Zenolith

erik, my compliments to your mother as well. yes, i never knew how morally upstanding the bc/climbing community was until i tried to be a little subersive. I did end up getting what i wanted tho...

Anyone have experience with these? I can think of more crack climbs with flared cracks than paralell so I imagine they might be rather useful, especially in the larger sizes. Black Dome is having a big sale on these $32 apeice, and also on rigid stems and 1.5 tech friends.

JCB, Bela Fleck, Dead from the 70s and 80s, Galactic Funk, PFunk, Bud Powell, Mingus, Britney...

erik and susi, My comments in "Spray" are just that, spray. I have learned to spray like a pro from you, erik. Don't be offended by my comments as I am not offended by yours.

Billy, I looked specifically at the "N Face" route that is right of the cleaver. That route and the gully to the left looked easier than usual. A more moderate angle and plenty of snow. From that distance I could not see whether I was looking at ice, soft or hard snow. In the right gully the short rock step was almost completely covered. I looked at the elliott headwall and thought the same as for the gullies but the rock was not covered with ice or snow.

erik the spray queen, you should check out the new bolt gun linked on the gear forum. with your love of bolting remote wilderness routes this tool should really give you a woody!

2 weeks ago I skied from the rock shelter on Cooper Spur. It was clear and the N SIde routes looked inviting.

Check out this handy tool! http://hilti.20m.com/index.html#main

I did get them overseas but that is irrelevant since the refusal was not for that reason. Where I bought them was not mentioned in Atomic's correspondance to me (or mine to them).

Since Atomic sells some popular ski-mountianeering skis I thought this warning might be of interest. Over a month ago I broke a tip on a brand new pair of Tourcarves at Bachelor. I don't know how it happened; I noticed it on the lift. I sent them to Atomic USA and they sent them back saying that the damage was from impact and therefore would not honor the warantee. I think this is lame and will never buy another pair of Atomics b/c they don't seem to care if their customers are happy or not. If I slamed a mougul (I did this on a 1.5' powder day) I would feel responsible, but I think their judgement call is wrong. They can be splinted but my skin clip won't fit over it.

Susi, Where could you possibly be from to think that America is polite? I can't think of a more disgusting culture except maybe Italy. I vote for erik. He is a filthy pig. The first reply I ever got on this board was spray from him.

Report for Thursday says condiderable to high and increasing on Friday. Sun is only a good thing AFTER is has restored equilibrium, not during. Unstable slabs of 3-5', several buried weak layers, etc tell me to stay on ridge tops or off the mountain.

I tend to see things in black and white. Bolting routes that would go free without adding an X to the grade is wrong. Roadside crag or not there is very little adventure left out there that you don't have to go to Alaska or somewheres to find. As the local frontier of climbing is further tamed, the adventurous will go to more difficult and more distant places to get their kicks. Some people might say that the Cirque of the Unclimbables will never be as developed as Yosemite and that we don't have to worry about imposing an ethic on development there. Crap, I say! They'll get thier super-lightweight geodesic domes in there, fly the rich in by luxury helicopter, etc. The place will not be a wilderness if we don't use ethics in development (route development or "accomodations" or whatever). My point is this; If we don't leave adventure nearby it will be destroyed in concentric circles outwardly until there is none left. Trad routes are adventurous but not balls-out dangerous and we should avoid getting to the point where every mountain and crag is so tacked up that the only way to get a thrill is to risk one's life. I want to hear people say in their TRs that they didn't clip a bolt b/c there was pro nearby. Same as picking up someone else's trash. You may be the only one to see it but it matters immensly nonetheless. Ethics are in the heart.

jblakely, I used to have a girlfriend named Jaimie Blakely. She moved to Vegas to be a stripper. Do you miss Mr. Happy?

Kevin, What is you email? Area code? We may be able to make a deal.

Some discussion on the Leuthold thread got me wondering what, if any, is a good time to be roped with no pro in. Glacier travel of course, and winding the rope around features such as is done on the summit pinnacle of Mt. Jeff and the like. I seem to hear too many stories of a falling climber dragging off his/her partner causing two deaths instead of one. The couple that died on Cooper last year, the two guys from U of O in '97 on N. Sister, come to mind. I follow a general rule that there be at least one solid peice in if we're roped. Otherwise the follower should untie and clip back in if the leader puts in a peice. I'm talking about steep alpine routes like Sandy, Cooper and such but I think the same is more true on rock routes. What do others do?

I would reccomend the Oregon Natural Resources Council (even if you live in Wa). I am an intern w/ them and am impressed at the hard and largely thankless work they do.

I have some old school rigid stem Friends as well. Sizes 1-3.5 for $25 each plus shipping or...? They're well used but not used up. email me and I'll make you a deal krowell@gladstone.uoregon.edu

The prices ($160 for a set of 8) sound way too good to be true, and yet I've handled just such a set. The three small cams are quads and are similar to Aliens but not as fancy. The larger ones (Robots) are just like Trango's with a different sling. They say that they are UIAA cert. and have strengths similar to cams of the same size in other brands. They are no as durable-looking with plastic triggers and what not, but they are made w/ the same materials as any other cam where it counts (cam, axle, cable, spring). I have heard mumblings about how "scary" they are but not by anyone who would qualify their comments. Has anyone actually used them? I fell on a small one (it held), but that is not much to go on. If durability is the only drawback one could afford to replace them for that price. Thoughts???

Touthe, Touthe, you thilly fellows. Lathing my ath off at thith pothst.

Dru, What is your experience w/ robot cams? They look pretty similar to Trango cams to me. They are UIAA cert as well. According to Hudy they are the same cam with a different sling.

I once contracted Lymes Disease from a tick. It feels like the flu. If you get it you'll see a small red ring around the bite. It looks like someone drew a neat circle around the bite w/ a red felt pen. I went to the doc and was told not to worry about it. I know it can kill people but it didn't kill me ...I don't think.

Great job hunting down that information! Sounds like twins are the way to go for everything. I bet I'll get some odd remarks and stares at Smith when I'm climbing Moonshine w/ twins. Two more advantages of twins are the ability to divide up the weight more evenly on the approach and the need for just one twin for glacier routes.

...or just bad style? I really need to know...can't sleep.

A sad blunder has left me without my beloved 65cm Charlet Moser. I must shell out for a new one and I wonder what other folks have. I want an ultralight axe since I usually carry a BD hammer on steep alpine routes. My choices seem to be between Grivel's Air Tech Racing (15 oz) and the Cassin Ghost (9 oz!). Both are rated at 270kn and the Ghost says it is approved for use as a buried anchor, but the Grivel has a steel head. Hmmm...