Matt

Is there anyone out there who has climbed 23rd Psalm on Blueberry Hill (Exfoliation Dome)? I know this is thread drift, but I would really like to find someone who has climbed it within the last 10 years. Maybe ChucK? Or ScottP? Any old skool Darrington climbers out there? I've already given Mattp and DaveW the shakedown.

Chris-- wish I could say I'll be there until Labor Day, but no, I'll be back home before you get there. Have fun!!

Sounds brutal Lambone. I have done that descent in the dark while sharing a headlamp with my partner. He was hurting because a) it was his headlamp that went kapoot and b) he was wearing tevas and kept stubbing his toes in that mean old boulderfield. The first time I hiked down the infamous North Dome Gulley it was dark and MY headlamp went kapoot. Equally brutal.

TimL!! I will see you and Chris in Camp 4! We can have our own cc.com Pub Club in Yosemite!

At the last minute I shelled out for a plane ticket to Yosemite and I'm leaving tomorrow. Big plans on the big stone. I'm tired of reading bs about Pope's pearly back door, Lambone's dim bulb and what spray.comer would dominate the battle cage (if you want my honest opinion, Mike Adamson would rock everyone's world-- the dude is build like a tank). So please stop your nonsense spray fest and tell me your favorite story about Yosemite. Brother Dwayner? Pope? Dru? The effortlessly cool Mattp? What's your favorite valley climb? What's the ugliest back off you've done? Ever see ice on Half Dome? Do you know how to apologize in Japanese after you realized you've taken a shit on someone's bivy ledge? Has your rastafarian bivy kit ever run out half way up Zodiac and you just couldn't go on any further? Please, share.

When you say the BIG STONE you mean that big rock at Vantage, right?

Check this link out: http://people.whitman.edu/~pogue/climbing.html Spring Mountain is pretty cool.

Mattp, Why is it that whenever I tell you about a big dream climb I want to do you tell me you did it back in the seventies?

Okay, I admit it. Squamish sucks. I'd rather go climbing at Fossil Rock.

quote: Originally posted by mattp: In my opinion, May is THE time to be there. Yes, the weather is not as stable as later in the year, but it sure is beautiful to have the waterfalls in full force and flowers blooming in the valley, and the days are much longer than the nights. Having said that, I did get snowed off Halfdome Direct a number of years ago... Have fun and say hello to Mike Shaeffer.

On days like today when the weather is so nice I think we should seriously consider having pub club in the Index parking lot or some other climbing area. BYOB and the first people there get to set up the TRs on all Godzilla and all those LTW classics. Seriously.

Give 'em hell Matt! Resist much, obey little!!!

I can't believe you would put Squamish and Vantage next to each other-- I mean, there is no comparison, right? I would rather climb wet slabs at Squamish than climb in the sun at the Coulee. I'm not trying to give you any flack, I'm just saying go North young man! Squamish rules. Wish I could help you Greg.

I am driving from Seattle to Yosemite on May 8th and would like to share the costs of driving with someone. I can easily swing by Portland or Smith Rocks to pick you up. Send me a PM if you're interested. Matt Heller

quote: Originally posted by willstrickland: My choices for rock: 1. Carhardtt double knee (logger) pants...$40 They stand up to J-tree rock and keep on keepin on 2. Dickies...usually the light grey color.$16. Cotton poly blend, they have some stretch and cut slim not baggy, and they're tough. I cut 'em off about mid calf so they'll just cover the knees when chimneying. 3. Std military BDU pants cut off mid-calf. These are too expensive now though...$30. I agree with you about wearing Carharts and Dickies. I like old blue jeans too. You wear clam diggers Will. What's with that?

I climbed at the Pearly Gates on April 6. There was snow on the ground at the cliff. The approach is easy, but there isn'y always a nice trail. The soil is fragile. I wonder if the hill side might be better preserved if a trail was made. It seems there is enough interest in climbing at this crag that maybe some would be willing to pitch in and make a trail. WTA? Mountaineers? Access Fund? I found there to be nice hand cracks at moderate grades. The best climb there is a 5.9 crack. It is easy to find because of the big dripping overhang at the start. There is a large branch stretched from the ground to the tip of the overhang to help keep the water flow away from the rock-- it's a primative rain gutter. The climb with the pile of rocks at the base of is 5.really hard. The overhanging hand crack next to it is 5.8 and much easier than it looks. It is beautiful granite burned clean of moss from the fires. Some of the cracks that drain water are still growing. For a few of the cracks I wished I'd had brillo pads taped to the backs of my hands. My feeling is the more people climb it the better it will be. I found the pro very sound everywhere. Several bolted belays with chains. Some bolted climbs. Have fun.

quote: Originally posted by wayne1112: hey TimL was just talking aboot slabs when we saw you In Cananda. My epeltives are that slabs require too much nerve,trust,and patience to be popular with peops that want everything now! Hi Wayne, Funny, I was actually sitting next to TimL at the bar. Sunday my partner and I climbed the ultra classic Dierdre. I opted to try Straight Up, the alternate start that by passes the second pitch. 100 percent slab. I highly recommend it. Slabs are cool.

quote: Originally posted by chucK: quote:Originally posted by allison: oh, come ON ChucK, you really think a group of 90 is the same as your examples? Don't make me stick that electric cattle prod in your ear again, or you won't have ANY brain cells left, let alone your poor tastebuds. I liked that cattle-prod thingy. It seemed to organize my thoughts, make my life so much more clear. Do you support the quotas on Mt. Rainier, Boston Basin, the Enchantments or not? I support quotas in those areas. I hiked in the Upper Enchantments last June and it felt like my partner and I were the only ones there. I think it's worth it for that. [ 04-18-2002, 01:04 PM: Message edited by: Matt ]

quote: Originally posted by Dwayner: No personal offense to Everett Mountie Chris W., who despite his affiliation to this dubious outfit, is nonetheless a righteous, alpine brother. Aloha, my friend, and thanks for the "warning". I meant to say this too.

quote: Originally posted by SEF: Blaming the crowds on the Mountaineers or any other group is symptomatic of the frustration that the crags are getting increasingly crowded. The trouble is, even if the Mountaineers went away, the crowding would still occur. Face it; the sport is growing much faster than the Mountaineers. Ever been to Vertical World on a winter weekday evening? Sunshine wall on March weekends? Then you've seen the crowds. Our sport has a vacuum between the number of people who desire to climb and avenues available for them to learn how. As predictable as the laws of physics, something will fill that vacuum. We share your concern about large party sizes on climbs. Our normal party size limit on our Basic Rock Climbs is 6, not the 10-12 mentioned on this board. Glacier climbs can have up to 12, but will be less in certain circumstances. Our typical party on an Intermediate Rock climb is 4. Note that on the Tooth and a few other popular climbs, on any summer weekend, you will likely find a crowd even if no Mountaineer party shows up. A common reaction I have witnessed is to label most any large climbing party as Mountaineers. We get the "credit", whether deserved or not. We limit the size of our courses, often to the consternation of some who do not get in. At the close of registration we usually have to turn away several dozens of applicants. 10 to 20 years ago we did not turn away so many folks and the courses were even larger. We also do our best to offer each Basic Student an experienced mentor to meet and work with them through the course. The mentor may also take them on climbs. Through such mentoring we try to give the course a personal feel. Steve Firebaugh Seattle Climbing Committee Chair The Mountaineers The above quote is taken from the "Mountaineers" thread. Steve, I think you need to re-do your numbers. As I see it 30 instructors and 60 students at 6 crags is 6 groups of 15. This is more than twice your "normal party size limit on our Basic Rock Climbs." [ 04-18-2002, 06:22 PM: Message edited by: Matt ]

quote: Originally posted by SEF: Blaming the crowds on the Mountaineers or any other group is symptomatic of the frustration that the crags are getting increasingly crowded. The trouble is, even if the Mountaineers went away, the crowding would still occur. Face it; the sport is growing much faster than the Mountaineers. Ever been to Vertical World on a winter weekday evening? Sunshine wall on March weekends? Then you've seen the crowds. Our sport has a vacuum between the number of people who desire to climb and avenues available for them to learn how. As predictable as the laws of physics, something will fill that vacuum. We share your concern about large party sizes on climbs. Our normal party size limit on our Basic Rock Climbs is 6, not the 10-12 mentioned on this board. Glacier climbs can have up to 12, but will be less in certain circumstances. Our typical party on an Intermediate Rock climb is 4. Note that on the Tooth and a few other popular climbs, on any summer weekend, you will likely find a crowd even if no Mountaineer party shows up. A common reaction I have witnessed is to label most any large climbing party as Mountaineers. We get the "credit", whether deserved or not. We limit the size of our courses, often to the consternation of some who do not get in. At the close of registration we usually have to turn away several dozens of applicants. 10 to 20 years ago we did not turn away so many folks and the courses were even larger. We also do our best to offer each Basic Student an experienced mentor to meet and work with them through the course. The mentor may also take them on climbs. Through such mentoring we try to give the course a personal feel. Steve Firebaugh Seattle Climbing Committee Chair The Mountaineers Do you consider 90 climbers a crowd?

I noticed in another thread that 90 mountaineers will be descending upon the Icicle on 4/20 so if you have to go to Leavenworth I suggest climbing the Rabbit Ears and/or the Cobra as a fun day away from the crowds. I started writing down beta and then I thought it might ruin your experience so I won't tell you where to go. There are many ways up, some have rotten friable rock and other ways have some bomber stuff. We did some simlu-climbing, then 3 pitches up to 5.8, then a running belay along the ridge. Two weeks ago we were able to glissade off the top in snow fields hidden in the western gulley (climber's left). I believe this is not the best way down, rather skirt underneath the Cobra and follow ramps down. It was a fun day. It can be cold and windy up there, bring a hat and gloves. I took a pretty sizable whipper up there when I yarded on a rotten flake. Bring a helmet. If you want more info send me a PM, otherwise, try and remember climbing is about adventure and sometimes you don't need to know what's around every corner. Surprise yourself. Have a safe 4/20. [ 04-18-2002, 10:22 AM: Message edited by: Matt ]

I think you'd find it a lot more enjoyable now. BTW that's a nice picture.

Brother Dwayner is so cool, when women see him they get the uncontrolable urge to take their clothes off. What is your trick Brother? Give us the beta!!!

Closer to home, the 4th pitch of Dreamer (before retrobolting) was scintillating. Your not complaining are you? Last night a few people discussed this pitch over beers and all agreed it's a better climb since the retrobolt job. Anyone disagree?