Bug

The avalanche danger for Hood on http://www.seawfo.noaa.gov/products/SABSEA is looking bad. Anyone been up there? I want to go do the Cooper Spur Saturday.

War is Hell.

Beware the new breed of climber. On the first trip to the climbing shop he buys a drill. He means well but drills wantonly or means ill and drills maliciously. Not that many are like that but it does not take many to screw things up. There are high quality places in Washington that have been bolted for decades but see very little traffic even now. These should be held as secret stashes. Not to be shared without careful consideration. Some places such as Vantage have become sacrificial test pieces. Just how far can reason be pressed? What kind of action is effective? It remains to be seen. Sad as it is, humans tend to deficate in their own cages and turn on each other quickly.

Too many humans. Too small of a cage. Soon we bugs will party. Climbers are of no consequence. They are far outnumbered by practitioners of far more common sports and activities. This is a microcosmic study on all levels. Somebody needed a thesis.

I was a bug without roots. Any pile of garbage would do between climbing trips. I climbed in the Beartooths and Absarokas, the Gallatin, the Bitterroots and others. It was nice out there because there wasn't a crowd of people shring your wilderness experience with you. Especially if you got away from the horse trails. Of course, then there wasn't much to eat but I won't take you there. You are too new. Welcome. Watch your back.

"Just thought I'd ad a note here. If anyone could bring some slings/rings or chain/coldshuts next time they go to vantage that would be cool. I added hangers,slings,rings to the rap station above steel grill/bobs your uncle(the only rap station in the area) and some confused individual took the slings and rings off. I'm not going to replace them again, but is they were replaced by someone, it would make things a lot more convenient in that area. Also, the same needs to be done to the party in your pants area (someone took my rings/slings there too. Thanks, Charlie" I will crawl through their shit and walk on their food. [ 03-30-2002: Message edited by: Bug ] [ 03-30-2002: Message edited by: Bug ]

Anna darling! Take me back to Montana with you. Get me out of here before I go insane. Don't make me post on this board again. OK. I'm better now. I fought fires in MT for a few years. Welcome to the rain. The climbing here is varied to say the least. As fellow MT's, let me give you some good advice, Get into the Enchantments out of Leavenworth. Just do it. Give us a trip report when you return.

quote: Originally posted by Ropegun2002: If any of you boi's could actually climb all of this would be funny. Stop strokin the squirrel yourself. Chalk doesn't stick to that stuff and that's why all you sport climbers can't break the 5.10 barrier on real climbs.

If I fell off a rock and died, Zee's policy would be what I would want. If I fall off a rock and can still talk, I will say that a giant child picked me up and tortured me for no apparent reason. I would NEVER say I purposely did something that 95% of all Americans consider to be very dangerous. Insurance companies run test cases occaissionally. The law is not a static thing. If the insurance industry can tweak a little bit here and a little bit there, pretty soon, they are paying out less. One way they test the law is to take a case to court. Let's say you break your ass at Index and report the whole climbing story complete with how the guy who gave you the beta described being really gripped at the point from which you fell. You file your claim and your insurance company denies it. You now have the option of giving up or hiring some pond scum lawer who will take your case pro bono. He will assess how often the insurance industry and your company in particular are willing to cough up a little more money or fight you in court. If they fight you in court and you lose, you do not have to pay the pro bono but you do have court costs, filing fees etc which add up very fast and would easily out price a broken leg. Meanwhile the insurance industry has documented a set of reasons for which they are not liable for climbers who break their asses at Index. And so it goes........... If you get hurt, do all climbers a favor, say you fell down the stairs or something. Do not admit to climbing!

Friends who try to sue me have poor taste.

In Alaska a few years back, we caught a guy picking our crab pots. Guns were drawn. No shots fired. When he returned to Homer about a month later, a crowd gathered. The crowd wandered to the end of a cannery unloading pier. Apparently, the pot picker was unable to get through the crowd because he ended up in the cccold water 15 feet below. He was also discouraged from removing himself from the ccccold water until he had swam across the marina in his clothes. A great deal of money changed hands when he actually survived. Last I heard, he had not been back to Homer since. In saudi Arabia, they publicly chop off a hand if you are caught stealing. The crime rate is almost not measurable. I could continue with many examples of what works and what doesn't. Suffice it to say, "No mercy is the best detterrent". The legal system favors the criminal in thefts from automobiles. They keep all profits and rarely spend more than a weekend in jail. At Index, Smith Rock, etc., if you can act anonimously, be harsh. Inflict lasting pain. Leave visible scars. Don't hesitate. Don't feel guilty.

Oh yeah. Hunters and mountain lions are the most effective form of goat control. Hunting them is not exactly a sport though. Unless you consider hunting cows a sport. MMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! POW! MMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! POW! Damn. Got my limit already.

Sleeping in grizzly country one night, I heard a set of large lungs approaching the tent. Knowing we had been sloppy, I started reviewing all the tasty foods we had eaten and then wiped on our pants, shirts, or whatever. The lungs got closer. I was hoping it would just take my father who was sleeping beside me but the damn thing came to my side of the tent. It just stood there and taunted me with it's deep breaths. Then I could hear it sniffing at me. I had had enough. By god if that thing was going to eat me it was going to have to fight me! I reached up to the zipper ever so carefully,....... found my knife with my other hand,........screwed up my courage and,.....The rest of this happen in the stretch of 3 or 4 seconds........... ripped the zipper down to the bottom-simultaneously lunging forward and yelling as loudly as I could. I was outside in a flash ready to do mortal combat with the king of all grizzlies but my eyes just weren't picking up much in the moonless darkness. I heard the clatter of hoofs on the rocks beside me and then the sound of my father's fishing reel playing out line like the big one was hooked. Meanwhile, my father, who had been sleeping soundly, woke up, heard the goat and his line and started cussing up a storm. I won the battle but lost the war. I had to sleep outside the rest of the night.

"all you have to do is put up with a ton of crap from adolescent assholes and fellow morons who are also dodging real work...." My kids have teachers. You think they aren't workin? Your ass musta landed on your head!!!!

How strong is it? Anyone have any info?

Go Jim!

Dark side of the moon. You had to be there looking through the window pane.

Give me any crack over any face anytime. Sometimes it is good to practice face climbing. Like if there's this really cute babe with a loose fitting halter top looking for a partner to go sport climbing with. That's OK. Just don't confuse that with what really matters.

There is a prosthetic developement company on North Capitol Hill. They are hot. Don't commit to anything until you have talked to them. I took one guy with a prosthetic up Princely Ambitions for a video shoot. He did great and it was his first attempt at climbing. It was a normal walking prosthetic too. With a specialized climbing setup you will be back out there in fine form. Hang in there!

quote: Originally posted by rayborbon: Hello Bug, I see you ass is getting fatter as you visit us every day Nice Troll In my cubicle environment we refer to it as "cubicly enhanced". To say "fat" would incur the wrath of the Mongol hoards. Even though there is enough adipose tissue around here to feed the Mongol hoards for nine successive campaigns. And I do not hang here while my job goes idly by. I multi-task - not be confused with multi-trask which would be an abomination.

Then again, maybe he's just suffered from a long succession of assteins.

My brother did it in a day and he is a weekend warrior who just bought an ice ax the week before. Go for it! Trip report upon return.

Boilerplate interrupted here and there by windslab except where there are rocks.

What I know about union leaders I learned in Chicago. It's Friday. Go climbing.

Custom Boots - Jim Mates will give you as good a fit as you can get from whatever boots you bring in. He started with fitting ski boots and has a lot of local ski patrolers and racers as repeats. He has gotten into fitting hiking boots and other sports as well. I had him work with me on a pair of rock shoes. He didn't resew anything or do anything structural. He added some padded lumps to direct my bones to where they were supposed to go. It helped a lot. I highly recommend this guy.