j_b

if people had boycotted our products the 75 odd times we vetoed a UN resolution, we'd be in trouble. Moreover it makes little sense to take on one the heavies of Europe, we have too much to loose. anyhow, there is nothing like a little xenophobia to get people riled up before going to war, isn't it Trask?

Ultimately I am not sure there is a difference in the effort put out when obtaining info from a friend and obtaining it from someone on the net. In a way, the net is responsible for a 'democratization' of the access to available info about trips. I agree that as communication is enhanced and info becomes readily available the adventure aspect decreases, but anyone who wishes to retain that kind of experience can do so. I have wondered whether the net and this site in particular will have (or already started to have) a profound impact on the difficulty of climbs done routinely by the NW community at large. It is similar to the breaking of psychological barriers that occurred during the 80's for rock climbing. As examples of difficult ascents by mere mortals abound, fewer people are in a frozen state of awe when considering doing more difficult climbs. Will we witness an explosion of alpine climbing standards in the NW as interaction between participants is facilitated by sites like this one?

Do a story on what mountaineering means to the Seattle area/northwest, the biggest mountaineering center in North America (climbing population, # of visiting climbers, glaciated range, etc ...). Discuss how it affect (or should) the image of the city. What it means to the economy. Should it be promoted and facilitated by the state (as well as 'adventure tourism' as a whole). Constrast its future to the logging industry for example. Ponder whether preserving our forest is the smartest economic plan, etc ... big story, I know.

anyhow, the ~18% without heath insurance here do a lot more than pull stiches on their own http://www.census.gov/mso/www/pres_lib/99prof/sld014.htm I like it how there is no question that doctors should be able to get rich whereas teachers, for example, should do it for the love of helping others (well known fact being a doctor is all about money). I mean fixing Michael Jackson's nose one more time is definitely worth a lot more money than educating children.

awww, isn't it sweet how Fairweather is sooo concerned about the condition of canadian doctors? I bet they must have it really hard.

so you hate banks too? and how is Martha doin'?

un doppio per favore!

good point. makes sense too!

there is none because there is little rock outcropping in Seattle. The only rock that might lend itself to climbing is basalt to be found between Cougar Mtn and South Seattle, but I have never seen enough of it to justify putting shoes on. there is a large granite erratic ~NE75th and 25th which apparently has now been declared off limit. the only real option is Husky Peak ...

cool climb. i always wanted to do some tunneling through a cornice myself, i am jealous as hell. thanks for the report. do you have any more pics to post?

thanks. what about a link to telemetry on the forecast page. Powderstash is a good one.

I wonder how many climbers Rep. Jerry Grisham knows personally to be so poorly informed (one wonders as well, how many other important bad decisions he makes for us). A locating device changes the relationship between the climber and the climb in a few important ways but it has little to do with machism. First, there is the apparently mondane issue of being declared missing when one is not. I say apparently because it is anything but trivial. Let's say one wishes to wait an extra day at basecamp after the climb for better avalanche conditions (or whatever) on the way home ; what is one supposed to do? Proceed immediately for fear of starting a rescue operation instead of waiting out for safer conditions? this is just but one of many situations of how introducing rescue services as a variable in the climb will affect the decisions that climbers have to make many times during the course of an outing. As we can see, it may force someone to do what goes against good mountaineering sense and potentially result in someone's demise (and I won't talk about affecting our ability to be successful). And second there is the more insidious issue of introducing a false sense of safety. People are most often overdue when the weather is bad, which is not really conducive to flying helos for rescue operations anyway. Cascade climbers know very well that for all intent and purpose one is alone to face danger as soon as one is away from the road by a few miles (especially in winter). Mountain climbers learn quickly that total self-reliance is the only way to make safe decisions and remain in control of a situation. The locator device changes the equation in a powerful way because it leads to think that someone is always there to ultimately save your bacon. This is of course false, and may lead one to make poor decisions (like continuing in the face of worsening weather for example). I am not saying that locator devices are always bad, but I know that I would tend to use one when there is little chance that I'd need it because when in a tight spot I don't want anybody to make the decision for me. If it was possible to use one without strings attached (like being bound tightly to a schedule), then it'd be a different matter of course.

I first saw this clip link posted on rec.climbing quite a while ago (3 years?). I first heard they survived then. Is it true? I don't know, but with the length of fall and the way they were flopping around, I would have guessed they didn't. the tv anchor says they fell 70 meters, suffered much bone breakage and something else (chopped off the end of the audio clip). It sounds like they survived at least initially

It's a double edged sword. If he destroys them while facing the threat of an invasion, could there be greater 'evidence' of his willingness to comply? he'd have fewer missiles but then it would be commensurably difficult to accuse him of hiding something else. This may be his best chance to survive this crisis.

not a very good pic but I don't I have any better than this. I have seen it a lot more plastered.

I wonder when Murdoch will realize the press is supposed to report the news not fabricate it (he owns fox too, by the way)

if it's not pouring and the tide is right, west seattle is a good place for checking out tidepools

i am curious, do people want to be reported missing on due day or do you want to wait 24 hours?

take her to the gym, then go for a bowl of soup and bagels at the market

you seem to be saying this should invalidate the entire thing, but perhaps you could point out what else is wrong with it? hey Jon, if you want the answers to some of your questions you can find then on Amnesty's 2002 report: http://web.amnesty.org/web/ar2002.nsf/mde/iraq!Open grizzly business for sure! if you want you can also find reports on the same site for many other countries that have a dismal human right record as well; most of which we are not planning to invade anytime in the foreseeable future since we seem to have excellent relations with them.

so why don't you tell us? just so we can assess whether it makes a difference.

wow Wayne, good job. So, is death aid a degenerative lineage? I agree with Dru that mixed follows from alpine climbing. In fact, there may be some confusion about what mixed climbing is. Perhaps some younger climbers associate mixed with the single-pitch horror show that mags like to publicize, whereas others associate it with the complete bag of tricks necessary to climb a rocky summit that also sports snow and ice. Personally I always thought of mixed as one of the purest form for this particular reason: one has to do it all and it often requires a high degree of ability to bring it all together when needed. One can't do alpine mixed at a higher level without being a complete alpinist.

if you believe that 17% (mid-term election vote for Bush) of the potential vote constitutes a mandate for anything (especially this craziness), it is a sad commentary on your concept of democracy.

We want Saddam to go and he does not want to go. It has been clear for a while that the iraqi people were caught in the middle and neither side cares to the point of trying something different. The "collateral damage" appears acceptable to all parties involved. any trustworthy references? my understanding is much (all?) of the money goes to a UN account and stuff makes its way there upon approval. Though I would not put it past him if he could. you are right 350,000's children under 5 is the most conservative estimate. I am not sure what this changes though. that's all I was saying, let's stop pretending we are going in for humanitarian reasons.