plexus

If these are shoes you're going to hope to wear all-day long, get a different pair. Trust me...My trad shoes are board-lasted and I can wear them all day long with minimal discomfort (for a climbing shoe that is). My slippers are tight and I bought them that way. I only wear those when I'm out bouldering, climbing on my woodie or if I turn to the dark side and clip some bolts. But no way on multipitched climbs, they would hurt too much. Just some advice from a

Got some nice leather racing gloves for x-mas .. I'll be just like Vin Diesel in Fast and the Furious now !!

I've had a Zipka for just over a year now. I took it down to Mexico with me last year and it got plenty of use — our backroom was across the courtyard and had no electricity. I also used it about this summer with some overnight trips. I have had no problems with the cord. Another nice thing about it is being able to wear it like a braclet or giving it a cinch knot and attatching it to part of your tent or pack. Also I have yet to need to change the batteries. My old-skool Petzl ate through batteries like fatman in McDonalds. I would go with the Zipka. But I would also keep your other headlamp as well. The LED's suck for directional light and I would use my older headlamp on early mornign approaches or glacier climbs.

Eat a dog for me. It's been about a year since I had real Chicago dawg. Demon Dawgs kick butt. The best pizza is the tuffed pizza at LaVilla on Pulaski, about three blocks from the house I grew up in. My sis has a bad habit of always calling me on her cell whenever she's at Wrigley Field, just to rub it in. Not true about the lack of climbing, one summer when I was back there working graphic design, I brought my shoes with me and found use for them on the statues down at Lincoln Park. Got some good workouts, at least until a mounted police asked me what I was doing. "Bouldering" "Well go boulder yourself some place else." "Gotcha! No problem." True story. Also the place rocks for buildering as well, especially on some of the turn-of-the-centry brownstones !! Enjoy the trip...guess they got 4 inches of snow on x-mas eve. And don't you even think about putting ketcup on a dog

Don't forget you head up the dirty obvious gully to the summit blocks .

I like how my signature is becoming Black Adder trivia...

lots and lots o !!! Couple of parties this weekend. beer! wine! liquor! My poooooorrrr kidneys!!! Yahoo!! For a non-climbing weekend, it

Those guys !! They're glad to be back but are hating the early-morning wakeups. They get in there at 3 a.m. to put out the forecast !! Those guys can ski too! So when you see any of the three, offer to buy those guys a !!

Hell, everything that isn't at Stone Gardens, Cascade Crags and Verticle World is just all choss!!

New points go to Boston Peak after further review. Also add Spider Mtn to that list. It's up!!

DMM cams and Bluewater ropes...if you ain't got them

My fiancee's Acopa shoes just had one tongue rip out of one of them the last time we went climbing . The nice thing was we bought them in Mexico, where they are made, and spent about half the price they sell for up here . It's funny seeing how much stuff is marked up big time in the states.

Actually a good year for my wish list. Getting an Imac G3 700mhz, a SD Tempest shell, my better half got a Kitchen Aid mixer-so I get lots o goodies to eat !! Also bought myself three cams and a couple of slings yesterday for my own x-mas gifts !!

I know but wasn't sure how many ppl would. Maybe a Black Adder fest is needed for this weekend.... hmmm....

Col. I think you're just gonna have to play inside this weekend. As for me, I'm gonna set some new routes on my woodie. It's been so nice outside lately, I haven't really had a chance to mess around with it. God, talk about the Freudisms in my post

RE:i think someone on this website once told me to just be patient ... Nope I think that was Trask telling you to be the patient. He wanted to play doctor

yup and yup...

Whatever happened to wishing for whirled peas?

I tried getting to Butler a few years ago. Followed the directions I got off of RocknRoad. Walked down the railroad tracks, had two mongrel dogs chase after me, managed to hit one of them with a rock and they backed off. Never got to Butler as we went too far. But on the way back we did see it, bushwacked towards it and realized we wasted the day. The thing makes the Van Zandt cliff look well, worth the trip. If you want some obscure stuff to climb in that area, head over to Split Rock and Bald Rock (located near Lake Cavanaugh). Or up at Cumberland Pass on the Finney Creek Road, some nice sandbagged 5.9s on decent rock. Happy Trails

BCO is having a liquidation sale that opens to the public tomorrow after 3 p.m. Sad to see a local shop go down the tubes. Got some stuff for cheap today. Those in Skagit County check it out and give your condolences.

So how did it go on Sunday? Did you guys find your way up to the ridge without getting lost? I need to get back up there sometime again. Was chilly on Sunday, up near Welker Peak searching/chopping down a x-mas tree. Nice views of Baker and Shuksan. Doesn't feel like December seeing those mtns w/o snow. Hit a nice patch of ice going 50 mph on the Baker Lake Road. Got out of it before I consciously knew what I was doing !!

Funny, I like my ice in a glass and flavored with bourbon !!

Dru, Good job. I love those alien abductions !! Especially when they drop you off exactly where you were . Had one of those experiences up on Tomyhoi!! Wierd. Them aliens must be patrolling your border. You guys bought them off with Molson Ice didn't you ?!

That's a fair amount of money. While the mileage is low for the age of the truck, the vehicle is still 14 years old. Don't get me wrong, we love our Toyota truck and you can drive the thing into the ground. I've been snake-bitten buying used cars in the past. I strongly urge you to have a mechanic look at it before buying it. The money you put up front will defin. save you in the long run. I'd also start bartering with the person. Also what are the extras? Extended cab, canopy, AC, radio, power windows-locks? Is this person the orginal owner? Can they provide receipts to work that has been done? If they say nothing has been done on it, that is BS right there. IT doesn't matter how great a vehicle it is, everything needs a little tweaking and minor repairs from time to time. We just had a new radiator put in our '93 Toyota truck, along with valve adjustment, brake pads, oxygen sensor. If anything, have a mechanic look at it.

Yeah, you can tell where I DIDN'T go to college at Thanks for the clarification...