stinkyclimber

Yah yah yah. I knew others would likely hate this film, that is why I said it was definately "cultural", without mountains or climbing. Basically, that means that by chance, this documentary was shown at the Fest and I happened to like the genre. I still think these kinds of non-mountain films don't really fit into the Fest. Usually I dislike them too - I just happpened to get into this one. Pretty silly that I thought this non-climbing non-mountain movie made the Fest worth attending this year - I paid to see climbing and got artsy cultural shit ...bunch of pansy artsy types running the show in Banff now, I guess. At least Sabertooth got to see real climbing. More than we got.

Went last night to the Fest here in Victoria. It was better than last year, but the ratio of shitty-to-good films was still weak. Here are my half-assed opinions on the films that we got to see: 1. FALLING (USA,2003, 6 minutes) The awe and exhilaration of waterfall kayaking. really shitty paddling film...little decent paddling, dumb sound track. Main subject has hairy armpits, and a dorky helmet 2.FOCUSED (USA,2002, 10 minutes) Shane McKonkey takes his usual antics on snow and off to the next level. Decent to good ski film - got a good twist on it starting about half way thru 3.FRONT RANGE FREAKS: BISCUIT (USA,2003, 3 minutes) Biscuit , a small dog with an appetite for big climbs. funny. short. only climbing sequences in whole show, and they are of a fucking dog! 4.HIGH LIFE (USA,2003, 20 minutes) Big mountain skiing from Utah to the Dolomites. OK, but it is still a ski movie...pretty similar to all the others except for a good bit shot in the Dolomites - crazy buggers skiing TIGHT and steep couloirs 5.STEFANIA BELMONDO (USA,2003, 15 minutes) The first Italian woman to win a gold medal in cross country skiing. shitty - I can't believe this crap was in the show...even if you like XC-skiing, you will probably wonder why this was shown (not to mention that they neglected to mention that the "inspirational" subject of the film has since been accused to doping! 6.WEHYAKIN (USA,2003, 21 minutes) Wild white water in Iceland, Mexico and Norway. Some decent paddling shots, but it is still a paddling movie which I find kind of repetitive (but I am not a big paddler) INTERMISSION AND PRIZE DRAW (from ticket stubs) 7.XTREME TRAMPING - THE LORD OF THE SPRINGS (Canada,2003, 7 minutes) An elite team of Xtrampers search for the perfect backyard trampoline. Adrenaline highs and hilarious comedy. Funny, but that is it. Not mountain, not culture. 8.THE OTHER FINAL (Netherlands,2002, 53 minutes) 2003 Grand Prize Winner. On the same day as Germany and Brazil played in the World Cup Final in Japan the national teams of Bhutan and Montserrat met in an officially sanctioned match in Thimphu, Bhutan. The film follows the two teams as they train, travel and finally play. Really really good. Made the fest worth attending. A "cultural" film, though - no mountains, no climbing 9. UNLIMITED WINTER (Canada,2003 5 minutes) A dynamic and unusual look at traditional and modern cross country skiing featuring Olympic medalist Beckie Scott. Quirky, but shit, it is still XC skiing. 2 second shot of an ice climber! 10.ROCK STARS (Switzerland,2003, 12 minutes) Wild stunts and escapades on and off the mountain bike in the Swiss Alps. Fucking stupid - bunch of euros trying to look like bad-ass North Vancouver free-riders...wankers. Not wild, and a lot of neon clothing - you will feel like you are back in the 80s Hope some of this might save people some pain and suffering Oh David - I think the answer to your question about the vault is, "yes". I remember hearing a while back that outside of the Fest, few of these films will see additional screenings. Something about distribution costs, screening rights, union payscales etc. Pretty stupid, I agree.

Competitive cross-country skiing, to be precise. Done on groomed trailed. Often on artificial snow. Quite often in extremely flat places like Saskatchewan. Not dissing X-C skiing, or those who find these films enjoyable, but is it really a "mountain" film any more than soccer played in the mountains, or quilt-making done in the mountains? Shit, using this criteria, ANYTHING could be a mountain film. And judging by the festival line up, that is exactly their attitude too. Oh well...VIMFF is coming up - 100% climbing. Having said all that, Beckie Scott (the focus of one of the two films) rocks. She won a bronze at Salt Lake, coming in after 2 Russkies who later in the Games tested positive for using EPO. Only a few months ago was Beckie awarded the silver, after one of the russkies finally got "officially" tossed out. The other should get the hook soon, so Beckie will rightfully have her well earned gold medal.Friggin cheaters.

You should have plenty of time to get very drunk with this plan. Then the lame shit might seem funny at the very least.

It can't be worse than the TWO films about competitive cross-country skiing. I have always preferred seeing two X-C ski films rather than just one...keeps the rush going for longer.

Sorry for the double post then. I attempted to draw no lessons from it. It just helped remind me of the risks inherent in our sport. Definately not a sick fascination...I only ever want to see that once, in a video or real life. But, again, if it makes me continue to be as aware of all the potential risks as possible, then I am glad. Feel free to flame though. That seems to be the MO around here...

This may have already been posted before, so if so, I apologize. Check out the MPEG video (4MB or so) that you can download from this link, to make you think really carefully about casually calling in a high-angle rescue. I still feel a little sick thinking about the image. "Just a quick warning this is not a Video for the sensitive."

Here's the show line-up for the two showings here in Victoria this weekend. Most of them look fairly shitty. We'll see. The line up changes slightly for each tour stop, but the list of possible show options is somewhat limited (the tour host picks their own line up from a list), so I am betting that your tour stop will look similar. Saturday's Program: 1. FALLING (USA,2003, 6 minutes) The awe and exhilaration of waterfall kayaking. 2.FOCUSED (USA,2002, 10 minutes) Shane McKonkey takes his usual antics on snow and off to the next level. 3.FRONT RANGE FREAKS: BISCUIT (USA,2003, 3 minutes) Biscuit , a small dog with an appetite for big climbs. 4.HIGH LIFE (USA,2003, 20 minutes) Big mountain skiing from Utah to the Dolomites. 5.STEFANIA BELMONDO (USA,2003, 15 minutes) The first Italian woman to win a gold medal in cross country skiing. 6.WEHYAKIN (USA,2003, 21 minutes) Wild white water in Iceland, Mexico and Norway. INTERMISSION AND PRIZE DRAW (from ticket stubs) 7.XTREME TRAMPING - THE LORD OF THE SPRINGS (Canada,2003, 7 minutes) An elite team of Xtrampers search for the perfect backyard trampoline. Adrenaline highs and hilarious comedy. 8.THE OTHER FINAL (Netherlands,2002, 53 minutes) 2003 Grand Prize Winner. On the same day as Germany and Brazil played in the World Cup Final in Japan the national teams of Bhutan and Montserrat met in an officially sanctioned match in Thimphu, Bhutan. The film follows the two teams as they train, travel and finally play. 9. UNLIMITED WINTER (Canada,2003 5 minutes) A dynamic and unusual look at traditional and modern cross country skiing featuring Olympic medalist Beckie Scott. 10.ROCK STARS (Switzerland,2003, 12 minutes) Wild stunts and escapades on and off the mountain bike in the Swiss Alps. Sunday's Program 1. A MAN CALLED NOMAD (UK,2002, 44 minutes) 2003 Best Film on Mountain Culture. Through the story of Choegatar, a 33 year old nomad in north eastern China, the film explores the dilemma of a modern nomad caught in the interface between traditional life and the changing world around him. 2. JANICA KOSTELIC (USA, 2003, 23 minutes) The civil war of 1991 in Yugoslavia left the Kostelic family jobless and penniless but with their love of skiing intact. This film traces the careers of their two children, Janica and Ivica, from the Austrian Alps to the Olympics at Salt Lake City. INTERMISSION AND PRIZE DRAW (from ticket stubs) 3.THE MATTERHORN-MOVIE STAR (Switzerland,2001, 31 minutes) From the death of 4 climbers in 1985 during the first ascent to the present day. This film includes exceptional archival footage from a film made in 1901, a copy of which was found in a cupboard. The Matterhorn and cinema make a true love story. 4.PARAHAWKING (UK, 2003, 45 minutes) The city of Pokhara nestled in the heart of Nepal's foothills and set against the backdrop of the Himilayas has played host to a re markable story. Adam Hill and Rajesh Bomjan, owners of Sunrise Paragliding, meet Scott Mason, a falconer from England and together they train birds to fly with paragliders. 5.FRONT RANGE FREAKS: BISCUIT (USA,2003, 3 minutes) Biscuit , a small dog with an appetite for big climbs.

JoJo's book is pretty good for this sort of info. It has been a long time since I was there, but I think Johnstone Canyon is probably a good bet for these conditions.

Tyax: http://www.tyaxtours.com/tours/tours.cfm?catid=8&nav=public-nav.cfm Williams Lake (well, close enough to it, in nearby Tatla Lake: "We also offer a pickup service (via 4x4 vehicle) if you fly direct to the airport at Anahim Lake or Williams Lake."): www.whitesaddleair.com/ Google is your friend.

Yah, I skiied Columbia with Fern, although we started on separate trips. What she says. After having driven all the way to the Rockies a bunch of times at different times of the year for ski trips, I have decided that May is the best time for trips there (just like here). We went to Columbia, like everyone else, on Easter weekend and it was COLD. Screw that. My best Wapta traverse trip came in late May. Lots of corn to be harvested then, instead of weeks old powder on top of depth hoar in the winter. Contrary to the belief of lazy, sport climbing Calgarians who are already clipping bolts in May, who think there is no skiing after Easter, there is actually still plenty of snow left up high. And the weather is almost always better, certainly warmer. So fuck doing the winter thing: wait till May and you will have the icefield and the mountain to yourself (not that it is ever busy...it is a BIG place). Depending on the snowpack, the crevasses may be a bit more of a problem, but they can be a problem in the middle of the winter too. If you are there in decent weather, skip Snowdome as a "rest" day ascent (the epitome of endless snowslope...the summit is indescernible), and instead think about the Twins - longer, but shit, then you can say you have climbed the North Twin, and let others think, "maybe he did the one of the North Face routes...what a badass"). Either that or Castleton, just to the south...it looks cool.

Yup, it does seem a little contraidictory. I hadn't seen that before - thanks for pointing it out. However, to me anyway, it seems to me the war/occupation of Iraq has always been about a lot more than just ridding the world of a brutal dictator (in fact, until WMDs couldn't be found, everything but removing Saddam was used as a rationale for the war). It is still a contraidictory point of Burrows', but I see a lot more to his argument than hairsplitting over the rationale and motivations for the war in Iraq. Take it as you want...

Here's another take on Rememberance Day. Sure to raise some hackles, but I quite liked it for its alternative, more inclusive, perspective on the issue. ------ LEST WE FORGET: This Remembrance Day, let us oppose the wars that are now being waged, rather than simply buying a poppy to show how mournful we are. by Paul Burrows November 11, 2003 www.rabble.ca This Remembrance Day, let us remember Canadians who fought and died during the two World Wars and the Korean War. Let us also remember those of other nations (Germans, Russians, Japanese, Koreans and many others) who fought and died as our allies, or our enemies. Let us also remember that those who fought and died on both sides were primarily working people, whether volunteers or conscripts. They were not members of the privileged elites, whose class and corporate interests (rather than their country’s alleged national interests) sparked the wars in the first place. Let us also remember those who fought against injustice without the support of the Canadian government. Let us honour the brave individuals (and entire brigades like Mackenzie-Papineau) who went to Spain in the 1930s to defend the republic and revolution from fascism. Let us not forget that these veterans of the Spanish War fought and died despite our government’s threat to imprison them upon their return. Let us also remember those who refused to fight for unjust causes and were called cowards. Let us for once acknowledge their bravery for standing alone with their principles, in the face of ridicule, persecution, imprisonment, harassment, threats, or violence from their own friends or family, from their own community, or from the institutions of the Canadian state. Let us also remember the combatants and civilian victims of a whole host of other wars past and present wars in which Canada may or may not have sent soldiers, but Canadian arms manufacturers made (and continue to make) huge profits through the sale of weapons. Let us remember those who continue to fight and die resisting brutal dictatorships regardless of whether Canadian politicians and our free press consider these dictators to be enemies or allies. Let us speak out against the exploitative and repressive measures of these dictators, even while our government helps to prop them up with money and military hardware. Let us honour the dissidents who struggle to change these societies by any means necessary. And let us honour, support and join those in our own societies who work in solidarity with oppressed people the world over. And most of all, let us remember that one day a year is not enough. The meaning of Remembrance Day is greatly diminished, even trivial, if it is confined to wearing a plastic poppy every November. It is meaningless if it is patriotic, as if our empathy and allegiance should stop at a border that was itself constructed by conquest and war. Remembrance Day is also meaningless if it remains disconnected from today’s struggles for peace and a better future, both at home and abroad. The struggle to end war is literally the same as the ongoing struggle to democratize our own country, to shift resources from military to social spending, and to wrest control of our communities and workplaces from corporations and private power. In Canada, we must first acknowledge and pay reparations for historical and ongoing crimes against First Nations peoples, and we must first acknowledge and completely reverse our unsavoury, immoral and profiteering role in foreign affairs, before we can proudly (or accurately) claim to be a force for peace, freedom, democracy or justice in the world. This Remembrance Day, open your eyes and hearts to the ongoing, daily, systemic class war against the poor in this country. Open your heart to the fact that poverty is a form of violence (suffered daily by thousands of Canadians), and we live under an economic system that requires unemployment and poverty, in order to keep wages low and private profits high. Remember also the ongoing genocide committed against the Lubicon Cree in Alberta and the Anishnaabe of Grassy Narrows (sadly, not aberrations), as well as the daily racism and injustice faced by First Nations peoples across the land. Remember, and stand in solidarity with those who resist exploitation, torture, injustice, as well as foreign aggression or intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, Haiti, Palestine, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia, Sierra Leone, Zaire, Somalia, Burma, the former Soviet Union, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and on and on and on. Remember all these struggles, at home and abroad, and work to change the structures of power in your own community and country which give rise to war and injustice in the first place. This Remembrance Day, mourn your dead, and commemorate your fallen heroes. But most of all, work for positive social change. Question the pronouncements and rhetoric of your so-called leaders.; Become an activist for peace. Speak out against the racist attacks upon and racial profiling of people of colour in the wake of September 11. Join the fight against the wholesale and racist deportation of Palestinians and other Arabs that is occurring as we speak merely the latest in a long line of shameful bigotry and collective punishment in Canadian history, going back to the so-called reservation system (which inspired Apartheid), through the expulsion of the Acadians, to the internment of the Japanese, and the closing of our borders to Jews fleeing Nazi terror. This Remembrance Day let us for once affirm that No One is Illegal! This Remembrance Day, let us resist the criminalization of dissent, and the attack on civil liberties in the name of a very false security. This Remembrance Day, let us oppose the wars that are now being waged, rather than simply buying a poppy to show how mournful we are, while we fall in line behind the expanding American Empire. Oppose Canada’s ongoing intervention in Afghanistan, and any Canadian participation in the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. Fight to end these and every other unjust war! Anything else is hypocrisy. Anything else is not only immoral, but also sows the seeds of future terrorism. Anything else is lip service. Paul Burrows is a freelance writer in Montreal.

This is a fun route, not very hard, but definately not waterfall ice, and not really a winter route. Getting up to Colgan Hut would be a pain in the ass too. More of a summer line, I thought, but I could be wrong.

Your should read the essay, "Juknk Politics: A voter's guide to the post-literate election" by Benjamin DeMott, in the current issue of Harpers. Discusses exactly this tactic: simplification and filibuster (by all sides in the US political system). [sorry - no link...they don't post their articles...gotta buy the real thing]

These comments remind me of a part in Manufacturing Consent, a Noam Chomsky documentary: Noam was being interviewed by a TV news chat show host on his latest book or whatever. Noam was talking about how TV reporting, with its emphasis on short sound bites, has forced the oversimplification of complex issues being discussed by society, to the detriment of our problem solving capacity. In the middle of Noam's discussion, the host interrupts and asks Noam to sum up his point in 1-2 sentenances as they are running out of time. Irony. Anyway, I was reminded of this exchange by these ridiculous assertions that complex issues should be summarized in 1 paragraph. It seems to me this is an endemic problem in western political society. Simplified discussion of complex issues leads to simplified solutions which likely don't resolve anything, but make us feel better for having discussed and solved them. Spray on.

What is scary is that you clearly didn't bother looking at the datelines of any of those excerpted stories: October and November of 2001. Of course, things ain't much better, what with US and Canadian major media networks selling ad space using stories filled with endless fear-mongering.

Translation: Sadly, unless someone out there has scanned it, it is going to be dead trees only. It was an article in CAJ 1975 or 1976. Worth reading if you can find a copy.

I just pissed myself. Just when I almost died of boredom, you saved the day. Thanks, dru. If you want to piss yourself even more, read the entire CAJ article that quote is from: "Squamish Hardcore Go to Denali" or something like that abot Sutton, Burton, Smaill et al doing one of the early alpine-style climbs of the Cassin. This quote arose when a US border guard at the Alaska-Yukon crossing made Smaill and Hugh Burton throw out their canned bivy foods (similar to today when US border guards make you throw out apples you buy in BC, even if they say "Grown in WA"). In the article, Smaill noted that he "restored our food supply at no cost through an ingenious scheme that the grocery store manager surely would have approved, had he known." Later on, one of the team passed out drunk in Talkeetna with lumpy pants and forever after was known as the Dirty Doughnut. Nice.

I was thinking of doing it last weekend, but I heard from that the moat at the top of the face was huge, and required a tricky by-pass on the adjacent shite rock. Plus, as Dru says, the Matier icefall and the Anniversary Gl. will both require tedious crevasse dodging. Have fun.

We did the pin thing only to make us feel like bad-asses, not because we had to. I did it again clean the next year. Mea cupla on the flamingo, though. But it was a CLEAN flamingo.

Been about a decade since I did this. The gear suggested seems reasonable. Nothing too funky...I think I remember getting by with just the 3 original sizes of Aliens, and then the usual RPs, nuts and cams. 'Course, we didn't know shit about aid climbing, so what do I know. We rapped too - I think from the top of the 5th or 6th...after that, it gets pretty bushy. Why bother going on- if you want to top out, might as well do a proper route in the Grand Wall area, or Tantalus Wall route - CB is more of a practice route.

Yup, I'd say no worries either. I was up the Chimneys 3 weeks ago, and the Sulphide looked real solid - very few slots, if any, on the route. The folks we met at the top who had come up that way had said it was cake. We haven't had that much warm weather since then, so it probably hasn't changed much (if anything, bridges will be more solid now with lower temps).

Thanks folks. It sounds like after I buy an anti-aircraft missle, learn to speak Spanish, smoke up in Muir Hut, and supplicate myself to (or just have lunch with) Tom Ridge, God of All That is Dangerous Or Even Just Suspicious, I shouldn't have too much to worry about...and to be honest, I am too lazy to do anything about it anyway.

Fuck, you can actually buy stuff in Chilliwack? You ain't getting him a gun, are you...or monster truck accessories...or a Bible!? What else is available there (besides weed, which you don't need a store for - just wonder up valley)?