dberdinka

sweet! So much granite in the world. Did the chockstone fall out of nesakwatch notch? Or am I missing somthing?

People keep telling me that. Give us the cliffnotes.

Mock Leading vs the go-for-it approach would in fact be a superior method for teaching a child to lead climb. Wearing a helmet is definitively a safer approach as well. Regardless the whole post seems just sort of off. Particularly this picture...Who's belaying? Whos taking the picture. Why in the hell would you spray about your child taking what appears to be a fairly dangerous (looks like she almost got flipped by the rope) fall? Strange.

I've enjoyed his post, always interesting and informative, and frequently wondered who he was. What an unfathomably horrible and random accident. Best wishes curt to a fast and full recovery. Hope you get back to climbing and spraying in the near future. Darin Berdinka

Climbed there for a day a couple falls ago (Oct 07?). Good stuff! The Other Side of the Tracks was highly reminisent of Condormoraphine Addiction in Leavenworth. Similar grade, length and style of climbing. Seemed like it should become quite popular. Trophy Wife was another excellent pitch sitting all by it's lonesome surrounded by thick matts of moss. This route will need some serious traffic to prevent it from disappearing back into the green. Well worth doing. The little spring at the base of the cliff was also really cool. Nice place. Definitely worth a visit. These guys put in some serious effort cleaning that stuff up. Darin

Mommy? Why does daddy keep falling down?

cool avi but f%$ked up video. Is that a bunch of still images someone fired off in quick succession?

Definitely reserve a campsite. It's a long drive to show up with no place to camp. Sites 54 and 55 are really nice (54 is best) and right at King on the Throne which has a bunch of fun routes from 5.9 to 5.11-. Walk across the street to Batwing, the best 5.8 in the world. Heres the link to the reservation site http://idahostateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/City_Of_Rocks_Nr/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=ID&parkId=315044&topTabIndex=CampingSpot

Having seen them tear through Schreibers Meadows sans snow I really doubt some esoteric thing called a regulation is going to stop them.

Getting all the shit together to do it right has resulted in just an endless dribble of $$$$$......

Damn. Way to get after it! I would never have thought that to be in condition this time of year. You should post more TRs!

I recently acquired an old rotary hammer and a box of Hilti Stainless Steel KB3 wedge anchors. These anchors require 20 ft-lbs of torque at installation. In an effort to learn how to place these things correctly, last night I went to the local hardware store and rented a CALIBRATED torque wrench and purchased a handful of cheap 3/8” wedge anchors (50 cents vs ~$2.50 for the KB3). Then I drilled a dozen plus holes in a dog-size granite boulder in my backyard and started placing bolts using a ratcheting box-end wrench that about 6 or 7 inches long. After the first bolt or two I was able to consistently get > 20 ft-lbs and < 25 ft-lbs of torque on each bolt. For me (no one would describe me as strong) this essentially meant cranking down on the nut as hard as I could using one hand without putting my body weight into it. After burning through the cheapo wedge anchors I placed two of the KB3. These anchors snugged up much faster than the generics but I still was reaching the proper torque. Then I attempted to snap all the bolts off by over-torqueing. The generics snapped easily, generally at anywhere from 40 – 50 ft/lbs of torque. The Hilti anchors were far stronger. After exceeding the 75 ft-lbs of torque the torque wrench maxed out at, I continued to crank on them with a breaker bar. The rock fractured across the bolt holes before I was able to snap off the anchors! Note that both holes were probably within 6 inches of the edge of the rock, and the rock was starting to look like swiss cheese from all the holes I drilled. The conclusions I drew are 1) With a little practice it is easy to apply the appropriate amount of torque (20 ft-lbs) to a 3/8” wedge anchor using a small (6”-8”) box end wrench. For me that meant tightening it down as hard as I could using a single hand/arm without leaning into it. 2) Using the small (6”-8”) box end wrench it would be next to impossible to over-torque a quality 3/8” wedge anchor unless you're superman. See billcoes comments above. Not so for the cheapos from the hardware store bin! 3) The KB3 exerts a tremendous amount of pressure on the rock surrounding it. Only place in very solid rock well away from edges and fractures (ok so that’s obvious, but listening to the boulder sllooowwlly crack in half certainly reinforced the idea) This little project cost me about $20 for the rental and the bolts I placed. The knowledge gained seemed well worth the time and effort.

I've been told mid-June (no firm date) by a ranger in Glacier.

Road info here (#32 and #34) http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/conditions/road_conditions_report.shtml Evidently the Hannegan Pass Road won't be closed for a few more weeks at which point you'll have an extra 4 miles to walk to trailhead. (right now it an extra 3 miles based on that report) Agree with Choada that finding a log to cross on is generally not difficult.

This summer the road to Hannegan Pass will be closed for road improvements until early August. Plan (or un-plan) your trip to Ruth, Challenger, Nooksack Tower etc. accordingly. http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/conditions/road_conditions_report.shtml

PM sent on bolts

Last call for Sunday?

Whats the diameter??

No! I'm coming from Ashford on the SW side of MRNP. I'll be going over White Pass if I go at all. Anyone else?

I still want to know why the mad bolter gets to be all nekid when everyone else has to wear full down suits. He must be breaking a sweat as he runs up and down the mountain.

Bump, bump. Anyone?

Hey Gene. Araya (3 next week) will still crash out in the Sherpani but she's really starting to outgrow the thing. I've found carrying her on my shoulders really isn't all that less comfortable.

Sweet! Less dirtbags and their annoying techno music. On further thought, there's no incentive now for groups larger than two to occupy a single campsite. A group of six will pay as much for 3 campsites as for 1. Less people in the campground which is great if you got one! Better have your favorite, hidden bivi site sorted out.

Top-shelf alpinists grid bolt Everest for pleasure of the unwashed (but quite wealthy) masses. "The fixing of a number of bolts at this spot isn't "murdering the impossible" but a sensible act that will without a doubt save lives of Sherpas, Western climbers and guides alike." - Kenton Cool Notice that Willie Benegas is bare-handed and in polypro while the group behind him is in full down suits. Whats up with that?

Black Diamond makes a really nice keychain carabiner called The Micron. It's metal with a stiff wire gate and the large is about the same size as the latest micro biners. $2.60 canadian at MEC. I'd love to see half-a-dozen of these independantly pull tested.