jfreeburg

Well, he's got a job, I've got a job, but he has 2 racks and I have none. I might make a little more than him (he doesn't work full time), but he has more time off to go climbing, so he should feel bad for me. In all fairness, he should sell it to me for real cheap.

I've been borrowing a rack from a friend for the summer and now I'm thinking I'd like to buy it from him. Nothing had been fallen on before I got it-the nuts were new, hexes slightly used, and cams used. Everything is in good condition. What's a fair asking price? 50% of original price? 65%? I think the new price of everything is about $650.

I didn't see any bears on Diedre. How'd you know I climbed there? It's not like anyone else goes there. We made it to the start of the climb around 7am on Sunday and had only 2 groups ahead of us (we passed another on the trail up since as they got off track). By the time we topped out, there was a group at every belay station as well as some waiting at the bottom. It pays to get up early if you don't want to be sandwiched in between groups. Saturday we climbed at the Smoke Bluffs. Only after deciding on Burger and Fries did we see the note about it being one of the most popular slabs in Canada. But there's so many routes up there, we never had to wait to climb. We also did a 5.9 (Old Age) next to the Zombie Roof. It's a great mix of slab, crack, and chimney at the top. So we were just one of the many this weekend, but an absolutely great time had by all. Don't miss the yam fries at the Howe Sound Brewpup- almost better than the climbing.

Had a great weekend up there. Friday night we camped off the road to the landfill (unknowingly) on a mountain bike trail (knowingly). In the middle of the night, we were woken up by a large object coming down the trail (I was thinking/hoping a mad late-night mountain biker or maybe just a deer). In the morning, 2 different groups of runners came by and said they were glad to see we weren't attacked by bears, being that we were just across the street from the landfill. Moral of the story: don't camp off the road to the landfill. It's free, but it's bear country. PS. We camped at the base of Chief Saturday night.

Now any suggestions for routes in the 5.8 - 5.9 range? Sport or trad is fine. I have the 2001 edition of McLane's guide, but it's a lot to look through.

Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I'll be sleeping with my cams next to my pillow.

What's it like up there? Are there places to dirtbag it? Is it possible to find a place late on a Friday night? I'm thinking of heading up there this weekend.

I don't know about international flights, but I had a pocket rocket and a fuel canister in my checked luggage when I flew to San Francisco a few weeks ago. I "forgot" about it at the airport and didn't have any problems. The canister was brand new and on the flight back to Seattle (after using it), again, no problems.

I went up the Sulphide Glacier on Shuksan a few years back and got fined by a ranger for not having a permit. My buddy and I didn't get one at the ranger station because we thought there wouldn't be any left. We could have gone down and camped beneath the tree line (or something like that) and not been fined, but we just decided to just take the $50 fine.

I was just thinking about that the other day. A wiki for TR's would be a great thing to have.

thanks. any others for the olympics?

Does anyone know of labeled photos that name peaks you can see from different points around the Seattle area? Like from skyscrapers downtown or I-5 near Everett? Looking over to the Olympics from West Seattle?

One more opinion on this. I'm in the Mounties intermediate class and took the basic class last year. I've liked learning in a structured setting and meeting new people but I feel like most of the instructors love to talk at you and not to you. They don't ask many questions about your previous climbing experience or why you did something, instead they just talk to you as if you don't know much. I don't know if this is the same for all branches but it's an area where Everett could use some improvement. Also, technique is not covered in much detail in the intermediate class. It's a lot about placing pro safely, not about becoming a better climber necessarily. Just a few thoughts there.

Looking for to do some scrambles or easy climbs next week. I start a new job the week after and have to get outside while I still can. I'm in the Mounties intermediate class and have no shame about it. Going to Leavenworth this weekend. I'm in Snohomish but can travel.