Something nice 'bout the Mountaineers.

[Raindawg]

The Mountaineers catch a lot of flak on this site, often deservedly, but I've seen a few nice things.

Yesterday, pope & I, with only a couple of hours to take a break from our responsibilities, drove up to tcheck out the new Mounties Headquarters in Seattle.

 

- the bookstore there was great! and they carry alot more than just Mountaineers press publications. Hundreds of climbing and outdoor volumes for sale.

 

- the library. Appears to be a really great resource of books, maps and journals.

 

- the outdoor climbing rock: thoughtfully designed for all manner of fun, instruction and practice. Great cracks, too. And they've got indoor ice-climbing too. Impressive!

 

 

 

Good job with the HQ, Mountaineers!

 

[billcoe]

[PhöQ]

[tazz]

I have been playing at the wall a few times. It is fun. Some glitches with bolts and such but most have been fixed. It is a fun place if ya don't have time for much else. Never went in the building though...heh! I should check out the bookstore.

 

edit: if you can deal with the hollow echoing thud sounds,cracks and pealing of the coating then it is almost like real rock. ;-)

Edited July 25, 2009 by tazz

[JBo6]

Anyone have pictures of the indoor ice wall?

[sunnyseattle]

its basically a 25 feet hight by 20 feet wide with a couple foot holds on a big white Styrofoam looking material on the wall...theres no routes or anything setup...i think of it as just a chance for people to get their feet 'wet' and get comfortable with ice tools and crampons on their feet.

[Pete_H]

That rock wall is dumb as fuck.

 

I rode my bike there once to check it out go boulder on it took one look and went back to UW Practice Rock.

 

Its like it was built for 5.4 gapers to climb in their poly pro gaiters and mountain boots.

 

What a waste of a good opportunity to build a good outdoor bouldering facility in this town.

[tomtom]

Anyone have pictures of the indoor ice wall?

 

[tomtom]

Its like it was built for 5.4 gapers to climb in their poly pro gaiters and mountain boots.

That's because it was. It was intended for teaching beginning climbers.

[Edlinger]

 

[Lowell_Skoog]

What a waste of a good opportunity to build a good outdoor bouldering facility in this town.

 

The Mountaineers' wall was designed for teaching basic mountaineering rock climbing skills, not to compete with the climbing gyms. I've taken my 12-year-old son there several times. It's the only place I know in Seattle where I can teach him how to anchor himself, belay, clip protection, and rappel in a semi-realistic setting. I think it's a great resource. I'd change a few things if I was running the show, but overall I have few complaints.

 

 

I also think it's great that the wall is open to the public. The climbing plaza was donated by the Mountaineers to the city of Seattle, as I understand it. Good for them!

 

 

[Rad]

Nice positive post Dawg.

 

I've taken my kids there twice, and am grateful the Mtneers made this open to the public. It would be easy for lawyers to get in the way of that.

 

The only thing that could be improved is holds. It looks like there are t-nuts all over the main wall but no holds on any of them (last I checked). Are there plans to put holds on them? That would make the 5.4s more friendly for small kids.

 

Don't worry Pete, the UW rock is still there, and it just gets slicker every year. If you're affiliated with the UW you can get in the gym and boulder there too.

[CollinWoods]

I climb there a few times a month after work. The bolts are close enough to climb with 2 personal anchors. You can down climb or rap if you bring a rope.

[Pete_H]

What's wrong with having some walls and boulders for beginners and some that are more challenging?

 

Maybe the Mounties get so much shit because they always try to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

[Gary_Yngve]

We should have a CC gathering there some time and try to discover harder problems on the wall.. it's all about creating a route by "eliminating" features/holds.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Maybe the Mounties get so much shit because they always try to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

 

if that were the case, they'd appeal to you

[Lowell_Skoog]

What's wrong with having some walls and boulders for beginners and some that are more challenging?

 

Done. The Mounties have another wall inside the clubhouse that is oriented more toward bouldering. You can see Fred Beckey climbing on it near the beginning of the following video:

 

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/12/15/sports/golf/1194835655194/the-old-man-of-the-mountains.html?scp=1&sq=beckey&st=cse

 

If that doesn't work, try this link:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/sports/othersports/16beckey.html?_r=1

 

Of course the indoor wall is not a city park. Both walls were designed primarily to meet the needs of the Mountaineers climbing courses. The club has limited funds, and renovating the Magnuson Park clubhouse went over budget already, as I understand it.

 

Sure, it would be great to have the ultimate facility that would please everybody in the world and where climbing would be absolutely free, but it's not realistic financially.

 

[PhöQ]

Great video! Thanks for sharing that!

[CollinWoods]

What's wrong with having some walls and boulders for beginners and some that are more challenging?

 

Done. The Mounties have another wall inside the clubhouse that is oriented more toward bouldering. You can see Fred Beckey climbing on it near the beginning of the following video:

 

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2008/12/15/sports/golf/1194835655194/the-old-man-of-the-mountains.html?scp=1&sq=beckey&st=cse

 

If that doesn't work, try this link:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/sports/othersports/16beckey.html?_r=1

 

Of course the indoor wall is not a city park. Both walls were designed primarily to meet the needs of the Mountaineers climbing courses. The club has limited funds, and renovating the Magnuson Park clubhouse went over budget already, as I understand it.

 

Sure, it would be great to have the ultimate facility that would please everybody in the world and where climbing would be absolutely free, but it's not realistic financially.

 

True dat. If you are going to hate on mounties dont expect them to taylor to your needs. If you payed membership dues, you might have been able to vote features for the wall or even if you joined the commitie in charge of the design but i dont think a lot of you really want to do that...

Edited August 9, 2009 by CollinWoods

[jpark42]

Let me start off with saying that I am not a huge mountaineers fan. That being said I think any opportunity to teach beginners proper/safe technique in a controlled setting is alright by me. Better there then me having to bail people out because they didn't know what the hell they were doing. Also Pete_H there is something called choice. You the know the ability to choose where you want to climb!!! If you don't like the mountaineers wall then go to Vertical World/Stone Gardens otherwise stop your bitching!!!

[Pete_H]

... I think any opportunity to teach beginners proper/safe technique in a controlled setting is alright by me.

 

Good for you. But that's not really the issue here. I'm arguing that the Mounties should also have some outdoor walls / boulders that could actually keep at least a 5.9 climber interested. I, probably like many people, would be willing to pay and / or become a member of the Mounties for access to such a facility.

 

Fair enough criticism though that I shouldn't complain if I don't get involved.

[CollinWoods]

There is a boulder that can have some difficult problems. Plus there is that overhanging thing on the main wall that can be a bit tedious (or how ever you spell it) at times.

[fenderfour]

Really?

 

An organization paid thousands of dollars to build a facility that they then donated to the public so that people like you and me can climb there, and you are going to bitch about it.

 

What about the 5.11 climbers? Should they be pissed too?

 

You can pay to access an area that will challenge a 5.9 leader. It's called Vertical World in Magnolia. I think dues are $50 a month.

 

I'm not a mountie, I just think it's ridiculous when people complain about getting free stuff.

 

 

On a more positive note - there is a bolt ladder/aid playground on the other side of the building. There are inserts and plates for hooking, questionable rivets through brick sections and tat for the desperate reach. Stick clip or shoulder stand to get to the first bolt.

[CollinWoods]

Really?

 

An organization paid thousands of dollars to build a facility that they then donated to the public so that people like you and me can climb there, and you are going to bitch about it.

 

What about the 5.11 climbers? Should they be pissed too?

 

You can pay to access an area that will challenge a 5.9 leader. It's called Vertical World in Magnolia. I think dues are $50 a month.

 

I'm not a mountie, I just think it's ridiculous when people complain about getting free stuff.

 

 

On a more positive note - there is a bolt ladder/aid playground on the other side of the building. There are inserts and plates for hooking, questionable rivets through brick sections and tat for the desperate reach. Stick clip or shoulder stand to get to the first bolt.

 

Word.

[Hugh Conway]

The Mountaineers library is quite a useful reference, particularly for old periodicals and journals. And the bookstore is useful.

 

An organization paid thousands of dollars to build a facility that they then donated to the public so that people like you and me can climb there, and you are going to bitch about it.

 

It's Seattle

 

What about the 5.11 climbers? Should they be pissed too?

 

Again, it's Seattle

 

I'm not a mountie, I just think it's ridiculous when people complain about getting free stuff.

 

Need I remind you again, it's Seattle

Edited August 10, 2009 by Hugh Conway