Dennis_Harmon

I guess I have to agree with Dru in that it's often more efficient to simul-climb in terms of the speed/safety risk than it is to establish running belays. There's just no two ways around this issue... this mountain climbing horse-shit is dangerous. Dennis

Yea, Beckey was and still is a sport climber and was the first guy to wear lycra spandex panties. He was also the first to avoid bolting in places where they should never be placed, and didn't even put them there, (imagine that?) because perhaps even then he realized that rock is not a renewable resource. Dennis

What? "anthonysmarocks?" Damn it's hard enough to spell it and even harder to pronounce it. It's little wonder that you're from Olympia. Did I spell that correctly? Dennis

I never saw a rope get chopped in a fall until June 20th of last year when a friend fell off on the upper reaches of the west ridge of Mt. Stewart. The rock he fell with chopped the rope about three feet from his harness tie-in and we were very lucky cowboys. That convinced me of the value of climbing on doubles. Dennis

Thanks Anthony for the tip... I'll try Bremerton. Dennis

Haireball, Thanks for the support on the ethics question. Just got off there and saw your post about Mac. Small world. Tried to E-mail but am new to this computer crap. Thanks again. Dennis

Anyone out there know the whereabouts of a guy named Mac Johnson... a red headed guy about 40, originally from NH, a graduate of Colorado College and, I think, teaches at a private school somewhere on the west slope of Washington? Any leads would be appreciated. Dennis

O.K., once again I must be mistaken. Everyone who can afford a cord-less drill and a rope and knows how to abseil down a rock wall must then have some sense of ethics? Silly me. And to think that I was just imagining that I was getting old. Dennis

philh, That's a good little route but heavily traveled and there is some loose rock up there. I'd HIGHLY recommend that you not follow another party on it. Do it during the week. I grew up in central Texas and now live in Wenatchee. When you get up here give me a call. Dennis

mrr, That sucks dude. Sounds like a state subsidized 'make work' project to me. We can get them back though. Every time you're in the vacinity of a ranger station, stop in and ask them some really, really stupid questions like, "Do I need to bring a gun on this hike?" or something like, "What's the best way to go number 2 up in the mountains?" It makes them have to do some actual work. They hate that. Dennis

gapertimmy, Hey thank's for the suggestion about the nasal mist spray thingies. I've been using the "Junior Miss" brand of tampons and have had to breath through my mouth. Dennis

Joekania, According to your suggestions I don't really have any options except to give up climbing altogether or to take aspirin which (I'm told by my doctor) will only exacerbate my nose bleeding problem. Any other suggestions? Dennis

Basically, there are no ethics anymore. There are, however, plenty of Generation-X morons who think that by buying a rope and drills and calling themselves climbers they will both get laid and further their resumes. It's no wonder that so many hate America. Dennis

We've probably all descended past hoards of roped-up "Bataan death-marcher/survivers" and laughed at their hideous conditions while they, at the same time, were censuring us for bounding down the mountain like crazy chimps. There is no tidy answer to your question. Sorry. Dennis

Most of you knuckleheads make me sad. Did you guys ever hear of the sport of scuba-diving? There are plenty of deep technical wrecks and caves to dive on. You still get the "bragging rights," but it's a little harder to fuck up the oceans. Dennis

I've noted that every time I go climbing I undergo a virtually life-threatening nose bleed. Has anyone else seen a correlation between nose bleeds and climbing? I'd appreciate any responses from people who's noses have bled either while they were climbing, or soon afterwards. Dennis

Dusty Boots, Good issue but I think it's a little too late, lad. There is hardly anything that anyone can do beyond this point. Basically it's a matter of demographics and both Malthus and Darwin are going to be found to have been right... (and not Rush Limbaugh.) But, yes, get out there and bust some stuff up, maybe even hurt somebody if they're bad, that's probably what I'd have done if I was your age again. Dennis

You might try it Drew, but I wouldn't recommend it. Dying sucks. Dennis

Granite Mountain is in the state of Arizona, outside of Prescott, and it never snows there. Therefore, I assume that your story is pure fabrication and that you actually stold that poor guy's gear. Why don't you just fes up and give it back? Dennis

Climbing, particularly alpine climbing was never meant to further anyone's resume. There was a time not too long ago when there were just a few "maladjusted geeks" (Yvon C.) out there who climbed and they all knew and respected one another. Although there was a little sand-bagging going on, they all pretty much understood what the others were up to and everyone still considered the ethics of what they were doing. This was before the French techniques and 'Bousche' drills came to replace American climbing ethics. Dennis

Maybe it all boils down to demographics. There are more apprentices now than there are experienced mentors, so they're self-learning through cram courses, guides, videos, etc. Instead of undergoing an apprenticeship in which they are gradually introduced to the "sharp end" and instilled with some of the basics of judgement/psycholgy needed to bail themselves out of the inevitable prediciments (adventures) that we get ourselves into up there, they are left to their own limited experience to sort things out. Or not. Dennis

RedMonk, What kind of language is that? I bet your mother would be real proud. If you aren't experienced enough to surmise that my post wasn't about roping on potentially crevassed gracier, but was about the use of a rope to possibly cause the needless death of others, then I'm sorry. You climb your way and I'll climb my way, and maybe we'll find out if Darwin was right after all. Dennis

RedMonk, What kind of language is that? I bet your mother would be real proud. If you aren't experienced enough to surmise that my post wasn't about roping on potentially crevassed gracier, but was about the use of a rope to possibly cause the needless death of others, then I'm sorry. You climb your way and I'll climb my way, and maybe we'll find out if Darwin was right after all. Dennis

O.K., I'm getting a little defensive here. I never said that climbing can be done without risks. That's just the nature of the sport. But we can make a deliberate decision to not exceed the bounderies of our abilities and to arrive back down in the valley intact. Don Willians, a friend of Joe Brown, both of which are probably unknown to most of the Gen-X crowd once said, "The mountains will always be here tomorrow. Your job is to make sure that you will be too." Stop dying up there. You're contaminating my water source. Dennis

I am interested in establishing a free mountain rescue service with helicopter extraction for people with cellular telephones who cannot walk back down the mountain on their own, or require emergent evacuation in order to get to work on time on Monday morning. Please let me know if you ever need my help in any way. Dennis