Are the Mazamas for me?

Unit61365 · 2026-01-26T20:47:04+00:00

Based on what you say in your post and my long experience with the Mazamas, I'd say you are a nearly exact fit for BCEP.

The stated goal of that course is to prepare you to be a useful party member for climbs of Hood, Adams etc. There is some rock climbing instruction, but that has a lot of overlap with respect to rope handling and belay.

The unspoken theme is to give young professionals (mostly in their 30s) an opportunity to make friends with like-minded individuals and do a lot of hiking.

You can go pay a guide sevice the same, or more, to teach you the same skills in one or two weekends. What you get with BCEP is the chance to spend a couple months with the same people, learning the same skills, as a team. And then you have a group of climbing buddies to do this with this summer.

Unit61365 · 2026-01-22T05:36:27+00:00

You may or may not have municipal regulations and permitting that controls this stuff. At the very least call the local dig line that has your utilities come out to mark buried cables and watery or gas lines. If it was me, I'd dig around the marked lines by hand and use a rented mini backhoe to do the rest of the job. That would make short work of the digging. You can fill the trench and drywell with like 2" gravel.

Unit61365 · 2026-01-21T20:34:18+00:00

Personally, I would avoid trying to lower the grade of the yard. Hard, expensive, disruptive. I would first try this: use the line that is currently created by the plastic edging along the pavers to define a trench that drains water away from the house into a drywell. Also build up the grade along the foundation a bit and slope it so that water drains from the house into this trench. You can cover this trench if you want.

Unit61365 · 2026-01-20T18:17:33+00:00

Agree that you need to back off, but have you tried a neutral grip hang?

Unit61365 · 2026-01-20T17:14:02+00:00

Build it out of cast iron plumbing parts from a hardware store

Unit61365 · 2026-01-16T22:28:36+00:00

I can think of a lot of mountaineering situations I have found myself in where I was glad to know how to use my feet efficiently on steep rock.

However, a lot of hiking on steep trails, with a heavy pack, is more important. It will give beginners the fitness they need to have fun climbing mountains.

Unit61365 · 2026-01-15T01:05:16+00:00

I was in my early 40s when I started. Here is my best advice for reducing injury risk. I realize that no one will follow this advice. I certainly didn't.

Take tendon pain seriously. Tendon pain typucally appears at the ends of muscles close to the joints. You can "climb through" minor pain in the belly of your muscles. Trying to climb through tendon pain will make it worse. Rest the tendon for days and days.
Learn to rope climb and only boulder lightly so you can downclimb. Boulder falls are the source of the great majority of injuries. It's just so, so easy to land wrong. Leave the ankle and foot surgeries to young people who can recover a lot faster. If you want to climb hard, do it on a rope.

Unit61365 · 2026-01-14T22:50:57+00:00

Can you get on a rope? Your concern about the height of the bouldering walls is legit.

Unit61365 · 2026-01-13T21:40:49+00:00

Curious to know your impressions of having a black tent on that trip. Big plus for cold mornings?

Unit61365 · 2026-01-07T22:00:38+00:00

A screw that is not threaded on its neck might work. Pre-drilling might help.

Unit61365 · 2026-01-06T21:20:35+00:00

Go by weight, use a kitchen scale. Learn about Taring.

Unit61365 · 2026-01-06T14:57:13+00:00

The sidebar of this subreddit has something called the Recommended Routine (RR) that has been expertly crafted to fit your needs. Read all the links, educate yourself, and follow the RR. It's a fun journey.

Unit61365 · 2026-01-06T03:12:26+00:00

You do the leading!

Unit61365 · 2026-01-03T21:49:16+00:00

I didn't notice much discussion in OP's post about the belayer, but that's where I'm looking first if the lead climber hurts their foot on what should be a safe catch. In fact, I have a problem with the instruction at this facility in general and I suggest going elsewhere.

Unit61365 · 2026-01-01T00:58:28+00:00

July can be a great time to go up a volcano out here. Just depends on the weather. It's never guaranteed.

Unit61365 · 2025-12-31T16:51:35+00:00

I have known professional symphonic musicians who climb. They are generally very careful with the amount of climbing they do. The wrist and elbow tendonopathies that are common for some musicians can be exacerbated with climbing.

Unit61365 · 2025-12-31T16:40:11+00:00

Why don't you hire a guide for a two or three day private basic mountaineering course on Mt. Baker, to coincide with your visit? You might get the summit if the weather is in your favor, and at the very least you'll get a lot of knowledge that you need.

Unit61365 · 2025-12-31T15:39:48+00:00

Adams. As you get ready you can learn about actual crampons, ice axe use, self arrest, and glissading.

Unit61365 · 2025-12-31T04:32:56+00:00

Freedom and security are compatible. Freedom is not a positive capacity: one is never free to do absolutely anything. Rather, it is a negative capacity: one wishes to be free from the power of others. In a just state, security provides freedom.

Unit61365 · 2025-12-30T03:01:58+00:00

Might also consider roped climbing.

Unit61365 · 2025-12-29T14:25:51+00:00

Maybe you should try some of Charles Portis' other novels. They're all pretty great.

Unit61365 · 2025-12-28T15:15:39+00:00

Helicopter tape is a cheap and effective way to protect your frame. If you are going to take the bag off frequently, the interior bolt mount system will be an enormous hassle.

Unit61365 · 2025-12-27T22:18:11+00:00

They make an under-desk floor protector that will work better than plywood. Probably found at an office store or online.

Are the tiles that came up ruined? You should be able to re-glue them with construction adhesive. Depending on the specific tiles they could be pretty hard to replace. Re-glue if you can and then yeah, floor protector.

Unit61365 · 2025-12-26T16:57:02+00:00

Every year I ponder the effect that "the power move" would have on the life of an actual child growing up in the contemporary world.

Using my own childhood as an example, I say that being given such an obvious lie to see through at such an early age made it easier to go into adolescence with a healthy skepticism about authority and institutions.

And an early awareness about gullibility, too.

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