mattp

Discover Pass information: http://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/ Mountain Pass report: http://www.wsdot.com/Traffic/Passes/ Information on over 30 different WA climbing areas, access issues, etc.: http://www.washingtonclimbers.org On-line Darrington climbing guide: http://www.mattsea.com/Darr/

I talked to Hanman yesterday and they evacuated but are fine.

That's an excellent photo, but if you look closely you will notice that there are small wedges under the slab. This shot shows the toilet building after being delivered by boom truck but before being actually installed atop the vault. In this shot, THE EAGLE HAS LANDED, but it doesn't show the BIRD ON THE NEST. It'd be really cool to have a happy picture of a climber ready to enter the new building with a unicorn or rainbow in the background or some similar shot that would show the actual installation and make the viewer feel all happy and stuff. We want to celebrate! This toilet has been needed for 25 years!

I scrolled back and read carefully to get the information so I'll save someone else the trouble: It looks like PubClub is to commence about 7:00 pm, tonight (March 19), at Chuck's Hop Shop, at 656 NW 85th in the Greenwood neighborhood. I hope I have it right. I think an aging alpinist will be attending. He said he's looking forward to it.

Anybody got a good photo of the new bathroom at Vantage? Any idea who got the first dump?

Dave, I believe your company's insurance covers your medical expenses if the other driver was uninsured even if you are in a "fault" state. That is the way it worked when I hit a care that had spun out and was stopped in the middle of the road 20 years ago and it actually simplified things because there wasn't any question about who was at fault connected with payment for whatever I needed. Other than a slightly reduced resale value and several months of significant neck pain, it turned out about as well as it could for me. I paid a $500 deductible for repairs to my truck and I had opted for more than the minimum personal injury coverage so several months of physical therapy and massage and acupressure and etc. were covered. I don't think my insurance company bothered to go after the other driver - who was ticketed by State Patrol for obstructing the roadway or something like that.

It might be worth it to beg or borrow a steel 'biner for that crossing.

There's a lot of great history in that paper! My hats off to the author and thanx for linking it here!

As much as slippage, stretchage is a real impediment to prusiking up a rope. It may or may not be appropriate for whatever you are trying to do, but static lines are best if you just want to climb ropes.

Monty has the word! Take heed of the above-noted comment about the dreaded isothermal snow, though. If you are not from 'round here, this may be a new "pleasure." Apart from the slide hazard, it just plain sux to travel over (through) the "mushout" snow. That said, May can be and usually is really awesome here for some kind of thing - especially skiing! (I wouldn't expect good ice climbing anywhere but, maybe, the north side of the highest peaks like the Stuart range, although I WOULD expect to find some good conditions on something big and cool somewhere, if you look around; the snowpack will make many objectives more attractive than they would be later in the season.)

It is looking pretty dry. Anybody interested in a little exploration? send a P.M. or e-mail, or whatever.

Verdon is worth a visit for sure!!!!!!!! I read about it less and less on modern websites, but the rock is impeccable, the scenery incredible, and the ambiance international. I guess there are no 5.15 routes there (or maybe few) but there are several hundred great routes and although it is known as one of the early "sport climbing" destinations, I think you will find it plenty adventurous. There is great camping nearby, and the relic of an old castle in a small village across the valley was a high picnic high spot on a European vacation with my wife. The climbs start from the top down. You can lower off the guard rail for a totally casual top-rope type adventure with 1000 feet below your feet, or you can drop in a few pitches and climb back out. Dial a drop. It is fantastic.

Yeah - there's lots of situations where command and control production works better than the alternative. Pretty much every complex production process takes place in a command and control environment. Think Henry Ford's factory vs a process where every rivet you pop into a piece of sheet metal requires a separate transaction between two separate businesses. The critical mistake lies in thinking that something that works when it's embedded in a market economy can work just as well on it's own. There are lots of zoos that work very well in a particular context, but scaling them up to encompass the entire ecosystem would be a bit more challenging. Worth thinking about when you're trying to decide if it makes more sense to give people food stamps, or turn the entire food growing/buying/selling/distributing enterprise into a vertically integrated monopoly run by the same sort of folks who oversee the corn ethanol program. What are you trying to say, Jay? Seriously. It is not as if we are talking about some new idea. Where has the free market or some competitive private business model proven better than a more centralized approach when it comes to medical care? How have public health outcomes been shown to be better?

Ditto that and, for The Kone, start on the first two pitches of Daylight just left of the start of The Kone.

What do you guys think about this? Flipped Classrooms

I damn near agree with this. I'm not entirely clear on the reason why the employer mandate got a delay, but it sure plays poorly. As to the train wreck, I agree too. If the law is in fact a disaster, than it will need to be amended or repealed. If in fact the American people like it, as we are told they may, than perhaps it is not a disaster worthy of shutting down the government.

While you are at it, how about MORE WEEKENDS! This one is kind of rainy. Can we have a refill?

Yes, but they killed Jesus because he was against taxes. Ask O'Reilly. The original point here, however, is not without merit. Manslaughter?

True that. Some of the communication is concerning. But they have also held a rare "stakeholder" meeting concerning climbing access issues around Leavenworth and they put a lot of effort toward a recent trail project at Castle Rock that was not their idea, but a proposal from the WCC and the Access Fund. They recognize climbing as a legitimate use of the Forest and it IS. We have an opportunity here.

I think they have walked this back. . . . Meanwhile, I would say that the "skepticism" expressed in this thread is in my opinion justified. I have had many very poor experiences with rangers in the Leavenworth District over the years. But I also think we have a substantial opportunity here: they have hired a climber to be a climbing ranger. And, last time I checked, we still enjoy pretty much the same access we had 20 years ago. Lets work with them!

Chris worked on access issues related to climbing at Darrington and elsewhere while he served as a board member with the Washington Climbers Coalition for several years. The Greyell family asked us to establish a memorial fund, dedicated to Darrington area climbing access. The WCC is proud to continue this work. WCC Page re: Greyell Memorial Fund

I have not been up the "big R" at that time of year, but I've climbed many of the other NW volcano's in the Fall. It can be OK. The hazards noted by others here are real, but if you want to plan a visit, with the expectation that it might not turn out to be a good time to climb Rainier and maybe it'd be better to climb at Smith or paddle in the Gulf Islands, I'd say that could be a good plan.

I know you said "no zippers," but I think a zipper has a very good purpose on a ski-mountaineering pack. Add a u-shaped zipper on the side, and you can pull out a puffy without messing around when you stop for a quick break, stuff it back in ten minutes later, and you are good to go. You pack the pack more or less as normal, but stuff the puffy into the area that will be just inside the zipper.