Uncle_Tricky

RURP wrote quote: "Dogs are like kids." True, true. Or, as my parents used to say, "kids are like dogs." I guess that's why as kids we had to sleep out in the back yard. My brother and I each had a nice kennel. When they got tired of hearing us fight, they would put those electric "no-bark" dog collars on us. I tell you what, we were the quietest, most well behaved kids around. But they were responsible parents. When they would go hiking, they would leash us to a tree near the car, so we didn't inadvertently crap in the wilderness or scare wildlife, as kids are apt to do. I wish the forest service would put the proceeds from the trail pass to good work and hire some folks to clean up all that deer and coyote shit littering the woods. And speaking of shitting in the woods, will somebody please teach those fucking bears how to use the porta-potties?

My dog thinks he can climb. My partner and I had D-town all to ourselves one spring day, so I let the hound run free below. He sat and ate blueberries off the bushes for a couple hours while we were climbing. As we rapped off Silent Running, the hound scrambled up the steep bushy section to the left. We were at the first belay, a full 150' pitch of 5.7 off the ground, and he was parreled with us, seperated only by a swath of easy friction. He had the sense not to cross the gap and die, instead downclimbing to meet us at the bottom. I trust my dog's instincts, and give him the freedom to be a dog. But I always try to be aware of the overall situation, how people will react to him, and respond accordingly. Sometimes that means leashing him, sometime it means leaving him at home.

I think next game they should suit up the Seahawks cheerleaders and give them a go. They couldn't do much worse. Now that's a game I'd pay to watch!

Go Seagals!

The original inspiration for the hotel in The Shining was the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado. Stephen King stayed there for weeks as he was writing the book. While the movie wasn't filmed there, it's eerily similar to the hotel in the movie. It was built around the turn of the century, and is very ornate, with red carpets, fancy chandeliers, tall winding staircases, and walk-in freezers. When I was in high school, parts of the hotel were closed for renovation. We would drink heavily, and sneak around the deserted hotel in the wintertime in the middle of the night. Spooky indeed! [ 11-17-2002, 09:11 PM: Message edited by: Uncle Tricky ]

Al Pine, I agree that first 5.9 pitch on the NW Corner (I assume that's what you call the zig-zag pitch?) is one of the coolest single pitches at the grade. Great exposure, some mandatory runouts to make it exciting, cool moves, etc. The last pitch on the S. Face of Prusik is up there too. Some less popular but still fun crag climbs at the grade: Just Ducky and The Drain (Bathtub Dome, Leavenworth) April Mayhem (Leavenworth) Free For All (Beacon Rock) Several cracks at the Bend in the Salomon's roof area who's names escape me. Oh, and Inca Roads. Has anyone climbed First Blood at the Royal Columns? Maybe I was on the wrong line or something, and I didn't have hardly any big gear, but that thing was bloody hard for a 5.8.

Hey Lambone, not saying you're wrong, cause it's all subjective, but I'm curious what single pitch 5.9s in Washington you think are way better than zilla? [ 11-16-2002, 10:46 PM: Message edited by: Uncle Tricky ]

welcome to the land of low contrast

*Never* Fear, MtnGoat and his asterisks *are* here. Raised by the *invisible* hand, schooled in the *art* of *Rand-Fu,* MtnGoat stands *strong* and is ever *vigilant* against *collectivism*! Stay *tuned* as he struggles *mightily* to enlighten the *heathens* of CC.com!

All of you please report to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Total Information Awareness Office to have you chips implanted ASAP.

I likes zem both! It's a little different comparing one long pitch off the ground like Godzilla with the GM-->HOC linkup. When I did the GM/HOC, we swung leads and broke it up into short pitches, so while I got the sweet HOC hand crack, it didn't have the same flow as a longer pitch like zilla. I could see how linking the 2nd of GM and the handcrack pitch of HOC would make for a fun long varied lead. So what about comparing Princely and Godzilla? I find princely a lot less strenuous, but just more plain fun.

Three syllables: Ko-kan-ee! Best cheap weak beer out there.

Death by spray:

Glad all ya'll had fun. I shoulda woulda gone, but had big plans that didn't quite turn out as expected. I had a very nice woman over to my place. I cooked sockeye salmon I caught in Alaska. I made tasty salad. I baked homemade garlic bread. We drank red wine and were merry. At 9:30, the cab showed up to take us downtown. Destination: Yonder Mountain String Band. We were super-psyched to groove to some jamgrass. The cab drops us off in front of the Showbox. It seems a little quiet. Too quiet. In fact, the doors are locked, and nobody is there. I remove the tickets from my pocket and discover that the show is on Thursday. Ah well, I guess it's better to be two days early for a show instead of two days late!

Why is Eyman even an issue? It's the people across the state who vote that decide whether to give the thumbs up to inititives.

I've always been interested in etymology, and was wondering if anyone knows anything about the origin of the term sandbagging. Recently, I've been asking random people if they know the word, and most give me a strange look of incomprehension. In the dictionary, the only definition that comes close to the way climbers use the term is "to force by crude means, to coerce." But that doesn't really reflect the flexibility of the word, which climbers use as a noun, verb and adjective. A google search reveals the following uses of sandbagging: "Sandbagging is deceptive play in poker that is roughly the opposite of bluffing: betting weakly with a strong holding rather than betting strongly with a weak one." "Traffic cops team up with sandbagging, mafia-connected, highway-construction, multi-billion-dollar global corporations..." "I hope we're all running to take Ecuador off the second round of our World Cup brackets, or they're dedicated to sandbagging Mexico and Italy." "Sandbagging is the process over an internet go server (or in an over-the-board tournament) of deliberately setting your rank lower than it should be." "As this year’s tests wrap up, the Fords have been most accused of sandbagging. The Pontiacs seem to have been a little slower than the Dodges and Chevy's as well, but haven’t faced the same accusations." We all know what sandbagging is, but where did the word come from?

Having a dog will affect when and where you choose to go climbing. Sometimes, you'll have to make arrangements to leave him at home. Sometimes, you'll choose to go somewhere less crowded. I started taking my dog climbing as a puppy so he'd get used to it. At first he would moan and groan when I got off the ground, but now he just falls asleep. If there's anyone else around that he might bother, I leash him. I bring a bowl of water, maybe something to chew on, and sometimes even a blanket so he can snooze in comfort while we climb. Just try and expose him to lots of people, dogs, and situations while's he's young. Be aware of other people, and don't let him bother someone who's belaying or get into their stuff or piss on their rope.

Everyone has scars. I've recently added a few to my collection. I was helping a friend of mine close a restaurant. I was using a potato press to crush whole raw potatoes into french fries. You put the potatos in the press, yard down on the lever and the potato is crushed in a vice with blades in the bottom that cuts it into fries. I put my hand in the wrong spot. When I pulled down the lever, I pinched the heel of my palm in the press, right below where the thumb attaches. It took out a deep chunk that has only stopped cracking and oozing now a month later. Bloody fries anyone? ----- When I was a kid, my brother and I were out on a rocky beach at the ocean turning over rocks. Of course, the bigger the rock, the cooler the critters. So we found this huge flat rock, and working together, we were barely able to tip this thing up. While my brother held the rock up, I tried to catch a couple mud eels in the crater. Of course he couldn't hold the rock, and it tipped back over, catching my hand underneath. Since one of my hands was busy being crushed under a salty barnacle covered boulder, we were unable to move the huge rock. I had to sit there for 10 minutes while my brother ran to get my dad to get the rock off my hand. That left a neat half-moon scar across three fingers. --- Others include scars from 2 knee surgeries, one elbow surgery, and two surfboard fin scars on forehead and head. Anyone else have some marks?

Stapling your hand to the side of a shed with a hammer-tacker sucks.

Thanks for the sharing the memory. Funny how certain climbs fade into memory, and other become more vivid through time. Seems often to have more to do with what's going on inside that the rock or route itself.

Perhaps we should call the Sooners the Laters?!?

It was bound to happen Sooner or later.... ...Oklahoma couldn’t escape Texas A&M this time, and it could cost the Sooners a shot at the national title. Saturday’s 30-26 loss certainly will drop the Sooners (8-1, 4-1 Big 12) from the No. 1 position in both the Associated Press poll and the Bowl Championship Series standings...

BTW: Anyone want to go surfing on Monday and/or Tuesday? Certain spots on the Olympic Peninsula will be protected from the predicted Southerly winds and should be firing. Drop me a pm if interested. [ 11-09-2002, 06:29 AM: Message edited by: Uncle Tricky ]

The wave size for this swell peaked at 49 ft with a 20 second wave period. That's huge. Here's some pain being doled out by waves half that size. PS. He survived this journey to the bottom of the ocean, but died the next year. [ 11-09-2002, 06:12 AM: Message edited by: Uncle Tricky ]

When I was 10 I thought I could swim the length of an olympic-sized swimming pool underwater. The pool was covered with a plastic cover. I was wrong.