DPS

I have invested considerable time researching the function of climbing helmets. Helmets work in the following fashion: By wearing a helmet a shield of good mojo is generated which envelopes the wearer protecting him/her from falling objects. It acts like a talisman. As a dedicated researcher, I have tested this phenomenon by occasionally not wearing a helmet. Nearly every instance was accompanied by some type of cranial impact. This effect can be compared to wearing clean underwear (in case you are hit by a car and end up in the hospital). If you wear clean underwear, your chances of being hit by a car are very low, statistically speaking. I wear clean underwear every day and have yet to be hit by a car while crossing the street. (See, your mum was right.)

A couple of days ago I heard on the news that Halfa Zantop and his wife, both professors at Dartmouth, were murdered in their home. Halfa Zantop was a climber and good friend of Alex Bertulis. (Jim Nelson published a photo of him on the Lava Glacier headwall in his second book.) I thought you all would want to know about the tragic loss of one of our own.

This is slighty off-post but I resent Rodchester telling me to 'have a nice day'. I'll have whatever kind of day I damn well feel like.

AJ, Carlos owns a Yates picket, you may want to give him an email. I have found 24 inch MSRs to be enough picket for the Cascades. For soft, uniform snow I find flukes to have superior holding power, though.

Dearest Matt, I'll assume your questions are not rhetorical and will answer your questions with more questions: 1) Why does anyone climb? 2) Does chipping at a crag you will never visit affect your climbing experience? Does garbage on the South Col of Everest affect you if you never go there? Can a male have an opinion on abortion?

This past weekend I failed on an attempt of a spectacular, rarely climbed, enormous north face. There were several reasons for our failure, underestimating the difficulty and time involved to do the route and my becoming ill were major factors. The intense emotions produced from being extended on a climb have caused me to become introspective. I wondered why such an obvious and easily accessible route never gets climbed. My thoughts were fueled by reports of folks virtually running laps on Drury Falls, the heated discussion over ice climbing ethics at overcrowded ice crags and my experience of a couple of weeks ago when a dozen climbers ignored the fabulously 'in' NE Buttress of Chair, even when their objective North Face route proved to be not in. I am disturbed by the sport climbing mentality that now seems to pervade ice climbing. The mentality that causes folks to follow only shiny lines of bolts on rock also seems to lead ice climbers only to routes popularized by the select guides and web pages. Where is the imagination and sense of adventure that used to run through the ice climbing community? Climbers used to scout out first ascents and rarely climbed gems. The inherent laziness of sport climbing has seeped into ice climbing, I believe, because the same sort of person has now taken up ice climbing. Once, sport climbing was in the spotlight and folks rushed to take up the hip, new activity. No long apprenticeship necessary there, just grab a rope some draws and rack up the big numbers. Now its all about ice and only a substantial monetary investment is required before you too can have the latest ice tools and crampons and virtually self placing ice pro and then are ready for frozen glory. There is no question the latest gear has made ice climbing easier and safer. Just remember the vast majority of you couldn't lead Nemesis, a route first climbed with dropped picks and flexible crampons. Take a page from the book of Dave Moroles. You have just bought space age tools, why are you all doing the same tired routes that were test pieces 15 years ago? Go put those things to good use and put up new routes for the new generation. I know where there is some huge unclimbed ice. Got balls? [This message has been edited by danielpatricksmith (edited 02-01-2001).]

Mr Goodtime; I honestly can't really put my finger on what I might have said that pissed everyone off so much. Perhaps it was that I gently suggested that folks might get more enjoyment from climbing by taking a more exploratory approach to climbing in the Cascades. =) BTW, 'Sport Climbing for the New Millenium' is a registered tradmark of Elitist Bastard, LLC, all rights reserved.

Wow, some response! I think I pissed everyone off with this one. I think many of you grossly misunderstood the meaning behind the post, and that is the lack of exploratory/adventurous climbing being done in the Cascades. I withdraw my remarks

Phil, Good stuff! Nice to see folks getting off the beaten path! Dan

Two weekends ago the North Face was not in, but the NE Buttress was in fine nick.

Erik, Hey, it would be a short drive for me so I'm in. I know some folks with excellent slides..Alex? Dan

I do indeed remember reading about that. I did it a much easier way, starting up the West Ridge of Stuart.

Erik, Good topic for a thread! Here is my two cents worth. Early on I climbed mountains that I had seen and wondered what the view would be like from the top. Mt Baker, the Twin Sisters and Mt Rainier were my first 'projects'. Then I started climbing the classic routes, the ones everyone said you must do like Liberty Ridge or North Ridge or Stuart. Jim Nelson's guide became my grand wish list. These days I often choose routes that I have seen while out and about, visually appealing routes that look like they might offer good climbing. I must have developed a good eye for it, because Jim Nelson included a number of those routes in his new guide book. (If I had known Watusi Rodeo hadn't had a second ascent I would have tried a bit harder on my attempt in 1995) I also get ideas from other sources; Peter Croft's solo traverses in the Sierras inspired me to attempt a solo traverse of the Stuart Range (aborted due to lack of water-3 liters wasn't enough =( Dan

Are you a candidate for the RK procedure? That may well be a good choice if you are myopic.

Chris, In response to your question "Since when does Leading take have precidence over TopRoping?" Since always. If you don't like it, don't climb.

Lowell's point is a good one. Web based data bases are cheap and convenient but are emphemeral. Hard copy is the ideal medium for archiving information. The decision of the AAJ to not publish shorter routes creates a void. On a similar vein, Fred Beckey is getting on in years. Who will pick up the torch when he 'retires'?

While I appreciate everyone's responses, I don't think anyone understood my question. I know how to suffer and be creative and aid through tough sections etc. I get out alpine climbing enough to realize what it is all about. My question was theoretical and, I thought, was rather simple. Perhaps I was not being clear. So here it is again: Will training cardiovascular endurance (ie long slow distance) inhibit gains made by training for power (lifting weights)?

Hold on there, let me get this straight. Were you toproping? As far as I know the 'lead, follow or get out of the way' rule trumps all. Perhaps the party of two were pissed off that a party of four was bogarting the route and hacking it to pieces, destroying the route for real climbers (read: those with the ability to lead. I don't necessarily believe this, just thought I would play devil's advocate. Many ice climbers that have been around the block for a while are a little angry that ice climbing has exploded in popularity. The climbs that they had to themselves just a year or two ago are swarming with all kinds of climbers with brand new, fancy gear. Kinda like rock climbing a few years ago. That said, a simple "mind if we climb through?" would have been thoughtful. [This message has been edited by danielpatricksmith (edited 01-23-2001).]

Marmot Mtn Works in Bellevue sells Black Diamond VBLs. I have used mine for 4-5 years and the coating is just now beginning to show wear. I wear them whenever I wear plastics to keep the foam bootie from being soaked with sweat.

Jim Nelson and Peter Potterfield have written two guides to the Cascades; Selected Climbs in the Cascades and Selected Climbs in the Cascades Volume II. They are published by the Mountaineers and are available through almost all mountain shops in the area or from REI. These guides feature climbs for all ability levels in both alpine and crag environments. The topos and route descriptions are the best available. I would highly recommend these guides to the visiting climber, you really can't go wrong with any of featured routes. Your other option is the three volume 'Becky' guide which offers a comprehensive list of most routes in the range.

Colin, Nice work! Who did you do the route with? The pitons and the 'biner we already there, we just rearranged them. Did you find the slung icicle in the belay cave on the descent? If we left other gear behind, we certainly did not mean to. I'm not sure if the route will be crowded. We talked with several parties who came to do the North Face, but did not feel up to climbing the NE Buttress, including a party with a successful ascent of Denali under their belt. Go figure. Dan

Here's mine, Making a date to run up Mt Si. You get a chance to chat with your date and get to know them, and get some exercise at the same time. Plus it is cheaper than a movie.

No, the North Face is not in. A dozen climbers marched up to the face, only to turn around and march back home. Had these climbers come with an open mind, they would have seen that the NE Buttress was in rare form. The lack of snowfall that made for poor conditions on the N. Face actually made for better conditions on the Buttress. Most years snow buries the route but now the pitches are live water ice and exposed rock making for fantastic conditions! The rock on the NE Buttress is much better than that on the N Face. We found excellent rock anchors with pins and cams. Belays were generally sound. Nick lead the fist pitch in the intial, 'S' shaped gully on excellent ice for a full 60 meters. The next pitch follwed the broad ridge crest on snow for 75 meters to the base of a gendarme. Seeing as how it wasn't a 'real' pitch, Nick kindly allowed me to lead the third one. I traversed across the top of the East face, heading toward the obvious vertical waterfall step. The crux of the climb was crossing a minor rock rib with actual mixed climbing; picks cammed in a crack and crampons scratching on rock. Pulling over the vertical waterfall on excellent ice with spin drift avalaches pouring over my head was quite literally the best. At 60 meters I established a belay and Nick joined me. The mixed monkey business could probably be avoided by leaving the ridge crest lower and linking snow and ice to the water fall. We unroped for the last 100 or so meters to the top then down climbed to the rappel. The usual rappel anchors currently sit out of reach 15' above the col. A marginal 2 piton anchor had been established lower down. While we were pulling on the frozen slings to equalize them, the 'good' pin popped out. We spent some time restablishing and properly equalizing a reasonable anchor. Our car to car time was about seven and a half hours. A friend has called this the best route he has done in the mountains. If it had been longer I might have agreed. While this route is more technical, it is also far more interesting, more protectable and safer than the North Face. Come and get it! A fun, less commiting alternative would be to climb the descent gully. Light snowpack has made for good climbing with an 85 degree water ice step. Fixed pins and slung horns make for easy protection and the coolest belay cave ever graces the route. I may take off work early and solo it this week. Our rack: 1 60 meter rope 4 assorted KBs/Bugaboos 2 angles size #1 and #2 4 Camalots size .5-2 6 ice screws, shorty was usefull Nearly every piece was used at least once. Dan [This message has been edited by danielpatricksmith (edited 01-16-2001).] [This message has been edited by danielpatricksmith (edited 01-16-2001).]

Snowleopard, I briefly considered the Rages, but I am really looking for an alpine tool that I can do a few waterfalls with. I have decided to buy from Barrabes, in spain. I know two fellows who have mail ordered from there with good results. The Shrikes are $109. Cash is tight right now, so I am looking to save money where I can. From what I can tell, the superiority of the BP over the Shrike for alpine climbing is debatable. Dan

Thanks to everyone for your considered opinions. I have decided on Black Diamonds due to the ease of changing out the picks and the superior pick design. Now, my next question: are the old Black Prophets that superior to the Shrikes? I have climbed on the Black Prophets and liked them quite a bit. I have only swung the Shrikes in the store, but was very impressed by their balance and feel. Plus I can buy Shrikes for $109.00, and BP for 166.00. I am on a tight budget as I am trying to fund a trip back to the Alaska Range this spring. (My dad no longer works for Alaska Airlines, so there goes the cheap airfare.)