wgadd

No worries John, I really didn't expect a public statement, and a thorough one at that. I totally support mixed climbing whether done buck-naked at -30 or with an extension ladder and a rack of beers--although the second version sounds more fun to me... I'm not down with the, "My style is the only way and everybody else sucks" program, and my apologies if I give that vibe off, too much Red Bull isn't pretty sometimes. This board is good fun, I skulk around while surfing the net in hotel rooms regularly, always good for a few grins. I'm obviously pretty involved with BD and so can't say much about the Bionics, but I listen to what people honestly say about gear, especially outside of the box I live in. Best and I look forward to DT night one of these days, you all are MOTIVATED, yeah!! ps--despite the warm weather things are still really good here in the Rockies, anyone wanting specific info is welcome to email me, gadd@gravsports.com.

We actually joked about climbing only with spurs in the car last night driving home--should be possible, but damn would that hard on the hamstrings. I never found spurs to be worth the bother for skinny pillars and such (your boot works well enough and you don't stab yourself in the front of the leg while walking), but I think they would be helpful. A spur on a traditional crampon doesn't actually do that much for steep climbing, it flexes the crampon too much. Helpful, but you can't hang like a bat usually. I'm doing a spray-session (also called a slide show) at UW on the 15th of April, I'll buy the first round for any post-show discussions. best, wg

Ah, Lummox, lots of people (OK, old farts like me) climbed supercrack with hexes, that's not meant as spray, but the comment did bust me up so thanks. It's meant to show the difference between hexes and cams (safety, made the route more reasonable to lead, climbing pretty much the same). If I'm gonna spray I try to do a righteous job of it, as Dru noted about Sister Extreme, grin. WG

Hey Board Posters, I didn't think there were any NW climbers left there judging by the plates on the Parkway the last week, grin. Anyhow, I've got opinions on what you're writing, here goes: Chalk is aid, so are climbing shoes, tape, (I want that Gecko tape, does it work in the cold?), etc. The quesiton is how much aid we use and still feel good about calling an ascent "free." Mixed climbing is no expeception. After all, we're hanging onto or from steel no matter how you spin it, but for me and many others, spurs and tool-hooking cross that line. If you sit your ass on a tool or hang from a spur everytime ya get pumped then that's aid in my mind. Part of climbing free for me is getting so pumped you fall off--bolt-on spurs basically eliminate that problem for anybody who climbs mixed regularly. If any of you climb mixed with or without spurs on steep routes then you already know this. Climbing spur-free actually requires you to buy less gear--just use your normal light gear and leashless tools (which will last longer without sharp spurs ripping hell out of the grips). As for "downgrading that shit," that's one option, but in my mind it slams the people who are our giving it their best no matter what they are climbing with. I don't think that's cool, better to leave the grades alone and just note the style. A 5.11 finger crack is 5.11 even if a climber hangs on every cam--it doesn't become 5.8, it just got done with a different style. I climbed supercrack first with a rack of hexes. It's one hell of a lot safer with lots of cams, but the basic climbing movement is the same (OK, maybe chalk and tape make it a touch easier, but we accept those aids nowadays). Spurs and tool trickery make mixed routes one hell of a lot easier, same as resting on gear. That's not "bad," just a different style of climbing. Mixed climbing is not a dead-end street, it's just branching and growing. Rapahel Slawinski and Ben Firth just did the FFA winter ascent of a route on the north face of Temple--all drytooling. I also felt mixed climbing was at a dead-end when I started using spurs, it just got silly. After talking with a lot of mixed climbers (not just the uber types), I decided that I felt better going as free as possible in winter (not about to give up my tools, the rock here is pretty damn cold, grin.). Climbing trickery-free demands more creative climbing, more flow (the pump clock is back and ticking hard!) and a willingness to suck back your ego when you start sucking on routes you could hike with spurs. For some reason this is fun, yeah! OK, happy spring to you all! best, wg