miladugga

I don't have the experience these other guys have with other areas but I'm also a newbie trad leader in about your range. Every year I go to Smith and can highly recommend the easy trad there, especially try Spiderman (5.7 2P) and Superslab (5.6 3P.) Both are easy climbs and simple to protect. And obviously tons of bolted routes.

My kids are older now and we use cell phones, which gives them a lot longer leash, but when they were little and we did things like bumbershoot we aways reminded them of a couple of things. Don't go off with strangers that said they knew us, and if you need help look for a cop, and if you can't find one ask a mom with kids. Never had to test it but they made it this far. On the other hand I took the 15 yo practice driving on the freeway last night and it definitely made me queasy. So you have that to look forward to!

Climbing in Olympia: 1. Exits 32 and 38 are about 1.5 hours drive, fine for a day trip. Index is far, Leavenworth and Vantage about the same as from Seattle. 2. Tieton is about 1.5 to 2 hours drive, plenty of trad and sport climbs, usually deserted, one of my favorite places. 3. OW's quarry is a great local place to climb, nice group of people on Wednesdays and depending on your abilities difficult enough to keep you interested for the summer. Climbs range from 10b/c to 12, all are bolted but the bolts are far enough apart to keep your attention. 4. Olympia has a very fine indoor rock gym, Warehouse Rock Gym in downtown Oly. 5. As you say, good time to check out the Olympics, others can tell you more about this. Sadly, ther are no good restaurants in Olympia, but there is music and beer and Seattle is only 1 hour away, Portland 1.75 hours.

The Briefs, Epoxies

Thanks for the links, interesting reading. It sounds like several ways to go would be workable. I think I'll go with the modified gri-gri and the rocker back up. I already have a gri gri i never use and the ease of descending makes it sound pretty good. Now I just have to see if Off White will let me TR solo at his quarry...also I will be that dope at Tieton trying to develop some crack climbing skills. Thanks all.

Thanks all, i didn't make it clear that I was thinking of mostly TRing but considering leads also. It sounds like I should stick with TR for awhile, which is fine. I hadn't heard of a number of the devices mentioned, I'll check them out. And I will definitely get this wired using the practice bolts in my garage before I take it on the road.

So lets say i want to work some routes without dragging along a partner, does anyone have an opinion and /or experience on the best device to use? I'm looking at the soloist, mini traxion, silent partner, or grigri. the grigri is the only one I've used, and only for belaying. I've read the ads for all of them, anybody have a preference?

Lollapalooza. Tired now.

ILS- Don't know if this will help or not, but for what it's worth, I looked into this for myself quite a few years ago and came away with the following impressions. As greta mentioned earlier in most (all?) states you work under an MD's supervision. This can be great or can suck mightily. Usually a PA handles the routine cases, which would become, well, routine after a while. You might end up working the hours and doing things your MD doesn't want. Or you might be in some rural area that would be great for a climber, doing challenging stuff. Depends on what you can find. Also, if things haven't changed, you can specialize in different types of practice, fr'instance surgical PA or anesthesiology, which can make alot of money, but less independence. Also consider that the medical world is full of hierarchies, which can be frustrating, ask any nurse who has stood there watching a new intern that knows half what they know telling everybody what to do. Unless you're the top dog (MD)it can suck. PAs aren't usually the top dog. I decided to go to paramedic school instead, 1 year instead of two, you're in the field doing fairly dramatic stuff, most work 24 hour on 48 hour off shifts, which is great for climbing during the week, and if you get on with a fire department the pay is almost as good and when you've had enough you still have a job as a firefighter. And most departments let you work out during the shift. Plus there's the whole driving with a siren thing. I was looking for a way to help people and make a living. I felt like I had a lot of questions about whether traditional western medicine and alternative medicine were always helpful, but I felt sure that when somebody is hanging upside down and bleeding in their wrecked car that getting them out would definitely help. The reality turned out to be more complicated, and I'm not a paramedic anymore, but I feel pretty good about some of the things I was able to do. I don't know your background, but I would suggest finding a way to observe or volunteer in a health care setting before you make a down payment. You have to be nice to people who are not at their best, handle the blood and guts without being bothered, and know how to be compassionate without getting too atttached, because things don't always work out. It's not for everybody, RNs and LPNs seem like some of the greatest people in the world to me, I think they should make more than sports stars. Hope this helps, sorry it's so long, I guess I had a lot to say, good luck!

Thanks for the story, I've carried a couple of prusik loops for the last few years, without needing them, so I just took em off. They will be going back on now...

Hey Off! It's looking pretty wet outside in Tumwater. Are we weathered out in Tenino?

Six or six-thirty it is!

I dunno, some of the forecasts are to hit 100, that may be too hot for me. Last year I went to Index on a high 90s day and it was pretty damn hot.

I was up there today, did a few of the easy routes. Some very nice climbing, must have been a lot of moss cleaning, thanks to those involved. Choss pile is unkind, I enjoyed the 10a and 10b on Hook, and the 2 pitch 5.9 and 3 pitch "Plank" on Lost Boys very much. Didn't pull anything off, but i did notice there are lots of sharp flakes. In particular above and left of the plank 1st belay there was a sharp flake that tended to catch the rope unless the belayer was extra vigilant. Otherwise nice views and a fun day, noone else there.

I was thinking of checking that area out this week. I'm still wondering if the original poster could identify any specific routes to be wary on, as I am one of those not particularly experienced people mentioned earlier. Or does this apply to the whole area? (Neverland) Also, does anyone else who has actualy climbed there agree with him or her ?

Sorry, late night post. It was in reference to politicians being entertaining, there is a play on Broadway about Nixon, who I didn't think was very entertaining back in the day, but apparently now is. Yes my old avatar was a sphinx, the current is a picture of jesus with a beer in his hand, saying "jesus i'm drunk!" which would be funnier if it wasn't such a crappy picture. And yes I know this has nothing to do with basketball stars.

"I think we should demand a higher level of entertainment from our politicians. They are really so drab these days." I was just in NYC and saw "Nixon-Frost" the play. To my surprise it was very entertaining. I never would have dreamed when I was protesting against Nixon at Berkeley in the 70s that I would pay money to see him played by frank langella on Broadway. Weird world.

Wow, glad this didn't happen two weeks ago when we were climbing on the right side. Glad it missed you...

I say let's put in 5 bolts, chop one, and argue about it endlessly on the interweb!

Thanks all for the suggestions, we had a great trip. Weather was a little cool and windy, but dry. It was my son Zack's first time there and he had a blast. Due to my beginner level gear placing and crack/slab climbing skills we didn't push too hard, but every route we did was fun. After a late start, we started with Givler's Crack, no problem, then TRed Dogleg Crack, which Zack cruised and I fell out of the crux. Day Two was at Pearly Gates, cold but we had the place to ourselves. Led Loaves of Fun, and Scene Is Clean, Zack led the 2nd pitch of Milky Way (?? bolted route to left of Scene Is Clean??) and Dog Ate My Topo. Then we spent the rest of the day at Forest Service boulders. Day Three we TRed Classic Crack, Twin Crack, and the two climbs to the right side of Classic. Packed up camp and headed to Castle Rock, where I led Midway, other parties were on Midway Direct and Angel. Great route but I made some gear placing errors at the traverse that led to horrific rope drag at the top. Even when the climbing was easy I took forever to place the gear, so obviously I have alot to learn, fun working on it though and the feeling of satifaction from protecting it myself is pretty awesome. I can see it would be easy to get hooked on trad. Thanks again to all who suggested routes and those who PMed me with ideas.

Cool, Smith is a great place. What did you climb, any favorites?

I'm going to wait until I'm a little more solid and a little faster to try Outer Space- I don't want anyone to kick my ass when I get to the top...

I'm almost starting to think three days may not be enough to climb all of this

Thanks all, I appreciate the ideas. Now if the weather will just cooperate...