To_The_Top

Not really a cartoon character, but what about Teddy

If you are doing the South side, I'd add a helmet. See you there with the other 100's that will be there. TTT

Heard this guy interviewed on the radio, he is the one that killed the cow with BSE. web page One of the quotes from his website: "Now I want to talk about these lying idiots that run the USDA, the FDA, and the greedy worms that head the various cattleman's associations."

Muir on Sunday was tshirt weather and calm wind and talked to many cc.comers up there (cant remember all the names). There was some slab activity on the slope leading to Cadaver gap, and atleast one group is going for Gib ledges today. Mainly posted these pics for others going up soon and want pictures. Nisqually/Gib ledges: Closer view ] Veggiebelay skiing

You can rent half that stuff if you plan on only using them once.

Selected Climbs in the Cascades (vol I) or (vol II) by Nelson/Potterfield, Cascade Alpine Guide(s) by Fred Beckey.

Story Bear in the air Bald eagles return to find snoozing squatter in their lair By MEG JONES mjones@journalsentinel.com Posted: March 15, 2004 Somewhere on the sprawling Chippewa Flowage in northern Wisconsin there's a pair of bald eagles that are mad as hell. Northern Wisconsin Photo/AP A furry surprise awaited a pair of bald eagles when they returned to their nest at the top of a 45-foot aspen on the Chippewa Flowage. Bears usually prefer to hibernate in caves, hollow trees or culverts. Quotable You can imagine they're thinking, 'Now what?' - Ron Eckstein, DNR wildlife biologist, discussing the bald eagles Why that little devil went to the eagle's nest, it's hard to say. Maybe this animal in the past has had some disturbance on the ground during hibernation. - Mike Gappa, retired DNR bear ecologist It's just about time to lay eggs in their huge 4-foot-wide nest at the top of a 45-foot aspen. The nest is made of twigs, grass and moss and took them weeks to build. The only problem - there's a bear slumbering peacefully in their cushy nest. "You can imagine they're thinking, 'Now what?' " said Ron Eckstein, a state Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist who has spent many years researching bald eagles. While bears choose a number of places to sleep out the winter - caves, overturned trees, culverts and fallen logs - it's very unusual to see them in a penthouse suite high above the ground. In fact, on Monday DNR wildlife biologists could recall only one other documented instance in Wisconsin. That was in fall 2002, when DNR avian ecologist Pat Manthey saw a bear in an eagle's nest on the St. Croix Flowage near Gordon in Douglas County as she was doing an aerial survey of trumpeter swans. A couple snowmobiling in Sawyer County saw the eagle nest on Dec. 31 and thought there was something inside it. They returned on New Year's Day with a camera outfitted with a telephoto lens. "We thought maybe it was a raccoon at first. We thought something was up there, but we didn't know what," said Jennifer Ehrlichman of Hayward. Her boyfriend used his deer hunting tree stand to climb up an adjacent tree to snap some photos. The bear stirred, and they could see its head and furry ears. "He looked pretty sleepy. I think he wakes up enough with the snowmobiles going by underneath," said Ehrlichman, who notified DNR authorities. Gender, size unknown The bear's gender is not known, and its weight has been estimated at around 150 pounds, though it's hard to tell just how big it is. Most bears spend their November-to-April hibernation resting on their stomachs or sides with their legs tucked under them. Ehrlichman's boyfriend returned to the site a few weeks ago and saw three eagles in the area, including one perched about 10 feet away from the nest, eyeing the somnolent interloper. Eagles generally use their well-built nests as nurseries. They lay their eggs and then rear the young hatchlings in the nest, though sometimes it's also used as a platform to dine on a big, fat fish, Eckstein said. While immature eagles, generally those 5 and younger, will head south for the winter in search of open water to fish, mating pairs are very territorial. They're reluctant to leave their area for fear of another pair horning in on their turf. So they will hang around their territory as long as possible and generally leave for only a month or so to find food when it gets cold in January before returning, Eckstein explained. So if the bear climbed into their nest in November, it's likely they would have watched but not attacked because eagles generally don't pick quarrels with other species. Unless, of course, you're a walleye. "If a big bear came, they wouldn't be aggressive. They'd just be - 'Oh oh,' " said Eckstein. There are about 850 nesting pairs of bald eagles in the state. Most breed in northern Wisconsin, though some now nest along the lower Wisconsin River and Mississippi River. On the Chippewa Flowage in Sawyer County, there are 12 to 15 territories staked out by eagles, said Lowell Tesky, a DNR wildlife technician in Hayward who surveys the eagle population there each year. Though most eagles choose pine trees for their nests, some build them in aspen. That stretch of the Chippewa Flowage is filled with big aspens because there's no tree cutting allowed along the shoreline. Tesky has spent the last 16 years working out of the Hayward DNR office, and he was surprised to learn about the bear's hibernation spot. "That's got to be a real cold way to spend the winter. They do lay on the ground in a nest of leaves sometimes, but up there (in the eagle nest) it's got to be cold in the winter," Tesky said. With all the sleeping spots it could have chosen on terra firma, it's a mystery why this bear chose to scramble up a tree. Mike Gappa, a retired DNR bear ecologist, suspects it's a young animal because they're smaller and more inquisitive than older bears. "Why that little devil went to the eagle's nest, it's hard to say. Maybe this animal in the past has had some disturbance on the ground" during hibernation and chose to climb up a tree, Gappa said. Gappa pointed out that bears don't actually sleep during hibernation. They're aware of what's going on around them, but their metabolism slows down and they don't eat, drink, urinate or defecate. Eckstein has climbed into hundreds of eagle nests while researching the bird over the decades and has seen bear claw marks on aspen bark underneath nests, but never a bear. Not time to wake up With 20 inches of snow still on the ground in Sawyer County, wildlife biologists are not expecting the bear to wake up, stretch, scratch and climb down any time soon. Depending on weather conditions, bears generally come out of hibernation in April. This bear is in good company. Though he may be the only one known to spend the winter swaying above the ground in a bird's nest, there are 1.4 bears per square mile in that area, said Ken Jonas, the DNR wildlife supervisor for the Upper Chippewa area. The state's black bear population has fluctuated between 11,000 and 14,000 in the last few years. Jonas is worried that people will find out the bear's location and try to wake it up. He pointed out that it's against the law to disturb a hibernating bear. Entering the den of a bear in hibernation carries a maximum penalty of nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine. "We frequently have bears walking around in late March. They often go back to the den and sleep it off," said Jonas. But "if they're disturbed before they're ready to come out, they use up too much energy." From the March 16, 2004 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Nice

What 8 said....

Bitching about bouldering is lamer than a stealing my food!!

There are tons of those things in Paris, and for that matter there are even smaller cars there.

At my last job someone at work was complaining about their lover (ex) to another friend there, and by accident after all the gorey details and names she called SO in a long email hit send all somehow. it was a pretty big company

Accidentally didn't turn on sound at first and watched what looked like a ton of handwringing on his part

McClellan Butte, Mailbox, Granite, Teneriffe, cable trail on Tiger....all just a short truck drive away

Where's Mtngoat to politically offset j_b's posts of cut paste and quote marathons?

I was in Europe when GW did his speach on the "axis of evil", and talk about a speach going over like lead ballon. People were talking for days about it and I was asked several times "does he know what he's talking about?". It was a much different meaning outside of the US.

Or know what this means Or do it way too many times

There was a spike in productivity in many cubicles

Ha! I didnt summit this weekend either, but rolled out the pad and worked on a suntan after doing some mixed stuff. Great tie in from two parties, and great TRs. TTT

Some of the Scandinavian countries have the sliding scale penalty for speeding, see article That's over $200,000 USD.

Muffy, It took me a while to figure out that this wasn't: I am girl, give me cupcake; "I am Gir, give me cupcake."

You've been very bad Tom.

And I thought the yard sale reached a new low with ebay postings

If you go up between Snoqualmie and Guye from Alpental, reach the col, turn south there shouldnt be a dangerous traverse as I recall (did it in the fall). This is a bit of a hike/scramble and great views. I'd consider an ice axe in winter, but shouldnt be a real big deal, and keep in mind [cornice]. TTT [Edit] Yes, like Klenke said crampons too while doing any winter climb they should be brought.

Long writeup here: web page