genepires

aren't they like $20/picket? how much have/will you spend driving to meet people to save $10/picket? just go buy it or get some aluminum t stock, drill out some holes with a hole saw and file the edges down for the ultra cheap look. good luck.

lets make the most of this weather window. open to many things few of the many options darrington wash pass spring mtn if the weather is crap - leavenworth come on folks!

???? He was asking nicely. Are you starting the drinking rather early?

pro for cody Cody has the advantage of having a sunny side and a shady side of the valley. If it is really cold, obviously stay on the sunny side. almost zero avi hazard in typical situations. sweet long wi4 routes. honest cowboy attitude. probably less crowds at cody since there is no big cities nearby. cheaper gas for cody cheaper accommodations and food. (exchange rate favorable for US to) Sierra trading post outlet? pro for banff I have not spent much time in the canmore area. I usually head north to the icefields parkway. friendly canadian attitude. shorter drive from seattle to banff (something like 6 hours less one way) can avoid avi hazard with route selection well plowed highways usually youth hostels in many locations. (where the climbing is better also) ice climbing history! cute canadian girls can go lift skiing if need be better rescue outfits? so much variety. lots of longer wi4's poutine. bakery at lake louise. could climb for half day in golden and make it back to bellingham by evening Polar fu#$1ng circus! Weeping wall!

for banff, first week of january "can" be cold and, relative to cody, be low amount of daylight. Will usually involve driving in the dark to make the most of the daylight. The daylight is really not such an issue but the cold can be. Impossible to predict though. I have been up there (banff) in late dec bunch of times and it was very good. The frigid days were few but they will shut you down. I don't think cody has this typically. It probably comes down to where you are coming from? They are both great places and worth the drive. Each has their own pros and very little cons. How about telling us your skill set and the type of ice climbing you are looking for?

would be interesting to find out what the average life expectancy of a retired police officer is. If it is anything like the military, they only got 10 years of "retirement" before passing on.

I stand corrected. Now I am really pissed about that stupid speeding ticket I got.

damn cool tr!

I find it amazing that some of the police act they do, as soldiers for the corporate machine. Police are in the same social/economic level as the people who are upset about the way things are going. Didn't their pension funds get clobbered just like the rest of america's retirement plan? Don't they have to fix the mess that we do to? They pay taxes, right? In the economic war of "us" vs. "them", they fight for "them" but are a war casualty along with "us". Would be interesting to see the propaganda used to convince the police to do what they do to peaceful protesters. point of clarification : Obviously there are a few members (on power trips) who give the whole population of police officers a bad rap. Maybe the police department has some kind of personality test that they figure who would be good candidates to deal with protesters. on an important aside, RIP Gil.

is it frustrating because it is a trip hazard, unneeded rap route when easy walk off or a rap route that doesn't go to the bottom? It seems like there could be solutions to these issues. Maybe the SAR could remove the hangers and bring them up for when a rescue or training is being performed. Or place the bolts in a better location. Without seeing it, I would think that the bolted anchors might be used by beginners thinking there are more bolted station going to the ground. But it sounds like there are only 2 stations so they will be forced into some unwanted situations.

hey D, if you can find him, ask Bob Kandiko about this. It sounds a lot like what he went through years ago. He had numbness in his hands/arms that was unfortunately was found to be a nerve issue in his neck also. It was real ugly trying to get it fixed, involved surgery and was about 18 years ago. Hopefully the doctors have fine tuned the whole thing by now. I think he had some events that could have caused the damage. Do you remember doing something bad to your neck and high upper back area? Whatever happens, I am sure you will be doing something big by next spring break.

respect where respect is due.

the theory has merits. Based on probability alone, the 1% WILL eventually catch up to you with enough time spent in the game. The 1% being that you will not be in control. If you are prepared by having the pro at your feet and everything else squared away to, then there is a long life ahead. The 1% caught up with many soloists, base jumpers and extreme alpinist where that kind of backup is not feasible. and the mathematical way of writing it P(death while climbing given that one has large cahones) spanning 0 to 3 years = medium but ignorance pulls one through P(death while climbing given that one has large cahones) spanning 0 to 10 years = low enough as one has learned just enough to keep safe P(death while climbing given that one has large cahones) spanning 0 to 34 years = high enough to second think the actions P(death while climbing given that one has small cahones) spanning 0 to 23 years = still fucked a rappel and made off relatively easy but on a backboard This last probability is mine.

maybe it was good that you lost it. It was probably leaching BPA into your water for a long time.

was watching you guys that day from princely ambitions. Great job and looked solid. For those who don't know, that second piece of gear (1st photo in the hole) is a levered carabiner. Or so I was told. sweet trad goodness!

snow dusting in sept. crazy & awesome!

I can't speak for all guide outfits and certainly can't speak for how things are run today as I don't guide anymore, but late 90 to early 2000's we were never in the places in question above on weekends. I am not even sure if we could reserve weekends. Is this different? Is the trouble with guide outfits getting permits for midweek? Because I don't remember seeing to many (if any) people out there midweek and it wasn't because we had all the permits. I would definitely agree that guide services reserving weekend permits is complete BS but it would be interesting if this is even a problem. I suspect not.

Is there a situation where on a multi pitch (or a single pitch) where one would use the ropes as a twin and then switch to double rope technique? Or vice versa? My old school mentality doesn't see the benefit to having a rope that is rated with multiple uses. Maybe it means you need less ropes in the quiver. Financially, it seems like you can get 2 setups on sale for the same price as a special multi rated overpriced rope. I suspect the answer to my next question lies in impact force but why can't you use double ropes with twin technique? Seems like when climbing bolted routes, using doubles as twins is OK. Maybe the difference lies in climbing above small nuts.

put the phone down and get back to climbing pat.

that humbug spire looks delicious

what is the advantage of having a rope rated as a twin and a double over one that is just rated as a double?

bookworm 5.7 wide crack as said above, superslab and moscow. spiderman buttress is really nice and fun and worthy of going back again and again. the older guidebooks used to have a list of climbs according to the grade. sadly the new guide no longer has this information. Try to find the late 90's version of the guidebook to help find 5.6's without tedious searching. ANy 5.6 is going to be trad.

Not for me but I am trying to get my 4yo boy into skiing this winter. Internut websites say I should get him a 90 to 100cm ski. So anything less than 110 would work. Don't make me look at craigslist with all the wierdos out there.

oh sheesh, you make me blush.

be aware that lots of these day trips are long DAY trips. May mean headlamp starts and possibly headlamp finishes.