pope

quote: Originally posted by CascadeClimber: Thanks all who showed up out here in the boonies, especially Victoria for being the only climber-chick to brave the long drive. She showed up to represent her gender in Tacoma last week. As per Dwayner's request, I evaluated her on the "cuteness scale" at 10.2 (but only after I rated Dwayner to be a perfect 7).

This is kind of embarassing, but I like Outer Space so much I've probably done it about...I lost count at about 30 times back in the mid 90's. It's just too cool. Almost got a B.J. up there one time...OH SHIT, I'M "OFF-THREAD"!

I remember really liking Rock Candy on Lost Horse's Shorter Wall. A steep face at about 5.9 with thoughtfully-spaced bolts. Spectacular and nicely featured. Also check out Diamond Dog for a nice integration of crack and face climbing. I agree with Forest_M that Run For Your Life might just be the climax of your trip. EBGB's is a prize and you won't have to wait in line (first move is kind of dangerous, but when you commit to it, it ain't too bad. I followed this one. The upper face is superb friction.) When you go out to do Gun Smoke, check out the chimneys between Steetcar Named Desire (a REAL bouler problem) and Gun Smoke. Check out Comic Book for a nice slab/wide crack experience. Short but sweet is Heart of Darkness. Climb it early and you'll have some invigorating morning sun down in that hole. It's probably about 5.10+, kind of like a long Pisces Crack. Finally, climb up Pope's crack (but don't linger).

Thought it might be appropriate to give official titles to the sprayers most proficient in admonishing those of us who drift "off-thread" and engage in uncivil exchanges. I just love being reminded about the climbing "community" and how my behavior on this site can impact its condition.

quote: Originally posted by Peter Puget: Watch out Erik! Appearently the word "Meds" is not considered sarcasm but irresponsible mud slinging! You might suffer a series of stinging insults. That's right, Erik! The official Civility Coaches of CC.com will be keeping an eye on you henceforth!

Makes a very adjustable knot for your chalk-bag strap. If your strap is 1-inch webbing, and if you employ the bowline knot, you may also thread around this strap as you tie into your harness with the rope, thereby adding redundancy to the buckle system used on virtually all harnesses. If your chalk bag strap is secured with a fast-tex buckle, don't bother threading the rope around your chalk-bag strap when you tie in.

You can always lob a chockstone at your buddy when you want him to take you off belay. Seriously, I use a system like MattP's. When you have only one signal and it means only one thing, there's little chance somebody will climb away from a ledge under the illusion that they're on belay.

quote: Originally posted by Billy: Old carpets? What the hell are you dumb asses talking about? I'm sure they have new carpet somewhere in B'ham.... Last I checked, the "carpets" down in Fairhaven were getting kind of crusty.

quote: Originally posted by Mike Gauthier: RMI guides between 3,300 and 3,500 climbers a year, roughly a third of all summit attempts. The company often turns away 1,000 potential customers in July and August because space is limited, but Peter Whittaker said he has no desire to expand the guide service's capacity. Great thread. This particular statistic caught my attention. With so many potential clients being turned away, it would seem that Pete Whittaker could raise his prices and still operate at capacity. For those who question whether the $728 price on a weekend with Big Lou Jr. is evidence of RMI's greed, just notice that the market suggests the opposite. Also, this is purely speculative, and I don't pretend to know much about the relationship between RMI and the NPS, but I suspect the Park Service sees RMI as defacto mountain police on the Disappointment Cleaver route, in the sense that with 1/3 of the traffic on the mountain's most popular route under RMI's supervision, there's a good chance that skilled professionals will always be near in the event of a tragedy, professionals who operate under the command of one administration, and with whom the Park Service has a long working relationship. If eight or nine outfits were to operate on that same route, I'm not sure the public would climb the Cleaver with the same "insurance" one would find in the presence of RMI, and I think the route would be just as crowded as ever.

Matt, I wish your parents the best. They deserve time in an earthly paradise after a fight like that. My mother is a survivor of lymphoma (three years now) and I can probably appreciate what your family has been through. Eric

This is classic "Peter Puke-it". First he'll accuse of being selfish anybody who wants to preserve wilderness through limited access. His analytical abilities have been demonstrated to be rather undeveloped, and his contributions to this thread comply with the pattern (such as when he suggests that Retro favors limited access to mountain environs in the Leavenworth area only because he can blitz in there after work while guys out in Bremerton cannot. Peter, surely you believe that Retro would like to see untrampled meadows whether he's climbing in the Stuart Range on the weekend or whether he's visiting the Olympics on a long weekend. Why would you think we're stupid enough to believe otherwise?) Another classic Peterism is to remind us that those who favor rock without bolts and meadows without criss-cross trails are motivated only by a sense of aesthetics, and that aesthetics are always subjective. Hence, according to Peter, the position is somehow "logically flawed". When you get frustrated with Peter's mental midgetry, such as Retro did when he sarcastically suggested how we might improve access to Mt. Stuart, then Peter will make sophomoric jokes about lithium. When you reply with similar "wit", he'll admonish you about how we should strive for civility in the climbing "community". Finally, when you grow weary of his BS and ignore Mr. Puget, he'll lurk in the shadows and reply to nearly all of your posts in an attempt to provoke a response. He might even post a fantasy climbing trip in which you go bolt chasing with him. Fairweather, if you find Mr. Peter's drivel inspirational and illuminating, you're easily impressed.

I say give Bart and Avypoodle (Jason?) credit for the F.A. We can speculate about how it must have been climbed already, since the mythical alpine giants of the rough-and-tumble seventies were so damn burly, and since the access is so easy, etc. Bart stepped forward and claimed the first ascent, knowing that people might be skeptical. But it was important enough to him to make the statement, and he was a 15-year-old kid for crying out loud, and that's impressive. On the other hand, if the route had been ascended previously, it obviously wasn't important enough to the guys who did it to claim a first ascent, and so they shouldn't be too disappointed if they got swooped by Bart. In fact, at this point, I think it would be lame of anybody to come in and claim a FA; if they didn't care to be noticed then, why should they care now? If a first ascent isn't recorded, and if you leave only tracks in the snow as evidence, then I think the prize is still up for grabs. Otherwise, you've got the standard parade of clowns claiming that they witnessed RURP 3rd-class the route in his flip-flops back in 1974.

When the protective plastice swage covers on your stoppers eventually expire, and when the sharp cable ends protruding from those swages begin to snag your Peter Pan leotards, you can use heavy-duty shrink tubing to give your stoppers new life. Big Lou says, "Mark your 'biners. Mark your 'biners. And don't use black tape like all of your climbing buddies." Pope says, "Forget the tape. Mark your biners and stoppers with rustoleum paint. Many vibrant colors are available so you can be especially creative. And dat sh#t lasts." I paint the stoppers on top where the cable loops over, as this area receives little wear. If you find a stopper with Yale Blue rustoleum, send me a PM and I'll give you details on how to return it (it'll make you feel warm inside). Finally, I think we need to hear from Club Pub's "M.C. Dwayner" about techniques in stealth urban pissing (some of which I employed half way home from the E-9 yestereve).

quote: Originally posted by Heinouscling: Smith may have the most totally ripped, hardcore, female climbers. The type that make you drool when you see their muscles ripple under those little sport bras. Oh yea!!! -Heinous Hey, how much muscle do you like on a woman?

Yo, Chucky!Did you break it off with your white-trash, single-mother girlfriend? Are you going to send her the hundred bucks so she can finish her GED and get a 19th tatoo on her proletarian ass? You should probably keep that thing....I know a guy, who hangs out at the UW rock, who keeps a 12-pack of coldies in a "kid caboose" at all times! He can pretend to be cooing the baby when in actuality, he's sluggin' down his 8th Schmidt-pop. And when the babes come over to goo-goo-gah-gah over the infant, they're not disappointed when he trades a beer for their phone numbers! Oh, you mean that one? Now, Office Space, if you want to joke about my woman...I mean, if you want to be funny as oppposed to offensive per se, this is how you might go about it.

quote: Originally posted by Charlie: "There was a little kid who ran under the Prusik tower as we were taking it apart; luckily wewere able to haul him away before metal pipescame crashing down." Pope- don't you know to stay out from under the prusik tower? Sheeez! Oh, now Mistuh Charlie, Mistuh....YOU IZ BAD, Mistuh Charlie.

quote: Originally posted by mattp: I think Crack of Doom is hard. That is one of those L'worth climbs that I believe has a "stiff" rating. Maybe I'm just old and weak. It's been so long I can't remember. But what about that Alleyoop Chimney (Peshastin, maybe 5.8 in the book). That's the Leavenworth climb that left me a little confused. But the exit on the first pitch of Canary is 5.8+ or 5.9 even when you've got it wired. While I disapprove of grade inflation on the old classics (there's no way Outerspace if harder than 5.8), I think Canary's first pitch is one of those final exam 5.8's. When you can lead that, you're ready for 5.10 in Squamish.

Only when it is financially necessary. I have morals, don't cha know.

quote: Originally posted by OfficeSpace: Sorry for making a suggestion. I guess you seem to know it all. Maybe I should suggest you stop being such a know it all. If you need a one hour pump then go pump your woman There are two kind of advice: that which is solicited and that which is not. One of these types is always welcome. You figure out which. BTW, I think you're a little punk. You may joke about your buddy's girlfriend like that, but I'm a married man, and you're talking about my wife. I don't even know you, but I know you better than I wish I did.

quote: Originally posted by mr. happy: pope, is your sinus infection better? a concerned mr. happy Yes, it is. Thanks for caring, Mr. Merry Sunshine. Now if I could just shake the thing I caught back in college!

quote: Originally posted by OfficeSpace: Dear Pope,I suggest you take up another sport during these times when you are resorting to Squire Rock. I suggest ice climbing and possibly some backcountry skiing. That way you can avoid them more easily. If you're making a serious suggestion, remember that SPIRE Rock is a place where you can get a pump when you've only got an hour or so, when other more involved forms of recreation aren't within the possibilities. On the other hand, I can't believe I'm explaining this to a guy who's smart enough to lace up his crampons.

quote: Originally posted by Dwayner: Some of you guys act like the Mountaineers have some sort of priority over climbing areas. Baloney! If you add up all of the weekends the various Mountaineers groups are in some of the prime areas for taking beginners, it's a whole lot of days. I teach small classes a few times a year and these guys are almost always there. Go climb somewhere else, you say? Why should I? As I said, they go to some of areas that are perfect for beginners in any number of different ways. Do what I do. If you feel like climbing in Leavenworth or the Tooth or wherever, just beat the Mountaineers to the crags. Get up an hour earlier and start climbing. They show up, they act as if we're climbing on their crag, and then they must wait until we're done. We're very polite unless they jump in our face and then we leave when we're done. The mad rush to make up for lost time usually follows. I've seen rented school buses pull up in Icicle Canyon from which a division of Mountaineers emerge. I used to put up with their nonsense until one Saturday morning I showed up at a lovely little area to find a couple of dozen Mountaineers swarming over it. I asked when they would be finished and was told that they were using that crag for the entire weekend. No sir! As things tranpsired, they only used it for a portion of the next day...the afternoon.By the way, I saw the giant group at Spire Rock this weekend: a whole lot of new Mountaineers in the making. And one of the "instructors" (a graduate of last year's basic class) told me that they try to keep the group sizes down: only 8 - 12 people on the Tooth, etc.OY! If you want to sneak up to Mounties Buttress an hour before dawn just to prove a point, then spend the rest of the day dealing with the glare from those shiny purple helmets, be my guest. I'd prefer to work around the Mountaineers' outings, and seeing their schedule posted around would be convenient.

quote: Originally posted by jon: If bolting gets your panties in a bunch never become a mountain biker. If bolting gets your panties in a bunch...... just think what those cute, lycra shorts would do (not to mention those minimal little racing seats you boys use). Ouch! I get testicular torsion just thinking about it.

quote: Originally posted by max: Careful that's the logic those sport climbing dweebs use to bolt faces! Hey, that's damn funny! Kind of interesting how a row of condos will offend somebody when line after line of bolts will not.

My ass is big enough without a bunch of gear hanging off of it. My harness has no gear loops. I like everything on the shoulder, especially when scruffin' my way up a chimney.