bonathanjarrett

I thought I would make a plug for Arnold Map Service in Vancouver, WA. If you live in the Portland Metro area, I highly recommend that you buy from Phil Arnold (95yrs) and his son, Phil Jr. Most significantly they carry, in stock, every USGS Quad Map for Oregon, WA, and I believe also Idaho. They also have Greentrails maps. Phil Arnold Jr. was extremely helpful and knowledgeable. He was even able to dig up some maps for B.C. for me. Phil Senior was a kick in the pants to talk to; he has been a map seller and maker since 1950. Yes, you can buy alot of this stuff online. Yes, you can use your Topo software. However, these guys run this business out of their house, and when you need a map immediately, most likely they have it. Jonathan

PM Sent

Anyone interested? Jonathan

PM sent Jonathan

Anyone interested in something alpine on monday and tuesday of next week? I am thinking South Face of Prusik, NE Ridge of Triumph, or the like. Jonathan

PM sent

Yeah, I know. I sent him a message about replacing it or shooting him some cash to compensate him.

Trip: Liberty Bell - Liberty Crack Date: 7/9/2011 Trip Report: (Pictures to come, when I figure out how to upload them as I keep getting error messages) If you want a Liberty Crack trip report, look elsewhere. There is plenty already written about the route, the fixed gear, and on and on. Instead this is a story about how I came to have a climbing shoe wrapped in an old hat while descending off of Liberty Bell. It is a story about failure. This story begins in 1999, when –having moved from the East Coast—I first learned of Liberty Crack. At twenty, I was strong and still fairly stupid. Sitting in my dorm room in March, my roommate and I decided that we would climb this line. Not having any sense for what that meant while it was still technically winter, we packed a huge duffle bag which we planned to use as a haul bag and drove north from Portland to meet what would have most likely been our deaths if it hadn’t been for the blessed hand of the Washington Department of Transportation. We discovered that those jerks had gated the road at Diablo (What? They close this road in the winter time?), and we turned around befuddled and aggravated. At this point in time, my buddy hit a patch of black ice while driving a bit too fast—perhaps motivated by the plaintive sounds of the Allman Brothers “Sweet Melissa” on the radio, which I still remember—and we were literally launched into the snow bank and came to rest several feet above the roadway. Right side up but a bit banged up, my Subie was more than high centered. Climbing out through the windows as the doors were pinned shut, we quickly realized we were in quite a problematic situation. By the grace of the big G-O-D, a Seattle City Light truck passed by and yanked the car down from the perch it was on, and we limped the six hours home with the car shuddering and vibrating eerily the whole time, all the while wondering how we were going to explain this outcome to our friends. Three years later, I returned in September with another friend (having learned my lessons about climate in the Northwest) to finally climb this plum. The plan was to fix the first three pitches, rap, and then send the route the next day. Again I got schooled by what I didn’t know. Aiding the first two pitches took nearly forever, and I found that we had run out of daylight by the time we had reached the base of the third pitch. We rapped, retreated to the truck, and slept uneasily thinking about the next day. The following morning the skies had darkened considerably, and we found ourselves watching the clouds moving in as we jugged the lines (using tiblocs to save weight—oy!). Looking up at the fixed heads on pitch three caused a sphincter or two to clench. I was secretly relieved when it started to spit on us, and we bailed having been saved the experience of aiding those tiny, mashed bits of alloy. Back at the truck, the skies over Washington Pass ripped apart, and it was immediately clear that we had made the right choice. Once again the outcome was failure. This is all by way of prefacing “the choice” that was made this past weekend. I returned again to make good on climbing this line, a journey begun over a decade ago. With more experience and skill, we quickly dispatched the first four pitches. At this point in time, the two fine gentlemen, Zach(?) and Dave, had caught up to us having started two hours after us. At the top of pitch five, after some friendly conversation, one pointed out to me that I had only one boot clipped to the back of my harness. At some point during the previous pitch, the left one have popped off the ‘biner and bounced off the wall and down to the snowfield below. Not sure what to do, my buddy and I continued to the top of the sixth pitch knowing we could still rap the route easily from there. We were just delaying “the choice”: rap to try and find the boot and failing again to climb the route or continuing to the top and facing a descent down the snow fields with one boot and one rock shoe. From the top of the rotten block, Dave encouragingly suggested that the walk off would not be too bad in rock shoes and even offered to loan a crampon if that would help. After spending the better part of ten years chasing this climb and being foiled by both circumstance and stupidity, we decided to go for it. What is a miserable hobble back to the car compared to having to come back AGAIN to climb the route? Although Zach and Dave topped out and rapped back to the notch far more quickly than us, we eventually caught up to them. Confirming that I was comfortable with descending the softened snow in my mismatched footwear, they left us there to down climb at our own pace (Did I mention that these guys were exceptionally nice and supportive of our rather pathetic situation?). This brings us to the hat. I apologize if the owner of this hat is reading this report and recognizes it, but circumstances required that it be commandeered. Some poor soul must have lost their hat climbing the Beckey Route because I found it sitting at the notch, apparently discarded as unknowingly as my boot then lying at the base of the Liberty Crack. With a careful fold and several wraps of tape, it was transformed into a sort of ankle high mukluk. Having properly insulated my left foot against the snow, we descended back to the highway uneventfully and then hobbled back to the car nearly a mile further on from where we jumped the guardrail. At this point, my good friend then hiked back up to base to retrieve the boot which he found lying dejectedly in the snowfield. The only casualty of the entire endeavor was the poor hat which by the end of the march back to the car had a series of large holes worn through the knit. Gear Notes: One found hat, crucial in the descent.

I found your hat... but sadly it is not in the kind of condition that you would want it back in. You can read my "TR" on climbing Liberty Crack for the in depth story of how your hat saved my butt (seriously). The long short of it is that I lost a boot half way up Liberty Crack, had to hike out from the rap in one boot and one rock shoe, found your hat at the base (seemingly abandoned), and commandeered it to keep my unshod foot warm on the hike back to the car. I apologize for not being able to return it to you in suitable condition as I wore a hole through the top--although it did keep my foot warm as I hiked out in the snow. I will replace it or mail you a check if you want. Sorry. Jonathan

PM sent Jonathan

Come on folks. Surely not all you are working stiffs/have kids/have to mow the lawn/are getting your hair done/have a job interview/starting class/etc...! I got the rope, rack, a car, and a desire to climb. Don't make me beg Jonathan

I have a *hall pass* for the weekend plus monday and tuesday. Currently my sat-sun partner needs to go home sunday. I am looking for someone who wants to do something alpine-ish those two extra days. I will be in the Washington Pass area, so something in that general vicinity would be preferable. Thanks, Jonathan

I sent you a pm. Jonathan

I have these dates open and would like to climb something alpine (rock, ice, snice, snow, etc). Looking for a competent partner. I am willing to take suggestions on objectives. Jonathan

I am trying to arrange childcare to free up time this summer. If you are interested in a regular partner, I could try to arrange for monday/tuesday so that there could be some consistency. Jonathan

What about "educational" films that deal in history, avalanche preparedness, technique, etc? As well, these movies are for the general population, so anything that the non-climber should see to get a good sense of what climbing is about (aka not a skewed perspectives that come from Hollywood films)?

My wife works for a public library and has the (excellent) job of maintaining the section that includes climbing. She needs to buy about a dozen climbing movies to round out the collection. She asked me so I am asking you all: What is your top ten list? This can include instructional films, biography, fictional accounts, climbing p0rn, etc.

I find it frustrating when people choose to use non-standard knots to tie in with. It makes it much more difficult for me, as the partner, to determine whether that person is tied in correctly or at all. As a result the tie-er is making the system less safe and removing me from the safety check. They have one less stop gap against failure. And no... I do not believe that it is my responsibility to know and be able to quickly identify every possible iteration of tie-in-knot.

PM sent

PM sent to Peakpimp

You need to seek the advice of a specialist, not someone on this forum. Without knowing the specifics of your case, it is foolish for anyone to give you advice regarding this matter. I have had two surgeries for a repeatedly dislocating shoulder. The first surgery failed in large part due to the fact that I was given "generic" rehab advice, because there was not attention paid to the details of my particular case and physiology. As much as I would like to offer you advice regarding the rehab that I went through, the exercises that I was given, and the timeline that my recovery was based on, it is irrelevent to what you need. Don't screw this up, because shoulder instability in the long run can be at least a pain in the butt the local crag or even fatal in the mountains. Seek a professional who can give you advice specific to your case.

Thanks a bunch. If we get up on it, I will be sure to post about conditions.

Hey folks, Does anybody know what conditions are like right now for TC? Would I be so lucky as to even get a photo from last weekend when someone was up at Colchuck Lake? I am planning on driving up from PDX, and so if things are most certainly, definitely not in, I will know to make other plans. Thanks.

The Route Not Taken Two routes diverged on an alpine peak And sorry I could not climb the pair And be one climber; by the creek, I looked up at the ridgeline bleak To where it scraped the frozen air; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was virgin and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same. Both that morning did equally shine In ice no boot had trodden down. Oh, I kept the first for the next day fine! Yet knowing how line leads on to line I doubted I should come back around. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two routes diverged on a peak, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

Enough snow to make it worth an attempt.