ryanb

That's not the case in the DB w/ CF that I posted above (or really any bowline variant). Not quite sure what you mean? That a bowline tightens up just as much weather you use the double wrap around the tie in point or knot? Then why do you use the double wrap? My experience is only with the double wrap plus a figure eight and I haven't scientifically tested it but I find that I can generally get my knots undone after repeated falls unless I am pumped out of my gourd in which case i might have to wait a minute. I suppose there are lots of other thing that could effect it ... type of rope, partners getting better at giving soft catches, type of harness etc. There is a 'yosemite' finish for both bowline and figure 8 tie-ins but I find it disagreeable in case of bowline tie-ins due to it turning them into a visual mishmash. Agreed but, as I said, i've moved back to the figure eight.

I used to use alternative knots but have since found that, If one double threads the rope through the harness tie in point (creating an additional complete loop of the tie in point) that section tightens up first in falls leaving a standard figure eight with the Yosemite/Archie/Olevsky finish easier to untie while preserving its other benefits. Plus I forgot how to tie the other knots during a stint as a boulderer.

knob goblyn???? i wouldn't be caught dead with a pair of shoes called knob goblyn's on just sayin Oh man, totally missed that when i typed it ... How a bout just "the nubbins"

Kudos for posting info about the working conditions your shoes are made under. That honestly makes me consider your shoes more then I ever have before as I always felt mad rock were sweat shop rip offs of five ten (I do have to say that the color choice and velcro strap on these makes them look a lot like the 5x). Some Index Footwork Inspired Name Suggestions: The Smedge The Foot Dyno The Knob Goblyn

I have also been wondering about this. I tour/walk in my at boots with all the top buckles undone and in tour mode for comfort. Do you ice climb in tour mode or ski mode? Top buckles done or undone? I've been eyeing the new line of sportiva ski boots wondering how well they walk/climb: http://www.wildsnow.com/4361/winter-outdoor-retailer-show-2011-1/ http://www.tetonat.com/2011/01/24/more-from-outdoor-retailer/

Feather friends has one of the better rock shoe selections in town for people who actually want shoes that are useful for free climbing and there staff has always been helpful with my obsessive shoe trying on though I only end up buying anasazi. I've actually tried to purchase a drill there but they didn't have one ... either that or they thought I was a chump who was going to grid bolt the LTW. Mark, What route/pitches are you talking about? Bits of Snow White have gone free for years and p1 with slight variations is a fixed sport route (Dwarf Tossing...it is even listed on mountain project). I don't know about the upper pitches and I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt as far as intentions but it sounds like you may be working from out of date information and I can understand if someone thought you were going to nail a free route.

Cool, I spot checked a favorite local and it looks like your coverage of old roads is better then USGS but coverage of trails lacks behind green trails.

You need to get the url for the image file. You have the one for page it is on. I get image url's by right clicking on the image and using "Copy Url" (google chrome but other browsers have similar). For your first image it should be: http://cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/500/medium/600x450x100_1411.JPG.pagespeed.ic.BCz8VFuJaA.jpg Notice that if you put that in your address bar it shows only the image and not the page. You can also do this from flickr but you have to click on all sizes and select the size you want first as they override the right click on the main image page. Also I find your trip reports useful for judging current conditions but you should really learn to ski tour so i'll find them more usefull

I spent much of my climbing time this year way off the beaten path with the fiance and got in a few (possible) first ascents and one first (crash pad) descent: (not a great shot or route but my first ground up FA)

More info here: http://www.wildsnow.com/3895/atk-rt-backcountry-skiing-binding/ Sportiva is the importer for a euro brand ATK. The ski brake on the atk site looks really cool, hope they import that as well and it seems it has an adjustable din like release in tour mode. Maybe they will go on sale in the spring...

I haven't actually used one yet... i'm in the market for a gps and saw it. I am leaning towards one of the basic garmins with an altimeter as I don't have an altimeter watch just my dads old dial altimeter which is bulky. They have a cool search tool on the garmin site that lets you select the features you want and shows you which gps matches it. Amazon seems to have good prices.

Garmin has the eTrex H which has 500 way points and goes for 99 MSRP. I don't think either have a barometric altimeter which is a worthwhile/necessary feature for many.

I don't think there is enough snow there quite yet but we learned out near Blewett pass ... there is a fair amount of mellow terrain in the diamond head, tronsen meadows and forest service road 800 areas and it should be possible to find a decent slope to yo yo. See: http://www.justgetout.net/Wenatchee/pages/page/?pgid=69 http://books.google.com/books?id=L3RvawmhbkgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=seabury+blair+backcountry+ski&source=bl&ots=f1FSj_5eKS&sig=cD3T_YHNNviWI9b8aH8Ov4dC1Q8&hl=en&ei=WzD0TIrIKZK6sQOkt5zdCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBsQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false for some specific ideas or just head out and explore. Usual caveats about avi danger apply.

I like it. Nothing more objective than that. If you aren't hashing together the blueprints for Entropos, LLC - the green certifying company to end *all* green-certifying companies right now, you're doing both your bank account and the planet a grave, grave disservice.... The second law of thermodynamics only applies to closed systems ... plant growth actually decreases (local) entropy thanks to the giant glowing ball in the sky beaming energy at us.

I consider myself an environmentalist but I also consider myself a scientist and a critical thinker. The evidence shows that the idea of wilderness is a western myth ... people traveled through, lived in and even maintained many of the places we consider "wild" and our ancestors chased them out with disease, guns and now 14 day stay limits. Our mountains looked a lot more like the habitated Andes or even the Alps before the white man arrived. http://westinstenv.org/histwl/category/the-wilderness-myth/ http://www.williamcronon.net/writing/Trouble_with_Wilderness_Main.html http://www.amazon.com/Dispossessing-Wilderness-Indian-Removal-National/dp/0195142438 On a personal level, I have found (and left) arrowheads and other signs of long use along high "game" trails on unnamed peaks and have noted that, in dry country ranging from Eastern WA to the great basin to Utah, many hidden springs and watering holes are marked clearly with simple petroglyphs. I don't see trail markers as that different, and I'd rather them be rock piles or well made signs then neon grid tape that becomes brittle, flakes and blows everywhere. Cordillera huayhuash, Peru Sky Valley, WA

I have the black diamond agent with avi lung. It works well enough as a pack that my fiance got one this year. She has a voile shovel, it fits if you take the blade off though the part of the blade that the handle slides into is annoyingly (and unnecessarily) long. I think they make a version that will carry a snowboard (bandit?)

It is probably a russula but it is hard to tell from that angle and we have found a lot of matusaki at undisclosed locations in the last few weeks (and a lot of russula). I usually check the "tap root" for the grey ash like substance and distinctive coloration for positive matsu if but you can also often tell by the shape and color of the cap. Many people will don't like the big ones because they are tough but for those of us with low standards they are quite tasty My fiance doing some matsu Identification last year:

I think I see a ring on the stem of your russola. Sure its not a mature matusaki? A good rule for the cascades is to stick to the non gilled species until you know what you are doing.

This type of thing is actually a mathematically interesting question first proposed by the great Benoît B. Mandelbrot who died last week: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Long_Is_the_Coast_of_Britain%3F_Statistical_Self-Similarity_and_Fractional_Dimension Assuming you are happy with an approximate that ignores those factors, if you have a geeky side, you can get reasonably high resolution topographic data from several places on the web and should be able to write something to interpolate along your path along the rim. Buying a good altimeter and climbing it again might be easier though.

There is that giant black chimney behind the great northern slab and defoliator (above and to the right of the GNS above breakfast of champions) has some chimneying particularly if you continue up to the top of the wall. I seem to remember some intriguing looking chimney called the flu on the mid wall but we never did it. If we include grovely flares then we get to add a number of other lower wall classics, dr sniff, p3 japanese gardens, tatoosh. There are also a number of dirty chimneys on the upper wall.

That wild country helmet looks nice, metolius also makes a hard shell + full coverage foam option: http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/helmet.html I just wish they could figure out how to make them as light as the foam only ones.

I like something with foam all the way around my head due to some of the info on this site: http://www.thebmc.co.uk/Feature.aspx?id=1534 Beacause i have a hugh head this means a bd tracer since it is the only helmet i could find that fit. However the new dual rated (bike and climb) petzl seems like it might be actually certified for off center impact ... if only it came in a large.

Are there any big cliffs on your land? How tall are they and how frequently do bits seem to be falling off them? These are the questions most climbers evaluate knew cliffs with. If there aren't existing cliffs it is probably not cost effective to dig some up. Why not simply build a wooden climbing structure as many Outdoor Education programs and camps do? You could also look into hiring some experienced guides/climbing educators and getting permits to take kids on some of the established climbs near you on public land.

My much loved/abused patagonia ascentionist soft shell is starting to soak through during my 30 minute bike commute. I've tried some nikwax tx direct spray (recommended by patagonia customer service) before but found that it wore out much quicker then the original DWR (sliding down snow slopes and thrutching up granite flares may not have helped that) and smelled terrible. Do people have favorite brands or products that work better? Opinion on wash in vs spray on? Tricks for getting the treatment to work particularly well?

Raft guides buy olive barrels surplus from places that buy olives in bulk (grocery stores etc) ... loads of places in seattle drill a couple of holes in them, stick a faucet in and sell them as rain barrels in the spring but you ought to be able to find some with out the holes... they do smell like whatever they had in them originally though which could be an issue for bears.