Roger

Mark Twight, or Al Camus? YOU make the call: "In default of inexhaustible happiness, eternal suffering would at least give us a destiny. But we do not even have that consolation, and our worst agonies come to an end one day."

congratulations iain! I think most climbers are existentialists at some level, whether they know it or not. For correctly identifying Albert Camus and "the Stranger," you win a year's supply of Heidegger Horsecock, guaranteed not to cause Nausea.

what's the matter, tim, you're not into the subtle interface between existentialist literature and 1980s rock lyrics?

Major literary bonus points to anyone who can identify the author and name of the story that inspired the song....

I thought you were into spandex, doc. so according to that quiz, New Order's original name was "stiff kittens..." ? I thought New Order was originally Joy Division.

okay fellow children of the 80's, give this a try... http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/cgi-bin/quiztest.cgi?80smusicquiz Stand and Deliver!

Climbed it in March - no bees then, but I froze my ass off. I've got a couple of good photos, but am clueless about how to post 'em. Anyone up for providing a quick tutorial?

quote: Originally posted by Dr Flash Amazing: Hmmm ... ask a simple question, get pilloried. Is that how it works around here? You smell of unwashed polypropylene, buster. pay him no mind, Doctor. trask'jad is just chapped that he was outed as a NWhiker earlier today.

quote: Originally posted by Off White: Shoot, I guess these folks have never hung out with a fractious bunch of climbers. All that noise just sounds like love to me. But then again, I kinda like it down in the mosh pit amen, Off White. Bring the noise. Off White = Chuck D? Chuck D is certainly off-white. I dunno, Greg, I was going to say "oh my heck, those NW Hikers sure are polite folks." You can bet they carry salami, not horsecock.

quote: Originally posted by Dr Flash Amazing: Beckey, schmeckey. What about Wolfgang Gullich, you crusty goats? Beckey looks better in spandex.

quote: Originally posted by Terminal Gravity: My offer of free beer to cc.sprayers is still good. Does this extend to mere wankers, or just the exalted lords of spray? I've been in your place twice, and it's the shiznit. Stopped by one evening in March on our way to a wing ridge trip, and almost didn't make it to the trailhead in the morning.... Must be a great way for you to keep people off your favorite routes. Fortunately, I've been able to find your stuff in a couple of places here in p-town.

quote: Originally posted by iain: You bring a mutt to my favorite alpine crag and it screws with my onsight of glacier peak I'll throw rocks hard and fast at the thing. I thought you already pinkpointed Glacier Peak...?

Correct. He wanted to redpoint, but was having a hard time linking all the moves... had to work the dyno crevasse-jump crux for like two hours.

quote: Originally posted by gapertimmy: I think as long as DFA continues to refer to himself in the 3rd person, he will have nothing but success with his high desert hostel. I'm not so sure about this third person thing... you might recall that it didn't work out so well for Bob Dole. Pretty soon DFA will be hustling Viagra.

can't help you this weekend, but I will say.... Go Cyclones! texplorer and/or Greg W might take you climbing if you will scope out the snafflehound breeding competition in Iowa. Those ISU farms have got some crazy genetic engineering going on. I've heard rumors about snafflehounds the size of labradors out there.

quote: Originally posted by texplorer: Ryland, don't forget to mention the short 15 hour drive to Yosemite. Not to mention the short 22-hour drive to Mt. Lemmon.... I'm a Tucson transplant, been living up here for about ten years. I will tell you flat out that if you move to the NW, the first couple of winters will be hell. If you're not skiers, you will definitely want to start. But, the unavoidable truth of the matter is that Phoenix and Tucson are shitty places to live unless you don't mind spending most of your time in your car driving around strip malls and eating at places like TGIFridays... or whatever is the smarmy corporate franchise du jour. Maybe it's Applebees. Thankfully, I have no idea. Which is part of why Portland is such a great town. If you're looking to avoid sprawl, it turns out that Oregon started shutting down sprawl before the rest of the country even knew what it was. Don't get me wrong, I definitely miss having that incredible granite playground right in my backyard... but there is plenty of climbing up here. In April, when you're ready to eat a bullet because it's been raining for six months straight, you can drive to Smith and climb in the sunshine. Or at least you can wait in line to get on a route in the sunshine - but eventually you'll be climbing. Just remember to watch out for cougars and snafflehounds.

Oregon -- the land of the choss. I got nailed hard by a brick-size rock on the SE spur of washington several years ago. On about the fourth of nine (?) pitches an avalanche of rock was dislodged by rope drag, and one landed squarely on my thigh. By the time we were on the summit I could barely put weight on my leg... which made for a slow and unpleasant descent and "hike" back to the car. I have not been back to that cone of peanut brittle since.

trask, haven't you read Greg W's autosig? It's all snaffles these days.

quote: Originally posted by kainsacad: Red monk: It is good you are trying to throw a party. Some kids need to party more frequently to be happy so the rest of the life can breathe. By the time the bear is served give them something to chew on. WTF???

gotta love a long summit nap, in the classic alpine style...

to be fair, most of the SE spur route was actually pretty cool, on decent rock. It was long enough ago that the details aren't very clear, but I seem to remember three or four really fun pitches on solid rock, followed by a few pitches of crap (where I got clocked), then some decent rock up to the top. Haven't been on the west side.

quote: Originally posted by payaso: The deadline for the cheapest snoqualmie pass seasons pass is the end of this month. (Heads up if you care!) I think it would be a great place to learn to ski for a season. You should definitely try both alpine and tele and see what you like better... BUT, if you've never been on skis and are looking to learn this season at an area, I'd recommend getting your alpine turn down first. Even if you eventually end up on tele skis, it's a good thing to have solid alpine turns in your quiver if/when things get sketchy. At least, that's my view. Welcome to the world of the two-planker wanker...

no worries, off white - we did the first rap with a single 50 meter to an absurdly huge bolt anchor. Our second rap was all the way down with two ropes, but there's another anchor in there somewhere.

Thanks for the info and link - nice pics.

fw - let me spell this out in a simpler way for you: you have never met me, and have no idea who I am + you think I am an "arrogant snob" because I'm a tele skier and cyclist = you are an idiot. cheers, Rog