maurop

way to get it done, and remain fully intact! Sounds like a bit of a suffer fest, especially with shoulder-deep snow. I'm also curious if bailing was considered, especially with the deep snow/avy risk/slow progress. If I foresee snow that's more than knee deep I usually bail for a variety of reasons, but then I'm a whimp.

Which is why time and time again I always hear people suggest to ignore the grades for the most part. It's not an exact science, and it can never be with the large variety of body types, climbing styles, and different routes.

Ya, I agree that squamish has some soft grades, which stems from, in my opinion, grading individual cruxes. It also has some solid test pieces that are good examples of what a grade should be. So far, I've found most "Top 100" routes from Bourdon's guide to be graded accurately.

I like the british system too, but I still think the YDS is perfectly applicable to alpine routes. It's rating the technical difficulty, not necessarily the quality of the rock, protection opportunities, etc. The French alpine grades might make up for this shortfall in the alpine grades though?

Based on the OP, I would argue that grades should be assigned for the onsight. This can be fairly nuanced. I tend to agree with this statement. I've climbed 10b's where the crux move is 10b, and the rest is 5.7 climbing, and so in my opinion wasn't worthy of the rating. A 5.9 next to it feels much harder, given the sustained nature of the route. Generally, I've found so far that routes graded for how sustained they are tend to be more consistent area to area. A sustained 5.9 at Smoke Bluffs feels like a sustained 5.9 in Red Rocks. There's a lot of subjectivity to the YDS, but no grading system is perfect. In my opinion, routes should be graded for overall difficulty, not individual moves.

Wildcat (5.8, 2 pitches) was pretty good on the slabs, the lower route was generally dirtier than the upper portion. The routes I scoped out around sleeping princess were pretty clean, as was the sweet corner route, Great Expectations. Based on what I saw, great area, it could use a bit of traffic/love. Great setting, has a european feel to it (cows, grass fields, etc).

Thanks guys! It's much appreciated.

Sounds somewhat right. I think I read on another forum that the first ascent was with some sawn-off pipe for pro. The 2nd ascent was a free solo.These old school guys had massive balls

That depends on the size of your balls. Hahaha Alas, they're not big enough to free solo the route! Are they big enough to be willing to take a whipper though......? tbd

Hi everyone, just curious if Pipeline (10d) in Squamish can be done using only cams, like the 5 or 6 camalot. What would the runout be like from the last spot where a #6 would work to where you could pop another 6 or 5 in? Thanks!

set a couple hooks for the anchor, start aiding. Now you're aiding A6!!

You've had a solid season! The corkscrew in patagonia and the NEB, both in awesome style. Fantastic.

Thanks guys! I thought it would have been a bit like smoke bluffs, I'll just have to take a look next time I'm out there.

can anyone give me an idea of how long this crag area takes to dry out after a storm? Or if there are any areas/bouldering spots that would be protected? Also, I've heard of a print guidebook that's in existence; if anyone can offer leads on where to find it, that would be awesome. I know there's also the online sources like Mtn Project, and others. Thanks!

Hi all, looking for a partner for a quick multi-pitch outing on the apron. I'll be in squamish at 4pm if someone wants to meet me there. I can lead up to 10c on most stuff (not always cleanly though). Please PM me if you're interested.

The N Face couloir looks interesting. Great picture!

Nice one, and good read! I second this.

My thoughts: you could have eaten 10,000 calories and drunk 2 gallons of water - soft snow and lots of pro make you go slow. I've also learned the hard way. There's a reason why a lot of speed ascents are done without ropes/gear (not that they all are).

http://gripped.com/profiles/marc-andre-leclerc-solos-ne-buttress-of-slesse-in-winter/ Lots of stoke going around

Sounds like a fun day out! The logistics of the approach in summer to Albert seem crazy. Winter would be one wild adventure - sign me up.

Thanks for the photos! Definitely looks like it has the similar character as Robie Reid. Baby steps - I'll stick to completing that one first before I get into an epic in more remote terrain.

Well. That sucks. I would have thought given some other high quality granite close by that it would have been similar. Did he mention how bad it was? Gravel?

Anyone have any photos and/or climbing history on Mount Albert's SW and North faces? Given the area I imagine the rock is good quality. If anyone knows anything of the climbing difficulty, that would be great! I imagine access might be heinous.

Cheers, I'll keep that in mind when I'm looking for a pulley. I'll have to give the cable walk a try next time!

Looking for a partner willing to engage in a 24 hour suffer fest up the East Ridge on Alpha via Lake Lovely Water on sunday, Feb 15. Conditions look like they'll be decent, but could still fall apart by sunday. PM me if interested.