obwan

No pics = it didn't happen.... Wow! Sounds like one of my trips to J.T. where I stumbled across a very cool photo shoot = lingere,etc; and no camera. At least you have proof, but may go down on Voyeurism.

This time of year, Mazama is winding down - lots of good climbing and free places to camp. it's just a bit longer drive, ie. two hours from Leavenworth. And Tieton is an awesome place. There are various threads on this site regarding Vantage, pro and con. Listen to Ivan. If you absolutely feel the need - there is camping on the west side of the Columbia at Wanapum Dam State Park, or a commercial nice spot at the boat ramp area, just before crossing the Columbia off of I-90. Cheers! Better to have a few at Ocktoberfest.

Another couple of pints and I might even get this.

Lowell - Shows how old school we are, chain-link backstops are cool. I've used them for dry-tooling also, doesn't F up the tools as bad and one can use boots/crampons.

Index for sure!

G-Spotter is spot on - Squamish has some good lines to practice on. Or if you find a good bolt ladder such as Monkey Face Pioneer at Smith. Bolt ladders help in learning, as you don't have to worry about nut placements,etc. The key is to find a spot you'll tie up awhile, and not be pressured to get off the route. I learned from "Freedom of the Hills" and John Long - I think he covered it in a book, "Big Walls" in the "How to Climb" series. But why? John Long says it's 90% work and 10% fun, and you'll have to invest in a set of Etriers and many more biners( four aiders are not that essential). I made a pair with one inch tubular webbing. Why not just try some rope-soloing first.

What a bummer, and I was just thinking of heading over to Leavenworth. What ever happened to the famous "Exit 38 Bandit", aka - "The I-90 Car Prowler"?

Not free, but Google "Denny Creek CG".

Check Pm, maybe we can work something out.

There's a cool Entreprises climbing pillar and bouldering rock on East Hill in Kent, up by Lake Meridian. It's at the corner of 116th Ave SE and SE 240th St. It's been there about 4-5 years and is part of a skate board park called Arbor Heights Park 360. There's about a dozen routes in the 5.7-5.10+ range. Anyone have any beta on grades/topo? It's way better than the Renton Granite.

I held back on the Skaha story, with that crap all over my rope and hands. I was about to piss my pants, and the only folks not contaminated were these two Canadian chicks. After a lot of laughs - still no one would help.

This is Poison Ivy up by February Buttress in Tumwater canyon. Mark - very interesting, I know various patches show up anywhere. Yours looks a bit like what AndyF describes as poison oak. I found - in any case, stay away from 3 leaves! The Fall color that poison ivy comes out with is certainly more easily identified. I took a climbing group up to Skaha once, and all opinions were wrong.

What's really bad is when you toss your rope into a patch of either one - then the oils or whatever get on your hands,clothes etc.

What a bummer - to young to die, and very sad. God Bless.

The "leaves of three - don't touch me"! It's poison ivy, as Matt said - it has grown along that trail for years. It's pretty identifiable - three leaves with a 9-12 inch stem - and very colorful red/yellow in the Fall. Google it for some interesting photo/videos.

A bit of an approach hike, try Static Point - "On-Line", easy slab (Monroe area). Or even the first 5-6 pitches of "IB" on Mt Garfield in the North Bend area. There is also Mt. Ingalls in the Cle Elum area, somewhat like "The Tooth" at Alpental - but a six mile approach. These would be easy multi-pitch, good views and not intimidating.

Got a bead on a topo? It'll take some effort - look around for the small guide book by M. Ford & J. Yoder "Rock Climber's Guide to: Fossil Rock". the 2nd edition was dated April 1996 published by Homepress. It has some good route topo.

Ah-hah! The last secret is out.

Head west on HWY 2 about 20-30 minutes to Peshastin Pinnacles, or Icicle Creek in Leavenworth for good cragging/bouldering.

Try the natural Lemon Eucalyptus - reviews are varied, but it seems to work for me and not as toxic as 100% Deet.

How come no one has mentioned Yakima or even a real small town Naches? You can climb at Tieton - very close by. And you'd be living in the 'rain shadow' of Mt. Rainier.

DPS is correct - if you need employment, the Puget Sound Region on the Westside of the Cascades is it. But it's dryer and nicer on the Eastside, and finding work may be more of a challenge. What is called the eastside (of Lake Washington) is the Bellevue, Issaquah, Kirkland area - which is pretty centrally located to what DPS described, as far as climbing and the mountains ( all within 1-2hrs). Boeing and Microsoft are close - and if you choose 'Rentonia', you could build 737's all day as they have orders for the next 10-12 years, and punching out 1+ a day.

Slowest......Camera........Ever. But I've seen one dropped a long ways and be just fine. So it really depends on what you need. Man, you guys are really camera pro's. I cannot be trusted even with the p&s around rocks, I can only use the "cardboard" models - and sometimes the panoramic is useful. So here's what I call a long drop! I dropped a guys brand new $450 Nikon off the top of "Rod of God" at Vantage, plus scratched the b'jesus out of my wife's nice p&s.

The "Weekend Rock - Washington" by Whitelaw covers the highlights of the state pretty well - if one only wanted one book.

Wait until they see the rope stretch when they tow their car.