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Alex

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  1. Its always interesting to me how the focus the climbers in a particular locale shifts when new guidebooks appear. In the Cascades and Coast Range, where the opporunities to climb are varied and vast, the majority of climbers tend to focus their efforts on the popular and well-known. This changes every few years as new guides are released - the most recent being Nelson's two volumes, but also Jeff Smoots Washington Rock Climbs and other works (TBP). Only a few months ago, no one had ever heard of Watusi Rodeo, or New York Gully. Today, these climbs are all I hear about. I understand that part of the appeal is that the route research is already done for you, and if you have limited time in the field, that can be important. But sometimes it borders on the rediculous.

    Are climbers no longer willing to explore, no longer willing to put in the time to do the crime, willing only to be spoon-fed what others think is interesting or worthy? Few of the climbers I know are willing to even deal with the Beckey guides these days (even when they are already in their third revision, go Fred!), and that is a symptom of what I am about to suggest. When was the last time you heard of anyone climbing Trapper, or Garfield, or the SE Face of the North Peak of Chimney Rock? These are surely worthy climbs, remote, difficult, rewarding.

    Fred Beckey is in his 70s now, and his venerable tomes of Cascades climbing history, geology, and climbing information have never seen an equal labor of love in the history of modern climbing. Who will take up the torch when he is gone? What will the next truly complete Cascades guidebook look like?

    Something to ponder as you work your way up the next trade route....

    Alex

     

  2. "Bush - hes a stronger leader.."

    Lhoste with the cool name, I have never met you but that makes me cringe. Bush has no record of leadership, how can you make such an unprovable statement?

    Bush has shown time and again in public that he lacks the experience to make the kinds of decisions a president will make - this did not stop Reagan, either, and if you tell me that all Bush needs to do is surround himself with very smart and experienced people, I would agree with you that he could hold office. (But anyone could, with that argument.) Thats why he picked Cheney. But individual intelligence and more importantly, individual experience counts big with me.

    Bush has none. Gore has 20+ years. Regarless of the issues, if anyone has a provable record of strong leadership skills, its Gore.

    Don't forget to vote!

    Alex

    [This message has been edited by Alex (edited 10-20-2000).]

  3. Hi, this is an interesting question that I have given some thought over the years.

    The short answer is, Americans and Europeans need heros, and the media caters to that. Ther is nothing wrong with funding, any professional would love to be paid (more) for what they love to do. Media coverage is not evil, it simply gives people what they want - Real TV, Survivor. People want to live vicariously through others.

    As for the Poles and the Czechs, the hard routes established in the Himalaya and elsewhere are no different. Easter European climbing was state and club sponsored for a very long time, making notable achievment necessary for continued funding abroad. If you were a Pole and wanted to climb, you better have some results after each season, to show your club or state that you deserved continued funding.

    The fact that the Pole and Czech (etc) contributions eclipse most Western contributions is a factor of the severity of failure under two distinct systems (western, and soviet). In the West, if you back off a hard route, chances are your sponsor will not drop you - you lived to climb and speak on tour another day. In the East, things are a little different. The Czechs who did Sultana and hard routes on Denali didn't go home to any better conditions, rarely went home to speaking tours, but didnt have a chance in hell of coming back should they fail. The need to succeed is higher, the result is a commitment to severity that is often missing in Western accomplishments

  4. The most difficult route in the Cascades is the one no one has done yet. Doing hard summer routes, such as NE Rib on Slesse, in the winter, would certainly make things more interesting.

    Willis Wall, Yocum Ridge and routes like it were done back in the day (60s, 70s), and are completely within the possible for even the average climber. Armed with modern tools and protection (and weather forecasting), these routes are pretty much "well, how much objective hazard do you like? OK, then, off you go!"

     

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