pope

I must agree with Imer Bone, when he says that pea gravel is softer than a big old pad. I once popped off the tower at the U.W. wall while reaching for the notch. Although I'd never want to experience that again, I walked away with only a bruised ego and a load in my shorts. Pea gravel has amazing abilities to absorb energy.

I've satisfied a number of women up in those canyons, simply because that's where I spent the majority of my time starting at the age of 18. I'm not looking for guilt analysis. God knows that I'd have felt just as guilty saying no to all of those ladies. What I'm wondering is, does anybody have any "hot spots" for taking that special somebody around Leavenworth? Maybe you can alert me to a suitable location of which I'm not aware. Don't even mention obvious spots like Muscle Beach. Oh, and uh, Charlie: Any suggestions that involve dumpsters would not be useful to me. [This message has been edited by pope (edited 08-05-2001).]

You can't put a quick-draw in a crack. This mountain is bigger than I am. Rope up, and that's for real.

OK. I'm quickly running out of new and exciting locations around Leavenworth for getting intimate with the belay bunnies. I can't believe I've exploited every reasonable romantic niche that Icicle and Tumater canyons can offer. When I visit an old haunt with a new hotty, I'm overcome with guilt, like God is trying to tell me something. Ideas?

My high school geometry instructor had climbed Rainier, and the stories he used to share got me jazzed up to have an adventure of my own. I checked out a manual from the library, ordered an ice axe and a pair of Dachstein mits through the mail, and picked a target. The day after I got my driver's license, my buddy and I headed up to Mowich Lake in October. With fresh snow on the road, I put the car in the ditch three times. We scrambled up Faye Peak in hip-deep powder. On the descent, we triggered a small avalanche and jumped on the back of it for a ride (Chouinard had made it sound like this was a good idea), then got lost in a blizzard. Fun? Put it this way: I returned to Puyallup knowing what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

New things that I like: Friends. Yeah man, they seem like a big improvement over trying to fiddle a hex into a parallel crack.

Lance...he bad. He real bad. However, my hero is Dirk Diggler.

I'd charge a bit more than $0.02 for that sound advice.

Rafael, That the bolters of DDD are superior climbers does not weigh in on my opinion of their act; I never approved of the action, and I put a fair amount of effort into trying to convince people that such actions aren't right, no matter who is responsible, no matter what their abilities. Fact is, the guys who did this are superior climbers, and they're super-nice, high-quality individuals who've got a vast amount of experience in the NW. Their opinions might not agree with ours, and their actions might seem thoughtless, but they nevertheless deserve a little respect. My point was that restoration is appropriate, but maybe all of the posturing about it is unnecessary. If you really want people to be kind to the rock, you've got to get them to believe that your motives are in the interest of preserving the rock. When we make a big show out of our chopping party, one is left to wonder whether the effort is sincere.

Cavey, If I were Donna I'd date myself.

The sum of your parts is no greater than your hole. (Diggler)

There once was a bitch named Donna, who fellated two Brits and all sorts of fauna. An act this obscene, she did perform in the latrine, whilst Pope did crap in his pajamas.

Once you get past the smell you've got her licked. (Jerry Mathers) When I come home late from a big alpine climb, my wife always waits up for me, greets me at the door with a kiss, and has the hot water running for me. She expects me to do the dishes just like any other evening. (Marc Twight). Men who sleep in tents lead sheltered lives. (Fred Beckey) Throw caution to the wind and proceed with reckless abandon. (Dale Ernhart) You can check out of this world at any time. When it's my turn to die, I want to know what it's like to have really lived. (Big Lou--who else?) If there's grass on the playground....oh, never mind.

Remember when climbing was dangerous, gas was cheap, and sex was dirty?

I once had a fellow football coach tell me that soccer is not a sport. He said, "Sports require hand-eye coordination." I thought about this a moment, then asked, "I don't know a single fat chick who can't find her mouth with a corn dog." Sport climbing is neither.

If you're going to crap in your tent, don't miss the crap bag. (Donna)

Bivouac: that's French for mistake. (Big Lou) Lou requires an odd number of skis. (Dwayner) No snowflake in an avalanche ever claims responsibility. (some drunk) Carry bivouac equipment and you will bivouac. (Chouinard) Even more he like the title of "leader", as if that make him leader. (Andrel Meyer) There is probably less to discuss than we might think; there is certainly more to think about than we'll ever know. (pope)

You fu@king morons. Pope ain't Donna, but he tried to do her once.

Stefan, I was his mentor. But the Professor did throw around this quotable: The mountains don't care.

My mentor in mountaineering used to say, "If your feet are cold, put on a hat." Here's another: If you've got an ounce of loser in you, the mountain's going to find it. Anything to add?

Last night I observed the scar left from the bolt that was chopped out of DDD. It needs a patch, but the damage around the hole is superficial and should eventually match the rest of that lichen-covered wall. Hey Cavey, I understand that you're proud of your involvement in this restoration, and trust me when I say I endorse the activity. If you need a beer or a pat on the back, however, keep it among friends. You didn't really need to go posting photos of your buddies pulling bolts. What the fu@k is that? Is it restoration or some kind of publicity stunt? I respect your action, but I also have immense respect for the guys who placed the bolts, inspite of their action. Your swagger lends no dignity to your quasi-environmental stance.

Much as I hate to see protection bolts added to an old climb, or placed on rappel in the name of creating a "lead", belay bolts seem a little different. On a long climb, if you've run out of gear and pull into the belay without the #0 TCU and Big Bro required to set the anchor, you're options are limited. Most people on a long climb will set up a shitty anchor and take their chances. Their partner might not even be aware of the fact that a real belay doesn't exist! That's bullshit. THE BELAY MUST NOT FAIL. These considerations, together with the fact that in a retreat, bolted stations make things practical (or in some cases, even possible), I'm not quite as offended by the addition of a sound belay anchor. I've given this a lot of thought. On my last trip to J-Tree, I was impressed by how many of the short climbs have no top anchor. When you summit, you've got to set something up. If you can't find the right anchor, you can always haul it up. What's impressive is the way the climbers down there have respected the natural environment; you can get up on a climb and experience the rock from top to bottom the way it must have been thirty years ago, the way it still is fifteen miles from the road! Outer Space...well, I'm not sure I want to see belay bolts up there when the belays are so easy to get. And most of the critical ones have some kind of bush or something for additional security.

Pencil Meister, One of the guys who placed the bolts does check in to this site, although I don't think he posts. When the bolts went in, as I'm sure you're aware, a post titled "Bolt Mania" solicited opinions about this action, and a request was made for the bolters to explain their need to bolt DDD. I think Retro went about this in the right way. How do we decide which bolts are legitimate? One way to do it is look at the tradition of the area. Castle Rock has not suffered at the tip of a drill bit, and many of the people who climb there seem to prefer it this way. Given that so much sport climbing now exists within a ten minute drive of the Castle, maybe we could leave this chunk of rock alone. Your consideration of these suggestions is appreciated.

Pope's going to be in the library. There's even a chance he'll be in Leavenworth.

Slappy Happy: Does it bother me that a guy living in Portland would drive to Leavenworth to chop a route? Answer: Considering the route, considering that Castle Rock has been relatively free of this cowardly form of "climbing", considering that the bolters have had months to come out with their side of the story, and considering that I happen to know they only consulted a small group of sympathetic climbers prior to their act....IT BOTHERS ME THAT THE BOLTS SURVIVED THIS LONG, THAT SOMEBODY FROM PORTLAND HAD TO COME UP HERE AND SET AN EXAMPLE FOR THE ROCK RAPERS WHO CONTINUE TO SHIT ALL OVER LEAVENWORTH ROCK. All of you who feel upset, who feel like we really needed another line of bolts to clip in Leavenworth...you are invited to top-rope the route. You will find the experience to require similar skills and offer parallel rewards to sport-dogging your way up a bunch of bolts. That way, everybody wins.