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Unknown climber on Puppy Dome, Tuolumne Meadows, June 19, 2012.

Replace with aluminum, or titanium if you can find one.

Brand new, never used, $60 pick up in PDX, $70 shipped CONUS, Paypal or cash.

The only thing worse is bushwacking through thick WET brush.

I agree. Best to go when it's all filled with firm snow. Take an axe for self arrest and crampons for when the snow is hard in the morning. I've seen large slabs of old snow and ice release from heated up rock slab high up on the Cascadian and come crashing down the couloir on a July afternoon. Just best to be all the way down by early afternoon.

Brand new, never used, $60 pick up in PDX, $70 shipped CONUS, Paypal or cash.

It has been cold and windy all week and the upper portions of Hood have probably received 2' of snow the last few days. This means lots of wind slabs will have formed. Predictions show continued snow Friday and Saturday with winds 45 to 50 mph during a warming trend. avalanche?

Gnarly trip! You rapped on 5mm cord with a bugette? Wow! I don't even like 8mm with a bugette and prefer a monster munter instead. How did you manage that?

For less money and three more ounces (12 vs. 9) the BD Raven Ultra is far more comfy on the hand.

I have the CG 45L worksack and like it very much. It is a great climbing pack for three days and 45L. It compresses down and is snug and stable when carrying loads that are not much over 45L. Based on your first post it fits the ticket very well. However, while it does expand to carry 75L, it is not a great pack for carrying a load that size comfortably for long periods of time. In other words, it is not great for doing double duty as a general backpack. It expands to be one tall narrow tube and you have to snug down the shoulder straps to keep it from swinging around. It does not contour and form somewhat to your body like packs designed strictly for backpacking. I'm 145# and just did a six-day trip carrying 50#. It was not very comfortable - had to tighten shoulder straps to make it stable and the straps cut into my collarbone. Hip belt was fine. I'm in Sherwood and if you want to try mine out you are welcome to use it for a couple days.

Just build cairns that guide folks away from loose blocks.

Wow. The first paper (immediately above)appears to imply that knots make good energy absorbers. It doesn't discuss whether this is just the first time they're tightened in a fall, or if the effect continues after an initial stretching event. So, if one is forced to rely on questionable pro and has no screamers handy, should one throw a few knots in the rope to act as energy absorbers? I'm not expecting a definitive answer, just makes fun food for thought.

http://www.clubandino.org/

I'm happy with the REI Minimalist. Breaths well, keeps my bag dry and clean and mesh around the face lets air in and keeps bugs out. The benefits to me are worth the weight - a litle under one pound. Also costs less than half most other models. Like Matt says, if rain is forecast I bring a 3# tent.

What are those two-holed thingies under the brake bar? Would you consider selling a single warthog and, if so, how much? Where are you located?

I have the same issues. Tape helps, but I'm surprised how painful this can be. Fingers are fine, but fists are unbearable. It's not pain from scraping on the rock, it's pain from pressure on the bones on the back of my hands. Feet are worse - often impossible to put my weight on them after jamming. Help!

As the crow flies, just a few miles. Columbia is immediately NW of Buena Vista. Yes. It's commonly done in one long day.

Next time you go down to see your folks, you should consider doing the Rabbit Ears traverse between Harvard and Columbia. It’s much more Ivanesque than the slog up Princeton, though nowhere near as grand as the Diamond. You can stay at the base of the ridge and it’s an easy scramble, or you can stay near the top and spice things up. I’ve never gone across the top because I was always solo and too scared to travel “sans cord”, as you put it. Speaking of sans-cord, I've read that Steph Davis has done the Diamond several times in that fashion.

sleep never sounded so good...

I'm also relatively new to the rock scene and have also had some confusion on this. It is obvious when sport climbing with short stiff draws, but when trad climbing with long alpine draws that are flopping around and even swinging in the wind, it appears almost impossible to determine when you are backclipped as the rope flopping around can change the orientation. My take on this has been that it is less important in this instance. See below. Is this back-clipped? Comments?

You might want to head up to Tuolumne Meadows instead of climbing down in the valley. There is no "big wall" climbing there that I am aware of, but there are tons of moderate routes you can do without aid. It is almost entirely trad, the rock can't get any better, it's 15 degrees cooler than the valley, it's not a circus like the valley, and you can roll into the campground in the morning and find a spot without a reservation. If you should decide to do this, pick up a copy of the Supertopo book, Tuolumne Free Climbs. Also, drive up 395 to Lee Vinning instead of entering Yosemite from the west.

Poison oak in the Columbia River Gorge...

I doubt anyone knows the exact length, but two 60m ropes is ample if you want to rap all the way down to the ground. See my comments... http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1073568/Re_Where_are_the_easy_trad_lea#Post1073568

Altimeter and map folks... RTM trail crosses Morrison Creek at 6240 so if you drop below that you've missed it.

That OW crack under a bulge at the top is rated 5.8 I think and is harder than any 5.8 I've encountered.