TarHeelEMT

Wow. Just wow.

I just hope that the states keep a high level of protection. Not likely, but a hope anyway.

Sweet

Yikes. If you're going to "test-fall" trad placements, at least back them up with a bomber anchor to keep from hitting the deck.

Wow. Glad you're ok. Those more familiar with the mountain... are avalanche conditions likely to be significantly better by the end of the month?

Where can you actually get one of these? I've been poking around the internet without success.

FANTASTIC TR. Thanks for sharing.

This should be a fun thread. Honestly, it sounds as though experience will be a bigger limiter for you than fitness. You should seriously consider joining a guided trip if you have no prior experience with mountaineering. The standard route up Rainier isn't the most technical climb in the world, but its objective hazards are significant for an inexperienced climber.

I'll be in the area in late July through early August with nothing else to do and in search of climbing partners for alpine or trad. I trad lead up to 5.7, but with no aid climbing experience and not enough experience on vertical ice to really give you a rating. Since you listed medical stuff, I've worked EMS (EMT-I) for a couple years and am a rope rescue technician for a local rescue agency. I'll be on summer break from med school and eager to climb. I'm fairly conservative; although my skills are solid, being from the south am still learning to read alpine routes and weather, so I play it safely unless I'm with someone who is more proficient at this. If you're interested, I'm game to climb just about anything.

I'm glad you came out and posted this. This has been a really interesting discussion for me to observe from afar. The discussion turned nasty for a bit, but it seems like everyone has gotten a chance to come to a better understanding of the ethics on this.

We're probably going to play it really conservatively when it comes to weather. I'm good with climbing skills and routefinding, but I've lived in the south my whole life and am still developing a feel for true mountain weather. I've navigated in a whiteout before in the East Alaska Range, but at this point in my learning curve it's something I'd much prefer to just avoid if retreat is an option. For clothing, will I likely need more than a baselayer and a shell pant on my legs? I'd rather not lug an insulating layer if I don't have to.

I always use iodine. I don't mind the taste, plus six or seven tablets in a nalgene make for a great disinfecting irrigation solution if you get a nasty wound.

Very cool. One of these days...

I can definitely see where it would make sense on an overhanging sport route.

Haha, I suppose we do, but not when it comes to climbing. I know there's an online forum for North Carolina climbers somewhere, but I think it averages something like two posts a month.

New Hampshire and Kentucky? I don't know what they do there. I'm from North Carolina. We pretty much don't have sport climbing here at all. I said flat-out that I don't know much at all about sport climbing culture or ethics. That's why this thread was so interesting to me. Scroll down to the summary of climbing available

We're going to do the easier routes, most likely, although I'd like the option of trying a more challenging route later in the trip. It's really just a question of how well my partner does with stuff. If he's doing well enough that I think he could follow a more difficult route, then we'll probably try that for one of the peaks.

I'd contest this, but our love of NASCAR really hobbles any argument I could make.

To be honest, I was genuinely puzzled by the original post and the fact that there were such strong opinions in support of leaving gear at the crag. I guess you could call it culture shock, so I did as much reading as I could to learn a bit more about the culture out west. I definitely don't have a strong opinion on the matter, and if leaving stuff on the wall is what sport climbers do, well, that's what they do I guess. I would consider it very rude to clutter a crag with personal gear when not in use, but so long as they don't invade my favorite trad climbs with bolts, I guess they can have their fun and I can have mine.

no, i think bill coe came up with that one, and he is not new to cc.com and certainly not from the south. I did not come up with it. I was fascinated by this argument, since I really don't have much exposure to sport climbing culture where I'm from. I read through the old thread on this same topic that someone linked to, saw the tent analogy, and thought it would be pertinent to include here as well.

I really appreciate all the advice. A couple dozen wands should suffice, right?

Well, since we're all airing our opinions here... I come from a very different part of the country where there essentially is no sport climbing. Around here, leaving gear on the wall other than to bail would be in bad taste. I suppose I just don't understand the idea that one is entitled to clutter a public recreation area with personal gear when not in use. The analogy of leaving a tent in a public camping spot for a week so that it will be there for you when you get back seems apt. Sure, it's bad form to take the stuff, but I'd certainly be annoyed if I went to climb a route that had somebody else's gear hanging all over it.

Edit: Nevermind. Answered my own question.

Thanks genepires. There will be enough dry rock in May to use my rock pro on the summit pyramid? I had heard otherwise. Small nuts and cams... I'm going to bring most of my nuts (probably the BD stoppers #1-12). If the cams are useful, probably the #1 and #2 ultralight TCUs and C4 camalots from 0.5 up to... what size cam at the top end? I've never been in the North Cascades before and don't know the best pro sizes to use.