Jerome

Tim, Good to hear you're getting some ice! I've had the symptoms you describe from a mix of cold and altitude. In my case, they went away after a couple of weeks. The downside is that you will be much more susceptible to cold injuries in the future. The worst I've seen it is in my brother, from Ranger school in the Florida swamps in 12 deg. F (!!) weather. His fingertips and toes were yellowish with poor capillary refill (squeeze the nail; goes white; blood should rush back in quickly, not slowly, when you release pressure). This took him months to get over, assisted I think by a variety of herbs like cayenne pills that supposedly help with peripheral circulation. There was something else he took (B12?) that really helped. Hope it heals! Shirtless climbing in Vantage on Sunday. No global warming here, nossir. - J

They're fun. No features, just texture. The texture is better than the crud up front, but is still really sandy. The climbs feel more like long boulder problems, so you're rather limited to the holds themselves for feet (unless you are in a corner), which feels a bit different. - J

Not very bright, Robert. An accident by definition is either preventable of non-preventable. In this case the accident was preventable. What exactly are you driving at by 'extreme negligence'? Are you suggesting that this was something aside from a tragic concatenation of events which every human on the planet could have been party to? That is, after all, an accident. Are you suggesting that you've never, ever made a similar mistake? How else would you define 'accident'? If the discussion involved spilt juice it wouldn't really matter, but do you have any concept that a lot of people rather liked Dave? Do you have the gentlemanly grace, the social tact to understand that what you've said is about as kind as asking a mother why she let her child run into the street in a moment of inattention? Are you such a putz? - Jerome

Well there you go! $25 off. Can't beat that, eh? - Jerome I think he was saying that $40/month is not much of a deal considering you can get a membership for $45/month. At least that is how I interpreted it. $70/month is the family membership. Beating people over the head with the obvious rather a competition around here? How's this for a wonderful idea; you want the membership, write me. My price is a bit of a reduction, especially with the $30 VW will ding me as a 'transfer fee'. - Jerome

Well there you go! $25 off. Can't beat that, eh? - Jerome

To anyone interested: A membership good at all VW's, expires 11/04. Cost $200. This is I believe a good deal at $40/month versus typical $70. PM if interested! - Jerome

To anyone interested: A membership good at all VW's, expires 11/04. Cost $200. This is I believe a good deal at $40/month versus typical $70. PM if interested! - Jerome

Nevermind. Just found C's TR. - J

Anyone climbed Eldorado in a day around this time of the year? Any thoughts, advice, great bits of wisdom? - J

Totally doable. The crux of this route is getting to the ridge; once attained, you'll find the ridge to be a walk. We went in mid-August, approached via the nasty gully left of the couloir, summitted in a little under 5 hours from the car. More of a scramble. You could solo or simulclimb almost all of it. - J

Leave the stove and the beacons. Go very light. Go up as fast as you can; that way the altitude can't catch up to you. Doing this, myself and a friend climbed it car-car in 10 hours a couple of years ago; didn't really push that hard. - J

The Snaz. Only one I've done down there. Sustained. The 5.8 offwidth pitch is far more difficult than the 10- roofy bit. Very cool climbing out of a gorge, with the river farther and farther away slowly turning from a torrent to a ribbon of white snaking between your feet. - J

Same. I'm quitting this hellhole for a more swank position elsewhere. Needless to say, Short-Timer's Disease in a big way! I've accomplished today in 7 hours what would have really taken about 45 minutes..... Not too shabby really. - J

When do you work? - J

I've done the climb that branches off the first pitch of Lamplighter (Heaven's Gate?). A highly recommendable climb, I thought. Pitch one starts up the obvious, for me rather intimidating, chimney. At the top a ramp is followed to a difficult bolted lieback. This leads to what is essentially a belay move, then a couple pitches of crimpy face topped by a roofy 5.11 bit. The first pitch is the most difficult mentally. Jerome