Jason_Martin

The American Alpine Institute recently started a blog with that includes news, conditions reports, and tips for climbers. You can find the blog here. Jason

Bela's a guide in the sierra. His email should be on the AMGA website under ski guides... Jason

Anybody ever do Thunderbolt peak? What's the "classic" line on that thing? Jason

The American Alpine Institute is currently seeking guides to work in the alpine environment on rock, snow, and ice in the North Cascades of Washington. Pay is commensurate with experience. Newly hired guides and apprentices participate comprehensive guide training program in May led by Michael Powers, former AMGA Technical Director. These are summer jobs that can lead to additional work in the Sierra, Red Rock, Ouray, and Denali. Contact Dunham Gooding at dgooding@aai.cc or 360-671-1505. Jason D. Martin AMGA Certified Rock Guide Program and Expedition Coordinator American Alpine Institute

When's your next one due? Ours is August 1st. Holly was born on July 31st. Almost Irish Twins... Jason

As you guys know...it's crazy with a baby around. We recently discovered that we're having another one. There going to be a bit close together but it's good. We're finally making the plunge and moving back to the Northwest for good...! Here are some photos of my daughter on some of our adventures over the last eight months. This is our first camping trip with the baby when she was about a month old. We took her up to Flagstaff for a long weekend. Her second trip was to J-Tree: About a week after the J-Tree trip we went to Yosemite: She likes camping. This is her in the morning after a night in her improvised sleeping bag: Here she is on Mount Charleston playing in the snow: Here are a couple pictures of her in Red Rock: Here she is supporting the company I work for at Red Rock Rendezvous. It's hard to see, but the page she's holding up has a picture of me on it. She's a strong little bugger. This is her showing off in the tent at RRR. She's able to hold her weight pretty well, but it's probably not a good idea to just let her hang six feet off the ground: Sometimes she does finger stacks to stand up in her playpen: Recently my brother graduated from pararescue school and we went to his graduation. Holly is sitting on the pararescue seal in Albuquerque. She took her glasses off just as I was trying to line up my baby PJ photo... Oh well. This is her with a snotty nose in the wind on top of Explorer Peak in Las Vegas: I don't know how we're going to handle two of them about a year apart from one another...but if I know one thing. I know that this strange adventure of parenthood is only going to get better! Jason

The new parking lot is for horseback riders. It will be where the mountainbike parking lot was before. There will be an outhouse there. The BV road will remain unimproved, but it will be accessed from the new lot. The mountainbikers supported this new lot. In my opinion this was a major mistake on their part. No more single tack. No more seclusion. For the riders it's going to suck. For us...it probably won't make any difference. Jason

As a former high school teacher and the spouse of a current elementary school teacher, those types of actions don't suprise me at all. And it suprises me even less that the parents didn't do anything about it... I do think that creating ground rules for any type of activity with people you don't know is a good idea. It's an even better idea when those people's kids are involved. Jason

Maybe is you are doing 100. I have gone that way. It was solid 3 to 4 hours. I've gone that way a number of times from Vegas. It usually takes me almost three hours on the button from the city of Las Vegas to 29 Palms...a little longer to get into the park. Jason

The Hosts at RR often work at the Eight Mile Campground at Leavenworth during the summer. Though it seems like they chill out after they leave RR. Jason

The Old Campground was outside the loop road near the alternate Oak Creek/Mount Wilson access. There has never been a campground inside the loop. No, the camping up near Mountain Pass is nowhere near Calico Basin. It is about five miles west (uphill) of the Black Velvet Access Road on Highway 160. Jason

You can find this by driving up 160 past Black Velvet Canyon to the summit. There are a number of Forest Service Roads but they are not well marked. The better roads jut off to the left (south) toward Potosi. If you poke around up there you'll find a good spot to bivy, but I wouldn't leave anything there during the day. Your other options are far away. There is camping at both Mount Charleston and at Lake Mead, but those places are a hell of a commute. Jason

Holy lameness Batman! I lived in Sequim for a year and climbed in the Elhwa a couple of times. The season is when it's not raining and it's not dripping down the rock from the mud and vegetation above. The "rock" feels like hard mud. But if you have to be in Port Angeles for something or if you want to check something out before or after a trip into the Olympics, it's probably worth going there. But I wouldn't make a special trip there. Jason

Yes, what do you need to know? Rendezvous is a blast! If you're going to be in Vegas during the festival do yourself a favor and at least come to the parties. It is really fun! If you want to get away from the crowds, climb obscure routes, there are thousands of them. If you want to climb one of "the classics" the day before the festival, you're going to get hosed. But there are a million routes that people who attend that festival will not hike to or climb. So it is your own fault if you have a hard time during that time frame. Jason

Dan's point is that it's disrespectful to others who are trying to enjoy the quiet of the wilderness to play loud music or instruments without their permission. It's becoming more and more common every day to go climbing and have some yahoo at the crag with some kind of stereo blaring music. It doesn't matter what kind of music it is. It has an effect on other people's wilderness experience and is the antithesis of the Leave No Trace principal "Be considerate of other visitors." Read the specific notes on the lnt website at: Principals of Leave No Trace There is a certain well known guide on Denali who likes to play the fiddle. Some of you know who I'm talking about. And it drives people camped near him up the wall... I find it very inconsiderate of him to do this. But few people are willing to say anything to him because he's a very well known individual. And for those of you who can't seem to climb without music blaring, try an ipod with earpieces...and if that doesn't work, there's always the climbing gym... Jason

So what kind of packs are you guys using to carry your little ones around on your backs in the mountains...? I'm definately planning on doing some long day hikes with my daughter. we may even do some light overnights. I'm looking for something that would fit the bill for this kind of thing. I've been looking at the Kelty Kids Adventure. Does anybody have any experience with this pack? If you don't have this pack what do you like or dislike about the one you do have? Jason

There's a steep roof with a crack splitting it just a few feet to the right that looks a lot harder than it is. The roof goes at 5.8. Jason

I have life insurance that covers climbing and it seems reasonable. It breaks down something like this: Approximately $65 per month for $100,000, $75 per month for $125,000 and so on... I had to fill out a form with all kinds of crazy questions about my climbing. For awhile I thought they weren't going to cover me -- I'm a guide and log over 220 climbing days a year for work -- because my risk exposure was really high... If those rates seem reasonable to you, pm me and I'll give you the details. Jason

The 5.12 variation is way left. It cuts up left of the widening crack that can be seen in Sherri's picture. When you rappel the route you can see the chains above the 12. That widening crack is 5.9 and the chimney is 5.7. Most people don't climb the chimney. The route is listed as 5.5 and so most people go the way that is 5.5 which traverses below the chimney. Peaches is currently open to climbing. But it may be "threatened". The rock art is close enough that when it gets damaged by people who like to damage rock art (i.e. dumb-asses with nothing better to do), it somehow comes back to haunt climbers. There are a number of routes to the right of Peaches which are closed... Re: Tunnel Vision If you go straight up from the Tunnel Pitch, you're on Stilgar's Wild Ride (5.8). It's a pretty good route! There is a new route on the Angel Food Wall -- which is in the new book and on Mountainproject.com -- called Purblind Pillar. It is by far the best route on the wall. And I would highly recommend it to everybody here! Jason

Definately go out with a reputable guide or guide service. Some good places to look might be: Ouray, CO Lee Vining, CA Banff, Alberta These three locations are all popular venues for beginning level ice climbers. Jason

Sometimes this is the case...other times there's ice in the shade...and even ice on parts of routes like Epi. It's pretty common for individuals to get a few really really good days in the shade during the winter and then to assume that it's always possible to climb in the shade during the winter. I've been on Solar Slab after a number of days in the seventies and still have been able to see ice up the canyon on north facing walls. The real clincher isn't the ambient temperature, it's actually the wind. We have windy conditions two or three times a month. In the winter, this can really take the temperature down in the shade. All that said, temperatures usually go down at the end of November to the point where it's hard to climb in the shade on most days. They begin to rise in March. You'll have to check it out for yourself and see how you feel... Jason

The weather at the end of February is actually quite good. Last year we had a number of 70 degree days in both February and March. However, two of the three route suggestions made are in the shade. The shade holds the cold in RR throughout the day, summer or winter. As such, it usually needs to be in the upper seventies before it's comfortable in the shade. Pick up a guidebook to get psyched. There are thousands of routes here. There are also many pages on this website and others with route suggestions... Jason

A couple of weeks ago we went camping with the new baby. We were in Vegas and needed to get out of the heat, so we headed over to Flagstaff. Krista and I usually sleep in the back of the Astrovan. With a carseat we had to keep the backseat in and take it out once we got to our campsite. Krista made a little campbed for the baby and a little sleeping bag. Here's Krista and the baby in the van on Holly's first night camping... The van seat made for a great couch in order to feed the baby. Here's Holly on her first camping trip! Shortly after we got home, I had to go to Washington to do a little work. Krista and the baby decided to come up for a little grandparent time. Krista can't help herself from staging pictures of the baby... And yes, that is a suitcase she's in... Last night we went to Radical Reels in Las Vegas. Holly -- at eight weeks old -- watched the introduction and the first two movies. She's seems to like Norwegion base jumpers... Jason

Jason: I agree about much of what you have said, and I don't mean to nitpick, but its not accurate to state that "both political parties like No Child Left Behind." Watch any of the Democratic presidential candidates' debates and you'll see near-unanimity that NCLB needs at best an overhaul... if not totally scrapped. You're right...Dems don't all support it now...but a large number did back when it went into action. I should have worded my other post that way. Jason

Who's talking about failing grades? There are too many A's and B's given out. That's why someone as dumb as Ms. Teen USA can have a 3.5 (if the claim above is actually true). I don't like the idea of a straight curve - some threshold for an A and B that is reasonable could result in more A's and B's, but we are nowhere near that threshold. As for your story about reading assignments - well, I met an undergrad at the UW, who had a 3.5 high school GPA and had NEVER FINISHED reading a novel cover to cover. Ever. Certainly getting a C instead of a B could have parent on the phone being just as angry... I want to make it clear that I whole-heartedly support raising the standard across the board...but to do this there has to be a will not only amongst teachers, but amongst parents. Parents need to demand the best education of their child as possible. They need to demand it from teachers and politicians and from their community. And they have to understand that by demanding the best education, the schools will always challenge their children to be better. This means that school won't be easy -- or always fun -- for any child. I'm not sure parents really want to demand that...because it would make them accountable too. Jason