Billygoat

Hey Griz, I know you mean well and hopefully we'll hook up one of these times I am in Colorado, but when I lived in Colorado, I used to discount crevasses as minor obstacles. When I moved out here to the PNW and really started to experience them, well, I am thoroughly impressed and have a healthy fear of them, to the core of my being. DID you see the one he fell into and how the hole was in the very MIDDLE of a roof! Simon would not have be able to get anywhere near the edge w/o a rope and an anchor. As far as rescue, I don't think that the Peruvian government, in the 1980's, was set up for the "Rescues" we all take for granted now that everyone is paying climbing fees. They were on their own. Shredding the tent and lowering it in one long strip to hoist up Joe's end of the rope is thinking outside the box tho...Maybe I will go climbing with you after all. BTW thanks for the Garden of the Gods Beta, we had a blast!

He is basically dissin' "rich" (I don't know how well off Simon and Joe are or were)English guys with that sentence. As for the rest of the review, maybe he just had a bad case of gas...

Ask Joe Simpson about sudden de-cellerization injuries, i.e. striking objects on rapid descent. I intend on using this in less than vertical terrain... for now

AHHH, hhhhmmmmmm good.

I have mostly top rope soloed with a Rocker. I only once lead by anchoring the bottom but only for very short lengths of rope cause I was too unsure to run it out. Matt's advice resonates soundly: Think it through, keep it simple, have a clear head, make it your own.

yeah guys thanks! The munter is totally baked and if you look above, I corrected myself right after I posted it . Just had too much wine with dinner and didn't think before I typed Great response! Cheers

Yeah Will, I love that rack. Definitely affordable! I wonder how much those wood wedges could hold if welded in there?! So E, how do the loops hold and shorten your fall and yet be easily paid out with one hand? I am having trouble visualizing this. Thanks

Thanks much Matt One question: How does tying into each piece, rather than just running the rope thru, reduce your exposure to system failure? Unless you mean the bottom anchor failing.

Ooops, bag the munter, the ropes have to go in the same direction to apply friction. How did you have the back up loops tied in? So the clove is loose to feed rope but will tighten when loaded, right. How hard is it to feed?

Thanks MF! I was wondering whether a clove hitch could take the strain of a fall. Have you actually fallen on this? Hard? Do you think a munter would work as well?

So, in Alpinist 5 it is discussed that Renato Casarotto, in the early '70s, "...put together a rudimentary self-belaying system that was laborious in the maneuvers, but it worked." Can anyone speculate on what that might have looked like? How does one self-belay on lead w/o a Soloist device or death modified Gri-Gri?

AHH right. Well, should he have tried harder then? Kinda risky creepin' up to the edge of crevasses. As best as I could imagine, I think that I would be too wigged to do it and what could I do if I did locate him? I wonder why he got so much shit from the climbing "establishment" when they returned, like it siad during the credits?

Can anybody confirm that rating on " The Battle of Lexington and Concord"? Sounds like a blast!

Most definitely! He failed Joe there. But he was pretty far gone himself so...I can't judge too harshly. What would you have done?

Yes

Hey legs, my point about his point is "given the state of the world" why should he give a fuck about the situation they are in. It is hard for the non-climber to sypathize. They accepted the risk and exposed themselves because it made them feel "Alive". He's not looking down. He decided early on not to take the "higher moral ground" position. He merely does not get it and why should he. Most (and I mean like the vast majority of humanity) people see climbing as an unnecessary exposure to risk in a world fraught with danger, unless you put it in a context they can relate to (heroic, romantic...) Mudede couldn't see past the utter senselessness of it given the lens he was viewing the film through. In that sense the Film fails. But I loved it. So in that sense, the film succeeded.

I did. You miss the point: He is saying that he did not want to criticize the film based on socio economic, political, and moral grounds. e.g. if you are so bored and seek a life on the edge, why not try putting your talents towards delivering food to people in war torn Africa. Plenty of risk and adrenaline there! He's just saying it was hard to identify and feel for the characters. Which is what most of us hear from our friends and family who don't understand our climbing. Our words of explanation don't ring true to them. The review is a good insight for me as to how I am viewed by others.

Try www.thestranger.com

Yeah so I won't describe the scene where Simon tries to use nitro to get Joe out and then has to shoot some Shining Path terrorists with his bolt gun... Then Tommy Caldwell and Beth Rodden rap over the ridge with the Ak-47s they took from the guys they pushed over the cliff and take out the guerrillas..

HAHAHAHA The movie was great of course! I enjoyed it thoroughly. Cheers to all involved I also quite enjoyed Charles Mudede's review of it (pan I should say). Very funny I hear where he is coming from. I know my own motivations for climbing and back country skiing but this writer brilliantly exposes why most other people do not understand. I thought it was well "leveled" and full of restraint. The last line is total crap tho...

People who come from strong tribal families tend to be more normal in their respective societies. Social darwinism and conspicuous consumption have created a generation of demoralized people. Couple that with the fact nobody trusts the government if their guy ain't heading it up and we crumble. Marriage is a legal arrangement (both secular and in the eyes of your diety of choice). Love and committment are personal. What Bush is thinking, promoting "marriage" is most likely "which side are you on boys, which side are you on?"

You too Bug Why give up on any of those things?

Hey Chris, can't quite make out what you are saying there.

Thanks much BT98 BG

Friggin' in the Riggin'