Tactical Ropes Day Scheduled - Portland - April 23rd

[vader]

I have asolutely no rope experience, but am very interested in this idea. would I be totally out of my element if I were to come down and participate? if I had to pick a day the 24 would work granted I'd be driving down from Seattle.

[bkb0000]

the only prerequisite is that you be in decent physical condition with decent to good upper body strength. getting down is easy... getting back to the top is likely what most American men would consider "strenuous." furthermore, backing out over a cliff can be, for people who are not used to such things, terrifying. your adrenaline WILL surge, your heart rate WILL spike... if you have any kind of blood pressure or heart problem, this probably isn't a great activity for you.

and the only OTHER prerequisite is a small quantity of required bare-minimum gear, which i will list with estimated costs and recommended places to buy this evening.

anybody and everybody that has those two covered is welcome.

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i'm gonna have to put this in here at some point, so i might as well do it now- putting all your body weight on gear dozens of feet above a rocky death is not something to take lightly. there is a risk of injury or death, engaging in this activity, and you must recognize this before you come out. the gear and methods we'll be using are sound- so long as you follow protocol and use quality gear, you will likely survive the day unscathed... but understand the inherent degree of danger associated with deliberately dangling yourself above heights the human body is not designed to sustain drops from. i am not a rappel instructor, and so far, as far as i know, there will not be any rappel instructors present.

if anybody has any questions or concerns, feel free to post them, or PM me.

[tradja]

it occurs to me that i have surgery scheduled for the 27th of April and will be in rehab for 6-8 weeks after that... so we should probably get this thing scheduled ASAP.

why don't we just go ahead and schedule it for the weekend prior? April 23rd or 24th. whats better you for guys, sat or sun?

Either day is good for me. Good luck with your surgery!

[bkb0000]

I have asolutely no rope experience, but am very interested in this idea. would I be totally out of my element if I were to come down and participate? if I had to pick a day the 24 would work granted I'd be driving down from Seattle.

i sort of missed the direct question... so to answer, specifically, you'll definitely be out of your element, but that's half the point. are you afraid of heights? you won't be by the time we're done.

[bkb0000]

well... looks like Easter had to go and be on the 24th. uncanny how that happens.

so the event is scheduled for the 23rd, unless it being easter weekend is gonna prevent everyone from coming out.

let me know. i wanna get a firm head count. it doesn't sound like there's huge interest, but i think we should probably limit it to no more than 7...?, for safety reasons.

[reiswigt]

Would love to come, but that weekend is out for me traveling. Have fun and be safe!

[bkb0000]

i found the most kick-ass spot anybody could ask for tonight.. the only way it could be any better would be if it was longer. as it is, i eyeball estimate it at 40-50 feet. plenty good for our purposes. excellent top access, straight wall down, nice landing, and stairs back up.

i know the guy that owns the building, he's pretty cool in general- but i'd say it's about a 50/50 chance he'll let us use it. i'm sure everybody would have to sign liability waivers... but gunslingers like us are used to that. cross your fingies... gonna ask him tomorrow. hell... he's old, but maybe he'll even want to join us.

[bkb0000]

so who's in on the 23rd of April for sure? tradja, still down? titleist? t-bone? where my dawgs at?

[bkb0000]

this is a premature post.... but i'm too excited to not post something

i just got off the phone with the guy that owns the building, and it sounds like we're gonna be able to work something out. just so happens, the roof of the building in question has leaks- just so happens, i have almost a decade of construction experience- mostly in roofing.

HAH!

he's gonna get back to me probably this afternoon with a ye or nay... has to run it buy the "boss" first (wife).

cross your fingers... if we get the OK on this, it's gonna be one bad ass day on the ropes.

[tradja]

so who's in on the 23rd of April for sure? tradja, still down? titleist? t-bone? where my dawgs at?

Sorry for the delay. I've been at Magpul classes the past 6 days and am camping, with only sporadic wifi access on a flaky iPod Touch. I'm in for 23 April. The bldg sounds great, thanks for sourcing a great venue!

I'm driving from Bend and anyone along the way is welcome to carpool. I will bring the meager gear I listed above.