Alpinfox

Another FredHead must read.

I haven't done it, but a friend of mine told me that some guy was soloing it last year or the year before and got freaked out on the hook traverse so he hammered the hook placements pretty hard making them much more secure. Doesn't this belong in the new AID CLIMBING FORUM ? LINK to SuperTOPO. Excerpt:

"We are all wired into a survival trip now. No more of the speed that fueled that 60's. That was the fatal flaw in Tim Leary's trip. He crashed around America selling "consciousness expansion" without ever giving a thought to the grim meat-hook realities that were lying in wait for all the people who took him seriously... All those pathetically eager acid freaks who thought they could buy Peace and Understanding for three bucks a hit. But their loss and failure is ours too. What Leary took down with him was the central illusion of a whole life-style that he helped create... a generation of permanent cripples, failed seekers, who never understood the essential old-mystic fallacy of the Acid Culture: the desperate assumption that somebody... or at least some force - is tending the light at the end of the tunnel. "

SOURCE I heard (unsubstantiated rumor) that the entire road is passable via car although it is gated. There are a couple avy paths where one has to drive through some deep snow and it is down to a single lane, but that the road is passable. That was about two weeks ago and I don't even know if it was true then.

"San Fransisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run... There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda... You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning... And that, I think, was the handle -- that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting -- on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark -- that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back." -HST

A book review w/ some great HST quotes Excerpts: "There is an eerie sense of Panic in the air, a silent Fear and uncertainty that comes with once-reliable faiths and truths and solid Institutions that are no longer safe to believe in," he writes in his column of Nov. 20, 2000. "There is a Presidential election, right on schedule, but somehow there is no President." Once there is an outcome, he labels George W. Bush "the goofy child-President" and Al Gore "the Hapless, worm-eaten Dunce who fumbled the White House away." The day after the terrorist attacks, he presciently warns "that we are At War now — with somebody — and we will stay At War with that strange and mysterious Enemy for the rest of our lives." As time passes, Thompson's frustration heightens, and he begins to sound like Fahrenheit 9/11 director Michael Moore. "We will all be even sicker tomorrow if this wretched half-bright swine of a president gets re-elected in November," he writes. Thompson's classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas was billed as a savage journey to the heart of the American Dream. By the end of Hey Rube, he sounds truly fearful for what he calls the squandering of that dream. "I am surprised and embarrassed," he writes in a column in July 2003, "to be a part of the first American generation to leave the country in far worse shape than it was when we first came into it."

Did you top out? How do you get down? Did you cause any accidents? Looks like using only the tree that sticks out would be tough.

Sculptures are dedicated to: Mother Theresa Victims of the Holocaust Native Americans and A M E R I C A ! ! ! It's how rich Christians put their millions of dollars to work for the poor and downtrodden. Just think of all the uplifted spirits! Personally, I like the "Uncle Sam Says: ___________" billboard better.

Actually when I saw that area (Sunset Slabs) I assumed it must be exactly that - a Mountie practice area. I wonder how people feel about that as a justification for what many people would consider overbolting?

Those jackets have been a "piece de rigeur" since they were introduced. I heard that for a season Koflach plastic boots were a must have item in the NY dance club scene.

I wouldn't really know since my "fluid replacement drink" is water (It's amazing how cheap the stuff is and how well it works!) However, if you want some foofoo techie shit, REI is a good place to check. Be sure to wear your spandex walking suit when you go; you'll be able to get through the aisles 0.04% faster. It might also be a good opportunity to try out that new heart monitor; lots of stairs at REI.

Hey plexus, I didn't express a "lot of opinions" about Mt. Erie in my post. I stated that in the posted photograph, the anchor did not look to me to be a rappel anchor. It is obvious in that photo that the tree could easily be used as an anchor thereby obviating the need for the bolts. AlpineK made a good point that using the tree as an anchor may trample the "root zone" and injure the tree; something I hadn't considered. I then said that I had only been to Erie once (full disclosure) and that I saw one area that was IN MY OPINION overbolted. That is the only opinion interjected into my post. I'm sorry if I ruffled your feathers with that one opinion. I have a great deal of respect for Dallas Kloke and others who put their time, energy, and money into route development. However, bolting is a very contentious issue and I feel we climbers should try to limit bolting whenever possible in order to avoid conflict. In my experience at Erie (limited as it is) I saw what I consider to be overbolting in one area. I don't think I have to visit an area 40 times a year to know that 4 bolted anchor stations within 25ft is "overbolted". (I believe this was the "Sunshine Slab" area, but I'm not sure). You are correct that I have not visited all of the crags and I did not mean to cast judgement upon the entire area.

girth hitch the shoulder straps with a sling for hauling. Shoulder straps should be the strongest attachment point.

The BD tents are EPIC fabric; apparently not such a good choice for winter camping. COLIN SAID :

WRONG? PLANTS FEEL PAIN!!!

w00t!

I don't think that is a rap anchor (no rings). Maybe the hangers are those fat metolius rap hangers, I can't tell from the picture. In any case, I thought just about everything at Erie had a walkoff so rappelling is usually not necessary.

birth hitch* - when protection fails resulting in the cream of sum young guide impregnating an impressionable young client leading to a shotgun wedding. *A typo of mine from another thread.

I think that's an "Irish Carbomb" or something like that. edit: Belfast carbomb = 1/2 shot whiskey, 1/2 shot Bailey's Irish Cream, drop shot into pint O' Guiness, finish immediately. Boilermaker = 1.5oz whiskey dropped into 12oz beer.

So why didn't any of you take a few minutes to move the blocks? Is this not practical for some reason?

Black Dye Mud?

I thought of a really good one last night but can't remember it now? Lowe Memory?

CBS, I don't see much erosion between those bolts and that tree. As for your second point, a sling birth hitched around a tree doesn't do much (if any) damage. edit: that was accidental, I swear. The one time I climbed at Erie, I remember there were three or four anchor stations (two bolts each) within about 25 feet of each other along the top of some short slabby wall to the climbers right of the powerline wall. All four climbs could have shared one single anchor setup a little higher up.

I dunno about speeding tickets, but I never paid a parking ticket I got in Vancouver about 3 years ago. No redcoats have knocked on my door yet. Who knew that you had to put money in the meter at 8pm on a Sunday evening!?!??

For all you other FredHead's out there, HERE IS A NICE ARTICLE about him. It's from a couple of years ago, but I just came across it. GO FRED!