pope

At least they smashed your window. In Squamish one night, some fool tried to pry the lock out of my door to get what I'd left in my car (an empty milk crate and a sweater, for crying out loud). Best way to avoid the problem is stuff all your gear in a camo bag and stash it in the woods. Also get an i-pod and a device that broadcasts a signal into your car radio. Take the i-pod with you (or stuff it up under your seat cover).

If you were going for humor Dwayner, you might double check it cause you come off sounding like a cold, mean spirited (insert rude word here). Which I'm pretty sure you are not. Regards; Bill I'm pretty sure he was not. Bringing up the recent Skinner accident is relevant because central to Dwayner's argument is that the belay loop is an additional and unnecessary weak link in the chain. Sadly, Todd's tragic death supports the argument. Regarding coaxial loading, my understanding is that a belay loop will diminish the problem by helping the 'biner twist into the vertical position instead of putting twist on the 'biner. However, if you don't treat the belay loop like you would any other runner and replace it FREQUENTLY, you're inviting catastrophic failure. My locking 'biner is always in the vertical plane, because I use a double wrap 2-inch swami belt in conjunction with commercial leg loops with a connecting strap (or whatever you call it) that comes up nearly as high as the swami. The 'biner clips around the swami and leg loop connection and is always in the correct position. I replace the swami every year (for about $5) and the leg loops whenever my ass gets too fat for the size I last purchased. I suspect my harness is stronger than anything commercially available (and much cheaper). Its strength does not rely on remembering to double back on a buckle and there is no belay loop.

"Need" for bolts is subjective, but so is need for a rope. If you're in the middle of a pitch, on the lead and the climbing feels serious to you, I think you have a right to place a bolt where no other good gear exists. Sure, Joe 5.12 might come along later and poo poo your decision, maybe skip the bolt, but "need" in this case is not artificial or hypothetical but immediate and real. As opposed to the sport climber hanging on a rope who speculates, "When we come back for the pink point we'll probably need a little something here by my hip and then again up here by my ear." Who has a license to leave a trail of trash? I'm sure we do see eye-to-eye on some of the creations you'll find around, for example, Vantage, where within 5 feet of a crack route somebody will stuff 12 bolts onto a 40 foot face climb that has probably been top-roped about a million times already. We're supposed to simply allow this garbage in the name of respecting everybody's right to make and interpret their own rules? I realize people get pretty upset about chopping, feel as though they're being subjected to a morality to which they don't subscribe. I feel an equal imposition when the natural beauty of a crag area is littered with far too many bolts that I know were placed without any sense of commitment, without any risk. There are activities I'm sure I'd enjoy in which I refuse to participate because they don't fit in with my "treading lightly" philosophy.

I suppose you could consider me a sport climbing critic, but don't include me in your generalization/review of sport climbing critics' bolting/chopping rules. I think a first ascensionist should be able to bolt a face climb provided no reasonable natural pro is available making some bolts necessary AND one of the following is true: 1. The new climb climb needs bolts to link natural, protectable features OR 2. The new climb uses only bolts but remains bold and climbs a line that features exceptional climbing (defined by the quality of the moves, the climb's position, length, etc.) These rules apply to a fist ASCENT, which implies....ASCENDING and getting the gear/bolts you need during the ASCENT. In this case, you get a valid climb where the gear was placed to protect an ASCENT. After the pioneering ascent, and once the route is repeated by many parties, I think the route becomes public domain. Nobody, not even the pioneers, should be adding bolts later. Bolts placed according to the ideals specified above won't be chopped by me. Outside of that, bolts have no place.

Never did, huh? So where did it go?

Right. I'm sure that, if you had the time, you could just head right up the thing and start a choppin'. Your arm-chair morality lessons are meaningless. I've done my part to help keep local crags free from litter, mostly by limiting my own drilling to its proper applications, but also by removing offensive bolts. I certainly don't have the time to erase every trashy climb in every corner of the universe...where would you begin? But if somebody has the energy to go down and erase that mess they'll get an alpine high-five from me. Most interesting to me is the notion that because the route exists it somehow has historical significance and, even if this were true, that this should preclude removing the bolts. Would anybody really forget the story and details? I doubt it. And why weren't you sportos jumping on the "historically significant" bandwagon when rap bolting was introduced to crags that had a proud history of bold, exploratory ground-up traditions?

It's all bullshit. I don't have the time to correct either mistake. Shame on these a-holes, and shame on you for the worn-out cliché: this one is OK since that one is worse.

Relaxing is for old people, sittin' on the couch with a beer. I suppose it would be kind of neat to find a special resting place, to find a moment in time and vertical space where one can pause for a little introspection, to appreciate the ambience. Who da Hell has time for that hippie nonsense? My itinerary is full, with plans for dozens of pitches then a harem of bitches when the sun finally settles. And if Dwayner catches me milkin’ a hand-jam, I can expect a scolding: Just climb the damn thang, we’re late for the taco bus.

So it should stand....what, as a reminder of what can happen when greed for the summit becomes more important than respect for the mountain's natural defenses? Are you saying that once a mistake is made it shouldn't be corrected? Sounds like you have more respect for the bolt trail than for the mountain itself. Hey Pope when are you gonna head over to Colorado and fill in the carved bucket holes on Otto's Route with red-coloured cement? Hey Dru, your brain is on vacation and your mouth is working over-time.

So it should stand....what, as a reminder of what can happen when greed for the summit becomes more important than respect for the mountain's natural defenses? Are you saying that once a mistake is made it shouldn't be corrected? Sounds like you have more respect for the bolt trail than for the mountain itself.

He's one of the guys we can thank for unrestrained grid bolting, chipping, and a handful of other practices which are less harmful but still very poor form compared the clean-climbing ethic that used to encourage a more restrained and aesthetic application of bolts within the original concept of a first ascent (i.e. "ascent" implied climbing the route the old-fashioned way, starting at the bottom and getting gear on the way up if you could find it). You could probably still find Griffith's "Manifesto" or similarly hilarious drivel from the 1980's, such as when Rock & Ice reported that Christian Griffith and some other forgetable climber felt trapped by their own images and were intending to stage some kind of media event in which they would have their hair cut and then auctioned off (to whom?), the proceeds from which would be donated to the Access Fund (which, if you didn't know, promotes and encourages sport climbing and rap bolting in a way similar to a recently formed "coalition" of Washington climbers). I could go on. Here's a nice photo of the modest and approachable Christian Griffith:

I like Frank.... Me too.

I tried to like the stuff. It all kind of sounds the same...after about 30 seconds. "boom...bap...boom boom bap....yo yo Martha Falker....smacked my bitch up...etc., etc., etc. One day this repetitive stuff will fill dentist offices and elevators. Wanna hear something nifty, listen to something composed by Frank Zappa: dog breath/uncle meat

Figure a way to integrate these... with this .

Betcha can't guess what I'm wearing!

Weight varies with the length of the skid mark.

Yes, I believe they are.

Yo Dawg! Way to represent. More photos?

Pay attention, shit-for-brains. I didn't write that stuff.

exactly! there should be more superbowls. One of the best things about the mountains is that they tend to keep dope-smokin', tele-hat sportin', hemp-sandal wearing wieners out of my favorite sportsbar on Superbowl Sunday.

She won't go away!

KeeeRYST, I hate it when that happens too. Damn social events, damn community, damn fun. If you're a football fan, there's lots of things to hate about the superbowl. The championship games are usually better, and more meaningful to the fans because they're not played at a neutral venue. The half-time is WAY too long, and the commercial breaks are even longer than the regular season. But I don't see how people getting together to have a good time is worth criticism. Nothin' wrong with a little get-together...I like my neighbors real good! Just watch the damn game.

I'll be watching, but I can't help feeling like Seattle should be in there. The only thing I don't like about the Super Bowl is that it turns into this social event in our neighborhood. We have a party at our neighbors....kids running around, women catching up on gossip, then finally paying attention when those "clever" commercials come on (as if that's the attraction). I look around the house and think, "Who's watching the damn game?" Maybe Pink is right...too much hype. I think I like the play-off games better.

Don't argue with your wife. Just dicker.

Just before I got married, a wise friend advised me, "The sooner you lose the argument, the sooner she is happy, the sooner you get to go golfing." I later spent some time around him and his spouse. The guy was totally hen-pecked. After their kids moved out, they moved into a smaller home in which all of the furniture she had acquired would not fit. The solution? Put the furniture in the garage....but first they had to make space in the garage. The solution? Give up all of his power tools. He gave me a band saw for helping him move. I feel sorry for the guy. He's got a heart of gold and she just takes advantage of it.