PLC

My wife and I just zip our sleeping bags together. We each have 0 degree bags, and we've found we sleep significantly warmer with the bags zipped together. If it gets really cold, we add a dog.

I climbed Castleton Tower with two friends last November. We had two ropes (necessary for a speedy descent). One climber lead a pitch and belayed up the second, who trailed a rope. While the leader was climbing the second pitch, being belayed by the second, the third climber self-belayed up the first pitch using a gri-gri. This system worked very well, and we were able to climb nearly as fast as if we had been just a party of two. It really only works if one person is willingly to lead all the pitches and the third climber is comfortable with self-belay.

A UPenn scientist has created a backpack which uses bungee cords to reduce the effective load on the carrier. He claims that a hiker will be able to carry a 62 pound pack, employing his design, while expending only the energy required to normally haul a 50 pound pack. Scientific American article This could be a huge boon to expedition style climbs or long backpacking trips...

The owner of Mountain Madness, Christine Boskoff, and her climbing partner Charlie Fowler are overdue and missing in China. There's some speculation that they might have met with foul play... Mountain Madness Information Page Montrose Press Article

"7:28 puts you at around 1360th in the world on concept2.com" I wouldn't rely on the numbers on concept2.com - pretty much any college rower should be able to break 7 minutes, and I'm sure there are a lot more than 1360 people rowing in the US alone... Back when I was in college, my 2000 meter time was about 6:35 and I was a lightweight. We had several people on the team who beat 5:30...

I might be up for a few hours at Exit 38 or Erie... I've sent you a pm.

Let's see... I came face-to-face with a cougar on my way up Monitor Ridge on St. Helens about 4-5 years ago. I came around a corner and the cat was standing there about six feet away from me. It just turned and disappeared. I saw one on the side of the road near the valley in Yosemite this Spring... A deliver driver and I saw one trotting through my yard a couple years ago in the middle of the afternoon (I live out in Woodinville on some acreage). I also saw one in Yellowstone in 1981 on my first camping trip with my parents. My single greatest skill is my ability to spot wildlife.

"did your hands/arms go numb a lot?" Yes. My hands would go numb starting at the pinky and working in... My arms will go numb if I sit or lay down in the wrong position, and my arms are usually "asleep" when I wake up in the morning. The funniest thing is that my arm will occassionally spaz-out and flop around for a second or two when I'm using the mouse too much at work. Amusing for co-workers.

I've had chronic pain in both shoulders for as long as I can remember. My shoulders crack continually throughout the day from normal movement. I can also pop both shoulders in and out of joint, which is fun for grossing people out... I went to several doctors who had no good ideas, and went to a couple chiropractors, who also didn't help any. Then, I went to the Shoulder and Elbow clinic at the UW and they diagnosed me with cervical ribs and thoracic outlet syndrome (resulting from my two extra ribs). They said there were two options: surgery or physical therapy. I opted for PT, and as long as I do my PT exercises every day, I'm pretty much pain free. If I skip on the exercises for a couple days and/or pull an all-nighter at work, the pain will return.

I'm from Connecticut, pretty close to Lyme, and I know probably a dozen people who've had Lyme disease. It isn't really a big deal if you catch it early enough. When I got it, I basically developed an unexplained 105 degree fever, was hospitalized, and some doctor from the CDC diagnosed me... it took 5 days in the hospital and I was good as new. The most important thing to remember is that the tick has to be attached for 24 hours, so just check for ticks once a day and you'll be fine.

On the subject, can anyone recommend a good chiropractor near Redmond / Bellevue? I mean one who isn't going to hard-sell and insist that I need to come in for 4 adjustments a week for the next two years? One who won't insist that he can cure allergies or digestive problems or AIDS? I have chronic lower back pain, resulting primarily from the combination of a sucky desk job and too much basketball, and I want to get a chiropractic adjustment once every couple weeks (insurance will pay) alongside PT and stretching/lifting at home. But, I can't find a chiropractor who doesn't come across as some jackass quack. I want a rational, decent chiropractor who will just adjust my spine and then leave me the hell alone!

My wife gave me a weekend trip to the Methow Valley at the end of January - does anyone have any recommendations for moderate randonee adventures near Winthrop/Mazama? Or a book I could consult?

It doesn't work - I'm 21.3 and fat.

I'm heading to Tahoe for some skiing next weekend and was wondering if anyone knew of any (relatively) easy ice access nearby? Is there a guidebook which covers Tahoe ice climbs? I know there's been some diverted-water ice parks in the past (shut down by rangers). Anything happening this year?

You may have thoracic outlet syndrome; I had pretty consistent shoulder pain for 15 years and close to a dozen doctors/chiropractors/therapists before I went to the shoulder clinic at the UW and they saw immediately that I had two more ribs than a normal person. These extra ribs were cutting off the blood and nerve flow to my arms and causing all sorts of other symptoms besides the shoulder pain as well. Anyway, the doctor's advise was to avoid surgery and just lift weights every other day for the rest of my life. The one bad part is that I'll never be able to do more than 10 consecutive pull-ups because my arms don't recieve any blood flow when I hold them over my head (my pulse stops).

You probably have thoracic outlet syndrome. The only cure is lots of upper back and shoulder exercises, along with posture changes.

"If ya want to have bear trouble take a dog with and you'll have all the problems you can handle." Have you ever heard of the Karelian Bear Dog? They're being used in Glacier and have been proposed in Alaska . There are also several other breeds which will quite easily deter a bear - siberian huskies, black and tan coonhounds, airedales, etc. Dogs do not "attract" bears. Dog food might attract bears, and an unleashed dog may lead a bear back to the dog owner, but a bear will certainly not go out of its way to get into a conflict with a dog. When I was in Alaska, I spoke with a couple sled dog breeders and they both told me that moose come from miles around to give birth near their kennels, because they know that the sled dogs scare away the bears. I've seen video of a 75 pound husky chasing off a 1000 pound polar bear. Dogs have been used to track, kill, guard, and deter big predators for thousands of years. Certainly, you shouldn't expect a westie to chase off a grizzly, but if you go hiking with a field-worthy breed you are not going to be attacked.

Pepper spray is highly effective against brown and polar bears, but not particularly effective against blacks (bears that is). While the odds of attack are slim, and pepper spray is nice, carrying a gun can't hurt. In the lower 49, a large caliber handgun should suffice. In Alaska, you'll want a shotgun with rifled slugs.

I don't know who to see in Portland, but the UW Elbow and Shoulder Clinic is top-notch. I had consistent shoulder pain pretty much all my life, which had become exaserbated by my job (sitting at a computer for 15 hours a day), and had been told all sorts of stuff from various doctors. Some said that I had lots of minor dislocations, others said I probably hurt my rotator cuff, etc. When I went to the UW, they got to the root of the problem: cervical ribs (I have two more ribs than normal people) and thoracic outlet syndrom (my extra ribs compress the nerves and flow of blood to my arms). In lieu of surgery, I opted to start lifting weights. So long as I lift every day, the pain doesn't come back. If I don't lift for 3 days in a row, it'll be as bad as ever. Anyway - see a shoulder specialist and start lifting weights.

My wife is about your size and she just bought some goretex Mountain Hardwear shell pants from Sierra Trading Post, and they fit well. Mtn Hardwear makes pants in long sizes. I'm also pretty skinny, and Mtn Hardwear is the only brand which seems to make clothes that fit my frame (6', 150lbs).

If you are serious, I'd consider "sponsoring" you... but I'd need to climb with you a time or two down here before committing to a big trip. I've have some poor luck meeting partners on the internet.... which is why I tend to hire guides when I travel.

So, I'm looking to rent-a-partner for a week or two in Little Switzerland in 2004. Does anyone know of any professional guides who go to this area? It'd be cool if they were laid-back enough to "let" me swap leads.

I'm actually hoping they make the mistake of openning up my truck. I leave my 175lb marginally insane St. Bernard in my truck when I head up there nowadays... it would not be pretty.

Who cares?

Yes. All three of my dogs have made the summit of Mt. Adams, including my arthitic old mutt. My wife (who is not any kind of athlete) climbed car-to-car in a little over 10 hours. Adams South Side is not really much harder than St. Helens, and probably a little easier than the CD route on Baker. My dogs have done all three. Now I've got to figure out a way to sneak them into MRNP....