eldiente

Does anyone have any recommendations for sport climbs near Index? I'm only familiar with the usual trad routes there. My partner is looking for clip-ups in the 5.9-5.11 range, anything like that exist around there? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks! -Nate

That's fantastic! Thanks for sharing. It makes me happy to hear about people working hard trad projects. Seems like the crux of this pitch would trying to focus with all the traffic going by on the road, a perfect pitch to put on a show for the tourists. It seems a bit taboo to write TRs about crag routes or red-points, but honestly I'm all for it. A well written (and photographed) TR of a project send is just as interesting (or more so) than reading about someone walking around in the snow. -Nate

You seem to be intolerant of the Fourteenth Amendment so I guess were even. (Full disclosure, gun owner myself. Mossberg makes a reliable firearm) Gun nuts everywhere like to cite the 2nd Amendment as a call to arms to protect citizen rights from intrusive governments. Citizens rights indeed, like the right to marry whoever you want? Sounds like something worth taking up arms to me. Thankfully the LGBT community is passive so you've got nothing to worry about. (till 2012 when the Supreme Court legalizes it.)

I think what he's trying to say is that not only is he opposed to equal rights for everyone, he is also a gun touting nut job that divides his time between Everydaynodayoff.com fantasizing about shooting home invaders and CC.com spraying about his latest FA on 30 foot tall piles of grass. Funny as in 50 years, (it is only a matter of time) we'll all look back the time when we denied some adults the right to marry as a dark time much in the same way we look back at the time when Women weren't allowed to vote and think, "What the hell was wrong with those people?" Well what the hell is wrong with us? -Nate

Flying Dutchman was what I was thinking of. Never been on Bears, where is it at? Any good? Worth doing? Beta please. -Nate

Mark D calls it .11+ or .12ish. I went down it on rope solo a few years back and found it too dirty for free climbing.

Replacing old, worn bolts is just that, replacing old worn bolts. Usually thought of as good community service. It is a tad ironic that someone who likes to publicly spout about the evils of bolting, has probably sunk more bolts in the Portland area than all of the sport wankers combined. (High five, if there is going to be metal junk stuck in the wall, it may as well be good metal junk) (Side note, Beacon climbers on CC.com should start a timer every time they post into this thread. There are many software utilities that lawyers use for this sort of thing. Keep track of the total time you spend posting into this thread and sum for the whole year. With all that time you could have taken a trip to somewhere with really good climbing that would blow your mind. See below. Or if you can't get out of town, you could use that time for training. You'd get so strong that you wouldn't give a crap about bolts because you aren't going to fall anyway and you're putting your energy into a thin desperate crack that hasn't been climbed in 10 years. Ok that took me three minutes to write, three minutes on the hang board tonight for me) -Nate [img:center]http://lh3.ggpht.com/_XNueStDVX8c/SqfZo000XaI/AAAAAAAAGpA/vLCtOTTixF0/s640/P1000643.JPG[/img]

If you are pithing it out, a 70M would be slick. If you are going simul, a 30M would be nice. I had good luck taking a 60Mx 8mm rope and folding it in half and simul with it, when the time came to pitch-out, we un-folded the rope and used it like a single. -Nate

I rap on my 6mm ProCord using a normal ATC. If it is really steep terrain, I use an extra binner for more friction. I'm sure a 5mm would be strong enough, my main worry there would be durability and kinks. My 6mm can be a nightmare to untangle at each rap, the cord is too light to toss down and must be walked down. I do enjoy having such a light rope, but it is debatable if it helps speed you up at all. If it takes you an extra 15 minutes to untangle the cord at every station, maybe you'd be better off using a normal cord?

Thanks for a great write-up! Strong work.

Climbed Blood Sweat and Smears recently. Felt about the same as it always does, I don't recall there being any missing pro. (Although I wouldn't know how it used to be, my first time up it was a two years ago)

There was a wildfire near there last night, maybe that was it. ?

Perhaps were being a little tough on the Kain route descent, compared with the typical NW bushwhack it ins't too bad. However, after an easy romp up the NE ridge, I bet many folks are surprised (I was) by the length and time it takes to go down the the Kain route. The raps are easy, the down-climbing and scrambling is also easy, but time consuming and tedious. (The first time I did it, I was on-route and it took me 3x longer to go down the Kain than it did to go up the NE Ridge)

I would agree with that. Although having gone down the Kain route twice, I'm thinking I'd rather get hit in the head, have my rope chopped and be punched in the balls all at the same time than do that again. It was dumb luck, we topped out in a lighting storm and our screw-up of going down the East face may have saved us from being struck. You lose elevation very quickly with the raps we did whereas the descent via the Kain route is more exposed to the weather. Neither of these descents are fun, the Kain route is at least well traveled and has bolted raps. -Nate

The problem here is that these "investments" aren't investments, they are a salary and should be taxed as such. Again, I think of S. Jobs and his $1 per year salary. His main source of cash is the stock that Apple gives him (worth billions) but he pays no taxes on this as it is an investment. I would say that actual investments should be tax free. If your office pays you $500 and you put $50 into starting a lemonade stand, that should be tax free. No question. This is not the same as having your shares of Apple inc go up 5% while you sit on your ass. (This is just simply another source of income and you should be taxed on it)

First of all, there's no way someone making $60K is paying 30% on all of their income. I know that because our gross income was more than that, our dividend income totaled about $300, and our effective federal tax rate was roughly ~12.5%. That's for a household composed of two adults taking the standard deduction. Here's the tax schedule for 2008: You have to assume that Buffet knows a few things about numbers. Nebraska has a 6% income tax, that puts her up to 30%. Maybe she should hire your accountant to score such a low rate? Since we don't know anything about what she's writing off, we can simply say " if you make 60k in Nebraska, 30% of your income is going to the government." I suppose Buffet could just make up a bunch of numbers, but again I'll go out on a limb again and say he knows more about the US tax code than most of us.

Trip: Bugaboos - Various Date: 7/18/2010 Trip Report: [img:center]http://lh4.ggpht.com/_XNueStDVX8c/TGQnRumBGhI/AAAAAAAALF8/dK5dfqPH1nQ/s720/Snbowpatch%20in%20morning%20light.jpg[/img] I took two weeks off from work at the end of July and set-up shop in the Bugs. I haven't had time to write-up proper beta for all the routes we did, hopefully I can get that up soon. (Note. I love TRs that give good beta, how long the hike took, how hard the climbing was, what type of gear etc. It would be nice if we could make the TRs section of CC.com a real resource for beta on climbs. I'll try to do my part, I have all the info on the climbs we did hand-written, I will try to get the info up as soon as possible. In the interim contact me for info on any of the routes listed below) Over the course of 12 days we dealt with the usual Bugs weather and logistical hurdles. Managed to climb seven routes, bailed off a few things, took two day rest in the Banff area in the middle of the trip. Mostly climbed easy moderates, very much a recreational trip aside from all the hiking which was not at all recreational. Getting to spend time with my friends in the mountains is a real joy and the highlight of the trip. Routes. NE Ridge Bugaboo Spire 5.8: Group Solo with James, 1.5 hours up, 5 down. Paddle Flake 5.10: Swing leads with James. South Howser Tower Beckey Chouinard 5.10. With James round trip in a day. Furry Pink arete 5.10Cish. Swing leads with Winter. Paddle Flake 5.10: Swing leads with Winter, lead pitches that I missed last time. Snow Patch Route 5.8. Solo* 7 or 8 hours round trip. NE Ridge Bugaboo Spire 5.8: With Stephanie, 16 hours, mostly on descent. *French Free a few moves off fixed junk, climbed through pitch 16 before bailing and down-climbing Media Video here. Blog here. Winter's blog here. [img:center]http://lh6.ggpht.com/_XNueStDVX8c/TFia4yjOUwI/AAAAAAAAKvY/gWKd71mS1k0/s640/P1010603.JPG[/img] Last rap coming off South Howser tower. Notes *Snow conditions. The Bugs had a lot of late season snow and the whole season has been pushed back a few weeks from normal. Our first week up there (16th of July) there was only a few dry spots at the campground, people were digging spots in the snow for the tent. The glaciers were covered with winter snow, no ice. Traveling around during the day was easy, ankle deep slush. We didn't get much use from the pons or axe the first week as the snow was soft. Most of the routes were dry, although the BC route had some icy cracks and a lot of snow cover on the upper ridge, getting to the summit meant wadding through a cornice. *Camping. Rates have gone up. It is $10 per night and a 7 day limit (new this year) There is now bear boxes at the campground. The hut was full the entire time I was there, many nights there was families with kids there. Sort of a strange scene. *Water. We drank out of the stream behind camp or the lake without a water filter. Nobody got sick. Water filter could probably be left at home. *I used the fixed raps in the Bugaboo Col once while up there. They are actually a real time saver and if the Col was icy, this would be the way to do it without having to put pons on. The raps are skiers right on the Col just a few feet above the snow. The raps are set for single rope raps, four of them total. The last rap will take you over the the Bergschrund. If you have a novice partner with you, the trick beta is to set a 60M single rope rap off the last rap and send them down on that eliminating most of the steep snow travel. After they are down, unfix the rope and rap 30M and down climb to your partner. *East Creek. There was good clean water running near the bivy sites, no need to melt water with the stove. The hike into East Creek was doable without pons, but later in the year it might be icy. Some Polish guys tipped us off to a great idea. On the hike from the car grab a walking stick and take it with you. Sharpen this stick and use it as an axe as you descend into East Creek. Leave the stick at the base of the whatever route your climbing so you don't have to take it up and over with you. *Descending Bugaboo Spire. The normal way is to rap and down-climb the Kain route. I botched up the descent and took us straight down the East Face via steep raps on blank rock (1,500, 2,000 feet?) At first this seemed like a epic as we had to leave kit behind and had no idea where we were going. In retrospect this is actually faster than going down the Kain route and you don't have to go down the Col at the end of the day. There is a lot of junk left from our descent, (and we found other fixed kit from people that made the same mistake.) If you are feeling brave and/or are in a hurry, go down this way. *Must have gear. A sun hat. The skin takes a beating sitting around camp in the sun, everyone kept trying to steal my hat. Waterproof approach shoes, put pons on the shoes and you're set. No need for heavy boots to get around the glaciers. Flip-flops for camp, a bit cold on the feet when running through the snow to take a pee, but better than putting back on your soaked shoes. Bug dope for the hike in, awful mosquitoes at parking lot. Lots of cord for tying down the tent, stakes will be of no use. Approach Notes: With heavy pack 4 hours from car to camp.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/tax/article1996735.ece "Mr Buffett said that he was taxed at 17.7 per cent on the $46 million he made last year, without trying to avoid paying higher taxes, while his secretary, who earned $60,000, was taxed at 30 per cent" Fairweather can you please help explain why Buffet pays 17 percent and his middle income secretary pays 30 percent? What's this about the rich paying more than the middle class? Forget taxing the rich, how about they just pay the same as I do? (I'm around 27 percent at last check) Fairweather, I would guess you're not rich, doesn't it bother you just a tiny little bit that the most wealthy among us pay the least in taxes? Note that for people in that 1% bracket of the world (Buffet, Jobs, Gates etc etc) they usually don't pay any tax at all. Jobs for instance reports an income of $1 per year, the rest is all done through stock options which thanks to Bush are no longer taxed.(Thankfully for Jobs, Apple stock is going up) No capital gains tax is rad if you are paid in stock options, but how many folks on this board are paid in stock though? Not me. -Nate

Indeed it looks like Ted is dead. Oddly enough this was the second plane crash he was in, the first one killed his wife and he survived. http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/10/alaska.plane.crash/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

Climbed up there today for the first time this year. I noticed mounds (enough to fill a dump truck) of plants, grass, moss and dirt at the base of main wall that had come down during the cleaning. Very large pile below "takes fist." What's up with the heavy-handed cleaning going on up there? There isn't any well traveled routes in that area, why scrub a patch of rock 100x100 feet of all vegetation ? Nobody likes to climb dirty routes, but this cleaning is excessive and very much an eye sore. I always thought the point of a park was to observe nature, not demolish it. We complain about that tourist trail to the summit, but the people doing that hike aren't leaving a huge pile of dead plants behind when they do their hike. The trundling is no good either. Trees and bushes at the base of the wall are taking a beating from all the trundling. I don't see why their needs to be any trundling, the rocks will come down when they are good and ready without any need for a crow bar. Lose rock is part of every crag, if lose rock makes you uncomfortable, perhaps the gym is a better place for you? In many parks, doing this type of cleaning or trundling would get the whole place closed to climbers. This whole process is the opposite of leave no trace, instead walking around you can clearly tell that people have been at work and it looks awful. Even a handful of tightly bolted sport lines would have less of a visual impact on the area than the mess of dead vegetation that is there now. -Nate

I am. Can you please send a URL?

Fuck yeah, I stopped using chalk on my projects years ago, now I just carry a roll of duct tape and tape up certain holds cause it helps so much with the send That's actually not a bad idea! Forget tapping up for the cracks, just line the inside of them with tape. If the crack is too wide, just add a few layers for a more secure jam.

Just came down yesterday. The snow up there is really good right now, easy walking on soft slush. Some of the routes still have snow and ice on the summits, with the upcoming hot weather I would expect this will start to melt out. Walking into East creak is chill, no ax required. Rock climbs around hut (Crescent, Bugaboo etc) are dry and in good shape and dry. The hut is now full, bring a tent and join the party at the campground. [img:center]http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_XNueStDVX8c/TEtd8zoXb3I/AAAAAAAAKdg/4xz7xPwP3Y0/s1600/P1010548.jpg[/img] Nate

So you like climbing steep roofs, me too. I hate climbing slabs. But the steep roof can't have any cracks in it as this is "boring." Got it, you just described really fun sport climbing at Rifle or Mt Charleston. There is also a crag near Portland that overhangs something awful with no cracks to jam, just upside-down power monkeying. You'd like it, it is open all year, close to Portland and there is no hand jamming required. PM me for more beta. -Nate

Has anyone ever taken a look at this site ? I'm curious as to what people think about their forecasting methodology. On paper it seems to good to be true, forecast at different elevations for popular peaks. I'm wondering if this site is doing any of their own forecasting, or if they are just pulling data down from NOAA and putting on some fancy graphics. (?) Has anyone had any experience using this site? Also for the Canadian weather forecasts, is there any group aside from the Environment Canada that does forecasting? This site provides forecasts for areas that the Environment Canada doesn't cover (high elevation) Is this site just taking a guess or is there some part of Environment Canada that does a forecast for high elevation that this site is tapping into? -Nate