bellemontagne

Oh I forgot some stuff... Climbing Shoes: Boreal Ace's Honorable mention 5.10 Huecos - they were super comfy in the store, but I thought the toes were too big for jamming in cracks. Hiking Boots I bought a pair of Salomon Super Mountains 8's in the fall. They're about as comfy as a heavy mountaineering boot can get. They weren't uncomfortable during the brak in period. One day I even forgot my insoles, and I had no complaints. I just don't get this Schoeller stuff. It's a nice idea, but it seems a little pricey for what it does. It seems like there is too much apparrel specialization in the outdoor apparel industry. Snowboard: Ride Timeless (but they were bought out by K2... too bad). Best Sandals: Birkenstocks. Chacos are nice, but their arch support is not as good as Birkenstocks IMHO. Mountain Bike Gary Fisher - Unfortunately they are owned by Trek, but I still love their bikes. Car manufacturer: Subaru I'll think up some more.

Okay, here's my list of favorite gear... Harnesses: Probably my favorite harness was an Arc Teryx Verro. I would still be using it, but I out grew it (I packed on a spare tire). I now own a Petzl Corax (I think). It is infinitely adjustable, but they do not use an adjustable fastex buckle and strap to adjust the rise of the leg loops in the back. Carabiners: DMM Eclipse - if you're looking for big, fat, easy clippin' biners these are the ones to use... Wiregate biners: WildCountry Big Wires. They are easy to clip, and easy to handle. They're close to being the perfect carabiner. Cams: WildCountry Tech Friends IMHO they are easier to place and lighter than BD camalots. I am now a convert! Metolius TCU's are SUPERB for small cracks. I can't say anything about Aliens since I've never used them. Nuts: DMM wallnuts are okay, but they can be pretty hard to remove from good placements. The ABC Huevos are easy to remove and are color coded. I used a friend's set and I was thoroughly impressed. Plus the price is right! Ropes: I've always used PMI or Mammut 10.5/10.6. The sheaths seem to standup to a lot of wear and tear, and the ropes have a good hand. Friends tell me Edelweiss makes some great ropes (never used one). I'm honestly not as big of a fan of BD as I used to be since there are other manufacturers out there that make as good or better gear. Don't get me wrong - they make great stuff, but I'm not too happy with how they deal with their retailers. Tents: I own a Mountain Hardwear Winterlight and an older Sierra Designs Clip Flashlight. Both are great. MH seems to put a lot of thought into their tent designs. My friend just purchased a Bibler, and it is the CADILLAC of mountaineering tents. Sleeping Bags: Well, I have owned a North Face down bag for nearly a decade and it sucks! Their newer models do not appear to have changed much. I will say I like the Feathered Friends and Western Mountaineering Bags I have seen. Soft Goods: Gloves: Granite Gear makes some great shell gloves-the best I have ever used. Waterproof Breathable Jackets/pants/Bibs Mountain Hardwear makes great jackets, but they are a little heavy. The Arc Teryx parkas look pretty nice and are lighter than MH models. I had a pair of Moonstone Sauvage Bibs that have held up pretty well. I will say my first Gore-Tex parka and bibs were made by Solstice. I wasn't too impressed with the construction. Plus, I had problems with water leaking through my bibs, and for some reason Solstice said they would not cover it under warranty (even though they did not even look at it). I haven't had any experience with Marmot, so I cannot say too much good or bad. I do like their catalogs though. Fleece: The best fleece jacket I own is an Arc Teryx (plus I bought it at half price).The only thing is that it does not have pit zips-I just hate the trend toward removing pit zips from fleece. MH's Chill Factor fleece has pit zips, but they don't fit as nice as the Arc Teryx, and they do not sport a drawcord hem. SportHill Polartec X Static tops: These are great! Wicking action is great, plus no bad odor!! Mountain Hardwear uses the same material in their long underwear, but the SportHill products are cheaper than MH's. Patagonia is a GREAT company, and I would love to buy more of their stuff, but they are a little pricey (kinda like everyone else though). Packs: Gregory - My favorite Pack is a Gregory Reality. It carries a lot of heavy gear comfortably, but for the alpinist (definitely not me) it would be better if the gear loops were on the hipbelt and not on the side of the pack. I have also had a pre K2 Dana Gleason Dana Designs Terraplane I used to use for backpacking. It was super comfy when carrying a heavy load. I owned a Bora 65, but ended up selling it. It was WAY too heavy, and just didn't fit right (more of an issue with my body type). I have heard nothing but good things about their lighter weight packs, but I am not a fan of their Bora series. Misc climbing gear: Mountain Tools Web-O-Lette. These guys make all kinds of cool and interesting stuff for the climber. Brands I really hate: REI branded products-they suck because they don't last (and they're not very well designed). North Face - I simply do not like the company, plus I have had bad experiences with their products. [ 07-03-2002, 03:56 PM: Message edited by: bellemontagne ]

I believe there are three or four major loopholes, and I think they have been successfully challenged. 1) Using forest land for religious worship/religious purposes 2) Using forest land for free speech and/or protest purposes. I believe this does require more blatant evidence of protest activity. Plaster your car with anti-fee demo propaganda, and have anti-fee demo literature in case confronted by USFS enforcement. 3) Using forest land for educational puposes. Scott Silver's Wild Wilderness site has some great anti-fee demo information. Check out http://www.wildwilderness.org

You know, after I thought about it, it would be pretty darn funny if a male did a FFNA of Limp Dick. It would be the first time a limp dick did an ascent of "Limp Dick."

You might want to warn folks before you do your FFNA of Limp Dick so they can look away. You wouldn't want anyone to go blind... On another note... Are any of you going to be climbing at the columns this week? [ 07-01-2002, 10:20 PM: Message edited by: bellemontagne ]

Sorry to hear Erik... As for me, I'm a Subaru man. My Subaru wagon drives the chicks CRAZY!

quote: a pocket full of gu I don't think I wanna know...

I happened to be buying some webbing at REI on Sunday afternoon. Well, a family came upon a large bin of chalkbags. One of the men spoke up and said (very seriously and obviously not a climber), "Look, at these cool beer cozies." Then one of the women said, "Don't these have something to do with climbing?" Amusing...

Cold temps help to drain the batteries when current is being used from the battery (i.e. using a cell phone or turning your flashlight on). When batteries are disconnected and no current is being used, it helps to "recharge" the battery. It's a chemistry thing and I'm not a chemist. I just know it works.

Oh, I forgot to add a couple of things to that essay. Use trekking poles if you can. They do help. Also see if you can get custom orthotics made. They will also help. My insurance paid for mine, but I do not know if you will be so lucky. Many people have had positive results from taking Glucosamine and Chondroiton Sulfate. Some brands are not as effectively absorbed as others. Here is a link with some brand comparisons: http://consumerlab.com/results/gluco.asp If you have any other questions, let me know.

Well trask, you came to the right place to talk about knee problems. I would go to a good Orthopedic surgeon and try and find out WHAT is causing your knee pain. There could be a gazzillion reasons why. Do you have any clicking when you bend your knee? Where is your pain - is it on the surface of the joint (possibly a tendon), or does it feel like it is below the kneecap or deep inside the knee joint (possibly cartilage). Another thing to ask yourself, is how bad your knee pain really is (in comparison to other aches and pains). Once you see an Orthopedic surgeon, I would try and find a good physical therapist - preferably one that climbs, hikes, or is a mountaineer. Inflammation of the soft tissues (tendons) can be relieved through physcial therapy (so long as you have a good physical therapist). Often times, soft tissue pain and inflammation can be treated/eliminated by using deep tissue pressure to loosen and relax the soft tissue. A physical therapist can give you the details on these treatments. I have never used anti-inflammatories, and they tend to only be effective for short periods of time. I'm sure there are valid reasons for using medication, but I would avoid it if you can. Now, if you have cartilage damage, there are some surgeries that can remove the damaged cartilage and help reshape a smoother surface of the cartilage. These procedures can dramatically reduce/eliminate your pain if your problem is cartilage damage. I believe there are some procedures where they can harvest your own cartilage, then "grow" additional cartilage in the lab, and then add that to areas of the knee where there is severe cartilage damage. These are usually done arthroscopically, and are pretty uninvasive. Downtime is pretty minimal, although that depends on the exact procedure. Simple arthroscopies don't require a whole lot of rehab time; although, arthroscopic retinacular lateral releases and ligament reconstructions require longer rehab time. Do you feel any instability in your knees? If so, you would probably know by know. But, some people (like Alex Lowe) have gone years with torn ligaments without knowing about it. I would definitely have your knees looked into. It may not require surgery at all, and it may very well be a situation that can be relieved by proper physical rehab. Avoid drugs (except for recreational use) if you can, and if your doctor recommends surgery, get a second opinion from another orthopedic surgeon before you proceed. Don't forget to stretch, stretch, stretch before and after you excercise or climb. As for me, I will be undergoing a tibial tubericle transfer (TTT) as well as having some cartilage damage and calcium deposits removed from my left knee July 25th. Six months to a year later, I get to have the same thing done on my right knee. What fun...

I always have to laugh whenever I hear about MSR's "Pocket Rocket." MSR's stove shares the same name as a women's vibrator. Does it have a second feature that we do not know about? Amusing... I digress.

Timm@y, Have you tried giving your Whisperlite a THOROUGH cleaning?? My climbing partner finally got around to giving his 10+ year old Whisperlite stove a thorough cleaning several months ago. He went so far as to completely disassemble the stove and soak the components in Alcohol (or some other effective solvent. It has been running like a champ for quite a while now. My problem with white gas stoves has always been with the pump/valve mechanism. On my first Coleman stove, the plastic valve housing sheared of. Then a couple of months ago, part of the plastic housing that held the pump mechanism on my Dragonfly broke - after only a couple of uses. The new Whisperlites do have a shaker jet mechanism which does help clean deposits on the jets. If you have the money, you might consider getting an ultralight Isobutane stove for the summer and a white gas stove with a good shaker jet for colder trips.

It's Pub Club time again this Wednesday, June 26. We should probably find a different place to meet for brews. Anyone want to pick a place? Hey JK. Remember when you saw me at the columns that Wednesday a couple weeks back? Well, as it turns out, my doctor thought it may have been food poisoning (I ate at a certain brewpub for lunch)!! That's why we should consider another place to meet for brews. More info later... [ 06-24-2002, 08:59 PM: Message edited by: bellemontagne ]

If I weren't such a wuss, I would be up there with youz guyz. But hey, I hate drivin. Now if there were climbing or snowboarding involved, I'd be there in a heartbeat. I'll go someday. Hey, maybe the Eugene contingent should have a carpool to th Potland PC sometime.

quote: Erik IS FAT, and that is just one thing that makes it so cool that he cranks. Erik is one helluva trad machine. I have only climbed with Erik once, but there's no way that guy is fat. Now on the other hand if you want to see a fat climber, I am carrying around one hell of a spare tire. I guess it's all relative though. And no Dru, that is not why my username is "belly montagne." [ 06-21-2002, 05:52 PM: Message edited by: bellemontagne ]

Bike has been sold. Alpina BC2000 Boots Works with NNN bindings. Size 43 Never used. New - $200 Sell for $90 - Negotiable Karhu Catamount Skis 190 cm, include Rottefella NNN auto backcountry bindings Used 3 times. Sell for $90 - Negotiable [ 06-25-2002, 08:13 PM: Message edited by: bellemontagne ]

Does anyone know of any organizations, institutions, or guide services that offer a high angle rescue course? I'm looking for an intensive week long course and not a semester long course. Any recommendations? Thankx!

quote: bellemontagne, surely you are not REALLY French. Maybe you should change avatars. Especially when throwing around words like wanker. Mtngrrrl, bellemontagne is an Italian phrase - it's definitely not French... . Have fun sport climbing everyone!!!

Most of us crackheads clip bolts now and then. I am a self admitted sport wanker, or more politically correct, sport climber. Clipping bolts is super fun, but when I lead bolts I keep it in the back of my mind that traditional climbing is certainly a more noble and purer form of ascending a rock face. It's all about having fun, but clipping bolts is now where near as noble as leading from the ground up (IMHO). Sport Climbing IS NEITHER! Flame ON.

Sorry to hear about it Jake. I hope he makes a healthy recovery. His accident is pretty unfortunate. When I met him at the party (I'm guessing it's the same guy) he was pretty psyched about climbing and had a lot of energy and motivation to do some big climbs. Hope he gets better soon.

Maybe the kid could go to a special deprogramming camp where they teach sportwankers to be Yosemite hard(wo)men and teach them to run it out on RP's. Not that there is anything wrong with sport climbing...

quote: in a word, "used". Otherwise, without info on your experience and weight, particulars aren't too helpful. Sorry... I'm pretty much a beginner to sea kayaking having been an avid canoer back in the day. I'm a pretty big guy 5'10" ~ 210lbs, so a kayak with a large cockpit and good weight capacity. I'm planning on doing day trips as well as overnights on flatwater rivers. I'm not planning on taking it out into any serious ocean surf. I'm more interested in having a stable boat, and I am willing to sacrifice a little on the performance end. Anything else you need to know?

Now this is WAY off topic but does anyone have any advice on buying a touring kayak? Here's the deal. I am planning on purchasing a touring kayak for day and overnight use on lakes and rivers. I doubt I will use it much in the ocean. Right now, I've narrowed it down to several models such as Perception's Carolina and Captiva, Prijon's Calabria and Yukon Expedition, and the Necky Zoar Sport. Does anyone have any firsthand experience with these boats? Does anyone have any other touring kayaks they would like to recommend? I'm going to rent a couple of these before I buy, but any helpful information or product opinions would be great.

Those darn French!! We save their asses in WWII and how do they show their appreciation? They make us pay more for Putzl and Chucky Mo gear. But wait, aren't we getting it in the arse by BD too??? At least Boreal Aces' are still only $63 and available for export to the US!!!!