tradhead

Matt - Thanks for the eforrt to upgrade the quality of this already worthy route. I have climbed the W. Buttress to the top twice and found the climbing above the ledges of a much different character than the rest of the route. Probably 5.8(?) but don't fall! The ice on the slab last September added an extra spice that I wasn't looking for that day. A few bolts and a good anchor at the top of the runout slabby section halfway between the ledges and the top should make that section of the climb much more fun and less dangerous for future parties.

Whatever you do - don't continue past the top of Silent Running. Did that last year trying to "summit" and enountered thickening vegatation and disappearing rock. Eventually we reached a flat spot after a few pitches and called it a day. My same climbing partner and I had quite the laugh when we looked over at 3 O'Clock later in the year from the top of Exfoliation Dome. It was obvious from that vantage why the route stopped where it did as the "top" is nothing but a junction with a treed ridge that was nowhere near the summit!

Aric, Thanks again for the testing. The stuff on the axle misalignment is especially confusing to me as I can't imaginge a scenario where one would produce machined parts on a mass basis and be unable to control this feature really consistently unless the process for cutting the outside profile of the cam was similarly inaccurate. A cheap drill jig and drill press should be within +/- a few thousandths in aluminum on lobes with consistent outside profiles...

A butterfly knot should work too, and is stronger than a bowline if I remember correctly.

Looking to contact Jared or Justin who were climbing Lovin Arms on the Upper Town Wall at Index on Saturday (5/30.) My name is Will and I I was in the party climbing Davis-Holland ahead of you. I have a very improtant message for you.

Looking to contact Jared or Justin who were climbing Lovin Arms on the Upper Town Wall at Index on Saturday (5/30.) My name is Will and I I was in the party climbing Davis-Holland ahead of you. I have a very improtant message for you.

Aric, Great job on the testing that you have done. CCH obviously should be doing this kind of thing themselves, but since they're not, it is most informative. In addition to reporting the average rated strength percentage of the pieces pulled (or perhaps in lieu of, your choice) I think that it would be interesting to consider the same average only not including any "bonus" for units that failed above their rated strength. If you test two cams rated at 10 kN (for round numbers) with one failing at 2kN and the other 18, on average they failed at 100% of the rated strength. Seems like an average of 60% (10+2/2) would be more appropriate in order to provide a penalty in the calculation for manufacturing process/strength variation that still yields on average a product that meets spec. Just my 2 cents...

I love my Aliens but will never buy anything from CCH after the stunt they pulled this week!

I will help with this in any way that I can.

If there is an offshoot pub club event in West Seattle I'll be there.

The materials that are used to make many ice tool picks and crampon frontpoints (AISI 4000 series chrome-moly or chrome-moly-vanadium steel) are pretty prone to rusting if not dried well after use. Oil or WD-40 might help but are messy. Best to make sure that your gear is completely dry before you put it away and is stored in a low ambient humidity enviroment.

You can rent magnetic ski-racks with most rental cars in SLC. They carry both skis and boards. If the weather's bad, drive to the transit stop at the base of BCC and take the bus the rest of the way up. You shouldn't need 4 wheel drive to get around, although it'll be nice if a big storm hits that dumps snow in town. Any of the resorts in BCC or LCC are fine as the snow and terrain around SLC is rad. My brother lived there for 10 years so I've spent plenty of time in the winter there.

If you do end up using a glue-on patch, try to make it as close to round as possible, with no sharp edges or corners. It will stay on a lot longer that way. Sail repair tape from West Marine is a lot less expensive than K-Tape (on a unit-length basis) if you're thinking of going that route. Plus, it's a lighter weave and will probably work better for patching a hole in a puffy or similar fabric. A thick layer of Seam-grip covered with a piece of sail repair tape should yield a good no-sewing required permanent patch.

Cool. My original post on the subject assumed that the Wiki would be its own entity rather than part of CC.com. I'd much rather have the wiki here than on some out-of-state website.

What about expanding the existing on-line route resources such as summitpost and mountainproject? That might be easier than setting up a specific site just for the Cascades and get more of a nationwide base for the effort than if it is run via a standalone site.

Old School BBQ in Sultan is good. Tasty after climbing at Index.

The big patch of trees to the left of the red spot on the cliff are the top of the second pitch according to Nelson and Potterfield (one long pitch with a 60 or 70m rope to there.) From there we traversed right under a steeper section of rock on sparsely potected moderate knob/face climbing then headed upward following the groove below the chockstone. Someone more computer literate then me could probably draw the line on the photo for you...

I've used my Nepal Tops with my splitboard for years. They don't ride like snowboard boots but are fine.

I'd pick Red Rocks over Josh if you want easier routes. Josh has plenty of <.10's but the gear is challenging and the ratings solid (similar to Index ratings?). Also no sport routes - a typical 5.7 slab in Josh has 4 or 5 bolts max. in 160' with a walk-off. Red Rocks has soft ratings (on par with Squish? - it's been awhile since I've been to RR), plenty of single and multi-pitch routes of all grades, and plenty of sport climbing. I don't recall very many 5.8 and below sport routes, but you can always go to Calico Tanks and hang some TR's on .9's and .10's if you want a break from multi-pitch/trad.

kevino - Sounds like you might have seen me and a few friends at the dry tool park. A buddy of mine wears gaiters there to deter other climbers from hanging around. The ice up above is really unstable and I've seen a large chunk of it come down over the left side of the crag while we were climbing on the more protected right side.

Prineton Tec Apex Pro is the best brightness-weight ratio currently available as far as I'm aware other than the retardedly expensive Petzl and equvalent LED caving lamps. Go with third-party rechargable lithium batteries to keep the battery costs resonable or else order a bunch of CR123's off the internet - they're about $7 each if you buy them individually but $1 or less if you buy them in bulk off of the web. The Mammut isn't as bright as its spec imply and the BD headlamps listed are made in China vs. USA for Princeton Tec (and aren't as bright, waterproof, or as well designed IMO.)

I vaguely remember seeing a Youtube video on someone repeating it. Seemed like it had a bit of detail on the climb. I just did a google search for it and couldn't locate it, though. Edit - the video was of Vanishing Pt. not NW passage. My green Beckey guide is old and doesn't have these routes in it, and I got the two confused...

Don't know if Rue already picked up the panels or not. I don't want to break up an already arranged deal. If Rue still wants them, then I'll let him/her take them. If not, PM me or post in this thread and I'll swing by and pick them up early next week some time in the afternoon.

If the deal falls through any you still need to get rid of them, I'll take them. I live in West Seattle too.

The nest is definitely wasps not bees. I got stung by the same wasp about three times, once on the achilles and twice on the knee. My climbing partner got swarmed and was stung way more than that. The nest is right on the trail about 20 or so yards past Endless Bliss, just as it starts to drop downhill. I agree with Peter Puget that the 5.9 to the left of Endless Bliss is really cool and varied, one of the best in the area IMO.