Pandora

Yeah buddy!!

Glad someone caught that... ;-) I thought the same thing, but it seemed like that was only happening in the Paradise parking lot.

I saw him too, a little closer to Pebble Creek (7200 feet). When I saw him the kite was in the air; I watched for a couple minutes but he didn't really go anywhere. It didn't look like very much fun!

Sounds good to me!

lol, I don't recall that but there may have been heavy drinking involved!

Straight-shafted tools, great for plunging on alpine routes. The rubber handles were pretty roughed up so I taped 'em. Picks are in good shape. Paypal only please; $75 shipped for the pair.

Trip: Psycho Tower, SW Colorado - Psycho-Path, 5.9+ Date: 3/15/2011 Trip Report: My friend Tad had been talking about Psycho Tower most of the winter, ever since seeing it featured in Climbing Magazine. After he excitedly read aloud the description, I had to admit it sounded pretty cool, but it was too far out of the way to bother with, I negatively concluded. Last week a split-second change in plans had us staring up at this crazy-looking tower. After six days in Indian Creek I was pretty bored of endless gorgeous splitters and wanted to clip some bolts while traversing crumbling sandstone above huge air (?). At any rate, it was on the way home. An easy scramble (or 5.11- bolted variation) will put you at the the start of three short pitches that wrap around the tower to the summit. I was most apprehensive about the crux third pitch, which some of our beta described as "likely 5.10 if you're shorter than 5'10". That is true, I found. The highlight of the route is definitely the second pitch, which traverses the lip of a giant roof on tiny edges for feet, nothing but air below! Eyeing the tower on the approach Tad following pitch 1 Tad on top! Looking down on the Dolores River from the summit Flaking the rope so we can toprope the 11- variation (which was fun!) One last look Gear Notes: A single set of cams is plenty; I also carried ~10 draws to both extend those placements and clip the bolts. We used a 70 m rope which got us back to the notch in one rappel. Approach Notes: Make sure to park at the BLM lot about 1/2 mile past the tower itself and walk back along the road to find the trail.

You do love driving insane distances for a little climbing! Next time make sure to get over to Silverton and climb Stairway to Heaven. Also send me a message if you come back to CO; it would be fun to grab a beer at the brewery.

I've got setups similar to Maine-iac's: everyday/ski mountaineering setup is 99 underfoot with Dynafits. I also have a pair of Hellbents, with Fritschis, that I toured on exclusively last winter. But I'm in Colorado, and here you need all the float you can get to stay off the rocks that lurk just under the surface all season long. God I miss Washington.

Right on, Dan - I was wondering how your climb went. Thanks again for the ride, you saved the day for us. Come to Seattle so we can buy you a pitcher (or two)!

I think those who were at the show last night know that any debate has been settled.

Yeah, that campground blows. Total ripoff; you're much better off putting that cash toward a hotel room. The climbing is great; have fun!

Colin Haley: winner of the Hottest Alpinist from Mercer Island award

Yup, Wayne's a stud.

I can tell you it ain't great for surfing

New (never worn) without tags 800 fill down sweater vest in red, size M. After trying this on and falling in love with it, I realized it was the wrong size. Now I need to sell this one because I went out and bought the correct size, and it is hands down my favorite layering piece for everything from skiing to walking around town. Perfect for the sexy lady in your life whether she climbs or not. $110 Full specs here

"April 2rd"? Is it April 2nd or 3rd?

I'll take it

Was there yesterday (Friday, 10/10) to shred the freshies on the snowfield. It's looking much better with a new coat of snow: the crevasses were filled in (or at least covered over), and we never saw evidence of them or punched through. The snow was quite deep in spots; I would definitely recommend bringing flotation. I've experienced t-shirt weather up there in October, but it was FRIGID this time around.

I've heard rumors of another one going down this Tuesday, Aug. 5...

WTF

Totally. I was really looking forward to working on my glacier glasses tan this weekend. Who wants to ski in rain with no visibility? Even getting drunk just sounds depressing at this point.

It's still ski season. But I understand some people have this thing about rock climbing in the sun...perhaps you could use some of this gear. Mammut Dyneema 8mm slings, 60 cm long, brand new unopened 5 pack - $30 BD Momentum AL harness in slate, size small Very light use; looks brand new - $25 5.10 Southwest Anasazi velcro shoes, US 8 (UK 7) Shortened the extra long velcro straps; very good condition - $20 Boreal Stingray laceups, US 8 (UK 7) Older shoe but little use; very good condition - $20 Trango Flex Cam, #4 (green), similar in size to BD .5 Minor scuffs from racking but never placed/dropped/fallen on - $20 Photos will be posted. Buyer pays shipping or meets in Seattle.

Copied from http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/recreation/current-conditions/mta-climbing-report.shtml April 28 ROAD CONDITIONS Roads to the major trailheads are not plowed; they are snow covered and have downed trees. To just reach the South Climb Trailhead requires 11 miles of hiking, skiing, or snowmobiling over snow covered road. Road 80 has snow just beyond the intersection of Road 82. Please do not block access to private driveways. Road 82 is open to SnowKing Sno-Park. Sno-Park permits are NOT required at this time for vehicles parked at either Pineside or SnowKing Sno-Parks. Roads to the South Climb Trailhead begin melting out rapidly in May. However, it typically takes to late June before you can drive all the way to the trailhead. This year it might by July. Road 23 between Randle and Trout Lake is snow covered and impassible. There is a complete washout of the road just south of Baby Shoe Pass. This washout is scheduled for repair in August 2008. For the latest information on conditions please call the Mt. Adams Ranger Station at 509-395-3402.

There's not much to say about the downclimb, really. It was certainly less dramatic than Amar's steam cave bivy! Dropping straight off Point Success was the most direct descent, and I wasn't going to ski when I could barely see my boots. The snow was either soft, wet crap (perfect for balling up in crampons) or hard ice, so I switched between booting and cramponing several times. I failed to traverse enough (or at all) to rejoin our line of ascent. Though I wasn't sure where I was, I knew I'd recognize my location eventually if I kept going. Finally I could see the Kautz Headwall on my right, which meant I was following the rocky rib that divides the headwall from the Kautz Glacier. Several hundred feet later, I began descending out of the cloud. It sure was nice to have some visibility, though I still had a lot of crust to ski before reaching Paradise around sunset. The situation could have been bad if the weather had truly gone to shit, but as it was, the whole thing was not an ordeal in the least (for me).