Julian

This is going to have a great positive effect on the gene pool! An entire generation of humans will be born with balls of steel who eschew the sterilized, risk-free environment of bolted sport climbing in favor of the true hardman ethic! Yvon Chouinard and Mark Twight are filling vials of sperm as we speak for the sister-website www.testtubetradbabies.com.

You have to admit, it's kind of amusing to see trad climbing promoted as a valuable aspect of human evolution and genetic advancement. Maybe someone should make TradClimberMating.com to serve this market.

Why? Because you wouldn't be able to deal with it if it wasn't? No (I'm not even sure what "wouldn't be able to deal with it" even means in this context...), because it's borderline insane. And I see you've decided to expand on it: only as far as you assume. I'm going to argue that it is very vital. Of all my activities climbing is the greatest challenge and keeps me mentally and physically fit more than any other. Then it's vital to your personal health and fitness, no problems with that. But if climbing (as a sport, not just as a motor skill humans use to get over things) didn't exist, I don't think the human race as a whole would be any worse (or better) off. What's going on there? A climbing groupie wants to score with a famous media climber, for whatever that's worth. It's not because climbing North Twin suddenly made Marko a more attractive breeding mate. Let me put this another way: I'd be willing to bet that Chris Sharma could get more girls than just about any trad or alpinist type, if he wanted to. Does that make sport climbing and bouldering inherently superior forms of climbing? Of course not. Absolutely not, although somehow I think there are challenges more pertinent to the evolution of the human race than whether a piece of rock is climbed using a bolt or a nut. Who pissed in your corn flakes this morning? I already said I enjoy both sport and trad, and in fact, I like trad more than sport because I find it fun to fiddle with gear. And my preferred type of climbing, ice, is even more mental/dangerous. But that doesn't mean I'm going to flip out over some bolts. Considering trad climbers use quickdraws, carabiners, belay devices, etc. as well, that doesn't seem to balance things out. A set of bolts can serve how many climbers? Now, how much more metal would be needed for every one of those climbers to have an adequate rack of trad gear? Note: I do not mean this as an argument that everything should be bolted. Only that the supposition that trad is a more "environmentally friendly" form of climbing to be an extremely weak one. There are plenty of good reasons to trad climb, and to not bolt naturally protectable lines, without getting into dubious environmental arguments.

This is such solid logic (and probably the best you can come up with). Similarly, we shouldn't object when somebody takes a large, steaming dump on Library Ledge since somewhere in Wenatchee there must be a sewage treatment plant. So basically, you are fine with the environmental degradation caused by trad climbing so long as it's not located at the crag where you happen to be. Out of sight, out of mind right? If some kid in a 3rd world country gets poisoned due to lead and arsenic ponds, that's an acceptable price to pay to not see some small pieces of metal drilled into a rock face.

I hope this is sarcasm. Climbing is a bullshit fun activity people do because they enjoy it, not some vital cog in human evolution. What causes more environmental impact: the strip mining for metal ore and factory production required to produce all that trad gear, or the comparatively minor amount of raw material and production needed to produce bolts? Note: I'm not bashing trad climbing in favor of sport climbing, I enjoy both, but an environmental argument is most definitely a non-starter when it comes to elevating trad above sport.

They look awesome. Nice to see a piece of gear that's advancing without getting stupid about it. This is everything it needs to be and nothing it doesn't.

If you aren't adverse to spending money, I'm pretty sure Beyond Clothing makes customized soft shell pants where one of the options is zippers for converting to shorts (at least they used to).

Great deal for some awesome tools, I'd consider buying them if I hadn't just picked up a set of orange Fusions. Hope you find a buyer (ice season is approaching guys, get these!).

Gorgeous looking tools, I'd love to try them out (maybe at the Ouray Ice Fest this year?), but unless I win the lottery I don't ever see myself buying a pair.

Will Gadd with some pretty positive initial thoughts on his blog. And yeah, he's sponsored by BD, but he's also usually pretty good about not feeding bullshit to his blog readers.

Don't apologize, it's not a tangent at all. I'll admit my characterization of vegans was probably a bit too generalized (although I certainly know plenty who view veganism in those terms), and doesn't apply to everyone. But I think the key thing you picked out, and what puts this outside of what Will is talking about, is that they feel good and are happy with their choice of food consumption lifestyle. I don't want to put too many words in Will's mouth, but I really think that he's talking about people who are punishing themselves/depriving themselves of food they enjoy, in order to meet some diet/weight loss regimen's requirements. What he's talking about is more like a vegan who loves cashews forcing themselves to never eat cashews because they are high in fat, and chewing a stick of celery as a substitute.

I don't think this is what Gadd is talking about - veganism and related dietary beliefs are a combination of ethical/spiritual/mental factors that go beyond "I want to lose weight/have ripped abs/climb ----/etc". I think Gadd is more referring to when people exclude foods they otherwise enjoy, like someone saying "I'm never going to eat pizza or ice cream again, even though I love both". Personally I can see Will's point because I'm going through a period right now where I am trying to lose weight, and I've been quite successful so far (15lbs in 5 weeks) by ramping up my exercise, controlling my portions a bit better, and making some smart food substitutions (but no outright banishments). The other night I was really hungry for dinner, and I eat a frozen pizza after a 2 hour gym workout. Last night I wasn't as hungry, so I made a chicken and veggie stir-fry with a small sweet potato as the only starch. It's all about finding the balance you are comfortable with, and not feeling guilty for the occasional indulgence.

Mountain Equipment Co-op RD Windshell: http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442633282&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302699303 Light, high-quality, and even has a hood.

What are your favorite pieces of gear that have since been discontinued or ruined by unnecessary design changes? My motivation for this post is a trip to REI this weekend followed up by a hiking trip. At REI I saw the horrific changes that have been made to my favorite pair of climbing pants, and on the trip every time I used my tent I cursed REI for getting rid of it. So here's my two items: 1. REI Mistral softshell pants These are my go-to pants for everything in cool/cold weather, especially ice and alpine climbing. The original design used Schoeller softshell fabric, had an integrated belt and metal front sliding clasp, two standard pockets and a thigh pocket (all with really good zipper pulls), and was extremely well constructed with a nice athletic fit. They might be my single favorite piece of outdoor clothing. The new re-design is a failure on every level except for what's important to REI: making more money by selling them as "urban wear" to coffeeshop climbers. The integrated nylon belt and clasp closure have been replaced by belt loops for a separate belt and a front button, the zipper pulls have been removed from all the zippers (can't have those showing at the pub right?), the thigh pocket has been ditched in favor of two ass pockets (clearly only there to make these look more like "normal" pants), and the material is now some cheaper, heavier, boxier no-name softshell fabric. The fit is less athletic and more "casual/urban", and the construction is noticeably worse. It took me all of 10 seconds of wearing them to decide that I would never buy a pair as they are currently made. I only wish I had purchased 5 pairs of the previous model rather than the one pair I'm still beating the hell out of (and seam-sealing crampon holes on to keep them alive). It's such a shame that REI designed a piece of gear that was every bit as good as the stuff from the big names, and then pissed it away. 2. REI Sub-Alpine 2 tent I've had this tent for a good 5 years, and it's still going strong aside from a couple of rips that I fixed easily with repair tape. It's a reasonable weight for a tent that was moderately priced, works as a cosy 2-person tent or a roomy solo shelter, and was dead-easy to set up solo. The design is a simple 3 pole, all-clip tent that takes about 5 minutes to fully set up. REI ditched this tent years ago in favor of their current lineup of half-dome and quarter-dome tents, which are using over-complicated pole hubs and joints that seem like perfect candidates to break or get dropped/lost and compromise the ability to set up the tent. I don't understand why REI got rid of such a simple, well-designed, reasonably-priced tent.

There have been some great threads on here by Dane and others on the evolution of ice tools, and there are a few good articles on various websites as well. One thing I'm curious about, and that I haven't found any reference to, is the origin of dedicated leashless/Z-handled tools. -What were the first ones, and how have they evolved? What about early prototypes modded from leashed tools by actual climbers? -Were the Petzl Quark Ergo and Black Diamond Fusion the first such tools from those manufacturers? -How about Grivel, Simond, DMM, and others? Was any manufacturer definitively "first to the market"?

No one cares.

Depends on what you consider "inexpensive". For the quality, the Arcteryx Atom line is very reasonably priced. Backcountry'com's Stoic house brand make some good products that can be had on SteepAndCheap for exceptional discounts. I haven't seen the synthetic insulated jackets, but I imagine they are very good for the price you would pay if you get them on SAC.

I have a Snow Peak Gigapower stove that is still going strong after 6 years. I like it a bit better than the MSR Pocket Rocket, but it's pretty similar.

For me, the most important thing is that it's something I'm willing to eat, or at least can stomach, even if I'm not feeling great. In that regard, some of my trail/climb staples are cashews, Mike & Ikes, PayDay bars, and peanut M&Ms.

Damn that's a screaming good deal. I'd be interested if I hadn't just bought a set of Fusions for $150.

Not done. Look at the desecration of that virginal rock, compared to the unspoiled natural beauty of the concrete and rooftops below.

"it's just a metaphor for people in general I guess." There's nothing more tiresome and hyperbolic than "bolted routes equate to the fall of western civilization" type comments. But I guess the Disciples Of Dawg need to sound off whenever a Bosch gets turned on.

I'd never heard of Groupon before their disgustingly tasteless "Tibet suffers under Chinese rule but at least you can still get their ethnic food!" commercial they ran during the Super Bowl, and after seeing that I've vowed never to use their business.

I'm a bit confused by this, 8 feet left is not "within reach" for any human being I know of, and there are routes at Smith (and elsewhere) where the bolt lines are not much further apart than that, if at all. I think the question that has to be asked is "If you follow the line of Super Slab, can you reach the bolts without having to do something contrived or go way off-route?". If the answer is yes then maybe they should be removed. If the answer is no then I don't see the harm. It's not like Super Slab is some ultra-bold chop route like they have in Britain, where a line of somewhat accessible bolts would severely change the psychological factor. I can't imagine anyone climbing it would bother with the bolts unless they are right there at less than arm's reach from the route.

“Don’t spend money on gear. Spend it on plane tickets.” That's all well and good if you are some dirtbag adventurer, or a semi-professional outdoor type. If, like many of us, you are a weekend warrior with a steady professional job, then it may just not be feasible to be routinely jumping on planes and going off on explorations and climbing trips. But with lots of disposable income, a car (which is for commuting to work so its not part of the "climbing budget"), and the weekends or maybe a few weeks around Christmas to get your trips in, why not spend some of your cash on nice gear? Anyone who claims that having good gear doesn't make the experience at least slightly more pleasant (all other things being equal) is someone who doesn't have much of it.