Bigtree

No superiority from this camp Mattp; rather, just a humble statement that: a) the emperor has no clothes; and, b) better to climb for the sake of pure self satisfaction/pleasure as opposed to some sort of "special" cause - whether it be Christ, global warming, blind, no legged, over 70 etc. That said, Zoran strikes me a nice guy. I'll try and be more sensitive of his (and your) feelings next time by sugar coating my opinions. Yeesh.

Ha, ha...very good Zoran. You'll like Wiegele's by the way. I used to work nearby in the late 1980's and would stop in periodically to check out his operation. It was spectacular then and I'm sure its only gotten better.

Ha, ha, ha...Wiegele world's helicopters don't generate gobs and gobs of carbon now do they? How about the carbon neutral climbing team earn some well-needed carbon credits to compensate for Wiegele's inexcusable anti-enviro behaviour by rowing a boat with themselves and their gear up to Anchorage with stops along the way to plant some west coast trees in BC and on the panhandle; then, hike/climb in from there. Now that's something worth bragging about.

The current state of the global warming debate strikes me as getting McCarthyistic in nature. It wouldn't surprise me if pretty soon committees will be set up to suss out and arrest non-believers. This hypocritical climb just proves it. Say hi to the Climbing For Christ team when you get there. Perhaps you can do some collective hand-wringing and say a few hail Marys together. Forgot to mention, despite my criticism of your motives, have safe and successful climb.

Nice. Thanks for the tip dmuja.

Kinda reminds my of an experience I had years ago. I had a new KX500 dirt bike stolen from my girlfriend's backyard years ago. Every time I had tried to ride the beast, the bike that is, I dropped it/got spit off and/or broke something. So, first thing we did was contact local bike shops to see if anyone had ordered a radiator shroud for what was at that time a rare bike in my locale. Sure enough we struck gold, and better yet, when the thief ordered the part he paid for it with his VISA. After shaming the local cops into action who I gathered were more interested in downing donuts and padding their already fat asses than catching crooks, they finally checked the guy's house out and located my bike in his garage along with a bunch of others. Anyway, it ended well enough for me and reinforced my belief that: a) crooks/thiefs are generally dumb; and, b) cops are slothful creatures.

Here you go...complete nutters... bCrCsTMokTU

Whatever works for you Bill. Note that I recently found a Garmin e-Trex on a back country ski trip. Seems to work very well and is much more compact that my 60 Csx. Food for thought for you.

Nice. Thx a bunch.

In an effort to earn some matrimonial play/climbing credits I'm taking my wife to Seattle for 3-nights Memorial day weekend in May. I've driven through the place lots, but never stayed there. Would appreciate a hotel recommendation or 2 if anything comes to mind. Price isn't a problem, but must be dog friendly, reasonably close to downtown and have some green space close by for the pooch. Thx.

Wikipedia is amazing... "Hammer Drill...The hammer action is provided by two cam plates which makes the chuck rapidly pulse forward and backward as the drill spins on its axis. This pulsing (hammering) action is measured in Blows Per Minute (BPM) with 10,000 or more BPMs being common. Because of the relative masses of the chuck+bit and the remainder of the drill the energy transfer is relatively inefficient and can sometimes make it difficult for larger bits to penetrate harder materials such as poured concrete. Vibration is quite noticable by the operator, and the cams are generally made from hardened steel to avoid them wearing out quickly. Most electic hammer drills are rated at between 6.3 and 9 amps, and are restricted to standard masonary bits 1/2 inch in size maximum. A typical application for a hammer drill would be to install electrical boxes, conduit straps or shelves in concrete. Compare this to a rotary/pneumatic hammer drill where just the bit is accelerated to the work. This is accomplished through a piston design, rather than a spinning cam. Rotary hammers have relatively little vibration and penetrate most building materials. They can also be used as "drill only" or as "hammer only" which extends their usefulness for tasks such as chipping brick or concrete. Hole drilling progress is greatly superior to cam type hammer drills, and these drills are generally used for holes of 3/4 an inch or greater in size. A typical application for a rotary hammer drill would be to bore large holes for lag bolts in foundations, or to install large lead anchors in concrete for handrails or benches. A standard hammer drill accepts 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch drill bits, while a rotary hammer uses SDS or Spline Shank bits. These heavy bits are adept at pulverising the masonry and drill into this hard material with relative ease. However there is a big difference in cost. In the UK typically £12 upward for a cam hammer and £35 up for a rotary/pneumatic. In the US a typical hammer drill will cost between $70 and $120, and a rotary hammer between $150 and $500 (depending on bit size). For DIY use or to drill holes less than 1/2 inch in size, the hammer drill is most commonly used."

G-spotter, was just snooping on Rockclimbing.com. I saw a few routes for the Tyee area I mentioned above, but nothing for the Ecstall (no pics in my files either I'm afraid). The crack on the left (5.8ish) and the route with the roofs (5.10ish) were always my favs (I can't recall what we used to call either - other than good fun):

Robotsweat, there's a number of fine walls with potential climbing opportunities along the Ecstall including the one in your photo. There is a shorter wall on the south side of Cuthbert Cr. (roughly 12 km down the Ecstall on the east side - look for the old log dump/road/cut-blocks) that I used to look at /ponder all the time when work used to take me there. As you likely know already, jet boat access is the way to go from Hwy 16 boat ramp, but watch out for the sandbars - I've spent more hours than I care to remember stuck on them. I also assume that you're aware of the place we used to call the Tyee Bluffs just above the train tracks immediately east of the the bridge where hwy 16 meets the Skeena (look for the aboriginal pictograph). Lots of great single-pitch climbs there ranging from 5.6 to 5.10+. Cheers.

She looks like she just smoked a fatty to me...

Paradise gift store.

Never been there, but would like to this year or next. Nevertheless...

Just mucking about with a new scanner, so...

That's helpful to know Markmckillop - thanks.

Billcoe, I'm always impressed with your gear collection (and advice). 3 hammers! I can barely afford 1 at ~ $80 CDN.

Sacré bleu! 40 holes per charge. The wee thing I use only gives 4 (well, really only 3 and 3/4 before it starts to whimper):

I certainly don't want to mix it up with MattP or G-spot, but if you feel the urge to bolt, do yourself a huge favour and purchase a Rigid (or other similar brand) battery operated hammer drill. I have the Rocpeck (3/8" SDS X 6 to 8" bit by the way) and its painfully slow. I just placed a couple of bolts/hangers/rap rings atop a new route last Saturday in a newly developing area and used the hammer drill for it - 5 mins per hole vs. > 1 hr with the Rockpec. A full battery charge typically does about 4 holes per. Also, don't use cheap crap (i.e., spend the money and buy good stainless gear that won't rust out). Lastly, if you're determined to whack away with the Rocpeck: a) try a practice hole or two someplace benign before messing on a potential route; and, b) bring some mind-occupying music.

Peter S, I lived in the Bella Coola valley for a couple of years in the 90's. The Nusatsum Rd. access via the Noeick meadows is spectacular (have flown and hiked the area), but can be deadly at this time of year. I played a very tiny part in a search and rescue operation that turned into a body recovery operation of a husband and wife who got chopped by avalanches en route to Ape Lake. The event turned into an even bigger bummer when the Chinook kacked and dropped out of the sky and onto a fellow who was being long-lined in from below the machine. All that said, if you decide on this route I suggest you start with a phone call to the Ministry of Forests and Range Field office in the valley (1-250-982-2000). If you can connect, I'm sure they would help you out with a road access report as well as other info like the tel nmbrs for VIH and Bella Coola heli. Cheers.

Porter, explain to me please why your presidential farm team is so apparently shallow in the land of 300 million + that you guys can't seem to get past the Bush's and the Clinton's? Is it some kind of weird throwback to your colonial ties to Britain or just plain old pathological illness. Not that our bench is that deep to the north with a 10th of population, but I expect more from our cousin's and frankly you're scaring me.

"Whoa"...I've never heard a guy get a woody over the size of gill slits before.

Clipped from a "reliable" news source: "The “accidental” cable cut sham being fed to the mainstream by many Middle Eastern emirs, and being swallowed whole by the masses, is a modern day example of the problem with white elephants. Whatever that means. “911 scholars” claim the US did it to hamper communications while the military launches an attack against Iran. “Some of us fear that internet access may have been deliberately severed to isolate Iran and make it difficult to communicate in response to a ‘false flag’ attack in the United States, possibly during the Super Bowl, an attack upon Iran, or both.” “False flag” attacks are conducted by a government against targets, including its own citizens, in order to blame an enemy and justify taking action against it." I kinda beleive the giant squid theory myself. If it happened to Captain Ahab in Moby Dick then it must be true, no?