JosephH

I left the decision with them, I was and am completely agnostic on which way it went - it had nothing to do with anyone telling anyone what to do.

No, neither did I when I put it up. But then the culture at Beacon is fairly anchor and beta dependent, particulary with regards to anchors. Given there is some natural confusion of the pitching on Menopause due to the fact it's an extension of 'Rythmn Method', but doesn't use its anchor, I provided beta on the first anchor location. I don't typically want beta on any aspect of a climb I'm going to do other than where it is and perhaps what the descent looks like.

Nope, just honoring Opdycke's request. I told him the status of the hold and asked him to sort out with folks what he and they wanted done - glued or trundled - the word I got back was fix if possible. It was. I did. I didn't make the call as I don't care - I can get up the pitch just fine either way.

If my intent were to have a 'true topic' that might be the case. As is, I could give a rip how 'accepting' anyone is about it.

The only beta in 'my thread' is about an anchor location which isn't obvious. Other than that, folks are on their own if they head up it.

Dude, you need to work on your reading comprehension. As I said repeatedly at the time, it had nothing whatsoever to do with what I personally wanted. If it were up to me I would have trundled it.

There are undoubtably many roads to Rome - but being fairly Edisonian in my approach to such matters I stop once I find a verifiable solution to a problem. Mark's is very much just that. Why should I screw around with anything else when I know this approach yields exactly the result I'm after?

Doesn't sound anything like the workout of the 54yo guy who just led all the pitches of the Nose in 15 hours. He must be doing it wrong.

Will probably just go do YW if not. Another thought, if someone else is willing, is to go around left of Jensens Ridge and whack a section out of the base of the big oak vines over on stellar routes like 'Lay Lady Lay' and 'Rip City'.

Anyone up for climbing wed or thu?

I'll admit, those anchor moves are damn tricky.

Route beta? No.

That's clearly the case on Hood.

Not everything, just most everything.

The day we were lashed down getting hypothermic on Canon the forecast was for a clear, sunny, warm mid-August day.

No one looking for those things would be looking in the Columbia River Gorge forum. Oh, and BETA is for Dicks.

What do you have to do with the Gorge?

It isn't. The cam works differently and it threads the reverse of a grigri. If both rope ends are hanging down it basically can't lock up. Oh, and if something snags the handle and pulls it back all the way it relocks on the rope.

When purity counts... [video:youtube]

Having lived in Francestown, I'd have to say I'd be considerably embarassed to die on Monadanock, soloing at Joe English Hill maybe, but Monadanock? That would be tough to live down, even for a dead person.

I lived and climbed in NH for two years back in the mid-80's and was 'lucky' enough to experience one the wild weather swings while on Canon in '86. We were doing Reppy's/MG and started out in t-shirts under a bright, sunny, and blue mid-August sky. I don't recall what pitch we were on when it all when hell in an instant. But at one anchor we literally had to sink more pro and lash ourselves together and to it for about an hour while an incredibly windy and extremely cold freight train roared through. Fortunately it motored past and returned to near the conditions we had started in, had it kept up and gotten worse we might have died. I believe at the time I heard folks had died of exposure on Washington in August and after our experience I have every reason to believe it.

Mutation rate drops as you leave the equator heading south or north.

Yep, there are just way more objective hazards involved with alpine. The point, however, was relative to beacons compensating for lack of skills and the problem with that line of reasoning is the average skill, experience, and knowledge level on Hood isn't all that great to begin with - a lot of folks just get away with it.

The problem with any conversation around skills development is that if there were a skills-based test for climbing Hood, what percentage of the annual number of climbers on the mountain would likely possess the skills to [personally] respond appropropriately if things went badly wrong? Beacons or no, the skills situation up on Hood isn't great on the whole - probably better than on the cable route on Half Dome, but not by a lot relative to the potential objective hazards and risks.