KaskadskyjKozak

Does this mean we have permission to stare at your chest?

Any time you ride as a passenger in a car on the freeway, in an airplane, or in a boat a mile from shore. good point!

well, I'm hoping he posts some TR's with awesome photos. the lucky bastard...

I love cooking; I hate cleaning up afterwards.

I think he said he was going to Alaska.

I think that's the chancre sore you got from Trash.

Hey Mattp: told you!

Rules are really guidelines and should never be followed 100%. Your brain is your best tool.

I think we are in agreement! Regarding the latter I think it is a good argument for being "promiscuous" in your peer-level climbing partners so you don't get stuck in a rut. I always ask my partners to point out any issues with my pro placements or anchors and offer feedback. This can be most useful when it's a new climbing partner.

linky I was swarmed by yellowjackets on the approach to Snow King a few years ago... not fun.

And why the hell would you need aftershave? Last time I saw you you were as fuzzy as an Ewok... TMI sickie

Without reading or having someone who knew about it first show them. Preferable the latter or both. Fuck, I'd like to learn to SCUBA dive/hang-glide/white-river kayak, etc - any other newbies out there like to go out with me? No need to read about it or have someone who has some experience show us what to do - let's just try it out!

You're swinging the pendulum way to far there, Matt, and making huge assumptions about what I supposedly believe or am stating. Just how long does it take to "learn" to rappel correctly? If you don't "read" up on it, well, shit, I'd say one day with a more experienced person - more experienced, not *expert*. Not too tough. How many falls does it take to fucking die? One? That's a stupid way to learn, IMO. Sorry.

OK, so you really are superior. Congratulations. Don't you still have some responsibility to try, in some small ways, to help keep other people from being killed by their stupidity regardless of what their learning may or may not have been? Or, better yet, volunteer to mentor/teach newbies so they won't make these mistakes. I guess you could just do nothing and whine on the internet... Bullshit dude. First of all I do help newbies - read my recent R&D trip report, and secondly I am not expressing "superiority". I simply can not fathom how somebody would go out climbing and try to, say, rappel without reading and practicing how to do it first.

There is no reason to make some of these stupid mistakes! just a little reading and getting out with someone who is competent is all you need. I know there are gray areas, but some of the stuff cited above is so egregious I can't buy into the idea that it's part of "normal" learning.

On that route I would tend to agree. But shit can always happen (eg rockfall esp. party-induced).

Yes, Tieton is vertical. Some of the easiest routes there seem harder because of that (or because they really are sandbagged, but I'm not going to get into that argument). And yes, crack climbing is fun.

The recurring cluckers thread is more annoying than Kevboner.

All I was hoping to accomplish with my post was to help Stewster avoid just this. ^^ Well, my friend - also a newb at the time - led one of the routes on the left of Western Front with a smaller crack and almost took a leader fall. The slightly harder grade was a little too much. That put me off from trying the harder lead. My advice for any new leader in a new place is to go with someone who's been there before (or get their advice) and make sure you have enough pro of the right sizes to do the wider cracks (easier routes). If you have a mentor (or a rich friend who's starting out) you can borrow the pieces you don't have. :-) Personally, I found Tieton scary as a new leader a couple of years ago. I'd recommend other places first, but that's me.

Precisely, which is why I said this: ??? But I know what you are saying - there are some places on those routes where the crack is wide, and if you don't have a big piece at a key spot, you may be SOL. But, there's only a couple of spots like that. It's not like you have to have a rack with a buttload of large cams, hexes, and big bros. The first time I led Western Front I didn't have any big pieces and nobody warned me. About 20 feet up I placed a hex as psych-pro and moved up, only to hear it rattle down as I passed it. At that point I would probably have hit the deck if I fell. I moved up a couple of moves to where the crack was smaller and placed a piece.

Be aware that the lower grades at Royal Columns will lend themselves to less protection opportunities. This is because the cracks are rather wide in the 5.3/5.4 range, although the climbing is super easy and straightforward. Pay attention that the injury potential on these lesser-graded climbs is generally greater than the harder routes. Take Apprentice (5.3), for example, as someone mentioned. More that a few budding trad leaders have had their ankles/knees/elbows/legs/arms meet an untimely end on that climb. Most climbs in this range are off-widths at RC. You'll have to reach in deep to get pro, holds, etc. Moving into the 5.5/5.6 range offers better protection scenarios, as the cracks are narrowing up a bit more (hand and fist jams, foot jams). By the time you're in the 5.7 to 5.8 climbs, you're doing finger and toe jams. Although we're talking about RC right now, do not miss the opportunity to get on Ed's Jam at The Bend, just upriver. There is no finer a 5.8 crack in the entire state as easily protectable as EJ, IMHO. By 5.9/5.10, finger locks and smears and edging become de rigeur. By 5.11, it's tough crimping and deft edging almost exclusively. But then, I've only done a couple of 11's at RC, and that was a hella while back. Regarding the notion that RC is a sandbag haven, I say Pfffft! It's as fairly graded as any classic destination climbing area. Everything I've climbed there over the past 20-odd years is spot-on for the grade. Ya, I know, this argument has been had on this board a bazillion times before, and I'm not gonna engage anyone in it again. However, I strongly feel that the route pioneers at RC did an excellent job of selecting the ratings. They fit nicely with what I grew up climbing. Now if they could just get rid of the rattlers... it's been a awhile since I was there, but I believe Western Front (5.3) has mostly good protection with pro in the normal size range - you just need a couple bigger pieces to cover those spots where you need it (say #10-11 hexes and maybe a #3 and #4 C4)

Kevboner has that effect on people

sweet. stay away? if the weather is good, I'm going

just as long as it isn't "organized" climbing

I was up at Muir 3 weeks or so ago and they were still locking the gate. Has anyone been up there in the last week or so? I'm hoping it stays unlocked soon?