JoshK

So anybody want to guess how crappy the weather will be in anal flats given this current storm blowing through. On the one hand I dont really want to sit here on my ass this weekend. On the other I dont feel like battling 8 hours through snowy roads just to be getting dumped on while climbing and bail out.

We ain't need no education system. bombs and missles are all we need!

The entiat mountains area is absolutely awesome. Looks like so many great spring touring possibilities back there. Have any of you done north star? I was thinking of taking the long tour over spider gap and through the lyman lakes to do that. Looks like a fantastic ski.

wdietsch, that chaos is a badass looking pack. Do you own the pack or know anybody who does? I'm curious how it carries with heavier loads since, as best I can tell, it doesn't use stays. thanks, -josh

The split board is a very good compromise which attemps to solve the very essential problem with snowboards: they suck for actual travel in the mountains. Snowboards are a lift toy and that's it. Sure, you can do BC with them by hiking your ass up, but for actual travel through the backcountry skis are the correct (no, not preferred, just correct) option. I think as long as riders are willing to accept that a split board is a good substitute for snoboard+snowshoes they'll be fine. When they expect them to be a substitute for skis, well,they just aren't. Spray away boarders.

If you haven't yet, you owe yourself to hover the mouse over the shaq head and see what it does. jeezus...this just really doesn't make me want to try a crunch bar.

Yeah, Stevens has 15" of snow since 4am this morning. I'm pity us too!

I've heard bachelor is cool (never been there myself) but the one complaint I have heard is the summit chair gets closed if there is a good deal of wind. Well, this storm is quite windy, so perhaps you might not be able to access the terrain you'd like. Crystal is a good area. I think you'd have fun there. Check out the north backcountry, which is more heavly treed. You could probably find some safe stuff back there (really good terrain) if they open it. The inbounds stuff is definitely fun as well. Also, note that the further north you go, the lower the snow level with this storm.

15" new at stevens, 21" new at crystal Mike, is the snow falling with a good deal of wind up at Paradise?

7mm!? I assume this is a typo?

Jeez...where on aspen did you ski that I missed? I thought aspen blew ass majorly. I also laughed my ass off when they all celebrated getting a 3 inch *dump* overnight. This was during the la nina year and I'm sitting in my hotel watching reports off WA areas getting like 18" every night.

that is quite cool. thanks for the link. where did you find that sat image?

NO = MANY =

two words... KNIGHT STICK

Yeah, I doubt it. They wouldn't even let me take a nap on the Tabernacle lawn. I wonder if public sex on the tabernacle lawn would go over well in mormon-ville?

Well, if you recall, there was this high-profile winter sports event in Salt Lake last year. Part of that involved getting lots of funds for public transportation (the Interstate 15 has been undergoing construction pretty much the whole time I've lived in this state), and part of it involved the largest domestic deployment of troops ever. Last February was not the time for backcountry, night-time skiing. The funniest part was that the city handed out bus tickets to Las Vegas to every homeless person they could find. I don't know if they comped them casino credits, though. BWAAHAHh...that's funny about the homeless people. I bet LV was thrilled Yeah, good point about the olympics. I guess SLC probably benifits in the long run besides just the influx of retail money from the olympics. Whatever the reasons, however, it's still ridiculous that seattle can't get it's act together. It's not like this is a small city any more.

Am I missing some context here? Why in the hell would mall security care if somebody was wearing a "give peace a chance" t-shirt?!?

Amen. Man it pisses me off that places like SLC can get good public transit and we still drag our feet on it in Seattle.

Sounds like a similar experience on midnight rambler earlier this year. skisports placed his foot a few inches above a recently clipped screw, the ice broke and his foot slid down a normally harmless few inches. It got caught in the draw however and when he couldn't immediately free it things got quite hectic quickly. I distinctly remember him saying "josh, a little help here!" as I sat worthlessly at the belay, unable to help. My only response was "shit, get your foot out! I can't do anything!" It was pretty intense watching him wondering if I was going to have to catch a leader fall on ice. Luckily he was able to calm down, extend off one tool as far down as possible and jimmy the draw until it unhooked itself.

Go for the real excitment...head reeeeeaally far north and go across stevens. I swear, that thing can get so freaking shitty.

Wow, and here I was thinking I'd have to wait for hours and beg for a response. Thanks all

I keep lookig at this thread and thinking it says "SLC plane crash"

If so, would you mind looking up the gib wall climb and see what they have to say about avy danger in the area. Or if you just happen to know, that would be good too. thanks!

the way I see it is I can pay full retail + tax (i.e. pricey) at REI and have the option of returning something if it doesn't work out how I like or I can order from mail order or internet for cheaper and not have that option. I think it's sometimes worth paying more if I think an item may not work out. Of course, for technical gear that I want input on, I may decide to go to a specialized local shop.

Tennessee, would you mind posting a link to the pics you mention if they are, in fact, online? thanks, -josh