slothrop

we got lost for a bit coming back from smith last night. where is the turn off of 26 to get back to 205? and did anyone else drive through choking black smoke on 26/97 friday night? oh, don't forget your credit card for the all-night self-service gas station near warm springs... the grasslands campsite (skull hollow?) was overrun with canucks this weekend. that's at least a ten-hour drive! just for a weekend! canadians don't even get veterans' day off, do they?

panther, you are one scary fucker. "seditionists"? guess who were the seditionists in 1776? the only real way to get rid of this problem is to make the idea of attacking the US irrelevant. if everyone who's now a terrorist were fat, busy, and happy, not a one of them would give a shit about learning how to make car bombs. not much of a means, but certainly the end. the parallels to vietnam are numerous: enemy blends with the local population, hides in an extensive network of caves, and is opposed by a faction of dubious legitimacy who we're supporting with military advisors and airpower. yeah, yeah, it's not vietnam, but it's still going to drag out for years and end up a big fucking mess. just because we're aware of our mistakes doesn't mean we won't repeat them endlessly. if we could kill osama bin laden tomorrow, great. i don't see how aiding the northern alliance will get us anywhere, but now that we've committed to it, we better wipe the hardcore taliban off the map and install their weaker members in a stupid coalition gov't with the alliance that will collapse in a few months. a way we might earn peace from afghanistan is to make sure the vultures in the region, especially pakistan, don't carve up the carcass for themselves. after we fuck up the place real good, we have to stand watch on the borders until it gets back on its feet again. if we don't help the afghanis get up after we beat them down, they'll just wait until we're not looking and strike back hard.

I have the precip pants. They're pretty light and simple, but they don't seem to be terribly durable. The coating on the inside of the pants is not covered with anything, so it might rub away after a lot of use. They breathe pretty well and water beads up nicely, so overall I'm happy to use them for hiking and approaches. If you're going to get waterproof/breathable stuff, go light...

Point taken. I wonder if ski patrollers and the like have ever had problems with their radios interfering with avalanche beacons...

Running lights, lots and lots of running lights. And a CB so's you can make yo dealz with the truckers as you pimp on down the highway. [ 11-05-2001: Message edited by: slothrop ]

What use is the FCC rating that (I thought) was supposed to guarantee some degree of resistance to radio interference?

Here's some commentary on the topic from a maker of avalanche beacons: http://www.bcaccess.com/fdpressrel/cellphone.html The story above sounds like an internet rumor to me... and why would you bring a cellphone to the mountains anyway? I know I'd just smash mine, and it wouldn't get reception until I got back to the highway anyway.

I was at the Coleman icefall a few weeks ago and had a great time on some smaller seracs and crevasses. There are definitely some hidden pools, one guy we were with started to punch through the softening ice after he jumped off a wall. Take the right just past Glacier at the sign for Heliotrope Ridge and park at the wooden outhouse about 8 miles down. The trailhead is just a few yards downhill from the outhouse. Some of the creek crossings were troublesome in the morning when ice covered the rocks, as there weren't many shallow places to just wade through. We camped at the lookout a little ways up the road and woke to an awesome view of the sunrise over Baker

You can take Gary Brill's course through REI, there are three sessions this winter, each with 3 lectures at 6.30pm at the Seattle (or Redmond?) stores, and a field day. It's something like $130 for members. It's also offered at Marmot Mtn Works, who are doing a short, free clinic, too: http://www.marmotmountain.com/events.htm This post is part of my plot to outdo lambone [ 10-30-2001: Message edited by: slothrop ] [ 10-30-2001: Message edited by: slothrop ]

I got a Patagonia Dimension jacket not too long ago, and have unfortunately not been able to try it out in the mountains. I do, however, bike into work every day (and for most other transportation), so i can attest to its powers of anti-wetness. I rode a few uphill miles through a steady downpour with a poly t-shirt on underneath and arrived at home with only a small wet patch at the neck where the rain had drained off my face. Kick ass.

a good place to practice is on an icefall, say the coleman at mt. baker or the nisqually at mt. rainier. put in a few ice screws, throw down a top rope, and climb in and out of crevasses all day. i was at the coleman a week or so ago with the UW climbing club and had a great time (i'm just starting to ice climb, too). as for getting tools, there are some sweet grivel rambo IIs on sale at barrabes for just over $200/pair with shipping (sorry, lambone )

went ice climbing for the first time with the UW climbing club at the Coleman Icefall. we set up a few top ropes, and after i hacked my way up those, some of us headed up the glacier to some good bouldering walls for some fun bulging, overhanging stuff. had an awesome time... now i want to pick up some cheep ice tools and head out again. rambo II's for ~$212 a pair on barrabes (with shipping!)...

prices 'n all that listed here: www.stonegardens.com www.verticalworld.com

is the frontpoint the shorter jacket? is the hood detachable?

quote: Originally posted by Rafael H: Never heard off this but sounds logical. Have you used it? What for and how do you keep it? saran wrap is useful for covering sucking chest wounds (to keep air from leaking in and putting pressure on your lungs) or abdominal wounds (to keep air from drying out your guts).

It was a sweet show. Brady and Jimmy hooked up with Conrad Anker to climb K7, but got stopped by a storm (lots of pictures of them sitting in a portaledge). There were lots of incredible photos of them climbing numerous towers, the beautiful valley, and the local people they met. At the end, Brady asked to have the music turned up and clicked through a few more action shots to end the show. He had it all well-orchestrated I went with my girlfriend, and now she's all excited to get out and climb with me...