klenke

I walked into a bar the other day and saw four businessmen sitting with Sarah Michelle Gellar. The waiter came and asked if they wanted drinks. The first man turned out to be the CEO of Coors and he ordered a Coors to drink. The second man was the owner of Budweiser and he ordered a Bud Lite. The third man was the owner of Miller High Life and he ordered a Miller. The waiter came to the fourth man, who happened to be the president of Guinness. He ordered a Sprite. Sarah was surprised and asked the Guinness president why he didn't order a Guinness. He replied, "Well, if nobody else is drinking beer, neither will I."

Making fun of nerds is always good for a lot of laughs.

Yeah, here he is within those cable supports (look midway up the first support left of the stanchion):

This is the guy that once climbed up one of the Golden Gate Bridge's vertical quad-cable deck supports and got stuck halfway up. I can't remember how he got down. Maybe this was elucidated on that TV special. A picture of the deck supports I'm talking about can be seen here (coming down at upper left side of image):

Say, isn't it your hero Gore's birthday today, Allison? Or maybe it was yesterday. 55 years old and still 55 votes short in Florida.

Dru, I agree somewhat, but... I would add that since the group of 8-10 climbers were nearby, had they left some gear at the base then the newcomers would have been polite to ask if the loitering group intended to climb the route (or if that was there gear and could they move it out of the way). I agree that if gear is left there and there is nobody even remotely nearby then the route (and maybe even the gear ) is completely up for grabs. Of course, I'm probably a little more polite than the average sport climber you might find at a place like that. I'd gauge the situation and choose to ask or not ask the nearby group as necessary.

Say, aren't they already inbred? "Elke on de ski slope?" "Yahhh."

I'm on the newcomers' side here too (would that be your team, cowboy?). Let me analogize: A party of two go into a coffee shop and see there's just one table free. They could set something like their backpacks down on the table in order to "claim" it (put dibs on it, as it were), but instead choose not to. They get in line behind another guy and his friend. The guy and friend get their coffees and and then go directly for the aforementioned open table and sit down at it. The first party of two who failed to claim the table with a personal item get mad but they've got no leg to stand on (nor table to sit at) in their argument. My point is this: if you want to claim something for later use, you have to put a dibs item onto it. Your proximity to the object of desire (in this case the table) does not signify a damn thing. However, if you should decide to leave a dibs item at the table, you can't leave the item there too long else someone will get irritated that the table continues to be unused. The climber chick should have laid claim to the route by putting some gear or a rope at its base. She should have then shown that she and her group were at least preparing to use the route. Otherwise, her loss.

Trask being Trask. Ho hum.

"It's coming off soon, though." You've probably been saying that for 20 years, Dwayner.

Do I have to call you out on every one of your posts Catturd? That hairy ornament you can grow above your stiff upper lip can be spelled moustache or mustache. Although, I think the former is the French version, whose language use, as we know, is currently faux pas (oops, faux pas is also faux pas). Damn!

The WSDOT website has been updated as of this morning (3/27): N Cascades Clearing Activity

Ha, a mouse avatar followed by a cat avatar. Catbird, you didn't read the mouse's post properly. The surprise was the penguin part, not the 120,000 more troops part. I saw a blurb on the news earlier this week showing dolphins being used to locate mines. That's pretty cool. I wonder how much the dolphins understand about the war (they're pretty smart as animals go, you know). I also wonder what the highest ranking dolphin soldier is. Corporal Porpoise has a ring to it.

I most likely wouldn't stop climbing. It is a hobby, a pastime of mine. Anyone that really loves you would not want you to stop doing what you love. That's selfish on their part. I could agree, however, to tone down the dangerousness of my endeavors. I would certainly be amenable to reducing the number of outings in order to hang out with her more. All this is coming from an unmarried man, so I don't know for sure if this is how I'd be if I was married. Probably.

When I was a high schooler with a driver's license we used to do mean mean things to shopping carts (and mailboxes with said shopping carts), but we never sat in the carts while we were doing so.

Uh, search and ye shall find in this very forum (see Dragontail - Triple Couloirs thread).

Seems like a good time to resthurect this thread, what with all the war thpraying going on. Thufferin' Thuccatash!

Test post SEWS from Kangaroo Temple (August).

A sounds like a great idea right now--especially after finding I'm going to get a big tax refund when I thought I would have to pay this year. I think I've got a bitter stout in the fridge.

Yep, those are certainly the required qualifications, though being a Guinness drinker is only extra gravy for being accepted. We never turn away new faces at Pub Club--especially if they handle the pitcher purchasing.

Seems like if you fell--especially a considerable distance--when climbing without the sewn part of the quickdraw in the system (i.e., one 'biner only as the guide has done here) that there would be more of a chance of one or more of the instantly-loaded 'biners snapping right at the bolt/'biner interface. The sewn part would act as a means to absorb some of that energy, albeit a little bit. Plus, the torque is increased in this method, which would further increase the likelihood of a brittle failure. Bolts are made of steel. (Most) carabiners are made of aluminum. Carabiners will break first. It seems using a quickdraw helps most to create a flexibility in a line to go here and go there without having to worry about getting on the wrong side of a bolt or having the 'biner rotate around the bolt hole. Heck, I don't know. If he had fallen, maybe the proof of it being a bad idea would have been in the pudding...or in the crater at the base of the climb. "The proof is in the pudding"? What kind of stupid saying is that anyway?

Metric system: English system: So take your pick.

The answer to your question, Wayne, is relative to what constitutes a relevant peak (prominence being the most distinguishing factor). There are several lists (Bulger, et al.) but these are usually modified by those making frequent use of them. Can you be more specific as to what you want? As for Brisbine's site (the link presented herein), I had noticed how it does not really present a top-down list up front. You kind of have to search around for the information. I have found the annotated index to be most useful for acquiring information relative to a given peak. Plus you can sort by different table categories in the index. What Brisbine has failed to mention (or maybe I did not read enough fine print) is that there are errors in USGS maps themselves (most notably in regard to contour lines) and they need to be taken into account as much as the accuracy of triangulations.

Here's a link for the relevant National Forest office: http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/ Phone numbers are on the page, but specifically for the Glacier office: Operating Hours: Daily from Memorial Day to mid-November Weekends remainder of year. 8 am - 4:30 pm PST Phone Number: (360) 599-2714 Based on the info above, if you want to call the Glacier office you must do so on the weekends only at this time of year. Otherwise, call the Sedro Wooley office at (360) 856-5700. They'll know just as much as the Glacier office probably.