December 2, 2006

So i went out with the Apline Club today to go ice climbing at Kings Creek. i must say it is quite a nice little ice crag. one route called scotch gully is the perfect length for a 60m rope and is a really a fun little climb. then there are a few other flows too. there was one delicate chandiler(however you spell it) that was tons of fun with some mixed and wow, mixed is probably one of the most amazing experiences ever. so i climbed leashless all day in Tim's B;ack Diammond Fusions, they are an interesting tool. i was the only one from our group to be climbing leashless. i found on really vertical and coming up over a big bulge they were really awsome. that was were they particularly seemed really nice. and on that mixed climb definately were fun to play with. it took a while to get used to swinging them that is for sure. i dunno if i would have been alot better with a straighter shaft or not but it took soem getting used to. as the day went on the better i got at not over gripping the tools. it is amazing how loosly you can hold them and you can still hold yourself up. there were some other people there with the new petzl leashless tools and they looked really neat. i would really lke to give a pair of those a try. they appeared to have more clearance and a really appealing curve to them to make me think that they would be really nice to swing. as for dual point vs. mono-point crampons, i am really gettign excited to get my mono kit if it would ever arrive. definately seems to be the way to go and a few times i was like dang a mono would be really nice right about now. and by that i mean most of the time, but really both work so i dunno. so the flows aren't as big as last year apparently which makes them pretty interesting.

jason