jordo

Then off the cliff I go! There was a cool book written by Dennis Chitty, a UBC prof. in ecology and population biology, called "Do Lemmings Commit Suicide? Beautiful Hypotheses and Ugly Facts" Tex, your assertion fits right in: we like to think that people with really old and well-used gear are somehow better climbers; we like to dismiss the well dressed as knobs, merely out of subconscious jealousy. We don't want to consider the ugly possibility of them possibly being better climbers than us, because that would shatter our world consruction. Sir Chris B. loves the Coop, apparently, because he likes "stuff". And he's an OK climber too. Oh, and my DAS is in the mail! [ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: jordo ]

Hmmm, one more to add to the black book.

Dru, you been playin around with that dialect translator haven't you. I used that thing for a presentation at school on the role of student dialect in classrooms, I thought it was damn funny, but I got PC bashed pretty bad for Buckwheat and Jive! There were a few fat chicks from the valley that didn't like the cow dialect either! [ 12-13-2001: Message edited by: jordo ]

I'm assuming Snowy Owl there Dru? Is the rock as chossy as I think it is on the N. Face of the Owls?

Pro deal, baby!

Marmot's got a sweet DAS knock off this year, the belay parka: much cheaper but haven't heard of anyone carrying then yet.

OK Erik, that is the most fucked up thing I have seen in quite some time! Yes, hilarious in principle, but clicking on the gallery was a big mistake. No Dru, it aint porn, but if that shit --seeing a kitten shoved in a small glass cube --gives anyone a fatty or a smile, then, my friend, you're gonna have to plant yourself squarely in front of a large, fast moving object, and take one for the team! I'm thinking that the guy behind this probably has a large stockpile of weapons and fifteen-year-old wives in an underground bunker somewhere in Utah. Very strange indeed. [ 12-12-2001: Message edited by: jordo ]

Dru, very nice mix of stereotypical whitey-projected Native/Asian English dialect, very impressive post-modern take on race dialects.

Not only new skies, but new skis, too, would be nice! A new ankle would be nice (when you're a trad mtn man and your sporty girl takes you to Smith for the first time, don't climb trad!) but sadly TNF isn't marketing one yet. You never know, it seems a logical progresion from the MET 5 jacket.

Here's a good butt rash story: coupla years ago I was staying in a condo on the side of a resort in BC (BigWhithead, I think) in June. There was still hard neve on the hill, so my brother and I decided to go fer a slide. I took a garbage bag, but he got one of those Rubbermaid plastic things you dry your dishes on. We get to the top of the hill and launch but he gets going way too fast and can't stop. So he jettisons his mat and in shorts is going a good click and tries to stop. He burns the skin off his hands, but also COMPLETELY scrapes the skin off his ass! He's got his really hairy Chewbacca ass that he has to show the doctor in town to get bandaged up and he can't sit down at all (think shitting here!), has to lie in the back seat on the way home, and misses a week of work. So damn funny! [ 12-09-2001: Message edited by: jordo ]

It was such a treat to see the tourons feeding a coyote on the side of the loop road in Yosem. two years ago. So cute! For Chrissakes, nothing has changed since the Fifties when you used to see that crap happen. Coyotes are annoying, mountain lions are where it's at! Last weekend while skiing up a road in Manning Park (BC), I noticed the adundant animal tracks and could actually re-create the scene of a mtn lion sneaking up on a rabbit, seeing the rabbit shit its pants (honest!) and burn tail into the woods (no blood!) Then, on the way back down the road three hours later, I noticed that within the skin tracks I had made on the way up were mtn lion prints going the same way as us! Good way to impress your new snow bunny, showing her how you were being stalked by a beast that occaisonally makes meals of humans! [ 12-09-2001: Message edited by: jordo ]

I'm keeping a score of my longest world championship butt ski runs. So far my winner is 2100 feet continuous, unassisted slide, down the Roe Creek basin, north of Squampton. Its worth the trip up here to Canada just for the butt ski! Second to that is the way-fun ass grind on the Interglacier on Raineer. When its really slushy and everone follows the same line, there's this bobsled effect thing with this giant runnel that you cant get out of. Very cool, but not fast enough! Any other recommendations for the gluteous glissade?

Oh yeah, have a chat with your local gym owner and see if they are getting rid of any old holds anytime soon. The Edge sold me a ton of holds for about 50cents ea. [ 12-08-2001: Message edited by: jordo ]

Another tip: I found that painting your wall with a mix of enamel paint and coarse coffee grounds gives an excellent, durable grit. Some people told me that wallnut shells work well, but are tough to get ahold of in bulk. I found that in the PNW wallnut shell grounds will pop off in the changing humidity and freezing levels, but coffee grounds "suck" into the wall much better and don't scrape off. Talking with the fellow who built a couple of walls for the Edge and the new one at Coast in West Vancouver, he reccommends the metolius paint, if you can afford it. Build the thing with screws too! More $$, but you can take it apart when you move to a new shack.

Freneys have absolutely no ankle support; they are purely made for ice/mixed and while the boot does have some cushioning for approaches, it would really suck for multi-day, general mountaineering. The Cerro Torres are very cool, but you'll probably find like I did that they have an enormous toe box. Like Bronco, I have a pair of Matterhorns and I love 'em. They're heavier and more substantial than the Torres, but for some reason have a moe precise fit. They come in a version with toasty linings too!