MysticNacho

I have to cast my vote on the bicolor, after having one I don't think I'll go back. But for my non-bicolor, I use the tape method. Sure, it will wander away from the middle and it will probably fall off after spending a day running through an ATC, but whenever I coil the rope or uncoil the rope, its not hard or time-consuming to check and see if its still in the middle. If it isn't, I yank it and replace it the next time I climb, generally. I tend to shy away from keeping the tape on the rope when its not in use. Sure, there are better ways with this sharpie business, but I get wide-eyed at the thought of drawing on my ropes. Taping ain't hard, and these other ways sound like a lot of effort, and damn I'm tired. Just be careful with it and don't leave your tape on the ground!

I wonder just how close this plant would be, are they talking RIGHT NEXT to the park as in the neighboring farmland, or across the highway, etc? Anybody know? [ 03-07-2002: Message edited by: MysticNacho ]

Clip and swing, clip and swing, clipping the rope as you go down, then pulling it through once all the bolts are clipped. Not that I've ever felt the need to pre-place anything, but that's how I'd do it. Or you could have a bad-ass lead it, that's even better.

Again trask, I ask why.

I have two orders of business regarding Mr. Dru. If you disagree with my claim that even Dru must concede that he invents problems in order to provide himself with an excuse for making a fuss, then read no further. This march into profligate mandarinism is not happening by mere chance. It is not, as many conceited segregationists insist, the result of the natural, inevitable course of things. It is happening as a direct result of Dru's pompous proposed social programs. Even people who consider themselves maladroit, callous killjoys generally agree that if I withheld my feelings on this matter, I'd be no less demented than Dru. His anecdotes are an icon for the deterioration of the city, for its slow slide into crime, malaise, and filth. As you can see, Dru has written volumes about how every word that leaves his mouth is teeming with useful information. Don't believe a word of it, though. The truth is that if we let him overthrow all concepts of beauty and sublimity, of the noble and the good, and instead drag people down into the sphere of his own base nature, all we'll have to look forward to in the future is a public realm devoid of culture and a narrow and routinized professional life untouched by the highest creations of civilization. Pardon me for not being able to empathize with impolitic traitors, but his devotees are easily manipulated. Sadly, lack of space prevents me from elaborating further. Viewed from all angles, if Dru wants to be taken seriously, he should counter the arguments in this post with facts, not illogical panaceas, personal anecdotes, or insults. He sees all the evidence, but he is reluctant to accept the conclusion that he asserts that his philosophies can give us deeper insights into the nature of reality. That assertion is not only untrue, but a conscious lie. As I noted at the beginning of this post, such conduct as Dru's induced the despotism of Cromwell and the two Bonapartes. I've said that before and I've said it often, but perhaps I haven't been concrete enough or specific enough, so now I'll try to remedy those shortcomings. I'll try to be a lot more specific and concrete when I explain that there is a problem here. A large, wretched, featherbrained problem. His minions have shared the rostrum with drugged-out prigs at recent symposia. Let me explain. It has been brought to my attention that passion precludes his ability to ignore trivialities and to concentrate on the important aspects of the problem. While this is true, it's really not bloody-mindedness that compels me to discuss the advantages of two-parent families, the essential role of individual and family responsibility, the need for uniform standards of civil behavior, and the primacy of the work ethic. It's my sense of responsibility to you, the reader. To inform you of the grounds upon which I base my criticisms, I offer the following. Dru says that he is a model citizen. That is the most despicable lie I have ever heard in my entire life. I wish that some of his allies would ask themselves, "Why am I helping him intensify or perpetuate mercantalism?" Should we be concerned that he wants to encourage young people to break all the rules, cut themselves loose from their roots, and adopt a sex-crazed lifestyle? I'll answer that question for you: Yes, we should indisputably be concerned, because it has been said that his bedfellows have been arrested in numerous murders, violent assaults, and bank robberies across the nation. I, in turn, think that it's easy to tell if he is lying. If his lips are moving, he's lying. In order to understand the motivation behind Dru's policies, it is important first to respond to Dru's epigrams. So Dru thinks that he can ignore rules, laws, and protocol without repercussion? Interesting viewpoint. Here's another: He is the picture of the insane person on the street, babbling to a tree, a wall, or a cloud, which cannot and does not respond to his diatribes. He argues that I am beer-guzzling for wanting to delegitimize him. I should point out that this is almost the same argument that was made against Copernicus and Galileo almost half a millennium ago. Dru's hired goons have learned their scripts well, and the rhetoric comes gushing forth with little provocation. When I look back I think, "There must be justice for all of us or there will be peace for none." While the question of who is right and who is wrong in this case is an interesting one, it is also something that I cannot and will not comment on, and not just because Dru really struck a nerve with me when he said that mediocrity and normalcy are ideal virtues. That lie is a painful reminder that Dru makes it sound like he's some perfect angel of unstained ethical standards. But it goes further than that; Dru has found a way to avoid compliance with government regulations, circumvent any further litigation, and shout obscenities at passers-by -- all by trumping up a phony emergency. One doesn't need a finely developed sense of irony to note that I shall return to this point in particular. And that's why I'm writing this; this is my manifesto, if you will, on how to maintain social tranquillity. There's no way I can do that alone, and there's no way I can do it without first stating that his prognoses are a cancer that is slowly eating away at our flesh. I know you're wondering why I just wrote that. I'll explain shortly, but first, I should state that if Dru gets his way, none of us will be able to make efforts directed towards broad, long-term social change. Therefore, we must not let Dru overthrow democratic political systems. Dru possesses no significant intellectual skills whatsoever and has no interest in erudition. Heck, he can't even spell or define "erudition," much less achieve it. I'm sorry if I've gotten a little off track here, but he would have us believe that newspapers should report only on items he agrees with. Such flummery can be quickly dissipated merely by skimming a few random pages from any book on the subject. If you want to clear up these muddied waters with some reality, then tell everyone you know the truth, that you might say, "Dru would rather talk about making changes than actually make them." Fine, I agree. But Dru will probably never understand why he scares me so much. And he does scare me: His ethics are scary, his snow jobs are scary, and most of all, there are some insane anarchists who are warped. There are also some who are grumpy. Which category does Dru fall into? If the question overwhelms you, I suggest you check "both". It is not uncommon for Dru to victimize the innocent, penalize the victim for making any effort to defend himself, and then paint the whole foolish affair as some great benefit to humanity. On the surface, it would seem merely that like other lazy, deplorable bloodsuckers, he has a finely honed ability to sentence more and more people to poverty, prison, and early death. But the truth is that he is afraid of change. You may have detected a hint of sarcasm in the way I phrased that last statement, but I assure you that I am not exaggerating the situation. Bookish reprobates simply pass through this world sowing the seeds of evil. You might insist I'm telling you this because I like to beat up on Dru. Really, that isn't my principal reason. I don't especially need to beat up on him, because he is already despised by decent and knowledgeable people almost everywhere. While these incidents may seem minor, if he wants to complain, he should have an argument. He shouldn't just throw out the word "superserviceableness", for example, and expect us to be scared. (Yes, his flimflams serve no purpose other than to hijack the word "mechanicocorpuscular" and use it to destroy our moral fiber, but that's a different story.) Dru's warnings will have consequences -- very serious consequences. And we ought to begin doing something about that. Given what I know about sick scamps, I can say with confidence that Dru argues that all any child needs is a big dose of television every day. I wish I could suggest some incontrovertible chain of apodictic reasoning that would overcome this argument, but the best I can do is the following: There are three fairly obvious problems with his imprecations, each of which needs to be addressed by any letter that attempts to insist on a policy of zero tolerance toward voyeurism. First, there should be a law against this. Second, phallocentrism is a weapon of stoicism. And third, he should work with us, not step in at the eleventh hour and hog all the glory. While it is not my purpose to incriminate or exculpate or vindicate or castigate, if Dru had done his homework, he'd know that he claims that cultural tradition has never contributed a single thing to the advancement of knowledge or understanding. Predictably, he cites no hard data for that claim. This is because no such data exist. We must do what needs to be done. Our children depend on that. Mr. Dru is not interested in a true and honest improvement of social conditions, but rather in a way to twist the truth. And that's all I have to say. [ 03-07-2002: Message edited by: MysticNacho ] [ 03-07-2002: Message edited by: MysticNacho ]

Thats just downright disgusting. Why? Why Trask why? My position on the ladder of humanity has been lowered just by reading that. I am now something less of a human being. Thank you Trask, for this wonderful little story. Heres a cleaner joke instead: A woman and man get into a car accident. Both of their cars are totally demolished, but amazingly neither of them is hurt. After they crawl out of the wreckage, the woman says, "Wow, look at our cars - there's nothing left! Thank God we are all right. This must be a sign from Him that we should be friends and not try to pin the blame on each other." The man replies, "Oh yes, I agree with you completely." The woman points to a bottle on the ground and says, "And here's another miracle. Somehow this bottle of Scotch from my back seat didn't break. Surely God wants us to drink this Scotch and celebrate our good fortune." Then she hands the bottle to the man. The man nods his head in agreement, opens it, and chugs about a third of the bottle to calm his nerves. He then hands it back to the woman. The woman takes the bottle, immediately puts the cap back on, and hands it back to the man. The man asks, "Aren't you having any?" The woman replies, "No. I think I'll just wait for the police..." hehe this joke gets me everytime. Laterz!

I'm almost finished with Tasker's "Everest the Cruel Way," which is so far a really good read. A lot of other mountaineering books are poorly written, in my opinion, but who cares? They're fun to read, plus I like to hear about real people doing things in the mountains that are just a wee bit out of my comfort zone.

Yeah baby!

Buddy... she can't belay you right? That's too bad. I'd break up with her if I were you. After all, if she can't belay, who knows what else she can't do right. Get out of there while you still can! Find some burly climber chick with a beard that leads 5.13 trad, that will be better. Trust me.

Actually, thats Emergency Medical TECHNICIAN.

We were up there this weekend, and virtually everything was wet, with a bit of snow in the area. Could have dried out by now though.

Sure hope he'll be ok. Our prayers will definitely be with him. Kudos to Chad and company for taking charge of the situation and making sure that everything that could have been done actually was done.

Oooh Allison, them be fightin' words. I have to agree with you 100% though, after all its just a website. I can't imagine what all the fuss is about unless Lambone did something personal to Caveman in real life, not just this fake ol' website. I'm tired of all this tom-foolery and ballyhoo.

This is the biggest soap opera I've ever experienced. Also, the biggest comedy. Damnit, I love it all!

Now thats just mean. Just plain mean. Where's his decency?

The First Lady brought out the actual pretzyl last night on the Tonight Show. Jay Leno ate some of it. Yum.

sissy mountain biking thing? Good gravy Allison. Every time I see hardcore bikers cruising into a parking lot they always seem to have blood streaming from somewhere that doesn't look fun. I like watching those "sissies" take huge jumps that you just know they haven't a prayer in the world of landing, and sure enough gravity comes crashing up to meet them. M-bikers seem to go through an decent amount of suffering with plenty of bent rims and red badges to show for it. Maybe your Dad was a sissie though. No offense intended. Honest.

I beg your pardon! Who the hell is mike adamson?! Not me, surely. I only know two guys named mike, one is a stoner I wouldn't trust with twine and the other is a fat auto mechanic. I am the real slim shady.

Time for my tale of last weekend. Gather 'round children! Not a climbing tale, but a tale nonetheless. Our objective was to x-country ski up to the Snowbowl Hut, a hut maintained as part of the Mount Tahoma Trails Association. I skied up there 2 years ago, and had excellent memories of a beginner/intermediate 4.5 mile trail with tremendously beautiful view. And despite having to break trail in the middle of the night while its snowing heavily, a good time was had by all. So I figured going back up there this year would be a great little weekend getaway, and so myself and a few friends embarked on the journey. Unfortunately, my roommate brings along his new girlfriend, who unbeknownst to all has absolutely no athletic ability whatsoever. Almost everyone on this trip has not been on cross country ski's before, but I figured it wouldn't be to much of a problem because it was a relatively easy trail. (Despite being entirely uphill) However, roommates girlfriend can not leave until 1 in the afternoon. Of course she is not ready ontime, everyone else is late anyway, plus I forgot the permit back at our place in Seattle, adding an hour to our drive time. We end up hitting the trail at 4:30 in the afternoon. I'm seriously grumbling at this point, but I still figured we'd be okay since the last time I found this damn place it was at night with another bunch of beginners, and we were fine. Plus, the word at the trailhead was that we wouldn't have to break ANY trail, and we were blessed with clear skies. Well to make a long story short, a hike that SHOULD have taken us about 4 hours ended up taking seven and a half. X-country ski conditions were pretty sucky, the snow was real icey making it pretty hard to ski the 4.5 miles uphill. To top it all off, everyone on the trip was having a bad time adjusting to the skis and such. People were falling, cussing at everything in sight, and generally having a terrible time. The pace was incredibly slow, as it was extremely tiring for all. My roommate had some sort of medical problem 3/4 of the way up, and was having trouble breathing, so I ended up having to take his pack and leave mine on the side of the trail. Even though I had told people to bring a headlamp with extra batteries, there were only 3 flashlights between the 5 of us, and I was the only one with a headlamp and extra batteries. Fat lot of good those extra batteries did when the bulb went out, however. One of the other flashlights ran out of batteries, and my roommates girlfriend dropped hers somewhere on the trail and was freaking out to much to pick it back up, leaving it who knows where. Thus, the last mile or so we didn't really have a flashlight. Naturally, being out in the mountains at night in the snowy cold without a flashlight leaves some pretty shitty scenarios running through the mind, so roommates girlfriend starts panicking and crying, the other girl we were with starts having some sort of panic attack, etc. End of the story: We get to the cabin and midnight and bust out the biggest batch of spaghetti I've ever seen. Valuable lessons learned by all.

Well, heres my situation. Going up to the Mount Tahoma Trails Association Snow bowl hut this weekend, and I logged onto their website today (website) to try and figure out how to get there. I was counting on the map they have on their site, but upon further inspection I discovered that it is too blurry to be readable. Anybody ever been there and can tell me how to get there?

quote: Originally posted by BelaySlave: OKAY CHECK IT OUT, I'VE BEEN ON A 2.5 - 3 YEAR BREAK FROM IT ALL. BUT IT IS NOW TIME TO GET BACK INTO IT. I'VE CLIMBED ALL THE VOLCANOES IN WA. WHEN I STOPPED CLIMBING I WAS AROUND 5.9-10A ON SPORT LEAD. I'VE CLIMBED SOME ICE (FUGS FALLS IN VANTAGE, LOUISE FALLS AND PROFESSOR FALLS IN BANFF). I'M LOOKING TO CLIMB WITH SOME ONE AS NEW AS ME FOR I FEEL NEW ALL OVER AGAIN. I AM LOOKING FOR A MORE ALPINE TYPE OF CLIMBING BUT I'LL DO GLACIERS IF I HAVE TO. I'D LIKE TO BAG CHALLENGER OR DOME THIS YEAR. I HAVE MY EYE ON THE MONTE CRISTO RANGE ALSO. I HAVE ALL THE GEAR I NEED FOR ANY CLIMB. BELAYER@AOL.COM [ 01-28-2002: Message edited by: BelaySlave ] AHHH STOP YELLING OW MY EARS OWWWWWW AHHHHHH!!!!!

Wine, whiskey, or beer? Come on.... its not the journey my friends, its the destination.

I always thought that those damn balloons floated out over the ocean and killed dolphins or something. But now that I think about it, duh, winds blow IN from the ocean, not out. Doh!

Buddy, just build a snow cave! It may be a couple of hours of work, but you'll 10 degrees warmer, and more comfy!

I'm even still living in the lutedome Matt, but not past January! Do you know who I am? Because I have no idea who you are.