hemp22

Coincidentally, I just saw THIS LINK for 24" 6mm slings for $3.99 each. so if you're gonna try out these skinny puppies, now's a great time.

yeah, i wouldn't want to come across as saying that people should give up tying their slings with 1" webbing - those things were sweet... honestly though, the weight difference isn't really noticeable and wasn't a driving factor for me. it was the reduced bulk when racking slings on my harness that recently convinced me to get the skinny slings. but i still keep a couple nylon slings with me too. my point above though was just that the 6mm slings are not really any different from the 8mm or 10mm dyneema slings - once you're using a skinny dyneema sling, they all have the same pros and cons when comparing to nylon. and in practice i can't tell any difference between using the 6mm, 8mm, or 10mm dyneema - so get whatever's cheapest.

i have some of these. they're basically no different from the 8mm ones. at first i thought the ones that i got were 8mm also. I had to hold one of each size up next to each other to be able to tell the difference in width. That being said - i use them and feel just as secure on them than i do on 8mm or 10mm dyneema. Naturally, they'll require the same precautions as the 8mm ones when it comes to sharp bends (i.e. girth hitches) and having them wear quickly over time (short lifespan).

the Meadows wind gauge was giving readings last night (winds up to 99mph at 6600'). but it looks like it may also be broken now since this morning.

thanks for the update Rat. The media has been digging a little deeper, now quoting fuggedaboutit's posts from CC.com. LINK a friend who was up on palmer today described it as 40-50mph winds & visibility at 20 ft or less... Best of luck for the lost, as well as everyone who's helping out.

I bought my Heliums as a pack of Quickdraws because it was cheaper than buying them individually at the time. I then cannibalized the biners from the QDs and put them on my trad draws, and I put some older biners on the dyneema dogbones that came with the heliums. Mine actually came with short stiff dogbones (bartacked all the way through) made of 10mm dyneema, and the dogbones have a tight enough rope-end hole that they work great for regular sport draws even without the rubber keeper. But more recnetly, all the Helium QDs that I've seen in stores just come with a ~4" dyneema loop with the rubber keeper on the rope end - and I don't like that setup as much for the reason you mentioned: the rubber will probably break quickly. As for a biner for the top of the draw, I found that I like the Helium there too. If you're looking for a lightweight (wiregate) keylock, the only options that I know of are the helium & the DMM shield - both of which are really expensive. I heard that Mammut is going to come out with some really lightweight biners in the spring, but don't know if those will be keylocks. But if you don't mind a little extra weight of a solid-gate, the straight-gate Spirit (46g) is a good, tried-and-true option, or you could try the Simond spiders (50g) that are onsale are REI for cheap right now. $4.93

tonight's good deal: Petzl Am'D screwlock biners for $6.60 at Moosejaw low down. (like the steepandcheap deal, these'll only last til tomorrow or til they're gone.)

Saw this posted on RC. Pretty cool site that consolidates sale prices for outdoor gear from the major online retailers and updates them 24/7. http://www.spadout.com/prc_sales.php?prcs_report

not sure if there will be any left by the time folks see this, but there are dyneema tricams for < $10 at www.steepandcheap.com

I tend to agree - while it's often considered to be not the best style at a lot of places, stick clips are generally accepted and widely used at Smith. If other people want to use them on every climb, let 'em do it - but you don't have to conform and use one yourself. And I also agree that regular use of one can actually be bad for your lead head.... I don't carry one with me, but I'll admit that there are a couple times when it was nice to have one nearby so that I could avoid leaving a bail biner when I was too tired/pumped/cold/sweaty/hungry/weak/fat to pull through a crux...

I own a couple of these - just the 2 biggest ones. overall, they're pretty darn close to the WC ones. their shape is a little more stubby - they're a little shorter on the long edges than the WC ones. The 2nd largest CAMP hex (the brown one, #10 I think), is basically the same size as the largest WC hex (the purple one, #9?). I have both, and I haven't actually noticed a weight difference between the two. (although, now that I check the specs, the CAMP is a little heavier - 165g vs 156g LINK ) So, if you're looking for dyneema hexes and can get the CAMPs for cheaper, and you don't mind the extra 5-10% weight gain, then they'd easily take the spot of WCs. Or, if you already have WCs, the #11 CAMP makes a nice addition to the top end of the size range.

A couple good holiday shopping opportunities: STP has 50M New England ropes for $80 HERE REI has 5-packs of Mammut Yosemite draws for $60 (Each draw is a 24"x8mm dyneema sling w/ 2 wiregate biners) HERE

while on the topic of odd new belay devices, has anyone tried one of these? Tre sirius (available at mgear) i was toying w/ one in the shop the other day and it seems confusing - but the features apparently include psuedo-auto-locking on 2 lines - i.e. for rappel or leading on doubles.

No, I think that should be fine for City. The layout of the rocks makes it easy to stay in the sun all day when it's cold.

i have seen them, but haven't tried them. the feedback that i heard was that the climbing rubber soles wear out too quickly, and that they'll have a new version out next year to fix that problem.

This Thursday is the Portland showing of the Reel Rock Tour There's also a post-movie party at Climb Max afterwards. Thanks to everyone who helped at the Rocky Butte cleanup yesterday. It was a good time, and good meeting folks.

Joseph, based on the above 2 sets of statements, I'd like to digress a little to ask: what is your opinion of what is reasonable gear for avoiding the placement of a bolt by an FA? Let's say, hypothetically, that you're putting up a new route, and somewhere up one of the pitches (in a section that is on par with the overall grade of the climb - i.e. not necessarily the crux, but not really easy either) you come to a spot where it turns blank for about 40 feet before another good crack becomes available. On your way up, after 15 feet you find 1 placement for one of your little crack'n'ups w/ a screamer on it, and after another 10, you get in a little microstopper, before going the last 15 ft to a crack. As the FA, would you put any bolts in that section, or leave them off because you personally were able to protect that section with specialty pieces (knowing that the route would be R/X for anyone showing up with a more main-stream rack)?

last time i got exposed, i got totally covered in the stuff. i just tossed my harness, shoes & slings in the washer on cold with no soap, and they were all better. water will deactivate urushiol. i have tecnu too, but didn't want to try it on that stuff.

check on www.savemadrone.org and also in the August post in the Access Issues forum on this board for the latest

Crackers - that's good news. I couldn't quite justify buying one of the 30L or 40L worksacks since I already have a decent pack for cragging, but it's nice to know that there might be something new & improved on the way. I'd be interested in seeing a picture of your prototype, but here are some thoughts. How big is it? - big enough for a rope (in a rope bag) + a rack + water/lunch to all be stored internally? or is it a smaller size like a book bag? I'd look for slightly different things in a smaller pack vs a bigger pack. If it's small & there's no lid, is there sufficient strapping to drape a coiled rope across the top & attach it (I guess I can't picture what your external spot for the rope/helmet looks like). With no lid, are there be 1 or 2 small zippered pockets on the inside or outside to store wallet/keys and any other small items that we really don't want to lose amongst the gear? Thumbs up for the removable internal gear loops. Is there any place on the outside to clip my stinky shoes to air them out? I think that the multitude of straps that come with the worksacks would be overkill, or too complicated, for a cragging pack that doesn't have to be dialed in so precisely - but will it still compress down small enough to be comfortable to wear up a long route? (nice, low profile) Will the 1 big zipper be beefy enough to not break if we over-stuff the pack with heavy gear?

i don't have too many details. i suspect that the change of ownership is probably largely responsible for the move. the guys just signed a 5-yr lease on the new location, and the previous owner probably still controls the lease on the location next to the mountain shop. The new place is a pretty nice, newly renovated little spot (plenty of parking in the back too). As to whether the location will be better for business, your guess is as good as mine.

Reminder: Broughton's adopt-a-crag is tomorrow (Sunday) Link to details

FYI, Climb Max in Portland has moved (again). They're now at 928 NE 28th, just half a block north of Sandy. The new location just opened. (the guys also bought the shop out from the previous owner).

Excellent climbs. consider naming a route "Redneck Mimosa", after a delicious libation that's made from mixing PBR & Orange Juice.

on the main index page, why doesn't the "Last Post" seem to update for the Access Issues forum? when looking at the main index page, it seems as if the last post was in June.