freeclimb9

I believe the longest one day USCF-sanctioned race is Lotoja (www.lotoja.com) with over 200 miles of racing. September 14th this year. For 2003, I think the race will end on top of Teton pass, but for now the race still rolls along the Snake river from Alpine to Jackson Hole.

Of all species, the barnacle has the largest penis in relationship to its size... this is why you will never see a barnacle driving a Ferrari.

Did it dawn on you that she was trying to make conversation? Did you get a name and phone number? If not, you blew it.

A true pocket camera: SiPix Blink (http://www.sipixdigital.com/). It's 2X2" and 1/2 inch thick and costs about $40. Practically an impulse buy.

try Mad Shark: http://spiritonin.com/interactive/games/sharkgame.swf

There's more to life than climbing. In my spare time, I'm currently trying "to send" the making of the perfect Dirty Martini. Garnish with blue-cheese, or jalepeno, stuffed green olives?

Which is scarier, a Postal worker with an assault rifle or a Forestry worker with a box of matches?

Learn to read, sisu suomi. The complainer, jobe, never used the words "ass hole". He stated that he felt that he was treated like "crap". And from Geeting's sarcastic response, that's not implausible. "DG" should have ended his response letter after the fifth sentence, IMHO. Caveat Emptor? Or, the customer is always right? DG: "Do you have any idea where I make my money? It an't from climbers." It's from paying customers. [ 07-01-2002, 09:17 AM: Message edited by: freeclimb9 ]

with July 1st so close, how do Canadians spell "Canada"? C eh? N eh? D eh?

quote: Originally posted by JayB: FWIW, I've had the misfortune of ascending stuck ropes* *Any official protocol to follow when this happens? I'd be interested in hearing about any other means of getting oneself out of this situation... I wouldn't claim to know any "official protocol". I have unstuck ropes by leading up to the problem by shuffling a prussik (actually a hedden) along while placing gear. The rope in our grasp was anchored. After freeing the rope, I tied in, downclimbed and cleaned the gear while my partner started to belay me down. This has happened to me a few times, and always while rapping less-than-vertical knobby rock. If you get a rope stuck on rock that you can't climb, you'll have to improvise something else.

let the sufferfest continue, eh? I spent the last week sipping cold beer and frozen rum beverages under a tropical sun. There wasn't any slush except for in the glass. Oh well. Chatatcha later.

You should know that the best presents come in small packages. A small pulley and a Tibloc (or two tiblocs to make a z system) would fit in your pocket. Unless you're gonna haul hundreds of pounds of stuff. (Note: I think the Tiblocs can be pretty hard on a rope's sheath. But they're pretty cool.)

more stuff=more stuff. While leading on a wall, you'd probably want to carry ascenders anyways (especially if the route is overhanging), so why carry something that weighs much more than a pulley? You don't need a bunch of disco crap to climb walls.

It's all a cluster fuck. The Arctic ocean is predicted to be ice-free for part of the year within 50 years. Alaska has an average temperature that has increased seven degrees in the last 30 years. The largest forest kill by beetles has occured reportedly because of this warming (it's on the Kenai, and fire insurance can't be had there anymore). Songbirds and mosquitoes are in parts of Nunavat where no one has seen them before. The days of iceworms are numbered.

Go early in the day to stay dry.

Get shoes that fit your feet. The performance is up to you. Boreal goes with an anatomically "perfect" last that has the big toe longest. The other 40% of us with Morton's toe (second toe longest) have to live with a dead space in Boreal shoes. (I still dig Aces, and have had a pair in my quiver for 14 years). La Sportiva has a more nuetrally shaped last that fits more people. For me, La Sportivas are ready to go out of the box. With regard to slip, or board lasted, that's up to you too. Lynn Hill used to send wearing Le Menestrals (VERY stiff board lasted shoe. Like a Buster Brown with sticky rubber), and Steve Schneider does offwidths in slippers.

A couple just got a new house. The husband turned to his wife and ask her to go to the hardware store and get a door hinge for him. She kindly agreed and left. When she got to the hardware store, got the hinge, and put it on the counter in fornt of the clerk. He noticed that she didn't have any screws for it, so he asked her ''Do you want a screw for that hinge?'' She looked back at him and said ''No, but I'll blow you for that toaster in the window.''

quote: Originally posted by sk: satin spawn ???WTF??? You're oversharing. Details of your lovenest are too much, IMHO.

I've had double ropes of 50, 55, and 60m. IMO, the 55s were the best compromise between length and weight. Whatever you get, go BlueWater. The Icefloss are beautifully handling ropes.

twisted game: http://spiritonin.com/interactive/games/sharkgame.swf

Grandstaff's funeral was last Monday with a memorial service in the evening at Calico Basin. From the Las Vegas Review Journal, "Grandstaff's brother-in-law, former Clark County Fire Department spokesman Steve La-Sky, said Saturday that investigators have determined the accident was caused by an equipment failure known to climbers as a 'catastrophic anchor failure.'" His obitiuary in the paper follows: Randal Grandstaff, 44, died Wednesday. He was born Sept. 24, 1957, in Las Vegas. A climbing instructor, he was a member of American Mountain Guides Association, Union Internacionales Des Associations De Guides De Montagne, Boy Scouts of America and a lifetime resident of Las Vegas. He is survived by his wife, Laura; stepdaughters, Stephanie Sanders and Whitney Sanders; mother, Carmella Chris; brother, Sam; and sisters, Darla La-Sky, all of Las Vegas, and Carla Jones of Houston. Services will be 2 p.m. Monday at Palm Mortuary-Downtown. Palm Mortuary-Cheyenne handled the arrangements. The family requests memorial donations be made to Friends of the Nevada Wilderness, 1700 E. Desert Inn Road, Las Vegas NV.

I think it's great that lawyers are now involved in the dispute between the new owners of R&I and Climbing. You know what happens when you give a lawyer Viagra? he stands up.

shhhh! jumarnet.com

from planetfear: Denver -- Climbing magazine publisher Primedia has filed a lawsuit against its main competitor and two employees, contending the defendants have attempted to "cripple" the 51,000 circulation monthly. The suit, filed Monday, June 10, in Colorado's District Court in Denver, is seeking in excess of $75,000. Big Stone Publishing, which puts out Rock & Ice magazine, is named along with its publisher Duane Raleigh and production manager Quent Williams --both of whom are former Climbing magazine employees. "We were fully engaged in a spirit of friendly competition for our readers, advertisers and employees," said Primedia's Norb Garrett on Thursday. "However, as the days passed, information came to light that made it clear to us that Rock & Ice was not interested in fair competition, and we were basically left with no choice but to defend ourselves." The complaint alleges Big Stone, Raleigh and Williams of attempting to degrade the quality of Climbing magazine and steal editorial and advertising opportunities for Rock & Ice. Further, all three are accused of having "waged a systematic misinformation campaign about Climbing in an effort to cripple the magazine." Raleigh and Williams resigned from their respective jobs as publisher and production manager at Climbing magazine in April, then publicly announced that they had purchased Rock & Ice. Six other Climbing magazine employees also resigned from their jobs in mid-May to go to work for Raleigh and Williams, whose names appear on the articles of incorporation as Big Stone's two sole directors.

A good friend of mine always did a triple check of the setup when rappelling. He survived 30 years of climbing before cancer got him in January. I follow his lead, and check three times myself. May your friend recover quickly.