Fairweather

A bit of shameless salesmanship here: Nate, I have a couple of setups I'm parting with--a low end (180cm Fisher "tour extremes" w/ Silvretta 404s) and a heavier combo (173cm Black Diamond Kilowatts w/ Marker Barons). Skins for the latter. Also have a pair of Garmont Axon AT boots size 27.5. PM me if you're interested. As for advice, I think it's been well covered already. Hope you have fun up there! (ps - the plastic climbing boots/silvretta cage binding combo is bad, bad, bad. you will hate skiing forever if you start out this way.)

Are you serious?

For the most part, I have no idea what you're babbling on about, and neither, I suspect, do you. Stop the presses, capitalism is cyclic. We could always go back to the 74% top marginal tax rates of the late 1970s--and the stagnation you seem to recall fondly. You remember the 70s, don't you? Great times. Particularly for the inner city. I'm not saying that I'm whole hog on board the neolib ship of state, but maybe if you and your fellow tools would stop trying to dredge up Bryan or Debs at every downturn this political pendulum we're riding wouldn't keep swinging in such a wide arc. I know you're fond of the communitarian/cosmopolitan model, but I think you'll find Mr. Habermas (and Mr. Appiah) are just as fucked up as the long lineage of continental philosophers they follow. What's good for Europe ain't necessarily good for us. BTW: yes, I love Orwell. Nuanced. Hard to pigeonhole. Not at all like the latest crop. Or you.

Thanks for the stroke, er, I mean stoke!

Can we please keep your religious beliefs out of this discussion? Anyhow, if I recall, your boy Clinton oversaw his fair share of deregulation--particularly of the banking and insurance industries. Pragmatism n' all that, you see. Fact is, most Republicans I know think government's job--beyond the military and delivering mail--is, simply, to regulate. Unfortunately, the tool you elected and his rubber-stamp senate now want to take charge of our lives. We'll see how this thing plays out. Enjoy the show.

Oh, I agree. But you won't like the replacements either.

Be more like these... Less like these...

Now there's a great reason to amend your standards and ethics. Sounds like you'll make a great addition to Seattle's growing faux-bavarian suburb someday. I hear they grant "local" status on day one!

Rob, you seem to reply to almost every challenge to your worldview with phallic or homoerotic imagery. It's very strange. Seriously.

I guess it's easier for you to continue playing the hyperbolic race card than it is to acknowledge even the slightest bit of D-hypocrisy. Don't you think it's the least bit odd?

"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a Sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. ...Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that 'the buck stops here'. Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and Grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better." Senator Barack Obama - March 2006

No real dog in this fight, other than I just think it's sad a guy like Mark Webster--loved and respected by many--is shouted down by so-called Leavenworth locals for voicing an opinion grounded firmly in ethics and common courtesy. No matter. I guess what I really find disturbing is that in a sport becoming more and more imbued with youthful arrogance, narcissism, privilege, and ego, a new low has quite possibly just been reached with "Verticolor's" message to the world. Truly stunning statements, IMO:

Attn to all of the Seattle-area ex-pats who now call themselves "Leavenworth Locals": Unless a crag is on private property, it doesn't belong exclusively to you.

Bingo! There is a certain irony in that this Icicle vandalism is the first post of its kind here--and closely follows the ass-handing that LMA got right here on this very site for bringing in the federal cavalry to manage "their" local crags. Not saying this is some sort of local false flag operation, but the timing of this little anecdote is curious, to say the least. Russian-yellow paint, speed-climber vandalism on public property has the locals howling--even as these same locals celebrate a more permanent type of vandalism on Castle Rock...

If the playing field is level, I don't think too many on either side would mind tougher rules. Who's gonna blink first? And given Citizens United, does it really matter? Strange how both sides are angry about Supreme Court rulings that didn't go their way.

Do you believe in unlimited campaign contributions made by public employee unions?

I haven't said what I believe.

I don't know any righties who would disagree with you--particularly your last sentence. Welcome to the dark side. I heard the Cock brothers are particularly worried about campaign finance. That issue has already been settled as free speech. In any event, Koch contributions dwarf those made by the American Federation of Teachers who gave 100% of their $$ to Democrats. Talk about an unholy alliance! http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/topcontribs.php http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/after-demonizing-koch-brothers-dscc-asks-them-money_576420.html http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/13/william-koch-chart_n_3749554.html

Wow, I don't think I've seen a study that makes so many assumptions and takes so many liberties with definitions in a very long time. More proof that social scientists are particularly adept at producing reports that tell them what they already believe. Of course, with only 19,000 visitors annually it's hard to believe NCNP staff face the same LE problems that plague a park like Yosemite.

I don't know any righties who would disagree with you--particularly your last sentence. Welcome to the dark side.

http://www.noparkexpansion.blogspot.com/

To be clear; I don't necessarily support pulling NCNP from the national park system. But I know people who do. I think that the folks who administer the park and work there should be a little more accommodating--and not feel that they are carrying out a constitutional imperative on par with the post office or the military. There are, after all, at least seven "former" national parks in the U.S. By remembering the NPS's dual mission, the folks in Marblemount may eventually regain some of the support they have lost from the outdoor recreation community--and the surrounding towns they have too-often betrayed.

Good to have you back. Give me a call if you're still riding. My number hasn't changed. Meanwhile, I hear ski bums from around the globe will soon be flocking to this new resort: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_24257228/north-korea-rushes-finish-lavish-ski-resort

I think you're missing the point--which is total visitation and the ability of a more diverse public segment to experience the national parks they pay for. The fact that you're only interested in backcountry users is telling. I suspect that you'll find use at ONP and MORA much higher in this category too. It would be fairly easy to compare wilderness permitting levels in our three local national parks--if the NPS hadn't shut down their website in yet another display of the "we'll show them" strategy.