- 104 0482 IMG
And there he is Location: the Gorge It's kind of hard to hold a camera still while avoing flying elbows, but in the calm before March of the Pigs, I snapped a pic of Trent himself. - 105 0504 IMG
Bare your soul Location: the Gorge And all else, for that matter. - 105 0505 IMG
Taking a break Location: the Gorge After getting to know about 2343 people more personally than their doctor, your friend and humble narrator decided to take a little break and snap a few distance shots. - 105 0510 IMG
Location: the Gorge - 105 0513 IMG
First here! Location: Little Si We got to Little Si (a small summit to the West of Mt. Si in the foothills of the Cascades) at around 6:30am, to beat the as yet non-existent crowds. - 105 0516 IMG
the hike out Location: Little Si This was worth the trip just for the approach to the crags. It reminded me alot of "Harry and the Hendersons," which probably indicates some deep psychological disorder. - 105 0519 IMG
World Wall I Location: Little Si This is the wall of our first climb, "Reptiles and Amphetamines." This particular crag is said to contain, according to our trusty guidebook, "the best sport climbing in the Northwest." - 105 0520 IMG
The launch ledge Location: Little Si This ledge, about a meter wide generously, serves as the belay point for most of the routes on WWI. The blackness you see in the picture is a 10-15 meter drop down to the trail. The guide says "no one has fallen yet, but someone's dog has. Be careful." - 105 0522 IMG
Reptiles and Amphetamines Location: Little Si This climb lives up to its fame. Both Drew and I led it, the thing was gorgeous. Note: it is now about 8:00am, and still bone dry despite gathering clouds. - 105 0523 IMG
oh my goddess Location: Little Si This was Goddess, another three-star (highest) rated climb (that's enjoyment being rated, not difficulty. this was a 5.10b as far as that goes). It started to rain right when we got to the belay station, which we had to scramble up to. You see the small patch of ground where Drew is standing? That is all of the belay area. behind it is a 6m drop to the (narrow) trail, then another 8m drop or so down to the forest floor. More on this little ledge to come. This climb was a blast, except for the top was all soggy. - 105 0524 IMG
Nice view Location: Little Si A shot of Mt. Si from the top of Goddess - 105 0525 IMG
More Scenery Location: Little Si - 105 0526 IMG
The edge Location: Little Si This is the edge I was talking about before. When I was packing the rope, I slipped from the edge and fell down through some foilage to the trail (about 6m or so), but I was able to grab a tree branch on the way down to stop the fall before I went down the next 8m to the forest floor. You can even see where I tried to grab the dirt with my hands as I went over. Its neat in a sort of "Worlds Most Deadly Car Crashes XI" way. - 105 0534 IMG
Tying in Location: Little Si To start climbing, you really need to know just one knot: the figure 8. Now if I could just remember how to tie it... - 105 0540 IMG
The Big Easy Location: Little Si This is a nice little 5.9 that could have been nicer if it hadn't been raining on us. It was quite long; after lowering we had only ~4m of our 60m rope left. Whew, as it were. - 105 0541 IMG
Nice scenery Location: Little Si I just can't capture the lush, greenlike nirvana you enter when hiking in the cascades with a camera. Trust me, it's super-noot. - 105 0542 IMG
Desperate for a pump Location: REI Redmond Expelled from Little Si by rain, we stop by our second home and hop on the plastic while we're there. - 105 0544 IMG
"The Twelve" Location: REI Redmond That's what they call this climb, even though they rate it .11b/c - 105 0545 IMG
How they gawk Location: REI Redmond Bryan distracts a couple of weekend adventurers with his god-like cranking ability. - 105 0547 IMG
Drew gets ready for some crack Location: REI Redmond Feed the addiction. - 105 0549 IMG
Stick it where? Location: REI Redmond There's nothing like the feeling of wedging your hands into cracks... and then pulling up. - 105 0551 IMG
A Rambling Stream Location: Deception Crags Bryan and Drew pose for a picture with quite a backdrop. - 105 0552 IMG
The Same Rambling Stream Location: Deception Crags However this time our fellow adventurer, Abe, poses for a shot. - 105 0553 IMG
Now that's a trail Location: Deception Crags Check out that tressle. I wonder if it's used for anything but getting to the climbs? - 105 0554 IMG
Bright and Early Location: Write Off Rock, Deception Crags Judging by the sun (and my watch) I'd say that we got here about 7. Yes, that's 7 AM. No wonder no one else is here yet. - 105 0555 IMG
The Handy, not-quite-so-accurate Guidebook Location: Write Off Rock, Deception Crags It got us to the crags and helped us find the climbs we wanted, but the drawings were distorted (or maybe we were just distorted). (Check out the name of climb #1 on the left page. It cracks me up everytime I read it.) - 105 0556 IMG
Homo Erectus (the climber) Location: Write Off Rock, Deception Crags Drew leads the first ascent of the day. - 105 0557 IMG
Huh? Belaying? Someone's Climbing? Location: Write Off Rock, Deception Crags You mean he's supposed to be on belay? Don't worry he shouldn't fall. - 105 0558 IMG
No Running in the Halls! Location: Write Off Rock, Deception Crags Abe obviously didn't heed the name of the climb, as he ran right up it. - 105 0562 IMG
Looks Like We Have Company Location: Write Off Rock, Deception Crags The Blue Jay is probably wondering why we're having such a hard time getting to the top of the cliff.