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+ The Trip to Redmond: An Aborted Trip to Little Si 741
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Wiped out Location: Gregory gym Even the largest of holds cannot sustain you forever.
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Look ma, no hands! Location: Gregory gym Futher evidence that climbers are, indeed, silly.
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Location: Hueco Tanks State Park
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Location: Hueco Tanks State Park
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Location: Hueco Tanks State Park
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Drew gets ready to belay Location: the Marymoore park climbing structure This is our second time to use the new equipment we bought. Here, drew checks to make sure there are no kinks in the rope before bryan climbs. Ain't that sweet?
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And here Bryan is on the Wall Location: the Marymoore park climbing structure![104 0465 IMG](users/overt/_data/i/users/overt/menalto_albums/travel/climbing/20000618/104_0465_IMG-me.jpg "104 0465 IMG (1226 visits) And doing a little bouldering, to boot
Location: the Marymoore park climbing structure
"Boulder...")
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And doing a little bouldering, to boot Location: the Marymoore park climbing structure "Bouldering" refers to climbing low enough that a rope is not necessary (i.e., on a boulder).
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Everything you need to climb Location: Marymoore park Harness, locking 'biner, belay device, quickdraws, shoes, chalkbag, rope, and a belayer.
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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.
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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](users/overt/_data/i/users/overt/menalto_albums/travel/climbing/200006181/105_0519_IMG-me.jpg "105 0519 IMG (1182 visits) World Wall I
Location: Little Si
This is the wall of our first climb, "Reptiles and Amphetamine...")
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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."
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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."
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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.
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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.
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Nice view Location: Little Si A shot of Mt. Si from the top of Goddess
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More Scenery Location: Little Si
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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.
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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](users/overt/_data/i/users/overt/menalto_albums/travel/climbing/20000624/105_0544_IMG-me.jpg "105 0544 IMG (1171 visits) "The Twelve"
Location: REI Redmond
That's what they call this climb, even though they rate...")
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"The Twelve" Location: REI Redmond That's what they call this climb, even though they rate it .11b/c
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How they gawk Location: REI Redmond Bryan distracts a couple of weekend adventurers with his god-like cranking ability.
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Drew gets ready for some crack Location: REI Redmond Feed the addiction.
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Stick it where? Location: REI Redmond There's nothing like the feeling of wedging your hands into cracks... and then pulling up.
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A Rambling Stream Location: Deception Crags Bryan and Drew pose for a picture with quite a backdrop.
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The Same Rambling Stream Location: Deception Crags However this time our fellow adventurer, Abe, poses for a shot.
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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?
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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.