Dannible

Pentax makes some good waterproof/strong cameras that take AAs and are pretty cheap. I have one (43wr) that is a few years old now that I am a big fan of because I don't have to worry about it when it gets soaked or dropped a few feet. You can even wash it off in a stream or lake if it somehow gets dirty. The only bad thing about them in my opinion is that they only have automatic exposure, but that doesn't matter for most people.

Word. The potential for a bad fall will motivate you to not let go. On the other hand if the rock is loose I'd say sew it up.

You're right about the spaceship malfunction being near the top. When people ask why I climb I sometimes tell them that I do it because I was too lazy to become an astronaut, so I guess dying in space is just a little better than dying in the mountains.

Saying that it causes "temporary psychotic symptoms" means nothing because that term can have such a wide definition. It can mean that it turns people into cannibalistic maniacs, or that it makes people a little paranoid that they are acting weird (which is more often the case). I'm sure some people might go a little crazy if they smoke, but I have yet to see it happen. Booze on the other hand... The article is right about schizophrenia though. My roommate quit smoking after he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, not because it made his symptoms a lot worse, but more because it just makes the voices more annoying.

When it comes to really steep/overhanging face climbing, I can 10+ in the gym, but only 10- outside. I am a lot better at slab and crack outside because I just know what to do on that kind of stuff, and the rests are better. Also, I think that I am more motivated when I climb outside because I don't really like climbing in the gym. That could be why you do better outside. The best/hardest climbing that I have done is in the mountains where the gear does not give me the option of falling. I climbed in the gym all winter, and never really got any better at it, but when I went to Vantage for the first time this year, I was able to TR hard 11s and easy 12s, when last fall I was stuck on 10s, so I thought that all the gym climbing had paid off. I have since been humbled by the more realistic ratings at other climbing areas.

I dig the mountains more than the beach, and I don't think I'll spend that much on gas just staying around here (though it won't be cheap).

For shizzle. Got to be the best summer cragging area in the country. Just bring your own beer. Why is beer so expensive there? I think we paid $30 for a 15 pack of cheap beer. I'm planning on taking 2 or 3 months off from work/school/rent this summer. My plan is something like one or two weeks in Leavenworth, Index/Darrington, Squamish, Pickets, Bugaboos, and various places in the North Cascades. Gas prices are way too high to go on an all out west coast roadtrip, but there is more than enough around here to keep me busy.

OW's suck. The one on the last pitch of the B-S route on the south face of Prusik is pretty cool though; lots of exposure, protects well with nuts, and is really the easiest part of the pitch. It got me nice and bloody.

Ice: Mt. Goode. Alpine: Aaron on the SF of Prusik. Scenic: From Black Peak. Cragging: Whitey solo on Banana Peel. Funny: He laughed when I took the picture so it must be funny.

I think I know the aid line that you are talking about. There is a bolt near the top with a manky sling haning from it. It looks kind of hard, and I would guess that you would need to do it late at night. Good stuff.

It depends on who is at the front desk. Most the time if you just walk by them like you know what you're doing they will ignore you. Otherwise I think it costs $5.

To get the most climbing in out of your time there stick with the summit wall or the powerline wall, which are both easy to get to from the top parking area. If you try to find something too out of the way you might spend hours trying to find it. The trail system takes some getting used to. Fun climbing though.

The routes around Buckhorn aren't super long, but this is the Olympics so we can't be too picky. On the south face of the east peak there are a couple of gullies that I have climbed in the summer (death choss) that I think would be about 50-60 degree snow/ice with a handfull of steeper steps (low class 5 in the summer) thrown in. The easternmost gully has a short pitch of 5.7 near the top. I climbed a zig-zaging route on the south ridge in the fall of 2005 (grade III 5.4x) that could be a worthwhile mixed route when the loose stuff is frozen solid. I think that all of these routes are 1000-1500 feet long. If you look at the peaks across the valley to the south you will notice all kinds of steep gullies and faces about 500-1000 feet tall. The hike in is not unreasonable depending on how far you can drive up the road, so I would think that you could do a couple of routes in a long weekend. The pictures that I took this winter don't show much because it was snowing. I could be talked into heading to the Olys for some exploring this spring if anyone is interested.

The next step in fast and light tactics; I see a Piolet d’or in this guy's future.

I once saw a sign outside of a gas station advertising that they sold it. Fill up the tank, smoke some salvia, and drive to the next universe. Or just crash your car.

When you grow older and wiser and find yourself still taking off every weekend to go climbing and quitting jobs every 3 years so you can take that much needed 3 month vacation you will look back on college and wonder why you didn't take the time to hook up with more chicks. I doubt that I will ever regret going climbing over going these parties. The party crowd at my school consists of about five guys to every girl, and with a few exceptions it is really the same party each weekend. I have found that the ratio is for some reason reversed at Valentines Day parties though. Really though at most parties I can't out talk the other guys, so pretty much all I have going for me is the occasional "you climb mountains? Thats awesome!"

It's good to hear this from someone else. College life was fun for the first month or so, but most of friends are still doing just that after a year or two of doing nothing else. I haven't met anyone at my college who understands why I would rather go climbing every weekend than go to the same party that I have been to 100 times. Hats off to you for not getting distracted by books and booze. is way better after a weekend in the mountains anyway.

I have 10 or so cams made by 5 different companies. I am poor so I pretty much just buy what's on sale at the time. My rack works great for me, but most the time my partner brings the rack because I think that anyone but me would just be confused by mine. If I had to choose a brand I would say BD or metolious. I have a 3.5 forged friend and have never needed to place it in a horizontal crack, so it hasn't been a problem.

Go check out the Buckhorn area. I went up earlier this winter just to have a look around and while I didn't get very high because of the wind, there is a lot of potential. There was a tree blocking the road 4 miles before the TH in december, but it probably has a lot of snow on it now anyway.

I have been hearing about a lot of people getting hit by cars recently. My roomate was hit by two cars in two weeks, and both times the driver pretty much said sorry and kept going on their way. A few weeks ago my dad's car died on the freeway and the place where he worked just happened to be right next to where he was on the freeway, but on the other side of a fence. He cut his wrist really bad trying to climb the fence, and started walking to the next exit to get some help. Next thing he knew he was laying on the side of the freeway with a crowd of people around. He was pretty messed up, but survived getting hit by a car going 60mph. So far it's looking like the driver's insurance won't cover it because it is illegal to walk on the freeway. Not only that, but the driver has a legal right to take us to court to pay for any damage to his car (he is not doing that, but he can). Our insurance companies are giving us the runaround, but the hospital told us that we pretty much just have to demand that they pay.

Taken from inside a lenticular on Hood a few weeks ago. Time to run like hell. The wind was like nothing I've ever seen.

My professor asked me what I though about all of this in class the other day, and I think I changed his mind on the subject by just telling him like it really is. Most people are not so ready to give up their opinion though, even with facts in front of them. The less you know about an issue the easier it is to find an expert solution.

Good work. I had a pretty nice bike stolen from me a year ago and got a call from the cops this weekend saying that it's been recovered. Best part is, I spent the insurance money that I got after it was stolen on skis.

I lost mine on Sunday. Thanks though.

I lost a BD X-15 somewhere on the south side. It would make my day if someone found it and returned it because I can't afford a new one this winter.