wdietsch

I seem to remember a story of a guy who used to have a litte blacksmith shop in Ventura, CA ... sold his wares out of the back of his car. People loved his products. Great quality at a fair price ... hmm , what was his name? I think he got into clothing as well.

drC .... here is a link to the Cold Cold World Website Cold Cold World Home Page and one specifically for the standard Valdez Valdez in regards to the "redline", it is a 2 meg bitmap not a jpg, I don't really have a server that I can post it from, if the photo gallery was up I would post it there. I'd be more than happy to email it to you or better if someone would be willing to post it from their server I'd gladly oblige along with images of the final product. wes

check out the original ... Doug Thomas Gallery Doug is a good buddy of mine in Yakima. Former national Fiddle champ, mtn biker, hiker and climber, super talented guy ... "The Doctor" broke his neck in a swimming pool accident about 13 years ago ... as far as being a climber Doug was just really starting to get into it when fate dealt him a shitty hand ... Cragg knows him ... his former Band "Melody Acres" was a regular at the orginal Grant's Pub ... he's doing comp generated images and website styff to supplement his imcome. merry xmas to you and all the other in Yakivegas wes

Just received my belated bday gift to myself. A custom CCW Valdez. I asked Mr. Rackliff to add tool tubes, a hydration pocket and tube port, 2 internal daisy chains, a padded waist belt with gear loops and a rope compression strap. I also had him reposition the standard daisys on the outside of the pack and add a second shorter set in the center for strappin' on the 'poons. Build with the bomer construction Randy is know for, what can I say. This guy and his company Just as impressive as the pack is the way the whole transaction wet. I emailed my original request in off his website. Randy himself (not some outsourced backoffice worker in India) replied back with a few answers to my original questions. A few more emails back and forth, I sent a redlined jpg of the std Valdez, Randy says "Yeah, I can do that." Also, since this falls within of my definition of "major redesign" there will be an extra charge of $20.00. Hope that is acceptable. Twenty bucks extra for all the changes ... thats all. I ordered it on Dec 6th .... he shipped it on the 16th. With all the "cheaper" imported products on the market today I find it extremely encouraging that I can get a domestically mfr'd custom pack with such outstanding service AND at a great price. It also makes me think that the whole Serratus-MEC, import-export thing is probably more BS and mismanagement than anything else. I already own a Chernobyl .. when I start thinking that I need something bigger the Chaos will be the first thing I look at. Randy ..... you are the Man !!! Thanks again

it's suppose to make you gay ... gay spiderman

fos1 ... little bit of a thread drift .. just curiuos, how much weight did the material change save?

sweet ...

It's not $99 but $150 ain't too bad Mountain Gear-GoLite Belay Jacket

Neither ... I suggest also taking a look at Wild Country Rockcentric's as well .... size to size, lighter and stronger than both BD and Met down side is they only start at a size #3 which is about a BD/Met size 5 available on sewn dyneema slings or wire

I would check one of these out "in the flesh" b4 buying ... it has a great size to wieght ratio but I personaly think the way the floating lid adjusts it looks like it would make a nice rainwater collection system ... the lid doesn't really have much of a "skirt" to it to deflect/divert rain and/or snow fall

would a law enforcement agency actually take a PO Box for an address?

take a shot at some of the tools on ebay ... currently up for sale are Quarks, Quasrs, Top Machines, original Machines, Vipers, Rages, bent BP's, bent Shrikes and more .... if you get them and decide it's not your bag ... chances are you could still sell them for close to what you pay for them

anyone have any experiance with Russi packs yet? Fury 45, 3000 ci @ 3 lb 6 oz From their website ... "Russi Mountain Works is a highly technical, sport specific backpack brand for mountain climbing. Born out of Madden Mountaineering, Russi has created the next generation of technical backpacks designed for skiing, rock climbing, ice climbing and technical hiking." "Our packs are designed by a team of top pack designers formerly with Arcteryx, Lowe Alpine, Salomon and Madden Mountaineering."

the smart climer(s) would be topping out right about now ... last night must have been something with the full moon and the eclipse

this pretty much sums it up ..... go get it

If you are talking about the "Stretch Element" ... I picked one these up about 6 months ago from Sierra Trading Post for $200 ... so far I am really digging it. . Fairly light weight, compresses well. Not the prettiest thing to look at but I have never been accused of being a fashion queen. I figure it will make the carcass easier to locate. No frills ... the hood fits a helmet well even on my large melon. The combo pit zips-handwarmer pockets take a little getting used to.

tubular ice pick for my old hummingbird .... why does Grivel still make'm?

The hammer head you want only works on the original BP. It mounts with a "thru" hole. The CFBP was the first of the BD tools to have the hammer/adze piece carry the threads and also carries the threads to mount the pick. Marmot-Bellevue used to be really good at carrying spare parts.

What's up with Norm? I'm still shocked he shut the gym down

$48K is what I heard

WTF ..... when did that happen? I can't believe it ... that sucks, I can remember helping out on the first "rendition" of the gym before he went to the back room setup ... that blows. Man the place is really going to shit .... at least I got a chance to have one last cask GSA with a splash a couple of weeks ago before Grants' got shut down. seriously though ... if you can put up with the usual issues that come along with any agricultural based economy Yakima has a many good thing to offer. cheers, wes

it just takes balls