ivan

mexico has strict term limits for all gov officials - doesn't seem to make their system any cooler or less corrupt, eh? nullifying past contracts probably wouldn't get too far in court

1 more year and i'll be old as dennis from the search for the holy grail

i...i...i told myself i wouldn't hopefully i'll even have sometime to drink some shitty wine after kids soccer practices n' before i collapse from exhaustion this evenign

but tom vilsack seems like such a nice guy....

you must be the guy! sadly, my usual jedi-mind skills failed on ole'larry...

your pubs are getting grey already?

nice - i don't really make the pilgrimage enough to care, just seemed like the sorta thing more folks woulda been riled up over...

there were a few, though i don't recall how many since i didn't lead that pitch - mostly i just remember justin doing a lot of hooking, plus sticking-clipping past a big loose block

i imagine who ever yanked the fee box out of its concrete foundation oughta be able to work the same magic - at any rate, doesn't seem to solve much as you could still just car camp outside the gate, and no doubt pissed off folks w/ wire-cutters wouldn't have any problem w/ the fence even if they couldn't defeat the gate...

Trip: Ben Steins Hoary Shaft - Bueeeeeller! Date: 10/10/2010 Trip Report: went oregon slumming last year on my b-day - w/ shit weather everywhere else this weekend, figured why not make it 2 years in a row and check out the mythic steins pillar w/ justinp - turned out much more mellow than da turkey monster and in a sweeeeet locale, w/ well-burned forests adn a nice, remote, idealic car-campsite to boot damned hard to get a proper view of stein's prick - the approach don't offer much - the main road might offer a decent sight, but it was pouring as we left so fuck knows - best sense of the thing i got from the shadow... hate-fuck commute in - abed at 10, up at 3, a long and difficult road alone through the darkness - angry negro in the light of a dozen copcars in troutdale getting the full rodney king workout, turns out shit can get worse prompt arrival at 7 in the a pleasant dale, bursting w/ 'shroom growth - jesus fuck, was that prineville i blew through in post-apocalyptic caffeine-frenzy? tyler's tr for the route pretty much has all the beta you need, if'n that happens to be the sum of your adle-minded interest - basically you don't need much gear, the climb is mostly a manktacular clip up, w/ good ledges at all belays - a stick clip is nice to have p1 is super short - 1 5.8-9 chimney/ow move and then its 40 feet of eeeeeeeasy climbing - there's an excellent bolted 5.9 pitch that is a good bit longer and more engaging below it - looking down at the start top of p1 ledge - plenty of space for a party w/ all the hoes from your area-code p2 starts w/ some free, then some clean placements & fixed gear, and a loose-block - steep to traversing, fun for the second too...cleaned a piece and then launched into a shrieking fun swing out into the abyss just starting p2 - good bit of hooking on this pitch justin on the attack i alternated between sleeping, smoking and worshipping the gods-that-gave-us-gummy products i got p3 - walk to left side of ledge, plug in a few pieces of gear, then follow the mank high-way - actually tyler or whoever has put in new shiny bolts every 3rd or so bolt so it's feels plenty tame, though w/ an enjoyable amt of exposure - used the stick clip just below the top out ledge to avoid the block buzzing w/ bees and the experimental hard-ware store hanger by it old skewl home-made anchor hanger, big as hell - new bolts below it though, plus you walk across the ledge and can back the fixed line up to another anchor below the start of p4 justin following p3 p4 starts steep w/ the usual assortment of musuem relics to clip to before p4 starts traversing... arriving at p4 top p5 plenty steep too - free move to mank, then free - used the stick clip then to save myself a possible fall onto a shitty bolt - from there smooth sailing to free climbing to the summit looking down at the p4 top ledge exotic stacked pins on p5 summit's big n' broad w/ alpine rose n' roasted, desicated rat carcasses justin on top - his wife came along too and spent the afternoon getting shots from afar - when they emerge from babylon mayhaps they'll throw in the contributions? back on the ground took in the sites and searched for the hook justin dropped on p2 to no avail - seems like a man can pretty much walk up to this big bitch, pick a line, n' drill right on up it indian fire n' beer swilling ensued - then the rain came and spent the night somnambulating 'round the red devil - big enough storm break saturday morning to fire up the grits n' coffee, then on to smith, where the weather was the same - hung out in the vanagon, smoking n' swilling hamms while waiting for the clouds to fuck off - got hassled by the skull hollow Man who's enforcing the camping fees, claiming the whoel shooting match will be closed nov 1 this year - discarded plans for fomenting a local revolution in lieu of heading over to the park for a hike in the rain, but the clouds lifted just in time to give us enough time to shoot up some redwall classics... sunday set my sights on a solo of soft-shoe ballet but neglected the clipstick and my balls gots all tiny n' faggoty n' i chickenshitted out after 2 placements shredded the cheese-chalk they were set in and blew out - consoled meself w/ a trip up bubbas, then headed for home through the mist and wind reckon gotta get someone to lash my ass up wolf rock 'fore next october... Gear Notes: dozen draws or so x2 big hooks couple offset nuts couple cams 1" and smaller second rope for rapping off (X2 double-rop raps, then a single) Approach Notes: over hill and dale

sounds like they were off pawning the old fee box that they ripped out of the ground recently - i asked the rent-a-cop if he'd reinforced his generator-equipped outpost against ied attack, b/c it can't be tooo long

#4 c4 on moscow - send it!

wtf? there's a big old gate that can be closed on the entrance now, plus a private-market pig-wannnabe enforcing camping/extra vehicle fees! home-slice says apparently people have been squatting in the 'hollow, firing off guns n' being all sketchy, so now they're gonna close it from november to may? prineville meth-heads of the world unite and get'er done!

i choose the lasagna

here's to swim'n w/ bow-legged women!

reckon - but then the conservatives wanted to blow the whole damn thing up back in the day! i'm fine w/ being a hair left of center...

worst i've ever been into oak in my long damn life was out there! zombie flesh, its the shit.

i'll promise you 100 more tr's now if you'll take the photos of really big kitty-kats thread out behind teh interwubs and put a bullet through its brains

you m-m-m-m-make me happy.

so....your prediction is drugs and madness will be out of style soon?

made my heart all warm n' fuzzy inside to be looking down on your unarmored head while juggling a hammer and 10 pounds of nails 50 feet above you the other week

boogers - it's what's for breakfast!

easy to understand - it's a beginner's climb, and most beginner-leaders go where the pro looks most obvious (even if it does eat their precious, shiny new cams )

killing yerself while on the phone w/ yer son IS too fucked up for even me to defend though...

haven't seen that many flying white folks since 9/11!