allthumbs Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 A7U said: AlpinistAndrew said: I fuckin hate the mountaineers. They are truly bastards. They just kicked me out of their basic climbing class (B'ham branch). I missed one field trip, due to extenuating circumstances and I apoligized like no other. So, I just wanted to express my dislike of this group of assholes, I didn't like'm anyway. Anyone else hate these bastards. At the start of the course you were told no one can miss any class without 1st making arrangements to do a makeup at another branch. You were told this. You were told this. You were told this. Is this your 1st encounter with rules being enforced? Everyone sees going in what a rules-based organization the Mtnrs are. If you think you got burned, you went into the deal with eyes wide shut. From the way you write, I bet your personality didn't help you any. Probably none of them really wanted to go climbing with your sniveling, petulant attitude. A7U, shove it up your ass motherfucker mountie piece of shit. Quote
minx Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 Not to be a bitch or maybe just to be a bitch, i'm gonna defend the mounties for a minute Not that the wankers haven't totally pissed me off once or twice I used to instruct people in a dangerous activity. I demanded that they follow certain rules and adher to certain safety procedures that I have long since quit using myself. The reason? They're new, beginners, rookies. Trying to keep them safe and uninjured was more important than being practical in the beginning. As skills and knowledge were gained, I relaxed some of the rules. Some of it seemed ridiculous to them at the time but the one time I was swayed to ease up w/a beginner something bad happened. Keep in mind who the mounties are working with. It may seem ridiculous but the goal is to keep everybody safe. Maybe the sign that people are ready to move beyond all these rules the mounties have is that they go out on their own. Quote
catbirdseat Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 Andrew, I'll tell you why things are the way they are. The Mountaineers are an all volunteer organization. Your course fees only pay for room rental and the cost of materials. All the instructors are working for free. Because of this they assume that students should be grateful they aren't paying ten times as much money as they would with the professional guide services. Hence, they expect perfect attendence and are less likely to bend over backwards for slackers. If you miss a field trip you miss important information and skills that are needed in subsequent field trips. Those that know in advance that they can't make a field trip can make arrangements to attend the equivalent field trip of another branch. But if you FORGET to go to one and the other branches have already held their field trips, what are they supposed to do? Schedule a special weekend for those who forget? About the only thing I can suggest for you would be if you could find a Mountaineer instructor who would be willing to take you out on a make up trip and go over all the material for that field trip. If you could find such a person, you could write a letter to the Course Coordinator and propose this make up and see if they would be willing to accept this proposal. I can tell you that the Everett Branch has held make ups for certain students in Alpine Scrambling and Basic Climbing, in which volunteers have come forward to teach. However, in most cases, these were students who were ill or were injured at the field trips and physically were unable to complete the module. Which field trip did you miss? When does next field trip in the sequence occur? Good Luck. Quote
Greg_W Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 Necronomicon said: A7U said: AlpinistAndrew said: I fuckin hate the mountaineers. They are truly bastards. They just kicked me out of their basic climbing class (B'ham branch). I missed one field trip, due to extenuating circumstances and I apoligized like no other. So, I just wanted to express my dislike of this group of assholes, I didn't like'm anyway. Anyone else hate these bastards. At the start of the course you were told no one can miss any class without 1st making arrangements to do a makeup at another branch. You were told this. You were told this. You were told this. Is this your 1st encounter with rules being enforced? Everyone sees going in what a rules-based organization the Mtnrs are. If you think you got burned, you went into the deal with eyes wide shut. From the way you write, I bet your personality didn't help you any. Probably none of them really wanted to go climbing with your sniveling, petulant attitude. Boy, I sure want to be involved with the Mountaineers if I get to enjoy quality time with petty little twats like this cornhole. RULES, RULES, RULES!!! How can you be a good climber without RULE ENFORCEMENT??? Mountaineers suck dog balls. Their last major contribution to the world of climbing came in 1934 with the 3rd summer, first alpenstock-less ascent of Mt. Si, with only three forced bivys. Thankfully, with the advent of the Seattle Sombrero, and the doubleboot/gaiter/polypro/shorts/fleece & Goretex jackets hyper-sweat climbing clothing system, and 25,000 c.i. suspensomatic backpacks, this climb can be completed with only two bivys. This is the first thing that Necro has said that I agree with. I guess we CAN all get along! Well, maybe... Quote
Dustin_B Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 Sphinx said: Just do it yourself. It ain't that hard to learn to climb. John Long's books are great, read em. Yeah, and who needs universities and professors when we have libraries and the internet. Why do all those people waste so much money going to college when you could just go out and learn it by yourself? Idiots!! Quote
Cobra Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 Mounties' attitude needs a re-arrangment. They think they own the mountains and everyone has to abide by their silly rules even if they are not with their groups. What I usually do is things they might consider dangerous or improper each time I encounter them. I like telling them to fuck off if they start nagging me. It's good to let them know they don't rule the mountains like they think they often do. One good thing is they are easy to spot and avoid. Often the mountaineers are more dangerous than other groups out there. They appear to have the head up the ass syndrome. There are some cool mounties but not many. For those that want to defend their status of incorporating safety to new climbers and teaching them properly I say that's a double edged sword. Yes they can teach things but that only encourages people that are complete morons to be out in dangerous situations dropping helmets and water bottles down the mountainside at their partners. Quote
priapism Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 Andrew, look at it as a blessing. I have seen firsthand some completely f**ked up stunts they have pulled and messes they have gotten themselves into in the hills, not to mention their "policeman of the mountains" attitude. They belong to a group that advocates the preservation of the wilderness, yet insist on going into the hills with a minimum group size of 10 to 12. Or bolting alpine rock right next to a great crack, simply because one of their "climbing leaders" fell to his death there when his pro pulled. Gimme a break...... You were saved just in time if you ask me. Quote
Greg_W Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 Okay, so this thread is going to morph into a funny mountie encounter thread, I am sure, so I'll start it. Highlander and I were climbing the S. Arete on SEWS ahead of some Mounties (okay, NINE!!!). I was leading and our plan was to simulclimb once the rope ran out. I got below the chimney and H'lander said that was it and he was climbing (from the base). He unclipped his belay device and started towards the rock. The leader of the Mountie group stares at him, "You're just going to go, then?" Dan turns to him, "Uh, yeah, it's called simul-climbing," and takes off. That one got repeated the whole weekend. Greg W Quote
erik Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 you people make me laugh with your tired complaints. new subject please! Quote
Greg_W Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 erik said: you people make me laugh with your tired complaints. new subject please! You make me laugh with your bitching about our tired complaints. It's a rite of Spring to bitch about the Mountaineers flocking over everything, Erik. Sort of like your annual shower. Quote
MysticNacho Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 Out climbing at classic crack last week with a couple of people who belonged to the more sophisticated gender. Four people show up with names on their helmets, and we pack up to get the hell out of dodge. I go up to the top to retrieve a quickdraw one of the gals had left up there, only to find it missing. (One of the mounties apparently had swiped it and not told anybody) Meanwhile back down below, the mounties are getting ready to climb, putting on their oakleys, getting their aid-sized rack together. Never know when you'll use that #6 tricam, you know. Lead mountie: "Are their bolt anchors up there?" Subordinate: "Don't know." Gals I'm with: "Two bolts up there off to the right." Lead Mountie: "Does anybody know? Guess we'll have to figure it out when I get there." :::starts strutting up the to crack:: Gals: "TWO BOLTS OFF TO THE RIGHT!" Lead mountie continues to ignore them, citing this was the adventure of climbing to all the other mounties, who are busy ooo-ing and aah-ing. Meanwhile after a prolonged search for the missing quickdraw, I return just as the lead mountie is topping out. The subordinate mounties immediately ask me if they're are bolt anchors up there, which is confusing to me, because it looks like the lead mountie is already sitting on them. "Yeah, two bolts," I say. Subordinate mountie: "Two bolts up there (insert name of lead mountie)" Lead mountie: "Oh these ones? Looks down between his legs. Guess I'll trust them, you never know though." The girls I was with were pissed as all hell, but mostly over the fact that they stole our quickdraw. Quote
AlpinistAndrew Posted April 23, 2003 Author Posted April 23, 2003 I realize that I messed up and that I missed a field trip and failed to contact them immediatly. It was an honest mistake and like I said I apologized to them and I even tried to make things right. I contacted the person in charge of the Rock II field trip for the Everett Mounties and he was very nice and said I could come along on their field trip. I told the person with the B'ham branch this and he didn't like it one bit, made him even more pissed off. So no matter what I did or said, he did n't like it. So the thing that pisses me off is that he is too much of a hard ass bastard to accept my apology and get on with life. Hell, I don't care that they kicked me out, its just their damn bitchy attitude. Quote
specialed Posted April 23, 2003 Posted April 23, 2003 AlpinistAndrew said: I fuckin hate the mountaineers. They are truly bastards. They just kicked me out of their basic climbing class (B'ham branch). I missed one field trip, due to extenuating circumstances and I apoligized like no other. So, I just wanted to express my dislike of this group of assholes, I didn't like'm anyway. Anyone else hate these bastards. Consider yourself lucky as all hell. Now go find some real climbing partners Quote
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