allison

Somebody call in, this is LAME!

Red alert, GD has Triv on Tues---rethink this.

THE BALLROOM IS A HEINOUS MEAT MARKET WITH OVERPRICED DRINKS. However, it IS only one ZIP code away from where I live.

Today on Talk of the Nation they will be discussing climbing and the associated hazards. That's at noon on 94.9 KUOW or if you've got broadband you can get streaming audio here

So I was down in Central Oreygun this weekend in hopes of doing something huge, and gapertimmy did not let me down. I dropped off my little Subaru (hereafter known as the Blue Tornado for its extraodinary speed, and rented me a nice yellow Nissan Ex'Tremely'Teryx for the adventure. I was both thrilled and chagrined when gapertimmy arrived in the Park and Ride lot in his shiny new Mercedes SUV, in a luminous shade of Champagne Pink, polished to a high luster. We debated briefly about which vehicle to bring, but then decided to bring them both so that if one got stuck in the mud we could tow it out with the other one. We then discussed route options, considering Drake Park Couloir, and the South Face of Pilot Butte, but then agreed on the route down by the river in between the one golf resort and the other golf resort. We made a quick side trip back to town for some big-ass lattes and those cookies with the pink frosting, and then we were off. At one point I got a little disoriented, but I was able to reach gapertimmy via the Walkabout radio, and he was able to talk me through getting back onto the approach. We finally managed to get to the base of the route, which was well-appointed with a pay box and a vault toilet. We festooned our vehicles with "No Fees" stickers, bought our parking passes, and loaded up our packs. As a final touch, we both donned Kavu caps and Smith Chopper sunglasses. Natch, we had that little bitch Sierra and the immense Chinook in tow, but they were off leash, so that they could scare off any snafflehounds that might cross our path. Things went pretty well for a while, but I was crushed to see that this was maybe not a First Ascent when we were passed by some six-year-olds on mountain bikes. Shortly thereafter gapertimmy started having some trouble with traction, so we stopped and I put on his crampons for him. I then pulled out a couple of ice tools for him to use to self-arrest should he have the need. We did well through the difficult Tennis Court Crossing, but then I, having just come from sea level the day before, started having hallucinations and puking orange gooey stuff up. gapertimmy came to my rescue by putting me in the hyperbaric chamber he had stashed in his neat Mountainsmith pack. I chilled for a bit, and then we were able to go on, me happily slurping on a big bottle of O. I was feeling so well that we stopped to do some bouldering on the Metolius Big Wall. Imagine our delight when we came upon the Wall, right out in the middle of nowhere, and fesooned with colorful tape and brand new holds. What a gem that is! At that point we realized we were running short of time, as gapertimmy was due to show up at work at some point. So, unfortunately we had to turn back before reaching the other golf resort, and we beat feet back to the car. Shortly before reaching the cars, we were amazed to see two garter snakes fighting over a frog. They each had an arm in their mouth, and the big one had the head, and the bottom half of the frog was STILL WIGGLING! We watched in amazement for several minutes, Chinook the most intently, until the big snake wrested the frog away from the little snake. At last sighting the top half of the frog was in the big snake and the bottom half of the frog was STILL WIGGLING! We were so grossed out that we left before the show was over. Made it back to the car before noon, ran up to gapertimmy's work to check the board real quick, and had an epic time talking about the trip with all the other hardcores at the Bendistillery that night. It really was a big day in North American Alpinism, and I am proud to have been a part of it. Special thanks to Nike, The North Face, our camera crew, and the sherpas for their invaluable assitance in making this dream come true. (reprinted with permission from summitpost.com)

I got a $105 ticket coming down from Elk Heights E of Eburg yesterday....who knew my car even went 85...pretty sure it doesn't....see you in Cle Elum Traffic Court. Also don't forget seat belts, they are checking big time. Also big ass road const from the Columbia to the 97/197 convergence heading S...worth avoiding!!

Hmmm...Roanoake's a good choice, but the Seattle spots all don't work for one reason or another, except DW which is a yuppie fuck fuck...what about Owl/Thistle again? That was a good choice!

I'm heading down to Bend this weekend for some sunshine and no climbing...I know last weekend was the big shindig but if any of the gang is going to be around town, shoot me a PM. I'm going to be sleeping indoors near a computer so I'll be checking in from time to time...main objective though is to get a tan.

Got to sit this one out, kids. Seems the 206 contingency's all busy tonight and I don'wanna make that long drive to T-Town all by my lonesome....but see you next week, 'K?

Isn't that where it was LAST TIME you hosted?

Ya know, I did the $$ bill last night and it was a little bit of a struggle to get the $$ together. The fact that you forgot to pay might explain it, ya knucklehead! Someone ended up paying too much, can't remember who it was, but you may owe them rather than K...was it mattp? I can't remember but you do owe someone I think!

Hikerwa, Dave Schuldt, Jeff, pacificrain, Fred Beckey, Norman Clyde, CrazyJZ, Al, Allison, AlpineK, v, Jon, ChucK, Dave W, Mattp, and a blonde guy with glasses. If I missed anyone, I am sorry! Fiddlers is a little small for Pub Club. We might do better there in the summer, when we can sit outside!

I get a little frustrated that doggy owners are seemingly imposing their doggy lifestyle on those of us who do not 'dog.' I respect your desires as dog owners to have a good life for your dog, and with your dog, but please do not assume that those of us who are not into dogs want to share your experience. Particularly not in the woods, and especially not in the backcountry! I only had to date one dog-owner to realize that is a major lifestyle thing for You Who Dog, and that I am not one of you.

quote: Originally posted by trask: What's your point? I generally don't get involved in the fray. When you decide to drink at Smokey Point, I'll be there. I guess I've never understood why you choisse to "help" us establish where the PC's gonna be. What's YOUR point? Do you EVER have anything to say?

Cats RULE!

quote: Originally posted by freeclimb9: allison, are you associating a frame with padding?.... BTW, 25 lbs of stuff not counting climbing gear seems like much. Is this winter gear? My ultra-light packing friends get as low as 8 lbs for spring, summer, and fall jaunts. Go old-skool like John Muir, and carry only a coat with your pockets filled with snacks. By 'frameless' I am referring to packs that have stays, packsheets, et al, traditional components of internal frame packs. The stuff that makes them internal frame packs. I have heard that loading aframeless packs vey tight makes them sit better/be more comfy. And thanks for your advice, I know there are ways to get my pack weight down even more, but these methods involve eating cold food, not using a tent, and other things I'm choosing not to do. I'm more of a traditional backpacker committed to carrying a light load than I am a convert to the ways of the ultra-lightweight. When it comes to reducing pack weight, everything is incremental, and at a certain point, comforts are sacrificed in order to keep weight down. I can actually get my pack weight down to 20#ish if I need to, but beyond that I'm either going to have to make some sacrifices or spend some more $$$. Freeze-dried food would probably help!

quote: Originally posted by trask: Wouldn't work timmy...there's too many chiefs around here Yes, even people who neither climb nor attend Pub Club.

The Arc'Teryx packs do not tend to be insanely lightweight....but in my experience they tend to be insanely comfortable. I have a Khamsin 50 and I absolutely love it. Now I am all about keeping my pack weight down to around 25# (not including climbing gear) but I can't convince myself that I'm going to get the comfort I need in a frameless. Seems to me that no matter how you slice it, if you take the padding away, the pack is going to be less comfy. Anyone able to convince me otherwise? I'd love to hear from a convert!

I just bought the one-man version of the CF, called the Light Year I believe, it was on sale at REI for a song a couple of months ago....nice, compact, lightweight, easy to put up, simply designed....

OK, I just gotta ask this....FB is always pressuring us (through his emissaries) to set the location for PC a few days in advance. Now, we all know that the time of Pub Club is 7PM on Tuesdays, beyond that, why does he need to know in advance what the location is going to be? I sort of like not knowing for sure where we are going to meet until Monday at the earliest, and sometimes Tuesday!

quote: Originally posted by Son of Caveman: Shut the hell up Sparky, you dickless wonder. Not having a dumbstick is hardly a bad thing, unless of course you are trying to write your name in the snow. [ 05-17-2002, 09:54 AM: Message edited by: allison ]

Oh, yeah, 8 is right...I mis-read and thought the ? was about a RIP...seamseal with Seam Grip. Do nothing to the floor.I wrote a piece for Washington Trails Magazine about a year ago about gear maintenence, you can look at it here if you like. I seamsealed my tent for research for the piece and wrote about it in there. There's another one about repairing gear in the field here that gets into that aspect of things. [ 05-13-2002, 10:41 PM: Message edited by: allison ]

There is also a Goretex patch material avaialble, it's adhesive-backed. It's great stuff.

I'd have to agree that the reports on the WTA website are sometimes a wee bit on the serious side, on the other hand, there's practically always a trip report on somewhere you want to go that's fairly recent. The info is always more up to date that the FS info....and FWIW, you *were* reading a report by esteemed mountaineer Scot'teryx, so what would you expect?

So, let me get this straight....Dan, you are so enlightened that you can get away with calling people 'bull dyke' and it's all in good fun? WOW! Just to try that theory out in real life, I suggest you call the next 20 people you meet in person 'bull dyke'. Then when you get done with that, call the next 20 people you meet in person '*.' When you've finished that little sociological project, get back to us here, and let us know how funny they thought you were. I'm guessing it'll crack them up!!! That Dan Larson, what a kidder!!