mattp

Catbird- If you don't understand why Exit 38 sucks -- and you've been there -- you must have a different idea of aesthetics than I do. The place is an overcrowded eyesore, next to an interstate in one of the wettest areas within driving range of Seattle. The climbing is certainly challenging, but it is not what I call exciting or imaginative and there is nothing I would call a "great line." Exit 38 is good for a pump after work or when I don't have time to go anywhere else, and my hat is off to the guys who developed it, but it is certainly not a destination climbing area in my view.

Damn right, ChucK. It is generally a poor idea to take a large group of inexperienced climbers up a route that you haven't got completely figured out. At the worst it could be dangerous, at best they will all be standing around while you figure out where you are going to set your belays.

Thanks all, for helping make the event a success!! I drove by there this a.m. and I picked up somebody's kiddie juice cup but the place looked OK.... maybe they'll let us come back some time.

See you there.

While you are at Magnuson Park tonight, think about what it would be like if they built 20 astroturf fields down there and lit them up with enough candlepower to rival the downtown stadiums. The current plan is to build a regional sports complex there for adult leagues from Kent to Everett. friends of Magnuson Park website

I believe it was May or June when a friend of mine broke his leg on Mount Ruth becuase he hit a small crevasse in mid turn. The slot wasn't big enough to fall into or anything, but it was enough to seriously catch a ski! It was a nice clean break, though.

Considering just such tactics, wasn't it Ivan Coonyard who posed the question: when does a nut become a pin?

Here is where we will be:

We DO need some nonalcoholic beaverages. Remember, beer is not allowed in Seattle Parks.

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.