EddieE

"Rock restoration" is a long, time honored tradition. Cheers to you guys for stepping up.

First of all: do you already have reservations? Last time I checked they were all booked up. If so, why the heck not? You can get in reasonable shape in that short of a time...assuming you're not so bad off right now. Much of climbing Rainier is up in your head, but having a good set of lungs helps you enjoy the view. I agree with Lisa, too. It's more rewarding to learn the ropes by cutting your teeth on the less technical climbs before heading up Rainier. Even though DC is the trade route, it'll be a grind and may have some spooky sections. Lisa - RMI charges $750 up front, which includes a one day intro to climbing course (or "how not to kill their guides" course) and they reserve the right to turn a group around at any point on the route - including Camp Muir. [This message has been edited by EddieE (edited 07-25-2001).]

Yeah, it was fun...nice meetin' ya'll.

cool. i live up the street in ballard. i'll try to make it.

wow...bringin' back the memories. I was at PLU from 92-96 and blew off steam at Spire with my buds all the time. The bad graffiti, local kids getting stuck at the top, sticking your hand in the cracks and hoping it was water...not piss, military guys spending hours just rappeling (not climbing) just rappeling...it all brings tears to my eyes. I remember while climbing the overhang I reached up with my right hand for the lip and landed it smack into some gooey shitty crap. I could't pull on it, and it grossed me out so much I kicked off backwards, landed on my back and knocked the wind out of myself. I laid there catching my breath and reveled in all that is Parkland.

I'm the director of a fitness department, do some personal training, manage an outdoor rec. program where I teach mountaineering and climbing. Spare time: guide sea kayaks and do a couple of websites.

The scales measure your bioelectric impedence and is based on the principle that body fat is an insulator and muscle is a conductor. The low level charge is sent from one hand to the other (or one foot to the other depending on if you're standing on it or holding it) and it measures the amount of resistance it experiences. The problem is the current follows the shortest path: hand-arm-chest-arm-hand. Depending on your genetic pre-disposition, you may store most of your fat in your legs giving an inaccurate reading. A clinical bio-electric impedence device will actually measure from your ankle to your wrist to prevent this. As long as you know this limitation, along with inaccuracies related to hydration levels and gender issues, the Tanita scales are good for measuring a fitness program over time because of their test-retest reliability.

I've had both a 3-D Liteloft and down bag (both from MtnHardware and w/ Dryloft shells) and have been much happier with down. I agree with the above posters - in 7 yrs of PNW climbing in all seasons I have yet to get my bag wet. I'm always diligent about keeping it dry (in a stuff sack inside a compression bag), and if I'm hot enough to be sweating in it, I'm sleeping on top of it. It compresses to half the size of my synthetic, and I think that's what's important when going light and fast.

I'm riding the STP this weekend (Seattle to Portland) then spending the next couple of days rehabing my sore ass.

That's what I love about climbing...you can skip the regular season and playoffs and go straight to the Super Bowl. I'm glad you guys made it down okay.

I talked to Al Gore at Camp Muir and hitched a ride to a bar with Warren Hollinger.

I sized mine small, too. Great for leading ice, and doing alpine routes in moderate weather. They stay warm when wet and have since replaced my windstopper gloves whenever I do anything.

Not necessarily in this order: Moose Drool Black Butte Porter E-9 Oatmeal Stout Pike Place Kilt Lifter Pabst Blue Ribbon When I'm in Canada, the only beers worth a couple of toonies are Wart Hog and Grasshopper ales. and oh yeah...Guiness Sucks.

Throwing my votes in for Gustav's in L-worth and my perennial fave - Scale Burgers. Ya gotta have it with a mountain berry shake. [This message has been edited by EddieE (edited 06-27-2001).]

After wrecking my last car (an 89 Sub Wagon...wasn't my fault). I was faced with this same question. I ended up going with a Legacy Wagon and added a rocket box on the top. The Legacy engines are just getting warmed up at 100k miles, they're more comfortable to drive on long road trips, and I can stick more than a couple of people in them. If I need to sleep in the back, I just stick all my stuff in the box and lay out the back. Even with the box on top adding drag, it still gets better gas mileage than most pickups. It's fine on forest roads and is right at home in snow, but I would love more ground clearance.

I just read this in the paper: Canada is proposing to capture 25 grizzlies and release them in the North Cascades this fall. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134308493_griz20m.html Thanks - I look forward to running into one of them and their young.

When I remember to bring it, I carry a basic Swiss Army knife. Its baggage I have from having the ten essentials being ingrained in my head during my formative years. I use it to clean old slings, cut emergency prusiks from my cordelette, etc... I've also heard of people cutting webbing from their pack to make an impromptu anchor. I've also been happy to have a leatherman tool around when I had to mess with my cams. [This message has been edited by EddieE (edited 06-19-2001).]

I love Ballard.

For altitude training: Put a plastic bag over their head and a rubber band around their neck. Shove them in a meat locker, kick them in the stomach a couple of times and stab them in the temples with a couple of sharp pencils.

How about because trespassing on private lands sucks and blows it for everyone else. Wooden arrows and scalping? There's a ton of spray on this site (which I don't mind sifting through to get good beta), and I know you're joking, but keep the ignunt stuff to yourself.

Now that Bush and Norton are at the helm, I think it's going to be much more important for climbers to start playing a bigger part in the game we go to the hills to try to forget about. Bush announced he wants more money for National Parks, but what that means is he wants more roads, more parking lots, more buildings and apparently a great new branding campaign. It's no secret the government, more than ever, is ruled by big business, and these two are in their pockets - in this case companies like Winnebago, Coleman, auto makers...anyone who would benefit from increased recreation powered by fossil fuels. Did anyone notice the snowmobilers dropping their lawsuit against Denali Nat. park? Did someone make a back door deal? Anyways, I agree with civil disobedience and I think the demo programs and whatever they do in the Gifford Pinchot make absolutely no sense to me at all. However I'll pay the climbing fees at Rainier, and have done so every single time (even though once I got snagged on the way up and got registered by radio...they were pretty nice about it btw) - the rangers up there do a great job.

I flew up to Alaska (on Alaska Airlines) last year and had my fuel bottles in my carry on luggage and stove in my checked luggage. No one asked about them, even after rifling through my carry on luggage at the x-ray machine. I guess they're used to that sort of thing flying to Anchorage. I've flown numerous times with stoves and bottles and have never been hassled. Maybe it's like crossing the border into Canada - if you truly BELIEVE you won't get hassled...you won't.

Ooops. I need to correct my previous post - this is straight from the Rocky Mountain Rescue Group's web site: Q: "Will I be charged for a search and rescue in Colorado?" A: In most cases, no, you will not be charged for the actual SAR (search and rescue) effort. The volunteer mountain rescue teams in Colorado, including RMRG, do not and most likely will never charge for services. There have been some cases where a few county sheriffs have charged for SAR operation. The Boulder County Sheriff has not and does not plan to charge victims of search and rescues. See the next question. Q: " I know that part of the fee that I paid for my Colorado hunting/fishing license and or hiking certificate goes towards search and rescue insurance. Will this pay for any possible bills for the SAR and hospital?" A: NO! You may have been informed that your license or certificate is insurance but it is not! Again, in most cases, you will not be charged for the SAR itself. However, you may be charged for ambulance rides to the hospital (by ground or helicopter). Your license or certificate will not cover these charges nor will they cover hospital expenses. The money that is taken out of the fee for licenses and certificates go to a general fund where a county sheriff may ask for money as a result of a particular SAR. In addition, each year SAR teams in Colorado may obtain grant money from this program to acquire new equipment. Anyways, I still agree with the rest of the replies. Insurance needs to be optional, and people should be stuck with the bill in cases of gross negligence. This might encourage people to have their act together when they go in the woods.

If I'm not mistaken, if you need to be rescued in Yosemite and are deemed irresponsible or unprepared you get the bill. If the rest of the parks departments could adopt something similar, that might be a step in the right direction. Unfortunately this also may open up a whole new can of worms in the court system with people disagreeing and appealing decisions made by the land managers. I also think Colorado's $5 (?) rescue insurance deal is a good idea. [This message has been edited by EddieE (edited 05-31-2001).]

Back to the original question: In order for your forearms to get a complete workout, you need to get your fingers involved. Notice that if you just do pull-ups or wack your monkey, you leave your fingers in the same position - the brunt of the work being done by your back muscles leaving your forearms with a sustained isometric contraction. This is fine if climbing holds or rock features all came in one shape and size (big fatty jug). Stuff I like to do (or at least used to do): 1. Keep one of those BD donut trainers in your car and use it when you're driving around. 2. Hangboards and any of their numerous workouts you can find anywhere. 3. bucket of rice by the tv. squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. 4. Oh yeah. Climb lots. That's the best.