rob

I had the rope get stuck in a crack while leading once -- couldn't get any slack. Had to downclimb to fix it, and I took the piece out to fix the rope. Of course, the trigger wires detached from the trigger at that exact moment. I had to rethread the wires with one hand, hoping elvis didn't vibrate my ass right out of the crack. Talk about gripped....

oh man, terrible news.

very cool -- thanks for the pictures! I wonder how I can get out of work for a few days...

you guys rock, you totally made my day

Recently, I became very ill with dengue hemorrhagic fever while climbing in Thailand. I was severely ill for four days before travelling to a hospital in Bangkok. When I was admitted, I was delirious and nearly unconscious with fever and pain. The virus had attacked my blood, demolishing my platelets and threatening my blood pressure. I was convulsing, and my organs had begun to hemorrhage. I was bleeding internally. I was going into shock. If Cassie had not called an ambulance that night, I might have died. All said, I would spend 7 days in the hospital. It will take me weeks to fully recover. This was the first time I had ever been seriously ill, and was a frightening experience. It changed me in many ways. I realized how many people I loved, and how little time I'd spent showing them. Life is short. Nothing is more important than your friends and loved ones. I had forgotten how important it is to tell your loved ones how you feel about them. Today I turn 29. I've begun the process of recovery. But my perspective on life has changed. Things that seemed important now seem trivial. What is important to me now are my friends, my loved ones, and the mountains. Nothing else seems to matter as much. I've realized that my riches surround me, and they don't have anything to do with money. I know this is pretty ghey, but I get one ghey post per birthday, right?. I just needed to let my friends know that I love them, and I wanted to share my new perspective. I don't think I'll ever look at things the same, and I hope that I inspire you to see them a little differently, too. Now, I need to go climbing!

I had a mexican roommate once named Jorge. He used to sing Hotel California in his thick accent. He sounded like a bad Julio Iglacias. He would get a sad thoughtful look in his eyes when he sang the choruses. One day I came home and found him naked, stretching his penis out on top of a dresser, measuring it. He challenged me to a contest. I moved out shortly after.

I was with two girls once

Thanks for the well-wishes everyone. They really helped. It's nice to have friends. I was enough of a pain in the ass for them to finally kick me out of the hospital, so now I'm resting until my flight leaves on the 14th. Luckily, I think that's just enough time to catch malaria. Dengue fever turns out to be an excellent way to lose weight quickly, by the way. Can somebody post this in the weight-loss thread?

I saw a local Thai boy walking on the beach with a brand-new pair of white converse. He was brushing sand off of them, and looked like a proud parent. He probably saved up for them. You can buy conterfeit converse at the markets, they are called "Six Stars" and are signed by "Mark Taylor". But his authentic chucks must have cost him a month's pay. The climbing here is beautiful. I've never climbed rock like this; steep and overhanging limestone cliffs with giant stalagtites (great stemming) and tunnels and pockets throughout the rock. Many of the climbs are protected by threading loops of rope through tunnels in the rock, but unfortunately these threads are usually damaged by UV and salt. On top of this, they are often tied with "single" fisherman knots. I tunneled some old lengths of rope through 1'' webing to replace some of this tat. Also, many of the bolts suffer from internal damange -- from acidic water that percolates through the porous limestone. Yesterday I found a small cave on one of the cliffs that descended into the cliffside 50 meters above the ground, and went farther back than I could see. The other day I climbed a remote jungle trail to a hidden lagoon inside a rock tower. The trail was very steep, scrambling up through limestone with the help of knotted handlines made out of hemp rope. After topping out, you hand-rappel down steep to verticle rock steps to the lagoon below. There is a local reggae bar in the jungle with live music. There are lots of rasta and dreadlocked thai boys working around the beach, and a lot of dancing and smoking. The climbing is very steep and strenuous. I'm hoping to get in another good day of climbing before I leave on the 4th. And for rest days, there is snorkeling and ocean kayaking and endless hours of sitting on white beaches drinking rum out of coconuts and dipping in warm, crystal clear water. See you soon, Rob

man, it's fucking warm in bangkok right now.

Caffiene doesn't do much to me. I've drank a lot of it, but it only gives me very little boost -- for instance, I can drink right before bed. It doesn't have any effect on my exercise, except that I notice too much tea or coffee keeps me from drinking enough water.

I didn't get out every weekend, but I climbed like a mofo this year. Cragging once a week after work, and long trips every other weekend -- bumped my leading up several grades, and spent a week in the olympics to boot. Thailand in a couple days, and them I'm ready for winter. Let it snow while I'm gone, hey?

Cool, my wife and I leave for Thailand on Tuesday. I think we'll be passing through Krabi for about a week towards the end of the month. Maybe we'll see you there.

Tvash and I picked up a Sultan native once who was hitching. She had a tail and spit acid.

I saw a guy riding around greenlake with one of those "one less car" shirts who was quietly racking his bike onto the back of his suburban. He probably just came from that event.

How old is he? My nephew has a turtle, it seems pretty low commitment.

At least he can use a smaller cup now.

what's so funny 'bout peace, love and understanding?

not that there's anything wrong with that

Apparently, I'm a Kucinich supporter too.

I eat pretty healthy, but I still get intense sugar cravings when I'm training hard. Fruit sometimes helps (I eat a lot of fruit anyway), but honestly a handfull of chocolate-covered peanuts seems to do the trick.

John Frieh

The Rooster.

Jesus, what fun is life without bragging? Isn't that what this website is all about? I read somewhere that god just sits around watching us, and kills us when we get boring.

Nope. He seems to pretty much think everything is A-OK.