W Posted March 9, 2002 Posted March 9, 2002 quote: Originally posted by erik: whatca sayin 'w'??? nothing useful. maybe i misunderstood your post. Quote
erik Posted March 9, 2002 Posted March 9, 2002 i was just saying that it is only what you make of it.... and if oyu want to name drop my name you will have to join the fan club..... Quote
layton Posted March 9, 2002 Author Posted March 9, 2002 I wasn't griping about any of the climbers that live here. All the climbers I've met are awesome folks. Bellingham, as I said rocks as a town. It's a non-climbing town with tons of climbers living in it who climb elsewhere. What we need is a climbing gym/gear shop (like Csacade Crags...great place!) that has a cantina like Casa. I would go there every day. Quote
erik Posted March 9, 2002 Posted March 9, 2002 quote: Originally posted by W: "by the way, i know Erik"oops, too late! my lawyers will be in contact.....juan, you there?? Quote
Biff Posted March 9, 2002 Posted March 9, 2002 Evidence that one might be from Tacoma. Homeboy? I am pleased that you are happy there. Hanging in the crib wit yo posse, and all. Bully for you. Thrilled to hear it. Anyhooo, B-ham seems like a beautiful city, with nary a dead body in sight. Quote
Charlie Posted March 9, 2002 Posted March 9, 2002 quote: Originally posted by michael_layton: I've seen "Trashk" and "Charlie" staking' out the 'lil girls at the leadin' edge and the lil' boys at the "y" with rubber gloves and ether. All the "whinning" and "I like boys" flames they've pathetically thrown at me were really to put the authorities off their trail and onto mine. I've heard their screams of terror and delight. Or maybe they're intimitated by that hard E3 Eerie route. And with that, I gotta take a crap. Then it's off to Casa with a bottle of tequilla and a rusty nail in a board to clean up this town. Anyone who wants to join the rebelion to get some good climbing 'round here or at least admit that eerie sucks (although your right, not as bad as ellensburg) can join my vigilante group. You gotta be able to swing a sack of doornobs though. We'll take care of the Leavenworth ranger district bastards next! Anyway, pinchie can't hold off that loaf much longer, Viva la revolution. Ah, I see somebody 'been hittin the bottle early this evening? And what the hell is E3? Is that a measure of how snug your neon tights are? Quote
Charlie Posted March 9, 2002 Posted March 9, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Biff: Evidence that one might be from Tacoma. Homeboy? I am pleased that you are happy there. Hanging in the crib wit yo posse, and all. Bully for you. Thrilled to hear it. Anyhooo, B-ham seems like a beautiful city, with nary a dead body in sight. Biff? Anyhoo? Bully for you? You own a pair of leather chaps, don't you? A pink triangle sticker on your helmet? Quote
Sparky Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 Homophobics usually have an issue to deal with. Before anyone plunges too deeply into this, think of how somebody might interpret your response. Quote
allthumbs Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 I like: womenM1911 .45 pistolsbrass knucklesWWFbeerwhiskeyleaf (occasionally)rock musicexpensive steriosporsches4X4 trucksarcteryxwoolmastercraft ski boatsmountainsnice tits (on women)a sweet firm ass (on women)money - the more, the merriersex (with women)living on the beachany kind of sandwich WITHOUT sproutsspraying on CC.com Quote
Crackhead Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 What happened to the topic homeboyz? Climb more. Quote
Dru Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 The best thing about Belingham is that it is close to Chilliwack, which is the center of the Universe. Quote
max Posted March 10, 2002 Posted March 10, 2002 quote: RRickerts: First of all, the climbing wall at the Y is for the kids and other budding climbers, not just for cheap hardcores who say they're going to volunteer so they can get some fair weather climbing in January then quit after two weeks. That's why the volunteers sometimes suck, because they're doing it for themselves. I don't think the generalization of hardcores skipping out after two weeks is entirely fair. Understand that there are people who do this, but that's only because they can. The wall is desperate for volunteers because no one wants to volunteer there for long. Getting to climb there for free is almost not enough compensation for dealing with the f***ed up system at the Y. quote: RRickerts: And if all you Bellingham critics want a real ripping lead wall (higher than the Seattle REI and as airy) realize that the funding is there to make it happen. Instead, spend your aggression down at the Up&Up pulling their thumbs out of their asses. Another classic example of what I was talking about above. When I started there almost four years ago, "the original" volunteers told me "yeah, they keep saying their going to build a bigger wall, but don't count on it>" I thought they were just grumpy. But the Y kept telling me "yeah, we're going to build a bigger wall, yeah, this fall (2000), this summer (2001)", and it never happened. Here are some other examples of what vollunteers have to put up with:-New carpeting? We were able to get some used stinky shit out of some other part of the Y that was getting remodeled. -Harnesses? The ones that were there when I left were so old and frayed many people couldn't even thread them through the buckles. -I showed a locking biner that didn't close all the way to one of the senior staff people. They just said to keep using it, even though it was obviously in need of retirement. -There is a huge iron, square cornered, radiator in the corner right by the wall. Someone bouldering or on a slightly loose belay could EASILY fall backwards and do some serious damage to their head. It was mentioned to ta senior staff person many times and they simply ignored the problem. They even refused to put up a sign warning people not to boulder there because they thought it would look bad. -Twice I showed up on special request to work a special Saturday birthday party, only to find out the group had canceled but the senior staff person had failed to inform me. A perfect day for climbing in Squam shot to shit! So that's why you might get a grumpy volunteer. That's why people skip out after a couple of weeks. Quote
RRickerts Posted March 11, 2002 Posted March 11, 2002 Alright, Max. You caught me there. Yes, the Y is far from perfect. All your points are valid, but that includes the one earlier about the value. Cheap/free membership = crappy carpet & less-than-ideal facilities. Furthermore, quitting does not a better climbing wall make. I would venture a guess that most volunteers do not quit early on because they're fed up with the Y. I would call it "lack of commitment". The Y is a communal place, not a business. My philosophy: if I see something that needs improving, who better than me? If I don't have the time or resources to do more, than I can't complain if somebody else doesn't apply themselves either. My only criticism is of those who volunteer for the wrong reason. I did not start volunteering for the free membership, but because I went to climb one night and the volunteer who was scheduled didn't show up. I didn't bitch about it. I started volunteering and vowed to always show up and keep the wall open. That's the best I can do to solve the situation that bothered me. Now I do it to introduce young and old people to the sport of climbing, to teach them safe practices, and give them a good impression of experienced climbers. This makes the Y an absolute success every day. I don't know when you left, Max, but there are now new harnesses and locking biners, and new ropes go up every few months. That's pretty good for a low budget operation. As far as carpets and radiators, it makes sense to take care of that when the big construction finally happens. I don't know when the new wall is going up. I've heard the promises, too. But as far as my sources go (wall administrator), the number one obstacle right now is the Up&Up tavern, so that's why I encourage anyone who wants to make the situation better to give them hell! Quote
Billy Posted March 11, 2002 Posted March 11, 2002 Old carpets? What the hell are you dumb asses talking about? I'm sure they have new carpet somewhere in B'ham.... Quote
pope Posted March 11, 2002 Posted March 11, 2002 quote: Originally posted by Billy: Old carpets? What the hell are you dumb asses talking about? I'm sure they have new carpet somewhere in B'ham.... Last I checked, the "carpets" down in Fairhaven were getting kind of crusty. Quote
RRickerts Posted March 11, 2002 Posted March 11, 2002 Okay, if anybody is still listening after all this quibbling, I'd like to blow my first official post reviving this dying topic. First of all, the climbing wall at the Y is for the kids and other budding climbers, not just for cheap hardcores who say they're going to volunteer so they can get some fair weather climbing in January then quit after two weeks. That's why the volunteers sometimes suck, because they're doing it for themselves. And if all you Bellingham critics want a real ripping lead wall (higher than the Seattle REI and as airy) realize that the funding is there to make it happen. Instead, spend your aggression down at the Up&Up pulling their thumbs out of their asses. If you want to do some good name-calling, call them greedy bastards for holding up the construction of the best climbing wall in Washington State! I'm from Coeur d'Alene, which has a great local crag out at Post Falls, but without the centralized access to big places like Squamish, Leavenworth, Washington Pass, Index, etc. Besides having to pick sand out of my nose after a day at Governor Lister and moss off the holds at the Power House in late May, I vote for Bellingham climbing hands down. When I think about the 200"+ up at Mt. Baker that I'll also be skiing in late May, it makes all that scrubbing worth it! Peace out, Ryan R. Quote
G-spotter Posted March 20, 2006 Posted March 20, 2006 Hey Layton, which sucks more, Bellingham or PDX? Quote
tyree Posted March 20, 2006 Posted March 20, 2006 Fuck all the unfaithful, stay in Seattle if its soo fucking hard core. Just dont come up here when it pukes 36" in 24 hrs. Got to go- headed down to Index for the day- see you faggots there! (probably not) Quote
Blake Posted March 20, 2006 Posted March 20, 2006 Eric and I decided that getting together people from the B-ham scene is like 'herding cats.' Â Great place to live, but you got to drive 45mins-2hrs to get to all the sweet climb/mountain areas. Therefore locals don't know each other and don't really get together anywhere that is Bham specific. Quote
layton Posted March 21, 2006 Author Posted March 21, 2006 I still stand with my original (and 1st thread ever). Portland has a much better climbing scene. We have more slideshows, pub clubs, gyms, gear shops, and crags to get toghether. Blake's "herding cats" analogy is perfect. I still love bellingham and would much rather live there, but the in town climbing scene totally f'in blows. Quote
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