mattp

Thanks, Thinker. I'm going home to test your theories shortly. Gregw-let me know if you want to get started on that project!

I have found that, when out camping on a ski tour, brandy is just about always much more popular than Scotch or Tequila -- even if everyone said before the trip that they liked tequila or scotch better and even if I bring the good stuff. Is this because when the body is already chilled you don't want to drink certain kinds of booze as much??

I don't know about the brand gump (what is a "gump?") but I have often had brandy served, HEATED, in a large snifter balanced on a glass of warm water. The idea there, I think, is to cause more vapor to fill the bulbous snifter. But I'm interested to hear more about this colder = better business. What are the reasons for this "rule of thumb" and what are it's limitations?

About this colder = better thing. I want to hear more. Is that just true for Vodka, which really doesn't have much flavor? I'm more into Scotch, and I know that the ice is said to "release" the flavor, and it certainly makes it much smoother, but is that maybe because I actually don't like Scotch in the first place so if I dull it down it becomes more palatable? And what about brandy -- you don't serve that cold. What is the theory behind all of this? I have heard that mixed drinks were pretty much invented during prohibition and that the purpose of most cocktails is to hide the bad flavor of prohibition-era liquor.

On the TV show "West Wing," Jeb Bartlett said that if you shake it up you cause the ice to melt more, and thereby water down the martini. He said that James Bond was drinking "wimp martini's." Is this just a liberal media lie?

That is the classic line, Minx, but if this "bruising" business is at all part of it, I'm willing to believe that it could have been the other way around in the book, and then for the movie they thought shaking was more sexy or something. Anybody have any of the books?

Greg-I believe the tunnel was originally drilled with the machine used to drill the Chunnel from England to France. However, in about 1992 or so I was there when the lab was inside and a guy took us in for a tour. It was pretty cool.

Aren't these guys the ones who ran that lab in the tunnel inside the Country Cliff at Index? Post Intelligencer Article on Gravity Scientist

You are right, Off. I was speaking rhetorically when I said "everybody knows it." We constantly hear legislators from rural areas haranguing Seattle for hogging more than its share of the budget and they frequently complain about sending all their money to Seattle -- even though THEY know the truth. But they make points with their constituents by deliberately feeding a common mis-perception.

That's right, Greg: that's the idea. However, I am not sure that high wage earners necessarily make the best judges. Yes, experienced trial lawyers might be better able to control their peers and properly oversee an important trial, but on the other hand those same experienced trial lawyers may have their own axe to grind. A Superior Court judge earned 96,000 a year as of about ten years ago, and I bet they can get qualified candidates with that though I may be wrong. The biggest single problem, I think, is in how we elect our judges. Bronco - I haven't studied the State budget and I don't know much about economics so I can't give you an answer that would be meaningful except to say that I'd gladly pay an extra $100 a year -- or even $1000 -- if that meant that things that I view as important (examples include public schools and public transit) were going to receive what I view as adequate funding.

Or, as another Matt pointed out a year ago, it might be a good move if what you really want to do is to break up with her.

I see that article lacking for its failure to more clearly state that bolts are offensive to some, clearly carry an associated environmental impact, and may by their very presence detract from the climbing experience for many who follow. It fails to even suggest the idea that an effort should be made to minimize their number. That said, it is the first time I have seen a good description on how to at least try to do it right. I think the reluctance to publish such advice has been founded in the worry that it may invite every Tom, Dick and Harry with some extra time and money on their hands to go out and start drilling holes.

Thanks, Don. Sounds like a poor weekend to head up there skiing, too. Do you have any idea how much snow there is on the ground at the top of the pass heading over from Pemberton?

Right you are, GregW. The "liberal" media is lying when they spew Bush administration rhetoric for a year and a half without questionning it. And they must also be lying when they point out that there are some who question, on the eve of a war, why nowhere in all that rhetoric has he told us why we are going into Iraq. To protect us from a threat to our homeland? To free oppressed peoples? Even you gotta agree that those are not the reasons we are heading there. You may think it is a good idea to head into Iraq. God knows that there are lots of people who do. But is there anything wrong with asking when is Bush going to address the matter honestly?

Klenke- I suspect that for the hardman who has devil's club in their kitchen, the elevation gain will not be a problem. But this thread started out asking about what I presumed was to be an easy destination for a hike with a partner I presumed not to be a hardwoman. Correct me if I'm wrong, but most girlfriends do not want to crawl through the jungle to make 3,000' of elevation gain in soggy snow.

Ray, I understand the sentiment but I have taken that course twice and I did not find it to be inordinately full of BS. It is simply a classroom first aid course with a weekend outing at the end. You don't have to be a Mountaineer to take the course, there are no hoops to jump, the price was right, and I did actually learn something.

The Mountaineers' MOFA would not be a bad choice.

You didn't ask me, but I'll point out that Lewis Peak involves a 3300 foot elevation gain. I would not take a girlfriend there if she was not fairly hardcore or if I was hoping for a low-stress day in the splendor's of nature.

Alpinelite and NWOG publish articles and stories without allowing direct comment. Lots of climbing sites all over the web do it. While those sites allow a cleaner browing experience, I like the interaction we have here. Assuming we can get folks to spray in the spray section and stay on topic in thie route reports forums, couldn't we have the best of both worlds?

Now who is showing that they are a moron on this issue? Everybody knows that Seattle area tax revenues in fact pay for services throughout the state and NOT the other way around. If we kept all taxes paid from the Seattle area in the Seattle area, the rest of the state would have much less budget for roadway maintenance and counties like Ferry County would have nothing.

Timmy- NWOG and Alpinelite post articles where responsive comments cannot be entered, and there are climbing websites all over the place that do this. It certainly allows a cleaner browsing experience, but I think the cool thing about cc.com is the relatively unrestricted ability to interact. If we can get a greater handle on the spray in the route reports forum, do you still think there would need to be a "no replies" area?

I would simply put it in the Shasta forum even if that is geographically correct. Timmy: I'd like to hear more about your reasoning in thinking that there should be a forum where no responses are allowed to be posted. There are lots of sites around, including Alpinelite and NWOG, where this is a regular practice but I think what distinguishes cc.com is the lively discussion. If we can reduce the level of spray in the Route Reports forum, would that be better? After unleashing a monster, are you going anti-spray?

It looks as if everyone should head to Franklin Falls this weekend: TODAY...RAIN OR SNOW EARLY TAPERING OFF TO SCATTERED SHOWERS. SNOW LEVEL 4000 FEET NORTH PART AND NEAR THE CREST...TO 5500 FEET SOUTH. 2 TO 4 INCHES OF NEW SNOW THIS MORNING. AFTERNOON PASS TEMPERATURES IN THE 30S. WIND IN THE PASSES VARIABLE 5 TO 15 MPH. TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS...THEN RAIN AND SNOW DEVELOPING AROUND MIDNIGHT. SNOW LEVEL 4000 FEET NORTH TO 5500 FEET SOUTH. WIND IN THE PASSES VARIABLE 5 TO 15 MPH. SATURDAY...CLOUDY WITH A RAIN AND SNOW TAPERING OFF IN THE MORNING. AN INCREASING CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW AGAIN LATE IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVEL RISING TO 6000 FEET. AFTERNOON PASS TEMPERATURES 35 TO 40. WIND IN THE PASSES EAST 5 TO 15 MPH. SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY...RAIN OR SNOW. SNOW LEVEL RISING TO 8000 FEET SATURDAY NIGHT THEN FALLING TO 5000 FEET SUNDAY. AFTERNOON PASS TEMPERATURES 35 TO 40.

If the weather is halflway settled, I'd take JJA's recommendation.

NbyNW- It looks as if you are trying to make the point that the only time it is safe to belay withoiut an anchor is when you are able to sit well away from the top of the pitch, behind a large object. While I commend your sense of responsibility here, in my view that is not the case. There are plenty of times I may find it safe to sit right at the top of what might be termed "the pitch" (or even before the top of the pitch if I have run out of rope or found rope drag to be too much), and a more pertinent question would be not how far I am from the top of the pitch but whether I can position myself so my center of balance and the belay pull will be oriented behind the hedge or the boulder or whatever. Also, you ignore the most common situation where there are no anchors - snow climbing. Most of the time it is very easy to dig or kick a hole and sit in it in such a way that I could belay Fat Albert just fine. For sport climbing or crag climbing, your rule of thumb is not bad (though I ignore it sometimes). However, I don't mean to be snide, but I gotta say that if you insist on black and white answers (don't do it unless you can get well away from the top of the pitch), you may live well and prosper but you won't be very good at mountain climbing.