carolyn

I wear my helmet when I climb, belay, and often times just hanging around a cliff. I HATE it (especially when its hot)! Maybe I am full of bad luck, maybe Im just a clutz. In my few years of climbing I have been hit with a chunk of ice on my head and shoulder which knocked me out for a brief period of time and gave me a seperated shoulder. Ive had MANY near misses with rock. And just last weekend as I took my first "true whipper" (20+ft), I was trying to avoid smashing my leg against the rock and turned. I flipped upside down and hit my head twice. Good thing for that helmet! Not to mention all the times I bonk my head on the rock. DOH I think its a personal choice if you want to wear one or not. Im not gonna rag on ya if I see ya without one. tho, I do think its important to consider the folks around you and whether or not its fair to put them in a situation where they might have to save your life because of something preventable. Kinda like solo climbing. Go for it. I do it. But I wont do it around others. Touchy subject. I wont laugh at you when you get hit in the noggin' if you dont laugh at me while Im wearing my helmet! Promise!

Im going to take this moment to whine a bit .... My roommate and I had plans to climb this weekend. TONIGHT (yup, that be friday night) he tells me he is going up north to do some paddling instead AND THEN asks me to watch his dog all weekend! All this after I stayed up for 40hrs straight as his "support" for a bike race last weekend. Not that a favor has to be repaid with a favor...but c'mon, we have been planning this weekend for over a month now. Shitty! I soooooo need a vacation and cant wait for three weeks out there with you folks!

Its been pretty similar here in MN for years. Any medical bills you had in the past could work against your income to qualify you for the state program. In addition, they were 3 months retroactive. An example would be...you have an injury or illness and wind up in the hospital with it costing you 10,000bucks.Your income is 20,000. Subtract the 10,000 and you are now eligible for medical assistance for the next 6 months. Six months later...you still make the same amount of money, but cant use the same hospital bills again so you dont qualify, UNLESS...you rack up a bunch of medical bills. Kind of kooky if you ask me. Seems as if it encourages folks to stay sick (either mentally or physically). Recently they changed the rules. No more medical bills worked against your income. Nothing is retroactive. Squeezed a lot of people who needed help outta they system.

COming from someone who learned to climb on ice before rock, I beg to differ with the first part of the above statement. I have found ice climbing technically easier, tho equally challenging on a physical level. As I progress in my climbing I do find that a lot of the technique is similar. What seperates those who enjoy ice climbing and those who dont are the conditions and the hazzards involved. You definately have to be more aware of your surroundings in addition to being able to take care of your body and tolerate somewhat extreme conditions (depending on where you are climbing). In regards to strength, yes it requires quite a bit. In my experience I have found it requires a lot less arm strength than most people lead others to believe. I dont usually put a lot of focus on the difference between men and women when they climb....tonight I will with a short (or long) story... Last winter was my 3rd season on the ice. I climbed with A friend of mine who teaches for Chicks with Picks one weekend last year. The first thing she said to me was, "You have been climbing with some strong guys!" It was obvious to her that I used my arms a lot. Not a big deal for most guys because that is where there strength is (generally speaking). Pull ups? No problem! She showed me some techniques that allowed me to use MY strengths as a woman which made all the difference in the world when it came to my endurance/strength on a climb. Point being, just like on the rock, its not all about strength. Dont let that intimidate you. In regards to warmth, there are ways for a woman to stay warm. Yes, it is more difficult, but it can be done with some experimenting and research. Again, dont let that intimidate you. give it a try. Find someone to take you out or hire a guide. See if you can get someone to take you drytooling or doing some mixed stuff. You might find you enjoy that better and can do mixed at least year round. Best of luck!

I stayed up for 40 hrs between work and acting as "support" for my roommates bike race. its a 24 hr mtn bike race. 7-8mile course. I was up all night feeding him gu and cytomax, making sure his delerium stayed under control and rooting him on. He was in 2nd place (as a solo rider) until the last lap, he bonked. All he had to do was walk his bike one more lap and he would have stayed in second. heat exhaustion and stomach cramps kept him from doing the 15th lap, bringing him down to 4th. He did great...considering he has never done more than 9 or 10 laps in the race of the past 4 yrs! Today I did some sport climbing. I took my first BIG whipper....20+ feet. Im all good, but wuz a bit shaken and having issues of it replaying in my mind when I try to lay down and sleep. "This too shall pass". Fantastic day, tho...led 3 climbs 1 grade harder than Ive ever done in the past!

basically brand new $80 I will be in the PNW Sept 29-Oct 15. I will be at both the rope up and smith lovefest or we can find another way to make the lovely exchange while I am in town. PM me ahead of time if interested, as I dont want to pack more than necessary.

I seriously injured my leg in the beginning of the summer due to a fall...I was bouldering by myself. I had a GREAT day. Other than bummed that I havent been able to climb all summer I really dont regret my decisions that day. Like Dechristo said, it is a personal decision to accept cetain risks or not. I chose to risk...and I suffered the consequences. So is life! I do hope your friend heals fast. Happy climbing, however you chose to do it!

ugh! its like 55 degrees and cloudy here! I think we skipped August and Sept....just went straight to oct. you guys dont have a lot of humidity tho....consider yourself lucky!

In Jtree last spring this guy from the city was talking to the ranger one morning and found out there was a bobcat hanging around the campsite. Dipshit decided that night to leave a steak out as a kitty treat. I heard/saw him showing people tracks of the bobcat the next morning. Lucky Jay was sleeping in his bivy sack a few hundred feet away. Hmmmm...he would have made a healthy snack! Hey, I did see a coyote earlier this week in the suburbs of mpls. He was crossing the road...chasing the roadrunner! For real, tho. Quite a rare site around here.

btw...why is it I cant seem to vote?

ahhhh, these pics remind me of mullethead!!!!! If its in the beginning of oct I think I might be able to make it to both smith and lworth! If its any earlier, Im gonna aim to attend the smith gala, then find some climbing on my own for a few weeks. Either way, look forward to seeing you all and fuckin' climbing again!!!!!

I had an mri yesterday on my knee. My dr called today and left a message for m. He said what they could see is that I have a fair amount of degeneration in the cartilage (the meniscus), but no tear so surgery at this time would not necessarily help me. No healing fracture showed, but he said I had a very severe bone contusion...not of the fibula (the suspected bone), but the tibia. This makes more sense considering the fibula is a non weightbearing bone and the tibia is..thats why I have/had so much pain when walking. He believes Im in the clear to climb even if it hurts. With the contusion if you dont take it easy it can turn into a hairline fracture..etc. From what little I have read it sounds like it could take up to 6 months to be pain free. Sucks! As long as I dont do any more damage I think I can suck it up! I guess what I am wondering is the how I can regenerate the degenerating cartilage (if I can). "no surgery at this time"...does that mean I will need it in the future? I know it is related to osteoarthritis and arthritis. makes me nervous because my grandma has VERY severe and debilitating arthritis. Well, I will try not to worry too much until I actually speak with the dr next week. In the meantime, I am in the clear to climb after 2 months - pain or not!!!!!

arcteryx makes some. Dunno if they have sticky rubber tho

wuz wondering that myself. Why does it say I have already voted when I havent?

funny! I was spying on "who's online" and noticed someone looking at this post. Peaked my interest. low and behold I started the post myself! Though I LOVE my sabretooths, I only used them twice this year...once because I was borrowing some snowshoes that required the use of sabretooths. The other time Iforgot my monos. drytooling in sabretooths really ISNT that bad! I got meself a pair of comps. the only thing I dont like about them is the fact that I need a new set of front points after just one season. BOOOOO! I will credit myself for getting a little better on the ice, but I really do think using monos helped my footwork a lot. I found myself being much more specific and careful with my foot placements. Aaaahhhh! Memories of buying my first set of crampons.

The other thread just got locked, so.... WOOHOOO!!!!! See ya all in Oct if not sooner! Oh ya, and I wont forget to bring grover so you can ask him about his speed ascent on rainier!

Hey! I came accross some GOOD news today (knock on wood)! I had an mri set up at the county hospital for next week. However, when I took this little boy I work with to physical therapy at a different hospital than usual I saw a sign about how they offer financial assistance to those who qualify...no one is turned away. Well, Ive heard that one before. For some reason I decided it was worth a shot to do a little research. Turns out, if the woman I spoke with on the phone was correct, I qualify for free care at any of the allina clinics and hospitals. This would include my mri and surgery if needed!!!!! Sounds like I should be able to get the mri scheduled within the next week at a different hospital. Im familiar with the hospital and know they are one of the top in the state. Someone had also sent me a pm regarding clinical trials. I did some research and couldnt come up with anything. Its a good thing to remember, tho. I found a site that seemed pretty comprehensive and updated regularly if anyone is ever in need... clinical trials

Thats not me...Im a GIRL! Thats my roommate. I made him bring grover with since I couldnt come along.

Yes, its true! Grover climbed rainier last weekend...I have photos to prove it! Grover psyched to climb rainier: Grover hangin' out in the hut: Grover getting ready for bed: Grover doing poses and tricks for the camera: Human proof that grover made it to the summit of rainier!: Snoboy...did YOU see Grover?

Thanks for the information and thoughts. I did a search before posting...must have spelled it wrong...I did find one AFTER I posted. Oh well. After a bit more research, asking around, and thinking I have decided to figure out a way to get the MRI. If surgery is what I need I will do it and figure out how to pay for it. I want to be able to walk in 20yrs ya know? Arg. Sucky! Well, guess I get to keep working on my pullups. What a monster I will be when this is all over!

I think someone suggested on the rope up thread the last weekend in sept for lworth and 2nd weekend in Oct for smith. If it was spread apart anymore than that I would have to skip one or the other. Three weeks is the max I can take off of work. I know Im not the only one to consider when planning this gala. I had a great time being able to attend both last year and it made it much easier for an outta stater to find partners, rides, etc. If you could keep me in the back of your mind timmy I would greatly appreciate it! cheers

I took about a 10ft fall 6-7 weeks ago, landed on my feet, off my pad. The dr thought initially that I broke my fibula. Xrays came back okay. After little improvement in the first 3 weeks he suggested I had a hairline fracture and/or tore my menisci (neither which will show up on normal xrays). RICE is all you can do, he said. I was getting a little annoyed with the fact that I still cant really climb, bike, hike, kayak, etc after 6+ weeks. Enough of the random pain and swelling! IM OVER IT! Knowing that I am planning a trip out to the PNW in about 7 weeks, I NEED to get this thing better. So I went back to the dr today. Without an MRI he cant say for sure whats wrong. I have symptoms of a fracture and symptoms of a tear. Im waiting for results on the xrays to see if it shows any healing fractures. If it doesnt then I need to make a choice: *Get an MRI. If there is a tear I will probably (but not necessarily) need surgery. If I were to do the surgery asap then I should be good to go for my trip in Sept. (Keep in mind I dont have insurance) *Suck it up and deal with it. My only concern with this avenue is whether or not I can tear it more or make it worse. So to make a short story long ...has anyone had experience with a menisci tear? Can I hurt it any worse or will it heal if I keep taking it easy?

I could work around that. Two weeks apart....good excuse to take a longer trip! Guess I better start saving $ now! (donations accepted - pm me for details on where to send them )

I was just looking at the calendar. Oct 9-11 is the weekend of Canada's thanksgiving. Might be a good date to allow the folks up north and extra day if they wanted to attend.

Im just bringing this back up for discussion. The time is getting nearer for me to book a flight...just need to know the time frame. I would be interested in doing something similar to last year -one weekend smith, next weekend lworth. I imagine the fires will be out by then . I prefer early to mid october (more time to save money and heal from my broken leg). However, Im game for anytime the weather will be good. Discuss!