sobo

The North Basin route (or North Bowl route, I don't have my Beckey with me) is a nice, late winter/early spring, route up a steep gully that ends below the rotten rock of the north side of the summit. It's best done in March/April, after the snows have consolidated to firm neve, because it's a severe terrain trap during snowstorms or shortly thereafter (probably no snow there this year by now). They could possibly have been attempting this route (pure speculation on my part). You can get all the way up the couloir to the base of the last 50 feet or so of rock without a rope, but the rock is really loose and crumbly, which is why the route is best done while the snowmelt has frozen the looseness of it all together. I've attempted this route twice, and backed off the top rock both times when I started knocking it down near my belayer. We contoured around to the west (like Beckey suggests) both times to summit. Perhaps they tried the direct route and it wasn't frozen together enough. Again, I speculate on where this pair might have been and what they might have been doing, but in answer to the question posed by Rafael_H, there is a "technical" route up the very last bit of the North side.

Good job , Strider! Nice doggie! (you too, barjor)

The Vertecal will be less comfortable than the Degre for your typical application. Just don't lace it all the way up or too tightly. You may want to add a pad to the front of your shin when you descend. You can get "shinbangs" with a boot that's too stiff for trail hiking, as others on this site have noted in other threads. Shinbanging typically occurs on the descent. Now, I know I'm gonna catch shit from a bazillion people on this board when I say this, but I have had good results by taking a Kotex maxi-pad and cutting it in half (in the short direction) and placing the absorbent side toward the shin. Put the half-pad outside of your liner sock and inside your insulating sock to keep it in place at the boot cuff level. You could also use some athletic tape directly on the skin, but I'm too hirsute for that nonsense (actually, too wimpy when it comes to tearing the tape off ). PS: Get ready for the merciless taunting you'll receive from your (so-called) friends...

mebbe it's cuz the mods are out climbing...?

My first plastic boot 15 years ago was the Koflach Ultra (the early men's version of the later women's Viva Soft). Switched to an early version of the Arctis Comprex after about 5 years, and I climbed PNW volcanoes and Canadian water ice with the Arctis Comprex for about 10-12 years. They were just great for the conditions around the PNW and BC/Alberta, but were too warm for me and tended to keep my feet wet with condensed sweat, like genepires said. They were a blue and gray affair, with an inner lining of felt over foam. Switched to the Vertecals a couple of years ago, and even though they're supposed to be warmer than the Degre, I find that the liner is much better ventilated than either one of the Arctis Comprex or the Degre (I replaced the Arctis Comprex liners with Degre liners about 4 years ago, before buying the Vertecals, to see if I could get any more life out of the Arctis boots - no dice). I find that the Vertecals are just the right warmth, the liner breathes quite well for my feet, it either doesn't get wet or it dries out extremely quickly, and I stay just toasty. I've climbed in temps from +40F down to -25F with them and have had no problems with sweat/wetness when it warm outside or frozen toes when it's cold. From 15 years of experience with three different Koflach boots, I would have to say that the Vertecal is better suited to WI climbing than low-angle slope slogging/trail hiking, and is considerably less clunky than any of the predecessors that I've used when it comes to making "mixed moves" in them. It also turns well (as well as one can turn in mountaineering boots) in my Fritschi/Fischer AT set-up, too. And they are the only brand of boot that I've been able to wear that fits my feet without pain. I have a 10.5EE foot; super wide and flat, like a flipper. For all these reasons, my vote goes to Vertecals. YMMV

Yeah, WTF is that all about? That's just bullshit! What about MY closure???!!!

And you also need to remember to make sure the sling is long enough to provide a sufficiently small angle between the bolts and the connection biner to reduce loads on the anchors. You know, the Triangle of Death and all that FOTH rot.

The entrance to that cave looks strangely like this one: We can't risk another frontal assault. That rabbit's dynamite!

Sure it is! It's how I got started climbing in the first place: caving in the limestone playgrounds of Virginia and West Virginia. We would map/explore virgin cave passages, and when we couldn't walk, crawl, squeeze, or swim, we'd break out the "cave pole" and the bolt kits.

Ken: The name of the 2/3-star hotel just south of the main town square is Le Laurence. We had a room on the 4th floor that gave us a view out the back up at the old castle on the hill. We also had a WC with a shower (that actually had hot water) in the room for 300F (~$50 back then) for two nights for two peeps. A pretty good deal. The local guide’s name is Jose, and he has (had?) his shop set up on one of the main streets into the square in a tree-climbing/arborist’s shop with a guy named Stefan, who speaks English very well. I don’t have their phone number anymore. You should be able to find them in the phone book. And you’re prolly right about the guide. I knew you were “down south and out west”, but I thought you might be coming back through the PNW to hook up with others before the trip, but I guess not. Ade: I looked at the guide last night, and I did in fact climb in the area of the Calanque d’En Vau, the Vallon de Cadeiron, and around the Port-Pin area. I apparently forgot how long it took to get there. The guidebook tells me that it’s 5K from the “parking area” to the climbs. I seem to remember it took only a few minutes. Mebbe my brain has faded and my recollections have been dulled over the years. Time just seemed to go so much faster back then...

I have that guide. Green cover, right? You can borrow it, Ken.

Ade, I'm not sure where I climbed, but I'm guessing from your description of En Vau's access that I didn't go there. I remember walking through the main square, passing along the waterfront road past the pricier lodgings, getting on the trail system at the northwest edge of town, and dropping down into the gorges and wandering around until I found things I could reasonably solo without killing myself. My wife (fiance' back then) went painting and so I was left without a partner, and I couldn't hook up with the local guide after several tries. A quick check of my guidebook tonight will tell me where I was. <aside> What are those wierd stone foundations with no roofs on them that are all over the hillside outside of town for?

Ken, Head to Les Calanques, Gaston Rebufat's old stompin' grounds, about a 20-minute train ride outside of Marseilles. Stay in the little seaside town of Cassis. It's about a 4-klick walk from the train station into town. The rocks are about a 10-minute walk from the downtown square. There is a great 2-star hotel right around the corner from the main square that was dirt-ass cheap, even over the May Day holiday (about 5 years ago). I would have to go look up the name in my travel journal for that trip, if you wanted it. I also have a guidebook to Les Calanques, but it's in French. I have enough of a grasp of Italian that I was able to use it to find and get up a few choice routes. Grading system is Euro, so bone up on those numbers! Let me know if you want the name of the hotel and/or if you want to borrow the guide (used only once! ).

Si fractum non sit, noli id reficere.

I haven't been up that way in a while, but I've spent plenty of time on the N side of Adams in the past. In snow years better than this one I've been able to drive all the way to Killen Creek TH with no problems in May and/or June. My guess is that this year you could go up without any trouble at all by the end of this month. The thing you really need to be asking yourself is, "Do I really want to hike up this pile of choss when there are so many other great lines on this side of the hill?" I've never been "up" the NR; I only use it for descents. It's a dirt-slog - especially this year. Think: NF Adams Glacier, Adams Glacier Icefall, Stormy Monday Couloir, Lava Glacier, Lyman Glaciers (North or South), or all the cool stuff on the NW aspect.

LJN, You convinced Cragg to get into a kayak? HAHAHA! That's priceless!

I'll echo barjor's comment about the political crap. Sometimes it can be almost overwhelming. But then I'll also echo cluck's comments as well. I, too, will never read to blind children either, so mountain rescue is a niche where I'm reasonably good at something to which I can give back. And note that Mountain Rescue is a sub-unit of the larger SAR organization. Decide where you want to function.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...! That would prolly do it.

Yes. No. Well, not really "no" per se, but they don't fit well. Mebbe a spot of crazy glue on the threads, but when they finally fell off, I liked them better without the grinders after all. YMMV

I know the hill your talking about. What do you think the vert is? I estimate about 300 feet vert; certainly no more than that.

It's actually kind of fun in the middle of summer, all doody-ed up in resort regalia, watching the looks you get from folks driving by. But wipe-outs are, shall we say... "distasteful."

I've taken my "rock skis" and carved turns in the sand below the cliffs on the east bank of the Columbia River just south of the Vantage bridge. Take the exit for Othello and Royal City, then park the car about a half mile down the road from the exit. Anyone who's been to school at WSU knows where it is. Can't miss it.

Ya caught one, Brad!

True dat. I always figgerd that was a benefit!

Hey Paul, WTF do you do for a living that lets you get out so GD much? Inquiring minds want to know...