dberdinka

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.

A long time ago I remember a friend talking about that cirque and describing it as a mini-Bugaboos or Patagonia. Maybe a bit of hyperbole but beautiful none the less. Congratulations, way to make it happen.

Craig's death really unsettles me. Here's a super competent guy with a daughter similar in age to my own who dies on a route I've also done in the past. If I really believed something like that could happen to me I wouldn't be out there doing it. (Though thinking about what I've climbed in the last couple years maybe I have stopped doing it!) Regardless it's interesting to hear how many apparently close calls there have been at this exact same spot. Personally I've always been terrified by the big hanging masses of snow that can exist in late season pasted to the rock walls above shrunds. Climbing on to that stuff is always going to involve a little bit of sketchiness. When I climbed the Torment-Forbidden traverse we traversed into Torment Basin from Boston Basin then followed a gently glacial remnant up to the base of the south ridge. No sketchiness and a nice start to the route. In part we went this way due to getting screwed on the Taboo Glacier many years prior. I just looked in "50 Favorite Climbs" and it describes starting via the Taboo Glacier, presumably the current version of PMS' Select guide has the same info. Might be nice to get the word out, particularly to visiting climbers, that there is a better, or at least safer, start to the route than that commonly described.

My wife would never tolerate that shit

Additional info from NPS report. Thats a big, big hunk of ice. "When Luebben moved onto the upper section of glacier, a piece of ice measuring 100 by 20 by 10 feet broke off, taking the climber with it. A single cam device held his fall, but he still fell approximately 40 feet and was critically injured by falling ice. " http://home.nps.gov/applications/morningreport/

Sounds like a golden shower might help complete your little fantasy there........

That summit register is in amazingly good shape for being 30+ years old!! Those guys probably knew the difference between a ridge and a face. Awesome pic looking down on Jim.

On top the 2nd to last pitch of the SE Buttress of Cathedral Peak in the Pasayten som asshole managed to scratch Keremeos (name of a nearby town) into the lichen on a large flat slab of granite. Ugliest thing I've seen in the mountains, definitely left by a climber too.

As alluded to by Off-White apparently the edge of the schrund collapsed beneath him. Link to Article in Times How many times a year do you put yourself in a similar situation?

For a peak that attracts a fair number of climbers to alpine rock routes I would agree the rock quality is subpar. With that said it's still not all that bad at least on the south ridge While it's total speculation on my part I've always found the glaciers in the head of Boston Basin to be pretty damn unstable. One summer I remember spending a day watching these enormous seracs peeling of the toe of the glacier below Forbidden's South Face and go sliding then tumbling down the smooth rock slabs below. Watched a team of three almost get creamed by one of those.

Just picked this up elsewhere. Craig Luebben (inventor of Big Bros) died on Mount Torment yesterday, apparently hit by a block of snow/ice. Partner Willie Benegas injured as well. So sad. Anyone know more? Link to post on mtnproj

Excellent photos. Looks really good!

They want the guvment to keep its hands off their Medicaid and Medicare.

This question will generate 20 pages of BS before you can blink. Some people like Aliens, some people like TCUs and some people like C3s. Buy whatever you're comfortable with.