Dannible

I'm selling a 95 Mazda Protege that gets 25-30+ mpg because I got a 88 Nissan 4x4 that gets 15-19 mpg. I got tired of getting stuck in the snow. Problem is the guy who I bought the truck from told me that it gets 25-30 mpg, so I figured that it would get at least low 20s. I drive a lot, and don't make a lot of money, so I think I'm gonna sell it and get something that gets a little better.

I could see how someone who hasn't done much alpine rock would want a rope at least for rapping in places. You could just skip the harder summits and follow the ridge (which is pretty much hiking for the most part) climbing whatever you can along the way.

I had to leave early, but from what I saw Obama had a pretty good lead here.

Again, be careful heading up to a volcano in bad weather. You can do it in a whiteout, but things can get pretty crazy with strong winds and snow and all that good stuff. Lots of people have died on them because they ignored the weather. Easier climbs on smaller mountains (like some on Baker HW) can be a lot of fun in bad weather.

May/June can be a very wet time of year around here. Look at the long term forecast and decide where you will go based on the weather. You might have better luck if you go somewhere east of the crest such as Washington Pass or the Pasayten Wilderness instead. If the weather doesn't look good then there is no point in going to a volcano, as the weather will likely be really bad up there.

1, but only because I've been spending too much time looking for ice that isn't really there most of the time. I'm going out for the next two days though.

A few years ago I went to J-Tree and didn't do a good job of keeping my contacts clean, so I got some kind of eye infection. By the time we had to drive home my eyes were so sensitive to light that even during the night I had to wear my sunglasses, a patch over one eye, and I had tears running down my face. Whenever another car was coming towards me I'd have to pull over because headlights made it feel like I was spinning. It made for a long drive. The first time I climbed Baker was with guy who had gotten metal shards in his eye the day before, and just sprayed cow penicillin in it to deal with it.

That's good advice. For the last few winters I made a point of going for a long run in the rain or snow whenever I had time, and I think it helped me get a little more used to being wet and uncomfortable than most people. For some reason I can't bring myself to do that very often anymore.

Yep, money is important. Get yourself a part time job, stop doing anything else that requires money, eat potatoes and rice for every meal, buy used gear, and find ways to avoid paying rent from time to time. I am 20 and got into climbing five years ago and because I have been going school and only working part time most of the time saving up for gear has been really hard. If you don't have rich parents or something like that don't count on starting fast. If you can find a cheap class, take it. I took a 10 week class through a small alpine club that cost $140 and went over basic mountaineering and alpine rock climbing and it was one of the best investments of my life. Don't worry about climbing with people your age because like you said they are few and far between (alpine people anyway).

Does anyone know anything about the ice around exit 38? I drove by today and it looked like there's some mixed stuff and a few small pillars on the hillsides. I didn't have time to get close to anything.

Sounds like a good adventure. How did the traverse to Shucksan look? Did you think routefinding was very hard? I was planning on going up there this summer but got hit by rockfall somewhere else and was afraid of choss for a while there.

Did some laps on Pan Dome today. Lots of ice ranging from good to not quite as good. Plenty enough exposed ice to place screws, but I wouldn't feel good about leading it myself because of a couple of sections of loose steep snow. Some guys were doing a route off to the right (Tabasco Kid?) that looked ok.

Word. I tried to link that with the first pitch and got within 5 feet of the top of the corner before my arms died then took a 20-30 foot fall, and several shorter falls after that. I let Blake take the chimney, which was a solid choice. I'd say 10a or b but very sustained. Fun stuff though.

I'm sure their own egos were hurting after being overshadowed by a kid.

I'd say the most fun pitch I climbed in 2007 was either Penny Lane or the 11a to the right of it at Squamish. I had never been to the Smoke Bluffs, so many good cracks. The hardest and most memorable was the second pitch of Accidental Discharge on Gunsight. Yuck.

Blake- I think Burdo said that he had heard about the first pitch variation. Where is ramp rage? Looks perdy.

I can think of a pretty big one that you and me left hanging. My goal is to find a place that doen't rain so much.

A flask of 151 can offset the need for a sleeping bag and pad, and is even lighter on the way out.

THE CURE IS TO NOT DRINK IN THE FIRST PLACE. Just kidding. Water and coffee. Suck it up.

I don't think that climbing harder grades is all about ego. The great thing about climbing, I think, is that no matter how good you think you are there will always be something that you know you can't do, and when you pull of something that you weren't sure that you could do its a pretty neat feeling. My most vivid climbing memories are of times when I finally reached the top of a "hard" pitch or summits and just get to relax and enjoy the view. I can't get that feeling these days unless I really push myself. Last summer I got a similar feeling reaching the summit of Slesse or the end of the Gunsight Traverse as I got the first time I got to the summit of Liberty Bell by the Beckey Route. I'm not saying that easier routes aren't fun anymore, but they are a different kind of experience. It's like what I told my friend about ice climbing: its a much different kind of fun than climbing good rock on a warm summer day.

P.O.E.

In Mount Vernon (where I grew up) they debated water floridation for about 5 years before deciding to go ahead with it. It seemed like half of the letters to the editor in the paper during that period sounded like something you would hear on Dr. Strangelove. Now it has been a year or so since they decided to go ahead with it, but I recently read that they don't actually have any way to fund it. 5 years of fighting over something that they didn't have a plan to pay for.

I have a link cam (because it was half price) and like it a lot. It's great for when you only want a few cams, or when you want to cover the range twice without having to bring two sets. It works in places where others don't but sometimes doesn't look as good in places where others are fine. I used to carry mostly hexes and nuts, but now that I have more cams I place them about 70% of the time because they are fast to place and clean, and in most cases you can tell that a placement is good just like with a nut. I've taken several falls on questionable cams and none have popped or broken (as a result of the fall anyway). The best thing about link cams is that they are great for when you are scared and just want to get something in fast (though I guess this could result in a bad placement that will cause it to break?), or when you have already used most of the rack and only have a few pieces left with which to make an anchor. None of the common complaints have been an issue for me.

I think St. Peter's is just a steepish snow deal, and isn't that remote.