John Frieh

I like to horde all my fixed pin karma for winter in case I might happen to find myself two days run out on "M-what was I thinking" terrain and the only thing between myself and buying the farm is some relic I clipped.

Placed it. Couldn't get it out. Would gladly reimburse someone if they were able to get it out without mangling it and returned it to me.

Fixed on the first pitch of Blownout ~30' up. Green alien w/ blue duct tape. Name your price.

Actually more likely Mark Westman, Joe Josephson and/or Roger Strong (not to suggest Marcus isn't a hardman... if/when you meet him ask him about 11300)... we are still massaging the details... once I have more info I will make sure to post them here. Absolutely... every and any one is welcome especially since we are raising money for Hyalite.

You need a reservation at the grasslands? Rope up is at Leavenworth (which requires a reservation)... Tuff Love is at the grasslands (which doesn't require a reservation). Better start working on that kitchen pass Kevin

I think he was going to try for the first weekend in Oct... not sure if got a reservation for that yet but I know that is what he was trying for.

Portland Rock Gym September 29th 2007 5 - 11 pm Demo ice tools and check out other new ice gear from Black Diamond, Grivel and Petzl. Ice climbing comp with prizes for top finishers. Slideshow by local NW hardman Raffling off thousands of dollars of gear with all the proceeds being donated to Keep Hyalite Canyon Open Lots and lots of beer Last year's madness Stayed tuned for more details! Do yer pullups!

Portland Ice Festival End of September. All tools from BD, Grivel, and Petzl will be on hand for people to demo in person.

Hey Blake: did climbing contact you or did you contact climbing? what about the alpinist newswire pieces?

On sale this Saturday! :rawk:

Was your TA's name Gary? That would explain the sympathy point sickie sickie :laf:

beacon on sunday

Fatherhood will do that to you... so I'm told He does have an entire post dedicated to death metal in that blog...

Who's beating what again? Didn't see you today Better luck next time I guess...

Great story! All the money we raise at the PDX Ice Festival this year will be donated to the SMCC!

I think we are saying the same thing Justin but let me try again... Sticking to just Dru's original brain fart of the day do I think UFC is gay and/or fake? No I don't. As far as the rest of it... As far as my comparisons of climbers to MMA athletes I personally see some commonalities between the two. I think it comes down to this: Is climbing a sport or an activity/hobby or both? I think we all would agree that UFC/MMA is a sport. Sport by definition implies competition. I personally believe climbing for most if not all of us includes competition. Sure... not the same more formalized type that we see in the more standardized sports but climbing IMO includes competition. I believe almost all of us compete with ourselves... how hard can I climb? do I have the skills to climb route x? can I climb that route in a day? etc etc etc And for a smaller population of the climbing community you see the more standardized external type of competition: climber(s) vs climber(s). Look at the race for the FA of the Eigerwand, the race for the first 8000 m peak, the first to climb all 14 8000 m peaks, the FFA of the nose... competition has always been a part of climbing IMO. I think the best example was the FA of the Matterhorn... the FA party trundled rocks on the other party they had beaten to the summit to ensure everyone knew they were first. And absolutely yes... their are some people out there that climb only to have fun... but they are few and far between. I think for almost all of us climbing is both: hobby and sport. The majority of my trips are to have fun and not per say compete with myself or others... and that would make it a hobby or activity on those trips. On the other hand some of my trips I push to see what can I do... I compete with myself. Sport. So... I think if climbers trained more like MMA athletes they would be more successful at succeeding at their goals... whatever they may be. I guess what I was thinking of when I wrote that was a few years ago Sports Illustrated had an article where they interviewed a lot of famous athletes and asked them the question "Is climbing a sport"... the consensus was no. Is my climbing happiness based on other people's opinions? No at all. Does it matter what the public thinks? Not usually. So yeah... sport or hobby or both? If sport then I think you/all would agree training can only help and climbers interested in training (maybe you... maybe not?) should check out how MMA athletes train. Nice pic BTW

[two cents] I dont know if Dru's question was more pointed towards UFC spectators or athletes. Though MMA isn't for me (yet ) I have developed a large respect for MMA athletes in the past few months working out with/getting to know them... my gym has a population of MMA fighters/UFC athletes. As I have gotten to know some of them I noticed a lot of parallels between their sport and ours. The first thing that struck me was their commitment to consistent, high quality, daily training throughout the week... it is higher than any climber I have every met... most of them put in 12 hour a week minimum training at a very high intensity level. I think that if more climbers trained at this level/intensity the overall skill level of our sport would be much higher... if this were the case I think our sport would be taken far more seriously than it is by the general public... I can think of a few times I took a newbie to the climbing gym and one of their first comments after viewing the patrons was "I thought you had to be skinny to be a climber" Additionally the consequences of not training for them is much much higher than it is for us... if they dont train they will physically get their ass kicked... if a climber doesnt train he is stuck climbing 5.9 and under... not much of a penalty if you ask me... I think the commitment/gumption required for MMA athletes to "get into the ring" is much higher than what most climbers experience tying in (our version of getting in the ring). Sure tying in and stepping up to try an alpine FA or something similar is a big commitment and the potential to get thumped is big and real but most climbers might savor this level of commitment once maybe twice a year where every day MMA fighters experience pain and fear. We might say "take" if we are pumped or scared but the only thing that really get bruised is our ego where as MMA athletes tap (their version of take) but only after they get physically beat down. [/two cents]

Tuesday, June 05, 2007 http://alpinestyle.blog.com/ Pull ups and calf raises. Everyday.

Can you do 10 consecutive? If so I can't begin to tell you how jealous I am...

Will you be taking your bikini off this time? :grlaf:

Trust me... there are much much better ways to meet girls. Quit now... while you're still ahead. You can thank me in 10 years.

:[]

If the zorro face gets climbed by two colorado bro bras I blame you Mr Scurlock Looking forward to it