slothrop

Dennis, why must you belittle people who don't do as you want? Just because I climbed at Squamish once doesn't make me some super-cool badass climber like Peter Croft. The same principle works in the other direction: climbing at Vantage doesn't mean I suck. I can't believe you're older than 15, man

quote: Originally posted by Crackbolter: I wonder why the moderaters are allowing everyone to post under an anonymous character since it causes so much greif. This is really the only message board community that allows such behavior Unless you've been using a different Internet than I have, there's no way cc.com is the only anonymous message board community out there. Despite the "my horsecock is bigger than yours, so shove that drill up your ass" blahblahblah, this site is incredibly useful, for all the reasons everyone's mentioned. As long as no one goes completely apeshit and starts posting rambling, drug-induced accounts of his stalking another cc.commie (this ruined a messageboard at my college and got someone arrested), I'm ok with cc.com the way it is. I don't really see why people get their knickers in such a twist over debates and insults had online. At least scot'teryx had the, uh, courage to ignore cc.com and skip merrily off to summitposer.com.

He's too pissed about Everest to ever be a real climber. Hillary beat him to the highest peak in the world, and that was just too much for Rush, the young aspiring alpinist.

Lonely again, Dennis?

quote: Originally posted by Matt: Slothrop, maybe your girlfriend came by after 1? Anyway, If I were her I wouldn't admit to going to REI on a sunny Saturday only to shop. Why didn't she join us? Dude, I know. Shame. But she was shopping for Father's Day for her fisherman Dad later in the afternoon. She had to work that day, and I was busy with other commitments... I wish I could have been there. My girlfriend did manage to chat with a bunch of people about the protests, she said several REI employees had no clue what was going on. Also, they didn't know what the protest was about. Ha, see, that was a little joke. Oh nevermind

How do you get to Rattlesnake Ledge?

Its not hard to spell a word correctly, just look up it's definition in the dictionary. Grammar is a bit harder, though.

My girlfriend was at REI yesterday and said she saw maybe 5 or 6 protesters. Doesn't sound very successful to me. Too bad.

I started in the gym because I have never lived in a place with mountains all around me (before Seattle), and I wanted to build up strength and confidence before I started climbing "for real" outdoors. Going to the gym and toproping wasn't nearly as much fun (or as much climbing) as bouldering for a few hours in the gym. Eventually, I met some people with more experience and started going outdoors. Clipping bolts was first, since there's less to think about: you assume the pro is good. I wanted to do things safely and feel confident, so I took (well, am taking) it slow while learning to lead and to place gear. To some extent, I agree with Peter Puget's friend in that I find climbing with an aesthetic, naturally-defined goal more exciting than pulling on a few features and then lowering off. Multipitch trad routes and alpine climbing are so much more interesting than 80' of bolts. To me, sport climbing is a fun way to improve your strength and technical ability. An engaging puzzle, but not a demanding journey. There will be some gym climbers who only identify with gym culture and sport climbing culture, and don't understand the appeal of getting into the mountains. To me, it's just a starting point.

Mix pistachios (shelled), cashews, soy nuts, almonds, chocolate-covered espresso beans, and chocolate in a plastic bag. Walk around Icicle Canyon in the blazing sun trying to find your climbing partners. Ignore the melted mess in your pack. Come home, put pack in shaded corner. A few hours later, remove bag-o-stuff and chow on the nice chunks of caffeinated chocolate and nuts.

Thanks, freeclimb. I'm glad your trip went well and you weren't maimed by the death cookies [ 06-14-2002, 06:03 PM: Message edited by: slothrop ]

I figured it was either small slabs shifting underfoot or nasty chunks of debris. Thanks for nothing, Cavey.

Uh, yeah, but what's a "cookie"? A slab?

Cool. What's a death cookie?

quote: Originally posted by Dru: I tripped on a bolt once while slab walking and nearly took a whipper... Was that on Banana Peel?

quote: Originally posted by Dennis Harmon: You might try it Drew, but I wouldn't recommend it. Dying sucks. Dennis Huh?

I always thought the chest harness was only useful after you fall in that crevasse, for keeping yourself upright while you hang and start to prusik/get raised out.

I betcha the booty belongs to the guy who skied Granite Mtn. during high avy hazard and (surprise!) got wiped down the chute by a slide. Granite Mountain accident

I talked to someone today who tried for a route up the Easton Glacier (I think) with the WAC. Her party turned around because of high winds. She said the Mounties were up there, too.

quote: Originally posted by Dru: What happened to scott's "friend" that he was jogging down the trail solo. Did the guy ditch him as a loser or what? Was he running to get help cause friend got stuck in a tree? Huh? huh? A cougar et him, of course. Scott, watch out for tigers, too. Why do you think they call it TIGER Mountain, eh?

What is David Bowie doing there?

quote: Originally posted by jc_climber: Unfortunately in this "microwave/DSL" culture people just want the shortcut. This has probably been true for ever and ever when public glamorization of something happens, as with climbing. The trouble is, it's easy to be misled into a false sense of security by building up "knowledge" about climbing through reading Freedom of the Hills, reading this board, studying guidebooks, etc. Book-learnin'. I have suffered from this tendency -- I'm the kind of guy who reads everything he can about something before doing it, because I want to be prepared. But studying does not equal being prepared. It's a shortcut, too. Guides, for their seeming purpose of being mentors, are nowhere close, either. The most satisfying, safe experiences I've had while climbing have been with more-experienced, patient, thoughtful partners. Having a mentor is by far the best way to avoid being a gumby and to learn to be safe through experience. But finding a mentor can be hard for someone who does not get into climbing *because* of the mentor (say your Dad took you climbing since you were a kid), but whose interest in climbing is piqued by all the hype, or by living around lots of other climbers. So, not surprisingly, people try to take the shortcut and get cut short. To me, "respecting the mountain" means being humble before the danger and uncertainty of the mountain. It has nothing to do with bolting or not, or alpine- versus siege-style. Those are separate issues. I guess I'm in a philosophical mood after taking a 20-foot fall today and getting my leg caught in the rope, ending up upside down and with some nasty rope burn. I'm going to go take some advil and build a shrine to my Ecrin Roc now... [ 06-07-2002, 06:36 PM: Message edited by: slothrop ]

Perhaps you don't see the same *kind* of bias on "Frontline" or other TV or radio shows, but there will always be bias to news coverage. Sure, NPR is biased, no doubt about that. I don't see why "they should just say so", however. You can't always believe what you hear, but there's no reason to say, before every radio program, "this show is biased in this way" blah blah blah. If you want to hear both sides of the story, find (at least) two sources of information. I like having a publicly funded radio system, it at least makes an attempt to balance the commercially-funded programming that otherwise dominates the airwaves. "Rev." Fred Phelps is the "God hates fags" guy from Topeka, Kansas. He believes that AIDS is sent from God to kill homosexuals or some bullshit like that. He's known to picket the funerals of AIDS victims. A real frenzied zealot. PS - Could one of the moderators move the post about Chair Peak to the right thread?

Looks like he's prepared for the first ski descent of Mt. Si.

quote: Originally posted by Fairweather: Slothrop, Rush Limbaugh readily admits his conservative bias. Additionally, he never claims to be a member of the "news media". His show is purely entertainment and opinion. NPR however denies it has ANY political tilt and passes off its soapbox editorials as "news". I prefer to leave it up to free-thinking people to decide what is news and what is opinion, as well as what is liberal and what is conservative. The lines between those things are thinner than you think, and engaging in pigeonholing is just oversimplification. Limbaugh practically invented the demonization of the label "liberal". quote: I do enjoy some of NPR's programing...if for nothing else than to provide me with balance and keep me abreast of what the "other side" is up to. Wasn't it NPR's Nina Totenberg who wished on-air that Strom Thurmond's children and grandchildren would be stricken with AIDS? ...So much for the "tolerance" of the left. Well, that would make Nina Totenberg an asshole, just like Fred Phelps. Note that the entire "left" did not wish AIDS upon anyone. Please learn to distinguish between gross generalizations and actual events.