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My trip to Stuart N. Ridge next weekend is being pushed off - partner has a foot problem Anyhoo, he still wants to get out for a Fri-Sun trip but gotta scale back. Corteo lools like fun but can't find any beta on routes. Any suggestions? Maybe something else too(If his foot does ok, I doubt this will keep us entertained for long)? Thanks

The route is awesome in the winter when the rock is covered in ice. And amazingly few if any people if your timing is right

When you say they "don't sit right" what do you mean? I've only had my set of 3 for a short time but haven't noticed anything odd.

You went to Vantage in this heat!?

Wow. The haze was fairly thick but we didn't see any concentrated smoke up the canyon or even smell it. Sure looks like a tinderbox in there though. Very dry, lots of fuel.

Nice job! As far as getting the correct exposure when the subject is in shadows, I try to capture the exposure for the sky then drag the subjust out using Photoshop. The details aren't as sharp but if it's a choice of that or washing out the sky, I'd prefer the happy medium. I think there are special filters you can get if you're shooting with an SLR (doubtful on a 5.11 climb - LOL). Anyhoo, that's my method butI'm sure there are others that would be much better. Nice shots by the way.

Instant taters with powdered butter and dried meat or tofu bacon bits. All put into ziplock baggies. Add hot water and squish to mix. Yummy.

Trip: Blodgett Canyon (Blackfoot Dome) - SE Shoulder/E Face Date: 7/28/2007 Trip Report: Last time I went to Blodgett Canyon was to climb Shoshone Spire. The rock quality was so good I could hardly wait to get back and try something else. There are alot of established routes in the canyon but the only thing left within my capability was the East Face route on Blackhead Dome. Advertised as a moderately run-out 5.6, 4 pitch climb, seemed like a good option. I hadn't done anything with Ken B. since climbing Snowshoe Peak several year ago so I was glad when he sent me an email expressing interest. We agreed to leave Friday, climb early Saturday then back to Spokane in time for dinner. I picked Ken up with the wife's new Yaris and we zipped over to the campground at Blodgett in time to get setup just before dark. The campground host said the bear was still making its daily visits and was now being joined by a cow and calf moose - joy. I heard some large critters real close to the tent around 4 am and couldn't get back to sleep so got up and wandereded around and woke Ken shortly after. We beat it down the trail looking for the "obvious" first talus slope at the 2 mile mark. We found a spot directly south of the dome to cross the creek and crashed through the brush, taking a more or less direct line up the steep slabs to the base of the route. I did a tic check and was pleasantly surprised that there were none to be found. The first pitch looked pretty mellow so we scrambled up it to a small juniper and set up a belay. Ken won rock-paper-scissors and took off for pitch 2 setting just a few pieces. The climbing was so mellow that we were both pretty disappointed when the top arrived. The route may go 5.6 but only if you look hard for the most difficult moves. I don't think we ran into anything belond 5.3ish (if that). At the top we discussed searching for some fun higher up the valley but in the end, the heat made the decision for us and we sought out the published decent route. From the top, we followed some thin exposed ledges/seams above the slabs of the east face to where it was easy to scramble down to the talus in a gully east of the dome. We followed the talus down (south) staying high to the right in order to get back to the base of the climb. This involved following an animal trail and some 3rd class downclimbing. From what I've read, climbing with packs was the thing to do but I think leaving packs at the base is an option if you make a rightward traverse on the decent of the gully like we did. Following the gully all the way to the creek would suck since it is quite choked with brush near the bottom. If I did the climb again, I would bring extra webbing and some rap rings then do a combination of downclimbing and rapping the route - avoiding the talus and brush in the gully all together. We scanned the terrain between the dome and the creek and chose the most open route to the trail. No tics at all. I looked hard at the brush during the hike out and couldn't find a single one. Ken looking for a log to cross on. Blackfoot Dome. The route runs from the right shoulder. A neat ridge directly east of Blackfoot Dome The route. Gotta look real hard for a 5.6 move. Ken on the second pitch. The top already? The descent was stiffer than the ascent. Gear Notes: Small rack to 2" Half a dozen slings Approach Notes: Cross the creek directly south of the dome and work west a little to more open ground. Follow scree slope up towards left of dome then traverse right on slabs under the S face.

Nice work Tazz. Solo does suck sometimes. And sometimes it's perfect. I've gone through that whole lack of motivation thing numerous times. Anymore I just have to remember how much money it cost in gas just to get to the trailhead. Lacking a partner, that'll help motivate me Sounds like you got a great trip out of it.

In addition to the usual precautions, which I have been lax on at times, I'm thinking of adding a Permethrin product to my tic repellent arsenal. Any pointers on application, brand, so on? Any idea how this stuff might affect slings and such (if at all) after it's dried (was considering spraying inside my pack as well as clothing - overkill?)?

Just be sure you're coming down the correct ridge from Lunch Counter It is possible to be a ridge or so off if it's your first time up it and you leave the TH in the dark. But that's another story, which shall go mostly untold.

From the 15th: Little Annapurna

I've got a pair of the La Sportiva Cirques. They've worn pretty good and have good traction. They are a tad rough on the feet for real long approaches but still perfect for something like say Stuart West Ridge or similar long scrambles. A softer insole will probably smooth things out. I also like the dot rubber for easy resoling.

No hordes here

That route on the lower right's a sandbag!

I'd say no is the general answer. Generally speaking, people climb mountains (including Rainier) all the time and the odds are that they'll make it back safely. But those are still just odds. Odds are that the snow bridge will hold. Odds are that the rock won't fall. Odds are I won't slip on the hidden sheet of ice above that gapin crevasse. Increased skills give you better odds. Speed. Perfect self-arrest skills. Self rescue skills (assuming you survive an unroped fall into a crevasse). Knowledge of every aspect of the climb as apposed to relying on the shared knowledge you'd have with a team. Same goes for judgement.

Picked up the SP and took a few nose dives off the rock over the weekend (I'm not a literal person - my 1st grade report card said "Little Timmy likes to make up stories and actually believes them."). Thankfully, it worked fine The first fall was pretty close to the anchor though - a hard stop! Should have expected that I guess. I was thinking it might slip a bit but it locked up solid with a 9.8 rope. A few more leads at the crag and I'll take it into the wilds on some easy stuff. Thanks for all the info and the linky.

At one point Matt had knocked so many off the brush, the ground was crawling with them. We took my wife's car and she had a fit when she saw the damned things on me. I spent much time sterilizing her car. Next time I go, I'll take a bug bath before and after and put my climbing clothes in a plastic bag dragged from the bumper. Maybe even shave my head just-in-case. Damn I hate tics

I think it's poor etiquette to plan a trip based on putting others on the spot by asking to hook into their team. Of course, I don't have a great understanding of this "etiquette" thing and may be way off Still, would be much better to use a resource like say...CC to round up another partner ahead of time rather than travelling all the way up there and hoping someone will want your company for the day.

Thanks Joe and Bigbro. Heading out this morning to play with the new toy.

How are you dealing with the slack that builds up on the anchor side of the rope..or is that even a real issue? I've got some 2mm cord I thought might be good for that - tie the rope to the pro (biner) with the cord as needed. I'll check out the lowering capability of the SP at the crag but the manual makes it sound like a real pain. Do you lower with it - if so, what do you think, painful? I've heard of people using a screamer at the anchor to help reduce the load (Rope in parallel but with enough slack to let the screamer work)..sound useful? Thanks for the info. There's some easy routes at Post Falls I think I'll use to get the kinks worked out.

I only lead 5.8 trad on a good day and 5.7ish the rest of the time. I can follow on some 5.10 or even higher with a Z-Pully, set of ascenders or a bolt ladder It's nice when someone like Matt is willing to drag my scaredy-cat ass up those more challenging routes though.

The manual for the Silent Partner is pretty specific on how to set it up and climb on lead. I'm curious to know what has worked best for people who've used the device or similar ones. Specifics like how many backup knots pre-tied, where you attach them to the harness, how long you tie them (hanging length between knots), and so on. Any other tricks you've learned along the way that made you more efficient or safer getting up the route. Yes, I know "Don't climb solo." I'll take that to heart.

Anyone up for an easy approach and climb ubber early Saturday? My wife's new car gets 40 mpg! Could leave Spokane Friday evening and back by Saturday early afternoon. http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/North_America/United_States/Montana/South_West/Blodgett_Canyon/Blackfoot_Dome/ [ADDED] I gotta get off my ass, outta this town and up some rock this weekend or I'll go nuts.

I hope so Mine was a stab at dry humor as well.