Freaking Mounties

[rr666]

dalius said:

[allison]

dalius said:

 

Timm@y any chance we can add this one to our emoticon arsenal? LOVE IT!

[JoshK]

beacon rock has a "only natural colored webbing" requirement. It would be nice if the climbing community adopted this as a standard.

[Alasdair]

catbirdseat said:

Alasdair said:

I agree with you erik. If any of you have ever climbed the south side of Ingalls peak you will notice the Two big Metolius Rap bolts desingned to feed a rope through that have been threaded with so much fucking webbing that you cant even follow one piece to figure out if the anchore is safe to rap off. Every time I have ever got to this anchor and there is webbing on it I cut it all off, and take it home. One time much to the dislike of some mountie shit head who had just threaded a piece through and rapped off.

Alasdair, do as you like. Equalizing two bolts using webbing is safer than threading the rope through two cold shuts. If there are chains, no problem, use the chains. If you thread two bolts without chain and one fails, you have extension and the remaining bolt could fail from the shock load. Don't criticize people for doing what they regard as the safer alternative.

 

Shure what ever. I personally choose not to ever rap off of any webbing I can not follow in a complete loop and be sure every part of it is intact. Not to mention the fact that the mountie death triangle is usually the anchor set up of choice. As far as the type of anchors go they are the ones that look just like bolts only much bigger and rounded and infact designed to rap off.

[allison]

I *think* that is why they call them "rap hangers" instead of giving them a different name.

[Sundog]

[vegetablebelay]

And Sundog has joined the fray!

[fern]

"studies have shown" that 3 pieces of 1" webbing collected

together for a rappel station are strong enough no matter

how old and crusty they are. This was

published in a book called "Playing It Safe".

 

regular bolt stations threaded with webbing for rappel are

suck. If you are planning to install one gimme a call and

I will mail you the extra $5 to do the absolute minimum

upgrade and attach two quicklinks.

[JayB]

fern said:

regular bolt stations threaded with webbing for rappel are suck.

 

Word.

[slothrop]

Dustin_B said:

That was the intermediate climbing course at Mountaineer's Dome on Saturday. There were 8 students and probably 6 instructors. They were wearing gore-tex, precip, softshells, hardshells, whatever because it was RAINING.

 

Yeah. It was raining, so I took off my hardshell and went elsewhere to climb. I enjoy my freedom to climb where I please, not where my class is scheduled for the day. Too bad for the students and instructors. They probably would have had more fun in the sun at Vantage.

 

Fourteen people on a tiny rock buttress is a horde.

[catbirdseat]

Yeah. It was raining, so I took off my hardshell and went elsewhere to climb. I enjoy my freedom to climb where I please, not where my class is scheduled for the day. Too bad for the students and instructors. They probably would have had more fun in the sun at Vantage.

 

Fourteen people on a tiny rock buttress is a horde.

I suggested Vantage, but it fell on deaf ears.

[erik]

VANTAGE IS ALREADU ABUSED ENOUGH WITH EXCESSIVE TOP ROPING.

 

PLUS WITH THE LOOSE ROCK HAZARD I DO NOT THINK IT IS WISH TO BRING LARGE GROUPS THERE.

 

AND PLEASE NEVER BRING THEM TO INDEX. I WONT BE NICE!

[Attitude]

erik said:

VANTAGE IS ALREADU ABUSED ENOUGH WITH EXCESSIVE TOP ROPING.

 

PLUS WITH THE LOOSE ROCK HAZARD I DO NOT THINK IT IS WISH TO BRING LARGE GROUPS THERE.

 

AND PLEASE NEVER BRING THEM TO INDEX. I WONT BE NICE!

[fern]

I'd rather see all 20 or 60 or 200 people contained at one

crag than have them split into groups and spread out. Once

your group size is greater than about 6-8 people it doesn't

matter how many more people you add, you have already

achieved the distinction of being a BIG GROUP. I'd rather

there was just one BIG GROUP at one crag rather than 5 of

them spread around the whole area.

[catbirdseat]

Shure what ever. I personally choose not to ever rap off of any webbing I can not follow in a complete loop and be sure every part of it is intact. Not to mention the fact that the mountie death triangle is usually the anchor set up of choice. As far as the type of anchors go they are the ones that look just like bolts only much bigger and rounded and infact designed to rap off.

The Mountaineers teach their students to avoid the American Triangle as does every other climbing organization.

 

Using specially designed rap bolts is considered safe if both bolts are solid. The use of one or two slings on each bolt is "ultrasafe"- Solid Redundant, Equalized, No Extension.

[Thinker]

The WAC does not have an organized class outing to Leavenworth or Vantage (or Index) scheduled thru June.

 

The WAC will be at Mt. Erie this Saturday (4/19). (30 students, plus instructors)

 

The WAC 'Alpine Climbs' (Commonwealth Basin and The Tooth) are slated for 5/9-10-11 and 16-17-18 (usually groups of 8ish max)

 

http://www.wacweb.org/Classes/ClimbingClass/default.view#schedule

Edited April 16, 2003 by Thinker

[iain]

JoshK said:

beacon rock has a "only natural colored webbing" requirement. It would be nice if the climbing community adopted this as a standard.

where'd you see that? Maybe that's why so many people see webbing disappear up there. Still doesn't explain the disappearance of the quicklinks though!

[Attitude]

fern said:

I'd rather see all 20 or 60 or 200 people contained at one crag than have them split into groups and spread out. Once your group size is greater than about 6-8 people it doesn't matter how many more people you add, you have already achieved the distinction of being a BIG GROUP. I'd rather there was just one BIG GROUP at one crag rather than 5 of them spread around the whole area.

 

There are at least 1000 cracks along Icicle Creek, and this bunch starts whining when a group occupies one small buttress with only a couple rated climbs of 5.6 or less. They complain about newbies being slow, dropping gear, and kicking rocks; and then they complain that they won't let them climb underneath.

 

Crazy.

[JoshK]

iain said:

JoshK said:

beacon rock has a "only natural colored webbing" requirement. It would be nice if the climbing community adopted this as a standard.

where'd you see that? Maybe that's why so many people see webbing disappear up there. Still doesn't explain the disappearance of the quicklinks though!

 

It was either in the portland rocks book or on the official climbing info posted on the board at the entrance off the highway. I'm pretty sure it was on the official info, but I definitely remember it as I thought it was a good idea at the time.

[iain]

well I'll try that out in the future. I've put black webbing up there before but it still disappears. I guess I'll look for "basalt w/ lichen accents" next time I buy a spool.

[Sphinx]

How I started? In the gym, then TRing at the local crag. Then sport leading at Smith. Then sewing up the cracks on TR at the local crag. Then leading the local crag, then alpine rock, now some ice. And no fucking class, ever. Hah!

[Attitude]

iain said:

well I'll try that out in the future. I've put black webbing up there before but it still disappears. I guess I'll look for "basalt w/ lichen accents" next time I buy a spool.

You'll need a second spool of "bark" as well.

[iain]

Funny, I was the complete opposite. General mountaineering to alpine climbing to cragging to sport climbing, and now I have a gym membership. Looks like natural selection has my number. Man I still am so suck though. I just can't overcome the ability to pitch off hard (for me) sport climbs where before I would have died. Choss puts you in a particular mindset I'm afraid.

 

I learned from some very gracious experienced climbers who took me under their wing and put up with my slowness and fear on routes at the edge of my ability at the time. I can never thank them enough for this and feel very lucky. I think the mountaineers and mazamas, as much as I throw out the jokes, are good for those who want to ease into a game that from an outsider's perspective, is very scary and intimidating. Not everyone wants to make climbing their #1 activity. Not everyone wants to climb the tough routes. There are also some damn good climbers involved with those organizations. Unfortunately, many of them get buried in the the inane technicalities of climbing (which direction should tandem prussiks be oriented, etc) and not the pure spirit of the activity. Unfortunately, many of these same individuals feel it is their mission in life to let you know how things should be done too. I have been chewed out by a number of them myself. I just bite my tongue. Lashing out at them will not change their minds.

[Toast]

Tim/Jon

 

How about we use the calendar function to post warnings about large class field trips?

 

If somebody's really concerned, they can check the schedule and see if there's supposed to be any big groups at the crags they're heading to. I know this wouldn't work for all climbs, but it could work for class field trips from the Seattle Mountaineers, Everett Mountaineers, WAC, UWCC, Bolps, SAR... and any class with a dozen people or more.

 

Just a thought.

[Dustin_B]

slothrop said:

Dustin_B said:

That was the intermediate climbing course at Mountaineer's Dome on Saturday. There were 8 students and probably 6 instructors. They were wearing gore-tex, precip, softshells, hardshells, whatever because it was RAINING.

 

Yeah. It was raining, so I took off my hardshell and went elsewhere to climb. I enjoy my freedom to climb where I please, not where my class is scheduled for the day. Too bad for the students and instructors. They probably would have had more fun in the sun at Vantage.

 

Screw that, you can take that over crowded, desert choss pile of falling rock and share it with the hordes of others on the Sunshine Wall or the Feathers; just make sure you wear you helmet, that place is falling apart. Once or twice a year at Vantage is more than enough for me. No thanks.

 

Fourteen people on a tiny rock buttress is a horde.

 

8 students practicing placing pro on the ground on and off the lower routes and 6 instructors critiquing them (on the lower shelf of Mountaineers Dome no less) is hardly a horde. But people choose to see what they want to see so whatever.