TrogdortheBurninator

Don't worry Foraker, I understood your humor. I would have thought this - "Some people might use it incorrectly though like for helping them summit or getting past that tricky crux.... " - was a give away.

Nice work. Way to protect the identity of the quilty.

If you are checking your bags, gear is fine. I don't know how they are with carry-ons, I can imaginie it being a pain in the ass.

I have tried Dru's approach on some occasions and like it, although I am not as used to it as I am racking gear on the sling. FWIW - I usually rack bigger cams on my harness (#3 BD and larger), draws on my harness, and smaller cams on the sling. I also find that I prefer the way regular gear slings (I have BD) carry vs the metolious loopy slings. To wallstein: while we all aspire to carry less gear, I am not sure that this is the best advice for a new leader. New leaders should be sewing up their climbs and trying to minimize the need for tricky placements because they didn't bring the proper gear.

I had one of the original avalungs and didnt use it much due to convenience. As the design has improved I have become interested in them again. The new ones that are integrated into a BD pack seem like a big step forward in useability. The way I see it, the more ways you can stack the odds in your favor the better. MisterMo, I understand your invincibilty argument, but don't think it is a good mentality. Why is an avalung any more likely to provide this feeling of invincibilty than a beacon, shovel or probe?

That pillar looks sweet. Very nice pics.

Hey Lucky, I climbed a route with your name scratched into the hangers down at riverview park on saturday. Route started steep and ended at a left facing corner/crack. Couldn't find it in the yoder book, but a rock below it had 10C written in chalk. Nice route, good fun. Personally I think the bolted climbs below sunshine and west of sunshine are way more fun than those on sunshine. I always have fun at vantage and the overbolted sport climbs and soft grades are great for getting your early season head going. I also always enjoy the nose up my ass trad climbs, but the pro always sketches me out a little.

Gary=Too Slow

Regarding rope length, that is what I remembered Matt. It seemed pretty logical to belay where you did. fading memory translator PIYP=Party in Your Pants CTT=Crossing the Threshhold TUIB=Tangled up in Blue PK=Pony Keg SG=Steel Grille AG=Air Guitar G&M=George and Martha

That's "patience a virtue is"

Air Guitar was the grade that really grabbed my attention. One grade soft usually seems about right for vantage, but two is getting really soft. I think most of us consider LW/Index grades to be about right, with index being maybe a hair stiffer on average. Comparing Air Guitar to P1 Lizard, P1 Canary, or even Classic Crack, maybe 5.8 isn't too far off. I have only followed Air Guitar, so my analysis could be a bit off. BTW, I think P1 Canary is a little stiff for 5.8, but definitely in line with general Castle grades and not vastly harder than most other LW 5.8s. Can you really top out canary in one pitch from Saber ledge? We did it as three pitches when I climbed it.

Came across this site. What does everybody think about these grades. http://www.fivenineclimber.com/cragging/northwest_cragging/vantage_gradedlist.htm

It was super windy at vantage on saturday night (luckliy we were sleeping in our van and the wind mostly died by morning). It was nice to see a bunch of people out on the rock. We climbed at riverview park/point on saturday afternoon and at sunshine wall on sunday. Pretty casual weekend, but a goodtime nonetheless. Unfortuneately my friend Aaron tweaked his shoulder first climb of the day on sunday. More photo onslaught fun with GIFS

I used to always use orange, but my most recent pair is rose. I tried some o fmy old orange goggles the other day and did not like them as much as the rose. I have never really been in to the whole changing goggles as conditions change thing.

You forgot Beaver Patrol and Muff Diver!

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My wife and I are heading out to Vantage this weekend. Wondering if anybody wants to carpool out there with us. We have a ton of space, and would love to share gas with somebody. We'll probably leave seattle around 8:30AM. You dont have to hang out with us while you're there, but you are welcome to if you'd like. Jason

I sized my demortos 1/2 size up from my mythos. I wear 10.5-11 street shoe, 41.5 Mythos, 42 demortos. They stretched a little, but not much. Basically you can size them to fit I think. Maybe the black color will suck on long summer routes, but I dont think it will be a major problem. In my experience, the hottest part of the shoe is pretty much always the rubber anyway. I suppose Mythos got some bonus cool points for being purple, but now they dont even have that going for them.

Regarding the Evolv Demortos that I posted, they are by far the best shoe I have ever owned. I cant imagine climbing in Mythos again after wearing these. They fit super comfy and climb great. I have used them at vantage, red rocks, leavenworth and the gym and have not been disappointed at all. If you like Mythoses, you should really check these out because you will probably end up buying a pair.

If your uncle Jack was stuck on the roof of his house, would you help your uncle Jack off?

I have driven front wheel drive cars my whole life and have never chained up to go skiing (typically 50-100 days/year in college). I ran studs for a while, then when I got a nicer FWD I bought some of the modern studless tires. IMO FWD with snow tires is about equal to 4WD with all seasons when driving on plowed roads. FWD with snow tires provides better braking. 4WD kills FWD when the snow gets a little deeper.

Easy climbing. Probably because it is easier than hard climbing.

I basically have the whole week off and would like to get out and climb as much as weather allows. I am up for cragging, alpine climbing and skiing. I'd even consider driving in search of ice if you have some recent beta. I have a car and a van as well as most necessary group gear for pretty much anything.