Kevin_Matlock

dood, you got a sweet "trad RACK"!

Goog job Oleg. Glad you finally got your summit!

A climber I did an alpine thing with this past summer also had some pretty decent skiing experience. He was highly praising randonee. So, for what's it's worth, there's your third-hand opinion. I can't find a LOT of info on the web about randonee shit, but does anybody know if the bindings work with double boots? My clip-on crampons make me think that with the lip in front/back should allow a binding to work as well.

tex- Gumbie? Well, DUH, Captain Obvious. ryland- I climb there 3 or 4 times a week... don't know if that's considered "not very much", but it's plenty for me. I said that "I wasn't sure" about the lead ropes... it was just a guess. Have not seen anyone bring in their own shit so I just assumed this was the case (yeah, I know what happens when you AssUMe ).

This thread has been an interesting read. I'll just say up front that I've never set foot in prg, but just for comparison sake I just had some thoughts comparing prg with stoneworks (the gym I DO set foot in): I don't know if SW does this or not, but I would be surprised if ANY business were to do this. I mean, the whole point of the annual "commitment" on the part of a customer is the reason why many businesses will cut you a break on the per-month rate. It's similar to a lease... you wouldn't expect an car dealer to break a lease without a penalty. But, I DO have to say that in certain cases (like going off to war) a decent business should be flexible and "do the right thing". SW supplies TRs. Not sure about lead (loose) ropes. I would suspect they do though. What's all this talk about cardio, pilates, yoga, blah blah blah. SW doesn't have shit in this regards. I think they have a single stationary bike upstairs, but that's it. They DO have awesome push-up and sit-up stations; some of you may also refer to this as THE FLOOR!!! Honestly, if I wanted these other things I'd just go pay for the 24hr fitness membership. However, SW is quite a bit cheaper than PRG (from what I've read), so I could probably pay for both and it would come out costing about what the single PRG membership is. No problems here... SW has plenty of mats by my estimation. But I bet it's a smaller place. Sounds interesting... what the hell is an "HIT system"? I have chronic aches and pains so maybe SW should get 'em! SW's group classes are ALWAYS at a regular time: NEVER! I consider you PRG-ers lucky to have such a thing as part of your membership. Again, just one guy's (very limited) comparision/opinion. Not affiliated with either, just a reasonably happy gym member!

I was the first to summit the morning of the 20th aniv, May 18, 2000. Yeah, I know that's lame; but's that's all I got. The helicopters buzzing overhead (due to the 20th anniversary) made for a suckfest.

You sure about this? I mean, wouldn't you have to weigh several hundred lbs, be climbing on static rope, and take a fairly long fall to make one of these bend enough to seize the threads? Seems an average size adult falling on a dynamic rope simply wouldn't generate the needed kNs to tweak a quicklink. What diameter of you talking about... I think mine is about a 3/8" stock.... maybe I'm just using equipment from the "dumbo the elephant collection"?

I second, third, AND fourth that!

Dog's Tooth arete (Dog Mt.)... "Portland Rock Climbs" says it's a ridge line of moss-covered, rocken rock with exposed ravines. Call me a glutton.......

What's a trad draw compared to a normal draw? Is this just a couple of biners and a runner made to whatever length you might need at the moment?

k.rose - Looks like this has those small barbs. You ever Any problems with rope shred during hard falls?

I will agree that the Detroit airport sux well hung donkey; however my vote is for Taos, NM. Quite the trendy, tourist trap (ala Sisters, OR). While fine if you are into that sort of thing ("not that there's anything wrong with that"), but DEFINITELY not the place to be broken down. I'm still walking bull-legged over that little incident.

Buy a westfalia!!! Oh shit, did my avatar give me away.... Anywhere from mid 70's (easier to work on) up to 90 (more expensive). This covers either the bus or the van. Store butt loads of gear in the things and sleeps 4 no prob. Interior lighting; comfy seating; stove; fridge; like living at the Hilton (not Parris). This is my second and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Makes a TH/camping vehicle. Downsides - a bit of a target for theives (they know you have crap in there); so-so gas milage (20mpg); it's way helpful if you are a little mechanically inclined to save $$$; they are heavy and SLOW... but where the hell are you in a hurry too?!?!?!? Good luck with WHATEVER you buy since even newer cars can be lemons. Just take whatever it is to the mechanic you plan on using and ask them to give it the once over BEFORE laying down your hard earned green backs.

I've been interested in this too and have done some research on this. Let me say in advance that I've not done any soloing before and simply offer some of this random info that I’ve picked up as food for thought (use at your own discretion): -Yeah on what Bill said... Joseph H seems to be pretty knowledgeable soloing. Don't know him, but from what I've read of his posts, sounds like he might be a good info source if he doesn't mind the questions (Joseph – hope you don’t mind me volunteering you, and if you EVER hold a clinic let me know ). -About the grigri: at the gym I climb at, the route setters solo using grigris when setting lines. Looks really straight forward and they don't backup (but one could argue that a gym and real rock are hardly comparable). They just need to get to a decent jug in which the free hand can take up the slack on the tail end of the rope. -About the advantages of the soloist/silent partner over the grigri, is that the wren products are suppose to be self-feeding (the silent partner using a clove hitch). The grigri requires you to pull the slack through by hand. I have also seen altered grigris that are more true “self feeders”. I'm sure there could be lots of discussion about how safe/unsafe this practice is. Do a web search on this topic if interested. Also, some of the devices mentioned in this post require the use of a chest harness. This is just to assure that in the event of a fall that you load the rope in an upright position. -Don't forget that most of these devices require at minimum a 10mm or so rope. Too narrow and the caming device won't get enough drag to engage. -Some of the ascenders (like my old Wild Country Ropeman) have a cam with small barbs in which to grip the rope. I've read this has been shown to SHRED ropes sometimes during hard falls. This device was never intended for self belaying, but you could probably get away with it. It looks like the wedges with larger-tooth profile would be much gentler. -Quite a few people will tell you DON'T SOLO! It's stupid and dangerous, blah blah blah. Again, I'm sure that could be a major thread on it's own, but don't be surprised if you are doing it and someone flips you shit about how foolish you are. Personally, I think it's just a matter of choice. Sorry this is just a jumble of thoughts, but that's sort of how they came out. Have fun and let me know how you make out (if you try it)... I'm interested if it's as straight forward as it seems.

Cheap ass Walmart pack. Not sure the actual brand name. True story... Many moon ago a penny pinching buddy of mine made fun of me shelling out $125 on a new pack. He instead ran out and for $19.99 bought the cheapest peice of shit he could fine since it was "just a bag to throw your crap in". On the hike out, he got maybe 2 miles down the trail and was complaining of shoulder pain. The pads were so thin (and he had it WAY overloaded) that he had these nice matching red streaks on his shoulders. I still think he had some sort of weird ass reaction to the cheap-O material the thing was made of since I have yet to see anything so pronounced after such a short hike. But anyway he just had to deal with the pain. At one point after a rest stop, we reslung our packs. I watched him get ready to hit the trail by pulling down on the POS cinch straps and the fucking attachment points at the top of the straps gave way. The pack just sort of rolled down his back and hit the ground behind him. I just stood there looking at him and was blown away that even a $20 pack could be made soooooo crappily. He just turned around and looked at the pack and said "oh damn, my chute deployed early". I nearly pissed myself. Still makes me laugh to this day! NEVER EVER buy a pack that also includes a "free canteen and action sun glasses". (Ok, so I made this last part up) Funniest/cheapest thing ever.

Yeah, SEA makes sense... but LAX makes sense, too???? I think it's just as retarded as PDX. Wonder if the X has some sort of connotation of "exchange"? Maybe "xfer" (aka transfer)? No... I'm sure it stands for "xylophone". Yeah, that's it!

Well I can't say that "rope sheath" exactly matches my wife's interior theme so I'll have to pass, but I WILL give you an A for effort. Very cleaver!

No, sir... the biners are practically new so it is a nice, crisp, clean "7". You give me an idea though, I should just add a "1" to the front of it making it "11700" thus increasing their strenth substantially! Oh, good point on the thin radius; hadn't thunk that. Yeah, these bad boys are going to have to be used only in special occasions (i.e. desparation, ran out of other biners, etc).

It's only funny 'cause it didn't happen to me!

Thanks for the link. Don't see mine on there though. They are smaller (I'm guessing) just to minimize weight. I can only imagine what they would be like if they were wire gates!!! And they DO have super smooth gates, that's for sure. If they really are rate for 19kN then I should be ok. They just have such little hinge pins and seem so dainty. I guess I'll just use them as backup to my backup. I got 6 of them off of ebay for something like $10... so even if I just use them to hang crap off my pack then it was still an OK deal.

Anybody have any firsthand experience with the Lowe Fader carabiners? I have a few asym D's and they look like 3/4th "normal" size biners. I have a few of them (got a deal on 'em) but they remind me of a novelty carabiner like you might find on a keychain. They are much denser alumimum than the novelty crap so they seem more legitimate. They are just small and light I'm almost afraid to rack them up! Aside from the name, the only thing stamped into them is "KG <-> 1700" along the spine oposite the gate. Simply converting the KGs to LBs works out to about 3750. But most other climbing gear is not simply rated for weight, but rather impact energy (K.newtons). Does anybody know if these safe for climbing? There is almost no info on the web on them.

I'm just heading out the door to go to Stone Works gym (Beaver-town) and I thought I might put the feelers out.... Anybody want to swap belays at the gym? When I'm there (usually fairly soon after they open) it's mostly just the bouldering crowd. Bouldering is fine, but I just want to spend some time on the ropes, too! Just wondering if any CC.com-er's out there happen to also be SW-er's.

sat: rockworks gym... but, but, but... that's INSIDE (DOH!) sun: headed to vegas to go be a tourist (double DOH!)

Yes, my therapist also agrees that I'm "unique".

Rock-n-fucking-roll! SCORE! Congrats.