mattp

Denny's is going down RIGHT NOW. They started with the cool part, and the Taj Mahal of Ballard is no more. Now they are tearing down the less interesting extensions of the building. First it was the Taxidermy shop and now this. Ballard will never be the same.

Cliff Mass is an interesting guy and I always enjoy hearing him on the radio but he comes up with some BS once in a while - such as when he spoke for ten minutes about how "wet cold" has no more cooling effect than "dry cold." He said if you put a human in a room with damp air as opposed to dry air, at the same temperature, they will become hypothermic no faster. However, he totally ignored the fact that even if this is true the dampness from perspiration will remain in your clothing longer in "wet coldness" - probably only one of a couple of reasons all of us know that humidity DOES have significant impact on our ability to stay warm. Jeff Rennar wouldn't have made the same mistake. Intellicast weather radar loop is a good resource, but not always accurate. I'm not sure how or exactly what it measures but it can miss significant snow or rainfall.

Does lying to Congress to cause them to authorize a war count?

Friedman's editorial in the NYT today has a similar point to the article cited by Scott. Check it out: He writes of three "conflicting realities" and suggests McCain should not plan extended occupation at current levels while Obama should not plan precipitous withdrawal. The three realities: The first is the mood of the American public, which has rendered a judgment that the price we have paid in Iraq over the last five years far, far exceeds what has been achieved there to date. Therefore, whoever wins the presidency — John McCain or Barack Obama — will take office knowing that the American people will not tolerate another four years dominated by an open-ended commitment to Iraq. But the second is the reality on the ground in Iraq, which is no longer an unremitting horror story. Clearly, the surge has helped to dampen the internal conflict. Clearly, the Iraqi Army is performing better. Clearly, Iraq’s Prime Minister Maliki, by cracking down on rogue Shiite groups from his own community, has established himself as more of a national leader. Clearly, the Sunnis have decided to take part in the coming parliamentary elections. Clearly, Kurdistan continues to operate as an island of decency and free markets. Clearly, Al Qaeda in Iraq has been hurt. Clearly, some Arab countries are coming to terms with the changes there by reopening embassies in Baghdad. The third reality, though, is the fact that the reconciliation process inside Iraq — almost five years after our invasion — still has not reached a point where Iraq’s stability is self-sustaining. And Tuesday’s bombing in Baghdad, which killed more than 50 people at a bus stop in a Shiite neighborhood, only underscores that. The U.S. military is still needed as referee. It still is not clear that Iraq is a country that can be held together by anything other than an iron fist. It’s still not clear that its government is anything more than a collection of sectarian fiefs. NYT

36 1/2

Bug, clearly everyone had to set their own cutoff. My own? By "real" climb I meant to indicate climbs that posed more than simply physical endurance challenge - on many of these outings I experienced a heightened sense there was a real chance I might die. This occurred to me when soloing accross busted up glaciers that were not fully melted back to firn, climbing big steep rotten cliffs alone, or mountain routes where retreat would not be a reasonable option, or un-roped soloing even moderately difficult rock -- things like that just didn't seem like where I wanted to go alone as I got older.

I used to do solo backpacks, rock climbs, ski mountaineering and alpine climbing on a regular basis and enjoyed it a great deal. On any real climb, however, there was always that moment when I found myself wondering why I put myself in that position and I didn't consciously decide to quit but I did rather suddenly stop doing it some time in my late 30's. I don't personally know any older climbers that still do it.

I've posted this before, and it may not be in direct reply to Off's original post, but I have never found helmets to be unduly heavy or uncomfortable since the old days of my MSR helmet c.a. 1980. I wear a helmet just about all the time I'm rock climbing or real alpine climbing but not for more moderate mountaineering. Probably once a year I forget I have it on and walk back to the car wearing one.

I don't think he's asking for that, RuMR.

Now that he's given the order to capture Bin Laden do you tthink they'll catch him? (Apparently Bush didn't give that order six and a half years ago.)

Yup, and he hasn't really been adverse to thread drift either. At least we're not calling each other names and posting soft porn. If anybody has more information pertinent to this incident I'd be glad to see it, though.

Are you saying he doesn't pay his debts?

Catbird is a generally safe climber but it is not out of the question, Builder. I've seen him in positions where such a fall might be possible. On trad climbs it is not entirely rare to have to go 15 or more feet past pro with some slack in the system.

Thanks for the link, Mark. Lets hope it isn't our friend Catbird. He's had some tough luck lately and probably doesn't need something like this.

The modern foam jobbies are not tough enough for me. I had a salesman at a local Seattle shop tell me I was unreasonable and should "learn new habits" but I've broken two of them just carrying them in my pack. (Of course, I tend to throw a helmet into my pack along with other sharp and heavy objects, use it for a stool at rest breaks, maybe haul it somewhere on a scrappy approach, and generally beat it about more than you might.) Faced with a salesman that only wanted to sell me a soft shell, I simply went to another shop and found what I was looking for: a hard shell.

My impression is that AAI is an excellent outfit and their course a good one. However, you CAN simply go out and climb - even relatively big mountains - with partners who may or may not be much more experienced than yourself. Many good climbers have learned this way and my reading of accident journals over the last 35 years suggests these people have no higher an accident rate -- and maybe even less -- than anybody else. I have not compiled statistics, but it seems to me I read about a lot of accidents associated with group climbs and relatively experienced climbers who are trying to push their limits. There are plenty of peaks around Washington that you could safely climb as a relative novice, a lot can be learned from a book, and you can take one day with a guide here and there. You may find it easier to hook up with more experienced climbers after you have built a resume on easier peaks. If unguided and untrained you would, of course, want to choose your climbs carefully and if you are the cautious sort start with peaks that have non technical descents, and very short bits of technical climbing, with minimal messy gullies or rotten rock would be a good start. (I realize this eliminates lots of Washington standards.)

I'd say he sounds like a disgruntled former employee - oh what: that doesn't sound like him talking.

For those who may have bookmarked my site, I'm plan to completely move it and that seanet address will eventually go away. The new address is http://www.mattsea.com/Darr/ . For now I am keeping a copy at seanet. There are a lot of different types of climbing in the area but the traditional Darrington granite-tending-toward-slab is best sampled on Exfoliation Dome, in my view. It is nowhere near as user-friendly as Three O'Clock Rock, though.

True enough. What would you do if the dems actually grew some balls?

You are asking me to design the enforcement program in order to suggest an issue that should be addressed? Can you design an effective or fair or justifiable war on drugs? I think not. Do you or do you not believe that censorship for decency or for "state secrets" is justifiable and constitutional? (And does outing a secret agent count?) What do you think of the "equal time" rule, that goes back to maybe the 1920's? Border screening? What is your question?

A see saw goes up and down at the same time.

Why are you dragging me into this separate discussion in what you intend as a derogatory fashion? Just to be rude or is this your idea of being playful? And by the way: you haven't answered my last post -- the third time I have offered more or less the same reply to your taunt. And double by the way: what is logical about this idea that spying on US citizens when they are making foreign phone calls is more constitutional then when they are phoning somebody next door? Or that surveillance is not the kind of thing intended to be addressed by the 4th amendment? Now the President and his cabinet get to decide what is Constitutional? He said it, you believe it? Careful: the next President may be a Democrat.

I believe the last two or three times you brought this up I answered you to say that I'm not sure what the best mechanism would be for effective accountability but I would imagine it would involve both some kind of governmental regulation and civil responsibility. I bet you have no problem with laws that ban indecent material in prime time television or newspapers so why are you so uncomfortable with the idea that out and out lying sold as "news" in these same sources might also be restricted? Oh yes, and these laws against indecency are enforced by that horrendous institution you call the government. Am I correct to observe, then, that you DO agree in there being some limits on freedom of the press? We are just talking about where to draw the lines, and not whether there should be any lines at all -- right?

I think that if you fall very much you are going to take an inverted fall once in a while. Sooner or later you'll screw up and get your leg caught in the rope, bounce off a ledge where your feet catch briefly, or flip off a lieback or something. Helmets are good.

Prophet, I was indeed stimulated to raise this question by your thread and I thought it better for a separate topic as you might still get some good information trickling in on that one. In my view it is counterproductive to prevent the flow of information about how to do it right, and I'm glad that someone can now search on the internet for "how to develop a sport climb" and they will get some information. Whether they are a punk kid or not, I don't think a general difficulty getting information will dissuade somebody who wants to go out and put up routes. If anything, the opposite may be more likely to be true. Given access to information, they'll learn more about how to do it the right way and consider the amount of work and time and money involved. Also, a lack of information will more likely serve as a deterrent to the MORE thoughtful bolter rather than the less thoughtful one. The danger in discussing these matters on cc.com has more to do with the personal attack, misinformation, and public spectacle that we all so frequently see here.