pope

Sometimes you can tell what the conditions on a route will be like before you make the approach. I stepped out of my car at the Narada Falls parking area; having failed to notice the ice patch directly under my driver's door, my first move for the day was to fall on my ass. "Oh well, at least it's cold," thought I. One look around and I was pretty sure it would be cool to leave the snowshoes in the Honda. Conditions were so nice, I almost got out the cramps on the first open slope, but with new boots, I could just nick my way up. I followed the road around and just before dropping into the woods, I met a couple of dudes who had apparently met with some less than ideal conditions on the Zipper (I assume on Saturday). Their story of swimming through sugar snow and falling into slide alder wells almost caused me to change plans. Yet, I've been on the route enough to know that when the approach is that solid, the route should be stellar. In the marshy area below the route, I heard a "crack" and then observed a 30-ft diameter area of snow that had settled into the water, leaving concentric-circular cracking patterns in the sun crust. The avalanche debris at the base of the Zipper was flint-hard and flawless ice. It's condition took me by surpise. I was edging up crunchy snow with ski poles in hand when I tried to kick a boot into this icy debris. Jeesh! OK, time for crampons. The gully's first bulge had a 50-60 degree ramp with easy sticks. Very secure. By now, I was climbing up into the warmer air of the inversion. Snow melting off the trees and rocks was funneling past. No time for horse cock or meditating on Big Lou. Near the top, a large chockstone presented a real problem. It had none of that consolidated, snow/water ice on where it jams the right wall, where I've snuck around in the past (in heavy-snow years, this feature is hardly noticed). Sunday, the chockstone had some ice on it's left edge, but this would have required a pull-up. On the right, sugar snow formed a 70 degree bulge. Of course, trying to climb this resulted in just destroying it. Ultimately, a wide stem was required. Aboved, super nice ice/snow provided a nerve-calming exit. It would have been nice to have a rope, and I'm not ashamed to say I grabbed my second tool. The south side of Lane peak had some great corn snow! I was wishing I had spent the day skiing up there instead. I scrambled up the steeper gully (closer to the Zipper notch) which was so warm, snow wouldn't adhere to the rock once things got steep. I had to escape to the rock on the right and scramble some 4-th. In summary, very nice to get out yesterday. Two hours from the car to get up (due to the nice conditions, not my fitness!)

Thanks Muffy, and I agree with you in many ways. The sincere appreciation that has been expressed to me by students and parents doesn't pay bills, but it certainly makes me feel good about going to work.

That's exactly what they're doing. In two years of teaching calculus, I have met only one senior who intends to enter education. Nobody likes potholes and ignorant children, but if you want to do something about it, you'll have to pay for highway projects and capable teachers. Last year, my school district had three openings for middle school math. We interviewed only three applicants, and we were happy to have them. Does this inspire confidence? Do you think the most capable college graduates are filling these positions? Think again. It pays less than it did when adjusted for purchasing power. While prices in the local economy have more than doubled in the last ten years, salaries for teachers at every level have grown at a glacial pace. I believe it was Pam Roach who suggested roughly the same as you have, when she said that "going into teaching is like entering Peace Corps and everybody knows it .." or something like that. Every time I hear a comment like this, I think about the fact that I have a degree in mathematics and graduated summa cum laude from a reputable school. I've never bitched publicly about my salary, but I have wondered why I feel such a commitment to my community and students that I would sacrifice a lot of potential salary (not just at my expense, but also my family's).

Townshend's Tommy included a child-molesting Uncle Ernie singing Fiddle About . I always thought his writing was introspective. Now I guess we know (although Entwistle wrote that particular tune).

You've got it bassackwards. They are sport climbers because they are pussies.

Quite the contrary. This story that I crapped on my ex-girlfriend's bag is ludicrous (she wasn't my ex-girlfriend). Once a season (or more frequently if my tent has been visited by a crowd of "progressive" girls), when it's time for a cleaning, I just return it to REI with a story about how the zipper jammed and nearly cost my life high on the N. Face of Tiger Mountain. Then I walk away with a new one. Now a buddy of mine gave me this idea, and he said that after they finally catch on (7 or 8 years), you can change your story. You can say it was a gift but that you've developed an allergy to the particular color of dye in the fabric.

D R U = 4 18 21 = 43 D R U K I S S I N G M Y A S S = 4 18 21 + 156 = 199% Wow! Can't argue with an equation.

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants over 100%. How about achieving 103%? Here's a little math that might prove helpful. If the alphabet is represented by the numbers 1-26, then: H A R D W O R K = 8 1 18 4 23 15 18 11 = 98% K N O W L E D G E = 11 14 15 23 12 5 4 7 5 = 96% A T T I T U D E = 1 20 20 9 20 21 4 5 = 100% B U L L S H I T = 2 21 12 12 19 8 9 20 = 103% So, it stands to reason that hard work and knowledge will get you close, attitude will get you there, and bullshit will put you over the top. But, look how far ass kissing my ass will take you: K I S S I N G MY A S S = 11 9 19 19 9 14 7 13 25 1 19 19 = 156%

First time I saw one, I must admit I was "freaked out". I recall thinking that it looked like an industrial-strength diaper pin.

I think we saw you guys. You were 'bout half way up at 9:30. Looked really fun. And you say the bulge was fatty ice? Yesterday had superb snow climbing conditions!

Were the Eigers kind of wide? I've always had a difficult time finding wide boots, but Lisa at Marmot (always lots of ice boots on sale this time of year) turned me on to the Salomon Super Mountain Lite. We'll have to see how durable they are, but what a great boot! They're light but warm enough for short winter trips. The sole is stiff (I used them with old Chouinard rigid cramps), but the ankle flexibility is sensational. On the trail, they feel like light hikers. And the price.....$180 MSRP. Great boot (wide feet only). They require a semi-automatic crampon but are firm enough for the old neoprene strap system. A fairly good resource for boot reviews is boots .

Uh, sure. Him too.

And you's just a sperm-burpin' whore!

Dude, that's where your testosterone is stored!

Jesus Christ! Counting calories? The only thing more pathetic is discussing your eating disorder on a MOUNTAINEERING BULLETIN BOARD. I thought I had bookmarked cc.com and I'm getting Oprahchat.sandinyerpanties.com! Hey, maybe we can do make-overs and trade recipes next.

This seems to translate (roughly) as, "The black Dwayner-like is not as big as Big Lou." Dwayner? You been experimenting with pigmentation modifications?

What is a fish without a bicycle?

'At a boy, Sparky!

Written on the Berlin Wall: Eine Frau ohne einen Mann ist genau wie ein Fisch ohne ein Fahrrad.

Dat funny. Charlie told my buddy Tommy that when you guys first hiked up to the wall and heard us trading commands (and nasty talk) auf Deutch, he asked you whether the guys up there were really from Deutschland (knowing that you are familiar with the language). Accorindg to Charlie, you listened a minute and then said, "Yeah, I think they're for real." Ihr Gesicht riecht auch wie Fisch.

That ain't the way I heard it. You can rob Al of the Presidency, but you can't erase his mountaineering feats. GW is buff? I heard he can curl five gallons of corn mash.

Strangely enough, I had a similar dream, only Pete Puget was chasing me around the breakfast table in a lycra unitard, with a box of Fruit Loops and a big ol' Bosch Bulldog (with a pulsating "marital aid" where one would expect to see a carbide drill bit)!

Oh, I'm sorry. Yes, such attempts at humor CAN be funny....when the punchline is something other that just a jab at somebody's effort to adapt to a new language. There is a difference between a cute ethnic joke and what we have here. What's so damn funny? What's the difference between what we're reading here and, say, a joke about the color of somebody's skin, the shape of his eyes, or the size of his lips? But I suppose that if it doesn't bother YOU then that makes it OK to post on a public forum. Whatever. I'm personally not offended, just embarassed for you. If you were to speak that way in front of one of my Asian friends, I'd apologize for you. If you were to speak that way in front of my Chinese nieces, it would require enormous restraint on my part not to beat your eyes shut.