darstog

Check your PMs.

Thanks. On the way to CBR, you go up Asgaard for like 300 feet, after which you cut over through a series of trees and boulder fields into a gully that takes you to the base of CBR. My down sweater is lying somewhere in the tree/boulderfield bushwack!

My highly prized (a gift from my better half) Patagonia Down sweater was pickpocketed by the trees on the bushwhack into Colchuck Balanced Rock (amazing route!). It's in a blue stuff sack. $50 reward. .00000001% chance of recovery. Fingers crossed. Thanks

I, too, would second "tackling the gendarme." It's amazing climbing and when you look down to the escape gully you'll think, "people climb that?" Really, the climbing isn't very difficult. I didn't find either pitch harder than 5.8. The first pitch has absolutely sinker jams/lieback the whole way up (complete with 3 or 4 no-hands rests) and the second pitch is a little awkward but is all over once you get your feet in the wide crack (maybe 8 feet of strenuous climbing). If you're concerned about the difficulty, bring a 3.5 and a 4 camalot and you can aid the difficulties of the 2nd pitch in 40 seconds.

Thanks, but $60 + any repairs + getting it from Redmond is a little out of the budget. I was hoping somebody would have an unused beater taking up space in the basement and I could give them a little $ for their time.

Bill, Thanks a ton. Check your PM's--I wrote you a longer note. Chris And I don't want to get greedy, but I definitely wouldn't mind hearing a duet while I bang away on a keyboard in my office...

Sorry--meant to put this into "Yard Sale." Anybody know how to move this?

I work for the Outdoor Program at a school in the PNW. Our office recently lost its beater acoustic guitar (the playing of which--by students--added greatly to the ambiance of the office and to the culture many of our trips). I'm looking to replace this guitar but have an extremely limited budget. Do any of you have an old, beater acoustic that you'd be willing to part with for $30 or so? It doesn't need to have a case, new strings, etc. All that I care about is whether it's in good enough shape to hold a tune and to help students learn to play a little. Any takers? PM me. I'd be glad to pick it up in the PDX area... Thanks!

Bill, That was most definitely the species at those anchors (I'm not really into ornithology, but I was VERY close to my little pal--close enough to make a positive ID). He seems to have a good set-up over there (sans climbers). There was not only a ton of owl crap, but the remains of quite a few little critters he's been snacking on.

FYI, There's an owl who has made his home immediately below the anchors on Grunge Book (I think this is the name of the climb--between Blownout and Excalibur). He wasn't particularly fond of the fact that I had to rap from his anchors. I wasn't particularly fond of the large bird-of-prey with a huge beak hissing at me. We parted company as quickly as possible. I doubt this will affect many people, I just don't want my owly friend too stressed out...

Thanks a TON!!! this link seemed to work better: https://library.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/misc/Freedom_of_the_Quad.pdf I'll be out tonight... hope campus safety isn't...

I'm spending a week on the Stanford campus and, remembering that it's the "birthplace of buildering," was wondering if any of you had done any climbing on the campus. Any can't-miss projects/buildings/walls? I can't really budget a huge amount of time for a session, but am thinking that I'll be able to sneak out here and there for a few moments. Of course, I'm saying this knowing that I violated my "never travel without a pair of Moccasyms" maxim. Stupid, stupid.

I'm thinking about making my first-ever weekend run to Yosemite from PDX (I have some friends who are going to be bumming in the valley and I want to join them for a route). I'll be flying out of PDX on a Friday. I can't seem to find quick and efficient transportation from Fresno (or any airport, really) to the valley. It seems like I need to fly into an airport, take a cab to a train station, take a train to a bus, etc. Thoughts on making this easier? Has anybody accomplished this (died trying)?

I got the same treatment. Graham definitely seems to me a hard-working dude. I own 2 Cilogear packs... will probably buy more...

http://www.usoutdoorstore.com/outlet/index.cfm?fa=products.showDetail&sku=84652 Size Medium. Color Black. I ordered 2 sizes and ended up going with the small. It runs pretty big. I'm 5'10" and if I were any bigger I'd want the Medium. Retail is $325 and from other auctions, tt seems I could probably fetch around $250 on ebay, but I'd rather sell it to the "community." I'll sell it for $235 including shipping to continental US. PM me if interested or with questions. I love the small I have. Unbelievably light, compressible, and warm. The down is robust and high-quality. The medium has been stored in my closet fully-lofted.

That's wild. It seems a little bulky, don't you think. I feel like I can see it getting hammered around unless it was affixed to a bolt or a cam on a very short sling. I purchased a pair of Petzl Tiblocs and my friend a couple of Wild Country Ropemans (Ropemen?) for the purpose of simulclimbing. I know there's been a few debates on some other sites regarding this, but I'm wondering if anybody has used any of these devices (or others) with any degrees of success. (read: I've yet to use my tiblocs--damn this whole "making a living and raising a family" thing--but am hoping to do Slesee this summer).

Thanks for the note. Arcteryx also has coming out something like a $750 insulated, shelled jacket. And that's on top of the Dually Parka which is like $450 and not a high-tech shell. Though neither of these interest me, it sounds like Westcomb has the potential to make a pretty primo NW belay jacket...

Thanks, again, FF for another solid reply. Thanks, again, Dru, for informing all of us that you have the ability to purchase product below MSRP; it brought true joy to my heart. FF, the Volant in eVent would surely be my choice in belay parkas if I was sure that I wouldn't get H2O coming in through the seams. Have you all considered jumping on the welding wagon? If so, when? If not, why not? Do you have customers/employees ever seamgrip their seams? This seems obnoxious, I know, but even yesterday on the evening stroll with the ladyfriend the inside and pockets of my down vest were soaked with H2O coming in through the seams.

Thanks for the very solid reply. You folk at FF seem to consistenly provide honest and open responses without the intention of pushing your products too much, which is hard to do. And, don't worry, I undertand the beauty of the Volant and its many shell fabric possibilities. I think the Volant that I'd put in my quiver would have Nanosphere on it, but that's for a different thread... Sounds like Endurance isn't the shell fabric I'm looking for. Although I "get" the whole don't-put-a-wpb-membrane on a synthetic jacket, I've adored the Epic shell on my belay parka on many occasions. I absolutely can't stand a true hardshell (though I own a couple of 3-layer hardshells, they rarely make it out of my closet). Having a weatherproof shell on the belay jacket to me means that I don't have to bring any of the $750 in crinkly, stuffy hardshells that are in my closet. It means that if I have to putz around in not-fun weather, I don't have to worry about moisture because I trust that my shell will keep out the moisture and then my synthetic bag will take care of the rest. The ultra-light, ultra-breathable shells on something like the Mammut Stratos and the Patagonia DAS are great for really cold weather, but when percipitation is in the liquid state or is PNW-close-to-liquid, keeping as much moisture out of my clothing system seems to me important. I think purchasing a jacket with one of the Gore membranes on it seems a total waste. Having an eVent shell seems reasonable, as it's uber-waterproof and uber-breathable, therefore guaranteeing that my hardshells stay in the closet where they belong. The Epic shell may be the way to go, though I know that Epic, though quite light, isn't as WP or as B as something like eVent. What's the vibe from your Nanosphere fabric customers? This sounds like an amazing shell fabric. Very water resistent (like Epic), very light (like Epic), and very breathable (better than Epic). Nobody, so far as I can tell, is putting Nano on a synthetic belay jacket, though I wouldn't be surprised if somebody started to.

Does anybody have any knowledge about the breathability of Pertex Endurance? After having a belay jacket with an Epic shell (an old Go-Lite Belay Parka), I'm pretty sold on having a decently weather-resistant shell. Looking at this: http://www.rab.uk.com/products_synthetic_belay.html Oh, and why doesn't anybody make a belay jacket in eVent? WTF?

Did anybody pick up 3 ropes at Smith on 11/19, either (most likely) left in the parking lot to be picked up by the second half of a group or (less likely) between 5-Gallon and 9-Gallon? If so, please respond or PM me and I'll identify the ropes and provide a way to retrieve. Thanks.

Did it lose warmth because it wasn't stored properly or do you think it was because the Primaloft began to deteriorate (was it stored dirty/oily)? Or should it be expected that after about 100 nights on an uber-lite synthetic bag the thermal capacity will begin to drop? Were you compressing it frequently during the summer you used it a lot?

I have a go-lite down bag that comes over the shoulders but doesn't have a hood and I really like that. This tosses the viero out. The thing about the half bag is that it's 13oz heavier than the pounder and I think a little less efficient than a pounder and a 13-oz heavier jacket/pants system.

Does anybody have any experience with the MH Ultralamina 45? I'm looking for an ultra-lite synthetic bag that would be used in conjunction with a belay jacket and micro-puff (pajama) pants in colder weather and as an ultra-lite standalone in the summer. I like the zipper setup on the MH more so than I do the setup on the Marmot Pounder, which is also in contention. Of course, now that I think about it, I was thinking earlier in the year that I liked the Marmot better. They both have 11oz of fill, but the Marmot was 8oz lighter. Yeah, I was liking the Marmot better. So does anybody have experience with the Pounder? Crap, there's probably a thread about that somewhere. Maybe this thread can be this amazing resource where everybody waxes about synthetic ultra-lights. But you can't say "get a down bag" because I got a 1lb down bag. That's a rule. Go!

One of the questions I have for FF is what they're thinking about their licensing of Schoeller's NanoTech fabric. Specifically, are you thinking about putting it on some of your garments (you may already be doing this--I'm no longer in Seattle, only can check the web)? And how are the weight/breathability specs compared to epic. I've sort of always wanted a FF jacket but have been afraid of the eVent/Epic debate and the Hooded Helios/Volant with Hood debate. Maybe you'll make a new jacket between the two that has an integrated hood and is shelled with Nanotech? I'd probably buy it and lose less sleep.