Jeremy_Frimer

I plan to work on and hopefully finish the Crossover Pass descent trail this coming weekend (July 18-19). Anyone interested in helping out? Jeremy

Pete_H, is that what you think every time you clip into a bolt that some Commy left for you to clip? Is that what you think every time you hear a fire truck on its way to put out a fire? Haven't you heard? Red is in. (And resistance is futile.) bstach, the bush will grow back, just as it does on the approach road/trail. The approach road/trail gets maintained every year to keep it open. This route will need the same. Luckily, it would only need about 400 yards of upkeep... whereas the approach road/trail is two or three miles of pruning. A club of commies up in Chilliwack go up there regularly to keep the way open.

The interest is not in making my own life easier... it's in the "greater good". Think about it.

Slesse is one of the great peaks of the Cascades... at least the climbing part is. The descent is horrendous. After a knee-pounding 5000' descent, 15 mi. of logging roads await. Having spoken to many people who have climbed Slesse, none of them said anything nice about the descent. Do you dislike it as much as me? Now that we know what's wrong, it's time to make it better. The solution I've devised is a descent route via Crossover Pass. The route goes... but it's confusing in the Alpine and bushy below. So the plan is to make it straightforward and bush-less. [img:center]http://jeremyfrimer.com/Photos_files/Media/Crossover%20Descent/Crossover%20Descent.jpg[/img] This past weekend, my wife and I began the work. We cut 200m of trail through some of the worst bush. After another 200m, we'll reach old-growth forest, which is smooth sailing. As fun as it was on my own (I'm joking), I would *love* some help from those who also love Slesse and too want to see it improve. I put up a notice at the Squamish Climbing Forum before going but go no replies. I'm hoping that our American counterparts will put forth a better showing. Any helpers? The plan is to spend a weekend up there in late July and do the whole thing in that time. We'll have to figure out a date. If interested, contact me directly at jeremyfrimer (at) gmail (dot) com Thanks! Jeremy Frimer

bstach, I think you are right that the STV faces a problem in that many people will vote against it because they don't understand it. But can you explain to me why people feel the need to be able to understand exactly how it works? Almost none of us understand exactly how our car works. But we get the following: put gas in the gas tank, turn the key, push on the right lever, and away you go. We let our mechanic understand the nitty gritty, so long as it performs the goals we want it to perform. Same goes for voting. The current FPTP system doesn't work in the sense that it doesn't represent the wishes of voters (violates the principle of democracy) while it does afford local representation. The STV is a system that balances both principles: local representation and proportional representation. Why does the conversation shift beyond that? I'm genuinely curious to hear your perspective. -Jeremy

In Squamish, a number of climbs (e.g., The Grand Wall, Europa, Millenium Falcon) reach Bellygood Ledge, two-thirds the way up the Grand Wall proper. Anticlimactically, most people walk off from there, as the wall above is steep and lacking a suitable route... until now. see videos and photos, and download a route topo Over the winter of 2008-2009, Kelly Franz, Seth Adams, Katy Holm, Jacqui Hudson, and I (Jeremy Frimer) retro-ed the Upper Black Dyke. Next time you get to Bellygood, you're not done yet. The summit rim lies within reach! Sean Easton had spearheaded retro work on the route in 1998. Our retro updated his work by (a) releasing loose rock (including about 20 blocks the size of a small fridge) on pitches 1, 3, and 4; (b) cleaning and bolting the dyke itself on pitch 2. Sean's pitch 2 leaves the dyke out right and climbs an unlikely set of thin features for a classic, albeit runout 5.10c pitch. The on-dyke pitch 2 is juggy and about 5.9 with well-protected cruxes; and © cleaning up Bellygood Ledge (cutting branches, tossing loose rock throughout) to avoid future accidents from falling rock. The climbing on the dyke is unusual for Squamish in several ways. - First, it's juggy. Given that the rock is basalt and not granite, it has very different features: namely jugs everywhere. - Second, it has short, well-protected cruxes with somewhat run-out rambling (usually in the 5.6 range) in between. - Third, while we did our best to remove all the loose rock, the nature of the stone means that some loose rock is a permanent feature of the route. Given that Exasperator is directly below, climbers are asked to climb with caution. ---------------- Upper Black Dyke - 4p, 5.10b (all grades require reconfirmation). Bring a single set of cams, and draws. From Bellygood Ledge, find the dyke. p1. Climb up then left to a steepening wall. Gain the top of the wall to find a bolted belay on the right (35m, 6 bolts, 5.10a/b?) p2. Move up the right edge of the dyke. At the second bolt, the route diverges. For the standard route, move up and left to stay on the dyke (45m, 9 bolts, 5.9?). For the bold, 5.10c variation, launch right onto a quartzite dyke. Belay (bolts) below a roof, to the right of the dyke. p3. Pull over the roof (crux) to gain a ledge. Ramble up and left to skirt an overlap, then wander back right to skirt another. Gain a belay ledge with a bolted belay below a tree on the left. (40m, 7 bolts, 5.10b?) p4. Ramble up the left side of the dyke before pulling through a tricky overlap (crux) just before gaining the summit rim. (30m, 5 bolts, 5.10b?) The climbing on P1 and P2 is a bit gritty at the moment. But a little rain and wind should wash away all the dust. see videos and photos, and download a route topo

That was 'Danger' Dan Tezlaff, BJ Cummings, and Matt Maddaloni, taking democracy into their own hands. The vote is on May 12, and concerns whether BC's voting system is simply local versus a mix of local and proportional. Last election the "Liberals" (they are actually fairly conservative) won something around 90% of seats with around 35% of the popular vote. The STV would prevent that from happening again. And yes, that is the Split Pillar.

Crossover Pass Descent gets you from the top of Slesse straight back to your car, thus avoiding 25km of roads. The Crossover descent has a reputation of being complex and sketchy. From my experience, the route is somewhat complex in 2 critical spots, but no sketchiness is involved. Aside from one rap (30m) at the second critical spot, the entire route is easy going, with only one or two 4th class spots. That said, good visibility (>500m) is recommended if you choose to give it a go. Finally, a short (200m) but intense bushwhack is involved. Here's a detailed topo that I put together. DOWNLOAD TOPO