ryland_moore

I played team sports all of my life and played soccer in college. I got into rock climbing in high school, but didn't spend much time with it because other sports took up all of my time. It wasn't until my senior yeart in college when I no longer had a team sport to play that I really started climbing and spending my free time doing so. Maybe climbing is a sport that others who are less coordinated or those who never fit in with sports like baseball, soccer, football or hockey, are more drawn to, but I just think of it as requiring a different mentality. Unlike team sports, climbing is more like wrestling, or tennis except your opponent is a rock face or ice curtain. If you fail, you have only yourself to blame, or your opponent had the upper hand (ie. mother nature came in and put you in your place!). Don't take this wrong, I am not nearly as competitive in climbing as I was playing soccer, but I also find that I push myself harder in climbing than in any other team sport I ever played. Regardless if you were or were not atheletically inclined growing up, we each get out on the rock and ice for our own personal satiusfaction, whatever that feeling may be. So, whether you are a computer geek or a dumb jock, we all find a common bond in the vertical world.

Here is the link

I will have to disagree with you here Dustin. Although Austin is an awesome city and the girls there are very attractive, there are a few more cities in that neck o the woods that will take Texas hands down is a hottie-off. Ryland's top five cities containing the hottest women per square city block: 1) Hotlanta, GA 2) Ol' Miss Campus 3) Athens, GA 4) New Orleans, LA 5) Birmingham, AL and Nashvegas, TN (tie) I would put Austin in a close 6th. The other reason for these fine ladies all in a centralized location has to do with colleges, of course. No put down to Texas, just not as strong as some of the larger cities or more eye candy-filled campuses. Finally, my taste in women is very simple. Girls that look fake don't score high on my list (Why L.A. or any other pretentious city is excluded). Girls haver to be down-home, flirtatious, and have fun , which all cities, including Austin fall under. Two cents.

Horsehead - Good PBR and free pop-corn!

No, 7th and 6th. Head downtown to 7th street, turn right like you are going to get to Coburg Road and just before getting on the rampo, turn into the parking lot. Jason, bunglehead nad I were there last night. Where were you, ANna? Can't do it this Thursday. Flying back to the East Coast on the red eye. Have fun!

Way to persevere, Ivan! God, I think we got off easy with 13 days, blue bird skies, no avalanches, only a day or two of storms, and freshies all the way down from 11k to 7,800! Only spent 2 nights at 17k! Great work, my man!

Although there was a little debris when crossing over the slide areas, I never thought it was that bad. I'd much rather push through that then climb through slide alder and devil's club. The flagging never led us off course either. There are arrows cut into the logs at each end teling you where to go and as long as you hold the same contour it takes about 10 minutes to get to the other side. Maybe doing it in the dark would be different, but during the day it is a piece of cake!

No, no permit needed to climb, just the trailhead parking pass (which I don't have)

I went to a party down in Virginia that was serving up snapping turtle and rattlesnake. Pretty tasty, but weird too. Also had sea turtle steak down in the Cayman Islands, but felt bad about it after seeing one for the first time while diving the next day.....

Fejas, it is called the Western pond turtle and they are not endangered, but a listed species of concern. The only way ChrisT would find one in her backyard would be in the early spring, when the turtles are up laying eggs and that would only occur if she were near water. Fejas, sorry to hear about the issue with your parents, but the government is not going to "take" property over a western pond turtle or cutthroat trout as they are not federally listed species. You sure there isn't another species in those wetlands they were concerned about? Was this in Eugene? Also, I wouldn't exactly call the govt. (the only one who can "take" or sieze property,) tree huggers. Look who is in office!

Lee and Alpine_Tom, was that you two we saw first crossing the broken up glacier on the right side approaching the mouth of the couloir? You asked how much I weighed on the little snow bridge? Great route. We saw that Marmot at 8,600' as well. It took us a bit longer to get down and we ended up bivvying in the granite slabs Sat. night and going out in the light on Sun. morning. Excellent climb! The approach was definately harder than any of the climbing, but in a week or so, the couloir will be out of condition and one may have to revert to the 5.6 slab variation to the left. The snow was super soft, but thanks to Lee and Tom, they kicked in som pretty nice steps for us on the way up the couloir! Also, saw a huge avalanche (serac fall?) coming off North Face or NW Face of Torment. Almost made it all the way down to the lake.

No Rangers up Boston Basin this weekend! I didn't have a NW Forest Pass for two days at the TH and no ticket! There was even a National Park Service Vehicle at the TH and no one. Also, all permits were taken for the bivy sites, but not a sign of anyone bivvying the entire weekend. What up? The Twilight Zone?

P and L heading up to W. Ridge of Forbidden. Leaving for BB tomorrow morning at 3am. Hope to see y'all up in there!

"Anyone want to do a road trip and hit up all the top sporto areas?" "I'll drive!"

There is also a wonderful 5.6/5.7 corner around to the right if you want to skip the 5.5 Frinction Slab pitch. I liked this pitch better, although the rock was a little loose due to lack of climbing compared to the Upper Exum. It is a full 50m rope length and a 60m would work better for this pitch unless you want to do a hanging belay. Have fun!

Yes, SoBo is right. Senaca, WV is pretty stiff. I'd also add the Gunks, NY, but like others have said, if the area was developed when 5.10 was the hardest grade, then you are bound to find what we are calling "sandbags". Maybe we should just regard the originally developed areas like Yos, Senaca, the Tetons, Index, J-Tree and the like as "Normal" and call all other areas that we find that are not "sandbagged", easy?

He clearly lost time as the group behind him when the incident occurred was now in front of him when he returned to the road. Go Lance!

You'll know in about 2 days! If worried, go ahead and start that steroid pills.

As one who has worked and hunts in areas filled with poison oak (I don't think Poison Ivy is on the West Coast?), I am a true believer in Technu. Since the Oak gives off oils, water is not always the best thing since it won't always wash away. Secondly, if you cannot get to water and soap in a short period of time (ie. less than an hour) the oils will seep into your skin. Technu can be bought at any forestry supply store or drug store. You apply it to the affected area ande rub it into your skin then you can wash it off later when you get to an area with water. There are also pills out now with trace amounts of the poison in them to build up your immune system. I became totally immune to poison Ivy back in Va. over the years, butr as soon as I moved out to Oregon, I got it just as bad as when I was a kid. A friend of mine played a trick on his then girlfriend (now wife) He told her that if she ate poison oak she'd never get it again. She did, and was inthe hospital for a few days cause it got in her throat. That was 20 years ago and to this day has never had it again!

What kind of experience do you have with crevasse rescue and climbing on glaciers? You can PM me as well....

And a Panic fan! Did you see the graffiti on her walls? You got sloppy seconds! Yes, she's a firecracker! And a hell of a teleskier to boot! Sorry we missed you up there, after celebrating at BC on June 1st, we headed straight back to town as there was the memorial for the female pilot who crashed the next day. Good work on those climbs!

Diving Trips to the Cayman Islands, Roatan, Honduras, Bonaire, The Keys, Cancun, Belize, Cozumel Climbing Trips to Mexico, AK, Canada, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile Travel trips to Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama, Nicaragua, Germany, Belgium, France, and Holland Places to go in the next few years: The South Pacific (Micronesia) , Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, Tibet, New Zealand. Go on a big trip so we can all live vicariously through you!!!!!!

I've decided to do both. Thank you all for your insight and kind words.

Mountain Lake Resort where DD was filmed: and Smith Mountain Lake where What ABout Bob? was filmed and where redneck 4-H counselors give the South a bad name yet again:

No, that is just Mountain Lake just north of Roanoke on I-81 and is much smaller. Smith Mountain Lake is about 30 minutes SE of Roanoke near Bedford. I grew up in the "Noke and now my parents have built a house down at Smith Mountain Lake and live there on the Burnt CHimney side. Hokies suck now that they went ACC! I'm still pissed about that!