rockguy

I took the Mountaineers' Basic Climbing course many years ago--it was, for the most part, horrible (and put on by some of the most dysfunctional people I've ever met). There are probably Mountaineers out there who are nice and who can actually climb (that being said, I've yet to run into any). I've been climbing for 17 years and, during these 17 years, I've had the displeasure of running into the Mountaineers many times in the hills. Almost without exception, the Mountie groups I have run into have epitomized the term "shit-show." Most Mounties don't have a clue what they're doing (and most Mountie leaders should NOT be leading anyone; the fact is, most Mountaineers are woefully unqualified to teach anyone how to climb). Incidentally, of the handful of Mountie "leaders" who instructed me, three ended up in accidents that were highlighted in Accidents in North American Mountaineering, and two of those leaders were later killed in the hills. I have a profound dislike of the Mountaineers; I recommend staying far, far away from this dangerous group.

If you end up doing the Burgner-Stanley, and you find a red C4, please let me know--I'll provide a small reward.

I've climb SST solo car to car in under 5.5 hours--quite doable.

They're called mochi.Japanese food is the best. And good for ya'. Nope. Mochi is the frozen pseudo-ice cream thing. Very high in calories. Nope. Mochi is simply glutinous rice (mochigome) that's been pounded or otherwise processed into a paste like consistency. It’s eaten in a variety or ways and in combination with a variety of foods (e.g., ice cream), but it is not ice cream, pseudo or otherwise. FYI.

They're called mochi.Japanese food is the best. And good for ya'. Mochi is not bread--you're thinking of manju, or maybe daifuku. What she likely ate was anpan. FYI.

Define “experienced.” I personally know Mounties who have been climbing 10+ years (and apparently are thus “experienced”) who I’d never ever share a rope with; they’re only still alive because they’ve been lucky. dude...i agree with most of your points but you are getting out of line on this post...back the hell off... Sorry, just a lot of bad Mountie memories; I’ve just had to rescue too many of them who were “experienced.” Have I had to rescue other climbers as well? Sure. But I’ve rescued far more Mounties than non-Mounties. In my opinion they’re a very dangerous, careless organization. There’s a lot of nice people in the Mountaineers, but being “nice” does not necessarily qualify you to be a climber or to lead people climbing. All right, I'll back off.

Yo dickhead, where in my response did I ever proclaim to be a stud? And as far as “designated” newbie climbs go…Exit 38? Exit 32 perhaps? No need to dumb down and deface easy climbs (or any climb for that matter) like YJT with “chicken” bolts. And as for this quote: I call bullshit. First of all, there is a big fucking difference between climb leaders and TAs. A TA’s failure of explanation/supervision results, generally, in less than the loss of his students’ lives. I was on a Mounties climb once where the “leader” placed no less than 20 pieces of protection on the second pitch of Ingalls Peak—took him over an hour to finish the pitch. The “experienced” leader of the group was already on top of the peak—how do you figure that Mr. “experienced” leader was supervising this poor excuse for a climber? This memory still pisses me off today as my wife was the basic student at the end of this “leaders” rope. As a basic student, you sign up for Mountaineers’ climbs believing you’re sharing a rope with a seasoned climber who has the wisdom and experience to keep you safe—many times nothing could be further from the truth. And please don’t start spraying again about what I stud I think I am; I don’t think less of the leader on Ingalls peak because he wasn’t yet a good climber, I’m just pissed that the Mountaineers dubbed him a “leader” when obviously he was not. I commend folks on their drives to become better climbers, but the time to hone those skills is not when my wife’s life is in your hands! maybe you should have done a little "due diligence" in advance of the climb and asked about the climb leaders - what their prior experience is and their reputation.

Define “experienced.” I personally know Mounties who have been climbing 10+ years (and apparently are thus “experienced”) who I’d never ever share a rope with; they’re only still alive because they’ve been lucky.

Yo dickhead, where in my response did I ever proclaim to be a stud? And as far as “designated” newbie climbs go…Exit 38? Exit 32 perhaps? No need to dumb down and deface easy climbs (or any climb for that matter) like YJT with “chicken” bolts. And as for this quote: I call bullshit. First of all, there is a big fucking difference between climb leaders and TAs. A TA’s failure of explanation/supervision results, generally, in less than the loss of his students’ lives. I was on a Mounties climb once where the “leader” placed no less than 20 pieces of protection on the second pitch of Ingalls Peak—took him over an hour to finish the pitch. The “experienced” leader of the group was already on top of the peak—how do you figure that Mr. “experienced” leader was supervising this poor excuse for a climber? This memory still pisses me off today as my wife was the basic student at the end of this “leaders” rope. As a basic student, you sign up for Mountaineers’ climbs believing you’re sharing a rope with a seasoned climber who has the wisdom and experience to keep you safe—many times nothing could be further from the truth. And please don’t start spraying again about what I stud I think I am; I don’t think less of the leader on Ingalls peak because he wasn’t yet a good climber, I’m just pissed that the Mountaineers dubbed him a “leader” when obviously he was not. I commend folks on their drives to become better climbers, but the time to hone those skills is not when my wife’s life is in your hands!

Yeah, they're doing something right--guess that's why both my mentors from when I was a member are dead now. This organization is dangerous--for the love of god stay away.

Holy fucking shit--you've got to be kidding! There’s nothing notorious or difficult about protecting Yellow Jacket tower’s final pitch. The idea of putting in a bolt to protect the final move is ridiculous! If a climber is unable to adequately protect YJT’s final 5.4 pitch then they are in over their head and should not be leading in the first place. I’ll tell you right now, if I EVER hear of a bolt place on that pitch, I’ll run up there an chop that fucking bolt so fast it’ll make your head spin. What a poor precedent placing such a bolt would create. The thought of bolting a readily protectable 5.4 (5.4!!!) move, just because an inordinate number of newbies piss themselves there, makes me want to hurl. The most difficult part of this climb is trying to find the approach trail near the Rat Creek Boulder. The reason why people frequently get hurt on YJT is because it’s accosted each year by a bunch of idiot Mountaineer (I know, I know, not all Mountaineers are idiots, true, but most that I’ve met are) newbie leaders who fancy themselves “prepared” to take on such climbing endeavors because they’ve completed the Mountaineers “basic rock leader” requirements. These newbie basic rock leaders (many of whom do not have enough climbs under their belts to be imparted with adequate climbing wisdom), get together a group of basic students (folks, many of whom, have never climbed anything), and try to knock off a climb that, given its easy 5.4 rating, they assume will be a walk in the park. This is a recipe for disaster; a bunch of bumbling goofs, half of whom have something to prove, running around YJT posturing. YJT’s easy 5.4 rating coupled with the fact that it’s an approved “basic climb” by the Mountaineers unfortunately seduces many to underestimate the climb. Again, it’s not difficult, but to the inexperienced, it’s not just another 5.4 climb at Exit 38.

Two - 00 (gray) Two - 0 (purple) Two - 1 (blue) Two - 2 (yellow) One - 3 (orange) One - 4 (red) Most cams only about 1 year old. Not interested in selling pieces separately. $400 obo

Er, good on ya, but I serioulsy doubt if your ascent was the first--nevertheless, nice job.

Sterling Marathon Half 8.8 60M Dry Green Retails for $170. Yours for $140. Sterling Marathon Half 8.8 60M Dry Yellow Retails for $170. Yours for $140. Sterling Evolution Velocity 9.8 70M Dry, Bi-Color Retails for $225. Yours for $180. Never been used--new in the bag--recent lot numbers; I just have too many ropes and need to cut down my inventory a bit.