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Stephen_Ramsey

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Posts posted by Stephen_Ramsey

  1. Don't know if they do routine hip replacements at Harborview for non-trauma situations, but I can tell you this about Harborview: I was treated for a hip fracture at Harborview in 4/06 and had the hardware removed two weeks ago. The Harborview "Green Team" did a very good job with both surgeries and the follow-up care. Same goes for the work done by their "Blue Team" in 2004-2005 for a different injury. I've been operated on by at least six of their attending surgeons, at one time or an other -- all were excellent.

     

    If Harborview won't take your case, you might go see Bob Winquist at Orthopedic Physician Associates in Seattle. He has a very good reputation.

  2. But since the deductibles are so high ($1-4k) you may be better off being "self insured" if it is a short period between jobs.

    Hmmm, I'm not so sure about that. Having had four open orthopedic surgeries in the last two years, I think you are always better off having insurance. Having to pay a $1400 deductable is peanuts if you are really messed up. If I didn't have health insurance, I'd be a quarter million in debt to Harborview right now. Just my $0.02. wave.gif

  3. In shock the blood vessels dilate leading to a drop in blood pressure. Death comes as a result of not enough blood to the brain. Shock can be induced merely from pychogenic trauma.

    Hi CBS,

     

    Are you saying that psychogenic shock can be fatal? If so, I'd be interested to see a reference to a case in the literature, as I couldn't seem to find one. My layperson's understanding was that psychogenic shock leads to fainting, at worst. This is in contrast to hypovolemic, septic, neurogenic, or anaphalactic shock which can all be fatal. Is that not correct?

  4. MSR XGK. No heavier than a whisper lite

    Actually from MSR's website, the XGK EX is over 2 oz heavier than the whisperlite.

     

    My older XGK is actually about 3.5 oz heaver than a whisperlite.

     

    But I agree with the above posters, the XGK is a nice stove. wave.gif

  5. I can't speak for others, but I can say this. I've come very close to killing myself 3 times over the years in climbing accidents. Thankfully I didn't, and I haven't had a real close call in years. All 3 times I made decisions that were stupid and I payed the price. I still have vivid memories of all the scenarios.

     

    There was no internet back when I was doing stuff like that, and thankfully my friends didn't hack me to pieces with a monday morning quarterback routine. I can tell you this I am my own worst critic; I still stop and think every so often, "how could I have been so fucking stupid."

     

    I can't change the past and neither can Andrew...

    Well said. thumbs_up.gif

  6. I think this is direct challenge to the PNW by the Scots. I expect one of you to out do this prank, and in good style of course. Take note: there was no hi-def film made of this event.

    A few years back, someone carried a fire hydrant to the top of Mailbox Peak, I think to honor 9/11 firefighters or something like that. Not quite a piano, but still pretty darn heavy. pitty.gif

  7. Check out DokuWiki or MediaWiki. I've set up a DokuWiki at work, and it took only a few hours to get it set up. It helps if you know something about PHP. I like DokuWiki because it doesn't use a fancy database, just simple human-readable text files to store the information.

     

    MediaWiki is (I think) the software used by Wikipedia, so it is probably worth checking out also.

  8. I was the guy with the femur fracture on Saturday at Icicle Buttress. It was a bit worse of a fracture than I guessed in the field, turned out to be a comminuted fracture of the proximal femur (about 2 cm distal to the femoral neck).

     

    I would like to say thanks to everyone who helped with transport from the base of the route to the car.

    Also, thanks to the Leavenworth clinic and Wenatchee LifeLine for arranging speedy transport to Harborview.

     

    Kellie and Jens did an amazing job rigging and supervising the rappels, and retrieving all the gear. My heartfelt thanks to both of them.

  9. It's the same for health insurance. I HIKE mountains- which is exercise. Wouldn't insurance companies WANT to cover healthy people? Just LIE!!

    Plark,

     

    This is interesting. Are you saying you were denied health insurance due to being a climber? Or that a claim was denied due to an injury while climbing?

  10. I agree with Mr. K here. I think a hut in a place like Boston Basin or Colchuck Lake would make a lot of sense.

    Sorry Matt, not to me. Colchuck Lake has a special significance for me, so I feel compelled to wade into a discussion that I would normally avoid.

     

    I don't have any illusions that Colchuck Lake being pristine wilderness... it isn't. And I don't have a knee-jerk opposition to huts in general (I've stayed in some cush huts in NZ). Nevertheless, packing (or helicoptering) construction materials and equipment into either CL or BB just seems like a poor idea. I guess if you're just talking about a simple wood lean-to, that's not such a huge deal. But an actual structure with bunks and a foundation? I think it would change the character of the place, and in the case of Colchuck Lake, not for the better.

     

    Anyhow, these days, a tent + sleeping bag together weigh what, 5 pounds, or 6 in winter? It hardly seems worth the impact of the construction, even if the money could be found to pay for it. Summer camping is already severely limited in that zone, so the argument someone made about "concentrating usage" would seem to be irrelevant as concerns Colchuck Lake.

     

    And to the extent that money is very limited for the FS, I think money is better spent on restoration, roads and trails.

     

    Just my opinion. wave.gif

  11. When we parked in the parking lot of the White Salmon Lodge two years ago (in mid-April), the ski area was operating in "weekend only" mode. So they were indeed locking the gate on Sunday night, and we got our car out just before they locked the gate. But they didn't hassle us for parking there over Saturday night. Others have parked there in spring and haven't run in to this problem, though.

     

    My recommendation is to just park at the pull-out just after you exit the Mount Baker Highway; this spot is outside the gate.

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