phillygoat

First of all, there is no reason to have daisy chains hanging from your harness while sport climbing. Simply clip in direct with slings or quickdraws. Lowering through the chains is standard sport climbing practice, while top-roping through chains is frowned upon. Sure, rap if you want to, but it is a pain in the ass to clean the draws off of a route on rappel- especially if the route traverses and/or overhangs. Far safer to lower and clean. Chain wear is negligible and no big deal to replace if it's fastened to the hanger with a quicklink.

Crazy! That dude looks like a hand all holdin' an egg, 'n shit! You just KNOW Dali was trippin' ballz!!!11

Did he get married?

Did he get married?

As far as I know, they are made in the same factory. Trango lists the #1 as rated to 4.5kn. Camp doesn't list specific ratings, but the header suggests 8kn. Finally, Mountain Gear lists Ballnutz as: Strength (kN): 4.5 (1, blue); 4.5 (2, red); 8 (3, gold); 8 (4, green); 8 (5, purple). For the definitive answer to all things Ball Nut/Ballnutz/Loweball ask Joe (JosephH) here.

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My heart goes out to Ryan's wife and family. When I first saw this thread I had a nagging feeling that I'd seen his face before. I didn't think much of it beyond the obtuse sorrow we feel for people we don't know, but sympathize with. Then the recollection hit me that I HAVE met him once while he and his wife were in Portland. It must have been three or more years ago at a scrappy Portland crag. I had only been climbing for a couple of years and, while excited about what I'd accomplished so far, was still a bundle of nervous energy that couldn't wait to get "THERE"- whatever that meant. While I forgot most of the details of that day I honestly remember seeing in Ryan the kind of climber I'd like to become. He exuded calmness and competence. As fruitless as it might be in my case, I still struggle to carry those qualities with me when I climb and I just wanted to let those close to Ryan know that he's had a positive effect on me. sincerely, phillip

For the love of god, just give him some salt already!!

That's protection for when we fall off Diedre!

Count me in! And if I have a few IPAs I might be inclined to bust out some of my dance moves! See you folks there! phillip

You are the best thing about this site. (sh*t- did I just say that out loud?)

[quote=billcoe BTW, lets start to ignore this thread so it gets buried like I intended and can then post some truly inspiring, amazing and wonderful pictures and information as is my wont. Found some new cliffs kind of thing. I don't know, Bill- It's kind of Dingus-y. (That is to say that it's sweet and contemplative and... GOOD.) BTW- I never had it too tough, but my dad died when I was 12 and I remember clear as day those attempts by mom to hold it all together by taking us kids to those certain, magical "wild" spots. It made a difference, for sure.

It was an April Fools joke.

I might admit to that if you could give me one good reason why I'd be down there while ______ is open... Besides, how would I be able to tell these new bolts from all the other new bolts? That, and whomever it was used way too much chalk writing it to be me. And, to borrow an oft-bandied phrase, isn't all this covered under the "if they bother you, just don't clip'em" doctrine I hear all the time? I know you might find it hard to believe, Joseph, but the term "grid bolting" never truly applied to this place UNTIL these bolts, IMO. One of my climbing partners has been plugging gear and clipping bolts since the mid-eighties and, truth be told, is mostly a sport climber familiar with the Tom Foolery of Smith. That said, the aforementioned dude was nonplussed by that bizarre nature of the "new" bolts depicted in the above photo. So- good riddance! Oh, yeah, before I forget... BEACON RULES!!! phillip

Thought of taking a picture of my Aliens and posting a for-sale offer just to mess with you, Bill, and see just how bad your gear-whore-ness is.

It's never felt like a private club to me and I've been out there dozens of times during the past 3 years. On the contrary, everyone seems to be really happy about the place and eager to talk about it. Hell, I've been to keggers down there! I don't understand the pseudo-secrecy. Either a crag is a secret or it's not. I was never told to keep my trap shut and always felt it weird to pretend that, now that I know about it, I need to make sure that others don't catch wind. Yes, the days of being out there for a week at a time by yourself are over. Oh well... It's one of the most beautiful places in Oregon, IMO, and if you seem like a nice person- I'll tell ya all about it.

So very curious 'bout that route! (and by curious, I mean I want someone to lead the whole thing while I flail away on TR)

Quoted for posterity!

Bill, I'd be happy to bring the Thailand guide as well as some photos...Warm climbing is right! I've never sweat so much while climbing. Does make the beer gut shrink, though!

Bill, For the record- this video consists of Sharma doing a water-up, 60ft deep water solo that is more than likely one of the physically hardest routes ever climbed. Along with footage of him taking a couple of 60-80 footers while trying to send a 250ft line. I'm not saying it's as cool as Chuck Pratt sending Twilight Zone, but it's far from what most folks think of as sport climbing. Oh, not to give it away, but he onsights Moonlight Buttress in Zion with a buddy... See you then

Bill, I've got the latest Sharma, ground-up Deep Water Soloing in Spain video, plus another video by that Brit crew that is full of leg-shakin', gear-rippin', ground-smackin' goodness. I'm just a few blocks away from Jim's and would be happy to stop by... so count me in. phillip ps- they don't seem to make any ground-up trad videos so tell Joseph to stay home, as he didn't seem too pleased with what Sonnie Trotter and and the rest of the hard "trad" guys are up to these days... pps- of course I'm kidding and would love to see the gang at Jim's...

Mark, What was your first Beacon FA?

I agree, Bill! (except for the fact that they were hexes)

I was just out there Tue pm and noticed at least a half dozen campers unhitched and piles of trash under trees- full trash bags, old transmission(!), broken vacuum cleaner, etc. The vibe was... a bit spooky. And a fucking generator ran all night long.

(in a quiet, sheepish voice) ...sport routes... But it's part of the training for the Grand Wall next month- if that helps put me within your good graces. You know how I CRAVE your approval, oh mysterious pink!