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neutralcypruss
Aug 11, 2003, 11:18 PM
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Registered: Feb 22, 2003
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Well Grant, being one the wet rats you introduced to the darkside i must say, it was a blast and i learned a heck of alot rain or no rain.
The only problem now is being so addicted and can't lead till i get a good rack i feel like a junkie without a fix hahahaha!!! all those out there who have not tried the darkside be prepaired for an addiction and very little money at least for a while......
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thrillseeker05
Aug 11, 2003, 11:25 PM
Post #52 of 61
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Registered: Aug 14, 2002
Posts: 612
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if you are Oregon bound give me a hoot.
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pro-climber
Deleted
Aug 12, 2003, 3:29 AM
Post #53 of 61
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Hey Grant
Also being one of those wet rats you introduced to the darkside,i have a bit to say.I would like to thank you very much for your time and for showing me that trad is no joke.I always thought it was scary but I know nothin to you really showed me the darkside.I do agree about the rain it did try and stop us but we still pold it off,thats if you agree.And i would half to say this is really going to drain my pocket but i'm looking forward to it,sounds twisted but you will find it soon enough.But once again thanks grant for everything you taught me,and i look forward to doing some sec. for you in the futher.
Tom
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darkside
Aug 12, 2003, 3:43 AM
Post #54 of 61
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Registered: Sep 15, 2001
Posts: 1687
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:oops: :oops: :oops:
Gee, I show you a pastime that will rape your bank account and all you can do is throw praise my way. How twisted is that? :twisted:
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darkside
Aug 14, 2003, 6:59 PM
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Registered: Sep 15, 2001
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Well I had some news today about an important meeting about Access matters being postponed. This leaves me able to hit the road a day or two earlier. Right after I spend a bunch of $$$ on the car. :cry:
It's the car that has been taking my money lately, well that and tickets. I just had to replace the alternator, got a cracked windshield, along with getting two speeding tickets and a parking ticket. The alternator cost nearly $400, while the windshield I hope to get fixed at the cost of the insurance. I got rid of one ticket by going to traffic school, another was dropped by 28kph so there was only a small fine and no points, and the parking ticket was waived because I was parked in a lot on Access Committee business. :D
I still have to get the car serviced, a $200 exhaust problem fixed, get the emmissions test done(fingers crossed), and renew my licence stickers. :roll:
The last couple of weeks I have been doing some climbing in Ontario and last weekend I got what may be a first ascent. Between the speeding ticket on the way there and the big red dyke at the top of the climb I decided to call the climb Redlining It.
I'm still looking at that long drive across the prairies on my own though if anyone has an urge to join me :!: ......Please :wink:
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darkside
Aug 24, 2003, 5:51 PM
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Registered: Sep 15, 2001
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So I hit the road late and compounded that by stopping off for a burger with Ontario_guide. It was my first time travelling through northern Ontario and quite different to what I had imagined. Driving along through the hills, you crest a hill and start to drop down around a bend and :shock: BOOM. There is yet another big ass piece of rock.
The display of northern lights was pretty big too although not the multi-coloured show of legend. I had spent two days on the road and was still in Ontario :? Sheesh who made this country so big.
The third day on the road saw me crossing the prairies. It was big but not AS flat as I had heard told in legend. The day passed as I listened to CD after CD and so did the provinces, Ontario to Manitoba to Saskatchewan to almost Alberta. As I passed through Saskatchewan I slowly came to realize that I did indeed have a travelling companion.....me. And so it came to pass that I had many conversations with myself :roll:
me: "Did you see that BIG sheep?"
myself: "You mean that 40ft high one?
me: "Yes"
myself: "No"
me: "No neither did I".
Coming into Alberta and yet another time zone I knew my journey was soon to stop, that day sometime anyway. :? Driving through the Rockies is always a pleasure although this time it was not for climbing, my destination was near Kelowna, BC.
Only 20km left to Kelowna and no sign of those fires I heard of. I tuned into a local station to hear of yet another fire on the west bank. Crossing the bridge I could see the planes and choppers getting water and attacking a plume of smoke to the north. Then as I drove the highway towards the town of West Bank, away to the east I got a panorama of devastation. The older fire that had caused the evacuation of nearly 30,000 Kelowna residents was there for all to see and stretched for miles along the eastern shore.
Kelowna is a town under seige. It has affected everyone here and my thoughts are with anyone living around here.
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darkside
Aug 30, 2003, 6:47 AM
Post #57 of 61
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Registered: Sep 15, 2001
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Well with the closure of Skaha to climbing to all intents and purposes, I managed to get a brief evening on a small conglomerate crag on the west bank of Kelowna. Shortly thereafter I decided to head over to Squamish.
I stopped off for a couple of days in an outskirt of Vancouver to visit with a friend before heading out to the mecca known as Squamish. Check out this for an arrival schedule.
4.30pm arrive and make a couple of phone calls, check messages/mail.
4.45pm hit the grocery store for some supper items before heading to a buddy's place.
5.00pm pick up my buddy Dan and head to the Apron below the Chief.
7.00pm get back down from the climb and back to the car having just done a 500ft route in about 40 mins. Simul-climbing can be an incredibly fast way to knock off a climb right after hitting town :D
Today though we woke to a front page warning of mandatory backcountry travel bans with $10,000 fines with 6 month jail terms. After a call to the local district forest service for news on affects on the climbs, I learn that the backside trails are closed along with all forest service roads. Day use areas and campsites remained open. Although I went to the boulders below the Chief with fiend and lilabbs this afternoon, news starts to circulate of closures spreading to include more climbing areas such as the Smoke Bluffs. By the end of the weekend it may be time to find somewhere else to climb, like south of the border.
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fiend
Sep 22, 2003, 2:08 AM
Post #58 of 61
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Registered: May 25, 2001
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For anyone keeping tabs on Grant... he hung out with Abbie and I here in Squamish for another two weeks before heading south to visit Russman and then hit Smith Rock.
Hope the bad weather isn't following you Grant! Have fun on the rest of your trip.
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darkside
Sep 22, 2003, 8:38 PM
Post #59 of 61
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Registered: Sep 15, 2001
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Limited internet time in Prineville public library en route to City of Rocks. Dirt baggin is getting the hang of me :lol:
Thanks for the mattress Mark And Abbs. I'mback on the pad these days.
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darkside
Oct 6, 2003, 4:33 PM
Post #60 of 61
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Registered: Sep 15, 2001
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Holy crap. Not been in here in a while. Well the trip west is done so I should do some sort of report but too busy for now. I'm off to Rumney in a couple of days but maybe I can get something done later.
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missedyno
Oct 7, 2003, 12:33 PM
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Registered: Nov 21, 2001
Posts: 4465
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welcome back grant, i can't believe you missed the ox roast!!!
have fun in rumney....
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