JoshK

yeah, ivan and i were up there earlier this month. it's snowed a bunch since then, however. conditions might still be fine, considering we did it a week after a large snowfall and we found it deep but stable and consolidated. it still made for fun climbing.

LOL...no thanks. talk about hell on earth.

posers? gustav's is always just full of tourons when I am there. So, about these ticks. should I be worried? is there any way to ward them off? I'd like to go to leavenworth soon, but now everybody has me scared. I guess i've never been aware before so I haven't noticed.

It could be worse, they were talking about having the annual pass go up to $50 or some such. At least this way the pepole who come and climb from out of town once on the dog routes pay as much as we pay for an entire season.

I'm with ya man. If you ever need a gustav n' 11worth lover let me know. Not to mention the scenery is definitely better than your average crag.

Nah, if catbird was just looking to fit in he'd become a flaming right winger!

RUnning down a trail is actually quite a muscle workout too. I can get myself quite sore by running down the entire length of that mount si trail.

Holy crap that is funny. It makes a good read. "I have a confession to make. When I first saw the bolt on Pipeline from the incredible belay stance of Fray Ends... I was disgusted. I vowed then and there to spit on it as I went past. But now, seeing the hanger come to Papa, I pretty much slaughtered the finest lamb and threw a party." "Anyway. I'm sure all the hardmen out there would shake their head at the thought of using a whole roll of tape in a single ascent of any route. Fortunately, I didn't have to push my way through a crowd of hardmen to reach the base of the route. "

Damn, you serious? Jim climbs!? Yeah, for a newbie, talking to somebody who knows their shit is going to save them much time and hassle.

Baker amazes me. a very light front pushed through last night and baker still dragged 8 inches out of it.

Yes, definitely, I should have made that clear. In the case mentioned, however, I would gladly take the extra point of failure added by the draw (which I would consider unlikely to fail) over the possibility of a biner getting stuck up in a bolt hanger and loaded in some strange way.

Well, I definitely wouldn't clip one biner to another as you suggest. I also wouldn't do what the guide did either, but I can't think of a very specific reason not to, just that it doesn't sound like the greatest idea. I could possible see the biner getting heavily crossloaded in the bolt hanger if it jimmies itself around in some way and then takes a load. More than anything, I believe a short draw gives an added piece of safety that I'm more than happy to have.

No, but I ended up settling on a middle-ground in terms of weight finally. The heavy packs sucked, but the really light ones simply felt heavier cause they carried like shit or lacked featuers I wanted. All and all, arcteryx makes some decent packs at a reasonable weight. They *are* too expensive tho. Another thing to consider is everybody feels different in different packs. Just 'cause arcteryx fits me doesn't mean it will fit somebody else.

No, I didn't, in fact, know that. Do you remember what issue it was? I would be interested in seeing it.

Do you know if the ice is still in good shape? I know it's been mighty warm there during the days for the past few weeks.

Yes, that entire area around Lyman, bonanza, railroad creek, etc. is gorgeous. Every time I view that south side of north star mountain it looks like it would be an awesome spring ski. Maybe I'll just have to go and find out myself.

Even the british finally abandoned this jackass system for the most part. It's time we realize how fucking stupid it is. I again point to the hicks, rednecks and general over the top "pro-USA" folks who would see this as doing away with american heritage and knuckling under to those damn euros. I sometimes wonder if this country would have been better off with the southern half being it's own entity.

No, sorry, I should have been more clear. I actually just checked and it's "North Star Mountain" under the official name. It sits due north of the Lyman lakes near the Bonanza peak area.

Yeah, that's an interesting one, since the aviation system runs on feet, not meters worldwide. This is, perhaps, one thing that is better off left alone. It's hard enough that english is also the official aviation language, so you sometimes hit that barrier. It would be even worse to have people getting elevations messed up.

I wish so bad we would switch to metric. Do you honestly think a country that run by George W would be "un-patriotic" enough to switch from the good ol' retarted english system to metric, tho? Not a chance. Also remember the entire southern half of this country would be thrown into disarray just at the mere thought of having to learn to convert.

More importantly, check this out! On March 17th, rangers in the park’s West Subdistrict were called to assist Montana Highway Patrol and Madison County SO officers in the pursuit and capture of a drunk driver who was heading down Highway 287 at about 100 miles per hour, brandishing a shotgun out the truck’s window. He was heading toward Highway 191 and a junction that would take him either through part of the park or the town of West Yellowstone. Rangers helped West Yellowstone officers divert traffic at several locations and place spike strips on the highway. The man drove past rangers and officers with the shotgun barrel still pointed out the driver’s side window. He drove over the spike strip, which deflated his front tires, then stopped a little further down the road. Officers attempted to surround him, but he resumed driving. At that point, Montana Highway Patrol officers fired into the truck’s rear tires in an attempt to disable it. The driver continued for another half mile, lost control of his truck, and went off the road. A standoff ensued in which the driver continued to point his shotgun out the window. He refused to comply with commands, so a SWAT/tactical team was summoned from Bozeman, about 80 miles to the north. A park special agent trained as a crisis negotiator was also called in, but deputies and rangers were eventually able to subdue the driver. He lost his shotgun in the process and was taken into custody without further incident. He faces numerous state felony charges. [brian Smith, Supervisory Special Agent, YELL] Sounds like the mowich lake area!

Well?

8 feet of snow in a week is just a bit different than 7 feet in 24 hours. Funny, I remember more than a few times (read: a few times every winter) when MRNP and ONP get 8 or more feet in a week.

8 feet of snow in a week is just a bit different than 7 feet in 24 hours.

hasn't this dude had his sex change operation yet? At the risk of admitting i actually caught a few minutes of that crap show, I really wanted to see this guy get beat down with a pool que.