carolyn

That would be a long carpool from Minneapolis. I think I will fly. Speaking of...can you believe Im just 400miles shy of a FREE flight. GRRRRRRRRRR!

hmmmm, I was thinking about a trip in May myself mr.Alpinek. Maybe we should hook up or somethin'

Drytoolin, baby!

Been taking it for about 2 yrs. Im not sure how much it has really helped. Last year I bruised my tib/fib in a fall mainly because the lack of cartilage I have between the knee and the tib. Who knows, maybe the gluc helped me maintain enough to prevent the fracture? I have a few friends who swear by it. Ive also talked with a PT who said she hasnt read any research proving it helps. Its really not that expensive if you dig for coupons (lots of buy one get one free around here, anyway). Might as well give it a shot. My understanding is that you have to be consistant with it and give it a fair amount of time before it starts working. Kewl to hear so many people have had success!

Im just curious as to what others ideas might be. My calves rarely hurt while or after Ive been climbing ice over the last few seasons. This year I have started getting incredible soreness usually a few days AFTER Ive climbed. Serious soreness...like I used to get when I first started climbing ice. Typically it lasts 3-4 days. This has happened twice in the past month. Dehydration? I dunno? I seem to do a fairly good job of being hydrated and staying hydrated while I climb. Maybe not such a good job afterwards? (God damn beer! ). On the other hand, they are definately NOT cramps which usually come with dehydration. Stress? Can that cause soreness like this in such a random spot? Lack of stretching? I admit I stretch a lot less during ice season. If it had to do with stretching wouldnt it affect me the day after, Not days later. I dunno. Its not that big of a deal. Again, I was just curious to hear others' hypothesis.

Ive heard or read random tidbits about how stretching isnt helpful. I dont usually take it all in because I personally dont believe it. Im sure if you do a search on the internet you can find a fair amount of debate on that topic, collin. I find that kind of strange for an employee of a gym to give advice like that in such a lawsuit happy world. Anyway....here is my take on stretching. I dont claim to have any facts or statistics to support my thoughts. Most of it is based on my experience of being a gymnast for 10yrs and climbing the past 3 or so. When I was in gymnastics I had more flexibility in certain areas of my body than others. For example, I could easily do the splits with my left leg in front. In fact, I still can. I had to put a little extra work into specific stretches in order to do the splits with my right leg in front. When I worked on it, I could do it. In order to maintain the ability to do so, I had to continue working hard at it. I also spent those ten years working on the "straddle" splits (as they call it). I worked soooooo hard - specific stretches, extra time working on it, etc. Not once in those ten years could I actually do it. Close, but never close enough. On the other hand, friends of mine could easily do the splits that way. As Ive grown older, I believe there is a limit to where someones natural ability lies and a limit as to where you can 'stretch' your ability (refering to flexebility) It sounds like you have worked hard to get to where you are now with your flexibility AND you continue to work hard as a way to maintain it. I would encourage you to keep at it. Maybe focus on maintenance vs improvement so you dont get frustrated and stop all together. Remember, stretching isnt just about the muscles. Its a great time to just relax and appreciate what your body can do. One final observation. I hear your frustration when you talk about how your flexibility may be limiting your climbing. I would challenge you to use that as an advantage. Let that 'weakness' help your find more of your strengths. Good luck to you!

btw...I easily warmed up from our frigid temperatures by practicing my dance moves and my bow staf because theres like a butt-load of gangs in this town!!!!!

and since it hit -54F in Minnesota today you can stay inside and watch it 5 times in a row. hahaha! I dont have time for that because Im training to be a cage fighter and Ive been talking to babes online. Then I have to make some detailed blueprints of my next sweet bike jump. PS...Pedro offers you your protection!

I had a creative way to open a bottle of beer just recently...unfortunately I cant remember what it was!

No 'dis taken bug , except maybe from iceicebaby. Im not ashamed of my new gadget. I think there is a big difference between the ability to keep your 'core' warm (ie./using a heated jacket) and your extremities (ie/using heated footbeds), especially for women. Whatever works to keep you out and enjoying the day !

How I LOVE that movie!!!!

I think they were on sale. I climb ice a lot and my feet always make me miserable, to the point I had started climbing less. If you have serious issues with cold toes, its WELL worth the mula. If I had known they worked so well, I would have bought them years ago!

A secret admirer (or maybe a climbing partner sick of hearing me complain about cold toes) got me some Thermic heated insoles for xmas. I had a chance to try them out somewhat extensively this week and had great success!!!! 4 out of 5 days I never had cold toes. The one day they were cold was my fault anyway. Didnt put on gators because I didnt expect to posthole so much. Feet got soaked, cranked the heat and the batteries ran out too fast. Basically the set up includes a thin warmer the size of your average "toe warmers" which is placed under the insole of your boots. A flat, connecting wire, approximately 2ft gets taped along the insole and comes out of the boot, where the battery attaches. There are three settings. #1 10hrs @91degrees, #2 4hrs @ 104 degrees, #3 1.2-2hrs @ 149degrees. I found the highest setting to be almost too hot after a short amount of time. The 2nd setting was the most comfortable. And the 1st setting allowed my feet to get cold, but not miserably painful. The temperatures I tried these in ranged from 10 F. - -10F. You can get a wire extension so you can put the battery packet in your pocket. It seemed to work well for me to get some double sided velcro and wrap it on my base layer of clothing around my calf, then hook the battery pack to that. Occassionally the wire would slip down and bunch up under my foot. Nothing to difficult to fix, especially in exhange for warm toes.. The battery pack never seemed to get in my way. In fact, I never really noticed it. Charging was convenient. Just plug em in before you go to bed and hook em back on your boots in the morning. I cant believe what a difference it makes in my day to have warm toes. So, if you or anyone you know suffers from easily frozen toes, I would highly reccomend the thermics. Here is a link to some more information thermic

bobbyperu - thats it! Thanks.

Outer Space - Last pitch (pitch and a half if you dont run it out) was awesome! SEWS-Need Uncle Tricky to chime in for the exact route. The double roof pitch was crazy, wild fun!

Is it really snoboys birthday?!?!?!?! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SNOBOY!!!!!! Have a GREAT day!

I got heated insoles for my climbing boots! My grandma's spinning wheel so I can start spinning my own yarn. Way kewl!

I think its a good idea to have picks specifically for drytooling and ice. Yes, its a pain to switch em out. More of a pain to buy more sooner than necessary. When doing mixed, figure out what the route mostly consists of - rock or ice. your decision should be pretty clear as to which picks you will want if you review the route. Ive found it important to have picks as sharp as possible for drytooling around here. Lots of filing. I share tools with someone and the picks are about an inch shorter this year than last. We just got a new set! WOOHOO! Dru- I like drytoolin/mixed in both my sabretooths and rambos. Ive opted to not use my sabretooths anymore because I dont want to have to replace an entire crampon after a day of drytooling. I can change the points out in the rambos, so I have one set aside for DT and one for ice. Im ready for some spurs now!

Sven & Ole were working in a factory and were talking on their coffee break. "I tink I'll take some time off from da vork." says Sven. "How do you tink you'll do dat?" asks Ole. Sven proceeds to show Ole...he climbs up to the rafters, and hangs upside down. The boss walks in, sees Sven hanging from the ceiling, and asks him what on earth he is doing? "I'm da light bulb" answers Sven. "I think you need some time off," says the boss. So, Sven jumps down and walks out of the factory. Ole starts walking out too. The boss asks Ole "where do you think your going? Ole answers, "Home, I can't vork in the dark". -------------------------------------------------------- It seems that Ole was sitting in a bar with his best friend, Sven. "I chust don't know," Ole complained. "I come home and Lena don't have my dinner ready. Seems to me a man ought to be able to have a hot meal when he comes from work. It ain't right, you know." "Oh," Sven said, "I had a problem like that. I would come home and the house would be messy. I told my wife, "From now on, I expect the house to be clean when I get home!" "And vot happened?" Ole inquired. "The first day, I didn't see anything. The second day I didn't see anything. The third day, I see that the house is clean as a whistle." "Wow! Chust like that!?" "Yeah, just like that. I wear the pants in my family." "By golly, I vill try that myself!" exclaimed Ole. A couple of weeks later Ole runs into Sven, and Sven says, "So what happened, Ole? Did you tell your wife you expected dinner on the table when you get home?" "You betcha," said Ole. "Chust like you said. I told her what's what." "So what happened?" Sven asked. "Oh, pretty much like with you. The first day, I come home, I don't see nothin'. The second day, I come home, I don't see nothin'. The third day, I come home, I can maybe see just a little bit out of my left eye." ----------------------------------------------------------- Sven and Inger were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning. Inger said, "Yew should do it, because yew get up first, and den ve don't have to vait as long to get our coffee." Sven said, "Yew are in charge of cooking around here, and yew should do it, because that is your yob, and I can yust wait for my coffee." Inger replies, "No, yew should do it, and besides, it is in the Bible dat da man should do the coffee." Sven replies, "I can't believe dat, show me." So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and showed him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says...."HEBREWS"

ouch!

I think its good to be aware of the medical conditions people are refering to and explore them if all else fails. Remember, Its normal for both men and women to experience those screaming barfies while ice climbing. Its normal for both men and women to have very cold hands at some point when youre ice climbing, period. Women tend to have more of an issue with this for a variety of reasons. Be diligent about trying and sticking to some of the suggestions folks have given you above. My guess is you will find some type of combination that will help.

here is a link with information on the "thermabands" thermaband

a couple tips which helped me avoid the screaming barfies probly 9 times out of 10 last year... *I wear a little fleece pocket-type thing which holds a handwarmer around my wrist. This helps warm up the blood flowing into the hands. You could design your own pretty easily or even tape them to your wrist. *before you start climbing swing your arms individually like a windmill. I do 25 foward and 25 back. If your hands arent warm yet...do more. If I start with cold hands, Im screwed. *Shake out with your hand below your waist. Take our hands out of your leashes or do it with your tool in hand. this will also decrease the pump a bit. *If you are just starting out you should be able to get away with wearing mittens vs gloves, which will obviously keep your hands warmer. The best system I have found is a thin pair of fleece mittens and a pair of WATERPROOF (OR, for example) overmits. DONT get the fleece wet. Be extra diligent. Switch into a pair of down mits or other toasty mits inbetween climbs. *Aspirin - thins blood, better circulation *Start NOT using gloves/mittens when you are walking around town. Get them used to being cold. *Stay hydrated. And if ya gotta pee, do it asap! Hope those ideas help you as much as they have helped me. This year Im bound to find a way to keep my toes warm!!!!

wow! That made me feel better, fairweather. Never said it was unavoidable. Trust me, I have gone over in my mind time and time again the seconds before and as I hit the ladder. It was an accident, pure and simple. I believe what I WAS complaining about was how such a "churchgoing" society could be so blind to turn their eye and not stop to help and make sure I was okay....including the police. And dru, just to even the game, let me just say this one word..... PAAAAAASTA!

Did somebody say GOAT?!?!?!?!?!