catbirdseat

My only bad experience at FF was the time I put a $10 deposit on an Avy Transceiver that I wanted to rent later. I came in to pick it up at the agreed upon time and they had rented it out to someone else. I had to go out and buy one at the last minute. I did not soon forget that experience. All the other times I've visited I've received good and friendly service. Tod was very helpful when I had questions about resoling rock shoes.

Quick. We need someone to Photoshop a hooded robe onto Ashcroft! It's not just a passing resemblance.

Mercy, you have cut me to the quick.

If you want to see something really frightening you should check out www.womenwholooklikekennyrogers.com.

You got that right. The US is a gerontocracy.

Forgive a naive question, but what is the function of the nose on the biner? I presume it is to reduce the chance that the gate will be opened by pressing against the rock?

I didn't mean it to be bitchy. Let me rephrase my question. Is there anywhere that is not acceptable to take beginners? Dru, there are definitely people out there with natural athletic ability who can get up 5.10 on their first try. More power to them. I just get the impression that some guys get an ego boost by telling their friends how hard their beginner was able to climb.

What is my attitude? I didn't bitch or complain to anyone. We got along great with all the other climbers there and everyone had a great time. Rather than wait in line and stew, we just moved on to a different climb that was open. No problem. Saber is a route that you would expect to find first time climbers on. Anyone who would bitch about a slow party on that one needs an attitude adjustment.

I never noticed any poison ivy. If it was there I would have broken out in a rash by now.

I think it was Mark Twain who popularized it, but it's been around a very long time.

I mentioned this in a thread on the Pearly Gates in the Rock Climbing forum, but I thought it might make a topic for discussion. At PG, we met more than one party with beginners. One guy had a fellow on a 5.8 slab route on is very first day climbing. I asked, "is he a gym climber?", and was told, no, it was his first day ever. The reason I asked was that they guy had left all the draws on the bolts. We asked if we could climb the route and the guy was cool. My partner clipped his draws and then I cleaned them and returned them after we rapped off. On another occasion we watched another climber following on a 5.8 trad route and again she left all the gear in place so that no one could get on the route. I would never clip someone else's trad gear, obviously, so we waited until they could rap down and clean it. So I'm wondering if it is really all that wise, not to mention ethical to take rank beginners to a place that doesn't even have any climbs below 5.7 and where the routes are long enough that communication can be an issue and where you can't always see your partner? If it were me, I'd take a beginner to one of the roadside crags first and teach him/her to clean first.

What are you waiting for? Come to Pub Club. You can meet other climbers and you can pump them for information. You can ask them to suggest people they know who might be willing to take a beginner under his/her wing.

I suggest doing Baker first. It is a fun climb with a lot of the same glacial features of Rainier on a smaller scale. You can dial in all the skills you will need on Rainier.

I wish I had known about this route. I might have tried it, as it was crowded up there on Saturday. There were a bunch of newbies in tow. Several times, I saw climbers leaving gear on routes instead of cleaning them. The leader would clean on rappel because the second didn't know how to clean gear. It would tie up the route for an extra 15 minutes, which isn't a lot, but when it is that crowded it makes a difference. I led Celestial Groove, 5.9, which for someone like me (just getting into 5.9s) was a real trip. Damn, that start is hard! I wasn't all that thrilled about having to rely totally on an Orange Alien for the first 15 ft. It was windy that day and it was difficult to hear. My partner and I had a miscommunication and he started climbing before he was on belay. He fell trying to get my Alien out and hit the ground, slightly injuring his ankle. The fact that he sucked it up and cleaned the route shows what a great partner he is. Someone ought to bring a Pulaski and dig out that stump that lies right in the landing zone.

From the King5 TV Website (www.king5.com):

Squire Creek wall wins for total area, but how do all these areas compare in terms of elevation?

Not to mention the fact that if the end links wear, you are there to replace them.

Yes, you missed it.

They buried him again on the mountain, perhaps to turn up again in another 32 years.

cj001f and Fairweather. Where one is found the other cannot be far away.

Cherries, cherries, and more cherries. Fingers stained with cherry juice, tee shirt stained too. Cherry pie, cherry cobbler, cherry jam...

I love surfing down huge waves with the spinnaker straining to pull the mast out of her. Rail in the water going like hell. That's living! Put you goddam best helmsman behind the wheel and everybody hold on for dear life. Keep the F'ing spinnaker pole from rolling into the water, if you please. "Hey Ralph, still feeling seasick? How about some nice cold, greasy porkchops". "Arrrraagggghhhhh!!!!"

Just watch where you step.