rob

Oh snap, to think that all this time I've known a woman with the last name of "McDonald" and I've never bothered to ask her for free burgers. way to stay ahead of the curve.

without the spray forum, there would be no way for people to feel self-righteous about not posting in the spray forum

Same same at Smiff. why does everyone say smiff? it sounds fucking retarded

I had a bladder come apart once on Baker because I put hot water in it (from the stove). I guess you're not supposed to do that? It came apart in my sleeping bag, where I had put it by my feet to keep me warm. That was a really cold night.

Just don't blow too much in, or you'll end up inflating your bladder which is no big deal but I find it awkward with a full pack

So people disagreeing with you is spray? The majority of the replies were on topic, people just didn't agree with you. If you are that sensitive, perhaps don't start a thread stating your opinion? Just a thought... +1, I didn't see any spray, either. I thought it was a good conversation

Just order it on the internet. Regular ephedrine, too (yes, ephedrine is still legal OTC, just not as a diet aid). Luckily, you can still buy pseudo-ephedrine OTC in Washington without resorting to mail-order, because that shit is the tits for a head cold.

conrad kain and his generation would say otherwise. let the rebirth of the giant alpenstocks and their step whacking assault upon the ice slopes begin. A few years ago an inexperienced climber fell on a small ice slope near the summit of three-fingers and ripped his calf open with his crampons. He had a HUGE antique ice axe, one of those long wooden ones with a straight pick and no teeth. He was unable to arrest.

http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/pas_personal_anchor_system.html

i'm pretty sure he was joking, you know. It does sound kinda funny.

wow, even after unweighting it? Crazy! I has something similar happen once.

Hmm, yeah, I guess. I was always taught that you should always be prepared to pass the knot. After all, the climber in the hole could be above you, or at a weird fall angle. Or the arresting climber could be injured, or it could turn into a hauling situation. Or there could be wind. Or.... I've never been in a real crevasse incident, but when practicing, clearing the lip has ALWAYS been difficult. I've tried it with a knot in the lip, too, but admittedly it wasn't after a fall

huh? If you tie butterfly knots in the rope between the climbers then you have to send an unknotted rope down so the guy in the hole can prusik out. Ah. I was just always taught to pass the knot.

huh?

Yeah, but can you define a "standard, healthy diet?" I tried doing the USDA recommended 56g a day and it really, really sucked. As a cyclist, I can definitely say that my diet has a major impact on my performance, possibly second only to training itself. Actually, climbing too -- it's hard to imagine climbers eating the same way non-athletic people do. Don't your dietary requirements change as you become more active? After all, if our activity level is not "standard" than how can our diet be?

This is what happens when the moderators discourage the spray forum, it just ends up everywhere else.

wow, that's a lot to digest. thanks for the long, thoughtful reply, John. If you don't mind me asking, about how much protein do you think you're eating during heavy training periods? Do you use any kind of protein supplements, or just food? For reference, my definition of "heavy training" is currently doing an hour or more of hard, anaerobic intensity per day (intervals, strength-training, force work, etc.), plus one 4 or 5 hour steady endurance workout every week at ~85% lactate threshold (so, still fairly hard). Plus easier recovery days interspersed, etc -- overall, about 10-16 hours a week, depending on the week. Also, what are your thoughts on casein vs. whey? I've heard a lot of talk about "slow protein" and "fast protein" which sounds vaguely pseudo-scientific to me. My nutritionist has recommended I take casein supplements before bed because it's a "slow" protein and should help me from waking up hungry at 3am or eating in my sleep like I have been (funny story), and will help my muscles repair as I sleep (sounds kinda unbelievable?). My diet is already really "clean" -- ZERO processed sweeteners, very few high-GI foods (mostly fruit -- I have a genetic propensity towards insulin resistance so absolutely no white bread, etc.), lots of raw veggies and complex carbs and protein, sprouted-grain tortillas, that kind of thing. About half of my protein is probably from food while the other half is now from supplementation (mostly whey). Also, at her suggestion, I've abandoned the "breakfast/lunch/dinner" model and now eat small meals every two hours. Thanks for the advice -- I'm really trying to take it to the next level but I kind of wanted a second opinion to all this stuff my nutritionist has been telling me. I'm struggling getting even 1.5 or 2 grams of protein per KG, and I seem to be doing better (it's been about 4 weeks now) but I wonder if I need to bother with quite so much (she wants me to take even more). But it sounds like it's probably not worth it? Thanks, man

Do you own a lot of muscle shirts?

Hmm, I don't remember commenting that a woman having two pikachus was a bad thing, at all. I thought it was pretty cool, actually. Who wouldn't want to see that? I sure would. So I don't know what that comment is about. I'd love to see poly-genitalia (is that a word?) become more accepted. That guy in china cut one of his off because girls couldn't handle it! That's fucked up. Re: "Would I hit that?" -- Is that relevant? I wouldn't hit your mother, but she still deserves a certain amount of sexual equality. Real transsexuals already have a pretty rough time of it, I think. I saw a whole liberal show about it, once.

poor girl. It's not hip to make fun of fags and black people anymore, so it's a good thing transsexuals are still within limits, am I right boys?

How much protein do you guys eat when training hard? I've heard people throw figures around as high as 3g per kilo, which sounds crazy. I weight about 75, so that would be a lot of protein! Seems like too much. I recently went from like 30-60 grams a day to like ~150 -- and I noticed a huge improvement. But when I spoke with a nutritionist she said 200 grams would be better and I wonder -- really? Seems like a lot. What do you guys think?

wipes out entire base Crazy

rotowall seems to be where everybody else takes newbies to learn in leavenworth. Also Barney's Rubble. Both are nice because they have walk-ups/walk-downs if you need them.

Yeah, +1. Don't listen to the anti top-roping stuff. Nobody is saying you need to TR 5.12 before leading, wtf. lol Top-roping is awesome, it's a great way to improve your climbing. I can top-rope much harder stuff than I lead, as can most people. You're not going to be able to focus on your crack or O/W technique as much if you're also focusing on trying to figure out a tough lead, and new trad leaders shouldn't push themselves like that on lead, anyway. There is no point trying to practice everything at once, it's OK to sandbox a few skills and work on them independently and this is what TRing is awesome for. Learning to lead trad AND learning to climb at the same sounds like a bad idea. When you start learning to place gear on lead you should be already fairly comfortable with the act of climbing itself, or you'll end up being bad at both, I bet. Or dead.

start reading! There are lots of things you can do to get ready; read about lead belaying, basic knots, basic rock craft, etc. You can practice knots in your livingroom while watching T.V., practice belaying your cat, etc. I think I must have read Freedom of the Hills back-to-back several times. There are courses you can sign up for to learn the basic, but these all start in Jaunary-ish. Mountianeers, BOALPS, WAC, etc -- lots of info here already about them. Also, you should go get a membership at a climbing gym. They typically have classes to teach you how to belay and you can start meeting people. I don't know how many of those people actually climb outside, but if you can belay well and tie your own rope you'll have an easier time finding a mid-week partner looking for a belay-slave, I think. P.S. there is nothing wrong with top-roping. Don't get ahead of yourself by trying to learn to place gear before you know what the hell you're doing or you'll just develop bad habits. Crawl - Walk - Run. In the meantime, keep hiking and backpacking. Are you getting out every week? You should be. Get your legs and heart and lungs strong, learn yourself some skills like compass navigation. Are you smart? There are a lot of things you should be spending your time reading about and practicing. Basic knots and rope-craft, safety do's and do-not's, basic climbing techniques, etc. Even all the stuff you want to practice with a partner you should at least still study and read about first so that when you actually have a guy to learn from (or a class) it will be somewhat familiar. Doing all of these things and being super enthusiastic and self-starting will make it easier to convince someone to take you out. When you think you're ready, just post something in the partner forums -- but be more specific. "Belay-slave available Tuesday, May 10th: knows how to belay but not much else. Will buy beer and gas and murder your ex-wife, etc. etc." and I bet somebody will eventually take you up on it. Specific posts in the partner forum work much better than generic ones. Be clear and concise: "I want to go climbing on Tuesday, here is what I know, I'll drive." -- but posting in the partner forum and you don't even have a harness yet is kind of premature Instead of waiting for somebody to come and teach you, take matters into your own hands and just start learning and meeting people. $0.02!