Alex

Hi Erik, Jason Martin and I are currently writing a guide to Washington State ice climbing. A very early draft may be found here http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/iceinwashington.htm It will give you some good ideas about local ice both near Seattle and further afield. A later draft is currently under publisher review. We hope to have the book published and on the shelves for next season. Alex Krawarik

you'd call her the same thing you would call a single guy in a bar trolling for a date.

Second Ascent in Ballard has a few of them

Dan E and I went to L'worth yesterday and enjoyed a warm sunny day ice climbing Hubba Hubba. The main flow is thin and detached somewhat, but fine with 10cm and 13cm screws, the second pitch has little ice and is mostly snow. Another party lead the main flow on tied off 17cm screws. The flow in the gully to the right of the main flow was thinner and more fragile (lots of pick dullage there), but lower angle and also made for a great lead. With the cold nights predicted for the next few days, the lines on the hill should only get better. Drury was sealed up and looked interesting from the road. The ice looks chandeliered and steep. Pencil is not in. Other iced up slabs around L'worth also look like they are forming/climbable, especially that one just outside of town facing E as you head up the highway to Stevens, but other smaller things are coming into shape in the Icicle Canyon as well. Alex

whats it look like if you combine last years drought with this years bounty? I bet we would be under the mean still.

you mean the Nickerson?

I'm there. Icegirl, bring some mazama pix.

brody0 When I first started using this site, i thought it would be exactly like what you seem to want it to be....a site to trage conditions and beta. When people started posting bullshit, I started a now infamous thread named "Spray Detracts From This Site" (go look it up), hoping that others would see the world as I wanted it to be. Lots of people flamed me, but a few, not the least being ultra-sray KING Dru, offered some useful suggestions, reiterated to some extent in this thread: Its not about using the site at all, its about how you use it. Consider changing your entry point (as Capt Cavement suggested) to a forum like "ice reports" that is really dedicated to conditions and beta, rather than just the Climbers Wall. Consider other options on the internet, like CASBC or the rock and ice sites for ice climbing conditions in the rockies. You will be insulated from the BS, and then can go to various area-specific forums, or do searches, or post questions as you see fit. In general you will spend less time, and less time wasted, here, but will enjoy it more... The climbers wall, and this site in general, has very little to do with climbing, it has to do with 95.6% of us working 5 days a week near machines with internet access. Hope this helps, Alex

no, I gave it back to partner without ever cleaning it, and without telling him about it. bust out with your own tale, trask my boy, before you idly speculate on the fate of other's bags!

I borrowed a bag for my Alaska trip, a dryloft bag from a good climbing partner. One of the first nights I was there I was using my piss bottle for the first time. Didnt realize a 16 oz bottle wouldnt be nearly big enough. As the bottle quickly filled, I realized a little too late and got a little piss on the inside of the bag, and on the floor of the tent as it hastily tried to get the full bottle out the door. My tent partner was laughing his head off as I tried to hold off my stream while scrambling to empty bottle out into a -35C night.

Dude, I watched that show for the woman ace mechanic, not Michael Knight "lone crusader in a shadowy world.." Turbo Boost!

Zeno j'ai, tu as, il a nous avons, vous avez, ils ont

taz, you can't see it from the parking lot, its at the top of the quad chair, on the left. It is WI4, around 30m. We roped up at around 7am and were off the route when the mountain opened. I know there has been some recent discussion on the spectacle nature of doing this route and I agree: doing it during business hours just increases the chances of access issues in the future. Climb it early before work, or climb it on Mondays. Went up to Alpental valley today. It was warm in the valley, cold at the base of the Tooth. Alpental Falls buried, Kiddie Cliff buried. Bryant Butress has ice thats longer than Kiddie Cliff and now a well-packed trail to the base. Some of the more remote climbs would take major work to get to through this snowpack.

good to hear people are getting out. On Tues mvs and I went up to the climb under the chairlift at alpental ski area for a fun and exciting 25-30m or relatively snow-free ice. Pretty good stuff, despite the traffic it sees! Alex

I just went through this process of buying a sled. Expect to pay quite a bit of money for something that works, and even more if you need a trailer. I got REALLY lucky and got away with a working sled and trailer for under 1000$, but typically you can expect to pay 1000$ for the sled alone, and then another 500$ for a trailer. Expect to learn about snowmobile maintenance very quickly. They are temperamental and routinely have problems. If its not the sled, its the trailer. I am very excited at the prospects though. Accessing skiing, ice and alpine climbs looks like its going to be alot quicker for those several trips I might take a year where a long approach on a road is reality. 1) I dont know. I think it mostly depends on who else is around. If you are deep in the backcountry, I doubt you will have problems. If you are a mile from the trailhead on the mountain loop highway, there might be more of a concern, but I am just speculating. 2) Rentals are typically 100-150$ a day. There are very few places that rent, and some only rent the sled, not the means to get it somewhere. Renting sucks.

late March will be tough. Wy or Banff, and Banff is closer. Alex

I thought the template was: "This is RURP:enlightened commentRURP has spoken."

sounds like you need to get out more, 'bone! [ 01-29-2002: Message edited by: Alex ]

desperation swings, pumped out, at the top of a pitch when you've already been running it out because you started fading placing that last screw (often enough) placement dinner-plates, hits foot which pops, possibley popping one or both tools (rare) glasses fog up and you cant see shit (often) drop glasses trying to clear them of fog (sometimes) start relying on hooking on lead because you know if you stop to place solid, you'll not make it up (rare, but happens) climb into terrain that you cant v-thread out of, so are forced to downclimb or go for it (all the time in the Cascades) putter up something while belayer is setting up, to see if the ice gets better, next thing you know you are soloing thin craziness to the top because you can't downclimb anymore (happened at N Face of Pitchoff, NY, Weeping Winds. Gnarly!) ------------- so, wow, yeah I have always considered myself a very safe ice climber, but you know after reviewing this list, all of which has happened to me at one time or another, it really is sick

Six Arms brewpub, corner of Pike and 9th? something like that. Anyone actually going? I have not left work yet, probably wont go unless a few others chime in here...I already spend too much time alone... http://nwbrewpage.com/wabpubs/SixArms.html [ 01-25-2002: Message edited by: Alex ]

Dan Smith and I were above Source Lake a few years back and nearly got snuffed by an extremely large slide. It was so unbelievable, we both just stood there and gaped as the entire mountain seemingly roared past us like a freight train, only a few feet away. Truly dangerous place. Alex

when and where? Six Arms? 7:30-ish?

well, thats creative. [ 01-23-2002: Message edited by: Alex ]

yeah, the lightning just forces you to make a more "alpine" start...like 2am! Things I miss about Colorado: Spring skiing at Independence Pass, looking at the Diamond and thinking "yeah, one day...", and long days of rambling in the Sangre de Cristos. Things I dont miss: bible-thumping, cowboy-hat wearing pseudoyuppies, the smell of Greeley, Neptune Mountaineering, the lack of any big water in the state.

Ooooohhhhhh.....aahhhhhhhhhh.......