dberdinka

I did that climb back when the Internet was nothing more than a few computers in Al Gore's basement. I've always wanted to go to it again. The chimney var. Looks fun.

OMG! I found someone who's company I actually enjoy!

No partner. So sad.

Of course! 5.7 A1 tell us how it went.

The crazy guy (Chris Chistianson?) who use to run around around out there made reference to attempting it multiple times on his website. For what it's worth I've been right up next to the thing (climbed the snow gulley that crosses it) and thought that the rock looked much better than rumor had it. In fact there were some long vertical systems that looked quite good. The east buttress of the middle peak looked like a sick mini-bigwall. IMHO The future of Cascades mixed climbing lies on that face. Catching it in good condition will require years of fortitude and a big dose of luck. Bottom of East Face of Middle Peak towers above our heads

I considered buying one last night but the reviews on the REI website were universally horrible. Sounds like a waste of money.

Their disclaimer definitely says don't clip into the eyelets as your belay point as they might fail. However that sounds ridiculous. I'd guess their concern was someone might clip one end to their harness and the other end to a a belay or piece of protection and then take a static fall on it which could generate some pretty high forces. But for what you want to do you will be absolutely fine. I'm so sure of that I'll promise to even cover the costs of your funeral if it fails.

Here's Alfords original epic www.alpinefever.com/guest/nooky.htm Exciting details are included such as.. and finally lest I forget

Welcome to the club.

after a public slagging like that I was going to say that "buddy" probably won't be asking you to go on anymore big alpine climbs...but I guess I was wrong.

www.tjoos.com Check it out. This site seems to do a pretty thorough job of collecting all the different coupon codes one can enter on checkout to obtain some sizeable discounts. You can even have them e-mail you when they get new codes for particular retailers. For example they currently list a code for backcountryoutlet.com that gets you 40% off retail on one item. Not bad.

An article on the ASCA website makes the following reference "At least one bolt vendor sells stainless steel "clad" bolts and nuts. These have a thin outer cladding of stainless steel surrounding a core of mild steel. This type of bolt seems to be worse then others, since once SCC cracks the cladding,oxidation (rust) finishes the job in short order." Might be worth forwarding this info onto those guys Article is on SCC which probably? isn't the mechanism here... http://www.safeclimbing.org/education/deepbluesea.htm

I took the liberty of loading two of those photos onto the CC photo gallery and posting them here so everyone doesn't have to download the whole file. If you want them removed let me know. Is that, what is it called?, stress-corrosion cracking? that results from the use of two different alloys like a non-stainless bolt and a stainless hanger?? Edit: Galvanic Corrosion is the term for corrosion due to contact between two different types of metal. Stress Corrosion Cracking is due to chlorine ions from dissolved slats in sea water.

Any process on this CC.com wiki?

I just managed to knick the sheath of my favorite rope with something sharp while hanging on it. Yes, dumb! Cut a couple of the sheath strands, enough so that you can even see the core a little bit. But I've rationalized that the core is fine and it provides a majority of the strength, nothing a little tape won't fix. Am I nuts??

That is a great article! Love the dry humor. I don't know the details but I believe Otto was heavily involved in the early history of the Mount Baker Ski Area and died at a pretty old age (in his 90's?). I wonder how often the direct North Face of the summit pyramid gets climbed these days?

It's curious how three of the "modern" hard classic routes (Acid baby, Solid Gold and Gorillas in the Mist) are in fact repeats of climbs put up prior to the sprayage enabled by the Internet. Regardless I still want to climb them all... *Pre-G.I.M. Ended 1 pitch before the West Ridge and was hence incomplete

that is bad-ass. What a beautiful line. Quite the off-the-couch climb. Congratulations!

Come on on Sol! I thought butt shots were so passé now...

Beautiful route and mountain. How's the rock on Monarch? That north face looks impressive.

I admit to not paying much attention to Pope and R-dawgs posts but this is the first time I've seen either of them clearly articulate their position. Unfortunately I think your position is fundamentally flawed. If you want to argue for "restraint" great no problem. I think you could probably stake out a reasoned position. To argue for restraint and ground-up are contradictory goals particularly in the northwest where the rock is frequently dirty. You are far more likely to get well placed bolts in the right spots using a top-down method. Going ground up you will quickly -- put bolts in the wrong place (hard to clip, not useful etc) -- botch placements (poor holes or spinners) -- put bolts where natural gear exists (hidden behind a lump of moss or in place of a loose flake) -- put in too many bolts (ground up is scary!) Basically if you accept some level of bolting you should probably argue for an ethic that minimizes the ultimate number of holes drilled and bolts placed. Ground up results in botched jobs that will eventually require more drilling. (Why am I trying to reason in this thread?????)

So was this a failure due to being an alien? or a failure due to being a piece of shitty beat on fixed gear?

I'm glad your ok Mark. Processing that event along with consider luck you experienced to (sorta) walk away from it must tie your stomach in knots. I hope you heal fully and quickly and get back to creating quality routes for the rest of us windbags to go play on. Best wishes Darin

I love the new trend of having a dedicated photographer in position (here and on The Scoop). Makes for some sweet TRs though it might make everyone else feel a bit inadequate with their buttshots. The shot of you (Sol) leading through the overhangs is awesome.