Sherri

I'm not clicking on that video. Somehow I have a feeling it's going to involve Rick Astley....

They all trained on sport….thats how to get strong for crack…..you said they STARTED as hard core sport climbers. Tommy was taught to climb by his father who by all trades was and is a trad climber. Tommy was taught to climb gear……then turned to sport years later. i love it...you are making my point for me! dumbarse...sheesh, this is what i was saying to sherri at the very beginning... I better understand what your point was now, RuMR. I hadn't thought of how working on the finesse and athleticism on the sport routes might have laid a good foundation for the crack and face skills necessary for doing the trad routes well. At the time I transitioned to trad, there was such a gap between what I could do in that vs. how quickly I'd progressed in sport(relatively speaking, of course) that I felt like I was learning to climb all over.

That sums it up for me, too.

Guess it's not the first time I've gotten things back asswards. I found the gear relevant in the sense that, when it came to placing it, I had to learn to find stances in the cracks in order to do so without pumping out. Not that clipping bolts doesn't require finding effective stances, but, from a physical sense, the process seemed to be of more of a "balancy" one than a strenuous or pumpy one. Especially when pushing a grade, it was easier to grope for a hanger than to solidy jam a crack while selecting and properly placing the appropriate nut, cam, or hex--so I find the gear itself to be intrinsic to the style because of the differing nature of how it must be placed.

Summer's almost over??! Nooooooooooo!

I leaned more toward sport when I started climbing and found little to no carry-over from that skillset when I attempted trad routes. (ie-my sport grades would jump but trad grades did not budge and crack skills were pathetic.) This season, I put the sporto stuff on the back burner and put in consistent effort on the trad, which has resulted in inching my way up the grade ladder and the exciting discovery that I really enjoy the subleties crack climbing(before, it felt like one big frustrating grovelfest ). Interestingly, on the rare occasion that I do get on a sport route now, I've found that I'm climbing better and harder on them than I did when they were my sole focus. It was intriguing how the trad efforts bumped up the sport, but, for me at least, there was no gain when it was the other way around. I love crack.

His camera shoots backwards?

Nice going, Feck! I love the foggy ambience of the TR pics. Adds drama. I want to see what is in that mailbox.

I knew there was something strange about that map...just couldn't put my finger on it. Then again, I never was very good at geography.

I accidentally used the men's room at one of the RV parks there. I thought the caricature of the Bavarian dude drawn above the door was a theme decoration, not an indicator of gender designation for the loo. My bad. I have to add, in my defense, that the gentleman who seemed surprised to see me standing at the sink when he came out of the stall was NOT wearing lederhosen, either. This handy and informative mapping feature may have spared us both an awkward washroom moment. Nice work, Porter!

But isn't Leavenworth in Bavaria? Say WA?

Ice bars don't have bolts.

The evolutionary significance of ice bars in the course of human history and development? Just a guess.

Obviously, the surgeon general wasn't worried about warning us of THAT side effect.

Ice stools, too? Brrrrr.

Wow, those are some industrious baddies. Scary to hear how far they'll go to capitalize on what they got from the initial heist.

Thanks for sharing that, Mark. Great job working through those challenges. Sounds like getting into that "sweet spot" with your rhythm on the jambs was worth all the effort. I liked that book, too. Even though it's been a year since I first read it, I find that its lessons still pop to mind from time to time, helping me through a sketchy lead or quieting a noisy ego debate in my head. BTW, I regularly climb with a guy who is about your age--he's one of the most talented, energetic and motivated climbers I know. It's quite an inspiration...and kinda makes me look forward to being "old", especially if I'll be climbing even half as well as him by then.

I appreciate the chance to toprope climbs that are beyond my lead ability or that I otherwise don't have the opportunity to do as a second. Just don't think I'd feel comfortable doing it from that particular set of anchors on a busy day because it's at the confluence of so many routes that folks are doing on lead. But, hey, if you've the crag all to yourself, there's certainly nothing wrong with a little nose-pickin'. Just keep in mind, boogers are aid.

No way he's gonna fit that cross into those saddlebags. Needs a trailer.

Ask for a partner named Job? He was a battler.

Agreed-- that set of anchors gets clogged up pretty quickly with traffic. But, now that it's been brought up, it WOULD make for the mother of all of topropes...

I prefer a gear anchor.

Bumper sticker should be included with the guidebook: "WWJC" (What Would Jesus Climb?)

I bet they are beautiful just the way they are.

...because if it were peanut butter, I wouldn't have gotten it thru Canadian customs? I still can't believe I fell for that.