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stroker
Nov 2, 2005, 5:30 AM
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Have you ever noticed that people from Boulder love to deploy a huge attitude? A few years ago in Zion, I saw two "gentlemen" walking away from dropped sewn sling. Nicely, I picked up the sling and caught up with them. When I asked them if the new sling belonged to them, one of them grabbed the sling out of my hand then threw it back at me. When the sling hit my chest, the man said "NO" then proceeded to walk away. As is wasa very early in the morning, I asked them what route they were going to do. I hadn't any plans so i decided to rush to the route and solo in front of them. When they mentioned Spaceshot, I was absoulutely delighted. To make a long story longer, I smoked them by about 1 day and 10 hours. This only one of the multiple instances in which I experienced the Boulderite attitude. A few people in which I have met also claim to have experienced this unenjoyable attitude. Throughout my travels (grant you they only span in the US climbing scene) I have met many friendly climbers. Maybe its strange that all the climber egos I've unfortunately ran into were from Boulder.
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paganmonkeyboy
Nov 2, 2005, 5:41 AM
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i lived in boulder for a few...trust me - climbing has nothing to do with it
i once got a load o' tude from a homeless guy trying to bum change
some people there, more so than any other place i have lived, just seemed to need to be better than anyone around them...most peculiar...
and some of the nicest people i know live there too...maybe its the radiation from the flatirons or something...
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climbingaggie03
Nov 2, 2005, 6:16 AM
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wierd, I'd heard lots of stuff like this about people from boulder, but I spent a couple of weeks there this past summer crashing with a friend and climbing with whoever would climb with me, and everybody I met was cool and would lead hard climbs for me at eldo :D maybe I was just lucky, and I wasn't there for very long, unfourtunately
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vegastradguy
Nov 2, 2005, 6:24 AM
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thats odd- i really liked Boulder when i visited, and the one person I know who is from there is a hell of a guy...maybe you just have bad luck. or i have good luck. one or the other, i suppose.
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camhead
Nov 2, 2005, 6:37 AM
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hey, count one more vote for the "boulder has a lot of assholes" side. bunch of elitist cocky radguys. heh.
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horseonwheels
Nov 2, 2005, 6:46 AM
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Speaking as a person who lives in Boulder, I will say that some people do have a problem with attitude. Maybe it's because there is great climbing here, good weather, great things to do....who knows. But, people out here seem to be rather sheltered. Sorry you ran into assholes in Zion. However, next time you're around Boulder, shoot me a pm and hopefully I can change your perception of Boulder climbers.
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ddriver
Nov 2, 2005, 3:30 PM
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There's undoubtedly an attitude among many, but most seem to be genuinely nice. Some get wrapped up in the concept they live at the center of the known universe and nowhere else even compares. I always wondered how they could be at the center when they have to drive west to do anything. The secret is that most of the a-holes are really from Kansas and think they just won the lottery by moving to the mountains. These folks will later move to Vail or Aspen and become even more intollerable. On the other hand, the folks in Boulder from Texas know how to have a good time, so be careful partying with them.
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angry
Nov 2, 2005, 3:43 PM
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I've seen it, a lot.
I think it stems from the constant crowds. They think they live in heaven and have to wait in line. I'd be pissed too.
Lots of guys spraying at me about climbing 5.(big number) then hangdogging up 5.9 handcracks too. It's kinda weak.
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cowpoke
Nov 2, 2005, 9:55 PM
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I've met the good, the bad, and...well, not the ugly...everyone in Boulder seems to be beautiful. That said, I'll suggest a resource competition hypothesis. When you have to wait in line for climbs, strange things happen to the best of us. Nonetheless, Boulder is not only packed with darn-right friendly folks (in between the rare, but salient obnoxious folks), but I personally owe my marriage to a couple of climbers from Boulder.
In a Homer Simpsonesque moment, I took my wife climbing for her b-day (she climbs, but not really her idea of a b-day present). On top of taking her up a route that was much longer than I promised, I got us lost hiking off. Exhausted and starting to wonder if we were going to be benighted, we ran into a couple CU students who showed us down (and provided delightful company along the way). That night, the Red Sox won the World Series. Two miracles in one day and in my mind they will always be connected to Boulder, God bless the place.
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mother_sheep
Nov 2, 2005, 10:04 PM
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Boulderites are a breed of their own. That being said, I wouldn't mind being one of them (living there). I've met jerks from Boulder but I can count them on 1 hand. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count all of the really neat (and sometimes interesting) people that I know from Boulder. I wonder why it is that Boulder has such a bad rep. You see this topic come up in just about every climbing forum. But really, it's not that bad. Don't let the schmucks ruin it for you. There are lots of good people in Boulder. Maybe they just aren't as loud as the assholes.
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thisflash
Nov 2, 2005, 10:19 PM
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Ahh Boulder... Land of pseudo-hippies, trustafarians, and East Coast transplants all wanting to "rough it" out West. I hate Boulder. And most people that I've run into that claim to be from Boulder have been jerks. When I think of climbers from Boulder I see a bunch of gym rat tools listening to some "underground" hip hop from their cars as their ratty little dogs go through my pack and they "session". Usually with one guy filming the whole thing.
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zozo
Nov 2, 2005, 10:25 PM
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In reply to: Ahh Boulder... Land of pseudo-hippies, trustafarians, and East Coast transplants all wanting to "rough it" out West. I hate Boulder. And most people that I've run into that claim to be from Boulder have been jerks. When I think of climbers from Boulder I see a bunch of gym rat tools listening to some "underground" hip hop from their cars as their ratty little dogs go through my pack and they "session". Usually with one guy filming the whole thing.
Clueless
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mdude
Nov 2, 2005, 10:37 PM
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AAAAWE, the wonderful Peoples’ Republic of Boulder.
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cowpoke
Nov 2, 2005, 11:15 PM
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In reply to: I hadn't any plans so i decided to rush to the route and solo in front of them. When they mentioned Spaceshot, I was absoulutely delighted. To make a long story longer, I smoked them by about 1 day and 10 hours.
Re-reading the original post, I'm struck by your response. Having a sling thrown at you is certainly reason to be angry, but did you really climb the route and spend your time focused on whether you were "smoking" them for reasons of spite? To me, that seems like a terrible way to spend time on a classic like Spaceshot. Why not just express your annoyance over their attitude by saying, for example, "What's up with throwing the sling at me?" I'm not disagreeing that there are climbers out there who have annoying personality traits (and some regions may have a higher rate of dysfunction than others). I'm wondering whether your response is a good one considering that it was generated by dismay over climbers displaying negative attitudes towards their fellow climbers.
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hasbeen
Nov 2, 2005, 11:17 PM
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personally, i like boulder. though i've seen some of the folks you've mentioned. but attitude is not the norm. i think there are just so many outside types that you're bound to have some like that. at least it's a community where a high percentage of people actually do something, as opposed to sitting around squawking about it. it's the most active community i've seen, so i'll take it over most places.
but, whatever. i have a good boulder story.
i'm sitting in cafe roma a dozen or so years ago and complain to the person behind the counter that he's too nice. in my town, the people are cafe roma were way better than any moron who happened to step foot in their place, and i'd seen this attitude at roma's in college towns around the country--something i'd come to love about the place (i really dislike fake service. give me some 'i work in a friggin' coffee house. how do you think my day,s going, dickhead" anytime.) "i've got to make up for dan. you should come back this afternoon."
so i do, and dan does not disappoint. within a couple a minute, he's in a altercation. some guys walks in and order a capp or something. dan pours it in a to go cup and hands it to him. the guy had forgotten to give him his personal plastic cup and asks if he'll fill it. dan does so, then throws the to go cup out, flustering the patron who asks him to take the cup out of the trash and re-use it. dan completely ignores this and goes on the the next person in line. but the guy doesn't leave. he asks dan, a bit louder, if he'll re-use the cup. dan feeds him a blank stare and goes on with the customer. the guy complains again, louder this time, and starts a spiel about recycling and the environment. dan then stops helping the customer, picks up a to go cup, looks that this guy, and tosses it in the trash. the guy is, like, "hey..." and dan picks another off the stack and tosses it in the trash. the guys starts complaining and dan--continually tossing cups into the trash says "i'm going to continue to throw these into the trash until you get the f^*K out of this cafe".
this went on for a bit. the guy left. and i was now thoroughly satisfied with cafe roma in boulder.
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cowpoke
Nov 2, 2005, 11:31 PM
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In reply to: personally, i like boulder. though i've seen some of the folks you've mentioned. but attitude is not the norm. i think there are just so many outside types that you're bound to have some like that. at least it's a community where a high percentage of people actually do something, as opposed to sitting around squawking about it. it's the most active community i've seen, so i'll take it over most places. but, whatever. i have a good boulder story. i'm sitting in cafe roma a dozen or so years ago and complain to the person behind the counter that he's too nice. in my town, the people are cafe roma were way better than any moron who happened to step foot in their place, and i'd seen this attitude at roma's in college towns around the country--something i'd come to love about the place (i really dislike fake service. give me some 'i work in a friggin' coffee house. how do you think my day,s going, dickhead" anytime.) "i've got to make up for dan. you should come back this afternoon." so i do, and dan does not disappoint. within a couple a minute, he's in a altercation. some guys walks in and order a capp or something. dan pours it in a to go cup and hands it to him. the guy had forgotten to give him his personal plastic cup and asks if he'll fill it. dan does so, then throws the to go cup out, flustering the patron who asks him to take the cup out of the trash and re-use it. dan completely ignores this and goes on the the next person in line. but the guy doesn't leave. he asks dan, a bit louder, if he'll re-use the cup. dan feeds him a blank stare and goes on with the customer. the guy complains again, louder this time, and starts a spiel about recycling and the environment. dan then stops helping the customer, picks up a to go cup, looks that this guy, and tosses it in the trash. the guy is, like, "hey..." and dan picks another off the stack and tosses it in the trash. the guys starts complaining and dan--continually tossing cups into the trash says "i'm going to continue to throw these into the trash until you get the f^*K out of this cafe". this went on for a bit. the guy left. and i was now thoroughly satisfied with cafe roma in boulder.
Now that's a direct response! Reminds me of Boston. Trophy for you (or, for Dan, really).
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shorty
Nov 3, 2005, 12:04 AM
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In reply to: Have you ever noticed that people from Boulder love to deploy a huge attitude?
Oh, I forgot that I can't say that -- I'm not from Boulder.
Considering that most residents of Colorado (of which Boulder is usually considered a part of) are not native born, one can make the argument that at least part any attitude issues are caused by the people moving from other places. I've seen both pleasant and unpleasant people from all walks of life and in all places. I generally figure that if you're looking hard enough for something, you'll probably find it.
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sypher2049
Nov 3, 2005, 12:21 AM
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Look at it like this. You got a new sling, and they felt like an idoit afterwards when they were rummaging through their pack looking for it, with the thought of them throwing it at you in the back of their heads.
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atg200
Nov 4, 2005, 5:56 PM
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getting in front of and smoking a party out of spite, and then spraying about it on the int0rweb makes you an honorary boulderite. get yourself a subaru with a free tibet sticker and you'll fit right in.
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roy_hinkley_jr
Nov 4, 2005, 6:07 PM
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Subarus are officially out of favor in Boulder now. Everyone drives an Audi these days...it's in the city code.
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legion
Nov 4, 2005, 7:00 PM
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yo, stroker, starting a thread ripping on Boulder, how original.
You didn't even mention how hard you climb.
Can you onsight 5.13?
How do I know if I should pay attention to you?
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floridaputz
Nov 4, 2005, 7:59 PM
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One of my first destinations in the late 70's Was Eldorado. We were such Dipshits. We camped at the gates of Eldorado right next to the aquaduct pipe that leaked. We were so stupid that all the hot climbers got a kick out of us. Our first goal was to climb the dirty deed. One local boulderite laughed and said "thats the rap route to get off Tower 2" but no one treated us poorly. Many may have laughed but no one was rude. We got better every year eventually getting up a lot of good climbs. However this is the first place I ever saw what I call the "Boulder Pony Tail" THIS IS WHEN A GUY, USUALLY A VERY GOOD CLIMBER, WEARS A HIGH PONY TAIL, JUST LIKE A GIRL. Sorry, I don't care how good you are. How did that ever get Cool ?
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trick
Nov 4, 2005, 8:12 PM
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In reply to: yo, stroker, starting a thread ripping on Boulder, how original. You didn't even mention how hard you climb. Can you onsight 5.13? How do I know if I should pay attention to you?
Well if that doesn't prove your point :lol:
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atg200
Nov 4, 2005, 8:15 PM
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In reply to: Subarus are officially out of favor in Boulder now. Everyone drives an Audi these days...it's in the city code.
really? man, you leave for a year and everything changes.
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boredatwork
Nov 4, 2005, 8:16 PM
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HASBEEN - That was one of the Absolute best stories I have read on this site.
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