bwwakaranai

Haven't been to Illusion Wall yet this year but have been playing at a similar elevation and my guess would be that the wall is good to go but the approach would have some snow patches that would be pretty easy to navigate. Ice axe? Let us know if you check it out!

check yer pm's

Just wanted to mention that the guidebook is available again and now has color photos and a glossy cover. Thanks for recommending Village Books Chris! It's worked out great. You can find them at..Lake Erie Store (Anacortes), Alpine Institute (B-ham), Big Rock Cafe (Mount Vernon), and Vertical World (Everett). On a side note, Jeff at Alpine Institute brought it to my attention that Governor Lister Crag is actually in Skagit Co. and not Whatcom....doh! Shoulda woulda coulda. my dad's project skagitcrag.com is used as an extension of the guidebook and i'll try to get a Gov Lister page going. If anyone has pics and/or route descriptions of the Gov and are willin to contribute post them on the website or email me at wagesofskin@hotmail.com Thanks! -Brandon

Regardless of the quality falling way short of the aforementioned crags, Cumberland Crags is still my favorite... but I'm weird like that :0) Hard to label CBR and Squire Creek Wall as crags but whatever you'd call them I call them awesome. and of course consider Index, L-worth, and Darrington as the big 3. The beauty of Washington State....A lot of variety here

Nice work! and congrats on coming back strong from an injury

Well thanks Rob, I appreciate the comments. You're right about the pawn shop owners. He's a very generous and honest guy and I know he would do everything he could to avoid purchasing stolen goods. It's likely that somebody just hung up the ol' shoes so to speak. Hopefully by giving away the gear that I'm not using rather than selling it, my karma meter will remain +++

So my friend used to climb, recently got married and is now moving out of the area in 2 weeks. He called me today and said he had a present for me and handed me a bunch of gear which he acquired from his good friend who is a pawn shop owner. I said hell yes as it is quite a bit of gear and has been stagnant in his closet for a long time and it's not doing anybody any good just sitting there. As much as I'd love to just add it to my collection and call it mine I should at least attempt to return it to it's rightful owner. So I surfed through the last 5 years of lost and found reports on this site and checked every post that said lost or stolen gear and found zero matches. It could be that someone quit just like a couple of my friends have and pawned off their gear, there's no way of knowing, but if you were ripped off and you can describe what was taken from you in detail, PM me and if it matches I would very much enjoy handing this gear back to you. I've been ganked twice so I know how it feels. You really, really want to hurt someone...badly when it happens to you. This gear has a specific mark on it so it would be pretty easy to know if its yours. Anyways, I figured if I don't find any matches in a few months then it might as well be used and Ill of course keep a couple things for myself and the rest will go to friends who are just building their climbing arsenal. Does this seem reasonable????

Not very close to Seattle but worth a day trip, umbrella rock off lake cavanagh road has a handful of 12's and 11+ that are good and you'll likely have the crag to yourself. A couple of them still need their first redpoint too which may or may not be an added attraction. The established pitches top out around 12a since that's about where my limit is at the moment but there is an excellent 12c that need to be done by someone and a roof problem that we haven't been able to decipher on a top rope yet 5.13?

I'm sure the beLAY offers should start sliding in C.

anybody know how much it snowed on WA pass these last few days? how snowy would the approach to S. Early be?

cool! will do Chris thanks. -Brandon

They haven't had them barcoded yet (costs more $) and do not carry them at the bookstore. Maybe the new bouldering gym in b-ham would throw a couple copies on the shelf. Vertical World Everett was nice enough to place a few copies tomorrow. Is it already gym time!? Uhg

Hey thanks Jason! You may have to ask about the chalk balls since they forget to add them sometimes. They still have some though and they have more books now too. Don and Jerry are the nicest people and really like it when climbers stop by. If they are out at the Erie store, don't forget you can also purchace from Big Rock Cafe too, and their portabella burgers with sweet potato fries are yum. Sunshine please

after re-reading your post, it says chains connected to a stainless fixe RING anchor. That is sort of weird

hhmm, I guess I'd have to see them but isn't it somewhat standard to use non stainless (galvanized) screw gates and chains for anchors? Its pretty dry in Vantage so I'm guessing they'll last 20+ years. Sorry not defending the tactics of whomever put them in but just speaking from my own experience and having had used plenty of galvanized screw gates and chains for routes I put up I have to ask. At around 30+ dollars per anchor for all stainless steel hardware it seems like galvanized is a reasonable alternative, especially somewhere like Vantage, unless "coulee" is somewhere different.

Sweet! Way to take advantage of that good weather window.

Possibly the most spirited and enthusiastic person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. Listening to him talk about Darrington with such passion caused my blood to race with adrenaline. I think he thrived on watching others share his stoke, not only evident during his annual slide show parties but every single time he set foot to trail and stone. Always with a big smile and a great mustache :{) Darrington seemed to be his heaven on earth. His connection with that place was something spiritual and his energy will continue to thrive among the giant cedars and granite walls he introduced to so many of us. Thank you for being a friend, mentor, and kind hearted family man Chris. We will miss you dearly. Getting his Fiber Chris with Darryl K. early days of Excaliber

We did a couple days up there and I actually enjoyed the fact that we had no idea what we were climbing grade wise. You can bet that everything up there is well bolted and if you take a screw gate with you and can't make it through a crux you can bail easily. I seem to remember that the left side of the crag has a bunch of good 5.10's and easy 11's.

That's awesome. Even just one of those "just training routes" would be a life long goal for many and that's with a partner, gear and ropes! So congrats on an awesome link up and we are all looking forward to seeing what's next!

The Pro bound books are back and available at the two previously mentioned stores again. Thanks Village Books! -Brandon

Of course I've got a copy for you Chris. Or I should say I will soon. The machine is down at Village Books but should be fixed within the week. I think the 2 stores are out. BTW I was going through my box full of books and saw that I still have your castle rocks ID book I need to get back to you. Thanks for the + feedback!

How long have you been climbing now Marc?

Damn dude! Great to get an update on that guys progression. You've come a long way since inquiring about Dairyland. Keep us posted on your new adventures Marc and congrats on such an amazing feat.

Thanks! I forgot to mention that if you purchase from the Erie store you get a free chalk ball and some proceeds go toward the Kloke family foundation. Some copies now available at Big Rock Cafe in Mount Vernon.

Way to go fellas! Great TR of a spectacular area. Now that's an adventure!