jared_j

If by warm you mean potentially cold and windy as f**k with snow dustings and your water freezing solid in the night, then yes, it is warm. OK, hyperbole aside, that was my experience in J Tree once in February and once in March. You've got better odds with Red Rocks; even if it's cool out, chasing the southern aspects can work. In addition, Red Rocks grades are a little soft, which should keep you outta trouble since it will have been awhile since you've touched the rock up here.

Thanks, guys. I'll make note if the fashion police are there. Do ya'll think that these are good areas to get your game tight (or just create one's game if you're new to it like me) in preparation for the moderate classic winter ice / mixed climbs in the region?

I've only seen vague directions on the site to established drytool areas off the I-90 corridor near exit 38 or 900. Any beta on location would be appreciated! I did a little ice climbing last winter, looking to do more this winter.

I did a little ice climbing last winter, and I'm looking to do more this winter. I've got a lot of experience free climbing on rock, but no aid experience. I'd like to practice pin placement somewhere not too far from Seattle. Rather than spending time tromping around in the woods searching for a crag no one cares about yet with some cracks in it that would be good to practice on, can you guys fill me in on where you went out to practice the first time or two?

I think you can't see the NE face here - this is from the southeast.

DJ Shadow's "Preemptive Strike". His approach towards making music is novel, but not a gimmick. All samples added up to make something beautiful.

Might be going up to Ingalls for some mellow climbing this weekend. Is there snow on the slopes up from the lake to the face still? I was up there late July and there was still tons.

Fair enough; it isn't terribly costly to transfer ones' accounts these days. I believe everyone should make careful, measured, thoughtful decisions regarding their money. Just seems to me that proclaiming the end is nigh and celebrating all the accompanying schaudenfreude (sp?) is pretty capricious in light of, you know, facts and numbers and stuff. And, no, I am not sucking up Wamu stock right now. I'm not saying everyone should get into the company. I'm just saying it is oversimplifying to compare their situation with the others.

The devil is in the details, people. What makes you think Wamu is anything like AIG, Lehmann, or Fannie / Freddie? What do any of you know about Wamu's balance sheet? Is Wamu on the hook for tons of mortgage backed securities, highly levered instruments? Oh wait, no, actually. Just a lot of mortgages, some of them risky. Are they posting big losses? Yes. Are they in a position where they could fail at any moment? No. THey're simply not exposed to the same kinds of financial instruments that could bring such an event about. It's not your fault - the media is stupid as well. The exposures that AIG, Lehmann, and Fannie / Freddie had that brought them to the brink with a quickness are not the same exposures Wamu has. Period. Even after downgrading Wamu bonds to junk status, S&P and Moody's both acknowledged that Wamu is in good liquidity shape and well above the required capitalization levels. S&P went as far as to say that Wamu has enough cash on hand to pay all of its expenses through at least 2010. Wamu is heavily exposed to the housing market, but not through shit tons of highly levered instruments that the investment banks and mortage insurers are. If the housing market tanks worse, it's gonna hurt Wamu even more. Is it gonna drive them outta business? Maybe, possibly, in the future. But to think Wamu is gonna tank in the next few months just demonstrates illiteracy about the financial industry. But, alas, most people are dumbshits. Including many traders on Wall Street. Right now all investment analysts are coalescing around a negative view of Wamu. Why? If anyone says "hey, this isn't as bad as the rest of you think", then they're on the hook for explaining why. There's a lot of groupthink out there. It is also handy for analysts who happening to be shorting the fuck out of financials. Most of the negative outlook articles on Wamu are quoting one analyst - Dick Bove. He happens to take a particularly harsh view of the financials. He's also got a great PR agent who gets him interviews with tons of papers. It is far preferable for everyone on the street to coalesce around the same view to avoid being asked to defend their ideas. The analyst reports aren't even reporting model results - they're looking more and more like ad hoc speculation. How do I know? I read those reports (it is part of my job). I'm not saying that Wamu isn't having a hard time. They're having a really hard time. Just not enough to justify junk bond ratings and $2/share stock. So go ahead and assume that all women can't drive, all black men want to rob you, all hispanics will stab you, all asians are hard working and good at math, and that all financial isntitutions are the same and are gonna tank. Stereotyping sure helps us avoid all that critical thinking and understanding of facts.

Nice! Glad to see you got it done!

David, I am interested in 11th-13th if you're still around. I'm 28, consider myself very fit, have plenty of glacier travel and rock climbing experience. I can climb 'till Sunday, and would also be interested in adjacent summits. If you're still free, give me a call on my cell at (858)945-2475. I live in Seattle. Jared

I had a trip planned, and after asking me to juggle my schedule, my partners have now fallen through completely. I have days off of work tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday, and it would be nice to get out. Right now, I'm interested in strenuous but technically moderate alpine objectives - NE Ridge Triumph, E ridge of Inspiration, Stuart N Ridge, Early Morning Spire. I'm also open to suggestions. Weather is choice, let's take advantage. I'm a Seattle dweller, lead 5.10 at the crags, 5.9 is my comfort level in the alpine. Let me know ASAP if you're interested in getting out starting on Thursday. My email is janowiak.jared@gmail.com.

I had a big trip planned originally for Wed-Sat; my partners now need to do Thu-Sun, and I've already got tomorrow off and I'm not lookin' to go to work. I live in Seattle, and I'm thinking either cragging at Index or maybe Infinite Bliss on Garfield (if you're experienced and comfortable with simulclimbing). I consider myself solid on trad at 5.9 and bolts at 5.10. I'm 28, fit, and open to climbing with someone who is similar for IB, or just about anyone who wants to hit up Index. Email me at janowiak.jared@gmail.com if interested.

PM Sent.

Introspect about what kind of climbing you enjoy; what is aesthetic to you. There are so many routes that receive praise from the Beckey, Nelson, and Kearney books that are also 'hard'. I ask myself what looks like a good line, what sounds like fun climbing, what receives praise from people who got on it. Taking this approach to selecting climbs has led me not in the direction of the scariest/poorly protected/loosey-goosey (e.g. Index, Nooksack) but surprisingly towards some climbs that are not as challenging technically but just hella fun. If fun for you equals hardcore all the time, well, then ignore this comment. Also, there's tons of Pickets beta on the web if you google it. Check out Wayne Wallace's homepage, Steph Abegg's page, the big traverse trip report written by Theron Welch, et al. No shortage.

I was able to drive all the way to the trailhead. I've got a low-dragging Corolla that took a few dings to the tailpipe on the way up, and the gravel/dirt/rock road is loosest where it is steepest. It would be way less stressful with a 4WD. Otherwise, no blowdowns, no ruts that presented any problems passing. The road labelling is a little confusing. You want FS 4096, which is the next road you can turn on heading north on Mountain Loop Highway after you pass 4080 (which is the Elliot Creek / Goat Lake access).

Used the Bedal Creek approach this past weekend to approach Sloan but was shut down due to weather. Good trail the whole way, easy to follow, maybe 2 hours to the basin below the northern edge of the 'West Face' as described in Beckey. We were back there wanting to get to the south side of the mountain, and planned on cross-country over the three flanks shown on the USGS quad to get to the southeastern edge of the peak. We made it up to the first flank (trail goes all the way to the saddle here) and hung out before turning around due to rain/snow. We saw a good dusting of snow on the trees higher up when the sky briefly cleared on our way up. Shortly after we left, we got hammered by serious rain and hail. My guess is that there's some fresh stuff up there on the rock.

Sorry; to be more clear, the Daniel glacier on Mt. Daniel. Those pics are informative. Looks like a nice hike/scramble still. Thanks!

Anyone been up the Daniel glacier lately? Are there a bunch of cracks open on it?

PM on #4 cams

The first pic here is the Colchuck glacier as seen from the base of Serpentine a few weeks ago; might be a little thin for climbing. FYI; maybe you're thinking a different route, though.

Viewing the arguments of this debate in context of the actors involved is useful for making sense out of the whole thing. (1) There is a history of climbing clubs as a means for some people to learn climbing technique and network with other climbers; this book describes some of that history in case your skeptical of this assertion. (2) These clubs exist due to a large investment of time and energy from some subset of their members. In certain cases, such as the WAC and The Mountaineers, there are tangible assets such as cabins and publishing operations. (3) As organizations with tangible and intangible assets, these clubs tend to operate from a paradigm of promoting safety easily and efficiently to new members in the forms of classes. The skills taught in these classes are legitimate and useful, even if they do not take the students up to the state of the art of practice. (4) Some people are critical thinkers, some are not. Much as some people take a couple of courses in college on a subject and consider themselves experts, some people will walk away from being instructed in a method thinking that it is the method. Some people may also teach as though that is the case. The Mountaineers (or the WAC, or the Bushwhackers, or the Boealps) cannot help it if their students walk away from their courses rigid-minded. I posit that such rigidity has its roots in personality traits and experience of life to date, much less than a recreational course taken as an adult. My point? People who are open-minded and critical thinkers are likely to view instruction (organized in a course, from a guide, from their homies, or even just reading FotH ) as an addition to their toolkit for the mountains rather than gospel. I don't think blame for people being rigid can be laid at the feet of the clubs.

bump

Holy sh*t you got hit by lightning? That's a major notch in the 'mountain hardman' category. Great pics! It'd be fun to get out on another climb with ya.

bump - can I single rope rap down the N Face without leaving gear (besides webbing/rings) and without tricky downclimbing? Thanks!