mattp

Regular sunglasses work just fine for 90% of any skiing or climbing you will ever do in Washington state. I wouldn't recommend them for a summer climb on Mt. Rainier, perhaps, but I have in fact used them there. I've been climbing and skiing around here for 35 years and I have never heard of anybody having a problem as long as they actually wore their sunglasses. I'm sure it has happened, and the above note about how sensitivity might vary is accurate. Wear whatever you want, but wear sunglasses when you are out in bright light on snow (I worry about it on rock such as a long day in the sun on white granite in Darrington, too, and I bet you could hurt yourself at Vantage). Don't assume that a cloudy day is not bright: the normal cloudy day that is not so crappy that you've canceled your outing is probably still plenty bright enough to burn your retinas. (I could be "medically" wrong, but my experience suggests that on the truly crappy days you CAN get away without sunglasses.) Err on the side of greater protection if it is really sunny, you are going to be exposed for long hours, or if you are climbing higher peaks. Glacier glasses are designed for this purpose.

OK then, that raises the question: is the liberal or conservation position on these major issues more stupider?

Is anybody but me thoroughly disgusted with the news media lately? Covering the Election, the TV news and even the newspapers cover the latest polling data and dwell upon who snubbed who in the last debate, but there is little coverage of the actual positions that the candidates are taking, who they are aligned with, or anything else substantive that would actually be important in deciding who to vote for. Covering the War, we are constantly hearing about how the surge is working, but there is little mention of the fact that most experts and even Bush’s men admit that there is little sign of progress but a lot of reason to think we are delaying the inevitable civil war. Even with Pakistan being in the news these past two weeks, there is more time and print spent on the success of the surge than the danger of disaster in Pakistan, the clear deterioration of Afghanistan, or the dim prospects for ongoing improvement in Iraq. Covering the Environment, we heard for years about how there was scientific debate over climate change when there was not and now though that has faded away yet we are still hearing very little about the depth or details of the issue or the US’ role in global environmental politics, and there is scant little discussion of how we might address the issue or how this or that possible choice might affect the future or our economy. Covering the Bush Administration, we've read the stories but there sure isn't much of an emphasis on the fact that more Bush appointees or associates have been accused of or indicted on felonies than any recent administration (isn't that correct?), and the Gonzalez resignation stayed in the headlines for about 3 days. Bush has ignored Israel and Palestine and now they talk with a straight face about how he thinks he's going to attain a major breakthrough during his last year in office? On Health Care: more of the same. The righty’s around here periodically argue that the media maintains a clear liberal bias, but does it?

With two cars you can hike DOWN Mount Walker, next to 101 along the Hood Canal. Most kids are not interested in hiking UPHILL a lot, and certainly not 3,000 feet up hill.

Zoran, didn't you read the alcohol thread last week? Whiskey is totally incompatible with climbing mountains. You will get hypothermia.

Spring sometimes comes pretty early in Leavenworth because the canyons are at low elevation.

True that, but I'm more worried about those politicians who say that we need to maintain a heavy bootprint in the Middle East to protect us from terrorists.

As to Gary's question, I don't think the two issues are all that comparable. The first one, withdrawal from Iraq, isn't going to happen. The second one, tearing down the viaduct, is inevitable. I'm in favor of careful planning and trying to do the right thing in both areas, though, and in that sense I'm against inflexible timelines.

A troll? You know very well that the analysis has shown Seattle taxpayers provide way more money for the rest for the state than the other way around.

He had a great shot of that Skywalk Buttress you and Mark climbed a couple of years ago. As always, John Scurlock comes through.

somebody want to share a ride? mattp(at)seanet.com

Did I mention? "Stay the F*&&^ out of the hospital." That is a worthy goal for everyone here.

Post your phone number here and we can screw that up for you.

My goal is to have fun with my friends. Yes, there are some particular climbs I have in mind but if I get one or two really good trips and several fun weekends with my buddies, that's not bad. I'd like to travel somewhere exotic and climb 5.reallyhard, but the fact is I won't - at least not this year. That won't stop me from wasting half the year on cc.com, though.

Try some pre-emptive interference. Start with acknowledging the turn of the new year at the international date line and celebrate it every hour around the globe. They'll be ready to knock off by the time you reach New York (unless they're like my friends, who just work themselves up into greater frenzy and carry on until we reach the What-The-F&*k Islands, just short of January 2).

Kick butt!

We're pulling Muffy, 'cause she's one of our own and she's been a lotta fun around here. But really, we're pulling for all of us. Draw a couple of chairs together at a cc.com rope up and start talking about our health issues and we're all on the same team in short order.

Screw that motivational stuff. Just keep doing what you've always been doing. ;-)

That sucks, Muff, but don't fear that life is over or anything like that. I've had a long term arthritis thing that is likely ankalosing spondulitis though I have not been diagnosed. You can live with stuff like this and in fact many active people do.

I'll likely be headed up for this, but I wouldn't expect to want to leave Seattle much before 6:00 and certainly not in the middle of rush hour at 5:00.

That is my impression, Mr. Feck, but who knows? Does Hugh have some new information for us? Anyway, the climb up the old ski runs from Yodelin does not seem real threatening but one could access the same high and relatively open tree skiing that was referenced above from the road-head about two miles east. Sometimes you can park a car or two right where this logging road meets the highway, but you may have to park at the Smith Brook parking area, another half mile east. This is a good area to find safe skiing during avalanche hazards. There are old clearcuts growing up with brush and big trees with sparse undergrowth. The runs are not real long, and you don't get much in the way of views, but it is a good place for some fun on a stormy day.

There have been various Seattle area shops which have offered what I took to be very poor customer service over the years. I've had a couple of experiences over the last year or three where I bought equipment that was unsatisfactory or just plain messed up and the (small business) store owner was not immediately responsive (or perhaps what I mean is not responsive to my satisfaction without a lot of complaining on my part). In my perception, the problems seems to be getting worse but maybe that is just because I'm getting older and grumpier. I'm guessing that the margins must be pretty slim and I think that the distributors/manufacturers are part of the problem (I don't know how the business works, but I've been negatively amazed by my discussions with some of these people). Clearly, when a ski shop mismounts bindings they should be prepared to "eat" it yet I've had them try to wiggle out of responsibility. But in cases where there is a problem with the product I'm wondering: are we wrong to expect a return policy that matches Nordstrom or REI?

You know you hate Christmas, Tvash. Hell, the John Birch Society has been warning us of this since 1959! One of the techniques being applied by the Reds, they said, was to weaken the pillar of religion in our country by seeking to take the Christ out of Christmas. Further, even 50 years ago they warned us that the godless UN was scheming to replace religious decorations with internatinalist celebrations of universal brotherhood at department stores accross the nation. And your ilk continues the assault today: politically correct multiculturalism has elevated a variety of formerly obscure on non-existent festivals into faux-Christmases. Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Diwali, Chines New Year, ... hell: even Jerry Seinfeld got into the act with Festivus. And why is Pearl Harbor day in December, anyway? Seattle is the main front in this war against Christmas. Consider our Representative "Baghdad" Jim McDermott: he recently voted to recognize Ramadan, but then voted atainst a Congressional resolution that recognized Christianity as the predominant religion of the United States. What's up with that? Is Baghdad Jim a card carrying member of the ACLU?

Count me as a vote for unlocking it.

Yes, and that second point it debatable. He's managed to steal two elections, build his dream fort in southern Iraq, and allow all his friends to loot the Federal treasury while the "opposition party" watches his ass and it doesn't look like his henchmen are going to jail even though everybody knows they are serial felons. The head dufous may actually look pretty smart when we look back on all of this in hindsite. Who needs facism. Why don't they name Bush man of the year, huh? He sure made Putin look dumb in that clip just above.