IanOutThere

It seems unlikely there is a definitive answer. The biner in the top photo is being used well outside its intended design. Why would somebody test it that way? Plus, in my opinion the further the biner is extended over the desk more force will be leveraged upon it and of course that number then would be a big range. I.e. will it fail at 5Kn if 20% is over the edge, what about %50?, a long slippery slope not worth tumbling down. Answer for problem: Don't let this happen, ever.

After getting fed up with the cost and quality of the selection of the retail telemark ski leashes on the market I decided to make my own. They turned our great and they have been tested on many powder days. The best thing about it is that I can make them any length - so my girlfriend has some that fit her small boots nicely and my Bigfooted friends don't have to make their retail leashes stretch so tight. Best of all they are cheaper than G3, BD, or any other. Hand made ski leashes $14 bucks for cascadeclimbers folks. Plus $3.50 for shipping from here in Spokane. If you live in the inland you could pick some up from me at my home in N. Spokane. The standard length I've been making is just over 10", but again I can make any size. Pictures at my blog: IanOutThere e-mail me if you need leashes: ian@farquhartech.com

Trip: Yangshuo, China - Multi-pitch limestone towers Date: 12/15/2008 Trip Report: Rock Climbing in YangShuo, China Beta for Multi-pitch Routes When I first arrived in Yangshuo I was prepared for a month of limestone sport climbing. I readied myself for pocket pulling and tufa pinching up steep white and orange walls. Once I began to roam the towers and delve into Yangshuo Rock Climbs I reliezed there may be a slightly more elusive Yangshuo climbing scene. I like mountain climbing so I made a point to climb as many multi-pitch routes up these impressive limtesone towers as I could fit into my trip. What I found was a collection of jungle adventures into beautifully unexecpted places with endless panoramic views of a magical land. There was also no shortness of crumbling rock, unequipped anchors, vine pulling, razor blades, hailing buses in the dark, rockfall, rusty mallions, and an ocassional snake. In otherwords: sweet! There are a lot of fresh bolts in Yangshuo and thus the climbing is fairly safe (some older routes do have some rusty bolts). Many rappell anchors need to be backed-up or rebuilt. Bring lots of webbing and rap rings. Next time I will bring many rapid-links and chains as most rap anchors could use some permanent equipment (this is also true even for some of the single pitch sport climbs). The rock here is both sharp and loose. Climbing here without a helmet would be foolish. Almost every route can be decended via the ascent line with one 60 meter rope. I found the topos in Paul Collis' (avail. here for 100 yuan) book to be well-drawn and consistent. Lastly, it should be noted that the amount of rock here makes the possibility of putting up more routes comparable to these completely unlimited. Hundreds, if not thousands of unnamed, unclimbed, unexplored towers rise from the rice fields and river flats in all directions. Climbers seeking limestone walls of adventure need to look no further. The Routes Thumb Peak - Happy New Year (5.10b,5 pitches) This is the first and definently the cleanest multi-pitch line I did here. Climbing in great, bolts are frequent, the top anchor was looking pretty hangered 'til we beefed it up. Bring lots of draws to link the 3rd and 4th pitch. The Screaming Mountain Turtle (5.9, 5 pitches) There is a new first pitch to this climb that is maybe 10a that goes to right of the original line with bleached out threads. The rest of the pitches are sharp. I almost broke Szu-ting's wrist with rockfall on the first pitch. We used a #2,#1, .5 Camalot to supplement some sections, otherwise there are lots of bolts. There is a hidden bolt on the traverse pitch. The top pitch requires loose climbing above dubious cams. The final rappell (off route) is a sketchy thread at a chalky stance. Low Mountain - L Echo des Montagnes (5.8, 5 pitches) An alpine style route with little hard climbing. Lots of rope drag if you're not careful. The 50 meter free-rappell is the best part of this climb, second is the very cool river of the river. In the shade for first half of the day and bolts everywhere. Low Mountain - Monkey King (5.10c, 5 pitches) First pitch is fanastic and clean, link it to the 2nd. The 3rd pitch is soft rock but cool climbing and the 4th is the only bolt protected off-width to squeeze cimney in Yangshuo. Must use every rappell station to get down. Despite being dirty this is a fun route! Twin Gate Western Tower - Penthouse Platforms (5.10a, 3 pitches) The hardest climbing is right of the ground. Like it says, big belay ledges, and the cool top-out and views make this an enjoyable route. Brave New World, East Face - The Witch Woman of the Rock (5.10c, 5 picthes, bolted anchors) This is the only true trad climb we did and subsequently the most intense. There are indeed cracks from top to bottom but the rock quality is variable. This was Szu-tings favorite route and for good reason: serious climbing, we got use the gear she brought all the way from the states, amazing exposure, even better views, and the only true hand jams in Yangshuo. This route is recommended for experienced trad climbers as we used cams to #3 and a small set of nuts and many long runners. The anchors are in good shape as they are good bolts equipped with rope loops and rap rings. The Egg - The Deviant Direct (5.9, 3 pitches) Szu-ting forgot we did this route so it must have not been very good. The 30 meter rappel directly from the top anchor is not eqipped and thus I had to jug back up to the anchor on-route. Gear Notes: Lots of quick draws and a handful of cams. Bail biners, rap rings, and anchor webbing/rope. Approach Notes: Fly to Hong Kong; either fly or bus to Yangshuo, then grab a 40cent mini-bus to the crags or pay $5USD for a van taxi each day. Stop at Lou's bakery for pizza and bready things, then at the market for chinese flavored snacks, then at the lady that makes rice noodles for lunch, then back to the market for 50 cent local 22oz-ers, then to the make-your-own-stirfry place for a dollar dinner. Repeat.

Yeah team, Salz stop your bitching and send it! Atleast you're not plugging cams into hollow LIMESTONE cracks like I am these days. Szu-ting and I scouted that thing on a kid trip last season. Nice to see you sending it for us!!!! ~farquhar

Trip: Broken Top south - SE spur from Broken Top TH Date: 9/6/2008 Trip Report: Took a high school friend up Broken Top this morning after a night of La Rosa margaritas. Slept in the dirt at the Broken Top TH, found the road rough from Todd Lake but manageable with 2WD. Just a few cars in the lot last night. Left the car just before 6am Followed the trail to the Crater Ditch and then followed the irrigation ditch to where it met the treed spur the comes down from the south ridge. Acsended to the ridge, was able to easily skirt a small snowfield, to a saddle with great views of the Sisters. Then we worked up loose but comfortable scree to some real loose and chunky volcano face. There was only a couple insecure sections. We made the south summit for amazing views by 8am. Quick break to reverse route and back at the car before 10. I was really blown away by how fast this went. A great slog for the views and ambiance. It's nice when you can drive to 6200' in the Central Cascades. Saw no one on the trail, but saw a lot of tourists driving their cars around in the dirt. Gear Notes: Gaiters! Water. Approach Notes: Follow the use trail on the south side of Crater Ditch.

Two days used and hard to find mid-top approach boot/shoe. Sole has dirt on it - otherwise still smells like new! 5.10 Stealth Sticky rubber sole, the best sticky sole out there. Just a bit too small for me. A steal at $45, Greenwood, Seattle. IM me.. ~ian

sweet man!!! Rad climbing. Awesome pics. BRutal bivy. Yup, the pic that shows you at the notch is were we entered onto the ridge when we climbed the regular route Wed. From there we skirted sans rope to the east of the ridge and began to simul when we got to an obvious bulging corner right on the crest. We focused on staying on the crest the whole time and made it to the gendarme without route snafus... I had the same amount of bivy gear with me just days ago and you are hardcore to make that unplanned high bivy. Cheers! Also the first pitches look real nice - I'll guess I'll have to do it again... ~ian

"can't really say you climbed the entire north ridge unless you actually "CLIMB" the entire north ridge " I had no intention of misleading anyone on the particulars of our route (see approach notes). The route we used to approach the ridge follows the approach in Beckey under "North Ridge" directly. If you would like to call it something else maybe you should give Fred a call and ask him to publish an update for Volume I. With that said, this route was awesome and fun and had great climbing and exposure. It's all just a bunch of passes and ridges and summits and mountains. Just go climbing!

Trip: Mount Stuart - North Ridge Date: 7/30/2008 Trip Report: This was an amazing all-day push from Ingalls Pass TH with Doug, Eve, and Andrew. We had great weather once we reached the N. Ridge, yet the gendarme pitches were really cold and slightly icy. The decent into the Cascadian was a little loose up high but fast and sandy as we dropped. While climbing up to Longs Pass from Ingalls Peak I was in a dream-like state We travelled dawn 'til dusk never having to use our headlamps on the 16 hour push. Yesterday I couldn't walk down the stairs but it was worth it! Simul-climbing the ridge up to the gendarme picthes will not soon be forgotten. Stuart truly is worthy of her/his crown. for a complete TR and photos - it's on my blog: ianoutthere.blogspot.com Gear Notes: approach shoes, crampons (2 of us had alum.), ice axe, 2 35M ropes, cams to atleast 3.5", plus TCU's, gloves and puffy, Approach Notes: Ingalls Pass, Stuart Pass, Goat Pass, high traverse across Stuart Glacier, up 3rd class gully to reach outstanding N. Ridge

sold it

Beal Ice Line from Black Diamond. Still coiled and in the plastic. 60M, yellow... I ended up with three of these somehow.. need 2... $110 a steal 360.510.9293

Ian Out There Blog My blog has some very varied trip reports and some decent photos. Let me know what you think. As the winter progresses more local Central Oregon skiing and climbing will be posted. peace, ~ian

Climb: Quall Butte, SE of Mt. Bachelor-face Date of Climb: 11/28/2005 Trip Report: Yesterday, with the help of my sledneck friends I skied a face of Quall Butte I've been looking at for years. I dare say it may have been some of the fluffiest snow I've ever seen in the Southern Cascades - truely sweet! See ianoutthere.blogspot.com for a full trip report! Gear Notes: big, bad-ass mountain sled tele boards rope Approach Notes: Edison Snopark

I should note also; we also used an ice axe to get up to the rocky part of the ridge, where we left a pack. I would suggest to anyone to appproach from one of the southwest gully variations, thus avoiding the ultra nasty and dangerous 2nd pitch. Also the last few pitches have a few short steep sections on fun solid rock, but if I was to do it again I would head for the 5.7/5.8 crack that splits the summit block directly on the west face... when rappelling it I found it looked cleaner and sweeter than from below. As for the east colouir, no idea? but the gullies on the north side of the west ridge looked really thin. Obviously very little snow, since we were able to stay on rock on route the entire climb (in March). Last, like Andrew said, a beautiful route with lots of diversity and sweet views of liberty bell et al., perfect approach. Other things about our climb: 9 hours car to car, not even enough snow to warrant bringing skis, post holing a few hundred feet from creek to road at the end of the day, very windy on the descent, some folks would think nothing of soloing most of the ridge. climb on, ~ian

I don't know his number. But you can probably find him on one of those alpine aretes he's been eyeing to get on!