cynicalwoodsman

You may as well title this thread "which almost famous guitarist sucks the the least" because "shredders" are generally band nerds that graduated from an instrument like the clarinet to a guitar and only play for other band nerds. Your clarinet teacher gave your lesson money back, eh?

Thems is fighten words. Thems IS fightin' words... prolly from someone who can't play! Put 'em uuuuuup (snarl).

This book rocks! After first reading this book I couldn't believe the gains I made as a hulkin' gym-rat years ago on so little food. I wasn't climbing yet though so goals were a lot different. But it goes miles toward understanding how, as the author explains, food is the most powerful drug we take. I'm currently 6' 190 ~14% bodyfat, 6"+ ape index, huge frame, a wrist held together with metal, and injuries plaguing virtually every joint in my body over the last 15 yrs. Any kind of upper body resistance training/hard climbing hurts. Jugs are doable though, and that's a good thing! I envy the small dudes with mad strenth:weight ratio... no fair! I was 167 as a starving musician/bike messenger in the early '90's. It didn't feel or look healthy but I bet I'da climbed mad hard. Tuff to say and difficult to emulate as I refuse to starve. Anything I do... hiking/biking/resistance (even low-wt/high reps) puts weight on me unless I starve myself. I'm shooting for 180 ~12 % bodyfat by June... dirt-axing and 'swhacking small steep hills @ high intensity til weather allows more road-biking, and hope to fight thru pain to reach >3 pullups and at least 1x per week gym climbing. Can't stress enough how much "the zone" has impacted my ability to control my weight even sedentary AND bad diet since I bought and read it almost 20 yrs ago.

NE Cleveland 'burbs. I'll take all the help I can get!

I still climb on switchblades. I think they suck. I know I'm not very good, but I'm wondering if anyong thinks a modern crampon would help.

I could not resist.... Hood summit, 2008 Shouldn't that dog be wearin' a helmet?

Guitar I know. Climbing is and will forever be an enigma to me. If I could only climb as well as I play... I'd wish I could play as well as I could climb. Where is the grass greener? Green grass? WAIT... that reminds me of something!

there are a LOT of things about gilbert that make him better than vai. Vai has long ago become lost in his own shred. I think he suffers to come up with stuff that's pleasing to anyone's ear but his own. but he has pumped out some gems (no pun).

I can post about whatever I want in spray. It's spray. thank YOU for posting.

Vai is the best shredder. There's nothing he can't do.

so what?

Ok I'll bite. Realize, of course, that art, its effect, affect, quality, and the perceived mastery of technique is ALL 100% subjective and open to individual interpretation. Who was a better artist, Rembrandt or Picasso? Michaelangeo or Rodin? If you ask me, the "quality" of art, and an attempt to quantify it epitomizes the arbitrary. Technique is not "feel" or passion. Some have feel and soul that they've been able to emit through their instrument. Dave Gilmore, Jeff Beck, and S.R.V. are some my faves in that way. When you can get that vibrato from holding a bend and doin' with your fret-hand, as opposed to with the whammy (good technique when applied "well", but for the sake of the vibrato itself: lame) that's the SHIT! I spend almost all my practice time holding and shaking bends. For pure technique, Vai is probably my favorite, and I think he's nailed both in a (very) few instances. 'For the love of God' comes to mind. With that said, there's probably someone out there who may have the ability to nail it without a wah or whammy on a stop bridge les paul. Like... DAYUMM DUDE! Shred for the sake of shred, to me is like jazz. It's masterbatory. Some like it. Not my bag. So I agree with all above posts making the point that a million notes a minute doesn't make my boat float. Do I wish I could do it? Hells yeah! But I no longer, since 20 yrs go, attempt it. In the end, for me, it's all about the final product: the song. And for the sake of the song, the instrument is no more than a tool applied to that end. But really, this thread is comparing apples and oranges and handgrenades. Quanitifying something that's purely qualitative is an exercise in futility... sorta like my wanting to learn to climb steep ice. But gosh darnit it's fun! The ability to blend both passion, and shred and yield something that "does it for us" is as subjective as it comes. Yet I believe most of us would agree its a rare ability.

I've been trying to figure out a way to do that very thing since I first swung tools 7 yrs ago. But I agree... I need mileage. I'm gettin' a tiny bit on some short drips here in Ohio. I'm having fun. It still seems like I'm worse everytime I go out, but I'm still gettin' after it. I'm finally finding partners, and there are some fairly legit 30'+ really steep (4+) that we can TR. Lookin' forward to settin' up a rope and lappin' 'em this weekend. I'd post some pics if I didn't think I'd get hammered in here. THis place is ruff. Thanks for the advice!

Alex, I'm scrambling for a pen as I type. That sounds like an awesome trip. Damn. Now I wanna go. I got the green book and the brown book. Which one is this again? ManAmngst, I'm guessin' once you get out there, become even more inspired, from what I can tell, you'll be runnin' up 'n down those peaks in no time. Wait til you see this stuff up close. Keep in mind, however, the potentially most "dangerous" thing might be that you don't return home. Not 'cuz you hurt yourself in the backcountry, but rather just cuz thems mountains got a way'uh keepin' folks like you around. When u do yer trip, then land back in 'hatten, you'll then see what I mean. Just be patient with them west coasters fer a while til ya make sense of things. And try not to trip over your jaw when you're on the trail. Bring some ben gay for your neck, too. It'll be sore. It's a drug, man. 'N I've had the D.T.'s since I left. Gotta get back. Gotta get back.

Dude, can you somehow attach an avy beacon or a gps transmitter to the camera? Recovering it will be beneficial to the filmmakers when they make the documentary. And oh by the way, Jon Krakauer called and wants to interview you BEFORE your trip. Let me get this straight... you hope to solo the pickets, but you're not comfortable with bumming a ride back to your car from a stranger? Am I missing something? I'm not an alpinist of any measure. I'm just surprised others haven't dispensed this advice to you already. I'm by no means worthy of insinuating I have anywhere near the experience to advise, but it would seem to me "settling" for a solo ptarmigan traverse would be bold for an experienced alpine climber; let alone for someone eluding to there being any degree of congruency among the terms "mountaineering" and "climbing gym". More important than how to get back to your car would be to ask yourself some quesions: Have you ever been on a glacier? Are you prepared to climb out of a crevasse? How'bout if you're injured? Have you ever taken a lead fall? Have you ever unzipped gear? Do you own a rope? Are you capable of carrying the stuff you'd need for a solo 10-day backpacking trip, plus a rope and all the climbing gear necessary for what you propose? Start there. The one recurring gem of advice I see offered to us newbies in here is to buy a copy of 'Freedom of the Hills'. Study it. Know it. Study it again. Then go get some gear and start pluggin' it. The gym is absolutely, in my opinion, the best venue to learn basic climbing movement. Do that for a few months then go to the 'gunks and continue your apprenticeship applying what you learned in the gym. By this point you should begin to understand a little of what this is all about. With that said, it still ain't alpinism. But it's indicative of the normal climbing progression. People who've done this kind of trip did so after having climbed for YEARS roped up with parners in the alpine. You sorta sound a little like you saw the moon one time and immediately decided to go there after reading a book about astronauts. No offense, but you have absolutely no business crawling into the pickets alone. For myself, the more I learn... the more I'm afraid to follow through with my own aspirations but that's just me. I came from the east coast and did a season of solo backpack patrols in the Glacier Peak and Alpine Lakes winderness areas. I had already learned to climb and spent a lifetime scrambling stuff including the rockies and thought I could handle anything. Even being as fit as ever, it still took me the better part of a day to get to Buck pass from the trailhead. The Washington backcountry is more brutal than anything I've ever seen. Go offtrail up a sidehill there and you'll begin to feel me. The N. Cascades are not the Sierras. They most certainly have very little in common with anything in the NE US. Even most of the Colorado 14'rs can be relatively safe walk-ups. You'll endure more than you ever have just approaching most any Cascadian peak. It's difficult to describe, but the middle of the pickets, from what I can tell, is no place to admit we're right. Frankly, I'm a bit astonished one wouldn't realize that from the pics. "This ain't no weenie roast"! No combination of fitness and ambition alone will serve you well anywhere in the cascadian high country. My guess is you'll never make it a mile above treeline. I don't care how many laps you pull in the gym. Your ambition is good and inspiring. Head west. Climb mountains. Just start smaller. Everyone here did it the same way. I'm still trying to do it. The people in here are not trying to be exclusive. They're just trying to help. Keep in mind some of the climbers here would be among those risking their own lives on their own time launching the SAR efforts to haul your ass out if you don't come out on your own. And all of us here have witnessed the onslaught of ridicule, right here on this site, by the non-climbing masses and media questioning whether it be "allowed" we climb mountains at all. It happens. A lot... everytime someone dies on Hood or elsewhere out there. And it sucks. It is my extrememly modest and humble opinion you do as suggested. Heed the advice of these highly experienced alpinists that you re-examine not only your goals, but more importantly, your motives.

That's funny stuff, bistro! You're alright with me, dude. I'm still laughing! You just laid down like... three 75-cent words in a row. I'm pretty sure a h.s. diploma is overrated.... kinda like "good" credit!

Good point (no pun intended)! I really need the security of a toprope I think. Then I can just focus on climbing instead of falling. I'll have some help next time I go out on wed.

genespires, good stuff! I like Dane's site. I'll look for related beta there. The vid's a great idea! I need a belayer and then I could TR this stuff 'n stop freakin'. I'm gonna get myself hurt bouldering the steep short drips I have access to. Not to mention my fear of breakin' an ankle is compromising my technique. Sorry about lumping you in with the sprayers. They have me on the defensive. Thanks for your help. I appreciate it!

Coming out out of the ice. Some dinner plating. Could be my body positioning... hard to pay attention to so many things at once. Shaking with fear the whole time doesn't help. I go ~190 lbs too so I'm wondering if I need to bury placements deeper than smaller dudes. Although, as I improve crampon technique I'll not pull quite so hard, but the steeps just seem to require pulling hard no matter what. What things should I consider when it gets bullet-hard? Softer ice seems to make for better sticks regardless of sharpness, but I'm still new at this. I'm wondering about efficient sharpening/angle of rub I should be putting on the points of my picks and crampon frontpoints... high angles like a wood-splitting axe, or lower-angle like a pocket/kitchen knife? Was also wondering how much material can be removed via sharpening before it's just time to replace. Thanks!

you guys can sure dish it out; i'll give ya that. Just tryin' to fit in with the cool crowd. It goes both ways, no? Pure ice is what I'm concerned with. I'm poppin' tools when I think they're buried placements.

pick/'pon sharpening for steep ice, duh.

Really?

I'm currently soliciting advice/links about when/how to sharpen/retire picks and points. What kind of angle am I goin' for here? How much life can I squeeze out of this stuff?

Hells ya boys. HELLS ya. Wish wish wish I could throw myself at something like that and not die... if not from lack of skill, but from fear. In my next life maybe. The stoke here is PHAT!!

You're givin' me pearls, boys! Keep it comin'!