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dynoguy
Sep 9, 2004, 9:08 PM
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I just read Yuji's article in Alpinist 8 about El Cap onsighting. What a great read. This is the kind of climbing I respect most. I takes so much endurance and skill. If you haven't read it, read it.
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vegastradguy
Sep 9, 2004, 9:14 PM
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i second that....its a great article. one of my favs so far (Cedar Wright's article also ranks up there!)
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slablizard
Sep 9, 2004, 9:15 PM
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Oh, so this number is worth buying?
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couchwarrior
Sep 9, 2004, 9:38 PM
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I will pick up a copy. Just DON"T make me read Hardy Grimper.
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norushnomore
Sep 11, 2004, 8:50 AM
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Amazing read, a real deal. This is the first time I hear of the 80m used in free climbing (he did not want to use bolted belays and tried linking ledge to ledge for the best style possible)
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billcoe_
Sep 16, 2004, 4:16 AM
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Last months Rock and ice was signifigantly better in MY opinion. Fortuneatly, my partner gets Alpine and I get R and I so we switched.
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kalcario
Sep 16, 2004, 4:36 AM
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*I just read Yuji's article in Alpinist 8 about El Cap onsighting. What a great read. This is the kind of climbing I respect most. I takes so much endurance and skill.* Agreed. Now if Alpinist could just acknowledge that 15 years of climbing European, rap-bolted, hang-dogged SPORT climbs got Yuji where he is, they'd have some journalistic credibility.
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slobmonster
Sep 16, 2004, 4:58 AM
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In reply to: I will pick up a copy. Just DON"T make me read Hardy Grimper. What? I *love* Hardy's litany of absurd adventures.
In reply to: they'd have some journalistic credibility. Bitter bolt-clipper... I must admit, after several years of horrendous output, R&I's most recent issue is indeed excellent. However, each Alpinist has qualified as such. I actually *read* the thing, not just pan-and-scan; call me whipped, but I'll come home every night to that in my bed.
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kalcario
Sep 16, 2004, 5:08 AM
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* Bitter bolt-clipper... I must admit, after several years of horrendous output, R&I's most recent issue is indeed excellent.* Actually the current issue of Climbing is the best in recent years, with the articles by Steph and Caldwell about freeing El Cap routes, describing what it really takes to climb at your limit, especially Caldwell's admission that it was SPORT climbing that got him to the level of world's best trad climber...
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rockprodigy
Sep 20, 2004, 6:14 PM
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In reply to: Now if Alpinist could just acknowledge that 15 years of climbing European, rap-bolted, hang-dogged SPORT climbs got Yuji where he is, they'd have some journalistic credibility. Wait a second, are you implying that Alpinist might be hypocritical? And what was the deal with a bouldering article in #2?? I don't have that issue because I refuse to pay $45 a year to be insulted by armchair mountaineers, but I was happy to read it for free in a climbing shop. My favorite part was when Yuji said something to the effect of (and I'm paraphrasing here): "I am the only climber in the world capable of onsighting trad up to 13b." That was a nice touch, and just what I have come to expect from the d!ck measurers at Alpinist.
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slablizard
Sep 20, 2004, 6:46 PM
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If it's true..he's right! :P
In reply to: "I am the only climber in the world capable of onsighting trad up to 13b." That was a nice touch, and just what I have come to expect from the d!ck measurers at Alpinist.
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wings
Sep 20, 2004, 6:50 PM
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I would hazard a guess and say that English is not Yuji's first language. Now, whether something was lost in translation, or perhaps Yuji did not select his (English) words properly, or he really does have a sizeable ego, is something left to ponder. However, I wouldn't immediately jump to the conclusion that #3 is in fact correct. - Seyil
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rockprodigy
Sep 20, 2004, 8:10 PM
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As I hoped you would infer from my indignant tone, I don't fault Yuji, I fault Alpinist.
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takeme
Sep 20, 2004, 8:26 PM
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In reply to: As I hoped you would infer from my indignant tone, I don't fault Yuji, I fault Alpinist. Why exactly?
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rockprodigy
Sep 20, 2004, 8:31 PM
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Because they seem to get their jollies off of telling YOU and YOUR friends how much YOU suck.
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takeme
Sep 20, 2004, 8:46 PM
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In reply to: Because they seem to get their jollies off of telling YOU and YOUR friends how much YOU suck. FWIW, I agree with you about the general tone of the articles in Alpinist, which is why I've mostly stopped reading them (Crusher still writes some good stuff I think). I've actually had one nasty run-in at a crag with one of their regular contributers who exemplified their attitude. But I read Yugi's article, and I was mildly stunned by some of the things he said in the beginning, though I liked the rest of it. I have to think that's Yugi coming across--not Alpinist telling him to say those things, or something like that. Obviously, Alpinist creates a fertile climate for these kinds of things, but they still need writers willing to say them.
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paulraphael
Sep 20, 2004, 9:07 PM
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If you don't like the general tone of Alpinist, why don't you write to Christian Beckwith and let him know? cb@alpinist.com Christian is a good guy who is trying to publish a first rate, art magazine-quality journal, with a small subscription base, very little advertising money, and an audience of people who generally think it's cool to read the mag on the bookshelves, not buy it, and then complain about the writers' attitudes. The magazine has been pretty close to vanishing entirely more than once because of issues with investors and general lack of $$$. If you like the idea of a mag with real stories and real photography, not a lot of ads, gear reviews, and "here's how to tie a figure 8 knot" articles, then you might want to consider supporting the magazine. This means subscribing, giving them your feedback, and if you really have something to say, writing an article. That being said, I've been waiting for Hardy Grimper to die for a long time now.
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brianinslc
Sep 20, 2004, 9:35 PM
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In reply to: If you don't like the general tone of Alpinist, why don't you write to Christian Beckwith and let him know? Thats a good idea. He's pretty approachable, too.
In reply to: The magazine has been pretty close to vanishing entirely more than once because of issues with investors and general lack of $$$. My impression was that your statement above isn't really the case. Maybe now, but, not prior to the first 8 issues.
In reply to: That being said, I've been waiting for Hardy Grimper to die for a long time now. I've always disliked that column. Never grabbed me. Rather see the space filled with Tami's cartoons! The magazine does come across a tad condescending at times. And...I think very hard to compete with the latest Rock and Ice in terms of overall content, very good writing, variety of stories. Seems to be grasping for a direction a bit. I mean, I gots no complaints about photo's of Lisa H tryin' to send a sport route (and Kennen's photo's too, top notch!), but, how "alpinist" is it? Ditto climbing in the valley doesn't strike me as "alpine" as much as some of the stuff on Patagucci. Did really enjoy Rolo's deconstruction of the Maestri climb, though. And...the Titan does seem "kinda" alpine...(that article was well done). Yeah, bring on that alpine climbin' fool Crusher. Me likey his stuff too. Alpinist seems to be struggling for stories. Same ol' input from the same ol' boy's club. Repeat authors. Repeat climbers. Bit of stagnation. Maybe its no wonder that Polar Circus only ran for two issues...just ain't the market for an alpine climbing specific rag. Which, is too bad. Brian in SLC
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grayhghost
Sep 20, 2004, 9:35 PM
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there is a note at the end of the article that tells who translated it, I do have to admit it came off sounding like Yuji was very concieted
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deleted
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Sep 20, 2004, 10:45 PM
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[quote:0d8fdaa0a5="kalcario"]*I just read Yuji's article in Alpinist 8 about El Cap onsighting. What a great read. This is the kind of climbing I respect most. I takes so much endurance and skill.* Agreed. Now if Alpinist could just acknowledge that 15 years of climbing European, rap-bolted, hang-dogged SPORT climbs got Yuji where he is, they'd have some journalistic credibility.[/quote:0d8fdaa0a5] Actually, if you took the time to read Yuji's piece, he [i:0d8fdaa0a5]does [/i:0d8fdaa0a5]attribute competition climbing and sport climbing to his el cap success. [u:0d8fdaa0a5]There is even a picture of him sport climbing in the issue.[/u:0d8fdaa0a5] He begins the article by stating that only someone who has a trad background, who has been on the competition circuit, and who has the ability to onsight hard sport routes would be able to onsight el cap, narrowing down humanity to a single person: Yuji Hirayama. Based on these very analytical and rational assumptions, which have been since proven by the fact that Yuji has come closer to achieving this goal than anyone else by miles and miles, Yuji is absolutely right. He's stating facts--this can only come off as cocky to those lacking self-esteem (yeah, it must suck to be so insecure that you feel self-conscious after reading an article by someone who has been at the top of the climbing game for 15 years...in fact, it must suck so much, you have to turn it around and call Yuji "cocky" to make yourselves feel better--Ayn Rand and Nietzsche would both be proud of you nay saying asholes) Further, this article only promotes sport climbing in the way olympians might attribute weight lifting to winning a gold medal. [i:0d8fdaa0a5]That is, sport climbing is training for something meaningful, like onsighting el cap.[/i:0d8fdaa0a5] Harder and harder sport climbs, if you will, are only weights added to the bar...both tommy and "hugey" recognize this in their respective articles by regarding sport climbing as a means, not an ends. (Again, if this makes you feel self-conscious, as in, you're a sport weenie and what you hold so dear is only "gym-weights" to the elite ... go ahead and start slagging them if it will bring some self-induced justification to your piteous existence. That’s right: clipping bolts on the weekend might make you an office hero on Monday, but to real climbers, it looks like someone never learned to take their training wheels off their bicycles complete with handlebar tinsle and a little gay bell). Also, as this is my one post of the day, since I’m [b:0d8fdaa0a5]TARPITTED [/b:0d8fdaa0a5]for some postively absurd reason—[i:0d8fdaa0a5]can anyone answer that[/i:0d8fdaa0a5]?—I’d like to say two things. Steph Davis’ article sucks: if she wants to make a career by climbing 5.13a and selling it like smut to the magazines, good for her, but the time for honoring herself ought to come to an end. The number of women climbers who are better than her is staggering. More seriously, anyone who talks smack about alpinist most likely has a small penis or a stinky vagina. love, mandrew
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fracture
Sep 21, 2004, 2:41 AM
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In reply to: In reply to: *I just read Yuji's article in Alpinist 8 about El Cap onsighting. What a great read. This is the kind of climbing I respect most. I takes so much endurance and skill.* Agreed. Now if Alpinist could just acknowledge that 15 years of climbing European, rap-bolted, hang-dogged SPORT climbs got Yuji where he is, they'd have some journalistic credibility. .... Harder and harder sport climbs, if you will, are only weights added to the bar...both tommy and "hugey" recognize this in their respective articles by regarding sport climbing as a means, not an ends. Funny that that's the impression you got, as in Tommy's article about the dihedral wall he laments the fact that generally, climbing in Yosemite "turns him into a 5.12 sport climber"---i.e. makes him significantly weaker. If sport were only training weights, why would he care? Why would he project the hell out of a route like Flex Luthor when he could just try it a few times and then go on to something else for more "training"?
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addoil
Sep 21, 2004, 6:19 AM
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Mangina, WTF!? Are you for real? Are there visiting hours when I can come meet you? The Alpinist has lousy writing. I don’t get the affectation either. I wish it were otherwise.
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sbclimber
Sep 21, 2004, 6:34 AM
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In reply to: (yeah, it must suck to be so insecure that you feel self-conscious after reading an article by someone who has been at the top of the climbing game for 15 years...in fact, it must suck so much, you have to turn it around and call Yuji "cocky" to make yourselves feel better--Ayn Rand and Nietzsche would both be proud of you nay saying asholes) Steph Davis’ article sucks: if she wants to make a career by climbing 5.13a and selling it like smut to the magazines, good for her, but the time for honoring herself ought to come to an end. The number of women climbers who are better than her is staggering. It sounds to me like you are calling Steph Davis "cocky". Are you doing this to make yourself feel better b/c she is a better climber than you?
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kalcario
Sep 21, 2004, 6:50 AM
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*He begins the article by stating that only someone who has a trad background, who has been on the competition circuit, and who has the ability to onsight hard sport routes would be able to onsight el cap, narrowing down humanity to a single person: Yuji Hirayama. Based on these very analytical and rational assumptions, which have been since proven by the fact that Yuji has come closer to achieving this goal than anyone else by miles and miles, Yuji is absolutely right.* Actually, since he's apparently too modest to point it out himself, we've got a guy right here on this thread (rockprodigy) who, unlike Yuji who took a few falls, has actually on-sight free-climbed El Cap (Free Rider, leading the hard pitches and following the easy ones), and is the only person in the world to date who can make this claim. *Further, this article only promotes sport climbing in the way olympians might attribute weight lifting to winning a gold medal. That is, sport climbing is training for something meaningful, like onsighting el cap.* Which relegates trad and bouldering to training for sport climbing - which I already kinda knew from experience, but thanks for pointing it out. *Harder and harder sport climbs, if you will, are only weights added to the bar...both tommy and "hugey" recognize this in their respective articles by regarding sport climbing as a means, not an ends.* So, the stronger sport climber you are, the better trad climber you'll be. Got it. *clipping bolts on the weekend might make you an office hero on Monday, but to real climbers, it looks like someone never learned to take their training wheels off their bicycles complete with handlebar tinsle and a little gay bell).* 4 of the people that I clipped bolts with this past month each have at least 30 ascents of El Cap, one has 2 first ascents (Lost in America and Scorched Earth - shouldn't be too hard to figure out who that is)...you were breaking it down pretty good there for a while, but you kinda went off into Kookville with the "little gay bell" stuff...
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rockprodigy
Sep 21, 2004, 3:16 PM
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In reply to: Steph Davis’ article sucks: if she wants to make a career by climbing 5.13a and selling it like smut to the magazines, good for her, but the time for honoring herself ought to come to an end. The number of women climbers who are better than her is staggering. Don't get me started on her, as it will likely end in me saying something I will later regret, but suffice to say, I couldn't agree more....
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