sexual_chocolate

the south couloir approach to the west ridge.

Anyone done this lately, or have any info on conditions? Specifically, wondering about snow in the couloir for the west ridge approach. Thanks.

Hopefully not. Like climbing in general, there is no magic bullet solution to excelling at it Hope all you want; it still won't change the facts. I believe down-climbing might just be the magic bullet for onsight climbing, as evidenced by your yuji hirayama anecdote. I don't think yuji would be down-climbing just to put on a circus-show, do you? I wonder if he'd be able to down-climb Mortal Kombat? First anchor to ground reverse red-point. Now that'd be something, eh?

Celine: Exactly what he wants to be reading on an outdoor adventure!

Oh and you like poetry? ts eliot's Four Quartets stirs the brain matter, and works well with being in beautiful places. And then Mary Oliver hits it pretty well sometimes. again goes good with the outdoors.

The Bears and I. They made it into a Disney movie too. Book's better.

yeah, right. Another attempt to get Bush and neocons out of the loop.

Is this foto undoctored? that's a great fotog, either way!

Is there anyone who feels down-climbing to be perhaps the most important aspect of onsight climbing? If one is able to down-climb any route they are able to up-climb, then I think their chances of onsight are better. And onsighting a down-climb might be kinda cool too. It seems a bit arbitrary that we, as a climbing community, are always obsessing about going UP. I think this has more to do with our collective value-systems, and taxonomy and shit like that. And maybe heaven and stuff too. Plato. Hierarchy of Ideals and Linnaeus.

I believe we've already had this discussion, and collectively we came to the conclusion that the world would be a safer place if EVERYONE carried a gun. We came to this conclusion through reasoned analysis, so please do not dispute. And for people unable to afford the safety provided by gun-ownership, I believe some form of government grant program could be put into effect. Now I know this reeks of "socialism" to some of you, but you must keep in mind the positives for humanity as a whole; sometimes a little bit of collective sacrifice is needed for the good of all.

hey thanks for the beta alpinfox and loose brie.

Nic doing crux drop-knee on The Gleaner.

How do I resize a digital image for uploading to this sight? My file size is about 13 times too big.... And do I need to rename my file?

Hey how do you upload a photo? I've got digitals on my laptop, so how do I get 'em posted?

Use a color-coding system to simplify this whole mess. You know, yellows and mauves and ochres. If this doesn't work, try music.

Hey you're right. I was trying to push your buttons, but just a little, in a purely friendly way! Your idea of busting shit out and just going for it is totally valid, but I've found that preparing properly for this is important too, and sometimes downclimbing is important in setting up to do this, ie., hard to read crux approaching: enter how I thought it would go, but realize it ain't going; downclimb to stance; scope some more, visualize, then try again; hmmm still not it; downclimb again to stance, scope some more, etc etc. It takes patience and certainly fitness to do this, but some onsights ain't going down unless I show some patience. But it's all relative to the situation. There's no set answer. You don't always have the option of downclimbing. If I just busted some eight move V6 section to a shitty edge after having climbed sustained crimpy V3 moves and now I've got the actual crux of the climb smiling at me oh so lovingly, it's go time and there ain't no down-climbing for me. I go as I am, and either make it or fall. But realize someone else COULD downclimb and maybe find a stance; it's all relative to one's ability. I think the only reason you got shit for your position is that you presented your opinion as some sort of hard-and-fast rule, not taking into account all the variances of onsight climbing.

Hey, have you ever thought that you might get better if you learned how to down-climb?

What are you feeling BEFORE you even get on the route? I can often tell if someone is gonna get a certain climb before they even get on it, simply by noticing what kind of mental state they are bringing to the climb. It sounds to me as if you might be sketching a bit mentally before you try an onsight? Getting overly nervous and pressured? If this is the case, I'd try to do something to relieve yourself of the stress. Look at the route you're trying, and keep looking at it until it starts to make some sense, ie. where are the rests, where does the crux seem to be, how might the crux go, clip stances, number of draws needed.... After you feel comfortable about having it scoped out (be honest with yourself and don't get impatient. Keep looking at it 'til it makes sense), then sit down for a few minutes and take a few slow deep breaths to relax yourself. Seriously, maybe even time yourself to make sure you're giving yourself 5 minutes of relaxation before going (impatience is a tendency I see all the time!). This is all after a decent warm-up, maybe a lap or two on something a couple of grades easier than what you're trying, just to limber up and get a little pump going. Just make sure you rest after the warm-up. Good luck, and hopefully that can help you.

But it's not a question of arriving at a response by the process of reflection and factual review, right? The administration etal is concerned that this movie will affect the masses the same way that their propaganda machine does: behavioral change via the stimulation of the fear-response. Plus, it's harder to politicize a volcano (within the context of current events....)

how 'bout peanuts?

no not necessarily. I personally LOVE refining my abilities; climbing's something I'm pretty good at, and I love it, just love it! Refinement, or the distillation of essence of movement, if you will, is something that intrigues me at times more than any other aspect of climbing, and the result of this lends itself very well to the categorizations of "better" or "worse", as in I've attained a pretty high level of climbing, but to me, it's a side-product of the distillation process. If this categorization was to become (and it does sometimes!) the end-all, then climbing loses its meaning (and again, it does sometimes!). Anyway, that's my answer and I'm sticking to it!

Depends entirely on how you measure it. I've personally stopped measuring my climbing performance on what grade I get up. So "better" in this context becomes entirely irrevelant, or at least devoid of the meaning you are placing on it. "Better" for me has come to mean "whoever has highest contact with those elements within themselves that make climbing meaningful." Outside criteria for establishing "better" (or whatever judgment one wishes to place) become entirely meaningless in this context (for me at least!). So: Happy Climbing!

Are you talking about Never Never, Skinner's route on the left side? I'm kinda curious about repeats too....

and to be talking about bombing or not bombing Iran misses the point. But I guess work can be kinda boring for some at times.

I think I had a different form of preemption in mind, the non-military form. I think it can be helpful to address the underlying causes of any particular conflict; it seems to me if grievances aren't heard, conflict cannot be eradicated.