tanstaafl

Hey I wanna go too. Exit 15 off I-90 and then look for the P&R? Do I need to bring ropes and rack or just harness/tools/poons?

And that was 25 years ago too! 30, actually. Published 1975. One of the interesting things is to look at the list of hot climbers of the day and see whose names you still know. The bio for one that I didn't know, Al McDonald, said he'd recently taken up whitewater kayaking, "so we don't expect him to be with us for very much longer." heh.

Downward Bound by Warren Harding. First edition no less. Likewise, [almost] afraid to read it; I'll definitely decrease its value by handling the thing. Contains the following quote: "When one considers the amount of time [Fred] Beckey spends driving to and from Seattle, talking on the telephone, and shitting, it seems more than likely that he has done virtually no climbing at all, despite the fact that he is reputed to be the oldest climber in the United States."

hee hee....I'd call it a full-on goatee, but I bow to your superior facial hair fashion sense.

Turns out my biggest accomplishment was climbing with Fern. Can I be a bigger idiot next year, please?? After a couple of good ice climbing trips early in the year, I didn’t get up a damn thing I meant to climb this summer. Failed on multiple routes in the North Cascades, due primarily to being a huge wimp. I did however settle unfinished business and got up Sun Ribbon Arete on Temple Crag. Also made it to the Bugaboos where I climbed about half as much as I'd hoped, and made my first trip to the Gunks as well, where my accomplishments included pulling on gear on 5.7 and hanging on 5.8+. Finally led 10d clean (not at the Gunks). That was nice.

Ummmm.....yeah. Off the top of my head: MLK Jr. Mahatma Gandhi Dr. Paul Brand C. Everett Koop Dali Lama Leo Tolstoy John Donne Henri Nouwen Mother Theresa Oscar Romero Dietrich Bonhoeffer Sargent Shriver Founders of: Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Northwest Medical Teams, Oxfam, etc. I know a number of local people of faith who are pretty active in attempting to better society as well.

This all reminds me of a conversation I had at a party in Jackson once. I was talking to this guy about skiing and climbing and so forth, a perfectly normal conversation, until suddenly he comes out with, "Yeah, I do pretty much everything there is to do in Jackson, and not to pat myself on the back, but I do it well." I had to make an exceedingly quick exit in order not to laugh right in his face. True or not, what a jackass thing to say.

Actually, Jay, most short guys, like most tall guys, want to date women shorter than themselves. Take a look at the personals sometime---you'll find a gazillion men in search of a "petite" woman and maybe one looking for a tall one. And that dude will be 6'5". Again, that's just the way it is. And sure, all other things being equal, tall is nice, but all other things are never equal, so I don't worry about it.

I'm 5'9", shortest guy I've dated was 5'6" (though I knew a 5'4" guy a couple of years ago who I would have dated in a second if he had showed any interest). At least one of the guys I dated had to point out that he was an inch shorter than me; I hadn't noticed.

I once had a two-year stetch of dating only men shorter than me--that's just how it worked out. Big deal. Does that mean I'm not shallow? I doubt it. Out of curiosity, any men here have ever dated a woman taller than they are?

I won't argue the social status point, but would point out that social status and financial status are not the same thing. Hence, essentially homeless dudes who climb super hard and ski patrollers who live in yurts on public land can get girlfriends. In other circles, being a pastor, a writer, or the lead singer in a garage band might confer social status, without conferring any wealth whatsoever.

That's 'cause your pumpkin is smokin' hot! PM/email me about the Pickets, I wanna hear it all.

You don't have to be a particularly good climber in order to inspire others. Some people are more inspired by non-superstars. I certainly never thought anyone would be inspired by my weekend-warrior-level climbing, but a couple of people have told me that they are. You never know the effect you might have on others.

I whined and snivelled on my leads. Fern was a rockstar. Dru, as noted, was paparazzo/human guidebook. It was a good time.

Good God man, if you don't like someone enough that you *want* to treat them well, why bother dating them in the first place?

Dude, anyone who can pull a Figure 4 on Grit Roof can climb Backbone no problem. Go get that sucker.

thanks Fern, that's good to know.

thanks; I'll harass Fern.

Dru, please elaborate on tree bivy option.

I was up there last year during the last week of June and the first week of July. Weather was astounding (only one rain day), and TAT flew us in and out no problem. There were a couple of days when no planes were flying, but that was because there was so much smoke from forest fires.

Not what I asked. I asked how you think they *should* treat our POWs.

I think we should treat them according to the Geneva Convention, to which the US is a signatory. How do you think they should treat *our* pows?

Large 3rd floor 2 BR apt, north end of Fremont a few blocks south of the zoo, garage, laundry/gear room, small back deck, large south & west facing windows, lots of light, view of Rainier when it's out. $550/mo plus ½ utilities, which are minimal in summer and maybe $40 in winter. My current roomie is moving out June 4th, but if you need to be in on the 1st we can work something out. PM me if interested. Thanks.

Left a small purple bag full of tent pegs on the ground at Grasslands on Sunday--dammit. If anyone finds 'em it would be nice to get them back. thanks.

I have on a number of occasions run into guys who wouldn't climb with me because their wife/gf didn't want them climbing with women, even if it was a glacier slog with a number of other men along. I have only once run into someone who actually came out and said he wouldn't accept a belay from a woman because "Chicks, they always droppin' you." What I run into a lot is the assumption that the guy I'm climbing with must be my boyfriend, must be the reason I got into climbing in the first place, must have led all the hard pitches. I don't really give a crap about that though. People can think what they want, it doesn't make any difference to my climbing. In climbing, like in everything, sometimes being a chick works for you and sometimes against you. I could sit around and bitch about the times it works against me, but I prefer to enjoy the times it works for me.