JoshK

Yes, it's commendable that he went to Iraq...and I'm sure it has nooothing to do with publicity and the election less than a year away. He's a pathetic president and if all you can commend him for is making a media appearance on your aircraft carrier, than that doesn't say much about him.

The funny thing is the dumb wal-mart shopping white-trashians don't realize that you can get cheap ass DVD players anywhere now.

It was probably worth mentioning that I am a shade over 5' 9", which would obviously contribute to the slightly tight fit for me.

so why was the skagit gorge selected? hydro-power politics? what were the arguments against cascade pass? Cascade Pass was actually a better way through the mountains. Unfortunately it was the shores of Lake Chelan that killed it. Unfortunately? Maybe I'm confused, or misunderstanding, but I am pretty fucking glad they didn't bulldoze a road up and over cascade pass. That would have been a royal mistake.

WM isn't nescessarily better simply by the virtue of it being WM. I have a WM bag and love it, but moonstone makes pretty kickass sleeping bags. I've used one extensively and loved it. One thing to note, however. Unless they have changed, moonstone cuts their regular bags for 5' 10" and below instead of 6' like most bag companies. I was a tad tight in their regular bag but it wasn't a problem. If you are near that 5' 10" threshold you may want a slightly longer bag.

Whoever it is with these pics...plesae post them...

that comes off as sounding way insecure. who gives a rats ass bout other mountain ranges hours and hours away? insecure? about how much snow a mountain range receives? Um, alright, not sure I quite understand that. But whatever you say.

...aside from the million other reasons, I love the fact that after one week of snowfall we've already got more snow than any place in the rockies.

Will doesn't speak for all of us! I support Alternative #1...no change. NO, I'm not a guide. I just think RMI works well for the uninitiated, and I think it would be outrageous to split the pie three ways. If another guide service thinks they can do better than RMI, then let them bid for the exclusivity that the current system now calls for. Also, the proposed use limits are a step in the wrong direction. Yes, maintaining monopolies brought about and maintained through political connections, a sound idea indeed. I suppose you also support the uncontested contracts in Iraq given to halliburton and other similarly awful companies by our corrupt administration?

Ahh yes, internet shit talking, every big man's favorite past time! Anyway, it's funny, keep it coming boys.

MORE INFO: "October rains brought flooding, avalanches, and debris flows to the park, damaging roads, bridges, trails, and buildings. As much as 10 inches of rain fell in 48 hours in some areas. The natural processes which damaged infrastructure also added another to the park’s count of 245 natural lakes. Sometime in the latter half of October, a very large landslide occurred on the east slope of Trappers Peak, falling into Goodell Creek, which meets the North Cascades Highway just west of the town of Newhalem. The avalanche dammed the creek, and a subsequent outburst flood distributed rock and large woody debris a quarter mile or more downstream. The remaining lake occupies about five acres. A few weeks later, several million cubic yards of rock descended Afternoon and Falls Creeks just east of Newhalem, damaging the North Cascades Highway and cutting off the town of Diablo. Another large quantity of rock remains poised above the highway and the adjacent Skagit River. There is the potential for the next rockfall to dam the river and, in combination with predicted heavy rains, threaten the town of Newhalem. Most of the 40 residents have left the town, which is owned by Seattle City Light, the public utility which operates three dams further up the Skagit River. The National Park Service is cooperating with Seattle City Light, the Washington State Department of Transportation, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Skagit and Whatcom Counties in assessing the situation and planning the response to future events." from: http://data2.itc.nps.gov/morningreport/morningreportold.cfm?date=11%2F20%2F2003

"Do you think this tree is still alive?" (said while trying to set up an "anchor")

this is basically the most useful beta ever posted on the website. HA! A truer word was never spoken. Now, granted, it's not like this bit of beta had to compete with much else...

Yes, definitely get JoJo's book, that's a good place to start. Staying at the rampart creek hostel will put you in good range to lots of neat stuff. The only problem is you'll have to cart in your own food and gas if you stay for a few nights since you are pretty far out on the parkway. The lake lousie hostel also gets you reasonably close to some cool climbs if you are looking for a more touristy place to stay or want to do the nightlife thing for a night or two. I was pretty impressed with how nice that hostel was. Depending on what level of ice climber you are, you'll find lots of stuff for you in the book. If the avy conditions are low, I think the stuff in the lady wilson's / polar circus area was really neat. lady wilson's cleavage is a really cool long ramble climb that we found to be a good solo since none of the pitches were very long. Once on top of that climb, there are plenty other of good climbs in the basin you top out in. I also thought midnight rambler was a fun moderate climb in that same area.

Wow, that's cool, I didn't realize they ever plowed that far. Last I heard they had actually gotten rid of the mile 18.1 closure and it was simply closed at the eldorado gate like normal. Am i misinformed?

Also, for what it's worth the magellan competitor to the garmin is a better GPS in my opinion. The topo software on it has 40 foot topo lines just like the USGS maps. Unless garmin updated theirs, it only shows 200 foot lines.

There is no substitute for a map and compass, but those who say you can navigate just as fast with map/compass as GPS in shit weather can't use their GPS properly or are just ignorant. In areas where you get GPS signal reliably (high alpine, etc.) you can navigate very quickly in complete whiteouts if you know what you are doing. I spent a day on the ptarmigan traverse in zero visibility and rain/snow traveling full speed simply by point myself towards the next col and walking while following the GPS. I certianly had my map/compass as well for double checking and emergencies, but as long as the GPS was working well, it was the far faster method to find my way.

Completely depends on snow levels. The road start at marblemount can't be very high...maybe 1,000 feet? The eldorado trailhead is around 2,800 if I recall. I believe they plow the first few miles, maybe 5? Since the road increases in elevation fairly gradually I could see you having to ski/walk anywhere from 0 to 10 miles. If no heavy snow falls below 3,000 before your planned ascent, you may make it all the way. However, if we get a big enough snowfall down low it probably stays cold enough in there to keep the road covered until late winter or early spring.

I dont remember PC specifically, but I do know you want to be nowhere near any of the lady wilson climbs if they avy conditions are high...that cleft is a death trap.

You mean Potsdam, NY?!? That is where both of my parents are from and where my uncle still lives. I never figured I'd hear it mentioned on this site!

Along these lines, I nominate the Pope. A paradigm shift within the Catholic church towards birthcontrol would be simply........HUGE! The first nation in the world to attain zero population growth was Italy. Furthermore, catholic population is quite low compared to other world religions. Roman Catholics are the largest group adhering to a single church. Christianity as a whole is about 2 billion I think, and that includes many different sects from very religion to not very religious. Islam is second with something like 1.3 billion. It is predicted Islam will become larger than Christianity sometime in the next 50 years or so...

Yeah, I arrived to snow at work this morning. I guess Everett got a bunch? At least the news pictures seemed to make it look that way.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again...CEMENT IS GOOD FOR EARLY SEASON SNOW! It builds base way better than powder. I'd rather have a ton of cement for the first few weeks of the season then cover it up with powder than the other way around. I think this has the makings of a good year all over the west. This weekend could also be good now that we have a good base dump with snow levels going to 500 feet or 1k.

Wow, and the last two days have been super rainy...I wonder if any more damage is present now..?

Ironically enough, last year two of my best days were in November, despite the otherwise crappy year. Both were up at rainer with very little base, but still a great deal of fun!