markwebster

Austin, didn't know you could access this site from China! Yeah, you were a young punk back then...18 and never placed trad gear...look at you now. They've already got pictures of my rack up here...even older friends than mine. Gear is cool. In twenty years, your camalots will be old gear, and you will be the old timer. Come visit me in the nursing home, and bring some whiskey.

wife and I got into hiking first. We'd stop and take pictures at the high point of the trail, and the climbers kept going. They got better pictures because they got higher. Once I learned to climb, I found that it brought back the pleasure of climbing trees from my boyhood. We are built for it. It uses all your muscles. Climbing forces you to overcome many of your fears: the unknown, fear of height, etc. It sort of opens your mind. Climbing well can lead to "getting in the zone" where you forget about all your workaday problems and live in the moment of moving over stone, a state of grace. It's addictive, and it keeps you in shape. And the photography is awesome.

I use my real name, but there are times when I wish I had not. With an avatar, you can let your hair down, knowing you at least won't show up on the first page of results, if some one googles you. I try not to ever say anything that I would regret if my boss called me onto the carpet for an explanation. Which did happen once early on. Someone read something I wrote online, didn't like it and reported me. It was information taken out of context from an online journal, which is now password protected...because of that incident. I would have to agree that some of these violent conversations would be a lot tamer with real names. But I also agree that many people, myself included, would benefit from an anonymous avatar. If I really cared I'd start a new username...but it's sort of too late now. I'd be posting the same pictures of the same people I climb with...anyone could quickly figure it out. It's all good.

Those of us teaching in the vocational/technical arena struggle with that concept: "those who can't - teach". While it's true that I got laid off as a web designer in 2001, and you could argue that I couldn't cut it in that career, I was only out of work for 2 weeks before I started freelancing and teaching part time. I had never taught before, don't have a bachelors degree, but I did know my web stuff, or, at least, better than anyone else the college could find at that time. I soon learned that teaching is a challenging job... especially cutting edge technology, which changes every time you turn around, invalidating your textbooks and lesson plans. And working with community college students...I had no idea how much tolerance and patience that was going to require, as compared to just working in a normal work environment with fellow professionals. Teaching can be an easy job...*if* you don't care whether your students learn. But if you seriously want to get them a job, it can be very, very challenging and time consuming, well beyond the classroom hours. On the plus side, we get a lot of time off between quarters: at least a week, and up to a month. But the best part is when my students get hired, and make more than me. I love that.

or they develop something which might be called a "work ethic" once they are actually inspired by something beyond the simple need for a job. maybe the kids you see simply aren't inspired or haven't found inspiration yet, and having someone tell them they are "lazy" or somesuch nonsense turns them off even more? I never tell kids they are lazy, even when they are. I do tell the class as a whole that if you expect to get anywhere in the media field (web design, 3D, video, etc), be prepared to work your butt off so you can get good enough to stand out from the crowd. Regarding the aptitude, attitude thing... obviously someone who has excellent attendance and a great attitude but is simply not smart, is not a good hire. But given those two qualities, and normal intelligence, I would hire them anytime over a flaky genius. That has been the story of my life. I have just average intelligence, but because I am always there, and always interested in learning more, challenging myself, I've managed to learn a lot, and stay gainfully employed. I do try to instill a work ethic in kids who don't have one, by getting them excited about the beauty we can create in the media field. I've even seen a few who didn't have a work ethic come back to our program after 4 years flipping burgers. They admitted they were lazy before, and were finally serious about college, and went on to get a great job.

community college, web design: photoshop, flash, illustrator, CSS, XHTML

I said 'students as clients' because they are sort of like clients, from a certain perspective. Without students (clients) I would have no job. We have to keep our program 'state of the art' so that students will choose us instead of...the medical profession, or welding. Raindawg is also in the education system, though at a much better college. I suspect he has to keep his program fully enrolled as well. Regarding staying employed, there is an old saying: "It's not your aptitude, but your attitude, that determines your altitude in any given company." We get a lot of very smart people in our program, but without a work ethic, they are going nowhere. I wish I knew how to teach "work ethic". I think kids learn it from their parents, they either have it, or they don't.

In the real world of work, people who never play hooky are valuable employees. I've missed about 2 days in 7 years at this job. I'm proud of the fact that I don't play hooky, and I don't get sick...knock on wood. My students know they can depend on Professor Webster to be there everyday, on time, prepared to work. When it dumps 10 inches of powder...I still come to work. If that bothers you, I'm sorry. I have a strong work ethic, and it has kept me fully employed for 38 years with a variety of employers. Yes, I've missed out on a lot of fun...but the benefits are a paid off house, car and credits cards. I also get 7 weeks off, paid. When we try to hire teachers, most of them don't work out because they do not have a strong work ethic. They skip out and let our clients (the students) down. All employers need reliable employees, not flakes. I do agree that working weekends so you can save money and retire early is not good. You have to climb when you are still relatively young and healthy. I have always envied people who take vast amounts of time off, or play the system to get their climbing and leisure paid for by uncle sam. However, I can't bring myself to do it. I think it's cheating, and not carrying your weight. An honest days work, for an honest days pay makes me feel good, and look forward to the weekend.

Well said, and I stand corrected. Having been raised in a strict Christian family, I had the stuff shoved down my throat. As a consequence, I have some residual anger that flares up towards religious people from time to time. I try to control it, but I am not always successful. In person, I am very respectful towards others beliefs. When the Jehovah's Witnesses knock on my door, I try to be nice to them, but I also let them have the truth as I see it with both barrels. I don't doubt that religion would help you climb better, though very few climbers I have met are religious. True believers seem to feel it is more important to "do good works", like: volunteer at a homeless shelter, than go climbing. The serious Christians in my family work as missionaries, with no thought whatsoever of wasting time in something as frivolous as climbing.

climbing well, (getting in the zone), and hiking far out in the backcountry has made me feel as close to something larger than myself than anything else i've ever done. I can remember solo hiking up by Mt. Daniel, 4 days in from Stevens Pass and looking around a flat level plateau up by that old abandoned mine. It looked to have been done with road graders, but it was all rock, and all natural. A house sized rock sits in the middle of the plateau. I realized there was something much bigger than myself going on up there. I was as important as a grain of sand in the greater scheme of geologic time. When you can set yourself aside, and see the big picture, it can feel like a "divine moment". Perhaps that is why they created wilderness, so us non-believers would have a church.

I grew up in a religious family. I love my family members, but I was unable to jump on the religion bandwagon. I tried, went through confirmation and everything, it just didn't make sense.I believe religion is the opiate for the masses. People who believe in, and want, an afterlife are too weak to handle the fact that we die. Period. Enjoy it while you can, as you could get run over by a car tomorrow. That being said, I do think the ten commandments are a pretty good idea. If more people followed the golden rule, the world would be a better place. Will prayer help your climbing? You have nothing to lose by trying, but reading Arno's book might be a better use of your time. Sorry if I offended any religious people out there, but I think that far too many people have died (and are still dieing) in the name of religion. Can you say the crusades? The middle East? And yes, this should be in spray

Sounds like nirvana ridge took a big hit. And the bolts on the west face will need to be examined. Scary stuff. There is rock fall everywhere, it's just a matter of time, witness the regular rock falls in yosemite. I am old enough to remember when trigger finger fell over in the pinnacles one winter. Used to climb up that thing, everyone did. Dare I mention Mt Saint Helens? In the spring and summer after winter has done it's damage, there will still be excellent and safe friction climbing in the pinnacles. It is the kind of place where nothing should be taken for granted. I make it a habit to grab every bolt and see if it wiggles wherever I am, from Leavenworth, to Smith, to yosemite. I love that west face route, bottom runout and all. If the bolts got broken off, we will just have to replace them.

I can do everything at 55 I used to do at 18, just not as often, or for as long. I've had awesome luck in the last few years meeting partners at the gym (edgeworks in tacoma) but any gym will work. When the 20 year old sport monkeys see you leading at the gym, and hear you can lead trad, and are willing to take them out and show them how, you have an instant partner. I've had about 4 partners like that now. If you do your job right, in a year they will be leading 11's due to their youth and vigor. If they get cocky and don't want to climb with you on easy 9's and 10's anymore, trade them in on a new model. Age is a state of mind.

sorry for your loss. I lost my mom over the holidays too, after a long illness. Kinda takes the cheer out of Christmas. I am reminded of something the late Tony Curtis said years ago: "I would like to live my life so fully, that when the grim reaper sneaks into my house, like a thief in the night, there will be nothing left for him to steal."

I went to jtree with some young punks from the gym. We stopped in at the climbing store where they have a museum wall of old hexes and rigid stem cams (friends). My buddies pulled me over, saying, hey, Mark, how come they got your rack on the wall? Honestly though, the only friend I still carry is my 4. It's a great fit between the 3 and 4 camalot if you are on a long offwidth like Moby Dick in the valley. to the OP, There is rock around, it's just cold. I climbed at 38, interstate park a week ago. It was dry, and we needed puffy coats but we had fun. Vantage can also be survivable this time of year, watch the forecast wait for a sunny day when it's not in the teens.

My wife and I are investing in a modern telemark setup and we are looking for some advice. This stuff is super expensive. I bought a new pair of plastic boots: scarpa t2 eco and skied them once on some borrowed gear and they work great. Now I'm wondering what kind of bindings to get. With our 30 year old leather boots and 3 pin bindings we could fall and not get hurt, they would release in a bad fall. The new telemark bindings appear to be designed not to release. A few people say that they have busted out of some of the modern bindings like the voile switchback and the BD 01 in a bad fall, but mostly I am reading that people stay locked in. James H. very kindly lent me an older pair of releasable Voile telemark bindings (and skis), like this but older, no springs: http://www.rei.com/product/757994 but they popped out twice when they didn't need to, and made a lot of noise. They released correctly once, which I liked. In researching this subject I found this thread which talks about the 22designs Axl binding: 22designs Axl binding and debate I'm tempted by the Axl as it has a front pivot for skinning up and lots of control in the springs for going down. But if you read down the thread **See entry: (gonzoskijohnny January 21st, 2009 10:40 am)** people start talking about how non-releaseable bindings are dangerous and several people recommend the 7tm binding which is very expensive, but releasable: 7tm releaseable tele binding We ski mostly at Paradise with an occasional trip to Crystal. I've pretty much settled on buying the Karhu Guides for skis because of their no wax base. I really hate skinning up if I can avoid it in places like Mazama Ridge where it flattens out. I know this stuff is expensive, but so is knee surgery. Do you guys have any advice? Sorry for the long post. I've been tele skiing for decades, but this new tele gear has me in a dither. I thought cams were expensive!

The full story of the accident (from his belayer) has finally come out. Rather than post it here, I will let his family tell the story on the blog they are maintaining on Paul's recovery. The last I heard, Paul is mobile, but is still blind due to the head injury. There is a chance his vision may return. http://paulbaileyinfo.blogspot.com/

good winter mittens are expensive. I like the two part combo: Outer waterproof shell, with the removable fleece or wool inner mitten so you can rotate through your inner mitts on a multi day trip. I recently wore out my old forest outermitts so I went to Seattle Fabrics and bought a pattern for overmitts: Seattle Fabrics overmitt pattern I had never sewed anything fancy like mittens or gloves before, but the fabric costs were minimal, and the pattern was $6. I sewed just one shell, and it worked great, but I thought the thumb was overly complicated. I carefully cut apart my old forest overmitts at the seams, then laid them out on thick paper and traced out the parts. Walla, new pattern! I've now sewed one overmitt from this new handmade pattern and I like it a lot. I know it's kind of dumb to spend all this time sewing, when I could afford to just buy the finished product, but all four of us need new mitts, and I love to get off the damn computer once in a while. Sewing is cool! I love my new machine, though the mitts could be done on a home machine.

there are a ton of easy 5.6 and 5.7 climbs in jtree. We used to climb them back in the days before cams were invented. Mikes books on intersection rock is a 5.6. Indian cove has a bunch of sixes and sevens. Don't worry, lots to do down there in the 5.easy range. Not so much in bolts, but trad will be no problem. I always carry some big cams at jtree. Most cracks open up sooner or later. I have a couple big bros, but a few 4 camalots, and maybe a 5 would serve you well. the guidebook has a section of 4 star climbs by rating. I've used that a lot to find good climbs in a certain rating. Regarding finding partners, dead easy. Get a site in hidden valley and walk over to the biggest campfire. Bring a sixpack of beer, and you've got a partner the next day. My buddy Craig is down there until New Years without a partner. Knowing Craig, he will hook up with one of the hotties, but if you want his number, pm me, or email me though my website at websterart.com I'm skipping jtree this year. Wife is mad at me for hitting it two years in a row. I love it down there at xmas.

dang, sorry I missed out on this important thread until page 122! This is such a yawn topic. But seriously, Don, you used to love sport climbing. Remember back in the day when you, me, Sue and Fupp or Craig would be over at Austrian Slab in the Peshastin Pinnacles? You'd have some hotties from the college with you and we'd all be climbing bolts. Slender Thread, Cajun Queen, Washboards. I know you loved those routes. You hauled us all up them, and inspired us to lead them. I still remember you telling me I hadn't led a 5.8 until I'd led Cajun Queen (now upgraded to a 10). You were a kick ass climber back then, and you didn't mind that someone had drilled those bolts. Bolts are the price we pay to have fun in our sport on cliffs where there are no cracks. Granted, there has been some excess in places. But I find a few bolts way the hell out in the woods on a forgotten cliff to be far less impact than urban sprawl...and logging. You might loose this bitterness if you went back to the pinnacles and started climbing those routes again. Hell, I'll go with ya, and I'll bring Sue! We still start every season over there. Love that friction climbing. Them are some runout bolts, and I like it that way...keeps the sportos away.

welcome to cc.com Alan! Ignore the rude people here. They seem to enjoy spraying words they would likely never say face to face. There are however some very serious climbers who hang out here, and I think it's safe to say we are honored to have you visit our forum. I've been climbing at smith since 1978 on the long weekends and would run into you down there. I've watched all of this happen over the years with some amusement. I can remember walking into the 'to bolt or not to be' dihedral and sensing the 'church like' silence as some famous superstar attempted the climb. You were one of the few 'superstars' who would talk to a nobody like me and my wife. I always thought you were a cool guy who didn't have an attitude, despite having a tremendous gift. It's neat to see you still are. I've also been scared on 5 gallon. If you are rusty, that is a very steep climb. I still get out quite a bit, but I can totally relate to getting older and watching my kids climb harder than I do. It's all about having fun though, and regardless of skill level, or talent, climbing is fun. I try not to compare myself to other climbers, as it can be distracting. There is always someone better, so I just try to enjoy my personal experience. I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as negative impact. I watched you drill a few of those routes. I was there the day you drilled combination blocks. I still remember you rapping down, drilling, and then offering the first lead to whoever wanted it. In yosemite, that might have been the wrong thing to do, but it was smith rocks, where things were different, and why the hell not? I love bolts and trad routes. Thank you for helping to make smith what it is. Looking forward to the new book!

My knees are getting better, two years ago a surgeon pointed out my 40 year old orthotics were causing my knee problems, instead of helping. Andy's pictures look so good it might be worth giving it a go. I wanna be in a place that pretty. With that much traffic, I imagine the easier routes are as safe as a yosemite route? As far as loose rock?

awesome photos Andy! Thanks for taking the time to put that together. The bugaboos looks like the kind of place where it is so pretty it is hard to take a bad picture. I have to get up there.

Wow, that guy was talented! Why do the good ones always have to go early? His handling of color was brilliant and reminds me of why paintings are better than photographs. the camera is such a lame tool compared to an artist. His handling of the sky especially was amazing. I struggle with sky...but he had it mastered.

Fred was great! I'd seen his slideshow back in the eighties and he hasn't lost his touch. I was kind of worried, thinking an old guy couldn't pull it off but he was amazing. He has a mind like a steel trap...pulling the names of all those peaks out of thin air. He clearly deserves the fame, he can talk the walk, and he has walked the talk. I actually had just as much fun watching his face as he talked about all the amazing slides of the deep mountain backcountry. He was so casual: "Yeah, we flew in to the glacier and stayed there for 3 weeks doing first ascents...we climbed this new route at night to avoid avalanches...etc". That one series of slides showing the first acent of Mt Deborah? by McKinley? They climbed up the 5 mile knife edged corniced ridge, then they climbed back down it, taking pictures all the way...old canvas metal framed GI packs. First ascent. That man is amazing. He must have some kind of incredible lucky rabbits foot to have survived all that. I think I'll send a nice little check to the index fund. He said they are trying to raise $300,000 from climbers. Seems unlikely, but maybe when rei and the other big boys see that we are willing to pay what we can from our pockets, they will come up with the balance. It worked with the Peshastin Pinnacles.