Fairweather

Observation face looked soft and easy. Even skiable. We joked about sledding down it...good runout too.

Only about 20% snow to Knapsack and melting fast. None of it steep...you could do it in tennis shoes if you had to. Crossing over the Spray Park area is still about 75% snow covered. Lots of ski tracks. We hiked out via Spray Park Trail on the way down and it is snow free all the way to the top of the switchbacks right to the lower edge of the park. This was my son's first trip out this season, so we were a bit slow @ 5hrs to the top of Observation Rock. Tried out my new LaSportiva Trango EVO's. VERY comfortable, but definitely NOT waterproof in wet snow.

Mowich Lake Road opened earlier this week so the kid and I hiked up Observation Rock today. In case anyone is interested, I took a couple of pics of the upper mountain that may help anyone considering. Ptarmigan (traditional route) looks like it is in good shape once it cools down. (HOT today!) Both pics taken today 5/28 from the top of Observation Rock. Ptarmigan Ridge: Curtis Ridge:

Huh? If you're going to pay it off in 15 yrs, get a 15 yr fixed rate mortgage with a lower interest rate. Why eliminate that flexibility? Unless you totally lack financial dicipline? The rate 15 vs 30 isn't significant enough to commit to 15 years, IMO. If you're 100% certain you will be taking in your current salary (in today's dollars) for the next 15 years, then by all means, go ahead and lock it in. In Washington State, I don't know who can be 100% certain there won't be an employment bump in the road.

Get the smallest/shittiest house on the nicest block. Buy a house that is 65-75% of what you are 'qualified' for. Get a 30yr fixed-rate...and pay it off in 15 or less. NEVER take out a home equity loan. It sounds like you and your wife's financial/employment picture is very good based on what I have read in other posts of yours. If possible, dedicate one income to mortgage payoff/debt elimination, and home upgrades out-of-pocket. As for the bubble; WHO KNOWS? I would think that buying out on the suburban frontier is still the best bet. I've been looking at Wilkeson/Carbonado. Remember. You will never really own your home and land. The day you default on your property taxes the government will foreclose. If you buy in King County, Ron Sims and his enviro-commie financiers own 65% of your land outright. Good luck.

Wow.

AlpineK is Russian??

Let me know when you find a candidate with whom you agree 100% on every issue. Until then, I officially declare you a fringe moron. BTW: Bush's policy (which I believe is misguided) doesn't effect stem cell research in the private sector. I'm not sure what % of the work is being conducted there vs govt sponsored/financed.

Wow... glad to see you have convictions that you stick to! While it is totally reasonable to change ones mind on issues as years go by - it strikes me as quite odd that you'd change your reasoning based on the fact that it gives you the appearance of being inconsistent. Doesn't really sound like your underlying beliefs are going to change - even though what you claim to believe does. And you claim DFA lives in some fantasy world? It's called being conflicted. Are you admitting here that you don't question or reexamine your own positions or beliefs from time to time? Not only this, but you have the audacity to criticize someone who does?

This is the human condition. Only many more millenia of history and evolution will change it....maybe. I support the death penalty because it is a fitting punishment for someone who kills/rapes a child. I suspect that, in order to remain pro-life consistent, I'll eventually have to cede that the death penalty is incorrect and, probably, unconstitutional. History sometimes says, "yes". Defeating nazi Germany wasn't a resolution to a problem? By your login, the defeat of the C.S.A. didn't resolve a problem? You truly DO live in that unattainable fantastic utopia that will likely never exist. Really, as long as humans possess the slightest hint of individuality, can it ever?

So now you're Dr Spock, eh? How old are your kids?

This is just anecdote. Do you have an actual study to back up the fantasy? If torture were not effective, it wouldn't be used for the purpose of gaining intelligence by virtually every political/military structure that has existed since the dawn of... 'civilization'. Hey Dr Flash! Even one of the most outspoken liberal prof's in the country agrees!..... http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/17/60minutes/main324751.shtml

As Mattp mentioned, it's been widely shown to ineffective for getting reliable intelligence. More often than not it leads to false cofessions. When people are under extreme physical or psychological stress they will just say whatever they think their attacker wants to hear to make it stop. Bullshit.

It can be necessary in drastic circumstances where time is an element. Fuck you. I haven't seen anything on our side that compares to the ritual beheadings these animals have perpetrated. It cost us the victory in Vietnam. This isn't exactly true. Even a suicide bomber usually has something he/she cares about more than his own life....I think you know what I mean. It's unspeakable.

I'll do it..... The Man's Too strong I am just and aging drummer boy And in the wars I used to play And I've called the tune To many a torture session Now they say I am a war criminal And I'm fading away Father please hear my confession I have legalized robbery Called it a belief I have run with the money And hid like a theif Re-written history With my armies and my crooks Invented memories I did burn all the books And I can still hear his laughter And I can still hear his song The man's too big The man's too strong Well I have tried to be meek And I have tried to be mild But I spat like a woman And sulked like a child I have lived behind walls That have made me alone Struggled for peace Which I have never known And I can still hear his laughter And I can still hear his song The man's too big The man's too strong Well the sun rose on the courtyard And they all did hear him say You always were a Judas But I got you anyway You may have got your silver But I swear upon my life Your sister gave me diamonds And I gave them to your wife' Oh father please help me For I have done wrong The man's too big The man's too strong Would Dr Flash condone torture to save a friend, family member...or another skyscraper full of innocents? I would.

The NCCC, with the celebrity voice of Harvey Manning at the fore, has been an advocate for closing roads of all kinds for many years. Frankly, I'm not sure they have much pull with govt land managers. If you go back to his 100 Hikes series, you can see that ol' Harvey and NCCC have even been pushing for the closure of Middle Fork Cascade River Road! ( As well as the road up the other side from Stehekin.) I do thank you for the heads up, and I will write a letter in the next couple of weeks re Mountan Loop Hwy. It's a shame that we have to ally ourselves with extraction interested inholders to keep our recreational access roads open.

I'm looking for a new pair of mountain boots. My old Lasportiva K2's have finally fallen apart, and the Nepal Extreme's I bought to replace them, while great on snow - and for summer mountaineering, are too stiff in the sole for a long approach. I remember hearing good things about the Boreal Asan, but I'm not sure if it's still imported, or even made. I can't find a USA website either. I'm also looking at Salomon Mtn Lights...I think these are the ones that replaced the 'Mountain 8,9' series. I want a solid approach boot. I don't care if it's step-in crampon compatible, but heel bail compatability is preferred. Any thoughts or advice?

Any specifics? You wouldn't be just trying to get me riled up now would you, matt? Also, I know this isn't spray, but the title of 'conservationist' does not apply to the road-closer anti-recreation crowd. Conservationist conjures up images of Teddy Roosevelt, John Muir, William O Douglas, et al. These were fair minded visionaries who didn't view man as anathema to nature. These more recent road-closers you speak of are environmentalist zealots who know how to manipulate our legal system in order to implement their anti-recreation jihad. Anyway, thanks for the updated info on the N Fork Sauk. It looks like this is the way to go.

Along the PCT SSE of Glacier Peak in the area that drains the White Chuck Glacier (or what's left of it). The entire area along Red Pass and White Pass looks incredible too. I've never been there but it would be cool to see some pics posted here by those who have.

The Milk Creek approach starts from the Suiattle, but looking at the Darrington report last night, it now appears that this approach is out of comission until 2006 at least. (trail destroyed?) Some of the eastern approaches shown on USGS and Green Trails no longer exist, I'm told, such as Gamma Ridge (?) and trail #786 above Dusty Creek. The Darrington District seems to have suffered more flooding, glacial recession, erosion, trail abandonment, road/bridge destruction, etc than any other area in the Cascade Mountains the past 30 years!

When third-world 'elected' leaders refuse to step down at the end of their term or declare, "I am a Marxist-Leninist", post-election, then they cease to be called elected leaders.

Reelected by voters like you. Is this a great country, or what? Tony Blair sailed to victory with a whopping 36 percent of the popular vote for his party. Sounds like a mandate to me. To be serious, Fairweather, are you asserting that a majority of the American voters can't be wrong? Because many of these voters probably also cast ballots in 1996 and 2000. I'm saying, Norman, the people have spoken....and that's democracy whether you like it, or not. I'm not a big fan of sub-50% victories, which is why I'm glad that Bush won almost 53% this last go-round. I would support a 50% or run-off election amendment to our constitution. This comment... Reelected by voters like you. Is this a great country, or what? ...sounded a bit smug. Guess we're not friends anymore?

John Howard, Australia: re-elected GW Bush, USA: re-elected Tony Blair, Great Britan: re-elected j_b:

How many people are killed in riots when copies of The Bible, The Tora, or even (gulp) Mao's red book are burned? Or when an American flag is burned/desecrated? Who issues a fatwah? Answer: none/no one. This seems to be a quirk particular to Islam, its preachers, and its adherents. Doesn't look like a religion of peace to me. Even if the story were true, it does not excuse the behavior of muslims regarding this issue and proportionality. BTW, ChunK; Nice cut and paste. Your ideas were bold, refreshing, and recycled.

Ahh yes! The vast Right-Wing Conspiracy. Your paranoia now requires another dose, DFA. Go crawl back to the nurse's station and ask if it's time yet.