pope

Hey kids, if you still have a VCR, the video series referenced above is available trough both the Pierce and King County library systems. Narrated by Sir Christopher Frayling, the series is informative and entertaining, not the kind of documentary that will induce sleep. And you get to see Dwayner in action in the Valley of the Kings.

If you're fond of Jack N. Hoff, you should try sport climbing.

Chew on this:

South Arete of S. Early Winter Spire. Easy, outstanding climbing. Should be cooler up at the pass.

Every time somebody places a bolt, he is making that statement. Every time Kevbone argues against chopping a bolt, Kevbone is making that statement.

Hey, that looks like the Old Buckley Highway! BTW, anybody who has a poster of Big Lou sporting a can of that piss, I'll pay top dollar. It belongs in my garage.

Yowsa!

Elvis just left the building.

Hey, he looks like the UPS delivery guy!

Some marginal players beat out Zappa, John McLaughlin and Dickey Betts. Eddie Van Halen places near the bottom of the list? Then you have folks that don't even belong: Joni Mitchell, Lou Reed and some nobody from Black Flag. I guess you qualify if you know three chords. Conspicuously absent is Johnny Thunders. A small number of the musicians listed can play something other than pop music.

Thanks a lot, pal. Now I want to quit my job and go climbing for a year. Great TR...you two get it done! Enjoyed the photography. A cyber-brew to you!

If you're belayed by anybody who owns a Gri-Gri, climbs ice "leashless" or calls "Take!" when they wish for tension, you are not reasonably cautious. If you climb with anybody who DOES own a hemp chalk bag but DOES NOT own a 5-inch cam, you are not reasonably cautious. If you climb with anybody who dials 911 from the top of Glacier Peak instead of dialing Big Lou, you are not reasonably cautious.

Bold = hard move, bad gear, angry weather, climb through. Reckless = hard move, bad gear, angry weather, break leg or worse. Bold = exploits in mountaineering periodical. Reckless = rescue in newspaper. Hindsight is 20/20.

You can’t say shit about a movie you have not seen; you have no foundation to dis the movie just upon what others tell you about it. What make this different? Or how about sweaty man-love? How do you know, Kevbone, until you've tried it? Or maybe you have.

"Those were the days!" I gave up that kind of foolishness when (don't laugh) my mother found out what I'd been up to....it made her cry. That and a couple close calls and I realized life could be satisfying without going to the point where only a smear and a finger jam existed between a gratifying experience and closing the final chapter of my story.

You're wrong. At the core is my belief that no party has the right to impose their trail of trash on subsequent parties. This must be especially true in a wilderness area. Sport climbing is oriented 180 degrees opposite of this belief. The route in question is in a wilderness area, not some climbers' playground. Those who install routes like this (and the "community" who encourage it) are the ones imposing their trail of trash on the public in a region that is legally protected from precisely that kind of activity. That's what the "climbing community" needs to understand. John Frieh, I've done plenty of climbing. Less than I used to do certainly. If you're around this summer and looking for a partner, contact me through this message board.

up of the roof moves with a dog-head on "pope". Ain't that IceGirl's dog?

I remember hand jamming (palms away) while swinging the left leg onto the spike. You can sit on that thing with toes hooked under some overlaps and have both hands free for placing gear.

You need to realize that you are speaking only for yourself here and maybe a couple of others. Not for the hundreds, perhaps thousands of appreciative climbers. Your feelings are as an individual, and with a viewpoint that is in fact clearly in the minority and a small one at that. You believe that because YOU feel this way, it is the Gods honest truth. But that is a delusion you have and one which I do not share. Again, you need to realize that you are speaking only for yourself here. Your feelings are as an individual, and with a viewpoint that is in fact clearly in the minority and a small one at that. You believe that because YOU feel this way, it is the Gods honest truth. But that is a delusion you have and one which I do not share. No apology is needed. You need to realize that you are speaking only for yourself here. The community is appreciative of having a stellar long route. You are wrong Joseph. It is an "opinion" you have. I do not share your "opinion", nor do about 90% of all other climbers I'd imagine. If Harding had listened to the "Agencies and Authorites" El Cap might still be off limits to all climbers. In my "opinion" none of your remarks hold up to scrutiny, as they are only your "opinion". If it is true that as a community we should reach consensus before we do such an radical act as removing the protection on an existing route, or even changing single bolt on any route. If that is truly the case, then this needs to go a significantly longer distance via discussion only to reach that consensus. You are a good and descent person Joseph, but you might entertain the idea that you are wrong in your opinion, and that everybody else, who wants it to be left alone and in place, is right. That is the way I feel abou it, and o matter how many times you repeat your opinion, you will not change the way I think on it. BTW: this is the way this route looks. Photo Dave Burdick. Pretty f*en sweet looking. What kind of "community" would get behind a "climb" that jeopardizes access to a wilderness area? What kind of "community" could possibly rubber stamp such obvious disrespect for not only the law but also the very spirit of wilderness preservation? What kind of "community" would knowingly equate itself to an off-road vehicle club by advocating the transformation of lawfully protected alpine landscapes with a trail of human engineering and debris? What kind of "community" would turn its back on its own proud tradition of bold, exploratory, minimal-impact climbing? If 90% of climbers are behind such an act (and I seriously doubt that "statistic"), then I'll be thrilled to see the next alpine sport-climbing project go up....the one that finally gives land managers no choice other than to kick the entire "community" and their horse-shite perversion of mountaineering out of wilderness areas altogether.

Yes you do….or you would not be battling me and others on the web about a frickin sport climb. Huh? Let me also recommend a class in logic.

On the average, you'll get a week of good weather in February, two weeks in May, and great weather mid-July through the second or third week of October. The rest of the year is nasty. Wet rock and crappy snow. Get a mountain bike! No partner or dry weather necessary. No farting around in a dusty gym all winter. No lift fees or lines to wait in. And you probably won't get killed doing it. It will keep you strong enough to climb 5.10 off the couch come July.

You are without conscience.

The best climber is..... this guy: