Fairweather

Funniest thing you've ever posted, Matt. Of course you realize that both of our senators here are Democrats?? No matter, though. The Dems will screw us on behalf of anti-recreation environmental groups, and the Republicans will screw us by cutting the NP/NF maintenance budget based on the perception that most hikers and climbers are "D" votes anyway. Sad, but likely.

I piss on your Darrington routes. In fact, I just did piss on some of them. TR to follow. We did Silent Running car to car in just under 3 days; a new record. Look for it under the "Fat Fucks on Slab" title. Have you learned how to flake the rope yet? Geez, man. At least drape it over your belly, or something. Based on two recent TR's of yours, I would classify you as both a pussy, and a danger to your second. Thank God you didn't post any pictures of your anchor set ups!

Fair points, Matt. But the 'squeakiest wheels' these past 30 or so years have been organized environmental exclusionists who seem to have the only seat at the NCNP table. And now that one of their primary agitators has passed on, I believe an opportunity to return some sanity exists. Unless NCNP management hears from average pro-access, pro-recreation, pro-responsible use folks, and hears the undercurrent developing against their let nature take over strategy, roads and trails will be a thing of the past - and very soon. I don't know anyone who wants new roads in wilderness areas, but I truly believe that the vast majority of hikers and climbers want the status quo of, say, 1990, maintained in this regard.

Pussy, me? ...The North Face of Shuksan is a Day Trip, chubby. Before you go callin' folks pussies, pea brains, cockroaches, and rabid dogs, you should make sure you can look after yourself properly if you ever happen to "run into" one of them up there. And I can guarantee you that taking three days (!) to hump up NF Shuksan does not qualify you to be talking that degree of shit. Now run along you fat fuck.

Sooner or later you have to hold the "host" country responsible, and that involves killing a lot of innocent people. There really is no other way...except preemption. I guess MAD would work if we held the country of the weapon's origin responsible and publicized this doctrine in advance. This whole missile defense shit seems valid over the Pacific, but placing these batteries in former Soviet Bloc nations is unnecessarily provocative and, frankly, insulting to a Russian nation that not too long ago threw off the yoke of communism in the hopes it would be treated with respect. Besides, if a nuke attack ever comes from the middle east it seems more likely it will arrive in a shipping container.

Zacktley.

You're comparing Binladen to Falwell? A classic example of liberal moral equivalence doctrine - and 100% wrong. Gimme a fucking break. Falwell - judgmental, hypocrite, annoying Binladen - mass murderer, enslaver of women Hmmm. Yes, I will celebrate when he dies - but I suspect that he's already gone.

Do you hate me? If so, yeah, I guess you should celebrate. I'm curious though, if you hate me, do you hate me because I hate this hater (falwell)? It's not like I celebrate every time a christian dies; just the hypocritical, evangelical, bigoted, powerful ones who have made it their mission in life to oppress others. Refer to my previous post. I was asking the death-celebration question rhetorically - but you already know that. Is it appropriate to hate an individual and dance on their unburied corpse just because you disagreed with their politics...or because they dared to judge your choices? And does the fact that you so often judge others render you hate-worthy? I've got no problem with the concept of hate, but is simple disagreement or benign judgement a valid threshold?

Did you recently see a bright light at the end of a long tunnel?

Since I had already used "whom" in the first sentence, I thought who more appropriate in the later. This is all very important, you know.

It should be whom do you hate. I believe you are incorrect. I'll check my style guide. Who is appropriately used after my listed choices. "Which" would have been better.

of course! wtf's the point of living if you can't piss on the graves of your enemies? about the only reason i go to the gym... "for every one of us - living in this world means waiting for our end - let he who can achieve glory before death - when a warrior is gone that will be his best and only bulwark" 1. 100 years from now Dr Falwell will live on as a somewhat obscure footnote in history books. You (and I) will be forgotten. Your mountain exploits amount to dust. 2. I don't consider any of you my "enemies". Just hypocrites.

This is really fucked up. I understand why the Rooskies are pissed. Too bad, because we could have been allies. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6658633.stm

Whom do you blame? Muslims? Arabs? America? Western Values? Religion in general? Who do you hate? And should I celebrate when you and Alpinfox one day both fall to your deaths?

A great demonstration of liberal love and tolerance. All the usual suspects have come out for eulogies. Revealing. You all have much in common with the good reverend.

Foes. Unless you climb only Cougar, Tiger, Si, Bandera, Mailbox, and, just maybe, Granite Mountain. Also, hikes to Lake 22 are da shit.

I attended the early meetings in North Bend - and I even behaved! Despite my best efforts, I was never placed on the USFS mailing list re this issue. Strange, eh? I believe the outcome was decided by Lord Harvey long before last November. You're right though; the meetings were loaded with MidForc supporters and greens who had their shit together. And dumbasses who regularly shot up the (lower) valley, dumped derelict cars, TV sets, and garbage gave the road-closer cadre all the ammo they needed. Sad. But opening the Middle Fork trail to mountain bikes was a good call.

You should understand that budget is the secondary reason for NCNP's decision re this road closure. The primary reason is that the management of this particular National Park unit happily does the bidding of environmental groups like the somewhat radical North Cascades Conservation Council and the late Harvey Manning. Just read Harvey's rantings in his 100Hikes in the North Cascades. This is also the place where local rangers are reported to be busy tossing summit register boxes down the sides of mountains and other personnel are busy slandering local climbers in a Bellingham newspaper. Their "wilderness for the fit and educated only" plan has been clearly spelled out for years. It is not a secret. And yes, the eventual closure of Cascade River Road is among their many goals. http://www.northcascades.org/public_html/summer03.pdf See pages 6 and 7. Just stay home and watch TV. NCNP is a country club for a very select few.

I believe the Yakima Nation does not allow access to that area until July 1. Don't forget to procure a permit down in Glenwood.

FearGreed, MattP, and Viendra7: Is there any thread into which your all-consuming hatred of Bush cannot be woven? A topic about garden pottery or shag carpet perhaps? Are you even capable of functioning at work or carrying on an apolitical discussion with another human being? I think a new topic is at hand: "How my all-consuming media-driven hatred of George W Bush so distracted me from everyday life that my wife, boss, clients, and even my dog all now hate me"

I had a hamstring graft to replace my ACL about 8 years ago. Also some minor muniscus damage that was cleaned up. Dr Robert Yancee in Gig Harbor. A somewhat arrogant Harvard guy that is a fantastic surgeon. He does only hamstring grafts - but will do allografts (cadaver) on sedentary or overweight patients. When I asked about a patellar tendon graft he replied that he considered it old-school with unnecessary compromise. I was running straight line after about 4 weeks post-op, and went climbing in Alaska about 6 months post-op. Certain sports like tennis or basketball still caused minor swelling until about 1 year post-op. Today, I can't tell there was ever an injury. I would rate my strength in the repaired knee at about 150% of original. Rock solid. The hamstring tendon he took still goes unmissed. I think the early part of your summer is shot. Sorry. Keep your weight/diet under control while you're down and your return to fit will be very, very short. Focus on rehab and plan on some moderate late season trips that don't involve descents down 5000-foot talus slopes. Ski poles will help too. My two cent.

One of my favorites is a certain outdoor company that encourages us to boycott GM foods/products and write our representatives here in the US to encourage banning them altogether. I see the responsible development of genetically modified agricultural products as a way to help feed the very people for whom you claim advocacy. Are we still on the same page, sir? ...I didn't think so. Whose rules apply here? The outdoor/travel industry is under no obligation to directly infuse the profits they realize into any particular region or cause. None. The fact that they help bring tourists to a given location who, in turn, spend money is enough. The myriad jobs they provide, from manufacturing to retail to travel to publishing - both here and abroad - are enough, IMO. But if the shareholders/members of company X or foundation A wish to distribute their profits in a non-traditional manner then all the better, of course! But being bullied or shamed to do so - or doing so and then being told "not enough!" is, at the very least, counterproductive. The word extortion comes to mind, but that is likely a bit too strong. I'll tell you what - if I ever gave you $10,000 and then read on some blog that my gift wasn't appreciated, it would be the last 10k you got outta me. Gift horse. Mouth. I'm sure your causes are worthy, but you do come across as ungrateful. If I had a big check to donate I would likely hand it to one of your underlings and request I be kept off of your mailing list. Try appealing to peoples hearts - not just their consciences. Seems to me you'll find more success. Maybe I'm wrong. To your point, though: Outdoor Industry disingenuous? Absolutely. I sure roll my eyes when I hear their chest beating. But they're certainly not under any obligation to donate to you - or to have any organization like yours dictate the terms under which they'll be "allowed" to produce a profit or provide services in a given country. Last time I checked, Nepal peak fees were keeping up with market tolerances pretty well. If those $$ aren't going where they're needed then your issue is likely with the Nepalese govt?

Nice Trip. Give me a call one of these days before you head out. Where is the snow line in the SE Olympics these days? Looked a little chilly up there. Oh yea - nice improv gaiters!

Is anyone else having this problem? I can't log into any USFS sites with either Mozilla or Explorer. Until a few months ago I had no problem and I actually just thought USFS had taken down their sites temporarily. I've messed with with my internet option settings, disbled my firewall, allowed all cookies and popups, but still can't log in. I don't have problems logging onto any other site - anywhere. This is frustrating, because I use the Mount Baker, ONF, and GPNP recreation reports regularly. Anyone else having this problem with usfs sites? Here is the message I get: SERVER NOT FOUND Firefox can't find the server at www.fs.fed.us. * Check the address for typing errors such as ww.example.com instead of www.example.com * If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer's network connection. * If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web. www.fs.fed.us