[Serpico]

Do women who pop steroids die men?

Yes. There was a documentary about East European female athletes who had been forced to take massive amounts of steroids during the cold war Olympics. At least 2 of them were now men.

[Bubba]

Surely that would be as a result of popping testosterone rather than steroids?

[Serpico]

Surely that would be as a result of popping testosterone rather than steroids?

Testosterone is a steroid.

Steroids can also make you appear 2 dimensional.

[Paul B]

Do steroids make you incomprehensible?

don't know but they make your balls shrink.

temporarily. Itchy nipples as well 

[Bubba]

Testosterone is a steroid.

Fuck I never knew that - I thought it was a hormone.

[Serpico]

Testosterone is a steroid.

Fuck I never knew that - I thought it was a hormone.

Fear not, you're not wrong:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steroid_hormone

[slackline]

How do you make a hormone?
















Don't pay her*




*Doesn't really work when typed

[Paul B]

Testosterone is a steroid.

Fuck I never knew that - I thought it was a hormone.

Anabolic Steroids are derived from Testosterone, perhaps where the confusion came from.

[lagerstarfish]

heroin is often used in combo with things like speed and is used in sports were you need a large degree of pain tolerance with sporting performance.theres a  concoction in cycling called a pot belge which has the above 2 plus a load of other shit.

I remember being told about Pot Belge when working in a needle exchange. The massive needles used by steroid injectors are pretty scary, but I was struck by how potentially addictive Pot Belge could be - heroin, speed, cocaine and a mix of strong pain killers and sometimes caffeine (I think?) - all mixed up in one big injection (into the veins so not as scary a needle as for roids). Not only potentially addictive, but the risks of getting the mix wrong could be fatal and the variable strength of street heroin and coke can only make this harder to get right (hence the bulk buying carried out by trainers/suppliers - risky business). I just wouldn't be able to trust myself not to get stuck into the recreational use of PB and thus loose the advantage of using it to enhance performance - but then I'm not a supersyked competitive type of chap with the will to win at all costs. Martina Hingis is a fan of PB, allegedly. I can see it appealing to those hedonistic bunch of people that call themselves "boulderers".

I wonder who they test PB mixes out on while developing a mix? Some kind of athletic Bez with a heart rate monitor?

[Falling Down]

Blimey! Doesn't sound like much fun to me. Where did the Hingis rumours spring from?

[lagerstarfish]

Where did the Hingis rumours spring from?

After she dumped me, because of my relationship with Kylie, I got a bit drunk and said a too much to Kirsty Galagher as she pretended to console me (manipulative cow).

Ummm. I have no idea how the rumour started, but remember reading it somewhere.

[clm]

Ive not read the whole thread so someone may have already brought this up but doping has become a lot more technical ( many years ago) than steroids = big muscles.  I reckon erythropoeitin (epo) would have serious benefits to the trad or sports climber as it boost red blood cells giving greater endurance (they check the hematocrit (sp?) of cyclists to check its not too high).  More oxygen = less pump. Blood doping has a similar effect.
Human growth hormone has been used an all.  I dont know how the effect of this compares with steroids or indeed if it is a steroid.
Finally, I was reading an old Climber or OTE and came across a Perrin article (the one with a little thinking climber in the top corner) where he was describing the competitive nature of soloing with a bunch of mates.  I think the competitive drive however comes from what they were on.  He describes staying up all night at a party , getting cranked on speed  and driving to Ramshaw where they had an irresisitible urge to keep climbing .  He also describes coming down halfway up something .  Anyone able to find/scan the article??

[Houdini]

Coronation Street was the climb. 

[andy popp]

It's a great article - Street Illegal by Jim Perrin, first published in the CC journal in 1978 and republished in Crags 26 (1980). The point where he has the breakdown is sat in slings just past The Shield a couple of pitches up Coronation Street (E1):

'I now sat in the car, took out the blanking plate where the radio would have been, reached in and brought out a tobacco tin. I cut myself two lines of coke on the lid. Not too generous on this, I thought, take it easy. Also I unwrapped a piece of silver foil from a cigarette packed, which should have had some speed inside, but it had got damp and soaked into the paper, so I ate the paper ... I was really zapping along now and actually couldn't have given a fuck about anything; I was laughing.
So I set off and steamrolled it ... and now I broke the rhythm of the thing, sat down and the subdued me broke back with a terrorised sense of the place I was in. I wept. I mean this literally ... I rose on an inner scream, which modulated into a vicious controlled anger. Out of the slings and working myself on the rock again, it was all wrong. I was absolutely tight ... It was like watching a bad climber who might just make it ... At the top I crawled and bit the grass, laughing'

I'll scan it, pm me if you'd like a copy.

[andy popp]

Reading Clm's post again I think he might be talking about a more recent article, however the one I quoted from is the classic.

[Bonjoy]

Great article, I have that old issue of Crags. Have you read the Pete Livesey one with the pumpkin, the donkey and the large lump of hash?

[andy popp]

I have 'Travels with My Donkey'. Livesey's the only one in the minibus not to get screwed by the beautiful, hash-laden hippy hitcher they've picked up travelling across Europe. Turns out the others have told her he's gay. I have a near complete run of Crags: would there be appetite for a thread hosting the occassional classic article - another obvious one would be Livesey's Jonathon Livinstone Steelfingers, surveying the future of climbing? I guess there would/might be copyright issues?

[SA Chris]

would there be appetite for a thread hosting the occassional classic article - another obvious one would be Livesey's Jonathon Livinstone Steelfingers, surveying the future of climbing?

Hell yes.

I guess there would/might be copyright issues?

Is there anyone who would really be bothered? Not like you are depriving anyone of income.

[Bonjoy]

Good idea, post them up Andy, I can't see anyone kicking up a fuss. Can always delete the thread if worst comes to worst.

[Jaspersharpe]

Great idea. 

[andy popp]

OK, will give it a go. Have a couple of things scanned already and in folders in 'My Pictures' but may need a hand as I seem to be an utter dunce at uploading images.