mattp

Nice post, Mr. Plaisir. The crap talk is a little repetitive at times. VantageFrenchman's Coulee is a piece of crap though. Maybe I'm just an MF 206'er, but I feel comfortable saying there are lots of better places to climb in Washington. However, it is pretty out there, the weather is usually good, and I always have fun when I go. You've honestly never pulled off a hold or had a foothold blow when you didn't mean for it to happen? What kind of good luck piece are you carrying?

First ascent of Cosmic Trigger at Vantage, posted by Sexual Chocolate, May 30, 2006 Another item I may need help with is lighting. The picnic shelter is a lot more inviting after dark if it is lit. Anybody got some halogen clamp lamps we can point at the ceiling?

I realize that some people like to see a circus sideshow but I sent it to the trashcan. Sorry, but there is a spray forum for that brilliant commentary and we'd like to see people post their trip reports without fear that they are going to be made into a target.

What is your argument there, KK? We don't see Yemeni pirates attacking ships in the Gulf of Aden, do we? I can understand it if you say that we shouldn't spend our resources trying to help some poor people half way around the world because we need to spend those resources here at home. If that is your argument, I agree. But there may well be something to this idea that pirates can only operate from Somali bases because it is a failed state, and if you agree with that idea you have to ask if the crisis there can be remedied by political and police force alone or if economic development is essential, no? It might in fact turn out to be in our own self interest to help make Somalia a better place to live -- as much as the idea of helping a poor nation may go against your basic instinct.

Thursday might work for me.

Mt. Rainier, posted by Le Piston August 31, 2008

Here's the new flier:

Waddington, posted by Commarin, 11/17/2007 There must be somebody who has a digital projector and laptop computer they can bring...and some other somebodies with images to share!

F-U Johnny, posted by katybird 72 on 1/17/2008 OK then, a gear swap sounds good

What you may not realize is that gay couples HAVE that right in Washington. By law. I agree with many of the arguments made here about why gays should be able to marry but the fact is that T'vash's friend can visit his partner in the hospital and they in fact CAN have all the same rights that a heterosexual couple would have -- by law in the State of Washington. They have to register as a domestic partnership, but the same is true of heterosexual couples who have to get a marriage license and have the judge or pastor send the form back to the State after their marriage. Even before Washington's Domestic Partnership law, gay couple's could have had the same rights of visitation and consent and etc. -- or nearly so -- with a simple pre-planned healthcare power of attorney. Most states do not have as powerful of a domestic partnership law as Washington but here, at least, the legal functional difference between "marriage" and "domestic partnership" is mostly in name only. The emotional and publicly accepted differences, however, remain huge.

Photo posted by Off White, January 30, 2003. Any ideas for "special events" at this year's picnic? Should we have a gear swap again? Any slack liners out there? Climbing clowns or contortionists? Who might have access to the diggy projector equipment?

Assuming that we are able to reach an agreement about purchasing the crag, maybe Sherri can put up the money for 0.9*4 of a climb. Maybe the 3 pitch route she can't or has no wish to climb gets her plaque at the start, but it is the one that nobody else has paid for? Or are there 1000 share holders in Godzilla and Thin Fingers but nobody cares about Walter B? Rambling here, I know, but the point is: how do we look at this? Surely we are all able to donate, and raise money, for this most awesome of Washington crags.

Rob, I have been climbing for 35+ years and anybody who has pursued anything for that long has taken a hiatus. Clearly, Joseph is right: you CAN and if you want to you WILL get back into it whenever you have the opportunity and want to do so. And I think Kevbone is right too in that you have SOME control over how you react to any imposed abstinence. But how NOT to slit your wrists? You better have or find SOMETHING else that keeps you engaged or you might well go crazy. Good luck and the crags WILL still be there whenever you want to return. Its not like you are talking about foregoing anything REALLY important.

I learned to climb in the 1970's at a crag that was bolt free (or "nearly so" even if you think that doesn't count) and I believe it remains that way to this day. There was once a bolt ladder there, but I don't remember anybody paying much attention to it and I bet it is long gone. Grand Ledge, Michigan

Trestle it is.

I'll be working downtown tomorrow and quite likely not able to leave before 4:00. I can meet up at 4:30 at the Issaquah Park and Ride, or North Bend Safeway about 4:45, -- or out at the crag. For after work climbing, I've usually gone to the Trestle (Deception) or to Little Si. I'll be going out for dinner but I'll check back later. PM's with details and digits?

Once again, it's time to fire up the grills and look at slides in Woodland Park, near Greenlake, in Seattle. Come to meet other climbers and celebrate the coming season at Picnic Shelter #6, 6:00 pm 'till closing, Thursday April 30, 2009. Last year we had a gear swap. In the past, slack lining and other fun and games. Families are welcome. Ideas?

I'm going to have to confirm my schedule for tomorrow but I think I can leave Bellevue by 4:00 and maybe earlier. What you say, Pimp? Others?

Bamboo removal, flagstone replanting, pruning, weeding, general clean-up, and some blackberry control. Dinner in the evening sun on the deck. Spring garden indeed: my climbing partners were telling me yesterday that possessions tie you down and I told them it was home ownership that does this (and as much as the house it is the yard). Damn nice to sit back and enjoy it at the end of the day, though!

Damn nice in the Icicle yesterday!

But but but... you're advocating [gasp] socialism!!!!! For god sakes man: get a grip.

Yes. Most of the better routes require a rack but, even more than that, a "trad" perspective. Most of it is slab climbing, and it tends toward funky pro and scary runouts - with some of the classic climbs featuring ground fall potential at crux or maybe merely "cruxy" moves. But look at Mr. Webster's trip report from last year: it is a great place to climb. It might take a day or three before you feel comfortable there, though.

Whitehorse is good. Maybe White Chuck, though I don't know the Dan Creek road conditions. Down at Rainer, Pinnacle N. Ridge or Lover's Lane on the N. Face of Lane Peak in the Tatoosh are both pretty good.

I thought this thread was going to be about the new American Alpine Club ID cards. They come with a rubber band and a letter that explains that you can use them for "bag tags."