“Stop Pretending To Save The World And Just Go”

Will Gadd writes about fund raising by adventure trips. I liked this quote

“The next time some would-be adventurer tells me he’s doing an expedition to raise money for a cause,I’m finally going to say what I’ve been choking back for years: ‘You’re not going on your trip for charity, you’re going because you want to. Stop pretending to save the world and just go.”

I like his rule of thumb for measuring the B.S. scale of an expedition:

“Right off the bat this hits Level 3 on the B.S. scale, which measures an expedition by the number of words used to qualify the potential achievement.”

He encourages us to just go on adventures and not feel guilty about them:

“..what we need is less guilt and more pure, for-the-hell-of-it adventure. It’s worth it on its own terms. No feather boa required.”

A Defense Of Manufacturing Holds On Rock

A professor of philosophy who’s also a strong climber, analyzes why sometimes manufacturing holds on a route is ethical. His conclusion:

“Consider this: if you are a serious climber who climbs relatively hard sport routes, there is a good chance that you have done a route with at least a few manufactured holds. Moreover, there is also a good chance that despite the manufacturing, climbing the route was gratifying and rewarding. Now what should the appropriate attitude be toward the route preparer, who spent time, money and energy so you could have that experience? Does it really make sense to view the preparer with condemnation and scorn? That seems unappreciative at best, and at worst incoherent. Or is it instead more sensible to recognize that it is sometimes acceptable for preparers to modify the rock so other climbers can have the sort of experience you had? The latter position, I have come to appreciate, seems far more reasonable and philosophically defensible.”

Steph Davis Climbing In The Desert

A rather long video about her life but great video of her climbing desert towers starting at about the 5:30 mark.

Snug It Up, Buttercup

“Snug it up Buttercup”, is what I tell people in the gym when they put on their harnesses. Here’s an example of can happen to a non-snugger-upper. (BTW, she doesn’t look all that excited about jumping out of the plane in the first place.) More of her story here.

“A US woman's 80th birthday nearly ended in tragedy when she slipped out of her harness during a parachute jump. Laverne Everett decided to mark her birthday by fulfilling her longheld ambition to go sky-diving. But once in the plane, above Lodi, California,she found she was no longer so keen to jump. Her instructor, jumping in tandem with her, freed her hands from the doorway and appeared to almost force her out of the plane. But something went terribly wrong. Mrs Everett nearly fell out of the harness, and her partner had to hang on to her for dear life.”

Snug It Up, Buttercup

“Snug it up Buttercup”, is what I tell people in the gym when they put on their harnesses. Here’s an example of can happen to a non-snugger-upper. (BTW, she doesn’t look all that excited about jumping out of the plane in the first place.)

Stronger Hands & Fingers

A hand/finger strength training program by Climbing Magazine. It’s designed for beginners to intermediate climbers and builds slowly in intensity to avoid injuries.

Make Climbing Safer By Banning Ropes

As I read this article about making football safer by banning helmets, it occurred to me that by banning ropes, climbing might be safer. Think about it, how high would you climb if you didn’t have a rope on you?

I liked this quote:

“If driver safety is the goal, then it would be wisest to mandate spears on car steering wheels that would impale the driver in the event of an accident.”

Do you think you’d  be talking on your cell phone while driving if there were a spear on your steering wheel?

Super Healthy Foods Only Get You So Far

Ever been really excited about some junk food? You haven’t? Then you have never been really hungry. I quote from this guy’s video description:

“This is day 86 on my full return South Pole Expedition 2011/2012. I`m quite hungry and about to pick up my last cache by my second pulk which I left on the way in. As a part of my motivational plan I have on purpose not made notes on what goodies I have left behind in the cache.. and on this last one, I didn't`t expect very much.. Ironically my diet on this expedition was mainly based on superhealthy superfood from Supernature.”

Making Things Safer Leads To More Danger

A story of a sunny day climb in Red Rocks that almost led to disaster. I like this quote:

“Solar Slab, which gets at least ten ascents a day, was equipped with a dedicated, 30-meter-at-a-time, bolted rap route. Paradoxically, this route has not done much to reduce epics and accidents. While it is now easier and faster to get off, this same ease and speed means that more less-experienced, slower, weaker etc parties will try the route.”

And here’s a good lesson:

“…if you are on a multi-pitch, you should, always, have a rain-shell, a hat, and a headlamp,”

Slacklining Brings The House Down

If you’re tying your slackline to a column like this, do it at a neighbor’s house.

Taylors Falls

I tried out Ron’s newly-designed removal tool today on a cam that was stuck at Taylors. I was able to move the cam around and almost got it out. (It is really stuck!) Last week, with a regularly designed nut tool, I couldn’t even touch the cam. So, Ron, congrats on a better design. And thank you.

The rocks were running with water today. It was full alpine conditions. Most routes were closed. We managed to get in a few climbs and Kyle and Peter O. ever figured out a multi-pitch to do.

 

There was a rare appearance of Lisa and John. Here Lisa is practicing some rock yoga.

 

 

 

Here are Pete O. and Marianna at the top of two different routes.

Here’s Kyle at his hanging belay.

Here’s Anna halfway up a climb.

Because it felt like a big production to me, getting all those people at one spot, I used this music for tthis short video.

 

 

Quite A Traffic Jam On Everest

In the first minute of this video, you can see hundreds of climbers all in a line going up Everest. And a great shot of headlamps near the summit at the 2:00 minute mark.

BTW, if your guide tells you to turn around, do that.

Climbing Mt. Rushmore

Best not to try to scramble up the talus slope at the base of Mt. Rushmore as this guy did this week.

“Patrick Marshall, 53, whose last known address is Chicago, was arrested by park rangers on Monday afternoon as he clambered on loose rock directly below the carvings of four presidents at the monument in western South Dakota.”

 

Red Wing Tuesday

A perfect day at the ol’ Wing yesterday. Warm temperature, no bugs. Here’s a photo of Jen leading “Needles and Pins.”

And here’s Liz and Zach on “Goofed.”

“Hey Killer, Get Down From There”

Some photos of Miriam at VES last week climbing up and over and then down the arch. I was terrified and kept yelling at her, “Miriam, get down from there.” But she is determined to do this. Maybe you can talk her out of it.