Julian

Damnit, I missed a good Oregon slapfest? Anyone got a cached version of it?

Only because far too many people on that route have no fucking clue what they are doing. Everyone who ropes up on the South Side (or anywhere else) without placing pro has read that story about Pete Schoening arresting the fall of 7 guys on K2 and thinks that's standard operating procedure.

Optimism about weather and Ht. Hood are rarely a good combination.

From everything I've heard (i.e. complaints in my Facebook news feed), "Hood weather window" has been pretty much an oxymoron this year.

For the past several years I've been using a TNF Orion sleeping bag - 20 degrees F and 2lbs 8 oz - but unfortunately it looks like that bag has been discontinued. The Fission appears to their new version of this with the added toebox zipper (appearance is the same otherwise). I can't say enough good things about this bag - with the right clothing choices its comfortable in a wide range of temperatures, has P1 insulation, and for an ardent synthetic supporter such as me you really couldn't ask for much more in a 20 deg bag at that weight. If you can find one anywhere I'd highly recommend it.

I think an aspect of Fast/Light that perhaps doesn't get emphasized explicitly enough (although it's often there in a lot of Dane's writing, at least implicitly) is that the clothing systems, in addition to shedding ounces, also remove a lot of the need to be constantly (and time-consumingly) adding and shedding layers (besides possibly a belay jacket, but that's pretty easy to do). I've done trips (through student groups and classes, etc.) where there was a much more "old-school" approach to things taken by a lot of the participants, and cycles of "overheat/layer off/underheat/layer on" were frequent (and necessitated lots of stops). So it's not just about weight, but also efficiency.

Sometimes I felt like I was the only person I knew who didn't give a shit about having a camp fire and preferred the bivy area (with its actual bathroom and running water, in addition to being right there when you wake up) to the grasslands.

Good post. The problem you identify is why I like the Yates pickets.

"I know it's April Fool's but this is not an April Fool's joke" jumped the shark pretty badly this year. I think every message board or website I visit on a regular basis used this line yesterday.

It needs a more creative name than that. I'm thinking "The Dawg Pound".

What are you talking about? Spray's in the same place it's always been, right between the Oregon Cascades and California forums.

Am I an idiot (or an a-hole) for even asking if this is a troll? What's sad is that I had to think about it for a few minutes before decided that it was sarcasm. Because I have actually seen people take all that (and more) to go up Middle Sister on the same day as I was there in shorts and trail shoes. I would actually assume that list is pretty close to the standard Mazama kit for any trip into the alpine zone.

I'm curious to know why being "rap-placed" makes a line of bolts any less "leave no trace" than if they were placed on lead. Because that's the obvious implication of adding that adjectival. Personally I find "leave no trace" to be a bit of a buzz-phrase in this day and age - something people say to make them feel better about their personal ethics.

How did this thread manage to get dawged? Oh, right, "sport climbing".

A used axe for more than it costs new?

I PMed you about 2 hours ago, just in case you haven't been checking them.

Here's a new video of UK climber Franco Cookson taking a 20m groundfall! http://vimeo.com/21420505

I mean using it set up like an ATC, which unless I'm reading the instructions incorrectly is not how it's set up to belay the leader.

How is creating economic incentive for environmental degradation through material demand any better than just going out and doing it yourself?

Sorry about your friend. Climbing does has its risks. My opinion? Don't even think about tearing up the vegetation. Big problem, dude. Boulderers altering the landscape is becoming an increasingly recognizable problem. (Denuding vegetation, stashing crash-pads which the local rodents love, chalkin' up every last crimp, etc). You want bouldering to maintain a low-impact reputation and stay relatively uncontroversial? Keep it clean and low impact. Leave the saw, ax, or whatever at home. How much strip-mining and quarrying had to go on so you could assemble that trad rack that allows you to climb "clean" and be "low impact"? Or does environmental degradation only count when it's nearby?

Why do people insist on belaying with plates such as the Kong Gi Gi as if they are tubular devices, when they are not designed to be used as such (I've seen these before as well, with other similar gear)? If you want to belay like you are using an ATC, buy a fucking ATC!

Holy shit! I hope everyone who even thinks about picking up a tool watches this; not to scare them away, but to get them thinking about what you should and should not do on ice. The comment section on Will's blog has just exploded. Will's comments are on the money as always, especially "ice climbing is not rock climbing".

Hey Dane, quick question about the Boa leashes. From the pictures on their website it looks like the leash can be attached (securely?) to the tool without needing clip-in points/biners. Is this correct, so for instance, one could use these directly on a tool such as the orange Fusions without needing to hitch a cord around the handle or something like that?

Are you clipping the biners directly to the spikes, or do you have the spikes threaded with cord to clip in to? I had the same problem on my Aztars (spinner leash biners unclipping while attached to the spike holes). Then Dane modded them to go leashless, and added cord to the now-covered-over spikes to give umbilical attachments. They haven't unclipped on me since.

The GG1 is on Steep and Cheap right now at 40% off and has been several times over the past week or so. I got one in the mail today that I paid $63 for including shipping.