mattp

If you are worried about the technical aid above the roof, a cheater's stick may get you past some aid placements there if you don't mind hooking some frayed bit of cable that you can't inspect before you weight it. That would be cheating, though.

Saddam probably did have some banned weapons somewhere, but I think Minx has a point here. Clearly the "weapons of mass destrucion" thing is a smokescreen intended to distract us from a discussion of why they went in and what we hope to accomplish there because nobody thinks that the Iraqui's were really going to send a chemical warhead to Jerusalem or Washington or wherever and there really isn't much chance they would have set up some moslem fundamentalists with these things either because they'd just as likely have been shot right back at Saddam himself. But our government presents all these things for political reasons quite apart from what is really happening -- look at how they went before the U.N. and claimed: Iraq can produce nuclear weapons in three months, or they purchased weapons grade plutonium from Africa, or they are importing aluminum tubes for production of fissionable material, or here is a picture of an active terrorist training camp or etc... In each case, the "evidence" was either false or exaggerated and while the Bush folks may not have been outright lying, they didn't bother to check it out very carefully either. Yes, they'll probably find something but what would that mean?

I have a couple pieces of firewood, but we could use some more logs along with some charcoal. I'll have the slide projector and a small screen...and you need not worry, Mystic -- it won't even be dark enough to start showing slides until 9:00. Got any pictures of your latest adventure that you'd like to share with us?

This one drops from below the Muir Snofield -- not quite as exciting as the one higher up that AlpineK may be referring to, perhaps, but its pretty good.

And what kind of beer do you drink? I know, it's not for you but for the goatsthat you drink it.

How about: "I don't have anything to prove -- do you??" (spoken immediately after the guy has just caught his first glance of the objective, but not really looked at it yet and apparently not in a mind to consider trying it).

But what if they spray?

"Somebody might spray on a route report, so I have to stay home and watch the board."

I'm with Sjyk - Prussik is worth the hike. So is Lake Viviane, especially in the fall.

By the way, MAY 7 IS GASTON REBUFFAT'S BIRTHDAY!!!! He was born May 7, 1921.

A buddy of mine has been poking around on another crag in the Middle Fork, one that he calls "Pillars of the Earth." It is a little steeper than "fee demo wall" and I believe it may be where you have indicated.

Might we have a bit of a gear swap? I have a mega huge McHale pack I'd sell to someone who wants to go to Mount McKinley.

We have a large picnic shelter next to Lake Washington, with barbeques and a fireplace so it'll be just fine no matter what the weather. Some have asked about a possible slide show, and there is power available about 200 feet away (assuming the City has it turned on, which I did not check). I have a slide projector, and maybe I can come up with enough extension cords, so whose got the pictures for us? Besides food, which is at least party handled, we'll need some charcoal and some firewood. Pray for a nice evening so we'll be able to look at Liberty Ridge while we eat.

Agreed, Tom. The general public thinks "commerce good; climbing crazy" -- but it is generally not the public so much as it is the land managers or specific user groups with a competing interest who are behind the closures of climbing areas for whatever reason. And for most land managers, I bet, climbing is not overall a "good" thing from their self-interested point of view, so it would not be surprising to see them think to theirselves, when in doubt close it.

You might want to get some Olympia beer - in stubbies - because I think they are closing the brewery and it will soon be a thing of the past. You can get Corona any time.

As of May 2, the road is open and the climbs are drying out in between rainstorms. Snow lingers at the base of some of the crags.

Our reactions to learning of "near misses" and accidents differ, but I think we do tend to feel differently about it depending on our own judgment about whether the person involved was acting somehow foolish or irresponsible. It is all very subjective, but if someone gets killed because of a freak accident it is a different matter than if they go out and attempt a known death route in bad weather. Or, when reacting to a solo climbing accident, the pain and shock we feel is probably just as deep either way if it is someone close to us but there are a lot more thoughts and emotions involved besides grief. To some, simply venturing into the mountains or onto the crag by one's self is akin to playing Russian Roulette and if anything at all happens, they may be thinking "see, I told you so" or "climbers like that reflect poorly on the sport." Those who go on solo climbs themselves may be thinking "Hmm... could this happen to me?" or I'm a safe climber because I would never do what that person did. " Or whatever. These judgments affect our emotional feelings about the accident.

I have picnic shelter number 1 reserved for us. It is the easiest to find, and it is the only one with a fireplace. If it is a damp or cold evening, we'll be glad for that. Anybody got firewood? By the way, the woman who took my reservation pointed out that alcohol is not allowed in any city park. Please be advised of this fact .... Jon asked about whether we might have a slide show, and I hope to go down there and check to see if there is power. If not, we'll have to settle for looking at Liberty Ridge through the binoculars. Any other ideas?

Either route is just fine and I think they are fairly similar in terms of steepness though the worm flows route starts a little lower. It is all pretty much intermediate level skiing, though the conditions can vary quit a bit. If you head further around to the west, things get a little steeper. Have fun.

Nice post, Paco. You are absolutely right, in talking about soloing, when you say that "the margin of safety is significantly decreased" and that "the importance of climbers' actions and decisions are increased [even more] as less gear taken" but, for me, it is always more than that. When climbing alone, I find everything FEELS much more serious even when it may in fact not be. On every significant solo climb I have undertaken, there has always been at least some period of time - even if only momentarily - where I seriously started to doubt whether the whole thing was a good idea. I have experienced this while soloing relatively easy routes on a rock crag or while slogging up a standard glacier hike, as well as when attempting unclimbed routes on a remote mountain wall. In my case, I never thought about whether this would introduce me to the world of the "elite," (I'm distorting what you said slightly, I know) but I came at it more from an equally self-indulgent fantasy that I was going to learn something really deep from the whole business - along the lines of some native American visionquest of something. As a teenager, I thought it was cool to go sit on a mountain top and fast and stuff like that, then I started making long backcountry tours alone and found great pleasure in the ability to find solitude deep in the winter wilderness, and it was after that that I started soloing real climbs. My point, if I have one, is that all of us are driven by different motives whenever we head out to climb, but it is all really rather questionable if you stop to think about it. And solo climbing is probably more questionable than lots of other things we do, but maybe no more foolish than skiing avalanche slopes after a fresh dump of snow or climbing some Canadian Rockies chossheap behind a party of climbers who is throwing stones at you or leading some runout testpiece on the local crag. All of us need to constantly ask ourselves what we are doing, why, and how it may affect our future and our families' future.

He has been working on the green book, and last Summer he posted on cascadeclimbers.com asking for information for his revision. See the Cascade Alpine Guide Vol2 Corrections thread in the North Cascades Route Reports forum. I believe the new volume is supposed to come out this season.

Take the 65th street exit and head EAST about 4 miles or so, staying on the main arterial where it curves around a ridge near the end and then drops down a hill. At Sand Point Way, head straight into the "park" passing the old Sand Point Naval Station PX and, at the very end of the street, look for a parking area off to the right. Coming from the East side, though, you may want to exit from 520 at Montlake Way, then head north and stay to the right to get onto 45th Street after about a mile, and follow the main arterial which will become Sand Point Way. After about two miles, turn right on 65th, and head past the old PX. I think Picnic Shelter 1 is probably the best for our group because it is the largest (with 5 barbeque grills so Greg can bring a 5 legged cow) and it has a fireplace. Park hours are 'till 11:30 p.m. so we ought to be able to enjoy some campfire stories. It is a kid-friendly place and dog-friendly as well so there is no excuse for not showing up!

I am going to put up a map and general invitation and all that stuff. In order to get it all together, I need to know who is going to coordinate which events: So far, Dwayner is going to lead a discussion group on how to get overcome a sport-climbing habit, Jon is going to talk about privacy and civil rights on cc.com after Patriot II, and there is going to be a buldering contest on the nearby submarine fins.

I like the Mountaineer Creek approach and the Sherpa Glacier descent, though we have debated this before and I know that most people go in via Ingalls and there are many who will argue that it is the ONLY way to go.