Off_White

Where did you think babies came from?

You want scary? Try a google image search on "female wookie" without "safe search" turned on.

The crux of the biscuit is that Rob does not have permission.

Excuse me girlfriend? Nobody fucks Off without permission.

Are you able to climb again?

You might check with Feck, I believe he's done the route.

Welcome home PW

That was a pretty good day.

There's some nice Northeastern Ice in there, as well as some cragging. He doesn't seem strident or militant, and indeed there are a few photos of clipped bolts. Looks like he's having fun out there...

You've got lots of mileage left, but I have to warn you that the list just keeps getting longer no matter how many things you tick off it.

Sobo, that might be less of a joke than you think. A current client of mine works in some hush hush branch of military intelligence, and he won't post anything online.

Hey, and today its you that takes another shuffling step closer to the grave! HBD Mr. Multi-K!

And here I was thinking, "Hey, that's a pretty good name for a climbing gym..."

Awesome tale of barely averted death, most of us have some of those from our early days. We both thought the gator looked cute, and that the pelicans were nearly as prehistoric looking.

Well, I wanted to just do carry on luggage, so space was limited (hence the single 8 mil lead rope), and I figured if I got messed up falling down a slabby 5.5 I had it coming to me. The line was straight and the daughter person was not at (much) risk. Now, a helmet for walking might have been a good idea, since she stubbed her toe pretty good and created an impressive bruise on her thigh by trying to impale her leg on a stick...

Did Frank not tell you that one can rap from Tree Ledge? Great story, thanks for posting it. I really liked that place, slabbing is my strong suit as well and I'd have loved to get out on some of those slabs, though perhaps not for my first day on real rock for the year.

Waddington gets the Scurlock treatment, that's utterly splendid. Thanks!

Yah, keep it up perfesser... :: [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhJGo0RcY_k

This is true. quit moving in on my territory OW! i have a date with him too. No reason we couldn't make it a threesome.

In addition to the above, also consider: The Flake 5.8 - Intersection Rock Leaping Leaner 5.6 - Real Hidden Valley (5.8 if you climb from the pit because the leap is too scary) Hands Off 5.8 - Hidden Valley Campground Colorado Crack 5.9 & Gem 5.8 - Conan's Corridor Buckets to Burbank 5.8 - Hall of Horrors (pro in the horizontals isn't everything you hope it will be) Breakfast of Champions 5.8+ - South Astrodome Moosedog Tower 5.8 - Indian Cove

This is pretty solid advice. Be safe, take pictures, tell stories, & come home, we still have a date for Lightning Dome one of these days.

highly recommended viewing

Pete, I wish more people would see it your way. I've always figured that hitting kids just teaches them that bigger and stronger people get to make the rules, and mostly exhibits a failure of imagination on the part of the parents. Not that children can't offer an infuriating level of frustration, but that's one of the advantages of having two parents - you can pass off the situation to your partner when you know you need to step away. Non violent coercion? Are you kidding me? That's the tools you need, with a fulcrum and a long enough lever I've found you can move a child. Of course, the result is that my kids are fully capable of making their own case for things, and don't tend to just accept authority because someone bigger says so. That's what happens when you teach children that their opinion matters. Anyway, its worked well for me, my children are now adults and the transition from dependence to independent peers has been full of joy. They're some of my favorite people on the planet.

Trip: Stone Mountain, NC - The Great Arch Date: 3/15/2012 Trip Report: I've been visiting my daughter in Asheville, North Carolina for her spring break, and its been a real treat. We've toured about, down towards Georgia and South Carolina, and seen some distinctly southern flavored things: free range gator fountains, spanish moss, & quaint architecture Reminders of cc.com regulars departed We also went out for a day of climbing, hence the trip report. Nora has done a bit of climbing over the years, but isn't that driven by it and had never done a multi pitch route. I'd had a line at Stone Mountain in mind for a number of years, and this was the time to do it. Some of ya'll interested in that How to Introduce Your Girlfriend to Climbing thread awhile back might want to pay attention - different sort of relationship here but the principles are the same. Now, bear in mind this is the Stone Mountain in North Carolina, not the one in Georgia with the carvings and laser light show. Its a state park in the north central part of the state featuring a 600' high granite dome. The area is known for its runout friction routes, but the crack we're here to climb offers all the protection you could want. The Great Arch is a 3 pitch dihedral that goes at 5.5 and is reputed to be one of the best routes of the grade in the country. Here's a pic from the base of the dihedral: Who could look at this and not want to climb it? The Great Arch starts from Tree Ledge, which advance research revealed is a full pitch off the deck. A number of routes provide access. While the Entrance Crack, a 5.4 offwidth (!!) given an R rating due to most folks not packing big bros or valley giants, and reviled by many, had a certain appeal (who wouldn't want to do a little 5.4 chicken winging?) I decided the more straight forward Block Route would be substantially more fun for my climbing partner. The Block Route is rated 5.8-, but its mostly much easier with some low angle crack and runout friction knob climbing to a well protected one move wonder to step up over an overlap. I brought the 60 meter 8mil half rope so we could put this approach section down in one go and skip the belay station in the middle while still keep the weight and volume down in my one carry-on bag travel strategy. None of the upper pitches are longer than 150', so you could opt for a 50 meter rope, but I preferred to simplify the climbing for my partner's sake. She didn't get any help with the rope tangle though, making a good climbing experience doesn't mean everything is made easy. That first pitch went smoothly but didn't offer much in the way of photogenic opportunities. We'd arrived early to beat the afternoon thunderstorm pattern and had the crag to ourselves, but another party arrived after I'd topped out on the Block Route. No bother though, they were never on our heels and weren't much of a presence. No crowd pressure and avoiding weather worries is another great element for a fun intro to multi pitch adventure. Here's Nora following the first pitch. Solid rock, good lieback holds, great friction, and aesthetic position - it really doesn't get any better than this. Belay stations were newish 3/8" stainless bolts with rap rings on the left wall of the dihedral, much better than wads of old tat wearing on the occasional tree in the corner. All smiles at the belay suggest things are going well as the sun hits us and things warm up. The next pitch goes smoothly as well, occasional dishes on the slab providing comfortable placing positions and a couple more trees offer secure slings. Its all smiles motoring up the corner, and the party behind us has just reached Tree Ledge. The last pitch thins down to finger size and was wet courtesy of the recent weather pattern, but the angle kicks back and friction padding on the slab with only an occasional foray to the crack for a hold or a piece of pro keeps me dry and happy. Nora stuck closer to the crack, which apparently featured spiders large enough that she initially mistook them for frogs. Bummer, I missed out. The upper part turns to large exfoliation slabs and has the only protection bolt at the top of the pitch. The park replaced all the original dodgy 1/4 inchers for new stainless hardware, but added nothing else. From here its a great slab walk to the top of the formation and the trail down. One can rappel the route from here, but we didn't have a second rope and the walk was very pleasant. The upper slab was very reminiscent of Tuolomne Meadows without the glacier polish: orange veneer with patches through the patina. We topped out at the summit sign, a whopping 2600' above sea level. Grins all around suggest this was a very successful climbing foray and we discussed some summer possibilities on the walk down through the mixed pine and rhododendron forest. We were back to the car before things clouded over, and were laying on a smooth slab cooling our feet in a sweet pool below a waterfall as the sky darkened and the first lightning struck, feeling smug about our early start. An all around awesome day on a splendid everyman route, pure fun. That's the way to take someone out for their first multi pitch route. Gear Notes: John Friehstyle rack photo Approach Notes: For most in the Northwest, the drive to Stone Mountain Park in North Carolina will be the crux. Park at the Hutchinson Homestead parking lot and a short trail jaunt through rhododendron forest leads to a clearing at the old homestead and a stroll across the field and up to the base. The Block route starts lightly up and left from the lowest point, an obvious slabby crack leading to anchors at a tree. The right facing dihedral above is obvious.

Whatever works for you, but that may be TMI for this forum... this spray visitation is brought to you by [font:Comic Sans MS]Eldiente[/font], standing firm against the silliness since 5/17/04