sobo Posted August 30, 2005 Posted August 30, 2005 OK, so all my regular partners either have their kids this w/e, are running a triathlon, are going car-camping, or haven't called back yet. I really really really really wanna go to Lightning Dome for the long weekend, but need a partner (obviously ). The climbing is a lot like Leavenworth's 8-mile Buttress and SCW, with clean granite, bolts where you want 'em, and no bolted cracks. Runouts, where present, are somewhat long and contemplative... While mikebell thought it was a long drive for a westsider to make for a climbing trip, he did enjoy the rock quality and the aesthetics of the surroundings. Soooooooooo, I'm most likely looking for an eastsider (cuz it's a shorter drive) who leads in the 5.9/10 range on trad and slab/face, wants to climb in a really cool setting, and who doesn't want to pay for trail parking passes and shit like that. So I'm calling out guys like: pindude wazzumountaineer MCash shapp CatManDoo ...but this is an open invitation to all cc.com-ers, so that means you or anybody else who wants to hook up for 3 days in Idaho. We could even do a day trip down to McCall and tick Slick Rock regular route if'n you wanted to. C'mon! Help a brother out, man! PS: Don't let all my talk about being fat and domesticated and all scare you off... I have all the cruxes wired from before I got married. Quote
kurthicks Posted August 30, 2005 Posted August 30, 2005 I'm out...I'm going to be in the Three Sisters this weekend for work . You should do "the Fin" while you're down there. ~10 pitches up to 5.7. Approach it on the left side, follow the obvious "sidewalk" out onto the arete, then climb to the top. walk off left. Kurt Quote
sobo Posted August 30, 2005 Author Posted August 30, 2005 Bummer... but at least the view will be nice. Yah, I've looked across the river at "The Dorsal Fin" every time I go down there. It's best done at this time of year as the river is at its lowest for the approach. Sorry we couldn't hook up. Quote
sobo Posted August 30, 2005 Author Posted August 30, 2005 Bump! Come on, you know you want to go! Don't leave me hangin'. Quote
catbirdseat Posted August 30, 2005 Posted August 30, 2005 Idaho is a rather long drive for me. How about Tieton? Quote
shapp Posted August 30, 2005 Posted August 30, 2005 Been there, but will be in Glacier Park with my wife all next week Quote
sobo Posted August 30, 2005 Author Posted August 30, 2005 Idaho is a rather long drive for me. How about Tieton? Naah, Tieton is too hard for me right now. I can cr00ze all the 8s, 9s, and some of the 10s at LD, and it won't be near as hot over there (I assume the fire is out by now). Quote
catbirdseat Posted August 30, 2005 Posted August 30, 2005 I would like to check out Ride the Lightning on Goose Egg Mountain. Quote
sobo Posted August 30, 2005 Author Posted August 30, 2005 So would I, but the word I'm getting from folks I know that have climbed it is that it will surely spank me. I wouldn't want to get up there and then puss out on you. And they're saying that the first three pitches are the only ones worth doing. This buying/moving to a new home/city and opening up a new office is really cramping my climbing. I was doing so good up until Memorial Day... C'mon, you really want to go to Clearwater anyway. Quote
sobo Posted August 30, 2005 Author Posted August 30, 2005 Thanks for the pics, wazzu. I hope they entice someone into going. FWIW, I've always thought of the arch of Fat Albert to be 5.6-ish. It goes 5.10 on the upper pitches, IIRC. C'mon peepull, look at that granite!! Look at those flakes! Look at those faces! Look at those dihedrals! And this is just one half of Lightning Dome; there's more to the right of the pic. Then there's the Rolling Stone Wall to the right of that, Then there's... well, you get the idea. Fat Albert is the arch behind the two trees on the right of wazzu's top pic. Cretin's Corner (5.8/9)is the obvious dihedral in the center of the frame. Quote
catbirdseat Posted August 30, 2005 Posted August 30, 2005 It's just that it looks like Darrington in miniature, and Darrington is 90 minutes away. Quote
sobo Posted August 30, 2005 Author Posted August 30, 2005 Welllllll..., I can't change that. It's 290 miles from Kennewick to Darrington, and only 225 miles from Kennewick to Clearwater. So I can save about an hour's driving time each way. And one can get about 6 to 7 pitches on most of the routes at LD, and that's good enough for me right now. I just wanna go there, that's all. I haven't been there yet this year, and time's running out. Quote
AlpineK Posted August 30, 2005 Posted August 30, 2005 I'm not going, but I'd like to say that Lightning Dome is pretty cool. I climbed there a bunch when I was at school in Moscow. Goose Egg mountain is a big choss pile. I remember one time after climbing we stopped in this store to buy beer. The store was the front section of the owners house, and you could see grandma sitting in a rocking chair off in the living room. Owner: What are you boys doing up here? Me: Climbing on some rocks down the valley. Owner: Well you boys should head on up to Elk City. Me: Oh yeah, what's going on up there? Owner: Well all the men folk are down in Riggins watching the jet boat races. You could have all the women to yourselves...the both of them. Quote
sobo Posted August 30, 2005 Author Posted August 30, 2005 And I know the bar/house you're talking about, and the folks that live there, too. Went in there one time waaaaaaaaaaay back in the days of spandex. It also happened to be the weekend that Earth Day was going on. You don't wanna know... Quote
mikebell Posted August 31, 2005 Posted August 31, 2005 LD was a good trip Paul. We had the place to ourselves the whole weekend. Might be up for a repeat but I'm not climbing any harder than last time. Quote
sobo Posted August 31, 2005 Author Posted August 31, 2005 Hey Mike! Great to see you around here again! Come on, let's go do it again! It'll be a h00t! Quote
sobo Posted August 31, 2005 Author Posted August 31, 2005 Bump! Keeping this near the top. Come on you guys, I can still climb! Don't be afraid, I won't bite anyone... too hard! Anyone who can lead 5.6 or follow harder can do this trip! It's getting late in the game, and I really don't wanna have to spend the holiday in Seattle at the in-laws! Quote
sobo Posted September 1, 2005 Author Posted September 1, 2005 Bumpity bump! OK, now the dealing begins... You get your ass over to my house any way you can (or to somewhere we agree to meet along the way)... and I'll foot the gas bill myself from there! Your potential savings by not having to split the gas: ~$40 Climbing in an awesome venue on beautiful rock with no crowds: $10 bazillion Basking in my glorious presence for the weekend: pricele$$. Now is that plab, or what? C'mon... doooo iiiiit! Quote
catbirdseat Posted September 1, 2005 Posted September 1, 2005 I will vouch for sobo, having shared a beer or two at the Nickerson once. He holds his liquor. He tells a good story. He definitely doesn't drool, and I didn't see him pick his nose. Not even once. Quite obviously he's generous and motivated. And if you believe him, he climbs too. How can you pass up an offer like that? Quote
sobo Posted September 1, 2005 Author Posted September 1, 2005 I will vouch for sobo... ...How can you pass up an offer like that? Really, how can you? And I haven't been married all that long, so I still get plenty of butt at home, so don't worry about me crawling into your sleeping bag. And that goes for you gurlz out there, too! Quote
sobo Posted September 2, 2005 Author Posted September 2, 2005 PARTNER FOUND!!! In a last ditch effort to save the weekend, I hatched the idea to call John at his Moscow Hyperspud location to see if he could break away before his Utah trip. Although John couldn't partner up, he had some fresh ideas of his own... Lo and behold, he's turned up a partner for me for the weekend... And John and I are making plans to hit LD the following weekend ourselves. Sooooo, mad props are goin' out to John for rallying at the 11th hour and saving my w/e! W00t! W00t!! PS: And I don't hafta buy all the gas! Quote
kurthicks Posted September 2, 2005 Posted September 2, 2005 I could see myself down there on the 11th. Got to work on the 10th, but Sunday... Quote
Ireneo_Funes Posted September 2, 2005 Posted September 2, 2005 After all that, there better be a sweet TR on Tuesday. With lots of pictures. Quote
sobo Posted September 2, 2005 Author Posted September 2, 2005 You wankers... it's always: "gimme, gimme, gimme". Never: "here ya go, here ya go, here ya go". I'm just kidding, Kurt and Dan, of course. I'll try to scrape up a beater camera and see what I can put together. No promises on the photogenic properties of the subjects, tho. Fahq, I'm just happy to be going! Ya'll have fun on your respective and collective weekends, whatever ya'll end up doing! Buh bye! PS: and before leaving, I claim the agebottom:! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.