max

quote: Originally posted by allison: ... we never use them for hanging scenery, and we never, ever, ever use them if ... Is never, ever, ever any less often than never?

winter sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks sucks it still sucks

Back to the original topic... It sounds dorky, but I think breathing excercises are a good way to avoid psyching yourself out. Here's the basis of the philosophy: I can think about only one thing at a time. I can perform physical tasks and think about something, but only one thing. As an example, I can walk down the street and think about my stats homework. But I can't simultainiously think about stats and climbing. So if I can replace the thoughts centering around fear with potentially helpful thoughts... better. So when I was climbing at the gym on top rope and working on something super hard, I'd focus on directed, smooth, deep breaths. PLEASE< don't be a huffer at the crags 'cause that drives me (and I'm sure others) nuts. Quite, deep FOCUSED breathing is a great thing to think about while working something hard. And, presupposing you've got the milage as others have recommended, the physical part of climbing will be taken care of by a different part of the brain, like the wlaking part in my example. I've had great sucsess with this technique. At first it doesn't seem to help, but the better you get at FOCUSING on the breathing and redirecting your conscience, the more it helps. I believe the ridiculed euro-chalk-blow is actually another great example of this. Dip a shit-lot of chalk, think about and feel the chalk on your finger tips, visualize the chalk as negative energy (I've picked up this sort of mumbo-jumbo living in Boulder ), then blow it away. Feel clean, stress-free fingers and go. (all you "I hate chalk" types: I don't use chalk and I'm not promoting this as a mind technique. It's only an example of FOCUSING) Thanks for starting this thread 'cause the mind game strategy of climbing is one of the best parts!

quote: Originally posted by fishstick: Interesting findings from a Canadian group a couple of weeks ago. Hey, do you have a reference for this? thanks.dave

OH. Right. For some reason I can't read. ---I'm retarded---

quote: Originally posted by Lowell Skoog: ...you can fix your objective, or you can fixyour time window, but you cannot fix both. I like this.

What I think is intersting is that the article headline is "climber's fall linked to bolf" but nowhere in the article does it say anything about bolts failing. Seems like a un-substantiated headline.

quote: Originally posted by johnny: Using something dry like bike chain lube... I just did this with my tcu's (wet flows + lack of screws = rusty cams) and used graphite powder post-cleaning. It was a mess, so do it outside and blow off the excess graphite. Powdered graphic is available at most hardware stores or locksmiths. A bike geek friend says "White Lightning" is the best "dry" oil lubricants. I'd guess the oil lubes would prevent future rusting better than graphic. [ 02-03-2002: Message edited by: max ]

6.2x10^-23 sec. I dedicated every single molecule in my finger to this test.

quote: Originally posted by Dru: fixing a rope to seed a pillar has been tried and does not work. in fact one time at johnston canyon, it ripped the anchor out that the rope was attached to! I'm pretty sure this is the technique (sucsessfully) used on the Fang and Rigid Designator near Vail. I think steel chain and some big-ass trees are used. http://images.climbingboulder.com/ice/3/the_fang.jpg [ 01-31-2002: Message edited by: max ]

It seems like I've had the "best day ever" happen to me several times. I've been finishing a day that seemed so regular...no huge climbs, no super hard pitches, maybe not even that long of a day. But as I'm walking back to the car I think to myself "This is probably the best day of climbing ever! I love climbing" Maybe I'm just easy to please. Maybe I've got bad memory.

I use my regular leather boots for "tour" type stuff where I'm not looking to tear it up. Thier relatively light and comfy. Then I use my regular alpine ski boots when I'm looking for turns. They tour just fine, definately no better than AT boots, and they were super cheap. I think I got them at the ski swap for 40 bucks.

I suppose this is openingnup a can of worms that's already been re-heated, but... I can't say anything about the snowmobile scene 'cause I haven't hung out with that crowd. But in the skier areana.. what a bunch of snobs! I'd agree that smoke and oil suck, but they definitely don't warrant the gibberish I hear out of some skiers. I think they're actually looking for something to complain about. I think it boils down to the skiers being a little high and mighty, I'm cooler than you 'cause "I earn my turns!" what ever. Maybe I just got more riled up over snobby skiers than the snobby skiers get riled over sledders.

quote: Originally posted by rat: max,i agree with your take on the entiat boulders but they were convenient when i used to work there for the usfs.... rat: send me a pm.... dave

Ive decided that just as suffering Christians developed this concept of "heaven to give them hope, so too have suffering W. WA ice climbers developed a concept called "Banks Lake". So in the spirit of eastern philosophy, I encourage all you suffering ice climbers to remember that suffering is part of life, sufffering is part of ice climbing. You must transcend being distracted by suffering and joy to achieve enlightenment through ice. If you continue to dwell on the rotten, wet, picked out, skinny flows at Alpental, you will die and be reborn to a less enlightened state, like a lost soul or a sport climber.

My experience w/ the entiat boulders is "don't bother". One of the "areas" is a single, huge block with two (?) "hard" (5.11+) lines, and a couple of high 5.9-5.10+'s. I was told by locals that the other area (with several rocks) is on private land. If your there, check them out, otherwise you'll just be wondering where your tank of gas went.

http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/images/home/front_86.jpgDamn. [ 01-23-2002: Message edited by: max ]

quote: Originally posted by Dru: Long and Sherman have been riding the same joke too long. Amen.

quote: Originally posted by mattp: Now, when it comes to "the 10 best packs for alpine climbs" or some such thing, I believe those magazines are totally worthless. Or, "this is how you should plan your trip to Red Rocks" – give me a break. ...If you read a glossy ad-filled magazine for serious information about any topic you probably don't know a lot about the subject matter or you just aren't all that serious, but if you read it because you are interested in the subject matter, and the magazine might happen to be entertaining and occasionally informative – well, that's why we subscribe to magazines, isn't it? Nice. Good call.

Tuscon AZ Mt. Lemmon's within ten minutes, has great bolted and gear climbs on clean granite similar to j-tree's, and doesn't experience near the crowds and scene of j-tree. http://isaac.exploratorium.edu/~pauld/climbing/mtlemmon/windypt.html http://www.climbingsource.com/LocalBeta/Arizona/mtlemmon.html Cochise Stronghold is within an hour and a half of Tuscon and has mostly trad and some bolted multipitch climbs. Note quite a few of the AWESOME climbs in the eastern Stronghold are closed spring and summer, but the west stronghold has plenty to offer. Also, camping in the Stronghold is great: secluded, un-trashed, and close to the climbs. http://home.attbi.com/~cspieker/slides/arribas/arribas.htm http://www.climbingsource.com/LocalBeta/Arizona/cochisestronghold.html

quote: Originally posted: ...where the balloon popped. A bit of geek trivia: "Free range" latex-type balloons generally do not fail due to popping. The explanation I heard was that the low density gasses inside the balloon difused through the (barely) permiable latex. Similarly, atmospheric gasses difuse in (remeber: by the requirements of bananced forces, the pressures inside and outside the balloon are very close. Anyways, eventually the average density of the balloon is less than the average density of the atmosphere and the balloon descends. I can't say if this is true or not for mylar/laminate balloons. I suspect not in that mylar balloons are much less elastic, screwing with the "balanced forces" babble. Source: I think I can trace this back to Wenatchee High Chemistry/Physics teacher of the 88-94 vintage whose name will remain unnamed. Maybe my split personality made it up. [ 01-21-2002: Message edited by: max ]

quote: Originally posted by glacier: Not particularly of local interest, but my folks have recovered the occasional weather balloon on their farm in Nebraska... My department at CU offers a course in which the freshman-level students design, build, launch, and generally drool over a weather balloon. Someone in this class this year told me about recovering it from a farmer in Nebraska or maybe Kansas. See thread on gun-toting locals (I sympathize!)

quote: Originally posted by Dru: The CAJ and AAJ are the only Great Reads out there. On The Edge (UK)High mountain sports (UK)Climber (NZ)Climbing (USA)Rock (Oz)Rock And Ice (USA)Climber (UK)Gripped (CAN) Are the CAJ and AAJ those thick bookish things that come out once per year? Or are there more frequent publications? Where the hell are you seeing these magazines? I feel like I've seen a good sampling of the mags out there, and I'm not seeing many of these. Well, I should say I'm not seeing them enough to make much of a judgement on their quality. So maybe you've got subscriptions? I'm interested in hearing other's opinion on this.

quote: Originally posted by AlpineK: I'm no lawyer and Erik may be in the right based on the law, but it seems to me a FS trail through a ski area should imply an easement. Yeah, my "peeve" is not that someone mis-interpreted the law, but more that the law seems unfair. I don't think the ski area should be able to do that. quote: Originally posted by AlpineK: Certainly having lived in CO and skied at Eldora I think it might be equally likely that the ski area employee may have just been trying to restrict acess not based on laws but based on intimidation. Another piece in this puzzle is that earlier this year, one skier was killed and another generally fucked when they were swept into Yankee Doodle lake, approached via our route through the area. I suspect things are in a hightened state due to this incident. quote: Originally posted by AlpineK: Given that ski areas are on public land and the government indirectly subsidises them through low lease rates I don't see why they shouldn't have to put up with people walking through, "their land." Yeah, this is more what I'm whining about. For me it's not a matter of being strictly justified, I'm just annoyed by it. As to the comment "there are plenty of other places to ski/climb": yes this is true. And again, I'm not saying these places should be open, I'm just lamenting that a great day was dulled by being brow beaten by a (only moderately) power-trippin' ski-area dude. Further, this argument is somewhat invalidated by applying it's principle other access issues. No one would accept the argument "there are plenty of other places" if it were a matter of a crag being inappropriately bolted or a municiple trail being decommisioned.

quote: Originally posted by Zenolith: ...my post was sarcastic. Right on Z. Ditto.