allison

Jesus Christ, people, am I going to have to quit my job in order to keep up with cc.com? I have not time to read all of this! Quit posting so much! I love the idea of hearing Dr. K yelling when I'm climbing, maybe it's just the impetus I need to get out on the other end of the rope, the one where all of the fun stuff takes place. ....and I know just who should be on the other end.....Petey? Up for it? Nobody's actually seen it happen for quite some time now!

Originally posted by D-dog: "Some fears are unjustified (for the most part): falling a few feet onto good bolts on a steep sport route. Risk is quite low, like riding a roller-coaster. It is "scary" because the body feeling is novel and exciting, not because of true danger. Some fears, in contrast, are real: scrambling on exposed, loose rock in alpine gulleys IS risky, and a small mistake (or just bad luck) can result in very bad injury or death." This is so true, and yet in my case, I can't get myself to do one (lead even easy stuff on bolts) but I have no problem with the other (nasty loose gully, here I come!). What's UP with that? For me, at least, it's become an exercise in frustration. One person told me that as long as I feel pain every time I take a step (I do, from a climbing accident six summers ago) that I'm going to be reminded that rock is dangerous and could mangle me again. This is a simple answer, and I'm not convinced that the solution is as simple as that. If it were I'd still be dragging my knees through the corners on the motorcycle, and post accident I've lacked cajones on that front too. Bye bye sport bike, hello wheelchair! Sorry, I'm ranting, folks. Some days this is sooo frustrating! Maybe a little something from The Clash will soothe my soul...

Hot Bond is a Cascade Designs product. I know they have it at REI, probably either in the Widget Department or up at the Repair Desk, not sure if Nelson has it or not....but I must say that I was at his shop today and there was a computer behind the counter with none other than cc.com on the screen. I chastised the girl working there for looking at that trash, we had a laugh! Now here's a little number from Soul Coughing in honor of Hot Bond:

The SD Light Year is a nice choice. Neither ultra-lightweight nor ultra-expensive, solid, comfy, and very much a smaller version of a 2 man tent in terms of roominess. You can find them on sale on the Internet for around $125. Oh, whoops, you said super-lightweight, never mind!! [ 08-21-2002, 05:36 PM: Message edited by: allison ]

Just catching up after a few hours away from the computer... got to stop doing things other than monitoring the board...anyway, LMAO, and no, PP and I are not the same person. WE DO have a mutual admiration society that others might find revolting though. AS for my organizing the secret Pub Club, well, I was partly guilty, but Jules gets some of the blame too. It was all in attempt to placate Timm@y, who was in town and didn't want to go to Tacoma. He didn't show in Seattle either. Now what's this about a blight on Elliot Bay? That sounds like the sailboat, but honestly I swear it wasn't that dirty and I washed her down on Monday...! Now here's a little number from King Crimson's Discipline disc for my boy Petey P:

Creepy! FWIW my buddy Kim was on a TM work party, a weeklong WTA in the Es last week, and they were joined by a number of FS rangers over the course of their tour. Kim tells me that these rangers spent a lot of time checking permits up there, and turned several people back for not having them. Additionally the rangers were doing enforcement on the north side of Temple Ridge, ya know, where Shield and Earle and all of that climbing is around Temple Cyn. I was up on that side week before last and didn't see any people, let alone rangers, but apparently they do go over there looking for people without permits!

SG is even better when topped with a patch, of course. For repairing in the field, I highly recommend switching to Hot Bond. It dries in 10 minutes. You can get little single-serving packets of it. Boil couple of minutes until softened enuf to use, and away you go. Great stuff.

quote: Originally posted by sk: I think I may need hiking lessons. I would MUCH rather climb 3rd class(haven't done 4th) than trudge arround on dirt trails. On dirt I slide , fall on my ass and struggle. 3rd class up or down I feel solid and happy to be making progress. any suggestions? besides the obvious, that I am an idiot Nonsense, you don't need hiking lessons. I think what a lot of run-of-the-mill hikers fail to see is that there's a whole big big world of experience between a dirt trail and 5th class. Many will sneer and derisively say it's 'scrambling' and that is part of it. The Wilderness is yours to sample, and there's a range of difficulty from first class to fifth. If you want to broaden your horizons as a hiker, look at a map, find a spot you think looks good, and GO THERE. It wil challenge you, you'll probably have almost no beta, probably no trail, and definitely no crowds. It's a rich and exciting experience, well outside of on-trail hiking, and in many ways closer to alpine climbing than anything else. And it's really, really fun. Flame suit on.

Falling in the gym DOES help. I'm also doing a lot of hiking (flame suit on) with much higher levels of exposure than I was consistently doing, and that seems to be helping. Not there yet with the rock, but hanging it out a bit on 4th class is not hurting. Having a hard time being patient though.

The Fred Meyer on 85th NW seems to be unafraid to change batteries on waterproof watches. Same for First Time Watches on Pike Place Market. I've had my alti watch done at both these places and would not send the watch out to Avocet to get the battery changed. I'd love to say that Rainy Pass is a great shop. I'd love to have them do all of the repair work on my gear that I can't do myself. The work that I've seen them do, and had them do, has been of high quality, but the prices are absolutely astronomcal. In another thread I mentioned having had them replace a zipper for me, it was $55. In another instance I was researching repair shops for an article, and they would not help me, discuss their services, or provide me with a printed price list. They don't get my money anymore.

Rainy Pass blows goats. Don't go there. What's wrong with REI? They have a great repair department! OK, there are a lot of things I don't like about REI but the repair department is not one of them. And in honor of the REI repair dept:

The right partners can make all of the difference. Some people can make you feel like it's OK to fail, and some can cut you down and impede progress. I had a really bad fall some years ago and have a lot of trouble on rock. I recently refused to climb something pretty easy, but with a loooong approach, and I was not made to feel like a criminal for failing. Some partners will help, and others will not. I hope a lot of ideas come out on this thread, as those of you who have climbed with me know, I've got a long way to go psychologically myself, and can use all the advice I can get too!

Here you go.

Me too, I was out of town last week.

Dana Designs packs did not get cheaper when they went to Mexico for manufacturing. The quality went down but not the price. Nothing ever seems to get cheaper when the cost of labor goes down.....

Seriously, don't be afraid to wash Gore-Tex. The manufacturers recommend it, and you gain a ton of breathabilty back by doing so. Similarly, don't be afraid to wash your down things. You can do a sweater in your washer at home, a sleeping bag you have to go to a laundromat to do. Use the washers with no center spindle. You're sposta use special soap but I use just a litttle detergent with great results. I wash my down bags 1-2x a season depending on use, and they tend to last me forever. I have one old one I've had since I was 8 (that was a while ago) that is still super-lofty and toasty!

Rainy Pass blows goats. I had a zipper done there once and it was $55. Check out REI's repair department. They do great work, often around half the price of Rainy Pass.

I'm not able to say that I buy no goods manufactured in China, but I do the best I can to avoid places with bad labor practices, such as China. I recently had the choice to buy something expensive made in a labor-unfriendly country, or pay a couple of bucks more to buy the same thing made in a labor-friendly country, and opted for the latter. It's damn near impossible to avoid everything made in places like China, but it's damn easy to make those choices when it comes to major purchases. We've discussed the OP stichmo before at some length. If you're leaning toward favoring prison labor, I recommend you read the propaganda on OP's website. It's compelling and well-written. They will never see one penny of my money though. Vote with your consumer dollars!

I've had my PR for over a year and used it in a variety of situations. Most recently last week. Four nights, two people, one 3/4 full canister. Used the second can for maybe 2 mins. I think an hour of burn time per canister is realistic under 3-season conditions under 10,000'. The idea that they only burn half of the fuel is bunk. I bleed and pucture my used cans at sea level, and there is almost no fuel left to bleed before puncturing and recycling, probably not even enough to boil one cup of H2O. There is a whisper of fuel left that the PR won't be able to burn up high. The best suggestion I can make about making the most of the canisters is that they work better if you keep them warm while they are burning. There are a few ways to do this but the most elemental method is to put your hands around the canister.

The spray-on type is the best, and as prviously stated, follow instructions re washing, drying and ironing. It really works. And be sure to buy the stuff from Jim Nelson's fab-o shop, Pro Mountain Sports. Be true to your local indie retailer!

I go out of my way to buy MM stuff, just as I go out of my way to NOT buy Omega Pacific stuff. [OP, as you may know, makes their stuff in the USA, but in PRISONS ] MM rules! Be a smart consumer, buy your stuff at indie shops (or MEC, sorry, love that place) and make sure that both the materials and the end product were made in labor-friendly countries, USA being one of them!! Hooray for Malden Mills! [ 08-12-2002, 10:27 PM: Message edited by: allison ]

Was woken to the sound of a copter hovering RIGHT NEXT to SCW talking over a god mic to some climbers on the wall, to slow getting out of the tent to see what happened....anyone know? Maybe this is alredy posted, but I've been away from the computer for 5 days and I'll never catch up!!

quote: Originally posted by snafflehound: “What eez zat smell? Eet smells like cat pee!” I overheard this from that French guy in the mid 80s who spanked the all the locals at Smith. Sage. OMG, LMAO. Zee Franch, zey are so funeee!! I love that smell to pieces, but come to think of it, it does smell a little bit like kitty tinkle...hmmmm.

Beck did not show up. It looks like ol' Poptart's password has been passed on to a proud new owner. Take good care of her!

Depends on how much crap you are willing to carry.