Alex

I heard on the news this am that DOT says 10am opening, today. Alex

get a crowbar up there on a weekday and "send it!"

PM CascadeClimber.

Steel and saltwater don't mix well. But if they *could*, cbs, I believe you still need to check your calculations, or are maybe using the wrong equation? My calculations say different...

I climbed this top-out in 1994, after traversing into the summit pinnacle from the NE Shoulder. I topped out directly above EMC, I remember it being some pretty basic (but unprotected) mixed for a few moves over significant exposure.

...Lycopodophyta - avoid if you can (I hated it, anyway)... If you climb Moscow, bring a large cam (#3, #4 camalot) or two, there is a wide section up higher that you will enjoy more if you have a wide cam First p. of Spiderman (the left side of buttress, not right) is a good 5.5-ish trad lead as I recall. Otherwise, there isnt much at Smith for the 5.8 trad leader. Alex

Actually, they smell good! (except the ones that bathe in Patchouli)

I cook inside my I-tent, using a Markill Stormy hanging stove, primarily on winter trips. We open the doors and it warms up the tent without too much condensation. It sure beats sitting out in the wind and driving rain/snow! In the summer when its warm out, I prefer to cook outside if the bugs arent bad. The views are just better.

yes, no, pink. You only get 1 chance at an "onsite" for a route, ever. If you climb a ways up, then retreat, you've effectivly rehersed it, no?

So Tim's been talking to you about our project, has he??

3rd for R&D and Sabre. I would suggest you lead these routes first, explain the anchor systems you set up to your partner, and then walk off, around, and have him lead. He will remember the placements and anchors from cleaning, and get it mostly correct. Alex

Right on! High Exposure always makes for an epic! I lead it Thanksgiving Day many years ago with two friends in tow, and it was so cold on the 3rd pitch I got screaming barfies and thought I would pitch off the final exit moves, as I could no longer feel my hands. Despite all that, it still ranks up there as an all-time classic for me! Sounds like Elena got her moneys worth!

hopelessly whipped

which is cheaper than Canada!

This means less money to spend on things other than food, which results in an economic collapse. Or a very fast change in the type of vehicle the American consumer drives, how they drive, and a general change in attitude as they re-assess the value and cost of their current lifestyle. Its going to have to happen sooner or later. Just like the metric system...!

k44, check out this thread: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/315218/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1

snugtop, smurfette makes me horny

Speaking of which, can anyone lend some guidance on whether air drops onto a glacier is an acceptable practice inside a wilderness area (but outside NP boundaries)?

newbee, if you are looking to get from slog to technical winter/spring alpine, here are a few routes that would be worthy to try. bear in mind that most times success on these routes is completely conditions dependent, but learning what makes good conditions is part of the learning process Moderate alpine snow and ice routes - all these are day trips -------------------------------------- N Face/NE Buttress of Chair Peak - tried and true Sandy Headwall on Mt Hood - longer day trip with lots of terrain N Buttress Couloir on Cochuck - moderate with plenty of exposure and easy decent N Face of Maude - moderate just about any time of year, with a real alpine feel, easy decent Ice Cliff Glacier - not the scetchfest it used to be, at least on in Spring. more complicated decent N Ridge of Baker - very short section of difficulties. easy decent Attitude is everything. Build your alpine skills and don't get psyched out by any routes "reputation". Go check it out for yourself, and retreat if you get too far outside your comfort zone (all these routes can be retreated from pretty easily before you commit to them). You'll find often that the routes seem better/easier than what you anticipate based on their "reputation".

After almost a whole week! of not getting any climbing in whatsoever, I left work at 6:30 and headed over. Secretly, I was anxiety-ridden, dreading my performance after a week away. I would be relegated to V0-s, my eyes downcast, dejected and rejected. All the little 16-year old-send-bots would laugh at me silently. (Not that they don't already.) People I normally talk to would avoid me and make up excuses to leave the vicinity. The chix would disapprove. I feared that after 20 minutes, my ego would be so utterly whupped that I would slink out of the gym, failing to collect my membership card for fear of being noticed at all. I walked in, and saw a compatriot streaching. But I was eager to climb, so instead of streaching, did the "new" traverse a few times. Yup, I was weak. Worthless and weak, as my boss says all the time. Pumped already, the session might as well be over. Contemplating the already-anticipated early exit from gym, I decided to try one problem that I had flailed and failed on repeatedly the last time I was in, the pink V2 under the roof. It starts with 2 campus moves. I got on it, and without thinking, flowed through the moves without much perceived effort and .. conquered the covetted problem! Fluke, thought I. However, with a success under my belt it was hardly appropriate to leave now; people were undoubtedly watching, I had to perform for both my many admirers and enemies. So, emboldend by the sweet stench of success, I jumped on a new V4 I had never tried before. I fucked up the sequence, but stuck on and with it, retreated, figured it out on the wall, stayed in balance, and finally was looking at the last dyno. In the background I kept hearing .. "yeah man! c'mon! it's a jug! yeah thats it! now send!" On the final shake-out-hold I took a quick peek over my shoulder to see what the ruckus was all about, expecting legions of teeny-boppers cheering <resident hardman and routesetter> whilst on some some sick sloper. No, it was one of those 16-year-old send-bots, and he was looking right at me!! Under pressure to succeed now, I failed miserably and missed the dyno, trying only half-heartedly. It looked arm-wrenching anyway, yeah, arm-wrenching! At this point the usual suspects filtered in, and the chix multiplied. The next 2 hours a blur, but around 8:45 I was finally out of gas, and tired too. My mission accomplished, my peers throuroughly impressed, it was time to head home and eat 800 calories of tasteless protein.

It must be a new feature the moderators decided to introduce, to reduce the Spray on the site...? But seriously, I think this latest UBB upgrade wasnt actually worth the trouble.

thats a lot of driving for a day of skiing!

sucks dude, get well!

griz, while your opinion on this situation is what's valid for you, you're not a spokesperson for anyone else. Motivation is a difficult thing, but I (for example) plan on taking some friends up old RainDog this year, and they will have no experience whatsoever. Are they paying me? Nope. They are people I sail my boat with, and who have expressed a stong desire to climb Rainier. I won't make climbers out of them, but I can help them achieve their goals using my own skills and experience. Am I a GUIDE? No. Can you say I or they don't belong up there? No. On that note, there's very little difference between me taking my friends up the RainDog, and someone like ChrisL and partner hitching along as a semi-autonomous party if we are up some slog route (which is what I intend to do). No one is suggesting that ChrisL be shortroped up Ptarmigan! ChrisL, while I personally am not really willing to take on more people for my trip, the suggestions made by Over40 is exactly what I would tell you: Come out here, do a trip up Adams South Side, do other trips like Hood, Baker, Glacier. Practice self arrest and crevasse rescue on each trip. Lower into a real crevasse, and prussik out! Get hip deep into it all. Build the skills. Maybe save Rainier for next year, when you can do it under your own power, with your own experience and judgement. It doesnt take all that much to climb Rainier in good weather, but its the skills you develop during these first critical trips that will help you in the long run. Getting up Adams, Baker, and Hood in one trip will be an awesome time in itself!!!

We got so nonchalant at Smith one summer that we would say "oh, did you want a belay for that?" 3-4 bolts up. talked about the best way to psych out people recent with Brian Burdo, and he said the best way was just to repeat the leaders name as they were tackling the crux..."Brian! Brian! Brian!...." Gamesmanship, a CLASSIC at Pok-O-Moonshine, by the way!