alexbaker

The whole crew of firefighters were professional rock climbers? Whoa! edit: Just realized I fell there once and dangled off the lip cliging to moss for a moment. Scariest moment of my life.

Cool. I feel the same way. Maybe we know some similar people. How old are you? I'm 23. Alex

Damn. Yes, South Dakota. Why? Alex

Is it open? I would love to get out w/ someone. Main main partners are sick, in Thailand, Mexico, or the East coast. I'm down w/ Aid, free, new routes, whatever. Scary Aid Ok. Alex 605.390.3739

At Bat Wall

I would love to go check that route out... Need a partner. Ivan we may get along. Let me know if you are lacking a partner sometime. bakerjohnalex@gmail.com Alex

Will pay gas (of course). Let me know! Support your community! Thanks in advance 605.390.3739 is best way to find me or bakerjohnalex@gmail.com before 5. Alex

Holy crap... Lotsa talk here. Internet is a weird place. I climbed the first pitch, lowered off and realized there were upper anchors so I attempted to climb to them later. Unfortunately I fell... Then went and climbed other things. I think thats about it. Alex

No man, at least 29. We could define that as large maybe? Or average plus? hahhahaaa.

Seems a like a bit of a dramatic description.

Anyone who says Trout Creek is remotely hard to find is full of shit. We woke up one morning, knowing nothing about the place, looked it up on the internet, printed directions and the guide in < 5 min. No different than going to say, Smith Rock, for your first time. Went climbing. Bugabooed was there and was extremely nice and energetic. Case Closed Alex

Yeah, that one wasn't too bad, but the other one....

hahahhaaa... Dan, Im looking for next weekend, otherwise, sounds like fun, although I'd probably rather free climb. What do you want to aid?

Big kudos if you can get this one Hint: Bring two number fours and a five, if you want to lead (or TR). And an easier one for fun:

Im looking for a partner next (aka not this weekend) weekend-- Smith or Trout creek or something. I would prefer to go the gorge at smith at least one day, and perhaps Zebra /zion and crack of infinity the next? Something like that, Im not too picky but I don't really feel like sport climbing. How about picnic lunch wall? N. Face of the monkey? If these sounds fun, let me know. Alex ps If your an anus, or lots of people think you are an anus please do not reply. pps A day at beacon would be great too. I have only done one climb there on aid, so it's all new to me. Free for some and Dod's jam sound fun.

PS the smith topo for Bubbas to PLW sucks.

The west face is a bit reachy, but no worries. C1+ or something like that. Im five foot seven and none of the reaches were impossible. The hardest was the move off of the second pitch anchor. Alex

Maybe I should ask just, whats the best crack in the lower gorge, regardless of grade?

I'm not sure myself. Discuss. Alex

Oh shit, it's that Charlie. Fuck man. That tattoo in the pic... Sorry to all who knew him better than I, what a great guy. alex

I used one in sub-freezing last weekend. About 20 deg maybe. Although not real cold, it performed awesomely. The pot that came with mine was just a tad short for filling a Nalgene. Other than that, the snow was dry but I got water remarkably fast. I recommend buying an extra long spoon for this one. all in all, i was very impressed. Alex

Wow. Thats crazy. Maybe you camped in a different spot than us. I noticed there was a somewhat large camp on the normal route side of the glacier ( i think). Maybe that was the one in your picture? Anyway, we camped directly below the glacier, and crossing in the morning without crampons would be horrendous, nearly impossible, at least in the icy condition we found it. Anyway, im just reminiscing at this point, Im sure you know what your talking about. Did you meet Daniel Lopez in base camp? He has the huge blue tents, great guy to make friends with. Have a good trip. alex

The polish traverse requires crampons. Trust me. Also, the direct is almost always in better condition than the regular route. DO NOT GO UP THERE WITHOUT CRAMPONS.

Sent you an email.

Check out acopa. Ive tried many, many shoes, and acopa are by far the stickiest, most sensiteve and comfortable shoe out there. Before them, i thought most rubbers were pretty similar. not true. try em out. alex