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fuzzierscreamer
Nov 2, 2005, 2:13 AM
Post #1 of 74
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Registered: Nov 2, 2005
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A while back, I was invited to go climb a wall in Zion with a couple of “experienced” climbers. I was a little leery that they were trying to find someone who could help them carry their gear to the base, but I figured it would be a good opportunity to learn how to aid climb and see the whole process in action. I was nominated to drive and we were supposed to meet at my place at about noon on Friday. At 12:30 I tried giving them a call to see where they were. Lance answered and sounded like I just woke him up. “Uh, I think I need to go pick up Chad, we’ll be over in a while. Have something for us to eat so we can get out of there at a decent time.” Click. I called them again at 2:00 and Lance answered, “why haven’t you called us, we’ve been starving.” Click. They showed up around 3:00 and started rummaging through my cupboards. “Hey go load up the car while we eat. You’ve got to call us when you get ready so we aren’t running so late. Oh yea, did you get the food?” I don’t know what kind of food to get for a wall, so how was I supposed to know what to buy? By 4:00 we were at Wal-Mart stocking up on food. Somehow they had both forgot their wallets when we got to the check out line and I was really questioning this whole trip. But they assured me they would even up with me when it was all over. The trip down to Zion went as flawless as expected (even though they insisted on stopping at the new Cabela’s store and fondling every gun in the place) and we pulled into the park at about 2:00 in the morning. “I think we need to ride the shuttle this time of year,” I said as they told me to keep driving right on past the visitor’s center. “No, you can drive in and drop off your pigs. We’d’ve been fine if you had been ready to go on time,” Chad informed me. We had just turned left from canyon junction when a ranger pulled in behind us. When we pulled off at the Court of the Patriarchs, the ranger pulled in behind us and turned on his lights. “Oh great, stupid MFer”, Chad mumbled. “Don’t tell him anything. One thing you’ll find out is that rangers love to harass climbers. Piss on him, don’t look at him either.” The ranger approached our car and asked us what we were doing and if we knew it was against the rules to drive into Zion Canyon unless you had a reservation at the Lodge. I apologized and told him we thought we could drive in just to drop off gear since the shuttles don’t run so early in the morning. The ranger seemed like he understood but right then Lance stirred from underneath his nest of nylon and fleece and said, “Can’t you see we need to drop off our PIGS. Surly you know a thing or two about PIGS.” The ranger took it all in stride and said, “Yea I can see you need to drop off gear, but you can not drive up the canyon.” Lance answered back, “Boy mister, you sure have a big gun. I wish I had a gun that big. I’d bet you get all the ladies with that hogleg.” Chad and Lance then started giggling like a couple of school girls and after a few more “you’ve got a huge gun” remarks, we drove back to the visitor’s center with our pigs in the car and a ticket. “Wow that sucks YOU got a ticket,” was the only thing they said except for constant complaining about how rangers love to harass climbers. I wish I would have turned around and just drove home right there. We filled our water bottles and snoozed until the first shuttle ran. I asked if we needed a bivy permit and was told that “bivy permits are for fags and they’ve already taken too much of YOUR money and I ain’t givin them no more money.” I got a bivy permit even though they complained it was burning daylight. The hike in went OK for about 30 minutes until they decided where to go up the slope. The plan was to go up to the canyon on the trail and then traverse back to the climb. At about this time, I think I was starting to realize they were complete idiots. When I proposed an alternative approach route I received a look of disgust which said, “My little finger’s got more experience with this than you’ll ever have.” They were both carrying pigs and I was carrying a backpack full of pins, cams and water. I know my pack was much heavier than theirs but I was the newbie just trying to please them. About half way up the slope, Chad dropped his pig down and wiped off the sweat which was dripping into his eyes. What a sweaty bastard. When we got ready to go again, Chad paused and said, “Hey why don’t you get a picture of us hiking up this hill with the climb in the background. I’ll take your pack since it is maybe a little heavier, that way you can see the difference in the sizes of the packs in the picture and you’ll have a lighter pack to catch up with us. Let us get up there a ways.” Fu*@#ng A-hole! Chad had dropped his pig and gotten cactus needles all over the suspension. I had to stop and pick out the cactus needles the best I could and even then I got poked a few times on the way up the hill, which we climbed by the absolute worst route possible. It was loose, steep and by the time we got to the top I was ready to turn around and go home. Instead of racking up for the climb, they were napping on top of the pig and the pack. I didn’t say anything about the cactus, because I didn’t think I could control myself. Right now I had to decide whether I wanted to stick with this climb or tell them to go and screw themselves while I went and tried soloing Organasm or another short aid route. When they started pulling gear out of the pigs, it was so beat up that I figured, they may be asses, but at least they are experienced aid climbers and I can learn a lot by just sticking with this for a couple of more days. Lance started up the first pitch, and it was jungle climbing at its worst. It was similar to our approach, loose, sandy and steep. Lance did a sound job of leading it and I jugged, while Chad got the pigs ready to haul. When I got to the belay, I could see it was just a small four inch tree with rappel slings around it. Lance hadn’t even bothered to use any new webbing. Yikes, that could rip out any second. Right then Chad yelled at us to start hauling. “Don’t you think we ought to back up this tree with something?” I asked Lance, who had started napping already. “And what do you want to back it up with?” was all he replied before dozing off again. I have to admit he had a point; there wasn’t much to back up our little shrub with. I was kind of excited to put to the test all I had learned about hauling so I didn’t argue when Lance opened one eye and said, “You gonna start hauling or what?” Well, if I thought the approach was bad, I was soon to repent of my misconceptions about how hard it was. I tried to do a leg haul and I couldn’t really budge the pigs. I tried bouncing up and down and hardly budged the pigs. Besides, I didn’t like bouncing on our little anchor. Lance offered no help as I struggled to raise the pigs a few feet. When Chad jugged up he gave me the “you pitiful little piece of crap” look and asked if I was going haul the pigs or just dick around all day? I figured this is just the kind of place you use the 2:1 hauling ratchet that Dr. Piton uses, so I started to put it together. Well, I won’t go into the details of the next few minutes, but after some strong language and some verbal abuse, Chad had me belay Lance while someone who “doesn’t have to worry about getting sand in his [female]” hauls. Lance scrambled up the next pitch which was steeper, sandier and looser than either the first pitch or the approach. When Lance was off belay, Chad said he figured he’d better jug this next pitch first. Only on occasion did these guys act like they were experienced and this was one of those times. As Lance climbed, he had knocked lots of sand and rocks down. Most of them had gotten caught in bushes and on ledges and as Chad jugged through them, it all came down on me (I’m sure he knew this would happen). I had to hide behind our little anchor and pray nothing bigger than a softball clocked me as it flew past. I believe I understand what it is like to be a bowling pin, stuck in place as missiles fly your way with no other purpose than to take you out. I barely survived and when I finally got to the next belay, I looked up and we were finally to the real climbing. Now I wasn’t worried about getting hurt from falling rocks or belays ripping out, I was afraid I would fall off this huge cliff and be smashed to death on the rocks below. The size and steepness of the cliff were intimidating to say the least. Things went ok for a couple of pitches until I was asked “You gonna lead?” Now I had no plans to lead anything but the easiest pitches and told them so. “This is probably going to be the only pitch you will be able to lead on the whole route. Hurry and get racked up, we don’t have all day.” They were kind enough to give me a few pointers on the rack and loan me a hammer. “I just want to do clean pitches,” I told them, and “I don’t trust pins.” By now, I had learned that it did no good to argue when they gave me the “more experience in my little finger” look. So I took the hammer and pins and hooks they handed me and turned to look at my first real aid pitch. “Uh, you are going to have to free this wide section, but it doesn’t look to bad.” “Maybe one of you guys should take this pitch so we can get it done before dark.” I received the look once again and once again I was shamed into doing what all the voices in my head were screaming at me to refuse to do. I headed up the chimney and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I finally got to a crack where I could get a decent placement. The next few feet went ok and as I slowly climbed around a corner and out of sight the last thing I heard was Chad telling a story about how some girl who he wouldn’t date was driven to lesbianism because she could never be truly satisfied with another man after him. Lance responded with, “Yea, I’ve driven a few girls to being lesbians, too.” Now I was out of hearing and could focus on the task at hand. I’ve always pictured what it would be like when I was finally climbing up a big wall. I had always pictured a scene similar to what you see in the magazines. Beautiful exposed rock with nothing but a hairline crack running up it, my partner relaxing on a portaledge while I boldly nailed my way up a famous route. Now the reality was sinking in. I was having a hard time inching up a crack which was not beautiful, had plenty of loose parts and was fairly wide on a route no one has ever heard of. I had no desire to die right there. The only similarity between my daydreams and the reality was my partners relaxed on their ledges and the exposure. I think Lance was a bit too relaxed because I would climb and then I would have to jerk the rope and yell for slack. I then would have no problems for about fifteen feet where it would happen again. I have a feeling he was feeding out a bunch of slack and then napping. This idea was enforced when a hook blew and I took a twenty footer. Overall, the climbing went fine and before I knew it, it was dark. “Um guys, I think I’d better come down and one of you guys can finish this in the morning,” I yelled down. Silence “Hey, I’m coming down.” I yelled as I jerked the rope. “You’ve got slack, quit jerking the rope you ass.” “I can’t climb any further tonight, I’m coming down.” Once again I was shamed into doing what I didn’t want to do. Because after all, they knew a girl whose first aid lead was an A4 in the dark. “Yea, we aren’t kidding, that girl had some serious balls. Now hurry up. If a girl can do it.” Before this trip, I had truly believed myself past peer pressure. Now I being belittled at an elementary school level and falling for it. The shame was too much; I continued climbing slowly up the crack/chimney. I didn’t know how long I had been climbing, but I figured I must have been up there for at least an hour and a half. Finally, I reached a chimney section which I could not do. It didn’t matter how they mocked me, I had reached the point where busload of girls pointing and laughing at me couldn’t have gotten me to go an inch further, so without consulting my taskmasters below, I built an anchor and rappelled to the ledge we were camped on. The taskmasters didn’t look to surprised I had come down because they were sound asleep. We had brought two ledges and they each were peacefully dreaming of guns and ammo, I’m sure. I looked at the watch and I had been four hours on my pitch! I wasn’t even finished yet. Wow, I probably would have fallen asleep as well. Not knowing which portaledge I was supposed to share, I made some noise getting a water bottle out of the pigs. When they stirred and poked their heads over the edges of their ledges I asked where I was supposed to sleep. “You can sleep on the big flat rock under my ledge,” Lance said as he pointed to the four foot by two foot slanty rock underneath his ledge. “I can’t sleep on that. Let me share your ledge with you.” “No way, I didn’t haul this sucker up here to be squeezed by some sucker who’s to cheap to get his own ledge.” I was so exhausted; I couldn’t argue and figured I was so tired I could fall asleep easily. I got my bag and brushed the rat crap off of the large rock and lay down to sleep. Sleep was hard to come by because every time I had to role over, the slanty rock I was on would shift and I figured I was going over the edge to my death. I was the longest night of my life. Besides being scared to death, I figured Zion is really warm, right? I brought a bag that was way to light and nearly froze to death. I would have woke up the Nazis above me to beg for mercy and some extra clothing I could wear or something, but I didn’t think I could handle the vicious responses I knew would come my way if I woke them up. “Remember that girl who slept naked on those cactus plants and it was so cold she had frost on her nipples the next morning? bla bla bla.” At this point, I didn’t think I could go any lower. I was freezing to death on the most uncomfortable rat crap covered bed I had ever tried sleeping on. Finally, I decided I had to start a fire or die. The ledge we were on was loose and slanty (like my rock), but someone had built a fire ring and there were a few little bushes I could burn. I gathered the bushes together and piled them on top of some old cans and garbage another party had left behind. Even in my pitiful condition I thought it was odd that climbers wouldn’t even haul out their own trash. To get the fire started, I used my toilet paper in my pocket. Chad and Lance said they weren’t going to run out of TP because someone hogged it all. We each would carry our own and if we ran out, tough. I eagerly applied the lighter to the precious paper and watched as the flames licked it up and slowly started the little bundle of twigs on the road to creating the precious heat I needed so badly. In a few minutes, I had a nice little fire. It warmed my hands and my soul. I soon started going to the edges of our ledge so I could gather every scrap of burnable material available. This worked fine and I decided I had better keep the fire small so I wouldn’t run out of fuel. As I sat and let the heat slowly bring life back to my body, life started to look up. First of all, I was almost done with my pitch and tomorrow I would be the one napping on the ledge. I would only have to jug pitches and help to haul. The angle was definitely steep enough that hauling would be much easier. It was about the time I was really starting to think I would make it through the trip when I heard a strange hissing/bubbling sound coming from the fire. I immediately wondered if the rocks were still wet from the last rain storm. But that was at least two weeks ago. Maybe they were still wet because it was in the shade and it was kind of cold. At about that time, the hissing got really loud and then KABOOM! The rock exploded. Ash and rock and heat and pain went everywhere. Lance and Chad both yelled and started cursing as the ash and sparks and rock fell down on them. Everything was pitch black except for the little spark and chunks of coal which was now covering the whole ledge. The fire had been blown clean out. Due to this being a family site, I won’t give the dialogue from the next few minutes in detail. When I finally got all the sparks put out, I took a quick check of all my own wounds. A few smelly burnt spots were all I had, nothing serious. I was ignoring the questions, accusations and general abuse being hurled my way from the portaledges. Finally, I had to turn around and answer the question, “What in the hell just happened.” “Well, I’m not sure just what happened, I think one of the rocks in the fire exploded. I’ve heard of that happening with river rocks, but I didn’t think that would happen with rocks this dry. I heard some hissing sounds then the fire exploded. It must be a sandstone thing.” “Where did all of this tuna fish come from? Did you put a can of tuna in the fire?” Now it was starting to come together. Someone in some sick twisted idea of helping the next party had cached a tuna can in the fire ring. I had figured it was just trash and had lit a fire right on top of it. In one quick explosion, my brightening outlook sank to depths previously unexperienced. The jerks on the portaledges immediately interpreted my silence as a confession of guilt. Once again vile abuse flowed off of their tongues in quantities few have experienced. They had both worked on fishing boats in Alaska and on drilling rigs in Wyoming and they must have picked up the lingo quite well because my ears still burn at the thought of the tongue lashing I received (more like a tongue beating). Then they were sleeping again with threats of sorting it all out in the morning. Well, I squatted in a corner for the rest of the night and didn’t get a single wink. The squatting position made me regret having burned my TP as the extra force on my bowels was giving them a kick-start. When the first rays of dawn finally penetrated the eastern sky, I was ready to go down. I’ve always considered myself a good sport and I’ve always considered myself tougher than the usually guy, but I had finally reached my breaking point. I started getting things ready to go. “Hey, what are you doing dumb#%$^,” (they called me by this name for the rest of the trip.) “I’m going down; I’ve had enough of climbing with you jerks.” The next few minutes have to be censored once again as we discussed (yelled and screamed) with each other. I had been preparing for a refusal to retreat. As they continued to put into use all the talents they had learned as sailors, I grabbed both of their hammers and chucked them off of the cliff. Silence Then I backed to the edge of the ledge holding a big rock as my last means of defense. Well, these guys didn’t say a thing; they just started untying the rope I was attached to the cliff with. They were planning to kill me! I was sure of it. I hadn’t planned on this, but I had planned on a spare hammer in a pig or something, so I grabbed the water heaved it off of the cliff. “If you untie me I’ll throw your cams over next.” “If one more thing goes over, you’re going over with it,” I was told as they paused in the untying of my rope. I felt the fear of dying flow out of me as I realized I just had to refrain from throwing anything else off of the cliff to avoid being thrown over myself. When it was all said and done, I agreed to pay for the gear left at my intermediate anchor if we could just go down right then. They agreed since they would come back and clean the gear and be that much better off. I hurried to pull my rope (they informed me I was living up to my nickname by rapping two lines instead of fixing the lines so I could jug up them properly). I didn’t even care as long as I was going to get off this cliff and back home. In my haste I didn’t notice the knot in the end of the rope until Lance yelled at me. I was so used to being verbally abused that I gave it another tug just to show them they are jerks and I wasn’t going to jump to every time they yelled at me. They fury that followed gave me an inkling that something was the matter. I had forgotten to untie the knot in the end of my rope. The gods were surely mocking me. Well, needless to say we finally got the rope down. Chad ascended the pitch and retrieved the rope. It was a somewhat scary experience to watch what had to be done to get up the pitch. If he fell and got hurt, it was my fault. I had refused to pay up for the mistake by jugging the route. The only clean gear which could be had was mighty sparse and if the knot pulled through my anchor, he was in for a huge fall in places. I felt awful and was willing to apologize for my conduct when Chad made me pay for it in another way. He got to the anchor and said it was a piece of crap and he had to place more gear to make it bomber (gear they would later come back and retrieve). Now I haven’t climbed any walls, but I have been climbing a while and know that my anchor was plenty fine but I couldn’t refuse because he had just risked his life to pay for my mistake. When he got down, we went to repelling. That went as well as could have been expected and I at last reached solid ground. Lance and Chad were already off in the bushes trying to find their hammers and so I saw my chance for escape. I quickly shoved my gear in my pack and took off in the opposite direction as the two fiends I had the misfortune of coming on this trip with. Since most of the stuff was theirs, my pack was really light. I didn’t even take the haulbag straps out of my pack (we had stored everything not being taken up the wall in my pack). Let those jerks suffer for a while, I thought. I was home free when I heard a shout and I looked up to see them staring at their object of torture making a getaway. I flipped them the bird and continued down the slope. They could rot in hell for all I cared at that point. Just thinking of everything they had done to me was making me more and more upset. The madder I got, the faster I went until a rock rolled under my feet and down I went with a crash. After a regaining my feet, I took my pack off and threw it down the hill in a fit of rage. The rest of the way down the hill, I just kicked my pack down ahead of me. I finally got back to the trail and then to the bus stop. It was on the shuttle, that I first noticed the horrible stench coming out of my pack. In one last twist of the knife, they had gotten even with me for my premature exit. They had pooped in a plastic bag and put it in my pack. The extra straps for the pigs had been taken out and even the key to the car. My fit of rage had knocked the bag open and my kicking it down the hill had spread the not so little bundle of joy over my harness and sleeping bag. The tourists on the bus gave me mean looks as the aroma spread through the bus. My only consolation was that they didn’t know of my spare key under the car. When I got back to the visitors center, I got my key, left my pack and its contents on the sidewalk and drove home. Let those jerks find there own way home. It has been a while since that climb and I’ve got a few questions for you if you’ve read my huge trip report. 1) Should I pay them for the gear we left? They never paid me for the gas we used on the way down, the food I bought, and they helped ruin my gear which I left. I heard from a mutual friend that they took the gear home, cleaned it up and sold it on ebay. 2) They claim I ruined two ledges and two expensive sleeping bags and various other articles of nylon equipment even though my stuff wasn’t really ruined and I was a lot closer to the exploding tuna can than they were. Should I pay them thousands of dollars for all the damaged gear? What if they threaten to take me to court? 3) Is an apology in order? The only thing I really thought I shouldn’t have done was to leave them in the park. Our mutual friend said they met some girls from a nearby city and caught a ride home. One of them is even dating one of the girls now. 4) Should I ever try a wall again? It was the worst experience of my life, but I think that was mostly the company, not the actual climbing.
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grk10vq
Nov 2, 2005, 2:19 AM
Post #2 of 74
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Registered: Nov 7, 2004
Posts: 527
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do the words short and sweet mean anything to you? ps. > B.S. !!! worthy read though. i love happy endings
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crotch
Nov 2, 2005, 2:41 AM
Post #3 of 74
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Registered: Jan 16, 2003
Posts: 1277
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Those guys were nice enough to take you on your first wall and then you go and trash them on a public forum. Very lame. You owe them, and us, an apology.
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slavetogravity
Nov 2, 2005, 3:05 AM
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Registered: Jan 9, 2003
Posts: 1114
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Wow....that's the best storry I've heard in a long time. To answer your question. Come on??!! you're not going to pay those loosers a thin dime for any damage you've done to their stuff. The fact that you've managed to do damage to them is the only decent thing you could have done. Personally I would have lost it after the run in with the Ranger. Those guys are chumps. My advice. The best revenge is living well. If you want to be vindicated you must become a better aid climber then both of those loosers put together. And again, great storry
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vulcan
Nov 2, 2005, 3:19 AM
Post #5 of 74
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Registered: Mar 7, 2005
Posts: 20
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Wow, that sounds like the adventure of a lifetime, pretty long, but well worth the read.
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caughtinside
Nov 2, 2005, 3:46 AM
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Registered: Jan 8, 2003
Posts: 30603
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Sidesplitting! :lol: I'm not sure how much of that I believe, but it was a great tale and I'm glad I made it to the end.
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squierbypetzl
Moderator
Nov 2, 2005, 3:46 AM
Post #7 of 74
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Registered: Jul 6, 2005
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Damn did you have one hell of a day... What can I say? You started off bad. Ok, so they were late and were jerks about the food... that I might let slide. observation: don´t ever lend money to a climber (especially one you just met)
In reply to: 1) Should I pay them for the gear we left? They never paid me for the gas we used on the way down, the food I bought, and they helped ruin my gear which I left. I heard from a mutual friend that they took the gear home, cleaned it up and sold it on ebay. Are you fecking kidding?? The only money I´d spend on those two would be to have someone knock ´em around.
In reply to: 2) They claim I ruined two ledges and two expensive sleeping bags and various other articles of nylon equipment even though my stuff wasn’t really ruined and I was a lot closer to the exploding tuna can than they were. Should I pay them thousands of dollars for all the damaged gear? What if they threaten to take me to court?. They have no real proof, only both their words against yours (losing situation). Don´t give them a friggin´ dime.
In reply to: 3) Is an apology in order? The only thing I really thought I shouldn’t have done was to leave them in the park. Our mutual friend said they met some girls from a nearby city and caught a ride home. One of them is even dating one of the girls now.. You apologize to them?? Your a better man than me for even considering it. You feel bad about leaving them in the goddam park???? Come on! I´d have left them stranded in the middle of the wall if I´d have had the chance.
In reply to: 4) Should I ever try a wall again? It was the worst experience of my life, but I think that was mostly the company, not the actual climbing. Sure you should. Just because you had a (really) bad experience with 2 a-holes, doesn´t mean you should forgoe the immense sense of accomplishment that completing a big wall gives you...
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wolfeman
Nov 2, 2005, 3:47 AM
Post #8 of 74
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Registered: Aug 31, 2003
Posts: 78
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Welcome to big wall. That initiation is more of a hazing, IMO. You were very unfortunate, and those a**hole shouldn't get any kind of recompense from you. You paid your dues. Check with some other folks who have climbed with your future wall partners. Great story, though!!
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uncasid
Nov 2, 2005, 3:54 AM
Post #9 of 74
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Registered: Apr 21, 2004
Posts: 79
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It had nothing to do with them being "nice enough". It was all about him being a bitch. Don't pay them a dime, don't apologize, and most of all, don't feel you are in the wrong!! The whole time reading it I was wondering when you were going to man up. I am glad you did!
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vegastradguy
Nov 2, 2005, 4:06 AM
Post #10 of 74
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Registered: Aug 28, 2002
Posts: 5919
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dude, you should have bailed on them when they started asking you to pay for all the food- maybe even before that. what a pair of assholes....sheesh- i cant believe you actually drove to Zion and went up on a wall with them. as to paying them anything- i wouldnt pay them a dime. do you really think those two can afford a lawyer? and yes, you can climb a bigwall. but i'd recommend finding a kind partner who doesnt treat you like a piece of dogshit on his shoe. and what route were you doing that they would send you up with a rack of pins?
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alpinerock
Nov 2, 2005, 4:09 AM
Post #11 of 74
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Registered: May 17, 2003
Posts: 600
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appropiate title, don't give them a dime if they try to sue, counter-sue for damages... although neither claims will probably hold up in court.
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erin
Nov 2, 2005, 4:17 AM
Post #12 of 74
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Registered: Jul 27, 2005
Posts: 149
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In reply to: I was a little leery... I wish I would have turned around and just drove home right there...At about this time, I think I was starting to realize they were complete idiots... Right now I had to decide whether I wanted to stick with this climb or tell them to go and screw themselves... Yikes, that could rip out any second...I was shamed into doing what all the voices in my head were screaming at me to refuse to do...Once again I was shamed into doing what I didn’t want to do. Because after all, they knew a girl whose first aid lead was an A4 in the dark... Before this trip, I had truly believed myself past peer pressure. Now I being belittled at an elementary school level and falling for it. These guys sound like A-holes and you shouldn't pay them a dime. HOWEVER....This is a great way to get yourself KILLED. Don't ignore your gut in life and death situations...not a good habit to get into!
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wzrdgandalf
Nov 2, 2005, 4:22 AM
Post #13 of 74
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Registered: Nov 1, 2004
Posts: 261
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Wow, id like them to post their side of the story. From listening to what you have to say though it seems like you shouldnt be obligated to pay for the stuff if it equals the amount they owe you for gas and the food. I dont know if it was the coolest thing for you to throw the hammers, but you were probably caught up in the moment. It sounds like you had one hell of a time though, hopefully you will get a better chance to get on a big wall.
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zoratao
Nov 2, 2005, 4:42 AM
Post #14 of 74
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Registered: Feb 25, 2005
Posts: 51
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I am a pretty rude person but not to the extent of your friends. I would think that paying for their gear is unecessary. Just keep climbing.
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climbingaggie03
Nov 2, 2005, 5:00 AM
Post #15 of 74
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Registered: Mar 18, 2004
Posts: 1173
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wow, sounds intense, I've got to get a spare key for my car. Just in case
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bmxer
Nov 2, 2005, 5:35 AM
Post #16 of 74
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Registered: Feb 13, 2005
Posts: 220
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dude they shit in your bag; I would kick their ass.
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florissantti
Nov 2, 2005, 7:02 AM
Post #17 of 74
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Registered: Jun 21, 2005
Posts: 24
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After reading this, I can't help but say that these two are beyond jerks, they are outright sociopaths. That is not rational behaviour. You owe them nothing, not even an apology. As for climbing, I can see how you would be apprehensive about climbing, especially walls, in the future, but you have to remember, most people are not like that at all. Wow, I'm still floored. As others have said, I would have been very suspicious during the phone conversations, and ready to cancel during the food episode. I think that the comment to the officer would have made me say "get out of my vehicle. now."
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singin_rocker
Nov 2, 2005, 7:46 AM
Post #18 of 74
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Registered: Feb 12, 2005
Posts: 75
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Wow. I'm not sure if I should believe everything you've written, but either way it sounds like you already know who's in the wrong. You made several wrong turns before you even started climbing. There were several mistakes that I don't think you'll be making again. Even more important than a couple of jerks questioning your masculinity and bullying you around is the fact that you finally made the decisions to put yourself in danger. That doesn't lessen the blame on them, but in the end it comes down to your own decisions. Hey, that tuna thing... I feel for you. Some might argue that you were stupid there but it happens to the best of us. Forgive me if I say I would have paid to see it. I'm glad they got some fish and chips too. Crapping in your bag? Unbelieveable. 2 words: Subhuman behavior. Don't stoop to it. I'm glad your alive and have all the body parts you started the trip with. I just hope you learn in a positive way from this and don't just ditch climbing or something because of it. That would be unfortunate. Waylan
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slablizard
Nov 2, 2005, 8:23 AM
Post #19 of 74
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Registered: Oct 13, 2003
Posts: 5558
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Hm. Tough experience! I liked the read. 1) Should I pay them for the gear we left? They never paid me for the gas we used on the way down, the food I bought, and they helped ruin my gear which I left. I heard from a mutual friend that they took the gear home, cleaned it up and sold it on ebay. No. 2) They claim I ruined two ledges and two expensive sleeping bags and various other articles of nylon equipment even though my stuff wasn’t really ruined and I was a lot closer to the exploding tuna can than they were. Should I pay them thousands of dollars for all the damaged gear? What if they threaten to take me to court? They won't. 3) Is an apology in order? The only thing I really thought I shouldn’t have done was to leave them in the park. Our mutual friend said they met some girls from a nearby city and caught a ride home. One of them is even dating one of the girls now. Apology for what? 4) Should I ever try a wall again? It was the worst experience of my life, but I think that was mostly the company, not the actual climbing. If you liked it...Yes!
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maxdacat
Nov 2, 2005, 10:23 AM
Post #20 of 74
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Registered: Sep 10, 2004
Posts: 142
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great story mate.....it just sounds so unbelievable but no-one would go and make that up.....are you not slightly worried about recriminations? they have your car key and they like guns 8+(
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singin_rocker
Nov 2, 2005, 11:01 AM
Post #21 of 74
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Registered: Feb 12, 2005
Posts: 75
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Cripes. They DO have your car key. Better act fast before they poop on something else. Waylan :shock:
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deltav
Nov 2, 2005, 12:51 PM
Post #22 of 74
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Registered: Sep 29, 2005
Posts: 597
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It's a shame that there are people like that in this world. And talk about giving climbers a bad name! I know some people who know some people that can "off" 'em for ya :)
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overlord
Nov 2, 2005, 12:54 PM
Post #23 of 74
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Registered: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 14120
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what morons. dont pay them a thing. in fact, from now on totally ignore them and their women that were so desperate after a night with them that they turned lesbian.
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darkstar
Nov 2, 2005, 1:03 PM
Post #24 of 74
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Registered: Mar 15, 2004
Posts: 160
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That is the funnist thing i have ever read in regards to climbing . Dude you even blow John Long away . Im LMFAO. Thanx for a good laugh on on cool mornng . Dark
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keinangst
Nov 2, 2005, 1:35 PM
Post #25 of 74
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Registered: Apr 1, 2003
Posts: 1408
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I didn't want to say this initially, but given you still have ONE whole post on the site, it reaffirms this comment: T5 And that's the highest troll rating I've ever given out. Don't flatter yourself, though, it was more for the sheer effort than for creativity. Next time, try a little more sublety with your characterization, you pushed a little too hard early on. But still a funny read :D In the rare chance that this might be true, you, sir, and an idiot for going with them. How many red flags do you need?
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