Thursday
July 13,2000
Volume 102, Issue 7
Emerald
Smith Rock a challenge to climbers of all ilks
■Thrill seekers and day
trippers find equal parts joy
and exhilaration in Eastern
Oregon at Smith Rock
By Inge Scheve
for the Emerald
Smith Rock, with its mostly
sunny and dry climate, offers
unique experiences and a dry
change for rained out trail users to
mountain bike, rock climb, hike or
just enjoy a day under the open
sky.
The orange Grand Canyon-es
que formation seems out of place
in the otherwise monotonous East
Cascade horizon. A good 20-mile
drive from Bend and just minutes
from Redmond, Smith Rock and
the Crooked River Canyon pro
vide world-class rock climbing,
challenging mountain bike trails
and picturesque hiking options to
more than 400,000 visitors each
year.
Just glancing at the parking area,
it is apparent that this place has
vast appeal: parking spots are
scarcer than water in the desert,
and myriad visitors with different
Smith Rock has it all: rock climbing for all types of climbers, mountain biking and picturesque hiking options for more than 400,000 visitors each year.
goals in mind flock toward the
trail head and the foot bridge lead
ing into the main Smith Rock area.
Climbers rate routes on a scale
of difficulty starting at 5.0 and in
creasing in difficulty to 5.14d.
Some are attracted by the 5.14d
climbing route at Smith Rock.
Others take on the steep Burma
Road leading mountain bikers to
their part of the paradise, while
hikers cherish time out on the mel
low path following the meander
ing Crooked River or choose more
strenuous options crossing the
ridges.
"The sheer quantity of climbing
there” is Smith Rock's greatest ad
vantage, said Eric Severson, a UO
anthropology major who has
climbed since high school. The va
riety of routes spans from begin
ning routes to some of the United
States’ hardest 5.14’s that have at
tracted international and domes
tic rock climbers since the 1980s.
Amadeo Gonzales, a UO biolo
gy major, agrees with Severson.
“It's the number of routes there
and the kind of climbing that's
available with tiny pockets and
mostly smooth face.” He has
climbed since he was 17 — al
though he says never seriously. He
did most of his climbing three
Turn to Smith Rock, page 9
Fair thee well
Marie Veverka for the Emerald
Donning costumes highlight the fair, inviting you to wear whatever you do or don’t want to.
To be at the Fair is to be
Our hearty
reporter braves the
enchantment that
is the Oregon
Country Fair and
finds a world free
of boundaries
By Jonathan Allen
Oregon Daily Emerald
And I thought Disney
land was out of this world'
Oregon Country Fair cannot
be explained. Maybe it’s my
own limitations as a writer,
but I know when I’m beat.
It Disneyland
is a land for the
imagination that
brings out the kid
in you, the Ore
gon Country Fair
is an entire uni
verse of fantasy
that...
Reporter’s
NOTEBOOK
I guess if Dis
neyland brings
out the imagina
tive kid in you,
the fair makes
that kid want to
tear his clothes
off, dance naked
You see, that’s just it. The
Turn to Country Fair, page 10
Celebrity penises are no
hard sell in New York
■ Anatomical art stirs
desires and tugs
imaginations of the
celebrity skin models
By Sara Jarrett
for the Emerald
NEW YORK — Cynthia Plas
ter Caster likes cock.
Correction. Cynthia Plaster
Caster loves cock.
Yet, she’ll be the first to ad
mit her infatuation and even
shows off her obsession to any
one interested in looking.
This rock star groupie
turned-artist has a collection of
45 famous and/or infamous
erections preserved in a mix
ture of plaster and water cur
rently on display at the Thread
Waxing Space in the heart of
New York City’s SoHo district.
Thirty-nine life casts, as she
calls them, glow underneath
brightly lit domes that sit atop
5-foot-high pedestals. The air
in the room during Caster’s
June 29 opening was hot and
sticky, with camera crews
everywhere, filming a docu
mentary titled “The Life Casts
of Cynthia Plaster Caster: 1968
2000,” which will be entered
in next year’s Sundance Film
Festival.
Hardly a word was said —
but fingers were pointing.
Though Caster claims she
doesn’t favor rock stars, her
collection is overwhelmingly
full of them. With none other
than the legendary musician
Jimi Hendrix’s penis immortal
ized in the assortment, it be
comes clear that she has suc
cessfully taken the groupie
lifestyle past the point of obses
sion and turned it into an art
form.
And Hendrix’s unit is quite
impressive, indeed, not too big
and not too small. As one hap
py onlooker explained to her
young son, “Wow, Jimi Hen
drix — he takes the cake. “Oth
er members of the collection
include Ronnie Barnett of The
Muffs, Bert Flores of Pig
face/Wreck and Ivan of Flying
Karamazov Brothers.
Caster’s wish list is even
more interesting. Last year it
was Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker’s pe
nis that she wanted but never
got, but this year she has her
hopes set on the Rev. Jesse
Jackson.
“I haven’t gone about trying,
and I’m not too optimistic
[about getting it] though,” she
said. “But you know, a groupie
girl can dream.”
After all, dreaming has paid
off for her in the past. That’s
what got her into this line of
work in the first place —
dreaming of sex that is.
“I was an unbroken virgin at
the same time the sexual revo
lution and the British invasion
were happening,” she ex
plained. “I was wondering
whether it was true that sex
could be used for more than
just reproduction. I was also
curious about what penises
looked like, and what they
could do for me.”
After finally deciding that
she should actually have sex,
Caster realized that she was too
shy to seduce men. So, she
turned to asking them for a
more special memento.
“It was a schtick to get the at
tention away from all the other
competition, you know, the
Turn to Plaster Caster, page 8
Penis envy
Ifyougoto New
York, look for the
penis plasters.
“Cynthia Plaster
Caster: The Life
Casts of Cynthia
Plaster Caster:
1968-2000.”
Organized in con
junction with Fea
ture, Inc.
June28-July 29,
2000
At Thread Waxing
Space, 476 Broad
way, 2nd floor.
Call 212-966-9520
for more informa
tion.