Pete
@pete mctree , I'll spell it out so perhaps you, and certainly others of our chosen profession, can clearly see the value of your attendance at the USFS climbing instructors workshop, after the Wraptorfest, back in 2009.
First most, there was just the day in and out interaction between some of the most talented instructors the USFS owned, and some of the most likely to exceed talent in the form of the instructor trainees the USFS had on offer...and you, my esteemed colleague and friend. Your perspective from the Brit/Euro experience often stood in such stark contrast to the PNW point of view. It was the sort of unsettling and upsetting whack to the side of our collective heads that wakes really talented climbers (long skilled and newbies alike) to look much more closely at assumptions.
That was worth it's weight in gold, and that has not gone away even to this day, due to those younger instructors and climbers that had the benefit of spending time with you, and are still teaching and climbing today; 12 years gone now...wow.
The other quite specific thing you most generously offered to do, and which I twisted some serious USFS management type arms to make the time for in an otherwise always crowded schedule
...was that couple of hours where we brought a whole slew of climbers' kit to that table we set up in the yard next to the equipment shed and you inspected it per your British specifications for condition and fit for purpose, a task you were certified for at home. You followed through with unvarnished truth, not always welcomed in our A type personality dominated field of endeavor
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Now that right there was a piece of work that carried a lot of benefits for the USFS tree climbing program. Solid, concrete standards. Repeatable inspection protocols.
It was a leap forward for us, that you alone made happen, Pete. Well, perhaps not totally alone, since I was the blaspheming American who brought the rascally Brit into our fold
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And there is one undeniable last proof of benefit. USFS climbers and instructors have drunk a better quality of ale and whiskies, ever after
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Kudos, Pete. You have made a real difference on my side of the pond, for my USFS climbers .