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beefcider

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Everything posted by beefcider

  1. woa. thanks for that post man, looks like I got one of the bum tools. FYI, I got it at MEC. Chris
  2. As far as I know it's illegal to carry a firearm into a national park or a national monument. If it is, and you do decide to go postal on them then you are essentially breaking the same laws they are and therefore it becomes a battle of the criminals, which is to say that it won't really solve the issue of keeping snowmobozos off of the volcanoes. I know it sounds dumb, but next time, go up to them and tell them your bro has a sled just like that one. shake lame-o's hand and ask him his name then cheeseball him into posing for a few shots. works every time. "duuuuuude, check me out maaaaaaaaan". Then send the photos to any and all agencies you can stand sending them to. Eventually, they will get busted. Yeah, it's costs you a few bucks but what doesn't these days. Better yet, write the NFS and the NPS every damn week demanding they enforce the laws. The legal system does work, you just have to work at it. Every idiot won't get busted, but if enough people start documenting cases of this and reporting it, it will get attention.
  3. quote: To second Steve's respnse, the mounties require that all basic students complete a conservation duty. In the past, I believe, a great majorty of these requirements have been accomplished through joining WTA work parties. How many of you have EVER done trail maintenance? Look, Steve only brought that up because I said that the mounties only promote restoration of thier own cabins/clubhouses, etc. I still get the monthly newsletter and have yet to see a front page or any page for that matter, article about cleaning up trails, approaches or anything like it. They may require it but they don't promote it. All Steve did was take my post and make it his by saying that we should support the WTA and the Access Fund by supporting the mountaineers. What the hell does that mean? If I'm going to support the WTA, which I do, I'll go to the WTA, not the mountaineers. His invitation to help support other organizations through his was idiotic. He was just covering his ass because what I said is essentially true. The concept of conservation and restoration of the areas they use is NOT something they promote. If any of you are mountaineers and tell me that you are using "that route today for a class" you can expect to see the gleaming white asses and the rusty sherrif's badges of me and my climbing partner many times as we ascend the route you claim as yours. Anyone else will just see the cheeks and no chocolate starfish.
  4. The dudes on the sleds might not care about the rules but you can always snap a few photos and turn them in. I did it once in Colorado when I caught a bunch of Air Force cadets (all going into intelligence, mind you) ripping down aspen trees, green ones at that, for the ragin' bonfire duuuuuude. I got them all together for a group shot and then told them I was going to send the photos along to the NPS. The next morning, I got to clean up all of the beer bottles and half burned potato chip bags for my trouble but I'm pretty sure they we're booted from the academy. Point being: you can always do something about it. If nothing else, contact the ranger at St. Helens and let them know.
  5. they (USFS) got my money once for the permit and I've been using the same datached, wallet sized card on my dashboard ever since. the expiration date is in the other side and until they change the card type, I'll probably avoid a ticket. yeah, stick it to the man! User fees suck, bad admin of the collected fees suck more. Too many localities are robbing people of "user fees" to justify their being on land they alreasy paid taxes to be on. wait, that's not what this thread is about. I apologize. In the mean time, I'll pay if I get caught.
  6. quote: What exaggerated modifications are you willing to make to the rock to guarantee this access to "everybody"? He's gonna make all of the approaches wheelchair accessible AND bolt the ramps every six inches.
  7. quote: Traditionally, the style in which the first ascent was done dictates future ascents (i.e., going from nailing to placing clean gear). This, in a sense, gives the first ascensionist some sort of ownership. I understand and even abide by this, what I'm saying is that tradition is getting beat up by people that are bolt happy and saying that it is wrong won't stop it. Respect dictates that you leave it alone but that isn't always the case. Even if I'm not for it, traditions change. That's why I suggested that some crags be left for trad and some for sport. The question is who will decide this. I also agree that bolt hangers on the rock will get the Land Managers twitching. Like I said, I'm not for bolting or retro-bolting, but going out and chopping the lines only to have them re-bolted is going to get just as much or more attention. It seems inevitable that the people who control the land will try and regulate this at some point unless the general climbing community can agree on the crags to bolt or leave alone.
  8. Has anyone heard of criminal charges being filed against people who have sccumulated multiple infractions? I know that the Washington State Patrol will come and arrest you if you accumulate unpaid traffic tickets, can or has the USFS done the same thing? I can tell you this: getting something removed from your federal record, even just a misdemeanor is a major pain in the ass.
  9. I'm gonna have to agree with Pope on the trash issue. I spend alot of time packing out others trash, be it a nest of ratty slings on a fixed anchor to flat out garbage at campsites. the question is: how do you keep a restored route from being re-bolted?
  10. Erik, As I said, I'm not for bolting or retro-bolting routes. I use existing bolts but often find them scary as hell.Let me rephrase one of my statements. I'll probably like bolts less when I learn to set my own pro. I agree that there are alot of routes that need to be restored and am even willing to help do so. What I'm getting at is that we can go and clean the bolts, restore the routes and leave the area spiffy. It just seems that a real community effort is needed to keep rap bolt happy folk from going out and drilling the routes again and causing further damage. My statement about rights from the FA are just a point in being realistic, that's all. I'm all for going and restoring some of the routes and I'll hopefully learn something.
  11. I agree with will on that idea that the issue in general cannot be decided by the minority of climbers that is represented here. Personally, I like bolts for now. When I can climb 5.10 trad I'll probably hate them. here are my thoughts: 1) We have to keep in mind that most of the land we're talking about is public. If people start ripping out bolts it's going to get noticed by the officials who run the public lands. In Leavenworth this is Chelan County. Trust me, you don't want to deal with them. They will shut the whole area down for an extensive and inconclusive study that restricts climbers from using the land. Same goes for the NPS and the NFS. 2) As has been said earlier, by many others, cc.com represents a minority of the climbers using the area(s) mentioned. 3) The person who has the FA does not own the rock or the route and that means they really don't have any say in what happens to it whether they like it or not. This is not saying that they don't deserve respect but seriously, anyone who thinks that they should be consulted because they got the FA isn't seeing the big picture. Just because Hillary/Norgay got the FA on Everest doesn't give them the right to regulate the mountain, even if they wanted to. What happens after the person who got the FA dies? Can the route be bolted then? The argument of "I did it first, it's mine" really doesn't get a person anything except a bit of notice and a lot of headaches when people bolt the line that supposedly belongs to them. 4) bolting, retro-bolting and bolt removal all cause rock damage. Wasn't that the point of so-called "clean climbing"? Here is a scenario: I go and do and FA on an obscure but rad line and then someone comes and bolts it. I go out and remove the bolts leaving permanent damage to the rock. Someone comes along and re-bolts the line and it starts all over again. 5) there is a lot of talk about the lack of an actual "climbing community". so get one together. you really want to begin to solve this issue? Plan a large meeting (not at a bar), get organized and present your issues. Everyone has an opinion about this so get them together and let everyone decide it. Give everyone ample notice and let them become part of the community that will decide. 6) there are always going to be bolted lines and there will probably always be people needlessly retro-bolting lines. I think that if enough of the local climbers got together it is possible that some areas could be resrticted to trad or sport only. Again, this would take a major turnout and real respect for the choices made by the group. FYI: I don't bolt routes and never will. I'm not for retro-bolting either. I apologize for the long post and hopefully didn't contradict myself. This is a serious issue and will probably result in restriction of land use if it isn't solved by the people who use it. I'm sure that many will dissagree with me and so bring da heat. Damn, I needs me a shot of Johnnie Walker Blue Label...
  12. awfully nice of you to let us know when you're going to be there. I may not always like the idea of 90 people planning a trip to clog up the area but hey, it's still a free country and I'll just plan on going on friday. thanks for the warning!
  13. beefcider

    Rednecks

    Unless you're in Darrington, then the local redneck gorilla has an average penis size of about 1 inch.
  14. I agree that there are a way too many 'free tibet' stickers out there on the outbacks, on any car for that matter. That's why I went with strike fighter squadrons. Whenever I get freaked out by an ascent I remember that if my bro could land an F/A-18 on a carrier deck at night then I can get past it. As for the 'my other ride is your mom' sticker I got one for my bike and changed it to read: "I ride my mom" that always gets the looks
  15. quote: OUTBACKS ARE FOR GIRLS. Oh yeah, my 4 cylinder import can go faster than your 4 cylinder import. Maaaaaaaaaaan.
  16. Vette' eh? My favorite was always the 'beheaded Calvin pissing on his own head'
  17. V- Fixed Wing F- Fighter A- Attack Yeah, The 125 is the west coast FRS. my bro was a hornet driver with the 151. Seeing as the 125 is a training squadron, they don't really count though afterburners are afterburners... Were you in VFA-136 at Cecil?
  18. OK, I can deal with half of the entire outdoor crowd driving subarus, mostly the legacy/outback/wagon type but what I don't get are the ones with all of the mega-corporate advertising stickers that usually cover every bit of available space on thier after market roof boxes. If you're at the crags and you drive a subaru then why do they have to tell everyone in the parking lot "duuuuuuuuude, I'm like, a climber". Is this some kind of pseudo-status thing or do these people actually enjoy advertising for the big companies? Before anyone asks, yes, I drive a subaru and even have two stickers on it. They are VFA-125 and VFA-151 zaps and I only have them there because 99.9% of people wouldn't have a clue what they are about.
  19. That's how I feel, better home than dead, even on an easy rap. I'll leave behind all kinds of gear if I even think the anchors are suspect and in my opinion they always are. That's right: follow beefcider for the free gear.
  20. I never suspected that a tied sling for making QDs was bad, I just heard that it was. I don't even remember who I heard it from which is why I posted the question. I ended up using a few short sewn spectra slings and duct taping them. worked great. next time I'll tie my own and try the produce rubber band idea then the seatbelt material and finally, my personal favorite: straight duct tape. the thing is, for the duct tape only QDs, do you make 'flat' slings out of it or twist the hell out of it and make it into little ropes and then tape the ends to make a very sticky but ultra reliabe QD? I think that with enough work, you could probably make duxt tape biners for the all-around duct tape draw.
  21. That sort of demolishes Nikons D1 series...unless they are the ones coming out with the new camera. That's going to make my crappy 1.2 megapixel look awful. wait, it looks awful anyway!
  22. We went there today and there weren't many people there at all, maybe three other routes being used. We ended up going with the 5.8 on the GCT and didn't see any of the hazmat suited, tractor driving sickness senders but I have SEEN them before. Beware: there was a guy lugging a camera around and following us. we stopped near the top of one of the rocks to look down onto the parking area and he took my photo. I asked what his deal was and he said "I only took a photo of your butt". He ran before we could kick his ass. Also, some of the bolts are loose on the 5.8 and that rap ring looked ancient. I left a pair of sewn slings and new oval biners up there on the truly mega anchor. That's right, free gear!
  23. thanks for the info, not sure where we're going to go but I'll grab the leavenworth book anyway.
  24. Here is a better explanation of DOF on 35mm vs MF, I was probably wrong about the distance between the film plana and the rear element of the lens as being the culprit. The real world application is that using a 35mm SLR will produce sharper results at faster shutter speeds thus allowing the use of finer grained films. Why bother taking a MF camera if you are going to shoot large grain film anyway? I've spent way too much time waiting for the wind to die down a bit so I shoot a 4 second exposure at f22 on a MF camera. The following is taken from one of the many rec.photo groups where these discussions never end. "If you haveever struggled to get enough DOF with a reasonable f-stop whileusing a "normal" length lens on 4x5 or 8x10 you will know thatlarger formats DO have less DOF. Let's look at hyperfocal distance as an indicator of DOF.There is a simple formula for hyperfocal distance: h = F^2 / (N*c) h = hyperfocal distance F = focal length N = f-number c = diameter of circle of confusion This formula comes from the Lens FAQ which David Jacobson poststo rec.photo.moderated and can also be found in any number of books.It is really simple to derive from similar triangles, but itis difficult to show this in a text medium, without pictures. OK. Suppose we compare 35mm, and 6x7, which is about twice as bigin linear size. (No arguments over "4x as big in area", please!)Take a 50mm lens on 35mm, and a 100mm lens on 6x7. If you stand inthe same place with the two cameras, these give roughly the same"normal" perspective and angle of view. I want to compare howthe two formats do when taking the SAME picture. Let's suppose my subject matter extends from 5 meters to infinity.To get it all in sharp focus, I need to set the lens so ithas a hyperfocal distance of 10 meters. I want to know whatf-stop I need. I can solve the above formula for N, the f-number: N = F^2 / (h*c) BUT I need to know the circle of confusion. Let's take c = 0.025 mm(1/100 inch) for 35mm. Since I only need to enlarge the 6x7 neghalf as much, I can use a twice-as-big circle-of-confusion for6x7; c = 0.05 mm. OK, plug in the numbers (don't forget to convert h from meters to mm): For 35mm, N = (50*50) / (10,000 * 0.025). N = 10, i.e. use f/10 (or f/11). For 6x7, N = (100*100) / (10,000 * 0.05). N = 20, i.e. use f/20 (or f/22). See? You need to stop down two extra stops, from f/11 to f/22, to getthe same depth of field. Why is this? Basically, it's because of the F^2 in the formula.The hyperfocal distance gets larger - and the depth of field getssmaller - by a factor of 4 when you double the film size andlens size. The circle of confusion also gets larger, but onlyby a factor of 2. There's a factor of 2 left over. In orderto get back the depth of field you've lost, you have to makethe f-number go down by a factor of 2 (which is 2 f-stops). Another way to look at it is this: out-of-focus areas are blurredbecause of the physical diameter of the aperture. That's whystopping down any lens (smaller diameter aperture) gives more depthof field. If you stand in the same place and photograph the same scene withtwo lenses that give the same angle of view, you will get the sameDOF if the lenses have the same aperture diameter - physicaldiameter in mm, (NOT the same f/number). The 50mm lens at f/10 has an aperture of 5mm. The 100mm lens at f/10 has an aperture of 10mm, hence less DOF.To get the same DOF as the smaller lens, you need an apertureof 5mm, hence 100m lens at f/20. If you don't believe me, try it. If you try taking a picture with a35mm camera and normal lens at f/8 or so, you will get respectableDOF. With a 6x7, normal lens, f/8, you will get less DOF. With a4x5 or 8x10 camera and its normal lens at f/8, you will get solittle DOF it will make your head spin. (Large format photographersrarely use apertures as fast as f/8 for this reason, but sometimesit can be put to creative use.)"
  25. 1)Medium format cameras have less depth of field due to the increased distance between the film plane and the rear lens element, the difference causes, like you explained, a higher aperture to be needed but still the compression will not be the same. This goes eben more so for large format cameras, the DOF just plain sucks. That is why you can get a nikon 50mm f1.4 lens for any nikon 35mm slr, but the equivalent focal length for medium format, roughly 80-105mm leneses usually start at f4. Why? because an f1.4 80mm lens that had to cover even a 6x6 would be huge and heavy. go pick up a mamiya 80mm f2.8 and compare the weight to a nikon 50mm f1.8 and you'll see what I mean. Most lenses for a 4x5 camera start at f8. the smallest apertures are also increased in scale. my nikon f1.4 only goes up to f16, the mamiya 80mm to f32 and the 4x5 equal, a 210mm goes to f128. there are huge and boring mathematical explanations for all of this and it really doesn't matter. The fact is, MF cameras suffer from a lack of depth of field, Take any 35mm slr and a Pentax 6x7 and shoot the same subject with equal focal lengths at the same aperture, you will notice that the 6x7 has almost half of the DOF. I went through alot of MF systems before I abandoned them all except my 645 which I use for weddings. For landscapes I use a 4x5 because of the tilt/shift movements and for everything else I take a 35mm. 2) as I said before, all 35mm p&s and SLR cameras offer the same basic features within a class. the Maxxum 5 may be the camera of the century but it's the optics that get the image onto the film. It's going to compete with the entry level market but will take the same images as any other minolta with the same lens. If I put the same lens on my nikon F100, N80 and my bros N65 I get the same image quality all around. The only advantage of a pro SLR is the build quality. There will be many more F5s around when all of the N80s are dead. THat doesn't mean I'm going to buy one. That said, I'm not knocking anyones camera setup, in fact, just the opposite. Minolta makes fine cameras, so does olympus, pentax, mamiya and leica. I went with nikon because all of my camera bodies can use all of my lenses, even my old manual focus ones. It's just a preference. I shot Canon before that and before that I used an Olympus rangefinder. There is more useful info on cameras at www.photo.net
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