willstrickland

Is that $20 Canadian? What's that about $0.47 US? Got all the unis I need, they actually make good alpine pins and a passable head paster with those pointy tips.

From the e-Medicine Journal Volume 3 No 2: Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that acts as an antioxidant and free radical scavenger in lipophilic environments and is consumed by approximately 20% of the US population. It requires bile for absorption, and 25% of the vitamin is absorbed orally. Storage of the vitamin occurs in adipose tissue, liver, and muscle. The US recommended dietary allowance is 30 mg/d. The oral median lethal dose found in several species is 2 g/kg, and adverse effects usually are observed at doses greater than 1 g/kg, which is equivalent to 200-500 mg/kg in humans. However, vitamin E has been shown to have few adverse effects, even at high dosages (up to 3200 mg/d). Most deleterious effects have been observed in small studies and in case reports. And from Intelihealth:The recommended daily allowance (RDA) of Vitamin E is 10 to 15 IU daily. Doses in excess of 300 Units daily for prolonged periods in rare cases can cause diarrhea, cramps, headache, blurred vision, rash, and kidney and muscle damage. IUs measure drug activity, rather than weight, so we can have a meaningful measure across drug forms (i.e. vit E can be extracted in various salt forms as well as sythesized and each form acts a little differently, hence the need for IU as oposed to mg or ug) So we can essentiallyassume that if you ate 20 packs a days for a week, you'd probably not be happy. But, taking the conservative scenario, and equating 10IU to 30mg, and using the 500mg/kg lethal dose, a 70kg climber (about 154lb) you would have to eat over 1100 packs in a day to kill themself. Adverse effects could be expected with a reasonable level of confidence around the 450th pack. Realistically, the caffeine in the stuff might hit a lethal dose before the Vit E, or even the sheer amount of sugar might shut down your pancreas and put you in insulin shock or a diabetic style coma. I'm (obviously) no doctor, but you're not going to OD on Vit E by eating GU...hell if you can stomach 50 in a day,the climbing itself will probably feel like the easy part.

So Dru, since you're alpine climbing all the time, I guess you won't be needing those heavy LAs right? Wanna make some of your loot back? The "memorial" route name is an excellent idea IMO.

I've just gotta wonder how many of you cats on the grivel wagon (hey I use rambo cramps, so no brand prejudice here) have A/B 'ed the Raven and Air Tech. I have and would take the Raven everytime. The Raven works much better in ice because it actually has some swing weight, more concentrated in the head, and the head is probably the most ergonomic and comfortable axe head to hold in cane or low and high dagger that I've seen. Keep in mind that alpine ice is hard and a little more weight in the head will give you better sticks. For the original poster: go somewhere that has both and examine them side by side. If you other guys haven't seen a Raven itself but are assuming it's just another version of BD's old Alpamayo, take a look and hold one, you'll be impressed I think.

Chalk this up as one man's opinion: I tried this little trick once. I had the tibloc on a bomber nut with a 24" sling. I will never do this again unless I'm climbing something close to vertical and in that case the resulting fall will likely be clean (although long) so why bother?. My experience was that the tibloc and rope can become twisted in the sling when you're not climbing straight up from the tibloc causing a real pain in the ass from rope drag. In retrospect, unless the 2nd can keep virtually all the slack out of the system, you're setting up for a fall onto the sharp teeth in the tibloc. While I wouldn't worry about it cutting the rope and sending you to the deck, I would be concerned with the damage it did to the rope and finishing hard pitches on that rope. In my eyes, if you're simulclimbing you must not fall PERIOD. If the second can't regularly free solo the grade I don't even consider the simul. The second climber should be the better climber in this scenario for obvious reasons...carrying the pack, worse result if 2nd pitches as opposed to leader, etc. To me it's one of those "good in theory, but shitty in practice" deals.

I think the deal with Simond is they just don't have any kind of real US distribution to speak of. I believe Terminal Gravity is a Simond fan, he could probably answer re:quality, If I recall properly, the he uses a Simond as a 3rd tool.

Best thing I've seen going is the BD Raven. It's light, not as light as the grivel, but lighter than most. The head is very nicely shaped for plunging and carrying in piolet canne. The spike is a much better design than the Grivel. They're cheap too, blems can be had for about $60. The only thing the Grivel has going over the BD is weight. My 2nd choice is the Grivel Air-tech. If I were to pick up another std axe it'll be one of these two.

They should be avaiable through the FOIA process (thats Freedom of Information Act). Let me relate this though, as a public sector employee currently in county govt, formerly in fed govt: If someone in the system does not want you to see the docs, there are a lot of devious ways to keep them from you. The most common is cost and time, I've witnessed a lawyer trying to get documents who was sent from building to building, made to wait for long periods of time to meet with someone who inevitably sent them to scheulde a meeting with someone else...all on purpose as a way to try to force them to "give up" out of frustration. Then the guy was told that the docs he sought were archived and there's a $25 fee to locate and pull the archived file and that since he wasn't allowed in the archive areas, he would have to have the info he requested copied by one of our secretaries at $.10 per page, plus her time in copying and records searches at $20/hr. Since the guy didn't have a particular document he wanted but something along the lines of "anything related to property parcel xyz123" he had no idea what cost he would incur. Obviously the secretary was in no hurry to accomodate him and by way of default copied everything in sight. His bill, to get one relevant document that he actually used in a land use appeal, amounted to a couple grand in the end and he still lost the appeal. The bureacratic "levels" system allows for an endless amount of jerking around.

Sounds like one of you sincere, smart, studly, sensitive, soul-searchering types needs to show up and bat your eyes at Allison so as to pique her interest and get her "enthused enough about it to drive to I-Quah" I'm enthused enough about it that I'll make an appearance some week soon, preferably after a weekend at Index with one/some of youse. Got those sick days to burn up before I quit ya know...

quote: Originally posted by W: Papa Woolsey...I second that endorsement, it is very well protected and a good confidence builder. For the opposite effect, go around the corner and climb Buissionier- what has to be the world's hardest 5.7. It's doable, but adjust your mind, it's a major sandbag. Oh yes, also- no trip to JTree is complete without doing Geronimo- the world's coolest 5.7. Climb either Double Cross or Dogleg on Old Woman Rock right above the campground, on the opposite side. Re: Papa, it's facing into the HV campground loop, about 3/4 of the way around the loop. Well protected, basically steep slab work with a funny little "mount the saddle" move. It's companion climb, Mama Woolsey, is just to the right and at 5.9R is not a sandbag...one commiting move low with a less than perfect piece, then it pros up well. I'd hesitate to call it "r" except that if you blow the move and your piece pulls, you will hit the ground from 12'. Second the opinion on Buissonier...not hard pulling, just awkward. Took me longer to lead that pitch than anything I've seen at that grade. Toejam is an "interesting" 5.7 as well right in the CG. Orphan, at 5.9 is an often overlooked climb. It's on the backside of Old Woman or the Blob, don't remember which, but just right of Double Cross etc. Good crack and tight chimney moves, pros well. Dogleg is alot of fun too. For the .10 stuff, Right Ski track on intersection is fun. Really bouldery crux down low with a fun crack higher, kind of out of character for the area. Might be a little harder than the .10b it's graded, but not much. It protects very well, from decent stances/rests and blowing the crux will not get you hurt if you place intelligently. Blue Nubian is a .10a finger crack in a corner that rarely gets done and is close to the CG, crux protects well with TCUs and nuts, and take a #3.5 and #4 for the anchor. Felt spot-on grade wise, one or two powerful lieback moves through the crux.

Yeah, definitely a little heavier, but solves my main gripe with the Tikka (which I don't have, AAA batteries? no thanks, everything else I have uses AA...walkman, camera motor drive, etc) and the Princeton LED-retrofit (which I do have) is the 3 LED config just doesn't put out enough light. For wandering down a trail or reading, or even as a little security for a long route they're fine, but for genuine leading such as finishing an aid pitch after sunset, I want more light. I solve this easily because I can just pop the LED module out and the halogen into my Princeton, but then I know I've only got about two hours of light

quote: Originally posted by David Parker: I would like to hear how you guys "bundle" up this mass of cord/webbing in a convenient, easy to get out again manner. I take the cordelette from one end of the loop, fold it back and forth in 8" to 10" pieces (usually about three times, just think of it like butterfly coiling a rope)until about half the cord is in the bundle, then start wrapping the remainder tightly around the bundle. If you fold it right, you'll just finish with the remaining cordage as you reach the top of the bundle. Take the end, pass it through the set of ends at the top of the bundle, and clip all those to the locker you use on the master point. You end up with a package that looks sort of like a miniature butterfly coiled rope.

Go try to tie a double or triple fishermans in flat webbing, you'll answer your own question...

So I'm sitting in this RV shop Sat getting a roof vent put in my van, browsing the Cabelas catalog. Hmmm 8 LED headlamps, for $25?!!! Looks like a good lightweight (not as light as a Tikka, but probably close) alternative to the Princenton/Petzl/BD stuff. Here's the link, and if anyone picks one up, please post and give us your impressions after you use it.8 LED Headlamp [ 03-11-2002: Message edited by: willstrickland ]

quote: Originally posted by MysticNacho: But for my non-bicolor, I use the tape method. Sure, it will wander away from the middle.... Another reason this is a bad idea: If you rap with any kind of backup (i.e. prussik on a leg loop or mare's tail) it WILL hang up on that piece of tape (when you're on a double rope rap), and you WILL have a bitch of a time getting it loose, maybe not the first time, but eventually. Manufacturers should not even produce non-bi color or bi-pattern ropes now that they have the technology. Production cost is virtually no higher, so why do we even need single pattern/color stuff?

[ 03-11-2002: Message edited by: willstrickland ]

Matt, I know the pic you're refering to. As a former special olympics volunteer, I started to fire off a scathing reply, something to the effect of "if there's a hell, get ready 'cause you're goin'" before I canceled the post and deemed the joker as unworthy of my attention. Extremely poor taste at best, and I'd hate to see when the karma bitch-slap comes around. [ 03-11-2002: Message edited by: willstrickland ]

Ever been pranked by your parents? I was about 14, and while down in south Georgia on a rabbit hunt my step-dad and our crew met a local (this is down in Jimmy Carter country, flat as a pancake, hot as hell, and ass-backwards) who our host said made some "damn fine homemade BBQ sauce, best there is in these parts". We got a bottle and the next week a night was slated to cook up a "mess of ribs". Having tasted a little of the sauce off a fingertip we knew it was pretty hot, but my step-dad really talked it up as being really bad to my mom and brother. I kinda said "aww, it's not THAT hot". Well the ribs were served and whooo weee, them were some damn fine ribs. About halfway through dinner, I'm sweating pretty good, the sting is still building, and I notice that there sure is a lot of sauce on my ribs...hmmm. So my folk are really talking up the ribs and sauce and I make an offhand comment "yeah, these are starting to get a little hot though, I'm sweating". I look up and my step-dad is about to loose it, and finally my mom busts out laughing. I look around the table and see that my ribs have at least 3 times the sauce as everyone elses, and then my brother tells me they cut the regular sauce 50/50 with some other sauce to "calm it down" and put the uncut stuff on mine. And people wonder what made those Menendez brothers so rutheless, food pranks maybe? I got 'em back with the 'ol Insanity sauce in their soup trick though, don't f$#@ with my food!

Greg man, look at it this way: If sport climbing, you may have an issue...when I started climbing 50m was standard, and almost everything with arbitrary endings you could get off with a 50m, 60m was considered a long rope and routes requiring a 60 to rap were just starting to become popular. Now you worry that suddenly your 60 won't get you off a route that someone puts up on a 70... If you're a TRAD climber, OTOH, a 50m rope was used more out of weight issue than anything else. 11mm ropes are freakin heavy! As rope technology got better, single ropes got thinner, hence lighter and my current preferred trad line is a 70m 9.8mm. If you're building your anchors anyway, you'll enjoy eliminating a few belays/changeovers on long routes. You'll be anble to run alot of pitches together on routes with established belay anchors or ledges(something a 60m made nice, but a 70m makes even better). Of course if the pitches are really hard and you need the rest at the normal belay, whatever, stop and set your belay. On some long in-a-day routes (Half Dome reg route comes to mind), and particularly on alpine rock where there tends to be alot of easy ground mixed in with the harder stuff, a 70m can mean the difference between getting off before dark and spending a cold-ass night on a small ledge. It's not madness man, it's speed, and speed is safety in alot of cases.

quote: Originally posted by telemarker: Watching sport climbing videos I'm always struck with the same question...How does the climber pre-place their draws on such overhanging routes? Probably obvious to most, but not to me. Just wondering... While they're aiding it (working it) they just leave them in place after pulling the rope. Sometimes on really steep stuff the locals will fix draws on the bolts by using a lap-link on the hanger end and screwing it down. I watched Timmy Fairfield and his frenchie girlfriend working a route at the Hell Cave at American Fork a few years ago and she did this routine: Work a move or two from the bolt to figure out the sequence, pull up her stick-clip that was clipped to the next lowest draw, clip herself into the top draw with a daisy, hang off the daisy, clip another draw and the rope to the next higher hanger, unclip the daisy, yard on the rope to get to the hold she wanted, clip the stick clip to the lower draw and work the next sequence...essentially being on TR the entire time. Strange, but kept me curious enought to watch for a while...and seeing Fairfield pitch off the same hold on Ice Cream over and over was pretty funny.

quote: Originally posted by MysticNacho: And that's all I have to say. Thank God

quote: Originally posted by TIMM@Y: my fav is the shocker, and the dirty sanchez! If you do a dirty Sanchez wearing your plastics, say at a bivi on Mt Si, would that be a "DIRTY JERRY SANCHEZ"?

Anybody else think that Billy Westbay looks like Bob Weir in that pic?

quote: Originally posted by chris_w: You forgot to inlcude Dwayner (#12) So it is 6:1 ratio You assume that "brother" Dwayner is male, how'd you get that confirmation? Nevermind, I don't wanna know

Damn, that guy spent all that time looking when he could have just called up Spielberg and Lucas. Everyone knows that 'ol Sasquatch played Chewbacca. Guy was spotlighting deer when he shoulda been hangin on the Millenium Falcon with Han and Leah...