shaoleung

While I'm not from NC, I did live there. Went to Ship Rock a lot among other areas. There were definitely pissing contests... but usually after lots of bad beer and nothing to do with the climbing. Great rock there too... must get back. Oh... and I definitely saw some draws hanging idle on someones' projects.

Well said Jens. QD thiefs are stupid. Sprayers need to spend more time on their hangboards and less at the computer.

Sweet rig. Can you spoon?

That is awesome. Too bad more folks don't recognize all that you do for Washington climbing. Other folks - don't forget that the Index Clean Up is on May 9th. A good way to meet folks that put in time to maintain great climbing areas.

Bolts are solid, but the the nuts were loose... big difference... my apologies

Good question. Quick links are great. My partner left one up there: 3/8" stainless quick link rated to over 1800 lbs. The ones on there were 1/4" which are rated to about 800 lbs assuming they were good quality stainless. These are not UIAA ratings, so I usually take them with a grain of salt. Generally with anchors I like to be over-cautious. Yes, some folks get ridiculous about this, but if you're relying on one piece of gear you may as well cover some bases. Rap anchor failure kills a lot of climbers every year despite appearing pretty bomber. Even a short fall/slip can generate a factor 1 force on the anchor... roughly 1300 lbs. Again, while this is unlikely, it happens and 5 or 6 kN is pretty comfortably beyond the quick link's already questionable rating. I could have just used a piece of webbing. Absolutely a valid solution. However, it's a climb at a very popular area and plenty of people use those anchors. The Leavenworth crew that develops routes spend a ton of their own time and $$ on each route. I feel like a little extra time and hardware for an anchor is no skin off my back.

Love 'em or hate 'em, the mounties'll always be there. In terms of critical mass and opening the outdoors to more people, the mounties certainly get them out there. The great thing about the Icicle is that even with the mounties there in full force, it is still easier to find quiet crags than other more popular areas in the country.

Cool little climb. We ended the day with it, but the nuts were loose on the anchor bolts. We removed the death-wish mini quick links and left some good rapp hardware. If someone plans to climb it, bring a wrench (a torque wrench at 20 ft lbs...billcoe?) and maybe some loctite.

I'm looking at investing in some ball nuts for harder/thinner trad lines. I am comparing Trango's Ballnutz and Camp Ball Nuts. The only real difference is that the Camp #1 appears to be significantly stronger than the Trango #1. What makes the Camp #1 so much stronger? I assume the standards for kN ratings are pretty standard, right?

Engine grease is pretty much impenetrable.

Would international summits be out of the question?

Does anyone have beta on the bolted face climb between Glass Eye and late for dinner?

Anyone have a bead on a used, Bosch or Hilti, cordless 36v roto hammer?

I'll take ticks over candiru any day.

That sounds like what we did. The start was just right of a steep drainage gully. The slightly overhanging fist crack to start was pretty dirty with spring melt grime. The second pitch was great 11'worth slab. Thanks for the help!

Just did Prime Rib... I think. What a great climb. Book says 10 bolts, but what we climbed today had about 14 bolts. Book says 5.10b, but felt harder. There seems to be some development going on up there... did I get onto the wrong climb? Any Beta? Thanks!

Just got back from a few days. The weather is incredible. Pearly Gates is wet wet wet. Snow patches all over the hillside and on top of the rock. We climbed at Duty Dome and Warrior Wall today. No snow anywhere on that side. 8 mile campground - most sites snow free. Look out for the enormous dog sh*t$ though.

Depending on where you are, there was snow today. Didn't stick, but it was coming down.

Great! With all the snow in Seattle I figured things must be buried up there.

Rock's clear of snow too?

Any Beta on dry/easy approaches to crags along the Icicle? I am itching to get onto some real rock this weekend but I don't want to trudge through snow for half the day. Buttress? Wart wall? Drip Wall? Condorphamine? Suggestions? Thanks!

If you hit any of the gyms, it's usually pretty easy to strike up a conversation with folks and figure out who's planning on going where. They also have climber boards.

While debate rages on the pros and cons of the mountaineers and other clubs, they're a good way to get your foot in. Last I heard, the Mounties were doing rolling admissions into small-group climbing groups and lessons. This can be a lot easier than trolling the gyms for partners.

Mounties or no mounties... shouldn't really knock it 'til you try it. I climbed for 10 years before taking a few mounties courses. While I often thought about Wilderness/Mountaineering first aid courses, I never took a until then. I knew how to navigate and did plenty of back country stuff, but I "had to" take the navi course and was surprised about how much I learned. Being primarily a rock climber, I had to study avy assessment for snow travel. While I don't use it often, I am definitely safer in avy terrain today. It's one thing to understand how to perform a rescue with 6 or 7 other climbers, but to actually practice it on rock - I don't know anyone that has done that with friends. I had a copy of FoTH, but barely looked at it until the course. I know there are serious issues with the mounties, but they don't "make" or "breed" a certain type of climber. Of all the worthless, dangerous, gumbies I have seen on rock/in the mountains, several have been mounties, but more have been non-mounties. The single most important thing to remember when getting into climbing is that you will always be a student of the mountains. As soon as you think you've mastered everything, you are a danger.

Yes, the gumbies and tourists are what I was referring to. Another thing to remember is that the few rangers that are paid are paid little. 90% of the rangers in National Parks are volunteers. They deserve a little respect for that if nothing else. The list of underfunded Federal programs is long and depressing... National Parks is certainly in there.