p_tapley

I'd be very mindful of avy conditions if you head toward over easy or anything else in that sort of setting. we currently have a few inches of loose facets sitting on the ground with considerable load on top. add to that a very significant wind event that is happening and things are sure to get dodgy. you should check out the un-named wall and the nearby elevator shaft for a few options in that range.

hey lub - my two cents on what sets these tools apart is that they all have an ideal angle for peak performance. consider the geometry, using the handle portion of the shaft as your plum line and relating it to the tip of the pick - make sense? tools like the fusion, ergo, nomic, etc. have a higher angel between the handle and the pick. becuase of this, they offer more positive hooking and really shine on angles past vertical. tools with a lesser angle tend to swing more "naturally" and give less fits on lower angle terrain or when turning bulges. for 99% of our local climbing, tools in the latter catagory fit the bill best. a hammer is a huge plus with local routes in mind too...even if you're not slamming iron today, chances are, if you hang around here for long, you will be soon. one last thought: if the fest is too much money, consider checking out this gig. it is a little later, but free and I'll have a stack of tools to test drive if you'd like. -cheers

cheers guys - I feel so pretty.

Hey guys - thanks a million for the Hyalite support! Shoot me a line next time you're heading out. -Cheers

well, good on ya for being open to the long-view man. like I said earlier - everything you're describing about this experience mirrors mine, so it's struck a chord with me. I remember all too well how much suffering is involved with this (ironic too, because suffering in the mountains used to be so much fun - part of my addiction was to live for that discomfort, operating in the red, etc. ask lambone on here sometime about the tapley alpine diet program ). anyway - stay strong (willed that is) and stay patient. this is a great time to focus on school or whatever else is separate from your training addiction that you never had time for. perhaps one of my most profound revalations was the discovery of life outside of climbing. try to look at this as an oportunity to broaden your horizons, or if you can't get past it, an opportunity to reset your system, and re-train your body but this time with a whole world of skill and experience already in place. so, keep us posted and know that you got people. it's a long road I know, so don't forget, if it's a year from now and your body's still not where your head wants to be you can always hit us up for support. -cheers

just be careful with it man and remember that it's not the end of the world to take a break. for me that was the hardest part; I was so invested in climbing and training I had no idea what to do with myself outside of it, so I kept slipping back into the routine... obviously these are all very relative situations with each case having its own best medicine. don't let me psyche you out with my horror stories, but be sure not to relapse - it is shockingly easy and happened to me several times while under the advice of several different physicians. I agree, overuse of the couch isn't any good either, but your mention of the muscle wasting you encountered is a huge red flag. I don't mean to be doubting your doctors, just want to share my experience and try to help. keep it in check for quite a while and you'll be ok. let me re-iterate...my doctor (the one who finally helped) expressed this clearly: he had multiple relapses and found it easier to slip each time. we need to consider ourselves just like any other junkie. read: once you're an alcoholic, you stay one, perhaps a recovering alcoholic, but the issue persists. make sense? I feel for you man. know that things will be ok...long trails will still be there, bad ass routes will still be there, and your technique will stay with you - probably even shine through better once you're not relying on brute strenght to get you through. just stay chill and let it come. try to avoid setting expectations or time-based goals. eat a burger, read a book and get ready to be harder than ever before you know it. -cheers

bum deal man. I went through something very, very similar around six years ago. the muscle wasting you've experienced is the goocher. you need to face it - you're not well and have to take time off. trying to rush recovery will only slow the process. perhaps the "active recovery" approach will work for you, but again, seeing your mention of such significant weight loss and having had the same experience, I'm sorry to say that I'm doubtful. now, I'm not a doctor, let alone a specialist in the field, but I really believe that the most important factor in recovery is going to be the psychology. you need to get to a point where you're ok with some time off. it sucks, I know. but you need to take time off for real or you'll only experiene a series of false-starts and relapses. it took me a good 2 1/2 years to figure this out (yes, fucked up sick the whole while) before I finally found the right doc (after a number of mis-diagnosises) who's a competitive endurance athlete and has experienced this himself (along with the relapses). once I came to terms with not being well, I realized that my recovery would have been much shorter had I simply recognized the issue sooner. you're only costing yourself time and suffering by procrastinating. trust me man - I know what you're going through and I know it aint pretty. I'll say it again...you need to take a real chunk of time off. I needed to virtually quite climbing for a couple of years before I could even think about making gains and training during that time was simply out of the question. on the bright side (yes, there is one), the last few years have been up and an up. for me, it was long slow distance and a fresh base that brought me back. climbing lightly the last two years or so and then taking off like wildfire this fall lead to a banner ice season. now I'm as strong as ever and easily twice as smart. this is fast becoming a ramble, so I'll leave it at that for now. just remember, the upshot is you need to put the brakes on and you can get better. feel free to pm me if you'd like to discuss this further.

attribute the criticism to jealousy and lack of vision Dean. don't let anyone deter you. climbing is art, no? and new-routing the blank canvas on which the artists express themselves; while some is crap, others are classics and that determination is founded in one's vision and ability to apply it. your line is beautiful and no doubt of high quality. given time, I'm sure it will only grow in esteem and classic status. keep doin' your thang.

...sorry, I'm new here...is this where I ask my bare back v. broke back questions?

so when you coming out? gimme a call fkr.

fwiw, that tree (complete with it's fixed slings) was laying on the ground at the base of the pitch late yesterday afternoon.