Have you forgotten...

i really hate this song....

Wow it's been over one year....

Sorry for the lack of posting.

For the very few people that have checked out the page a lot has changed. First off we had our second child Rory and things are going as they should. Lack of sleep is abundant and all is well! So I am now employed at Oregon Mountain Community as the Customer Service Supervisor for the web department and finally all of my gear needs have been met! And next week I get to break in some of that gear on the S.E. route of Cathedral Peak in Tuolume Meadows. Here is a little beta for ya http://www.supertopo.com/rock-climbing/Tuolumne-Meadows-Cathedral-Peak-Southeast-Buttress

I will be meeting one of my dearest friends and his family in Yosemite and begin the process of relaxing for one whole week. Another note not only will be celebrating my 4th wedding anniversary but also my youngest son Rory's birthday as well!

So I promise to keep posting for my own well being and add some pictures as well. In the mean time follow me at www.twitter/nickyjusa

Cheers!

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Petzl Basic Ascender AKA My new best friend

Allowing someone to hold your rope is a pretty big deal, both literally and figuratively.

It's difficult for me to allow any old Joe or Jane belay me, even if they claim to climb. Maybe I have some trust issues buried deep inside, but the fact is that if you don't own a GriGri how can you really be sure your new found belayer has got you? Not to mention the fact that trying to find a reliable climbing partner is like selling items on Craig's List. Everyone is down to meet up, but chances are they just flake out.

I say skip all the worry and BELAY YOURSELF!

......Enter the Petzl Basic......

As you can see from the pic it's a very simple to set up. I fixed a rope from above (I used my wife's car as an anchor) and allowed the slack to rest on the ground cloth. Locking carabiner through the top connects to your belay loop, approach wall and climb. That easy. After a few practice falls you will have the confidence to solo any route, it's just like you are on top rope.

As with most climbing partners, the basic and I quarreled over a few minor issues. The one for me that sticks out the most is that you have to weight the rope in some way so that the ascender slides up with out any hiccups. I tied my pack to the bottom of my rope about 3 feet off the deck and had no issues.

All in all I'm very happy with my new best friend. Although it's a bit lonely at the bottom of the crag I'm happy just to be out and climbing. Maybe Petzl can design their next ascender/self belay device with a mannequin head that attaches to it so I'm not alone....

Ok that was a bit creepy....

Do yourself a favor. If you are like me and have a hard time finding climbing partner, go out and buy yourself a Basic. It's light weight, easy to use and chicks dig it. Really....they do....

Mt Hood summit attempt 09

So a few weeks ago I decided to attempt to summit Mt Hood with my good buddy and skiing partner Mike "ManHammer" Walsh. Although we didn't reach the summit we had a great time. Here is a shot of the my shadow above the Palmer snow feild.

You can check out www.twitter.com/nickyjusa or www.facebook.com/nickyjusa for the real time update, although I was so consumed with trying to reach the summit that I didn't update as much as I would have liked to.

So i switched hosts...

So I attempted to start blogging with wordpress and hated it...lets see if blogspot is ay better. So here we go......