iain

they're consolidating the hackysack and slackline permits into the golden seal permit. really cuts down on the paperwork. at $0.30/iron cross that hackysack permit was killing me.

what's that a slackline to north korea? traitor.

the question on everyone's minds is, will I get a new wind speed record on my signature?

phenomenal.

rec.climbing: the birthplace of spray

there's a funny ordinance in hood river county, oregon that forbids jumping from chairlifts.

winds are around 100mph at the top of the mile today. fun search'n

looks like a pedophile's rig (the first one). or a sniper's lair!

wayne what was your rack on the gully?

Pig's Eye and Linenkugel's

you could get some excitement on the turn around Hogg Rock near the pass summit. Nice crust w/a foot of new on it...thing slides at times like these, sent a snow plow over the guardrail a few years back. Ski Hoodoo. We Do!

gov't camp is almost universally better than santiam pass. I'd go north.

Cooper Spur blows.

...beard caught in atc on rappel...

post of the day thinker!

AlpineK's been watching the Real World again...

mark twight skis all the time. pictures featured in Paul Parker's freeheel techniques book! what a wuss.

it's the official "sick of being thrown around in cascade crud with skis designed for continental snow" setup

Rossignol's Bandit XX and XXX are also popular as a backcountry board. Both weigh more than a grand piano.

There is no disadvantage, people do it all the time. Even tele people (but then you have to ask yourself why you're teleing in the first place if the gear is so heavy ). I am skiing some Denali XT's, Freerides and Atomic R:ex and it is dang close to an alpine setup But many feel their skis downgraded in performance even w/ the Freeride binding. I'm not a good enough skier to really tell and have spent little time on alpine setups. AT boots will always introduce some "noodleness" to the deal, but the denalis can really be cranked down. The whole setup weighs a ton in relation to my tuas and silvrettas, but when I just want to ski for skiing, it's like driving a mack truck.

I hate moguls.

you guys should be out getting TR materials right now instead of bitching about them here on a beautiful weekend. I'm stuck in town for a practice at the fire tower so that's my excuse. Hope you all have good ones.

I know you're looking for something cheap, but I'd still recommend the silvretta 500's or 404's which are pretty common in rental shops since they fit so many boots out there. They can be found on sale frequently, and rental shops often sell them off (but you might have to pick up some beat-up skis with them). They are also great skiers, contrary to what many believe, and the release works well. 404's are heavy. 500's, much less so but more plastic.

I consider going up the WA volcanoes to be mountaineering, which may involve some climbing on ice or slogging on glacier, or scrambling on rock. But it is all mountaineering in my book. I would not call it hiking.