keenwesh

even though I paid half of that for my 404's they are totally the shit and a great deal at that price. skis are so much better than slowshoes! goodluck on the sale.

it took me about an hour from the notch to the summit on the N ridge, you move really fast without a rope. The gendarme pitches are 5.9 but cruxes are short and secure. Plus, if you're OSing it it's damn hard to get off route, stick to the crest and follow the lichen free rock. Serpentine took me 2 hours because of the inobvious routefinding, the hike in/out is a lot more straightforward though.

you were seriously off route if you were climbing 5.9 on the W ridge. getting up to long john is 4th or low 5th, out of the W ridge notch is mostly low 5th with a spot or two of 5.5. A totally casual solo. The N ridge is 1000 times better though, and a easy day trip if you're soloing.

the OW is 10a... the crux pitch is old school 10c, kinda physical but never desperate and fully deserving of its 5 star rating.

sounds like I went the right way, I was just wondering if the hundred feet of licheny loose rock was avoidable. It sounds like it's not.

I got off route on the backside of the gendarme. I'd heard there was a rap so I traversed right early and did some shitty climbing on lichen covered loose rock. is the rap mandatory or is it an easy downclimb? I didn't bother to check it out once I passed it.

pervertical ain't 5.11... incredible route, incredible place. I love the diamond!

don't forget the beer

Climbing for three months straight and eating the cheapest/highest calorie food in the grocery store has me in probably the best climbing shape of my entire life right now. For the last couple weeks I've been able to stay pretty strong by going on runs and doing a decently large hiking/soloing day in the mountains (15-20 miles and 10 or so moderate guidebook pitches in 7-10 hours). Living in Olympia is good for replenishing my bank account but bad for the huge increase in beer consumption/decrease in desire to live. I'm also 20 years old, so that could be my biggest asset. I have pretty much zero motivation to lift weights in the gym or the pull plastic (plus climbing gym memberships cost money, something I don't have in excess). I've been doing deadhangs on my homemade 'hangboard' and run laps on a crack machine now that it's the only 'climbing' within a convenient distance.

massive crock of shit, it'll be fun to watch him fail/get funding pulled. 3000+ porters and O2 above 23000 feet isn't alpine climbing. climbs that raise awareness for things not climbing related are incredibly idiotic. If someone wants to give me a few hundred bucks I'll go do a trip in the name of dyslexic housecats. THE EPIDEMIC IS REAL AND YOUR DONATION WILL MATTER

glacier was a little dicy in running shoes with a single ax maybe around 9 am this morning. I've also only been climbing in CA and CO so the few snowfields I've been on have been easily passible with a sharp rock. Gendarme pitches were incredible and the fist crack crux is literally one move, shoving your right arm in to the elbow and stepping up. footholds and a super positive horizontal crimp/jug thing on the left. There's a new looking red C4 stuck in the rightward 2nd pitch traverse that would probably come out with some minor effort and a nut tool.

if you have an ax just go down the snow, it is extremely mellow. Guidebook would be the white becky guide, but it's notoriously vague.

hows the glacier right now? can I do it early AM without an ice ax?

yo, so I did it a week ago in running shoes, came down around 11 am. snow was soft and descent was incredibly casual. I had an ax along but probably could have gotten away without it, just using a sharp rock. Having said that, if you slipped and went sliding you would be seriously fucked up. trekking poles would be more than adequate.

I don't have one, but a bunch of friends do. you can sit on it, squeeze it until the sides touch each other, and bump into rock outcroppings like a uncoordinated idiot without any damage to the helmet. When I get tired of my new BD vector (not super great) I'll be trading it in for a sirocco.

To simul with a microtrax you throw it on a bomber piece a ways above a crux section, that way if the second comes off they don't kill the leader. The microtrax feeds much better and doesn't automatically shred the rope, unlike a tiblock. A TR fall is not going to have a very high fall force on it, also, if you're simuling you really shouldn't be falling.

fuck no, dynamic falls of any kind on a toothed cam are seriously bad news, you wouldn't be caught by the coil around your body because the rope would be severed. If you want a lightweight adjustable device the grigri2 is perfectly suited for that purpose, and will not sever the rope if you fall on it. Having said that, the minitrax is a incredibly awesome device, I have two for big wall applications, and bring them along for simul climbing.

you need a permit to camp at the hulk? who knew! Radness

also, need to know this tonight. I'm driving to leavenworth tomorrow and will hopefully be climbing monday and tuesday, away from technology.

How's it looking right now? I would ideally like to not carry an ax or 'pons. A sharp rock is my usual anti-death-slide device. Is there a way to get back to aasguard pass without descending the snowslope?

bueller?

Anyone want to meet me at the stuart lakes TH sunday night and go run up SG or Acid baby on monday? Call me 360 789 5492

Nice! I love doing trips with my dad. The route looks great. I should become a regular for the next month or so at the quarry. See ya there

I need to make it to AK next spring. nice work boys! another route crushed that most people just drool over

oh phuck yes!