nolanr

Wasn't Fred part of a group of renegade young climbers (back in the day, of course) who split off from the Mounties because their climbing was too cutting edge for what the club was comfortable with? Seems like I read something like that. Once upon a time (way back), the Mountaineers were involved w/ just about all of the climbing that happened in WA, but obviously that changed and you had independent, informal groups like Beckey and his pals, the Ptarmigans out of Yakima/Ellensburg, etc. etc. setting new standards and putting up new routes and FA's. Anyway, interesting thread, there has been some constructive 2-way dialogue going on.

I hate to say this (as a former hardcore lifting free-weight purist), but the dang thing seems to be working quite well. I still think it's a little cheesy and cheap in it's design, but after 3 or 4 weeks of using it I can see a difference in my physique. I don't know if it's kind of an optical allusion. Maybe it's just sort of a residual from getting "the pump" going in the muscles. Or muscle memory or whatever. But I swear I already look bigger than when I started. But I'm not quite ready for the Mr. O contest. I just watched some of that last week, those dudes are SERIOUSLY FREAKY looking. Probably none of them over 6', weighing like 260 lbs. on stage at approx 5% body fat. FREAKS!

Case in point, one of my lifting buddies from college said "I'd eat dog shit if it would make me bigger." And he probably wasn't joking. How many climbers would go for that if they could lead a couple grades higher?

I happened to find myself in Republic once, I was going to head east up to the nearest pass (can't remember the name of it), inquired about the conditions in the little grocery store...and got this totally blank look from the checkout girl. I could just imagine the thought going thru her head, "Well heck, I ain't never been east of here before. Spent my whole life right here, why in tarnation would I want to go anywhere else?" All joking aside, that was a neat area.

Well geez, now I'm all confused. I just know it can't be Olympus, 'cause you pretty much can't see that thing unless you're on top of it or directly below it or sailing up the coast.

Was in L-worth on Sunday, near Snow Lake TH in the Icicle and out at Peshastin. More warm dry rock than you can throw a stick at. A little snow on the ground in the Icicle, totally dry at Peshastin. Didn't notice any Mounties.

Everybody panic, we're all going to die, it's, it's...weather instability!

Oh my God, there's been a Sexual Chocolate sighting.

Yeah, um, mountain goat spores, they're kinda like burrs. You have to check your clothes and your shoe laces for them constantly, or you'll end up artificially introducing them to all kinds of ecosystems.

I haven't seen goats get aggressive, but they were probably just getting bored and restless waiting for you to piss. Spent a night just below Goat Pass on Stuart (how appropriately named), and a pair of goats kept walking by every several hours. "Come on, come on, don't you guys have to pee again? Cuz we really want some salt."

Doh, I was so close to meeting the legendary Dwayner. I was also at Peshastin on Sunday. Although we started in the Icicle and migrated out to the Pinnacles later. We came home w/ no loot. And while we didn't walk around w/ mattresses on our heads, some of our party did enter the McDonalds in town w/ our harnesses still on, biners and doohickies clipped on. Because, you know, what the heck, we were just going to have to put them back on and climb some more later anyway. After a nice day of fairly mellow climbing we gorged ourselves at El Caporal in Cle Elum, and a good time was had by all. Their peach marguerritas taste suspiciously orangy, but they're pretty good anyway.

Country Jake, Cold and white and plenty of it.

If you see a peak in the distance and can't figure out what it is, just guess Sloan. That thing seems to pop up into view no matter where you are.

Thank you Erik.

Hey wise guy, I'm not from the east coast, PNW born and raised. Not a skiier myself, do snowshoeing, a teeny bit of ice climbing, or lowland hiking during the winter. Three months is enough. Time for the sun to come out, snow to melt and consolidate, and alpine environs to become more easily accessible. Snow conditions/avy danger is only part of the equation. Most trailheads and roads are buried, limited number of areas that are easily accessible for weekend/1 day outings, etc. etc. Spray on if you want about "whining," winter just happens to be my least favorite of the seasons and it's "officially" over by the calendar, but not if you look outside.

If I'm doing a little cardio (bike ride, vigorous walk), I can basically roll out of bed, grab a quick snack and go. Back when I did a regular strength training routine, the exact time varied w/ my class schedule, but I liked working out somewhere between 2-4 p.m. best. Sometimes I did it in the mornings, didn't like that very much. Also did after dinner sometimes, that wasn't ideal either. Middle of the afternoon I was wide awake, motivated, and went to the dining hall shortly after the workout and gorged myself, then relaxed 'til beddy-bye time. That just seemed to work best for me. If I am climbing and do the God-awful early alpine start, sometimes I feel a little sick to my stomach when I first start the approach trudge, but as the day goes on I'm fine. I would guess best time for workouts has a high degree of individual variation. Would you agree w/ that Courtenay?

Good answer. I worked out for about 10 years, varying routines or level of intensity. It seems like most of the time I would have some soreness for a day or 2 after the workout. I think I have a bit of a warped perspective on strength training because I was pretty intense about it and hung out w/ some bodybuilder dudes who were crazy mofos, training was a matter of life or death just about. I bet you've seen plenty of the type yourself. I maintain that lifters are a subculture that is every bit as weird and misunderstood by the population in general as climbers. [ 03-20-2002: Message edited by: nolanr ]

Yeah, global warming whatever, I think we're on the verge of the next ice age...

A college buddy of mine came up w/ the theory that eating a greasy, fatty diet is good for you because it lubricates your blood vessels, allowing the blood to flow thru more easily. Don't listen to your Dr. and all that crap about placque build-up and heart disease or what-not.

I agree, snow snow go away, it's supposed to be friggin' springtime.

Except my body doesn't really function at that time. I used to try working out before 10 a.m. or so sometimes in the college days, never liked it, never got good workouts. I can do alpine starts for climbing, not lifting.

Geez Mr. Pessimistic. Are you just trying to sandbag? "Don't come to the Cascades, it rains constantly, it sucks." Anyway, we have long stretches of nice weather during the summer and many photographic opportunities abound, at least that's been my experience.

Courtenay, Seriously, what do you think about the soreness issue? I know you don't want debillitating muscular pain, but isn't some soreness good feedback that your training is fairly intense? I guess it all depends on what your goals are, the average client using a personal trainer at a gym probably has a vastly different approach to strength training than a power lifter or bodybuilder or something.

Courtenay, Agreed, except I couldn't do much better for $0. My roomie bought it, nothing out of my pocket. A few years ago I worked out at a gym right next to where I used to work on my lunch breaks. In addition to not wanting to fork over the $$$, there's nowhere nearby where I work now for the lunch hour thing, and there's no way in hell I'm getting up BEFORE work to workout, and I won't fight the approx. 5:00 to 7:00 after work crowd, and after dinner I'm generally lazy. So that leaves no good time to workout at a gym. I haven't tried oiling up yet Bronco. So you think maybe the guy in the commercial didn't get a physique like that from using the Bowflex?

Oops, I officially declared it spring prematurely a couple weekends ago after finding nice weather and warm dry rock in L-worth. Seems like I do that every year. Oh well, I guess I'll never learn.