JonNelson

That Sterling Ropes tech manual that you link to is quite interesting. On page 11 bottom it describes how tests show a significant loss of strength from contact with water. Wet ropes are notably weaker than dry (i.e., non-wet) ropes -- I didn't know that. Seems like those of us who are worried about contact with motor oil ought to be more concerned about the rope touching wet rock. Jon

If I wanted to rack up some fantastic-looking 5.10 and 5.11 pitches, I'd check out some of the new multi-pitch sport routes to the left of Orc Tower. The first I'd try would be Jonah Benkert's World Famous Homemade Humble Pie, with pitches of 11b, 11b, 10b, 11c, and 10c. One could then top off the wall with the last pitch of Tales From Zahajko at 11c. I haven't tried any of them yet, but the photos look amazing. Check out the description and photos at http://www.rcnw.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=586&st=15 Has anyone here done Humble Pie or Tales? How was it? An alternate link-up to Gorilla my dreams and Plum pudding would be from the finish of either p2 of Princely or Dr Sniff. And another classic to do would be Racer X on the Lower Lump. But it would be time-consuming to have to hike around to all of these different areas. I'd be overjoyed at doing just 10 good pitches on one wall in a day. Can't imagine doing 33 divided up among several walls. This year I turn 50, and doubt I could do 50 routes of any length, any difficulty, and any style in one day at Index! Jon

1) Onsight a 5.9 route 2) Onsight a 5.10 route 3) Onsight a 5.11 route 4) Do the Bobcat Cringe at Lookout Point, Index 5) TR Infested with Spirals (project) at Private Idaho, Index 6) Put up another Black Wall route at Index, and 7) Finally complete Bowling for Biscuits by adding 3 more pitches to it. Jon

And the topos are the best I've ever seen. Excellent job on the topos too. But, just as an interesting point of discussion, has anyone else noticed how the tree (conifer) cartoons are all backwards? Maybe David did this intentionally, to look like other tree cartoons. But if you compare the direction of the branches in the cartoons (downward) to the ones in the photos (usually outward or upward), you'll see what I mean. Of course, they are just cartoon sketches (and nice-looking ones at that). My comment is for those who might be interested in a common misrepresentation of conifers... Jon

That Steph Davis article is great. (See the link above.) My suggestion is to frequent the UW climbing rock. They have a nice range of crack sizes. I learned to crack-climb there and wish it were closer to where I now live. I wish climbing gyms had more cracks. Jon

Great question Dooley, I've wondered about the best way to do slightly overhung bolting & cleaning myself. I had a lot of difficulty cleaning & bolting a vertical route that slanted - a slight bulge at the top made it hard to move across and get leverage for cleaning and drilling. (See http://www.mountainproject.com/v/he-was-an-aficionado-of-not-only-trains-but-of-the-entire-railway-system/107291194) I figured that the next time, I'd put in short 1/4" bolts to hold the rope in close to the rock, that is, G-spotter's #3. One even might be able to pull out the bolts and re-use them on another project. But I wonder if the Willy Stick would work even better if one used it going top-down? Anybody tried this? You couldn't have the dreaded windshield-wiper problem, and it seems you could use much longer 2x4s than the 6-footers recommended on the website. Jon

"Darryl what sort of performance enhancing drugs were you on when you put that thing up?" I don't think Darryl checks up on this site much. Try posting on RCNW.net and he'll probably reply right away. Jon

I've heard that Nason Creek (near Leavenworth) has a lot of moderate, yet steep sport climbs. I've never been to the area. Where can I get info about the area and the routes? Jon

They don't make the switch/trigger anymore, and I haven't had any luck finding a replacement. Perhaps I'll add a simple on/off switch. Jon

I found it on July 6. Call me at 425-242-1708 and identify it. Jon

Thanks a lot, I'll bring it there. Jon

I've been using a Bosch 11213R Bulldog powerdrill without any problems, and then this past Wednesday, over the course of drilling about 1/2 a hole, the thing stopped working. When I first started drilling, the power would come on only when the trigger was depressed half-way (it would shut off if fully depressed). Then, after half a hole, the power ceased completely. The battery was fine - the problem instead seemed to be related to the trigger. If you have had a similar problem, what did you do? The drill must be more than 10 years old (Perhaps over 20 -- I'm borrowing it.) Any suggestions? Thanks, Jon

These were sent to me by someone else. When Mallory and Irving approached the summit of Everest, they were astonished to see Chuck Norris already sitting on top. When they asked why he was there, he just said "'cause I am Chuck" and then gave them both a roundhouse kick. When the party of Ed 'Burt' Reynolds were descending after their victorious first ascent of the Matterhorn, they came across Chuck Norris, who, to their great bewilderment, gave himself a self-inflicted roundhouse kick. Most of the team was so surprized they jumped of the mountain. Ed, however, ran crying down the route. After that, they called him Edward Whymper. When Noah was filling his ark, he started to run out of room and asked god for guidance. So god sent Chuck Norris, who gave all the dinosaurs a roundhouse kick and then dropped kicked the remaining male animals through the goalposts. Then he impregnated all the remaining animals, including noah. Chuck Norris has no father. Whenever his mother met a potential suitor, Chuck gave him a roundhouse kick. Then he would impregnate both of them, just to make sure.

Hi Bryan, Your query seems like a fair one to ask, and I'm sorry that you didn't get a good reply (at least on this post). Being an atheist myself, I can't recommend any particular prayer. My only suggestion here is to not automatically assume that your partner is religious -- it can be a bit uncomfortable for us non-religious folks to be automatically expected to pray or listen to prayer. I suppose that you already knew this, but anyway, I hope you don't mind me mentioning it. (Sorry to seem a bit preachy myself, but I've been in such positions before and did not like it.) Jon

For steep limestone climbing, there is Futagoyama, not far from Tokyo (I think it is in Saitama prefecture). I went there once about 15 years ago, and it may be rather hard to get there without a car. For granite cragging, I hear that Ogawayama, in Nagano prefecture, near the borders with Yamanashi and Saitama, is good. There is a website with an online guidebook to the area (http://www.ogawayama.com/). Those are the major areas that I know about. Another famous area is the seaside rocks on Izu penninsula, near Mt. Fuji, I forget the name. Other than those areas, I seem to see small cragging areas wherever I go. I live in Shiga prefecture, which, according to one source, is one of the few prefectures with no climbing. Well, it all depends on one's standards -- mine are quite low, so I am satisfied with the nearby small crags and boulders. Jon

Not as much toproping this year as last for me. Still, there was much to be pleased about. The salient rock shape of the locomotive was probably the favorite and a nice discovery to boot, but I cannot forget Carefully swallow the resilient noodle and The four babies and a dead man, for they were both well above average. Still, the year is not yet over...

I'm a bit perplexed that some people think Nov-Dec have terrible weather, by which I suppose they mean rainy or cloudy. Perhaps the weather on Fuji is wetter or cloudier at that time of year, but I wouldn't know. However, away from the mountain at least, the conditions are relatively dry, not too cold, and relatively sunny from mid Oct. through Dec. I think it is the absolute best time of year for outdoor activities on Honshu (other times are either rainy, hot, humid, or some combination of these). Check out the climate statistics from the Japanese Meteorological Agency at http://www.data.kishou.go.jp/normal-e/normal-e.html, and you'll see what I mean. Jon

Weather-wise, Nov-Dec is a great time of year for visiting Japan, at least on the main island of Honshu. I don't know of anybody to ask for a route or general advice, although you might look for someone at the International Adventure Club (IAC)(http://www.iac-tokyo.org/) or maybe someone at http://www.japancycling.org/v2/, that is, unless you have already checked those places. Biking in mountain villages and on empty roads can be fun, but avoid main roads. Drivers in Japan do not have much consideration for bikers. (Cars will whiz by you, seemingly just centimeters away. Once, when I was riding along a two-lane road, a car passed me on my right side and then proceeded to make a left turn before getting in front - we collided, and luckily I escaped injury. I suspect that drivers here think of bikers as stationary objects.) I don't know anything about ascending Mt. Fuji, except that Nov-Dec is not within the "climbing season", which to me suggests that it would be ideal unless one happens to like company. Jon

You're right, the Yates Rocker looks like a good device. I bought the Soloist about 10 years ago because I wanted to do lead solos. It works fine for leading, but for the last few years, I've only done top-rope solos. The way that I described above is also smooth and easy for top-roping, but if I was to buy a device now, I might get the Yates instead. Jon

I looked through those posts and the link, but did not see any mention of the method that I have been using for the past two years for solo toproping. It's a little lonely for a weekday climber out here in Otsu, Japan, so, since coming here, I have always done top-rope solos. I use the soloist device, but not quite in the way that their manual states -- I tie in to the bottom connection, as they state in the manual, but I do not clip the top of the device to a chest harness. Instead, I just have a 'biner clipped into the top (as is required to keep the cam from coming out). No chest harness is needed with this method. There are 2 advantages to this method, provided that one is just toproping: 1) It doesn't matter if one falls upside down or right-side up; the device locks onto the rope and stops the fall regardless. 2) The rope tends to self-feed quite easily. Sometimes I have to reach down with one hand and tighten the rope, but not nearly as often as in the case when the top of the device is clipped to a chest harness. For a backup, I tie a figure-8 knot on the rope, a little below the device, and then clip into it. Right after doing so, the device doesn't self-feed, but after climbing a little bit the device self-feeds. Since I'm by myself, I'd like to use two ropes; one for the self-belay, and one for the back-up knots. But I haven't been willing to pay the extra money... Jon

Hi fern, I was there quite some time ago, in '91 I think, right after unification. We took a train from Dresden that went along the Elbe. Alot of rock formations were easily accessible by foot from the various train stops. Glancing at some of our notes in a guidebook, I think that you might want to take different trains to different areas. I relied upon my wife to figure out which trains to take. She consulted the train guide and two books: "Wanderfuhrer Sachsishe Schweiz" published in the "Kompass Wanderfuhrer" series by Deutscher Wanderverlag, and "Der Elbesandsteinfuhrer" by Bernd Arnold and published by Panico Alpinverlag. The latter guidebook is amazing- I've never seen such a climbing guidebook with its old copies of articles, many black and white photos and drawings, and an interesting cover that seems to be a combination photograph and painting. I hope this message reaches you in time. Jon Nelson

Lesley: Reading these posts supports my impression of John as a person who was cautious and sensible by nature yet still managed to have rattling good adventures. (Really rattlin'!) This reminds me of something he told me once, soon after he got married; he said that now when either he or his wife were leading a pitch, he would think 'Whoa...wait a minute here, isn't this a little too run out?'. He was always thinking about the other person. I can't help but think of a line in my favorite essay-poem (Kamo no Chomei's 'Record of the ten-foot-square hut') "...whichever of the pair was most fervent in devotion was always the first to die. This was because, heedless of personal concerns, he or she thought only of the other party..." Chomei wrote that in 1212. [Re, Andy's post] A three-day work week -- Now that reflects a true climbing spirit! I see from the memorial article that he and your mom moved to Nederland four years ago. I lived in Boulder from '94 to '96, right next to Nederland. I wonder if you were living near Boulder back then -- I would have loved to have met John with his family. Too bad. Now I am a bit far away to make even the rememberence gathering, but I hope my little recollections here help somehow. Jon

Hi Andy, I'm glad I remembered the route name correctly. But that parapente episode puts our little forest crawl to shame. I'm glad you mentioned it though, because I once heard, or thought I heard, that Jon Carpenter tried parapenting off South Early Winters spire with Mark, and also got tangled up at the top. It would be strange if Mark took two "Johns" on the same ill-fated adventure (rather suspicious actually), so I guess I instead just misremembered the story. (But at least I got the John part right, even if the spelling is wrong.) Jon Nelson

Hi Lesley, Sorry to hear the sad news. Here is a bit about my memory about John. I remember John as a low-key, soft-spoken, but very good climber and mathematician. My memory is generally poor, but two events come to mind. One of the first times I talked with him was at the UW climbing rock. I recall my boasting about some calculation I had just done and his incredulity. After I left for class, I realized that I had erred and his scepticism was right on. The other event was a trip we took to Squamish, just north of Vancouver, BC. It is one of my most memorable climbing experiences. This would be in the early 80s. We drove up from Seattle in his car. He played a tape by David Byrne and Brian Eno, and I recall thinking how refreshing and different that music was. Our climb was on the Chief, the big wall at Squamish, and the route was called, I think, cruel shoes. Neither of us had done the route before, but he knew something about it. The technical difficulty was within my ability, but he told me that long falls were possible on some pitches; not to worry though, he would lead those pitches. And so he did lead the scary and hardest pitches (gracefully, I might add), which I was very grateful for. We reached the split pillar, where the route joins another route, and then we descended. About 120 feet from the ground there was this perfect little ledge to sit on where our back would be against the wall and our feet hanging over the edge. So we stopped on this ledge to rest for awhile. John told me about some intoxicant he had brought in his pack, I think it might have been beer, but anyway, we enjoyed whatever it was that he brought. We sat there on the ledge for some time feeling the warm glow, chatting, and watching the darkening sky. Suddenly it dawned on one of us, probably John, that the descent through the dense forest below would be a bit darker than than it was up here on the wall above the tree tops. Normally, it would take about 15 minutes to descend from the base of the wall to the car. But neither of us had a flashlight, and the descent through the forest might be difficult in the dark. We quickly rappelled to the base and started down the trail. John said that we might lose the trail, in which case he should lead the way because he was more familiar (he said) with the forest below the Chief. You see, this forest has huge trees that hide huge boulders and cliffs. He knew the hidden dangers in this forest and he made it clear to me that we had to be careful. So, sure enough, we staggered only about ten feet down the trail before we got totally lost. He suggested that we get down on all fours and crawl out. It sounds crazy, but that is what we had to do. John led the way, and whenever we got to a dropoff, he told me to wait until I heard his voice at the bottom. A few times he did go over a dropoff, but it was never more than one or two body lengths. I would be left all alone in complete darkness at the edge, but I had complete confidence that he would lead me safely to the car. About 20 yards or so from the parking lot we somehow rejoined the trail and casually walked to the car. So, that was about 20 years ago. Since then we moved apart. I haven't had much opportunity to climb since then, so the memory of our descent on all fours has become all the more valuable to me. It was only a few weeks ago that I was thinking how nice it would be to find John's email and give him an unexpected message. I would have thanked him for the wonderful experience he brought me. Jon Nelson