billcoe

I like it. Thanks for sharing it -we all appreciate it. Check this crazy thing out. Been using Acme mapper for a few years and it's awesome. Spend 5 min with it. Look at the satellite picture (upper R hand corner), mark the cliff (lower R hand corner, switch to topo and look at the approach. Cope paste co-ordinates and send them to your buddies. Crazy fun. http://mapper.acme.com/

I had the same thing and it was disturbing enough that I went to the Dr.. I normally don't go there unless I have a bone sticking out of my body or I need more than 2 stitches. Dr looks at it, asks if it was in the joint.. it was close so I pointed to the location. He says "Arthritis". Another over 50 and former Concrete construction foreman here and have done a bit of other manual labor, but have been working in an office for over 18 years....so climbing and a few rental homes have been it.... I'm all like,..."shit"....Doc says that if it is very bothersome they can hit it with a cortizone shot which can give temporary relief etc etc ...BUZZZ! uhhh, "no" I reply. I knew I had arthritis from the noticeable lumps in my finger joints and they give me trouble when climbing but generally they don't hurt that bad. However, the thumb is constant and hurts worse so we discuss my concern that it might be cancer and he xrays it anyway to make me quit whining. Nothing in the xray looks like cancer when it is checked later. Dr says to use large grip things. I search the net. The Mayo clinic, home all the scientific method and all good knowledge is all blah blah blah trying to cover up their stupidity and ignorance buy explaining WHAT is it when they don't have a clue as to the WHY it is but if you search around in disbelieving astonishment about this the site pretty much says there isn't shit you can do about it short of using big handled forks spoons and devices for old arthritic folks. From my take on it, they don't have a fucking clue or know what causes this common malady. Maybe they do and they don't want to publish it. See for yourself. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/rheumatoid-arthritis/DS00020 Here's where it gets real interesting. I'm seeing John Friehs recommendation to check out the zone diet and Johns a smart square up fella so I do. At this point I'm only thinking of shrinking the man boobs so my wife quits makin' fun of me when I peel the shirt off...I know I'll never get another invitation to be a nude dancer like when I was young, but no reason to look disgusting. Right? Maybe I'll be able to pull a couple grades harder too. Dude in the book has it down and goes on about how eating incorrectly causes inflammation and food is like the most powerful medicine and if you screw the pooch you'll get diabetes blah blah and so I read teh whole book and try it out. John nailed the advice. I drop 20 lbs in a short time frame by eating correctly without even trying (all the time putting on muscle while working out), this is something I'd never been able to do all my life. Christmas comes along with family and friends and between that the the wife bitching on the grease in the fan from the olive oil smoke cooking off the stir fry, I stop the zone. When I go back to work, having forgotten about the zone. Simultaneously to assuage the am hunger I start swinging into either a Mcdonalds OR a Burger King on the way to work and having a Breakfast sandwich nosh to take care of the cravings for food that I didn't have during the zone eating pattern. That's when the pain in my lower thumb comes back. Until then I'd never noticed that the pain was gone! I only ate the fast food breakfasts for 1 week, didn't overeat them, and so I immediately stopped. Pain went away with in days. Days. Hope you followed that sequence. It was diet that brought it to me (unknowingly) and diet that made it go away (again unknowingly) and diet that brought it back (still unknowingly and how friggan clueless is that!?) and when I stopped with the breakfast crap (I do oatmeal now) it went away and I finally saw what had occurred and figured out the rest. That's all I know. I'm sitting here eating a pizza my wife cooked, thinking I need to re-check out the zone diet. So the summation is this. 1st) get yer ass to a Dr.. Have her confirm the internet diagnosis and assumptions of people who have to abbreviate Dr. as they are too stupid to spell it out and furthermore have never even met you. Would you not feel dumb if you later found out it wasn't in your joint at all and that YOU really had cancer? If it's not cancer the Doc says the A word, do some internet research about Arthritis. Share what you learn here. I really don't know shit about it. Which is, as it turns out, more than the most vaunted scientific medical group in the world is willing to admit. I know more than they do apparently. Then look at your diet and experiment with changing it. Maybe start with the zone as it worked for me. If you don't get results, try something else. Good luck!

You don't mention your skill level.......hard to say what's best for you without knowing. Later this summer you say? hmmmm. Some general ideas. The more mileage you can get the better. (So although Squamish is awesome, it's a long way away and often wet too - thus infrequent). It's better if you are following an expert and getting in a lot of different cracks. It will shorten up your learning curve to be both watching the holds and moments, and then being forced to stop and pull the leaders pro out at the same spot where he/she chose to stop and place it. Certainly Beacon has the best cracks near PDX, but maybe not all too crack-beginner friendly. There are some great topropeable cracks at the Butte and Broughtons bluff where you can get real worked in a short time period in the longer summer days, say, after work. Trout Creek has lots of cracks too, but even the easiest kick ass, and they are talking about a seasonal closing for Eagles soon, if it isn't already shut. Beacon has a similar issue. That leaves Smith for right now till later in the summer, some good advise above. Get the new Watts book and find the cracks in it. Do NOT push your grades when you start. If you can climb 5.10C bolted routes maybe you start with a 5.8 crack limit or do the 5.6 first. Easy well protected things like Cinnamon Slab and Super Slab. You'll get use to it soon. Knowing the route is important too in some locations. Some crack routes are better than others for safety. For instance, there was someone who slipped and got hurt on the start of Moonshine dihedral, an otherwise great and benine 5.9 as it is a hard start and they slipped on it. Whereas Kunza Corner, at 10c, has an easier start and a real high crux, fantastic pro all the way: impossible to get seriously hurt. *BAD HABIT ALERT* People who clip bolts get use to just letting go and relaxing onto their pro wherever they happen to be. That's a good thing for pushing your grades and getting better but it's a habit that translates poorly and has killed many climbers getting into gear climbing. The mind set for cracks should be DO NOT fall unless you are damned sure your pro will hold. Learn to downclimb too. If you find yourself further above your gear than you want and it's difficult climbing above: try downclimbing, then backing up your pro before you fall or trust anything. If you look up and see difficult crack, having 2 or even 3 bomber pieces in will help settle your mind and a relaxed yet well protected climber has a better shot of both sending and surviving should you peel:-) I've blown air into bodies and pumped chests before due to the leader letting go thinking they had good gear (one guy had dogged on 2 lower pieces which had held short falls which quickly ripped out with some others the final and longer fall from higher up), then the gear rips out when they jump off. It's damned needless and disturbing. Experts will often put in pieces 3-5 feet away on hard cracks anticipating that they will fall, and they want them to hold. When we see some one like Dean Potter taking a 30-40 footer on Tombstone crack, I can damned near assure you that he had done that crack many times before and perhaps taken many short falls previous to that Utube clip. Then as time went on, he started eliminating pro so as to reserve his strength. Dude knew exactly where he was and what was needed and what the results of a fall would be. Watch how he works his feet. Had it memorized. Experts will usually collect all the info they can in advance if they are unsure of what they will be facing. Don't be afraid to do the same and ask around. Even a well written guidebook is only true for a single point in time. Routes can change, ask. (ie, "have you done A,B or C climb?, whats the pro? Whats the strategy? Are there rests? Ledges or bad falls?") Even an incorrect gear sequence or your belayer can screw you over. IE, its common in bolted climbing for the belayer to step back. it make for a more gentle catch and is easier to keep an eye on the climber while still being safe. That's a no no on gear only routes unless you have a leader clued into the outward pulling and how the gear relates to it. Putting in a string of nuts then a cam might potentially be fatal in a crack where on the same climb a cam or 2 first then all nuts the rest of the way might be 100% bomber. Or not, it's climb dependent. Aid climbing cracks (west face/east face of Monkey for instance) will help get you tuned into the gear thing too. Try to find a mentor who has skill. Assuming you can get up 5.9 pretty well, a good one later would be to grab your gear and head out to Beacon. Try to find Jimmy O for a trip up the SE Corner route. It's a short 5.7 crux with lot of great climbing in it's 600' or so length. That will blow yer dress up for sure, and may be the safest way to get the fire lit and the comfort level to rise, and Jim is a fantastic person who also happens to like turning strangers onto the corner route. (I don't, as I'm too selfish). Lastly, if it's a learning thing or catching up with some experienced mentors, {again, you don't say where you are in this game), check out the Mazamas. Lots of safe solid climbers and great classes. I saw Lee Davies posted to the Sisters TR thread in the Oregon section: maybe he'll check in. Good luck!

That was a great plan hiring a guide. You don't say what gear you own or skills you have, but a potentially good followup climb to evaluate, now that you know the way down the south side heh heh, is to climb the Cooper Spur route on Hood's NE side. It's steeper and more sustained but much, much more fun. Take 3 days. (seriously) Day 1, hike up to tie in rock with all your camping gear, maybe a couple of pickets (optional, I've never used them even guiding beginners on this route) and a credit card. Plop your ass down and set up camp at the 8500 foot level or so. It's obvious if it isn't whited out. Tie it all down solid, you saw the winds up there. Day 2, practice and refresh your self-arrest skills and boot axe belays. The slope is right there next to the tent and is steep enough for this. The route is real clear and obvious from here too. Have your buddy tie and drag yer ass down the slope while you dig in and stop him. Reverse it and you drag him. Practice, practice practice. This shit isn't innate, we all have to learn it and practice it. Get close and intimate with the snow and the conditions. You'll be tired, go to bed early. Stay hydrated. Day 3) "SUMMIT OR PLUMMET". Leave your excess crap right there in the am and climb. Remember that this route has a lot of accidents, usually on the descent. It can be done safety. You'll have a feel for what the snow is doing from the previous day. You can pick the time you want to wake up and fire it based on your earlier observations and your own conditioning and speed. People start up the S side at midnight....I think that's way too early. In June you'll see sun at @ 4:30am and the sun will normally warm the slope as the say progresses. If you are coming down and the snow has softened a lot, no worries, plunge your axe shaft deep into the snow and walk down backwards if you're scared or concerned. Freedom of the hills details this, called"Self-belay". It's damned effective. No reason to trip and slide over the N face cliffs below. If conditions change to total whiteout or shit and you are unsure, head down to Timberline for an evening of paradise. Then talk someone to driving you to your car after a great breakfast the next morning. You can do this route in a day if you are squeezed for good weather conditions. Also, if you are coming all the way out from Kansas, even if it's shit weather, you can still have a hell of an fun adventure just going up to tie in rock and camping. If the weather is worse than total crap, staying in the trees below would be safe and fun. Whereas if you are on Rainer and the weather goes bad, it can (will and has) knocked down Mount Everest 4 season tents and you can't even stand up in the wind. Some folks missing up there now under 4 feet of snow. Ranieer is a great mountain, but 2 steps up in seriousness. If you had a couple guys with skills and good gear, go there. You don't really say. Thanks for the great photos! ps, riding the snow cat to start your climb is no big deal and nothing to be ashamed of. I've ridden it when on rescues and it's fun as hell.

LOL, Welcome back E - and party on all! It will all work out without us getting all worked up. ps, the rest of the story is that the bolts are gone, get over it. David Lama, under a official and unanimous "Raindawg indictment" wherein David Lame-O was the golden shower award winner of the year 2010 for an earlier defilement of overbolting for cameras during a Red Bullshit commercial last year, stepped up and freed the compressor route AFTER the boyz had yoinked them out, thus allegedly negating the award and previous defilement. Must be a bad-ass convention down there or sumptin'. Boyz are gettin' it dun! NEXT topix.....speed climbers with dawgs....

First words today: http://steviehaston.blogspot.com/

TO GEOFFS HOUSE!

Maybe something like this? Hey Sobo, bow down to the Prince. Hey Prince, be careful, pick your day, path and time well and you'll be fine. Have fun!

LOL! Someone should have mentioned that to Newt a while back:-) Do you have a bike that would work on a gravel or dirt road Ben?

Lets all go over to Kennys, toss down some overly high alcohol content hoppy ipa shit and go fire up that opb comment thread with drunken verbal choss. LOL I added a comment. Sober:-(

Better late than never, add me to the list of well wishers. I hope you celebrated in typical Russian fashion!

Congratulations on the happy finish Scott. I saw it hit the front page of the outdoor section of the Sunday newpaper! Nice shot of the Mystic route too. I mentioned this to my business partner and received this in reply via email: Cracked me up, no disrespect meant Scott, congrats again!

http://www.gjsentinel.com/breaking/articles/nationally-known-ice-climber-dies/ Sad stuff, RIP. http://rockandice.com/news/1771-jack-roberts-killed-on-bridalveil-falls

People on this site seem to often confuse attacking another and calling them names intelligent. Yet it isn't. In fact, Kevin's posts are more challenging and interesting than yours on this thread. As you haven't exhibited any intelligence yourself why not just sit right there on the bench with the bone? Opps, nevermind: as Kevin has been significantly more interesting and intelligent than you, he'll be elsewhere. I'd stay in the middle if I were you, trust me on that.

Check out the Stinger Systems stuff: http://www.nationalhomelandsecurityknowledgebase.com/directories/Non_Lethal.html The government is a big market for shit to keep you in your place as they have unlimited money. One of the fastest growing industries we have I'd bet. They can and do just borrow more and will make you and your kids pay it back.

Paul spokesperson Of course, someone did. Kind of like the Gingrich ad attacking Romney. He chocked on the bullshit and they changed the ad to pull out the falsehoods. Politics. why is anyone surprised? Back to the original point: if you're not guilty of something then no true American would worry or be concerned over wearing a bracelet or dog collar that shocks them at random times. Some of these guys like g-spotter up there, would probably pay extra for that. ps, They won't be a viable company for long given the financials. Their balance sheet is "shocking" bone, "shocking".

http://www.assholeclimbers.com/ Funny and clever stuff. It gives all of us guys something to aspire to. Sample:

Jeffrey, what brand is the biner?

I was out Saturday through the gorge and the good looking ice that had started to form was melting. I was seeing 45 degrees on the road near multnohmah falls which was still staying iced on the sides. Mist had a large accumulation at the base that didn't seem to be going anyplace although a thin stream of water was still hitting the pile of ice below. Must have stayed warm Sunday, but it looks like the cold is back. What brought this on was looking at Tim's page with all the gorge cams in one location. It's is going to be a great resource and time saver. http://www.portlandrockclimbs.com/webcams-col-gorge Book mark it, good stuff. Screen shot, unable to get it all, the Cape horn cam isn't online right now.

They may have deleted it Mike. http://www.mountainproject.com/v/whos-the-man/107208258 This one may be a reference to the discourse on the first thread? http://www.mountainproject.com/v/best-thread-ever/107217372#a_107217978

Thanks for the link Slab master, good read. Meantime, the US has become the worlds largest consumer of wine. http://www.plushasia.com/article/15646 ...although if you take out Ivans personal contribution we're only #3.

Pink already led that Ivan and he named "bloody hemorrhoid"...but he didn't' tell anyone. So go ahead and climb it and then he'll speak up afterwards and tell you had he did it 20 years back and he doesn't like yer new name.

Ditto, thanks for posting them Alan. It's one of the side benefits of climbing with Jeff, he's got amazing and interesting stories like this all day long. All day! As the Mazama historian he keeps getting new material too. Jeff and I last Oct or so, Jeff doing the work on the FA of "It's all Good": photo Lostcam kenny.

Your post didn't say a single word about death threads. Re-read it yourself. You put the story into your post so I didn't click the link, just read the part of the story you put in your post. Not a word Drew, so stop being such a douche. You only put the "dozens of insulting e-mails every morning." and "I’ve gotten so many hate mail". Big fucking deal. Did someone even threaten to cap her ass on the Interglacier? No. I'd imagine we see worse insults, and more personal ones, here on spray on a daily basis. I know you are barely above a moron in reading comprehension and thought process so I will pitch this to you slowly. The original post is about a scientist who is getting hundreds of death threats a day for having the temerity to call herself a Christian while producing science that indicates that climate change is occurring. You post a link claiming that Ben Stein had a contract terminated for being a climate denier. Hence my question. Are these two things really equal to you? Are you really that dumb?

Interesting picture, thought you all would appreciate it.