darstog

Having just moved to Portland and being intrigued by the buzz of this place, I stopped by today and was extremely impressed with the gym. It seems like they've done a fantastic job. There's a ton of terrain for a bouldering gym. There's a boulder that hangs from the ceiling, BADASS. The holds I saw up (most of the terrain was set and taped) were quality. There's a central boulder that's big enough to do some longer laps on. There's even a small boulder that has a slide on it for the kids (I'd like to say that my 3 year-old daughter got an FA, but she couldn't pull the mantle and figured she could just climb up the slide and go up that way; much smarter than I). The manager, Matt, was extremely welcoming and seems to have a great attitude about the gym and the PDX climbing community. He seemed to think they'd open up in about two weeks; they were pulling up the floor that had been flooded. Rates are going to be super-reasonable. All in all, defintely a place that I could see myself climbing in and a group of people I'd be happy to financially support.

Hi, We need a few volunteers for tuesday night's 6:15-7:15 Gary Kopff Vinson/Everest Slideshow at the Rainier Club. The event is sold out, however volunteers would be welcome to sit in on slideshow in exchange for clipping in guests to fixed line before dinner. Dress business/casual (ie no jeans) Contact via e-mail gary.kopff@aya.yale.edu

Grivel Condor Baaadddasss or Not Enough? It's light, could we leave our axe at home for MOST conditions? Is this the softshell of ice axes?

Since I'm totally the shit at rating things, I'm going to go out on a very secure limb and say that the rest of it is 10c/d. The Cramer book calls it 10d. I agree, you can't call it 10b, because you can't call it 10b at Index. 10a is off, because Breakfast of Champions is 10a and Thin Fingers is way harder than that. It's not 5.11, because it's just not that hard. Plus, if you call it 10c/d you can tell the ladies that you lead 10d on gear, and you're really close to getting an 11. Which would be true, because if you traverse below the 11a crux, you do get pretty close to it.

I think it's not a bad thread at all, Textplorer. There are quite a few of us who learned to climb cracks at places like the UW wall and this is a decent medium to convey some of our experiences to climbers newer to cracks. That being said... Coach's Crack-5.9 all for feet. 10a texture only Crack to the right of coach's-10 Climbing the diagonal crack on the wall to left of coach's crack via layback/texture only 5.11a Spinechopper (Crack on the N facing overhanging wall)-10a all for feet-11 texture only Crack on the right side of overhang, using rock immediately above crack to access the top-5.9 all for feet. 10b/c texture/crack only More later maybe if I think of them. UW IMA (all assuming texture/cracks only for feet): Big Wall Right hand side crack 5.9+ Hand Crack that leads from this to the left and to the top 11c/d Super-small seam left hand side 11+/12? Corner of boulder cave 5.10c Best boulder problem at the UW rock? Gorilla Traverse, texture only. Don't mess with texas.

Wild Things gear is made in NH. Nemo, a new tent co, makes their stuff in NH, too. OR still makes some stuff in Seattle, though they're starting to outsource more and more. MSR still makes snowshoes and a few other things in Seattle. Are therm-a-rests still made in the states? Other Cascade Designs stuff? Marmot makes some stuff in the US One of the things that kills me is the quality between US/Italy/Spain rock shoes and the "offshore" rock shoes. I've had like 10 pairs of rock shoes now (4 made in china, 6 states/italy) and the china shoes don't hold a candle to the states/italian shoes. 3 of the china shoes delaminated super-quick (one on the very first route out of the box) and the other china shoe I took back after about 4 sessions. A lot of the US rock shoe companies are having the socks made offshore and then doing the soles/rands in the states.

Please type up a comprehensive list of everything you had stolen, complete with your personal markings on the gear (marking tape, or whatever you use to identify your gear) and add it to your post. That way if any of us are at a crag somewhere and we see a "#1 Camalot, old style, with red tape on the stem, reslung with yellow spectra loop" or whatever, we can identify it. Also, take that list, print it out, and either take it in, or fax it to every REI customer service desk in your area. REI is the only shop I know of that takes used climbing equipment in and if somebody wants to make a few bucks off stealing your gear, you may be able to retrieve it that way. Hopefully somebody just thought that it was some abandoned gear and, hearing word, they'll return it, but if not, the above are the two steps I can think of that could help.

Treknclime, I'm sadly aware of the fact that the Epic tents and the eVENT tents are for fairly different circumstances. I bought the Firstlight just last week (haven't even seam-sealed it yet) and don't think I'll be getting it out anytime soon. I finish my master's thesis and my orals in June and then I'm heading off to city of rocks/sawtooths for a little trip, I'm thinking I'll use it for the first time then (hello afternoon thunderstorms-good idea, right?); maybe I'll post a TR and include tent performance somewhere in there. A friend of mine who's in product development was pretty sold on the epic tents, his belief being that the future of tents is in "softshell tents", with fabrics like epic that are lighter but not necessarily fully waterproof. But I'm of a similar mind when it comes to "if it's that wet, I'm turning around."

New eVENT tent. I don't know how they're getting around the GE liscensing agreement, but Exped (N.A. distribution by OR) is importing an eVENT tent called the Polaris. http://www.outdoorresearch.com/home/style/exped_or/exped_tents/10421 Looks pretty freaking cool. Around 5 lb. You can get it from mountain gear. Now, the question is... do I regret buying my BD Firstlight and vestibule? The ultralight super-nerd in me? No. The gear-dork who wants the bomber waterproof setup? Yes.

I've spent a silly amount of hours hanging in the Yates Big Wall. I can only say good things. Easily the most comfortable harness I've tried on. When we first got ours, the joke was that they're more like a diaper than a harness. They're so soft and huggy. Knowing what a diaper feels like is cool, right? Guys?

I've been really interested in this bag, too. On the scale, it does weigh in at a pound, and the tag says it has 11 oz of insulation. Compared to the 35-degree REI primaloft bag (which has like 20 ounces of primaloft) hanging next to the Pounder at the Flagship, the Pounder seems like a travelsheet. But REI tends to be rather conservative when rating their bags. The R&I review said they felt it was more of a 55-degree bag, which probably seems about right. Regardless, I think it's a sweet setup and I'm considering buying one. The next time I sleep outside (which won't be for awhile... damn still-broken ankle) I'm going to try and take one out, I'll let you know what I think.

Does anybody have much experience with Rabbit Runners? trango rabbit runners A friend of mine had one that I used and loved on a climb at squamish, but I never ran across any more until the other day. Trango gives a warning that "Be careful: because they’re not a sewn loop, the strength of the extended sling is only 12kN!" But if you're generating more than 12kN on a fall you've got a lot more problems than your rabbit runner popping, right? And can you think of a practical situation where you'd generate 12kN on the sling and not on the pro? I think for rock and alpine stuff they'd be great, no? A lot less to deal with than loop after loop of sewn runner.

you may want to check out integral designs endurance bag cover Bibler used to make a winter bivy, out of the epic fabric, at 9 ounces, MEC makes some cool overbags...

Say what you want about Jorvack's madness, but his methods have some validity... However I'm most interested in a bivy that will be truly waterproof... going to bugaboos, tuolumne, NCascades, etc for a couple of spring/summer/fall days, want to to stay really light, may have to deal with afternoon showers. I'll carry an extra 7 ounces (MH Bivy) or an extra 11 ounces (WT) to for full waterproofness and some weather protection. The idea of an overbag sounds great for colder temps, and the bibler looks great for snow stuff, but 3-season superlight waterproof coffin sounds like it would be a great addition to the closet of gear that's really only used to sleep out next to the river at Index.

What, I think, the president is trying to say is that there's no performance difference between anodized biners and non. It's nice to have different colors on different pieces. Red biners for red cams and whatnot. Sometimes W gets a little confused and having his aides color-coordinate his rack can be helpful

...and... if the eVENT is more breathable, do I need that sort of breathability? I'm not doing aerobics in my bivy. Is the PacLite breathable enough? Esp. for the weight savings.

Which is more breathable (for similar face fabric)? Does anybody know of any quantifiable data for this? And GE just bought eVent, so will paclite go away? What it boils down to is this: WT Bivy vs MH Bivy

This looks like a fun event- Steve House and Mark Newcomb. Gear reps are always good to talk with as well. Since I'm casted and on crutches and this is the closest I can get to any actual climbing, I'll be there... SEATTLE REI MOUNTAINEERING KICK-OFF WEEKEND FEBRUARY 11-12, 2005 Gear Vendors • World Class Climbers Expert Guiding Services Community Organizations ---------------------------------- Friday, February 11 ~ 7 pm Slide show Presentation with Mark Newcomb Mark Newcomb’s impressive resume includes climbs around the world and numerous first ski descents. Accompany Mark as he shares his photos and stories. ------------------------------------- Saturday, February 12 ~ 10 am-3 pm Climbing and Mountaineering Expo Gear vendors will be on hand to offer their extensive knowledge in gear selection and the newest technology. Get inspired to go to the mountains by Northwest guiding services and climbing-related organizations ~ 2 pm – 7 pm Meet & Greet with Mark Newcomb and Steve House ~ 3 pm Slide show Presentation with Steve House Through training and hard work Steve has established himself as a top alpine climber and mountain guide. Join him as he shares his expertise and slides. Whether you are a first time explorer or a seasoned climber, be sure not to miss this exciting weekend. *All events are free*

I'm sorry, Mr Morph sir, but I have to disagree with your negative review of the Chongonation website. Though I admire your brevity and cogency, you are flat wrong... that site is baaaadaaassss.

The MSR snowshoes are the way to go. Light, tough, versatile, traction, etc.