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Moof

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Posts posted by Moof

  1. gonna be hanging in the drizzle most of tomorrow w/ the k-19 on stone soup - would dig on some company - where better to learn to jug, aid-climb or follow an aid-pitch - bring a lawn chair, a golf umbrella n' some mulled wine or other stimulating beverage, eh? :)

     

    Next time you want to run up Stone Soup on a weekend let me know. I've been wanting to do another lap in. Should be a good warmup for Excalibur.

  2. Thanks for getting that posted Stew-beef!

     

    Most excellent trip. Stewart was an excellent partner, and climbed fast enough to make up for my plodding pace. We finished earlier each night, and kept things to a pretty casual style.

     

    Highlights:

    1. Starting pitches so overburdened with gear you can hardly move, and finishing them with just a few cams and a set of nuts...

     

    2. Projectile vomitting MRE and orange Gatorade all over the top of the slab pitch. Note: Don't buy the Chicken in Buffalo Style Sauce MRE's.

     

    3. Being unable to walk up stairs once I got home.

     

    4. Sleeping in my own homemade ledge, and not having it collapse (Yay!).

     

    5. Leaving water at the top for the third wall in a row.

     

    6. Avoiding the hateful flair. C1+ variation is highly recommended.

     

    7. 12 pitches, only clipping 12 pins, 12 bolts, and ZERO copper heads.

     

    If you back clean as much as Stewart, 4x of #1-3 is probably fine, but if you're like me 5x in in order. 2x #3.5, 2x #4, and 2x #4.5, and 2x #5 camalots about right for the Planck's Constant roof (old school sizes). Double #3.5 and #4.5 is all that is needed higher up. I biffed and was a cam short in the #4 size due to improper size conversions and hasty preperation (sorry Stew!).

  3. SMC did very similar testing to REI many years back. I can't find the report now, but the pictures were impressive. Majorly tweaked biners were statistically just as strong as the controls.

     

    Basically there have been a couple bad choices in alloys over the years resulting in recalls or reduced lifespans (I think the early light-D's, and early double stem camalots are examples). If you can't see a crack, it is likely just fine. Just the same, I'd rather not have second thoughts when I'm cruxing just cuz I cheaped out.

     

    Belayers are far more likely to fail than the devices they use.

  4. I just use a grigri. You have it along anyway, and the feeding is only a minor hassle till you get some rope out. Just thumb the lower ascender while jugging the first bit. Also, you can quickly swap to the 2:1 cleaning rig for steep sections of cleaning.

     

    Everything on the wall should be as multipurpose as possible, stick with the grigri.

  5. Mine is not for sale, but collecting dust. I'd be willing to loan it out for a month or so for couple good sixers plus a deposit. Trouble is that I'm in Portland, it'd be up to you figure out how to get it up there and back.

     

    I got it specifically for Pipeline, but got way too fat waiting for Tom to make a batch up... I also have a couple big-bros I'd loan out as well.

  6. yo ivan, will you aid on the UTW with me? please dude. I want to climb the captain someday and I need a aid mentor who will let me use some of their gear and show me the ropes. I would just go solo stuff but I don't have ascenders or a massive amount of gear. (I do have a semi beefy free rack though). whadya say ivan? spend a day or 2 in late july helping a aid noob out?

    depends how things work out - maybe i have a partner at least for the first part of my break?

     

    as always, thanx for the support there moof-san - now will i be able to escape come august? :)

     

    I think so, but I have commitments for the weekends of the 7th, and the 13-16th. But I should be able to carve out a week for some insanity in the valley after that.

  7. East Crack is decent and sees little traffic, though it shares the last pitch with a couple of the most popular...

     

    Deception Direct while listed at 5.9R, only has a move or two of 5.9, and with a little gardening you can get some slammer brass placements so it isn't even that R.

     

    The newer lines on Hogsback like Better with Bacon see almost no traffic. Check out Honkey Toast for excellent 5.10+ slabbery. Perhaps you could get the second ascent of the second pitch?

  8. Basic ideas:

     

    1. Donate donuts and stroke egos of the ranger/rangerettes. maybe listen to their stories and nod a lot to make them feel the love their mothers so clearly withheld? Power wielding LEO's enjoy that, and see no hypocrisy in scratching the backs of their buds in blatant defiance of their sworn oaths.

     

    2. How about a rational discussion that results in a non-blanket closure? There are plenty of anecdotes out there that indicate complete closure of rock faces is severe over protection. Perhaps some of these biologists could show their math as to the size of the closure? Perhaps then a simple set of rules could be derived that could easily be interpreted by the climbing community and still be well within reasonable and appopriate safety margins for the birds (say SE Corner and further East is open, plus the first pitch for the rest of the wall?).

     

    Having endured abuse and direct lying from rangers more times than not I hold out little hope that anything short of bribes or lawsuits will do jack shit, but the notion of a less retarded closure is great.

  9. Howdy Bill,

     

    I am painfully versed in the ways of the three leaves of doom... Zanfel has bailed me out many times, and I managed to squeeze out one last glop from my old tube, so I'm all good now. I've also had decent luck with Ivy Stat. I've never gotten the full miracle results they advertise, it usually takes me 2-4 rounds of the stuff to beat it back, not their single application claims.

     

    Now I gotta toss the rope in the washer, and everything else that likely is contaminated...

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