LostCamKenny

Love those slabs... skinned up knees or not, they're great!

Whoa, man. You have a partner in a tree frog it appears... Does it offer a good belay or is it shortroping you all the time?

...and a doobie for the summit

I was under the impression that trad is a style of climbing and not a type of protection. Bolts have been used for decades - anyone remember hearing about Harding's all-night-bolting-affair on The Nose? Bolts are traditional in that light, eh?

Sheesh... Just climb! Who cares if you bleed a bit. Tape if you want to and don't if don't. Dip your bloody knuckles in your beer after the climb to clean them out if you cut yourself up, and for heaven's sake don't ever think that technique depends whether or not you bleed... If you make it up the route, survive the descent and make it back to spray then your technique was good!

This is accurate according to Medicine For Mountaineering. My copy says, "Only a few persons have AMS at 8000 feet (2400m), but after going rapidly from near sea level to 14000 feet (4200m) more than half have symptoms." Also, "None of the symptoms of AMS is diagnostic of the condition. Similar symptoms may occur in people who are exhausted, dehydrated, hypoglycemic, suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning, taking prescription or recreational drugs, or developing an infection..." It is possible that your friend was not experiencing AMS, but just feeling drained after a long week at work or even just being tired from the slog up to high camp. In the case of recreational or prescription drugs (meaning, were you toking before you left the trailhead?) that last hit, pull, or drag could have manifested itself on the ascent - I have seen that happen before. The main idea is that it is a good idea to be watching your partner because when AMS appears (or its more serious cousins HACE and HAPE) you will not know it and if you are feeling symptoms your judgement will be hindered by your desire to want to push on. Being able to recognize the symptoms is just the beginning - you have to talk to your partner, too, and ask them what they are feeling. And to go along with what was said earlier on this thread, descent is never a bad decision if AMS is suspected. Live to climb another day... Cheers, and safe climbing in the future!

He was one of the best that ever climbed - great guy, too... met and talked with him at the OR show this past January in SLC. Prayers go out to his family.

Funnier, still is the thought of them thinking this video up and laughing at how funny they thought they were being...

climbing on wet slabs = ballsy ... even if it is 5.easy!

Then people should stop posting about their hiking, selling, buying, finding, skiing, weight lifting, pirating and sensativity, essentially anything that doesn't have anything to do with climbing. I think there is room for, we have managed to find room for all of the above. To each, their own...

There was a good bit of choss in places... does that matter?

Very well said, Rad. I agree about the mental problem solving - I, too, like to look at climbs as puzzles to solve...

Hopefully on a rope...

I still haven't removed my training wheels!!! ::

What do the ratings really matter, anyway? Someone who asks this question will undoubtedly be ridiculed for not being able to climb hard enough for it to matter, but really, what's the big deal? I started climbing nearly 8 years ago in a gym (as many do these days) and at first I was very concerned with ratings because I thought it was the guide to what I should be climbing. Ratings, instead, have taught me where my limits lie and have shown me what I want to work towards. Since I don't climb on plastic and plywood much anymore I have little to compare my ideas on ratings to. Since sport and trad differ mostly because of the way they are protected then it would seem logical that the rating system reflect that which the two styles have in common - difficulty. Placing gear - perhaps - should be graded for traditionally protected climbs based on how easy the gear is to place, find, and the stance from which is placed. Sport climbs should - likewise - be given a rating for how difficult the moves are from which you must clip the bolt. Both of these would be aside from the difficulty ratings. Of course, getting an entire generation of climbers - or several generations of climbers as the case is here - to agree on such a system would be a bit like trying to get a basketball into a ginger ale bottle, but one can't be shunned for trying to propose an idea, right? Reading through all these posts I was agreeing with far too much to quote them all here, but I have to say that me umble opinion is that a rating does more for your head than anything else - though not always in an egotistical way. When you climb a route that's graded, say, 5.10d for the first time and upon completing it you feel that it was challenging and exciting, then your head is telling you that your limits have increased and you are establishing a new plateau for yourself, and you gain confidence. The negative side of this would - of course - be that you are now cockier than you were before and think that you are able to jump whole number grades because you completed a challenging route. But suppose you bail off the same route... what does it do to your head? Do you feel the confidence that you would had you finished the route or are you discouraged by your inability to finish it? Would you think that you still had some work to do before you could top that rating? The feelings from both examples are those that one would have whether you were placing gear or clipping bolts - the adrenaline is going to pump no matter which style you are climbing, so why should the ratings be different for the different styles? My point here is that ratings should be given for climbers to evaluate personal progress, set goals, and not to measure your success or reinforce the pressure and breadth behind your spray. I spray, just as most do, and when I say that I did a route rated 5.XX with gear I say it to give an honest representation of my climbing ability. To use ratings in such a way as to intimidate or impress would be against the spirit of what makes climbing fun, IMO.

To measure your ego!

Nice TR! Glad to see/hear that this story is far from over... Many happy years of climbing together and hope the wedding ceremony can be somewhere cool - like Baker!

Looks awesome... Headed that way this summer. Nice TR! Thanks! Cheers

That happens... Good to hear you ruined yourself for plastic - just isn't the same is it? Can't do the same moves and you never have the challenge of the elements coming at you. Good on ya Cheers

So, from the parking lot straight uphill for ten miles, huh?

Was the approach painless, or relatively so?

Stupid questions from stupid people, maybe? Here's a nice example ^ Oh you are so clever! Were you up all night thinking that one up? Hey Kenny, when are you going to post a trip report? Do I need to, rob?

Sucks about your camera - at least it wasn't you that went for the ride, though! Good job gettin up there!

Stupid questions from stupid people, maybe? Here's a nice example ^ Oh you are so clever! Were you up all night thinking that one up?

It just seems like this place will NEVER open up... Serious foot dragging and lots of red tape! And more blah blah blah than anyone should have to hear about a climbing venue closure - wait a minute. What am I saying?