cracked

So to Sierratradingpost.com. They have the Drytool for $30 and the 2001 Ice glove for $75. I'm kicking myself that I bought the drytool at full retail. Arrrgh!

My 02 cents: Ice: 1. Climb something with a name and a grade. 2. Improve. 3. Gain enough confidence to lead easy stuff. Rock: 1. Lead 5.11 trad. 2. Finally do Chain Reaction 3. Do a long classic in the mtns. Stuart N. Ridge comes to mind. Alpine: 1. Baker N. Ridge 2. Jefferson Park Glacier, Mt. Jefferson 3. Girth Pillar (Kidding! Not this year. Sometime in the future).

Wait, I've almost got it....AHA! That works out to about half a pitch per hour of driving. Just kidding. Good for you. I hope to get up there soon.

Did you say courage or stupidity? Anyways, what book are you talking about?

Trask, contrary to popular belief, climbing while intoxicated is not advised. Jack Daniels might help keep you from getting bored on the approach. And I imagine that a good WI5 pitch at altitude helps dispell any hungover hangovers.

I'm underage. What's a good book? I'm sick of Kiss or Kill.

Hey jja, I really do feel bad about it. What were the others' excuses? Sounds like conditions will be bad anyways.

The blind leading the blind, huh? True, maybe only the really COOL people have nothing to do on a Friday night.

I wanna go to Lilloet when it gets cold (next year). I'm going to Snoqualmie Sunday to get rained on and climb some Slurpee.

That only total losers such as myself are on this board on a Friday night. Discuss.

Good point. I agree. They suck. Use BD wiregates. Rack your nuts oops, stoppers, on BD whatchamacallits, the keylock thingies. They come in different colors, so you can color-code your stoppers. Use lightweight real wiregates for everything else.

Oh, and anybody here have an opinion about the overbolted slag-heap with the million trails and contrived, WAY overgraded bolt-gridded routes at the used-to-be-nice slab area called Flagstone, OR?

Dwayner, just curious, why do you think that sport climbing sucks?

There is one spot where I use some big sloping edges to go left. But that is pretty easy. I think at the 4th or 5th bolt you can get a good layback, get your right foot up WAY high, rock over, and span about four feet in one not-unrealistic move. It's a nice route however you do it.

Zebra Seam isn't bad. Of course, I get to the last bolt, grab the sidepull-bucket on the right side of the crack, and then do an easy iron-cross into the buckets on the left. It is a long stretch, but my plus 4 inch ape index definitely helps. Where did this hold come off?

GregW and Caveman, why not a .357 or .44 magnum? With a heavy bullet they can kill a grizzly, moose, etc, if I remember correctly. Sure, the recoil might be a deterrent, but as long as you're talking about max power and range.....

Oh, wait, it's changed again. Is that a self-portrait, Trask?

So violent Trask. Your avatar suggests that in reality you are soft and cuddly. No wonder Minx sticks around.

Minx, you sound like Muffy. Ahhh, I get it: Muffy=Minx! That would clear up much of my confusion.

Thanks all, I've got plans now.

Note that the illustration is exaggerating the merits of sport climbing to give sophisticated sprot climberrrrs a chance to chuckle. So aid climbers don't use cheater sticks, trad climbers don't consume eatables, alpine climbers never wear puffy jackets when it's cold out, and people who need a rescue never use cell phones? God, Tammi Knight needs to write some cartoons about this site. "Like shooting fish in a barrel".

DFA's standards are falling. He is becoming boring. How sad! I could say "get your grid-bolting, gloves-on while belaying to keep your hands clean, pansy wanker ass back to smithrock.com where you belong" but I won't. Let's just say you don't want to be like Trask, DFA.

I've read some reviews in old catalogs and magazines, and they seem to be a good beginner/alpine tool. Depends on how much ice you will climb, and how steep that same ice will be. In my book, new tools for $85 each is a good deal. If you like Grivel, you might be able to find Rambo IIs or Geronimos for $100 or so.

Second John Waterman, John Long, Tobin Sorenson, Walt Shipley, Walter Bonatti, Twight and the infamous trio (House, Backes) of course, Seb Grieve (remember Hard Grit?), Andy Kirkpatrick, and the list goes on....

Has anybody tried the Hyper Harpoons? The look good, and the price is right! I can't find anybody in the Seattle area who carries them, though.