tlinn

I just moved up to Kelowna for the winter and I`m wondering if any ice forms up in the area? i.e. anything closer then Marble Canyon? I`ll probably go down to the climbing gym and ask around but I thought maybe the Cougar Canyon near Vernon might have something. Any thoughts/ideas appreciated for my days off. Thanks, T And I didn`t bring my skates so I don`t care if there`s ice on the local lakes.

Hello, I`m moving up to Kelowna Sunday and I`m looking for someone to climb ice with this winter. My availability is flexible. If you have some experience and want to get out give me a shout.

I`m guessing from the bright orange toque photo that Dru is still holding your helmet ransom?

Yeah, stuff around Hope is starting to get climbable and the forecast is looking pretty solid. Although they`re calling for a high of 5 on Thursday which might put a damper on things. Lots of freshiez there today! Oh, and it`s officially be announched that there will be a Tim Horton`s put in on the Old-Hope Princeton Highway. Or I read it in the paper this weekend.

I just have to say that is one hell of a nice toque!

This is an interesting thread because I`ve been talking with chiropractors lately to decide if I would like to go to chiropractic school next August. So far every chiropractor I`ve talked to has brought up the whole "straight" versus science based chiropractor argument. It`s too bad because chiropractic is a very effective treatment and it`s the small percentage of "holistic, chiropractic will cure all" kind of chiropractors which are giving it less credibility and less funding for studies. No matter what, chiropractic has been proven to be an extremely effective method of reducing back pain and I will keep on going to mine.

Nice send by the way...I have had the privledge of seeing it and I can vouch that it`s not that easy.

So any idea what you`re going to call it?

VOCERS to the rescue!!! You guys rock! http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38862

I am in the process of filling out my application to teach English in Japan and I need to put down which prefecture I want to live in. So in terms of rock climbing what would be the best area to be in? Also, if you have first hand knowledge of great areas to live in I would like to take that into consideration as well. If there`s an area that comes to mind as being a great place to live with rock climbing, snowboarding, beaches, nightlife, then all the better!

Oh man, too bad! We were talking about how cool it would be to get a picture of us on the route! Especially on the upper pitches. How were the Enchants? There seemed to be quite a few cars in the parking lot.

We did the Midway Direct on Friday and found it to be quite a bit of fun. We then went for a run up Angel Crack to get a good pump going before heading for beers with friends in Leavenworth. On Saturday we went and checked out Vantage which was nice but a little crowded. I guess the Mountaineers were holding a climbing course there. Sunday we went and climbed Outer Space. What an amzing climb! And we had the place all to ourselves. Thanks for all of the guidebook help!

Just a couple questions: What is the best Leavenworth Guideboook to pick up? I already have the Rockfax Climbing Washington guide so I want something with more detail. Can we pick up the guidebook in Leavenworth? If so, where in Leavenworth can we pick it up? Cheers, May the sun shine on Leavenworth this weekend! I can`t wait to escape the Vancouver rain.

Thanks guys...yeah, it was quite a bit of fun. I`m not sure I`d like to come all the way in from the Eaton Lake trail though...pretty hard work. That road was already pretty hard to pass I can`t imagine what it`s like now! Krystil says Hi.

Climb: Grant Peak-Northeast Face Date of Climb: 9/27/2005 Trip Report: Nick Elson and I made use of a beautiful Fall weekend by getting out on Grant Peak in the North Cascades near Hope. The full trip report should probably begin at the VOC 80`s party but I will spare those details and just say that neither of us can figure out how the traffic cone got into the back of my parent`s car. My dad was a little shocked, as were we. My dad was kind enough to drive us up the Berkey Creek logging roads in his 4x4. From there, we stashed our bikes and started walking across the logging cut and up towards the ridges leading to the peak. The peak looked a long ways away, but we made pretty good time as most of the brush was pretty light and we managed to find a few game trails (what Nick calls the "bear superhighway"). We were a bit stressed by the glacier at the bottom of the face as neither of us thought to bring crampons but we relieved that our chosen line had a nice rock buttress leading right to the first pitch. We descended down the NW? ridge towards our bivy lake. This was the least fun part of the trip as we had to walk, crawl, and slip down steep heather. A nice afternoon snooze, a relazing dinner, and we slid back into our bivy sacks for the night. The climb was 8 rope stretchers in length plus a bit of simul-climbing. Most of the pitches were low fifth class with the most difficult pitch being 5.6 or 5.7. The rock is generally good quality but is pretty mossy down low. It protects best with small tcus. Our descent was made with mountain bikes down the Berkey Creek road. It was fun coasting into Hope on our mountain bikes and getting a burger at the Triple-O before heading back to my parents and driving back to Vancouver. Thanks Nick Views along the ridge Mt. Hope and Wells Peak The bivy lake Our ascent route...lots of unclimbed rock Nick scrambling Nick on the first pitch one of the heathery lower pitches Me on the sixth pitch Eaton Lake Eaton Peak, Silvertip, Payne, Rideout, etc.

I think you`re onto something. Maybe a new route name?

It`s funny how when looking up on a route from below it looks great because you have the "sod goggles" on and can`t see all the yucky vegetation. It`s not until you look down on the route that you realize it`s not so hot. It`s kind of like how the beer goggles can turn any woman into Anna Kournikova, or Maria Sharapova for that matter. And then you wake up the next morning...well, that`s another story. I had a similar experience on the Northeast Face of Mt. Grant on the weekend of Sept. 27/28. Had a good time but the lower pitches had lots of vegetation. I will post a TR once I get my computer fixed and can download my photos.

Thanks for the photo jordop! I´m on my way home and already getting stoked for some fall alpine ice. I´m in Sao Paulo right now but I´ll hopefully give a Rio TR soon enough if I can find a cool partner. I had a scary encounter with the policia narcotica at the La Paz airport which probably deserves a TR in itself. I guess they get suspicious when you jump too many borders. Yikes! Almost back in good old Canada!

Does anyone know what the access is like right now for the North Face of Whitecap. I´d like to get in there and try this one soon. Does Connell Creek get you close to the North Face?

No coke heads please!

I´m going to be in Rio de Janeiro from August 27th until September 10th and I would like to do a little climbing. I just finished 3 weeks of alpine climbing in the Cordillera Blanca so all I have is a few draws, my harness, and my shoes. Hopefully, there´s someone else out there that needs a partner for that time (and has a rack). I´m a solid trad climber from Vancouver Canada. I speak English and some French. Hopefully we can get out there on the rock!

It sounds pretty cool to me. Is it still good to climb there in mid-September or should you expect snow by that time?

Climb: Pisco and Chopicalqui- Date of Climb: 7/30/2005 Trip Report: After Shaqsha we were back to good old Jo´s Place in Huaraz for some more fried chicken and beer. We had the most interesting collectivo ride ever. During our ride into Huaraz we had a flat tire and the man next to me assured everone that I was "no molestero" as he offered my lap as a seat to a poor Catholic girl that looked pretty embarrassed. Three days later I went to the doctor because I had developed a bit of a chest infection. The doctor´s said that someone in my condition should not go out drinking and said "No Tambo for you!" referring to the infamous disco in Huaraz. I took his advice and went there anyway, called myself healthy, and got packed for another 7 days in the mountains. Day one involved a steep but short walk up to Pisco basecamp where we met some really cool American climbers around our age from Boulder (is every American climber here from Boulder? ). We shared some laughs, some good food and summitted Pisco at almost the same time. This was my first look at Peruvian guided mountaineering which is in one word, DANGEROUS! Everyone ropes up two or three feet apart on the glacier. They´re also just as disrespectful as they are dangerous. We had several rude French people and their Peruvian guide drop ice on top of us as they belayed up a 45 degree ice slope. I tried to be friendly but it was difficult. The next day they pissed in the only water source we had. If I´ve ever come closer to a base camp brawl it was at Pisco basecamp. Our American friends plus me and Al would have made a good team! The next morning after summitting Pisco (5752 meters) we went back down to the bottom of the valley and bartered for a taxi up to Chopicalqui basecamp. We spent the first night there which was pleasant but cold. Day two on Chopicalqui we hiked up the moraine to the second camp at 4900 meters. We met some really cool Spanish and Ecuadorian climbers. The next morning our Ecuadorian friend David followed us up to the glacier. At this point Al and I considered letting him rope up with us but we decided that we should just stay seperate. About half an hour later I decided to give in. I felt that he was our responsiblity so I offered him a place on our rope. This was probably a good idea because otherwise he would have tried and jumped the 6 foot crevasse everyone else was jumping. Instead, we put in a belay and crossed on a snowbridge. Day four on Chopicalqui Al wasn´t feeling well. The altitude was making him feel nauseous and he wasn´t feeling up to heading for the summit. I woke up David and two of us left high camp at 5400 meters at 6am! Not exactly an alpine start but at least we wouldn´t get lost on the glacier with our weak headlamps. We made the summit at 10am (6354 meters). After rappelling the steep sections and jumping a few crevasses we were back at the high camp. We packed up and walked all the way down to basecamp at 4300 meters. After an even more interesting taxi ride back home we were back and that´s when I realized that driving is much more dangerous than climbing! Gear Notes: pickets, ice tools Approach Notes: collectivo from Huaraz or Yungay to Pisco or Chopicalqui trailheads

That´s terrible...I´ve always wanted to climb there and I hoped that one day something could be worked out with the access society or something. Quick, everyone get down there and sabotage the operation!

Shaqsha is in fine shape aside from a short 80 degree section. Pisco is in good shape with no crevasse issues and one short 45 degree ice section. Chopicalqui is in good shape. There are a few crevasses to jump but nothing too severe. There are two steep ice sections on Chopicalqui but you´ll be fine with two ice tools. cheers