max

quote: Originally posted by icegirl: Here here! I didn't get the luxery of learning to ice climb on a TR. It was follow that bad boy or nothing. I'm not sure how following is less of a luxury than tr-ing? The bottom line is they're both "not leading". And does following do any less damagethan tr-ing? It seems one gets just as much enjoyment, takes the same amount of risk, and cause the same amount of damage following as some dude or dudette tr-ing.

OUt of curiousity, where does International Harvester fit into the picture?

Part I: I'll pose a similar question with an obvious answer: Should someone not ski a sweet powder line unless they're going to make awesome turns? The answer is no, it's any bodies line to ski. Myself, I ski like an ostrich so I often offer sweet lines to my more proficient partners. And I think this is how it goes with ice. If you want to not tr for the good of the community, good for you. If you want to tr 'cause you're hankerin' for some ice, your choice. It's not something that can be mandated. Part 2: I bet that if this idea of "don't tr, it ruins it for others" was started or even endorsed by, say, the Mountaineers, all the "hardcores" out there would be telling them "blow off, I'll do what I please". But since the idea started (in my opinion) "inside the circle", people are jumping on the bandwagon to be one of the "in crowd"

I think something to consider is that having big walls, glaciers, ski areas and bc areas, rock and ice nearby doesn't mean it'd be a great place for a climber. Case in point: Boulder CO has all of the above (well, we all know what they call glaciers down here are a joke!), but it's still has some fatal flaws. THey're hard to put your finger on, but generally it revolves around the type of people here. And it can be hard to find people to climb with that you don't want to take off belay mid-pitch! So, another way to put it is even for the "hard core I-don't-care-about-anything-besides-climbing-'cause-I-so-hard" type there are thing to consider besides immediate access.

quote: Originally posted by AlpineK: Plus can you rally put a price on not having a tele stigma?

quote: Originally posted by dberdinka: Like said maybe it's there maybe it's not. If I see it again I'll post. About these mystery flows on the backside of Hemi's: The tour mentioned in my post above took place just over a week ago. I'm not in WA so I don't know what the weathers been like, but it's worth a ski... Darren: what's happening. I talked to Owen a few days ago, trying to set up some bc skiing. Had an excellent day today in 6-9" of LIGHT like a feather powder. CO rocks for bc skiing!

quote: Originally posted by freeclimb9: $400-500 is a lot of money to allow their attachment to a pair of skis. kind of inflated prices, huh? I checked a local high-priced gear store just yesterday and they wanted $230 for the yellow ones... EZ Go's?

On a similarly dog/grusome note... I lived out in the sticks and one spring we had a frantic guy come to our house and ask for help finding his dogs. Turns out he lost control of his dog team. The dogs ran and ran and ran, evntually killing two in the team and injuring several others, one of which had to be put down. The guy was totally broken up about it.

Jay: Nice post, as usual. Several things sruck me while reading you message, and I thought I'd comment. quote: Originally posted by JayB: ...we worked past the assumption that all parties were acting rationally and that everything was under control, and made the decision to get involved. How true. I think it's easy for climbers to assume the people they interact with know what their doing and when there's doubt, it's hard to speak up and voice concerns. It's essentially laying it on the line and saying "hey, I don't think that's right." I guess I'd rather be made a fool and learn something than keep quite and pay the consequences. quote: Originally posted by JayB: What struck me about the whole affair was not that anyone involved in the rescue was incompetent or inept, but just the opposite... How refreshing to hear someone not talking shit about people who regularly save our asses! As you say, sometimes fire/police/EMTs/rescue crew can be out of their element and not perfect, but they sure deserve alot better than the regular trash talk I hear about them. At least their frickin' trying! quote: Originally posted by JayB: What struck me, rather, was that despite the fact that this was essentially roadside ice right in the middle of Vail, with world-class medical facilities just minutes away and dedicated, professional rescue crews on the scene,... The moral? If you sustain a life threatening injury on ice/rock and you and/or your partners can't rescue yourselves, in the words of Simon Yates, "That's it. You're fucked, Matey"; I think this idea of remembering where you are and the potential consequences of injury is something we all have heard, all know about, but regularly ignore! It's good to be reminded of risks. Does this mean I'm not going to do wilderness climbs? No, but it does mean I should get my shit together and do an appropriate first aid course. Am I going stop doing scary scrambles or running it out? Probably not, but I am going to think about what the hell I'm doing and make sure my heads on straight before I do these things. I think alot of people get tired of hearing horror stories. I'd agree that there are much better things to spead time discussing (like Cavey's lace panties). But these incidents are great opportunities to stop and look at what we do and think about the risks we take and if and how we want to minimize them. A parallel: This summer four people were killed while working a fire in the Meathow. It was at least a sobering experience for everyone. While personally I feel no one's to blame for these deaths, I know that much has and will be gained from analysis of the accident and everyone working fire will approach it with a renewed dedication to safety. It's clique, but something very positive will come from their deaths. dave

From climbingboulder.com : Be careful out there.....--------------------------------------From: "Malcolm Daly" Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 10:18:38 -0700 Myke, Here is something to post on the site about Rod Willard. Mal Hi,For those of you whom I have not met, I am Kerry Evens, Rod's wife of 4 months. I wanted to e-mail everyone on his list to let you know of some tragic news. Rod was killed in an unbelievable ice climbing accident on Jan. 5, 2002. Briefly: he was the belayer when an approximately 400# block of ice broke free and struck him on the top of his helmeted (of course) head. Death was almost instantaneous, he was attended to immediately by friends who were EMT and ER nurse. Everything that could have been done was done. It is comforting to me to know he died in the mountains, the environment he loved over all others, and that he was with dear friends. For an avid climber like Rod, there is no better way he would have chosen to die. His memorial service will be held Wednesday Jan. 9, 2002 at the American Baptist Church in Fort Collins Colorado at 10AM. The address of the church is 600 S. Shields St. in Fort Collins. The service will be preceded by a processional of fire trucks, ambulances, police vehicles, Search and Rescue vehicles and AirLife of Greeley helicopter. The processional is planned to begin at Poudre Valley Hospital at about 9:20AM and go to the church from there. We are encouraging people to line the streets from the church to honor Rod as the processional goes by. There are several memorial funds being set up should anyone want to contribute in Rod's name. Poudre Valley Ambulance Service is setting up at scholarship fund for funding others in Paramedic school. Also, Rod supported Friends of Tibet, whose address can be found on the internet. I am so sorry to have to share this devastating news with you all. I know that everyone who knew Rod was a better person for knowing him and he was well loved and will be sorely missed. Yours in Sorrow, Kerry PS: This accident happened while Rod was belaying a climber on "The Little Thang", aka, "The Seventh Tenacle", "The Frigid Inseminator". This has been the site of at least two other serious accidents, one of them resulting in a death. The Little Thang is the mixed climb directly behind the Fang in Vail, and offers some of the best "sport" ice climbing around. For those who think that sport ice climbing is safe (whatever that means) this accident should serve as a wake up call. Be careful out there...please. - Malcolm Daly

I just talked to a friend of mine that did a ski tour out towards Lake Ann. I think they went to "Ann Butte" Does this ring any bells. Anyways, she said there were several "awesome looking flows" in the Swift Creek (?) drainage and on the south facing side of Shuksan Arm. (is it swift creek that drops down from Austin pass towards Lake Ann? Thats the one i'm talking about...) She said it's be a couple hour ski in but speculated that there were several pitches of steep, well formed ice. I've looked into this drainage before and never seem anything myself. Anybody have any personal experience here?

Yeah right Gene. Careful everyone, gene's the type of guy that'd post some crazy bad conditions like above just so he'd have the place to himself. What a low thing to do! And check you're pm's. dave

quote: Originally posted by Dan Larson: At present time which headlamp out there is the longest lasting / best illuminating Dan, I don't know you, but by judging from your posts, YOU SUCK! I mean, are you retarded, or what? Obviously a headlamp that is dimmer will tend to last longer. And brightest? "well, the headlamp I found attatched to the from of my car seems to be the brightest I've found. Hell of a attery, but sure good for those winter ascents of Rainier!" In my field of study, we call this a poorly-posed problem. In laymans terms, it's just a dumb question. dave I will add my two cents worth on the headlamp issue... I have one of those small petzl lamps.. the micro? When I first started using it, I was jealous of all my older freinds who had bigger beams... stupid joke. At first, I thought it was stupid dim. But then I thought about how many times I'd been able to do what I needed in twighlight or moonlight, leading me to the realization it doesnt matter how much light your lamp puts out 'cause your eyes adjust anyways! Ok ok, yeah, a brighter lamp is a little better, but when I think about how many times I've thrown my lamp in my pack going for a day of cragging thinking, "it small. Why not?" and been glad I took it along vs. the number of times I've cursed my lamp for being dim (very few times), I realize a lightweight, dim, low power, long lasting, dependable, easy to work with lamp is the best. If I loose mine or it stolen (I recently reduced my insurance deducable to $4.20), I'll replace it with one of those new BD LSD headlamps. And one final tip: I put a little slip of thin cardboard/paper in front of one of the contacts in my battery casing to prevent unexpected light failure. Then I put a small piece of tape over the lense to remind my dumb-ass about the paper. [ 01-08-2002: Message edited by: max ]

I just wanted to throw this out: I'd like to hear from people as to their favorite "alternate" route on mountains. More specifically, there are many "classic" (read: crowded) climbs in the Cascades on mountains that have other routes that are of similar difficulty and style, and are just as good! Maybe I can best describe what I'm looking for with an example... I like the Boulder Glacier on Mt. Baker. It's an excellent alternate to the Coleman_Deming route in that it's a moderate angle, winding glacier route that takes you past some yawning cracks and presents a few "interseting" situations. We did the route in mid to late May and didn't see another party. The Coleman is a zoo at this time! And, the route gave us a great view of the Park glacier headwall. Maybe some one could verify the Park as a good "alternate" to the N. Ridge? Any other Mountains with "alternates"?

quote: Originally posted by jeffers: if the rangers, or anyone else ever sets up a DGPS transmitter around Rainier or elsewhere, If this ever happens, just shoot me. Please. [ 01-04-2002: Message edited by: max ]

quote: Originally posted by vegetablebelay: ...makes me think of batwings I would think these would make terrible appitizers being so lean of meat and sustinance... I like "drop knee". It doesn't really sound funny, it just makes me think of someone doing a drop knee and having their knee drop off!

quote: Originally posted by Ade: That way you only have to wand the really tricky bits and use the GPS to get between the wanded sections.

These two guys must be some sort of guides! Only they could get that worked up over AAI vs. NOLS!

I'm wondering if anyone here has knowledge of big walls in Peru.

oh yeah. all that negative energy just sucked the thoughts out of my brain. now I can remember... Dang. Is this a pattern, or what!?! Last winter I too was stumbling in the chaos of a broken relationship... but the awesome thing was tat it rocket thrust me out into adventure, making me goat things I never thought I'd be able to do. I never tried! No longer tethered to a girlfriend, I busted a move and got shit done! Now, after a spring and summer of fun and adventure, I find myselfin the numerics lab fussing over stupid math shit that just makes me grumpy! My new home town of Boulder has awesome climbing and skiing opportunities for those that can stomach theboulder scene (it takes a strong stomach, let me tell you!) Winter break is here and it's time to go skiing!Some personal highlights from last year: -climbing hard with my best friend who had just a year ago been in chemo and rad therapy. Fucking awesome.-Night shift on a fire near chelan. Morning has never been so calm and beutiful.-Hanging out in Cochise stronghold with nowhere to be for three months. While i didn't stay that long, that was the first time I realized "you have no plans for the immediate future" How refreshing! And the stronghold just kicks ass!-climbing with my highschool teacher/climbing partner and talking shit about what has happened in the last six years. I'll always be thankful for his guidance. He's another one of those older guys that kicks ass! I'm excited to hear from more people about what made their year. Keep it coming! dave brannon

[ 12-21-2001: Message edited by: max ]

quote: Originally posted by RURP: This is RURP. Oh my! Aren't we all so impressive! "I went here, and I did this, and look at me." Oh shut the shit. The thing is, I like hearing about what people are doing and have done. I like hearing about the first time somebody get scared as shit on a slab climb. I remeber what that was like and it brings a smile to my face to be reminded. I like hearing about people headed for SA. I want to go there. It makes me dream. Just clam up, will ya? quote: Originally posted by RURP:Where was RURP last year at this time? Who cares. But for those who do, it had something to do with a BIG WALL.RURP has spoken.[/QB] So you're modest and all, but you still have to tell us you were climbing a big wall (somewhere misterious) in the winter. Nobody get excited 'cause RURP's too cool to accept praise. sorry man, you attitude bugs me. dave brannon

quote: Originally posted by RURP: This is RURP. You guys are all groupies. You read about these people in magazines and now they are all your "friends". Did you hear the news? Timmy cut his finger and now he can't go climbing for a while! And Beth just climbed a crack that is really hard for girls! And Todd and Paul are quite the gang! I need no other heroes then myself striving to do my Big Wall best.RURP has spoken. BURP: Your yabber about how lame everyone is for being groupies is at least as lame as being a groupie! Get of ya' fuckin high horse! Also make sure to check out how much you bug me in "Where were you a year ago? And now?" later. Nice name, by the way. (honesty) That isn't bragging about your "big wall experience", is it? (sarcasm) dave brannon

quote: Originally posted by sisu suomi: My John Thomas. Is this one of those smoldering white gas hand warmers? I've described this to many lower-48 gear store lackies, only to be told "that sounds crazy. No one makes such a thing!" dumbass!

blue, yellow, and orange tcu's. Don't these guys just make you thikn of soaring finger cracks that suck up our fingers like that cute 18 y... woops. I like tcu's. speaking of cheap/light/versitile: I like my sneakers. They're comfy and eat shit non-stop. max