Hey RyanD
I enjoyed the bouldering promo which you posted a couple of days ago. Likely it fell mostly on deaf ears! In the interest of full disclosure, I should state that a couple of years ago, that's in 2011, waaaay baaaack in the Good Old Days, I spent a few weeks hanging out with some Pad People. They were interested to learn about the Vermin Minus Scale, which was new to them. That's the scale that goes from V0 down to V Minus10. This new scale allows for entry-level problems, for those unable/unwilling to heel-hook at shoulder height or higher. Very handy!
In return I learned several important lessons from them:
.....According to the North Face Climbing Team, [or one similar?] the bouldering in Tuzgle is supposedly the best so far discovered in South America. Hmmmmmm. There are several videos of Tuzgle on the web, but none of us, of course. Check 'em out
.....Bouldering pads make excellent wind-breaks, esp if it is your turn to cook supper, outside of course, you are at 4,000+ metres, it is the middle of winter, there is a minor hurricane blowing, and the wind-chill factor is around -200C.
.....Pad People are people too!
.....You can't teach an old dog new tricks. Actually I did know that one before.
So here's a few pix:
Pad People at play. Los Gigantes, Argentina.
Credit: hamie
Pad People on a lunch break. Tuzgle, Argentina.
Credit: hamie
The locals were not impressed. Tuzgle, Argentina.
Credit: hamie
Pad People on a quest. Valle de las Rocas, Bolivia.
Credit: hamie
This is a mini Trigger Finger waiting to happen.
It's always a good idea to read the signs.
Credit: hamie
The sign is supposed to read "No Climbing. May fall [over]". That refers to the rock, not to you!
Good idea.
Credit: hamie
Cooking a delicious [?] supper with Simon. The wind-chill factor was around -200C. Note bouldering pad being used as a wind-break.
"The Dream", a Peder Ourom mega classic three pitch ice route. Looks like we've all been snoozing! That dosn't come in often and it came and went. The Dream is probably the finest ice route that ever forms around here.
Love your story about The Dream Bruce. I hadn't heard it in it's entirety. I've been told we may have inadvertently done the second ascent of it about four winters ago. We were scooped by another faster party approaching A Scottish Tale. In stead of waiting around for them to go up and down, since it's such a shooting gallery gully, we thrashed over to the right to kill some time playing on a little ice streak we'd seen over there on the approach.
After scratching our way up the first pitch to a surprise bolt anchor, we realized it may actually go higher than it originally appeared. The ice was thin and neither of us had climbed in a couple of seasons, so we managed to scare ourselves a bit silly scratching up a corner and chimney with ice not even thich enough to sink a stubby screw into. Luckily we'd brought a few cams and three pins, so each time we were just about to tuck tail and run, we'd get in something decent and talk our selves into checking out the next few metres.
We were both pleasntly surprised to discover what we had actually climbed when we got back down and looked in the guidebook. Later we were told that it may not have seen an ascent since it's FA eight or nine years previous. It rarely comes in, and when it does it's pretty short lived. I'd highly reccommend it if you ever see it form up again.
I enjoyed the bouldering promo which you posted a couple of days ago. Likely it fell mostly on deaf ears!
This isn't true. Nothing here falls on deaf ears. I thoroughly enjoy each and every contribution to this thread. It keeps me coming back and stoked on contributing!!
Hamie, thanks! Looks like a killer bouldering trip you guys had BITD, looks like a pretty wild remote place, amazing rocks too! How did you find the change of pace on a pebble trip compared to an expedition style or cragging/wall type climbing trip?
Dannys seem hasn't had an FA yet, judging by the name it probably takes lots of blades.
go find it and report back
EDIT!
On a slightly more more serious note. There are not really any routes that fit your description. There is not really such thing as practice nailing, but when you must nail things are probably starting to get serious but you should be practicing "nail as little as possible" ethics.
The five easiest walls in Squamish go completely clean.
Routes on the pan wall (son of pan and pan granitic frogman) should provide some stout nailing. But a long ways from what I'd call practise.
Credit: thekidcormier
Edge of pan has gone free so no nailing please.
Lost at sea fits your description fairly well, 3 pitches (off the dance platform) with some nailing on the 2nd and third pitches.
Ah, sheeeit. I thought those had all been taken home as souveniers.
A few years ago we found six or seven very real looking styrofoam skulls hidden in a hole between some boulders. It seems like the zombie / vampire flick that had been filmed there the previous week had left some behind. Probably stuffed down there inbetween takes.
They also left a shocking amount of synthetic batting (stuffing) behind that was used to up the amount of "snow" on the ground. Unfortunately it either blended in too well with the existing slush, or they were just lazy with their cleanup, because we could have filled a garbage bag with the scraps. The local squirrels got the best of that deal.
The skulls looked so good that we decorated several boulder top-outs and hollow snags with them for others to enjoy.
Not trolling. A friend of a friend found them on a dog walk through there. Maybe it will be on the news today. Mountain FM won't report anyhing like that. Might scare the tourons.
Crazy!! I'm sure there's an explanation of sorts??
I remember a decorative skull of sorts on top of a boulder problem called "the boat" just north of the carving a few years back.
Really creepy sh#t if this is the real deal. It's a pretty busy spot so I'm sure it wouldn't take long for someone to notice. Your friends probably didn't miss the person(s) who left them by much.
Relic; a fresh skull is a head. Are you SURE they weren't movie props ? That shizz can look pretty freakin' real..............was there police tape around the site ? Cops would be all over that type of thing I would imagine..............unless..........it was like Departure Bay, Nanaimo where dozens of skulls were found but it was an old First Nations midden & it was the anthropologists who were all over it.
I hope to hear this is a false alarm. If not.......where is the reportage?
EDIT : whatta great story if it is plastic movie junk........
![Cooking a delicious [?] supper with Simon. The wind-chill factor was ...](http://www.supertopo.com/photos/16/51/286647_6717_L.jpg)
Let us know!