Cobra_Commander

It took you two days (145,080,000 millisecs) to come up with that line? Is the approach beta in the beckey guide?

oh oh oh! and: Sinking to a New Low: The Enumclaw Horse Video

I thought the hors d'enumclaw were on the "receiving end"

Everyone likes a talented tight end

...not quite sure how to interpret that

And I thought the lair was in PDX. That means Portland, FYI. I read it on this board. the lair is everywhere. and nowhere.

looks like a wsu flag

Parkour is intense! I didn't know there was a northwest community doing this.

I'm not following here, anyone care to elaborate? He's saying he's worried he will pull his gear out horizontally as he passes over it, because the connection to the gear is shorter than his connection to the rock by his legs. You should also spray all your gear placements with rat poison so the elves won't get in there and pry on your cam triggers. In fact, every cam should be extended by it's own 60m rope as a backup.

are they sure they were just not mistaking mr. goodbar for feces? They are essentially interchangeable.

To be honest I usually use tripled slings, since I have them and I like the option of extending them. They are more flexible. But I have used dogbone draws, and wouldn't hesitate to use them again where appropriate. I clip directly to cams when on a straight crack and the cam is not going to walk. Particularly when I'm freaking out and I want a fast clip, and to get my money's worth above the piece. Or near the start of routes where I'm looking at hitting the ground and the going is not straightforward. Or when there are limited jam options and I don't want a bunch of fiddly runner/biner stuff in my way. There are a lot of basalt cracks like this, such as Smith lower gorge, etc. where I feel just fine clipping directly to the cam.

You have brought up an issue that one should be aware of, but I believe the issue is overblown. Poorly-placed gear will pull at the right vector whether it's a draw or a sling. Many times extending a sling is warranted, particularly at the start of a route where you anticipate a lot of gear placements, or a meandering crack. But many times you don't need to do this, and a lot of times you are just trying to get out of groundfall territory. Do you extend every shoulder-length sling you connect to trad gear? You're welcome to do this, but I think it's a bit off to say it's flat-out wrong to use draws or tripled slings. 1 accident, where the details are hazy at best, really doesn't balance out the thousands of hangs, whippers, and general shenanigins that have occured above gear on draws and shorty slings with no sad result. I bet you could go to rockclimbing.com and find this debated on a 20 page manifesto.

No shit the entire Indian Creek climbing community is a catastrophe waiting to happen.

The mammut slings are nice. Combined with a superlight wiregate they are almost too light to the point of being fiddly when you make clips. As for Moonshine Dihedral, pretty much every nut placement you can make on that thing IS a bolt so you might as well break out the shorty dogbones and lycra.

looks like you are looking for bolted multipitch climbs? Wherever I May Roam (5.9) - a relatively new climb on the backside of the Smith Rock group that is wildly popular due to it's closely-spaced bolts and easy climbing. Prepare to stand in line on the weekends and arrive at belays where a clusterf*ck is commencing. If uncrowded, it is a fun trip. It has changed considerably over the past few years as the constant traffic wears down the nubbins. First Kiss - (5.8, but I've heard even that is a soft rating) another multi-pitch bolted extravaganza over in the Kiss of the Lepers area. There is some beta on this site if you do a search for it. Cave Route (5.6) - retrobolted solo climb over in the Marsupials. A lot of fun with a cool summit. Round River Direct (5.8 for one move, the rest, low 5th) - retrobolted staircase on Koala Rock. There is a new multipitch bolted route going up to the right of White Satin/Sky Chimney but it is not finished at this point (and might require some traffic to clean it up a bit). Other than that, there's not much in the way of multipitch bolts, unless you consider link-ups like Ancylostoma (5.9) and the bolted stuff above (5.7ish?) or Ginger Snap (5.8ish?) to Cinnamon Toast (5.9 along the arete). There are a number of options. Now that I think of it you could do the first pitch of White Satin (over-bolted chimney) and link up some of the sport faces to the left of that route. This might be pushing the 5.10 limit though.

Quickdraws can be just fine on trad gear. People have been using them for years with no ill effects. But yes they will induce rope drag (as will any gear placed incorrectly). Your good friend either sucks at placing gear or is leading some pretty heady lines! This is simply untrue! Tripled-up slings (I think that's what you are talking about?) work just fine for protecting trad lines. Are quickdraws the best option? Maybe not, but one should avoid making blanket statements like "quickdraws are bad juju" (whatever that might mean).

It can be pretty cold during the day, usually below freezing overnight. If there is sun (and there almost always is), you can climb in a t-shirt during the day on the south-facing walls (Morning Glory, etc). It can be a great time to climb there if your fingers are not too cold. Usually it's pretty dry out there, but I've been skunked a number of times this year by rain. A lot of people don't realize you can climb year-round at Smith, fairly comfortably. There are other things to do though, obviously.

I'll break wind in your sheet

I can say the Nepal Extremes are excellent boots, and good enough for essentially any conditions you will encounter in the Cascades, year-round. Mine have kept me fairly comfortable in some truly horrible winter storms. The Italian craftsmanship is outstanding and they fit my foot like bedroom slippers. They cost a ton at retail price, but they are handmade in Italy and it shows. I have slogged cinder and climbed WI5 in them and they have been perfect in either scenario. Damn, they should sponsor me. Gear review complete.

I hear you can place those as a nut.

Another thing that helped me in the past (and this years) is to lead at every opportunity. Lead easier routes instead of TR'ing harder ones. Hell, lead harder ones that protect well or are bolted well. TR'ing routes does some good for technique but nothing gets your head where it's supposed to be for climbing better than leading, and it's all about the head games up to a certain grade. Wow, guess I had a lot to say here huh?

Another piece of advice I got from a good climber was while climbing Blackened at Smith. I thought I was going to whip off of it on some small (for me) holds, and he shouts up "those holds feel just as crappy for 5.12 climbers, so you might as well stop screwing around on them trying to make them something they are not, and keep climbing!"

This is so true! You can hang on way after you think you are going to peel. I find gym climbing helps me here, as I learn precisely how long i can hold onto a certain hold. Also, being able to find a centering routine, where when I feel pumped out, or I'm in over my head, to smile, relax, and say hello to fear and accept it, get some gear in, and continue! Calling "take" can be so tempting once you get that gear in but you know you can keep going!

all your base belong to stumps

The enemy is too powerful for us. Vaginas, combine to form Supervagina!