joekania

Nothing- absolutely nothing- beats smoked oysters for unsavory posterior olfactory emissions. Glad I was camping solo to find that one out. Or maybe everyone else should be glad.

I've had similar experiences with my narrow feet and long break-in time, but they offered the best fit in the store, and Superfeet definitely made a difference, esp since an old injury left my feet slightly asymmetrical and one slightly larger. They are great on rock, I led several pitches on Stuart last year and was never tempted to pull my slippers out of my pack. I've had them for 2 years and they're still breaking in, they still sometimes hurt, and they're often quite comfortable. They are not showing much wear, either. Never had a problem with my knees, either. I did wear a pair of brand new Asolo plastics for a monthlong trip, they were comfy and familiar from day one, which is a huge contrast. Wow, your REI has mountaineering boots? The one in Denver doesn't, but they have crampons, ice tools, and (as the salesperson so astutely pointed out) both kinds of harnesses- Black Diamond and REI!

16" inches of fluffy champagne to pop my cork here in Vail today. And after 9" yesterday, well, it's been nice. I need a quadriceps transplant in a hurry. Any donors? You can find me in the hot tub, escaping from my 18,000 closest ski buddies.

I'll co-flail, check your pms

Yeah, habby boidday. If I don't hear from you soon, I'll be leaving a surprise on your porch. (Don't worry, not the ring-the-doorbell-and-run-away-type surprise!)

Here's a big chance for y'all to spray (note location). What's it like on top of the world? The 1994 Sagarmatha Environmental Expedition presented by National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Instructor Steve Goryl portrays life on the world's highest peak. In 1991 Steve and the late Scott Fischer decided to embark on an Environmental Everest Climb, forming a team that was intent on conservation of this majestic peak. After a successful climb of the world's tallest mountain this expedition made international headlines when they removed more than two tons worth of garbage from previous expeditions, setting a precedent for minimum-impact high altitude mountaineering. Steve was the Expedition Leader of this Mt. Everest climb and became the 367th Westerner to reach the summit. He has been an instructor with NOLS since 1971 and has worked more than 440 weeks in the field. For more information on Steve's climb check out http://sagarmatha.nols.edu. When: Friday, September 20, 2002 - Presentation begins at 7 p.m. Where: The North Face 1023 1st Ave. Seattle, Washington 98104

Hey Al, I fergit, how much longer are you gonna be 39 agin?

A guy has a pain in his elbow so he goes to see the doctor. The doc says, "Here, pee in this jar, I'll send it to the lab and I'll have an answer for you in the morning." So the guy does and goes on home. The doctor calls the next day and tells him he's got tennis elbow, and just needs to rest his arm for a couple of weeks. Well, the guy just isn't believing it, so he says he wants a second opinion. So the doctor says, "Okay, go ahead and bring in another sample and we'll see what comes up." So the guy, thinking he'll play with the results a bit, pees in a jar, has his wife and daughter pee in the jar, and for good measure whacks off in the jar, and takes it to the doctor. The next day he calls the doctor feeling all smug, and asks what the results of his sample are. The doctor says, "Well, your wife has gonorrhea, your daughter is pregnant, and if you don't stop whacking off you'll never get rid of that tennis elbow!"

What do you do if a blonde throws a pin at you? RUN! She's got a grenade in her mouth!

A man sits alone at a bar, drowning his sorrows in martini after martini. An attractive woman comes in and finds the only seat at the bar is next to this sad sack. Halfway through her first drink, she can't stand the one-man drama playing out next to her, so she speaks up. "So why the long face buddy?" "Oh, I just found out my wife is leaving me," he moans. "I know that tune, my divorce is final next week. Why is she leaving you?" the woman inquires. "She doesn't like to have the kind of kinky sex I like." "Well, that's a coincidence! That's exactly why my husband is divorcing me!" After a few more drinks and some conversation, they decide to head over to her place for some naughty playtime. They get in the door and she purrs, "Let me slip into something a little more comfortable." She disappears into the bedroom and comes out 15 minutes later in full studded-leather bodice, mask, elbow length gloves and cat-o'-nine-tails. The guy is pulling on his coat and headed out the door. She says, "Hey, where you going? I thought you were into this kind of stuff?" The guy says, "Look lady, I screwed the cat, I shit in your purse, I'm outta here!"

It's telltale that after all this time, the Sheriff and local DA have come to the conclusion that they can't effectively prosecute someone and win the case in this situation. Their whole case would be lacking physical evidence, rely on the unreliable testimony of traumatized witnesses, and just think of the expert witnesses that may take the stand... DA: So, Mr. Whittaker, your organization leads people up the most dangerous mountains on the continent with only a day's training. Is that what you consider adequate experience? BL: Well...we DO send them up with highly trained and experienced guides, you know. Next witness: DA: You wear North Face and have the REI debit card, do you consider yourself an experienced climber? Gaper: Yes, I've summitted Mt. Si four times now, with one descent in rain. And if those folks who died knew how to strap on crampons and use ice-axes with leashes, well they must have known exactly what they were doing. The human element is all the prosecution would have to build on, and since no one was a witness to the events that caused the first climber in the domino chain to pop off the ice, there will always be a shadow of a doubt. Nearly everything brought as evidence will be speculation, and as this board constantly demonstrates, opinions vary widely among even the most experienced climbers. It's fun (or scary, depending which side you're sitting on) to think what a defense attorney might be able to do to a witness during cross-examination. And a jury of PEERS for climbers? Is it possible for such a thing to exist?

Didja hear about the four blondes who froze to death at the drive-in last January? They went to see "Closed for the Winter."

Glad to have another successful mountaineer back (that is, the one who makes it down). I appreciate you sticking your neck out to tell us your story, I think we all can learn from it. Good to have you back safe and sound.

http://www.king5.com/localnews/stories/NW_072902WABglacierpeak.3b772eed.html or, DARRINGTON, Wash. – Three climbers are trapped by a storm and whiteout near the summit of Glacier Peak, one of Washington’s five volcanoes in the Cascades. They have not suffered any injuries, but the three climbers – two women and one man in their mid-twenties – have not been able to descend since Sunday morning. They are stuck at the 10,200-foot-level of the 10,539-foot mountain and managed to summon help with a cell phone. Rescue teams are using helicopters and horses to bring them to safety. A Chinook helicopter from Fort Lewis dropped off supplies to them. They are expected to be rescued late Monday evening and hike out Tuesday morning. “Things can turn bad very quickly. If it gets cold, they could develop hypothermia. So it’s very important that we bring them out safely and I'm certain we'll do that,” said Jan Jorgensen, Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.

Jolly Mtn, trailhead near Salmon La Sac at the horse camp. 4000'/5 miles to the top. Good views of southern volcanoes, Stuart range and the Pacific crest. Plenty of deer and side trails.

I am a humble boddhisatva sprayer.

Got skunked off of an attempt of Mixup over the weekend. Gunsight notch had a knife edged snowfield almost up to its tiny col, with a 30' dropoff to either moat (which were also unpassable) and a boot-wide isthmus leading up to the knife edge. Further melting could make it better...or worse? Too dicey for us single-toolers. Also saw a party of three ascending Sahale at DUSK! Granted, weather was flawless and there was a moon out, they probably topped out a bit after sundown. Was that anyone who posts here?

good beat, I can bite bats heads off to it, I give it a 6.66 snafflehoundsofhell

Yo momma's so fat, when she goes to a restaurant she doen't get a bill, she gets an ESTIMATE!

[ 07-16-2002, 12:21 PM: Message edited by: joekania ]

AlpineK, 2 degrees in how much time? [ 07-16-2002, 12:21 PM: Message edited by: joekania ]

From the Wall Street Journal: Snafflehounds Rescue Falling Market New York- A small futures market has been cited as the saving grace in the face of recent losses on Wall Street. Yesterday's losses on Wall Street were attributed in part to a flurry of day trading in the Pacific Northwest, market analysts say. A temporary server malfunction caused a market segment usually appeased by posting chest-beating trip reports and spray to divert its attention to other online sites. "Most of our posters started checking their 401Ks and stock portfolios when they couldn't get past our home page," says a source from the climbing website "www.cascadeclimbers.com" who would only identify himself as 'jon.' "We had people at our hosting service working around the clock knowing that having all of our members loose on the web could have an impact on the local community. But we never expected it to go this far." Market watchdogs also reported that the resulting free time enabled climbers to spend more time on offshore e-retailers' websites, where Northwest climbers shop for discounted equipment. The flow of capital outside the US market caused an ailing US dollar to fall even further. "The lower exchange rate on the dollar made foreign investors temporarily lose confidence," says Lisa Christenson of Bloomberg, "causing a domino effect on the domestic markets. A minor drop early on Monday morning cascaded into the impression of the bottom falling out under investors," whose confidence is already shaky after numerous media reports of corporate accounting scandals. "The end result was a weaker demand in the federal bond market, driving up interest rates and slowing corporate investment. Luckily a surge in the market for top show snafflehound futures mitigated the early damage and the market closed at a less intimidating hundred points down," says Christenson. The market for snafflehound futures was suddenly flooded, driving down prices and turning it into a buyers market. "We're not really sure what they are," commented Christenson, "but they really saved the day."

We will not see a non-oil-based economy in our lifetimes. Buying oil from other countries is an economic and military strategy- use theirs until it's gone so they can't afford ours when it's all that's left. Then we will continue to have economic and military superiority because all of the machines on the planet will be fueled with N American oil, our fat cats will still make the money, our bombers and missiles will still be flying, and Detroit will continue to pump out cheap gas-hog SUVs to drive the workers home to the far away suburbs (interesting how sprawl showed up with the automobile) and people will buy them because the TV told them to.

A friend of mine said once that the risks involved in climbing are approached consciously and thoughtfully, while we drive around with no consideration of the dangers of driving, or other activities. I would more happily cash in my chips on a glacier than bleeding out halfway through a windshield with a cell phone a hundred yards away with someone saying, "Can you hear me now?"

Perhaps they were. Sounds a little funny, though. The search was called off that afternoon. http://www.king5.com/topstories/NW_071302WABclimbers.77b5fb34.html http://www.komotv.com/stories/19352.htm