mattp

Sorry to hear that, Dru. I've been thinking about whether to offer anything in this thread and I really don't have much to contribute but one thing I would note is that all of us have to recognize that CLIMBING IS DANGEROUS. Sure, we may say that we only rock climb and it is mountain climbing that is truly dangerous (a friend once pointed out that all of our friends who have died climbing were wearing crampons at the time of their death), or we may insist that we are safer than newbies because we've been at this game for a while, or we may have some other argument for how we are not likely to to be hurt or killed while climbing. But I bet that anybody who has been actively climbing for many years probably knows more people who have died climbing than who have died from cancer or car accidents. So all of us need to think about what this means to our friends and family. If not, we are simply being narcisistic (or maybe it is a nacistic activity even still??). [ 10-02-2002, 10:22 PM: Message edited by: mattp ]

Maybe I'll check out the moonlight. My personal favorite remains the old Easter Seals headlamp that was branded as MSR and Black Diamond and maybe a couple of other companies -- the red plastic thing with the rubber headband and the $20.00 batteries. The switch sucked -- turning on in your pack and draining the batteries when you weren't using it and failing to make the connection when you realy needed it -- but the beam was bright and it was the lightest headlamp of its day. Although the batteries were expensive and were toxic waste, I thought they were worth the cost because they performed at full strength, no matter how cold it was, until they ran out. And I'm sure that mine never ended up in any improper landfill site.

quote: Originally posted by To The Top: Jim does a nice job of offering stuff to climbers, not just those that want to look good walking around downtown He definitely serves a different market than REI. Somehow, it looks as if he can make a go of running a real climbing shop while I had heard that there was no money in it and that the big stores sold lots of fleece because that was the only way to survive.

Cavey - What you saw is just the tip of the iceberg. Half lthe climbs at Darrington are not in any guidebook, and you will be amazed when you see what Dave is trying to produce for publication in the Spring. Compared to what is available today -- Washington Rock Climbs, the Traveler's Guide, my webpage, Select Climbs I and II -- it will include not only a whole host of new climbs that have been going up over the last fifteen years, but more accurate portrayals of many older Darrington climbs as well. Meanwhile, I have prepared a drawing of the routes that Dave, Chris and the gang have been working on and which were discussed in this thread (sorry it doesn't display very well on the screen, but it should print OK and I don't know how to manage the HTML so as to get a good screen view). click here [ 10-02-2002, 09:11 PM: Message edited by: mattp ]

quote: Originally posted by AARON1: my Mchale ... pack has been the best pack I have owned...the most comfortable pack to carry a load. Agreed. If carrying any significant amount of gear, I just about ALWAYS opt for my McHale even though I have a lighter and smaller pack that I sometimes use for day trips or alpine climbs.

robertm - I have nad no significant difficulty with the W. Slabs descent and while the first three rappels are certainly messier than anything on the 23rd Psalm, it is not nearly such a serious place to have trouble should you get a rope stuck or something, and it takes you back to where you came from. I believe both descents are worth consideration and that, as I note on my Darrington web page, neither should be considered straight forward. Because of its overall size and complexity, the exfoliating rock, and the need to make multiple rappels in terrain where a rope may get stuck, Blueberry Hill should be treated like a mountain climb in addition to a rock climb. [ 10-02-2002, 03:11 PM: Message edited by: mattp ]

quote: Originally posted by dberdinka: cool underclings around a roof ... Sweet!!

Why don't you bring your svea to pub club and we can spark it up in the parking lot for a demonstration. If we get the safety valve to blow, the fire station is pretty nearby.

Try insulting our hero if you really want it to get ugly.

Beck - You make some points about the Svea -- it was well made and the engineering on all models of the MSR stoves has always seemed to me to be incomplete. But have you ever had the safety release blow? That is something I have not had with an MSR. And it is a very impressive occurence indeed. The MSR's are probably safer even if they do SUCK.

I talked to a drunken German-Swiss man last week who insisted that all of Europe believes we are only in it for the Oil, and that in fact we are hoping to start some shit with Saudia Arabia too before it is over. What do you guys think about that?

quote: Originally posted by erik:

Good luck. I hear they send out a couple of decoys, while the snipers hang back in the bushes. Wear your body armor or else just drop bombs from 30,000 feet. [ 10-01-2002, 02:50 PM: Message edited by: mattp ]

You're just giving the old ticker a workout. Now you won't have to go jogging after work tonight.

quote: Originally posted by Greg W: Get your head out of your ass, E-rock. Go Greg, go.

Greg - Right on -- it may be a bore to rehash the same old topics but I find it more entertaining than some of what goes on around here. So thanks for taking the bait. You are right: we "saved" the world not once, but twice in the 20th century. And then we "beat" the Soviets. I'm not arguing that we should be isolationist, but my concern here is that we will not be top of the heap forever, and while we may think we don't need the assistance of our allies right now, there may come a time in the future when we regret not having acted with a little more tact. You may disagree, but I don't see Saddam posing such an immediate threat that we should go it alone. Nor do I see our we-don't-have-to-care-what-the-rest-of-the-world-thinks attitude in so many other areas as being to our long term benefit. And Daisy-I don't think anybody, the most rabid peacenicks included, advocates letting rogue nations produce nuclear weapons. But in many areas of foreign relations these days, WE are the rogue nation. When our economic and military power wanes in comparison to other nations, we'll be the ones grovelling.

Off - Spray is a topic area devoted to thread drift -- as it would be "thread drift" for our fearless leaders to want to discuss a change in foreign policy when the basic premise here seems to be that we are the sole superpower so we may as well do whatever we want -- the rest of the world be damned.

Chips - It is an old joke, particularly popular with certain fans of some guy named Beckey. All you have to do around here is to mention Horsecock and you'll be instantly popular.

Beck - you probably still wear wool nickers, too. No insult intended, though -- your elegant praise for the svea 123 brings back memories and a nostalgic yearn for the good old days.

Most of all, unroped solo climbing is SCARY and, as such, I think fears of the irresponsible post leading to accidents are probably overblown. Yes, I have known inexperienced climbers who got in over their head when scrambling, and there are idiots who will try anything if it has been called "XTREME," but the danger of unroped climbing on technical rock is so obvious that damn near anybody will freak out pretty quickly and back down from even the easiest climbs without a rope. However, if we were going to worry about giving irresponsible advice, I would think that a climber with some experience, enough to feel a sense of mastery at climbing, would be more prone to being misled into taking risks than would someone new to the sport.

quote: Originally posted by Cpt.Caveman: I have both of em. When I think I am going to actually climb in the dark then I ditch the Tikka. Funny you should say that. Most of my friends who carry the Tikka's bristle when I suggest they are not bright enough. But then they follow me because they can't see where to go when we're on some approach hike or ski trail in the dark. In my view, the Tikka is good around camp, it is sufficient for following a trail, and it is light enough that people bring it along when they don't expet to be out in the dark. But if you have to find a route through the bush or navigate anything but the most straight-forward terrain, it is not bright enough.

Mine seems to run much better since I have been mostly using relatively new fuel and I sometimes even use the MSR brand fuel. The old stuff from the nearly empty gallon cans sitting around in my basement just seemed to clog it up.

It's been a season for cascadesprayer weddings: Lambone, september 14 (?) MattP, september 21 another Matt, september 21 Hikerwa, september 22 Here's mine: -Mattp

quote: Originally posted by Greg W: I vote for arguing and strong arm tactics - it just wouldn't seem like a true cc.com event without it. sign me up

But Ted, I was looking forward to perfect weather, now 'till Christmas. You mean I can't count on this?