JoshK

sweet guys! Great TR and glad you got it. I think i just kicked this mountain off my "want to do" list

This is a very hard concept for the pro-oil folks to grasp, but well said Dru.

Thanks, I have. And I care to listen to more of the issue than what is in one article. I am sick and fucking tired of people bitching about us being dependent on middle east oil and at the same time supporting administrations like the one we have. NOTHING IS GOING TO CHANGE WITH THEM IN POWER!!! Vote in people who actually see the point of doing long term work to reduce our dependence, such as, again, fuel efficieny standards, alternative energies, etc. rather than giving oil companies more money.

Good post jkeller, and welcome FW, I again ask you as I did in another thread...when are we going to start moving away from oil? Do we wait another 50 years until the technology for alternate energy sources is absolutely perfect or do we start working towards that goal now. The technology will get better and better and more cost effective as it enters in the market. YOU HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE!!!

That is a pretty interesting story. I wouldn't mind visiting the site some time.

Seems like the right strategy to me. It sort of equates to the Yankees doing just all right in the season only to perform their best (at least traditionally) in the post-season. If the other riders think this gives him such an advantage maybe they should considering doing it themselves.

Yes, after all, it isn't ingenuity (sp??) and exploration that has made this country what it is. Oh wait, maybe it is. Wind power also has tremendous potential, but I am sure FW has a reason why we shouldn't use more of it. In the long run (and not even that long) this country will be so much better off by investing now and paying a little more to get away from an oil dependency.

Exactly. They also state it in terms of producing those fuels with fossil fuel energy. Hmm...that seems an awfully slanted way to think about it. Clearly the energy per unit contained in fossil fuels is very high, but is it worth the cost. How can you be so anti middle-east (for god reasons) yet also so anti alternative energy? Until we start moving in the right direction we aren't going to get fucking anywhere. It is about short term sacrifice for long term benefit. Improving fuel economy standards for cars and, especially, shit useless vehicles would be a great start, but no, Bush and his scumpublican congress couldn't possibly consider bringing the automotive industry in line. I don't get how people can claim we need new energy strategies yet vote for the guys that keep us in the oil-age. It is hypocracy at its finest.

FW, my point with the Christians, Jews, etc. is that, whether you like it or not, they are very related to Islam and WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE? Right now we are trying to erradicate the extremist muslims who are doing the killing. this is good. but what you are essentially saying is that anybody in the religion as a whole is reasonably sacrificed in the name of vengance. Can you honestly believe this!!?!! It is pretty sick too. Comparing the Japanese in WWII to the current situtation is ridiculous. You are talking about a COUNTRY with borders, citizenry, a military, etc. versus a religion that spans many people, countries, variations, etc. Don't even trying to compare the two, a second grader can figure out the differences. I raised a tone because what you said is so unbelievably insane. I got to the point where I could at least respect your opinions , and would still like to, but man, come on, nuking cities for certain people's actions is way over the top. As, about saying fuck off to the Saudis, I agree, but you aren't going to get it with the currently administration. It makes me hard thinking about how energey independent we could become by focusing hard core on bio-fuels. Good luck getting that with the current jackasses in power however. They'd rather make sure everybody can drive an Excursion that have us be energy independent.

The above post shows why it is scary that people like FW own weapons. So you believe we have the right to nuke a city that a particular religion holds as holy because some extremists of that religion attack us!?!? You are fucking insane, my friend. Believe me, I think that the moderate believers of Islam need to do more to denoune the extremists but your type of logic is just hate filled moronic spew. In fact, if you believe this, then why the hell should we stop with Islam? Extremists of all religions are the problem. Why not just start with Abrahamic religions as a whole since they come from the same roots. How do you propose we retaliate against the Christians and the Jews? And what about the innocent members of other religions that inhabit Mecca? Casualties of war? Also, answer me this. How the fuck does a policy of mutually assured destruction work when the enemy DOESNT FUCKING CARE IF THEY DIE!?!? They are more than happy to blow themselves up to kill us and unless you kill every fucking person that hates, or at any point might hate, people just like you more will just replace them. Sadly enough, however, I doubt you would have much of a problem with that. Go re-read what you typed. How fucking pathetic.

Yeah, I guess this was sort of my point. Claiming it is safer to do it roped but then saying all you need is one piece doesn't add up.

This is one of those cascade routes were the difficulty between doing it in "winter" or "spring" can be decided by using a snow-machine. In other words, if you want the first winter ascent of that route, go rent a snowmobile for a few days.

Rope the NE ledges? Maybe my memory is shit, but I don't remember any part of that descent being reason for concern. I would feel a lot more uneasy with a rope to possibly stumble on while crossing that sort of terrain. Also, dave, either you are using the rope for mental pro or you are putting a lot of faith in a single piece of rock pro. Just because you have a single piece in on a rope length doesn't mean that single piece is going to hold. You just as likely might pull your partner to his death. My 2 cents.

I'd always just known the "east ridge" route as the "east ledges descent" route. I didn't even know anybody wasted their time climbing it. I just figured it was the easiest (and only walk off) descent route on the mountain. In any event, the SE ridge (aka east ridge direct) is a great climb. I very much enjoyed it as well.

Very cool! Looks like an awesome area to explore. Great pictures too. One question...how the heck do you tell the difference between 5.9+ and 5.10- ???

yeah .. that's me ... "fucking stupid" .... having lost a friend in 9/11 does that to you Having a friend die on 9/11 allows you to be a fucking idiot? Well, based on the reports of this guy not even being connected with the terrorist attacks you should certainly feel like a fucking idiot, jackass.

PP- Since membership roles are not public care to cite your source? Would that be the White House "He has no recollection of ever being a member,"? He says he didn't pay the fee, but spoke multiple times at their gatherings. PP, if you get stuck answering this one, just remember that you can always bring up Bill Clinton. Atta boy, you can do it...

PP, is it "patriotic" to support those who deny others their civil rights? I wasn't aware that being a good American meant fighting against ideals that this country was founded on.

Yes PP, a pro-business, anti-environment, and, well, anti-human being supreme court nominee. You should be proud supporting this winner. Idiot.

YMMV = your milage my vary

There is a special product (called down proof I believe) that is designed for this purpose. It adds DWR to the shell and also coats the down itself. I don't have experience with the product but I have seen it before. -josh

Yeah, I just took the bait to bitch about the monorail cause it is dumb.

That is also the down route for the SW buttress which I did last year. We did it with a single rope. As I recall there are plenty of raps around and I downclimbed a good portion of it. I, personally, would go with just a single rope, but YMMV. -josh

One of the few things we probably agree on. Yes, our public transportation sucks ass. Yes, building more freeways is a retarted "solution." Yes, we should do more to keep single drivers out of their SUVs. Unfortunately the monorail is a stupid solution to a real problem. People wanted to vote "yes" on public transportation as a whole (which NEEDS to be funded) and instead voted "yes" for an idiotic project. Public transportation needs to be addressed regionally not through a small part of one city. I wonder how many people sit their idle going back and forth between west seattle and ballard (very little, I am sure) as compared to sit there in traffic going N/S on the I5 cooridor or E/W on the bridge cooridors. I would imagine the number is exponentially higher.

I wonder if any of the girlies that buy that "firemen are hot" rumor haved actually bothered to stop by a firehouse and check out the standard firemen.