very pretty two foot roof that's dead easy and then more thin pin scars to the top. The pro is bomber all the way up, truly an amazing route.
Rapping down the last pitch a tree decided it was time to die and came tumbling down the cliff out of the blue. Clint had to run sideways on rappel to dodge it but our ropes weren't so lucky. The tree exploded on the third class walk off ledge and cut both our ropes, right through the sheath to the exposed core.
this is Clint following Harry Daley.
Despite the heat, I'd go back there in a second. There are so many routes we didn't get to do and I was just getting warmed up to the good stuff. Regarding camping, we made reservations in upper pines back in May. It's totally worth it as compared to the party atmosphere in camp 4. The rangers actually enforce the 10 pm quiet hour in the campgrounds.
Gear Notes:
I had my standard mix of hexes, stoppers and cams. The guidebooks tell you what you need. I usually carry stuff to fit up to 3 inches, though Harry Daley and the Grack are mostly no larger than 2 inches.
-
Do any of you remember Larry Kemp? He was a regular at Index back in the eighties. His pictures still grace the pages of many current climbing guides, though I heard he died bicycling in Europe
Our wives were climbing partners, and occasionally I'd be Larry's belay slave. We went ice climbing at Banks lake in 85. It was a cave, might have been called churchbowl. The roof was about 200 feet high, and there were stalactites hanging up there the size of small winebagos.
On the floor of the cave was some nice moderate ice, leaning over about 70 degrees, easy to lead. We'd heard some smaller ice falling, but figured the stuff above us was too big to fall. I was 20 feet up and thinking about placing my first screw when I heard a crack above me.
I looked up and saw that the Winnebago sized stalactite, directly above, had just detached and was falling towards me. Larry and I both jumped off together. We landed in soft powder and started a small avalanche, rolling down the slope.
the Winnebago of ice landed exactly where I had been perched on the ice, and exploded like a bomb. My wife (pregnant with our son) was x-c skiing below and thought for certain she was a widow.
On the drive home, we spotted a nice 60 foot frozen waterfall. For an anchor, Larry pounded in a 12 inch length of aluminum conduit tubing. After he rapped down, it had pulled almost completely out of the vertical hole, and was leaning horizontally downward. I asked him what to do, he said to pound it back in. I backed it up with a sling around a blackberry bush.
I gave up ice climbing after that day, deciding the learning curve was too steep. Can you say warming temperatures? We've lost touch with his ex-wife Sue...anyone heard from her?
-
thanks for the tips. I've been to Tuolumne (1980) and while it was cooler, the runnouts were not pretty. Regarding the cell phones, I have a 60 percent hearing loss on my left side, and hearing my partner on a long windy pitch can be challenging. I could carry radios, but our cell phones are smaller than my radios. I don't like carrying either, and usually don't, but I'll have my digital slr camera bag with me anyway...
I totally agree in general about too much cell use. It's amazing how many young people can't even imagine life without a cell phone, it'd be like not having air to breath. I talk about 40 minutes a month...
once I get down there I'll probably say to hell with the phones. I love the dirtbag life, just me and the rock
-
anyone know of some shady, short approach moderates in yosemite? Also, is there cell coverage for cingular/att? I know verizon works already.
It's supposed to be 100 there now. I'd like to do some sixes through nines, 10a. Manure pile buttress was a cooker last year so nutcracker could be too hot.
I'm thinking about the apron since it can be shady, and has some nice moderate trad lines (the grack, harry daley), but that rockfall in 99 has me spooked. Do people still climb there?
-
I married a climber, then, together we raised a couple climbers who are now 20 and 23. They grew up around it, and I assumed they'd love it from day one, but I was wrong.
There were no gyms in our town back then, so we always asked if they wanted a top rope wherever we were climbing outdoors. We were careful to never push them as some parents do. Don't assume you are raising a climber, let them make all the calls.
Until my son was 10, he never went higher than 20 feet. Seemed to have a built in height limit. Even then he was very tentative and nervous about heights.
Soon he discovered something scary he could do better than dad (bmx jumping) and that was it for climbing for about 5 years. Around 19, he suddenly got over his fear, and took an active interest in the sport. My daughter slowly and steadily grew into it, but doesn't lead.
A year ago, I was belaying him up one of his first leads. He was in a ledge fall situation, far above a bolt, on a route he had picked out. You spend all those years holding their hands, keeping them safe from danger, and then they take up climbing...I remember agonizing over the guilt as he worked through the moves. If he takes that ledge fall, and ends up in the hospital, does that make me a good dad, or a bad dad?
I feel really fortunate that the whole family climbs. We'll all be vacationing in the valley this year, together. Patience, over the long term seems to be the key.
-
I'm 53, and have been wondering lately if my best days of climbing are behind me. I seem to have some really bad habits of sewing stuff up, and living by the mantra of: "the leader must not fall".
I recently began reading "the rock warriors way" by Arno Ilgner and it seems to be having a positive impact on my climbing. Here is a short tale about climbing yesterday with my buddy Nick at Tieton.
Nick only had one day available, so we drove down Friday night over Chinook pass, which was entirely bare of snow. Windy Point campground still does not have water, but we were in and out so fast it didn't matter.
We started on the easy 5.4 routes just around the corner from Cutting Edge. Nick led the one to the right of the route with the ledge, and I led Good Timer 5.4 three pillars to the left. It has a steep section just below a yellow roof that is surprisingly hard for a 5.4. This time I stayed in good control and didn't get stuck under the roof. I stayed to the left, carefully planning my protection and body movements so I was always within reach of a bomber jam.
Next, Nick led Level Head-5.6 in the pillar just to the left. It has a cool layback on the left side and he did great, staying in good control. Nick (24) is a 5.11b bolt climber, but new to trad. His hex placements are getting very good, though he is still short slinging a few friends/cams, which usually go bad. I was feeling confident after following that and jumped on Mush Maker-5.7, a climb that spanked me when I last climbed it eight weeks ago.
After my recent spanking on Godzilla (5.9 index), I was fully prepared for more abuse on Mush Maker, though there have been indications I'm improving. On Wednesday at the gym, I took two long test leader falls in a row before I began leading, and the confidence those falls inspired was amazing. Climbing up the first 50 feet of Mush Maker, I tried to remember all the tips I've been learning in my new book: "The Rock Warriors Way".
When I came to a long section of steep hand jam climbing, I placed a good hex, and just kept going. I saw some nice placements as I climbed, but remembered how Arno says extra gear can be a "power sink", and simply kept climbing. Finally the jams thinned out a bit and I realized I was looking at a 25 footer if I came off. Right in the middle of a hard move, 12 feet above your last piece is not the best place to be testing out new attitudes toward climbing, but I forced myself to stay calm and poised and carefully placed Nicks blue camalot.
When I got to the crux, I was surprised to find myself flowing smoothly through the hand jam sequence. I'd reach up, sink a locker hand jam, step high for a sweet toe jam and stand up, sinking the next hand jam as soon as I could reach it. There was a rhythm to my movements, and I felt like I was 'in the groove'. I got just a little bit tentative when the crack leaned back to vertical, as I was beginning to loose power. Still, I forced myself not to overgrip and placed two quick friends about four feet apart, then went for the crux. The jams never stop being sinker, and as long as you don't overgrip, the sequence is quite do-able.
I pulled over the top in a great mood and let out a whoop of delight and my standard: "Yeah, baby!" All the hard work this season of carefully building my skills is finally paying off. We were both basking in the afterglow of a great day of climbing as we started the three hour drive home.
I think this Arno guy is onto something.
-
if you continue up past Bridge Creek campground on the main road about 10 minutes, there is a large pullout on the left big enough to hold 6 or more tractor trailer rigs. It has a sign that says, 'RV overflow camping only'. There is always room there, though it's gravel and hard to pound in tent stakes. It's usually quiet as fires aren't allowed and the beer busts usually happen in the campgrounds. I wouldn't leave a tent up there, but it's great for crashing after a long drive.
-
I had my rock shoes resoled at Dave Page. He did a good job, and got them back to me within a week via surface mail. I'd asked him to take a look at the rand, which was separating a little, but I guess he thought it was ok. As soon as I started wearing them again the rand separated off almost down to the sole. I don't have time now to send them back, so I'm wondering, has anyone ever tried to glue a rand down successfully? What was the process, and what glue did you use?
I used to have some vinyl car seat repair glue that might have worked for this job. It dried flexible, looked like molten asphalt in the can.
These are some vintage Fierys. I've had a couple pairs of newer shoes, but they don't fit my size 8,5E wide foot as well as the old Fierys. One pair even split down the middle of the sole. Plus, the Fierys match my antique rack better...gotta keep the retro man image going.
School me on soloing Rainier.........
in Climber's Board
Posted
I did Gib ledge route on January 5, 1982-ish. We didn't experience any rock fall, though a few stones were visible in the fresh snow. We left muir around 2AM. Crossing the ledges under Gibraltar was very scary. We found nothing to anchor to, other than a snow fluke, and the ledges were full of deep snow, with long deadly drop offs if an immediate arrest didn't work. Typical no fall zone.
The ice chute/couloir at the end of the ledges leading to the summit was easy front pointing and french technique, we didn't have ice hammers, just our ice axes. I doubt if you could self arrest there as it's too steep. The dropoff there goes all the way down to the glacier below, several thousand feet of steep, icy couloir, very exposed. We had a couple screws, but didn't place them, trying to move fast.
we left an emergency tent at the top of Gib, and left wands as we hiked up the gentle slopes from the top of gib to the summit. All the crevasses were heavily snowed in. We ran out of wands.
On the summit, we saw clouds moving up from muir and ran down the slopes until we hit the last wand, or would have been unable to find gib in the whiteout... we had map, compass and altimeter, but whiteouts really suck up high.
Going down the chute beside gib was scary, but secure french technique. Someone got dizzy and slipped, but he'd asked for a boot axe belay in the hard snow/soft ice, and we caught him after a 60 foot slider. Wished we'd placed the screws for a running belay, but the other team had them.
I have no idea if the conditions are remotely similar after all these years. That climb sticks in my mind as we were pushing our limits, and came very close to taking the big ride when our partner fell.
I think I remember hearing that we were the only party to make it up that winter, but I could have that wrong. It was a mountaineer led party. Rick Powell was the leader, he died a couple years ago from Alzheimers.
That was one of the epics that led to my choosing rock climbing as the safer sport.