darstog

Nano. Worth the price. Nano.

I've heard for a while that they've been looking to lighten the cobra up, and that they were going to "update" it. The thickness of the carbon fiber on the cobra actually makes it heavier than the Viper. They were going to update the cobra, keeping the carbon fiber shaft, making it lighter than the viper while still retaining the dampening qualities of the cobra. Others on this site probably know more.

NOLSe, You know a fair amount more about synthetic insulation than I do, but I do own the Mammut Cloud jacket, which has an uber-thin layer of MTI performance. Unless I'm mistaken, it's last year's version of the stratus. I've been really impressed with the insulation. I've talked to the Mammut rep once about the insulation, and he was saying that there are 3 kinds of insulation in that fill, a 3-denier, a 5-denier, and a 7-denier (I may be mistaken on the numbers, so say +/- 1 denier). The Montbell looks to have 2 types of insulators, an 8 and a .7 (how can they make .7 denier insulators, that's crazy thin?). So I'd imagine that the Mammut must be a little more durable, wouldn't you think that once the .7 denier insulation was shot, you'd lose some of your warmth? Anyway, the cloud is quite warm for what it is, but remember how light that is. So it's not like an inferno in my jacket. But this year, they've put "double the insulation into the stratus hooded jacket." I think this would be a little more functional. Either way, I'm pretty impressed with the warmth from the uber-thin layer of my cloud. To me, it's a perfect piece for belays on cool routes. It's not a full on belay jacket. Even the Stratus (with double the fill), wouldn't be a full on belay jacket for cold routes. With double the fill, I'd imagine it would be like the Mountain Hardware compressor or the REI gossamer. I'd trust the Mammut over the Montbell. Why not Primaloft? Wild Things Nevado? Epic shell. If you want to check out my cloud, I'll be at the circuit gym around 6ish. Reply to Darstog: Some helpful information; some gobbledygook jibberish. Reply from Darstog: Par for the course.

When I called bittersweet gear, the phone rang and rang, and when I e-mailed, it came back undeliverable as their inbox was overfull. Not looking like I'll get the helmet from them. But I'm still interested in finding out who will be making the new generation of this helmet.

So HB went out of business and their old Dyneema helmets are getting hard to find. I meant to buy one forever and just kept waiting and waiting. Now the foam in my BD helmet is cracking and I want a Dyneema helmet (no more foam and low-volume suspension-style). I heard that another company is going to start making dyneema helmets. It's not BD. It's not DMM. Who is it? Rumor is they'll be around in late spring. Anybody know? Let the trade secrets flow like water...

I see what you're getting at, and I won't rush to the assumption that W believes aliens have supported our evolution. And I'll back down when somebody can prove that W believes the earth is older than 7,000 years. Until then, the rest of my argument remains.

Go ahead and check the labels of a great deal of the new Arc'Teryx products. Gloves, sportswear are almost all made overseas. As far as Patagonia goes, there surely must be somebody who reads this site that can attest to the working conditions in factories producing Patagonia products. I don't think this thread is about who's a better person (Yvon or W), I think this is about isolating some very discouraging aspects of how the LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD looks at said world (as 7,000 years old). As far as not having definitive evidence of W's beliefs, one need only logic: Proponents of ID believe that the world is only 7,000 years old. George Bush is obviously a proponent of ID. Ergo George Bush believes (and does not deny otherwise) that the world is 7,000 years old. Now, if one wants to be open minded and say, "Hey, I'm open minded, lets let them teach a couple of theories, evolution and ID," one needs to bear in mind how absolutely shortsighted this is and how it only teaches science and the Judeo-Christian ideas. If you're going to open the gates and teach non scientific (religious) ideas about the history of the universe, it's racist/xenophobic/close-minded/wrong to only teach those of Fundamentalist Christian theories. If Bush wasn't trying to push his Fundamentalist Christian beliefs on EVERY CHILD IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, and was only trying to open the minds of others, surely he would be asking that a great many ideas/creation stories/mythologies are taught. Aboriginal Austrailians believe that all animals and humans were formed from the earth. You don't see W pushing that idea into the public schools, only close-minded Judeo-Christian ideas. Let's take a look at those who believe that the earth is 7,000 years old: Orthodox Jews, Conservative Catholics, Mormons, Fundamentalist Christians, and a few other groups of really, really welcoming, loving individuals. And if we want irony, we need look no further than the fact that Texas oil money comes from (duh) oil, which takes millions upon millions of years for nature to produce. Or maybe the intelligence put it undeground for us. So the intelligence put forests for us to take trees? You proud, squid?

Sounds like you're right, that the W does believe (or at least won't deny believing) that the earth is less than 6,000 years old. That's amazing. Did Cher say it best when she sang, "If I could turn back time..." Does this absolutely amaze anybody else? Anybody who, say, has any belief in SCIENCE!!! Let's all hear one for Christian Fundamentalism.

I've finally fallen into the trap and am making my first post in Spray. Squid, are you proud? Just glancing through Alpinist 12 and there's a brief interview with Yvon Chouinard on the last page. He mentions that Bush doesn't believe in global warming because of his conviction that the earth is only 6-8k years-old. Part of me wants Chouinard to be right because, you know, we all like that hippy Patagucci lifestyle stuff, but I'm feeling like I want him to be dead wrong. Does anybody have any information to substantiate this claim?

Just about to throw the rack and the rope into the car. I'll be at bat wall around 4:30, unless I run into somebody needing a partner between here and there...

New to Portland and I have a couple of hours this afternoon. I'm planning on heading up to Broughton (where I've climbed a few times now) and am looking to meet some people. I'm bringing a rope and a medium-ish rack. Unless I meet anybody specific, I may wander on down to Bat Wall and get spanked there. However, I'd be just as happy to climb Gandalf's or at Hanging Gardens or whatever. I'm very non-discriminatory, I'm just as happy to get spanked on a 12 as I am on a 9, or I'm happy to lead moderates all day. I'll be there from like 4-6pm.

Squid (who has over a thousand posts now) once told me that CC was pretty much a spray site where occasionaly, just occasionally you can pull some good info or meet a partner on. Guess I've hit "spray" and not "occasionally" yet. Still hoping. Still thinking about running some laps at Tieton on Friday morning before coming back to p-town.

Good lord, I figured one of you would be going. Would it sweeten the deal at all if I said I was thinking of maybe crashing out near Tieton thursday night, waking up early friday, and then climbing a couple routes before coming back to Portland?

Hey, I just moved from Seattle to Portland and am planning on going to the Pearl Jam show at the Gorge this Thursday, meeting a friend coming from Seattle. Since I don't really know anybody in the area, I was wondering if other people are going and would like to carpool. I would be glad to chip in for gas or would be glad to drive if passengers were willing to split gas. The show starts at like 7:30 and I haven't figured out what time I'll leave Portland (I live in NE) or whether I'll stay at the gorge that night, return home to Portland, or (most likely) sleep at a campground somewhere in between. Post a follow-up or PM me if you're interested in carpooling. Awesome.

See, now, I don't think this is the best way to go about things. "I heard" "could be a rumor" "if it's true"... I re-opened this thread because I visited the place and was excited about the positivity surrounding the gym, their opening, and their attitude toward the PDX climbing community. Some people sound upset about how PRG is handling the opening of the circuit. Whatever is true regarding that situation, it doesn't help things to spread rumors about PRG management...

I guess Dr Flash works at PRG or something? Sorry to interfere with your Flashbashing. And, Squid, I am crushed: for once I thought somebody had noticed my thighmastering, jazzmastering, and 8-minute-absercizing paying off. Alas, it's back to the freezer where a gallon of Rocky Road will be my only consolation (as well as the major obstacle in my comeback to mediocre bouldering). The Circuit Gym better be my secret weapon, I've got a fair amount of pride at stake in the next SBC, training must start soon.

Not a shill. Not hired. Barely any muscle under all this weight I've gained lately. Just moved to Portland and am shopping around gyms. I think it might be difficult for me to join a gym whose owner sends the fire marshall out to the competition. I thought I'd put some positivity towards the opening of a new business whose mission is to support the climbing community. And it's the only gym I've ever been in that not only provides a boulder with a freakin' slide, but was psyched to see me come in with a 3 year-old. I just hope they make it, financially.

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."