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I wish I could make it with my 6 & 3 yr old, but I've been informed that I will instead be driving to Idaho that weekend to visit with my wife's god mother. W00t!

I'm in for Thurs.

Slide rule? Nah, that's what my calculator watch is for. But, if the rope stretched, wouldn't that increase the rope length, too?

Reeling in would seem to lessen the fall factor, wouldn't it? Take the following situation: 5' from the last pro, 15' up from the belay. In a normal (unreeled) fall, the leader will fall (5' x 2) / 15 = FF .66, right? Now convert this to a "reeled" belay: Let's say the belayer manages to reel in 2' of rope during the fall. The leader is still going to fall the original 5 feet to the anchor, regardless of how much is reeled. But, he will only fall an additional 3 feet below the anchor, since 2 feet of rope was removed from the system. That would be an 8' fall, with 13 feet of rope, right? 8/13 = FF .61 Is my math right? I guess you would need to decide if the FF was high enough to warrant the possibly dangerous task of trying to take in quick enough while still locking off in time to catch the fall. As to the question posed in the OT, I'm not sure how you could safely take in more than and arm's length of rope, and if you would want to.

I'm in. Where do we meet?

I thought the scenario is this: If your backup prusik is on the guide hand (above the device), and you lose your brake hand (due to a fall/accident/picking your nose), your guide hand might instinctively grip the prusik and prevent it from loading, resulting in a fall/grounding. Letting go of the guide hand is non-instinctive. However, if you set an autoblock below the device, controlled by your brake hand: If your brake hand grips tight, the autoblock may not engage, but what's the problem? Your brake hand is still in control of the rope and the device catches you. But if you lose the brake and grab with the guide hand (instinctively), the friction below the device will catch and prevent your untimely death. This is how it was explained to me, anyway. I didn't think the purpose of a backup prusik was to prevent rapping off the ends of the rope, anyway -- I thought it was to serve as self-belay. If you rap off the ends of the rope, it seems unlikely you will have the instincts to let go of your guide hand to allow the prusik to engage quickly enough to prevent the rope from pulling through it. Am I off base?

This is what I was taught too, but recently someone turned me onto using autoblock backup instead (beneath the rope). It seems that the more I read, the more accepted this method seems to be, especially since it isn't as hard to unload and you don't have to worry about the natural tendancy to grab the rope (and thus the prusik, preventing it from loading) with your guide hand during a fall. Are there any other pros & cons between these two backup methods (Prusik above the device vs. autoblock below)?

Honestly, thanks for the concern. In all seriousness, I appreciate it. However, wouldn't you agree that I'm in a better position to judge my ability than you? A unique position, some would say. However, there are more helpful things than sarcastic comments -- which, truthfully, will neither disuade nor assist me. Cheers!

Cause I heard someone from a Mountaineer's party left his wallet up there and I'm short on cash. You want in?

I'm looking for someone to lead up Cutthroat, the weekend of 8/26. This will be my first (5th class) alpine climb, so I'll buy the beer afterwards.

I'm a beginning climber, looking for partner on trad routes -- someone who can lead me on 5.6 - 5.8 and kick my ass. Email/PM me for me details.

I need a partner, too. I sent you a message.

Is there a group going out on Thursday? Mind if I come along?

Awesome. Thanks for the tips. I think I'll try with tennies first, but honestly I think my son will want to go barefoot.

This turned out to be a nice trip, notable for the small black bear and cub I surprised near the trailhead.

Well, something tells me my 6 year-old is ready for climbing. Anybody have any gear recommendations for a little guy? Specifically, I'm looking for a harness and rock shoes that will fit his small frame. TIA!

Anybody interested in joining me in a scramble up Cashmere this Friday? 10-day forecast = great views

Great weather for it, that weekend. You must have had one hell of a view. Nice TR, thanks