Off_White

I agree, but have a question as to whether there really is a "secret law" requiring this of all airlines. (I admit that sounds strange to me, more like obstreperous customer service than reality) If it's simply company policy of the various carriers, that's fine and dandy. If it's a legal or regulatory requirement of the federal government, then then the constitutionality is a valid question. Personally, I think all the airline security hoopla is just a dog and pony show intended to boost traveller confidence rather than any real deterrent. Fake ID is not hard to come by if you're a professional, and searching my 86 year old mother in law and confiscating her nail clippers doesn't make the world one whit safer.

Prolly just a googlebot, making sure this all pops up in a search using your name

Used in a sentance: Speciel Editied on e to mannn;y on aat tha PBR festivel.

All systems are go. We had one brief squall today, so the ground is damp but the rock feels fine. I've got to take off at 6:30, but of course ya'll can stay til the bats come out.

The worst piles of tat I've seen lately was on NE Ridge of Triumph, and given the increased popularity of the route, that thing could use a little anchor managment--->

What a HORRIBLE idea. I hate having pitches mucked up with intermediate stations just so someone can avoid dealing with a second rope.

Depends on what it does during the course of the day. We've had a little rain earlier this morning, but it may be okay. I'll walk over and check things out around 3:00 and post my observations. Me, I'm an optimist, though that seldom seems to have an effect on how the world works.

Donner is great cragging, and the temps should be fine. Wonderful rock too, though as Larry noted, tends to be single pitch, with the exception of the Black Wall which goes to three. Really good crack climbing. Lovers Leap is a little lower and warmer. Courtright Reservoir on the westside is amazing, sort of like Tuoloumne but on National Forest land and without the people. I climbed there for a week late one season about six years ago and never saw another climber. Here's a picture of Power Dome, you can actually descend in your rock shoes from the car, climb a 5 to 7 pitch route, and walk back down to your car over sandy granite exfoliations. Highly recommended! In terms of areas I haven't been to, what about the Needles? Sequoia/Kings Canyon also has some great stuff. Ditto on Cardinal, it's supposed to be splendid.

Fairweather is a lot of things, but I wouldn't say he's a wise use type. He and I are different ends of the political spectrum, but I agree with him on the access issue. Mountain biking is fun, but considerably less fun with a good sized pack on. The road didn't seem like it would make for a fun hike either, it's considerably longer than the Monte Cristo road, and not nearly as flat. I think the whole "make it tougher to keep the average schmoe out" argument is elitest and offensive. Frankly, we all need the average citizen to understand and appreciate wilderness, because that's one way to build political support. How much use has the middle fork been getting anyway? I was only up there once about 8 years ago, but it didn't seem very busy. If DMG isn't trashed now, I don't see the need to create hurdles to diminish use. Cascade Pass, now that gets a lot of use, maybe we need a $50 Cascade Pass parking permit, or to close the road at Marblemount. That'll keep the rifffraff off as surely as placing the first bolt way off the deck.

If it's like last year, I'm sure there will be an unmistakable mob with some sort of cryptic sign camping at the grasslands, and random clots of suspicious looking climbers throughout the park. I wandered through a bunch at the dihedrals and rapped right into another coming off Sky Ridge. Get there Friday night and it will be easy to find folks and set you up for the weekend.

cool, now I can take up chewing tobacco with impugnity

Sometimes people just explode. Natural causes.

Alice is (or at least was) the next door neighbor to Evan Meacham, the Republican Arizona governor who got impeached for corruption.

Well, as only a few posters picked up on, the inquiry is about the COMPLETE north ridge, and an axe or crampons won't be needed to get on the ridge. I think the crux of the biscuit is which descent is intended, and how does that slope after the false summit look these days? The two times I've descended, once it was dry as a bone and the other it was 2" of slush over hard snow with a bad runout. Also, if you're going down Sherpa Couloir this time of year, bring both.

I hear you RobBob, Bush sucks green donkey dicks, but phrases like "secretive cadre of aides that surround the President" set off my bullshit detector. One would hope that one's aides can keep a secret, it goes with the job description, and cadre is supposed to make it sound sinister, but duh, of course there is more than one. It the info is true, it doesn't need the drama of creative writing to increase the impact, the unvarnished facts would be quite enough. It's not to say I don't believe the info, just that the writer would do well to cultivate a little journalistic restraint. She might as well be wearing a giant puppet head.

Bravo.

Yep, there's nothing here for you, these are not the droids you're looking for, move along now.

Oh, I get it, there you go being all satyrical again.

Little girls in ho costumes is funny, but baby smashing isn't? Seems like a lot of other people agree at least about the costumes.

Well, Merv is not a fan of boulderers, sport climbers, hippies, or women who don't shave, but it's a fabulous rant and does a nice job of skewering the whole "wild and crazy guys" posture that runs through the sport as a whole. It's not literature, but it has a voice I can hear in my head.

umm, yeah, the type that's sedimentary.

Pope, that first paragraph is a thing of beauty.

According to Hoyle, big housecat always trumps snaffle.

Do you think that the Cadillac "Escalade" says "bad motherfucker" enough to keep those Canadian backwoods hooligans from breaking in?

No, I never got caught. It's my friends who have problems...