chelle

Very cool Murray. Thanks for posting this link.

Good one Ivan. I'll try to remember it. I'm rolling in with a couple cc.comer's on Thursday night (early Friday am). We'll try to find the others in the neighborhood to get some pitches in on Fri. I have a little gas lantern that I can bring.

I've been using Sprint for many years and have been fairly happy with them in-city. Their covferage is excellent in Seattle and along I-90. However, over the last year their "collection tactics" on past-due bills have made me pretty unhappy and I've considered switching because of it. Does anyone know if there is a provider that can be used in both the US and Canada? Alex Alex - Sprint sucks. Static and dropped calls. They used to have the computer call me regarding my bill every month even though it was automatically paid by my company AMEX card...total pain. AT&T works in Canada. The calls are expensive unless you sign up for the "Canada Plan" which is I think $20 a month and adds Canada to your home service area. You don't have to keep it for the whole year either. If you're going to be up there for an extended period and making lots of calls it might be worth it to add then delete when you get home. If you just want coverage in case you need to be reached, then pay the $1.50 per 1-2 minute call or just use the phone as an answering service and pull your messages using a phone card from a pay phone.

I guess if you're into the whole mixed climbing scene than routes like this feed that need. The route Paco and I looked at this past weekend is shorter than the one pictured and is further up the gully. It is through a roof and has a swaged cable fixed in the middle of the roof (looked like it could have been a funkness used as a quickdraw). The chains are about 10 feet above the roof under some tree limbs. Erik - yes, I doubt I could climb this or any other ice climb on lead since I have exactly 0 ice pitches under my belt. But that wasn't what we were discussing. Personally as I explore ice climbing in the next couple seasons I doubt mixed climbing will be my focus. I think it's a bit contrived and silly to work gymnastic rock/ice problems with so many sharp points attached to my hands and feet. But it is where the big names are pushing the sport so I don't doubt the masses will follow...

The route is only about 35 feet in length. Isn't that more of a highball problem. Seems like a stretch to call it a route.

Vector on the apron in Squamish. Looks sweet from the ledge but then you realize...this is wider than I thought!

Cavey - East Ridge of Forbidden is a sweet climb. How much snow is left on the approach to the gendarme?

Not from this past weekend, but here's a photo to get us all psyched about this weekend at the Smiffy plabfest!

That is a sweet pitch, but I like the chimney thrutch above it a little better. Call me crazy...

I didn't see it that way at all. He was stating that there is a defense company nearby and that they build bombs that are dropped on countries we fear. I think it was more of a comment on violence in our culture than it was using the defense industry as a scapegoat. He brought up a lot of "alternatives" as to why the shooting happened. It is a complex issue and bigger than what most people blamed it on, the music they listened to... He also noted pretty early on that the same morning that the shootings took place was the same day that the US (under Clinton) droped the highest number of bombs on Kosovo. Possibly that's one of the reasons that he brought the defense industry into it.

Bingo Kurt! Beck's been caught spraying on the climbers board again...

Don't worry Incubus, I don't get spoon fed information by any source. But the movie did make me think and start doing some of my own research on policies and politicians. I thought the overall premise that Fear is one thing in our culture that makes us different and may drive the difference in murder rates and violence compared to other first world countries. His comparision of our US culture vs. Canada on the topic was pretty interesting.

Now that's something you and I both support!

Ahhh! Thanks Greg. I needed that. It's been 10 days since my last granite experience.

Have you seen Bowling for Columbine and Michael Moore's discussion of our country's culture of fear? Pretty interesting POV. Yes Greg, I know he has been criticised for stretching some of the facts on the NRA, but on the whole it made me think about how many people base their decisions on fear.

Last I checked the election is next fall and the Democratic party candidate will not be determined until early summer. How can it be over for any one of the candidates. A lot can happen between now and then, and now is the time for voters to do their homework and decide who best represents their personal views. Personally I haven't made a decision. I liked what Dean said in his speech yesterday and thought I'd post it. Not everyone on this board is a conservative who supports the Right Wing POV. Greg - our tax dollars are put into the federal treasury to fund government spending. If you look into Dean's history as Governor of Vermont I think you will find he is fiscally conservative for a Democrat. He is in support of government spending. Money has to be spent to keep the machine running, however the things he proposes spending money on will have far more benefit to me and what I value than how Bush spends my tax contributions. And semantically you are correct about the country's forefathers and the type of government they founded. We are a republic which is why we have representatives in Washington DC who make decisions on our behalf...and why the general popular vote was ignored in the last presidential election!

Not Sure I understand what you're referencing. His views sound pretty reasonable to me.

Bush and his cronies must go!

What was killing me was that I was passing and if I had sped up I would've hit the car in front of me. The most obnoxious guy was about 2 feet from my bumper too. It's crazy out there. Be careful. Not looking forward to the I-5 drive on Fri...

Gee, Dru. If you present some slides and show us all about your grand adventures then it will be worth it.

I agree with much of what you've said here sloth, but where does it end? On my trip down to CA I was on the 2-lane part of I-5 outside Sacramento, passing trucks who are legally required to go 55mph. The speed limit for cars is 70mph. I am driving about 76 and passing. On 3 occasions I had drivers who want to go 85+ come up behind me and go agro when I didn't merge into the semi to get out of their way? What is a girl supposed to do? On one occasion someone merged out right in front of me just before I started passing a truck, then didn't go fast enough to pass the truck before the lane ended and the f'er behind the truck wasn't going to let me in. It seems people drive badly everywhere these days. I think they're all too self absorbed. Wake up people! You are not the only ones on the road!

Get 9/16" with two or three rows of stitching. I think it's stronger than the wider stuff with only one row of stitching down the middle.

I am convinced that the majority of really bad/rude drivers on the eastside are former Californians that had to move north because they just weren't competitive enough with all the dumbfucks down here that don't know how to drive, love to use their horns at the first fraction of a second that the lights change, and have to get at least two road rage incidents under their belt before they finish their first cup of coffee. Other than driving on the roads periodically, I am having a nice visit to the land of sunshine and really screwed up politics.

Rest, ice, and massage to break down the scar tissue and get the muscle working again.

I guess that makes the debate that much more complex then.