catbirdseat

I think I was cheating on Slim and Curvy by using stemming across to the Wide and Curvy side, but I had to because I'm not really a 5.10b climber.

"Sex Party (5.10), but actually 5.9" agree "Air Guitarist (5.10), actually 5.9-" agree "Tangle up in Blue (5.9), actually 5.8" disagree Which is harder, "Pony Keg, or Celesial Groove, 5.9?" Definitely Celestial Groove. I think Celestial Groove should be 5.10a/b, just because of the start, then it settles down to 5.9. Pony Keg is quite straight forward.

No Easter Basket for you, Mr. Alpinfox!

Exactly what are the wishes of this poor woman? It is presumed that her husband will act in her best interest. It is for him to decide.

Climb: Vantage - Middle East Wall (Middle Section)-Sex Party, 272, Thin and Curvy, Thereseas Lingerie Date of Climb: 3/20/2005 Trip Report: Left Seattle with Martin_Cash at 6:30 am in rain and arrived at the Coulee in cloudy but dry conditions. Recent rain made the trails muddy and slippery. I fell and injured my hand before we even got on a route. Climbed all morning at Middle East Wall, my first time there, without seeing another party. Conditions were cool but windless- perfect for climbing. Rain held off all day. Had a very enjoyable day. Around 2 pm we started seeing some refugees from Leavenworth, where it was very damp. Of course, the first thing they did was complain about the "chossy rock". Gear Notes: Medium to Large nuts, an occasional medium hex, Friends from 1" to 3", an occasional larger Zero Cam.

One reason why ratings may seem soft at Vantage is that so many climbs feature stemming moves, which for some people, especially tall people, make the climbs easier. In other words, the ratings at Vantage are more subjective than at Leavenworth. The other thing is that many climbs are rated assuming that they are led in a certain way, for example, an adjacent crack might be off limits because it would make a given climb a lot easier if you use it. Yoder's guide usually tells you what the bounds are, but not always.

If you are autolocking with two ropes when you must attach the device to the anchor with two carabiners so it hangs square. That's a total of three carabiners: two between anchor and device and one below the device and around which the rope passes.

Of course the belayer can always make himself fast to the anchor, sit on a pack and belay from his harness if he wishes. The munter on the anchor allows one to belay standing up, warm and dry.

Whatever. Many can be approached from either side. Consistency is the most important thing in my humble opinion.

No worries as long as you don't slide into that one crevasse, or more properly, bergschrund.

Parents think they are doing the right thing by allowing their prodigy children tear through the equivalent of years of education in a short period of time. It seems to me that they should be held back and allowed to be kids. They should travel and meet people and try to let their social skills and bodies catch up with their minds. That story just struck me as being incredibly sad.

Read this story , then say the words, "guns don't kill people, people do". Does it make you feel better?

Brevity is the soul of wit.

I hope you haven't given up on completing your education.

I don't feel any of us have been given a true picture of what Ms. Schiavo's true condition is. I certainly don't know what to believe. If she is in a "persistent vegitative state" it is not possible for her to be sitting up and talking in a video. The doctors never said that she was "brain dead", which means a total lack of brain wave activity. No one can really know what is going in inside her head. She could be cognizant of what is going on around her, but be utterly unable to make her body do anything. Man if that was me, I'd want to be dead in the worst way. So is this an assisted suicide or a mercy killing? I wouldn't want to be in her husband's shoes for anything. I can't judge the man, because I can't imagine what it would be like to be him. I think that the courts did the right thing in letting him be the one do decide. No one else should have that right.

I hope, for her sake, that it was a photoshop job and not a surgical "enhancement".

REI relies on it's climbers cachet to get non-climbers in the door to bask in the aura of adventure. City folk who don't enjoy outdoor activities still like to project that image to their urban friends. The store needs to maintain some degree of support for climbers or they risk losing the only thing that distinguishes it from other retailers. It's like a balancing act. You definitely make more money from the non climbing goods, but you have to keep that image to get people in the store. I feel that at the moment, the balance is tipped too far away from climbing for it to sustain its hip image, long term. So far, though, everything is just swell with the balance SHEET, apparently.

That is probably true. You dilute yourself quite effectively, so to speak.

You forgot to mention OUR own good.

There were a trio who did Dark Rhythm last Sunday. They filed a report. Bring your mountain bikes.

I've used the B-52 with two ropes and non-identical biners, a locking Jake and a non-locking positron-type. It causes a slight tilt to the device which, while not ideal, is still functional. Two identical non-locking biners, opposite, AND opposed should work fine, and be perfectly safe. My guess is that ovals would be best, or at least cleanest-looking.

I liked this post: "Earlier this year she won the difficulty part of the Petzl Roc Trip in Millau, France by sending a 14a on 2nd try that France's best female climbers, 20 and 30 years her junior, failed to top out on. She was breast feeding her infant son between redpoint attempts." New relaxation technique.

Nope, the rope pulls through the belay device. This is not really any different than the classic Z-Pulley when you think about it.

I think that horn is off the "normal" route. I remember traversing below and to the left.

This rendering shows a three to one hauling system for raising a climber who is perhaps injured or unable to make the moves? I rather like it. A good one to file away in the old bag of tricks.