KaskadskyjKozak

gee, Jay, say what you really mean.

not really

MSR XGK. No heavier than a whisper lite, lights easy, has a good base support, few moving parts, works well at altitude, etc.

Cruisin' to the crags in my Subaru Jackin' the gapers, slappin' the fo's Went to a pitch to show my moves Knuckle-heads out there cold zip'n the routes A car pulls up, who can it be? A fresh climbin' party, sportin' killer gear They rolls down a window and started to say It's all about red-pointin' that 5.11a Cuz the boyz in de crag are alwayz hard You come talkin' that trash we'll bull your car Knowin' nothin' in life but to be legit' Don't quote me boy, cuz I ain't sayin' shit ...

Ebonics? You sound like Jar-Jar Binks

Cool, but does anyone compliment you for your full rack?

Disappointed? check out the Everest thread

just curious (and this is a serious question), but what is the maximum party size you find to be acceptable? is 6 too large?

that's the spirit!!

you're obsessed with homosexuality... that speaks volumes, Rudy. pun intended.

Keep your sick imagination to yourself

More like the inverse. You like pounding on KK?? Didn't realize you and he swung that way! watch out CBS, the thought of you 'swinging the other way' seems to be exciting Rudolf

you're a f**king moron

I know what you mean... like the fat goober hiking down avy gulch in soft snow telling me I should put my crampons on for that grueling approach to Lake Helen

yes it is

my foot work on rock sucks, and I don't own mirrored glasses

show me a link to some literature where that claim is made. people in organizations tend to become attached to the things they work on, and because they have invested effort they think they've done a good job, and don't want to think otherwise, that is true. But that is human nature. You can see the same thing just about anywhere. but I will concede that there are some people who act exactly as you describe; I don't trust people like that Personally, I would never assume "my way" is the safest way. Until I get a few more years under my belt, I assume that I'm making lots of mistakes, and am trying to learn and improve without getting hurt or killed before then.

yourself

shit harry, you're right! What was I thinking. I'll make sure to stay off of every moderate route in WA until I check with the committee! I'll go jump on something that i'm not physically ready to do since i didn't register my climb with the committee. folks, if the committee approves my weekend plans, i'll need at least 8 more for a full gaggle. Please send me a PM with the date and time you completed the 4th climb of your basic course for consideration. look on the bright side - there are plenty of moderate routes that are not approved, and you can go there w/o seeing a single Mountie. Go off the beaten path, and you can easily avoid them.

everything you've seen is probably true, but... I've seen the same types of ridiculous things from GDIs (goddamn independents). For example, when I climbed the Emmons last July, at least 1/2 the people had no f**king busines being there, and I checked - there was no Mountie party there. There was a party who had hauled up FOTH to Schurman and were practicing ice axe arrest on the flats by the hut, for God's sake! And don't get me started on parties who refused to step aside and let other teams pass on the traverse, or those who insisted on passing *above* other teams without even asking first. Then there was the skier I saw, unroped, with no partner in sight, taking a f-ing rest break on a crevasse.

Dostoyevski Melville O. Henry Hemingway Conrad

RUMR, you are pretty ignorant of what actually happens. Let me explain to you how the Seattle branch works a party of six for a basic rock climb consists of: 1 Climb Leader 2 Rope Leads 3 Basic Students A Basic Student has passed fieldtrips on knots and simple anchors, belaying, elementary climbing, ice axe / self-arrest, and escaping the belay. A Rope Lead has passed the Basic Course (done a minimum of three climbs plus fieldtrips), passed a 2-day fieldtrip on gear placement, and passed a 1-day fieldtrip of leading multipitch trad. Rope Leads are encouraged to practice on their own before going with students, but it cannot be enforced. A Climb Leader has done a large number of climbs (including climbs at the Intermediate level), acted as a Mentored Leader (where the real leader backs off and lets the Mentored Leader take charge) on several climbs, and has been approved by the climbing committee. The main problem with CLs is they are "for life," as I understand, so folks who get rusty are still in the system. This could be a problem. But the worse problem is if you make more stringent rules, you lose CLs. Exactly, Gary. All the Mounties "guarantee" about a rope lead or a climbing leader is that they have fulfilled the requirements enumerated above. There is no "guarantee" that CLs are "safer" than those who learn to climb elsewhere, or are "safe" at all. But you do know the minimum baseline that all CLs have met. It seems that the peanut gallery here loves to jump to conclusions and make claims on behalf of the Mounties and attribute those claims to the Mounties with no basis whatsoever. Prove me wrong and post a link to any literature published by the Mounties that proves otherwise. As I recall the Mounties explicitly tell new students that they are not a guide service, and can not guarantee anyone's safety because climbing is inherently dangerous, and you can get hurt and die, even on a field trip.

I like your new sig!!

There's the rub: the real reason you all hate the mounties and blast them non-stop. Hey, that's cool, but be honest about it.