Cairns

I'm a part of the andy sportclimbing crowd, along with andy boyd, andy wilson, andy taylor, andy the photographer, andy the giant, and handy andy. Well, andy the giant was from Slovakia but he climbed at Squamish for a while. I asked him, "Why do you train so hard?", and he said, "5.14" As long as we are doing math, I'd like to point out that if standards are not uniform at all climbing areas then some area has to be the minimum through no fault of its own. I also agree that travel and getting to know what the best climbers are doing is one of the best of all motivators.How many pushups did you want, coach? Oh, yeah, on a more positive PNW note, I saw Mike Doyle and Sean McColl at the gym, recently. A 14a flash and best Junior at World Cup.

Why no pic of the residents? Why the big grin? No fear? Another parental warning (whoops, mixing my newsgroups): If you don't care take of it now it will come back and bite you in the ass. Wasp graded response to approaching threat: 1. flying in and out of nest on usual business 2. land on nest 3. orient toward approaching threat 4. raise rear ends, slightly splay wings, start to vibrate, eyes start to glitter 5. deliver chemical payload multiple targets

Good thing you were coordinated. At Brown University Denny Merritt was getting ready to rappel from a 5 storey rooftop when a security guard came by and saw him. The guard yelled, "Come down from there!", so Denny the quick thinker said, "Okay." Guard the not-so-quick thinker said, "No, wait!". But Denny jumped. By time he was down the guard was nowhere to be seen.

Bryan Burdo did a 2 pitch variation on the South Face which he called Prussik Pussyfoot. From a big ledge midway, up a face and traverse right to a corner, up the corner to join the usual last pitch. That was about '84. Someone also drew this line (attachment) incomplete at the time but looked good on paper.

Yes. Trying to focus on my breathing, now. For me, 8 hours on the Wolf River in Wisconsin (or maybe Minnesota) in a clunky C1 I probably couldn't have rolled in and no helmet. The high afterwards was amazing! Also got trapped in a hole on some river in New Hampshire during a heavy rain and high water and realized I was going to drown. That only took 2 minutes. Again the mysterious elation afterwards. Now I avoid whitewater and traverse above water and laugh at danger, ha!

Specifying the dates is helpful, but I am a frequent mid-week climber. Also, I note that the subject of the photos is to be implied from context. My favorite photo from Oct 4/03 is attached. These ladies were not part of some photographer's convention. They just must have poisoned their husbands to get this gear. One of these cameras was about the size of a small personal computer. Taken in the Grouse Skyride. Some climbing shots from 3 Oct just uploaded to Scenic/Canada

Yes, super-humans invited to check it. I hear there are plans to build a lodge and tram on that side of the river. Good hikes and a lake in the area.

If you miss HCB, just go down and try Red Nails. Just a short vertical crack, no missing sections, but stopped me right off the ground. I think it qualifies as looking easy, if you don't check the guide.

Gullies are FNA aid; I see you acknowledge that.

Various positions, mostly head first, but including escaping off to the side part way out to rest on vertical while trying to figure out roof crack. No hanging on rope (that I remember) but didn't just go straight out the crack. Still one of my best crag pitch experiences in WA, along with ROTC and Earwax. Brian Puvolny might remember more.

That is true, Harry. 50,000 square feet for parking alone. I would like to know which roof or other rock formation would make the best living quarters for homeless person. It is hard to take picture of roof that shows scale. Here is one of the smaller roofs at Lion's Head in Ontario. Largest roof I dealt with in Washington is Mastodon Roof.

I will try to improve. I like it when others post the info. Some stuff is still secret, though not by my choice. Attached is a picture of heaven - used to be a 5.10 mantle.

After doing Mercy Street we swung over and did the 12a on Opal - a strenuous but secure and well protected layback. The upper part of Opal is what looks so cool, seen so often from Rock On, but only once I've seen people on it - Andrew Boyd rapping down to check it out. I was told there was runout on hard climbing but a fall should be clean.

Here's a shot of approx 2,000 boulder problems. The guy in the picture sent 2 V4s yesterday and today his left forefinger tip was hurtin', so we did this. I'm the one who fell, though.

Are not the concepts touched on in these two sentences contradictory? I would argue that the person making a first ascent, ground-up on-sight, drilling on lead was in a position of having to put a LOT of thought into how they were protecting their climbing. Especially if they were using a hand-drill and choosing to not employ aid techniques (hanging from a hook). Likely they will have been forced into limiting their bolting options to only places where they had a reasonably handsfree stance, stances that - in the anthropomorphic terms you have introduced - the rock offered to them. I am certain that while they were climbing through the intervening potentially run-out sections they were similarily being very thoughtful. Isn't this meeting the route on it's own terms? And isn't the choice of whether or not to employ this approach to climbing an new route the choice of the first ascentionist, and not those who follow? Anyone done Sunday Whites or p1 of Genius Loci at Squamish? I think they were bolted on lead. Last bolt on Genius Loci has no hanger and is not placed for comfort, either. How it was put in on lead is a mystery to me, but maybe the missing hanger tells a story. The rest of the pitch is well equipped.

Capt. Caveman, Fine choice of topic and good job encouraging responders. Your mood-setting shot that started it was excellent, by the way. Is the Capt. nautical? I'm thinking of doing a calendar on 'Boats of K******** Park'. In the meantime, here is a picture of Rachelle on her first un-assisted traverse. Previously her boyfriend had helped her across the crux.

Incredible looking. Where are the rest This was not a good day for pictures, though these guys on the Grand Wall could have looked good if only they would take direction better. Maybe they couldn't understand my shouting. We were on the 'new Squamish 14 pitch 11a'. We met the Grand Wall climbers on Bellygood. Ward, from Golden, had just moved back to Squamish. He had lived there in early 70s. He said things had changed a bit. Andrew, the other guy, was from Calgary I think, staying with Ward for a while. Here they are on the lieback pitch.

I saw a climber today. It's hard to get a good photo, though. They seem to be shy and can feel the lens focusing on them and they change color to blend in with the rock.

Who's buying? If you're talking Mr. Reaper, it was the replacement value of a #3 rigid stem friend for me, which if I were a thinking person I wouldn't have removed before rapping on 2 old pins, even though my partner went first. Old old pins. Probably from the FA in '86. We only found the second one because I spied a sling poking out of some dirt and we followed it down to the pin. The sling was dated '84. At least we replaced that. I hear that Vancouver Coastal Health Authority has started a lottery. If you die out of hospital and save government the expense then your relatives are in the drawing. Dunno how much yet, but if you don't call in sick for 6 months you are in the running for $300CDN.

Trying to ignore the NEW ROCK CLIMBING FORUM I tried a search for Western Dihedrals, no luck.I have been on this Squamish oldie 3 times. The first 2 we just did the first pitch, which was wet and provided sufficient entertainment that we felt no need to continue. Last week we found the sickly sweet odour and decomposed remains of some critter on the approach ramp complete with hornets crawling in and out of its eye sockets. I know foreshadowing when I see it, yet will I try the last. Western Dihedrals is 3 pitches of supposed 10c. The technical grade might be less than that but techinical grade comes about 4th on the list of things to worry about. It was dry this time. The third pitch leaves the corner of the first two and follows a double crack system to the base of either Teenage Wasteland, Warriors of the Wasteland, or War of the Raptors, or Waste of the Teen Rap Wars. It's fun. One other significant piece of information that I didn't notice until going back to the guide after doing the climb; this is a 3 pitch 10c that was only freed in '98. The climb has some nice new bolts and good chain anchors.

I met a guy who broke his ankle on the Pup Buttress. They used the cel phone to call for help, then used their GPS to direct the helicopter pilot through some cloud. I prefer to think that cragging doesn't ever involve heli-rescue, but heli-rescue doesn't make it alpine, either. I think you are the victims of words rather than their masters to be arguing over this. If you were the masters of words you would just be using them as a stick to beat those less accomplished than you. Some kinds of climbing fall between the integer values of crag and alpine. Probably there is a kind of climbing between every 2 kinds of climbing. I don't like getting cold.

I signed up for a school trip. I didn't know what rock-climbing was, I just wanted to do something. It was fun and put drugs in my veins. I started with climbing: cribs, sofas, bookcases, trees, dirt embankments channeled from runoff and baked in the Oklahoma sun to a semi-rock consistency Back in the late 60s I don't remember there being a discussion about what/who is a climber. I think that question comes from a colors, a Jet is a Jet, I'm not like everybody else perspective. Given the mystical and maniacal apologies for climbing seen above and elsewhere, you could say the real question is, "Why doesn't everyone climb?" Sort of like what the Northern Snaffle asked the zoologist. This question shows signs of nearing resolution year by year. See if you can track down a Life Magazine article called "The Rock People". I think it came out in '72. See what John Stannard said when they asked him why he climbed.

So that's how you spell sli-vo-vitz?

Curious that ole and dead milkman both left a door open and had copies of theses in their vehicles and neither lost stuff. Leaving a door open sounds like a good ploy until they catch on to it. Can we get those paint bombs that blow up and mark things? Or just a bottle of butyric acid set to tip? I think a properly powerful emetic would be a satisfying deterrent but anything can backfire. Could be hard to drive home with your head out the window.

An offwidthclimber! Excellent!! See attachment