PaulB Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 So how was it? Were the routes in Phair Creek in good shape? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 who actually went? if no body did can we get some Avatars to make Fake TR's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryland_moore Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 I know jja was heading up there, but doubt if they are back yet, being a 3 day weekend and all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 where'd you guys end up climbing after sky ridge? that direct finish looked pretty cool. besides wherever I may roam we just did a bunch of sporto stuff and moonshine d. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jja Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 I went to the ice fest ... fairly low attendance but I had a great time regardless. Bernard and Catherine really tried hard and did a good job with the limited amount of time they had to prepare and poor ice this year. They're psyched to put on a big(er) event next year. (Catherine even climbed Waite for Spring - says she's hooked ) Saturday night was Rob Owens slide show and door prizes, because of the low attendance (maybe 30) nearly everyone got something .. ice srews, axes, gloves, backpacks, I got a new petzl helios helmet. After the food and slide show it was off to the Reynolds for some discounted brews and exagerated epic telling. The real draw for me though were the clinics. Saturday at Marble with Scott Semple and Sunday at the Rambles with Rob Owens. The instructor ratio was fantastic because of the low turnout so what was supposed to be half day clinics turned in to all day affairs. With Scott the big thing I learned was to stay in better balance under my planted tool and to concentrate on the left tool/right foot - right tool/left foot dynamic. Something I would of never thought of by myself - completely eliminates the barn door feeling, especially when placing a screw on the steep. The mixed clinic with Rob was an absolute revelation. Watching one of the best mixed climbers in the world opens your eyes to the possible. The big lessons here for me were: 1. feet, feet, feet, climbing is always about feet! 2. quiet tools. 3. be really agressive looking for(or making) placements 4. I'm really weak. 5. I love leashes Number 3 suprised the hell out of me. Watching Rob do a demo climb, he just whacked away at the rock with almost as much force as an ice placement while looking for placements in cracks. The other big surprise for me was a complete willingness to totally weight a torqued pick - no worries he says they don't break. There were the usual gear demos, with BD and Charlet/Petzl on hand. BD has a new jaws like atc coming out, and the Fusion leashless tool. We also got to swing the ergo and try all the different crampons etc.. On leashless tools I could really see the advantage, especially on the mixed. I had one sequence where I actually felt like I knew what I was doing ... Drape the tool over your shoulder, pull on a jug with your hand, place the tool in a crack, match hands on the other tool and then switch - really sweet. My problem with leashless though is I can only do this for about 10 feet or so, then I'm sooo pumped without leashes ... take!!! Couldn't stay for monday, had to work (bummer!) Thanks to Audrey, James, Tanya, and Elliot for being great partners!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryland_moore Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 After skyline ridge (with the sky dive?) finish, we headed over to play on Chicken McNuggets, Bluelight Special, and finished off the day with the 10c on river face to Solar link-up. Good day, but crazy drive back over Santiam Pass with all the cars and SUVs flipped over! Sounds like an awesome weekend John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulB Posted February 17, 2003 Author Share Posted February 17, 2003 jja said: Number 3 suprised the hell out of me. Watching Rob do a demo climb, he just whacked away at the rock with almost as much force as an ice placement while looking for placements in cracks. Easy enough to do if you're sponsored! If you have to shell out $40 each to replace picks two or three times a season, it gets expensive. Bashing away at the rock is probably more common on alpine routes. On established mixed climbs (such as in Haffner Creek) you'll find that "quiet", precise pick placements are the norm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jja Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 Hey, the guy came in second at Ouray - if it's good enough for him .. On the pick thing, yeah they get 'em for free, but I noticed on my own picks that being aggresive while getting them into cracks doesn't do nearly as much damage as a gumby swing into rock on an ice climb. After several laps on my tools (quarks 'B' pick) they only needed a little touch up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 REI was recently selling BD stinger picks for 7$ a pop. I got several years worth Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 i find most pick damage comes from swinging at opaque ice that turns out to be only 1" thick BONK KA CHUNK SNAP I have never "broken" a pick (charlet) in 6 yrs of ice climbing but i sure as hell have BLUNTed them...dum dum mushroom style once.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracked Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 BD is coming out with a new accessory: the Chisel-Head Exreeem . It is a chisel that replaces the hammer on your favorite BD drytooling tool. When a climb is too difficult, or you just barely can't reach that next placement, you turn the tool around, use the Chisel-Head to create a nice, incut edge. Presto! you cruise to the top. Next year they will introduce the Tool-Bosch to drill holes to hook! Revolutionary!!!!!! Get yours today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 cracked said: BD is coming out with a new accessory: the Chisel-Head Exreeem . It is a chisel that replaces the hammer on your favorite BD drytooling tool. When a climb is too difficult, or you just barely can't reach that next placement, you turn the tool around, use the Chisel-Head to create a nice, incut edge. Presto! you cruise to the top. Next year they will introduce the Tool-Bosch to drill holes to hook! Revolutionary!!!!!! Get yours today! dont forget the CHEATER TOOL that extends like a cheater stick 30' to the next placement then hydraulically retracts and pulls you up to it. make kicking motions with your feet, like tom cruise in mission impossible 2, so it looks like you are actually climbing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 screw climbing, later losers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted February 17, 2003 Share Posted February 17, 2003 what are they gonna come out with next? a device that lets you breathe and not suffocate if you get buried by an avalanche or something? necessity is the mother of invention, and I NEED to be badass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cracked Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 What're you going to call it? Avalung? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted February 18, 2003 Share Posted February 18, 2003 hey, thats catchy! think it'll sell more than 100 units? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheezle Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Newbies at ice climbing, some friends and I decided to get some practice in and see what ice festival hoopla is all about. Naturally, we didn't seek out anything too difficult, mostly hanging out at the Rambles. Here's a few observations. Hope they help. I don't have my guide handy so route names are a bit fuzzy. The rambles was in. We climbed the 1st two pitches of the Left Rambles. The 3rd pitch looked a bit thin and beyond what we were ready to climb. We moved to the next flow to the right (Right Rambles?). We did one pitch which had three tiers. 2nd tier was difficult to protect. We drove out Bridge Creek all the way to the dam. Only one route looked like it might be in condition: near the Dam, about 1000 or so feet above and across the creek. Falls across a lake on Hwy from Cache Creek looked good. Noticed climbers on it. A flow at or near Carls Berg looked like it had potential. A flow just up from the Ramles (kilometer post 18) looked interesting. We did a few pitches on Belmore Gully. Only WI2 but lots of it. DO NOT park at the bridge and hike back. It's more than .5K and a nasty bushwhack (using Mark Dale's bushwack rating we estimated a BW3+: http://www.alpenglow.org/themes/subalpine/brush-ratings.html) Our party suffered a nasty gash, loss of blood, and a cracked rib on the 2.5hr approach. Cross the creek instead. It was only knee deep but be wary of slippery rocks. Hip waiders useful. Has anyone checked out Hubba Hubba or the Snow Creek trail area in Leavenworth recently? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Wheezle said: Has anyone checked out Hubba Hubba or the Snow Creek trail area in Leavenworth recently? yeah it looks like a killer white water line. super steep and super wet!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayB Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Wheezle said: Has anyone checked out Hubba Hubba or the Snow Creek trail area in Leavenworth recently? Hubba Hubba wasn't even damp, let alone icy as of Saturday. On the prior Saturday we noticed some festering patches of rotten verglas on the rocks accross the valley about two miles up Mountaineer Creek Road, but that was about it for ice in that area. Even those had fallen off and dried up one week later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Anybody have the latest conditions on Lillywhite?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jja Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 Did Oregon Jack on saturday, it was flowing a little but otherwise in fine shape. It was cold and snowing and for the first time this winter it actually felt like winter. It was even colder on sunday. woo hoo !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CascadeClimber Posted February 25, 2003 Share Posted February 25, 2003 From the CASBC site: LILLOOET WEATHER: Today .. Sunny. High plus 3. Tonight .. Clear. Low minus 8. Tuesday .. A mix of sun and cloud. High 6. Wednesday .. Mainly cloudy. 60 percent chance of showers or flurries. Low minus 3. High 7. Thursday .. Sunny with cloudy periods. Low zero. High 8. Friday .. Mainly cloudy. 40 percent chance of showers. Low minus 1. High 8. That's 46F for the high on Thursday and Friday. The only thing that's going to save this season is some Vonnegut-style Ice 9. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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