Advice for a female climber that wants to dirt bag it on her own?

CJC wrote:as would any privileged white male in america

Indeed!

The troll is awesome btw...

NYClimber wrote: It's gotten like that in many places today sadly. Let's see - Arias kills her BF brutally in AZ. The Joker kills a shitload of people minding their own business in a movie theater in CO. Lanza kills a bunch of kids in a school in CT. It's just just in NY folks...it's all over the USA today. My point was just - be careful. If not - hey - go for it then! It's your life. Take the plunge!

I think it would benefit you if you allow yourself to develop a solid understanding of the availability heuristic

Also, I think your experiences working with populations that already have above average incidences of violence and criminality has contributed to your skewed perceptions of how risky and dangerous the average day to day life in the U.S. actually is.

To the OP:

I think S Denny, cded, and APBT1976 hit the nail on the head. You only have one life. Once it's gone - that's it. Go out there and LIVE! Many decades from now, when you look back, you do not want to regret that you allowed fear to keep you from enjoying your life.

Rob Gordon also makes some good points. Don't make stupid poorly-informed and dangerously ignorant choices, like that 21-year old Canadian girl who ended up dead in a water tank atop a sketchy L.A. hotel.

Be aware of your situation and surroundings. You do it when you're rock climbing. Don't forget to apply it to other areas of your life as well.

Believing in bar graphs over firsthand knowledge is fox like isnt it? Name a jail or prison in the good ole USA that isnt overflowing. They let guys out early now for violent crimes. See any correlation?

This whole "buy a gun for your climbing trip or certainly die" advice is ridiculous. The OP is far more likely to die while climbing from a fuck-up then she is from some random act of crime, unless she likes to sleep alone in her car the middle of Harlem. I have walked alone through combat zones next to Iran without feeling the need to carry a firearm. Seriously, when is the last time someone posted on MP about being raped while on a climbing trip? It doesn’t occur with alarming frequency.

But say she did buy a firearm. Let's also say that some random stranger was walking behind her at night looking to check her out, and she pulls the gun in fear that he is going to injure her even though he has no intention of doing so? Then she goes to prison for a very long time. There is a difference between owning a gun and knowing how to use it. Military and police personal receive continuous, career-long training regarding firearms for a reason. I suspect buying a gun without expert knowledge on how to use it is far more likely to put you in prison for pulling it when you shouldn’t then it is likely to make the difference in saving your life. The police do not fuck around with gun cases. If you shoot someone the police is going to ask themselves, "was the firearm use absolutely, positively the only option." If the answer is no, you will need a lawyer.

In short, dont buy a gun. If you do buy a gun, don’t pull the gun unless someone is trying to kill or rape you, and if you pull the gun, dont fire unless it is the only option to keep you alive.

Fall Guy wrote:Believing in bar graphs over firsthand knowledge is fox like isnt it?

So we're supposed to believe your anecdotal experiences and bald assertions over FBI crime statistics? I'm sorry if you live in a place that been going to shit, but that's not indicative of crime rates in the United States in general over the past few decades, as shown upthread. Care to show any reputable source that can back you up? Or perhaps you could tell me how the sources I've cited are wrong? Also, there isn't a single bar chart on this thread.

Fall Guy wrote:Name a jail or prison in the good ole USA that isnt overflowing.

Burden of proof is not on me to disprove your assertion. I'll show you why: "Prove there isn't an invisible dragon sitting next to me right now."

I'll help you out; to take your assertion seriously we'll need something more than "I made a claim without backing it up, so disprove it."

Hell, ya know what... I'll play just this once. Let's Google "correctional facility under capacity" together and see what the top hit gives us. Looks like Pontiac Correctional Facility in Central Illinois is under capacity.

Fall Guy wrote:They let guys out early now for violent crimes. See any correlation?

You say they do it "now," which would imply that they didn't do that before. Care to show any evidence that this practice is new? While you're at it, care to show any reputable source that has shown this correlation you speak of? I'd be interested to see it since apparently the FBI does not, as their crime statistics do not support your assertion.

Fall Guy wrote:Believing in bar graphs over firsthand knowledge is fox like isnt it? Name a jail or prison in the good ole USA that isnt overflowing. They let guys out early now for violent crimes. See any correlation?

Here's my theory on the prison subject: it is too easy! In Russia there are workcamps, and only extremely dangerous criminals get locked up. Pay Canada to "rent" some of the bush and create rehabilitation through physical labor camps. Apply the profits to the new revamped health care system. Each inmate gets a trade and a transition into society job upon release.

?? OK, let's see where we are now..idea was to help prep for a first road trip to climb,and we are now covering Russian prisons and health care. Seems like we're right on track for helping her out.

the intrawebs just gives so much good and practical advice ;)

Woodchuck ATC wrote:?? OK, let's see where we are now..idea was to help prep for a first road trip to climb,and we are now covering Russian prisons and health care. Seems like we're right on track for helping her out.

Woodchuck, first theres no ' her'. Ok how many young college grads do you know who complain about corporate world and wanna go dirtbag? Many. How many actually do it ? Less than 1%..
"she" at best is a not so used to the grind of life new age hippy.

youtube.com/watch?v=c2dwG3L…

there's your shopping list.

Holy shit this topic is a mess.

Dirt bagging isn't that hard and no more dangerous than walking home at night by yourself. Is it dangerous? Yes, but don't be a pussy. She probably isnt going to be camping in central Detroit.

I dirt bagged for awhile. Most girls could easily beat me up...like embarrassingly easy. Never had a problem. Met awesome people and had a great time.

I'd buy an AK 47 if I ever left home!

Lol, after living in Utah for almost 20 years I was way out of touch with reality myself. I actually believed the press and all the silly charts and pie graphs they come up with, then I voted for Obama only to see him continue to fuck up the country we are mostly proud of. All for greed and the next election. Monsanto owns him like a lil bitch as well as the corporate fuckers who are still living large while they got bailed out by US. You wanna believe FBI stats thats your own problem.

Believe me, stats are fudged in a big way for votes.

Have any of you noticed that we have been in a MAJOR recession since GWB took us to war? what ALWAYS happens in depressions/recessions? crime???

cops are not even busting repeat criminals anymore cause they know there is no room at the jail. google that and see what you come up with!

Liberty wrote: Woodchuck, first theres no ' her'. Ok how many young college grads do you know who complain about corporate world and wanna go dirtbag? Many. How many actually do it ? Less than 1%.. "she" at best is a not so used to the grind of life new age hippy.

?? So Amber, the author of this thread, isn't a 'her' working on her first big climbing road trip? Then I'm lost for sure.....

Liberty wrote: Here's my theory on the prison subject: it is too easy! In Russia there are workcamps, and only extremely dangerous criminals get locked up. Pay Canada to "rent" some of the bush and create rehabilitation through physical labor camps. Apply the profits to the new revamped health care system. Each inmate gets a trade and a transition into society job upon release.

its just a political buildup to creating massive prisons. the only reason we stopped making the fuk bums work in prison is because of greedy bastards who started arresting too many turds for free labor.

OBAMA= change, LOL.

I saw a bumpersticker on some Massholes truck on the way back from JFK tonight that said "keep working, millions on welfare depend on you"

guess what? its true!

here is another stat for the stat believers to look up- how many felons in the USA come from households on welfare?

Rob Gordon wrote:I'm pretty damn far from a Fox News kinda guy, but it does no good to go blindly into the night. It's like roping up on a 5.5. I'm not going to fall, so why should I do it? Because you never know. A female traveling alone is putting her faith in other people's goodness. That's not a great decision because people are inherently selfish and some people are pretty fucking evil on top of that. Just cause some people want the world to be this nice happy place, and they practice yoga and putting out good vibes, doesn't make it so. That stuff is great for making yourself feel good, but ignoring danger, evil, or unpleasantries does not make them disappear.

I agree with Rob - and that was my point. I was just making a point that - if you choose to do that - be smart about it and be careful. Even pepper spray in your car or on you isn't a bad deal. Not everyone is this world has good intentions! if they did - I wouldn't have seen many of them wind up in the ER or as a EMT when I worked in those 2 sectors of healthcare!

Be smart - be safe - and have fun still.

John Marsella wrote: I think that Elena is calling Amber out as a troll. If this is true, I am sure the author is doing a dance of evil glee at how worked up she got everyone over Guns and Obama and Welfare and "they rapin' err-body out here."

If anyone knows about trolls, it's Elena.

To actually answer the original question....

girl-in-a-van.blogspot.com/

vanabode.com/camp/single-wo…

The thing about Ms. Stone is that many interesting discussions have come from the random troll threads he's created. I guess I don't mind his troll threads too much, as someone might actually benefit from his stuff. So if this is just another Ms. Stone alt starting a flame war, so what? Maybe some other early-20's woman is looking to have a life-changing experience and someone's comment helps her make that happen. And if the OP and original question are legit, then hopefully this young lady got a couple good bits of advice to help her out.

As far as the tangents are concerned, when people say patently incorrect things, such as "... crime is at an all time high and rising. mass killings at an all time high..." Someone needs to put it into perspective with actual evidence from a solid source, especially when such statements are coupled with advice to get a handgun based on patently false assertions. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-gun, as I own several guns myself. However, if someone is giving advice to get a handgun for protection from a mass shooting event, while wandering the wilderness and hanging out at random campgrounds, that's just ridiculous and needs to get challenged.

Anyway, Amber, I'm sorry if I contributed to the thread derailment. I just don't want someone to buy a gun out of unsubstantiated fear and hyperbole. My advice, as someone who is not female, nor is in their early twenties, is to have your adventures and your enjoy life. Be smart about situations you get yourself into, and don't be afraid to leave a situation at the cost of seeming rude. Please try to keep health insurance, as you are engaging in a risky activity and debt from a medical issue can haunt you for the rest of your life.

Fall Guy wrote:I'd buy an AK 47 if I ever left home!

Yeah, because nothing works better for close-quarters self-defense than a rifle... The extent of paranoia you are experiencing is quite possibly in the realm of mental illness. Luckily, thanks to the Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010, it is now much easier for you to gain access to the mental healthcare you need to deal with this terrible affliction. Godspeed.

Fall Guy wrote:You wanna believe FBI stats thats your own problem.

LOL. Who needs that when your gut tells you something different?