backclipped

Third pitch of Voyage of the Cow Dog--Smith

Golly, Crimper, could you tone down the beta master virtual tour. It's one thing to drop the names of favorite obscurities. It's quite another to blow it up with photography. I mean, seriously, do you want the Beacon Rock squad out there?

Edge of Light (or is it darkness)--Bend, OR Windy Corner--Bend, OR Cougar Buttress (although I'm way to much of a pussy to lead any of the pitches....especially the first one). Reason to Be--Smith Sky Ridge--Smith Old Town, the bolted 10c face, to Return to Forever--Acadia, ME Thin Air--both Cathedral Ledges, NH and Smtih, OR The Great Red Book--RR, NV Tunnel Vision--RR, NV

Tonight I was handed the new Watts Smith guidebook...a layover birthday gift from the one dude that has influenced me more than any single individual--mom and dad...and fiance aside. Sorry for the gush of sentimentality, but thumbing through this new book is a fantastic cap to '09. Thanks Jlag!

I stand corrected...which is pathetic because you've corrected me a dozen times. I forgot about a long weekend spent at Tieton....I gotta lay off the sauce. It was a highly entertaining weekend of climbing in dodgy weather with a few of my favorite clowns. Highlights: Rendered Weightless, Mush Maker, A super heady and sustained 10b sport route that I didn't pitch on, Lava Point clipping,the improbable looking Dream Wall...kudos to whoever decided to drill into that thing, the suicide death dive in the face of a phatty rattler, Big guy saying fuck all to the car and staying in the moment...we told you that you'd make it home.

Well shit,Baby New year is crowning once again. In a few more weeks he'll clear the canal and screech his way into 0'10...which means it's the season of reflection. How did '09 treat y'all? What were your highlights? '09 will not go down as a productive climbing year for me; but there were, however, a few highlights: Belayed Jlag on his onsight of Thin Seam (10a) at The City. Linked Round River into Santiam Highway Ledges--not a bold undertaking by any means, but a great outing that squeezed an ample amount of adventure out of a Sunday afternooon in the Marsupials....dicking around up on the Wombat is...interesting. Launched a #1 Cam out of the West Cave of The Monkey. A good samaritan placed it on my pack...and I still use it. Red pointed Reason to Be. Climbed Heresy, like, a dozen times......never got fit enought to send. I blame this on the complacency of being comfortable in a relationship. Unrelated to climbing--I got engaged. ...................that's all I got.........................

Damn straight. Word.

Sound like fun. I'm sure my boss will appreciate me causing friction. I hope Rathbun is waiting in the parking lot. Maybe I can smack him in his face with my powder covered thingy.

Bachelor is nestled nicely inside a National Forest boundary far from the ambivalent line of sight of PDX hipsters. Why would I drive 2.5 hours up to Hood to run slalom around moving pylons? Keep Hood...fucker reeks of eggs anyway.

Face climbing is fun. I like the shiny bolts. The shinier the better. They look the best when the sun is all bright and high and makes them twinkle. I like Twinkies too. So good when following bolts up towards the sky. Maybe I could sweeten Pope up with half of one of my Twinkies. But I don't think Pope likes Twinkies. I think he likes poop.

This years Nordica Enforcer mounted with some Dukes. That's my two cents for a 60/40 set-up. Sure, it's kinda heavy, but you only want to tour 40 percent of the time. Just think of how hard you'll crush it the other 60 percent. I have a raging boner for the Duke. It surely needs a more dynamic climbing bar, but there is "NO" compromise on downhill performance. Fritchi, Silveretta and other like bindings are deplorable on corduroy....of course this isn't fact. Perhaps I'm just a shitty skier, but I can't jive with all that torsional flex.

Katahdin, although it seems like a pain in the ass, is on my bucket list. Not so much for the grandeur of the terrain, but for the experience. In my opinion The Whites are the most bang for your buck. Easy access and killer terrain trump the red tape of Baxter. I would love to check out the Chic-Chocs though... Mansfield is....whatever. You should probably skip it and spend more time in the Whites.

Mexico? What's with all the little "made in China" stickers on the tails? The problem I've found with lil' homegrown USA made skis is that they almost never come from the wrapper flat. Ever take a true bar to a pair of Icelantics? Skis should be made in Europe.

I used to have the Garmont Adrenaline. I didn't spend to much time in them though--just a couple Tuckerman outings. I sold them to my buddy for a lark--too soft for my liking. Do any of you guys say to hell with weight savings and just rock alpine boots? My set up is hell on the hip flexers, but going down is the cats ass.

I'm afraid I inadvertently knocked the split board when I said, "AT gear blows...." Split boards are a necessary means to an incredible end for back country snowboarding. I mean, come on, who wants to side-hill in a pair of snowshoes? I was referring to AT boots and all that other jazz. Not like anyone cares...just wanted to clarify.

cheers mate. Thank you for understanding.

OMG, you obviously don't....

Dude, you're pissing in the wrong contest. Jlag rips--end of story. He doesn't fuss with the pros and cons of this or that--what the fuck is the point? He gets it done in fantastic style in gear he's comfortable with. AT gear blows. The gear equates to nothing more than an expensive compromise. I'm a bit of an authortiy on this shit....just in case you were wondering.

Come now, Dynafit Boy, I can't be blamed for this.

Christ...talk about a hijacked thread.

Poop. Sorry. I should have posted this in the gear section.

Anyone still gamefully employed enough to be considering new AT boots might want to stay the trigger until the new Dalbello line makes it in-country in December. The flex is too soft for my liking (similar to the Garmont Adrenaline...as far as feel goes), but the touring mode has, by far, the best feel out of all the boots I've checked out. Just some FYI from a shop guy.

Anyone on CC give Max Blumenthal's Republican Gomorrah a read yet?

From the waiting lounge of my optometrist I once read an article in Popular Mechanics about some fella who concocted a blow torch using nothing but meat. Bacon was his strongest fuel source. Mmmmm, I wonder. Could the power of bacon be contained and concentrated into a headlamp?

Try tele-boarding...it's wicked.