willstrickland

I have a wonderful idea. You should go to the closest REI, and climb their 20m wall 400 times. That would be a really cheap 8000m trip and you wouldn't have to pay more than...ohh five or six bus fares. If you have a bike, you could even ride there and save more money. "BTW, are you a member of REI?"

No Hatch to Match: Agressive Strategies for Fly-Fishing Between Hatches - Osthoff Running on Empty: How the Democratic and Republican Parties are Bankrupting Our Future and What Americans Can Do about it - Peterson Nymph Fishing - Hughes Krishnamurti to Himself - J. Krishnamurti

Think what you will Fairweather. I'm not calling it a "conspiracy". And I am by no means an anti-semite or have any ill feeling towards judaism. But to deny that our big brother backing and tacit approval of all actions they (Israel) take is a factor that compromises our own security is to ignore reality. Consider this: "In 1996, Perle, Feith and Wurmser collaborated on a policy paper for the government of newly elected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The paper, called “A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm” and published by the Jerusalem-based Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies, was a blueprint of sorts for how Israel’s new leaders should handle the Palestinian conflict. Seven years later, the document has become perhaps the most-cited and damning piece of evidence in the anti-neocon dossier. The paper suggested that Netanyahu abandon the Oslo peace process, reassert Israel’s claims to the West Bank and Gaza Strip and remove Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from power. Toppling Iraq’s Baathists, the paper’s authors argued, was a necessary first step toward transforming the Middle East and destabilizing other enemies of Israel in the region — namely Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Arab press labeled the paper a “U.S.-Israeli neoconservative manifesto” because of its call for regime changes. And Arab Americans, such as James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute in Washington, DC., called it “disturbing.”" Speaks for itself I think. Source: Detroit Jewish News. Yes, Arafat should have been eliminated long ago. Although him being portrayed as a martyr would probably do more harm than eliminating him would do good. He has had ample opportunity to reach a workable solution and pissed it away time and time again. While I appreciate your wishes to see Israel live in peace, I think you're taking a pretty one sided view of their scenario re: our need to be adamantly and vocally pro-Israel. They have more than enough firepower to defend themselves (courtesy of us) from any organized state threat. It might actually settle things down in that region if we got out of the way and let the thing come to a head. I fully support Israel's targeting and assasinations of terrorist leaders, but I do not and will not support their settlements/land grabs. Sharon actually surprised me with the recent proposals and it pains me to see the far right in his party (as if he weren't far enough right) attempt to derail the process. I'm an isolationist, and firmly believe this "world policeman" role we have been trying to play since the mid 60's is sending us down a very undesirable path. I'm done blathering, time for a left wing neo-con

Most bolting bans are on new bolts, with replacement of existing ones allowed. Capitol Reef NP has this as their official policy and Sunset Park (an NPS site) in TN has a new anchor revdiew board which must approve the placement of fixed gear (new or replacements). You also might re-evaluate your stance on the FS. While their mission is definitely changing from timber to recreation, you might wanna focus your opposition to the FEES that will be forthcoming. Why would they want to keep you out / ban climbing, when "protecting their precious jobs" as you put it, is going to require a steady stream of user fees from FS lands. It certainly won't be in their interest to eliminate any potential recreation user group and the potential income they would/will generate. Prepare for more fee demo style shit, IMO.

Gimme a fuckin' break. Maybe you'd like to re-read my post, I don't think you will find me on the defense of the left...or even a left-wing cook? WTF? They make bad quiche or something? I think you mean Kook? Anyway....First, the fact that polictics has become the slimiest show on earth, is no excuse for the shit they pulled in 2000. Did you see those ads that ran in South Carolina? "Would you vote for John McCain if you knew he fathered an illegitimate child" while showing a young black child on the screen. And spare me the free trade and Vietnam bit, I haven't seen BushCo pushing China very hard to float their currency. Second, the right is running the show...in the White House and Congress. It's not the left that are spending us into the poorhouse while simultaneously cutting taxes, or out playing crusader. Although given a chance, the left would spend just as much, on entitlement bullshit while raising the tax burden to do it. Third, exactly how does my critcism of the Bush administration equate to an all embracing stance toward the left? As you may recall, my take on Moore/Amy Goodman et al are that they are simply windbag propagandists of the same ilk as Limbaugh/Hannity etc. Not much difference IMO, I think they're all full of shit. I support gun owners rights, strong national defense spending, responsible tax cuts, balanced budgets, less government, states rights. Leave the religious and polarizing social issues out of it. You want to affect that debate, teach your children values and propogate that ideology through your community, don't attempt to legislate it. I saw the Moore film. I though it was disappointing. I found the thing to be poorly crafted and if anyone has any expectation of objectivity from a Moore film, they don't know much about the guy. I found some of the footage to be hilarious though, in what was an ominous movie. The footage of Wolfowitz combing his hair and Ashcroft singing were worth the price of admission. That said, I left the film no better informed, and with no shift of opinion. It was about what I expected content-wise, but less than I expected production-wise. The biggest omission IMO, was the Israel factor. Anyone who ignores our propping up Israel in this whole terrorism debate is fooling themselves. This is IMO easily the biggest factor. It's not oil, it's not that they "hate our freedom", it's not that they envision transforming the whole world into an islamic theocracy. "It's the Israel factor stupid!" Anyone want to venture a connection bewteen the jewish power brokers in this country and the neocon policy wonks, media, and pundits? It's not a difficult exercise. It speaks volumes about the transition of the GOP that my bitching is commonly directed toward them. I used to share core values with the GOP and have seen them go by the wayside in exchange for placing polarizing social issues at the top of the platform. My...distress, for lack of better word, with the transition is why you see my ire directed toward the GOP. I, along with the rest of the socially moderate but fiscally conservative wing, have been sold out to court the evangelicals and neocons. The Dem party is a joke. It's a cobbled together contingent of fringe ideological groups with grand visions to solve problems....with all those visions involving an expensive govt solution. While I am firmly in the "anyone but Bush" camp, I think Kerry is alot like Gore, completely uninspiring, borderline inept. Another man with "polling vision" and no balls. I will be voting Lib for Pres, Dem for the AK US senate seat, GOP for the AK State Senate seat, and GOP for the AK State House seat. 1 dem, 1 Lib, 2 GOP. Not quite neutral.

That's right Fairweather! You're either with us, or you're against us All of us who think that Bush administration are inept, arrogant, corrupt, corporate lapdogs are simply under Fatty Moore's spell of misinformation. I wonder how I got that impression of the administration years before Michael "More Food Please" Moore released his film? I'll make this clear, my sour opinion of Bush and his cronies didn't begin with the Iraq invasion, nor with the Florida election wrangling. It began in the 2000 primaries when they unleased an unethical, cowardly, misinformation smear campaign against John McCain. That bullshit worked in the primary and "Gee Carl, think we can use similar tactics to bring the populus around to supporting an Iraq invasion? The neocons want this one bad. I think it may just work Rove 'ol boy...get on it!"

Sniff.....sniff.....Yup, I smell a big fat hairy Troll...yup.

GTG Giggling at The Guys Girls in Tight Gorts? Good To Go? Gucci To Gianni? Grabbin the goods? Guzzling the gimlets? WTF?

And the NPS knows exactly where the fixed ropes on the approach to Leaning Tower, Lurking Fear/West Face, on the East ledges raps, on the Half Dome slabs approach, and to Heart Ledges are, yet they choose to leave them in place because they are frequently used by climbers, the guide company, and YOSAR. The rangers there told me it was a "spirit of the law" versus "letter of the law" situation, and that if you are fixing on a route, 24 hours is the guideline but they aren't going to give you flack if you decide to take a rest day after fixing, or it rains for a few days or whatever. The spirit of the law is to prevent abuse of the priviledge of fixing lines. On heavily used spots like these, I don't think it's an issue. Whether the traffic this route will see justifies fixed lines remains to be seen. Being a new route, I don't see how it could justify them, but if these guys are going to be guiding it 3 times a week, maybe it does. The "eyesore/wilderness experience" argument could be valid. The "lowering the bar/luring gumbies onto the route" argument is weak. Just MHO.

I prefer Maxim Tech cord a 5.5mil (which is also the same thing as BD Gemini 2...not to be confused with the original Gemini cord, which was a diff material). The relative strengths of common cordage materials will probably surprise you. Moyer did extensive testing several years ago. Here's a link to his site, look under the older tests section for a report called "Comparative Testing of High Strength Cord". Fish also has a copy of the results on his site somewhere. http://www.xmission.com/~tmoyer/testing/

It was supposed to hit 102F in PDX today. I imagine the south side is a big, slushy, bowling alley.

Thanks for the heads up. I'm looking, and the replaceable batts is what's holding me back right now. I'd really prefer to have one that just takes AAs, but I love the Mac interface. I can imagine a spare li-ion recharagable is gonna be pricy. I keep hoping Apple will reca-nize, and represent for all the playas in the street. Yo Steve....two words holmes: Doubleayes Beyotch!!

Sept 35th? Muffy lives outside the space-time continuum .

EDITED to remove the picture of me in my big wall thong with built-in double rack because people started whining.

"Would you drive any better with that cell phone stuck up your ass?" "Hang up and drive" "Your wife says hi...Your daughter says OOOHHH OOOOHH!" "If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns"

A "Mountie-load" of climbers.

One more indication that Kerry is tougher than Bush: The Associated Press Updated: 6:22 p.m. ET May 22, 2004CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush suffered cuts and bruises early Saturday afternoon when he fell while mountain biking on his ranch, White House spokesman Trent Duffy said. Bush was on the 16th mile of a 17-mile ride when he fell, Duffy said. “He had minor abrasions and scratches on his chin, upper lip, nose, right hand and both knees,” Duffy said. Bush was wearing his bike helmet and a mouth guard when the mishap occurred. Duffy said he didn’t know exactly how the accident happened. “It’s been raining a lot and the topsoil is loose,” the spokesman said. “You know this president. He likes to go all out. Suffice it to say he wasn’t whistling show tunes.” Earlier this month, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry took a spill from his bicycle while riding with Secret Service agents through Concord, N.H., about 18 miles north of Boston. Kerry fell when his bike hit a patch of sand. He was not injured.

Lumberg Says

Yes it is. If we made it easier for everyone there would be a fucking wheelchair ramp on el cap by now. Ooooh, can we have a wheelchair ramp to the top of the Ice Cliff glacier too while we're at it? Hmm, does that also apply to routes as well, or is the GP exempt from being climbed "on its terms". Hey, maybe I'll see ya there! Layton:

I think Dane is justifiably upset because those responsible for the actions that EVERYONE HERE has agreed are unacceptable...i.e. the route name grafitti and bolt-on holds, do not acknowledge that there is anything wrong those actions. This, IMO, is the very root of the problem. Regardless of how you feel about retro-bolting, convienience bolting, glue-reinforcement of suspect flakes, or chipping, I think 99% of the climbing community would agree that there is no place for bolted on gym holds or river rocks, nor graffitti at the crags. I may be wrong about that, but all the climbers I know would view these actions as unacceptable. What will it take for those reposnsible to recognize that these actions are unacceptable? Bolt wars ARE lame. We could also have a long discussion on who actually starts the bolt war...the person who places it or the person who removes it. In retro-jobs you probably know where I stand. But that is another issue for another time. I personally do not support convenience retro-bolting for "leading" when it is easily TR'ed. But that is my own opinion and I don't make any claim that the majority feel this way (unfortunately, IMO). I ask you this: How many beginners and fairly new climbers end up climbing in a place like this? What impression do these actions give to them as far as what is the "standard" and what is acceptable. These practices (bolted on holds, grafitti, chipping), regardless of whether you embrace them or loathe them, ARE out of the ordinary and not generally accepted. The first step in remedying this situation is an acceptance of that fact by those responsible.

"Is this skinstore dot com?" "Yes sir, how may I help you" "I'm wondering if you might have a product to help with my condition." "What type of product are you looking for sir?" "Well to treat my condition." "and what condition is that?" "Well I have this...uh, well. Um, well my genetalia is discolored" ----silence from other end---- "I know this is unusual and I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, but this is really an embarassing condition." "Yes sir, I don't know that we have anything for a condition like that." "Well, my girlfriend is really distrubed by the color. Do you think some kind of make-up would work?" "Sir I'm not really comfortable talking about this" "Yes ma'am, and my girlfriend isn't comfortable looking at my HC when it's all spotted and purple" ----silence---- "Do you sell any kind of cosmetics formulated specifically for sensitive genetalia?" "Sir I would recommend you see your doctor, I don't think I can help you." "But my doctor is out of town, my girlfriend likes it with the lights on, and I can't plant my H-C until I take care of this problem. I'm getting a GU back-up" "Sir I am ending this phone call" "Wait! Before you go..." "Yes sir?" "show me them tittayz, 'cause I'm RICK JAMES BITCH!!!"

That is mostly correct. The Mega and Cliff are built on the same last (RN50), but the Mythos last(RN25) is slightly more rounded than the Focus last(PN25). It's very hard to compare fit between the Mythos and Focus though, because the Focus will barely stretch at all (it's lined) and the Mythos stretches ALOT. I can't get Mythos to fit me right, but the Focus does pretty well. If they stood up to resoling better, I'd be loading up on the Focus right now.

I'll take this one step further. I see alot of people who just tie a quick overhand and clip it to a gear loop. I always clip it to my belay or tie-in loop. Then untie, thread, re-tie, then unclip the bight. If for some reason your connection to the anchor failed...or even the anchor itself failed, while you were untying/threading/retying, your ass would be saved. If it's clipped to your gear loop...splat. Also, I'm with Dru on the personal anchor sitchmo. I do, however, still tie into two bolt anchors with an atomic clip (aka 2 leg bowline on a bight) if I'm swinging leads on a long multi-pitch. I also clove into the anchor with the rope while using the daisy. Snowbyrd, I would pick up a rope, John Long's "Climbing Anchors" book, a couple of over the shoulder sewn slings (which will serve multiple purposes such as a "personal anchor", rigging toprope anchors, extendable quickdraw, etc), and some 1" tubular webbing which can serve almost any purpose under the sun...you can rig TR anchors with it, tie it into slings, tie it into a makeshift harness, use it for raps, and on and on.

Thanks Matt. I believe those are actually relevant reasons to question the establishment of this area as designated wilderness...as opposed to the deranged musings above. Sailboi, don't misunderestimate me , I'm neither for ,nor against, this proposal. I want answers to the revelant questions such as Matt posed. I believe there is reason to oppose this, but not those you cite. Adopting the rightwing extremist tripe that you cite as the reasons for your opposition, only hurts your (i.e. anyone who jumps on this landgrab/taxrolls/evils of the ESA bandwagon) credibility among moderates.