cynicalwoodsman

drink rat poison instead d-CON is my fave!

I don't know what I can do. I already don't drink red bull.

Isn't this... bad?

I like what your blog says about horizontal front points. Would my weight (~200 lbs) be an issue with those over the long haul?

Pure ice. That mixed stuff is for the strong and the bold. I'm a lifelong member of the weak and chickenhearted.

I guess its time to upgrade from my switchblades. Will I notice a difference?

Good idea with the tape! I like that ol' stitch plate I see hangin' in the pic. I wonder if its the type of thread, or how it's sewn-up that makes the screamer go.

That's what I thought. Just makin' sure it wasn't slang I never heard for pro. Damn... I popped a buttcork readin' these posts. Good stuff. Keep 'em comin'. So everything held in all these falls, yeah? Nobody decked? Posting about stuff that you've heard happened would be cool too.

what's an ice clipper?

It's awesome you guys looked that stuff up! I can't figure out how to do the quotes, so I'll just comment on all of the recent ones. Gym climbing always killed my fingers, which is why I never liked it all that much. It has been a struggle to climb and play guitar in the same week. I never wanted to climb hard anyway. I learned in a gym, but I get very little from gym climbing. Training for anything is a thing of the past. I ride a roadbike now, and there's some nice rolling countryside. Tuff to do here in winter though. I've never heard of devil's lake but I'll look it up. The permit required to climb at Whipps can only be obtained by providing proof of $300k personal liability insurance. I ain't got it. The 1100' high quote is a typo. Maybe 1100' long, but I doubt anything in ohio, even a hill, offers that much relief. Logtown looks worth the trip given my options. I haven't checked it out yet. It's listed wrong on rc.com. It's not in NE ohio. I think its about 2 hours. The red is, as mentioned above, about 6 hrs. I'm gonna do a trip there this spring. The New is half a day. Never been, but it's on the list. The 'daks are 10 hours from me. I've always gone there. Never climbed rock there though. I've done a ton of winter snowshoe backpacking there, and it's the first place I ever climbed ice. It gets way too much traffic in the summer. The local black bears know how to open bear canisters. They knew how to get hung food bags years ago. It's just hammered! It bums me out. SW pa actually has some really good ice and it's about 5-ish hours depending on where you climb. I have a trip there in the bag already this season. And it's the most reliable ice in PA. Central pa has some semi-reliable ice, surprisingly good backpacking, some paddling, and some good (backcountry.... not much worn singletrack) mtnbiking, but hardly any rock worth climbing. It's all sedimentary choss... mostly shale and semi-resistant sanstone. Very little good sandstone is there. I've spent many years in Central pa and went to college there. There's no igneous rock in PA except SE PA and a little bit of diabase in the lancaster rift. I don't know how much of it's climbable except to say I know some of it is. I'm dyin' to leave but my gf is here, and my family in upstate ny needs me close cuz my dad has alzheimers. Even if I could leave I haven't found work since I've been here. I don't 'zactly have the bankroll to pull out. Not to mention my gf is pretty rooted for the time being. She's climbed, but isn't a climber. We get out backpacking in PA and WV a few times a year. Mohican, 2 hours south of me has some of the best technical singletrack I've ever ridden. Good camping too. Cleveland is home to the world's only indoor mtn bike park. I haven't checked that out yet either. The metropark system here offers a bit of therapy. They don't allow mtn biking anywhere nearby 'cept a 2 mile loop almost an hour away. But there's a metropark near me that has some good bouldering (too steep for me) and more importantly, a bunch of 12'-15' drips that are touchin' down all over the place and I've gotten several days of tool-swingin' ice bouldering that I plan to take advantage of as long as it stays cold. From what I understand it's rare to have it come in like it has. It's not posted against climbing like the rest of metroparks that have any rock at all, but I'm thinkin' it's probably not legal. But I'm dyin to hang a TR or plug some gear on some of the less-steep lines next season. It's rare, better sandstone for here.

Load limiters... other than for obviously-questionable placements, are they a must for you on the first, or on the first few placements? Or am I good to go with just draws if the ice is good? I'm not interested in a gear review. I want fall stories. What gear was being used, how were conditions, and what happened?

Gene, reading your posts on this thread make me feel good. I'm not as bitter as I thought. Thank you. Keep 'em comin'.

Acutally not factor 2. It's never taken any real short hard whips.

I'm familiar with the fall-factor, but my mind doesn't work well on the quantitative side of things, so I never added it up. My self-medicating on the sweet leaf doesn't help me remember a all falls I've taken on it. I've taken a 30-footer at Smith on probably 60-feet of that rope. I popped a screamer on ice with ~100' of rope out. Some short, probably factor 2 falls, one I can remember for sure. I've fallen on a lot of other people's ropes, so I have a hard time knowing for sure how many of them were on mine. My first nice fall was on Loose Lady on Hauser buttress at j-tree. But that was before I bought mine. And I peeled, scraped, and bounced a bit on a L'worth climb last spring. I'm pretty sure that was on my rope, but I can't be positive. I was swimming in stupid meds that trip! I just know Its been on my mind for a season or two. It had a lot of abuse at Smith when I first bought it. But that's sorta why I started washing it early. It's got way too much stretch left for retiring it to TR-only status. It's probably time to start tying into the other end. I'll have to hack ~3m off cuz there's one prominant fray where it got poked with a pick on a follow. Even if I could afford a new cord, I'd probably hold off. Especially after what I've read here.

nawwwwww that bitch is barefoot in the kitchen standin' over the stove cookin' my dinner 'n readin' the clock for me. I traded my watch for a chalk ball and tendon-tape. kukuzka (how do you pronounce that?), I been watchin' 'dis place fer a while now. I'm currently stayin' on top of summitchaser's thread, I remember jamin 'r whatever his name was. I fig'r I kin git mo'r bees wit hunny when the clouds begin to darken over my prose in here. I don't wanna be on the wrong end of spray like that. Sooo I exersized a little shmoozin so I can get my 75 cents worth.

I guess I was talkin' more about some of the gym members as opposed to the staffers. My bad. I lost my way a tad in the middle of holding up my shield and burying my head in the snow. And I think (can't remember who it was), after some thought, I agree with something posted in this thread about new and less-experienced gym staffers just tryin' to do their job the way they were taught when dealing with climbers who just wanna show up 'n do what they wanna so and kinda disregard the rules at the gym. I did make bold statments. Check the handle dude. But I do try to make ammends. Its hard for me sometimes to not forget that most folks haven't necessarily had the same experiences I've had in life (not climbing) which have led me to being such a cynical prick. I've never had a problem accepting and taking with a grain of salt the few as part of the whole. But I'm tellin ya dude... I've seen some (not many... but some) gyms that do everything wrong... from attitudes, to rubbin' MOST folks the wrong way, to teaching bad habits, to being rude to everyone who walks in the door, to ignoring clientele to pose, to downright blatantly telling newbies that they don't deserve to be there. It's bazarre. I was hoping to find some affirmation in here. Didn't work. About that offer... got change for a buck?

Best I can hope to do is mod my old cobras. That may not be what you're talking about. But it's what I have. I've been watchin' all the vids I can get my paws on, and I still don't understand. These guys make it look SO EASY! I just need to figure out how to get more days in: a lifelong goal. Dane, your blog is, to say the least, inspiring. Really really good stuff. Thanks for the pm. I'm headed back out tomorrow to get back on the drips. I'll even have a spot or a belay. 2 moves up, 2 moves down, repeat. If I'm feelin' really strong I may even top out if I don't pop a butt-cork.

Ok ok I guess I deserve all this angst. Besides... my shrink told me to apologize. I'm quite capable of humility. And I have a lot of respect for all you guys. You've ALL done way more climbing than I have. I don't have the balls. I don't know from glaciers, volcanos, or avy danger where I'm from. I'd still like to, but it all scares the ever-livin' crap out'a me. I did a season of forest circus wilderness patrols out'a l'worth. I can only imagine how harsh that backcountry is by the time they close that last gate toward trinity. Crazy. So Joe, forgive me. I didn't mean to offend anyone in present company. I guess I just didn't realize I was directing any of my angst to anyone in here... 'cept the panty comment. And I didn't know they were dirty. That's gross. But really though... I read how harsh the spray is on this site. I was just tryin' to fit in. You guys are raw! I gotta ask, because I wasn't directing any of my bitter angst to anyone in here. Why did I piss everyone off so bad? I don't believe ANYone in here would ever fall into the category of climber I'm (very unsucessfully) trying to describe. And I guess that was sorta my whole point. Not to mention almost all of you acknowlege they've witnessed the attitude... even amidst a solid climbing community. Imagine what it gets like in the midwest. I don't think many of you have climbed in any of the gyms I've had troubles with. That's why I tried really hard to put into context the type of venue I'm talking about. If you've never climbed in a gym in a flat state, or at a small obscure university climbing wall far from the crags (and far from most climbers) I guess it's impossible for you to understand how bad the attitude can get. And I hate to see what it does to people's views of climbing. The one bad egg thing I think. I've seen a lotta bad eggs. Who knows. Maybe I've been the bad egg before, like in here. But it was never my intention. I doubt my experiences would ever be repeated, cuz they never were for me, at climbing gyms in the PNW. Maybe it's an east coast thing. I am from Philly. And this isn't the first time I burn bridges as soon as I start talkin' (or typin'). I've never really fit in with you guys. I don't look, climb, live, or view climbing quite the same way a lotta you folks do. And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't ever seeking inclusion into climbing. I'm also really sensative to the attitude; whether it be climbers, or guitar players. I play guitar way better than most of you climb, and it's the only thing I really have any ego about. Well... I'm a pretty good mtn biker too, but anyway... I don't really think I deserved the hammering that Joe gave me, as, like I said, I was never directing my angst to anyone in here, so I don't really get why some folks got so upset. Maybe I am bitter. Maybe I am, sorta (not really but I'm tryin' to be objective here) jealous of those who climb harder than I do. Hard to say. Personally, as soon as I'm climbing 10's and several days a week my fingers start hurtin' really bad, and when I come home and can't play 'mood for a day' or 'broones bane' on my classical guitar, or 'for the love of god' on my electric, it's time to stop climbing. It's not worth it. I'm rambling. But I just wanted to say I never meant to piss anyone off. I'd like to keep posting in here and gaining knowlege and hearing perspectives from those better and stronger and more experienced than me at this whole crazy climbing thing. It's not a way of life for me, but I plan on spending my life doing it at one capacity or another. So I'm sorry. I'd be happy to meet some of you, maybe climb together (moderates moderates moderates!!!), and share a smoothie and some granola with the cool kids from Eugene. As long as you're willing to look me up 'n swill some wild turkey, ipa's, and marlboros when you come to cleveland. There just isn't anything to climb here... unless ya wanna go to the gym.

THANK YOU!!! This is really good stuff. I REALLY appreciate it. I had always figured my cord had more life in it than the tag reads. It's just hard to know. Afterall... I never discount factory-supplied beta on gear, and given that it's my lifeline, I wanted more info. And you guys ROCK! I look forward to unundating you all with more questions and tapping the seemingly infinite range of knowlege and experience that exists in here. This website has provided me with a lot of much-needed stoke over the years. And it's gettin' me thru some hard times right now. Good stuff. Goin' to check the vids out soon.

I don't even know how to spell egomaniacal, or douchebag. Nor have I even ever met your girlfriend, but I paid a dollar to see her panties last night.

What happens over time? If I bought a brand new rope and just stuck in in my closet for 5 or 6 years... what happens to it? And will there be anything about it at that point that one can see or feel? Is there a manufacturer's policy limiting the length of time a rope should sit on the shelf (hook)? I really just wanted to know about the fall-rating. My rope's not furry, lumpy, or any of the things you folks mention. And I would only loosely consider it to be a lead line anymore. Then again, I only loosely consdider myself to be a climber anymore. I've climbed on my rope only 3 times in the last year. It would suck to have to retire my rope after only using it so little. They're not cheap. And there's no pro-deal in my near future. I'm still confident in it. A new rope is not an option. Sometimes 3 meals a day is not an option. Times is tuff. Jens, why is a fatter rope less fun to climb on? Weight? Or is it that it's not fun to deal with it once its old 'n furry? I wash my rope cuz it makes it like new and keeps it handling nicely. But if washing it when it gets dirty is a bad idea I'll stop washing it. I always thought it looked and felt so good after so long simply because I wash it when it gets dirty. Many climbers don't wash 'em at all. Is washing it bad?

I don't get it. If there's a climbing wall there, who'd wanna leave? Free rent's a good deal too.

There's a climbing wall in your local jail? That's nutty. Damn, dude. Three squares, a rack, AND a climbing wall?

Not my experience at all. I have run into a few over the years but lately not so much. I got the feeling the few bad ones were not very experienced and just focused on making sure people did stuff the way they had been told to do it. But I've never been to a climbing gym in a flat state or jail so your results may differ. jail? Can someone translate this for me? There's climbing gyms in jail?

I've never even heard of someone washing a rope so much. I guess it does sound crazy, but the last 4 times I used my rope covers about the last 2 years. It was really filthy last time I brought it home from climbing. I've had it for 6 yrs and have washed it maybe 4 times. Are you flaming me? Thought I'd be safe from that in here.