chris_w

In the US I have been to every state except Hawaii. Internationally I have been to: Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Jamaica, Caymen Islands, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium(work), Austria, Hungry, Czech Repulic and The Republic of Slovak (slept through it on a train). I try to hit a new country every year....well almost. I went to alaska this year, could be concidered another country.

Sorry for the bad introduction. Minx Meet TheLawGoddess, TheLawgoddess meet Minx. Now you have been properly introduced.

Maybe bring it up to the Olympic committee that International Sports Athletes were getting attacked. Maybe they could look into it\put pressure on local police to investigate. They would have 7 years to fix the problem.

Here is a funny one. When we were paying our climbing permit fees for denali, I asked if we needed to pay to enter the national park. They were not sure and eventally said no. Then I asked does our climbing fee include entrace to the park. They were not sure. So Denali NP is free if you fly in.

The only Nation park that I can think of that is free is the north cascades. I heard he would donate the land as long as they never charged admission to it. Don't know how true that is, but what I heard. Also don't get confused with all the other nation sites out there. There are national parks, national monuments, national forests, nation recreation areas, national memorials, cemetary's, battlefields,..... Don't know if they are under the same rules.

Can't forget Royal Arches (5.7 A0). Something like 14 pitches of easy climbing. You can get on it at sunrise and if you simul-climb it, you can be off it before it gets too hot. If you feel comfortable on low 5th class you can run out the gear and take a light rack. You can get away with about 8-10 cams from a yellow TCU to #2 camalot. Just get on it before a line forms

Non climbing friends ask what I think about cliffhanger and I always say "The scenery is good" I think Eiger Sanction was the first movie clint directed.

If you want to use the trackback function you need to keep it on so it can record your route. The trackback will follow you exact route back, or as close as it can get. If you only have a waypoint, it will give you the direct line to that point. So if you wandered through a crevasse field, a direct line will probably go right over one.

I think a couple more questions that might need to go along with the stereo is: A: What kind of car was the stereo in? b: Was there other stuff visible in the car\was the stereo the only thing stolen? If you have a beat up POS car VS a new car, wouldn't they think the new car would have better items in it? If a thief looked in a car and saw a stereo with a missing face plate vs a car with a missing face plate and other items in it, they would would probably go for the car with stuff in it? I have a not so fancy car, always remove everything from the front\back seat and put it in the trunk and remove the faceplate. At a glance the only thing they find of value is a stereo with a missing faceplate. Do they want to break in and maybe get a radio? I don't think so. The only time I had my car broken into was in downtown cleveland and that was because I left a couple items in the back seat. I know a bunch of people that have had their cars broken into but they always have stuff in it. Duffel bags, snowboard\ski, ropes, etc. My $0.02 Chris

Here is the info I got from a friend who talked to one of the climbers in the party. The weather was clear when they headed up. The weather was decent when they summitted. On the way down a lenticular formed and then not too long after they were in a whiteout. They could not find the snowbridge across the bergshrund. They looked for a while and then started to dig a couple of snow caves. One climber had a cell phone and decided to call for a rescue. While digging in, the weather cleared long enough to find the snow bridge and get below the shrund. Below the shrund they had a GPS waypoints to get them down. They did not have a waypoint for the snowbridge. It was basically a self rescue. I heard the rescue rangers were pissed because they didn't call back to say they were able to get themselves down. I think 2 members of the party had mild frostbite on their hands. I don't know if the article mentioned it but there were 2 seperate groups that joined up once they were in the whiteout. I didn't talk to the climber, I am just relaying what I heard last night. I could easily have some info wrong. Chris

As of last weekend there was snow at about 5000 feet, basically once you leave the trees. You will also need to cross the taboo glacier (not that big) to get to the coulior. I think you can get to the coulior in 3-4 hours. The snow was getting soft around 10am. You will probably want to take crampoons, maybe you can strap those on your running shoes. chris

Good one......and true Have a slight burn, but not from denali. I thought the alaskan suntan would protect me from the PNW sun. It didn't and now I have a slight resemblence to a mischievous furry animal.

Zeke's it is. I will have some footage from my alaskan adventure if anyone is interested.

Toast is just trying to confuse us. He probably isn't even going I've been to Zekes and it's ok. either the pizza was cheap and the beer was expensive, or the other way around. Never been to Linda's. Is it poll time?

I have topped out a 16oz gatoraid bottle so I had to move up to a 32oz bottle.

Can't help with the climb, but I can with some of the approach. I did Sahale via Quien Sabe Glacier. It might be a little tricky exiting sahale's summit to the snow ridge between sahale\boston. It's a little steep and exposed so depending on your group you might want to be roped and put in a picket or two. I think we used 2 or 3 till we got to saddle. It looks good all the way till you get on the boston glacier. I did the route a couple years ago in sept and there wasn't much snow on the traverse to boston so we didn't rope up till the boston glacier. I was happy we put in a couple of pickets this time. I might have a pic of it by the weeekend. Chris

I'm in. It's going to be nice tomorrow so how about a bar with outside seating. Ballroom*, nickerson*,... *Not trying to start a ballard\fremont war. I Don't know where they have been for the last 6 weeks.

How about the Nickerson. It's in my neighborhood and I won't even be there

I tried a similar one at an Climbing Gym in Ohio. There was no motor in it, just a resistance knob. It turned by your body weight\resistance adjustment. It was fun on those -5 degree days in the winter when the snow on the sandstone cliffs turned you away

I think I will just duct tape it all together

Thanks for the replies. I haven't heard of anynoe having problems, but wanted to know any first hand knowledge. Dustin - They might be the Ciba Vision. They just got FDA approval for 30-day continuous wear. I'm going to ask my doctor about them. Good tips on keeping the drops in my sleeping bag. I'll put them in the pouch with the ear plugs. I'll also start getting my eyes in shape by blinking twice as much now to keep them moist

Is there anyplace in the seattle area to check out a fish bag. I'm looking for a duffle also but would like to play with one before I buy one.

Has anyone had any problems while wearing contacts at high altitude? I have heard that they do not let enough oxygen through above 14,000 feet. I am planning on asking my eye doctor but would also like to hear any first hand experience. I am planning on using them on denali. Right now I have a habit of leaving them in for a week before I take them out and clean them. Thanks Chris

I would assume that if you can get GPS information then a Satellite phone would work since it doesn't talk to towers on the ground. Now can you afford it?

I did the southwest corner a couple of years ago. Something like 3 pitches of 5.4 climbing. I thought it was really fun. It's not worth the hike just for this. It's a walk off from the summit, don' t remember which way, but it's pretty obvious. Southwest Corner I think the descent is on the right.