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gruntpltleader

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Everything posted by gruntpltleader

  1. Big Brother is watching. Make sure you use Double Plus (++) good think.
  2. I have been looking at the book by Long. In a multi-pitch, where exactly does the second tie in to an equallete? In a Cordalette situation, I understand the top shelf, which allows the second to tie in at the masterpoint. Does the second need to tie in with their own double locker, or do they tie in to the orignal double as well? This also can confuse things as my usual partner does not lead yet, so I end up leading all the pitches. But the sitution could apply to block leads. I understand the that the Anchor depends on the situation, but I am learning as many as I can to apply to different situations. thanks.
  3. your likely favorite memory, 30 years hence, no doubt when the whole place looks more or less like it did before even the soviets arrived? Ivan, I hope it is a better place. I really didn't care for most of the middle east, but the actions there can make you feel absolutely alive.
  4. Be safe Sobo.. Im living vicariously through your reports and not missing the place one bit. well .....Maybe a little.
  5. Not totally wishful thinking, saw a Frontline special about Oregon making pseudoephedrine prescription only, apparently reduced the meth problem (and prison population) very significantly. Of course the pharmaceutical companies are fighting to get the law over turned locally and nationally. Check your data. Crime has been decreasing, but has been since mid 90's. Since measure 11 and 57, incarceration has been climbing. The crime drop and the incarceration rate are not linked variables. The timing doesn't quite work out. taking pseudo-ephedrine off the shelves did however, make it damn hard to be more comfortable with a head cold. check out the scandal with the oregonion and it's special meth report. once again, we have to be careful on how we consume mass media.
  6. Well, he didn't eat anyone... "you can run me, you can starve me, you can bore me, and you can kill me....just don't eat me, that's against the law." SFC Mitchell circa 1993 FT. Carson
  7. In some forms I agree with you. That is why I say due process. If he is found mentally deficient, then by all means get him the help. If he is found mentally competent for trial and was competent when he allegedly (He is assumed innocent, I should add.) comitted the crimes, then the punishment should be appropriate to the crime. I have been in similar situations with multiple combat tours as an infantryman. The stress is unimaginable some days. The military does provide help to soldiers dealing with these situations. And to be fair, we may not know the entire story. Regardless of the situation he was in, the killing of 14 civilians is intollerable in any way shape or form. I had to constantly evaluate a valid target in the form of collateral damage to the civilian populations and use appropriate force and response to force. We constantly try to make the best decisions possible in really difficult and dangerous situations. Your argument sound like the age old argument that there are no bad soldiers, only bad leaders. I disagree. sometimes there are soldiers who should have due process. That is why they have the uniform code of military justice. Just my two cents, thanks for the debate.
  8. No, He should not be let go. This soldier did not live up to his contract with the Army, the Constitution, The United States of America, or humanity. He did not live the Army values of Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity,and Professionalism. This SSG Makes me sick. If he wasn't in the Army he would still make me sick. He broke his social contract with society and should be duly punished after due process. On another note to Qoute Ivan, "by some standards at least, humanity is experiencing the most peaceful period of its existence in recorded history - the congo might not be much better off, but the vikings at least have largely chilled the fuck out" This leads to a great TED talk at the following link.
  9. After three tours in that part of the world and dealing with all of the "fun" things one can experience over there.. I have only 3 bits of advice for you. 1 run when they tell you 2. sleep when you can 3. use as many mind altering chemicals as you can get your hands on( just kidding) Oh yeah. bring lots of digital porn. on a serious note. Be safe. they really want to kill you and will go to amazingly stupid ( and wicked smart) ways to do it. PM if you need anything. I will probably be right behind you
  10. Great Job! Thanks for the beta, that climb is on my to do list this summer. Probably August depending on work. I have been looking for some info like this. Specifically the traverse portion and a little bit on how to protect the bowling alley.
  11. Last summer I was rapping from the bolts to right of the top of Superslab. About half way down, there was a large (42 inch TV..not plasma) sized block that was very loose. I almost trundled it, and then realized that there might be people below. I was usnure who to report it to. Is there a group of locals that take stewardship of issues like this? The real question is, who should make a decision about rock at a climbing area like Smith Rocks, and is there a venue for reporting an unsafe situation that is natural vs an unsafe situation caused by climbers. I think that all climbers accept a certain amount of risk by pursuing this sport and each climber makes their decisions on the mitigation of that risk. Your thoughts?
  12. What I find myself doing is using up what I need prior to the anchor. I end up using the tricams and hexes where I think "damn I wish I had a number .75 here". or using all the cams and then forced to build an anchor with passive pro that may not be as easy to place. I am always looking for nut placements. It probably boils down to confidence and experince and I realize that once I have the experience, my confidence will increase. I do know that I love the sport, wish I had more time for it, and will be climing for at least another 20-25 years. into my 60's hopefully.I admit I am somewhat of a gear whore. New fangled shiny stuff always catches my eye. Ido want to get a guide. I do want to climb the monkey face (pioneer route) to do that I will need some aiders and ascenders. Prusiking up a fixed rope sounds fine, but my wife will be doing it and she wont like it. any advice on ascenders vs prusik knots?
  13. This thread evolved from rack additions to lead advice. I want to thank all who provided input. Im headed to smith very soon. see you there!
  14. Climbing with the wife forces us to share the shown rack. It seems that when I climb certain climbs it takes alot of the same size of gear. When I get to the anchor I am scrambling to find what I need. that is why I am considering more gear. creative placements. I am assuming that this comes with experience. I am placing gear before and after the "crux". I protect traverses for the second. I like the Jesus nut concept and always try to protect early and often for the first 20-30 feet of the pitch. I try to make sure that the first piece is multi directional. I aspire to make sure that they hold in the direction of fall and for outward pull. I try to assess the rock quality. I try to think about what the second will have to do to clean the piece. What am I missing While I am doing all of that, I am trying to route find and plan my next move or stance. When all of that becomes second nature, I think that climbing will be alot more fun. I am having a blast with the technology and engineering involved, but managing fear of climbing above protection and concentrating on the above considerations is what I really enjoy. trad leading is fascinating. learning is always great. I really appreciate the advice. thank you.
  15. It can be hypnotic. I don't know which rack is more expensive!
  16. I only have the one set of cams and no doubles. I usually leave the larger hexes on the ground. i do tend to haul the tri cams and the smaller hexes to round out the lack of extra cams. I am still learning and tend to "sew it up" even on the easier routes. At the very least, I get more gear placement practice. I am interested in the offset nuts. Are they really worth it at my experience level? Right now my main focus is learning how to place bomber gear. I try to evaluate it and the rock around it for quite some time. very conservative. I figure that If I can place bomber gear then accepting risk with marginal placements will become easier with more experience. Hence easier routes, multi-pitch, less well known climbs or in the offseason. I hate to keep people waiting while I am flailing around. I am going to get at least a day worth of guided lessons and maybe a guided trip up monkey face. That looks like a great climb. I am interested in learning the aid process. That seems like a very good way to learn how to place and evaluate gear. Your thoughts?
  17. I guess that Admiral Halsey was wrong when he said “Before we're done with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in Hell!”...........either he was wrong, or I'm in Hell
  18. The 5 and 6 have their uses like swinging at cats or boat anchors. They rarely even make it out of the closet. They just came with the deal. The biggest one that I ever set was the 4 at the top of super slab. I really didn't need it as I had a great arm bar in the crack.
  19. I appreciate the feedback. I have one on my harness. It was in the gym bag. it is good to know that my gear whore tendencies can be put into check for a while. I was thinking about double in the .75-to 3 in C4's, but with the tri cams I seem to be able to cover. I would love to climb outside more, but with graduate school kicking my ass, time is mostly an issue. My biggest problem is I am the only one rating my placements. I check each piece, but with my experience, I still tend to be very conservative. I won't really stretch my ability until I am sure of my gear. The lack of a mentor is really becoming an issue. When i ask my coastie freinds to climb with me the first question is whether or not there is good elk hunting up there. I like to hunt, but I have to climb.
  20. Alright, I am posting in the noob section as I still consider myself a newb. I have been climbing on and off for about 5-6 years. Mulitple trips to the middle east can really kill a climbin season not to mention people. I have summitted Mt Hood via SS and Mt. Washington, North Ridge, and have aspirations of the rest of the oregon cascades on the bucket list. I finally brainwashed the wife into climbing at Smith after she went up Mt. Washington with me I attended climb school and a sport climb workshop, bought some draws, and a rope, started to learn how to climb. It has been a largely self taught. I use this site, John Longs anchor books, and various other sources to try and not get killed. I got so I could climb about 5.9 reliably in the gym and sport lead 5.8 at smith. Dihedrals, Rope de Dope, and a few others.I have recently gone trad climbing and have fallen in love with easy multi-pitch trad and sport. I fell into an awesome deal on a virtually new rack (full set of C-4 with Nuetrino biners rack pack? , Tricams from pink to black, set of BD nuts 1-13(doubled later 4-13) : set of slung chocks)600$ I hope they were not stolen, but the guy was not a tweeker and said he needed money for his wedding. His fiance was in the car and didnt seem very happy with him even attempting to climb...sad 8D. I have added alpine draws and runners single and double length. I have also added a Cordolette rigged in Equalette. I live on the Oregon coast and really don't have a mentor so I tend to climb very conservatively. With trad I followed and then led Super slab and Cinnamon slab with Moscow and Spiderman on my list next. Maybe Pioneer route if I had a mentor to second and coach and aiders/ascenders. With my aspiration and reallistic goals of probably not ever leading above 5.9-5.10a in my life, and having around 5-700 $ to play with, what would you buy? and what would you climb next if you were in my shoes? BTW I would love to hook up with someone for climbing in the PDX area if you dont mind a noob. Ill bring beer for after
  21. I just marked it when I went past it. you cant miss it unless it is winter
  22. Trip: Mt. Washington - North Ridge Date: 8/5/2010 Trip Report: Just getting around to posting this as Grad school has taken all my free time. Last summer after being defeated on this route for a number of reasons, my wife took pity and decided to go along. we left the truck at the PCT and FS 500 and then made good time to the climbers trail. we stashed some water and made for the ridge. This time the snow was not too bad, but the bugs damn near bled us to death. We gained the ridge and fueled up. Upon reaching the notch. I broke out the rope and tied a sling for the wife. All of a sudden a voice comes from the top of the gendarme that makes the notch. A guy was standing on top of the gendarme and is wondering where the trail was and if he could join our rope team. I told him sure. Marvin had left his GF on the trail below the first gendarmes and was going to head up on his own. Better to be safe. I led the technical portion ( my first) by slung horns all the way up to the rappel block. Wifes first alpine climb We followed the path of least resistance to the top and enjoyed an awesome view. We downclimbed to the block and rapped the first pitch back to the notch. We skiied the scree to the big meadow west of the peak. In the middle of nowhere, we ran accross an outward bound camp site. Who Knew? Back to the truck and back to the coast. Truck to Truck in 12 hours and a good time was had by all. Gear Notes: slings, 60m rope, water, wife Outward bound repellent spray. Approach Notes: PCT to climbers trail then go up until out of rock. repeat in revers order
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