eldiente

I found a bomber blue Alien right above the little mantle move just to the left. This blue alien protects the short "lose" move and would only be a short fall if one of the undercling flakes were to break. The little mantle move is protected by another solid Alien right at waist level, and I think there was a #1 BD maybe a 2 feet below that. So that's 3 pieces in 15 feet of climbing, although the blue Alien is hard to find. Yeah it would be cool if there was an anchor far left, help make the pitch less contrived and less drag. -Nate

Not sure I'd want to drag a big-bro up there for that section. I like a #6 and just keep moving it up with you, sort of like a portable top-rope anchor.

Schweet, if we ever climb together lets use your rack Nate! Ha! Sure why not. I might be a tad lazy, but nothing is worse then coming down after a long route and having your partner badger you with "well I know I have six wire gates and now I only have five, where is it?" I don't try to lose gear, but life is way too short to worry about it. I figure it will eventually all even out when I find the odd piece of gear in my bag that doesn't belong to me. Stuck cams are another matter. It happens to everyone, but if you botched it up I really think you should offer to replace the cam if it isn't yours. Think of it as a penalty for placing bad pro. I've lost a few cams just because I pussed out and forced a cam into a spot where it didn't need to be. I had to buy new ones. Yeah and those master cams do seem to get stuck. I almost lost one of mine the other day on Stuart and I swear it was placed gently. -Nate

I've noticed with the increase cost in gas I pay a lot less attention to lost gear. What's a few slings and some bienrs compared to $100 in gas you just spent to drive to the crag? I don't even think about it unless it was something really dumb, like dropping a cam, or expensive like having to to leave a bunch of gear in a retreat. But then again I'm a little odd as I never keep track of of my gear and don't stress if a few of my pieces end up on my partners rack.

I forgot a brand new red BD on SEW Arete three years ago. If anyone finds it, please return. That cam is bad news and always seems to run off.

Yeah the name is a bit odd. I got all amped up for for it my first time and brought a pile of Aliens for the 2nd pitch. The "thin fingers" section is more like "no fingers" and after that it is hands and tight-hands till the anchor.

We saw your head-lamps up there while we sitting on the boat Saturday night. We tried to blind you with our large boat spotlight but I'm not sure if it worked. Glad you had fun.

Anyone hear anything from JH today? Is Beacon open this week or what?

Yes, this is true. On my skinny cords I can really only simul rap on low angle slabs, IE Infinite Bliss. On steep terrain I don't bother with the simul rap as going down a steep route is plenty fast one person at a time. careful if you do this with half ropes (or really thin singles) because they're so thin. some belay devices won't provide enough friction (although you can remedy this by adding carabiners, etc.). did this once without really thinking about it and discovered it was a good thing i was wearing gloves...

On that route there is almost no way to keep tangles from happening if your throwing your lines down. Try walking the ropes done instead of tossing them. I like putting a coil on my lap and feed it out while rapping. To make it even easier, simul rap so that each person only has to walk/feed one rope on the way down. Yes, having to feed a rope while your on rappel is slow, but so is untangling lines when you toss the rope and it only goes 3 feet with every toss.

I recall the left leg being secure all right, it was the moving up part that gave me problems. Someone with good OW skills will find this to be mellow. Me, I thought it was a bit hairy with only a tipped out #5.

Yes, bring a #6 and leave the rest of the big gear at home. Yes, having to carry that #6 sucks, but all you need is that one wide piece and you can walk it in front of you the whole way up. I only had a #5 and it forced me to climb the upper section with no gear. If I recall, there is a block that you girth hitch at the mid-way point on the OW pitch, after that the #6 will take you all the way to the belay. The rest of the route is mostly small stuff with maybe one hand size piece so after the OW pitch you can put the #6 away and cruise the rest of the route.

Buy more gadgets and you'll be safe! Stupid. Reading it sounds like that this site is paid for by AT&T or Garmin. As a whole I'm not a fan of Cell Phones in the woods..

You do not need a partner or a rope for the South side. It is often skied this time of year. If you go on a weekend you can follow dozens (hundreds) of people to the summit.

Sure, just because he didn't get hurt during any of those falls doesn't mean it is a safe thing to be doing. Clearly he is a master of this type of climbing and knows how to make it safer. I always thought the R rating was just another way of saying there is long-run-outs and potential for big falls on this route. I'd say this route has both of those.

That's awful. That's really crappy as the poor guy was just messing around at the crag and it ended up this way. It is amazing that short falls can cause so much damage. I've only seen two inverted falls and both of them were on bolts that were very close to the leaders body. I think it is easier to get twisted up in the rope when you take a short fall. Yuck.

The blog is way funny, I stated reading it a few weeks ago and had a good laugh. Nothing funny about that route though. Making those kind of moves way above mirco nuts? Wow..

I skied up on W'East on Sunday. There was 6-12 inches of new up high but it already turned into nice Spring Corn by Sunday mixed in with some nice windblow pow. No avy problems where we were, snowpack is very solid, maybe a few small wet slides late in the day. -Nate

On moderate terrain where the chances of a fall are nill, I don't have a problem leading on an 8.2. Folding it in half for a short crux section might make you feel better. 8.2 is still very strong but will not hold up to repeated falling or sharp edges. I think this would be an ideal rope for a lot of things around WA where your doing a lot of simuling and maybe a few pitch of "real" climbing.

It goes without saying that Winter is a total bitch and that were all green with envy. Looks like a lot of fun. -Nate

I've used a 9.2 and a 6mm tag line to rap with. Yes, you have to hold on tight and it is a little scary at first. Works great though as the tag-line stays in the pack until needed.

True that. Everyone always like to spout off about how if such and such route was in the Valley it'd be 5.6.

Depends what type of climbing were talking about. Certainly dragging heavy packs up Rainer takes a different type of training than .13 redpoint at Smith. Physical fitness is important for every type of climbing, I can't find any info on that site for which type of climbing they are training for.

Go Solo. You'll move faster and have a great time.

She is a real person, I know here. PDX local. Very funny lady actually.