yakimuchacho

I like ovals for racking. Omega Pacific JC wiregates are great for the rope end of quickdraws (they have a fat "rope end" surface area). I like Trango wiregates (under $5.00) for everything else. I always carry one big locking pearbiner, and 2-3 small locking biners for nerve medicine.

I just started a rack this spring. First thing: 1 set of ABC heuvos (stoppers)-just like BD but less $. Second: #7-11 hexes. Third: green, yellow and red Aliens, and now I cams. Oh yeah, lots of wiregates Omega JC's and Dovals.

Has anyone been to the South Fork Tieton wall? I have the Preston/Reid guide for the Tieton, but the cliff band has still been difficult to find. I have heard that Andy Fitz has put up a number of new routes (5.10 and up ) there this spring/summer and I have been wanting to climb there. Any beta would be helpful.

My question was really aimed at sport climbing. My gut won't allow me hang on a draw unless I am on a first bolt that is high and I am already feeling gripped and risk injury. I have done this and I walked away knowing that I was in over my head at the end of a long day of climbing and had no business being on that route. Lesson learned, I think? After reading the commentaries, I find that there is really nothing very "sporting" about aiding a bolted climb that has previously been freed. I am not controlled by what other climbers may think of my style, but I do believe that "how" I get to the top dictates the level of satisfaction, stoke, and flow that I experience when I climb.

Thank you for a simple answer. My gut was telling me it is "aiding" to hold onto the draw while clipping with the other hand, but I wanted a gut check.

I started climbing this last spring. From TR, I started trad. leading (up to 5.8). I have always avoided pulling on my gear for no other reason than I want to climb the rock without aiding. I have been sport climbing (some 5.10) for the last month and have noticed many climbers holding/hanging on their quickdraw (already clipped to a hanger) when they are clipping in the rope with their other hand. In other words, these climbers are not holding onto the rock, they are hanging from their gear. Is this common practice? I have been doing all of my clips "one handed" without the assistance of hanging onto the clipped draw. I could climb a lot harder routes if I hung onto a clipped sling while clipping the rope with my other hand, but style and good form must prevail. What is considered good form in sport climbing in terms of clipping the rope? To hang or not to hang, that is the .....

I am about to buy a new rope and want to know if a dry treatment is worth the $, even if I intend to only use this new cord for trad./sport routes in eastern WA? Will it prolong cord life? Improve handling? Make raps. a little slicker? I already have a Mammut rope for alpine and glacier adventures. Is is worth the dough in comparison to its intended use? Oh yeah, the Tieton has expanded...BIG TIME. There is a lot of quality route work being done on the South Fork and fresh TR anchors on Rimrock's Bear's Egg (not to be confused with Goose Egg Mountain).

Lucky, Mary, and Rusty's routes/FA's are absolutely incredible. They were cleaned well, the rock is very unique ("Frothy Lava" as Lucky calls it), and are a blast to climb. Thank you's go out to Lucky and others for letting some Yakivegas natives tie in on their ropes at Dream Wall during Labor Day weekend.