Pics of places that look like places from the films, or are just nice. [2]

Im glad I asked now !

OK I'm back. You know this is a lot harder to write down than I'd thought.

I climbed back down from the cliff and started slowly working my way back down the snowfield, trying to stay in the steps I'd made climbing up. This is when I first realized I was shivering. I only had my felt hat, wool shirt, T-shirt and jeans. No gloves, so I'd wrapped bandanas around my hands, but my fingers were still starting to go numb. (Also I might have been just a little afraid.) I felt as alone as if I were on the moon.

It's always harder to place your feet when your decending than when climbing. I don't remember where I lost my path, but it was inevitable since I hadn't bothered to mark it.

I think I must have come to a pitch without steps. At any rate at some point I started glacading down the steeper faces, using one of my wooden stakes to arrest my descent like I would have used the pick of an ice axe if I'd been fortunate enough to have one.

I was aiming for a small stand of pine trees that stuck out of the snow just before the snow turned to rock. It seemed like a good idea, if everything else went bad, to crash into wood first rather than rocks. (I was finally thinking clearly. Choosing the best of the very poor options I'd left myself. )

All seemed to be going well. I was starting to think I might live after all! Then, while I was sliding down a particularly steep pitch, my stick broke off in my hands.

Now I was in a free-fall slide, moving at a speed I can't even guess. I pressed my body against the snow and ice, clawing with my hands and chin to try to keep myself sliding feet-first. The one thing I still had going for me was that before the stick broke I had aligned myself directly above the trees, but at the speed I was going it was going to be like a car wreck without the car. I knew I was dead then.

Then the angels stepped in. Just above the stand of trees there was a patch of wild huckleberry bushes sticking out of the snow. As I slid into them they spun me, but they also slowed me down. Better yet I was able to grab some of them with my hands as they flew by. They ripped up my hands, but fortunately they were already numb, and besides, with the amount of adrenaline in me at that moment I don't think pain even registered.

With the help of the huckleberries I was able to get oriented back to feet-first and slow to under 10 mph, which is an entirely sane speed to crash into a pine tree under the circumstances! I can't begin to describe my elation!

....Until suddenly the Bottom dropped out of the World and I found myself in true free-fall.

It turned out that the blueberries were growing on the top of a cliff like the one I'd tried to climb earlier, but this one was completely buried in snow. Underneath the surface the snow had shifted and melted away from the rock face, leaving a narrow crevasse about 20 feet deep between the rock and the snowfield, covered by the snow bridge which I'd just broken and fallen through.

I found myself wedged upside down between the rock and the snow about 15 ft down. The light as it came through the snowfield was an uncanny blue. A small hole of daylight was shining in from the hole I'd made. I had absolutely no idea at this point whether I was dead or alive.

But I had to do something. I did a body check and was amazed to find no broken bones. So I climbed down another 5 feet or so to the floor where my hat and glasses were half buried in the snow I'd dislodged. Then I started climbing with my back pressed against the ice, and with hands and feet finding handholds or pressing against the rock like ascending a chimney.

Even later that day I couldn't remember how I'd managed to drag my body out of the hole at the top. It probably wasn't safe or pretty but it clearly worked.

I bandaged myself as best I could with the bandanas, cut a walking stick and started hobbling down off the mountain. When I got to the river I washed up a bit. I felt like hammered shit, but except for a few rips in my clothes, some bruises and abrasions I didn't look too bad unless you looked at my hands. They were shredded. Ugly!

So I walked into camp, where I think Dan was just deciding to drive away leave both me and the woman 30 miles from civilization. My head was amazingly clear now. Everything was in clear perspective.

I explained to them both that nobody was going to get left anywhere. We hiked in silence back to the car. Then a very awkward car ride back to civilization, a hot shower and a long nap.

In some ways I really miss my 20's. In some ways I really don't!

thats an amazing story. Being down that crevasse must have been the worst. I bet adrenalin got you out, if you had cramped up and got too cold that would have been it. I am so glad you got out, who would have given us rude veggies to goggle at?

talking of icy horrors hows the blizzard Halfy? I hope its not too bad where you are?

Well, David, you could have played up the woman angle more. It sounded like you made a very mature decision to exit a social situation (the direction you took is another matter entirely). Women do not lend themselves to guys making mature social decisions, so I suspect you shortchanged us somewhere.

I was gonna tell a story of how a woman got me to go running up and down a mountain wearing short pants and a tshirt in chilly weather, 25 mph winds, and heavy rain, but it just doesn't match up to your near loss of life so I shall demur.

Blizzard? All I see is beautiful blowing snow. I had plans to go out to dinner with a pack of friends in a few hours (we bought a black winter truffle to shave over things), but they all cancelled out of fear of what's to come. Frickin' pansies. I'm going anyway just so I can send them taunting emails from my phone. I really am put out with them.

I was gonna tell a story of how a woman got me to go running up and down a mountain wearing short pants and a tshirt in chilly weather, 25 mph winds, and heavy rain, but it just doesn't match up to your near loss of life so I shall demur.

Was she your gym/P.E. teacher?

No, in fact she was trying to extricate herself from the whole situation but it backfired on her.

Wow David ! that was one hair raising tale ! glad you got out reasonably ok, Oh Master of The Curious Veg !

I would stay at home if I were you Halfy, it looks like a monster blizzard to me.

halfwise wrote:Well, David, you could have played up the woman angle more. It sounded like you made a very mature decision to exit a social situation (the direction you took is another matter entirely). Women do not lend themselves to guys making mature social decisions, so I suspect you shortchanged us somewhere.

I'm guilty as charged. Yes, there was plenty of drama on both ends of the story that got edited to focus on my stupidity.

I was gonna tell a story of how a woman got me to go running up and down a mountain wearing short pants and a tshirt in chilly weather, 25 mph winds, and heavy rain, but it just doesn't match up to your near loss of life so I shall demur.

I posted too soon!

well if he survives the snow blizzard Halfy can tell us about it. maybe he will have a scary tale about getting blown into a delicatessen by some wind and having to eat all the stores of truffles to survive.

omg David.. the situation must have been really bad cus that's insane, you almost got urself killed!

Mrs Figg wrote:well if he survives the snow blizzard Halfy can tell us about it. maybe he will have a scary tale about getting blown into a delicatessen by some wind and having to eat all the stores of truffles to survive.

No, I went out to where we planned to go, ordered a dish and glass of wine, took a picture and sent it to the pansy collection. I flippin' told them the major part of the storm would miss us, but does anyone listen to the professional research meteorologist with a side specialty in storm tracking? No, nobody listens to the professional research meteorologist with a side specialty in storm tracking. Humph. Tomorrow I'll tell them I know this little Norwegian chick who would laugh her ass off at them.

Anyway, I guess I should tell the story which pales in comparison to Dave's. I have a feeling I may have told it already, but I've told it to so many I can't keep track.

Anyway, I'm at this party with a bunch of people my own age, meaning they are nearly all married except for me and Dave. And young alluring Lauren. One might suspect that Dave and I spent much of our time trying to make an impression on young alluring Lauren, and one would be right.

Now Dave is one of these guys who gets up and bicycles 30 miles, then wipes himself off and goes running up a mountain. For fun, not because anyone is chasing him. Dave is somewhat insane. So anyway, He finds out that Lauren did a little bit of running, so his flirtatious angle is to try to convince her to do this thing called the Hyner Challenge.

Hyner View is a scenic overlook that us hang glider folks fly off of, it has a wall that all the tourists lean over to watch, hence we often refer to it as Hynie view. But of course we are not the only ones with a stake in the mountain, and a running club does this annual event where people run up and down 3 different sides of the mountain, about 15 miles in all. Now in Colorado one might refer to this place as a hill (1300 feet), but it's still a 45 minute climb one way to get to the top. So it's a significant course.

Lauren of course had no intention of participating in the Hyner challenge. So her escape plan was to say: "Okay, I'll do it if HE does it", pointing to ME. She was expecting me to say "Hell no, I ain't doing that!", which simply goes to prove how little she understands male psychology.

There may be a number of readers on this forum who are not completely familiar with male psychology. The particular trait I'm discussing at it's base has nothing to do with women. If one male offers a physical challenge to another male, if there's any reasonable chance of it being doable, odds are he'll accept it if the challenge is offered in the proper testosterone-infused manner. The stupider the physical challenge, the more likely it is to be accepted. The presence of any form of audience of course raises the stakes and makes it that much harder to refuse.

If the audience includes an alluring young female, you may as well bet your life savings the guy can't pogo stick to the moon, because there is no possible way your target can refuse. Women may have this mistaken belief that the main power they hold over men is sexual, but that pales in comparison to the ability to make us accept stupid challenges by their mere presence.

As for me, I had never run more than a city block since middle school. I'm in my late 40's. Having me do the Hyner challenge was the equivalent of asking me to pogo stick to the moon, but not only was the challenge issued in the presence of an alluring young female, it was issued by the alluring young female. Fate sealed.

So Dave, I and Lauren were slated to do the Hyner Challenge in a few months. Men have a sort of honer code about these things; young women have no sense of honer whatsoever. Lauren was no dummy, and worked things out on her fingers and realized that if she did the Hyner challenge, it meant she would have to spend the weekend with me and Dave. Immediately she started coming up with excuses.

The first one was that she had never run that kind of distance before. Well, I had never run more than a quarter mile since, well, before she was born. That excuse wasn't gonna wash. Then she developed a mysterious knee injury while skiing under circumstances that she claimed was too boring to describe. In response Dave twisted his ankle two weeks before the event and simply planned to ice it down before running. Finally she just dug in her heels and refused to respond. Exit Lauren.

Well, I started running for the first time in my life in preparation for this thing. I live on the seventh floor and started running up and down the stairs, and running along the Hudson river. No plans to be able to run the whole thing, but rather a combination of running and walking. My only goal was to be able to run far enough that the person behind me wouldn't be able to see me both start and stop. I worked up to a mile, and it was enough for me.

A few days before the event I started paying attention to the weather. It was predicted to be 40 F (about 4 C), 20-25 mph winds (30-40 km/hr), and up to 2 inches of rain. I figured I finally had a valid excuse.

I emailed Dave and described the conditions and my uncertainty, expecting that he'd respond with "yeah, you're right, that's probably not a good idea and we should cancel".

His response? "It's gonna be EPIC!!"

There is no escape from the 'epic' assessment. Not if you're a guy: you may as well buy a baby rattle. So i was doing it.

Dave recommended I wear shorts and a T-shirt.

But he was right. What I learned is that so long as you keep moving, nothing can touch you. Sleet, thunder, it all bounces off you like a greek god. It was exhilarating.

Until my legs stiffened up 2 miles from the end. I was like Igor, with posts for legs. As soon as I couldn't move fast any more the conditions caught up to me, and I was shivering like death. and I had to post leg it all the way down the mountain and across a long bridge to the finish line.

It's hard going downhill with posts for legs. But the bridge was the worst: the valley was funneling the cold wind so it nearly knocked you over, and the rain chose this time to hit it's maximum. I was stumbling across like a broken robot, clutching my body, feeling close to death. A woman stopped and gave me her mylar thermal blanket, which too me felt as good as a warm shower. I stumbled across the finish line and shivered inside for the next half hour.

Driving home I swore I would never do it again. Ever try to operate a clutch with stiff legs? But the next morning I woke up feeling great and decided I had to do it again. I missed last year, but am signed up for this year, in April.

Women may have this mistaken belief that the main power they hold over men is sexual, but that pales in comparison to the ability to make us accept stupid challenges by their mere presence.

Truer words were never spoken!

May I ask if your persistence after the point was proved is inspired by typical male obstinacy, or by the continued influence of alluring females? (Recognizing that it's often hard to differentiate. )

Mrs Figg wrote:thats an amazing story. Being down that crevasse must have been the worst.

You know, that's an interesting question. I've told this story several times, but I've never written it out and then read it back before, so I'm getting new insights.

Really being inside the crevasse was not scary at all. I'm sure that's partly because of the adrenaline, but mostly because it was clear what I needed to do, Climb! Also it was beautiful and surreal, I wasn't going 50mph and so I had some time to think. I actually remember it as kind of restful, which is probably dangerous in it's own way.

As I recall the scariest part by far was when I first looked back and saw 1000 feet of vertical snow and 1000 feet of scree without a plan or other options. As soon as I had worked out a plan it was OK again.

The second scariest was when the stick broke and I was again left without any real options. For me I guess, as long as I've got a fight or flight option, the fear is manageable.

Tomorrow I'll tell them I know this little Norwegian chick who would laugh her ass off at them

you call that snow

"There may be a number of readers on this forum who are not completely familiar with male psychology."
no clue. give me a hint.

"Fate sealed."

"His response? "It's gonna be EPIC!!"
I know the feeling.


"It's hard going downhill with posts for legs".
sorry shouldnt laugh.


that was brilliant.

Dave that was seriously dangerous stuff. I would have nightmares about being down that crevasse.

That was beautifully told Halfwise ! I actually enjoyed reading both yours & Davids tales. Your descriptions were perfect of the male psyche & of the self afflicted trauma, just over pride eh ? Are we so like the birds & animals in the wild ? The males often do what looks like daft things,(crazy dancing) just to attract the girls, & how many get snubbed ? Im glad I read this, as I now feel clearer in my mind on how a male "ticks". Men say they dont understand women, I can agree to part of that ! (I dont often know myself,so what hope have you got !), But, Im at a loss when it comes to men ?!

I think the problem for women when they try to suss out men is you over complicate us. We are really very, very simple.

David H wrote:

Women may have this mistaken belief that the main power they hold over men is sexual, but that pales in comparison to the ability to make us accept stupid challenges by their mere presence.

Truer words were never spoken!

May I ask if your persistence after the point was proved is inspired by typical male obstinacy, or by the continued influence of alluring females? (Recognizing that it's often hard to differentiate. )

No more need for females to be involved. Having accepted the challenge, and cognizant of the witnesses involved, pure honor and duty to the male code of stupid requires the task to be carried out.

Pettytyrant101 wrote:I think the problem for women when they try to suss out men is you over complicate us. We are really very, very simple.

I've made this point before trying to educate Norc, I think it was in the quantum thread actually.

At least in the sphere of social affairs, we just don't have the intellectual capacity to be complicated.

Fist thunk!