freeclimb9

Washington State loses for the 35th consecutive time playing the UofA Wildcats on Thursday.

I emailed the MNRP my opinion a few weeks ago which they acknowledged with a postcard. I can't make it to the meeting in person.

I generally use double lines when I plan to get more than 100' off the ground. I got into the habit while in Arizona where new routes had me wandering all over the place. Two ropes often can be equated with higher safety. However, I've also done long routes where, as a sort of statement, we only took one rope. As for why many rock-climbers don't use doubles, I think it's a question of simplicity; One rope is easier to manage. BTW, I climb on Bluewater ropes exclusively. I bought an Edelweiss, and the fat picks of the sheath suck for handling compared to the finer ones of Bluewater.

What color is best?

The Brady Bill is harsh, and what party did Jim Brady belong to when he took one to the head for the Gipper? At least the McCarthy in the group took one to the gut (which is a lot easier to bounce back from, in case you're wondering). I blame the GOP for that Bill (even though Chuckie Schumer was the sponsor).

Try in March when the winds blow. It can be sunny, clear skies, and gravel will be abrading your ankles as you get knocked over by the gusts. Chilly.

Number one reason is that with two ropes you can make 50-70m rappels.

I don't have a television. I'm corrupted by the newspaper press.

"plumber butt" is an antiquated term for male cleavage.

There recently was a videotaped "art" performance by a Chinese guy who ate some parts of a stillborn child.

More accurately, "if they were just shot and left to rot" it would never have been reported so widely.

I read that story earlier in the morning, and immediately thought of the scene in the Two Towers at the edge of Faragorn of the Orcs arguing over eating the Hobbits. But it wasn't funny. Tribalism controls much of the goings on in Africa. I spent about a year traveling in Africa --even hung out with some pygmies (they smoke a lot of reefer, BTW), and got exposed to much ethnicism. The story disgusts me, but doesn't surprise me.

Oh yea. For your query about France vs Korea: France is our ally as are the South Koreans. We have our troops stationed in South Korea at the request of their goverment. The South and North are officially at war. Does this help with context?

Yea. It was made in reference to an earlier series of exchanges. The DPRK feel that, with the "axis of evil" label, the US will go for their country once Saddam is dispatched. Last summer, when Assistant Secretary of State, Kelly, confronted the DPRK with an accusation that they'd been enriching uranium, they said "yep". Then they said they'd desist if the US provided recognition of their sovereignty and guaranteed non-aggression. But the US said "no deal" until the North Korean's first give up the enrichment program which, in fairness to US diplomacy, the DPRK started in violation of the 1994 agreement. So, it was a question of who would blink first. Bush just did. His bad, IMO. I think the US should threaten to pull all US troops out of South Korea to get Seoul back in line with supporting our troops stationed there. Then negotiate with China to open their border with the DPRK to let a flood of refugees drain the country. All the while, the US should scramble the North's propaganda broadcasts (practically every home in the DPRK has a box that continually broadcasts rhetoric of the state). Screw the North Korean goverment. They could give a shit about their own people (upwards of 2 million people starved to death there last decade). But, obviously, this scenario ain't gonna happen. The US is backing off its earlier hawkish stance, and the DPRK goverment will continue to survive with food and fuel aid propping it up for who-knows-how-long. I think the situation is best described with the acronym SNAFU (situation normal, all fucked up).

external validation is worth

Raelian Love Child Nuclear Seoul popups of mass annoyance Sum Ting Wong

So go a little later in the season. There'll be fewer people there at a non-festival time, but that means it will just be crowded instead of a zoo. But if you need to ice-socialize, there are other upcoming possibilities like the Roundup in Cody, Lilloeet, Chicks with Picks, Canmore, North of Superior, or Valdez icefests (among others further east).

sexual_chocolate, sent a pm with bouldering info.

I think the North would take a hit just so they could say they hurt your fist. Who'll eat it are the south Koreans.

yea, I doubt they carry inventory. There's a term for stores that take orders, then have another company send the merch, but I can't recall it this afternoon.

dude, I guess you don't know the reputation of Koreans. They're some tough people. And you can't trust many of them in business dealings (and, obviously, in other agreements).

DPRK wants a sycophantic lick from Uncle Sam right on the chocolate starfish. Screw the kimchi-burping, paranoia-filled North. I think if the US caves because Kim Jong Il has his finger on the nuclear button, what will stop every other nuclear power (real and imagined) from doing likewise. Giving Saddam a serious ass kicking might get the DPRK right back in line. Much of the world's cultures respect brutally wielded strength. January 27th is coming up fast. BTW, North Korea already has the missiles to hit the West Coast. Anybody got the nerves for a Pacific Rim arms race? It won't take much for Japan to join in.

Depending on conditions, I might head to Joe's Valley during that weekend. Ouray is maybe 4-5 hours driving time further from there. It's possible to catch a score, or more, of top-ropes in a day there (or so I've heard). Do you have a place lined up to stay while there?

I guess there wasn't enough money coming from donations. I hope they make a go of it.

Freeway climbing can be fun. When I lived in Oxnard, CA (town slogan: "more than just a pretty name"), I used to spend quite a few lunchbreaks cranking the two short (25') finger cracks formed between forms of a Hwy 101 onramp retaining wall. One of them had a tough tips section that always forced me to dyno for the lip; Caught a lounging lizard's skull under a fingertip one time. I ignored the squirming sensation, and pulled up eye level to the lip to see the bloody carnage. Some splatter, and a corpse that kept twitching after I was able to move my hand. There were some glued on pebbles for climbing too. Some years later, CalTrans painted over the place with graffiti-washable paint. Upped the difficulty, apparently. In San Diego, I've climbed under I15 on some pretty desperate crimpers, and in Bakersfield I've done some other glued-on traverses on bridges over the Kern river (it's humbling to be given beta by a wino). And there's supposed to be many climbs in smelLA. The spectacle of climbing on freeways highlights the absurdity that the sport can generate.