BirdDog

I checked out the Flash 30 too, certainly not a bad value; but I wanted something a little more substantial for carrying heavier loads (rock rack, etc..) I got a Black Diamond Speed 30. I can remove the hip belt, top pocket, and frame sheet/stay; to strip it down to 1 lb 3 oz. Still carries 15 - 20lbs nicely, stripped. Small and light enough to stuff into my overnight pack for summit day. Has rope strap, tool loops etc... Very comfortable.

Nice work! Great photos. Glad to hear you had good conditions, we bailed on the Boulder route last weekend due to soft slop above 8k. We had the mountain to ourselves as well though, nice huh?

Sounds like a cool project. I also do high rises, although I'm laid off currently and climbing instead. Sorry, but I don't have a helmet cam to lend you.

Fun climb Tazz! SE Rib is a fun variation. Easy climbing with enchanting exposure on the north side. Tazz and I canceled a planned Shuksan trip a month ago due to weather. We hit it Tuesday under a perfect forecast and weather. NWS forecast an 11,000' freezing level, although it was damned close to cold @ our 6000' bivy castle. Visability was awesome from the summit - Rainier to the BC coast range and out to the Straits - wow, oh yea the pickets too. Here's a few of my pics. We probably would got off the mountain sooner if we hadn't had stopped every 6 feet to take another pic. wakey, wakey, sun's coming upTopping out! Tazz; Smelling the repel rope? Holy God girl, you're strange. Your mountain savy, great sense of humor, and appreciation of the alpine, made the trip - thanks. FUN

Not sure where this guy is from - eh? But around here (Washington), don't lower off chains. First off, chain links are not the smoothest things around, you'll wear your rope out pretty quick lowering off links. Second, in many of the sport areas around Washington top anchors/chains have been installed by climbers on there own time and with their own money. Lowering from the chains, especially in the desert areas that have a lot of fine abrasive sand, rapidly wears out the links. Unless you going to go back up there and replace the chains on your own time/money; show some gratitude to those who have placed the anchors/chains and rap off. If you're going to top rope it, set it up with a couple of draws or whatever; and then when you're done climb it again, clean the anchor, and rap it.

Way to go Sister(s)!

I use 6mm prussiks with my 8mm. You just have to make 3 full wraps.

I have the same rope, and use it with a Reverso 3; works well in high friction mode. If you're trying to use that rope as a single lead line, you're probably taking a big chance. Use it as a twin rope with a Reverso or BD XP or guide, you'll be fine. The BD ATC you show does not have a high friction mode.

Thanks for the reply Matt, we'll check these out when were there.

Trip: Mt. Baker - Boulder Glacier Date: 6/28/2009 Trip Report: After a hiatus from alpine climbing I teamed up with Tazz and Magnum for an attempt on Baker via the Boulder/Park Cleaver. The alarm failed to go off, or we ignored it; so our alpine start turned into an early morning start. The pond next to our bivy was frozen, and the snow was perfect for cramponing, at least for an hour or so. After a gorgeous sunrise we were post holing in deep slop. To avoid crossing snow bridges in the heat of the day, we bailed @ 9000'. The Boulder is a great route. We had that entire side of the mountain to ourselves, except for the headlamps of a team of two who turned back below us. A stunning day none the less. Shuksan looked so good we're heading there tomorrow. Gear Notes: Better alarm clock, usual glacier stuff; cold beer in the cooler. Approach Notes: Stay in the creek after the swamp, that way you'll be on route. Old fixed line at the class 3 part getting onto the ridge; we just climbed it, rapped on the way back.

I'll be taking my boys (ages 9 & 14) on a road trip in July with a stop at Yosemite. Anyone have some info/beta on easy (5.4 - 5.6) routes in Yosemite? Thanks

Old ad - 25% off camalots expired memorial day.

Best wishes to Curt and family for a speedy recovery. Thanks to those who helped out.

BD's great. I bought a pair of clip-fix skins last year and couldn't get the cam lock to lock. Send BD an e-mail, got a personal call back the next morning; guy on the phone says "I'll just comp you an STS tail kit. Got it in the mail a couple days later. Nice!

The Edelweiss Axis is a great work horse rope. Heavier than hell, but tough. Good "top rope" rope; can take a beating. Nice hand after it's broke in. That would be my choice, I have one.

Like this:

Agree with everything you say, except I doubt you'll get much "dynamic properties" from a short cordelette that's looped all over and tied off with a figure eight.

A partner is a member of a partnership. A partnership is a relationship whereby each partner helps and complements the other. Posting for a partner is one thing; posting for a free guide/rope gun to drag someone's ass up something is another. If n00bs posted for a mentor and were willing to learn the art of climbing rather than asking for someone to short line them to the summit of Rainier right off, they would probably have more luck.

Well here's a pic of an anchor I built the other day. Granted, pretty simple to "build" an anchor on two bolts. Redundant double slings, sliding X, belayer (me) tied off with a Metolius personnal anchor thingy, autoblock off the anchor, blah, blah, blah.

I saw this too, and thought it suspicious. Brings up the point - mark all your gear with your initials. If it's not marked the cops won't do anything (they probably won't do anything anyway). At least if your initials on on the stuff you can take your gear back from the dude, regardless if he indeed did buy it at a pawn shop in Anus, Alabama.

Couldn't much higher than the one I saw, it was only about 15' below the top of the haystack.

Is this the bolt you're talking about? Saw this puppy on the trail at the haystack the other day. Are we bolting trails now?

I agree with Matt, keep it simple. Work out signals with partner before climbing. Also remember to really reef on the rope with long pulls and pause between each pull, otherwise rope stretch will negate any signal reaching your partner. Many times, especially at Icicle, you can see each other, but can't hear. Work out some hand signals for these situations.

Nice! While you didn't have perfect weather, it was better than I would have expected from the forecast. We bailed on a planned Shuksan trip and hit Vantage instead. Definitely warmer @ Vantage.