Off_White

Lightweights! If you want real trauma, you need to hear William Shatner do Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The horror, the horror

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: Learning how to downclimb well is a good skill for soloists Wise words. Like in carpentry, there are some days you can walk the plates, and some days you can't.

Yah, I don't mean to come off as anti-soloing, it is just one of those things that should be between you and you, and its when someone feels compelled to engage an audience that my buttons get pushed. I think I have too active an imagination to enjoy soloing: what if my shoelaces come untied, what if I get stung by a bee, what if bigfoot shows up and trundles rocks on me... The fact that I have not fallen on anything 5.9 or under for untold years would suggest that I could solo up to that grade with impunity, but my head won't let me. And you know, I'm okay with that. More power too those of you wired differently, I just do not want to have to deal with any flesh that might be left behind.

quote: Originally posted by Fence Sitter: 3erden where in teh fuck do you ice climb that you have the luxury of climbign 50 ft to the left or right of another party...that would be a 100 ft wide waterfall...not too many of those around...that is jsut unreasonable...if you are too slow and dont have the melons to climb underneath someone else i suggest you go ice climb at cascade crags... casue i WILL pass you whether you like it or not...if you are jeopardizing my safety cause you are slow...i will pass Just being 21 doesn't make you an adult. Once you get out of school, maybe the world will take a few of your corners off, show you that it isn't your oyster. sheesh. No harm intended, I just sometimes get impatient with how much you know. Wait a few years, you'll know as little as the rest of us.

quote: Originally posted by allison: Now Off, it's my understanding that you have a boulder in your back yard....so, if that rumor is true, maybe you *should* have PC at your place sometime! Hey, where's my damn CD, BTW? I sent my dollar, and I DEMAND my tuneage!! Its bigger than a boulder goddammit, and I've lost your address. Call me a twit, I don't care. PM me the address and I will drive right down to the PO and put it in the mail. PC at my place would be fine, but I'm a long ways from Seattle, and the days are getting shorter (anyone else noticed that? makes me wacky just like the hornets) and the climbing is not illuminated. I won't buy more than a case of beer, and I only have three ropes. ps: thanks for the dollar, you're a sweetie.

quote: Originally posted by sk:The free solo guy will probably only kill himself... that is his choice... and his to make.[/QB]You know I like you Shelly, but you've never had to clean up a body. Me, I'm a tender sort, I cringe when I drive by smooshed kittens on the road. I've had a friend who never did anything more than boulder after a trio splooshed into the talus on the El Cap Nose rap route after breaking the anchor by dropping their haulbag. I've had another friend have a base jumper smack the wall and arrive on their bivy ledge on Half Dome shattered but alive, aborting their attempt. I've left another friend zipped cold, blue, and stiff into her sleeping bag and left her for the avalanches. If I never see another dead body, even if they thought soloing was a rad expression of their confidence in themselves, it'll never be too soon. [ 09-24-2002, 06:11 PM: Message edited by: Off White ]

quote: Originally posted by Dru: If you are soloing, the last thing you should think about is if there are other people nearby watching you or not*. In your landing zone is another matter, even then, you could ask them to move, or whatever. I have passed roped parties while soloing on the Apron. What would you have me do, turn around and downclimb? * Although it would be worse to only solo with others watching than the other way around. HEY LOOK AT ME IM A HARDMAN AND I SOLO THIS!!! . I haven't finished reading the thread, and I'm not sure where its going, but I had to chime in on this one. Back in the early 80's there was a real soloing fetish going on in Joshua Tree, and folks would actually wait for a party to start a route to solo it. For those of you unfamiliar, these are mostly one pitch climbs. Taking someone up The Flake (5.8) on the westside of Intersection Rock (a ten minute lead) I had some twit solo through. I swear its the closest I've ever come to kicking some shithead off the rock: between his preening attitude (whoohoo, I solo 5.8) and the fact that no one was watching, a quick trip to the ground from 100' would have solved all his problems for good. I've also had to avert my eyes as Yabo shuddered his way solo up routes at Josh. There's something about intentional public soloing for spectacle's sake that really gets my goat, and I wouldn't even kick dirt over your bleeding body. Dru, that's not to say that I think that is what you are up to with soloing routes on the apron (squamish, I assume), and multipitch has a different set of criteria, but I do think that soloing something like Diedre when it has 5 parties on it is just begging to be spit upon.

Ack, short shrift and short notice to us southerners. Not that it matters for me, my wife's gone back to art school, so I'm domestically tethered until 10:30 every Tues & Thursday anyway, unless you wanna have pub club in my front yard.

Ummm, I dunno. Cuz you have calluses and anything less vigorous is insensible? You'll have to give more information. Seems like around here humble self-flagellation merits pats on the back and tales of "oh, I done worse" and its the chestbeating that gets you called a wanker. Tell us a story Uncle Timmy, so we can respond appropriately.

Dwayner: You should forward some version of your post to both the WAC and the Mounties, because it is an issue that won't be going away, and as organizations they should work on adopting some policy that emphasizes the sharing aspect. Lots of folks get taught by friends rather than classes, and it is a drag to have ideal beginner climbs perpetually occupied by groups. I know there are climbs at Squamish that suffer the same fate, but I don't know if the classes there take the "I claim this crag in the name of the king of Spain" approach. Does a class show up and festoon all of the Burgers & Fries crag with a rope from every anchor? I know Mclane does make a point of talking about etiquette for popular climbs in his guide. [ 09-24-2002, 06:50 AM: Message edited by: Off White ]

Three fiction authors for you: Dru listed Last Call by Tim Powers. Most anything he has written is brilliantly warped, often structured around historical fact, and features the hidden machineries of the world that might be revealed if only you were strange enough to percieve it. James Blaylock is Powers' good buddy and another premier American Fabulist. The Last Coin and The Paper Grail were particularly good, but most of his work is great. While not as dark as Powers, Blaylock also revels in the implausibly possible. Douglas Coupland has written several great novels, and he's my token Canadian for the day. Girlfriend in a Coma, Miss Wyoming, and All Families are Dysfunctional are all quirky and highly recommended.

Banks Lake is probably too slabby for what you're looking for, though there are a couple steep walls with deep water landings. You will need a boat.

Well, I'm laughing, there's some pretty funny stuff in here for a gear beta request, enough to get the thread moved to spray! You're really on a roll today Allison.

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: By the way Off White do we need to get back to the hiking poles topic? Did you get those stickers in the mail yet or what? Far be it from me to direct this thread! I was just putting some paint on some trim and thinking, "well, of course, some like 'em and some don't, guess I'll have to try it and make up my own mind." So, I have enough info, thanks. I'll give my old Ramer adjustable ski poles a try on dry ground sometime, if I can find the old pink lycra to go with them. I did get the stickers, thanks Caveman. Immediately applied to all my vehicles, and have already had a half dozen conversations with people who no idea what the NWFP even was. Now, if only we could get jordop's avatar to sing: Big Bottom Big Bottom Talk about mudflaps My Girl's gottem How could I leave this behind?

Seems like you see folks all the time nowadays hiking with poles, I almost expect to see them with off road roller blades doing jump turns with those two pole thingys. Whats the deal with them? Is it just more expensive impedimentia, or does it really serve a purpose? I wonder because my knees doth complain about steep descents, but I've never really been a walking stick kind of guy. I know some people here use them, so input would be appreciated. I'm not really being snide here, just asking a couple questions: if you use them and like them, why? and why not if you've tried them and didn't like them? [ 09-18-2002, 10:41 PM: Message edited by: Off White ]

thanks for the views and report

Hah, I was just reading Mountain Goat while listening to The Mountain Goats! GOING TO GEORGIA The most remarkable thing about coming home to you Is the feeling of being in motion again. Its the most extraordinary thing in the world. I have two big hands and a heart pumping blood And a 1967 colt 45 with a busted safety catch The world shines As I cross the Macon County Line Going to Georgia The most remarkable thing about you standing in the doorway Is that its you, and that you’re standing in the doorway and you smile As you ease the gun from my hand And I’m frozen with joy, right where I stand The world throws it’s light underneath your hair Forty miles from Atlanta, this is nowhere Going to Georgia The world shines As I cross the Macon County Line Going to Georgia Mountain Goats rock, even if they are just one guy with an acoustic guitar.

No Bronco, he said week partner, not weak partner.

quote: Originally posted by sisu suomi: quote:Originally posted by Off White: I once had a partner who would use his lighter to burn the wings off the horseflies buzzing against the glass at a cook shelter in the campground at the Columbia Icefields, cackling maniacally the whole time. While I understood the sentiment, I'm must be too uptight: the 10 strangers spectating would have inhibited me. Dude was that you I was with. Wait a minute if you are not talking about the 70's then its not. But anyway I love to do that or, better yet, pull the wing off one side tossing the horse fly into some still water to watch a fish rise to the occasion. Sweet memories of my childhood while fishing for Eastern brookies, bows and browns. It WAS 1979, but it wasn't you, since I still see Junior now and then and he's down around Lake Tahoe. In a similar vein, I once sent a girlfriend a letter from the Tuoloumne backcountry, written on the inside of a Kraft Mac 'n Cheese box, filled with the mosqqitoes I killed whilst writing the letter. When she didn't find the whole conceptual art piece amusing, I knew the relationship was doomed.

I once had a partner who would use his lighter to burn the wings off the horseflies buzzing against the glass at a cook shelter in the campground at the Columbia Icefields, cackling maniacally the whole time. While I understood the sentiment, I'm must be too uptight: the 10 strangers spectating would have inhibited me.

quote: Originally posted by AlpineK: Off White an idiotic debate over smoking pot in the Muir Hut is way better than this crap. Shit man while us working guys are driving around killing trees you desk jockies sure can waist time. Thank god someone is keeping this country working. Oh and Fence Sitter if you love America so much what are you doing in Canada you closet communist. Hey, I guess the recent unemployment statistics for Washington, moving us into the front of the country with 7.2%, bode well for spray fests in the future. Truth be told, I'm working too much this week to even be able to keep up with the reading on this thread. Here's to the working class:

I didn't mean a test, I meant a demonstration for the Japanese just offshore of a major city in Japan, showing what could happen rather than actually doing it. I think we could have accomplished the same goal with much less loss of life.

Pish, Hiroshima was an opportunity to use the nifty thing we built. It would have been just as effective to vaporize a few million tons of water about 5 miles offshore as to cook the people, and Nagasaki was pure overkill, but a completely different toy, so it really needed to be used too. I think the Japanese would have surrendered with a less lethal display. I do think it is true we did a pretty good job (in the long haul) of putting our enemies back together, and one East Germany was quite enough. Hey, this thread is quite stunning in both its rapid growth and volume of content. I think Muir on Saturday may still have the edge in terms of pages, but there's a lot more meat and real debate here, so everyone involved reach around and pat yourself on the back.

The current proposal to invade Iraq has nothing to do with immediate threats to the US and everything to do with the November elections. Its classic distraction methodology: don't look at the economy, business scandals, or how much work we still have to do in Afghanistan, look over here at this scary thing. Here's a link to what Scott Ritter, conservative republican bush voter US Marine former UN Weapons Inspector in Iraq has to say: Scott Ritter Another vocal Republican who is upset over the lack of debate and examination of the issue is Congressman Ron Paul from Texas. Mountain Goat and Fairweather should be familiar with Congressman Paul, since he's widely known to be a Libertarian in Republican clothing. Ron Paul I believe Mtn Goat is dead wrong about Saddam Hussein. He is not a Muslim fundamentalist, he's very much a secular guy. Iraq is NOT linked to Al Quaida, and Abu Nidal has killed fewer Americans than the Green River Killer. Saddam's a black hat, no doubt about it, and its really a pity that the US helped put him where he's at. The real failure though is in the nature of US Foreign Policy, which has operated from a "strategic" viewpoint (the enemy of my enemy is my friend) which has lead us to support hideous leaders and regimes, rather than an "ideological" viewpoint that says the promotion of freedom and democracy everywhere in the world is our best path to security. Anyway, ya'll are having such a great tussle here, I almost regret that too much work will keep me from the daily fray. Have fun out there.

Well, if we're gonna talk East Face of Three Fingers, how about East Face of Whitehorse? My sole knowledge is the picture in the Green Beckey, almost makes it look banded, but definitely interesting. There's also Peak SomeNumberOrOther NE of Black Peak with a bigish face, but rock quality would be an open question.