selkirk

#7 Wild Country hex. Very confidence inspiring! Bottom 2 DMM Alloy Offsets / Top 2 DMM or HB Brass offsets, great for when nothing else wants to go in!

Also IMHO, don't forget that at Tieton the climbs tend to be stiff for the grade. It seems like the even out with other local areas around low to mid 10's. The only other place that might have comparable ratings in the lower grades is Index. And... what they said Mileage, and focus on dealing with the fear. For me I used to spend a lot of time analyzing the fear I was feeling and trying to seperate out the "good" fear that's keeping me from doing stupid dangerous things like running it out on bad gear, from the "bad" fear that's holding me back for no good reason. Good luck

I thought it was pretty true to the grade. The 4th pitch (10b I think) I found to be a little insecure on the grooves though.

Liebacking is way too much work unless it's necessary if there are other options!

Libra: Stem high, then stem higher, use the boulder to the right. That damn thing pitched me off the first time I tried it, and I was leading 11's elsewhere so don't feel to bad The key ended up being getting gear high and not getting into the handcrack until I absolutely had to (which is the opposite of what I normally do). Then there were only 1 or 2 marginal jams before the good hands section BoC: Was quite a bit less technical than Libra. It's just not one you can hang out on. The gear is good so the key is climb fast, and place only the gear that you need for safety (I like it about a body length or so apart) so you're not hanging out. 10a at Index is a great undertaking! ooh, and don't forget Princely! Truly classic and one of my favorite Index pitches!

If it's just a squeek I wouldn't worry about it. That said I've had good luck with the following process for cleaning / lubricating cams: 1. Take a small pot of boiling water with a touch of dish soap in it. Immerse just the cam head into it and retract / extend the cam a bunch of times, take it out and scrub it a bit with a tootbrush, and repeat until you're happy the action is good and it's clean. 2. Lubricate lightly with a Bicycle chain type lubricant (I think I used White Lightning?), though graphite powder would probably be great too. I've heard that WD-40 or other similar lubricant can actually collect/attract extra dirt, and I don't think i'd want them on the slings. White Lightening is wax based I think? YMMV

Mark, Any chance the little TCU your'e talking about could be hit with a moderate factor fall? I'm always wary of little cams for the first or second piece without much rope in play to reduce the forces. If the small cam is good, then what RUMR said... if not sounds like a single bolt might be order. IMHO not the I climb 5.12 trad

what he said

Mileage and variation! Easy Seattle Access - E32, Repo 1 / Repo 2 5.7 to 5.10 - Tieton / Leavenworth 5.9 to 5.10 - Index / Tieton I love Index, but unless you're leading pretty solid 5.9 elsewhere there isn't all that much to do there. Once you're solid at 5.9 in Leavenworth or Tieton, then Index really opens up IMHO.

http://www.rei.com/outlet/deal-of-the-day BlueWater Slimline Elite 10.3mm x 60m Non-Dry Rope $109.93

If your looking for summer-ish practice you can also go dry tooling out at E38 or at the SR900 crag south of Issaquah. All top rope-able. It's not ice but it'll certainly teach you how to be delicate with your tools and crampons which in my limited experience carried over pretty well onto ice. Have fun! ps. With regard to ice climbers, you know it's pretty bad when other climbers think you're nuts

8.9mm Mammut superdry, single rope, $155 http://www.steepandcheap.com/?CMP_ID=ODAL_FFP5001&mv_pc=r239 20 minutes and counting with 40 ropes Good luck!

For me anyway the break from Stiff 5.8/soft 5.9 to stiff 5.9/mid 5.10 was entirely mental. It seemed like climbs at that grade weren't super physical and didn't require killer crimp strength or biceps of steel (save a few at Index ), they really required the headspace to relax and flow and find the best sequence. However, the break from mid 5.10 to stiff 5.10/5.11 (and/or Index 5.10a!) definitely involved some bouldering, and focus on strength to weight ratio. Haven't gotten past there yet You certainly don't want to make the internal babble worse, and I wasn't so much recommending using anything as a mantra, but more of an approach or state of mind. For me anyway recognizing which fears are limiting me, and what fears are keeping me safe is a very important distinction, and was the real key that allowed me to get past 5.10 (and has kept quite a few climbers I know stuck in the 5.9 and lower range, even if they are physically capable of much harder climbs). I've always thought that when my headspace is good, then climbing becomes an awful lot like meditation. No inner dialogue whatsoever, highly focused and analytical yet without conscious thought, focused on the next 2 moves yet aware of everything going on, tense yet utterly relaxed. Something akin to the Taoist concept of Wu wei with a healthy dose of Pu' thrown in Or Zazen is pretty close. That said using a mantra of some sort to help focus and cultivate that state has a nice long history. If it's just added clutter that defeats the purpose, but if it helps remove clutter than it could help, whether it's some eastern chant, or something like the Littany or hell I have buddy who used to sing Cat Steven's whenever he got stressed... It's all good And Tom get's some serious Geek point

granted, I'm certainly not an expert but..... The three most valuable things I've picked up with regard to breaking into 10's and 11's are... 1. Judge every climb you consider attempting by whether you think you can climb it safely. If you can climb it safely give it a go, even if it scares you a little, and even if you're not sure you can get it clean. Yes, you might be exposed to some leader falls, but in my experience the adrenalin induced by trying to lead something onsight can make you climb at least a 1/2 grade harder! 2. Learn to rest well. Rest before you're tired on a climb. If there is a good rest, always take it. Learn to be creative in you're rests, use knees, scums, counterbalancing, and every other trick in the book, every chance you get. If it's not overhanging, and you run out of gas and fall off, it's likely not because you aren't strong enough, but because you weren't efficient enough in how you climbed up to that point. My own personal corollary to this is that Stemming is the solution to everything! 3. Learn to control the FEAR!! This is the most important one, and the hardest one. It's that IMHO keeps most people from leading below their potential. If the FEAR controls you, then you overgrip, you hesitate, you get Elvis leg, you waste time and energy putting in redundant gear, then you run out gas and pitch. I could wax philosophic but... Big geek props to anyone who can identify the following....

I Donated 50 on Friday as well! Great Idea guys! p.s. Does anyone know how much is left to raise?

As an FYI for all you closet Mounties out there, the Climbing Committee is also going to be doing some Matching donations. PM if you're interested and I'll get you in touch with the right folks.

I'm in for $50. Does anyone know what the current tally is for the Fund? So need to get out to Index though!

I was barely walking but we lived in Bremerton at the time. My dad was actually climbing the south side of The Brothers so they sat down and watched the show Had an aunt in Pullman who very distinctly remembers the sky turning black

Slowly slowly. IMHO ankles, joints, and other injuries of that sort are best to take slowly. rushing it is a good way to go chronic..

Am I the only one who finds Klahanie, awkward, slightly painful, and very dis-satisfying? Kardhu crack is right next door and a whole lot more fun!

It doesn't matter where they are IMHO Well behaved dogs and owners Badly behaved dogs and owners owners need a beating!

must add Avocado

I didn't really like Klahanie personally. Overly repetetive and made my ankles hurt! Thought about 25 yards to climbers right is Cardhu Crack which was a blast!

It always amused me that the guidebook called that a "fist" crack, not to mention 5.8 You can get some nice knee bar / no-hands rests on it though! And easily toprope-able by climbing Mushmaker at 5.7 which is next door, and a fun little hand crack in it's own right

it's so cute when they chest beat And I'd read the article that Dane posted. It's a good one.