iain

But our historical record is the reason we are so dominant on the planet. A snafflehound born in spring has to start from scratch, learning everything all over again. Humans have the benefit of thousands of years of documented mistakes and innovations to absorb when they are born (which might even be why there is more stress and subsequent violence in today's schools with such great expectations).

he's probably given birth to a quarter of them.

Not so. We are just building on what others have left before us. As Newton said, "If I see farther than others it is because I stand on the shoulders of giants".

I think it is "dilettante", someone who is a connoisseur of something, like wine or art.

I agree w/ you 100% AlpineK and RobBob. While technology has advanced in the past 2000 years, humans have not biologically evolved at all. A 2002 baby sent back to the 1400's would still grow up to burn people at the stake. Funny how we now expect our kids to have a thorough grounding in Calculus by 11th grade to be competitive internationally, yet it was reserved for the highest level scientists only a 100 or so years ago. Remember Strom Thurman's comments on segregation in the 50's? He's still in office!

doesn't matter what tools you have on that fluted glacier ice, just hook'n'go!

perhaps based on your avatar image?

great topic Kevin!

yeah quit using crappy windows software.

yes indeed killer weather but cold on Sat. I'll be back for sure soon, but not this next weekend (stupid WFR refresher).

fast path to b.c. skiing is to get a multiday pass at a resort, take a backpack and do laps until your thighs turn to jello. the pack makes you focus on unweighting skis on the turn, which I've found is the single biggest hurdle to skiing the crud, getting 'em out of the snow to make the turn. that said I still suck relatively.

re: anybody got an idea how to fix this? Yeah don't use crappy Windows software.

I've usually belayed from partway up that scramble when doing that climb. Otherwise you're belaying from way the heck out there. From the scramble it is very short to the chains at the top of the 1st pitch of Cinnamon Slab. 4 bolts maybe, and that's like what, 4 feet at Smith? (there's no winking smiley anymore).

2 great days in the sun at Smith climbing with Ryland. The only epic I suffered was I leashed Ryland's dog to a crack with the red tricam in a pocket and had to fiddle it out in the dark. Serious hardman stuff. Stupid tricams!

The canadians also deal with much more complex snowpacks than us PNW residents. More reason to trust the CAA for your training, or at least an instructor who has spent some time in a continental snowpack studying. Those canuks deal with transitional and continental rockies snowpacks that release all season long snowfall or no. The avalanche hazard is much more predictable in the Cascades maritime snowpack. Walking out on a slope and falling through a crust into bottomless facets gives new respect for Selkirks snow.

no kidding. For some reason the process of leading gets me more focused and I think I climb better on lead a lot of the time. No question I'll toprope stuff that I know I will be pitching early and often on though.

seems like life is difficult in general with anything less than a 60m at Smith. Most people do not tie into the end as belayer because the climbs are so well-traveled that the rope length is general knowledge. But if there is any question (and there is at smith with a 50m on a large number of routes) for pete's sake at least put a knot at the end or watch the rope coming through. Glad she's alive.

I love it when you go to check who's online, and half the people are checking who's online. BTW what the hell is this guy doing?

tim please shut up about bend. It sucks and no one wants to live there. there is no worldclass climbing nearby and it rains daily. However, Les Schwab started in Prinville, so you'll get guaranteed selection at the local Schwab and the popcorn and free beef will be fresh.

Screw the movies. AlpineK and others can vouch for the current Real World season, Las Vegas. It's a gripping docudrama.

I think part of it has to do with engrams and muscle memory. The muscle movements of clawing your way up Phoenix are a world apart from the chops in Karate Crack. Doing one is not going to help much in the other, apart from some body tension stuff. Even sport climbs (as I found out on Heresy today) vary widely in what muscle groups and movements are used. There are a lot of gym boulderers who can waltz up overhanging jug routes but flail desperately on the thin stuff at Smith. Crack is even more foreign to them, so I would expect it to be the same for a crack specialist climbing face stuff at Smith. I'll lead some 10a/b sport stuff, the odd 5.9 trad crack. These ratings can fluctuate though. As far as top rope vs. leading, I find I'm sometimes climbing worse on TR because I psych myself out by thinking "don't fall here you pussy toproper, your partner just led this ." As you can see I am not self-concious at all

Cool. I'm meeting ryland at the parking lot around 9:30am. There should be a few of us there.

speaking of smitty, I'm off to tuffland now fools! This new board is interesting.

Vegan is pretty hardcore. Boy are they picky.

quote: Originally posted by thelawgoddess: quote:Originally posted by iain: this may expose my ignorance when it comes to bouldering but it seems odd to travel to Switzerland in search of boulders. Are there not enough in the states to go 'round? my, you are an ignorant fool, aren't you? everybody knows that the swiss make the best watches, chocolates ... and boulders. duh! I agree with you about the chocolate part. I love Swiss Miss hot chocolate!