David Trippett

whoa! you "tie in"?! You must be a fossil! Get with it man.....today it's freesolo the route, base jump the descent and get home in time to spray about it on the internetsweb before the lads head home from work.

Cordellette may not be lDEAL for all applications....but what it may lose in terms of perfect equalization it regains in terms of its over-all versatiity....I use it for slinging massive blocks when the rope can't do it, I use it as a prussick, cut it when I need cord for v-threads, as a tag line for pieces when short fixing and cut it up and leave it behind when I need rap anchors....with the exception of a couple bolts to slap a sling on....it is quite fast....and when the equalization is bothering me it can be made dynamic quite easily. When I start seeing the big runners, webolettes and various gizmos being touted as ideal solutions I have to take issue with how single purpose a lot of that stuff is....If you're really worried about your anchors you should maybe take a course (not meant as a smart-ass remark, but as an earnest suggestion). No anchor is perfect. The overall utility of a system in terms of speed, versatility and safety are my main considerations. The cordellette satisfies many of those requirements readily, though not ideally. anyhoo...I don't really mean to tout the cordellette....when something more useful comes along I'll switch.... blahblahblah.....

this thread should for ever be enshrined in the anals of lore

the bluffs are pretty dry right now....

how early? KABOOM!

perhaps she did?

Meack!? Queow?

two bolts and sliding x.....so nice, I like!

Some Data regarding the EDK http://www.xmission.com/~tmoyer/testing/EDK.html

Maybe posted before....but whatever....a good read. http://www.xmission.com/~tmoyer/testing/High_Strength_Cord.pdf This is not the first time I've heard that plain old nylon is best, just the first time I've seen any data. I've been using spectra....but I'm going back to 7mm nylon cord after I retire my present cordellettes.

greed is a demanding mistress bill

I know, same thing every year, but how quickly I forget.....

I like to use a splice....if you're going to do something....do it right says I. After years of practice aboard the whaling fleet....I can do a decent splice in nigh on 3 hours now. Arrggg.

you tease!

The real question here is, 512dude, where can we see a full size version of your avatar photo?... No, seriously.

The deal on West Face was we did it ground up and led in blocks. We used a 70m rope and I led the first 8 pitches short fixing where it was possible with Ben jumaring on my block for speed. I french freed the first 11b crux, and fell once on the second 11b crux, then fired it all free right after the fall. I short fixed, soloing any easy pitches while Ben came up until the next crux, an 11c, which I french freed as well and linked to a lower 10c to make a 68m pitch*(see side story). After that was the hardest crux, an overhanging, 11c bulge which I freed entirely after two falls (although at that early in the morning the first 11b is probably the crux). After that we swapped leads and linked any pitches we could to the Thanksgiving ledge and then simul-climbed to the summit. We woke up at 3am and were climbing by ~7am. We were finished climbing by ~5pm. For the west face gear we took a 70m rope, doubles of everything from #.5 camalot to #2 with one #3 and three yellow aliens, two greens and a blue plus some nuts. Lots of slings and some draws. You could get by with less Aliens....but why?... they're so cute! We weren't super duper fast...but I thought the style was good given the abilities of the team and the results were positive....we achieved our goal of home before dark. It could definately be done faster. * That 68m pitch was crazy and was sort of an accident, the lower 10c I passed without realizing it and I kept climbing...I remember looking at my dwindling rack and wondering when the pitch would end.....finally I do some hard moves to this old manky looking hanging belay and I am wondering WTF?!.....this thing shouldn't be til the next pitch. So I clip into it to look at my topo and I managed to link the two pitches to one....which worked out well in hind sight.....anyway, I had no gear, so I clipped a free biner to the threads on the old manky anchor and still had to finish the pitch with no gear to protect the next 4 meters of 11a climbing(there was no way that anchor could be used to jumar on). So i finished the pitch with almost no rope and no gear and I arrive at the Belay ready to jump off that ledge when there is nothing to make an anchor. When I get there there is this perfect horn which I have just enough rope left to sling with a bight!... allowing safe fixing.... I am no badass, far from it.....but that of the most memorable pitches of my life. What a lucky bastard! BTW....THE WEST FACE IS AWESOME....DO IT!!

The weather was great! Thanks California! We had some friends meet us near the top....they rapped down to the notch and we summited together and did the Tyrolean.

He's Off the hook fun too!...Thanks again Ben!

Ben is a Great Partner too.....he did all that shit off the couch! Super-Badass!

Trip: Yosemite - Various Date: 5/31/2007 Trip Report: I spent the last two weeks in Yosemite from May 14-29. The first week I climbed with Ben Priestly and the second week climbing with some Brazilian friends. Ben and I climbed Half Dome and El Cap, each in a day, freeing up to 5.11c. In addition we soloed Royal Arches, me on-sight and without the little pendulum. Starting from the valley floor we sent Half Dome ground up with no fixed lines. I freed up to 5.11a and Ben took over the aid pitches, except for my on-sight attempt at the first zig-zag that was quickly ended ........ A lot has been written about this route here, so I wont go into detail. For the West Face of El Cap we managed to start and finish the route in the light in spite of some of my route finding errors on the descent. I freed two of the four crux pitches to 5.11c. This route is amazing and is a great one day ride up the Captain. Lots of crazy featured rock and chicken heads and short cruxes make this very doable. After Ben went home I had the pleasure of climbing with two great Brazilian friends, Wagner and Daniel, both from Curitiba . We did the stellar Lost Arrow Spire Direct over three days. I can't say enough about this route, the position is unbeatable, there are plush ledges every four pitches, the aiding is clean, always interesting and real, and the grand finale of the tyrolean makes it a Mega-Classic. The route list below is what we did with the grades we freed at listed... Royal Arches- IV 5.10b- On-Sight Solo Half Dome- Regular Northwest Face, VI 5.11a C1/2 23p - 1 day ascent El Capitan- West Face, V 5.11c A0 20p- 1 Day Ascent Lost Arrow Spire Direct- V 5.10 C2 14p- 3 days Lots of Cragging Here's a few photos, most credits to Michelle Gagnon, Ben Priestly and Wagner Machado....feel free to contact me for any specific route beta. Thanks Half Dome At the Base of Half Dome in the Morning Looking up the Regular Northwest Face Big Ben on Big Sandy Zig Zags with the Visor above Ben at the start of the West Face of El Cap route Looking down the West Face Route Me on the steep second 5.11c crux on the West Face Ben on the big traverse on the West Face El Cap Summit Half Dome from the Captain Ben and El Cap from near the top of Zodiac Yosemite Falls Wall and Lost Arrow Direct Looking up the Arrow Daniel and Wagner on the Arrow Me at the first ledge on the Arrow Wagner racking up on the Arrow Yosemite falls from the Arrow Me leading to the cool tree belay on the Arrow Cool and Shady tree belay on the Arrow Daniel and the Pig Arriving at the 2nd bivy at 2am Kiss, I love you Yosemite Wagner on the Arrow Summit Sorting out the summit anchor cluster with Michelle, a Canmorean who I met in Frey that joined up with us with her boyfriend Martin to do the traverse The Lost Arrow Spire Daniel on the Traverse Me on the Traverse The End Gear Notes: Big and Heavy Approach Notes: too much walking at god awful hours

Awesome Ross...hope to see you in the Valley.

never had a problem with them....keep the faith.