j_b

err ..., no. it ends short of threatening people. you better ponder on this.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/story.jsp?story=431940 Heli-skiers accused of sacrilege for descending on Everest By Jan McGirk 09 August 2003 They call it the Holy Mountain: since the first Western expedition in the 1920s when seven Sherpas died in an avalanche, none has ventured on to Everest without a lengthy ritual. New prayer flags are always rigged and hoisted to flap blessings skyward. The traditional place names for Everest are so reverent, they are normally whispered: Chomolongma means Mother Goddess of the Universe' in Tibetan; Sagarmatha translates as Mighty Brow in the Sky in Nepalese. "It's a journey into the lap of God," says Norbu Tenzing, the son of Tensing Norgay, who shares fame with Sir Edmund Hillary as the first man to reach the summit. Craig Colonica, a Californian ski entrepreneur, says: "Yeah, it's awesome." He has just had approval to drop wealthy skiers and snowboarders on Everest's hallowed slopes from helicopters for the first time. Environmentalists and traditional mountaineers, many who thought the commercialisation of the highest point of the planet had reached its nadir, are aghast. But it is an enormous mountain and there still are big bucks to be made. Bookings are brisk for the inaugural Heli-Ski Everest trip this winter. When Hillary urged the Nepalese government to "stop issuing climbing licences and give the mountain a rest", he surely had something else in mind. The legendary mountaineer grumbled that today's climbers buy their way to the summit, with the typical all-in price tag now $65,000 per person. Few show much concern for the welfare of local people. For mountaineers, Everest stands for the ultimate challenge. "Everest is a symbol of spiritual inspiration, wedded to hardship, patience, experience and devotion," Jayendra Acharya, a cultural analyst in Kathmandu, says. But skiers and snowboarders who fly in for the ultimate ski-week, and are willing to pay about £700 a day for the privilege - not including the mini-bar - are in a different league. They do not mind a short cut or two. "There's not a lot of time for cultural stuff," Mr Calonica says. "When my clients are not skiing, they are more into relaxing. They are jet-lagged. It is pretty much a culture shock both ways. When the locals see us, they are blown away." These tourists are thrill-seekers, led by a coterie of extreme sports freaks based in Chamonix, France. "My guides put the extreme in extreme sports," says Mr Colonica, 50, a former competitive speed skier. "They are among the best alpinists. And the way they snowboard; if they fall, they are definitely dead." The controversy is similar to when purists condemn death- defying surfing show-offs for hitching a ride on a jet-ski to reach the enormous killer waves that are beyond normal paddling range. Only Everest's looming crests are rock, not water; there are frozen climbers' corpses still littering those slopes. Mr Calonica's Himalayan Heli Ski Guides, the first such company to be licensed by Nepal's tourism ministry, shrugs off the criticism from traditionalists who head for Everest because it "is there". He strives to be "really out there". His heli-service, which launched last season in Nepal's scenic Annapurna region, attracts like-minded skiers who tend to be short of time but long on experience. The promotional website assures customers that skiers can be guided slowly down the mountain's "cruiser runs" on broad skis. Clients are encouraged to call their routes of first descent with fanciful names which will be registered by the Nepal government. It is a tantalising offer for ego-trippers. Any new place names will be subject to government approval, to prevent offending local sensibilities. Mount Everest, renamed after the British surveyor whose triangulation system was used to measure the height of the 8,848m peak in 1841, is rarely called that by the locals. Iain Martin, an online ski writer, says: "The concept of fat, rich Westerners snowploughing their way down a piece of the Himalayas and having the gall to believe for a second that they can claim that land with their own name makes me sick." Mr Calonica says: "Oh, we got hundreds of new names already, some of them kinda silly. Stuff like Pipeline, or Buddah's Bowl. I named one long run Ellie's, for my little girl's fourth birthday. Most people are kind of embarrassed to name a run after themselves. They get together and vote on what to call a virgin run. It is an after-ski activity, and the name is like a souvenir for all time." As for novice skiers tackling something beyond their ability, Mr Calonica is more equivocal. "I can't really say no to someone, but we are getting strong skiers who can handle all conditions. It's got to be someone accomplished. I don't want some label-conscious guy who once zipped down a black diamond slope that was perfectly groomed and now considers himself an expert. He'll end up clawing the snow, falling sideways, upside down. "So far nobody has shown up who didn't belong. If a group had to wait for a beginner to catch up, they'd end up killing me. Or the beginner. There'd be a mutiny."

going up, of course.

excellent point PP. although i suspect that such pressure on the landscape usually implies heavy traffic on the routes, in which case establishing an independent rap line is in order. if you install an "independent rap line" sooner or later someone will put bolts in between your rap anchors and create a route if it is an appriopriately chosen rap line, i doubt heavy traffic on it would ever be a problem such that it interferes with people going down

excellent point PP. although i suspect that such pressure on the landscape usually implies heavy traffic on the routes, in which case establishing an independent rap line is in order.

It is a matter of style. Many people feel that placing gear on lead is part of the challenge of rock climbing and that you dumb-down the climb if you eliminate the need to place pro, whereas they don't think it is an imporant part of the challenge to be able to set up and manage a gear-only belay. Also, in the case of rap stations at least, some prefer the lower visual impact of bolts and chain whereas others think the less permanent installation of a sling around a tree or threaded through a piton is better. the arguments used to justify bolt belays are usually the same as for bolting climbs with natural protection (convenience, save gear for later, safety, ...). i am not necessarily advocating gear belays at all cost but it seems it'd be more consistent with the ethics of clean climbing and it would definitely make a number of climbs more difficult (the 'managing belays is not as important' thing is bogus imo).

oops, brain cramp. i'll edit the post.

3rd pitch of west face (beckey route) on north early winter spire

i'll 3rd puerco lloron. i used to really like the chile pepper in wallingford (actually when it was in the u district). they had great chile rellenos and chile guajillo, their mole was not bad either. but i have not gone in quite a while. what about the store and counter on lake city way by 15th, are they still around? great taquitos.

typical. labeling the oppositon as being extremist is much easier than making a cogent argument. this is reminicent of the 50's witch hunts and points to the glasses you are wearing. i consider myself center left and my opinions are, in general, shared by many others if not the majority. which i could not say about yours. just ask yourself: once the spin dust settled (and prior to the current period) what was the generally accepted popular reason for intervening in the gulf in 1991? did i ever say that commodities or resources were the only immediate reasons for having entered all conflicts? i said that our policy in the middle east is about control of a most important resource. i am not sure where you got that other reasons for other parts of the world do not exist. in general the caribbeans are about backyard and dominoes (easy targets anyway), southern europe about geopolitical control vis a vis the strengthening european union in the vacuum left by the collapse of the soviet block (note no ground troops), in somalia the UN finally responded to a 20year messy combination of warlords, dictatorship, and famine. i am not too sure what motivated the unsanctioned US operation there except may be it was the desire of a democrat adminstration for a quick resolution and bring the boys home in the face of mounting criticism by isolationists.

sounds pretty rad. i can't wait for the pix. top third? you must be kidding.

true the road is bad and i suspect you are right about the brush these days. you should also consider the dihedral route, it is very good (although a little short ~4-5 pitches). the whole thing goes free at 10+ but the dihedral itself is 10a (large cams needed). it could be easily aided by shuffling #4 friends. lots of good rock up there. i was told the lakes had good fishing a number of years ago.

southwest face of the tooth. ~5-6 pitches. it can be done at 5.6 by exiting the steep dihedral early (3rd pitch) as per beckey variation. if one stays in the dihedral all the way it goes at ~5.9-10 plus a nice 5.8 pitch beyond. great rock and a surprisingly not talked about climb (considering the easy access). thin pro on first 2 pitches (5.easy). big snow mountain (5.7 by standard rock route). great rock. south face of west garfield (long but easy). mostly 4th with little pro. one mid 5th pitch. rap backside (north) in 3 rope length and hike down timbered slope to taylor river bridge.

our controlling it will lead to our wasting it, to the depletion of a form of energy that future generation will need, to unprecedented rates of global warming and therefore disastrous consequences, etc ... scary emerging powers should be dealt with via international law (which we should support to the fullest, not undermine it). if you think the middle east situation is not more dangerous for all of us after the past few month, you are the dangerous one. note that the turn of events in iraq is not a surprise to many who forewarned bush about this.

no it does not what? quite right, but as far as the middle east is concerned none rank as highly as control of the most important resource on earth over the next 20 years.

precisely my point. and how many us soldiers are or will be in liberia? only those necessary to protect the embassy.

yeah, right. i see us rushing to liberia ...

let's just do a thought experiment. what is our most important interest in the geopolitical control of the middle east? if iraq had no oil, would we have intervened? you know, i know, everybody knows the answers to these questions. ergo, the major reason for going to iraq is control of the most important resource on earth over the next 20 years: oil. now there may be other less important reasons but it does not change the above.

you are seriously delusional if you believe what you wrote. to refresh your memory about the values of mainstream america check out poll results on social issues. you'll find that a large majority of americans are aligned with democrats on issues such as the environment (2/3 say that whatever the cost everything should be done to protect the environment), health care (2/3 say the feds should insure that everyone has health care), and on, and on .... but don't take my word for it, check it out here: http://pollingreport.com/

damage control

where is snafflo?

hey, look! another "mistake" that'll have to be corrected. we're for sure "learning", aren't we? "Human rights abuses in Afghanistan are being committed by gunmen and warlords who were propelled into power by the United States and its coalition partners after the Taliban fell in 2001. These men and others have essentially hijacked the country outside of Kabul. With less than a year to go before national elections, Afghanistan's human rights situation appears to be worsening." Brad Adams Executive Director of the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch http://www.hrw.org/press/2003/07/afghan072903.htm

the hut is cool but can be busy. applebee is the way to go, great site for camping right beneath the peaks (one of the best latrine view anywhere). you can always go down to the hut if the weather turns shitty for too long.

one does not even need to go half-way around the world and discuss chile. it's funny how iran is mentioned as the threat that motivated support for saddam when in fact the mullahs got to power in iran because mosques were the only place where opposition to a barbaric regime we installed and sustained was even remotely possible. then as we are supposed to worry about the conservative muslim revolution in the arab world, the us supports the mullahs in afghanistan because it then suit our purpose against the soviet. but don't worry, the spinmeister extraordinaire, will tell all of this happened because we were trying to correct our mistakes. if only they had any credibility left.

do we get to see his dead body too? that ought to be worth a few more points in the polls ...