carolyn

For an uninsured woman...the cost to have "safe sex" so ya dont get pregno is practically the same amount as... a new set of ice tools, crampons...and then some a full rack a plane ticket to Europe and lots o hash 6 months on the road... The cost of NOT having 'safe sex'....PRICELESS! So, For some, it might actually be a toss up!

It must be the rope bag sending vibes! (which btw fits my boots, crampons, and a few miscl items in it very nicely for those roadside bouldering days!) So THAT is what I have been doing wrong all this time?!?!?!?! Seriously, tho. Lambone, what you said about going out into the alpine environment and wanting a more burly pick makes sense...so why wouldnt they put a cobra pick on the Viper tool? At least when getting the laser pick on the viper you dont have to bevel it down so much. Its already done for ya! Thanks for the responses. Much appreciated!

Too bad he is out of town, eh? No there is not! Dont let them tell you those lies!

Oh how I HATE running! I dont mind running stairs if I have to. Maybe a good ol fashion hike! Good News, tho! I take care of a little boy a couple days a week. Once a week he goes to the chiro. I couldnt help much today (he has some very special needs), and I told the dr this. He was curious what happened and suggested I come in. After I explained that I didnt have insurance and would just have to deal he offered to see me for FREE the first two times...then half off for each visit...no extra charge if I need ultrasound or other miscl therapeutic devices to speed up the recovery. My first appt is tomorrow! *big sigh of relief!*

I stand corrected.... the laser picks are B rated and they DO come on the cobra. Here is what a friend of mine from BD wrote to me: All three picks can be used for all conditions, some just work better than others (I think you are taking the add copy to literally, or it's wrong) To summarize: Laser pick: comes on Cobra & Viper -- thinner than Titan, better penetration, not as burly but can be used for mixed if you are not abusive (I use them for everything but drytooling, even on my Fusions) Titan: same as old cobra pick. Burly. Comes on Rage 'cauz that tool is meant for beginner/intermediate climbers and or "Scottish" style scratching about. Fusion: Comes on Fusion (duh). Specifically designed for high end drytooling abuse. Notched top for purchase when stein pulling. Can be used for ice but not as good as Laser.

I have my heart set on the quarks. Doing a little more research on the vipers, just to make sure. Youre right, My hands dont fit nicely around the cobras. I dont really like my rages (too heavy) I have access to use the Fusion, Aztar, and Ergo anytime, so I wont be buying anything like that anytime soon. Ive seen the laser picks. I like the fact that they are already beveled...less work for me! You said you wouldnt use the laser picks for mixed...which was my point exactly. Why would they put it on a tool that is made for mixed. WHy wouldnt they put the cobra pick on it?

I climb my worst when I am around large crowds of people...especially if I dont know them. Call me a wimp, but I get intimidated easily knowing there is an audience. So the gym....I wont dare step in there anymore. Or large tourist areas on weekends. To my credit I have been working on it a bit. As a friend of mine said one day...you never know when you are going to be climbing in some area, totally stoked, but scared shitless because its a 4 star offwidth, x, r...youre halfway up and then the tourist bus pulls up with everyone staring, commenting, pointing and taking pictures. What do you do then? LEARN TO FUCKING DEAL. I climb best when Im in new situations, when Im with better climbers (especially if I dont know them well), and when I have my head screwed on right. On the rare occassion all those factors come together in one place, the type of rock, climb , or weather really doesnt affect me.

So the pain is back once more in my shoulder. Too many long reaches irritated it. I took a week off. It felt better. Climbed. Hurt it again. Took a week off. It felt better. Did some strength exercises. Hurt it again. Im now at a point where I have a sharp pain in the lower part of the shoulder blade when lifting my arm, carrying anything, even sneezing sux. There is an obvious weakness in it as well. Ive received some great advice on how to take care of it both online and from friends. I dont have insurance and cant afford a dr, so there is not a whole lot more I can do. I know One of the keys for me right now is disciplining myself AND taking more than a week off. I can/will do this. In the meantime I worry a lot about losing my strength. With ice season right around the corner (well, actually beginning right now), what kind of things can I do to keep my strength (and motivation) up and not irritate the shoulder more? Things I HAVE been doing... calf raises Stomach muscle exercises Back exercises stretching (anything that doesnt involve the shoulder) Working on my eye/hand coordination on my left hand by swinging tools and/or hammer at one spot. biking (gonna have to put the bike on a trainer very soon) Possibly I could do some ice climbing without tools? Using flat hands to practice footwork? Any other thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated!

The more I climb, the more I learn, the more I understand the subtle differences amongst gear. I decided I was at a point to give the catalogs and websites another stab to help me understand the details of various types of gear. SO, Im looking at the BD site....Hopefully you can follow my train of thought here.... Rage is mainly for ice Cobra is said to be an all around tool, tho it seems to be mainly used on ice. Viper is for ice and mixed. ___________________ The new laser pick is for ice only (as stated on their site). Its "t" rated. The Titan pick (aka cobra) is meant for alpine/mixed. Its "b" rated. So why is the Laser pick (for ice only) sold on the Viper...a tool which is made for mixed climbing. And the Titan pick (alpine/mixed) sold on the rage and cobra...tools mainly used on ice only. This is an honest question....is there something I am missing here that makes sense the way they are selling the tools/picks? Or is it just a way for them to sell more picks? On a side note....has anyone used the laser picks yet? (I KNOW you have some ice out there!). Like? Dislike? ALthough Im looking into new tools for this season, Im thinking of nabbing a set for my rages.

My thoughts exactly dru....I should just use my plain ol atc for craggin. Use the reverso only when the situation calls for it.

The 'dirty' rope makes sense. My rope is pretty clean...that wuz until I spent a week at smith. Technique...not sure if I understand what you mean by "if you run it down the middle". I keep my hand on the side...and usually produce as much friction as I can. THat theory makes sense as well. I actually didnt notice it until someone pointed it out to me. It was a good eye opener that I need to be more aware of just damage to my rope and other obvious glitches in gear.

I noticed the side where I have the rope go thru most often is getting worn down....not uncommon. Its getting to a point where I will need to replace it pretty soon due to the edge getting too sharp. Ive only had the device for a year. ANyone else notice such quick wear on the reverso? Or maybe I spend too much time belaying.

Changing the kind of climbing is important for me... Rock, mixed, drytool, ice.... and then finding ways to make each of those mediums different... traversing, bouldering, laps, leading, easy, hard, sport, trad. If I get bored/under motivated, I find a way to make it interesting, different and/or new. Borrowing/demo-ing/buying new gear is always a good motivator to get out! Now if I could only find a way to tame my motivation when injured. *sniff sniff*

Garth WIllis is the persons name. He is actually a fellow minnesotan. Great guy with a lot of passion for what he does. He is always looking for people to do internships over the summer months, if that interests you. At the moment he is in DUsanbe, Tajikistan where he is helping them set up an internet network in the schools thru out the country. You can contact him at garth@alpinefund.org I believe his website is www.alpineorg.com. If thats not correct and you cant find it, let me know and I will dig it up. Garth is a super kewl and very approachable. He can fill you in realistically on the security issues and other things to expect if you choose to go over there. I would highly reccomend dropping him a line. Good Luck.

Thats okay adventuregal....more rain=better ICE! Then the freshiez can fly!

ack! Clear Channel SUX! Thanks for the link. Looks like an interesting read.

aaaawww, that sux! DIdnt you get to look at the xrays yourself? As much as Im sure you dont care to hear it, I agree with AlpineK....take care of yourself NOW so you can continue to climb in the future. Best of luck!

Aaaah! A fellow scorpio! Happy Belated Birthday!

Just thought I would give a plug for Scott Backes. He has his new (and first) website up now....www.alpinementoring.com (sorry, its not working for me to set up a link from my computer, so you will have to type it in for now). Anyway, its still in its beginning phases. Last I checked a number of photos werent displayed. He provides training tips, fictional stories, photos, and of course information on his latest gig - mentoring programs. Feedback on the site and its content Im sure would be appreciated either by posting on this thread or contacting him directly. Enjoy!

I dont know what type of record my climbing partner has, but last year he was denied access to canada FOREVER because of something he did over 13yrs ago. They didnt consider him rehabilitated.

getting stuck in a spot....loooking around everywhere for your next hold, trying to figure out how to make the move...and then "da-ding"...you see it... Its been right there in front of your face the entire time! DOH! The metaphors I get from climbing and can bring into my life

The first thing that comes to mind... The warmth coming back to my hands after the barfies while ice climbing. THen there is.... Hearing the sound of your pick hit the ice in a perfect placement. AAAAAHHHHH! Successfully dodging a falling object. Having your belayer catch your fall. Being able to catch your partners' fall. *whew!* Getting my ass up something I never thought I could. Climbing something where my mind goes blank and my body just moves. Watching someone else succeed on a climb which is obviously challenging for them. sleeping well after a good day of climbing. Being able to laugh at myself when I fall UP a climb. Looking in guidebooks to plan or just plain dream of the day. Blasting the heat in a warm vehicle after a cold day outside. Grilled Cheese and budweiser after a good day of climbing (dont forget the white bread!)

eeewwww, I had to be putting a bite of food in my mouth as I started reading this post!

Another great trip out to the PNW thanks to many of you! I spent my first 7 days down at smith where I got a ton of climbing in. Thanks to Shredmaximus for showing me around the first day. A special thanks to AlpineK, Jeff, and Tex for not saying anything when I changed into shorts before I did my first true offwidth in the Gorge. I think I will have permanent scars! Uncle Tricky was my hero for sticking around an extra day or so and going up Monkey Face with me. Definately a highlight of the trip! I never laughed so hard climbing that bolted ladder. Of course all of you who were at the smith gathering...it was great to see old faces and meet new folks. Thanks Tim and Becky for the shower and bed after 7 days in the tuff! Im sure others who I met during the rest of my trip are grateful to you as well. In Lworth, I got on some MN sized climbs the first day. It was fun hanging out with Fern, dru, Alpinek, Erik, Uncle Tricky,Dave S, and a few other lurkers on the second day where we stuck close to the road bouldering and searching for more offwidths. Met a lot of new faces at the rope up. Thanks David Parker for the raffle tickets....and the rope bag! Climbing was cut a little short when the weather was obviously not going to cooperate, so it was off to explore Seattle a bit and finish off the keg at ALpineK's house. Thanks to both Alpine K and Beck for giving me places to crash! Overall...8 days of GREAT climbing out of the 10 I was there...not too bad! Looking forward to the next visit!

I would have to say "nothing". In my short tenure, the times when I am able to focus on nothing is when I have climbed at my personal best. Don't envision yourself moving forward; just move forward. I second (or third ) this idea. I try to get all my thinking out of the way BEFORE I start climbing. Deep breaths are always helpful...and remember to keep breathing while you are climbing. When you are beginning it takes a lot of mental energy to climb because you are constantly thinking about your feet, balance, the next hold, the best technique to use (stemming, smearing, edging, manteling, jamming, etc). Once you become more proficient your body starts moving without having to think so hard on how to use it. I believe this is refered to as engrams. One thing that has helped me to practice climbing without thinking about anything is to get on routes that are super easy OR do some of your favorite routes a number of times. When I get on harder routes, I then find it easier to get myself into the 'zone'. You asked about reading material. I would highly recommend "Performance Rock Climbing" by Dale Goddard and Udo Neumann. It talks a bunch about engrams, performance, mental and phyical training, etc. Most important, just make sure it is fun.