willstrickland

Here's what I don't quite get: Everyone is focused on shooting the messenger, rather than addressing the issue. I just read through this thread for the first time. More time was spent railing against Merv and raising peripheral issues because of pre-existing disagreements with his bolting stance, than addressing the issue itself. As I understand it, this is about visual impacts in the woods from draws left hanging on a project. Everyone seems to believe that leaving them hanging is accepted in some places while actively "working" a project, but that they should be removed when not being worked. Perhaps we should be focusing on what constitutes "actively" working a project and guidelines for when to remove draws. End of the day? End of the season? Surely these guidelines will vary based on individual area. Whether or not you agree with Merv's other stances on bolting and sport climbing is beside the point. He did not raise those issues, but instead pointed out this particular issue. I used to climb in American Fork,UT and Foster Falls, TN where there are some steep cave type routes that ALWAYS have draws hanging on them. In fact, on some of the climbs in the bunkers at Foster's the draws consist of a wrenched down quicklink through the hanger and a biner in the other end. That kinda pisses me off because I don't know anything about how long they have been there and I can't clip into the hanger with my own gear. It's not an issue for me anymore because I don't really sport climb anymore...maybe once a year or something. The point is, those routes are very hard to clean draws from because they are about 75 degrees overhanging, and it's accepted that there will be draws hanging there full time. These routes are also situated such that the only people who would notice them are other climbers or the rare hiker who scrambles onto the climber's trail at the base. I only add this because I think it illustrates some scenarios where leaving draws hanging for a long time is generally accepted. I personally concede that there is a place for sport climbing much like there is a place for lift skiing. I don't care for it myself, and I believe it has no place in the mountains, and that trad lines should not be retrobolted and trad areas shouldn't have a bunch of bolted squeeze jobs added, but that's neither here nor there. I am under the impression that the developers of this area intend to add more lines. Will they then leave draws hanging on those lines as well? When does it become too much? Here's a contrasting example: I climbed Total Soul in Darrington last week. This is one of MattP's creations and the bolts, chains, etc are all painted matte grey or black to blend with the rock. In fact on the raps I was hanging about 10 feet from the next rap station, and really had to look around to see the next station...it was right under me almost. That's an effective visual impact reduction job. Just food for thought.

Ok, notice that this thread was started 3 years ago. This was the start-up thread and then a new thread was started to pursue the story. Here's the link to it (you'll see the difficulty of executing something like this) Story Here's as far as the story got before the arguing, spray, and weekend intervened: "Four years had passed, four years of constant reminders. Every glimpse of a rock face, every postcard of a mountain, every carabiner keychain a reminder of that day. Looking in the mirror........I had to wonder if I still had it in me. Sure, accidents happen and people die in the mountains, but it wasn't supposed to happen to me. And it wasn't really my fault. Even my friends have told me that over and over again. But then why does it plague me so. Why does my gear just sit in the corner? My old partners don't even call me anymore. Deep inside I know I have to climb again. That's what Kristi would have wanted….. Things seemed simple at that time in my life when she and I first met, I was youthful and full of energy ready to conquer the world. Looking back now though maybe I was too careless, blind of my lack of abilities and too willing to take risks. I promised myself to change my ways when she I first took her climbing, but I didn’t and my recklessness led to my demise….."

The other 1/4 could be permafrost, ice in high bowls/depressions/tarns that does not move, etc. I assume "glacier" by definition means movement. Your quote say "lower 48" so the ice caps are out. In related news, an El Nino is brewing, so maybe the resulting precipitation will help replinish the glaciers a bit. We hear quite a bit up here about an arctic icepack monitoring study using sattelite and aerial imaging and another ongoing study of permafrost temp fluctuations. The decrease in the arctic icepack over the last 10 years is unbelievable.

One thing to add re:"sliding x" You can reduce the potential of shockloading by throwing an overhand in each leg betweeen the powerpoint and the protection piece. You probably don't need alot of travel in the "x" unless the route wanders all over. By knotting each leg a few inches above the powerpoint, you can reduce the potential shockload from a foot to a couple of inches. Cordelettes are great because you essentially have built-in redundancy in the sling system, but you will never be able to perfectly equalize one. A fall onto a cordelette belay will almost certainly load one piece of the anchor before the others. That said, last week I used cordelettes, sliding x's on a single sling with 3 lockers, a sling to each piece and 3 lockers, and 2 regular quickdraws to set up anchors in a two day period. Learn lots of systems and then decide what is appropriate at the time based on what gear you have available, the condition of anchors, path of the routes, etc.

I get really really sore in my left hip flexor while climbing in boots/cramps. What helped me was: 1. Some regular yoga that targets stretching them. e.g. warrior pose 2. Doing some of my training such as stairmaster work using ankle weights to simulate 5lbs of boots/cramps. For my situation, I believe the weight of the boots was the biggest issue. You can train for several thousand feet per day, but if you are doing it in tennis shoes or even hiking boots, actually climbing that distance with plastics and steel crampons is going to be significantly more work and stress on the flexors.

Cracked, this one: Interactive Electoral Count Map from the LA Times is interactive and has rollover links to the latest poll results in each state. Click the states to toggle them red or blue and play out various electoral count scenarios. Pretty slick and I can easily configure a tie in the electoral college (although I thought that 2 states used a proportional system? This would eliminate the potential for a tie I believe)

Speaking of Big Brother, I got this little oppressive reminder at work today: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has filed two similar complaints for disciplinary action against Federal employees for sending politically partisan electronic mail messages while on duty, in violation of the Hatch Act. The OSC filed the complaints with the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSBP) on August 12, 2004. One complaint against U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employee Maureen Taylor-Glaze, alleges that she sent an e-mail message to about 15 of her EPA coworkers while she was on duty and in her Federal office building. The message contained a widely-circulated picture purportedly to be actress Jane Fonda and John Kerry speaking at an anti-war rally. Under the picture were numerous negative statements about Presidential candidate John Kerry, and the statement, “Please keep this going. We do not need this man as our President.” A similar complaint alleges that U.S. Air Force civilian employee Donald Thompson sent an e-mail message titled, “George W”, to more than 70 recipients while he was on duty. The message contained a document mimicking President Bush’s resume and is filled with allegations of incompetence and malfeasance specifically directed at President Bush’s defeat in the upcoming election. It also contains the phrases, “Please consider me when voting in 2004” and “Please send this to every voter you know.” Special Counsel Scott Bloch said, “The use of Internet and electronic mail is second-nature to almost everyone, and has become a favorite and effective campaign tool, even more so perhaps, than four years ago. I want to remind Federal employees to be vigilant about following the Hatch Act, because we will consider this activity a form of electronic leafleting, and thus a violation of the prohibition on partisan political activity in the workplace.” The Hatch Act prohibits Federal executive branch employees from engaging in political activity while on duty, in any room or building occupied in the discharge of official duties by an individual employed or holding office in the U.S. government, while wearing a uniform or official insignia identifying the office or position of the employee, or using any vehicle owned or leased by the government. Political activity has been defined as activity directed toward the success or failure of a political party, candidate for a partisan political office or partisan political group. The OSC provides advisory opinions on the Hatch Act and also enforces the provisions of the Act by filing petitions for disciplinary action. Employees who are charged with violations are entitled to a hearing before the MSPB. Under the Act, the presumptive penalty for a violation is removal from Federal employment. However, upon a unanimous vote of its members, the MSPB can mitigate the penalty to no less than a 30-day suspension without pay. Employees have the right to appeal the MSPB’s decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. *** The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency and operates as a secure channel for disclosures of whistleblower complaints and abuse of authority. Its primary mission is to safeguard the merit system in Federal employment by protecting Federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially retaliation for whistleblowing. OSC also has jurisdiction over the Hatch Act and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. The way I interpret the Hatch Act is that I can't legally engage in partisan discussions or e-mails from my desk even while on my lunch hour or break. the Man.

Dru, what are some of the parent/resultant relationships in metamorphics beyond the basics? Also, isn't shale sedimentary from mud? I know that: Sandstone->quartzite granitics->gneiss shale->slate But schist can form from basalt, shale, or slate? Others?

Bro-brah?

You can buy most liquor already in plastic "traveler" bottles. Don't know about 151, but you can get regular 80 proof Bacardi, and Jack/Beam/etc in 750ml size travelers. Here's your stellar recipe: 12 yr old single malt scotch, neat.

No shit there were alot of people up there with ya'll. Fern and I counted 16 people on the upper section of the Beckey from our perch on the top of NEWS. In the pic above, you can barely see us starting the last pitch in the obvious white streak on NEWS. Hey, were any of you guys (BRock maybe?) climbing on the E side of SEWS? Wearing a blue jacket. I got a couple of good pics of someone on what was maybe the Direct E. Butt or something, looked like you were right on the crest of an arete. Ran into Caveman (didn't hear ya yellin' though ) , Skykilo, rbw1966, Mtnhigh, Shred and probably saw the rest of youse in the clusterfuck of people descending Lib Bell. That was my first time at the Pass. Good stuff

I would re-visit those forgery allegations, particularly in Peter's link above (the site has been updated 4 times since PP originally posted the link). The allegations seem to be falling apart a bit.

For all you dirtbags I should add this Booty Alert: Take two extra long nut tools and you can probably score what appears to be a brand new red Metolius TCU...with those silly little dots on the lobes. It's on the 2nd pitch Roger's, about halfway up the pitch, in the crack in the right wall just below the where you climb around the little roof using the flake on the right and crack on left. Looks like someone bailed off it, there's a quicklink on the sling. It's not overcammed, and you can barely reach the trigger bar with a std nut tool. You'll need a second tool to push against the end or maybe reach the lobes. I worked on it a bit, but couldn't get a second tool on the end to push while pulling the trigger bar. If you go after it, take a 3/8 nut and fix the rap hanger eh.

Just a public service announcement: The first belay/rap station on Rogers Corner is missing a nut on one bolt. Appears to be a standard 3/8" bolt. The hanger is still there..threaded with sling and handing off the other bolt. Looks like the nut just spun off the bolt or something. This is not a big deal as far as belaying, you could link to the next belay or add gear. BUT, if you are planning to rap from the top of B.O.C. to that station, avoiding swinging around to get back into the station at the base of BOC...be aware. As a side note, a single 70m will put you on the ground if you decided to swing back in and rap from the base of BOC.

Dude, this is a great picture!

Technically, the caliber is 5.56x45. The civy equivalent is called .223 Remington although it is something of a misnomer because it is actually closer to .222. But, since there were already two existing "triple duece" calibers (i.e. .222) they called it .223. Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is a very slight difference in the rounds at the necking of the cartridge which will cause about a 10-20% higher chamber pressure than the (.223) weapon is designed for when firing a 5.65 through a .223 chambered weapon. The typical round in these calibers is a 55grain. The 54 grain tracers will trace out to 500-550m. These calibers are fast and have a relatively flat trajectory...perfect for hitting small targets at medium distances. The .223 is a fairly popular "varmint" caliber for hunting groundhogs, prarie dogs, etc because of those characteristics. For comparison, a whitetailed deer is roughly the same size range as humans. Most hunters consider .223 much too small a caliber for deer (although my next-door neighbor hunted with one for 20 years) and look for at least a 100grain bullet, preferably >140. Not many deer hunters out there carrying anything less than a .243

Nice hat 'Byrd

Don't be a wank dude, that search didn't even bring back any results for me the way you constructed it Peter222, this thread is probably the best one, take a look through it: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/347919/page/5/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1 And Alpine Dave has a cool trip report here: http://www.alpinedave.com/garfield/infinite_bliss.htm

"We have a clear vision on how to win the war on terror and bring peace to the world." -- George W. Bush July 30th 2004. "I don’t think you can win [the war on terror]. But I think you can create conditions so that the — those who use terror as a tool are — less acceptable in parts of the world.” -- George W. Bush Aug. 29th 2004.

Index rocks your dome, but in the interest of traffic/beer/variety of difficulty/time to climb/etc I vote 32.

So did you bust a cap in the dude's ass as he dove out the bedroom window? Or was he hiding in the closet?

I don't need any more help bro, I gots Chuck Woolery workin' the fly honeys for me. So what's it gonna be foos? Index, 32, or 38? Cast your votes...

I don't think it's working for me, or you either for that matter. See:

If you are that concerned with the potential outcome of the election, I suggest you put your money where you mouth is and travel to Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa, or New Mexico and work in the "get out the vote" effort there. Turnout is going to determine this election.