Attack of the Tick Marks

Event: Trapps Boulder Cleanup
Event Start: 07/26/2008 @ 9:30AM
Location: Trapps Bridge (New Paltz, New York)
Description: Meet at Trapps Bridge and work until 4:00. The Preserve will provide water, a ladder, and an afternoon cookout.
You will provide enthusiasm, a soft bristled brush, ability to work with a team, and even a pad.

Complimentary barbeque with Mohonk Preserve rangers and raffle for all volunteers, 6:00 – 8:00p at Visitor Center
Contact Email: dlucander@mohonkpreserve.org
Contact Phone: 845-255-0919

I gotta tell you - this is going to be a day well spent, so if I were you, I would plan to be there. What is it? It's a volunteer clean up of all the chalky buildup on some of the most popular boulder problems in the Trapps.

I helped with this last year and had lots of fun, meeting new people and learning about some of the historical and FA's newer lines from some pretty good boulderers. We goofed around a lot, cleaned up a lot of greasy, gunky white crud and generally enjoyed the day.

Afterward, there was a barbeque cookout at the Visitor's Center, with burgers, chips, salad and beverages - vegetarian fare too, and plenty to go around. Then, there was a giveway of prizes. We weren't sure how to do the choosing, so we played Spin the Bottle. Don't worry - if the bottle points toward you, all you have to do is accept the prize you won. Last year, I got a YEARS MEMBERSHIP to the Mohonk Preserve. No shit. I did. But.....I had just paid for my own, and I just felt I didn't need it. So, instead it went to the guy who was next to me, an intern with the preserve, who really would have been hard-pressed to fund his membership. Things just work out.....

You can click the title of this post to get to the Home page of Gunks.com where the event is listed...under the "Events" headline over on the right. Let Dave know you'll attend, so he knows how much picnic food to prepare - or surprise people and just show up. I'm in, so I'll see you there!




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I Wanna Go Climbing!

Two weeks in a ROW I am stuck in NYC. For work, of all things. And I am missing out on camping and climbing. Very little consolation the rainy forecasts have been, either, when the thunderstorms came naught to pass....

My assistant asked for last weekend off, and I had to oblige. She rarely asks for time off. But then she changed her mind on Thursday! At 6 o'clock pm. Too late for me to get rides and climbing partners set up. I was not happy. But worse - she then asked if she could have THIS weekend off instead! My holiday weekend?! When I was hoping to catch an early start and make a long weekend for myself!?

It was awful. But I got over it, and fortunately I was not obviously obnoxious about it with my assistant.

Then - my other assistant called, leaving me a message. About "her August schedule." Uh Ohhhhh.....

Now, this one has had no qualms about asking for days off, or to change sessions to suits her own needs. Or saying no to me when I am relying on her to say yes. She had just taken 3 days off a week and a half ago, to boot. I couldn't imagine what she was possibly going to request.

Imagine my surprise, when her need was "to go to Europe at the start of August, for God knows how long," in her words. At least four weeks, and likely more. And somehow, I got the impression she was thinking I would simply fill in for her while she was away, holding her job.

I don't think so. For one thing, I had just booked my flights for my own trip, to Yosemite in the end of September. I'll be volunteering at the Yosemite Facelift cleanup, which is from September 24 - 28th, but am staying for a total of ten days. It will be my first time there, and this will give me a very nice introduction to the place. I know it will be magical.

So, the thought of hoping she would return to NY before my trip, only to have the days draw nearer and nearer with no word from her, was just not acceptable. As if a 4-plus week vacation from a company with 3 people in it would be okay in the first place.... ESPECIALLY when the reason I HAVE employees is so they can do MY work when I go away!

But that wasn't the only thing......

The thing is, I can't tell you. Not just yet. But, when I had the first assistant take two of my weekends from me, it just seemed like it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I had committed to making a change. Clearly, the situation I have constructed for myself just wasn't working. This, I have known for some time.... and it was just so crystal clear at that moment.

I mean, compared to someone who works a 9 to 5 office job, it works really well. But I left the office world because I didn't WANT to be working for the weekend and 2 weeks off a year. So, the upset I had from the upset of my weekend was the final straw and I "made that commitment for change."

Now, it's a very tenuous commitment, as you will find out, eventually(if it comes to pass). The change is contingent on a few items, of which I am not willing to lay out there just yet. You might say "Well, then you haven't fully committed, have you?"

I would reply... "Ohhhhh, yes I have..... But it's a doozy."

Two and a half days upstate each week, and a month each year in Joshua Tree just isn't cutting it. Even the added Yosemite trip is just serving to show me just HOW MUCH I am missing out on... Zion! City of Rocks! The Adirondack, Needles, Acadia, Vedawoo, Wind River, Smith Rocks, El Potrero Chico, Hueco Tanks, Red Rocks, the Flatirons, Squamish, Tennessee Wall, Red River Gorge, New River Gorge, Owens River Gorge....All those gorgeous places I haven't yet been to!

Really. I need to get out more.



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Help support Happiegrrrl in her quest to travel, climb and live an adventurous life(instead of being stuck at home working.....). Visit her online shop, ClimbAddict, for original designs on t-shirts, jackets, caps, stickers and giftware.

Movie Review: "To the Limit"

As if anyone needs to be told this film is worth seeing....

It was good. Really, really good. The cinematography was very well done, with a storyline including subtle references and humorous insinuations. My favorite was a scene in which a group of tourists were being toted around Yosemite with the guide explaining about the crazy climbers on El Cap, and the scene shifts to show the face of one of the Huber brothers as he talks to the other. For one second, I was like "They aren't ON the tourist trailer.....are they?"

The imagery between what is an adrenaline-laced sleep-time climbing nightmare and the nightmares that were reality for the two as they trained and made attempts are blurred in a magical way that drew me, as the viewer, right into the experience. There were some - very gripping moments - to say the least.

There is a lot to see in this film, from the fearsome technical intricacies of speed simu-climbing, to the deep bond of brotherhood that makes such acts possible. The compassion and care-taking between Alex and Thomas is touching and tender in a way that seems almost incomprehensible in juxtaposition to scenes where they channel full-bore testosterone-charged savage forces from within during attempts at the record. Ladies - you will not be disappointed. Neither will you guys....

I made an error in the earlier post I made here, when I wrote about the film running near me in NYC. I had referenced a review in which the critic chastised the Hubers for not respecting an 'old-timer climber'(her phrase) who had done the first rappel off El Cap. I had assumed she was talking about Chongo, and that was incorrect.

The rappers really were old guys.... Who, I don't know, but they compared themselves to the likes of Warren Harding in the daring-do required back in the day.

While it is definitely true that the Hubers were left unable to comprehend the profundity of the other's experience.... it is a scene that makes the film just that much more wonderful. I can see how a non-climber wouldn't "get it," but...since nobody reading this blog is likely to be in that category, it's safe to say the scene is stellar.

Well worth the nine dollar price of admission, I will most likely see the film again. There were two others in the showing I attended, a guy and his girl. Afterward, as we walked out of the theatre and were exclaiming how great the show was, I asked if they climbed. "A few times," the guy said in what seemed like a serious tone, "but not like those guys do." Perfect.

Though I can't claim to having seen a whole lot of climbing films, I will say that this one is riveting from start to finish with a story line that has perfect continuum. It would make a great date movie, in that there is a back story that non-climbers can follow, plus SO much way-past-the-edge adventure that you will be seen as a hardman by proxy. At least until you explain that you don't do...quite....that sort of thing. So - play down that aspect if you're looking to be getting some while the getting's good.

Anyway - about "To the Limit" - Go! If you are in NYC, you must go, it's as simple as that. If not here, and the film shows near you, don't miss it. Or get it on DVD when it releases. This is not a one-shot view. And I'm not just saying that because they show the boys with bare chests and hair a blazin' for most the film.....

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