Jim

It's not very ethical. If you would like to refresh your karma I know some folks in Bolivia that could use some previously owned gear. PM me if interested. Also see the thread under the Climbers Board.

Bets on another cluster-f*** after the election?

October 15, 2004--The latest Rasmussen Reports Electoral College projection shows George W. Bush with 213 Electoral Votes and John Kerry with 194. There are now ten states with 131 Electoral Votes in the Toss-Up category. Today's change results from moving Florida back to Toss-Up status. While the President has been ahead every day in our Florida Tracking Poll, his lead has been below the five-point level for several days. Generally speaking, we consider a state in the Toss-Up category unless one candidate leads by at least five points. Over the past week, John Kerry gained back twenty-five Electoral Votes as New Jersey and Maryland moved back to "Leans Kerry" status. Both of these states were expected to be in the Democratic column when the campaign began. In the week leading up to the first debate, Kerry's lead declined in both states and they were shifted to our Toss-Up column. However, Kerry has never trailed in either state. Over the past two weeks, Kerry has also gained ground in Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. But, none have moved enough at the moment to shift out of Toss-Up status. To review our most recent state-by-state projection, click HERE.

A friend of mine sent me this from Bolivia. She is trying to get some mountain clothing gear for local folks that can work in a locally-operated guiding service. If you have used mountain clothing (in decent condition) you want to part with give me a PM. Thanks. Dear Friends, I have a small mission here in Bolivia I would like you all to help me accomplish if you can. Folks have read about the serious cold I've talked about here in the Central Andes of Bolivia. It is gorgeous, but cold! This project is to help the local guides, porters, llamateers and mule drivers of the Apolobamba region in northwest of Bolivia. This area is along the Peruvian border, just north of the Lake Titicaca. They live high up in the altiplano of Bolivia. At 14,000 feet, it is a harsh, cold and nearly barren existence. Many campesinos live in very remote pueblos consisting of only a few families. In this region most people are miners, living and working at 5,300m or higher for years at a time. The long term affects of work at this altitude can be devestating. Due to injuries from unsafe conditions and more commonly, from severe lung and circulation problems due to too high of a red blood count, some people can no longer work and earn an income. The poverty is extreme (Bolivia is the second poorest country in South America) but some of the people in this area do have mules and llamas. Under the right circumstances, with these animals, there is the possibility to earn an income to feed their families. Andean Summits helps this to happen. Andean Summits (www.andeansummits.com) is a Bolivian owned and run mountian guide organization. I went with Andean Summits (AS) on my incredible trek to the Apolobamba Mountains this July (2004). Javier Thellaeche and Jose Camarlinghi are long time mountaineers and the owners of this small business. But what they really are, in my mind, is an amazing grass roots economic development organization. They are cultural ambassadors of sorts as well, between the few tourists who come to this region and the local people. In remote regions like the Apolobamba, Javier and Jose connect with the local people (campesinos) to learn who in the area has mules and llamas. They then hire the people and their animals. At the same time they hire campesinos familiar with area to work as local guides. Often the campesinos have no experience with tourism or (western) trekking, so AS teaches them how to load the animals with this kind of gear and other relevant skills. The campesinos earn more money from one trip with AS than they could in months normally. If the locals are interested, AS invites them into the kitchen tent and teaches them how to cook for a trek and other useful skills to develop their ability to work with tourists. Essentially AS provides local people the opportunity and training to earn income with their animals in a very thoughtful and culturally sensitive way. In the off season, AS offers the opportunity for local people from the mountain areas to learn the basics of trekking and even technical climbing. Here they learn the skills necessary to help guide or support a trek or climb. AS does this for no charge to the people who participate.They then try to hire from this group in the high season. In addition, Andean Summits has a very committed staff of permanent employees. The biggest challenge AS faces is to keep the llamateers, mule drivers, porters and local guides warm and dry at such high altitudes under sometimes extreme conditions. I know you can imagine that most of these folks are hiking snow covered passes in rubber sandals, cotton sweat shirts and blanket rolls. The campesinos easliy learn to work with AS and the trekkers, but what they can't do easily is stay warm and dry away from home for a week or two at a time on a trek. They don't have the clothing or supplies to be warm, dry and comfortable. Those of you who have done Inner City Outings trips with me or ever tried to take more than three kids (or adults for that matter) camping know how hard and expensive it is to get good gear. It is nearly impossible to buy quality gear here in Bolivia. And what is available is out of the price range of a Bolivian campesino. In fact, many of the mountain guide agencies here are western owned because of the expense of the gear and training involved to guide safe trekking and climbing trips. I was so moved and inspired by the integrity of the folks at Andean Summits, that I made a commitment to Javier and Jose to send all the extra good quality gear I have to them in Bolivia. They will use this gear for the local people they hire. I also said I would ask my friends to help. My goal is to send enough long underwear and warm socks to keep 10 people warm and dry for their next training. A Canadian expedition is coming to Bolivia in November and has offerred to bring the gear to AS free of charge. If you have the time and resources at this moment to help with this project, I would really appreciate it. The easiest way is to click on www.REI.com. I registered here under my name for some supplies. When you go to REI.com, click on gift registry and put in Amy O'Toole. You will see that I registered for 10 pairs of long underwear tops and bottoms, 20 pairs of socks, a few water bottles and some climbing slings. When you purchase the gear online, it is sent to my mom's house immediately. This may be the only time in my life I ever register somewhere! No item costs more than 30 dollars. Another way you can help, especially if you live in Seattle, is to donate any good quality rain gear you may have.

Sometimes folks are just paired up at the gym. Not a big deal to float a request out there in advance.

Been there, done that. Hey, did you run into a group of 5 chicklets up there. A friend and her 4 buddies were going to backpack up there for the weekend. Maybe they bailed before you. They were supposed to go in via Snow Lake TH.

The Enchantments looked nasty from the top of Devil's Gulch. It was blustery and cool even there. You guys were very optimistic to have headed in with that forecast. Time to tune the skis, eh?

Here's the latest eastside, including for Wenatchee and Leavenworth. REST OF TODAY...PARTLY CLOUDY LATE IN THE MORNING...BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 60S TO MID 70S. TONIGHT...A 70 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN AND HIGH MOUNTAIN SNOW. BRISK. LITTLE OR NO SNOW ACCUMULATION. SNOW LEVEL 6500 FEET. LOWS IN THE 40S. WIND WEST 15 TO 25 MPH IN THE MOUNTAINS. SATURDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW IN THE MORNING...BECOMING PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON. WINDY...COOLER. SNOW LEVEL 5000 FEET. HIGHS IN THE 50S. NORTHWEST WIND 15 TO 30 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 50 PERCENT. SATURDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS. SNOW LEVEL 4000 FEET. LOWS IN THE MID 30S. SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. CHANCE OF SNOW SHOWERS AND A SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS...NEAR THE CREST. SNOW LEVEL 4000 FEET. HIGHS IN THE 50S TO LOWER 60S. LOWS IN THE LOWER TO MID 30S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 30 PERCENT.

Off to mt. bike the east side for 3 days, the gulch, the secret spot (5,500 ft elevation gain, screamer single/double on the way down), and the recovery day ride.

Liberals tend to be more fiscially responsible. They tax and spend, in comparison to the neocons, who BORROW and spend.

Oh this is excellent!

Folks who say it's too much trouble are LAME-O. The polling stations are in every neighborhood for crying out loud. Or just arrange for absentee and have a stout while voting!

I saw a film about this guy a while back. He's a total animal. He "hiked" into some New Zeland peak that took him several days to get to the base. He drives a car with these weird hand controls. Pretty fiesty. Hard to complain about minor aches and pains.

I was wondering the same thing and I'm going to check with King Co to see what's up.

Dr. Tuttle of Tuttle and Devine Chiropractors, on 2nd avenue downtown, 1/2 block north of James St.

I thought the moderator was the worst among the three debates. And why did he bother asking questions about faith and their wives? Please. Those questons had no place. There were a couple questions regarding foreign policy when the debate was suppose to be centered on domestic issues. And WTF!? Not one question on environmental issues, which is a stark contrast between the candidates.

If I can juggle the work schedule and travel thing I can have a few days here. Anyone going to be down there? If not I assume it would be relatively easy to pick up a partner or mooch as a third(?)

Dang! They have a projected $8 Billion dollar federal surplus!! And health care to boot! And Squamish and Whistler. And no religious right. Hmmmmm.

Actually parrots as pets most often outlive their wild counterparts as they don't have to spend so much time looking for grub, have medical care for parasites etc. In addition, you can import parrots to the US only in special circumstances these days. The vast majority sold in the US are raised from domestic breeders. That's not to say that no black market exists. A friend has a bird, African gray, that is 59 years old (expected max of 65 in wild)!! But seems like a dog or cat would be a better choice.

Man does this suck or what? I've heard similar stories from the local biologists of folks ignoring the closure at Tieton and causing nesting disruption of the golden eagles. This is nasty and inexcusable behavior. No wonder land managers would rather just close an entire climbing area for a period rather than just limiting it to a small section.

I saw a flying saucer with a Bush/Cheney sticker on it!!

Have to agree with the distance running and age thing. Been running for 32 years and some hip things are cropping up. That said, I've been biking more and mixing it up, but biking is (IMO) a poor substitute for running. I feel I get a much better all around workout from an hour of running - hills and flats - than a bike ride twice that long - and I don't slouch it. You have all these gears working for you on a bike and you don't work so much on the downhills. With running, especially on the trail, hills, or stairs, I think it helps for getting out in the hills. Love to run but gotta also think longevity.

Most excellent photo on the home page.

There may be but I don't have it.

http://www.djc.com/en/project.html?action=get&id=2000029085