glen

I think the idea is more to increase the victim's buoyancy in an avalanche to keep them closer to the surface than for the device to function as an airbag like in cars. If you are at the surface, the odds of being alive at the end of the day are much, much better. There are also similar devices which are a self-inflating ball on a length of cord. The idea there being that the 'ball' will stay at the surface and the cord will lead rescuers to the victim more quickly than a standard transceiver search.

There are a couple of long snowboard/ski movie available for download or streaming at: Solid Powder The movies are pretty heavy on the terrain park tricks and hucks. The downloads are large files.

Hey, anybody have any opinions on where to go in Seattle to get ski boots? Cheap is good, and knowledgeable staff is good too. For a women's size 9 foot. Oh yeah, downhill boots, not AT or tele. Looking to pick up a pair in the next week. Thanks!

ehmmic, I think those are great suggestions and second them. The Rainier one may be more direct and less complicated, but a clear cut and presumable well research article on environmental stuff would be great, and something that I would go out of my way to read or see depending on the media. Of course, that type of reporting is notoriously lacking in the Seattle media. Seriously lacking...

It's a monday and a bit slow in the brain dept. Anybody have any good close call stories out there for entertainment and maybe something we should avoid ourselves. I guess my only close call isn't really that bad. I was heading down a short chute which (though difficult to tell from the top) had been heavily windloaded. About half way down I noticed a thin crack that had started opening up, but no sound or whumping. Good terrain trap at the bottom for a nice, deep burial. Made it out and it didn't slide, though I found out later that someone had been buried in a slide out of a chute 50m to the W an hour or so earlier in the day (they ended up okay). No harm, no penalty, but certainly gave me the heebie jeebies. It was certainly good for resetting the judgement meter back to careful and conservative. Anybody out there have any good stories of close calls?

... was pretty nice. The snow is still a bit on the thin side and some of the stubby trees are still poking out down low. But, the snow was pretty nice and gave up some fun runs with a few face shots here and there. Visibility was pretty crappy and intermittent, so we bailed on heading to Muir and just yo-yo'd around below Pan point/Manzanita Creek. It was good to see lots of people out there getting some earned turns in. Great day to start the season!

I might make it down there on sat. The weather looks good, and it is snowing. Just wondering how the wind is going to be. The jones for turns is coming on strong these days. Must... get .... out... on .... snow.... Must.... not... be.... stuck... in .... cubicle.....

First of July 1997, Mt Dana at the East edge of Yosemite Nat'l park. About 2500' of vertical with insane views and no crowds. Lot's of Corn. I sucked because it was only my third day on a snowboard, but the hooks of addiction were set deep and backcountry lines became the holy grail after that.

Turning off the beacons on the partial burials makes the search for the remaining person a lot, lot easier. Also, we don't know the style of burial on the partials or that they were totally extracted, or just enough to turn off their beacon and ensure they were okay (still better odds). This accident hit close to home and offered me some lessons and perspective on being aware of group dynamics, bc safety and the need to be rigorous about assessing conditions and making decisions as dictated by the observations. The penalties to ourselves and those around us are simply too high to make mistakes. By all means get out there and have a blast and get some freshiez, but be aware and be willing to walk away and come back another time. Let's all play safe out there this year and try not to have a repeat of last season's numerous losses.

B-vox. As a novice, I got to try out tracker, ortovox and barryvox at the same time. I was fastest with the barryvox. I also like the switch from analog to digital depending on range. Really useful for large area searches. That, and getting it at %30 off from REI (love the additive discounts), it was actually a sane price. Play safe out there and may none of us acutally NEED our beacons this winter while out in the fressssshhhhhhiez.

A friend and I were discussing the increasing impact at climbing areas, especially the increase in impact in the last few years. The impact is mostly loss of vegetation at the base of cliffs, noise, and trash. The topic came out of the apparently changing ethics of climbers from the 1950s-1980s versus the 1990's to today. There have been a number of major changes in the climbing world in the last 15 years, namely the huge increase in number of climbers and the accompanying growth of gym-rats and sport climibing. Notably all aspects of climbing have seen increases in usage, but the greatest impact seems to be associated with cragging. Possibly a tangent, but the amont of 'scene' at climbing areas seems to have changed and increased with time also. I am just curious if any of the folks who have been around longer than my scant 12 years of climbing could comment on this, and maybe some general comments on what the differences in the climbing population are. Is the increase in impact in climbing areas a result of simply having more people or is there a population-scale shift in treatment of the natural environment? Just curions what people think; not putting forward any specific opinions (people will do enough of that on their own). G

lol

Gary Brill's intro course is good (took it last year), but it does not have enough field time. Make sure to get out with avy-savvy folks as you learn how to read terrain and conditions or take a course with more field experience. Be safe out there in the freshiezzzzzzz!

I wonder if they really thought about what they were saying?

Interesting link to actual reported accident statistics from NYC. Includes all possible combinations of bikes, cars and pedestrians.

That's so the bikes get going faster for the BG speedtrap further up the trail. It is a bit annoying to get a ticket on the BG. Seems like there are bigger fish for the police to fry. Certainly, irresponsible pedestrians and bikes and bladers have caused many an accident on the BG, but probably not as many as on the roads.

So, if I quote you, will I get busted? Life is tough when you're a cc.com martyr.

Q: What's a pirate's favorite way to gt around on land? A: A Carrrrrrrrrrrgh! Q: How much did it cost the pirate to pierce his ears? A: A buccaneer. Q: What's a pirate's favorite letter? A: R (arrrrrrrrh!) Q: Why did the pirate drink so much? A: he got 'hooked'. Okay, I'll stop the torture now... TLG, any pirate emoticons?

No war? What about the Balkans? What about the routine bombing of Iraq? Just not as overt as Dubya.

I just like to climb. Sometimes I climb harder. Sometimes I don't. Who really gives a $#!+ about the ratings anyways?

Monkey Wrench gang by ed abbey. Long live Hayduke!

Man, what a legend... One of the few musicians that is appreciated by listeners across a spectrum of genres. How many people havn't heard him? Who can't sing along with "Boy named Sue"? Who else could have upstaged the Boss with a cover of "I'm on Fire"? Who else could sing "I've been everywhere" or "Ring of Fire" and actually pull it off ? I think I'll pass on the beer and take a shot of JD for the Man in Black.

UHHHH.... is winter here yet?

There are plenty of people with those jobs, including doctors, etc. They are in demand because they provide a necessary service and most people aren't willing to work hard enough to become proficient with that skill/knowledge set. Microeconomics at work. Academia requires a lot and caters to people who are obsessed with their work- note the absurd divorce rate amongst R1 faculty. If you want the 30 hour a week job, then think outside the box, find a niche and run with it. It is out there. But, that job is not why you should be doing a PhD. I think (without having been there) that what your advisor might have been trying to communicate is that you should rediscover the simple joy in what you do and not be afraid to be immersed in it a bit. You'll be happier and more productive. The increased productivity will generate more free time. I think it might be a bit ambitious to think that you'll be able to take 3 day weekends all the time and be successful at a research driven PhD. The academic culture in the US simply doesn't cater to that. If that is what you REALLY want, you might consider europe where there is a slightly more sane concept of a work ethic (seriously). It's not like they don't have computers, universities and climbing there.

Sex is like money, the more the better... Sex is like mountains, the valleys, peaks and plains are always better close up.