jblakley

Amen Me, I think climbers as a group figure way down the scale as far as destruction to the environment. I think we should strive for ethical and moral standards within our own ranks but c'mon let's put this in perspective. If you're railing on about the environmental impact of drilling holes in rock you probably should not be driving a car as far as I'm concerned. I'm not saying drill away either. I'm just saying that this is an attempt for a simple solution to a very complex problem.

I respect your love of the environment Jman. I think it's probably safe to assume that you don't drive a car or eat meat also (cow farts). Keep up the good work.

I'm thinking medication is in order here.

Getting soft Cavey? Not offending anyone, leading on preplaced gear. You're not gonna buy one of the nippy little lap dogs next are ya? JFWYD (Just Fuckin' With Ya Dude). I respect your passion and appreciate your shit flippin'.

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: Viktor I plan to work the route until able to lead it with preplaced pro actually. I am possibly going to cancel my planned trip to Canada to put up a new route with Dru. I am pretty positive I can get enough gear preplaced to lead it without the bolts and most likely without the pitons. Maybe I will send you a photo of me taking a whipper on it to put in your guidebook or something. -CPT Preplaced gear? Is that ethical? My point is everybody has their own opinion on what is ethical. My beef is not really so much the chopping of the route as much as someone forcing their ethics on others. For chrissakes if your going to chop a route or something similarly provocotive you might do an ego check to see why you're really doing it. To get backslaps from the homeys or because you genuinely feel you're doing a service to humanity. I would think if I felt I were performing a service I would not need to chest pound so much. We look like a bunch of f(*&cking boobs arguing about this.

Don't get testy with me!

Dude, You could have just said something to the effect of "DDD has been restored". Why all the swagger? I don't necessarily agree or disagree with what you did. It just seems you're trying to stir shit up for no useful reason. Jim

Prevent slippage? What the hell were they doing in there? LOL

Rumor has it that he is actually the original J.P. Patches!

Yeah I used to go to Spire all the time when I lived in Fed Way. I used to see that Dan guy there all the time. Aussie rappeling. Now there's a handy skill to have. LOL

Let's not forget that at one point this man only had a 20% chance to live and from that he has come back a better bike rider and human being than pre-cancer. I am a sucker for comebacks and this will go down as one of the epic comebacks of all time. In his book he talks about riding his bike during chemo and being passed by an old lady on a mountain bike! [This message has been edited by jblakley (edited 07-19-2001).]

Saaayyy Baby..wunna see ma rack? d-elvis has left the building....

Hey Wil, I would venture to say that if you are not an asshole now that you will not all of a sudden become one if/when you get really "good"..whatever that is. I know this sounds stupidly obvious, but climbing is just a hobby for most of us and the idea is to have fun at whatever level. I strive to get better but pretty much only in relationship to myself and not so much to feel better than somebody else. I think you'll find most climbers at all levels pretty friendly and willing to help...within reason :-). Jim

Specialed, Hurry, the short bus is leavin' without ya! Make sure you have the chin strap on your tantrum helmet cinched down.

While we're at it lets give thanks to the big guys. No not your petty little gods..Jon and Tim. I've gotten to know both of these cats (especially Jon) over the past few months and both are very cool guys who do this out of their own passion for climbing. That and somebody (The Caveman?) told them both that chicks really dig web geeks <snicker>. Jon was up till two this morning debuggin stuff so you guys can slam each other. So give it up..Jon and Tim everyone!!! There Jon was that good enough?

Was originally going to do Dreamer on Sat. but the plans fizzled. Probabaly do some running, a little road biking and a little sport yankin' [This message has been edited by jblakley (edited 07-13-2001).]

Is that Mandarin or Cantonese Chase?

Hey Jonny, Spend a little more time on that cloning formula. The last batch you sent me were only 10" high and looked suspiscously like Chihuaha's with little sheep costumes on. BTW how did you clone in the little zipper under the chin? Your a baaaaad evil scientist!

I am an International Playboy/Spy. Then I wake up and go to my day job as a Web Test Engineer

Did this route last fall with a buddy of mine. Definitely a long way in. I think it took us about 12 hours car to car and remember feeling pretty whipped by the time we got back. Had a major pucker moment on route. Somehow we bone-headed our way off route and I led out on this shitty moss dihedral that would not suck up any pro and ended up on this 5.9 ish crap face just as my only pc popped out. I still can hear the loud popping sound echoing through the valley as a result of my sphincter slamming shut. Ended up making the climb much more adventurous than it should have been. I would say all in all it would be a good workout type outing with an ok climb at the end of it. 2.5 stars out of 5. Let me know what you think if you do it DPS

Ok sorry if I took anything you said out of context. You presuppose though that people are 'ignoring' something bad (bolts) when that is not widely recognized as a bad thing. Beating up girls is widely recognized as a bad thing. So are you suggesting that we all see your way and suddenly realize that all bolts no matter how responsibly put up, are evil? Good luck on that campaign. I certainly do admire your passion though I may disagree with at least part of your cause.

Wow this is certainly a hot topic. Pope while I respect your ethics and your opinions I don't respect your desire to change everything to your liking. Your comparison to beating up girls at Mardi Gras is poor and dissapointing and this mode of logic could be used to pretty much justify or crucify anything. Some abortion opponents feel perfectly justified in killing an abortion doctor since that doctor has taken a life. Right or wrong? Some animal rights activists feel justified in sabotage that may harm humans. Right or wrong? See where I'm getting at? The simple fact is you don't like bolts for whatever reason. Not a problem for me. I respect that. I bet you don't even go to exit 38. That solves that. You don't have to see the ugly bolts. I assume you're simply going to remain unhappy and not start cutting the ropes of people leading sport routes because they are 'murdering the impossible'. I don't understand why there has to be two f*&cking camps..sport vs trad. I think that's a bunch of horseshit, ego crap. Most of the people I have climbed with do both as do I. I expect to see a better use of logic in the future from a math major :-)

Not to say rangers never lie, but I have found MRNP climbing rangers to be generally very helpful and friendly. They get their weather reports pretty much from the same people we do...meteorologists, which we all know is about as accurate as a horoscope.

Peter, No I wasn't referring to you about the "full of shit" reference. Just illustrating how I usually prefer straight shooting. I must admit I am ignorant of the politics of climbing and your reference to the Joshua Tree scenario is eye opening. What about the closures at Hueco were as I understand it the issue is not bolting. Couldn't pretty much any reason be cooked up to close down an area? This is what scares me. If we can somehow unite under a common, acceptable ethos won't we better be able to deal with any potential closure legislation? Of course a lot of what I'm saying is a little idealistic at best as there will always be differences of opinion. I will do my best to keep an open mind to some of the very good opinions being expressed here.

First of all I really like the exchange of honest opinions on this site. I'd much rather have somone tell me I'm full of shit to my face rather than to smile and go look for someone to assist in assasinating my character. That said, I honestly find it hard to get very worked up about quite a few things in life. Bolts in general are one of those things. I do disagree with the frequency or placement of bolts in some areas, but the actual placing of a bolt, treating it as it's own system, does not really bother me. Maybe it boils down to a matter of opinion. I don't think visually they are that instrusive when done right. I've even found it hard to see them when I'm on route sometimes. Here's a scenario: a new crag is found that no human really would have reason to visit or does for that matter. The hillsides around it have some clearcut going on. Some routes are bolted in relatively good taste and a small trail is created to get to the area. It requires a half hour hike to get back into the area. question: is this bad and if so why in 25 words or less. I'm not convinced that legislation has been proposed limiting climbing just because of bolts. There is always some bureaucratic type out there to try and control any group having fun. I really think it's a control issue. If bolts were not even being used other issues such as insurance or rescue costs or trampling vegetation to get to climbs would come into play. The same thing is happening with mountaineering and rescues. I'm not saying that my opinion on this won't change. I am also not for wanton bolting on anything hard and vertical (no not you Big Lou). My point is that like it or not compromise is in order. Sport climbing is here to stay. What the older or more experienced climbers could do though is gently steer a given trend into a better direction. If one tries to change the direction or speed of a large ship too quickly for instance the ship will break and sink. I really don't think any extreme tactics or opinions are going to do anything but create divided camps. my 1/50th of a buck. Jim