Fairweather

and it wasn't a FWA up there either, my ho. one and possibly two did it before us. Doood. I wasn't talking about your girlfriend!

FWA, my assss. It looked like summer up there to me!

Fucking red-commie, university-indoctrinated, tree-hugging, hippie, rat-bastard, simple-minded, anarchist, arrogant, elitist, climbing-wannabe shitheads.

Arch. Are you always horny?

Basic map & compass skills should come before you ever look at a GPS. Nevertheless, if you insist on taking shortcuts I suggest leaving the unit turned on from the parking lot and leaving a data track for you to follow back in the event you get fogged in. At the very least, mark every major change in direction with an on-site waypoint. Generally, I DO trust the little gadgets above treeline. This is where they seem most reliable. Bring extra batteries. If you're following your GPS on a whited-out descent you must trust your device and overcome your innate desire to follow your (likely poor) instincts. This isn't as easy as it sounds. Follow the track/pointer. Kinda like flying through a storm instruments only, I suppose. Take an orienteering course before you become frozen meat somewhere on/in Paradise Glacier.

Because Israel had launched a surprise attack in the 7 Day war 6 years earlier that they wished to reclaim. Israel is quite large compared with Vatican City, San Marino, Monaco, Lichtenstein or Andorra. I love the historical myopia of Middle East arguments. Historical myopia? You must mean the Six Day War. While Israel did attack Egypt and took the Sinai and Gaza, they were clearly provoked. If a foreign army was massing on your border, blocked your ports, would you just wait and see what their intent was?? Israel begged Jordan and Syria to stay out of the conflict, but both attacked. Israel later returned the Sinai...and now Gaza. But, in my view, they are under no obligation to ever return the west bank.

Well said. And I agree.

Improper use of implied that on your part.

...you're a genius, j_b! I was just thinking the same thing!

Adolph Hitler. Problem solved...by war.

I'm just happy...that you're happy...that all the meatheads who once frequented this site are either banned or dead. Tell me, j_b, what is your final solution to the conservative problem?

The thread was about Afghanistan, moron. Reading comprehension.

Hmmm. Lemme' see... If I 'fold' a 30m rope in half, and climb a 30meter pitch, won't I run out of rope about 15 meters from the top? And if I do 'a couple' of these pitches, run out 30m short? Sounds like a poor plan, but that whole metric thing is so confusing to Americans.

Nice trip. I took some pics of The Valhallas from the top of west peak last month, but I could only dream. Did you look for the famous 'copper box' on top of Athena II? I didn't realize that the ashes were RL Wood, nor that he had passed on. His guide book(s) were among the best ever written. Almost poetic in their description of the range. He was an inspiration. As for the erroneous reports, I talked to a ranger at Hoh who seemed more than a little upset about the falsehoods regarding Olympus conditions. Apparently both The Mountianeers and Olympic Mountaineering out of PA cancelled all of their trips to Olympus because of the reports disseminated on the mountaineer website and the NPS website earlier this summer. Apparently the reports originated from Olympic Mountain Rescue. http://www.xsorbit6.com/users/stevefireb...;num=1118224349 While it was nice to beat the crowds during our trip, I have to wonder what the motivations were behind this false report. Anyway, great trip John! Has Olympus ever been climbed directly from the S Fk Hoh drainage...via Hubert Glacier/headwall, or otherwise? Looks pretty rotten down there, but it is a blank spot on the olympus route map.

yes, it does. most of the meatheads are now gone! Yes. I really liked Rodchester. Was he a meathead too?...Because he didn't agree with you?...You fucking shitbag. When I depart, PP and JayB will be about the only ones left around here to spoil your swim in the country club pool, jackass. And before you cite your respect for them-versus-me, refer back to some of your more recent attacks on them. You're a real prick.

I know the place you are talking about on Sloan. I was stung there about two weeks ago on the way down. It's on that old stump you stand on just before you mount a large windfall, about 45min to one hour above the river crossing; right? That sucker left me with a golfball-sized welt on my calf for over a week. I managed to outrun his other 50 friends.

I've read that McArthur was furious about the bombings and felt that they somehow violated the soldier's code of conduct. I think LeMay and McArthur were polar-opposites with a common goal. On another matter; a naval blockade of the japanese islands was under consideration. Starvation is the ultimate weapon of mass destruction and an estimated 10 million civilians could have perished. Starvation/Blockade? Invasion? Withdrawl??? I still believe Truman made the correct choice.

I felt his politics often permeated his reports inappropriately, but you can't deny he was a class-act. I have only now learned that the guy never even graduated from high school, and later became a self-taught, reading-research machine. I regret that I didn't know his bio before his death. My respect for the man would only have been enhanced. A life worth envy and respect.

I think it's actually 6500. But, in short, yes.

He's now 16. 125lbs. (I'm 165lbs) We've practiced crevasse rescue many times over the years, but honestly, I was a bit nervous about having the mountain to ourselves. Had I gone in and bonked my head on the way down we'd be pretty screwed, I'll admit. I'm confident he could secure the rope, but he was under pre-arranged instructions not to seek help by traveling solo, rather to wait on site for 24 hours min. The boot track that was put in the previous day made me feel a bit better about the crevasses, but you never know. I went with the AMGA-suggested loops in the rope for (hopefully) quick extrication and, of course, on the descent sent the kid out ahead. Our rope was 8mm x 37m and I nagged constantly about rope tension. This was the first time I've taken the kid on a significant glacier w/o the presence of a third adult climber. Although he's been slogging around on glaciers since age 6 or 7, I don't think I'd have taken him out alone until just recently. Call us if you need a father-son team to join you! My 2 cents. FYI: My cell phone (Cingular) had a strong SOS-only signal available from the summit, all the way down to Snow-Dome.

I would love to see the scouts get back to their wilderness exploration roots. They did some incredible stuff in the olympic mountains and throuought the cascades pre 1960's. First ascents, even! The old boy scout camp at Lena Lake reborn...that would be neat.

Nice pictures. I've always wanted to climb Overcoat Peak from this side via that northeast snowfinger. Looks like a great place to hike!

I think I read that idea was considered, but since the bomb had never been tested in a "weaponized" form, there was a very real chance such an announced demonstration could turn out to be a 'dud' - thereby lessening the psychological effect on the Japanese audience.

Fuck off, liberal shit-bag. They died because they were hit by lightning and were horribly burned, or their bio-electric was severely, likely painfully, disrupted. Keep your bizarre political analysis away from the death of innocent kids, adults, and an organization that does so much good.