carolyn

who really made geo prizms?

That has saved me so many times!!!!!

Its time to replace my old beater with a newer beater. Ive been researching, but curious about others opinions on certain cars. Im looking for something yr 2000 or newer with 50-70kmiles, depending on what kind of car it is. No more than $6k. I drive a lot for work so I need good mileage. I dont need lots of frills. Heck right now my car has no heat, windshield washer doesnt work, plexiglass for one of my windows, no air, just a am/fm radio, etc. What are your thoughts on cavaliers (I own an 89 right now at 127k miles)-Ive liked mine for what it is and its been reliable w/decent gass mileage. saturns - I hear either really good or really bad things about them. I like the no rust idea with the plastic vs metal. Great mileage. I dont see high mileage on them. Throw away cars? hyundai - new cars have great warranties. Cant get a new one. I havent seen many with high miles. Are they throw awya cars? Ford focus-my opinion is similar to the saturns on these cars. Tho I havent heard good or bad about them. Ive been digging hard to find a toyota or honda. I would be willing to go to an earlier year and a bit higher mileage on one of those. They still seem to be out of my price range. any other suggestions?

the weather has cleared up and its beautiful down here. finally quit drinking and started to do some climbing...well, that is until today. Climbed braille book yesterday in near perfect weather. Kurt says it was fun. Getting kicked out of camp4 tomorrow. Gonna bivyy under the boulders. more flooding possible due to warm weather, but the rock should stay dry. suckers for not coming down! k and c

Hey toast! Congrats! Alpinek and I fly/drive in late tonight (5/14). We will be there until the 24th. Chau! -c

I will be there the 14th-24th. I smoke, tho. So I guess Im out! Have a great bday anyway!

I know someone from Iowa (dont get much flatter than that!) who took that same course down in Patagonia. Sounded like he had a great time! Financially, there should be a scholarship application along with the NOLS catalog or you can call them and ask about their scholarships. I got a full scholarship for an OB course. Couldnt have done it w/o the financial support. good luck

Kurt- Oatmeal w/choc chips, raisins, and pecans. MMMMMM...good! cj-weather should be seasonably nice come wed - or so they say! Hey, I dont mind snow/cold...as long as there is ice to climb. THe ice is long gone and rock season has begun only to be rudely interrupted with snow, sleet, hail, and frigid temps. Its all good. I went car shopping online today and began my inner search for a career change. Now I have a fire going in the fireplace and the simpsons are about to come on!

Sunday, May 1 and Its snowing out!!!!! Guess its a good day to bake some cookies! AlpineK? What kind of cookies you want for yos?

The first year I started rock climbing I went up to the N.shore here in MN with a group of people from work. The n.shore is pretty much, get to the top or swim accross lake superior til ya hit wisconsin. ANyway, I got on this climb which took me probly a little over an hour to climb. I fell, hung, stood, cried. After that I NEVER wanted to rock climb again. I was determined to stick to ice instead. Two yrs later a friend convinced me to go up there with him. We set up the same climb. Suddenly I had to "take a shit" (most literally). It was too late, because that feeling came as I was rapping down to the bottom. I was soooooooo terrified because of my past experience. I cruised up that thing in ten min. it was soooo easy!!!!!! Later in that season I went back to the Nshore again and climbed something 4 grades harder. It was HARD, but doable. I shed a few tears when I got to the top of that as I looked over to see that first climb which almost stopped me from rock climbing ever again. Im glad I didnt let it. I think leading the last pitch of Outer Space will always be a fantastic example of a great lead for me, mentally. Okay...one more. Im not much of a boulderer, but I did work this one problem on occassion for nearly 2yrs. I FINALLy did it last spring. As I stood up to top out, I hit some wet rock and fell...missing my pad (no spotter). Fractured my leg. But none of that mattered, because Gwad damn it, I finally DID it! Definately one of my prouder moments as sick as it may seem!

Goldenchild- I eventually did just fine with my shoes out there. Like I said i think it might have just been fern sandbaggin' me. I think it was interesting what this person said to me after having a rockin trip in Wa and OR then sucking my first day so bad out there.

I have 2prs of mythos (which I like very much!). I have one "sloppy" pair and one "starting to get sloppy" pair. I have bought them as small as I can possibly stand and they stretch pretty quick for me. There are a few lacing tricks you can use once they stretch a lot which I find extremely helpful even on the "sloppy" pair. Last year I climbed in squamish for the first time. I cant believe how much I sucked! I couldnt keep my feet on the rock for the life of me. Tho it could of been fern sandbaggin me a bit. Anyway, I had an extra pair of mythos I was trying to sell for some cash. This one guy blew out his shoes and needed a new pair "right now". They fit his foot but wouldnt buy them because he had heard Lasportiva rubber worked poorly on the rock in squamish! Pfffffttttt!!!!! So THAT was my problem?!?!?!?! hehehehe Its too bad I only had my one pr with me, because my other one's had been resoled with 510rubber. Would have been interesting to see if there was a difference. Anyway, just something to think about if you believe different kinds of rubber make a difference in your climbing.

doh!

Today I was at the gym getting ready to do one last lap and my partner taps me on the shoulder and points to the folks next to us. the guy about to climb TIED a figure eight into some loop on the BACK of his harness!!!!!!! Yes, for real!!!! It was a wild country harness. We asked them about it before they started climbing and they told us that "Joe" said this was how to do it (Pat teaches classes at the gym). The woman insisted her friend standing next to her was on the climbing team and that is how she was told as well. All I can say is Im sooooo grateful I was not witness to a fall....because he would of hit ground. Of course when we mentioned it to the staff, we learned "Joe" never showed them to tie in this way. Very scary!!!!!

They do a lot of random checks in Ontario along the highway (drunk driving and such?). When I was up there in jan the mountie took my climbing partners' radar and said he was going to confiscate it. Said there was a sign at the border stating radar detectors were not allowed. Blah! Blah! Blah! Fortunately he gave it back. Whooda ever thunk?!?!?! So you might want to think twice about the radar. Just suck it up and do the damn speed limit. Oh...and yes, I think I still have an outstanding hospital bill in canada from about 3 yrs ago. The collection agency likes to call on American holidays for some reason.

Crazy creek makes a pocket for shake and warms that you velcro to your wrists Thermaband . I use them on cold rock days and on ice. My hands havent been uncomfortably cold since the day I started using them - two yrs ago. I will cry if I ever lose them. they are the BEST bit of gear I own! One of my climbing partners duct tapes shake and warms to his wrist. Just make sure you dont make it too tight or it will defeat the purpose and/or give you an unneccesary pump. And dont forget your best windproof, waterproof shell!!!!

Doh! I didnt even see that Dru! You have to admit, my title is much more intriquing.

Ice Wall

I was talking to our BD rep about my helmet because of a recent hit I took. he told me with the amount I get out I should retire it as soon as possible (Ive had it 3-4yrs). Due to UV the average helmet should be retired in 5-6yrs. Granted this is a rep, so his interest is in selling. He is also a friend and climbing partner, so I trust his opinion. Point being, you dont know where the helmet has come from. Its never been used, but maybe its been sitting in his car for the past year. Find an extra few bucks somehow and buy a new one which works well for you.

Ade, How recent are those articles? I was wearing a half dome a little over a week ago when i got hit by a football size chunk of ice from about 50ft above. I suffered a concussion good enough to keep me in bed and on heavy drugs for the past week. Helmet looks good. No cracks or deformities from what I can tell. Its interesting reading those articles and finding out that the half dome tends to put more of the force on your body than most others. No wonder it hurt so f'in bad! Maybe its time for a new helmet.

drytoolin with leashes!!!! Ive seen that done once before and felt sorry for the fella, BUT was also quite impressed!!! If its that warm out (looks warm if youre climbing in shortsleeves) bust out your rock shoes as a way to focus more on your upper body technique. Plus its fun in a different kinda way! Glad you are all having fun with it. I am really fond of Dt'ing myself.

out here we almost specifically drytool on DT routes. We avoid rock climbing routes because, well, we enjoy climbing the rock without tools as well.

YES! Absolutely. I can explain more later if you like. I gotta run for now, tho. you've got to be kidding me??? All the women i climb with climb the same way i do, only better! Seriously... Thats exactly it Rumr! All the women you climb with climb the same way YOU do. Men and women both have "strengths". men tend to (in general, but not absolute) use their physical strength to help them climb. Women (in general, not absolute) tend to have better balance which can be more efficient for them than focusing on their arm strength. I will try to find a link to this video I watched recently. First a woman, then a man climbing the same .12/13. The difference in how they climbed was blatently obvious. Neither of them climbed wrong. They just climbed using the strengths they posess as a male or female. (ie.the male did pull ups all the way to the top. The female, flagged, flagged, flagged...used her hips rather than her arms to pull up- a more specific technique for women, backsteps, and heelhooks). About a year ago I was with you a 100% on your above statements. After climbing with some kick ass female climbers, I have seen the difference.

YES! Absolutely. I can explain more later if you like. I gotta run for now, tho.

I climb mainly with men, occassionally with women, often in mixed groups. If I were writing a book about some great climbing accomplishments as a woman I guess my focus would be on independence. Independence (or the lack of) I think tends to be a big issue for women in general. While climbing with men, to feel independent with everything from starting a stove, solving mechanical/techinical problems, the length of your stride, to your technique can be challenging. Its not to say either "sex" is right or wrong in regards to how it is done. Tho, it is often the woman who needs to "listen" and "follow" the advice of the man. Because men and women tend to process things differently this doesnt allow much room for confidence, individuality, and independence among the woman. Let me offer an example. I climb with a lot of STRONG guys. They have a ton of experience and great technique. Keep in mind they are STRONG! I think I am fairly strong and have drastically improved on my technique. To keep up on some of the climbs with these guys took every bit out of me. Then I climbed with a woman friend of mine. One who has nearly as much experience as the guys I climb with. She taught me some techniques that are difficult for men to use, because of their body make up yet easier for women. When I see myself keeping up with these guys while practicing the "new" techniques I learned it just blows me away. It wasnt that their way is wrong. As a woman, it wasnt right for me. To try and mold myself into climbing like them kept me from feeling independent (if I didnt climb as well as them then I didnt know as much as them. I think that went both ways,so, they would wind up "doing more" of the set up , tear down, leading,basically taking "care" of me). There has been occassional discussion of discrimination, women's roles, etc on this site in the past. Ive met quite a few of the women on this site. They dont post on here because they are they "majority". They post on here because they have gained that independence and confidence around men to express themselves. I dont know the author's agenda. My guess is its not geared toward the population who post on this site (men or women). Its geared more toward the general population. Hopefully its filled with Inspiration that woman CAN figure out how to do things without a man telling them how to do it differently or better. You CAN figure out a way that works for YOU. I guess I just encourage folks to step back and think about the MAJORITY of the population when things like this surface. just because YOU feel confident as a woman, or becuase you see that in your girlfriend or climbing partners, because YOU dont treat woman that way doesnt mean it doesnt exist. Well, its early and I took a good knockin to my noggin last week, so I hope my thoughts are somewhat coherent. If not, I will try again tomorrow! Cheers!