chelle

I think it is kinda funny how some folks are most upset about the pulling on gear and are using that action as the evidence that the group did not belong on the route. I will likely get slammed for this but... Who the F^CK cares if they pulled on gear! It may have actually sped things up and allowed the parties behind to climb sooner. Just because a route has gone free, even the majority of the time, does not mean that someone should not come along and feel free to pull on a piece of gear if they need to. But then maybe the people being critical have never uttered or thought... "It's an alpine route so anything goes. It's all about getting to the top safely and getting down before dark." If the party in question had brought aiders with the intent to aid climb it that might be objectionable. But they didn't. Outerspace is an alpine multipitch climb. Sometimes people might find the need to pull on a piece in order to get into the right stance or to the next hold. Why? Because he's tired, or he's feeling rushed by the parties behind, or because that piece of gear is placed in the spot where his hand would fit. So what! Get over it. No two people will climb a route in the same way. There are way too many variables like height and hand size, or comfort with cracks vs. face moves. Worry about your own style and stop being so critical of other people.

This site is worth a laugh or three!

I didn't read the book, so I wouldn't know what they changed. But you have to admit that this is a great quote (paraphrased). "Love, we don't care about love. We want to be famous! Take his brain!"

If you are going to use your rope and you tie into your harness with a Fig8 follow through make sure you have a long tail and back up the know with a fishermans. A Fig 8 follow through if loaded in the wrong direction can invert itself and fail if there is not a long enough tail/back-up, particularly when people thread the tail back through the knot to keep it out of the way... My understanding about alpine bod harnesses is that the tie in point doubles as a belay loop, so there really isn't a need to belay through the rope anyways.

was a great movie.

Who cares if we have the whole story. I think it is pretty funny that you guys are starting to sound like Miss Manners on whether she can keep the ring. I wonder why would she even want the ring? Does she plan to chuck it into the ocean so the guy gets hit in the wallet? or is she going to look at it periodically and recall the same crappy memories all over again?

Hooray!!! Despite what is sometimes said about this place...cc.com totally What a great accomplishment for the WCC too!

Glad you guys are fine and the rocks did not get anyone further down below. Side note: When at Castle I try to park all the way near the road on the left side of the lot under the trees at the trailhead. Rockfall is hard on trucks and windshields too.

Baker ski area conditions are probably more predictive of conditions on Mt. Shuksan than on Mt. Baker. Although who knows, they're only a few miles apart as the crow flies.

I saw something about a pretty cheap ticket deal through British Airways. You'd probably have to buy a ticket from here to SF or LA to take advantage though. I've also had good luck with Air Brokers International out of SF.

Can you drive all the way up to the parking area yet?

It's so much broader than the research agenda and I personally find the amount of religious right influence over policy disturbing, but then I am in the secular left wing minority.

No river boating gear. Got a tent and some aid climbing gear.

The new passport requirements will go in effect 2 years from 12/31/05. So you should have plenty of time to get your paperwork in order.

So Squid, you into river boating these days? The little bit I did was fun stuff, keep your shoulders strong. But I decided that I had successfully confronted my fear of water and confirmed that it was real. And went back to climbing and biking. I'm gonna give sea kayaking a try this summer though.

The one of Yosemite is a great perspective too.

Dru - The bit about TLC and purchase of the gravel pit... Is this an attempt to purchase the land and prevent the gondola from happening? If yes, we should promote the fundraising effort to make sure they get enough money to purchase the land.

In college my zoology instructor described this as one of the hazards of her summer field study trip to Belize. Two people (a student and another instructor) had been infested the previous summer. I was glad I had a great summer job and was not tempted by the class.

Who cares? Is climbing about being the best? The idea smacks of competition which really doesn't have a place in climbing IMO.

Snowboy-Ever messed around with keyhole? Pretty cool software.

How many people you feeding with that 20#?

CBS - for always being such a watershed of inane technical info your assertion that it is hard to get enough potassium is funny. It is readily available in so many fresh fruits and veggies. It may not be added to processed foods (nor listed on food labels) but if you want to eat healthy you don't want to eat processed crap anyways. During the Darwinian time of human specices evolution salt was hard to come by, which is why our bodies work so hard at retaining salt and waste potassium at every chance since it was very easy to come by. Unfortunately human biological design has not continued to evolve to reflect the amount of crap they add to processed food. If you are getting cramps you likely have an imbalance of electrolytes like sodium and potassium, but other micronutrients may be involved if you don't have a great diet or don't take a multivitamin (e.g., calcium or phosphate imbalance). If you decide to play with supplementing your intake of sodium and potassium before and during a climb, DO NOT overdo it. More is not always better. Electrolytes are a pretty delicate balance and if you overload on sodium or potassium you can have some pretty bad consequences. Rule of thumb would be to eat foods that have salt and potassium (nuts and dried fruits and dried meats) during your climb. Put some kind of gorp in a pocket and have a handful every hour or so. You'll get a little energy and some electrolytes. Replacement drinks are great too. A note on multivitamins...if you don't have a great diet or drink alcohol with meals you are hoping to get vitamins from: Alcohol interferes with vitamin absorption so you may be deficient and not know it. Best bet is to take a multivitamin in the morning with breakfast, a little food will keep your stomach from getting upset.

Sorry for the confusion. The bikes will be attached to the bike racks on my truck for the ride up the big hill. It's a 4 cylinder but I think it'll make it up the hill. Chilko lake is on the itinerary, so is Turner lake. We're also planning to do an overnight trip up the McKenzie trail to some lakes and hang out a couple days. Before heading up the big hill we're planning to hike out to the Ape lake overlook and check out the views of the coast range glaciers. The mountain bikes are for some cool trails we read about near the east side of Tweedsmuir that open up onto the plateau; and they're insurance in case we have truck trouble and need to ride into a town for help. Bill, thanks for the tip on the fishing pole. It'd be nice to actually eat a fish caught in a mountain lake. Haven't done that since I was a kid. And I'm glad to hear about the bears, it's a worry of mine. We'll have spray with us just in case.

I'm planning a 12 day hiking, camping, mountain biking, backpacking trip along highway 20 for early July. Taking the inside passage ferry up there to start the trip. Anyone have any tips about this part of BC or any must dos along the way?

Anyone get matching funds from their employers out there? Make your donation count twice if you can.