sobo

Well, I wouldn't be the All-Around Climbing Champion anymore, that's fer shoor... Hey, my avatar image is stuck in mid-smack.

Fuck, even I can do that! As a result, I hereby proclaim myself All-Around Climbing Champion. Now there's two of us; time to

I read that. Respect for that accomplishment is one thing, but I ask you again, does that qualify her to be named/name herself/have her sponsors name her an "all-around climbing champion"? I think not. wirlwind hits it on "The Nose", it's all about selling shit to kids that's bought with the 'rents cash so the CEO can retire early. But surely she must have some say in the misinformation that is posted on her website, eh? I'm just on a rant about blatant overhype. Time for me to chill out and get a

And here's something I don't get... So sure, she's a talented 15-year-old sport climber. This distinction, then, qualifies her to be named an all-around champion climber? So what has she done in the alpine? Big wall? High altitude? Ice? Call me crazy, but I just can't see that naming her an "all-around champion climber" makes any fucking sense at all. WTF is up with today's youth anyway?

Me and a bunch of buds from the Tri-Cities that climb went to VL after seeing all the bullshit in the trailers. We got good and drunk before the show and all doodied up in our climbing gear. Ya know, helmets, harnesses, racks, boots, etc. Some clown didn't want to let us in until the manager came over (whom I know) and let us in (but we had to leave our ice tools and axes with her during the show). We sure had a whoopin' good time flaming every "climbing" scene, but I think that a few peeps thought we were real assholes. We sure thought it was funny, tho.

I just knew I had a purpose on this planet!

From the movie K2, with Michael Bien ("Kyle" from the first Terminator, and the only Marine who survives along with Sigourney in "Aliens"): The part at the end (when the director ran out of money and needed to end the film quickly) when the Huey plucks them from the mountain at, oh, say, 17k feet. Same movie, when Bien and his wimpy buddy anchor the tent of a competing party (who decided to pitch it in an avy chute) vying for the same route with a snow stake. When the avy hits, the clowns in the tent are "saved" cuz our hero lashed them to the face with that stake. BOMBER!

classic!

Patience, padwan learner. The force will (eventually) be with you. Hey Rob, where are you living now? I kinda understood that you were back East for Isabell. You still live there? Where is "the flatlands" you refer to in your avatar?

She's dead. Killed on K2 in 1995. Ticks included solo ascent of Everest and scores of difficult solos in the Alps. Yep, she was a hard one. What about Sue McDevitt? Yosemite Big Wall girl?

Governor

A workmate sent me this. I offer it to you as today's "funny". Enjoy!

Would it really matter if it were either one...?

That's a wonderful idea - but in practice it raises the fiscal bar fairly high to enter the backcountry (unless you have access to cheap, reliable rental beacons - THAT YOU KNOW HOW TO USE! - it's alot harder to practice if you use a different beacon each time). My point is $300 is best spent on a class that will open your eyes to the dangers around you - not on something to get you into trouble (skis) or give you a false sense of what you could survive (beacon). And honestly the Avy danger isn't THAT high in the cascades if you know when to go, and where not to go (and yes this is an absurd generalisation) I don't disagree, carl. But it's a decision we must make if we decide that this is to be our form of recreation. And if we decide we want to keep on living! True, money may be better spent on education, but who wants to do that when toyz can be bought with that same $$? And true also that we can minimize our exposure by choosing wisely the times and places we decide to go. But my point is that me and my pals have placed a value on both education *and* equipment to better our chances of returning home, whereas DustinB's friend has categorically denied the value of both. Also, being a member of a mountain rescue unit, I don't mind going out to help pull someone off a mountain who got in over their head a little bit, whereas I do mind going out for a body recovery because someone decided to be just plain cheap and stupid. My $0.02

Cetainly not me, mattp. I think it was a snip well timed.

I own a beacon. I use a beacon. I have taken several courses and seminars in the use of the beacon and avalanche awareness/safety. So have the people I go into the backcountry with. In ALMOST every case, we all insist that all others in the party carry/wear/know how to use beacons and shovels. That's right, a shovel for everyone in the party as well (what good does a shovel do if the guy with it gets buried ). DustinB, your friend, is practicing a *skill* we refer to commonly as Recreational Darwinism. We'll see if he *evolves* in the future.

Orrrrrrrr, you could prolly get a few pointers from this guy!

Here is the discussion from last year. Many hints and opinions to be found. Enjoy your kakeandjelly and eat it, too.

I could be an ass and suggest that you do a search of this site, as there has been many discussions on this topic (go back over 1 year), or I could suggest my own personal favorite: National Ski Patrol, Level I and II. You will soon have many responses to your query, some not as nice as mine. I suggest you do your homework now and start the search.

Geezus! Am I ever glad I clicked on this thread. I used to use DP but haven't needed a resole in a few years. I remember he did good work back the last time, on my rock shoes and mountainh boots, but was kinda cantankerous. I'm getting ready to do this year's resole of shoes and I was just gonna go straight to DP. I'll be rethinking that move now... Thanks for the link to Ramata, guyz.

Interesting to note that this thread has been split and the offending half has been moved to Spray...

Ah yes, Joe Puryear's site. Have known about this little gem for a few months now. Good on you to bring it back up. He's got route topos for some new lines on Goose Egg.

I have the Matt Christensen guide from ca 1987. It's good only for the Royal Columns area. It's out of print. Norm Ried and Yale Preston put out "The Quick and Dirty Guide to the Tieton" a few years back. It's a comb-bound affair with not much route description or topos, and the photos turned out quite lousy in the reproduction process, but it's fair tool if you just want to locate the various areas it covers and do your own route exploration from there. Not worth the 10 sheckles they want for it, IMHO. As erik sez, wait for the Yoder/Ford guide due out soon. I expect I'll start seeing a bunch more of you westsiders over here once that guide comes out.

Ohhh, what the hell... Unloved fest couldn't help it.

Tomorrow is the fall rigging practice for my mountain rescue unit. I'll be "rescuing" a big, heavy, broken climber on high angle rock. Unsure Sunday, but prolly sumpin with the wife and young'n. Took the boy hiking up at White Pass last weekend. He got the shoulder ride for 8 round trip miles. I got a sore neck. Fun all the same. The little tater thought that Sand Lake was cool. Crawled right on in.