RJRiha

What is going to happen when the flake on Godzilla decides to come down?

It is fun. It's worth the hike to just do Gun Rack, then over to the Javelin. I know the Javelin got a bad rep previously due to all the bolts, but man that's a fun route.

What are you going to be doing with this rope mainly? Is it primarily for TR, or is this going to be mostly for leading? I'm assuming you're just rock climbing, and not doing any alpine climbing with it. Why under 10mm? Usually newer climbers are more likely to do lots of TRing, and are less likely to recognize risks for rope wear (running over edges, not extending anchors, etc). For a first rope, I'd generally recommend a >10mm, with a thick, durable sheath.

Nice photos!!! Good work on those boulder problems...I can't even THINK about doing those problems. Thanks for posting the one of me on Deception.

Marc is quite an amazing climber. I met him at 8-mile Saturday, and saw him take down "Doing the Dishes" in 2 tries.

Hey, nice work on that one BTW Marc.

Is it easier that way? I do butt against Castle, and feet on Jello. There's a perfect edge for your left foot. It feels insecure, but I don't see falling as you can work your right leg and arm between the rocks.

Well, do you think they blow because they are awkward, or because they are hard? Have you had a go at the 'buttlips' at Index?

You are correct about Carnival. I think most TR it. I imagine the rack to do it would either be expensive and bulky, or just walk a big cam up. Is a #6 even big enough for that thing?

Wow...you beat me to it! Catapult/South Face Jello Tower/Midway might even be better though. You get all the quality of the second pitch of Midway without the awkward chimney first pitch.....and it never gets harder than 5.8 (wink wink).

Elsewhere: How about the uber classic Fault/Catapult/Canary? Maybe throw the Bone in if you're feeling frisky.

Hell yeah!!! We definitely need more pipe smokers around.

Where are the MDD bolts? This bolt was not very far off of Jello Tower. Maybe it's something that I have never noticed before because I've never been up there with bright sunshine making it apparent. Maybe I have never noticed it because I tend to avoid Castle on nice, sunny days due to the crowds. From the ground, looking at Midway pitch one, the bolt appeared to be at the step across. From the top of Jello Tower, it's up about a body length and out to the left. Hopefully I didn't just get a whole bunch of people up in arms about something that has always been there....

The bolt is off to the left, certainly not protecting the step across. I'm not entirely sure where Midway Direct Direct (the 5.9 I believe) goes, but judging from the Leavenworth guidebook, it could very well be upgraded hardware for that route.

Anyone know about a shiny new bolt on castle rock to the left of the Midway step across? I don't remember seeing one there in the past.

Was at Castle Rock 2 weeks ago, and no snow. Not much snow at all in the Icicle down low on the side that gets the sun. I didn't see anything you couldn't climb because of snow. I didn't make a trip to SCW though. This weekend is looking good on the forecast, but the weekend after that shows a high of 70!!! If you're not going to L-worth, you're already missing the season.

Maybe the Animal will pipe up with his story of a mountaintop bivy during the big earthquake of the 00/01 time frame.

What swhack would that be?

Love both of those climbs. That 10a part seemed stiff for x38 standards until I found the pocket under the roof and it became easy.

Your nearest homebrew shop likely specializes in helping people just like you. They make the vast majority of their money selling starter kits. Since you will be likely buying extract kits to begin with (and they are a high profit item), the brew shop has a vested interest in making sure you succeed so you will come back and buy more. Go in and ask questions, drop some cash, and start doing it. After you understand the basics, then a book will help you more than reading it cold.

Almost certainly a yes to this one. I can think of some spires off hand that MIGHT have never seen human foot on top. In terms of major peaks in the Olys, no, they have all been ascended. I used to be more interested in such things until I started climbing more on granite.

Is Peshastin now open during the winter months?

I'll have to try that some time. I just got done smoking a pipe-full of Cavendish out of a new Meerschaum when I started this thread. It was so good that I thought there HAD to be some CCers that like to reach for a pipe.

I'm talking about this type of smoking: Not this type of smoking:

So, we've talked about most of the great pleasures in life...wine, beer, Scotch, cigars, but I don't remember ever talk about smoking. I'm not talking cigarettes, which taste like crap and pollute your clothes with that ash-tray stench. Cigars are good, and I won't turn down a Cohiba, but that taste hangs around in your mouth for days, and anything remotely close to the smoke will absolutely reek. I'm talking about the best tobacco smoking out there: the kind that's done with a PIPE. There's so much to like about smoking a pipe. You can do it inside and people usually don't even mind. I've even had a friend ask me to smoke my pipe in his house because it reminded of him of his Grandpa's house. I can get a pouch of tobacco from the local shop that I can smoke 20 to 30 times with, and it costs me 6 bucks. We're talking cigarette prices folks. And the taste. It's even better than cigars! So who else out there smokes? Briar, meerschaum, corncob, or something else? Do you normally reach for a sweet Cavendish, or is an English blend heavy on the Latakia more your thing? Pipe smokers speak up!