allison

Hey, Anna, sorry to hear about your close call. You will hopefully come around back to it. I have great ambivalence about climbing, some days it feels good, some days it just seems like the most selfish, ridiculous, dangerous, silly thing on the planet. Just don't feel bad about it in any case, and don't let anyone else make you feel bad about it either. Take it easy.

I've had excellent luck with my Casio as well. Had it probably six years, nothing but battery changes until this summer when the watch guy had to spend five minutes cleaning the alti sensor. Very accurate and reliable.

Thanks, guys, you've been a big help. I'll get right on that.

I have been to Bend approximately 6,000 times in the last ten years and have NO IDEA what this Big O thing is, that has the Canadians all in a tangle It sounds very much like the product of a little bit too much Dim Sum and Douglas Coupland.

Doctor, what must I complain of to get a prescription for such a patch?

Chris, Karen's a genius. Do it.

I've got to go with Sayjay's *first* answer. There is no better way to start the day. Then when you've got a nice big appetite, either lox-n-bagels ot Eggs Bennie in civilization, or the Hamburger Helper thing with the hash browns (and dried/reconstituted GB) and cheezy sauce in the backcountry. And of course nice strong coffee in any case.

Below is a reprint of a post I made a few days ago elsewhere, that, in my mind says all I want to say on the subject for the time being: From everything I have heard from the two guys who were up there, it's safe to assume that the sling failed in one way or another. Whether it broke, came untied, or slipped off, well, as far as I know the sling has not been recovered, so we may never know. Climbing has its inherent risks, and having a simple piece of gear like a sling fail is not unheard of. I respect people's desire to know what went wrong that day, and certainly I've asked my fair share of questions in this vein about other accidents. But, for me, it all comes back to this: Stefan's welfare and recovery are way more important. I speak also from my own experience. As many of you know, I similarly broke both my ankles in a climbing accident. After it happened, I was asked, and to this day, continue to be asked, what happened? The details of my situation were equally likely, nothing unusual failed. My personal welfare was, well, frankly, shitty, for many, many months, and I continue to suffer to this day from the result of that fateful day. I was isolated and depressed, scared, and in pain, and yet....everyone wanted to know how the accident happened. So, do this for me, or more importantly, do this for Stefan: Send him a card or an email, call him if you know him, or go visit, watch Oprah with him or if he feels up to it, take him to the park. When he feels better, rub his ankles or pay for a massage so they can do some lymphatic drainage on him. Offer to babysit the little one. Reach out to him in any way you can. He's going to need all of the support his friends can give him.

Okay, okay. Shoplifting. Got caught, went to the big house overnight, did community service, paid fine. There are a couple of other ones that are way more salacious and incriminating, but nothing I'd be willing to post on the Internet. Use your imagination....

Hey Lambone, Why not preface your question with a good old, "hey, how's Stefan doing?" It may not be the first thing on your mind, but it's the most important part of this accident equation. Stef's accident has reminded me of this fact, the healing of the injured should very much be the first concern, not "how it happened, and what can I do to avoid having this happen to me." Mike can answer this better, but I believe no slingage has been recovered. I spoke with Stef briefly yesterday afternoon shortly before the Mikes saw him, and his pain is plateauing. He should be fine for a while here if the sheer boredom of watching Jerry Springer doesn't give him bedsores.

And I think you'd be a halfway decent guy if you'd drop the mean thing. You ought to try it, pal. Climb? Hell, I haven't been able to walk without pain in years! I'd like to climb more!

You liberal weenies make me sick. I'm going to the NRA convention with Greg after my Global Warming course at the community college, which of course I'm taking with the Goat.

quote: Originally posted by AlpineK: Alli, point taken. I'm so sick of this meanie crap. It's destuctive and a waste of time. Nice! Have a happy day!

I am currently scheduled for ankle surgery at an HMO, because that is where my insurance is. Naturally I have some misgivings about having them work on me, as the Group Health surgeons may not be the best in the city. If I go outside of network I have to pay 20%, but so far I have had no success with getting an estimate on the cost of the procedure. I really have no idea how much it might cost, and apparently no one else does either. I am working on this. I find it interesting in this day and age that you can't get at least a good estimate on something that you will be paying money for. Numerous scenarios outside of this have been suggested to me, including changing jobs so that I might have PPO insurance and have access to better docs. In my line of work this is not practical. I do have a business license, but the business is as small as a gnat's ear, nonetheless it's been said that I could get some insurance because techically I am a business. If I could get PPO insurance at a cost of say, $300 or less, I think it would be worth it for me to go this route for a few months until after the surgery and then of course I'd have my regular insurance for aftercare and whatnot. Anyone know if this is possible? Where would I get it, what are the costs and limitations? At this point I will probably keep researching until my surgery date.

Shot some guns at Bud cans on a berm outside of Enumclaw.

quote: Originally posted by AlpineK: There's nothing quite as fun as hanging out with your buddies and being really petty and mean-spirited. You know, I completely agree with you. [ 10-27-2002, 08:18 PM: Message edited by: allison ]

Trask- You know as well as I do that the otehr board board is relatively spray-free, and I believe a lot of people there would like to keep it that way. Please find another website to pick on. Beck- Oh, crap, this thread is going to go all crazy-like now. Watch out for verbal shrapnel!

Yes, I was amazed at how scary the handgun was. No safety lock, very small and light, and not as easy to hit a target with as the rifle. It would be really easy to shoot someone with one of those things! That may sound like a no-brainer, but this is the first time I've ever handled a loaded gun of any sort, as it's not something I tend to come across in everyday life. [ 10-27-2002, 04:25 PM: Message edited by: allison ]

I went and shot some guns today. I still really don't like handguns, but the rifle was pretty fun. Don't think I'll be buying an NRA sticker for the Soobie, but at least I can say I've fired one of them thingies now. Had kind of a fun rednecky feel to it. Felt very, uh, AHMUUUriCun.

While it is nice to have a mapping program (I have TOPO!), I must say that I still prefer to store-bought maps for use in the field. One of the problems with printing out the custom ones from the mapping program is that the numeric elevation markers for the contour lines sometimes don't show up on the chunk of map that you have printed out, and then it can be a pain to figure out what elevation you're at. The clarity of the maps is also not as good as the GT or USGS, though that may be my printer. Plus they are not at all waterproof, the inks run when wet, so you've got to take the extra step to clear-coat the maps before you go. I can say that while I don't buy any less maps than I used to, that there are times that I've printed out a map where I wouldn't have maybe had any map at all, or maybe wouldn't have gone on a spur-of-the-moment trip for lack of map. In other words, in a pinch, the mapping program comes in pretty handy. For trip planning I only find it handy if I don't have any map at all to look at, and even then, all that scrolling around gets kind of annoying. If you pull back to a bigger view, the map gets harder to read. There is still no good substitute for a USGS quad, IMO.

quote: Originally posted by MtnGoat: don't know about the other two, but I'll stick up for allison, I've done a couple trips with her. She's good people. A bit obsessed with ultralight gear.. but otherwise normal. And the Goat, despite his rather, er, barfy politics, and his unfortunate desire to bring everything he owns into the backcountry, well, he's still my pal. And a heck of a lot of fun to have around! Ray, I'm pretty sure everyone here already knows you don't like me or these other two either. Why not move on to something new? Nobody cares!

quote: Originally posted by Attitude: quote:Originally posted by Necronomicon: Some dipshits suggested I should commit suicide. Losers! I know how you feel. Yeah, me too.

No, your coolness, (Fern), I missed the whole thing today. I did get the chance to admire my work in progress around once a day, but never got the chance to read the whole thing. I was hoping to do so while recovering from my surgery next month. I was proud of them (all I really did was start it) for toppling the Muir record, but since the thread got deleted, it's my take that Muir gets its crown back. Seems somewhat unfair...hmmmm....maybe I should stop paying Jon and Tim all those membership fees!

Missed the whole thing. I really have to quit my job so I have more time to devote to monitoring the board. Wow, I'm guessing that the Black Helicopters from the Muir on Saturday camp must have been called in to clean up the mess and restore Mos to its place at the top of the Spray heap.

Saw him today. Not having a great time with the after effects of the pain from surgery, but his surgeon says he will walk again. Please keep my friend Stefan in your thoughts. The next few days in particular are going to be very tough. If anyone has retrieved any of the gear, please get in touch with me and I'll be sure the stuff gets back to Stefan and his partner.