mattp

Let me know if you are interested and we can make a deal. These are great packs; I just don't use it because I have two other packs that are both smaller but large enough for me. McHale packs have the shoulder straps fixed, so this will fit someone roughly 5.11.

If it has to be on your way home from the gym, the Kangaroo and Kiwi has proven fairly popular in the past and you could get a headstart on your drive.

I've got a McHale monster pack I'd gladly part with. It is NOT light weight, but it IS probably the toughest and biggest pack on the market, and it carrys a huge load more efficiently than any pack I've ever known. If you plan on carrying climbing gear and two weeks' food into some place for a basecamp, it'd be your tool of choice.

I bet Classic Crack in Leavenworth would prove an eye opening 5.8. I realize it is not quite a "sustained wide crack," but I've seen plenty of climbers stumped by it. The full GM (not Heart of the Country) would be another.

Shameful opportunitic politics or insight?

Go man go:

Thread drift?

Check out this editorial on how the press is not doing its job. Washington Post

We'll have to wait and see what happens. I’ve always wanted to have at least some CCH Aliens on my rack because they fit spots where other cams don’t, even though they are prone to getting bunged up more quickly than other small cams. If quality control isn’t resolved, however, I’ll be buying something else next time I replace anything. Interesting how that thread resembles a cc.com discussion: a dozen guys repeating the exact same arguments and presenting them as a new "insight," unfounded accusations and speculation, and grandstanding by guys who know nothing about the matter. Not surprisingly, the subject (target) of the discussion may decide to lay low. I’d like to see a company representative discuss these issues but I would not be surprised to see CCH delay or avoid direct engagement there no matter what the facts turn out to be. Checking with Google, I find no cch website. The Internet does not appear to be their media choice.

For some more unsolicited advice, let me say that in my opinion Mount Rainier is not the god of NW peaks. Mount Baker, for example, offers all of the alpine ambience in the form of a fully glacial-clad volcano and all but without the altitude problems. Coming from Michigan, you will not be acclimated. Other Cascade peaks will offer more varied alpine climbing, and you'd have a great vacation if you were able to climb two or three smaller peaks such as Eldorado, Shuksan, and Liberty Bell, all of which are likely to be in good climbing shape in May or early June. Don't get me wrong: Mt. Rainier IS cool. Stand on top on a clear day and you can see Canada and Oregon; inland plains and the Pacific Ocean. By the way, my brother was on El Capitan when his second son was born (early). Allow extra time to get home before the big day.

Right on, Jay. Good response. Now, are you still gonna argue that....

[i asked if he had known the specific details of the salary scale discussion when he posted his inital "it is known fact that hazardous jobs always earn more pay" or whatver -- this is a crude synopsis, I admit -- and then asked if he was now suggesting this meant the mining operators might be seen as less responsible or that we should have less sympathy for the victims, but when I posted it I saw Jay had answered my questions in a post entered while I was composing mine]

I don't completely disagree with JMckay but I certainly do in part. I grew up in Ann Arbor, learned to climb on a top-rope at Grand Ledge, and came west to climb in the Tetons with no guide or experienced professional assistance. My friends and I took one day of instruction with Exum guides and we went out and practiced the stuff we'd read about in books. Then we did some backpacking and finished by climbing the Middle Teton by an obscure but not too difficult route. You don't HAVE to have professional instruction. You CAN come out here and hook up with somebody you meet on cc.com and you will probably live and very likely even enjoy yourself. Lots of us are more than capable of showing someone a good time on Mount Adams, Baker, Rainier or perhaps Mt. Shuksan and plenty of people have hooked up that way on this site -- not just females. JMcKay is right to suggest you ask yourself why they might want to take their vacation time to take a stranger out climbing, though, and that may be because they hope to get laid or because they don't have enough social skills to get a local partner. Ask questions. If you are inclined to want to maximize what you do and want more of a sure bet, a professional will very likely be able to teach you more, get you up a big climb faster, and perhaps more safely than some yahoo with a big mouth (or a busy keyboard, as the case may be). A professional guide is certainly a good idea, but don't assume you must and don't immediately discount the idea if somebody says Hey BarryAnnArbor: we're climbing Mt. Shuksan May 15 or so if you want to join us.

That sympathy is probably well placed, Jon, though if you knew more about the circumstances of some of those miners you might find great sympathy for their families, too -- of course maybe not but my point is the war hero has been celebrated as such and I would guess that contributes to your feeling.

JayB: I buried the nub of my argument. Try this: Assuming you are correct in your assertion that that the miners must have made more money than others in the community who had safer jobs, do you believe the miners in Tallmansville were likely to have been fairly compensated for the risks they took? Is this intended to suggest in any way that we shouldn't feel sorry for them or their families because they knew the risks and glady accepted them?

Looks good, Jay, but you distinctly said "all mining" takes place in remote areas, and that is just not quite true. Yes, it is plainly obvious, I suppose, that they don't generally mine near cities and residential areas and we need not waste our time quibbling over that fact. As to the statisitcs about the relatively high wages, I am sure that, all other things being equal, workers would rather work a safe job for the same pay so there is some upward pressure on wages for high-risk employment. However, I don't think that over the course of history that has been sufficient to overcome the unequal bargainning power enjoyed by mine operators and miners. In a quick Internet search we find only statistics supplied by mining companies or the state agencies connected to "econimic development and promotion." It'd be interesting to know just what the dead guys in Tallmansville were earning, and how much their cousins who worked above ground in the immediate area earned by comparison. My guess is that neither the State of West Virginia or the Mining Association of America can be counted on to provide accurate statistics.

"I think younger workers — first of all, younger workers have been promised benefits the government — promises that have been promised, benefits that we can't keep. That's just the way it is." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 4, 2005

They won't put the computers in the mines because they everybody would be logging onto cc.com instead of digging up the coal.

No point, really. I just think Gary is an OK guy.

It is all one big dogpile down here in the mud. You're the asshole... no YOU'RE the asshole...

ChucK, I don't think Gary is any more socially retarded than those who call him an asshole. Really.

Jay - Ever seen the big hole in Butte Montana, or heard about the salt mines beneath Detroit? Your statement about ALL mining taking place exclusively in remote areas is simply incorrect and I wonder if you know what you are talking about with the wages, too. I'd be willing to guess that those who work in a West Virginia coal mine are not paid a great wage, though I suppose it may be higher than the guy pumping gas or working in the local grocery store -- do you have any information on this? Note: I'm pretty sure that day laborers in Seattle make no "premium" wages, but you can get guys to do any dirty job you want if you drive down a certain block on Western Avenue.

I don't read Gary's post as belittling anybody. True, poor grammar is not necessarily indicative of a lack of sophistication or whatever (look at our president), and Gary may have made an assumption that some of you feel is not justified, but those of you who read "insult" into Gary's post are making your own assumptions too. He didn't call the speaker stupid, ignorant, or really anything necessarily perjorative except that he assumed that workers exposed to documented and uncorrected safety hazards in a coal mine are probably being taken advantage of.

Jens: I think I still have a folding chair you left at rope-up two years ago.

For an all ages event, we might try the Wedgewood Ale house some time. They have a back room with a side entrance where they serve pizza and stuff to a family crowd.