Terry

Recently retired, but my old climbing partners are still working. Looking for partners available for midweek adventures. Lead trad up to 5.9, follow harder. Love to get up to Squamish this week for a couple of days of mellow climbing in the warm weather! Terry

I'm doing a bike trip in the Dolomites and am thinking about playing on a Via Ferrata route or two on biking rest days. I'd like to buy a gently-used set of VF lanyards if anyone has some that are taking up space... Any route recommendations in the Mittenwald or San Cassiano, IT area would also be appreciated. Thanks, Terry

I think you squeezed the last bit of summer in that's available. Great photos. Thanks, Terry

Thanks Rainman. We had a great time but didn't do a great job with the estimating the time required to get down. I was a bit later than predicted... Packing 3 gallons of water was a major pain but one that was worth it - we still had a quart when we hit the ground. We had one 50m and one 60m rope and would have preferred two 50s, but that was well worth the price of the bivy alone. Also, there is a lot of loose rock on the ledges so minor rockfall is possible. Rad, Eric gave the aid section (steep, blank stemming) a go but didn't put a lot of effort into it. I haven;t seen any other reports of freeing it. Terry

Trip: Squire Creek Wall - Slab Daddy Date: 7/17/2010 Trip Report: Eric, Jim and I made a trip to Darrington last fall, did Silent Running on Saturday and checked out Slab Daddy on Sunday. We ran into David W. and Chris G. doing some maintenance on their baby. We ended up doing the first seven pitches, loved it and started scheming our next visit. It’s actually a great place to go and just climb until you run out of time. All the belay anchors are bomber and make simul-rapping pretty easy. Well, the open weekend came around and I voted for the Index Traverse after seeing Tom S' great trip report. Jim was occupied on Rainier and Eric wasn’t too inclined to bash brush, and he won. We got a casual start Saturday morning with small rack (you only need quick draws on first 7 pitches), bivy gear and a gallon of water. Since we hadn’t seen any rain in awhile we decided to cross the issue of more water when we crossed the creek. Poles and tevas are handy for creek crossing. We also opted to add 2 more gallons of water to our load, and based on the depleted water reservoirs on the route it was a good decision for us and the tadpoles living in em. Eric on Pitch 2 Terry following Pitch 2 Pitch 3 I think. In general the first half of the climb is pretty casual with a couple of 5.10 moves. Pitch 11 is the start of the steeper more consistent pitches. Pitch 5. You can see the umbrella tree, our goal Dinner time at the bivy ledge. A boy (old guy)and his Huecos. He can’t find em anymore and had to do some repair to keep the soles attached to the uppers. He could have led it in his flipflops. Coffee and oatmeal Ants having a caterpillar breakfast. Top of pitch 13 These things must be 10 years old. I guess it shows that shoes don’t make the climber. Eric led all the hard slab pitches… Fun stemming at top of Pitch 15 or 16… Umbrella tree is getting closer Quartz crystals on route Stinkbuggin Pitch 19 Eric on Pitch 19 5.8 Undercling/layback. We found one number 4 Camalot to be adequate. Pitch 22 with umbrella tree to the left. While I wouldn’t call the upper two pitches dirty, they are lichen-covered and a little less pleasant than the first 20 pitches. David could you please bring the crew up to make this a bit more pleasant? Please David… Required summit shot with umbrella tree, Eric and Terry Back side of Whitehorse 22 rappels at 15 minutes per rappel finds us on the ground 4.5 hours later… What a great climb! David alluded to the reservoirs scattered about the route and the necessity of ‘clean climbing’ and I’ll add that if you think you’re going to bivy, take Wag bags and pack IT out. There are no convenient outhouses on the route. Thanks to David and Company for the vision and hard work to make it happen!!

I was in VW in Bremerton last weekend and asked. Guy at the counter said they are looking at South King County.

I've flown Alaska a couple times this year with no problems. I stick the pack and everything else inside a huge NF duffel so there are no questions about stoves or fuel bottles. Just in case, I rinse out the stove with some cheap shampoo that takes care of fuel odor. On return flights I pack used socks and long underwear on top. My bag was searched on last flight but nothing was missing - I don't think they made it past the socks. Terry

Tex I did the Finger of Fate in the early 80s. I suspect that things have changed a lot. Even if they haven't my memory is about as suspect as the rock. We drove a lot of bongs, had a constant shower of red grit, flinched at the anchor bolts that had an inch of play in them and enjoyed every minute of it. I do have a bunch of slides which might jog the memory. I've heard that the incipient cracks we encountered have grown over the years due to the traffic. Terry

Walt are you kidding? All your climbing friends took up a collection and gave it to the "thief" to steal the weiner truck. After he drove it half-way across town he decided that wasn't nearly enough money to be seen driving that rig around Portland. He was mad that we wouldn't up the offer and returned the truck. He wouldn't give us the money back either...

We did Yak Check in blazing sun on Saturday sharing the lower half of the route with a couple from Winthrop doing Yak Crack. Even with Dru's advanced beta we bumbled the start a bit. Great route with small stretches of 'oatmeal', but not enough to avoid the climb. I'd probably suggest that the upper two pitches still contain some 5.10 - I'd rather do the route expecting 5.10 and get 5.8/5.9 than expect 5.8/5.9 and get 5.10. Next time it will probably seem easier. First 2+ pitches are stellar 5.6/5.7. Four friends did the route on Sunday and were nearly hypothermic before getting off. After beers at Skagit River Brewing Mt Vernon we were home by 10 on Saturday night. Drive is less than 5 hours from Tacoma.

Check out their aticle on PF...

Courtenay, My online reference for training, injury prevention and cures is Peak Performance. Terry

Try Haney to Harrison Relay Race Haney to Harrison for an easy starter - eight legs, total distance 100K, November 2. Two legs are kind of hilly, rest are relatively easy. It's really just an excuse to have a big party at Harrison Hot Springs.

"It'll go!"

We had just come off a multi-day climb in the Valley, were working on our second or third beer, and were already laughing at stupid stuff while showering in the public showers. Some very loud Chicagoans were entertaining us, shouting back and forth from their stalls recounting their heroic exploits that day. One guy described the day's hiking adventures and said that it was so cool to come upon "a natural swimming pool." One of our group responded from their shower stall, "Out here we call those things lakes." Of course "natural swimming pool" is now part of our vocabulary.

Alaska ticket agent told me that as long as they couldn't smell fuel it was okay. I wash out bottles with cheap hotel shampoo, then if they ask tell them it's a water bottle. Even better, put the pack inside a duffel and the airlines don't even ask. Terry

Lttle Cottonwood Canyon has incredible granite, is less than a 1/2-hour from SLC and has a great variety of routes. Send me a pm and I can see if my old guidebook is handy. Terry

Just returned for Chamonix. Only had four days which is totally indadequate. Too many mountains and too little time. I climbed Mt Blanc by "The Three-Mont-Blanc Route, rated PD+. It appeared to be the most interesting of the three regular routes. Observations: -Route was great. Partner got sick shortly after leaving hut, so soloed. Snow was hard, cracks were visible and avoidable, one steep (>70 deg) section got my attention on descent, perfect weather with no wind (climbed most of it tee shirt and pile jacket, threw on goretex on summit), very few people on the route. -Telepheriques (cable cars)are handy. Nothing like going from 3,000 feet to 12,000 feet in a matter of minutes. Also probably contributes to the demise of many tourists. -Huts are interesting. Running water, beer on tap, good wine and three course meals at 12,000 feet is a treat. Breakfast is served every two hours starting at 1 a.m. -Climbing habits on Mt Blanc are strange. From my observations we were the only team on the mountain with a 50 m rope, and the two of us were tied in about 60 feet apart. I saw several parties of four tied into one rope with maximum length of 20 feet. Great for finding crevasses. Watching them descend steep slopes was entertaining - looked like something from Monty Python with four guys moving in lockstep. -Weather went to hell as soon as we came down with several rescues. I was lucky with weather and as much fun as telepheriques and huts are, I prefer our system. I have longer trip report with chest beating stuff and more logistical info for those interested. Send me a pm. Terry

Anyone visited Chamonix lately? Looking for logisitical tips. Great cheap hotel I stayed at last time isn't listed anymore. Oh yeah, if you can tell me snow conditions on Mt Blanc and whether crevasses are open I'd be most appreciative. Send me a PM if you have info. Thanks, Terry

I guess they'll be installing a catwalk on the Ear next.

Camp 4 isn't Camp 4 anymore. Since it's ultra-cheap it attracts as many SoCal weirdos as climbers. I had some great experiences in the 70s, partying all night with climbers from all over the world, hooking up with folks with similar goals. Last time I was there a few years ago we had the misfortune to share a campsite with a guy from LA that wore knee-high mukluks and shorts the whole time we were there. He wasn't a climber though we were trying to figure out how to get him on the end of the rope. His boom box never stopped and when he wasn't stuffing white stuff up his nose he was sharing his unique philosophy of the world with us. Not to say you can't get lucky and end up sharing a campsite with like-minded folks, but if you lose be sure to take earplugs. Check out Curry Village for other options. Terry

quote: The opposite side of the cirque out of view is just as impressive. What keeps most suitors away is the three day approach through bug and grizzly infested swamps. That and the rock is absolute choss!I just added a view of the other side of the cirque. Our trip was aborted due to rain, but there is a hell of a lot of nice rock. If the rock is as good as Gimli, then yeah it's choss. The guide book is pretty limited so you're, basically on your own which adds to the fun. There is an approach that isn't recommended through bug and grizzly country but we didn't go that way. It took us four hours from our camp in the Basin back to car. The drive is long, especially from the Wet Side.

I spent four days up there several years ago in April. The plateau was still covered with 6 to 8 inches of snow but the South Faces were clear. We did a couple routes on Prussik and Boxtop. No crowds, no permits, no parking passes, no rangers. Terry

I agree with Dan. Knees and ankles are the barometer. I retire mine to yardwork and or Goodwill when the knees and ankles start aching, generally less than three months. Terry

Coming out of N. Pickets in socked-in conditions we ended up in the MacMillan (sp) Creek drainage. We had dropped a couple thousand feet before realizing our mistake and decided to go for it. Turned out to be an even worse mistake. We figured that we made all of about 3 miles that day most of it traversing through slide alder, stepping from branch to branch with big packs. No wonder Fred says, "Do not descend MacMillan Creek."