Alex

speaking of which, on Sat I was at REI flagship and buried in one of the boxes of last seasons gloves on sale were about 4 pairs of BD Ice Glove, XS. Good deal if they fit you well.

Marmot has a few pairs of Freney XT boots left in "normal" size range, on sale for like 220$ (down from 319$ on BD site). They didnt have my size, but anyone intersted in this boot should give them a call asap.

good shot of TLG, work it girl

not to be a naysayer, but going from being a 5.9 leader to a solid 5.12 (onsight) leader in one season,...well, I hope you are planning on not like actually holding a job or maintaining a relationship or anything. I've been climbing with a solid 5.11+ trad leader my last two seasons, and I had the same basic goal you did, mine was to learn as much as possible and finally break out of 5.10 and get into leading solid 11. I got the gym membership, got stronger, climbed alot of tougher routes with my friend, and was able to see the whole progression in action. I came to a number of conclusions: * to climb solid 11 or harder, it really helps to be a full-time climber. * climbing 5.10 or harder (especially at places like Index) is much more mental than alot of people are willing to admit. Many times climbing harder means not only physically harder but mentally more demanding: running it out where the casual weekend 5.9 leader would want to stop and protect something thats making the leader uncomfortable. * you need to be much more careful about injuries. You'll be spending more time in the gym if you stay in Washington (or OR or BC), don't succumb to the common overuse tendon injuries, or rotator cuff, or the other host of problems that gym climbing can cause. * bouldering skills help, try bouldering a consistent V5 or harder * you need very good gear skills. you will be falling alot more on your gear than you currently do at the 5.9 or 5.10 levels. being confident in your gear abilities comes from alot of aid, alot of leading, and alot of falling at the 5.10 level or higher * mentorship is very important. both to set realistic goals (5.12 might not be realistic) and to show you *how* to climb at that level. Its harder than just another number grade. I fundamentally changed some of my approaches to climbing after watching my friend in action. I can honestly say I am a much better climber now, though I *still* dont lead solid 11. * footwork footwork footwork. climbing hard 10 or 11 onsight at Index or Smith Rock will go a long way towards your 5.12 goals hope that helps

Tom, they might be mine

perfect pair of gloves? no. but when you are shelling out major cash for each pair of good gloves, getting a reduced number of combinations seems like a good idea

anyone mind if we put this in the Access forum?

OR has a line called Wild Roses made for women. They have climbing gloves, I bought a pair for my wife and they seem to work fine.

Interesting link http://www.cpc.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long_range/lead01/off_index.html

Jeopardy buzzing sound this next week looks stellar for weather!

Thats a great T-shirt idea "Jesus climbs 10d offwidth, brah"

fine with you until your tax dollars start paying for rescue costs?

Yes. Sorry, I don't know any WA times or channels. I had assumed it would make it to cable in some areas in WA, but I don't have cable personally so don't know how the broadcast works outside of Oregon. Jason and I are supposed to get VHS tapes of the show, maybe we can do a showing at a Pub Club or at the Lillooet Ice Festival or something, if people are interested.

I'd go Salt Lake if * you were really into skiing * you were into good rock climbing, mostly sport near town * you wanted to have good desert options closer, like Indian Creek and Moab for long weekends * you can survive 3.2 beer * you are already married and dont have to worry about dating. * you wanted closer access to Wind Rivers and Tetons I'd choose Boise if * you wanted closer access to Sawtooths * you wanted a slightly "smaller town" feel * you didnt like the pervasive Mormon brainwashed culture of SLC * you wanted to get to the Cascades every so often ("shorter" drive, compare what like 6 hours to 10 hours?)

500 miles, 9 hours to Banff.

that has to be the most complete blow-by-blow account of a route I've ever read online! I feel now like I don't even have to go climb it!

Jeebus, short answer is that a single 8.5 mm rope is standard on Mt Rainier. Carabiner options vary. I would pick up a copy of Andy Selters' Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue book and study it all winter long with your wife, going out on several weekends to practice the various systems, prussiking up a rope, and so on. Nice pics of Pakistan!

grasping at straws with a month to go

Jason just let me know that the ice climbing airs on October 21, 8:30pm on OPB-TV.

Its common to rappel straight off webbing or 6mm perlon without rings at all, especially if don't care about establishing a "proper" rap anchor for future parties.

See this thread: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/396303/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1

glacier, those are some interesting numbers. For the most part, I thought it was pretty even, both candidates seemed to hold their own. So I am surprised to see the media call it for Edwards. I've always liked Cheney's demeanor and 4 years ago, while I thought Bush was an idiot, I thought...oh well, at least he is surrounding himself with smart people. 4 years later I know alot more, and while I still like Cheney's demeanor I wouldnt want him to be the next president if someone happened to assasinate the chimp in the next 4 years. Question for the mob: if you were Kerry, who would you have picked as your VP, if not Edwards?

I think if you had some free time you might not due too poorly just going even if you dont find a partner. There are enough hardmen hanging out in Talekeetna and in the range at any given time that with some social skillz you might easily recruit a worthy partner for a shorter trip.

I believe they used something more like, "If you're not with us, you are against us!" "If you are against us, you are not a patriot!" Ah, you mean like a big fuckin' mess in Iraq, that a certain current sitting president refuses to believe exists? so I've heard

I climb at Smith on a regular basis. Most people at Grasslands are small groups that retire early. I wouldnt call cops unless I went over to party central, asked them politely to please call it a night as others are trying to get their "send-sleep", and got some type of really obnoxious response. If the chicas didnt come over to you to work it out before-hand, they have nothing to complain about!