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Anyone here ever see "Scream In Stone"? Terrible script, terrible acting. Very loosely based on the Cerro Torre FA race and debate. But the end aerial scene of the guy standing on top of the REAL, ACTUAL Cerro Torre makes it worth getting it and fast forwarding to that part. and to see Stefan Glowacz die from taking a big screamer and hitting nothing but air...

nothing, sir...nothing at all.

actually twight trained for several years in martial arts, cavey. You might have to throw your pipe at him.

"This would explain how forrest gets up all those hardcore routes..." No, it ain't suction cups. Forrest is all about the Kung Fu Grip.

what makes you think I am white? Can't you see how pink it looks in my post?

wasn't Omega Man some really bad Charlton Heston movie? "soilant green is PEOPLE!!!!!"

Among the many vulgar Robins/Certa route names at Vantage, this one stands apart from all the rest: Rolfing My Dick

No, 36 bongs and a beer. And I'll put my footfangs in a box too if someone will buy them. For NO EXTRA CHARGE!

what do you mean? I won't go out unless my pack weighs at least 70 pounds. it's called the 37 essentials.

Still have for sale two items: Gregory Novus Expedition BackpackCarries about 6000 cu. in. Compression straps, detachable outer pockets, ski pockets.The shoulder and chest straps have been completely replaced and are new and cushy. A great pack for Denali, trekking, anything for carrying bigger loads. Comfortable suspension, and a very durable pack.>>>$200.00/obo Lowe Footfangs. Have seen heavy use, but are still sharp and in decent condition. $50.00 FIRM FYI, Regarding my earlier advertisement, all the other gear has been sold.

The top-out issue on ice climbs really is something to consider. I imagine everyone has at least one good story about scraping through the top of a climb that lacked ice, in it's place mud, rocks- or worse, snow over mud and rocks. Two stories illustrate this danger to be reckoned with: A friend from Montana was trying to top out as he was finishing the first ascent of a new stringy WI6. He clawed and pedaled his hands through liquid mud and peeled off; his first screw, in a weak section of chandaliers, ripped of course, and he fell 100 feet to the ground; however, his next screw inexplicably held and began to slow him just before impact, and he came to land somewhat hard, but softly enough, to land on his feet, remaining STANDING UPRIGHT, as the rope went tight. No injuries! Another story was not so happy: my friend was belaying in the Ouray Box Canyon a few years ago. A nearby soloist on a WI3 was five feet from topping out, and scratching through poorly bonded ice. He came off and went 100+ to the deck, hitting so hard he bounced two or three feet into the air and then through the ice and into the creek. A whole load of climbers assisted with his rescue which included an airlift; amazingly, he lived, but apparently sustained major vertebral fractures and other very serious injuries. The moral is, if in doubt of the top-out, be sure to get some bomber gear before gunning for the top, if it's available. If it's not, well...ice climbing is just dangerous. Know your limits.

keith, check your pm's.

Keith, I agree- one of my biggest hindrances to climbing "better" has been an obsession with "climbing"- i.e.- the technical grades, numbers, and the attendent bs that comes with it. Funny thing is, I didn't start off with that problem, at first there was nothing but the joy of experiencing life in the mountains and these amazing, high, inaccessable places. Then the mind and the conditioning of society gradually kind of took over for awhile. After I got over the ego trip of comparing myself to others and constantly trying to measure up and perform by an arbitrary and meaningless standard, I am finding the freedom to bloom and "improve" (to use the term for convenience) without all this dead weight holding me down and preventing insight and learning. You put away all the images and ideals and all you are left with is the here and now.

"What keeps you from making your life more fulfilling?" I guess I might rephrase the question as- "what is fulfillment, and why do we seek it?" It's been an arduous task to examine this question in myself. What is really behind this urge within us, to fulfill and to gratify? We are constantly moving from one gratification to another, always seeking something- the object of search frequently changes, but search continues nonetheless- whether it is climbing, your job, your search for a soulmate, or whatever. But we never ask why we seek, or whether what it is that we seek actually has any reality. The end goal of any search is the product of our own thoughts and ambitions, and through the attachment of a system, method, or a supposed "path" to that end, that truth, we actually forever separate ourselves from that truth- for the system, the method, the ideal, is what becomes all important. In other words, we use any means to gain the end- but never question whether the means IS the end. All of this breeds a ruthlessness in society that is quite apparent today, if you look at what is happening in the world today. Saying, I am THIS, and will become THAT, effectively states that you will gradually change, become that tomorrow, while today you will continue on being this in some form or another. We have occasional flashes of brilliance and then idealize them; rather than allowing truth to act upon us, we try to act upon it. Our problem is that most of us aren't actually serious about anything, though we go to great effort to prove and show outwardly otherwise.Again, I stress that it is extraordinarily important to see- not just intellectually- that the person who is trying to control him or herself, is the same person who is being controlled. The dissolution of this dual image of ourselves is the beginning of right relationship, to people, nature, and possessions. Everything else follows naturally when the self is not striving for control. It sounds confusing and self-defeating to say you can do nothing- but that is our problem, I think- We think doing nothing is just that, we don't trust the natural order of truth to guide our actions. Experience and knowledge have their importance, but all the experience in the world matters not if the mind is caught up in projections of what might, what should be, or what it wants. Notice your thoughts and attachments as you do any activity, and with careful attention you will begin to see the traps and pitfalls the mind unwittingly sets for itself.

okay, okay, Holly, you got me. Of course I meant 'guy' generically! Know what I mean, dude? oops...sorry. [ 12-27-2001: Message edited by: W ]

This may sound out of left field, but here goes: I'm discovering that the urge behind having "goals", the need to "push one's self", and "find limits", this striving and effort to BECOME, is actually the very thing that prevents any sort of progress in climbing, or anything else for that matter. All this being caught up in trying to be something other than what one actually IS right at that very moment, blocks insight and hinders understanding. I used to look at climbing subconsciously as "filling up a box" in my life. What I've only recently discovered is that the box has a hole in the bottom. In this realization is release, and freedom. Being free from all this striving has resulted in not only a incidentally drastic improvement in my climbing and mental state therein, climbing bigger and harder routes, but there has been a equal and immediate improvement and stability in all the other areas and relationships in my life. Everything flows when we are not wrangling and stressing out over trying to be "better". The truth of this has its own, liberating action. I think we tend to overspecialize ourselves and pursue one thing to the exclusion of everything else. But everything is related. If one relationship in your life is out of balance, so are the others. Improving one's climbing, in my view, doesn't come strictly from focusing on the climbing, it comes about through a total seeing of what is, and a concern with each and every one of the immediate relationships around you. Finally, I might say, fear is an old acquaintance of mine just like for anyone else. I'm finding that fear is not something to be controlled. The mind produces fear and also produces the entity that says "I must control fear". If one is aware of this dualistic illusion we create for ourselves, fear passes away merely by paying attention to the mind's activities.

Hey Geezers, My dad climbed Rainier at age 61, 63 and then 65, the latter time a carryover of the summit and descent by another route. Age 61 was his first summit of the mountain, also. I was with him on all three climbs, and I think what might be most important is to ensure that the young tigers with you are either not setting the pace, or are setting one with the full understanding that you will probably not have as much endurance, and that they need to be willing to set a slower albeit deliberate pace and take breaks as needed. (Or maybe you are faster than them?!?). Make sure you communicate this with your son or whomever sets the pace. If the other guy is really experienced, he might likely have a good idea how to accomplish an efficient pace that works for all. In advance of your trip, my dad suggests that you mainly work on developing steady and high cardiovascular endurance- riding stairmaster, bicycle, and also, perhaps most important- frequently get out on long hikes that gain lots of elevation- as in 3000-5000 foot gains, which are low-altitude equivalents of the 2 4500 foot climbing days you will experience on Rainier. Work out your legs and stretch as much as possible too. If possible, make a trip or two to Camp Muir (if you live near enough), particularly not long before your climb, and this will help you to experience the effect of altitude and learn more about your ability to adapt. Or climb Mt. Adams, if you have time, which is even higher than Muir. My dad always felt that going to Muir or otherwise up to altitude a week or two prior to his climbs helped him adapt. The one time he didn't, on the last climb, he felt ill from the altitude from 12k up, but still made it. He's in great shape, but what really helped him each time was having the right pace set for him on the climb. At his age, he says, he merely needs to stop a little more often, but with the right endurance training done consistently he can go all day at a decent, slow, steady pace. Good luck and have a great climb this summer.

Rafael, I'm not an "aid expert", but just want to note that there are in fact still a (very) few nail-ups in existence at Index, or at least, routes that have not gone clean. That said, you are all correct, that Index is generally a "clean" climbing area and pinning routes there will generally raise more than a few eyebrows. I have never seen or heard much about the Garden Wall so I don't know about the crack in question, but I would agree that if in doubt, don't. Yos, if you are intent to practice nailing there, my advice is to either practice in some talus pile or junky old wall, or if possible, consult privately with knowledgeable locals about which routes at Index are still considered acceptable to use pins and/or heads. Providing a list here is probably not appropriate, however, given the sensitive nature of the issue. Just dig around and be sure of the local consensus before swinging the hammer. Btw, Rafael is correct, of the above mentioned nail-ups that still exist at Index, none to my knowledge are easier than A3+. In other words, anything left at Index that goes at A3 or under pretty much can be done with clean gear at a moderate grade C3 or less- a good reminder/guideline to keep in mind. Cheers.

You know, it just occurred to me that the peak Philfort has pictured just might be Inner Constance, across the valley to the west of Constance- that peak is similar to Constance, a long, north-south trending ridge-shaped peak that if I remember was quite jagged and knife-edged. Not positive that is it, but it really looks like it.

I can't tell if that is Constance either, but Constance actually does have a pretty exposed, gendarmed/knife-edge summit ridge. I camped about 200 feet from the top once, a great experience. Norman Clyde- great name. He was to the Sierras what Beckey and Exum were to their respective areas- though personality-wise and stylistically I have a feeling he much more closely resembled Exum. There's only one Beckey. I used to read about Clyde's exploits while growing up in California and studying Sierra climbing and exploration history, for me also he was a great hero. He died, incidentally, in 1972. Supposedly he was a school teacher in Independence and got in trouble one time for shooting a gun off to scare some kids playing Halloween pranks on him. So maybe he had some curmudgeonly qualities about him then.

Actually, I read yesterday that Mendoza was one of the cities hit by a fair amount of rioting and looting- it was one of the cities that has been hit hardest by the poor economy, according to the news report I read.

by the way, they can be kept sharpened quite easily- run the file in a forward direction, over the downward arc of the points, which will preserve the width of the points, and sharpen them frequently. The biggest drawback I find with them is that the frontpoints are not replaceable, so when they are done, so are the crampons. Give them a test drive on mixed too-they're way better than you might think.

EPB,I'm with lambone on this one- I've used the Sabretooths on hard Alaskan alpine ice and found them very secure. I too was skeptical about the shape of the points, but don't be put off. Also, for hard mixed ground they are without peer- the screwdriver points are superlative for hooking on rock. The secondary points are also great for hooking and give a nice aggressive feel when you drop your heels on ice. I also have M-10's; for pure ice I will say they might be the overall best choice, but as an all-rounder the BD's are the WAY. [ 12-20-2001: Message edited by: W ]

I have for sale the following items: Koflach Alveolite Liners for Arctis Expedition Plastics. Never used! Size Mens 10 1/2. $75.00 FIRM Feathered Friends "40 Below" Down Pants. Good condition. Warm and comfortable for Alaskan Base Camps or climbing/belaying on very cold days. Gore-Tex outer shell. Size Men's Large. $145.00 FIRM Marmot Expedition Overmitts with "Trigger Finger". Brand new, never used! $70.00 FIRM Lowe Footfangs. Used a lot, but in decent condition. $50.00 FIRM Gregory Novus Expedition Backpack. Very good condition, excellent support system for heavy loads. Very good Alaska-type pack. Carries 6000 cu. in. Detachable outer pockets, ski pockets, side compression straps. $200.00/obo

OR makes a good ankle gaitor made of stretchy stuff; other than that, I've had many of their gloves fall apart on me, literally. They have lots of good designs and ideas, but many of the products I've owned by them have had generally poor construction and quality control. OR stands for "Ol-ready Ripped". And as for the Seattle Sombrero...er...never mind. I won't go there.