Raindawg

I found a pair of nice, seemingly new, sturdy backpacking/light alpine boots in the Tahoma Creek bed up at Mt. Rainier, just below the famous suspension bridge. Inform me with the make, model and size (and the story about how they ended up there).

Great tribute article, unfortunately interrupted by an inane cheery embedded advertisement. Three cheers to Lowell and family!

Raindawg here.... coming out of cc.com exile to pay tribute to Mighty Fred. I have a lot of memories including inviting him to give a lecture or two at my place of employment. Fueled up on coffee. he always gave a rapid-fire retrospective of almost every climb he ever did..one slide per ascent...."almost died on that one"...."she was a cutie..." etc. and by the end of it, a couple of hours later, the audience was both exhausted and impressed beyond belief. One of my star-struck students once asked Fred with great expectation...."uh....whhhhhat kind of boots do you wear, Mr. Beckey???" expecting specific instructions from the maestro. "Well, you go to the REI or wherever...you put some on...and if they work out that's good." Another time, Fred showed up at my house asking for advice as to whether he should go back to school and get a Master's Degree so he could get a job teaching history or geography at a community college. He was well over 70 years old at the time and my feeling was that he should have already had some sort of national achievement stipend for all he had already accomplished, and to encourage him to continue. If you knew Fred, you knew about his secret book of numbers, the pay phones, the random calls and appearances, and his unstoppable drive to do new things. If you read his guide books, one can only conclude that he was an eccentric genius, and his Cascade guides probably shaped the lives of most everyone reading this. They did mine. I'm delighted he made it to 94.....most don't reach that age but he did it with vigor, always reaching for dreams in his own eccentric way. Thanks Fred. Raindawg/Dwayner/Don

Best of Breaking Bad: Walter White and Family! As filmed at last year's "Dwayner and Pope's Goodtime Bouldering Rodeo" in Leavenworth: Yes, he did win the singing contest and went on the next day to establish a new sit-start to the classic "Midway" route on Castle Rock in Tumwater Canyon. Nice job!

Really glassgowkiss? You might want to read a bit more carefully before calling people out. Raindawg never made any claims about free climbing related Numbah10: It was implicit in his statement. He has made claims like this of other routes... NO it wasn't implied. Some folks around here are quick to react but slow to read and comprehend. I'll try to make it easier for you to understand. The example: Numbah 10 at Index. - It goes clean on aid. In other words, it takes removable gear although several pieces are small if not sketchy. - Instead of waiting until someone with the ability to come along, or for gear to improve, it was decided to place a line of closely-spaced bolts alongside the crack for the immediate gratification of those who wanted to climb it "free", probably with the idea that climbing the route free is "superior" to that of using aid, even if it means extensive use of bolts next to a crack. (And by the way, it also dumbed-down the aid route although the bolts can be skipped if one wants to experience more of the original character of the climb.) My opinion: they should have just left it alone until someone with the skill and audacity could lead it free on gear. (Yes...not everything needs to be climbed NOW or ever.) Do I care if anyone can or will climb Numbah 10 free and clean? No, I genuinely don't. I just resent the attitude that it's O.K. to do what was done there. Really now! In review: What does this phrase mean to you? "...Numbah 10" which can be climbed clean ON AID." Further explained by: "My opinion: they should have just left it alone [instead of bolting next to a crack] until someone with the skill and audacity could lead it free on gear. (Yes...not everything needs to be climbed NOW or ever.) Do I care if anyone can or will climb Numbah 10 free and clean? No, I genuinely don't. I just resent the attitude that it's O.K. to do what was done there." You don't have to like the opinion, but you should understand it before you react so aggressively.

And your point? As long as the damage isn't at a global scale then it's O.K. to exempt oneself from personal responsibility at a smaller scale? Now that's environmental! Go climber!

Really glassgowkiss? You might want to read a bit more carefully before calling people out. Raindawg never made any claims about free climbing related Numbah10: It was implicit in his statement. He has made claims like this of other routes... NO it wasn't implied. Some folks around here are quick to react but slow to read and comprehend. I'll try to make it easier for you to understand. The example: Numbah 10 at Index. - It goes clean on aid. In other words, it takes removable gear although several pieces are small if not sketchy. - Instead of waiting until someone with the ability to come along, or for gear to improve, it was decided to place a line of closely-spaced bolts alongside the crack for the immediate gratification of those who wanted to climb it "free", probably with the idea that climbing the route free is "superior" to that of using aid, even if it means extensive use of bolts next to a crack. (And by the way, it also dumbed-down the aid route although the bolts can be skipped if one wants to experience more of the original character of the climb.) My opinion: they should have just left it alone until someone with the skill and audacity could lead it free on gear. (Yes...not everything needs to be climbed NOW or ever.) Do I care if anyone can or will climb Numbah 10 free and clean? No, I genuinely don't. I just resent the attitude that it's O.K. to do what was done there.

Some folks have no problem chopping down living trees to "enhance" their climbing experience while at the same time have a hissy-fit if someone chops their artificial intrusive bolts. Climbing is no longer the vanguard of environmentalism; it's becoming the vanguard of narcissism.

If you interested in the ethics of cutting down trees at climbing areas you should probably read about this now famous example: http://www.climbing.com/news/joe-kinder-reflects-on-aftermath-of-controversial-tree-cutting-incident/ P.S. And so what if these particular trees were officially "special"...it goes beyond that to invite climbers to think about why they think they're so special. A short excerpt from the article: "[bernie] LaForest commented on the importance of the issue to him, as a local climber, “The cutting of these two trees isn’t going to cripple the planet, but when do you, as an individual, take a stand? I feel that as a professional athlete, especially in sports that are so married to the outside world, it’s your obligation to not only push the progression of the sport but more importantly be a steward to the places that you do your business.”

Haven't heard that kind of bet since I was 9 years old at recess during 4th grade, or later by adult clowns on cc.com who can't deal with the philosophy of the issues. You obviously missed the point. It doesn't matter if I'm in a wheelchair or can climb 5.18......what I have to say stands on its own principle. I don't really care if it's ever free-climbed, but forcing it by adding a line of bolts next to a crack is disrespectful and narcissistic. Plenty of that around here! P.S. And "Choada-Boy"...enjoy the schoolyard dog-pile....it's expected.

Brother Buckaroo says: Well guess what, despite the pages of "discussion", Buckaroo, I think you had it right the first time. Lots of climbers, many of whom consider themselves the ultimate vanguards of the outdoor environment, have no problem with chopping down trees or adding permanent installations at will for their own narcissistic amusement, and typically justify it by invoking that it's less impact than the road they used to drive to the climbing area or even the damage done by local ski areas (for example, lines of bolts at Index...some next to protectable cracks, e.g. the bolted dihedral of "Numbah 10" which can be climbed clean on aid, as can "Dana's Arch" which some have tried to justify by saying that the bolts "protect the crack!" In both cases, they only ease the protection of "free" climbers). The earlier chopping down of trees at Index so that the wall would "dry out quicker," and later ridding the wall of them because they're in one's way is the definition of hubris. Environmentalists they are not. Self-absorbed they are. You don't have to agree with me and I don't expect you will, but it's an opinion someone should throw into the mix.

Well-stated, Bro! But unfortunately, nobody agrees on what "the right thing is." For example, I'd be delighted if the dominant paradigm of "sport climbing", (with it's assumption that anything climbable on public or even private land can be permanently altered for one's own amusement), would acknowledge its outrageous impact and just stop. For me, that's an obvious ethical conclusion. Clearly many involved don't see it that way and as they commonly feel threatened by such an opinion, you can expect that the "community" will piss on you for even bringing up the fact that some of what they do might be in any way environmentally and/or ethically dubious. Climbers, the self-styled guardians of the environment, are often the worst offenders...but then again....what is the definition of a climber in the year 2015?? Anyone who goes to REI and buys a pair of rock shoes and a gym membership? And then perhaps "progresses" to something not much different, but outdoors, at a convenient grid-bolted sport crag? Are they even taught that there are alternate or contrary opinions on the subject? Land managers have every reason to be suspicious of climbers! As much as I've enjoyed climbing, I'm embarrassed by a lot of what goes on. Today....even bouldering....once considered the minimalist approach to recreational ascent....is now a sport for the masses And denuded surroundings, over-chalked routes (which solve the mysteries for you) and lots of garbage, and rodent-chewed crash-pads stowed by the lazy, are not uncommon. The Access Fund has an uphill battle if they want to convince non-climbers that what's going on is just fine. Why? Because it ain't just fine...and people, especially non-climbers, are figuring that out.

Them doggies might have smelled a love of overcrowded, over-bolted convenience crags? I've experienced the canine beasts myself (most notably in Icicle Canyon near Leavenworth) and can't stand them either, but the indoor-gym-edumacated masses will arrive in droves with their pooches (typically named "Denali", "Tahoma" or "Tatoosh") and they WILL snap at you and eat your sammiches. Apparently some are even trainin' them to Clip 'n Go!! Yee-haW!:

Poor Dupre on his tenacious winter solo ascent of Denali.....he didn't have the opportunity to order up some "Aussie Tape" when his fingers got all tender! And not even some back-up when his (non-existent) partner was pushing pitches ahead with some sort of anonymous belayer! And his gurlfren didn't even greet him at the summit! Poor Dupre! Should have been on El-Cap!

"I AM TOMMY AND KEVIN."