JoshK

Yeah, Midway was one of the scarier 5.4s i've seen. Mixed climbing has certainly gotten easier, despite harder grades being pushed, due to changes in tools. 10 years ago you couldn't buy hybrid "ice" tools for mixed climbing. I'd imagine these make some climbs much easier than w/o.

One question - why in the name of god did you do that w/o skis?!

I've been gone for a while and just got back to WA. I'm hoping to head up this week during the nice weather. What is the general makeup of the snowpack at this point? What instabilities still lurk? Unfortunately the NWAC is shut down, so I just want to get an idea of what things are like out there. thanks, -josh

Man Sky, you are gathering quite the following on CC. I think you and Colin could probably get some of these guys to ski-pole the two of you! Awesome ski. I always thought that would be a great way to climb Logan. The pictures don't even do justice, I am sure!

Denver is an interesting comparison. I don't know exactly *what* has been driving demand here because, as far as I can tell, the last thing Denver is scarce on is land. Granted, you have to move further and further out, but unlike Seattle (surrounded by mountains, water, and already way more densely populated) you can pretty much spread anywhere. People might think of the Rockies, but the city here is straight up FLAT. But, alas, this is major thread drift. Let's get back to what is really important - discussing just what a pathetic pile of garbage this president is! Good joke, BTW, Matt, I liked that one!

It was just the evil liberal media that was making Cheney say that...

KK, are you honestly trying to draw comparisons in any way, shape, or form between WWII, Vietnam, Korea and the current quagmire?? The only one that is even remotely appropriate would be Vietnam and even then we are talking about a starkly different world at that time. Just suck it up and admit what a total failure the "Iraq War" has become. Every day I log on to view news one of the top five articles is always "XX number of innocent people killed today in XX Iraqi town". We aren't winning. Neither are the poor citizens of that country. Your crew (Dumbsfeld, BushCo, etc.) are the ones who failed us. Sack up and stop defending these shmucks. BTW, you don't grade a war with letter grades. That had to be one of the more oddly twisted things i've seen you drag out.

All the recent news about Bushie backing up Rumsfeld despite his obvious complete failure had me thinking...how did his supporters come to the conclusion that failure to rethink strategy and change plans in the face of obvious failure is a sign of strong leadership? Last time I checked, inability to adapt to a constantly changing situation and make the nescessary changes was the trait of an extremely weak mind. I find it amazing how the right has been able to portray his weakness as a strength.

Well hey, at least you get to return to a well planned, successful war and not to a country in the midst of civil war and complete chaos, not to mention a highly deteriorating will for this quagmire back at home. Oh wait, no you don't... At least you get to fight under competent and well meaning civilian leadership like BushCo and Dumbsfeld....

Weather forecast says serious snow this weekend....might delay things further.

I once had a plastic shovel, but not for long. I realized I wouldn't be able to rely on the thing in a bad scenario, and that few ounces didn't mean shit compared to that...

No, that is not what I was saying. I think my point (and, frankly, your reply) is a clear example of why these people deserve citizenship. They work hard and are here to earn a living for their family. For that, they should be paid a minimum wage and reciece the government benifits that we all receive.

Unfortunately my JSTOR access account at school is acting up right now, so I'll give a article source that you should be able to easily find through other means. As I imagine you will, you can simply read the abstract for the article and then proceed to bash it as "liberal academia". Sociological Criminology and the Mythology of Hispanic Immigration and Crime John Hagan, Alberto Palloni Social Problems, Vol. 46, No. 4 (Nov., 1999) , pp. 617-632 View Article Abstract John Hagan, Northwestern University and American Bar Foundation Alberto Palloni, University of Wisconsin. "Our sociological knowledge of crime is fragmented and ineffective in challenging and correcting mistaken public perceptions, for example, linking immigration and crime. These misperceptions are perpetuated by government reports of growing numbers of Hispanic immigrants in U.S. prisons. However, Hispanic immigrants are disproportionately young males who regardless of citizenship are at greater risk of criminal involvement. They are also more vulnerable to restrictive treatment in the criminal justice system, especially at the pre-trial stage. When these differences are integrated into calculations using equations that begin with observed numbers of immigrants and citizens in state prisons, it is estimated that the involvement of Hispanic immigrants in crime is less than that of citizens. These results cast doubt on the hypothesis that immigration causes crime and make more transparent the immigration and criminal justice policies that inflate the rate of Hispanic incarceration. This transparency helps to resolve a paradox in the picture of Mexican immigration to the United States, since by most measures of well-being, Mexican immigrants are found to do as well and sometimes better than citizens."

Since when have the police NOT existed to protect those breaking the law? Just as they have to protect the innocent they have to protect the "guilty" (as your screwed up view sees it) from vigilante justice and violence. As somebody else pointed out, they are around to keep the peace, not try to bust immigrants (many of them legal, mind you) and others protesting. You also completely ignored my point. The economy is dependent on illegal immigrants at this point. They are also LESS LIKELY to commit crims than are native born Americans. Just because you happen to be a second generation native-born (as myself and plenty of others are) doesn't give you the right to completely ignore the facts and take xenophobic views any more than anybody else. Nor does your mexican heritage give you any more leway to critisize a largely hispanic demographic any more than somebody of a different race. The fact remains is that a great deal of people are still scared of those who are different and those they see as taking their opportunities. Unfortunately for this argument, the fact also remains that illegal immigrants take, almost exclusively, jobs that "americans" won't do themselves. It's racist and xenophobic, plain and simple, because the pragmatic mind realizes what a benifit they are to our society. Another point to bring up is the political implications of legalizing immigrants that aren't here "legally." Over 2/3 of this demographic will vote Democratic. They certainly realize this and it gives them another vested interest to continue to work against those who are here to work and improve their lives. Pull your head out of the sand.

I really wonder if these anti-immigration people realize that if all of a sudden all illegal immigrants were booted out of the country our economy would literally collapse. Think about that one for a minute and balance it against your racist views. BTW, you may want to get a hold of PeterPuget and KazakWhatever. You guys would have a lot of fun discussing who to nuke next and what racial group to target.

Watching Peter Puget try to spin this kind of crap is funnier than watching a retarted blind spider monkey on crack try to give a blowjob to Dick Cheney. Dodge, Duck, Dive, Dip, Dodge!!!

In the right conditions! I've climbed it twice. The first time would have been a breeze (in a very very relative sense) compared to the second time. The second time you definitely would never have caught me in there with skis, and it would have been scary as hell, at least to me.

Why? The WSDOT has no business blocking access to a national forest road if we want to use it. Just like any other road - if you get stuck, that's your problem. When I used this road for access it probably would have only required 20 minuts of shoveling to get my car through. In the end I decided that it wasn't worth pissing people off to avoid driving an extra mile, esp. when I could walk it in the same time. One valid reason may be to avoid the road being torn up, but that isn't the reason they gave me....

I asked them why they put up that giant burm of snow there to block the road. The answer? They don't want people trying the road in the middle of the night and waking them up. Seriously. I thought that was pretty lame.

You'd shut your mouth real quick if you ever met me face-to-face. HAHAHHA... I know, classic! Do you practice lines from Dodgeball in the mirror too, KK? "You shut your mouth when you're talking to me!!!"

Take a look at the most recent redistricting done in Colorado. It was seen as largely non-partisan, or as close as possible to that. Then compare to the fuckjob that took place in Texas. If you think it was anything other than a power grab by DeLay and crew, you are sadly mistaken...

No problem with the Texas redistricting? Umm...ok, i guess you aren't easy to upset.

You guys are getting all bummed out about nothing. The couliors have never been the "challenge" of climbing UP TCs. It's the runnels. The ski descent is an entirely different beast. You are there for the couliors (tedious when climbed, IMHO) and not the runnels. I must admit, however, that Ross' descent makes me wish I had gone up and skied the thing the day after I climbed it for the first time. All the couliors were endless fluff...

Keep your eyes open and plan a route that avoids possibly suspect slopes as much as possible. Travel one at a time through terrain where an avalanche is possible. Stay off slopes that may be very suspect and make at least rudimentary stability tests when moving on to new slopes or aspects. Evaluate the changing weather and conditions throughout the day, esp. as warming occurs. This is what I would imagine as "normal" precautions.

It cost me $70 so I bought one. Will it help at all? I dunno, who knows - and hopefully I never find out. Let's remember it doesn't have to be the big slide that kills you. The lung could come in very handy in a tree-well fall or a small loose sluff that buries you without trauma. I figure if I am going to carry the gear to allow me to be tracked (beacon) and dug up (shovel) by my partner, why not also give him a few extra minutes to help me? -josh