Gary_Yngve

In my WFR class, we pretty much neglected pediatric, geriatric, and obstetric care. Though we did use stethoscopes and BP cuffs and administer an intramuscular injection, we didn't use the other tools of a modern ambulance: O2, suction, EKG, etc. Our CPR also was just Adult CPR.

Good point, Iain.

I know several folks who've taken EMT or WFR, one who's taken both separately, and a few folks who've driven for AMR. Everyone recommended me for WFR and against EMT. The folks who've driven for AMR were embarrassed by the apathy and lack of ambition of their colleagues. The folks who care about their jobs and want to improve themselves are the ones who become firefighters, paramedics, etc. If you want the urban training as well and you can afford it, I would suggest the WEMT, which is basically EMT + WFR, and your classmates will all be outdoorsy.

I don't know about the OEC course, but it sounds similar to the WFR. I would strongly recommend against an EMT course. 1) Urban and wilderness medicine are so different. Urban: all the equipment you can ever need, goal is basically to stabilize and transport to ER in around 20 minutes. You don't really clean and dress wounds, splint bones, etc. because the ER folks do that. Wilderness: lack of equipment, could need to nurse the patient for days before evacuated to a hospital. You have to plan everything. 2) An EMT course is not likely to spend time on things such as altitude illness and more likely to spend time on things such as very old patients too sick to ever go outside. 3) A WFR course will consist of your peers. An EMT course will consist largely of underachieving folks who didn't go to college and are looking for a career of ambulance driving for $10 an hour. (Please contest this point here (I have sources who tell me this is true), and please save any flaming of my elitism for Spray.)

I took WFR at WWU last year, and it was excellent.

Miss American Pie

Sure, I'll get right on it after I finish mine It turned out their code was written for MacOSX, which meant that I could hack out a port for x86 linux in about half an hour. Thank goodness I didn't have to port it to Windoze. Their research is below, if anyone is curious: http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~ago820/color2gray/

hang on... the difficulty is two-fold: there's crappy jpg compression artifacts in the source, and the red and green tones are similar intensities, effectively looking the same in grayscale. Have no fear, though, for there is research hot-off-the-press from Northwestern University that will answer your needs... bear with me as I fool around with their code...

http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/gyngve/Kautz/

Successfully execute everything I've learned about being the grad student my advisor wants me to be, even if I find it insulting or demeaning. Don't complain or be passive-aggressive about it. Progress significantly toward graduation. Don't let it bother me that I'm not passionately in love with my research and I really just need the damn PhD credential. Take summer off and climb!

Griz, thanks for digging up that article. To folks who unabashedly tag the moniker Nazi to Harrer, I think it's poor style, especially in the context of his death (e.g. the title "Mountaineer, Ex-Nazi HH Dies" on RC.com). And yes, I'm saying this as the grandson of a Holocaust survivor.

I say give the guy some slack.

That's so sweet have you to of such feelings toward me.

And National Pi Day is March 14. And Yellow Pig Day is July 17.

You mean freedom pie?

Ok, I'll clarify fruit to fruit you can buy at Pike Place Market.

Blackberries from the Burke-Gilman trail work well too. There are just way too many pies to have a favorite. As long as it is fresh, it's gonna be darn good! I've yet to find a fruit that doesn't make a good pie (may be a cream pie, a tart, etc., not just a standard fruit-filling pie).

fresh bing cherry pie chicken stilton pie in a 500-yo English pub

Pat Robertson is no better than Osama bin Laden.

I've always done an equilateral triangle as it's easy to remember.

Fine, Dru, go sit on an icicle. It takes about five seconds to rub the sling back and forth. The guy who told me about this has been climbing for 20+ years and posts on this site; he is well-versed in rescue systems. Sadly I couldn't find a written report in five minutes to verify my statement. Also, it goes without saying to back it up with a screw and have the last person (lightest) clean it.

In pull tests in perfect ice, the cord breaks before the ice, either at the knot or at the vertex of the V. It's good to carry a 22 cm screw for a V-thread. A 22-cm V will be stronger than a 17-cm V. After you thread the cord through, saw the cord back and forth a little bit to smooth out the vertex of the V. 5mm perlon is plenty sufficient for rap anchors, but I'd prefer to have at least 6mm for a piece of a belay anchor.

Will Gadd mentions the same trick in his book. From my experience it requires more accurate hole drilling (you want near perfect intersection), whereas with a hook, you can salvage holes that barely graze each other.

I agree. I was quite aware that what I was saying was edgy, but without anything provocative, Spray becomes dull. The intensity of the backlash did take me by surprise.