JayB

Harry - Thanks so much for sharing that account on this board. What a pleasure to read! I'm especially amazed by Dr. Trott's conduct. This is the first case that I'm aware of in which a fellow climber declined the opportunity to claim a first ascent of this magnitude and a garner all of the accolades that such a feat would warrant. That he appears to have been attuned to the significance that the ascent had for Lionel Chute and decided to let things stand as they were on that basis is in some ways a rarer and more impressive deed than the ascent itself. However, even now that the full story is known I think that Lionel's accomplishment will long be remembered and respected by anyone who even looks at that mountain - let alone climbs it. This would make a wonderful addition to the as-yet-unborn Cascades Alpine Journal if that ever gets going.

I can see where they are coming from since Russia has long been in the vanguard of human progress on all fronts - and has always been loathe to encroach upon its neighbors in any fashion whatsoever - and in my mind these achievements make Russia uniquely qualified to criticise the rest of the world in general and the United States in particular on all of these fronts.

Somebody needs to be a hero and scope the gorge, snap some pics, and post them....

What the heck is Powderdry? Who sells it? What does it cost?

Ditto on the props for the 750's. Not an especially light ski and I wouldn't use one of the lighter, more touring oriented boots to drive them if you've got a choice. I've got Lowa Struktura EVO's and 185's, and think they'd feel a bit squirrelly with less boot. The skis themselves seem to get better the faster you go. A good ski for a mix of yo-yoing and resort skiing with the occaisional tour IMO, or for folks who want near Alpine performance on tough terrain. Not the best for long trips into the BC.

All I can say is thank God I bear no resemblance whatsoever to any of the caricatures on that site. Phew! "Despite assumptions to the contrary, Capitalista is not always a wealthy fat cat; being a Capitalista is a state of mind rather than a reflection of affluence. A strident and extraordinarily self–satisfied Warrior, Capitalista takes every opportunity to loudly extol the superiority of the United States and routinely expresses a powerful aversion to all things European. When left-leaning Warriors attack the free enterprise system Capitalista will instantly spring into action, fiercely bludgeoning all “socialists” and “fuzzy-minded liberals” with Adam Smith, Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek. Though often rather limited in his range of interests, Capitalista’s command of tendentious historical facts, abstruse statistical comparisons and arcane economic theory renders him nearly invincible in battle"

Hey I recognize that truck. Who was the loser driving that thing anyways?

The specific causes of death are accounted for as well as possible in "The Black Book of Communism." Reading some of the reviews of this work on the web will give you a general idea of the specifics in each country. As far as specific details of who was killed when and how within the Soviet Union, I think that the best books on those particular subjects are "Harvest of Sorrow" and "The Great Terror" by Robert Conquest. Works of a similar nature that are concerned with China are a bit less definitive since the Communist Party is still in power and has been strangely reluctant to open its archives to historians. Review - Harvest of Sorrow The Harvest of Sorrow is the first full history of one of the most horrendous human tragedies of the 20th century. Between 1929 and 1932 the Soviet Communist Party struck a double blow at the Russian peasantry: dekulakization, the dispossession and deportation of millions of peasant families, and collectivization, the abolition of private ownership of land and the concentration of the remaining peasants in party-controlled "collective" farms. This was followed in 1932-33 by a "terror-famine," inflicted by the State on the collectivized peasants of the Ukraine and certain other areas by setting impossibly high grain quotas, removing every other source of food, and preventing help from outside--even from other areas of the Soviet Union--from reaching the starving populace. The death toll resulting from the actions described in this book was an estimated 14.5 million--more than the total number of deaths for all countries in World War I. Ambitious, meticulously researched, and lucidly written, The Harvest of Sorrow is a deeply moving testament to those who died, and will register in the Western consciousness a sense of the dark side of this century's history. Review, "The Great Terror." "The definitive work on Stalin's purges, Robert Conquest's The Great Terror was universally acclaimed when it first appeared in 1968. Edmund Wilson hailed it as "the only scrupulous, non-partisan, and adequate book on the subject." George F. Kennan, writing in The New York Times Book Review, noted that "one comes away filled with a sense of the relevance and immediacy of old questions." And Harrison Salisbury called it "brilliant...not only an odyssey of madness, tragedy, and sadism, but a work of scholarship and literary craftsmanship." And in recent years it has received equally high praise in the Soviet Union, where it is now considered the authority on the period, and has been serialized in Neva, one of their leading periodicals. Of course, when Conquest wrote the original volume two decades ago, he relied heavily on unofficial sources. Now, with the advent of glasnost, an avalanche of new material is available, and Conquest has mined this enormous cache to write a substantially new edition of his classic work. It is remarkable how many of Conquest's most disturbing conclusions have born up under the light of fresh evidence. But Conquest has added enormously to the detail, including hitherto secret information on the three great "Moscow Trials," on the fate of the executed generals, on the methods of obtaining confessions, on the purge of writers and other members of the intelligentsia, on life in the labor camps, and many other key matters. Both a leading Sovietologist and a highly respected poet, Conquest here blends profound research with evocative prose, providing not only an authoritative account of Stalin's purges, but also a compelling and eloquent chronicle of one of this century's most tragic events. A timely revision of a book long out of print, this updated version of Conquest's classic work will interest both readers of the earlier volume and an entirely new generation of readers for whom it has not been readily available. "

Most of the books in question were motivated by a desire to provide an accurate history of precisely what transpired within the major Communist powers this century, and as such they spend most of their time describing the precise manner in which the political systems within them operated, and how many people died as a result. Most of the books also spend at least some time chronicling the popular perception of these regimes in free countries over the course of the 20th century, part of which involves asking why the leaders of these nations and the causes/ideologies that they championed retained widespread sympathy and support in the West long after the true nature of these regimes was no longer in doubt, as by this time they had exterminated several times more persons than all Fascist regimes combined. That the vast majority of those who provided the regimes with the aforementioned sympathy and support were Leftists with an ideological committment to economic collectivism is simply a historical fact that will admit of no dispute. The BBC estimates that Pinochet and his regime murdered 3,000 political opponents. This is horrible. The best scholarly estimates to date calculate a death toll of somewhere between 40 and 65 million under the Communists in China. This is between 13,333 and 21,667 times as horrible. The same studies estimate that roughly 25 million people were killed as a direct result of state policies in the Soviet Union. This is 8,333 times as horrible. Pinochet and his regime were indeed awful. The regimes presided over by Lenin, Stalin, and Mao were several orders of magnitude worse, but one would never know it by comparing the Left's denunciation of Pinochet with the stunning silence directed towards their former heros. Exhibit A: Eric Hobsbawm "IN A 1994 BRITISH television interview, the journalist Michael Ignatieff put a startling question to Eric Hobsbawm, the distinguished historian and long-time communist. ''Had the radiant tomorrow actually been created,'' Ignatieff asked, referring to the Soviet Union and its bloody history, ''the loss of 15, 20 million people might have been justified?'' Hobsbawm's answer was perhaps even more startling. ''Yes,'' responded the historian. He did not hesitate." Source Had anyone been mad enough to offer such an estimation of the Nazis or National Socialism, they would have rightly been denounced from all quarters. Yet here we have a man who is widely respected, if not revered on the Left cheerfully offering up such an assesment with no loss of esteem amongst his fellow travellers. Amazing.

Might I suggest "The Passing of an Illusion," by Francois Furet, "Communism" by Daniel Pipes, "The Opium of the Intellectuals," by Raymond Aron et al, "The Black Book of Communism" by Stephane Courtois et al, "The Great Terror," and "Reflections on a Ravaged Century" by Robert Conquest, and the last chapter of "Gulag: A History" by Anne Applebaum for starters.

Many apologies to those with slow connections. Here's a bunch of pics from the trip this weekend - including some of the ice visible across the river from Highway 1 in the Fraser Valley. CAYOOSH CANYON ICE Synchronicity Carl's Berg Shreddie LILLOOET AREA Honeyman Falls BRIDGE RIVER Jade Falls Old Dogs New Picks. Double Click on the image in the gallery for a much larger image. Michelmoon/Hell Creek Area Ice (?) Scary Looking line somewhere between the Old Dogs New Picks area and the Silk Degrees/Salmon Stakes area. May have been climbed by Polish Bob a few years ago? Silk Degrees Salmon Stakes The Gift (I think). Might be The Theft. The Theft. Might be The Gift. Shriek of the Sheep - I think. Night n' Gale FRASER VALLEY ICE Ice in the vicinity of Sawmill Creek, across the Fraser River Valley from Highway 1, North of Yale. More Sawmill Creek Area Ice Still more Sawmill Creek area ice.

Not very. Breathability test I saw that chart too - and discounted it after hearing comments from people that had actually used the fabric. WB-400 is way, way, way, way, way,way more breathable than any hardshell fabric I have ever used, and not a whole lot less breathable than the Dryskin Extreme - and the wind protection is far better than DS Extreme.

Pinochet was indeed a bad guy, but a true lightweight in comparison to Stalin and Mao, who were at the helm of regimes responsible for something like 50-60 million deaths collectively, both of who enjoyed support from the far Left after both the nature and the scope of their crimes was both thoroughly documented and well known. You can find plenty of examples of selective outrage on both sides of the fence IMO.

I still haven't had the time to upload the photos and whatnot yet from the trip - but I thought I'd make a quick post here to give a mega and many thanks to Don for sticking around to jump start my truck Sunday morning. Thanks again! Next time I head up to the GWN I am going to bring the ultra-extension cord and heat the bejesus out of the engine block over night to insure that I will be the jumper rather than the jumpee. P.S. That's the back of my truck in Eric's photo, and Polish Bob's fine artwork is still there. The touching depiction of animal husbandry depicted therein generated many positive comments from the US customs officers while they were giving my truck the full search. I think this particular work would be a fine candidate for the next round of cc.com stickers.

Also - I took some pics of the ice between Sawhorse Creek and Yale that I will post a bit later....

Was that you and your girlfriend in the Cherokee by the Rambles on Friday morning? I was the guy in the Tacoma with the tow-strap.

It's a stretch for me just to get a route in with the short days - so I probably won't do much there except wade across - but I would be willing to donate some rope for the cause per an earlier request by another poster... Maybe Sobo can decomission the now irrelevant Tryolean by the Royal Columns and pack it up to Lillooet...

I have an old 10.5 that I will donate all or part of for a Tyrolean but being as it's dynamic it'd take some serious tension to keep your average climber's ass out o' the water on the way across. I'll bring it with me to LW this weekend if someone's serious about trying to install a Tyro. Maybe just a rope strung across the river to help everyone keep their balance while wading across the river would be just as good.

I think that makes like 12 people at the Mile-O if the guys I talked with at S.G. show too. We should rally at 7:00 at Mugs & Jugs or somplace like that on Friday Evening....

With the amount of traffic that area sees I can't help but suspect that that trail on the opposite side will be pretty well packed all of the time. The trail leading up to Colchuck sees quite a bit less traffic and it is probably packed out about 70-80% of the time in any given winter. I think it'll be okay...

I just bought a pair of the WB-400 pants from Beyond Fleece and that fabric is the answer for winter in the PNW. Seems like it is at least as wind-resistant at powershield, but may more breathable and stretchier -feels like four way stretch to me or close enough. Water resistance has been great thus far as well. I think that the WB-400 might even be stretchier than the Dryskin Extreme fabric. BTW - fully custom stuff from BF is way cheaper than the mass produced stuff.

Cool. Will do. I ran into another cc.com person at Stone Gardens tonight and it looks like he and yet one more personality from this site may well head up there as well. Maybe we can negotiate a cc.com mega-discount at the Mile-O as we will likely be occupying 90% of their rooms this weekend. That breakfast deal sound sweet. Just as good a value as the 5$ special at the Sunspot Cafe by Smith with the exchange rate. I think a continuous TR gang-siege of every single pitch of Icy B.C. for three days straight should be the group's objective.

Is Kent Mountain the mountain/hill due South of Exit 31?

You gonna be up there with cpb? So we should all meet up there for a Lillooet PC at some point. Need Beta - best breakfast place open early enough to get a reasonable start?

I think that HR made a suggestion that they did in his post. It's often packed down well enough on the lower sections that it appears groomed. Parking in the lower lot and walking up the other side may well be a bit more inconvenient, but I still can't see how it's going to prevent anyone from accessing the peaks back there. Even with the longer approach from the lower lot the approach still isn't going to be all that bad IMO.