AR_Guy

http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/808/ Aired 10/27/04 - seems applicable today......

As a relative newb to climbing, here's my two cents, which is what worked for me: 1) To make sure you're not doing the wrong things, spend a little money for some private instruction at one of the gyms and on an instructional book or two ("Rock Climbing - Mastering Basic Skills" by Lubben, found at REI, is the climbing text book I started off on). I would suggest the private insruction be focused on basic sport climbing / TR type stuff - rigging anchors, proper clipping, etc. This will set you up just fine for Exit 38 / 32 sport climbing. Tell the instructors what you're looking for goal wise. I found the folks at Stone Gardens most helpful when I ponied up for a couple of hours one on one to teach me what I needed to then be able to reasonably safely move out to easy Exit 32/38 stuff to build experience. 2) Just post for a partner in the partners forum. Be honest on your abilities. There's a good chance you'll find folks to climb with who will teach you stuff - it's worked for me. Some one is always looking for a climbing partner. 3) Respond to postings of folks looking for climbing partners. Again, be honest on your abilities. Although often derided here on CC, you could also try the Mounties - take one of their classes.

I just built a rack over the last year...... On the hexes - I've bailed off of them before. As said above: Cheap, cheap, cheap compared to bailing on cams. Same goes for bailing on nuts. Pretty much takes the money factor out of the equation if deciding to back off. I find my #6 (gold, ~1 to 1 1/2 inches) and #8 (black, ~1 1/2 to 2 inches) BD wired hexes get a lot of use. Less so for the #4 (covered by the larger nuts) and #10 (2 1/2 to 3 inches). As a newbie trad leader, I find on the cams I use most are the 0.5, 0.75, 1 and 2 Camalots.

As a newbie trad leader, I suppose I have a slightly different perspective from all the 10 something and 11 something climbs mentioned......Highlights for me from '07 (yeah, some newbie chest beating here, but hey, you gotta start somewhere): - R&D - the hand crack pitch. Especially after watching the leader of the party in front of us futz around in that crack for 30 or 40 minutes before backing off to the belay. I led through it without problem - solid jams rock. Felt good...... - 7 Virgins and a mule at Vantage. Kind of scary for me - figure if I took a fall on it I'd lose quite a bit of skin rattling around in there. Kept the head in the game and did it clean. - On the first try at R&D, I was with a couple other guys. They shared the lead on the first 2 pitches - we ended up at the base of a feature to the right of the route. My turn to lead was pitch 3 - what ever this route was (Cocaine Connection??) it was up a steep 5.8-ish feeling corner before traversing left on a grassy ramp onto what turns out was R&D proper. I thought we were on route - shows what I knew - I was thinking "man, this is tough for a 5.6". Glad I didn't know it was 5.8-ish - would have scared the crap out of me. I was 15' up before I got to a point where I could put the first piece of gear in. In hindsight, I should have backed off, but I'm glad I pushed through. - 1st pitch of Saber. What made it fun was I brought a couple of friends up the route....plus the bees nest just before the slabby part that leads to Saber Ledge. Fired in a piece of gear a few feet below the nest then scooted out to the left in a hurry - didn't get stung, but sure was interesting. - All the 5.5 and under routes I did at Royal Columns, "The Apprentice" excepted (which is a TOTAL sandbag and isn't even remotely close to the same level of difficulty as 'Western Front'). A fun day of climbing....... - All of my first Alpine climb - Kangaroo Temple. It was a nice day, we had it to ourselves, a great view, and really good exposure combined with quite moderate climbing - a great first intro to alpine (Becky Route - I'll get you this coming summer!!!!!!) Anyways.......I couldn't limit it to one pitch - each of the above were fut for me in their own way.

Thanks for the input everyone. I'll definately get him the Erik Weihenmeyer audio book.

So a buddy of mine who was blinded in a boating accident about a year and a half ago is interested in climbing. He's athletic and still quite active - he still water skis for example. I took him to Stone Gardens yesterday where he did quite well and had a great time on his first time at any climbing (Oh yeah - how about passing on the snarky comments about how pulling plastic isn't climbing). I belayed and coached him on where the holds were, especially for the feet. Anyways - does any one have any actual experience working with blind climbers and if so, what advice could you give? Can any one point me to articles, etc. on the subject? Thanks. I figure on keeping this strictly in the gym for the forseeable future.

There are bug head net setups you could use for bug hell - typically they cover your head and drape down to about the waist over your sleeping bag. Ultra-lite hikers often use this setup with their tarps in lieu of a fully enclosed tent.

Bump Oh come on....SOMEONE wants to climb easier stuff tomorrow.... Vantage: I'm thinking Strokin' the Chicken, possibly Crossing the Threshold, Clip 'em or skip 'em, Peaceful Warrior, Jagged Edge, Edge of Mistakes, 7 Virgins, Chossmaster and stuff at the Feathers. L-Worth: One of the multi pitch classics, say R&D, followed by cragging at what ever sounds good considering daylight and time. Tieton / Royal Columns: Seeing at the grades are stiff in the range I climb, start on the 5.5's and work up from there.

Or Tieton / Royal Columns. Looking for a day trip. The weather is too good to not go climbing - My regular (and backup) climbing parnters are either booked or otherwise unavailable. I have rope and full trad rack (nuts, some hexes and a full set of cams from TCU's to #4). I'll lead on gear 5.6 easily, some 5.7 - I'm newer on gear (R&D and Saber are cake for me, 7 Virgins at Vantage was a fun, challenging lead). Sport I'll lead 5.7 to 5.8. If I'm following, kick it up one grade. My style: I'm out to have some safe, fun climbing, not be a hardman chestbeater type. e-mail to tokencivilian AT yahoo DOT com (preferred) or PM

TR Kangaroo Temple, North Face (? 5.6) 9/8/07 The day started off with a 3 hour drive from Lynnwood to the hairpin bend on Hwy 20, just east of Washington Pass. Arriving just before 9:00am to only a single car parked at the hairpin, Rob and I departed the car shortly after for the 2 hour approach to the notch on the north side of Kangaroo Temple. The hike in is quite scenic, with a fair to good trail most of the way. The views of the Liberty Bell group are quite impressive. The final approach to the notch is the least pleasant part of the approach, steep and loose in places. But, this is only about 15 minutes, so all in all, the approach isnt that bad. We observed a party just starting up the West Face while we made the final climb up to the notch. Gearing up, Rob led off as I belayed from a solid tree at the notch. With only a few feet of the 60 meter rope left, Rob called off belay after a fairly quick lead and I prepared to jump off on my first alpine climb. Heading up and over the rib of rock that departs directly from the notch, I moved out left (east) as I climbed, following the rope line, and immediately was looking down at hundreds of feet of exposure. The climbing was easy, very low 5th class, but the exposure on the steep rock upped both the views and pucker factor significantly. Arriving at the belay, a broad ledge with a solid tree, Rob said that we were off route as the fixed piton that the beta spoke of was no where to be found. After tying in, I put Rob on belay for the 2nd, west traversing (climbers right) pitch. After slinging a horn of rock just beyond the belay, Rob called out that he had found the piton. As it turns out, we were only about 15 feet east (left) of the belay noted in the beta. After a short time, Rob again called off belay and I started out. The very high exposure factor continued on this west traversing, slightly climbing pitch. The moves were fairly straight forward, again, I’d call it very low 5th class, and I quickly arrived at the belay. Rob had pulled up short of where the beta said to belay, not wanting to do the exciting and very exposed step around as that would make communications difficult. A hex, nut and cam made for a solid belay anchor on a sun drenched, roomy ledge. The sun was a welcome addition, as we had been in shade for the first two pitches and the rock was very cold, making for somewhat desensitized fingers. Pitch 3 was definitely the crux of this climb. This is another traversing pitch to climbers right, with a very exposed step around move. Rob led off, placed a purple Camalot just beyond the belay, started to move down and right for the step around, and decided a second piece was in order. A nice small to medium stopper that took some banging with the nut tool to clean made for a solid second piece of pro for the highlight of the climb. Watching Rob scoot around the corner, it was obvious that the moves were all about the feet. After making the moves, Rob called back and said not to worry as the feet were solid. A short time later, it was my turn. After dismantling the belay I headed out cleaning the two pieces that were set just before the step around. As I gingerly made the moves, the pucker factor spiked off the charts, I was looking down several hundred feet of VERY steep rock. Adding to the excitement, there are no hand holds, you just have to palm the rock for balance and stability. It’s all feet for this sequence. After turning the corner there was another piece of gear to clean – a good crack is just beyond the step around that will take gear to protect the 2nd from a pendulum fall if they blow the moves. Rob used a hex here, but it looked like it would take either a #1 or #2 Camalot quite nicely as well (this is where I'm at in the picture). A very narrow ledge, only a few inches wide, traversed right for about 30 feet to an inside corner and a couple of cracks that defined the final pitch. Along the way, there was another pretty easy, but exciting for the exposure, step down move just before the corner and cracks. Rob had belayed just right of these cracks. Having reached the inside corner, Rob asked if I wanted to lead the final pitch. Sure I said. He clipped the rack to the rope and slid it the 10 feet over to me. I plugged a small cam into the crack and after a few of 5.4ish moves (reach high for some jugs on the left), the climbing dropped off in grade to very low 5th class. Coming upon a sling festooned tree about 40 or 50 feet up, I set the belay as the terrain above this point was easy scrambling. After Rob came up, we scrambled to the summit, arriving about 1:30 or so, only 4 1/2 hours car to summit. The views from the summit were impressive, Glacier Peak was off to the west, poking its snow covered summit above the intervening mountains and ridges. After some munchies and enjoying the views for about a 1/2 hour, it was time to descend. There is a 3 bolt rap anchor that will lead you down the north face to the notch. It can be found by following the highest part of the summit generally north about 50 to 75 feet. There is an easy 8 to 10 foot down climb along the way. Don’t let slings sucker you into rapping from the wrong spot, find the 3 bolt rap anchor. The first rap is VERY steep and about 80 or 90 feet to a good ledge with a 2 bolt, slung anchor (which looks to be in very good condition – nary a speck of corrosion to be seen). The second rap is also quite steep and about 80 or 90 feet. Be careful to not let your self drift too far to the right – Rob had to traverse to the left a little to get to the 3rd rap station, a cluster of slings around a block. The final rap back to the notch is shorter than the first two and over slightly less steep, but more blocky, flaky terrain. The hike back out was uneventful in the warm afternoon sun. We reached the car about 5:00, making for 8 hours, car to car. All in all, this was quite a fun climb and a great introduction to Alpine climbing. The combination of easy to moderate climbing with plenty of pro opportunities on generally solid & clean rock with high exposure on a shorter route gives a great taste of what alpine climbing is like, without getting in too deep. In addition, the approach is mostly on fair to good trail and of only modest distance. We had this route to ourselves (the other party was on the West Face), while there were a dozen cars in the parking lot for Liberty Bell when we took a quick swing by there on our way to the hairpin. Gear Notes: 60 meter rope, single Camalots, 0.3 to #2, BD nuts #3-#13, #6 & #8 BD wired hexes, slings. You may want to bring webbing for the rap stations, although we found newer webbing in great condition with rap rings in place.

Head north on the PCT from Rainy Pass. VERY spectactular scenery up there, plus potential scrambling options along the way. Drive out Fri after work, camp at the trail head. Sat hike in, perhaps dropping down to Cutthroat Lake, or continuing north from Cutthroat pass another few miles to a fair camp with water in a bowl on the side of a very nice bowl - this is only about 8 or 10 miles north of Rainy pass - leaving plenty of time to scramble up the ridges from Cutthroat pass on the way there. Sunday - easy hike out. They won't be from this board, but you'd likely encounter thru hikers this time of year on that section of the trail.

I took a couple of friends up Saber yesterday - this was their first experience on both multi-pitch and trad routes. 3 cars in the lot, 3 parties on Saber (go figure). Anyways - be warned that there are bees about 3/4 the way up the first pitch, just at start of the slabby section, on the right, at the top of the corner, 20 or so feet before heading out left to the 1st belay on Saber ledge. The first party on the route was walking down and warned us while we were waiting for our turn at the route. The first two of party immediately ahead of us on the route seemed to make it past OK, but the third (the daughter of the first two) let out a series of shrieks when she came up to the bees (which let us know exactly where the little buggers were). I and the other two in my group managed to get by unstung. I placed a piece several feet below where they were to cover the speed climbing I planned to do, then moved out left in a hurry on to the bottom edge of the slab - sliding left as quick and as far as I could to get away. Other than the bees, it was a fine day for climbing. A little on the warm side, but a light breeze on the route kept it reasonable.

These are used extensively by long distance hikers - PCT and CDT especially. First rate products from a great company. I have one.

I'll second Suge's comments about ULA. Excellent packs geared toward the long distance hiker. Another pack that sees LOTS of use in long distance hiking (where low weight and reasonable durability are the desired features) is the Granite Gear Vapor Trail. I used one last year on my PCT thru hike as did dozens of other members of the class of '06. It held up extremely well - it's very rugged for 2 pounds. 3 of the 5 of us who hiked together had Vapor Trail's, the 4th guy had an Ozone, the slighly larger cousin. There are also adequate straps for putting on all kinds of stuff externally, if you need that stuff. It weighed in at 45 pounds for the high Sierra section (11 days of food, bear can, ice ax, crampons in addition to my normal load) and carried reasonably well. At it's usual load of low to mid 20 pounds, it was wonderful to carry - very comfortable. I don't know if I'd want to climb with it on, since it is a back packing pack (may not be slim / flexible enough), but for overnighters or carrying stuff to the wall, it's an excellent choice.

Regarding CBS's comments on what to do as a belayer in the noted situation: Craig Lubben's book 'Rock Climbing - Mastering Basic Skills' has a fully illustrated chapter on self rescue, rigging prusiks, escaping belays, rigging haul systems and the like. It's pretty easy to follow.

I followed my partner up the final pitch (I led the first three) so I didn't look around all that much up top - just wanted to get down as we had an extended climb being stuck behind a very slow party for all but the last pitch. My partner belayed off the now dead tree - it wasn't a big issue for me - that last pitch is pretty easy. I'm thinking of bringing some friends up the route and would (of course) prefer to know what's available before taking them up. I took a quick look at some boulders up there - the looked like they had a small base on it to me, so not too stable. I wouldn't push or pull on something if I thought it was unstable and might knock it down on my partner (or other parties) below. One thing I've heard repeated is that it's not only the mass, but the stability of a boulder has to be taken into consideration - I guess I'm just leery of a rock sitting there on a sloping slab, not really locked into a fold in the rock..... perhaps I'm too conservative. But hey, it's nice to know there's good cracks off to the left of the tree - thanks Sprocket, I'll look for them next time up there.

First: I hope the guy heals up quick. CBS - with respect to your hearing a rumon on the upper belay tree (the one on the TOP of the climb, not the one on the top of the hand crack section): It's dead. I was up there on June 23rd. There's not much soil left holding the remnant in place. It'll be gone within a few years at the most. As an observation (not implying any course of action here).... I didn't see too much else up on top to belay a second up the final pitch on. There were some boulders, but they were pretty small (~3' diameter) and didn't look too stable. I didn't notice too many other features to build an anchor on, but I'll admit I didn't look very hard. Does anyone have any suggestions, or know of a good alternate spot to build a belay to bring the 2nd up the final pitch?

Having recently been up that slab, my newbie 2 cents is that it's ok as is. I thought the climbing and pro was reasonable for the grade. That being said, I agree with the general premise that the FA has the final call on changes to the route.

Another way to do this is to get hold of a local title insurance company. If you know a tax ID number for the parcel in question (which you should be able to find at the county recorder/clerks/assessors) office on the assessor maps, the title company, if you ask nice, might be willing to look up the last deed on the parcel for you. Another way to find the likely owner is to get the tax records on the parcel, again at the local county assessors / recorders / clerks office. This isn't always 100% reliable, but it's usually pretty good to find out a name and mailing address. If you have a friend who's a real estate agent, they should be able to help you through this.

Yeah, I know there's whining in my statement, but..... I don't think I would have tried to lead that climb if its grade was consistent for the area. Re the jammies: Easier than taping the backs of the hands...... One thing at a time for me. I'm not hard core enough (yet....)

CBS - With respect to the question of being on the correct route, yes, I was, without a doubt. I had the guide book in front of me when looking up at the route. The picture was pretty clear. Route 59, the Sorcerer, starts on The Apprentice, then at the broken top goes up the double cracks to the right. This was a very easy feature to spot, so I knew I was on the correct route. Saber on Castle Rock is what, 5.4 or 5.5? I followed that one only a month, month and a half ago. The Apprentice is WAY more difficult than Saber - easily several grades harder. Is Saber a fair reference for its grade? Up high on the route, the crack is off width - no chance to jam it without stacking. The other routes I did had some very nice jams - with my hand jammies on, I jammed where I could (I had some killer hand and fist jams) and used face holds, edges in the cracks, fissures and the like where there where I couldn't jam. As I mentioned, I thought Good Timer and Slacker, both 5.4 in the book, were about the same difficulty as each other (eg - consistent rating), and given the reputation for Tieton being sandbagged, fairly rated (and pretty good newb leads at that). What I take issue with, is that Western Front and The Apprentice are both rated at 5.3. In my opinion, these two routes are not the same difficulty - not even close. Someone who doesn't know this could get themselves into trouble high up on the route, without the gear to protect the upper parts of the climb (the book says gear to 2", up high, I needed the #4 Camalot I had).

OK, to start, I KNOW that everything at Royal Columns is sandbagged a grade or two compared to Vantage. But, what I'm writing about is an inconsistency in the ratings of some of the lower grade routes, specifically Western Front as compared to The Apprentice. In the Yoder / Ford guide book, Tieton River Rocks, both are listed as 5.3. Well, having just climbed both on Saturday, I can say, that unless I royally screwed up on the Apprentice (which, as a newb leader, I must admit the possibility), that there is NO WAY that the two routes should have the same rating. I'll also apologize to the folks who were there when I got back down - the string of curses I let loose was inexcusable, but reflected my frustration with what I perceive to be a bad mis-rating of The Apprentice. WF is a fair Tieton 5.3 (which is probably 5.4 to 5.5 at Vantage). The Apprentice however is no where near a Tieton 5.3. I'd give it a Vantage 5.8 rating (which I suppose would be a Tieton 5.6 or 5.7). The group in front of us on Saturday also thought it went at about 5.8. The gal following that group couldn't climb through the upper off width part and lowered off. In addition, the book says gear to 2". Without the #4 Camalot I placed, I would have been screwed on the upper part (I aided on it). I also used a #3 lower on the route. This route was a far more difficult lead for me compared to 7 Virgins and a Mule (5.7 at Vantage). I also led Slacker and Good Timer, both fairly rated Tieton 5.4's (5.5 to 5.6 at Vantage), and both VERY fun routes to climb - I'd give 'em 3 stars. Nimble Novice at a Tieton 5.5 (probably a Vantage 5.6) was also entertaining (fair at 1 star), but not as fun as Good Timer and Slacker. I guess what I'm trying to say is: New leaders be warned. The Apprentice at Royal Column's is not a 5.3 beginner friendly route in this newb trad leaders opinion. Try Western Front, Slacker and Good Timer instead (all are comparable in difficulty to Chapstick, 5.6, on Sunshine Wall at Vantage).

Most popular bags out on the PCT last year were Western Mountaineering, Marmot Hydrogen (~30 deg) and Helium (15 deg) and Feathered Friends. You can get a high quality 30 degree bag for about a pound and an half or a pound and 10 ounces and 15 degree bag for about 2 pounds. 2 1/4 is a touch on the heavy side for a 15, but I'm an gram weeine Fill makes all the difference. The number is the number of cubic inches of down per ounce. The higher the number, the more fluff for a given amount of weight. Higher fill numbers are warmer for a given weight, since the 'blanket' is thicker. Sleeping bags are one item where price and performance are more or less in direct correlation. The higher quality fills cost more. That being said, a quality bag, properly cared for, should last for years. If you spend the extra 50 or 100 bucks over a cheaper model, and it lasts for 5 years, what's that, an extra 10 or 20 bucks a year over the useful life of the product? In my mind, a small price to pay for a lighter, warmer bag.

Sweet pics Rob.... Cool TR. I was salivating looking up at that rock as I hiked past on the PCT last year.

I've seen these while thru hiking the PCT last year. I ended up carrying a rated axe (Camp XLA 210), but, had I been a total gram fanatic, I could easily have chosen to carry this axe (um, 'cat hole digger') instead. The intended user of this 'cat hole digger' is the ultra-light backpacker / thru hiker of the PCT / CDT who would otherwise go without any type of self arrest aid. As was pointed out by an experienced mountianeering type at the PCT kick off in April of '06 while talking about ice axes and self arrest, this is not a true ice axe. He also pointed out (rightly) that it's better than nothing if the shit hits the fan and you fall while traversing the steep snow fields on Glen Pass (as I did - glad I had my Camp, but I would have been happy to have one of these over nothing) or on Mather Pass. Remember, the intended user of this is someone who'd carry nothing as an alternative. The other choice for the gram weenie who wants some arrest aid is a whippet - I only saw one person with those. Probably no better than this ULA device. Regarding the strength - it's quite robust for the weight. The shaft is pretty thick walled hence it's quite rigid - far more rigid and much thicker walled that the carbon fiber trekking poles I used (and broke) last year. As far as cutting steps - understand that ultra-light thru hiker types wear running shoes. Kind of hard to kick steps in firm /slightly frozen snow early in the morning heading up and over the passes. This thing would be adequate to chop into that - I wouldn't want to try and cut into anything more. Also, you're mostly following in established tracks, so usually, you might only have to 'clean up' the foot prints with a bit of light chopping. And, to repeat, it's better than what would be carried otherwise - nothing. Heck, cutting the few steps I did with my Camp was a royal bitch - no mass behind it, but it was adequate to get the job done, which is all I needed. This ULA 'cat hole digger' is as well.