hemp22

I actually passed on buying any of the link cams at that great price (I'm trying to cut down on my gear-whore-ness). But I do already own one of the yellow link cams, and I agree that it's a great toy. Since I bought it, I've been getting some good use out of it as a 2nd piece in the #.75-#2 camalot range. And don't worry Bill, next time I see a great deal like that I'll start a new thread to make sure it gets noticed.

Since you work on the west side, I'd recommend going to Stoneworks. They're a little smaller and a very beginner-friendly environment. Just go there on weekday evenings, around 7:00ish, and there will be plenty of friendly staff & climbers around to help you out. If you have gear, just get one of their 5- or 10-time passes, or if you don't have your own harness/shoes yet, then take their Intro course, because you'll get a free month membership & gear rentals with it.

Definitely an inspiring video hesh! good friends like that can make any journey memorable. it looks like you guys were really hauling up the "Wiggle" switchbacks at the top too. Off-season is definitely a great time to be in Zion - to avoid the crowds & shuttle buses. It looks like you had much better weather for your trip than I did when I did Angel's Landing (although Zion under snow was certainly something nice to see as well).

http://www.buyoffseason.com/index.php?cName=campinghiking-climbing some great prices on 60 & 70 meter ropes & OP Link Cams. Examples: Blue Water 9.8mm x 70m for $95 Blue water 10.2mm x 60m for $89 Omega Pacific Link Cams: #1 for $60 and #2 for $70. shipping looks to be around $10 or less.

If the weather keeps up like this, then i'll be lookin to get in plenty of after-work cragging this spring. if i weren't fighting a nasty cold right now, i'd probably be out there today.... has anyone climbed at the Butt yet this season? i'm wondering how much trash has accumulated since the last clean-up. the environment there seems to usually be at least a little more tolerable right after the access fund adopt-a-crags.

The pivot allows you to swing the metal ring over to the other side of the device and pull downward to release the autoblock. It's essentially the same as the reverso or ATC-Guide, but you don't need to rig any sling through the device to apply enough pressure to lower a follower when you're in guide/autoblock mode. When using it for lead belaying, or belaying off your harness w/ a redirect through anchor, you'd use it just how you'd expect - with the biner clipped from your harness to the metal ring. The key difference is that when you doing an auto-block belay of a follower directly off the anchor, you don't put the biner through the ring, and that let's the ring pivot to the opposite side. There's a video of how it works for lowering the follower HERE. click on the Toucan Demo video #2. It's in French, but if you don't speak french, you can watch it and still figure out how it works. The demo video #1 shows it when used for lead belay. I'd looked at these a while ago when replacing a worn-out Reverso - I think they were pretty equivalent as far as price & weight. But I ended up getting a Tre Sirius instead.

hey Graham - good to hear that you don't have a brain tumor at least. I have a friend who has to be on medication that doesn't let him drink alcohol, and for him it's a sacrifice that's definitely worth making to keep him climbing a lot... So, just take it easy on the sauce before doing any leading, eh? we need you to stay in good health so that you can keep making packs - i'm gonna be pack shopping again soon. (by the way, whatever became of the clamshell-type crag pack idea? are you still pursuing that, or is the new 40L going to be the way to go for a cragging pack?)

No, it's the ACE/ClimbAxe brand. It's their version of the Metolius cheap bastard I think. no logos on it anywhere.

You should have no problem finding enough long, moderate 5-star routes to fill up 5 days of climbing. black orpheus, tunnel vision, frogland, dark shadows, etc... Some of them get almost all sun, some get no sun, so the weather conditions might narrow the list down for you. For a good list of some of the best or most popular, I recommend going to the Supertopo site and downloading the free topo to Black Orpheus. included in the file is a short description of each of the other climbs & crags that are included in the actual book, and those descriptions can help you plan the trip, even if you don't buy the book. it also includes all the normal beta about when the loop road opens, and what you need to do if you're going to be on the loop road after closing because you're doing a long route. Other than that, just remember that most climbs in the canyons have 1- or 2-hour approaches & the descents can be difficult in the dark. so factor that into your decisions too. as for backpacking, yes the grand canyon would be good for a trip like that. I've never been there in march, though, so don't know what the conditions would be like. Another option is Zion, which is 4 hours away & has trails for long back-packing trips, and some of my favorite scenery in the area. oh, and i've stayed at the "Spike" before....never again, man, never again...

Edit: Sold. 1 bouldering crash pad for sale. Never used. Dimensions when unfolded: 36" x 48" x 3". $70 obo. Pad is located in the Portland area.

Yeah, we're flying into the North Island. We have to visit some friends that work at a winery somewhere on the north island, and then stay a few days with other friends in Wellington before heading to the South Island. i'll try to do some climbing there if I can do the gear rental thing at Bryce's. I'll only have minimal stuff with me. But this NZ trip will be right after a month of roadtripping & climbing around the southwest states, so I figure I'll be needing some time to heal, and won't be too bummed if I don't climb too much down there. We're definitely looking at doing the Abel Tasman kayaking too. will probably spend a good amount of time around there. At this point, we've got a couple travel guidebooks and we're sorting out what our path around the south island will probably look like. but i still need to get myself the rock deluxe guide too.

it's probably buried under multiple feet of snow. the road doesn't usually open til april or may, but you can always call the ranger station and ask.

If they gained a consensus to change the grade, then I'd just want to hear about it - that'd be easy to mention in a route description. they certainly don't need my opinion, but how much of a consensus was there? And having a consensus that "this climb is hard for 5.8" is different than having a consensus that "this climb should be re-rated 5.9".

i noticed the same thing in the Weekend Rock Oregon book. A couple of the old-school climbs got upped a grade from how they're listed in the Tim Olson or Alan Watts books. Granted, the ones I noticed are indeed climbs that were usually considered hard for their grades, but i think that sticking with the old grades is a good way to keep myself honest. they can be a good ego check. anyway, i hope that you're right and that it's just because the Weekend Rock books are aimed at people who don't climb so much, and that it's not indicative of grade inflation becoming more accepted.

wow, so much traffic on a beacon/pdx thread. i'm overwhelmed. anyway, Stewart, that was me & my buddy who bailed off the SE corner tree ahead of you, while you were belaying Jim up on Saturday. we thought you were crazy for even considering going up any further. i was bummed to wimp out of our young warriors objective, but the sub-freezing windchill was really gettin to us. pink-chalk - that was me and a different buddy who were climbing next to you Sunday @ Broughton. (he helped you with the whole hair-in-the-belay-device thing). And a different friend who showed up to solo Mr. Bentley after we left. i've watched him do that several times, and it still creeps me out. But it's not at his limit, and it's short enough to be a boulder problem, so more power to him... glad folks had a good weekend outside locally cheers

i concur. it ended up being damn cold with the wind today. not as nice as i'd hoped for based on the forecast for 46 & sunny

Nice. Paynes Ford, the Cormandel, castle Hill, Bryce's - all are looking like places i'd like to chill at for a few days. the more i look at them, the more i want to extend my trip. As I mentioned, I probably won't have a rope or rack, so i'll be trying to bum belays off of people, or i'll just boulder. I'd bring more gear if I thought I'd be spending most of my time climbing, but I have to fit in a bunch of other stuff - tramps, kayaking, etc. i'm more interested in doing that routeburn than the milford, and i just need to convince myself that the conditions on it will be good enough in early November.

Excellent. Thanks for the responses guys. I think we'll be flying to & from Auckland, but we'll probably spend more time on the South Island. I'll read up a bit on the climbing locations on both. It sounds like the places on the south island may have good non-climbing diversions. As for other stuff, I'm definitely going to try the blackwater rafting. Zorbing looks...well, "interesting"...i had never even heard of it until I looked it up on google video just now...not sure if I'll try that, but it certainly wouldn't be the craziest or silliest thing that I've spent too much money on. Does anyone have any experience with the Milford & Routeburn Tracks? I'm interested in doing both, but if I can only fit in one, I'd like to know which to try for. Cheers

I'm looking for a little help on climbing locations in New Zealand. I'll be there for a month starting in early to mid October this year, probably living mostly out of a campervan, and spending time on both the north & south islands. The purpose of the trip isn't specifically for climbing, and my travel partner isn't really a climber, but I know there's a ton of good climbing there and I would hate to not get a little time on the rock. So, can anyone recommend some locations on either island where the climbing is great and I would have the best chance of showing up with shoes & a harness for a couple days and hopefully finding a partner or partners to climb with? I'd mainly be looking for cragging - sport or trad - and someplace where the weather will be OK for climbing in October. I won't have sufficient clothes/gear with me to get up into the alpine. If there are any particular locations that have good climbing, but also lots of other things to see/do, that would be ideal. Any NZ message boards where people post for partners? Also, this is my first trip down there, so if you have any other recommendations on things that are a must-do or must-see, those suggestions would also be greatly appreciated. Cheers and Thanks, hemp

everyone should join in. getting in shape can be fun... you can even do it while playing video games: http://wiinintendo.net/2007/01/15/wii-sports-experiment-results/

Summitpost - Click on the Mountaineer's link on the left. lots of pictures & detailed beta.

here's another one: get one 8.3mm x 60M twin/half rope for $92 (+$7 shipping). http://climbomatic.onedaydeal.net/ Only available for the rest of Saturday I think - this site is kind of like steepandcheap - a different deal every day.

I can't believe I didn't see this video until today. priceless. anyway, looks like it's at SW 20th & Salmon - the place where the first car eventually comes to a stop is right outside PGE Park & the MAC.

The older camalots work just as well as the new C4s - they're just a little bit heavier. Comparing the old Micro-camalots to C3s isn't as straight-forward though, since the C3s are a new design - they have only 3 lobes vs 4, and supposedly more flexible stems. i haven't used C3s, and they might have some small advantages over the micro-camalots (like a narrower head), but the micros will work just fine too on a starter rack if you don't want to shell out $$$ for the C3s. If they're 5-8 years old and in otherwise good shape, then inspect the whole thing, but the sling should be the only thing that you'd have to worry about. I don't know about local shops in seattle, but a common place to get cams reslung is through Yates Gear. It's about $5 per cam plus shipping, so factor that into your ROI for buying the used rack.

If you happen to be a size S or XL, there are some on sale for 50% off at backcountryoutlet.com But otherwise, I'd second the recommendation for Beyond Fleece. I've had one of their Schoeller soft shells for a couple years, wear it pretty much everywhere, and it's still in great shape. and the customization is hard to beat.