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Julian

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Everything posted by Julian

  1. Picked up the OR Radiant Hybrid hoody this year and love it.
  2. Having lost 50 pounds in the past 5 months I'm in the process of selling some of my now-too-large soft goods in order to downsize. My loss (literally) is your gain! Some cams are also up for sale. All prices include shipping. PM me or email me at julianmbuck@gmail.com. I can do Paypal for payment. Prices are OBO, more inclined to cut deals if you buy multiple items. Also willing to entertain trades for a Black Diamond Xenos or Ozone harness in size medium, ice screws of any reasonable quality, Arc'teryx Atom LT hoody in medium, or Scarpa Freney XT boots in size 42. I'm willing to pay the difference in a trade if you have one in mind where your item is higher value. 1. North Face Ama Dablam Jacket, size L - $125 SOLD You want bomb-proof, lightweight mountaineering gear? You got it! Manufactured back when TNF was making really high-quality climbing wear, this jacket was $500 new and worth every penny. It's constructed with the original single-layer Goretex Paclite (aka "hockey puck Paclite"). I've never had any issues with the rubber disks moving around, and the jacket has never leaked, has no damage, and has been well cared for. A great jacket for the PNW weather that I don't have to deal with now living in the Southeast and ice climbing when the weather is good. This one served me well in some absoute shit conditions on Mt. Hood and during an open bivy on Mt. Baker. 2. Arc'teryx Venta SV hoody, size L - $150 SOLD Hurts to sell this $400 jacket that I bought only one season ago. Used but well-cared for, no damage other than some dirt stains on the arm (not really damage but full disclosure and all that). Burly soft shell that's great for the Cascades but a bit too heavy for down here (went down to a Gamma LT instead and dropped from an L to an M). Gore Windstopper and a DWR finish make this one a strong shield against the elements, it's another veteran of some nasty business on Hood. Full-length pit zips help control the temperature effectively. 3. North Face Redpoint Jacket, size L - $40 SOLD Great insulated jacket if you are fine without a hood, originally retailed for $150. Common theme with my stuff: used but well looked-after. In this case that means no holes, burn marks, patches, snags, etc. Primaloft insulation makes this a good jacket for lots of different conditions, and it can be layered over other gear. Only reason I'm selling it is I picked up an Atom SV hoody to be my go-to belay jacket. 4. HB Quadcams $20 each or $100 for all 6 SOLD Don't have the actual specs handy here sorry, but I think they are sizes 0.5-3 (in half-size increments). Nice cams for filling out a rack, for me they were supposed to be the start of one but I just don't trad climb enough to make acquiring all that stuff worthwhile (or when I do, it's with fully-equipped partners). Placed each several times, mostly when building anchors, and none have caught a fall (maybe been weighted a handful of times with no impact force). Slings all look perfectly fine to me. 5. Nike USPS-Berry Floor team cycling shorts, size XL - $20 Some nice cycling shorts I picked up back in the mid-2000s when Lance Armstrong was all the rage and didn't wear that often because I soon got a pair with bibs. There is some significant peeling on one of the thigh logos, but absolutely no structure damage (or even cosmetic damage outside of the peeling logos). Fits about 37-42 waists or somewhere in that range. 6. Black Diamond Blizzard Harness, size M/L - $50 Used for only 3 days last season but just a wee bit too big (size is called M/L but it fits like a large). A bit of dirt on the orange part of the swami but otherwise looks practically new. Great ice/mixed harness with ice clipper slots, comfortable swami and leg loops, etc. Would consider continuing to use it as it still technically fits (especially with a jacket underneath) but I think if I lose more weight (which I plan on doing) that won't be feasible for too much longer. 7. Black Diamond Focus SA, size L - $30 This one has seen some significant use but mostly at the gym and on toprope. It's caught one or two short gym lead falls and none outdoors. Looks to be in good shape and should have lots of life left. speed adjust buckles, comfortable waist belt, good gear loops, it's a solid all-around harness that's comfortable to wear all day. A lot of the visible "wear" is really just chalk residue. 8. Black Diamond Momentum AL, size L - $15 This harness is about 5 years old but the last 3 or so have been largely spent in a gear bin. What looks like wear on the belay loop is mostly just chalk dust. I've put this harness to use with no fears or qualms when I have a friend who wants to learn to climb. It's taken one or two short lead falls at the gym.
  3. Good luck Dane, you are going to beat this! Be strong like you are in the mountains and you will see it through.
  4. What's interesting about that one it seems to be so hard that even the Russian big-wall team hasn't done the dirretissima (their route traverses off to the right after climbing the main wall when it reaches the dark triangular upper face). Also with respect to Bhagirathi III and Peak 4810 (whose picture appears in the initial post), I'm curious as to why it's apparently not acceptable ascend those in the same manner as El Cap. Is it because there isn't a highway leading to the cliff and a hippy camp full of smelly dudes living semi-permanently at the base? I'm reminded of Topher Donohue's quote about the chopping brouhaha on Cerro Torre: "A bolt war is a bolt war no matter how many layers of stinky long underwear you need to put on". Substitute "aid climb" for "bolt war" and I think it still rings fairly true.
  5. A more general question: what counts as an acceptable venue to do siege-style aid climbing, and what does not? As long as people are honest about the reporting, what does it matter? The Russian big-wall climbs may be "irrelevant to modern alpinism" but if one regards them as big-wall climbing rather than alpinism, then they are no different than a lot of stuff that still gets done on El Capitan. And I know the magazines will only talk about free climbs these days (Ammon McNeely's 2nd ascent of Wings of Steel being an exception), but plenty of new routes have gone up in aid style over the past decade. Jim Beyer put up Project Mayhem on Mt. Thor around the same time as the Russians climbed Jannu, I think. Is one location allowed while the other is scorned, and if so, why? I do disagree with leaving the wall littered with gear though. A team should always remove as much as possible from their climb, and leaving everything fixed on the wall is really poor form. I did chuckle a bit though when reading Steve House's book about how he was ready to leave a pile of rope abandoned on Nanga Parbat that only ended up getting taken down because he and Bruce Miller retreated. Not exactly the kind of behavior he usually advocates.
  6. So how many climbers are allowed to do a big-wall in capsule style and call it "alpine style" without getting called out for it? Solo only? 2? 3? Is someone going to bust up on Anker, Chin, and Ozturk for "sieging" the Shark's Fin? One thing I will give Steve House credit for is he's consistent enough in his ethics to have the balls to call out Alex Lowe, Jared Ogden, and Mark Synnott for doing so on Great Trango Tower. Most US climbers and media would never had taken shots at Alex Lowe like that, even if they would have at a team of relatively unknown Russians doing a route in the same way. Even Mr. Purity Mark Twight didn't seem to mind Greg Child and Michael Kennedy using (and leaving) a portaledge on the Wall of Shadows on Mt. Hunter, or if he did he kept it out of the passage in Kiss of Kill where he talked about them.
  7. That's a bit of a disingenuous comparison unless they were trying the exact same line. Most of the Russian big-wall routes push somewhat contrived directissimas straight up the steepest part of faces at the expense of having to do a ton of aid climbing and fixing. It's debatable whether any climbers or teams would bother to try these lines in another style simply because they would more likely look for paths of least resistance rather than forced lines. Also worth noting in this thread (if we are talking about the history of this wall) is that Tomo Cesen climbed a less direct route up the north face of Jannu in 1990. It didn't happen, some of you say? Prove it. I for one will take Mark Twight and Marko Prezelj's word on that issue until shown otherwise. One thing I dislike about some of the criticisms of the Russian Big-Wall project climbers is that they are easy targets for criticisms by westerners because none of them (or their pals) are likely going to see and/or respond to any of the comments. For instance, their recent ascent of Latok III from all reports was done capsule-style (climbing pitches with portaledge camps in between), and there were derisive comments online about it being a "siege". Meanwhile, Dave Turner climbed a new route a couple of years ago on South Paine Tower in the exact same style, and actually referred to it as "alpine style" without anyone correcting him or raising an issue with it.
  8. The Arc'teryx Atom SV hoody is what you want.
  9. Here's one short form of the answer: more Russian teams are willing to pursue big wall aid climbs in remote parts of the world, especially in the Himalayas which are comparatively close for them (the Pamirs even more so of course), while most North Americans who are aid climbing aficionados (a decreasing breed to be sure) stick closer to home and climb hard aid testpieces in Yosemite, Colorado, Utah, and Squamish, or at least stay in-hemisphere and aid big walls in Patagonia, Greenland, or Baffin Island.
  10. Whoever bought that picked up a screaming deal assuming everything was in even remotely decent shape.
  11. My basic system is: 1. base layer synthetic t-shirt: usually my Arc'teryx Ether if it's clean (I own one I got on clearance, wouldn't pay $70 for a shirt ever) but anything light will do here. If it's going to be cold, base layer long sleeve shirt (I like the ones from Land's End). 2. Arc'teryx Accelero pullover: this is one of those magic items from the Dead Bird that seems to have flown under the radar. It manages to adapt well to both cold and warm conditions (often just by unzipping the 1/2-zip front), sheds a light snow/rain, and dries quickly. This is pretty much the only piece of clothing I wear every single time out in the alpine/ice/mixed realm. Most of the time, when moving/active and in not-too-bad weather, I can easily get away with that two-layer system. 3. If it's really cold, really wet, or really abrasive, I'll throw on my one softshell jacket (Arc'teryx Venta SV hoody). I just got a hard/soft shell hybrid (Sherpa Adventure Gear Lungta Hybrid jacket) that looks and feels good and I'm excited to test out when the conditions call for it. I also just bought a used Arc'teryx Gamma LT jacket that will probably fit in here. 4. Belay jacket/sweater: right now this is usually one of three things, depending on conditions: a North Face Redpoint belay sweater (Primaloft 1 insulation), an Arc'teryx Venta SV softshell (Gore Windstopper), or a MEC Slipstream 2 Hoody (Polartec Windpro Hardface). When REI's 20% off sale starts on Friday (I also have a bunch of store credit to spend) I'm getting an Arc'teryx Atom SV Hoody. If it seems like I'm a brand whore for Arc'teryx it's only because I've found their stuff performs the best in the field and gives me the best fit of anything I've used. Plus all my Arc'teryx stuff has been purchased at 50% off or better.
  12. I have a dinky little drytool training setup I put up in my gym, which is about as good as it gets for training for winter climbing in Florence, SC besides just doing stuff like weights and cardio. My friend made a little video of it today (please forgive my embarrassing technique): EDIT: the video code isn't working, here's a direct link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10100140170035036
  13. It's a screaming deal but just watch out because the only ones (at the moment) on sale for $70 on eBay are women's models, which isn't indicated in the auction title but is discussed in the description (they also try to provide conversions to men's sizes in the item description). There is also a men's large for $99 which I'd consider buying if I hadn't just picked up what looks to be a similar style of jacket from Sherpa Adventure Gear on SAC.
  14. About time, I was starting to consider buying these as a backup set given how good the price was. Whoever bought them got a screaming good deal if they are planning to do any mixed climbing this winter.
  15. Yeah my problem is I live in an apartment complex and don't really have the ability or space to build anything. I've been trying to convince one of my colleagues to turn his garage into a man-cave, but to no avail so far. Also with regards to the university, I'm actually a professor there so I figure I can probably get away with more (like drytooling in the weight room) than I might if I were a student.
  16. Julian

    Republican debates

    Don't forget the crowd booing Ron Paul when he tried to give a measured, thoughtful answer to a 9/11 question that was more substantive than "they hate us for our freedom!".
  17. So in my current living situation I lack even a rock climbing gym at which to work out, let alone bust out the tools on. What I do have access to is my university's ghetto craphole of a gym with mismatched, rusty hand-me-down equipment that no one cares about, and so I think I can get away with bringing my tools in with me when it's not too busy and using the pull-up bars if nothing else. I was wondering if people have ideas and suggestions for things that can be done. We have a long pull-up bar and also a cable crossover station with a big, study top bar. I was thinking about slinging them with webbing, then clipping biners to the webbing for the axes to hook on. There's also the potential to string some etriers from the pull-up bar to a station that's built into the wall and create a sort of horizontal ladder. Anyone have good experience creating a little workout circuit with some basic gear such as that and a pull-up station? The other thing I'm wondering about is damage: I figure that the sling/biner setup (which a friend suggested to me) will reduce grumbling about the axe damaging the pull-up bar, but will the axe or the biners wear on each other? I'm not looking to do anything too fancy: figure-4s, staggered pull-ups, etc.
  18. RIP to a beautiful looking dog. Those are some loving eyes and a friendly smile.
  19. I don't see it anywhere near as much in the climbing/outdoor industry as compared to the high tech industry (where many are borderline religious in their devotion). Besides people who are sponsored, I find most climbers are not slaves to one particular brand, but rather are willing to use whatever impresses them, or even just whatever happens to be on sale. The only place I see much resembling what's described in that article is from devotees of Patagonia, whose entire kits are not only Patagonia gear, but moreover (and this is the big one) use Patagonia's brand words (like Capilene) as if they are the generic name for that sort of product (roughly equivalently to people who call all mp3 players "iPods").
  20. Seems to me that this site had a new policy of prohibiting personal attacks... yet I see that the ridicule of this Buckaroo fellow continues in a different venue. Just sayin'. "You agree, through your use of this service, that you will not use this BB to post any material which is knowingly false and/or defamatory, inaccurate, abusive, vulgar, hateful, harassing, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, threatening,..." And yet we have created a thread, the purpose of which is clearly to attack/ridicule the character of a participant? Making fun of an obviously absurd statement someone made is hardly the same thing as attacking their "character".
  21. Any chance an Atom LT/SV appears?
  22. I wouldn't worry about it, mountie/mazama bells are a total turn off to anyone at Smith with an XX chromosome. The rope bunnies there are drawn to cams (BD C4s and other shiny, colorful models especially) because they are a sign of wealth, whereas hexes give off that "I'm a crusty old fart who still climbs in ankle-high rock boots" vibe. Also, wearing a helmet (especially as you walk between climbs) wards them off like mosquitos fleeing a bottle of Deep Woods. Whatever you do, leave the beanie and prAna clothes at home unless you are looking to get your knob polished the minute you cross the river.
  23. To be fair, the discussion of the merits and appropriateness of that particular bolt was long over. About half-way through the usual suspects turned up to start ranting and raving about bolts and sport climbing in general.
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