cokering.

If climbing boulders is bouldering, climbing buildings is buildering, climbing Jello sculptures is foodering (according to the late great Guy Edwards), then climbing giant stacks cocaine would be cokering. This week's pic is the Jan 14th, 2005 cover of Life magazine.

One could argue that those are stacks of coffee, but as the title alludes to, and as anyone who's ever watched an 80's movie could tell you, smuggling coke in coffee bags is standard Columbian modus operandi.

Click read more for bigger, although watermarked. (Blast you Getty images.)

Mike Robertson doesn't like putting things in Burma, and he's willing to climb buildings to prove it. Two years ago he climbed the Eiffel Tower to protest Total Oil's business operations in Burma (see the YouTube video), and yesterday he climbed Lloyd's of London to protest their underwriting in Burma.

Out of all the messages that builderers try to convey in their endeavours, this is one I can really get behind. Not because things suck in Burma, well they do, but because I'm a big fan of isolationism. I believe everyone should get the hell out of everywhere. Screw free trade, look what that race to the bottom got us: a nation with no jobs whose existence relies on its ability to consume. Last I checked, consumption plus no income still equals debts we can't pay back.

China is rocking like a hurricane right now on their long standing isolationist policies, it's just too bad they couldn't be a little more humane in the mean time.

Also, I think its poignant that the Burma hippies' rally cry isn't "why won't you do anything, oh great World Police of America?" It's funny how an unnecessary war will do that to a person. I'm all for world peace, but in these hard times where (hopefully) countries realize "police actions" are damn expensive, the U.N. model of economic sanctions seems pretty attractive. Now if only we could get China on board with that plan in Burma.

Read more about Mike Robertson's climb at ukclimbing.com.

A year ago today, Alain Robert climbed the New York Times building [748 ft] in NYC. This alone is hardly newsworthy, given the number of ascents Alain does in a year. However, five hours after Alain's ascent, another climber began the 52 story ascent. One of Alain's buddies? Who dares enter the realm of extraordinary feats previously reserved for one man?

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One of London's biggest newspapers, The Guardian, recently reviewed The Night Climbers of Cambridge: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/may/21/urban-climbing-193... :

"I recently heard a group of urban climbers (builderers?) discussing how long they had been at the sport while watching one of their friends clambering up a drainpipe. 'Since long before that James Bond film' was the general consensus, as was the fact that hanging off concrete was their 'soul'. I couldn't resist a smirk at their adolescent craving for authenticity; too embarrassingly reminiscent of my own absurd teenage pride in imagining myself to have championed trip-hop and baggy trousers before 'it all went mainstream'."

The author goes on to make The Night Climbers of Cambridge a validation of the youth's claims of buildering's weightiness. Fair enough, it's a fantastic book and it's ancient.

But this "adolescent craving for authenticity" statement got me thinking. This is the kind of behavior I've witnessed in the parkour set, and given that the referenced James Bond film is Sebatien Foucan's scene in Casino Royale, I wonder if the author is confusing buildering with parkour? In any case I'm sure some builderers of old have been guilty of such cravings. Not I of course. Certainly not I.

I recently turned 33, and am (hopefully) beyond my trying-to-differentiate-myself-from-the-herd phase. Yet I still climb buildings. I still get sweaty palms walking through the downtown core of a new city. Topping out on a new project or rooftop is met with that same feeling of exhilaration. I wouldn't go so far as to say that buildering is my soul, such a single-minded mentality is a luxury only a teenager can afford, but it certainly drives me in some way. It fulfills a need.

Psychoanalyze if you must, but ultimately the reason we builder, from the Cambridge climbers of the early twentieth century to today, is because it's so damn fun. Now excuse me while I finish off my "buildering 4 life" tattoo.

This year's contest had me sweating. Firstly, April kinda snuck up on me, and I really wanted the competition to be held before the end of classes. This meant giving people only four days notice of the event, which probably explains the lack of international participants. Making such last minute travel arrangements would be difficult and expensive. Yeah right. International participants? Nope, despite being the largest, longest running, most prestigious buildering contest in the universe, the clientele has always been locals only.

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Taken from the 7th Annual UBC Buildering competition. Frederi on the West Parkade Mantel. Photo by Ard.

Click Full Size for 1280x853.

More photos, video, and a writeup of the competition to come.

photog: ©Marcin Noga

Hi,

An article by me and featuring the Boulder was published on UKC (UK Climbing) today. I'm posting a link here in case anyone is interested.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=1750

Ard Arvin.

AP - A local Vancouver man died late last night after an altercation with police. Ard Arvin, 32, was tasered, pepper sprayed, shot, and urinated on by Vancouver police at Subway restaurant's 1255 Granville location. The names of the officers involved are being held pending an internal review. Witnesses say Arvin became irate while ordering a sandwich. Sandwich artist Deiter Kloon says, "He wanted more olives, which I gave him. He then asked for more, but I already gave him the maximum allowed by management." When Kloon refused Arvin's request, Arvin called 911. "They won't make it my way. That's their motto, and I'm not leaving until they give me more olives." Arvin demanded that an officer be sent down at once. The 911 operator tried to console Arvin, informing him that "My Way" hasn't been a Subway slogan since 1990. He was told that 911 was for emergency use only, and that his lack of olives was not an emergency.

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Daredevil John "Jammie" Reynolds, seen here clambering
up a building in an unusual (and maybe unintentional)
multiple exposure circa 1917. Washington D.C.
National Photo Company Collection glass negative.

We can officially add John "Jammie" Reynolds to the roster of Human Flies from the early twentieth century. Welcome John, may your efforts not be forgotten.

For an ever-growing history of buildering landmark moments, as told by yours truly, see: http://www.buildering.net/letters/outsidemag

See Full Size for an impressive 1600x1153.

I'm very proud to introduce a brand new section to buildering.net: the Cragrat's Guide to the University of British Columbia, Vol. III.

Back in the mid 1960s a group of UBC students compiled two volumes of route descriptions and photographs, making up Cragrat's Guide Vol 1, and Vol 2. Now 40 years later buildering.net is releasing Vol 3, online and free for all to enjoy.

A lot of work went into this guidebook: coding a custom Drupal module, route descriptions, photos, and climbing the damn things (ok, maybe that's not work). Buildering.net contributors can now add routes to the UBC guidebook, or create new guidebooks for their part of the world! Let me know if you want to get in on the fun.

As always, suggestions and criticisms are welcome.