happy birthday Enzo

my baby boy is 5 years old today. i thank you for everyday you give me. you have brought us more than you know and of course more than you could ever understand.
happy birthday littlemanz.

again, full circle

i was one of the fortunate ones who grew up with parents who loved the outdoors. every weekend we were out camping, climbing, skiing, etc.
here is my mom, who used to shred the rocks back in the 70s with my dad. after watching her today i realized where i got my amazing footwork. today my sister made her way into the gym for the first time since the original gym way back when. i love the holidays for this reason. my family comes home.

Nalle

Could Be Worse from Boulderkeskus on Vimeo.

my boy dino

MERRY CHRISTMAS

for most fans, this will be hillarious

Star Wars: Retold (By Someone Who Hasn't Seen It)

Atom.com: Funny Videos | Spoofs | Star Wars Fan Movie Champions

you know who doing you know what

CRUSHING

saturday nights

we all wish we were surfing, for real

if you are in Manhattan, check out my homeboy's shop
http://blog.saturdaysnyc.com/

chihuahuas looking for homes

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

my wife and I are so happy with our boys, we couldnt recommend this more. the best thing for your life is loving a chihuahua. http://www.adoptapet.com/pet-search-display?clan_id=1;clan_name=dog;country_code=US;current_page=1;end_number=50;family_id=36;family_name=Chihuahua;geo_range=100;geo_range_km=160;is_dog=1;is_family_specific=1;postal_code=98103;quote_filename=%2Fhome%2Fsap%2Fexternals%2Fproduction%2Fwaiting_page_quotes%2Ffamily_specific_dog_quotes%2F%2F1.html;sex=m;start_number=1;state_code=WA;tmpl=search_dogs_36

A few Vegan zones my wife and i frequent, check them out.

http://arayasplace.com/
dont really need to say much about this joint, everyone knows it and everyone loves it. go there.
http://www.hillsidequickie.com/
this place has some of the best greasy spoon food you can get.
http://www.bamboogarden.net/
oh my god i love it here. chicken balls, nuff said.
http://www.pizza-pi.net/
hadnt been here in a long time and went there the other night, it was wonderful. my wife cooks the best vegan pizza known to man, but these guys do a pretty good job for sure.
http://www.thkseattle.com/
we really enjoyed this zone when we went there. its not 100% vegan, but they did have some great vegan dishes and great service.
http://www.carmelita.net/
when we like to spend a little extra money on great food, we usually go to carmelita. i proposed to my wife here, table 25. they have done a great job catering to a vegan crowd with a high class dish.

Sidecar

http://www.sidecarforpigspeace.com/main/index.html
we do much of our shopping at the Sidecar vegan grocery. it is run and operated by many volunteer animal lovers here in the northwest. all profits go tohttp://pigspeace.org/main/index.htmlsanctuary for rescued pigs and other animals. stop in and check them out when you get a chance. it will blow your mind how much great food you will find.
it may just answer that question you want to ask your vegan friends before you ask it.

mighty O

http://www.mightyo.com/
i truly believe that if there was one food i could eat for the rest of my life it would be something from the mighty O donut shop. all vegan donuts and a great backing for the rights community.

remember who loves you

Last Minutes with ODEN from phos pictures on Vimeo.

where it all started

found this shot down at tacoma today. the original gym. where it all began. where i began taking this way too seriously. man those were good days. begging my dad to take us down there as much as possible. taking the bus after school and skating home in the dark after the session. loved that place.
mike smith, craig hadley, erik kubiak, will catlain, carl kayala, darryl cramer, erik thickston, dan cauthorn, rich, kevin newell, august welch, carmel schimmel. just a few of the folks i remember well from those days.
the 45, divots only.

tacoma vid and pics

spent the morning down at tacoma today. it is really starting to come together. pretty excited about whats going on. best of all was walking through the door and seeing an old friend brian doyle. brian is a hell of a routesetter and a great climber. years and years of experience from this guy. super psyched he is going to be a part of the crew. bret and i and brian set a few today and ryan was finishing up on a bunch of things. then comes in josh simonaux. he is doing the electrical for the gym. pretty rad to see the community really coming together. it really is getting a great vibe and i can only imagine how welcome it is going to be down in the tacoma area. i love seeing our community grow with such a positive attitude.
i also loved that there was a whole bunch of "new pour" pusher sets in urethane. revolution is doing a very limited run of these and ryan was one of the first to get in on it. i loved walking in and being able to use the classics like the sickle and the midnight lightning. not to mention the whole font set and granite set. i could use those every day all day.
overall, really great terrain and really great feel. the place is going to build some pretty special climbers. the walls are tall and you are going to have to man up a little for the big ones.

LOCKER for 1 more year!!!!! GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!

OUR PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED. THANK YOU JAKE! WE LOVE YOU!!!

tacoma gym. almost done.

the albino rhino, and fritz climbs team member blogs

http://bretjohnston.blogspot.com/
http://fritzclimbs.blogspot.com/

huge storm hits portland........um no it didnt. clubsport comp dec 12

once again our team has great support for its older members

portland today with mike helt and my quest to become the fattest man on the planet

i drove down to portland this morning to hang out with my good friend mike helt. we rode bikes around portland and did a tour of all the lovely vegan joints. in my december desire to become the fattest man on the planet, i felt it was necessary to get down to the portland vegan fare.
after riding around and doing some shopping, where we spent a good amount of time getting mike suited up at macy's (great sale, great suits right now), we headed to Voodoo doughnuts. i have heard tale of this place and had to sample. the pictures tell it all. holy crap. prolly 1000 calories each. cookies and peanut butter with chocolate. then the other one was fruit loops, frosting and cake. oh god, so good.
then we headed to Sweatpea vegan bakery. i got a couple cupcakes (mint chocolate, and maple). they were good, but nothing like the doughnuts. then we went to the Hungry Tiger too. i had a couple vegan corndogs and tater tots, and vegan ceaser salad, and vegan wontons, pumpkin style. i believe this was about 5000 calories. i dont feel that good right now, but i know this was worth it. soon i will be the fattest man on the planet, and it will be another success in my long list of successes ;)

dreamin'

safety check

since it hasnt been raining at all, i have been out on my bike most days. its nice to be riding again, in the middle of december. hence, the past couple bike videos.

HHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHAAHAHAH!!!!!

フェイキー to・・・ from K-SK on Vimeo.

full world cup schedule

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/fixtures?cc=5901&ver=us
pretty psyched for this summer.

DAWGS kill CAL bears

My mom and i went to the final game of the season today. i have been going to dawgs games since literally i was 3 weeks old. i never get tired of it and i always tear up when our boys come running out of the tunnel. i love sharing this with my mom.

this topped off a great season. a season of hope for the resurrection of Husky football. man we have had a few brutal years and this season started off with such a bang. we all thought that we would be in a bowl game for sure.
well, it didnt turn out that way. however, we did win the apple cup, and tonight, we killed #19 ranked Cal. i was looking at the guys next to me as we kept marching down the field and scoring. we all looked very confused. are we that good, or are they playing that bad? either way, we will take it. Jake Locker looked amazing. aguilar was bringing in pretty much anything that was thrown his way. great win.
cant wait for next year, i just hope Locker stays for another season.
One more year jake, make it happen.

our first real tree

for the past 6 or so years, my wife and I have had a plastic christmas tree. with the dogs, not a lot of space, and my hate for messy foliage, we have gone against a real tree.
a couple days ago, when my wife went to the gym, i rushed out and got a real tree. she came home to the smell of pine and tears welled in her eyes. i knew i had done good.
of course, the first night, the dogs pottied on it. but its worth it to see her so happy over what many of us see as little insignificant things. i guess its a feeling brought about by nostalgia, or maybe just the fact that she knew i was thinking about her and what it means to her.
whatever it is, i will try to keep finding it.

bremerton gym

i made it out to our bremerton gym today to check up with ross (head setter) and throw up a route. i was more than psyched on what i saw. i think this picture sums it up.
beautiful.
we are holding not only a local SCS onsight event here this spring, but we are also holding the regional. pretty psyched for the opportunity. ross has done a great job executing my vision and applying it to this gym. i have no doubt the the comps will run smooth and the setting with be fun and flawless.

good bye to old friends

my first car was an '82 volkswagen vanagon that my folks bought me back in high school. man i loved that thing. drove it up and down the coast a few times, up to the mountains more often than not, and then the motor caught fire. i should have known right then and there that this was a bad idea. volkswagen addiction. something about the "peoples car" that has always sucked me in.a couple vanagons and many others later.......
until this toyota truck i bought last month, i had never owned anything other than volkswagen or audi. last night i sold my passat wagon. this thing was huge for me. it was the first time i had owned a car that was relatively new. had power windows that worked most of the time. heated seats, etc. it was also the first one in years that i didnt spend a crap ton of money modifying, besides the $2200 in suspension and wheels i put on it.
i am sad to see her go, but i know i will move on and get something else sooner or later, maybe another bug. we still have the audi wagon, and the '78, so i dont feel totally naked.
here are a few of my past rides.

dorothy grey sackville west

one of my best friends in the world, kate bayley, had a baby yesterday.
welcome to the world grey. you will be loved

community

one thing i have always loved about the northwest is the sense of community that you feel. when i was little it was very apparent that the activities i got into were very much structured around a great support group with people who had the same likeness to wanting to be a part of that support group. skateboards, climbing, snowboards, it wasnt just the activity, it was the community and the people involved in the sport. the shops that supported your sport and in climbings case, the gyms that supported the sport and most importantly the community. the shops and gyms were the places where the community was built. i know, i for one can call on many of my best friends from all of these times in my life. there is an unreal connection with those who share the same passion as you.
take the climbing community for example. you can go pretty much anywhere in the world and find people who climb, and will climb with you, and will share many stories about climbing and the community. our gyms are a place to build that community. they are a place to give back to the community. we build climbers, and the strong sense of what it means to be climbers in our gyms in the northwest. i know many of the employees of these gyms and outdoor retail shops feel this way too.

i am disappointed when people forget what the word community means. especially in our climbing world. i am disappointed when folks forget what this is all about, forget what we all do this for in the first place. its about giving back, and building the future of our community while maintaining a good balance between us all.

try to remember what the community does for you, and how much support you get from the community. and try to remember how much support you get from a community that you have forgotten. and you will know how much support you get from a community that you ignore.