Jim

http://alpenglow.org/climbing/ptarmigan-1953/index.html

The latest round of violence in the middle east is going to end up solving, what exactly? So Hezbollah sneaks over the border, kills several soldiers and kidnapps two. In past similar situations Israel does a couple of air raids on training camps, says it will not negoiate, and they makes the back channel prisoner exchange. This time they hit the Palastian civilian infrastructure and now have bombed Lebanon back 25 years in infrastructure. Oh, and killed about 500 civilians - but that was the count by yesterday so is likely old. The point is what? Any damage done to Hezbollah will be masked by the number of new recruits they will get. Meanwhile the US is letting it's lap dog have at it, China and Russia are backing away from out position regarding a nuclear Iran, and the already weak Lebonese government will likely be voted out in the near future. Guess who will be voted in? Seems like this latest round is not going to solve anything.

I was in Italy for a month last summer climbing, hiking hut to hut, and some via ferrat(ing). Three days is not much time, if you can spare at least a week do it. Count on a full day to get to the Dolomites from Venice airport via train. I think the quickest is a train switch in Verona and then picking up a bus to reach the smaller villages. Even some of the larger towns like Cortina are not served by train. I would strongly recommend renting a car if you have limited time. Otherwise you'll be stuck using the busses in the villages and that may or may not meet you're needs for getting to your VFs. http://www.cicerone.co.uk/product/detail.cfm/book/362/title/via-ferratas-italian-dolomites--vol-1 The above link is for Vol 1 of thte cicerone guide, which was very useful. Don't forget you'll have to purchase a VF kit - it's a dynamic self belay device you put on your harness and you clip into the wires as you go. If you fall on just webbing it could be a major static fall (up to 20 ft between wire anchors) and they would snap like carrot sticks. I thought the VFs were interesting, though I'm glad we don't have them over here (least not many). You can choose to just climb the rock and use it as protection or grab on when needed. Some of them are pretty steep and long. We did one that was about 1,600 ft vertical, and of course it ended with strudel at the hut. I also have to VF kits I'm willing to sell. PM if interested. We stayed in Arabba and Canaezi, both central to the four pass area. Arabba had this place run by Brits, some of who wrote the Cicerrone guides. They had a ton of information, maps and route descriptions, for hikes and VFs, and gave me a suggestion for a climbing guide. http://www.colletts.co.uk/ I'd go back. Look at the VFs as protected scrambling - it has it's place in that mountain culture. Be happy to answer other questions.

thanks. For anyone else who wants them: North Twin Sister Here's the verbal version of the directions beginning in Sumas Wash. Watch your speed limit (25 MPH on main street). TURN left at the South end of town as for Baker (speed limit now 30 MPH) (radar on these two streets 98% of the time). No more radar beyond this point. Drive to Kendall (perhaps 15-20 k). Kendall is the place with the large NEW school on the right, fire station on the left. Impossible to miss the school. TURN right at Kendall beyond the school and drive towards Bellingham. Drive for perhaps 10k. You'll pass the "North Fork" aka "The Beer Shrine" on your right after about 6 k or so (recommended beer. Pizza OK but expensive). While driving up a slight hill with a long gradual right turn, you can see the Twin Sisters to the left for a short period if the weather is very clear. A couple of K's after the hill, you'll see a small store on the left (might be called "the welcome store") with a white community hall or church beyond (next) to it. TURN left on to the paved road between the two. Drive the paved road for maybe 10 minutes (might be a bit less). After crossing what seems like a small bridge, (several K's beyond the farms with the 90 degree right then 90 degree left turns) a gravel road branches to the left at a 45 degree angle. TURN left here onto the gavel road. If you miss this turn and come to a big bridge across a river, turn around and find your road 1/4 mile or so back up the road. Follow the main logging road following instinct! The only doubtful turn is when driving along a side hill where the road forks, offering a lower downhill option to the right TURN right onto the lower (and more traveled option). You'll cross a curved concrete bridge and 5 minutes later come to a yellow metal bridge that is probably gated. PARK here. Ride up the road following the most obvious forks. The main option is a fork after only 5 minutes or so (gated), stay left on the main road. After 35minutes of walking (maybe 26-28 minutes on a bike) you'll cross a creek that has visibly yellow coloured water. 10 minutes above that you'll see a side road branching to the right. Next to the side road on its left side is a pile of gravel (another spur 5 minutes earlier also has a pile of gravel but is not in driveable condition-the initial spur is wrong). TURN right onto the side road. After 5-8 minutes you'll come to an area where the road is blocked by large boulders (shortly after a great campsite on the right). No boulders = wrong road! Follow the road beyond the boulders. Eventually cross a creek and continue to follow the main road (stay left at any options). North Twin will be clearly visible as you ride through the clear cuts. When almost directly below North Twin, the road in the clearcut hits a high point and begin to drop. 100 meters beyond the high point a rather bushy skid road (with cairn) branches to the left. Rather hard to notice. TURN left up the skid road and follow main road. If memory serves correct you'll switch back to the left, then eventually to the right. Several minutes above the second (right) switchback a rather unexpected switchback/fork appears to the left. TURN left and follow this branch, eventually doing a switchback to the right and going into a logging landing (open level spot) several hundred meters later. The trail to the West Ridge begins here on the ridge crest. Walking times are generally 2-2 1/2 hours to this point from the car, so around 10K.

I saved and promptly lost directions previously posted for North Twin. A friend asked for these and I searched on this site without success. If anyone saved these I'd appreciate the help. Thanks.

Oh, oh looks like a Friday afternoon feeding frenzy. Bad timing Sman. <"}}}}}><

So it was all a coincidence eh, and not retribution? Now there’s a fantasy on par with the Iraq justifications.

So why isn't Rover under indictment? WASHINGTON (CNN) -- White House political adviser Karl Rove was one of Robert Novak's sources for the 2003 disclosure of a CIA operative's identity, the syndicated columnist wrote Tuesday. Novak said Rove confirmed information from another source, whose identity Novak is still keeping under wraps. But he said special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald knows the source's identity, and Novak said he does not think that person will be charged with unmasking now-former CIA agent Valerie Plame. He also wrote that prosecutors have told him his role in the investigation is over. "I have been subpoenaed by and testified to a federal grand jury. Published reports that I took the Fifth Amendment, made a plea bargain with the prosecutors or was a prosecutorial target were all untrue," Novak wrote in a column released for publication Wednesday.

www.lenticularpictures.com Thanks

I had, and then lost, a link someone posted last week to a site that sold some interesting climbing films. I would be much appreciated to have it again. Thanks.

We started off our trip with a week in Arabba and stayed a place run by Brits and Aussies. So it was a bit odd to hear English (sort of) so much. But we met lots of fun folks there. Then we moved around for a week betweek Arraba and Canazie, just found pension type places for relatively cheap. We didn't stay in the huts around Cinque Torre, but they were popular. There were other climbers but it was not crowded at Cinque Torre. You can reserve your place via the internet (which I did not know before going. A staff person at the place we stayed in Arabba made reservations for us 1 wk in advance of our week long trek. Otherwise we just stayed in the villages and traveled out for day climbs. We had a car for two of the weeks, which made the day trips easier and we didn't have to worry so much about catching the last bus back to town. I like the area around Falzarego (long climbs), but there was so much to explore that I did not get to. Basically we had a week of Via Feratta, one of climbing, and a week long trek. I can supply some more details after looking at my notes at home.

I was there for 3 wks of climbing, treking, and via ferrata. My wife and I had a blast. We did a long route at Falzarego Pass (10 pitches) something de Boca, that was nice and around 5.7-8, and several things at Cinque Torre, where there were moderate ways up several towers. I'd go back. Marmolada was the biggest peak in the region and looked like a great glacier climb/ski. We also ran up several via ferratas and that was a blast. I have two vf "kits" I'd be willing to sell if you're interested. All of it was great - the food, the huts, the people. And rock and mountain culture was very interesting. We also did a week long hut-to-hut thing across the northern Dolomites - the moderators deleted my trip report by accident so I can't point you there for details. We went in July and that seemed perfect, many of the huts are only open for the summer. We topped it off with a week in Florence and Venice. The mountaineers carries a good rock climbing guide. Wish I were there now. I also found the WWI - WWII history in the mountains very interesting. They were up there in the winter trying to tunnel under one another and lopping artilery at each other. The Ciserone guides for the VF were very useful as was the Lonely Planet guide for hiking across Italy. I'd be happy to answer specific questions. If you're interested in any guides I have a good suggestion for rock/alpine/skiing.

I learned to climb there and was back two summers ago. Check out Gunks.com - they have a route database that is good, click the "classics" checkbox. Here's a few suggestins, all that the Trapps: Balrog .10 Nosedive .10 Retribution .10 Directississima .10 - finishes on High Ex - worthwhile Welcome to the Gunks .10+? Manitee .10+ The Feast of Fools .10 High Times**** 5.9+ Rock and Brew 5.9 Bonnie's Roof 5.9 Son of Easy O 5.8 Arrow 5.8 Cascading Crystal Kaleidoscope *** 5.8 Modern Times 5.8+ And a few lower grade classics Madeam Grumbaum's Wulsp (sp?) 5.6***** Shockley's Ceiling 5.6****** Rusty Trifle 5.5? High Corner 5.6?***** You might consider a warm up day on the lower classics to get used to the ratings. Having learned there I found most of the crag ratings soft out west. Forgot to mention camping - camp slime, as it is affectionly know, is adjacent to the steel brige near the trapps. It's quite busy and can be quite noisy, as is the multi-use area near New Paltz. I was travelling with my wife last time and had spend enough sleepless nights at the slime machine so I opted for a B&B. That said, you can always sneak into the woods with your bivy bag for the evening, just watch out for copperheads. Don't miss the brewery near Rock and Snow in town. I'd advise getting an early start to beat the heat, humidity, and afternoon thunderstorms. If you have the time take a hike out to Mohonk House and Skytop, where there are some great routes where climbers are no longer allowed. I spent a quite a few weekends there climbing, taking a quick swim, and then poaching the afternoon tea and cookie session.

Out for a ski in the Tatoosh on saturday. Lots of snow on the northsides, much sparser on the s-sw exposures.

Need a good all around plastic for things like Rainer, an upcoming trip to Bolivia, and occassional ice. My 15 yr old Kolflaches went in the waste bin recently. I'm considering the Lowa Civetta at ProMountain. Others? Thanks.

In short - it's not a feasible program or cost effective. And I would agree with your assessment of how to make better use of those wasted dollars. The current program is only good for defense contractors, not our defense or taxpayers.

Operational tests are where the entire missile-defense program has run aground. The last successful intercept-test took place in October 2002. Since then (and before, as well), failures have ranged from complex (it missed the target) to jaw-droppingly basic (the rocket carrying the interceptor wouldn't launch). In a February 2003 report, the Pentagon's own testing director wrote that individual elements of the program — much less the entire system — had "yet to demonstrate significant operational capability." Nothing has changed since then. (Tests were soon after suspended, to allow major redesigns; they are scheduled to resume late this year or early next.)

Given that our missle defense system can't even shoot down incoming 30% of the time when it knows exaclty where a missle is going and where it came from I'd bet we're not going to show off that expensive hardware.

Well given the latest topics discussed above and your Re:Jim reply I'd count that as off topic. Stay with the tread man.

..which of course has nothing to do with Frontline. Nice feint.

As always with Frontline this was solid reporting. If you think Cheney and Rummy weren't planning for Iraq and used 911 opportunistically for a number of items you're not being objective. My favorite quote of Cheney's to his staff (as best I remember) "Even if the worst outcome has only a 1% chance of probability, we must repeat it as if it is a certainty. It is not the justifications that matter but our response" Kinda says it all. And there is no doubt who is running the show in the White House. It's not the wooden-headed puppet.

Considering it as a ski objective on Sunday - anyone been up lately?

And we're talking about Prineville Reservoir, the Bureau of Reclamation Reservoir close to Prineville, not the huge Lake Billy Chinook, which is closer to Madras? If so I honestly can't think of a place where the cliffs come straight down to any deep water. Maybe there are some routes on Chimmney Rock near the park entrance, but it really didn't look to inviting to me and it is a crumbly tuff with a talus landing. Sorry I can't be of more help.

Over a two year period I did bird, reptile, and plant surveys around the area including some boat surveys. There's no cliff faces that come directly to the water's edge and most of the stuff around the reservoir is tuff that is more crumbly than Smithy. There's some cool looking basalt cliffs in the Crooked River canyon so you might find some bouldering there, but nothing comes to mind immediately. Decent fly fishing in the Crooked River here from the cold water releases from the dam.

Waste The 98-1 vote on the $94.5 billion House-Senate compromise legislation gave much-needed funds to support U.S. troops overseas. Most of the money -- $66 billion -- goes to the Pentagon for military operations overseas. The bill would bring to almost $320 billion the tally for the campaign in Iraq and $89 billion for the one in Afghanistan.