willstrickland

Two components: Fed gas tax and state gas tax. The state level varies considerably from state to state. Fed rate is 18.4 cents/gal. Some states levy on a flat rate per gallon, some levy a percent of the purchase price. I lived in GA for a long time, where they have the cheapest state rates at 7.5. Gas is always cheap in Atlanta. The higest state rates are in Wisconsin at 31.1! Now I'm in Alaska with the second cheapest state rate 8.0, a pipline running through town, and a refinery 8 miles down the road. And we pay more than you folks in WA/OR..WTF?! We are getting bent over. Not like they have to transport it like all the other things that are so expensive up here. I can understand that fresh produce is expensive here, I cannot understand expensive gas.

Scott who is Brian Blair? Do you mean Jayson Blair, the disgraced NY Times reporter who just made things up?

Damn, even his hometown has had enough. Check it:

It's not limited to the climate change debate by any means, it's a shift in "journalism". I've been reading alot lately about the political process as covered by the media, and how the shift toward giving the "he said/she said" story coverage without ever fact checking the sides or commenting on the veracity of each side's claims. It's the "new journalism". 20 years of pounding the "biased media" talking point has turned the press into a proxy shill for both the left and the right. They will give equal time and credence to both views even if one of them is demonstrably wrong. The people couldn't be bothered to care....'cause we're goin' to MARS BITCH!

A little Billy Madison ref there Harpell? As I recall the old lady said: "If peeing your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis"

A set of nuts is a pretty universal piece of every rack, reasonably inexpensive, and not so specialized that you will wish you chose another style/brand later on. Black Diamond stoppers are the standard. I own a set of BD stoppers, DMM Walnuts, and a set of HB offsets. They are all good in their own way. You can get a set of stoppers for around $80.

Careful there Scott, see my post above. Do you mean inept or indepth? You better edit fast, you're on thin ice there mister.

Hey Shuldt, you weak kneed apologist you ever hear this little ditty?: First they came for the Jews And I did not speak out – Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for the communists And I did not speak out – Because I was not a communist. Then they came for the trade unionists And I did not speak out – Because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me – And there was no-one left To speak out for me. Well guess what pal, you folks with the spelling abililty of third graders are next!

Alex, that is not exactly true. Robbins set out to chop a heavily bolted Harding line (Wall of Early Morning Light if I recall correctly). After chopping a couple of pitches, he changed his mind and finished the climb leaving the bolts. Here is a very interesting paper on the controversy of a rap bolted line on El Gigante (the Mexican version of El Cap). It is primarily a bunch of climbers from around the world weighing in on whether the route should have been estalished and whether it should be chopped. READ THIS El Gigante Controversy Notice Royal Robbins's reply on page 10.

Kinky! Can I really?

I just wanted to relay an important messasge from our President: "My fellow 'murcans. We're goin' to MARS BITCH!! Wheeeeeee! " - Chimperor McBullshit

Normally, I would never suggest that anyone watch Faux News...HOWEVER, it has come to my attention that Bill O'Reilly has the Chimperor on his show airing sometime soon. Now it has also come to my attention that Bush, when asked by O'Reilly whether he would go back and repeat the "mission accomplished" stunt said "absolutely". At that time around 150 soliders had died. Over 900 US soldiers have been killed since that little PR stunt. Normally O'Reilly is a douchebag supreme, and I haven't seen this interview, but it sounds like worthwhile viewing. Oh the irony if a Faux News interview is the straw that broke the chimps back. WTF was the Shrub thinking? Oh yeah, he doesn't think. Remember, he couldn't think of a single mistake he'd made as president. Unbelievable. Mission accomplished eh? Tell that to my friend Lance who was back door drafted into this quagmire while his wife and 2 yr old wait for him to come home. FUCK YOU GEORGE, WE ARE NOT SAFER NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU REPEAT THE TALKING POINT. We're goin' to MARS BITCH wheeeeeee!!!! And btw Shuldt, Michael Moore is a douchebag on par with O'Reilly.

"In addition to the SRC program, the Temporary Road Costs (TRC)program provides a direct subsidy to the timber industry. As part of this program, the estimated cost of building so-called temporary roads, or roads that will not become part of the Forest Service's permanent road network, is deducted from the appraised price of timber. According to an analysis of 104 national forests, Temporary Road Costs applied between FY 1998 and FY 2001 resulted in taxpayer losses exceeding $14 million" More on the Forest Dis-service's mismanagement at: http://www.taxpayer.net/forest/lostintheforest/executivesummary.htm

No Fee Demo!

A.

Let me weigh in here, since I have nothing else to do up here in the 6 month winter except XC, and we have a huge XC community and trail system. 3 pin boots are outdated shit. Skate skis are a little skinnier, and quite a bit shorter. The rule of thumb for length of regular XC skis is: Stand them on end in front of you and they should come to your wrist when you extend your arm over your head. Skate skis will be around 2ft shorter and about 1/2-2/3 the width. Skating on classic gear is tough and a little awkward, but I do it to mix up the ski a little and also when on groomers while passing someone going in the other direction...you jump out of the trough and if you don't start skating, you gonna bust your ass. I also skate my classics on downhill turns and short uphills. Skate boots and bindings are NOT specific to skating. I use the same boots and binding system on both my skate and classic skis, with a slightly different binding (same attachement though..basically a bar in the toe). The racing gear is obviously highly tweaked and specialized, but the attachment system is still the same. You can ski in the classic style (i.e. stride) on skate gear. You are NOT stuck with only skiing the groomers, but it's not the best tool for the job. I regularly skate ski a 6 mile loop that has 4 miles groomed, then 2 miles of single track trough through trees. I skate the groomed section, stride the ungroomed. In some ways, the shorter length of the skates are better because of the treed sections. Waxless skis (i.e. with "scales") still need waxing (glide wax), you just don't need to put kick wax on them. I wax my "waxless" skiis about every other week. In certain conditions, they are better than waxless. (As Dryad says above. In slightly slushy borderline freezing temps, they are probably the best choice). Waxing for racing is practically an art. It's amazing to watch the guys doing all this temp assessment and using combinations of different waxes, preparing several sets of skis waxed differently to be ready for potential condition changes before race time. The team up here is pretty competitive in the NCAA and seeing them race is awesome. My classics are waxless. I've never seen a waxless skate ski. Used is for sure the way to go for classic gear. And if the nordic community is big enough, for skate gear as well. I got a sweet skate set-up from one of the dudes on the Univ team that was used one season for $100. Got classic skis/bindings for $25 at Play it Again.

Actually Dru, I don't think the Snow Lakes area needs to add anything to comply. The fact that the tool patrols in order to ticket would satisfy the "security" element, and the large flat boulders on the river side of the lot could be designated as an "eating area" by placing a sign on the kiosk that states as much. So basically anywhere they determine might be a revenue generator, look for the installation of a pit toilet, trash can, picnic table and sign. I don't believe for a minute that they will leave the undeveloped parking areas at trailheads and the like undeveloped if they sense the possibility of a revenue source. Keep up the fight, because this is not a done deal. Currently the Fee Demo extension ends at the end of 2005. The article above is focused mainly on the House committee's version of a bill to make it permanent. This still has to get on the agenda for a house vote, and then we will see what the Senate does with it. After that, there would be a joint markup session and assuming they can come to consensus, the amended bill would go forward for a vote. (Hey, I watched SchoolHouse Rock..."I'm just a bill on capitol hill!") I don't think, with a republican senate, that it will pass. Keep writing letters, and stay informed. I've written 9 letters to congresspeople in the last 3 years on this issue. That's not a lot of work, but WHAT HAVE YOU DONE ABOUT IT? Five minutes, write a letter. Silver's site probably even has some kind of pre-formated talking points or petition or something.

On overhanging or traversing pitches, I'm typically cleaning with a Gri-gri used as a bottom ascender (not to be confused with using 2 jugs and a gri-gri backup). It is a little slower than two jugs, but immensely easier to clean tensioned pieces and for me, faster overall. I will tie in short before a traversing section, or if there is a big ledge below me or complicated manuever or something. Otherwise I usually tie in short twice per pitch, eight on a bight to a locker. I let the accumulation of fear be my guide of when to tie in short. And, sometimes I will tie in short more often simply to manage the rope better (instead of having a 60ft loop hanging down to snag stuff). You could always use a rope bag on your harness to stuff the rope as you ascend if snagging or trundling is a real problem. Like Tex, I am always tied into the end of the rope with the rare exception of a long lower-out where you don't have enough rope for a duecey, you don't want to kamikaze swing, and you don't have an extra rope to rap. (and I tie in short then anyway). If it's less than vertical and straight up, I'm on two jugs instead of a jug/gri-gri combo and I probably only tie in short once or not at all. So the non-answer to your question...it depends.

Easy bulldog. I'm not advocating that stance. You should be well aware of my pesonal feelings on the issue. I am just speculating on what I see as the likely scenario, and looking to construct a means for MattP to voice his personal take on the issue of power drilling in wilderness.

MattP, try it like this: "I feel that advocating a rigid "stance" on the issue, through the WCC, would be counterproductive. Each cirucmstance is unique, and unique circumstances call for unique solutions. We strive to work with the land managers to reach reasonable solutions in each case, and a "set" position would not work toward convincing those managers that we are open and flexible with respect to solutions. My PERSONAL view is...blah blah blah...but since I seek to represent all climbers, that is not necessarily the position I take to the table while in a representative role" I'm not trying to put words in your mouth, but I think this may be a way to get your own view out there without the specter of compromising your flexibility. I really just want to hear your personal take on it. You say "I'll discuss real issues"...so go ahead.

Post deleted by WS.

Glen, I tried DC...lasted about 3 months. It fucking sucks. And I'm from the east coast, so it wasn't the culture shock that got me. Gunks, about 5 1/2 hrs, but really anywhere from 5-8 hrs depending on how fast you drive/traffic. Seneca is about 4 hrs. The New River Gorge is about 5 1/2. Long drive, but it's one of the best cragging areas in the country, easily. For local stuff, all you really have is Carderrock/Great Falls (which is the slipperiest, POS crag I've ever been to) but you know that already. There is also some bolted riverside choss a little NW of the city. There is really good Mtn biking in both WVA and southwest VA (Blacksburg area has good stuff and WVA is full of good mtn biking). Unless your idea of fun is sky-high real-estate prices, horrendous traffic, suburban hell-sprawl, rainy and cold winters, paralyzing hot and humid summers, and aggro people....avoid DC. I have a few friends from college living there and some family there as well. Every time I visit I remember why I bailed. If you are playing the political power broker game, or attending UM or G-town, I would consider it, otherwise no way in hell.

The USFS did not take on the "installation" issue because outside the Sawtooth Wilderness, they have reverted to a policy that once again allows the use of fixed anchors. The AAC has some good info. Here's a good link http://www.americanalpineclub.org/docs/About_History_2004.pdf

When in doubt, heel hook!