selkirk

Love these things ! Their a great replacement to a cordallete for multi point gear anchors. Lighter and less bulky is Metolius makes one as well, and I used to have a 12ft Mtn. Tools one.

Did I hear that he's never worn crampons? That alone to me is a big red flag to me. Catching a crampon on your pants is a great way to go for a ride. I've heard a few people minimizing the danger of crevasse falls, and remember that there was a fatal one on the Emmons Glacier two years ago by a very experienced climber. It's only walking up hill until it's not. Backcountry skiing is all well and good but the skills do not necessarily transfer over to steep technical ground where you are in a no-fall situation. On the fitness front, I'd second the recommendation of a trip up Baker, Adams or something similar. I've seen marathoner's and triathelete's laid low by going uphill with a pack on. Their cardio is great but ascending with weight requires more power and leg strength then body weight training will get you. The only way to shake this is out is to go uphill with a pack on. IMHO climbing can be generally safe but it's very unforgiving of mistakes, even minor ones. From what I've heard he hasn't done enough technical travel that I would be comfortable tying into a rope with only him. I'm generally anti-guided climbing. But I would suggest that given the short amount of time left, general level of technical inexerpience, and his determination to get up in the next month or two that's likely the safest bet.

Went there for a head gasket a couple of years ago and they did a great job. Of course the car got totaled in a parking lot 4 months later by a delivery truck

That's a great start. +1 on the hexes. The 3 biggest WC hexes are great, I don't bother with the smaller ones though. With a partner we usually end with plenty of hand-sized gear, but taking double #3 or a #4 camalot is obnoxious. The hexes are lighter, and usually just a functional. Like tri-cams there are things you can protect with hexes were nothing else works. They're a bit pricy but I'm also a fan of the gold link cam and or larger size metolius super cam, but only 1 or the other. For 1 piece you end up covering the range of roughly the #1 and #2 camalot, it's a nice way to get more flexibility without many more pieces. way down the road and by no mean needed, but if you get itchy fingers for more gear the Alloy Offset DMM nuts are the the bomb, as are the DMM brass offset nuts

Been a little while. Any update on the climber or cause? Hope to her she's recovering well. Sending god vibes!

Good on ya for getting after it! Jackass. Did your mother ever teach that if you don't have anything nice to say you should STFU.

That was an impressive slide. Carried all the way down to within about 2 miles of the trailhead, way below the tree line.

Maybe not for Index or Squamish, but I've pulled some painful jams and finger locks at Tieton, Smith, and other local areas. Even around here it's not always about the granite

I don't tape, not that that means much. Of course I also climb intermittently enough that my hands have time to heal between crack climbing days. That said I was able to sit in on a nice seminar from Steph Davis, and she tapes for both hand and finger cracks (though using slightly different taping techniques). I'm pretty sure she knows more about crack climbing than I do Her approach was just enough to tape to stay stuck in place and to protect her skin. Usually 1 to 2 layers and at most 3 over the back of the knuckles, leaving the palm almost entirely bare and the wrist loose. Those "re-usable" tape gloves are stupid though.

Poverty is human nature, wealth and opulence are manmade. Being in Africa right now, I can tell you that the lack of capitalism has not taken a hatchet to poverty in any way. If all the wealth in the world was put to better use than greed we could house and feed the entire planet. Poverty is man made. Tenets of socialism / communism. Works great assuming nice altruistic people. It's too bad people are basically self serving, rotten little beasties.

Run a Google search and check some of the images. A good specialty piece, but they are more fragile than other cams. More moving parts, more joints, more things to go wrong. If you can't get good alignment with the direction of pull in case of a fall, or any of the lobes are pressing against the rock sideways against the face of the lobe, then they run a larger risk of breaking than other designs. A totally separate issue from the recall and tied to the geometry of the cam itself. As I said above, a reasonably good addition to a rack to add lots of coverage for 1 or 2 pieces, but IMHO they aren't a go-to, workhorse piece in the way that other cams are.

hmmmm, 7 more years to go!

I'd second the #1 / #2 Camalot sizes (thin hands to hands), but any cam manufacturer is fine (BD, WC, DMM, etc.) Link Cams are good but $$ and heavy. They also have some limitations that you want to be aware of and don't perform as well in less than ideal placements like bottoming cracks, they also strike me as a little less robust. IMHO they're a good piece to add after you've built up your basic rack (I have one and wouldn't mind a secon). But if you really only are planning on easy-ish alpine stuff the might be a good piece as they are very flexible. I've just seen some new climbers go out and buy a rack's worth without understanding them which makes me nervous. Cinamon Slab at Smith is also good. Get's wide at the top but the climbing is very secure. It's down near the Beard. I think the first time I climbed Super Slab I only had 3 or 4 cams, but I don't doubt that it could be led entirely on passive gear either. my 2 cents.. Have fun!

You expected it to? Somebody's been climbing without a helmet lately!

That doesn't speak well for the holding power of a cam in that placement!

That's what I found to. It would be more satisfying if it was at least welded in place!

Thing #2 is due in July Expecting many alpine starts and very few summits

Grrrrr.... Got a black Metolius Ultralight 4 cam unit stuck on P2 of Rogers Corner. It's on the climbers right tucked back into a crack, just before you head up the steep part towards the anchor at the base of Breakfast of Champions. Not expecting it back but I'll throw in a 6 pack if someone is feeling generous. Otherwise there's a new fixed piece on route! First time I've ever gotten a cam stuck and it's making me grumpy!

Only been up it once, but I chugged water in camp before we left, carried 3 L, and didn't take a stove. Probably drank 1L on the way up 1/2 L at the summit, 1/2 L on the way down and hit camp with extra water. For the DC / Emmons where there is a hoard of people, and it's relatively easy to retreat it seems like a stove would not be a necessity. Just watch the conditions and turn around well before there's a risk of getting stranded, but the same is true if you have a stove. At most maybe 1x stove for a party of 3? If you're coming up a more committing route, totally different story.

Saturday was gorgeous!!!

The little one is ~2.5 now and I'm looking forward to getting her out to play on the rock on this summer. Anybody have a good condition kids climbing harness (full body) that they'd be willing to sell? TIA

Lots of shit falls from the sky climbing. Sometimes that shit's people, sometimes that's even you. Hell even dropped water bottle could pick up some good speed on those slopes. Weight is not a good reason not to wear a helmet IMHO.

mmmmm, picked up a bottle of Fremont Mischief bourbon. So far pleasantly surprised!

GDI