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I was just daydreaming out of my office window at the Rockies for a minute. Damn, they look good. All snow-covered, with the sun shining on them. I'd rather be climbing today than stuck in here!

Are there any avid climbers in the forum? I'd be interested to read what areas you've climbed in/what route's you've done.

Are the JSMEL/JSRCI courses still run?

Cheers,

By "here" I meant my office, not the forum.

Coffee break then?

Naughty boy that you are!

Artist

If your into mountaineering there is a good website with a forum called Jagged Globe with alot of good info.
I myself am more into bouldering, great sport, hard on the forearms and all you need is a crash mat(optional but advised) a good pairs of climbing shoes and a chalk bag + it cuts out of all the flaff you get with trad climbing, ropes! hexes, nutz etc etc but I havent really tried it that much to be fair.
Would'nt mind trying some sport climbs although you need find bolted routes and have be very good.
Anyway check out that website it also shares alot of its links and info with the UKC site.

I climbed Mount Kinabalu (in Borneo) in the summer which at 14000 ft is about 3 1/2 times higher than anything I've done before. It was fairly hard work, especially above 10000 where every breath is like half of one. It was awfully funny going up there, at the top the temperature was maybe 5-10 C, not really that cold for us pinkskins, but the Malays were all wrapped up in big puffy down jackets. They were all top blokes though, about 80% of the Malays there were military doing it in the name of adventure training.

Aside from that I really enjoyed going up Snowdon, via Crib Goch (sp) and seeing all the newbies with jeans and trainers turning around to go via the pig track. Saw one yuppy family (with two kids maybe 4 and 6 and a not happy looking mother but the father all dressed up in his walking gear) heading back down via Crib Goch (sheer lunacy, some parts of it are sheer rock with the odd handhold), several hours later we saw a rescue helicopter hovering over an area slightly further along. Some people have no idea.

jonboy wrote:Would'nt mind trying some sport climbs although you need find bolted routes and have be very good.

Bolts? Sacrilage! I use wall nuts, hexes, and friends, but never bolts. I don't know how anyone could do that to a perfectly good piece of rock. Might as well use a ladder!

Thanks for the link. I'll take a look.

Artist wrote:Coffee break then?

Naughty boy that you are!

No, my office window looks out at the Rockies. Very easy to get distracted that way! Hence, I keep my office door closed.

Anyway, my company is so laid back it's not real. We don't have coffe breaks and such. We just do our own thing. We work flex hours. We have a gym and a games room on the third floor, next to the cafeteria, and there's a little room off the games room with comfy chairs and foot stools with permanently dimmed lights (for naps!). On Fridays the two huge fridges in the cafe are filled with free ale from Big Rock brewery. It's a bloody tough life, I tell you!

...oh, and they pay us too!

Big Rock brewery

Ah, Grasshopper, I remeber the brewery run well. I still have the Tshirt! I wouldn't fancy any climbing after a couple of scoops of anything from Big Rock mind you. Three glasses and you could fly! Never mind red bull gives you wings, that big rock made you jet assisted!

Loz: We don't actually have beer manager yet, but I think we should have one. I'll put a word in for you!

The downer is I don't drink beer much any more (so I'm trying to convince my boss that the monthly scotch tastings should be sunsidized!).

Sticky Blue wrote:Ah, Grasshopper, I remeber the brewery run well.

Grasshopper is definitely a good ale, but I was more of a Traditonal fan myslef (the darker the better), oh and Black Amber, too.

In my little town south of Calgary, we have a distillery (it's even legal!). They might not make single malt, but they make a half decent rye whisky and a vodka. I'm thinking a "tour" there is on the cards, soon.

OK, how did we go from climbing to beer in three posts?

Back to climbing then (sorry ). Anglo Saxon, when it comes to some sport climbs beacuse of the surface of the route there is not actually anywhere to put your nuts and hexes, they wont fit anywhere so thats why bolts are used, but yeah I know what you mean I dont like seeing it too much it looks ugly.

AS

Get us a job ASAP sounds like my kind of job!

Beware might be moving to Canada soon. (teaching)

Artist

Climbed Helvelin,Ben Nevis,Mount St.Helens and Mount Washington.
All up the non tourist routes and free climbing.
Fun back then.
Wholley.

jonboy wrote:Back to climbing then (sorry ). Anglo Saxon, when it comes to some sport climbs beacuse of the surface of the route there is not actually anywhere to put your nuts and hexes, they wont fit anywhere so thats why bolts are used, but yeah I know what you mean I dont like seeing it too much it looks ugly.

This is Johnny Dawes climbing an E8 6c. Notice the distict lack of bolts.

http://www.johnnydawes.com/gallery/gaia.htm

Yeah, I know well why they are used, but I just disagree with them being used at all. Why stop at bolts? Why not build an elevator? If God meant it to be climbed, he'd put the odd crack in there for a nut or a hex or two. Just my opinion of course. But then I am a more traditional climber I guess. I think if I caught someone drilling into the side of a mountain, I'd be a bit dischuffed.

Artist wrote:Beware might be moving to Canada soon. (teaching)

Artist

Have you chosen a part to settle in yet, Artist? I take it you'd teach art, would you?