johnny

Thanks guys! We have already progressed into the hiking arena and done some pretty long(for the kids--a 4 mile round trip and the 4yo did better than the older boy!) hikes but it is the climbing itself that I am most concerned about. I grew up climbing and hiking with my dad and I very much appreciate what he did for me. What we never really did was any scrambling/climbing while I was as young as them but I am not sure if I can wait!!!! I have already bouldered a bit with the older boy and he seemed to really enjoy it. What about roped stuff? how best to approach that?

I wanted to throw this out there as well. I explained my moving to North Carolina in my other post but.... I will be attempting to be a parent for the first time in my life, the woman I am with has a 4yo girl and an 8yo boy. Any tips for breaking them in gently to climbing and outdoor adventure in general from those who have been through it would be AWSOME! Being outside is a huge part of my life and I don't want to scare them off with my zeal, I want them to have fun and perhaps become as infected as I am. I know we recently had a thread similar to this but it was mostly philosophy, I need practical solutions and advice. HELP!!!!!!

I am moving to North Carolina at the end of this month for an unknown length of time (I had the fortune? of falling in love with an old friend who just happens to live there now and she has two children who cannot leave the state under the current custody situation. OK enough about that.... Does anyone know of any climbers who can show a new guy around out there? I have lived in Washington all my life and only visited NC a few times; enough to know that there is a wealth of rock out there!!! The guidebook situation is pretty grim though, I had no idea how spoiled Becky, and others have made us. I will likely have a month or so before I begin work out there and I want to climb!! I only have two stipulations; no 5.13's and they must like beer. Thanks in advance for the possible partners.

I'm with Hayduke, except that I went to Evergreen (GO Geoducks!!), am a liberal(Yeah, I voted for Gore even if he is a republican in disguise), and don't mind women with hairy armpits. I am still a climber amoung other things and this sort of political debate is best left to some other BB. Johnny <////<

Please try to remember that bin Laden does not represent the faith of Islam. He is a thug, not a holy man. A crime has been committed and someone should pay. The people who happen to be living in Afganistan or anywhere else and happen to be Islamic have nothing to do with this. Uh, climbing anyone? I heard about a website where people could get together and just talk about climbing as if it were really important........

I bet I could do that route in more pitches than any of you, with my hands tied behing my back!! Relax you guys, you sound a bit like young kids in the back seat....MOM...HES TOUCHING ME!!!! Cave dude, I'm with you, I have never been anywhere near that route................

Hey Dru, I very much resemble that remark.....I am from Tacoma and I am just less than half that guys age and I can flash any 5.7 you can throw at me!!!

I think you guys (Charlie and Jon) are on to something good here. Dwayner, can we leave the "to bolt or not to bolt" issue out of this one? I have experienced similar nastiness at the Feathers as well and I think it is very inaproppriate for climbers to be concerned about having an access sticker when concert-goers are not dinged for their lack thereof. Buying an access sticker generates money (I get mine with my annual fishing liscence) but there is a huge opportunity to generate money by having fisheries enforcment hit campgrounds like this during concerts. If word spread that you really would be dinged for not having a sticker on concert nights (not to mention fires or illegal drugs...) then the Feathers would perhaps become a quieter place for those of us who simply want to rack out so we can take a whipper on Sunshine wall in the morning. I am also fisherman and I realize that agency enforcment is agonizingly understaffed, but can local law officers enforce this sort of thing? We certainly have plenty of those scurring about.... Perhaps an armed climbers militia???????

Well, for starters, "crank" is now both a noun AND a verb in the bouldering world. Climbing lingo is a strange one isn't it? Any other good new words we all should know so we can impress our friends?

Hey Pope, were there any words in that mag or just pictures of people going to the bathroom after drinking coffee? Wierd how the same thing happens to me just about every morning.......Coincidence?? P.S. Ms. Hill will have to be dead with maggots chewing on her to be considered unnattractive. Besides she has the kung fu grip!

They are cute Lambone, I just ain't too crazy about the whole "newbie" concept. Nothing good ever seems to come from classifying people, especially those with less skill in a single, specific arena. It does not take a brain surgeon to learn how to climb well!! Some say the only requirement to becoming a skilled climber is a significant lack of brain power........

Yes we did. We gained a sense of superiority and competence to help us gloss over the fact that being a skilled and experienced climber has very little if any importance or relevence whatsoever. Sorry if I offend but climbing is a deeply personal activity and I feel that it does absolutely nothing to improve anything but the psyche of the individual climber. When I challenge myself and succeed I feel strong, I feel good about myself. That does not make me better in comparison to anyone else. Perhaps the actual method I choose to challenge myself makes me a bit suspect? A little too philosophical for this early in the morning but the weather looks good, I have Friday as well as Monday off and I plan to do some climbing!!!

OK, dish you guys! How do you make those cool animated icons??? I absolutely must know!

A friend of a friend is offering to sell an old (8-10yo) VE24 to me. He wants 170.00 for it. That seems a bit steep to me for a 10 year old tent, any thoughts from the peanut gallery on this one? Just wondering...................

Bummer, gloves can be a good thing. For his sake I really hope he has a girlfriend, it could be a frustrating couple of weeks otherwise :-)

Beck, Yeah it does have the snow tunnels...To be honest I wasn't really sure what the hell they were but that is pretty cool! Thee only thing that bugs me is that there is no vestibule, just a pole supported awning that sticks out maybe 2 feet, what's up with that? High tech snow tunnels but no vestibule???? Perhaps there is a conspiracy of some sort......

Yeah it is complete and in pretty good shape, it has not really seen that much use as the guy put it away wet and now it has the funk pretty bad and his wife won't sleep in it. No rot that I can see just a distinct essence.....nothing a good washing couldn't take care of. I was thinking of it more as a kid-proof family tent (I think an 8 year old could bounce off it with a running start!) I was thinking I'd buy it if he will take 100 for it.......... Thanks for the input and I will definately offer the beer!

Hmmmmmmmm. I was on the West face of Guye peak Sunday and I didn't see him either. So where the hell was he anyway?

testes, testes, 1, 2, 3......

Dru, My bad, I did misunderstand what you were saying. I thought you were putting those posters down not giving reasons for the few responses they tend to get. What prompted the MSR to chase you???

"or c) ignored, like half the people that post here looking for beta on the size of crevasses on the latest obscure walk-up or what conditions will be like in Lillooet 6 months from now..." Dru, this is exactly what Mark was saying a while ago. He was referring to young people without the life experience to show respect for others and a bit of humility for themselves. Consider this: there may actually be someone out there who has little or no climbing experience and simply wants to post on this site to learn and is asking questions at the risk of looking stupid. People like you make it exceptionally difficult for that to happen. If I work real hard, apply myself every day and stay focused, when I grow up can I be just like you Dru??? Please, try a bit of humility, it smells much better than the cologn you are currently wearing.

That is a cool price for cams....Has anyone ever used them? I have heard of the name but never actually fondled them or read anything about them. An official product review complete with sarcasm and other irreverent irrelevent thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm with Dru. My Dad had me out there hiking, camping and scrambling about when I was very young. He taught me to partake fully of nature and to give back as much as I take. I place all the blame on him that I become an asshole when I cannot get outside to hike, climb or fish. I even managed to make a career (salmon biologist) of being outside interacting with the Earth. He is almost 60 years old now and has been up Ranier 17 times, Denali, and scores of other Cascade and Olympic peaks. I am just now able to keep up with him..... Everyone learns from someone: Here's a glass up to our parents or whomever it was that put the bug in us to feel awe in the presence of the Earth!!!!

Jman, Are the boots still for sale? I am not familiar with that particular boot, are they rigid? How old are they? you can emil me @ jiverson20@mindspring.com Thanks.....

Carolyn--- About the Becky books....Amazon.com!!!!! And if you can handle bugs in the midwest you will be ahead of us all here in sanity maintenence.........