payaso

I tend to lean towards oppose rather than support this proposal. What exactly is the problem we are trying to solve? If someone could show that there were active mineral and mining claims that could be activated in the proposed new boundaries, that might change my mind. In today's world, I find it unlikely that this would be a feasible area for a ski area. The gains from this proposal seem to be somewhat superficial. What we stand to lose however will be the big killer rappel bolt on Liberty Bell, the ability to climb in the WA Pass area w/o bureaucracy, the ability to mountain bike in the area, the ability to bring your dog, and the ability for professional guides to bring clients or instruct in the area, and lastly it will limit the ability of volunteer groups to learn to climb in the area. South Early Winters is a pretty popular first climb for many. Again, my mind could be changed if you showed me that there are locations in real danger of being turned into resource extraction, yuppie hotels, or carnival rides or whatever, but so far, I don't see what the real or perceived threat we would be protecting this land from might be.

Anyone know if the copper mining claim right smack in Mazama would become part of the expanded National Park? What happens to that killer rappel anchor on Liberty Bell? I bet it gets hacked.

New with tags, half off retail - $80. PM if interested. http://www.rei.com/product/830586/outdoor-research-alti-gloves,-black?preferredSku=8305860004&cm_mmc=cse_PLA-_-pla-_-product-_-8305860004&mr:referralID=a1de135b-393e-11e3-a8bc-001b2166c62d

Bought but never used, this model is about 7 years old. Been kept in dry, secure storage the whole time. We just never ended up doing the kind of trip this is designed for. Denali in your future? Classic standard winter mountaineering tent. Get ready for winter expeditions. I just put this on the scale and the whole package with gear loft is 9.7 lbs. Send PM if interested.

This is much bigger in terms of implications than the minimal outreach effort thus far. I only learned of this through an article in today's Seattle Times. This should be on everyone's radar, but apparently about half of the public events have already concluded. Pretty weak public outreach. If I understand correctly, every USFS administrative division should be undertaking a similar process right now as well. Around here, that would include Giffor Pinchot, and Olympic. Stuff I care about but visit less frequently in other states is at risk as well. I just looked at Olympic and couldn't determine if they are doing this. Has any organization or anyone created a central location for information to help us participate in any USFS division with facilities we may care about?

I am surprised the ranger didn't give you a ticket for not having the right overnight permit for either the Colchuck or Enchantment Zone. That's all those people seem to know how to do.

+1 for Nick Parko's service out of Snowboard Connection. I actually like the board he split for me better than the factory split that I had. He uses a water jet for a better cut than you get from most factory splits. http://sicksplits.com/tech.html

Great job holding it together on the rescue. You were lucky that you were on a trade route. your helicopter arrived pretty quickly so whatever was used worked well in that location. It is not impossible that they merely ran into a ranger since that is a trade route and there are many rangers there notorious for checking permits. The rangers have the ability to radio or call back to HQ pretty easily. +1 for the McMurdo vs the SPOT. SPOT is more for fun uses, like bicycling the pacific coast and sending cute messages with location points to your blog daily. The McMurdo is a dedicated unit that has no subscription fee, and takes no space in your gear. It's the best, most cost effective thing out there at the moment. Next up in quality is a sat phone, but that is a big jump in price.

bump

I used these about 6 times. The boot shows size 10/11 and I am size 11 and they are a perfect fit. The Intuition liners are in beautiful condition, and the boots have only a couple minor scrapes on the outside. The binding fitting is in perfect condition. I just never ended up using this setup. [img:left]http://www.mountains2sea.us/photos/i-2BCtdPC/0/L/i-2BCtdPC-L.jpg[/img] [img:left]http://www.mountains2sea.us/photos/i-H7Gw62L/0/L/i-H7Gw62L-L.jpg[/img] [img:left]http://www.mountains2sea.us/photos/i-cSdcTpF/0/L/i-cSdcTpF-L.jpg[/img]

If you are primarily interested in sending your location to your blog site then the SPOT seems like a reasonable desire. If your primary need is an absolute last resort emergency device, then get a PLB like the McMurdo. People are gravitating to devices that boast more and more features, just like all the other multi-purpose gadgets in our lives. The problem is that it shouldn't be considered a muti-purpose gadget at all, any more than your single-purpose smoke detector is. Many people are evaluating these things based on the nice extra features, but few are providing insight as to how they work at getting the immediate and accurate attention of search and rescue. Get the PLB and put it away and forget about it.

Any of you who have been down to the Cordillera Blanca ever figure out if there is some website that lists mountain conditions for climbing? It is a long way to travel only to find out that Huascaran or Chopicalqui is either in, or not "in."

I think so many people go down and around via the low route because if you choose the high route and screw it up, you basically kill an entire day of your trip, which for most parties means turning around. Going with the sure thing gives security that you should still be able to complete the climb.

topofusion.com

"He didn't have his papers! That's all." Since when are bicyclists required to carry "papers" or any drivers license. Bicycling up there by itself is not a reason for them to stop you longer than it takes to ask how you are doing. If he has no lights, that may be another story though.