boadman

Judging by the after picture, you might consider taking more food next time. :-) That was a pretty amazing amount of moving!

The only pitch that wasn't well protected was the second to last 5.9 pitch, if I remember correctly. It's been a while. MP seems to agree with me: http://www.mountainproject.com/v/cruel-shoes/105918292 The climbing genuinely fun the whole way though.

Next time, try entering w/ cruel shoes. It adds a significant amount of climbing.

So, I bought a set of the Totems, blue to red. I've only climbed with them a few times so far, but my initial feelings are that they're pretty cool. The way they place (even in the large sizes) reminds me a lot of aliens. They sort of set into place, and because of their general floppiness, they don't seem to walk at all, even with minimal added slings. I've only taken a few test falls on them, but they've held well in placements that I would consider marginal. I'd recommend them as a companion set to your C4s for sure. My current ideal cam rack for long pitches is gray-purple tcu, green,yellow, red aliens, blue-red totems, and green-blue C4s. I climbed several difficult (for me) pitches at Index over the weekend on this rack, and rarely didn't have the perfect piece.

Awesome, thanks. I've always been curious.

What is the actual name of that animal? It doesn't really look like a rat, it's tail is furry, but it seems to big to be a mouse. (cue.. "it's a hound, sub genera snaffle" comments)

The wait your turn in line ethic is very American. Euros have a totally different approach. I've seen people unclip gear and clip their own ropes in, pull on other parties gear, basically cruise through without saying a word.

Rad!

Wow, that's shitty behavior.

The cascadian couloir descent is the way to go, rapping would take forever.

wired bliss will also re-sling the c4s the way they came from the store. I don't know of any local companies that will do the work.

I found a pbj & bagels & a pocket knife at the country yesterday evening. I have to admit, I ate the food, but let me know if you want your pocket knife back. The PBJ was good, a nice ratio of peanut butter (chunky is the best) to jam. My kids liked the chive cream-cheese too.

I went through my old guidebook, and a few of the recommendations appear to be sport climbs, which are normally fine, but not in line with my current objective. Also, a lot of them appear to be a little spicy in my old guide. Has that changed with modern micro-cams? I guess it might be time to pick up a new guide book. :-)

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll take a look tonight and see what looks fun.

I'm looking for routes that meet the following conditions: 1. Leavenworth Wa 2. High quality gear routes 3. 5.11- to 5.12- 4. <30 minute approach 5. Not closed for imaginary falcons Any recommendations?

I've played with them a bit, they seem pretty good. I don't think they're any more annoying than any other auto-locking biner.

They're perfectly safe, just heavier and not as nicely finished. I don't worry too much about the cost of cams though, as if you divide the price by the hours of use they get infinitesimally inexpensive. I figure you might as well by the nicest gear available.

I started out with all passive pro, because it was what I could afford. It was a good way to learn nut-craft, and is generally sufficient for anything 5.9 and under. The totem basics paired with metolius tcus are what I'd recommend for little cams. I wouldn't by bd in anything under .5. The new bd x4s are probably going to be cool, but I always wait a couple of years before I get the new toys, it seems like they always make improvements. Probably start out with a single set of totem basics and play with friends gear until you decide what you want for your second set.

Funny: "attempting a tough and scary 5.13+ (8a) traditionally protected crack at Index, Wyoming."

Sounds awesome! I wish I had the time!

One thing to note is that the RR grades are generally pretty soft in comparison with local areas, so being comfortable on 5.9 around here would probably get you into the low to mid 10s there without too much trouble.

The LTW will be totally climbable after the last few days of nice weather. Some of the starts might be a titch damp, but by mid-morning most things will be hottogo.

Have you whipped on them much?

I think you might as well put up your hang boards and maybe a campus board at home and go to the gym when you want to boulder with friends.

Have you noticed any durability issues? Specifically, when I played with them I was worried that the thinner cables that run over the cams to the clip in point that pull down on the cams' inner lever would wear out over time. I figured I'd wait until people had used them for a year or two before I bought any for myself.