sobo

Back in high school, I had a (second) horn hooked up to produce the sound of a speeding vehicle coming to a screeching halt. It was always great fun to race up to occupied crosswalks and lay on that horn.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Classic, Pax!

For as much time as I wasted on this board today, I just might be. You know the saying, "I was looking for a job when I found this one."

The Blue Grouse (or sumpin' close to that) at Exit 106. It's kitty-cornered from the Perkins that nolanr mentioned. There's also a truck stop just south of the interstate at Exit 109 with a restaurant right next door. Can't remember the name. Sak's, or something like that. Don't bother with the steaks; they use the soles from old climbing shoes. With more time available to you on your way back home, a really good place to chow is the Valley Cafe' on 3rd Street and Pearl Avenue. Good "college kid" style menu and decent prices for good wines by the glass and microbrews. The Ironhorse (a sports bar kinda place) is directly across the street; obviously cheaper and domestic swill is available. If you got more time and money, try Pearl's on Pearl, just around the corner from the Valley Cafe'. But have your date pick up the tab on that one. The trick here is to order the wine flight instead of wines by the glass. For a $10 flight, you get 4 glasses of wine (all reds or all whites) at about 2 or 3 oz each. That's over half a pint for $10. A single 4 oz glass will run about $6 all by itself. Economize!

Cool. Fire away when you're ready. BTW, what's the job (if I may enquire...)?

$48K is what I heard Closer to twice that number. $85k is what the daily rag said. And Norm didn't shut down the whole gym, just the climbing room. Norm is into financial consulting now. I think he's over at Salomon Smith Barney. His wife is running the gym.

Yeah, I get that a lot... But at least she can get a good grip.

So's this...

Hey, Wes! Wazzupp? Yeah, Grant's got waaaaaaay behind (like more than 2 years) on their lease from BN, and the railroad got tired of Grant's blowing sunshine up their ass, so BN didn't offer a renewal on its lease. Grant's is talking about moving over to Glennwood Square (where Zesta Cucina is) and moving into Tim's Basement (which closed down last year), but it just isn't the same as being at the old railroad station. Grant's took a dive when Bert sold it off to Stimson Lane Wineries a few years back, and it's been going downhill ever since.

Yah, he qualifies as "Class Act" in my book. That description is reserved for very few.

Yeahhh, there's some namby-pamby, fancy-schmanzy, nancy-boi indoor clay courts tennis club here. Gotta be a blueblood or sumpin' to join. 'member, it's f#$%in' HOT here in the summer, and it SNOWS in the winter, so if'n you're in to tennis and like to play ALL year long, the club is sumpin' to think about. Oh, and we had a climbing gym at Gymnastics Plus, but Norm closed that section of the gym down and sold off the holds. Oh, and did I mention that the commute from just about anywhere in the whole county would be considered "trivial" by Seattle standards?

Ta daaa! Very true Again, spot on. Welll, that's debateable... Well, Rob, you've obviously never lived in the Dry Shitties. Anywhere is better than that! I moved here for a better job and the proximity of better access to outdoor activities. To wit... GOM: The Yakima environs have a ton-o-good outdoor stuff to offer: About 20 minutes to Royal Columns rock climbing, and just keep driving up the canyon for more rock. About 30 minutes to fly fishing in the Yakima River Canyon (there's hunting, too, but I don't hunt, so I can't really speak informatively on that). About 45 minutes to the put-in for WW kayaking/rafting on the Tieton River. Best season is September. About 1 hour to lift-served skiing at White Pass, and a little longer to BC skiing up the Chinook Pass highway on the backside of Crystal Mountain. About 1 hour to the PCT and the entrance to the Goat Rocks Wilderness. Likewise with the William O. Douglas Wilderness. Less than 2 hours to the Paradise parking lot at Rainier. Although it's only about a 45-minute drive in the summer, it's a 3-hour approach to Strobach Mountain for ice climbing. We also have some shorter approaches to ice routes up the Chinook Pass highway. Is that enough for outdoor stuff? How about some fine drinking establishments? The downtown historic district has a pretty nice pub crawl, all located within a one-block radius of each other. Although Grant's brewpub just lost their lease at the railroad depot and has now closed up, there is still (in my order of preference of patronage): Bob's Keg & Cork The Barrel House The Greystone Cafe' Melange The Depot More drinking establishments are available if you're interested. We also have a couple pretty fine dining establishments: The Barrel House (again) Gasperetti's The Birchfield Manor Zesta Cucina Do you golf? We've got a shitload of nice courses here, most notably Apple Tree Country Club. Tennis? Got that, too. It all depends upon what kinda stuff you are interested in. Although I tend to focus on the positives of a situation, "Crackima" does have a drug/gang problem. But it's all about where you decide to house your shit. I've been here almost eight years and have never been "violated" in any sense of the word. Others have not been so lucky. Feel free to PM with specific questions. I'm your huckleberry.

OK, so I guess the ethic is to at least try to get booty back to its rightful owner. Sooooooooooo... Idaho, Lightning Dome, Fat Albert: name it and claim it.

Bunny Face?

Actually, at the Royal Columns, the "newest" bolted route is 10 years old (established in 1994). Nearly every other bolted route is more like fifteen years old (established in 1988-89). Many of the bolts have been updated recently, though. My oops. The point was that the trad grades are a little stiffer than what most folks are used to, and the bolted routes should be about what you would expect for the grade anywhere else. Howya doing, Andy? You prolly don't remember me, but say "hi" to Ed M. and Marla M. if you run into them.

Objective dangers...

The Hilda Creek hostel is better IMHO. Less crowded, the kitchen is in a separate building from the bunks (so it's quieter), it has a sauna also, and I don't ever remember having a unpleasant experience with the loo. And it's not that far down the road from Rampart. Oh, and "Gabby" fixed us up with some extra liquor for a special trade...

Personal all-time faves, mostly for the memories, but the climbing was awesome, too: Rainier: Liberty Ridge, original route, 1991 Stuart: North Ridge, complete with Lower Eastside start, 1992 Adams: North side, North Lyman Glacier, 1995 Snow Creek Wall: Outer Space, pick any year TIE: Tieton: Royal Columns, either Thriller Pillar Direct, 5.9+/10-, OR the Render us Weighless Roof, 5.8+ <edit> I'll remove the tie and replace it with: North Index Peak: North Face, 1993 That was just awesome, even during the rain on the descent!

HORRORS!

This looks like something out of a Star Trek episode or that flick "The Philadelphia Experiment" where they get transported halfway into bulkheads and ship decks and stuff. Weeeirrrrd...

Started this game in 1984. Fires were my first shoe. I still use them for alpine routes cuz I can get a fleece sock on in them now. And I'm with Bug on this one: I've never cleaned them, ever, and they smell just fine. Well, mebbe not "just" fine... Oh aw right, they stink like a cowpie!

About 20 minutes from Yakima on US 12 begins the start of the many areas collectively referred to as "the Tieton". Climbs range from 5.3 to 5.12-ish, at the many various areas available. Yes, there are many climbs available to lead/follow in that range. Mind you, many of the older climbs at Royal Columns were put up before the advent of the higher number grades around today. A trad climb rated 5.8 at Royal Columns may seem a lot more like a 5.9 where you are used to climbing. The bolted routes are more in line with current "standards", as most of the bolted routes are less than about 10 years old. There are a few guidebooks that have been printed in the past that are specific to Tieton, but all are out of print except the Reid/Preston "Quick & Dirty Guide to the Tieton". About $10 at any climbing shop. The photos suck, route descriptions are terse, but it will put you in the general area. Smoot is still available, as are the Nelson/Potterfield guides, but they only offer a smattering of what's out there. A search of this board with Tieton as your keyword should turn up a plethora of info. Good luck.

What Alex said in his Point #2: Get everything in top operating order before you head out. This is verrrry important. And if your vehicle's thermostat is acting up on you, it's only a few bucks and a short afternoon to save yourself a world of hurt. My rig was referred to as "The Meat Locker" on a trip where we were scraping the inside of the windshield as we flew down the Icefields Parkway. And what Dru said: get a block heater installed. Don't do like I did (on a different trip up north) and spring a leak on Christmas Eve in Pincher Creek and be out of a rig until the 27th (they have Boxing Day up north, eh). Threw a real damper on the available climbing days, and there was no place to rent a rig up that way. And my advice is I-90 to Spookaloo, into ID and Cranbrook, then Radium to Banff/Canmore.

Ya gotta love the Conan guy's "helmet" in the last pic! Righteous! Sorta reminds one of the guy on the right...