Gordonb

and probably a top speed of 30mph, downhill.

It is just one of the properties of aluminum, cracks also propogate faster.

I used to do metallurgy as a mechanical engineer and Aluminum will fracture when stress cycled, there is no stress level that is safe, unlike steel. Now very low stresses will put the number of cycles in the billions or higher so it is not that dire. All metals will stress relieve when allowed to rest. A couple of hard falls over the weekend, if not too near the breaking point, will mostly be relieved by the next weekend. I would not worry about cyclic loading, but shock loading. Did the fall overload the cam somehow and cause some sort of damage that has weakened the cam.

We geocache but we have not combined it with climbing. Yes wilderness areas and national parks are out for traditional caches, but national forrests are fine.

Obiviously Chirp you don't feel very strongly about it. Peta is against companion animals. Peta is extreme and should be shunned.

Well they are almost women: http://www.chasebrown.com/olson.htm

Was that one of those Vegan BLT's from PCC? I saw those at lunch and the thought of Bacon even being mentioned in the same setence with BLT's made me laugh.

I learned to climb in the gym, and I think Smith is easy. I flail on cracks and I got my ass kicked at j-tree. I think the nubbins at smith reward the gym climber because the moves are very similar.

Not a problem if you feet fit whatever the proportions that that maker was designing for. My problem is that I have a very high instep and a fairly narrow heel. I can't get the boots to hold my heal in without crushing the front of the foot. If I get a boot big enough that the ball of my foot has enough room, my heal is so sloppy that you can't controll the ski. For me it looks like it will take modification of the lining to get a good fit. Any shop doesn't work, I have tried a couple, including the ski shop a Bachelor that claimed they could fit me "no problem" only say they are not sure where to go next.

How about some place that has a very knowledgable boot fitter. I have tried a couple boots and end up with sore feet by the end of the day. I don't want to drop several hunderd $$ again without some assurances that they either fit or can be made to fit. Anyone know someone in Seattle that really knows their shit and will work to make sure your boots really fit? We were at Studevants last year and had trouble just getting served. I don't have much hope to find a qualified boot fitter there that will actually be able to give me more than a few minutes of time.

So if we know the right readers we won't get charged on the express pass? That info might be worth somthing.

It definitly rocked on T-day. Some of the best crusing in a long time. BTW Timmy what's the deal with not counting all the rides on the bachy web site? We are missing several.

The climbX video was better. They posted it on the site just before they closed. You look at the pictures and they are in some incredible positions, the video shows how they did it.

Kim chee is one of those foods that is really good, or really awful. There is a restaurant in Lacey that make really good kim chee. You have to like spicy food, and if you can eat hot stuff, good kim chee is wonderfull.

Fishing for Dummies?

We use the Apple photo store right out of iPhoto. It goes to kodak's ofoto. We like the quality, but you can get pics cheaper.

BRRRR, wrong, Trask can spell. Plus I have met Muffy, but that was before she was Muffy.

I have thought they should put gps coordinates at the base and approaches of climbs. It always seems that the first time I try to locate a crag I end up wandering around trying find the climb. Leavenworth is particularly bad. There are several rocks that I have never located even after several attempts. GPS coordinates would get you close to the base of the climb.

pretty funny, but I don't think SCOTCHAGE would get past l'acadamie français. Scotchage roughly traslates to the practice of scotch taping.

I would love to spend more time climbing, but I only have two weeks of vacation plus we are taking the kids out of school for one week (the other is winter break) We are open as to where we should be concentrating our time. We climb 5.9 to 5.10ab ratings at smith. At joshua we had problems with 5.7's. We aren't hard core, just enjoy being out on the rock. We will be doing lots of turisty stuff around Koh Lanta and Bangkok after Rai Lay. With tickets costing $700 from SEA to BKK it is hard to pass up.

Thanks for the info, we have a good budget for the trip and are not doing the dirt bag climber routine for this trip. We have most of our lodging booked up from input from others that have been there (non climbers). I will probably bring my old rope and leave it. It is not so much the expense, but we like to travel light and I don't want to haul a rope for two weeks when we are only going to be climbing for 4 to 5 days.

I find after a couple good falls on a figure 8 (I weigh 210 lbs) it is almost impossible to get it untied. Near the end of the day when I am flamed out I can waste 15 minutes struggling with the knot. I have gone to the double bowline and I am much happier. If I am on a long multi pitch it is not as big a deal since I am not falling and untying as much.

We are heading to Thailand in Feb. We have reservations in Railay for several days. We are trying to figure out what to do about gear, specifically the Rope. We are going directly from home through Bangkok to Krabi and climbing for most of the week, then we are going to do some other traveling. I would rather not haul something a bulky as the rope around with us. One option we are considering is to bring an old rope and leave it there when we move on. What have other people done? Is it possible to rent a rope? (that makes me uncomfortable in many ways) Any other suggestions for getting around Railay? We will probably hire a guide for the first day of climbing to help us get our bearings and then climb on our own after that.

she was "like 12" 3 years ago. According to her site she was born July 1988 making her 15. Still not legal in most states.

They just get distracted by all the pretty colors.