JosephH

Lol - "a 20 year old kitten" I prefer mine potty trained and experienced so I usually stick with the 26-28 year olds myself...

I picked up essentially new Fires and Blue Kaukulators on ebay. Did Epinephrine in the Fires before I nabbed the Kauk's and they were totally comfortable. Nothing beats those Kauk's however. My partner has always used Mythos, but I prefer high tops because I often run the rope over the top of my ankle to secure/brace my foot when [hip or atc] belaying a second up.

There you go... Now do this to it...

Ha! Damnit Jim, you'll never drive them out with birkenstocksI It's gonna take lycra to put the fear of god back in them...

Actually there are lots of grayhairs that have only gotten into climbing recently. Matter of fact, I'd go so far as to guess we're going to need more bouldering-only gyms for younger folks revolted by the increasing tide of newly retired boomers who decide "you know Harriet, I've always wanted to try that, but didn't want to worry you while we had the kids...". Oh yeah - you think us old losers from the '70s are bad? Well hang on little tomatoes because those clip joints haven't even started to get ugly. And to make matters worse we have formed an insurgent movement to put out a "SuburbanClimber" magazine for mature audiences that features middle-aged guys and gals in lycra. Yep, call it revenge of the "painter's pants", but we're planting the seeds of destruction that will ultimately result in Lycrasized Disco Wednesdays replete with mirrored balls and glitter coming to a gym near you soon. And you can bet all those 50-something Betty's are all still packing their early 80's aerobics outfits and gold headbands and just waiting to bust some plastic. By the time we're through trad will be the new bouldering as you'll be willing to do anything to get away from the looming senior invasion...

Cobra, I'd have to see the data and talk with Malcolm and the guy that developed it with Trango (I forget his name off the top of my head) before I'd believe that. Fairly well defies common sense but it wouldn't necessarily be the first time...

Yep, that schematic is the equalette and it way out performs the cordalette in tests in all configurations except two same-level, side-by-side anchor points where they perform comparably. It is particularly the way to go in a vertical anchor. Of late in the RC thread the equalette has been the jumping off point for pushing that design with the inclusion of some active equalization. Pretty interesting stuff...

It would be interesting to pass that conclusion by Malcolm, John, and a few of the rocket scientists like RGold over in the RC thread. I suspect their conlusion is that it doesn't load the three anchor points in a 33/33/33, but rather a 25/50/25 distribution. Hard to imagine a conclusion that it isn't really equalizing at all or just a little...

No doubt - I would too. I'm personally more interested in the thread in a big wall context and, as I said, for any poor anchor situations encounter on new routes (if I ever manage to get back to projecting). EDIT: As for the data on the Trango's AE rig, if you know where there is any you should post it up as folks would love to see it...

Again, it's worth a read if you do a lot of trad or alpine. "a very simple and clean power point that can be clipped and cleaned quickly, and w/o error" And it's still that for two side-by-side bolts or pieces of pro. In any other configuration you are simply loading a single point with the other points as successive backups. The topic of how often anchors fail is in that thread as well...

Well, that's not necessarily a bad short take by Will. For anything but a two point anchor with even legs skip the cordalette - Largo's testing shows it's doesn't perform at all regardless of endorsement by AMGA. And it was John who was pushing it in the beginning in his first anchors book, so when he turns on it you may want to check it out. Those pics are ones I did up to basically diss a proposed rig, though even the rigs I don't like sometimes have something worth paying attention to. I also do think from the time Largo got the thread kicked into turbo with his challenge to now there's been a lot of interesting ground covered. John got what he wanted out of the deal and his new compendium is basically done and we aren't so much looking for the ultimate rig at this point as exploring various solution sets of forces, components, compromises, and options. I'm basically in it to up the library of components and ideas for the next time I end up dealt a really sh#tty hand putting up something new. Admittedly not for everyone, but if you're going to check it out I'd highly recommend starting at the beginning, biting the bullet, and just plow through it. You'll learn what Largo likes in the cordalette's place for three and four point anchors anyway...

Beacon Rock Update Notice 3/21/2006

=================== Beacon Rock Update - 1/24/06... =================== No more $5 parking fee - YEAH!!! Wash. Legislature repeals parking fees at state parks Seattle residents and other people visiting Washington's 120 state parks will no longer have to pay daily parking fees. On Monday, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill to repeal the fees that started in 2003. In a statement, she said the law helps keep the parks accessible to Washington state families. Under previous parking rules, visitors had to pay a $5 daily fee or a $50 annual fee, according to the state parks system. The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission had required these fees to help keep the locations open and to maintain them, said Rex Derr, state parks director. Around 2003, he said, the state was undergoing a financial crunch. The parking fees, he added, raised about $4 million each year. Fees for watercraft launching and trailer dumping are still required. State lawmakers still need to find a replacement for this source of money, Gregoire said. "But this work is not yet complete. I look forward to working with the legislature to put forward an alternative revenue source that is ample, sustainable, and reliable during the next legislative session," she said Peregrine Monitoring We will be cranking up Peregrine monitoring any time now so if you are interested in helping out give a shout... Joseph Healy Beacon Rock Climbers' Association Beacon.Rock@AvaSys.com

What happened to RuMR?

The Valley today...

On average how many posts does it take before you sluts turn any abitrary post into a hotbed of sexual slander and innuendo? As regional climbing forums go, the effects of sun-deprivation relative to the devolving expression or repression of various and sundry cravings and thought is quite pronouced on this site. CC'ers, pat yourself somewhere for a job well done. What's that you say? Oh, sorry, I misinterpreted what you meant by "speedbulbing"...

I'm still holding out for the "Windsurfing" scenario - a complete collapse in the popularity of the sport. A way outside long shot at best. You guys need to eat way more twinkees to really do your part...

We will definitely have to agree to disagree...

Well, if you read what I posted you see I didn't "defame" anything - read those emails again. And my principle point to Stephen in our phone conversations was more about climbing gyms as commercial engines driving the "sport". That their market expansion strategy of sponsoring leagues in public schools is more about insuring and increasing the annual tidal flows through their gyms than about climbing per se. My main concern about gyms has always been that increasing annual tidal flow of climbers a majority of whom will always be dependent on bolted sports routes. That these commercial "engines" and their tidal flow now represent a bedrock element in our impact on crags. Increasing the "scope" of these "engines" into by pushing into public schools in the form of leagues will inevitably increase impact on crags, bolting, and misuse as well. You cannot increase the commercial market base of gyms without increasing the footprint of climbing and so raise our profile with land managers. I have no problem whatsoever claiming to be completely and utterly selfish. I would like nothing more than to see climbing burn out as a popular fad/trend and have the demographics head south fast. But gyms, and particularly their expansion in to public schools, colleges, and eventually the olympics make this extremely unlikely. Climbing is now firmly entrenched into suburban pop culture and commercial interests clearly want it, and their cash flow, totally mainstreamed. So many of you may be fine with, or even enthusiastic about, this trend - but when it results in more impact, abuses, rules, restrictions, and closures down the road don't be naive about how and why it all happened and jump on cc to whine about it...

Well, as a former journalist, I'm well familar with the risks of saying anything at all. And not to in any way ding Stephen, but when you speak with a journalist you have to understand that they are attempting to craft and tell their story and set their context, not yours. So you typically have to accept that your statements may not come across - exactly - as you intended. Stephen is relatively close if not close enough for both our purposes in his article. A more accurate portrayal of what I was trying to get across would be: "[High School] Climbing competitions, with their focus on [interpersonal competition,] route difficulty, and ratings, impose [as an initial exposure for a beginning climber] the entirely wrong mindset and approach to something I [personally] consider sacred," Mr. Healy said. See the emails below for the actual sentence he is quote and for the notes that augmented our phone conversation for a better sense of what that sentence was boiled down from: --------------------------------------------------- From: Joseph E. Healy Sent: Thu 3/2/2006 2:26 PM To: Stephen Regenold Cc: Subject: RE: Stephen Regenold Gear Junkie: Survival Pak Attachments: Stephen, I know you are trying to focus on the rugged individualist vs.competitive team aspect of the rapid rise of climbing programs in HS's. The only way I can look at it is in the context of the evolutionary socialization process that was inevitable once gyms became established around the country. They became the engines of that socialization. What goes on in them bacame what climbing "is" both in terms of a net export of how rocks are climbed and in what social groupings. Just the venue in the typical gym which puts climbers side by side and waiting in lines implicitly illicits competitive instincts. Comps make explicit those aspects of the game that were always implied and assumed by everyone involved. This also goes to the matter of whether you consider climbing an art or a sport. As someone that always focused on first ascents, I view it with this logic: The only tangible product of a sport is an abstract numerical score - say "16 to 8". Observing it after the fact it tells you nothing about the game itself or how well it was played. Were there no errors or a hundred. Did they play hard or weakly. Bottomline is there is no way to tell what really went into and was invested in the endeavor by looking at a score. Art on the other [usually] leaves an concrete product. If you hear a Mozart Concerto, see the Mona Lisa, or read a great novel you get an inherent sense of what that artist must have gone through to birth that product - it is fairly self-evident. Climbing shares that with art. If you stand at the base of the Nose on El Cap you instantly get a sense of the level of skill, daring, and committment that must have gone into climbing it. And the only real objection I have with climbing comps is they artificially impose an unnatural numerical abstraction on a product that is very concrete in it's own right; that and they burn the kids in with what I consider an entirely wrong mindset and approach to something I consider sacred. Joseph -----Original Message----- From: Stephen Regenold Sent: Thu 3/2/2006 1:39 PM To: Joseph E. Healy Cc: Subject: Re: Stephen Regenold Gear Junkie: Survival Pak Do you have an electronic copy of "The Evolution of Ego in Eden" by chance?Sounds interesting. On 3/2/06, Joseph E. Healy wrote: > As an odd aside... > > Did an article in the 70's for Climbing Mag called: > > "The Evolution of Ego in Eden" > > I meant to follow it up over the succeeding decades with: > > "The Mechanization of Ego in Eden" (bolting / drills) > > "The Emulation of Ego in Eden" (gyms) > > "The Socialization of Ego in Eden" (suburban pop culture) > > -----Original Message----- > From: Stephen Regenold > Sent: Thu 3/2/2006 1:23 PM > To: Joseph E. Healy > Cc: > Subject: Re: Stephen Regenold Gear Junkie: Survival Pak > > Thanks, Joseph. > > --Stephen Regenold >> > On 3/2/06, Joseph E. Healy wrote: > > Oh, and add: > > > > Safety - 70's individual responsibility > > - 00's "community" or group responsibility. > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Joseph E. Healy > > Sent: Thu 3/2/2006 11:54 AM > > To: Joseph Healy; > > Cc: > > Subject: RE: Stephen Regenold Gear Junkie: Survival Pak > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Joseph Healy > > Sent: Thu 3/2/2006 11:52 AM > > To: Joseph E. Healy > > Cc: > > Subject: Stephen Regenold Gear Junkie: Survival Pak > > > > Soviets speed climbing in 70's > > 1st sport climbing > Olympics > > Big Bang: Sport > Gyms > Coll. > HS > > 20yr gyms / sport > "socialized" > > Suburban pop culture > > HS competition > Harding's prediction > > Focus moves from the climbs to climbers > > HS competition not bad > growth afterburner = > > increased impact / more access problems > >

____ repellent... EDIT: interesting. You can no longer say the name of that now unmentionable, dog accompanying, speedclimberwannabe you know who - good call moderators...

PDX: I'd totally disagree on Santa Fe being mediocre and the price is fair for the rent they pay on 23rd. Down on SE Milwaukee in Sellwood there is San Felipe which has great enchiladas. The best tacos bar none (and $1 a piece) are from the truck on SE 82nd down past Home Depot and a half block north of the Krispy Kreme.

I'm not attempting to change anyone's mind in the matter as each person needs to make up their own. That said I am trying to get across a realistic view of CCH. They are more like a blacksmith, glassblower, luthier, or any other craftsman or artisan. And CCH I suspect is like a lot of small businesses where one person is focused on managing production and another manages office functions. CCH simply isn't a "modern manufacturer" nor does it have the culture of one. That's not an excuse, it's what they've always been over the twenty years when folks swore by their gear. They clearly got in over their head with REI and are now are trying to remedy the trouble they find themselves in. It's a case of buying and / or using them or not, but I seriously doubt Diane is going anywhere. And given the way the business is organized I don't think she should; they just need to get formal processes around how they do things including where finished cams are located.

Well, if you don't want to use cams from a craft/artisan shop don't, but that's what Aliens have always been. Diane isn't some faceless "worker", she's likely the glue that keeps the whole business running as far as I can tell.

And what is the current law (please cite a link) for fixed anchors in designated wilderness?