iain

Thanks for the heads-up on Asteroids. You seem to have your finger on the pulse of the gaming world, and you pass that gift on to us.

Brilliant! And you could coil it up and bake gu muffins in the morning. I was surprised the met5 did not include a poptart toasting pocket. Warm pastry on a climb? Seems like a no-brainer to me.

where's the info about how to cross-reference trad climbing tips with monty python quotes and slashdot musings?

I heard about a guy who fell into a glacier due to a Met5 malfunction. He leaned back to relax on the ice and just melted a hole straight through

So depressing when the best thread to ruin is a gear critic one.

Oh! Oh! And the softshell pitchfork and matching Synchilla Cerberus stuffed animal! I smell a Pulitzer (or whatever award you win for doing that kind of thing)

Well of course, but try to avoid the alliteration, it's a bit hackish.

Holy sh*t your buddy Tim must be friggen sweet how many pullups can he do and etc

No, sorry I have never sipped mochas wearing this jacket. I just take opportunities to practice the dialect. I do have a friend who has that jacket and likes it very much though. My guess is if it fits you you will like it. And even if you don't like it, you can take it back and get something else. That's why it costs 4 billion dollars. Well, that and because it has been worn in Kyberzizygistan and has hitchhiked the karakoram highway.

Bah! Has his non-organic, non-fair-trade certified melon even been to Kyrsblakistan? I doubt it.

Finally! Another opportunity to speak Pataguc'ise. The fickle weather of the Great Trango Tower can bring new meaning to the definition of commitment. The Stretch Element jacket won't let you down on your latest project, whether jugging the lines in Kzyrghstshtian, sipping mochas in the Pearl District, or catching a taxicab in Borneo.

cascadeclimbers.com once again tops itself as the geekiest entourage of climbers in history with this thread

There is also the issue of expense. There seem to be some rich cats on this thread cause even with pro deals I can't afford a set of halves, a set of twins, a thin single, and a fat cragging single. I had two single ropes, and now one.

Rather ironic that the cover of the new guide book is taken from the base of the great roof.

Sure sounds like it.

I don't remember needing any gear on that climb. On the contrary, I felt it was getting tedious clipping all the bolts and started skipping them to avoid insufferable rope drag. Maybe I'm not thinking of the same thing.

Not before I took a swing on that giant swing set they had set up there! I tried to steal the first draw too, but it was some old manky petzl thing.

The cave route is a fun diversion. There are maybe one or two moves on the first pitch then it is a staircase. The rappel down is a little awkward. Not sure if you are supposed to rap the route, but that's what we did. There is an offshot to the cave route that heads right after the first "pitch". It is about as easy, and there are a ton of bolts. This goes up to the Tail or the Opossum. It's a fun romp. There are also some juggy routes to the left of the Cave start. There's a 5.11, and two 5.10s if I remember right. All well-bolted.

yes, and when you go to the resort, the runs with the green astroturf are the sickest lines!

jeezus winter.

wow, now that's a terrain trap. and as for the snowfall, it's all about the wind.

You can also get a ton of iPod accessories from this place: http://www.drbott.com/ They have some funky stuff. They are a cool company here in Portland. The company I work for works with them all the time.

Those fm transmitter things suck in general. Best to wire your own if you want to use it with your car stereo. If you are looking for a sweet set of cans (talking headphones here) check out http://www.headphone.com/ I have the Beyerdynamic DT250's for my iPod, and they work pretty well un-amped. The next step is to get the Total BitHead amp. They have a cool case for the iPod and the BitHead amp too. The best part is you feel like you are not splurging when you buy a $300 amp and $250 headphones, cause they have headphone amps for $11,900! I still have not justified the purchase of a headphone amp. Hard to pay that much for such pure luxury, but it is supposed to be an incredible improvement with my headphones. If you have not noticed, the stock iPod earbuds are crap.

That's interesting, because I've placed my yellow tcu before my red WC zero (roughly same size) which is very similar to the alien. Maybe it is because I have fallen on the yellow tcu (not far) and not the zero. The tcu's definitely have a stiff stem. I'd rather not fall on either of them.

Some people use grapeseed extract as an alternative to iodine. A full-on case of giardia will make you treat anything anywhere. You literally can't keep anything in your stomach. Borderline cholera. That said, I rarely treat water up high, but places like Ingalls Lake? Hell yes.