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Like this?

high on rock: your tele gear's already too old to be used anywhere but for display on a wall.

I wanna explore the Idaho Selkirks a bit more this year. Plus, it's been awhile since I've got up some alpine snow so maybe something new in the Montana Cabinets. A few low 5th solos would be nice too. And lastly but not leastly, I'd really like to get up Stuart's North Ridge.

Nice. Never skiied but I must say, telemark doesn't look as fun as AT. Though it appears telemarkers can get away with blaming the gear - poles especially

In case anyone else is interested, after several months of PT, my rotator has healed and the "tweeked" labrum is supposedly better too. I did manage to pick up what he called "frozen shoulder" which is a secondary condition brought on by the injuries. I googled it and according to the interweb and the doc, it'll take anywhere from 8 months to two years to heal up. It consists of pain and stiffness that's almost exactly like the rotator tear, which is why my mending of a minor tear seemed to be taking so long I guess. Anyhoo, doc says to use it anyway but to just be careful and if I need it, he'll gimme a shot. I've ressited so far. I've been working the weights in moderation (2 on, 1 off) and have been into the climbing gym every other day for the past few weeks. I'm sticking to the 2+ (5.8ish?) routes and avoiding any dynamic movements (has the added bonus of improving my foot work ). Anyhoo, for anyone doing a "Search" when they run into an injury, there's my status. Looking better every week.

Ouch! I hiked 4 miles downhill with a broken foot and was damn near crying by the time I hit the TH. Can't imagine finishing LB with one.

I place these a lot. I love how they fit the skinny cracks

I hate pink (the color, not the person). And lavender is just as bad I like reading about the experiences of other climbers though. Hope yer rehab on the elbows is doing ok. Thanks for the linky.

Flicklock! Stay away from the little button lock thingies. I have a pair with those and in the winter, it can get nearly impossible to sollapse the bottom section.

If you try to carry it on and can't get by security, do they take it right there and "route it back" for check-in or would they have you do it? Either way would suck but letting security take it there would seem riskier than taking it yourself - just curious. I am surprised about the chalk making it through. I'd think there would be a suspicion of drugs or explosives.

There were a few moves higher up that twisted it in a way it didn't want to go. Brian was good enough to carry both rope and rack - strengthening my status as the master of wuss lately

Trip: Umatilla Rock - Date: 12/8/2007 Trip Report: We climbed up Umatilla Rock yesterday. I kinda figured the rock would be total crap but been wanting to get up it for awhile. We did a neat little single pitch 5.9ish line on the east side of the rock. There were 3 bands of rock. The lower band was like crumb cake and the top one was kind of a mix of good and bad with "ok" placements if you looked hard. The middle band was maybe 40 feet of clean rock with a couple of nice large flakes. The top was broken up as expected but we lucked onto a couple of large boulders to rap from. A fun way to spend a cold day. Mainly we just wanted to get outta town, pitch the tents and build a huge fire for marshmallow roasting. The wind was bad and flattened the tent every now and then. Saw a huge tick crawling around in the campground restroom. The temp got up to about 30. Not sure what it got down to overnight but it did stress the zero degree bag to its limit. Looks like a fire scorched a huge tract on the east side of the rock - anyone know when that happened? I've got some more pics at Umatilla Rock if you're interested. Gear Notes: Few large hexes. Cams .4 to 3. Looong webbing for the rap anchor. Approach Notes: If ranger Dick is on duty, plan an extra few miles (RT) of walking the access road.

More days out will keep the rust off

I didn't see the "Great Day for Climbing" one here in Spokane but didn't go all 3 nights either. Overall, I was a bit disappointed but at least there wasn't a feature-length show about shooting tigers in Russia this time.

Well climbing is totally out for at least 4 months. It appears my torn rotator has healed well but since the pain persists, they've done an MRI with some dye and it turns out I've got a torn labrum as well. Damn, I wish they woulda caught that a few months ago. I can still hike and work the core I guess. Thanks for all of the great advice though.

I've been using the Yates Rocker for TR for several years and fallen on it many times - works great. I've used the Silent Partner on a few solo leads and I like it even though it's weighty to haul around. I've taken one fall on it and it locks up nicely.

Great story Bill. I've caught myself mumbling too loud a few times too.

Thanks for all the great ideas. I tried the farmers carry a few days ago and really paid for it in my shoulder and elbow so I think that's out. As mentioned before, I can't do the campus board thing for awhile either. The hanging bumbell curl has worked well for me in the past and even though it causes some pull on the elbow, I don't think it'll be too bad...I'll give it a try.

Great idea. I could rig up some old webbing into a couple of carrying slings and haul rocks up Beacon Hill. Of course, that's a mile up but I could use less weight and/or not carry it so far. What kinda grip do you think - a loop or just a strand? Maybe a tennis ball handle?

Normally I'd just hit Wild Walls during the winter but I may not be able to do that for another month or so. I've been working my core but not sure if my grip exercises are effective for climbing. What's the best exercises you've found that increase hand strength specific to climbing? I need something to work with that doesn't stress the shoulder and elbow areas too much - campus board would be out! So far I've looked into the therapy putty used for rehabbing hands - seems good. A weight hanging below a gripped towel seems to be working ok too. I've also read mixed opinions on using the standard spring grip strenghteners-some sources say they won't help a lot for climbing specific muscles. Anyhoo, these seem good but I'm interested in hearing if they (or others) have helped specific to staying in climbing shape when climbing isn't a real option for awhile. [Added] Hey! I got a nick-name! Special! Never mind - I see that's just some standard title thingy.

Sorry yours is taking so long too. In a wierd misery-loves-company sorta way, it does give me encouragement knowing that 3 or 4 months isn't really that long with this kind of thing. Doctors and PTs are so non-committal when it comes to giving a time. I've been getting the "it can take some time for these types of things" answer. Which of course is true but time is relative. If it's not nearly healed by the next doc appt (mid Dec), I'll ask more fervently about the surgery option.

Rock Warriors Way was a bit....different. Some of it made sense and was helpful though. Personal preference I guess. "How to climb 5.12" was very useful. Still can't climb 5.11 but I picked up some good stuff any way.

Some time in July, I caught a fall on my outstretched right arm. It hurt like hell but I kept climbing, but at a much lower level and with some pain, which I figured would eventually subside if I took it easy. Then at the end of August, I took a header on the wet talus above Source Lake and wound up aggravating the original injury and messing up the righ elbow, upper arm and wrist too. The shoulder turned out to be a partial tear in the rotator cuff and I've been taking it easy and doing the PT ever since. It's coming up on 3 months of PT now and it does seem to be much better than it was. My range of motion is good but I still get occassional shooting pain (wrist, elbow and mainly shoulder) if I contort the arm just right. I've started climbing again but just aid and up to 5.6 depending on the route. Anyhoo, my question is this...for those with some experience with these types of injuries, does this progress seem acceptable for someone of my age (49) or should I consider surgery. The doc says if it's not nearly healed within the next month, we should consider a cotisone shot but that surgery isn't being ruled out. He and the PT seem to think progress is ok but just wanted to see what others have experienced.

If my climbing experiences were anything like that, I'd give it up. Gloomy,

If I go to clip and my belayer isn't paying enough attention to either see of feel it, I'd be yelling more than "slack" but "slack" would be part of it If that got to be routine, I'd stick to top-roping with him.