bobinc

Off White got Double Dip. Second JT is Loose Lady.

I'll take another shot at the JT guess: Heart and Sole? It's been awhile and I don't recall a no hands rest but the flake to the left looks familiar.

I cheated and used Mozilla Firefox and have no problems with the "enlarge print" version...

This looks great; succinct yet not too condensed. Thanks for the effort, Colin. There is a font problem on page 1 of the "hardware" section.

Thanks, man.

Are 2 ropes needed? Just trying to figure out how much "conditioning" we're in for... Projected dates of being there are in the range of Aug 24-26 so maybe we'll stumbled into others who decide to bring only one rope. (We got lucky this way on the G. Teton.) TIA for info.

This is the Leaning Tower (beer-only) ascent. Said to be apochryphal, but still a great read: http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?topic_id=9229

Just there yesterday-- no one at the pull out except... a YNP employee saying they had closed that side for SAR chopper operations. Damn! Did Crescent Arch instead which is very enjoyable and pretty stiff for the grade (old school 5.9).

I'm working on T-band series now. It helps. I have a fair amt of scar tissue on the right side from repeated injuries 20 or so yrs ago (mostly from Ultimate Frisbee). The degree of impingement is very movement-specific. I just rowed an 18 ft boat through the Grand Canyon and did fine but certain types of climbing motion (especially arm extended over head) create trouble. I have high hopes for the bands.

As of Monday, the road to Bird Creek Meadows wasn't yet open. Snow level isn't extreme this year so that road may open before July 4. I am unsure of the rules on access there because the road is in the Yakama Reservation, but call Trout Lake Ranger Station in a few days to see if there is an update. Of course you can also access the route from Cold Spring TH.

Yes-- also true in Colorado Rockies in many cases. Better to avoid using the rope, if possible.

I recall this route. Mostly I recall lots of 3rd and 4th class with no protection but maybe we were there after an earthquake since I didn't note as much loose rock. We did find a piece of plywood with roofing nails which must have served as a primitive crampon... The technical crux as I recall was descending. There was a moat and short snow slope with bad run out and we had nothing resembling an ice axe. Once we committed to the slope, we had goats watching and kicking down rocks. Good times.

Bummer on the rental car. If you end up starting too far north on the maze of roads there and eventually give up and park (meaning perhaps a 1/2 mile of add'l walking), the roads seem to be better (or at least adequate). Great pix of IW; that route has always intrigued on paper.

Stichter Quits

Pic 1: Echo Rock Pic 2: Chimney Rock, West Face: Damper/Pinched Rib

I can't justify that money being spent (especially on that road). That was my point. Some roads should never have been built, or having been built, should be removed from non-human powered access.

oh -- more winging about the Middle Fork road, eh?

Perhaps your "inclusiveness" refers to drivers rather than hikers. If so, I am glad that HM's legacy will reflect his enthusiastic support of bipedal access and a questioning of road extensions and wheeled access.

I never met him, either. I did write him once just to tell him how much I appreciated what he had done. If you can, find old Mtneers Annuals from teh early 60s and read his stuff -- strong prose and keen sense of humor. I think he produced the manuscript for teh Sierra Club book on the proposed N Cascades Nat Park in less than a month; it needed little editing. Also a good interview of him in the early 90s book, Cascade Voices.

Economics of ski areas are very similar to the pro sports model; relative magnitude varies, of course (gross revenue, etc) but typically these ventures are a net loser for the locals. This is espcially true in places where local housing becomes unaffordable because of the related glitz factor. This also explains why most ski area owners (generally large conglomerates with large real estate holdings) continually push to develop non-skiing amenities (read, more condos). Very similar to the situation at big sports stadiums where there is a team playing down on the field but where the empahsis is placed on pushing people to buy merchandise and brutally marked-up food and drink. Intersting that the TNT article had no direct mention of global warming. The Snoqualmie areas really are in trouble already and Stevens and Crystal aren't far behind. Even the Utah areas can have problems at times -- note long periods of warm, dry weather in recent memory that make the locals wonder.

If the dems clean up in Nov, the onus will be on them to mop this mess up in two years. That's an awful tall order. Yup -- the R's can always depend on the D's to clean up after them.

If the rich could hire the poor to die for them, the poor could make a pretty good living.

does this include the billions going to military-related academic research?

Psychotic Turnbuckles Pontius Pilate and the Driving Nails

He can HEAR a woman better than man... understanding is another matter altogether...