sdizzle25

I was cruising through the gorge on the way back from a job interview with me trousers in full megamid mode at just how amazing the gorge would be if the was 20 degrees colder all winter. Hero ice everywhere. Dont know what this is called but i could tell you how to get there. As my approach was bushwacking in my one suit i limited the frozen mud groveling to lower 4th class. This guy appeared to be mainly the shitty globby shit WI2 you can bash stairs into but probably wont get any screws that could hold much, though its certainly downclimable if you are desperate, which we are because we are trying to ice climb in the gorge. ps. all the spray freezes on the approach pebbles, prompting the proudest standing glissade of my life as my dress shoes shot down the slope. I also have some photos i could email of the other significant flow that looks like it might touch from the road, but does not. For some reason CC wont let me upload because the file is too big, which is strange because my camera sucks....

In mid winter cold snaps you can find piddly climbs on north facing rock bands, usually in the foothills occupied by commercial logging. approaches are adventurous (aka long and bushwhacky), but in my limited experience there is ice out there, primarily for character building instead of climbing.

Looking to get out for some fitness on north sister, anyone been up there lately? what are the conditions like high up?-i.e. terrible traverse, bowling alley etc.

I guess to answer your question instead of spray you down with my life story, most normal falls seem to fall under or well under 5. " real bad" falls can get to 6-7ish. factor 2 falls can get up to just below 10 kn, in which case you are in a world of shit on several different levels

Ive always wondered this, perhaps a side effect of being more of a college student than a climber. Found this one, have seen others: http://junkfunnel.com/fallforce/ A quick plug in says you will be good with your 6 kn piece, and computers know everthing about rock climbing Obviously the number of variables are huge, especially when most of your gear is going to break above its "rating". I have also heard that your femurs are only rated to about 8 Kn or something. Even if you factor 2 your entire 60 you will be hard pressed to blow your c4/reasonable stopper in a perfect placement in perfect rock. And then there is always the major caveat that the rock will probably break before before your piece, which, living in Oregon, is always the main issue for me.

ahh the Reid. I am pretty sure if you had 10 strong climbers try it you would get 10 different routes. good fun though.

single speed, not fixed gear. fixed gear= coffee shop, pbr, american spirits. Single Speed MTB= huge, hairy swingers

when you stand on the hogsback the pearly gates are on your right, through a pretty obvious passage between gendarmes. The Old Chute is on your left up a broad slope that gains the summit ridge. It is pretty obvious once you get up there, just follow the path of least resistance.

AND CURSE THOSE BIRDS ON ANGELS LANDING

Spent my first time climbing in the canyon that same week. Amount of 5.10 free climbing to be done there is truly overwhelming, and accessible to those of only moderate testicular fortitude.

+1 for NWAlpine. Think of it this way, you will save at least $50 (or way more if you go with the Mountain Hardwear ski pants) and get a product (actually designed for climbing too!) that performs better, plus you get mountain karma because NWA is manufactured in the US. Karma goes a long way climbing giant eroding piles of doggy doo, just saying.

bd nutrinos, hotwires, Ozs, WC orbit, nitros etc. user preference on a little more weight for more size. camp nano 23 are super light, but not the best when using gloves in the 'pine. Works great with bare hands that you can feel, even if you crag with a 10.2. Stay away from the metolius mini jet whatevers, so small they are unnecessarily hard to use, not sure how a great company like metolius came out with a product that seems so obviously terrible.

hahaha. I read the headline and thought it was about Genesis 1 in Hyalite, hence curious about what someone had to say about it....nope..

Being new to alpine/snow/ice climbing I cannot imagine my skills are dialed in. :-) What basics for keeping them dry? What common mistakes will get them wet? I couldn't find anything relevent on a google search or reading of previous articles. Not to be soap boxy here, but imo if you're starting at the bottom the only way to really start to get your logistics "dialed" is by getting after it and climbing alot. you will make tons of small mistakes regarding system management causing momentary discomfort (or at least I have-and still do from time to time), and hopefully no big ones. Its kinda like the way to only dial in rope management is to get out there and climb bigger stuff.

ahh reason number 2. If the 2nding climber falls, the blood curdling scream emitted while they take the 40 feet of slack out of the rope will give the first enough time to jump away from the wall, potentially shortening the 2nds fall, and giving the team the best change at only 1 catastrophic injury

it will be a giant hassle to adjust. if the climbing is easy enough to use the two hands required to move the knot efficiently then you will be going wayy to fast to adjust it, and if you are climbing slow enough to adjust it the you probably wont be wanting to take your hands off. My 2 cents, maybe someone has

+1 for kit information from the "super heroes" of this website-colin haley, mark westman etc. Instead of being the optimistic annoying kid at their presentations asking them what gear they use it would be nice to lay it out all at once, and share their substantial experience. Also 12 easy steps to climb dehydrated M6 in the 'pine would be great too.....

maybe if we can coordinate everyones summit flow we can get a good smear of water ice going. Make center drip come in every year or something.......i guess "water" ice isnt exactly correct.

cytomax and other drink mixes will lower the freezing temperature of your "water" by about 10ish degrees ive found. a climbing partner of mine always uses it and for some reason his water wouldnt freeze when mine would turn into frozen blocks. actually took me some time to realize why. I have failed my middle school science teachers. .....

I hopped on tc for the 1st time last weekend, got shutdown by the runnels, though I am not sure the bypass would have been much better for a climber of my ability, though it looks like the party that posted the TR handled it just fine. they are fairly obvious once you are at the base of the runnels, which is also obvious (if nothing else there are 2 fixed stoppers there, one we rapped off. the 1st couloir goes up and to climbers right, the exit back to the second couloir will be one of the few options you have at that point. Going onto the West/nw face can be done at several points through the 1st couloir right now, though right now the face is about as appealing as runnels. thin ice and dry rock are the name of the game up there. none of the options are super obvious from the lake-hence "hidden" couloir, though you might get some glimpses of the 1st variation exit if you know where to look.

I would say it has to be Bozeman. MSU has the best ice climbing access that I can think of, considering there are no colleges in Ouray. Maybe there is something in Norway I dont know about. If you cant handle the hippy populations in Bozeman, Montana than I am not sure what to tell you. Whoever said Washington or Oregon was hopefully joking, Ice Climbing here is a sad, distant dream that usually only occurs on N. Faces. University of Idaho will put you a couple hours from banks and about 6 from hyalite, but wont offer much for weekday/after class opportunities. That being said, if you hate hippies N Idaho is the place for you, unless you are a minority and/or pro wolf

Anybody been out to Strobach lately? Hate to troll teh interwebs instead of skiing in myself, but would like to know condish's before I make the drive up from Eugene, being a damn tree hugger and all

I do use the bd v thread machine. i would never buy it retail but scored it on ebay for 6 bucks with shipping. It works for getting your line through the ice fine, has that serrated edge for when you are tired of your partners shit and makes geometrically perfect v threads in 3 sizes. what more could you want?

Anybody have any experience on hopping on the mountain after a heavy storm cell moves in? Assuming we get weather and good avy conditions, any of the steeper routes shed loose snow pretty quickly? would like to do reid or NF gulleys, but have never gotten on them during long dry periods, and would rather bring my skis than mess with steep, soft snow climbing.

I applaud your sense of ethics I knew some pervert would want to see evidence....I didn't have the mental capacity at the time to photo the scene of the crime, but here are the bolts that I, errr..chopped inadvertantly. http://cascadeclimbers.com/plab/showphoto.php?photo=73013&title=ripped-bolts-off-thielsen&cat=500