mattp

At nearly twice the price of any other 9mm, they are clearly TWICE as good. The rating for an edge over a hold is, as Cavey noted, unique. Also, they have a stiff handle to them, which I kind of like, and Edelweiss ropes are just plain good ropes anyway. But they ARE boingy.

Tell her you are going to a wine-tasting.

It is pretty shady over there on the N. Face. It might actually be OK though I bet the ski run down from the base of the face is sub-optimal.

Do you think we are stupid enough to seriously think Iraq would lob one at us? Clearly they miscalculated in the case of Kuwait, but they have shown no inclination to send any weapon at the west except that during the war they sent an inefective couple of missiles at Israel. The difference in policy is not explained by how smart or stupid we think they are.

I agree with Trask. I don't think the current crisis (today's crisis) is as bad as all that because I don't think anybody is going to shoot a nuke at anybody. The sad thing about the story is that it seems to me the main lesson from all of this is that might makes right and if you don't want to get pushed around by the U.S. you gotta arm yourself to the maximum extent possible. Can you blame them for wanting to restart their weapons program after we have stated that they are in the axis of evil and we are going to come after them as soon as we're done with Saddam? In these circumstances, shouldn't Saddam be saying to himself "look at those guys -- the U.S. isn't going to invade them because they have nukes and can hit Soeul. If only I had something like that."

You can't blame the judge. He's just being arrogant and cares only about his own enjoyment and property value -- probably not unlike what lots of us would do but on a larger scale. Ever dump your yard waste over the fence? "Trim" you neighbor's branches? It is the prosecutor who isn't doing his job.

I'd probably carry a single 9mm stratos, but mostly that is because that is the kind of rope that I have. I'll often lead "short bits of mid fifth" on a single strand or, if need be, double it up when I think I'm facing some serious-fall potential. I know, the stats say "you can't do that" so maybe that means you should ignore everything else I've said, but on the kind of ground that you are talking about I feel pretty safe doing this because you are not talking about climbing Index town wall, but ridge lines and psuedo-scrambling where you are going to take sliding and bouncing falls. When simul-climbing, a short rope is usually easier, and in that case I just coil up part of the rope and throw it over my shoulder. I have a half-rope length of 8.5mm rope which I sometimes carry on scramble climbs when I have a partner who may request a belay somewhere. It is also pretty nice for canyoneering, though it has been a long time since I've been to points SW.

You mean that economic stimulation measure that just about ever economist there is says will have little postive effect on the economy but will increase the federal deficit plenty?

Ray-I'm looking forward to seeing your topos. Maybe instead of bivvy spots, you should note party ledges and snafflehound holes.

Spanker: The answer depends on who is buying. To Bill Gates, I bet the $150 bottle is well worth it - and if he has a well developed palette, he can probably honestly tell you it is three times as good. You and I may react as Fleb did - that it is a whole different breed of wine (assuming we have chosen a $150 bottle that suits our individual tastes) but how can we say it is 2x, 3x, or 5x as good. Is Outer Space 1.5x as good as Orbit because it has an extra star in the guidebook?

Fleb- Ross and I have continued the discussion in private messages and I said one thing to him that I will repeat here: don't concentrate on the mathematics like whether you face a factor one vs factor whatever fall. When you begin a lead, one look at the situation and a modicum of common sense tells you to place gear to protect your belyer from a big shock. When you are looking at a difficult move with a potential splatter below, the same analysis will tell you to double up on the pro and, if I am leading on two ropes, I will see if I can get both ropes involved. The calculations may be interesting, but they don't really affect my practices - in the field. As to your conclusion that one should not take a factor one fall on a half rope, I am not so sure that is correct. Isn't the point that the half-rope will stretch at a lower load than a full rope - so you won't generate the same forces? Again, my resonse to such a concern will be exactly the same as stated above.

"Very disconcerting to hear caps popping whilst working a sketchy move." Do you ever get to Index?

As long as we're all in our cubicles, consider these: Here is a view of Colonial from the base of Pyramid Peak, on the day that Dan and Forrest completed their climb. You can see that there is a lot more snow on it than in Cavey's pic. And here is the east face of Pyramid, on the same day:

You'd be right. That is the top of the last pitch on Yokum Ridge.

Its starting to sound like we might need to try a more upscale destination for pub club some time. For this, surely Trask would bring his magic credit card.

It'd be a night to remember if Dan Larson AND Scott Harder showed up!

Here here (or is it hear hear?). Erik is the man. Let 'em be.

Allison - I was recently educated to the fact that the shape of the glass is amazingly important. Red wine glasses are designed to dump the wine onto a different part of your tongue than are those designed for white. They also treat the aroma diffently. If you have good quality crystal wine glasses that are designed for the type of wine that you usually drink, the shape itself may be a big part of the difference you are noticing.

My recollection of Teddy's is the same as Dave's: it seemed relative popular with those who attended that night, it was not very smokey, and I think it was price-appropriate. I seem to recall it lacked the truly good beers that ChucK has a hankering for, but what the hell -- why not make our selection before 6:30 p.m. the night of pubclub for once.

I did have some of the Shaw not long ago and it was amazingly good! By the way, my wife reminds me that I think you are all missing the mark: the best wines for the money are mostly French and Italian. For $8.00-10.00 you can get a bottle that compares favorably to a domestic that costs twice as much. As I never argue with my wife, and I've helped consume more than a few of said bottles, I wholeheartedly agree with her.

Might that be Eldorado Peak?

Anybody interested in this thread may be interested in the following links, sent to my by Ross: gunks.com web page 1 gunks.com web page 2

Temperature at which JHamaker finds the pub when he shows up for pubclub: 75.

I think I have one for you. Your email came back undeliverable.