johnny

A blue TCU...It seems to go in every pitch I climb out here, thats why I carry 2!!!

Thought I would throw my two cents worth in.... Since moving to NC i have had some trouble with fear/leading/mind control. I have backed off a number of climbs, some of which were well within my ability. Thing is that most of the rock out here is so damn steep that it scares the crap out of me. Just about everything over 5.7 is quite steep, very exposed and it intimidated me. What I am slowly learning is that steep routes with good gear don't have to be so scary; the fall will be clean and you know exactly how good the gear is below you. If it gets too bad, put something in and by all means rest on it. This ain't no competition. If your partner gives you more than good natured flack for forsaking style for safety then get a new partner!!! This goes for easy routes too....hang on a piece if you feel good about it just to know that it is in fact good. to repeat: this ain't no competition! Somebody said something about changing partners. I have been climbing with a wide range of people since moving here and it has helped tremendously. Some are much better than me, some are just beginning to learn. I have learned much about climbing from all of them. I feel very safe with a couple of them; they are comfortable leading hard .11's on gear and I get to follow and think about stances and placements while cleaning. When I am with someone who has less experience, I have to lead. Just like SK said, I tend to challenge myself more and try harder things. Exception: the couple of things I have backed off from, I returned with someone more experienced than I and mooched some of their confidance and knowledge of the route. Moral: use your friends for all they are worth and allow them to do the same, you will all benefit!!!! Isn't that that what climbing is all about?? Having kickass times with friends while trying to improve yurself???????

Smoker has some pretty good points. SOME dogs are cool at a crag like Vantage. IF they sit down , shut up and only wag their tail. Yours doesn't seem to fit that description. Leave it at home or I will throw rocks at it the minute it annoys ANYONE!!! I would kick someones ass if they threw rocks down from above at a crag, your dog is no different.... I really like dogs, really.

What happens when he/she eats cotton candy?? What about Chicago? Be cool to always have your own personal windchime..... Airports? Everything in moderation, even RURP!!!!

RIGHT ON!!! I am not merely a wanker, but a CHIEF wanker. I feel all warm and fuzzy inside....oh, wait a sec, ewwww, its running down my leg.....I gotta go. See ya'll later

RURP, Tatoos are far older that the current 19 year old's generation....they are like little snapshots of your life (and you never lose them in the bottom of a box when you move!) they remind you a place, a time, a state of mind, long after it is gone......if you can't handle your past, you have bigger problems than an unwanted tatoo!!! I haven't been to the site in a while, it's good to see that some things never change. Caveman is still an abrasive shit and spray lives on. Cool. I might just have to go and git me one of them picture thingies too. Trask, yours rocks!

Nice work Dwayner, I see the newest member calls him/herself the central scrutinizer, coincidence? Perhaps we should call in Tipper Gore?????

P.S nice troll!

Hey Raustin, come to North Carolina! There are more crags out of the guidebook than in. Granted there is only one guidebook (boy are you guys spoiled back there in Washington!) On second thought, nope, stay away. With me added to the list of Winston area climbers scrounging around for cool new stuff, the guest list is now closed. I heard recently that there is this super cool, super secret crag up near North Bend though....Lots of new lines available, and most of them are already bolted!!!!!!! How cool is that!!!!!!

Dwayner, Thank you for letting us all know of this loss. As others have said, he was an inspiration to me as well. Both recieving life from and giving life back to the blood of our earth has been a passion since I was very young. Thor's adventures, especially Kon Tiki, were some of my greatest reads at that time and helped me dream of life in and around the water. When I was ten, I met a friend of my fathers, Jim Anderson, who was a working marine biologist in Hawii. To me, he seemed a bit like a god come down to earth. He must have known Thor right? Nope. But he had read all his books and talked to me about them with a light in his eyes I progressed to a lowly fish biologist and managed to kayak only the lower two thirds of the west coast but visions of Thor's thoughts and adventures were never far from my mind. I was never given the opportunity to meet him but always felt a kinship. A love of life? A love of adventure? A love of water? Perhaps it is that both of us have Viking blood in our veins and sunburn too easily? Dwayner, you are a lucky man to have known him. Thor, Skol

Dwayner,

Tim, gotta love the endlessly refreshing garage floor you got there....is that carpet or some groovy new flooring product you are now marketing???

Yeah, that would be it.....Thanks for the link, that is a cool site. Perhaps I should stay inside and surf more.... Pretty intuitive, the actual warning from Petzl. I quit using 3mm double ropes in my ATC a while back because they had a tendency to slip a bit

I tried twice and all i could get was an ache in my butt while I watched the download get hung....... What was the advisory about? Perhaps a bit of insight on how to lower an incapacitated second after they have fallen since the thing is self camming when rigged directly off an anchor? I don't think Petzl shows it but if you girth hitch a 3 foot runner to the larger loop, the one equivilant to the keeper loop on an ATC, and weight it with your foot you can slowly release the camming action much like the arm on a GriGri and lower them. It is a bit of a pain, but the ability to belay directly off an anchor without a munter and the easy tie-off make it a pretty cool toy! Or was Petzl just trying to warn us that they are now making the Reverso in the same godawful pink as their Calidris harness. "do not look directly at it during daylight hours, may cause permanent eye damage"

Have I been fished in?? And me a salmon biologist too.....Who'd of thunk it?

Hey Blight, I like to debate/argue/trash talk but your little fixation on Dwayner is best left to PM's and e-mails, not here on the board. I don't know Dwayner, maybe I never will but he has never personaly attacked me or anyone else on this board before. He has however contributed to some lively discussion on a variety of topics, something I have not seen you do yet....... In short, shut the f*&k up. Oh yeah, I do remember the big van. I lost my virginity in a '74 ford van near Port Orchard 20 years ago though, and I never pulled the shit tickets out of my pack anywhere near that parking lot. I did walk past it a few times........

I see your point RURP, but I did live there. I grew up in Washington and only moved here last fall and I still believe that there are options out there for helmethead avoidance that qualify as easy or family suitable. I have a family now and want to move back to the best place on earth someday so have been thinking of areas like this. They include Wilkeson, Peshastin, Mt Eirie, I think just not going to Leavenworth gets you away from a huge percentage of the mountie mob scene. As for non-rock ventures, just don't go to Rainier!!! I am not crazy about the mounties, that is why I never joined them. Yes many never leave but many more do in fact remove the name-tag from thier helmet and become independant organisms completely seperate from the collective. I think the price we pay for having a megolithic group like this in our midst is relatively small compared to the positive influences the Mounties have had on our pastime/sport/lifestyle. Many of the autonomous members are wage earners who vote on conservation/preservation issues or contribute money to said causes. That has to be worth something doesn't it? Besides, who would we have to make fun of if they didn't exist? And yes, Manning is a crazy old bugger but still gets an A in my book simply because his heart is definately in the right place!

Was that a real study or what? There are so many holes in the methods/ideas presented that the whole thing could be used for mosquito mesh. I was a bonafide wake-n-bake for a good 8 years and only stopped smoking to actually finish college. I always felt a couple feet left of center when I was getting high all the time. It was great till I tried to work out hydrology equations and study organic chemistry..... The effects are definately short term, they are reversible if you back off for a while. And the enhanced sexual experience part is oh so very true!!!!!! They don't call it dope for nothing.......

Fred was a mountie. Go read Challenge of the North Cascades before you spew forth...... He learned to climb rather quickly and went on some of his early highballs with his instructors. Of course he moved away from them, they are a teaching tool not a long term, high energy, exploratory network of climbers. Difference is likely that there were probably 25 mounties in Seattle in 1935 and not 2500......... Never joined 'em myself. I probably would have if I had not been lucky to have my father drag me all over the cascades while I was growing up. Not everyone has that opportunity. They call it the BASIC course for a reason: you learn the basics and move on from there, some of my best partners have been through the course. They learned how to tie knots and then removed the name tag from their helmet....... To those who complain about the crags being covered in topropes, what the hell are you doing there in the first place? There is a big world out there with many options available for the "experienced" climber. I take my kids to Pilot Mountain here in NC (a cheesy little toprope area) because it is easy and convenient but some of the hordes at this VERY CROWDED PLACE just plain scare me with their inexperience. When I want to get MY rocks off I go to Moore's Wall. Steepest, scariest, diamond hard rock I ever saw and I have yet to see more than a handfull of people there, even on a good weekend. Moral: don't like crowds, then take a little walk, they usually thin out pretty quick. my $.02

Call me stupid but "webolette"? What is it? It sounds like a Ronco gadget.....But wait, there's more. If you call now we will include the amazing webolette junior. Just like it's big brother, it packs a big punch in a super small package..... It rolls down stairs, alone or in pairs.It rolls over you neighbors dog.It's great for a snack,it fits on your back, It's.......c'mon everyone, you know the words!!!!

Hey TomTom: ever heard of the internet? never looked myself but I would bet money that you could order that Bibler tent from Bibler and leave REI out of the loop, AT retail or a bit under no less Yeah REI is a coop, but they are probably the first "coop" to get as big as they are. Do the same rules really apply?? I wasn't trying to defend REI, I have bought two things from them in the last 12 years: a crashpad and a clif bar in teh Federtal Way store (chocolate almond fudge if you must know) both in the same day as I was headed to Mt. Eire with the new short routes guidebook in hand and money in my pocket. I bought the guidebook from Amazon......I really don't care one way or another, I just used to live in Tacoma, not Seattle and if I did not mail-order it, I bought it where it was the most convenient or cheapest: Bacpackers Supply (Tacoma) or Second Bounce/Ascent if I wanted to drive for a deal. Fuck REI, Fuck Retail in general. Everything should just be free for the taking. What are you guys, a bunch of Pinko-commy's or what. This is America DAMMIT!!!

I ain't been everywhere but if I was to stop going new places now I would be happy. I just got back from 3 awsome days at the New and had more fun cragging than ever before. Spent one day at Meadow creek, one day at Summersville, and one day at central Endless. Sport, trad, its all there with solid, steep, edgy face routes; smeary, heady slabs; classic finger and hand cracks, all on super hand friendly rock. Very few multipitch routes but you could spend a lifetime there cranking exposed 70-100 footers and still not cover it all. The newest guidebook is 300+ pages and doesn't cover half of what is developed, not counting the fact that only 2/3 of the area has been climbed. I'd give you the names of the routes I did but I did a lot and I read/talked about a lot more and most names have slipped through my drug addled brain. Lots of 8's, 9's and low to mid .10s were led with a few epic toprope struggles up some mid .11's (it pays to go with a major rope gun!). I recall She got the Bosch, I got the drill; Legacy; Discombobulated; mostly because they were all climbed at Endless the last day. I know, lame trip report but I ain't got time for much more.....Adios

Whoa there you guys, whats all the fuss about?? It's only a retail store; they are in busuness to make money not friends. It's only gear; it is meant to be used, worn out and retired. Anything else is welfare. Lambone, I disagree with the lifetime thing. It is meant for the life-expectancy of the product, not the owner. Be real, how can I expect a pair of Chacos to last for the remaining 40 or 50 years of life I figure I have left in me??? REI might seem expensive, but they do not decide the upper pricing limit on an item, the manufacturer does, with input from the public and what they are willing to pay. What has changed at REI is that they are not a small gear store where you can get to know the employees and work a deal, be aware of good deals or when a sale will pop up. They are a huge company now and us consumers are merely numbers in some demographic report. The employees cannot make arbitrary decisions concerning the price of an item. On a side note, I have gained a new perspective on the "idiots" we encounter at a gear store now that I work at one. I have a bachelors degree in biology and have worked professionally with salmon and the habitat they utilize In Washington State for the last 7 years. I moved out of state last fall and am working at a retail store while I regain a handle on my life. Most of the people I work with are in a similar state of transition, or they are just plain young and still in school. Why else would you work for 8-10 dollars an hour, organise stock like it really matters in the grand scheme of things and take shit from selfish yuppie fucks who couldn't work the zipper on their new TNF jacket, got it stuck, ripped teeth out of it and now are angry at the shop for not bending over backwards to fix their own problem??? OK, so I have issues.....Thing is I have been climbing, hiking, kayaking, fishing, skiing, etc. for most of my 35 years. I know how to use gear and what I want from it. I never knew the difference between a Q9 and a Q10 clip for a Yakima rack, the square footage of a Mountain Hardware Skyview tent, or why Patagonia's Synchilla is really cool because it is made from recycled plastic. Who cares???? Everyone knows something and just because the person in front of you in the store does not know exactly what you want to know they are not stupid....you are for not taking responsibility for your own education. Does your mother still wipe your ass for you? Read, go online, learn for yourself. Have nice conversations with the gear store people and glean from them what you need or ask someone else if they do not know. I learn from the people I talk to at the shop all the time. If you are not willing to take time to learn what you need, don't expect someone else to for 10 bucks an hour. OK, now I am done ranting, besides, I am late for an appointment with my therapist

OK this sucks!! I just put together this thoughtful and LENGTHY reply and apparently put too many images (greamlins) in it and LOST the whole F#&%ing thing!!! What gives? Moderators, Anyone? how do you get the too many image message, hit back and get nothing but a blank reply dialogue box? (notice there are only 7 f$&%ing images thank you very much!!)

Hey JayB Move to North Carolina!!!!! Aside from a few areas there are very few slabs!! Seriously though, I love dicey, tenuous friction. Its all balance, technique and mindset. you never fall due to the dreaded "stupid hand" that just can't hold on any longer. There is nothing I hate more than having a solid hold at your disposal and not being able to use it. Here are two things to try: First, don't fall! Second, try to perfect the last microsecond push away from the rock. It is hard (and sometimes not possible when your foot just plain blows out) but someone earlier mentioned a catlike leap. You end up bck on the rope on or before the time you touch the rock again. This does not mean give up and jump, just use whatever limbs are still in contact with the rock to push yourself away. Oh yeah, always wear long pants........Did I mention pants and always? I always wear long pants and you should too. You really should wear long pants. I highly recommend pants over shorts. Pants are a good idea. Protect your knees with pants. You should consider wearing long pants. As a rule, long pants are better. Pants. Theyr'e not just for breakfast anymore