sprocket

Read Mountains of My Life by Bonnatti Amazing climbs done long before Messner, including hard techinical routes in the Alps, winter ascents of same, hard stuff in South America and I believe first ascent of 8000M peak (Gashebraum IV?) and if not for politics he might have had the first ascent of K2 and is finally getting the credit for making that ascent possible with hauling the O2 bottles to the high camp for the summit team. Finished his career with a winter solo of the N. Face of the Matterhorn in 1964 and promptly retired and went into journalism. Still living. Messner is without doubt one of the greatest but his ego and self-promotion is a bit hard to take.

Anything by Greg Child. Thin Air is my favorite but Mixed Emotions is good too. In the Throne Room of the Gods by Galen Rowell. Great read about a failed attmept on K2 and what can go wrong on with personality conflicts on large expeditions. Two books by John Roskelly are good reads, Stories Off the Wall and Nanda Devi. He's somewhat contraversial but climbed some hard stuff and lived to tell about it. Mountains of My Life by Bonnati, frickin serious hardman. Sherman Exposed by John Sherman is funny, spoof on Twight is hilarious, and serious at times. Eiger Dreams by Krakauer has some good short stories. 30 Years of Climbing Magazine has a lot of good short stories. John Long is usually pretty funny.

I talked to a guy at the shop down at Smith (Red Point?) and his comment was that the Onyx is about the same as the C4 for stickyness but that where he was blowing through the C4 in a month and a half, he got almost a whole year on the Onyx.

Just got a pair back myslef I think the shipping is about the same as tax so it ends up costing about the same. Wish I had known he had the Onyx rubber, ended up just requesting the C4 Oh well next time. This is the fifth resole for me and no problems whatsoever

At the risk of sticking myself into a converstion that is probably way above my head, I can respect the rule respecting the style of the first ascentionist. If you can't climb/protect it at the required level, go climb something else. The possible exception to that IMO would be if some strong climbers put up an easy route (say 5.6 to 5.7ish) that might be a reasonable outing for beginners if it was bolt protected but the first ascensionists only put one bolt every rope length for a belay. This seems like a waste of rock to me. Strong climbers would be bored with it and new climbers would be scared to death. I think this was the case with Snake Dike, first ascensionists found the route trivial and gave permisission for bolts to be added. My understanding is the person doing the retro-bolting ran out of time and didn't finish the job completely. My other issue is with replacing rusty old bolts. My guess is the first ascensionists placed the best bolts they had access to or could afford, so replacing them with new stainless ones seems to not mess with the spirit of the first ascent.

Left a grey OR wind shell at the base of Klahanie Crack at Shannon Falls, let me know if you found it. Thanks

Does anyone know who carries the Trango Mountain Harness?

You have to be a bit careful sometimes. Like at the Gunshow Wall, Endless Bliss is 5.10a in the guide but more likely it's 5.8ish. To the right is a really nice route that is almost a full rope lengh called Bliss at the End of Eternity, 5.9 in the book but at least a grade harder than Endless Bliss. I think the new Weekend Rock book gives it a 5.10- rating which is maybe a stretch. Up the hill there are some 5.10's that are really soft like Elliie's Sweet Kiss.

This was my first "rock" climb as a basic student with the Mounties, done as alternative to the Tooth which was covered with ice and snow at the time. I had heard stories of all sorts of mayhem on this climb, falls, route finding errors etc. so I was a bit apprehensive. It turned out to be a very pleasant outing and seemed very safe. The leader had done the climb before so we had none of the route finding problems associated with the climb. He also fixed a line up the 4th class "hidden" gully so the rest of us could safely ascend it. He also led the final exposed pitch and set up a top rope for everyone else. There is a bolt on the summit. The final move is only a few feet off a shelf where you can place gear at your feet. Maybe intimidating to new leaders but certainly not seriously dangerous or in need of a bolt at that point. You'd still probably hit the ledge if you fell just with rope stretch. The things that seem to get people in trouble are the above mentioned route finding, the short exposed scramble at the headwall (one climb leader apparently fell down climbing this, we rapped it, there's a huge well rooted tree above with slings), the very loose gully above the headwall, the above mentioned summit pitch and then the main pitch is a bit stiff and sustained for typical Mounty basic climbs. It has a nice crack to the left but easier climbing out on the face to the right. I think there was a leader that took a fall here too (I assume he was leading in boots not sticky rubber. Anyway, short story long, it's got a few challenges and is not interesting enough of a climb for experienced climbers so it probably ends up being done more often by new rope leader. I think if I was to do this as a Mounty climb, it would only be with a leader that I have climbed with before and trusted their judgement and ability. But considering the number of accidents recently, several which involve non-Mounties, not sure it's fair to criticise, especially before all the facts are in. Let's hope he recovers fully and quickly.

Are the Exums your refer to the Nike ones? I've heard they are functional but don't last real long, but that sounds what I'm hearing about all the shoes.

"Added: I'd rather climb a nice 5.8 granite handcrack like Dogleg than a 5.8 basalt handcrack like First Blood" Hmmmm.. Dogleg is perfect hands for me and First Blood is wider than my fists and was probably the scariest/hardest thing I led last year!

After slipping and sliding my way off the SCW last weekend for the second time in trail runners and watching others with stickier shoes motor ahead of me I'm thinking of taking the plunge and buy a pair. Any reccomendations? Thoughts? I saw the Climing mag really liked the Mad Rock Fanatics. I know there are some strong opinions on Mad Rock in general but anyone had experience with these. Would be nice if the shoe I purchased was solid enough for a easy/moderate alpine approach and was functional for 5.6ish climbing. I normally climb 5.8/5.9 in rock shoes. Thanks

The advice I was given, and so far has worked is start with something the size of a #1 Camalot (1.2-2" or 30-52mm if you prefer) and then work your way up and down from there. The first 5 cams I got were a #1 & #2 Camalot and #2-4 Metolius TCU's. That covers 15.5 - 65mm. That along with a set of stoppers and hexes got me through a lot of easier alpine and multi-pitch climbs (5.6 range). As you start to get into harder more sustained stuff you'll want more. I've added a #3 & #4 Camalot, a #1 TCU and have gotten a second set of #1-3 Camalots. Next I want to double up the TCU size range. Not sure if I'll stick to the TCU's or try some other cam. Everyone seems to have an opinion on brands. I like the Camalots and TCU's, especially the new C4 Camalots but I have friends that climb with DMM's and WC Friends. I like both of these too, except the smaller DMM's, I think they are a little harder to fiddle with than TCU's. There are a lot of folks that love Aliens too. I personally would stay away from some of the cheaper brands, look for sales or closeouts if you want to save money. Not sure what the tax laws are in BC for mail order but I get a lot of my gear from gearexpress.com. No sales tax and they give you 10% if you order more than 3 cams of any make. If you use them, I suggest calling them rather than placing order online. They are very friendly and helpful and you can find out right away if something is in stock or not plus they have given me sale prices that weren't on the website yet. A couple of other things to remember is that unless you are taking a newbie out your partner will probably have some cams too so you may not need to own as many as a route requires. Also routes will often dictate what you need. I climbed a route yesterday in Leavenworth that requires a big piece, 4" cam seems to be the choice, to protect the final short pitch. The climbing is easy, 5.4 range but would almost be a free solo without one big piece. That route, the Tree Route, is popular with the Mountaineers as an intro to multi-pitch climbs so a lot of climbers with that group buy their first big cam specificaly for that route. Hope this helps.

I would agree that some kind of universal standard would be a good thing. For now all you can do is check the spec's for comparison and look for companies with a good reputation. I purchased a 20 degree bag 3 years ago after doing a bit of research. I was somewhat hesitant to invest in down at first and mainly focused on synthetic bags. I was gradually swayed towards the merits of down and haven't regretted it yet. Price was a big issue at the time so a lot of time was spent looking for a good value. I found the Moonstone 800 Lucid at the following link. Free shipping and no tax made it easily $100 less than other options. They've since made the bag a bit heavier than the 1 Lbs 12 oz for mine, not sure if they added fill, I've contacted Moonstone to find out. Current model has same fill weight as a comparable temp rated WM but is heavier overall. I've heard nothing but praise for Marmot, WM and FF. I've heard complaints about the temp ratings for Montbell in the past. I'm happy with my bag but money isn't as tight as then and I might spend a bit more for one of the other brands if I were purchasing today. I'm currently contemplating getting a real light summer bag and am looking at the Marmot Atom and the WM HighLite. http://www.backcountry-equipment.com/slpng_bg/moonstone_lucid.html

I can only comment on the routes I’ve led (CTT) or followed (PK, AG, & G&M). CTT seems pretty easy for 5.8, more in line with Tieton 5.7’s but I don’t think it is so soft that it should be downgraded but can’t quibble too much if it was. AG seems to be soft for 5.10a and more in line with something like Inca Roads at Tieton which is solid for 5.9. I think it is harder if you avoid stepping on the boulder plus it is fairly committing on lead because the pro is thin down low and the landing isn’t exactly nice. I personally think PK is a bit harder because the wide section is a bit longer and definitely not a fist crack for me. I think both seem about right at 5.9. I think they are both harder than say Classic Crack and Dogleg Crack at Icicle Creek which are both 5.8+. I think G&M is harder than both, mainly because it is longer and more sustained, not sure if it is a benchmark 5.10a but seems stiff enough not to be downgraded. Just my two cents worth. As stated previously, it’s more important if they are enjoyable routes and I think these all are.

Are there any lightweight waterproof/resitant cases for hauling cell phones around safely in you pack? Any other suggestions? Thanks

I'm missing a small black Olympus and the last time I know I had it was at the Sunshine Wall on Sunday April 17. We were climbing between Air Guitar and Seven Virgins and a Mule. It's a black Olympus Stylus Epic, 35mm fixed lens point and shoot and it was in a green Lowe case. Not a very expensive camera but it was a gift so it has sentimental value. Please contact PM if you found it or have any info. Thanks