Figger_Eight

All I gotta say is if the law is passed, I'll be making fun of Oregon climbers. Ha ha.

Maybe they were just really embarrassed...?

Yup - more dogs than kids in Seattle for a reason. I may be faced with the prospect of actually moving down to the Bay Area in the next couple of years. Not looking forward to that.

I have friends that pack magical ledge units with them when the go climbing

My dog's climbed Mt. Adams a couple of times. Maybe Mt. Hood in the summer... She is smarter than half my climbing partners, though.

I agree 100% with Sobo and Cluck - no regulation. The drawbacks definitely outweigh the advantages. As part of a Mt. Rescue team though, I would be stoked knowing the party we're trying to find has one, in addition to a gps and working cell phone. A searchlight would be good, too. And flares. And an airhorn...yeah...an airhorn...

Sounds like a good enough idea, and I'd love to see it if you pull it off. Here are my thoughts at least... Is it a coffee shop, or a bookstore? If it's a coffee shop, ya better have GOOD coffee and wireless. That's just to get on the same playing field as the bazillion other places in town. Is it an outdoor bookstore first? What catagories are you planning on turning over fast enough to keep people coming back? If you just stick with outdoor titles, they are mostly non-fiction and there aren't very many new titles that come out each year. Your bookshelves will remain relatively unchanged month after month after month, which is fine for a reference library, but for a business that would rely on sales and re-sales to make money that might be an issue. Also, contrary to an above post, climbing hardware represents the least margin of any product in a store. That's why fleece jackets at REI grow while the climbing department shrinks. Finally, I think if you wanna make it go, don't think of combating competition, but rather working with the existing community and fill a niche that's lacking. If you try going head to head with Starbucks/Tully's/Vivace... and Elliot Bay, Border's and Barnes & Noble all in one shot - well you get the idea But man...make it happen and I'll be the first to buy a cup of coffee and a Mark Twight book-okay...maybe an Alpinist magazine. Well... my .02 cents at least.

I've spent many hours admiring his photography. Cheers Bradford.

Six years...? Holy crap I'm getting old. Those were good times!

Jason is right about the waiver and industry standard compliance. I might guess that having a professional certification indirectly (or maybe directly...?) makes you MORE liable in that you are now held to these standards. This issue came up a number of times when I was working in risk management. Compare a professional, fully certified guide with a volunteer instructor for the Mounties. In the case of an accident, an AMGA guide is held to a much higher standard than their volunteer counterpart. That said, absolutely take the certification. I have a couple of friends who took it and said they learned a ton.

The more important question is: Who would win in a fight?

Sigh...

Is on Jon Stewart right now. He's really not very funny - unless he's on a mountain with nitro! That's all - back to my beer.

Damn - that is sad. Those were good times sitting around the campfire at the Grasslands with that guy back in those days. You guys are right, he was full of energy and life.

Bump. Hey, can one of you mods move this to events? We have a ton more prizes for the raffle! Crampons, ice screws, ATC guides, blah blah blah. See ya'll there.

There was climbing at Smith long before many of the bolted lines went up. You can get a ton of climbing in without clipping one bolt. It's like celebrating Thanksgiving. Some people see it as the day the New World started and led us to the America we know today. Others see it as the first day the Native American people were pillaged, murdered and assimilated. Both are true - it doesn't mean you aren't gonna eat turkey.

I want some ski gloves made out of that stuff. I would test them by punching snowboarders in the head.

If you flip it around, it's essentially the same as a standard ATC, no?

You're right Ryland - it is. I haven't climbed with Pope as much as Dwayner, but in my experience they walk their talk. I'm not saying I hold the same opinion (I've clipped hundreds of bolts myself, with hundreds to go), nor am I saying they aren't asking for the CC.com dog-pile when they post something like this...but that's really how they roll. Hope you're doing well

Ummm...I think that's what he's saying he's doing. Regardless if you agree with him or not, ya gotta admire the guy for his conviction.

Boycott BBQ the Pope.

I've always had Apple's at home and have been forced to use PC's at work. Mac's are more stable, faster with everything having to do with graphics, more reliable and you don't have to worry about getting a virus.

Dang - get the Spantik's. Those are dope. Much lighter than the Nuptses.

There's this company in Seattle called Feathered Friends I'd suggest

These are pics from my completely unscientific test at the FF Gear night. First pic - a bunch of modern ice screws in a block of ice. They can be placed relatively close to each other with no fracturing. Of course you wouldn't put them that close to each other if yer gonna load them, duh. Second and third pic - a screw from the "museum" which was auger style. Complete fracturing around the placement and, as I kept screwing it in, it nearly busted the ice block in half. I never got it all the way in. to those you used to climb with these.