lisa

Anyone in the Portland area game on skiing something fun this weekend? St. Helens, Hood, Broken Top?? The weather is looking fab.

The USA takes a licken' but keeps on ticken. Another Gold tonight, two nights in a row, and both from the NW...Way to go athletes!!

Ascension BD 3-Meter Probe, brand new, $68. obo.

Climbed Hood on the 15th,(So. side). It was very windy, with a brilliant blue, cloudless sky. The spewing sulphur in the Kitchen was awful, I was grateful for the winds I had cursed earlier. I thought Baker was stinky at times in Summer...not even close. Atop the hogsback, the Pearly Gates became narrow and steep. Winds pour into the gully, on both sides ice drapes itself over giant chunks of cauliflour snow. It may be a dog route in Summer, but it's a worthy one in Winter.

I have an Ortovox probe, lite and strong, 240cm. As previous posts mentioned, your probe need not be over 6ft long, the chances of someone surviving such a burial is slim. I also have a BD probe, it's substantialy heavier, but also longer, my error in the first purchase. Ortovox has a great probe on the market that is aluminum w/kevlar cord, it's only 175grams. Happy turns!

I fully agree with you, blaming others is easy, and sitting back and writing as a third party while others are busting their ass to save lives and make a differance....lame!!

I'm planning on it, going to check out Octoberfest in L-worth at some point, if anyones game.

No large coffee pot, sounds like Dr. jays our man. What else can I bring?

I'll bring some pancake mix and really good coffee if you like. Do you need any more large tarps?

Viagra gives a lift to life in the mountains By Michael Durham Health Correspondent 24 July 2001 Viagra, they say, can move men to shout from the mountain tops. Now scientists have found a new use for the drug – and one that benefits people who live on mountain tops too. The anti-impotence drug can be good for the heart and lungs, especially at high altitudes, doctors at London's Hammersmith Hospital said yesterday. After studying healthy male volunteers in one of the world's highest nations, Kyrgyzstan, they found it is a promising treatment for pulmonary hypertension, is a serious, often fatal constriction of the arteries of the lungs. Research funded by the British Heart Foundation has established that, just as Viagra affects the blood supply to a man's most sensitive part, it has a similar effect in areas most medications fail to reach – the pulmonary arteries. Viagra's wondrous effects will be as welcome to the thousands who suffer from pulmonary hypertension as they have been to the tens of millions of men who suffer from "ED" – erectile dysfunction. Pulmonary hypertension is caused by smoking, heart valve disease, emphysema and bronchitis, and sufferers experience breathlessness and severe incapacity. In Britain it is relatively rare. But in Kyrgyzstan, the former Soviet republic in Central Asia, it is experienced by up to 30 per cent of the population because of the high altitude. Researchers studied 10 healthy male volunteers at the cardiology centre in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. The volunteers breathed in deoxygenated air for half an hour, inducing a 56 per cent increase in pulmonary artery pressure. When they repeated the test after taking Viagra, their pulmonary artery pressure remained normal. It is not recorded if there were any other effects. Professor Martin Wilkins, who led the research, said: "The results were as we expected. The next step is to test it on people with chronic pulmonary hypertension to see if it lowers the pressure." Viagra was originally developed as a treatment for heart problems, until its blissful side-effects were seized on. It is still not recommended for heart patients, such as angina sufferers, taking nitrates. Now manufacturers may be faced with a new problem – how to produce a long-lasting version of the drug without creating a runaway demand.

Good Weather Conditions Draw Many People to The Mountains - Eleven Deaths in the Swiss Alps This Week: According to the rescue experts of the Swiss alpine club (SAC)the good climbing weather is to blame for the recent number of fatalities in the Alps. Since last Saturday, 11 climbers have died in the Alps and the worst accident were the four members of a rope team who died Wednesday on the Lauteraarhorn. According to Ernst Mauer, the SAC rescue leader in Oberhasli, the accident was not caused by anything careless on the part of the climbers. The main climbing season in the alps is from mid June through the end of August. When the weather is bad like in previous summers, less people are in the mountains and therefore there are fewer accidents. The AP reports that 47 people have died in the Swiss Alps since June (that's 48 with the latest death on the Matterhorn); last year there were only 28 deaths in the same period. Still, the accident rates continue to decline with an average of between 100 and 120 a year, compared with 195 in 1985. Its interesting that about 50 percent of all accident victims in the mountains, including skiers and hikers, are native Swiss. However, 85 percent of the victims of climbing accidents are foreigners. Also, about one third of the climbers are women, but they account only for 10 to 15 percent of the accident victims, which Ueli Mosimann of the SAC attributes to women being more careful climbers. Mosimann notes that climbers these days are much better equipped and one hardly ever sees people in the mountains with tennis shoes anymore.

Risks of Roped Snow Climbing Since the beginning of June over 50 people have died in climbing accidents in the Swiss Alps. This high number of deaths is partly the result of the great weather this summer, however the rash of recent fatalities indicates that in many of these cases the victims were roped up. Does being roped up give climbers a false sense of security? This was the subject of an article on August 23rd in the Neue Zuercher Zeitung which is attached below for those who can read German. The worst accident this year was in the Bernese Alps on August 15th when a rope team of four fell 600 meters to their deaths. Just three days earlier a family of three fell to their deaths in the Valais Alps. Some well known experts are of the opinion that being roped up does give climbers a false sense of secuurity and increases the risk of deadly falls on steep snow pitches. It has always been a problem to decide if the risks of unroped climbers being unable to arrest themselves is greater than the risks to the team roping up and one person falling and pulling the entire rope team off the slope. Experts like Pit Schubert, the long-time safety expert of the DAV-German Alpine Club-are of the opinion that it is safer to climb unroped on steep snow pitches of 25-30 degrees than to risk an entire rope team providing the climbers are equipped with ice axes and crampons and know how to arrest themselves. If a party feels it needs to rope up, then they should use some type of fixed belay for protection. Even climbing roped up with an expert mountain guide can be risky as shown by the fall several weeks ago on the Matterhorn where a guide and his female client fell to their deaths while roped up together. There is nothing new about this discussion other than the attention given to a series of accidents in a short period of time involving climbers roped together on steep snow pitches in a small geographical area of the Swiss Alps.

Yea!! I'll be proud to host a shindig here, I hope some of the others will join us!

Sounds great! I know a great place in Fairhaven, Bhm. I know julie mentioned a Friday eve would be better for Bhm, of course, that would have to be after the holiday wknd coming up. I think Friday would be better so folks can crash up here if they like, or head on to the hills for some adventure. What do you BC buds think of that?? Is it only you Dru? You must have some friends that would be willing to join you?

You guys have fun tomorrow and say a cheer for me. I took a small, but painful tumble yesterday, bad sprain on finger and ankle, have to lay off the foot for awhile, ugh! I wasn't even climbing....weak! Hey Dynamite, sounds like we gals know how to attract some of the finer wierdos in town. I will say, I am not living in hell or, really bothered as I would be if it was ongoing beyond a few letters a year. I do get fed up, but mostly relieved that I am far removed from the past. I just want it to stay there ya know, thanks for your note. Cheers to the other homers that will be supporting our liquor board with pride.

If you pay the forest service w/in the 15 day period for the day pass you were sited for, then that money goes to the forest service. If you choose not to pay, and do so repeatedly, yes, it does become a violation processed by the state, as if a speeding ticket etc. The problem herein, becomes the destination of the money you then pay, it goes to the state, not a dime to the forest service. Kind of bass ackwards, you pay eventually either way, it just becomes a matter of where the money ends up, hopefully you can afford the pass and forget about the politics. It is frustrating, and becoming rediculous that WA/OR feel they have to charge the public to enjoy public and wilderness areas. Yet, at the same time, with the influx of hikers and the mass media to - get out into the hills, there has to be funding to keep up with the damage that inherently follows. Let's hope the future brings a win/win for both.

[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 I first took her climbing, but I didn’t and my recklessness led to my demise… Remembering is like a dream. Dreams are surreal in color, things are out of place, but in the dream they are natural, the way things should be, the way they have always been. It was supposed to be just something basic. Kristi had been pestering me to go for weeks, so I finally hit the books (Beckey, Volume 3) and found something that would be challenging and suitable for both of us, but not too far out there. Kristi was a very good climber. She pulled down hard at 38 and plugged the pro on Davis Holland. I thought I was a stud because I ran laps on Godzilla. (It didnt matter that even after 2 years of trying I couldnt pull the opening move of The Second Pitch.) This was going to be no problem. Like all trips into the mountains, this one started with us hastily packing the Subaru on a lazy Friday afternoon. Getting to the North Cascades was going to be a casual drive, we were going to miss rush hour. After two hours of driving, we pulled in to the burrito joint in Burlington for an early dinner and a beer. Or two. Beers seemed in order as we were thirsty and having fun, and we knew we'd still make it to Washington Pass before dark. The mood was light; the Mexican beer was dark; I was horny. On the way out of the restaurant, we ran into an unlikely pair -- the mischievous Ray Borbon and the notorious sport climber "Lambone." They too were headed for the pass, but their agenda was different than ours. Different, to say the least. It involved a croquet mallet and ball, but beyond that they would not say, and we didn't want to know. Liberty Bell looked gorgeous in the late afternoon sun and I pointed out one of the 50 crowded climbs that I was gonna do someday. We pulled off and geared up quick to take full advantage of the daylight and crystal clear skies. Kristi was a climbers dream date: gorgeous, easygoing and able to carry her weight and more without a problem. We wanted to get ourselves setup for a solid push tomorrow up Early Winters Spire. We had heard there was some steep sections of ice, but everyone assured us it would be no problem. As we hiked in I was preoccupied with thoughts of my warm tent and how Kristi and I would make it warmer... However, lighting the tent on fire while starting the stove was not one of the ways I had intended to make it warmer. As Kristi and dove through the flaming vestibule I lost most of my hair and all my eyebrows. Thank god I had shaved my beard in anticipation of the trip, otherwise things could have been much worse. We both laughed hysterically as we watched the tent melt in a pool of bubbling nylon goo, feeling fortunate not to have lost more than some hair and, for me, a little bit of pride. As the last of the flames went out, Fred Beckey strolled up... "Thought I recognized that stench, seen folks try to burn their tent down like that, but never were they successful, I must congratulate you, a North Face down to the ground, how long did it take?" Embarressed as I was, the simplistic and harmless demeanor of the man whom I had only read about, soothed my wretched nerves. Uhhh, it happened so fast, I guess about... Kristi interupts in her zeal of excitement, "it was under 5 min", as if to impress Fred. She doesn't realize the only reason for this silly small talk that he is graciously engaging in, is due to the fact that she is standing there...

I see the place closes at 10:00, on more than one occasion, folks end up staying till about midnight, will they be booting us out at 10:00? How 'bout another Seattle meeting, since it seems to draw the largest turn outs. The only Tacoma participants have been Dwayner, and still he manages to close the place down and have time to sober up on his drive home. When we do have another Seattle meeting, some of us were thinking a bit closer to the interstate would be easier for those that travel.

I like Eddies idea...hmmmm. I guess it's best to continue on and forget about it, eventually he may too, until then I best keep a move on. Pope, I hear that woman can be just as pshyco, of course to be attracted to your lycra unitard, she must have been a few fries short of a happy meal. No wonder Dwayner took her on, I mean down, I mean, helped distract her.

I didn't want to post this under spray and have a 1000 people read it, although who's to say they don't read our entertaining stories from the day after our pub club meetings. Anyway, yes, it can and has been scary in the past, nothing like having someone open your car door and try to push you out while they are driving 60mph down the interstate. I grew up with 3 older brothers, they taught me how to wrestle off an intruder, but really men are inherently stronger than woman and unfortunately some take advantage of that. Anyway, on with climbing and brewskies, thanks for the input.

I didn't want to put it under spray and have a 1000 people reading, not that they don't read our entertaining pub club stories the day after. Anyway, yes, it can be scary and definately has been in the past, nothing like having someone open your door and attempt to push you out of the car while they are driving 60 mph down the interstate. I grew up with 3 older brothers, they taught me how to wrestle off an intruder, but men are stronger than woman no doubt, unfortunately some take advantage of that. Thanks for your input folks, and on to climbing and brewskies.

I had a beautiful drive home under the brilliant star filled eve. Thanks Jules for the b-day gift, you're a very thoughtful gal! Ok, small issue I have, has anyone ever been stalked? About 8 years ago I dated a man for a short time, long enough that he became obsessed with controlling me. He had become violent more than once in a jealous rage and from that point on I realized I was dealing w/an unstable pshycotic fuck. One time he would not leave my house and was yelling and throwing shit because I didn't want him in my life anymore, I had to dash out the door, barefoot and run to a pay phone to call the police, two cars showed up, told him to leave and although he did, he was spewing threats all the way to his car. I was embarresed as one could possibly be, that I had found myself in such a scenerio. In college I would occasionally find threatening notes on my car. He thought he was really clever and would put a tiny piece of paper in the door of where I lived, so when I came home it would drop after I entered and he would know I was home, fortunately for me, I figured out his little tricks. I moved a couple times, yet he somehow seemed to find me. I finally got a restraining order 6 years ago, it lasted only a year, he broke it in 3 months by showing up at my job. Nothing happend to him, politicians and money have a way of talking themselves out of trouble. It has been 8 years, he still mails odd newspaper clippings or, pictures to my folks house about 3 times a year. Last night when I got home, there was a message on my machine from my folks, he has sent another letter this week. Two years ago I saw him driving in town, got him to pull over, and firmly told him to leave me and my family alone, quit mailing shit and get on with his life. He said "well, it worked, here you are." I even told him I was engaged to be married, thought that would get rid of him. I have learned to climb through the rage that filled those days. Although, I am still angry that this vein asshole persists in reminding my folks and I about the painful mistake I made involving myself with him many years ago. Will he ever stop, should I just let it pass as I have all these years and just hope he gets hit by a mac truck? I'm growing wearing of this whole thing, anyone have a bad experience like this?

There is no easy scramble from Entiat glacier side. The walk up route is from Leroy Creek basin, it's a beauty. Have fun!

Christopher, got the photos, thanks again!!

Looking forward to seeing everyone and others. Say, does anyone have spare floor space for someone like ME, to crash so I don't have to drive back to Bhm after drinks??