Matt

On my last hike into Prusik some people asked me if the "clips" were already in place. They looked at me in horror when I said no.

With 4 people I would say go for two groups of two, each with a single rope and then join forces for the rapels (if needed). Maybe it's just me but the N. Ridge of Stuart with 4 people sounds like an epic waiting to happen. Double ropes are cool-- well worth it. They make rope teams of three much more manageable. I have climbed with three people using two semi fat ropes and got more of a pump pulling the ropes through the belay device than I did actually climbing. It is much easier to belay two people at the same time with skinny ropes. [ 08-06-2002, 10:17 AM: Message edited by: Matt ]

What do y'all think about having Pub Club at the Roanoke Tavern in Capitol Hill?

Thought I'd bring this back to the top for Mattp!

quote: Originally posted by mikeadam: Furthermore, in case you had forgotten the Soviets had achieved roughly military parity with the western world and it was surmised that they would and could easily roll over Western Europe in 14 days. Ground combat in Afghanistan using subterfuge was superior to mass death of Euro and US combat elements... Mike, You are dillusional if you think our foreign policy towards Afghanistan in the 80s and 90s was really that influential in winning the Cold War. We were never pro-Afghanistan, just anit-Soviet-- your typical knee jerk reactive instead of proactive foreign policy. You are also fooling yourself if you thought it was ever a possibilty that the Soviet Union would invade Europe. That was never a possiblity. Never. It was our pure economic might that toppled the Soviet Union. Captialism baby. Not military subterfuge. Yes, our military built up forced the Soviets to spend their limited resources on weapons too, weakening them further. I will probably regret getting into this mudslinging fest, but I've got to call bull shit on you. In Afghanistan today, just as it was in the 19th century when England and Russia first fought for power in Central Asia, the great game is afoot.

quote: Originally posted by MF206er: I love to take my dog out with me when I'm sport climbing. He's a Border Collie and he gets a little hyper and barks a lot, but he's never really a problem. Last weekend some climbers at Vantage complained that he was knocking rocks down and told me not to have a dog at the crags. I don't really think it was a problem and i plan to take him always. There were climbers at Vantage last weekend? Just a little friendly advice: don't ever publicly admit to climbing at Vantage except in the middle of winter under the most dire of circumstances. The coulee is an overrated choss pile, it's not the dog's fault that rocks were falling down. Rocks fall.

I would pull an Evil Knievel and jump across on my mountain bike! Chuck-- I take back the stuff about you being a little girl. At least you hate cats!!!

You call yourself a climber Chuck? You sound like a little girl. I bet you like cats too! The road is in the FOREST. Walk into the FOREST uphill from your little girl grand canyon and go around.

I bet they won't be checking Forest Park Passes. Go with a mountain bike and enjoy some solitude!

quote: Originally posted by Off White: The real question is how many Rope Gun Hookers are out there besides Erik and Icegirl. That appears to be a lovingly applied monniker rather than mere numbers tomfoolery. Erik is a rope gun pimp daddy. But seriously, he has probably climbed with more people whom he met on the web than anyone else. I liken meeting climbing partners on cc.com to online dating-- kind of a crap shoot, eh? I would love to see a thread on "the nighmares of cc.com partnerships" similar to the RikRik vs Kainscad thread. There must be some bad ones out there. Why am I a chronic gumby?

Saturday night I left a perfectly good party with a keg of Mirror Pond and old friends I hadn't seen in years to go climb Eldorado. Drove there Saturday night, got on the trail by 5:30 am and hiked until the rain and wind turned us around. I love the North Cascades! The only thing that made me feel better was the fact that I kept running into people who had it worse off then me. met two guys who left the parking lot at 1:30 am only to turn around. They looked really wet and cold when we saw them. Also ran into another cc.comer who go stuck in the boulder field on the approach in the dark and decided to find a place to bivy. In the middle of the night he woke up to RATS all over his gear! Did battle with rats all night. (Note to self-- never bivy in the boulder field on approach to Eldo).

Just my opinion, I may be right or wrong, but... 1st, buy a set of hexes. With a set of stoppers and a set of hexes you can climb almost any alpine route. 2nd, get four el cheapo cams: .5, .75, 1, 2 (matching BD sizes) 3rd, climb your brains out and if you still love it you will find the money for a set of Black Diamond Camalots. 4th, do what you can to scrounge for booty. You'd be surprised how much free gear is out there. Good luck.

Lemon Eucalyptus works well, although I found myself appyling it hourly when the mosquitoes were really bad. It actually smells good, does not burn your skin or melt your goretex!

There are sport climbs at Index?

This is what I love about cc.com-- start spraying about a route and the guide book author pipes up! Darryl-- I found the variation to be more awkward than the original route. The bolt is in a wierd place-- I was close to doing a factor 2 fall on the anchors trying to clip it. After a very short factor 1 fall I decided to give the roof a try-- it was easier than it looked. I'm sure there are plenty of climbers better than me who can do the variation barefoot in the rain wearing a swami belt. All in all, the route was full value every pitch!! Another example of what pin scars can do for free climbing! [ 07-22-2002, 04:51 PM: Message edited by: Matt ]

So what's up with the alternate start on the third pitch of Davis-Holland-- which by the way is my new found favorite climb at Index. I tried the suposed 5.10a alternate face moves protected by the bolt and found it to be very funky. Eventually I retreated to the original route, up the roof/crack to the right of the belay. Maybe I just haven't been doing enough face climbing lately so I feel more safe and secure when my hand is wedged in a crack. I thought the crack was easier. What do youse think?

quote: Originally posted by salbrecher: Use a prussik knot and coil the rope in your backpack so it comes out evenly as you climb. You can even fall upside down This is explained in more detail in Royal Robins' "Advanced Rockcraft," 1973. it is called the Barnett System, after Steve Barnett. How the system works: The anchored rope runs through a pulley attached to the climber's chest loop, down through a "Penberthy style ascender knot." This knot is part of a loop of rope which passes through the swami belt or other harness to be tied with a ring bend or grapevine knot. As the climber moved upward, the knot is raised by the rope and compressed against the pulley, allowing the rope to slide through the knot. If a fall occurs, the pulley is no longer held down by the pull on the rope, and no compression occurs on the knot, allowing it to do its job of gripping the rope and stopping the fall. The only apparent disadvantage in theis system is, as Carson says, "the amount of slack in the ascender knot is critical. Too little slack results in excessive friction through the system. More serious is too much slack. The knot may not catch in a fall. See B. Carson, "A New Solo Climbing System," Summit, April 1973. Any old school guys ever try out the Barnett System?

If you don't find someone soon go solo the tooth!! It's fun and easy! Bring an ice axe and a pair of climbing shoes-- that's all the climbing gear you need!! Less than 4 hours I promise!!!

No. I saw that shoe and left it.

I found a pair of shoes at Index. Descibe them to me and they're yours.

Index rocked my dome today. It was a beautiful afternoon to be cragging!

quote: Originally posted by MtnHigh: It is unfortunate for the environmentalists that a conservative administration is in the White House and both US congressional bodies are Republican controlled. Have you ever heard of a Senator from Vermont by the name of Jim Jeffords? The Republicans do not control the Senate.

Pope: I have heard you say you don't do sport climbs. I was wondering if you tried the Urban Bypass variation to Dreamer? Some might call it a sport climb-- it is all bolts and they are placed very close together. What did you think?

Gary: You mean top out at 4 PM, right?