ivan

fun trivia fact: the first great genocide of the 20th century occurred after russia declared war on turkey - funnier still is the turks deny calling it a genocide despite the gulf of a century and god-awful proof of the fact

brown people make brown spots in my big-boy panties

i'm also not speaking as some-one dying to get out the door - i've got t-giving the next couple of days w/ the family and planning on climbing something a wee bit bigger on sunday - still, shit, barring unbelievable carnage and imminent public danger on the south side, it's bad policy going forward to say a closure on the public trail should always include a blanket closure on the climber's side. how on earth can you be okay w/ that given past history?

again joe, i don't think we're that far away in perspective or temperament - that pic shows clearly why the hiking trail is closed and looks just the same as many other pics that could have been taken over the past 15 years - the most recent severe closure i recall closed down the hiking trail for 3 months or so (and was accompanied w/ no climber trail closure - are you saying you're fine w/ that if there's in fact no huge rock-pile waiting to spill death down the south side?)

those who are about to die salute you

sure hope not - we can't take another roudn of that hopped up crazy great book, should you be in the market, is "the proud tower" by barbara tuchmann - she got famous by telling the story of 1914, but this follow-on history of the 40 years or so leading up to 1914 is equally worthy - the problem of radical ideologies run through it - there's comfort in it - crazy is alwasy w/ us

the central riddle of the universe is that things change yet everything stays the same, no? living things don't like each other. repeat.

does it matter? the result is the same. my krazy-dipshit neighbor n' his multitudinous kids are in the depth of their umptee-umph meth binge again

how many waves of eager-crazy have we of this earth weathered i wonder? and how many storms more shall break this bitterness upon us only to shatter again in mutual agony?

i've been a screaming atheist my whole life, but i'm a fool if i think that means my creed gets a pass on the violence question. mao and stalin and lenin all have to hide in my closet. i might be entirely wrong, but i wouldn't be surprised if most of the religious lunatics in the world are actually atheists at their core - certainly all they seem to care about is themselves - they just seem to use the religion to justify their insanity - are they really so different from the european armored thugs that descended on the middle east in the 11th century? what % of crusaders do you think really took the faith seriously vs just saw the whole endeavour as a great business opportunity?

france has been under attack from muslims since 732 AD and they're still up to their eyeballs in hot chicks, questionable cheese and solid wine 13 centuries later - seems miiiiighty hysterical to think such a track record is in serious existential peril i don't understand the "islam is a problem" folks b/c really, even if that was true, where does that leave you? you want to write an exception into the 1st amendment? round'em up n' put'em in camps? i don't see how pursuing that line of thought takes you anywhere but to auschwitz. guess you crazy fools are fine w/ that. i'm not.

by this logic, they should have been doing this for the past 15 years though - if there's been any trouble over the years w/ folks on the hiking trail during a closure it's not been climbers, but tourists who figured out how easy it is to pass the gate

It's possible they have some concerns that less than experienced climbers or people not as familiar with the rock may feel the need to come down the tourist trail, or that folks who end up on top without a rope and can't rappel might feel similarly inclined. And, given its current condition, it's not a stretch to guess they might not want people on the trail at this point regardless of which way they're coming from. december at beacon doesn't attract the same number of innocents as august, does it? sheeit, when it's cold and blowy like this, it's always lonely. i think we're mostly on the same page here - past practice is a good guide - the hiker's trail has been closed on many occasions over the past 2 decades, but no climbers have to come to grief as a result of it, no? is it really that hard to figure out how to rap down the south or north sides? or past hiking trail obstructions if it came to that? assuming there are no widow-makers hanging over the south face or along the trail, what is the reasonable concern for the current blanket closure of the s side? love to all, and a merry t-giving, good-night

krist, is that supposed to be the tri-colour or halloween?

sheeeit, while he's doing all that he might as well bring back the 3$ bill

nice - i'm happy to see the sorta-kinda tacky 2nd (3rd?) generation railing survived the onslaught at least the big bridge that was nearly destroyed last time came through unscathed (i'm assuming, given that that'd be the kewlest photo share if it had) the reasonable climbers, and they are the majority, aren't into conspiracy theories (did anyone else notice the 3 rangers on the summit at the moment of the disaster in the 300$ boots?!?) - that said, barring the unknown, i can't imagine for the life of me how a closure of the south side would last more than a few days more - it is entirely reasonable to expect a 10 minute reconnaissance down the trail and along the south face will have occurred within 8 days of the storm (your meeting tomorrow), and that a further closure will only remain in the face of altogether unusual conditions on that face have fun bill, i trust your judgement as always (except when you insist that i lead )

not me, i'm a nihilist

originally hoped to do jensens today - the recent what-have-you mercifully deprived me of the experience as it was bitter cold and breezy near 9 a.m. and would have been a brisky day fo'shizzle went out to oh8 w/ the time-traveler instead, a bit of bust as it was calmer there but choked in a freezing mist - temps never above 35 stopped by to take in the scene at beacon though, so for those who care: facts: - extensive wind damage for several miles east and west of the park - many trees across the road - power-lines down w/ big trees ensnared in them - north bonneville like some bombs went off - my favorite piece of debris a small boat on a trailer right off the highway picked up bodily n' flipped over, trailer-n-all - the most wide-spread damage i can recall seeing in this neck of the winds in all my time out here (about 15 years now) - railroad open to traffic - road to dock closed to traffic - police tape blocking entrance to hiker's trail at the parking lot both by the sign/trash-can and by the water-fountain near stone soup - tape blocking the climbers trail as well, though hardly necessary given that the climbers kiosk was destroyed by the wind, it's dry-rot 4 posts snapped off at the ground, and whole sheebang deposited right at the trail entrance, requiring the would-be explorer to climb over its busted remnants - ranger patrick reporting winds to 85 mph on tuesday accompanied by multiple rockfalls and landslides across the hiking trail - same feller reports he has NOT walked the climbers trail down to the south face and has no idea of any damage there - ranger says tape across entrance into forest by stone soup present to keep people wandering up to the true trail further up - no significant rock/tree fall on the north side observable - there is an obvious rock scar just off the 2nd pitch of stone soup but that's 3+ months old - summit area of rock appears okay, all the big trees appear standing - no obvious threats to the north side in the form of perched blocks/half-fallen trees -eponymous tree ledge tree clearly still standing as observed from the highway east of the parking lot - no close observation of the west/south faces possible as access closed to west face talus field/boat launch - hamiliton mtn trail open, but gotta park on the highway - highway bathroom in good shape - no obvious rock fall/damage on the east face of the rock - practice of the park over the past 15 years has been least-restrictive closures possible regarding damage to the hiking trail, no trail closures below the hiking trail gate or on the s side climbing trail at all (beyond annual bird-closure) opinions: - the park's been shit-hammered, as bad as i've seen it - north side climbing clearly accessible, at least as far as stone soup, without unusual rockfall risk to climbers or hikers - south side's trail likely okay/safe, though very likely there will be some trees across the trail and rock damage - hope that over the next week access will be restored to the south and north side routes

it's bjork's b-day 2morrow, be sure to say hello!

i'll be out sunday to at least walk the base - if there's imminent danger on all sides than a blanket closure makes sense - if it's just the hiker's trail is busted, then a blanket closure is ham-fisted - the past practice has been clear and consistent: close the hiking trail when damaged, don't shut down the whole park

shit, maybe the whole damn thing fell down? makes little sense it'd be the whole park - the trail up the rock's been closed before of course due to rockfall - climbing could continue on the s side then and you just had to rap off busy busy day for me tomorrow to call - might not be till saturday

heard a rumor there had been some major wind/rain damage out at the fabulous bacon-wand and maybe some closures - anybody know anything about that? god knows the sun ain't shined on this dog's ass in quite some time...

there is no memory hole. we have always been at war w/ oceania

the international jewish conspiracy?

looks like da wedder might actually be dry on the top-side this weekend - would dig on jensen's or some such sunny thing