iain

It just makes you sick.

Wow, that could have been so much worse. Nice work, good to have a positive outcome for once.

omg

damn I guess I mispelled it? Ochoco Mountains, Oregon

I have seen "the bergschrund" on Mt Hood called "the bergstrom" and even "bergsharks".

Yeah I think Europe has had GSM for a long time and US is now switching over. It would be a nice setup to have, as long as it doesn't just sit there for hours trying to hold a weak GSM signal when there is a strong TDMA one to use. That seemed to be the case with TDMA phones and analog. Even worse is when you get into the situation where the phone can check in with the cell site which broadcasts out at higher wattage, but the second you try to make a call, it drops when the phone can't transmit that far. It will be really cool when phones can link together as digital repeaters.

I'm just saying what has happened to me. I used to think like you do, that whatever happens in the wilderness, I'll deal with it, forget the phone. Experience has shown that I was overconfident in this regard. I'm not insulting you. You have already done so well-enough in the above quote.

Rob, which models support this? I've heard of them but don't know which ones do this. I think Sprint offers some multi-network deal like that, since the Sprint network is so urban-based.

In my experience, ethics go out the window when someone is lying bleeding in the snow. You don't feel self-sufficient. You feel helpless and scared because they need advanced life support immediately, and now you have to climb/hike out for hours just to get the show started. Cell phones have given climbers on Liberty Ridge a chance to live. Telling relatives that someone died because of ethics seems somewhat unacceptable. I doubt they would understand that. Again, I don't religiously bring one, but you have no chance of helping someone with more than minor trauma in the field. You need help, and it is very difficult to leave someone out there overnight while you go to get it.

Usually you hear this from someone who has not yet experienced a serious climbing accident. I don't take one a lot of times either, but when it has been needed, it may have made the difference between life or death for some people. It also stops rescues from happening unnecessarily when overdue.

Not really. I've been using the BD Supernova for quite awhile now. It does the job and has some cool features. It has a halogen bulb for routefinding, and an LED bulb for other stuff, plus various brightness levels for saving batteries. One feature I really like is the second backup circuit in the light, so when the AA batteries die, it switches over to a lithium backup camera battery to power the LED. Nice redundancy for minimal weight. I think you can get them relatively cheaply now, as they are discontinued. One really bad feature is the light starts flashing when it detects a drop in voltage, warning that the battery is dying. In really cold situations, this "feature" can kick in and be really annoying. Other than that, I like it a lot. I think those new "next-generation" LED headlamps are the thing to buy these days though. Princeton Tec has a really nice one that is as bright as my halogen light. I forget the name of it though.

few things are more irrelevant than hockey!

Funny gotterdamerung just the other day was saying that this logic was what made the war in Iraq OK, because it achieved Americas goals. Can't you guys come up with a unified argument or something? You're shooting yourselves in the back here. Even funnier is that we didn't achieve our goals, as we didn't find the weapons of mass destruction we were so sure were present, and which we were so sure were an immediate threat to our country. What were our goals again?

Just making sure fenderfour's original prediction in the first post came true, thanks.

I can't believe you compared protestors to Hitler.

A caving friend of mine made a really cool LED headlamp that was brighter than any halogen lamp I've seen. It was a little hot though, and had cooling fins on the circuit board. I see this as an opportunity to wear a bandolier of C batteries. You will look like Chewbacca, and your belayer can cheer you on in difficult spots by yelling "punch it chewie!"

I definitely agree, especially when some of the police actually agree with the protest. However that's just not the way it was in Portland a few years back, where the Portland Police's mishandling of crowd control led to violence. It was police instigated, and built from there. It was as if the cops were looking for a fight. Comparing protestors to Hitler is of equal stupidity. Maybe you need to go back to college Greg! Oh but wait the halls of education are a bastion of liberal oppression. Hide your wimmin and childrn.

I don't have a specific company to recommend (though AT&T Wireless seems to come through when a lot don't). However, one problem is the move to GSM networks. These so-called "next generation" phones operate at a different frequency than the usual TDMA phones that most people still have, and don't have nearly the coverage of the older ones. They typically work best on major highways and within metro areas. They are getting better, but if you can stick with your TDMA phone or get a multi-network phone, it might serve you better in an emergency. The wireless companies are offering unbelievable deals to get people to switch over to GSM. I actually made money by switching when the battery died on my old cell phone. I assume this is because it is cheaper for them to have everyone on the same network. Just something to be aware of. I'm sure the coverage will improve eventually, but as it is right now, my GSM phone is fairly worthless as an emergency tool in the mountains.

I'd take devil's club over going uphill through slide alder.

When we were taking the water taxi to Big Beaver TH this year the guy just got back from delivering a group to Desolation, so at least a few people come in from Ross Lake Resort.

I think you mispelled 8=D

heh...hehehah...hahahahaBWAHAHAHA! a fresh, innovative, and undeniably hilarious rejoinder from GregW! Kennedy! what a twist!

L-worth:

how old are you? was this when you were an embryo? p.s. I bet you haven't guzzled a can of pbr in a swift boat, pansy.