icegirl

I second that Friday night idea... (if I'm not out climbing that is) beer=carbs Carb-ing up for the next days climbing doesn't sound like a bad idea to me

Hah! Until I'm my own ropegun, I've got to do something...

Ropegun, Hey, I may not have climbed at smith, but I'm a damn fine belayer... (and still looking for a ropegun) I trade belays for education Cavey, I've not climbed index either, so I'll be holding you to that offer of that "educating" as soon as the ice goes away. Trask-y.... Behave Hmmm. Pub club at Index. Pub club at Tieton, there's already the Lillooet Drink fest, Smith trip for Icegirl's education?

heh heh.. You're talking to someone who will hike up to something that they could have ridden a chair lift to... why? to make me better and stronger and prepare me for some of the long Lillooet slog fests... I love Tieton. Vantage is too crowded other than weekdays. I love ice climbing, and do it as much as I can! and, if it's not raining, I'm totally game for Index. Just tell me when and where, Cavey... As for Smith, I've never been, as the people I used to climb with didn't think I'd have a good time 'cause the climbs are all too hard. But, do want to go It looks pretty darn cool... (from that picture, which started this conversation)

Suspected, but never been! Would love to go! educate! educate!

where is this one? http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/images/home/front_76.jpg

Carry a headlight (even a little tikka) check it's batteries. I know this has been said before, but... Hydrate. I hate carrying extra (enough) fluid as much as the next person, but I hate being thirsty and bonking due to dehydration even more.

heh heh.. hey, no problem to tell the truth, I had done a search to make sure I was spelling Nena's name correctly, and when I ran into that (along with a direct translation of the german version) though that blurb was entertaining, so did a little cut and paste...

The foam wall in Everett is quite fun, and they have a dry tooling wall also. The foam feels like ice for horizontal crampons, but you have to use a slightly different technique for getting the picks unstuck from the foam (side to side, instead of up an down) For $18 you can use the whole gym, the ice wall, and their equipment (cramps, picks, helmet - as your own would need to be modified to work on the wall) They may come up with a "Ice Climber" only price if we keep asking... Sounds like they have been getting enough traffic on both to do some expansion, multiple foam walls, more dry tooling, and some dry tooling routes with foam. I agree, too bad it's so far away... It's a nice gym, and the foam is a hoot... There, that was my corporate plug for the day. Now if we could only convince one of the local gyms to humor the ice climbers and put up a foamy... as if.

A long winded answer to "wasn't there an 80s song about balloons" One of the best known of the nuclear war protest songs, Nena's 99 Luftballons is about releasing a balloon that triggers a false reading of nuclear war, triggering 99 years of warfare. It was inspired by a real life occurence, the US falsely identified a flock of geese as a pre-emptive nuclear strike in the early eighties. The original song in German was changed a lot when the song was translated into English to make it more appealing to America. Eventhough the translation managed to capture some of the original spirit, many of the subtle digs at German government structure have been lost. Also, when it was translated, it was modified to portray America's position in the 80s in a better light. Unfortuately, this means that the widespread 99 Red Balloons is not as accurate as it could've been. Isn't it funny what war, or the threat of it, will do to people?

I had not heard about that... That ROCKS! makes me want to go buy polartec... Oh wait, I already have tons.

Re: wild things... for what it's worth... I've had the Ice Sac for a couple years now and love it.

I think Beck is correct... Something about a place in Monroe with a big rock on the floor with some dude buried under it...

Dwayner... you hoser... where were you???? And after you'd mocked me, even... I waited and waited, met lots of other very nice people (with good table manners even) but no Dwayner. -icegirl

Or maybe a new Steve House action figure... for all those kids who idolize extreme alpinists... I'd get one, and put it right up next to my Lara Croft action figure... (In her diving gear)

Drive around. Wenatchee to Pateros then west to Winthrop. It's not a short drive. But it can be worth it. http://www.nwac.noaa.gov/OSOMAZ%20Archive.htm from the looks of those temps...

Hmmm... this doesn't look good. 1. only get up early when forced or have insomnia 2. yeah, eat healthy (so I don't have to lug big mac gut up mtn) 3. yup, didn't once, I'm not a good enough climber to be hungover 4. Non-smoker. 5. Have TR flailed .12, have followed WI 5 with some kind of style. Can't lead it. 6. Spandex when cycling or running. 7. No beer gut. (Too lazy to want to haul beer gut up mtn) 8. Yeah, but my job requires that I have no open wounds on my hands. 9. Never had the opportunity to... (Guess I'm not hanging with the right crowd) 10. See answer 5. Yes, I train. (I'm not good enough not to) [ 01-14-2002: Message edited by: icegirl ]

I second the vote for single malt... Wine is nice for cooking with while car camping... A cheap red has never tasted so good as when combined with a fast and simple to prepare, pepperoni/onion/garlic red sauce and eaten around a campfire after a good day of climbing.

Guess some week when the weather is warmer, we'll have to plan a Pub Club on the real east-side... Go climb at Tieton - gotta love a place who's original name was "crack house" and drink beer (I did see a pub there last time I was in town...)

Dwanyer... I show up, you're buying me a beer, man.... I'm not sick as a dog this week, and have no other plans... Wouldn't miss it for the world The only question is, how do I dress.... Like a climber, or like a skirt. Icegirl [ 01-15-2002: Message edited by: icegirl ]

Yeah, I bet the responses would be different... Mine would be: Always looking for one Aspire to climb enough that I'd someday be one, you know, in the next 5-10yrs

nothing gets climbing partners like "I drive" and "the staters don't have my license"

7ish for me...

How would following be any less of a luxery than TR'ing... Well, when I was trained to follow, the idea was to be proficient, fast, and no hangdogging as sometimes due to the position of the Leader, it would make his life uncomfortable. I agree, neither are leading. From a mental standpoint, they are different. If you are slow on a TR, then it is just freezing the belayer. If you are a slow follower, you can make or break the "team's" chances of finishing a big route. Plus you have to deal with pulling screws. Last time I checked this added some time and pump factor to just going straight up the wall with no reasons to stop, and only having to focus on climbing. It could just be that I need to work on my technique and get better at following, but I still get a very different feel from following vs TR'ing. But I'm probably just spouting off what most already know...

Here here! I didn't get the luxery of learning to ice climb on a TR. It was follow that bad boy or nothing. On my second every ice climb, when my ropegun found out I couldn't get a screw out (Hey, it was in a really awkward place, I unclipped it too soon, and then swung away from it, I was new) he lowered me back down to it, and made me do the last (hardest part) of the pitch again. Needless to say, I never left another peice, rock or ice. I don't know if TR'ing stuff would have made any real difference in my learning curve, but I think it would have made things more enjoyable at first... Though I've been know to get pissed when a gaggle of student spreads out in front of Deeping Wall (TR's and all), and we asked if they minded if we lead it while they were 'lecturing' and they made some asshole comment about it being everybody's ice and THEY had just as much right to be there as us, then stayed right there. I just didn't get that one. It wasn't like we'd been rude. They didn't climb it for like another hour, and even then it turned out to be placing screw training for anchors instead of climbing... That's the kind of stuff that gives TR's a bad name.