Gary_Yngve

I don't care if it's a diss or not. The fact is that the quality of the Scenic, Climbing, Ice, and Skiing shots are excellent, and the Bouldering shots are mediocre. Either get people to take and submit better bouldering shots or eliminate the category.

Distel, these are the bouldering photos I'd like to see. Dynamic movement, and lots of muscle. http://students.washington.edu/ccharles/squamish/squamish.html I don't have any of my own bouldering shots, as I don't boulder. At most I have some "bouldering" shots that would count as humor.

JosephH, thanks for your work, and good job keeping a professional tone about things.

Would be nice in future years to have a minimum resolution established... at least 1024x768. Skiing #1 disappoints me: contrast is too blown out. Bouldering shots overall were disappointing. All were landscapish dude-on-boulder shots, nor with especially spectacular scenery/lighting. Bouldering shots more in the line of Climbing #8 would have been nice -- closeups of dynamic moves. But none were submitted? I say axe the category and put in more categories for climbing. There are several fantastic climbing shots.

Borrowing from Scandanavian languages and dropping an umlaut, it's not that far at all from "good" to "god."

No.

There are far more women who climb than there are 5.12 WI6 Grade VII studs. For that matter, there are plenty of women who have been with strong climbers and are happier now with boyfriends who aren't as strong. Totally untrue. I know quite a few women climbers who are single and have been single for a while.

I've heard that from other people as well. I really dig the movie.

Nah, I don't need anyone to feel sorry for me right now. I'm out of the funk I was in last month. Besides, I now know that I'm not alone: I just read a study that basically said that grad students are more fucked in the head than undergrads. Between 40% and 50% of all grad students find themselves frequently or always overwhelmed or exhausted.

No, I'll say something that is taken out of context and twisted against me. And then I'll get sucked into the hole of doom, unable to dig myself out.

I'm keeping my mouth shut. Looks like there's some excitement in the skiier death thread though.

The Grivel version looks interesting because it's just a handle, has a knuckle shield, and a retractable pick. Never tried it though.

A ridge near Iron Mountain near Blewitt Pass. We were hoping to get a little closer to the Three Brothers, but there was an unexpected burly creek next to the road near Negro Creek that sent us toward forest roads a little further south, but there were nine of us and good views to be had. Quite windy up top!

Volunteering is good. The summer of my junior year in high school I volunteered for Habitat for Humanity. On weekdays I balanced their books and on weekends I built houses. Learned a lot from those experiences.

(depth of field enhanced in Photoshop) Kev on the final stretch to the knob. Kev skiing. Too bad he wasn't ready a few minutes earlier when the light was a little stronger. Robert skiing toward the knob. The snowshoers were presumably on the right side of the crags. Ponderosa country. Heading up the ridge. A gnarled frame. A shadow, a rock, a ponderosa.

Maybe, maybe not. When I was 19, I had no idea that my 15-yo brother could have been depressed until I got a call one night that he was dead.

Is he being bullied in school? Are there other people in school like him? (sons of immigrants?)

google "Michael Layton Portland" turns up a phone number for an M.D.L.

A smattering of Scandanavian mountain/water/storm paintings from the Norwegian national gallery: Anders Zorn Edvard Munch F. Willumsen Harald Sohlberg J.C. Dahl Peder Balke P.N. Arbo Theodor Kittelsen Thomas Fearnley Tidemand and Gude

On a tangent note, social status in this country is closely tied to economic status. The easiest way to show economic status is to possess luxury items, bling-bling, whatever you call it. The corporations and media know this and hence do their best to market $200 Nikes, expensive haircuts/manicures, fancy namebrand clothes, jewelry, souped-up cars, the latest must-own movie, etc.

The purpose of the leash is pretty much to prevent you from being stupid and dropping the axe. You need to grip the head of the axe firmly to self belay or self arrest. Be sure to practice arrest prior to the trip. Self arrest must be done immediately and aggressively. Having an axe and not knowing how to use it is next to worthless. I'm not familiar with the terrain of the Sierras, but if the area is heavily trafficked, then maybe a pair of trekking poles would suffice?

yah, I know people whose must haves are car repairs and medical expenses. I'm all for raising taxes to provide better healthcare and mass transit for everyone.

We were up near the Three Brothers yesterday. Not quite as gusty (maybe 40mph), but the skiing was excellent. Hard to believe that Blewitt Pass was bare a year ago.

What did yall think of the Alpinist a few issues ago?

Yeah, kids are spoiled these days. Cellphones, fast Internet connections, cable, $5 lattes, SUVs, fancy clothes, dozens of DVDs... With my relative pittance of a graduate stipend, I'm still managing to max out my Roth each year (though it will be harder when the limit hits $5000). My parents managed to raise two kids on a single income without a college education. So yeah, if some spoiled yuppie brats can't manage to balance a budget because of their extravagance, that's their own damn fault.