Terminal_Gravity

My three entries... 6 words - This Dyslexic walks into a bra. 5 words - That man's nuts; Grab 'em! 3 words - I hate bigots.

Sign me up, Tex! I have a mod kit that turns a Bosch Bulldog into a power chisel for those that think a good ol' crow bar is too archaic.

Thanks so much Winter & Kristen for hosting! Special thanks to Shred for all the grilled fish and for saving my gumby ass and getting a tap. I slept like a baby on your back lawn, Winter; like a baby in a rocking crib. Does your lawn always sway like that...or was it just me? At one point I had to hang on to that little tree to keep from getting sea sick! At 6:00 this morning, table scraps left out the night before made for the best un-planned bivy breakfast I've ever had. Wes, I did warn you. I almost tackled you at 1:30 and grabbed your keys...I'm glad (surprised) you made it home. Wayne, it was good to meet you. Thanks for coming down. It was also great to meet the other new faces. If I climb half of the things I think I discussed with you guys, I'll be busy for quite awhile. If I remember right it was, East face of Whitney, S. Face of Aconcaugua, Logan, S Face of Robson, Rusk on Adams, N Face of Hood, W face of Matterhorn (Wallowas) and Hidden Peak. Whew! I'd better sell my share of the brewery and buy GU...I'd bet it would ferment in the right conditions. I'd have to change my avatar to "The GU Brew Guru" BTW: there was less then a pitcher left in the keg. At 9.2 that is truly an epic accomplishment for 40ish people.

Work day from hell...I am just now getting out of town. So.... The beer won't be there 'till 7:10 +/- 5 min. 3 bags O' ice and a trash can anyone? I'm bringing a tap. later - TG

I'm not sure how much, but what about some IPA and some Triple? If we want full keg, could you bring a pony of each? Christ!, you guys don't ask for much...."Steve, why don't you just bring 2 kegs, or 3 maybe?" Assume one, and vote. There are only 12 votes thus far and IPA and Triple are tied. My personal fav is the Triple...9.2% ABV and drinks so easily in hot weather. ( You PDX'ers are garunteeing good weather; arnchya?)

Beer ?'s How much beer should I bring? What do you guy's prefer? IPA, the current seasonal ( TG Triple, kind of a cross between a strong May Bock and a Belgian Tripel) or the Breakfast Porter? If one of you guys want to set up a poll it might be in order. Winter, do you have a gob of glasses or somebody bring cups? Maybe we should all bring our own glasses. Hasta Manana - steve

I had planned to come out Thursday. Normaly, I can't make it earlier in the week but I think that I might be able to leave here Wed. around noon next week. If so, I'll definately bring more than all the beer we need. I'll confirm on Monday. I look forward to seeing all you guys - cheers

AI3, M0, 80°, 600 feet, 1 dip first ascensionists note - Even though this route is too short to rate 2 dips, I used a fresh dip of Bourbon flavored Cope, prior to entering the upper chimney as a premptive measure to control the pucker factor. I realize that some may question my ethics of reducing the difficulty of a climb by such artificial means and I would like to hereby apologize to any followers that would prefer to climb in a cleaner style. - TG

Relax, Rob. That was the one that I was talking about 2 weeks ago. It didn't come into condition back then anyway. The one for this weekend is still waiting...and a partner & rope are not optional! (unless, of course, Peter Croft is in town)

Wow, glad to have helped provide the push. How did the notice go? "live small, climb large"

Thank you

Yesterday, sometime before 4AM. I traded dreams for consciousness as a rogue gust filled my mummy hole with spindrift. After coughing out the offender, I lay for a moment, remembering why I was there. I have been plagued with un-attained goals, injuries, lack of motivation, poor focus and questions of fairness to my family for the last 6 months. I have been eyeing this little plum, the north face of something called Dug's Peak in the Wallowas (probably un-climbed) for almost 3 years. It has dramatic and serpentine narrow snow chutes and flutings that may ( or may have not) connected to the summit cornices between deep granite ribs. It is obviously a complete death route if the conditions were not perfect. I knew that I would never be able to climb it after sunrise or take the time to struggle with gear. The gods smiled and every thing came together Monday with a cold now or never finality. I actually managed to overcome the emotional hump and get into position and build a snow shelf below a large alluvial fan of winters fallings Monday evening. I spread the mummy hole, sat up and looked east. The sky was a paler shade of black. Time to move. As is so often the case, however, I lay back down. Do I really want this enough, is it over my head, when the exposure is extreme will I focus & move or start to sketch? A first ascent on an unknown wall is a tasty carrot from a distance but when the reality crashes into my face will I choke on it? The bag was warm & cozy, the temptation to sleep more and hike out later was almost overwhelming. Thirst knocked. Luckily, I had stuffed my water bottle not into my bag, but into my boot/pillow the night before. The tricks to motivation worked like this. Want water, open mummy hole, un-wrap shell from boots, might as well put it on, drink water, don’t want spindrift in boots (they’re not covered by the shell anymore), might as well put them on. Then the race was on to pack and move before I started freezing up. Before I really knew what was happening I was working my way up the detritus slope to the start of the wall. Nothing had come down during the night and the wall was peacefully quite. The conditions were so perfect that as I approached the steep, I considered my lack of fitness more than the struggles ahead. The angle changed from 40 to 65 in an eye blink. I worked in up in a steep zig-zag around rock ribs and across knife edged snow flutings. As the sky lightened, I lost track of exactly where I was on the face. I climbed in crazy connected hallways of rock and snow slide chutes. I could only see up and down. Even though the angle, as yet, hadn’t gotten above 70 degrees (averaging 55) the exposure was much more dramatic as I worked past vertical steps of rock . Three fourths of the way up the flutings widened below a wall and it looked like I was going to cliff out. Focus and movement evaporated as desperate fears attacked. No way I wanted to down climb, maybe I could traverse off. I worked up and left a bit to improve my vantage and a little 2 1/2 foot wide chimney choked with snow & ice appeared. Sixty feet and a couple of near vertical sections later it connected to the upper snow field. Just below the summit cornice, I stamped a hole in a bulge and turned to watch the sun peek over the Seven Devils range in Idaho. The cornice turned with the help of a little ramp. 2500 feet down to the car via a snow filled low angle gully, a quick drive home. 7:05 and my freshly bathed wife met me at the door with a spare cup of coffee in her hand wearing a ...smile. Life is good. I was at work by 8:00. AI3, M0, 80 degrees, 600 feet. Maybe not much for some of you hard (persons) but it was a very good Tuesday morning for my soul. Cheers - steve

Well said, Forrest_m You can only count every other gym day.

Rarely, but I have seen and heard about similar things happening. One should be aware of the posibility. Some thoughts are, longer sling, sewn threw sling (with small holes at the ends), ovals 'biners can be the worst for this. If for some reason, the particular bolt is problomatic, Through in a quick slider knot (simple loop) or even a clove hitch at the krab on the bolt. or even use a locker. Really, the best thing is to make sure the biner is wear you want it and don't just assume things are going to stay the sme as you move past. Think about were the rope will lie when you are higher.

Yeah, that's what I thought. The person with nice new gear that doesn't know exactly what it's for. We've all seen it.

I don't really know why the desire to know an accepted definition of "Weeked Warrior" has been rattling around in what's left of my grey matter; but it has. I have always thought it was a somewhat derogatory term. I was on a descent with RBW1966 a while back and asked for his take. He simply said "US". Does a non-professional climber have to climb more than 104 days a year to go beyond "weekend warrior"? I can only claim 80 in a good year. What's your defination? or... just ignore this stupid thread (and go climb) - cheers

I think equally as likely is.... If some one from another party fell (or got injured) near a soloist, wouldn't that compromise the soloist experience. When I first soloed Rainier, I was frustrated with the beerocracy of the permit process. But upon further reflection, I think it was reasonable, painless and once the permit was issued I was able to climb any route I choose. My quest for the pure fulfilment of climbing a mountain for the first time solo was not hampered. I have the experience and knew what I was getting into. I think the vast majority of alpine soloist have the judgement and forthought required. I have no idea of the stats, but I'll bet a smaller proportion of soloist need rescue than groups. The storm that caught me on Rainier did indeed precipitate a rescue ( and recovery) of a party of four but I summited and got down safe and sound.

FYI; below is a bit of my own research. My conclusion is that if you want to climb Rainier, fine; but if you are going higher you might wait for more research. Make sure when you get assurance that your eyes will be fine at "high" altitude the medical professionals are not considering 9,000' to be high. (My glasses have not had any problem with hypoxia to 7000m. ) In November, 1997, Dr. Byron Stratas and Dr. Cobern Peterson discussed the refractive stability of a patient's eyes while scuba diving at 110 feet below sea level for 35 minutes.* Moreover, in a letter to the editor published in Ophthalmology in April, 1997, Dr. Jonathan Davidorf discussed the refractive stability of a patient one month after surgery at altitudes as high as 16,000 feet above sea level.** However, you should be aware that several branches of the US military have been conducting studies on LASIK for military patients who are often faced with harsh environments. The findings of one such small study demonstrates that eyes treated with LASIK may experience complications at very high altitudes (i.e., there may be ramifications for mountain climbers):*** A prospective paired eye clinical trial was performed to determine whether hypoxia induces refractive changes in subjects who have had laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) refractive surgery. There were 20 LASIK subjects (40 eyes) and 20 myopic non-LASIK controls (40 eyes). Each subject had one eye exposed to ocular surface hypoxia (humidified nitrogen) by use of an airtight goggle system at sea level for 2 hours. The other eye was simultaneously exposed to humidified, compressed air (21% oxygen) with the same airtight goggle system. The study determined that a significant myopic shift occurred in LASIK corneas exposed to hypoxia compared with myopic control subjects. A significant increase in corneal thickening occurred symmetrically in both LASIK and control subjects exposed to hypoxia. There was a trend toward corneal steepening (keratometry) in LASIK subjects, but this was not statistically significant. These results suggest that ocular surface hypoxia induces a myopic shift in LASIK subjects. In addition, there has been a case report of a mountain climber in Peru who experienced noticeable nearsightedness while climbing. His vision improved with descent, and after returning to 10,000 feet, his vision "cleared." **** Sincerely, LASIK Institute * Stratas, BA, Peterson, CV. Refractive Stability of LASIK. Ophthalmology 1997 Nov; 104(11):1726-7 ** Davidorf, JM. LASIK at 16,000 feet. Ophthalmology 1997 Apr; 104(4):565-6 *** Mark L. Nelson, MD, Steven Brady, DO, Thomas H. Mader, MD, Lawrence J. White, MD, Vernon C. Parmley, MD and R. Kevin Winkle, MD: Refractive changes caused by hypoxia after laser in situ keratomileusis surgery. Ophthalmology. 2001 Mar;108(3):542-4 ****Lawrence J. White, MD, FACS and Thomas H. Mader, MD, FACS: Refractive changes at high altitude after LASIK. Ophthalmology. 2000 Dec;107(12):2118. The above response is for informational purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. The information is provided without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, and use of the information is strictly voluntary at user's sole risk.

Thanks for the compliment. ( and thanks for fielding the ?'s Rob) We rarely have 1/4 bbls, but we often have 5 gallon kegs availible. (They fit in a pack much better then those wide squat 1/4 kegs anyway. ) You can buy them at our distributor, "The Great Keg Company. They have an warehouse in Portland and in Eugene. If you have trouble finding the #, PM me and I'll give it to you. And, thanks very much for the support. BTW, Rob's right, we are commited to draught only. Bottles will probably never happen. TGB's company statement --- No Fruit, no honey, no wheat and NO marketing department!

I have no love for microsoft, but I love excell. It's a great and versital program. It is a poor excuse to blame one's tools for your ineptitude.

Barrabes is still a middleman...just a big middleman able to buy cheaper and then sell with less margin than a small, overhead / gross intensive full service shop. I think that the neighborhood shop is a dinosaur and needs to evolve drastically or will be extinct before you know it. It is the big manufactors policies that, is in effect administering CPR on the retailers as we speak. Bentgate Mountaineering is a good example of a small retailer that is evolving to stay alive. This is certainly not unique to mountaineering gear. Auto sales comes to mind. Brazil is a good example of the future of auto sales...go test drive at the manufacturers suported showroom and then order your car on-line. They even provide the terminal if you ain't got one. What I really don't get, is why BD (and others) don't start selling directly; at a discount. If they started discounting more & more, but gradually. They could establish a new ( IMHO inevitable) change in they way gear is sold without completely wiping out the small shops. With the obvious huge increased margins that they would be reaping in they could directly support the shops that they felt were benificial to have out there for the consumer that needs to touch & feel before purchase. It is hard to fault the quality & design of BD. I also feel that they have a great amount of company integrity but I think that is becoming increasingly misguided and is supporting their retailers not the climbers. If any company should take the lead and change to support the climber it is them. After all they coined the "dirt bag" attitude that lends its self to living small and shopping smart with forthought. If they don't change I think the writing is on the wall that they will become a dinosaur as well,

At best, I am a marginally skilled ice climber but I am a fairly focused solo-er. I was wandering through the Wallowas late last winter and found a 200' low angle waterfall with several easy escapes to the side. I happened to have my tools & rigid crampons with me and decided to give it a shot. It probably went AI 1+ (maybe 2). I took my time and made sure every placement was perfect. I never got sketched and I felt that I was safe the whole way up. Really, when have you ever fallen on ice within your ability when on lead? I suspect that when focused, alert and confidant the chance of falling is slim on ice. Maybe I'm just fooling myself.

It is my understanding that JJ is so cool, clear & smooth that he has never fallen on ice; solo or with partner. He's the man we all wish we could be when climbing frozen water.

Got'em...thanks very much.

I have used a product called Muscle Milk by Cytosport (the makers of Cytomax Sport drink). They claim that it tricks the body into burning fat instead of muscle when your system goes catabolic, exercising beyond blood stream stores or fasting. It seems to work atleast half as well as they claim even though my gut is not a good example of success. Might be worth a try.