chelle Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 Okay so we're winding up another year and 2002 is fast approaching. It's annual review time at work and that always leads to some personal reflection for me. Warning: If this is too touchy feely for some of you spray lords, get over yourselves! A year ago today I was in South America on my first expedition, on the first day of the approach. Excited and scared sh**less at the same time. Back then I never imagined I would be where I am now. Living in Seattle, part of a new community, with a good group of trad climbing pals, and loving nearly every minute of it. Life is sweet! Quote
Dru Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 A year ago I was right where I am now. except, a year ago, when I started driving to the Rockies, my engine blew up in Kamloops, it cost me $2000 to fix, and I never made it to the rockies. So this year I have a better car and i am gonna wreak havoc on that phat Alberta floe. so anybody that is reading this that is gonna be in the cdn rockies around new years send me a pm about hooking up for the party. [ 12-19-2001: Message edited by: Dru ] Quote
Matt_Anderson Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 Last year, I was suffering from the last in a long line of injuries that had kept me from progressing in climbing for about the past three years. I was starting to think that I my body would break down everytime I pushed my limits. Life was stressful because the one I loved hated her job and that effected other things. Now she's got a new one and I've been injury free for the past year, enabling the best season of climbing since I started. Several dream climbs went down suprisingly easily and the realm of what is possible has expanded dramatically. I'm looking forward to more of the same this year, but with less time because we'll be gettin hitched late summer/early fall. Yahoo!Happy New Years! Quote
Dru Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 [spray] 8 new routes1 near fatal fall3 long term wanteds off my tick listabout 20 peaks tickedlots of unsuccessful hiking1 relationship crash and burnnew carnew gear#2 in all time Spray postings!#1 poster on www.bivouac.com#2 recommended poster in bivouac/serratus contest still alive beer in the fridge [/spray] Quote
MysticNacho Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 Last year at this time, I was a state of panic. And what do you know, I'm in the same place this year! Finals are wrapping up, and Mystic Nacho is looking forward for a little vacation from this terrible thing I call "learning." Ignorance is bliss. Well, maybe not, but its stress free. Well, probably not, but I'm going to shut up now. So there! PANIC PANIC PANIC PANIC (I'm surfing this site, so I can't be too busy, can I?) Quote
RStewbone Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 Last dec. I was knee deep in the xmas rush at a restaurant that would serve 36,000 uptight shoppers. Fat and depressed with the pale skin and light sensitive mole eyes of the typical portlander I peered into the beyond and began to scheme. Since then we sold the house and I quit my chef job after 14 years. Made the arduous move across the cascades and now we reside 5 minutes from Smith. No debt -no job-but what a view. And some climbing. dropped 10 pounds and got my fat ass up my hardest climb 2 weeks ago. This year we quit talking and actually did it! Quote
Dru Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: A year ago I was spraying on this site under another assumed name. Now I am Spray God and use Caveman as my name.I climbed a peak somewhere in between. Yeah it was Mt. Si ! What a stud I am. Anyone else ever climb the haystack. Way sketchy! I managed to climb with a lot of you bums: Drank with Dru I'll be trying to keep sprayin. Thanks for those beer, Miller Lite or something but any free beer is good beer I heard a rumor you climbed the Tooth too. And a 5.9 at Exit 666 or something. Quote
Cpt.Caveman Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Dru: I heard a rumor you climbed the Tooth too. And a 5.9 at Exit 666 or something. Those are Spray Lies! [ 12-19-2001: Message edited by: Cpt.Caveman ] Quote
Wallstein Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 Last year during this week on was on Native Son on El Cap. I think almost this exact moment last year I was leading the crux of the Coral Sea. I get the willys just thinking about the 8 hours I spent on that lead. I talked to my partner for Native Son just this morning and he also knew exactly where we were last year. He was more scared than me just sitting at the belay. It was his first big wall and he was to scared to clean the pitch. He made it up half way and then rapped down. We both sat there and had a little heart to heart about how absolutely stupid big wall climbing was. Is it weird that I would rather be leading that pitch again than sitting in front of this computer in my little cubicle? A5 is way easier than having a job! Quote
Cpt.Caveman Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 I have never crossed the Coral Sea nor do I plan on it from the sounds of it heheheh. Need a big boat? (note boat is substitute for gonads) Quote
glacier_dup1 Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 A year ago, the last most-recent relationship was dying a noisy death and I was looking at an enforced break from climbing as I finally took the time to have an ACL reconstructed. Took the spring off to heal, ramped up to climbing through the summer including a few long routes and hard redpoints. Decided I needed another obsession in my life, so picked up a motorcycle. Took a month off to climb in CA and NV to confirm that the knee and head were fit. Looking forward to an awesome 2002 with my miscellaneous friends. Quote
Crack Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 i was pouring drinks and stockin' cabbage and gravel for 3 months in s.e. asia. 2002? i can't plan past this weekend. i'll take that as a plus... Quote
Guest Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 A year ago I was under the surgeon's knife. Getting all these warts removed. That did not work and shortly after I tried to burn them off. They keep growing back. My next attempt will be to freeze them away. Anyone have problems like that before? It's hard to do stemming and highstep moves. [ 12-19-2001: Message edited by: wartsinmyshorts ] Quote
Guest Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 It sounds like you have issues wart monger. Keep it to yourself. I don't want to know about you pumping your brother and getting genital warts. Sick! Quote
willstrickland Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 A year ago I'd been in Portland for about two months having just abandonded life on the road. I was seeing a hot little hispanic number and I'd scored a job about two weeks before I would have been completely bankrupt. I was probably stronger than I'd ever been and climbing close to as hard as I ever had and then the week before Christmas blew a ligament, no not a tendon, a ligament in my ring finger...put me out of climbing altogether for four months followed by a lengthy rehab. So for me this reflection is very strange because I see my departure date on the horizon. In a way I almost feel like I'm already gone from Portland. On the other hand I was injured about 50% of the time I was here and didn't get to take advantage of the resources like I had intended, and because of this, I'm trying to make the best of my last four months here in the NW. I'll be back of course, as early as late this summer for alpine rock in WA and climbing at Squish. My last year netted these: 1. Authored five climbing articles, three which were rejected, one postponed, and one published.2. Chopped bolts with Caveman and Retro.3. Did a couple of FAs on rock in the Hood Nat. Forest4. Accumulated a ton of gear from used, blowout, or free sources.5. Paid off my debt, sold my car, bought a cheap van that has made me $1200 from being hit twice.6. Had two relationships start and finish, both amicably, and one that never really ended from years ago is back on the burner (sort of).7. Took only two leader falls on trad routes, and took a daisy fall onto a cam hook in Zion when the cam I was on blew...amazingly after blowing about half the rock out around it, the camhook stayed put (rotated half out) as I got myself back upright and sweated the camhook popping with only a shitty rurp between me and a big pendo into a corner.8. Wrote two publishing proposals for climbing guides, one rejected and one still under consideration.9. Did three routes on Hood, two solo and one simul solo. (Reid, South Side, Leutholds)10. Climbed with Texplorer and a couple of other CC lurkers.11. Climbed at Zion, Josh, Beacon, Leavenworth, Hood, Smith, Broughton, Rocky Butte, Madrone, Carver.12. Met tons of cool people, drank tons of great beer and coffee, saw a way dry Oregon winter and a way wet Oregon winter, got squared away for my doctoral applications.13. Spent way too much time spraying my BS on this board. Quote
Cpt.Caveman Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 Will, I noticed you never made it to Index Quote
specialed Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 Talk about taking whippers onto daisy's. I pulled a shallow cam hook and took a fall onto a wierdly placed yellow alien. I didn't even feel it pull on the way down but it took a huge chunk out of one of the cams. Another time I took a daisy fall onto a micro RP and it held - go figure! Quote
willstrickland Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: Will, I noticed you never made it to Index Only got to drool while scoping it from the road on the way by, I'll get up there, probably in the Spring, if not in the late summer. It looks too good not to put some days in. Quote
Cpt.Caveman Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 I might be dere this weekend. That is the finest stone around! Quote
Terminal_Gravity Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 A year ago today I was lazing on the southern coast of Mexico, swimming with turtles and drinking cheap mescal after playing on the ice on the SW side of Pico de Orizaba. Quote
dbconlin Posted December 19, 2001 Posted December 19, 2001 A YEAR AGO, I was here for a brief stay in Seattle with my folks, while preparing for a 4 month excursion to THAILAND, LAOS, and NEPAL with my girlfriend. NOW, I am here for a brief stay in Seattle with my folks, while preparing for a 4 month adventure to ALASKA, without my girlfriend--who decided to go back to the WARMTH of SE Asia, while I head to the vast FROZEN wasteland of the north. Quote
RURP Posted December 20, 2001 Posted December 20, 2001 This is RURP. Oh my! Aren't we all so impressive! "I went here, and I did this, and look at me." Yes, there is a lot neediness among some of the people in this crowd. Boo hoo - my girlfriend went away and I have now I have warts! Everybody has a great story to tell but who is finding this interesting? I do not, except for the story from Wallstein where he talked about his manly December trip on "The Capitan". Where was RURP last year at this time? Who cares. But for those who do, it had something to do with a BIG WALL.RURP has spoken. [ 12-19-2001: Message edited by: RURP ] Quote
Cpt.Caveman Posted December 20, 2001 Posted December 20, 2001 This is Caveman. Hey RURP ! What is your definition of a big wall? I want to climb one some day. I like the idea of thrashing my way up one. Have you done the Lotus Flower Tower? Caveman has spoken. Quote
RURP Posted December 20, 2001 Posted December 20, 2001 This is RURP. A "Big Wall" can be defined in several different ways: a) a large intimidating expanse of rock requiring Big Wall skills. b) the lifestyle of RURP. c) abstractions related thereto, for example, "isn't there just a little Big Wall in all of us?" Lotus Tower is in the Cirque. RURP has spoken. Quote
gapertimmy Posted December 20, 2001 Posted December 20, 2001 a year ago i was trapped in the confines of the 'soft, today, i'm king of freshies just waiting for jon to call me a dork Quote
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