sobo

As was mine. Frank sandbagged me into leading Zig as my first lead ever, "confirming" the grade at 5.6 (like I could tell after climbing only five or six weeks). My last piece was a #3 Coonyard stopper at the bottom of the lie-back. I stopped about 15 feet further up to place another piece, and peeled off the LB and took a 30+ footer, with one hand hitting the ground. Frank looked at me, shook his head, and asked, "You gonna finish that?" I got up, dusted off, realigned my karma, tried again, and fell again from the same spot. Two 30+ footers inside of five minutes on my first lead ever - yah, I gave up for the day. Two weeks later we returned, after I'd been practicing placing pro around campus and working out extra hard at the gym. Frank's philosophy was that you had to get your old monkeys off your back before you could add new ones, so up we trudged to the base of Zig one more time. I literally flew up it. Frank followed, and revealed the true grade as 5.9. I almost pushed him off the top of the route when he told me that. After much working at it, I was able to extricate the stopper that held those falls. It's hung from the rear view mirror in every vehicle I have owned since that day, a constant reminder to me of how fragile this life, and the lives of others close to us, really is. Yowzerz!!!1 Frank and I often contemplated when (and if) that roof would ever go free. Wow, 20 years. I wish he could know that.

I don't know how you reach the assumption that she has been dumped. At the most, you could postulate that the guy (or the chick) is contemplating dumpage. And I concur, chicks that look like the one on the bike by and large are in the driver's seat in terms of when and how the dumping occurs. Trust me, for I've been there. :snif:

Now WTF was that for, arch? I'm sure you have a nice ass, too, given the calendar shots you've submitted and that hottie shot in the formal red gown. Yowzerz! I'm just identifying the parameters that I use to define what works for me. Obviously, those parameters vary from person to person, and no one person has all the exact parameters to claim the Blue Ribbon. I mean, maybe that chica on the bike has a nice butt and all, but she might very well be a horrible bitch to be around. Like the bumper sticker say... "No matter how hot she looks, there's some guy out there who's damn tired of her shit."

I must inform you, sir, that you are sadly mistaken. The true events surrounding the installation of the HC shitter at Camp Muir are borne out of the angst of failure and search for blame by another paraplegic "climber", one Jeff Pagels. Pete and Pagels were on Mt. Rainier at the same time in June 1999, and it was sort of a competition among the two teams as to who would "win the honor" of being the first para to summit Rainier. Pagel's method of choice was to ride on a sit-ski and jug up fixed lines that his crew would stake out ahead of him, and we felt ourselves "above that" because, while both crews had "sherpa support" for gear/parts/camps, Pete's method of choice was an actual "under his own power" ascent. Pete chose his own route, cranked his own pod, and made all his own climbing decisions, while we (his support team) were nothing more than strong backs to haul loads and to provide a belay system for him, just as you would for any other able-bodied climber. Jugging up lines just wasn't the same in our eyes, as that required someone else to set them for you. Pagel aborted his attempt at Camp Muir, and then proceeded to complain to the NPS that he couldn't get into the shitter there. As a result of his complaint and threats of legal action against the Park for not meeting the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in regards the the Muir toilet, the NPS installed the ADA-compliant shitter. Check it out with Gator or read this article, and I think you'll find I speak the truth. While I respect your intelligence, enjoy reading your thoughtful posts, and often cringe at the beatings you take on this board, I charge you not to diss my friends without having all of the facts at hand. I consider the matter of the ADA shitter closed, and we need not speak of it again.

That is the indomitable (and niggardly weight-conscious) Pete Rieke himself. He was indeed on the Kautz in 1999, and I and many of the others pictured above were also with him (he was on the Igraham in 1998, didn't make it - he summitted Mt. Hood via standard south side in the spring of 1998). The 1999 Kautz attempt was aborted just below the top of the Kautz headwall (12,500' +/-) after a huge avalanche swept the face below Point Success, which as you know is the next glacier over (Van Trump??) and on the same aspect and slope angle. I called out after the roar died away, "We shouldn't be here!" And we skedaddled. Having determined in subsequent planning sessions that the Kautz was indeed the correct route to the top for Pete, we tried the Kautz again in June 2000, and he was successful. Read all about it here. Pete went on to build three more snowpods and he and three other paralyzed athletes summitted Mt. Shasta under their own power in 2002. Linky Pete's still a senior scientist at Battelle's PNNL here in Richland, WA. I see him from time to time to see what's coming up new in his life, and to reminisce about the old dayzzzz. I'll be drinking with him this weekend, and his new betrothed. He's getting married (again) next month.

Well, it's a jungle out there.

Jesse, Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou Thankyou. And in case I didn't make myself perfectly clear... Thankyou!! You're top tier, man.

Roger is correct; that ain't no bunny lovin goin' on there. That was a territorial fight about to go bloody. We've got four bonded pairs of fixed bunnies that live in one of the bedrooms of our house (they're pets). When/if one of the other bunnies that's not bonded to the others gets loose, all @#$%ing hell breaks loose. They can gut each other with a single kick of their hind leg to the belly of the opponent. Rips out the entrails just like a velociraptor would. "That's the most foul, cruel, and bad-tempered rodent you ever set eyes on!" apologies to the Monty Python players...

Standard Coonyard blue fiberglass piolet; the very same one being held up by yours truly in the Geranimals suit on the right (this shot was taken nine years later, in June 2000, at the time of Rieke's successful "paraplegic under his own power" summit of Rainier). FYI: The guy behind me (in orange hood) is another former climbing partner of mine that some of you may have heard of or climbed with at Vantage and other locales. It's Bill Robins. He's dead now, KIA by avalanche in Bolivia 5 years ago this coming July. RIP, Bill. The ice tool was a rubber bonded straight shaft BD X-15. Did I ever mention that I'm hopelessly old skewl?

I'm a Hokie alum, too: '83-'88. Classes in Norris, and dated girls that lived in AJ. Sad. Have ya'll seen the news bits about his "disturbed writing" pieces and plays? CNN link Among the many killed was a person who I thought was my best professor ever during my tenure there. I never would have understood open channel flow and fluid mechanics were it not for this gentleman:

Sweet, jmace, thanks! Yah, I noticed that "big white patch" meself. I think it's a fuck-up due to operator error while I was scanning the pics. D'oh!

The first time I did LR, our "leader", the indomitable (and niggardly weight-conscious) Pete Rieke insisted that each of us would take our own ice axe, and that the team of three would share the single 45cm ice tool, with only the leader of any given pitch allowed to have it. We were successful, and even short-roped two other teams of two to us and transported/led/guided them to the summit for later evac by CH-47 helo (June 1, 1991). Bottom line? I agree with CBS. If you know your stuff and how to work with the tools you have, you'll do pretty well most of the time. Take what you feel most comfortable with, Rob.

That's a good one.

Bleah! that looks just like my ass, and I am a man... the last thing I want to be pushin' on is some bony or rock hard muscle ass.... It's gotta make a "slap" noise, or it's no good... Otherwise it's just "gay".... I have doubts you'll have a clear view of any woman until you lose the glare of your homophobia Nothing wrong with being gay, just not ideal for me. And if I want a woman that has a rear like a man, I might as well be into men, thats all, get it? D00d, If you can't see that she's got one fine tight ass, I feel sorry for you. Muscular thighs, visible gappage, and high cheeks with nice "smiles" and good separation, it has the required attributes. YMMV.

Hey, Can one of you mods tell me why my pics on the previous page aren't posting? The URLs work fine when C/P-ed into a browser, and they show up fine in my gallery, but for some reason they won't come up in this thread. I used the "Enter an image" toggle like every time before, but this time it ain't werkin.' And yet wfinley was able to get one of them to post by using the "quote" function (top of this page). What gives??

Sonny climbs at Vantage sans helmet?? He got a deathwish or sumpin'??

Billy, I think you might be right. I thought it was Zig (5.9, and my first lead, a classic Frank sandbag ), and then thought that it might be Zig's companion climb, Zag. If you remember that Zag is the first crack right of the HUGE roof below the bridge, then you're right. And I seem to recall the sign said "Please do not piss in front of the locals."

A nice tush is high and tight, with visible gappage between the thighs, like a champion Brazilian beach volleyball player's butt. Now, while she is not a champion Brazilian beach volleyball player, a nice butt looks a lot like this: Now that's a nice tush! :tup: How does that old saying go? "I'd eat a bowl of her shit just to lick where it came from."

Their butts are too big for my taste. And the one on the right is trampstamped - sure sign of skankdom. :tdown: But we appreciate the thought, BB.

I used the third toggle from the left on the top row of the edit/reply screen ("Enter an image"). It's worked for me before... ?? Just tried your suggestion on the first image. No joy.

How come my pics aren't showing up??

Skeezix got me thinking about Frank Gibson, my first climbing partner from my college days back in the Old Dominion. Frank was tragically murdered in his climbing store in Fairfax, VA in November 1990. His wife has since remarried, and his son will graduate high school next year. Please raise a glass to my friend and partner, Frank. RIP, brother. Frank gearing up for my first big wall climb, Whitesides Original Route, NC, ca. 1986. Frank with his favorite beverage. The night before, it got down to 40F below zero, and this was the only thing that didn't freeze. We tried cooking in the tent the next morning, and promptly exploded the stove and burned down the tent. "Warning label? What's a warning label?" Frank aiding a famous line at the NRG, WV Bridge Buttress, ca. Winter 1987. I can't remember the name of this route, it's a 10. Frank clearing out the barrel of his Ruger .44 in the gravel pit near Pembroke, VA, ca. 1988. Yours truly ringing in 1985 in my college apartment shortly after New Year's Eve. Frank and I drank everything you see here. IIRC, it was two bottles of Jack, a bottle of single malt, a bunch or Rolling Rocks, and a ton of some other shit beers. Look at the color of that nose!

All this chestbeating is choice. What a funny thread. Did I mention that I didn't really use the Swiss Army knife? Just the toothpick that comes with it. Yah, that's what I meant.

Yah, it's mind-numbing. At least it appears that she is resting comfortably. I don't see a lot of movement anywhere in there.

I used a Swiss Army knife and a stick. :neener: :neener: