Matt

quote: Originally posted by Dru: I saw that Nat Geo article. It was by Junk Krakhore wasn't it? He should have called it Into Thin Ice. Then Anatoli Boukreev could have hired a ghostwriter to wtrite a 50 000 word rebuttal... If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. Though I admit to sometimes being entertained your spray, I think comments such as those listed above can scare away well known climbers. Personally I think it would be really cool if JK would post on this website, but he certainly will not if you continue to post messages such as yours. This thread was started by a new ice climber looking for information. Please provide only information and leave your wit to other spray postings. I think a little self censorship is in order. I know I am not alone in this sentiment. I mean to say this only in a friendly way. Please think about the repercussions of your messages and what this website has become. Peace, Matt Heller

Previously there was a post about someone not remembering the names of crag climbs, I guess I'm one of those people. :-) Thanks for clearing that up Wallstein.

Dru, you are right. Amandala is the arete. Is the crack directly to the right of the Amandala arete called Ten Percent? I'm not sure what it is.

I was mistaken. I think the expensive gear is on top of Amandala, the crack above and to the right of Numbah Ten.

Any telemarkers out there? Personally, I prefer the free heels to a snowboard or regular down hill gear. Tele boards are lighter and better suited for the backcountry. I have a question for the peanut gallery: Many years ago Chouinard (Black Diamond) used to make a plastic piece that could be fitted on the toe of ice climbing boots to allow them to be used in tele bindings. Anyone have this accessory? Free your heels and your mind will follow.

http://www.xmission.com/~tmoyer/testing/pull_tests_11_98.html This is a great web site and I suggest you check it out. It answered my question about clove hitch failure. Test Situation: Pull a clove hitch to failure. The clove hitch was tied around the shackle on the load cell. The other end of the rope was tied with a figure eight on a bight. New 11 mm Blue Water Rope was used. Result: Material failure at the clove hitch at 5110 lbs. Discussion: The clove hitch did not slip! We were all very surprised at this. Before drawing any further conclusions, I would like to test this again - on a carabiner instead of the shackle. I suspect the rough surface of the shackle added extra friction to the knot.

quote: Originally posted by lambone: Clove Hitch- nice knot. But the AMGA does not condone using one as your main tie-in point. Why? Because in pull tests they slip around 400-600 lbs. What does this mean when using the clove hitch as a way of self belaying while solo aiding? Does it provide a dynamic belay? I have heard that Yosemite hardmen have tried this method and then gotten their fingers stuck in the loose knot, only to suffer the consequences when the knot tightens up in a fall.

I like telemark skiing because I can do everything-- skin up, ski down, bumps, powder, backcountry, corduroy and all of this with one pair of skis. If I could afford to buy lots of skis I would. I'd like an Randonee set up, but I don't think I'll get one. I'd like a snowboard, but I think it can wait. I love the versatility of telemark skiing. Teles are the ultimate all-arounder. I love the retro of leather boots and wool knickers while cruising amongst the plastic and goretex. Basically I love the feel of getting down on one knee and having the snorkle effect. When you kneel to the snow god on tele skis knee deep powder seems like chest deep and waist deep powder is that much more. Telemark skiing is a form of existential athleticism. Your gear does not define your style-- only you do. I can't wait for the snow to fall!!!!

Yeah-- a strap on for us genuflectors. I ripped a binding out of a ski when a snow snake grabbed hold of me from under the snow and forced me to bow down to the snow god. Face plant city. My binding stayed on the boot but the screws were pulled from the wood!!! Gotta watch out for those sneaky snow snakes! [This message has been edited by Matt (edited 10-12-2001).]

quote: Originally posted by dane: Snow is okay, but ice is KING! Besides WA gets way too much anyway and the snow is more like slush. I long for the ice/snow and cold of New England and Alaska... Dane, All I can say to you is this: If you can ski in the East you can ski anywhere, but if you can ski anywhere why ski in the East? When push comes to shove, skiing rules over ice climbing. Think fun, fast, and deeeeeeeeep freshies. FRESHIES!

Check this out... http://www.restrooms.org/standing.html

I'm interested. Send me an email.

I climbed in Ouray in March 1995. It is an awesome place to climb. For beginners there are chains at the top of the climbs so top roping is super easy. It's a great place to hone your skills-- the closest thing I've ever seen to "sport" ice climbing. Have fun! You have to check out the hot springs near by. It's a very nice way to relax after a day of bashing your knuckles!! Clothing optional! [This message has been edited by Matt (edited 10-04-2001).]

Has anyone climbed "Pounding the Toad" on Pot Ash Road, Moab, Utah? It is a route name that I remember well because, as I recall, the 1st bolt is 25 feet off the ground and the 2nd bolt is 20 feet above that. If the leader fumbles the clip he will "pound" the toad on the ground with his foot, stopping just above the deck, tapping the dust with his toes as the rope stretches. Gotta love those glued angles. This post made me think of it. On the way to the crag on Saurday I was first on the scene of a motorcycle accident. The rider had his helmet on and it may have saved his life, but he still did not look good. He was "crooked" and all I could do was call 911 on my phone and wait until the medics came. The image of this motorcyclist stayed in my head the entire time I climbed that afternoon. Subsequently I wore my helmet, even on the easy clip ups that I could probably solo. Food for thought. IMHO, I'd rather look like a dork with a helmet on then risk bruising my mellon.

Richard, Send me an email and I'll take you climbing. I have some things I have to get done but I'm sure I can make time to show you a few of the local crags. Matt Heller matthew_heller@hotmail.com [This message has been edited by Matt (edited 09-29-2001).]

I climbed Prusik earlier this summer and we hiked in Snow Creek trailhead and out via Colchuck/Stuart trailhead. It makes for a nice loop. Hitch hiking to the car was not a problem. I am so impressed that some people climb the South face of Prusik in a day from the trailhead!!! I can understand the west ridge in a day, but the south face, that's some serious hiking/climbing.

Thanks for the math Tod. This time of year the key to success will be logging lots of miles in the dark with a strong headlamp. Good luck Kyle! [This message has been edited by Matt (edited 09-21-2001).]

Mitch: Please, walk a mile in another climber's shoes. Lead the route, then re-evaluate your decision to remove the bolts. I don't think you should chop bolts on a route you cannot climb. Maybe if you lead this climb you will understand why the bolters decided to drill. I am basing my assumption on the fact that you previously admitted to not being able to lead DDD and yet still felt compelled to chop the bolts on it. IMHO the same ethics that say you should drill a climb from the ground up also support that if you want to pull out bolts with a Gorilla bar, you'd better lead the climb in high style. If you would like, I'd be happy to climb this with you. We can flip a coin to see who leads the psychopath pitch. Send me an email and we can discuss this further.

I am looking for a partner to climb Dreamer. I'm willing to lead all the hard pitches if getting a little run out on slabs isn't your cup of tea. I have the gear to do it and am comfortable enough at the grade to step on the gas and go. You must be a nice, positive person with trad climbing experience. You must be in good physical shape and able to climb 5.8 all day. I am open for a weekday or weekend climb. If you want to climb this weekend, you must have a car and be willing to drive it to the Giant Green Buttress (I saw someone drive a Volvo station wagon up there so it need not be 4WD). Weekdays I can drive. I have been climbing for over 10 years and have several grade IV climbs under my belt. I don't know why there aren't more people climbing at this amazing area!!! email me at matthew_heller@hotmail.com [This message has been edited by Matt (edited 09-21-2001).]

> (With significant trepidation that I might be passing on a hoax, I pass >> along this message sent to me by a friend. The purported author is an >> Afghani-American writer with a perspective I have not heard expressed as >> eloquently. Whether it is genuine or not, it highlights the complexities of >> the choices our leaders and our Nation have to make.) >> >> Dear Gary and whoever else is on this email thread: I've been hearing a lot >> of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on >> KGO Talk Radio today, allowed that this would mean killing innocent people, >> people who had nothing to do with this atrocity, but "we're at war, we have >> to accept collateral damage. What else can we do?" Minutes later I heard >> some TV pundit discussing whether we "have the belly to do what must be >> done." And I thought about the issues being raised especially hard because >> I am from Afghanistan, and even though I've lived here for 35 years I've >> never lost track of what's going on there. So I want to tell anyone who >> will listen how it all looks from where I'm standing. >> >> I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no doubt >> in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity in New York. >> I agree that something must be done about those monsters. But the Taliban >> and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They're not even the government of >> Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who took over >> Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political criminal with a plan. When >> you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. >> And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the >> concentration camps." It's not only that the Afghan people had nothing to >> do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. >> They would exult if someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and >> clear out the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their country. >> Some say, why don't the Afghans rise up and overthrow the Taliban? The >> answer is, they're starved, exhausted, hurt, incapacitated, suffering. A >> few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled >> orphans in Afghanistan-a country with no economy, no food. There are >> millions of widows. And the Taliban has been burying these widows alive in >> mass graves. The soil is littered with land mines, the farms were all >> destroyed by the Soviets. These are a few of the reasons why the Afghan >> people have not overthrown the Taliban. >> >> We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. >> Trouble is, that's been done. The Soviets took care of it already. Make >> the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses? Done. >> Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? >> Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and health >> care? Too late. Someone already did all that. New bombs would only stir >> the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at least get the Taliban? Not >> likely. In today's Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they have the >> means to move around. They'd slip away and hide. Maybe the bombs would get >> some of those disabled orphans, they don't move too fast, they don't even >> have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn't really >> be a strike against the criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it >> would only be making common cause with the Taliban - by raping once again >> the people they've been raping all this time. >> >> So what else is there? What can be done, then? Let me now speak with true >> fear and trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go in there with >> ground troops. When people speak of "having the belly to do what needs to >> be done," they're thinking in terms of having the belly to kill as many as >> needed. Having the belly to overcome any moral qualms about killing >> innocent people. Let's pull our heads out of the sand. What's actually on >> the table is Americans dying. And not just because some Americans would die >> fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. It's much >> bigger than that folks. Because to get any troops to Afghanistan, we'd have >> to go through Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest of >> Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? >> You see where I'm going. >> >> We're flirting with a world war between Islam and the West. And guess what: >> that's Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he wants. That's why he >> did this. Read his speeches and statements. It's all right there. He >> really believes Islam would beat the West. It might seem ridiculous, but he >> figures if he can polarize the world into Islam and the West, he's got a >> billion soldiers. If the West wreaks a holocaust in those lands, that's a >> billion people with nothing left to lose, that's even better from Bin >> Laden's point of view. He's probably wrong, in the end the west would win, >> whatever that would mean, but the war would last for years and millions >> would die, not just theirs but ours. Who has the belly for that? Bin Laden >> does. Anyone else? >> >> Tamin Ansary >> >> >

I think there are more hot climber chicks per capita in Boulder, CO than anywhere else in the world.

I climbed the FC route three weeks ago. If you decide to decend the FC, be sure to leave the summit with plenty of time to get down the chimneys in the daylight. I think Becky's guide suggests 5 hours, in its current condition it may take longer (IMHO). Winnnie's Slide is not a problem, however, the Curtis IS broken up. The glacier requires careful attention and there are a few crevasse crossings that are spooky.

Kyle-- I'd be interested in doing it and I know a few other guys who are into long distance runs. I think it would make a great race. I'm not really competitive but I think the support of a group might make it more interesting. There was recently an article in the Seattle Times about hiking this stretch of trail and the merits of lightweight hiking. I wonder what the time record is. I can imagine someone doing it in 12 twelve hours-- that's only three 4 hour marathons and a 4 hour marathon is reasonable. I'd be willing to go in the opposite direction as you and trade cars (at least temporarily). Anyone else interested? [This message has been edited by Matt (edited 09-10-2001).]

I called Senator Murray's office today. It doesn't take much time to do this. I hope someone else will call today in opposition of the Fee Demo Program. I want to climb Mt. Adams this weekend and it makes me sick to think that I have to pay: $15 for an Adams Wilderness Pass to climb and another $10 for a Forest Park Pass to park my car. I pay taxes like everybody else and I think I've already paid for my right to climb Mt. Adams. The Fee Demo Program is just another form of double taxation.

[This message has been edited by Matt (edited 09-06-2001).]