Alex

Erik, Forest Service is Dept of Agriculture, while NPS is Dept of Interior. I have worked for both in the past, too. Unless you've been on that side of the fence, shut up.

We went over Cache Col 4th of July weekend. It was very casual. Good luck! Alex

Hey, its the consumers down here to blame for that. CDN also exports Spirit of the West and Bare Nekkid Ladies, both

I'm sure everyone would agree that even within an area, theres huge variation. But still, Stiff: Yosemite, CA Tahquitz, CA Seneca, WV Most routes at the Gunks until you get used to the pro Upstate NY (Spiders Web, Beer Walls) Veduawoo, WY Index, WA Joshua Tree, CA Leavenworth, WA (old stuff) routes at the New River Gorge Whitesites & LookingGlass About right: some routes at Squamish, BC Snow Creek Wall, WA Cathedral Ledge and Whitehorse. Rose Crack == textbook definition of 5.9 non-death-fest Eldorado Canyon routes Leavenworth, WA (New Stuff) Smith Rock, OR Exit 32, WA (Little Si) Soft: many routes at Squamish, BC Skaha, BC (very!!) Vantage, WA Exit 38, WA Red Rocks, NV

I just find it funny that all of us have been to Squish, and still choose to go to Index, while Drul has never climbed at Index (I still find hard ta blieve) and spews hearsay about shit he don't know. Kinda makes you wonder.... I'll double ChucKs offer and we'll make it a 12 pack of your choice for Saggitarius. I mean shit, its only like 10a!

I had to yard on the sling to get my body turned around so I could get to the face moves and exit..

how else would you finish BBB? just did that a few weeks ago and didn't see any other way to go. (pretty cool climb, bottom is strenuous for the grade but the traverse and roof finish are neat) No the original finish to BBB is to take a left about 50 feet up, and climb up a grassy gardening crack to a tree anchor. The topo (Cummings and also Sky Valley Rock) say "bring nut tool!" At first I thought it was because the crack took nuts so well, people have had trouble cleaning them or something. No, its because you have to garden out your placements. So I skipped that sheit, and just ran it out to the top. Thats why I thought the route was stupid, because its over in the first 15 feet if you climb it like I did. I looked at the roof continuation, but one topo said "no pro" or some such so was a little loathe to go onsight it. I also tried the 11a slab route, that was fun! Anyway, just about everything else I've ever done at Index, including GNS but not including Aries Chimney, has had more enjoyable climbing than BBB with original finish. Alex

Discuss...

Funny you should mention Beak Beak Beak. I climbed it last night. I thought it was kind of stupid. As for Aries chimney, there is no doubt it is undeserving of "worst route" status, I just hate it.

Sheet, a friend an I were going to go in there to do "FAs". So much for that. I am behind the times.

Awesome. I was looking at that too, and at Kain and Homage. They all look great. Rockies

iain, go do it in nice winter conditions on a clear day. You'll change your tune, its an awesome route! As for my votes, the North Face of Big Four in summer the NE Ridge of Adams (yuck!) Aries Chimney at Index

I remember an incident that happened this past year when some local climbers who post here got the windows shot out of their truck while sleeping in the back of it. That was in/near Mt Rainier Park. There wasnt any talk about going back and dishing out a bloodbath on "them hicks" then, it was written off as something that just happens in the Carbonado neck of the woods. After I read this story I asked a friend who lives in Squamish about whether an incident occurred. He confirmed, though after reading the posts provided here he mentioned that they seemed to be somewhat overstated (his opinion, not mine). I don't doubt that whatever happened to the climbers sucked, and I'm sorry you had a bad time up there. You got away relatively uninjured, and thats important. Personally, I am not going to alter my plans for climbing at Squamish or elsewhere in Canada over this incident. I am not going to knock any heads when confronted by people who clearly want nothing but trouble. I will run away fast. Tents can be replaced, my spleen can't. Drunks are drunks in any country, and escalating at the scene isnt going to serve any purpose but to get you killed. Other than to vent your frustrations about what you think was an indaquate response by the RCMP, I don't see what can be gained by raising the roof on KOMO, at the American Consulate, and other places. I sympathize with your experience, and I hope someone will be held accountable, but I don't look forward to seeing this on the 6 oclock news. Alex

trask, I never thought I would ever say this, but dude, you just made my day.

So much for accuracy. Washington BLM? First I have ever heard of the BLM being a state agency.

I always thought it was completely hidden by DTail. Still, I think you'd have a hard time picking that out with the naked eye, when the background sky is light blue and the summit pyramid is white/light colored. Perhaps at dusk with a good pair of bino's?

Heh, yeah right! I don't think Jason or I have any illusions about how many copies of this will sell, there just arent that many ice climbers here in WA and its not a desitination like the Cdn Rockies or even New England. We are just hoping enough people get out and have fun with it. We'll post something when the book becomes available...but for now, FOR GOD'S SAKE, its SUMMER, go climb some ROCKS! (sick of thinking about ice climbing) Alex

Anna, hi. I did this route as a day trip a number of years ago. It was a long day. The routefinding is straightforward once you locate the beginning of the route after Lake Ann. Beckey has a fairly accurate description of how to find the start. Otherwise, we roped up at the Upper Curtis for Hells Highway etc., and soloed the summit pinnacle. This is a great all-mountain alpine tour to do in a day. Just bring alot of food/energy, and travel as fast as you can. Retreat is easy, since you come back the way you came anyway. So if at anytime you don't feel up to it, just head back. I think we left the car at 4am, summitted around 1:30pm, then got back to Lake Ann by dark. But after that, we were so tired it took another 3 hours or so to go out those last 4 miles. Quality route! Alex

I was doing the final page proofs last night. Jason has already submitted his feedback to the publisher, and now I submit mine here in the next week or so, and its as done as done gets. The book goes to the press in mid-July, will be pressed over August, boxed up, shipped out, and hitting shelves sometime in Sept/Oct. It should be available online at Mnteers Books before it gets to the shelves. There are still some mistakes we are finding, primarily with maps and photos which are only done on the second pass through the proofs, but they are becoming much more rare. I've tried to get the photos back to the submitters here in the last few months, but its a slow process that involves alot of trips to the post office, so I do it in batches. Hopefully I will get to actually climb some ice this year, instead of drive around looking at it! Hope this season is a good one! Alex

Munginella is a good route, but it gets crowded fast and hot fast so get an early start - you may want to skip it though, as 5.6 in the Valley isnt any "harder" than 5.6 anywhere else. I don't think anyone has mentioned this, but a good alternative to Yos may be TAHQUITZ. There are alot of routes within your ability level that you will be able to lead there, with the same overall "old-school" effect as Yosemite. It is also at like 9000 ft, which makes it a bit cooler during the day. Plus Idylwild is a cool little town to hang in for a few days, camping nearby will be easier.

She onsighted 5.9 slab above gear a few weeks ago here in Squamish , so I'm not too sure what she is worried about. So lets see, that would be <calculate> <calculate> ..yup, about 65 cents on the dollar <calculate> <calculate> throw in a little WA state sales tax because Index IS in Washington <calculate> <add> <add> <subtotal> ...your Squamish 5.9 is about Index 5.5c.

I thought you were going to index with me on Tues?

Survey Says....not!

looks like its taken from Black

JoshK, the Trangos will be fine with aluminum crampons. Its AI2+ at the most, fairly low angle. Cruising altitude. Alex