Well, don't take this personally TekEss, but you came here because you've been sold a bill of goods by the media who's flogging a soap opera for the sake of making the kind of money you seem to think the owners of this site should be bellying up to the trough to get their share of.
Don't get me wrong, it's a very sad thing that has happened, and strikes a chord with the members of this site because it's the sort of thing that could happen to anyone here. The three climbers sound like good folks, and were certainly very special to their friends and family, but the tragedy of untimely death is repeated a thousand times a minute across the globe. I've had six friends die in the mountains, and odds are you've never heard of any of them. There's nothing especially noble about climbing, and as you've noted, about climbers in general either.
This site is a place for climbers in the Northwest to talk amongst themselves, about ideas, adventures, plans, and all kinds of stuff. Many have the same kind of black humor you'll find among firemen, ambulance drivers, and ER docs. We also shoot the shit, argue amongst ourselves, insult each other, and have bitter battles over things that are essentially trivial in the greater scheme of things. We're not about explaining what we do to the world at large, and it's merely happenstance that we've been one of several ground zeros for the kind of frenzy a good disaster with a human element excites in a public that chooses to live vicariously.
For the record, I'm not an administrator or owner of this site, I'm a poster who was asked to become a volunteer moderator. More specifically, I'm a Spray Moderator, which means I have a thick skin, a wicked sense of humor, an inclination towards irreverence, and am an advocate for intellectual freedom and free expression.
This site may very well not suit you. It's certainly not for everyone. You might want to check out rockclimbing.com, summitpost.com, or nwhikers.net, all sites that cater to different aspects of climbing.
Own up. Timmay caught you leering at his dogs, then found you hilt deep in a doberman.
