willstrickland

quote: Originally posted by OfficeSpace: Yossarian, If you loafers were as hard as you talk you would all be in the latest climbing mag. Here, some of you guys rant about some multi pitch 5.8 alpine route as if you climbed the Eiger! Uhhh, hey man, I was in the latest climbing mag, Aug issue of R&I as an author....does that make me hard? NOT EVEN CLOSE! In fact, it makes me a profiteer from our noble pastime, only one step above the companies trying to convince you that you need to spend more money on the newest climbing fasionwear. I wrote it for 4 reasons: 1. I needed some money 2. I wanted to have a national publication on my doctoral school application resume. 3. The editor asked me to write it. 4. I needed the money. And what the hell do grades have to do with anything? Probably half of my 20 favorite climbs are long rock routes that go at 5.8 Pingora in the Winds...5.8 and fabulous, Complete Exum Ridge...5.7 and the most outstanding 5.7 route I've climbed, Nutcracker...sweet and interesting at 5.8, Snake Dike...fun and runout with only one stretch of 5.7, The Mummy in Linville Gorge..mellow 5.5 with great position. Skyline Traverse-Seneca 5.3...amazing exposure. All are among the most memorable climbs I've done, and I've done a fair mix of things around the US.

Dru, give me a little credit, I'd be on the road bike eh! Maybe get one of those kiddie trailers and stuff him in there...right next to the bong

Whadya think? Best name for a brew you've seen? Pike Kilt Lifter? Old Bongwater Porter?

quote: Originally posted by Jman: Try again. Your middle phrase only has 6 syllables. Damn it! I suck monkeybutt. Once more: Wills writing sucks ass That bastard can't even count Stick to climbing dude That works I think...

Dude, just eliminate the crampons altogether, file your toenails to a point, be a real man...then when snow balls up, just wiggle your toes.

So what ever happened to the big shindig idea? Weekly pub gatherings are great but what about all us non-Seattlites or Seattlonians or whatever the hell you call yourselves up there, we need some lovin' too. We'd like to toast with you (double entendre, no?!) too

I'll try again In drunken boxing We no use haiku speak We kick haiku ass better? [This message has been edited by willstrickland (edited 07-26-2001).]

I thought it could also be 7-9-7 or 3-5-3, maybe my grade school teacher was syllably challeneged...

quote: Originally posted by Dru: Canada is good Yankee beer is second rate We have good bud too. Haiku rebuttal: Oregon is much better Portland beer is the finest around Our bud is extra dank too [This message has been edited by willstrickland (edited 07-26-2001).]

quote: Originally posted by Yossarian: Can you please be more specific on the brand of bleach bottle you used and the type of scissors? A diagram would be helpful. Here's a diagram for you

I hear alot of talk about balling and anti-bots, what will fit what, etc. Here's the easy solution: 1. Go to the laundry room,laudramat, etc and find an empty bleach bottle. 2. Open your toolbox and get out some small zip-ties and your wire cutters. 3. Open that drawer in the desk and get out the scissors. 4. Cut out four big squares from the bleach bottle. Trim them to fit the forefoot and heel sections of the crampons. 5. Make small 1/4" slits around the perimiter of the squares, keep the slits about a 1/4" from the edge of the square. 6. Thread the zip ties through the slits and around the crampon frame. Pull them tight and snip off the excess.Make sure the "ratchet" part of the zip tie is on the outside (closest to the ground when using them) of the crampon and plastic. Viola! Very light, very tough, very inexpensive anti-bot plates that can easily be replaced and work extremely well. Other types of plastic bottles will work, but the bleach bottles seem to be more flexible and lighter than the others.

I've been using neoprene gloves almost identical to the Glacier Gloves that I bought at Wal-Mart or K-Mart or something for about $10. They are a lovely shade of camoflauge, but I can't argue with the price. The palms are covered with some rubberized stuff that is WAY grippy. You might take a look at them, I've found that carrying them along with a fat pair of mittens for belays or bivys works well for me.

It got bolted They got warned It got chopped [This message has been edited by willstrickland (edited 07-26-2001).]

[This message has been edited by willstrickland (edited 07-26-2001).]

Yeah Bronco, that's a good one. Some other good reading in the simplicity/downshifting area are "The Overworked American: The unexpected decline of lesiure..." by Harvard economist Juliet Schor; "Voluntary Simplicity" by Duane Elgin; "The Simple Living Handbook" by Janet Luhrs, and "Chop Wood, Carry Water", which is a collection. Finally, there was a PBS series a while back called "Affluenza" which investigated the growth of consumer culture in the US and the myth of happiness through affluence.

quote: Originally posted by lambone: Hey Will, 1. Isn't that you clipping that fat bolt in Rock and Ice this month? 2. What's up "all a rounder"? You to cool for bolts now? 3. So you threw away your TV, big deal...Why didn't you donate it to the Salvation Army? 4. Keep in mind that your quest for "spiritual development" and "plaing" are privliges of White Middle Class Americans who have the luxury of selling their car so he can concentrate on climbing more... 5. But really, I'm curious... How does ripping bolts out of a rock help you "improve yourself"? 6. And who are you to judge which bolts should be ripped out and which shouldn't? More importantly, how does it help others? Sounds like a selfish endevor to me. Ok, 'bone I'll have a go at these. 1. No, that is not me clipping the bolt in the picture, as stated in the caption, that is Sam Elmore, who actually does resemble me a bit, or me him, or whatever... 2. Yeah, the all-arounder thing was funny, a direct product of R&I's editors making my original text more "print worthy" 3. TV worked, but required a good fist slam on top to get the picture going most of the time, didn't seem like something anyone would want. 4. Don't give me that white middle class shit. I grew up in a lower class single parent home, put myself through undergrad and grad school, have no outside financial support, truck was being paid for via loan so I didn't profit other than the equity which was due more to a shrewd business deal on my part than on paying off much of the loan. And a quote attributed to Beck put it nicely : "at either end of the social spectrum there lies a leisure class" 5. By upholding the ethic that I know beyond doubt is the proper one. Standing up for what I believe in, respecting the natural resources, etc 6. In this case it was a no-brainer, and I was far from being alone in judging that those bolts should have been removed. Of all the routes I've chopped (4 and counting) all were retro-jobs which were easily top-ropable. How does it help others? By restoring the aesthetics of the area (blank sweep of rock rather than shiny line of steel) and by restoring a real climbing challenge rather than a psuedo-challenge which is no different than an outdoor climbing gym. No offense taken to your comments, I can understand where you're coming from. And keep in mind that simplicity doesn't necessarily mean eating rice 3 meals a day and only owning a robe and bowl, it means evaluating the time committments that every "thing" requires (time to maintain it, time to work to pay for it) and deciding if it is truly worth that time. Material goods are a carrot on a stick deal, because unless you NEED something to survive it only satisfies a WANT and wants are infinitely expandable. -Will

This discussion about the DDD restoration got me thinking. As I dive farther and farther into the climbing life, my ethics evolve and my lifestyle changes. I find myself trying to say more by saying less, and to subsitute action for ego. Eight years ago I threw my TV in the dumpster. It was wasting time I could use to improve myself. Six years ago I stopped buying "fashionable" clothes and used surplus, thrift, and outlet stores, the less I spend the less time I owe to others. Four years ago I eliminated housing from the equation and lived out of tents and hostels for almost a year. Two years ago I lived out of a vehicle for almost two years year while holding an 8 on - 6 off job and climbing on the off days. I sold my truck last week and now rely on a road bike, mt bike, and public transit. I do all of this to remove the excess shit from my life so I can concentrate on climbing, training, spiritual development, and just plain playing. We are so rich in this country that the basics (food shelter clothing) are easily covered. Time is the most valuable asset we have and the current system requires us to lock our future time up in the management of debt. In climbing I've gone from clipping bolts to chopping bolts. I've gone from having a hard sport route as a typical project to having scary wall routes and hard offwidths as projects. As my exposure to areas around the country has grown, my disgust with the current trends of climbing has grown. I've gone from passing by a retro-job and saying "that's a shame, people shouldn't do that" to getting off my ass and correcting the transgression. I've gone from looking at established difficulties for a challenge (A2, A3 and on up the scale) to creating my own challenges by attempting (and failing most of the time)first clean ascents of established nailing routes. The point of all this is that the more I remove, the richer my life seems. I have less things to maintain, and more time. I seek value in relationships and adventures rather than material goods. I live in the present rather than playing the "I'll be happy when..." game. And, I spend more time climbing things I never imagined I would than sitting around thinking "if I just get those new axes I'll be able to climb better". It's about time, time on the rock, time on the mountain. Good gear is nice, and most of my gear is quality stuff, but there is no substitute for an investment of time. Having 500 pitches of 5.8 leads under your belt will do much more for you than having $500 of new cams on your rack... Just a ramble, nothing more, but I'm interested in your stories. Sacrifices you've made and continue to make, the value you've found in structuring your life around your climbing rather than the other way around.

quote: Originally posted by Jman: But you know what's best about him? He never stops drinking. Just beer after beer after beer... Kinda like Dwayner huh?

quote: Originally posted by EV: Wil: Good post. Eliminating excess from one's life is often good - the less, the better. Also, nice article in the recent Rock and Ice on Portland. Getting rid of excess is good unless it's an excessively long crack route! Man, this route in Zion called Tricks of the Trade has a phenomenal hand crack that's gotta be at least 400 continuous feet of primarily perfect hands on a vertical wall. and about that article, thanks! I'm just waiting for the "does it bother anyone that a guy from Georgia via Utah is writing a climbing article about Portland" stuff to start.

quote: Originally posted by Dru: Sport fucking is tainted by the fact it stays away from cracks, on blank faces.... Yeah Dru, maybe no hands or fingers in the cracks, but plenty drilling of holes...

vert, two separate posts, two separate intentions. First was serious, second was intended to be(obviously) humorous. I don't intend to become an ascetic, just eliminate the things that stand in the way of my dreams. Even the Buddha discovered that ascetism wasn't the way...after fasting and meditating until on the brink of death, he nourished his body and encouraged other ascetics to eat and keep themselves healthy so that they might reach enlightenment before they died trying.

Beck, you must train with master Will, he teach you drunken biking. Much training necessary, for expert drinker, I mean biker, only. Lucky Labrador on Monday night I got exactly two blocks from the pub before I crashed from being too drunk too get out of the clipless pedals...fell straight over at a stop sign. Got up and then couldn't get back into the right pedal, crank spun and the pedal diced an 8 inch gash in the back of my calf. finally got rolling and clipped again only to find myself lost in a strange (only been there 50 or more times) section of southeast Portland (Ladd's Addition, where all the streets converge to a central park/traffic circle). Finally get home and manage to inadvertently stuff my bike shoes into my haulbag, and surprisingly enough couldn't find them the next morning. Never know when you might need those on a wall route.

Dru, Good point, don't want me polluting the gene pool, but going without the nads would probably impede my other favorite passtime - sport-fucking! Poor trade-off in my opinion, anyway I don't usually lack power, but endurane (in both sports, eh!). (Any female CC'ers disregard the above humor, me love you long time)

Well I did have a massive headache this morning, but I don't think it was voodoo, more like cask-conditioned Lucky Lab Stout...made the bike ride home quite an adventure (clipless pedals and drunken riding are not a good combo).

quote: Originally posted by Pencil Pusher: I think Retro's an asshole who's lack of diplomacy is going to keep this shit going to the point Govt passes another damn law...and chopping with arrogance is only going to put more bolts up there. Pencil, have you even met Retro? If you had, you'd probably like him, he's a good guy. I don't call you names, although I do find your opinions wishy-washy and way too PC for my own taste. Diplomacy was the first thing that was tried, but it is very hard to be diplomatic when your adversary remains hidden. That said, I find your reasoning a bit askew. Hmm, chopping adds bolts? Gee pusher, while I was up there chopping I only noticed them going away...