Toast

As much as I love dogs and love to see them liberated out in the woods and free spaces... Dogs just don't belong on hiking trails unleashed. It's not their fault, and it's really their humans that I have a problem with. These are the jerks who can't control their canines, who won't pick up their poo, and feel it's their god given right to let their dogs tear up and down the trails, ripping up the underbrush, chasing after critters, jumping up and smearing mud and slobber over unsuspecting people who they encounter. The other thing is, dog safety. I have two friends who took their dogs out on an exposed hike. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but the dogs ended up chasing themselves right off a several hundred foot cliff. Not cool, and it was pretty much their stupidity that led to the deaths of their dogs.

What's the difference between the Motorola Talkabout at $90 each and the flury of two packs I've seen at Comp USA for $20 - $30 per pair? They're both FRS spectrum, 14 channels... Will the cheepie handsets work?

Dude, that's fucking gross. Don't do that, kids. Heh, heh... do as I say, not as I do

Sorry I jumped on this one late in the Chick Flick thread, but it hits so close to home I thought it deserved its own thread. Muffy, I can feel for you... I go through the same thing every day. I've fallen off the wagon so many times I need to warranty my helmet. For those of you who don't have a tobacco habit, it's just too easy to say "just quit" or "you don't need it." But the reason it's an addiction is it's not so fucking easy to abstain. See. I stopped chewing tobacco about six months ago. I've flirted with packs of American Spirits and leftover bar cigarettes since then. I've gone through the same cycle probably a dozen times in the last twenty years. I'm able to stop long enough for the physiological dependencies to cease, but I've succumbed oh so often to the temptation of cheating, mooching a smoke, just one, then another, then... Unfortunately, the scenario above is when I'm weakest. So far, I've made it through two days without... but you can't imageine how badly I want a smoke right now.

Rock on, Erden!

Yeah, like I don't think they'd do this right. And if it worked, I'd be scared... very, very scared.

Lee, Send your comments to Bill Belcourt, President of Grivel North America (bill@grivel.com.) I met him at Pro Mountain Sports making the rounds and picking up feedback from the field. He gave me, a total nobody, a half an hour clinic on tools and crampons. He struck me as a totally genuine guy. He may not be the one to get you a refund (that's REI's job and I have no doubt that you'll get your money back,) but I bet he takes your feedback seriously and that we'll see a better snowshoe as a result of it. P/S, I like this lil devil guy

Yes, we need more Ballardites and Fremontonians to chime in.

Hey Timmy, What ever happened to them "Got Rope?" stickers? Seems like a good way to drum up a few bucks... sound guerilla marketing tactic too.

Not really adventure... more like learning about snow science and weather. I'll be down at Crystal taking NAI's level II avvy class. Is anybody else signed up for this thing?

I'm with Snoboy on the probe. they tend to be light duty and short... better to have a real probe. As far as two-fers, I do like the compact saw blade in the handle concept... especially BD's which you can use the shaft as a long extension. With it, you can dig a real Rutschblock in five minutes (or a tap test in about two.) That makes it more likely that you'll actually do some shear strength testing rather than lesser tests that are less relevant. The one thing I didn't like about the Voile saw is it's attached to the handle (i.e. not so good for using the shovel shaft as an extension.) Does anybody have the SOS shovel with a saw? do you like it? Is the saw blade any stiffer than the BD?

Oh yeah, no more sexual innuendos... my bad.

Huh... you suck down long whats?

Muffy, fuck the lesson plan. Be yourself. I'm sorry about anything I contributed to and if I hurt your feelings. I like yous, and yous are my favorite Spray Princess.

Mattp, I'll buy that. Scotch, I like served neat. Bourbon and good sippin' rums I like with a few chips of ice. But how about this, a rum and tonic with a wedge of lime? Must be a darker rum, though. something like Mount Gay (sp?) or Meyers rum. Of course a Mojito... now that's a cocktail for a warm night... which this ain't.

I believe the original martini had a mix had the following... 2 parts Vodka 1 part Gin 1 part Vermouth (blegh) Personally, I stick with Kettle One, a dribble of olive juice into the shaker, and a quick swirl of vermouth around the glass that promptly gets tossed out. Let the shaker "settle" for a moment, two quick shakes and a strainer into a frozen glass. This is making me thirsty.

I read Casino Royal many years ago. The thing is, I coulda swore it was the other way around. In the book, it's stirred not shaken. I dunno, I mighta been high

I think I'm catchin' onto this spray thing

always with Vodka

More leather boot input requested... I picked up a pair of Mantas. I like them, but I'm not so crazy about their lacing system. It's difficult to snug them up in one lacing session. The Eiger's are awesome on that front, but they weight about a pound more (read: 16 fucking ounces more.) Ditto for the Zeus, but man the Zeus is plush. One bad thing I've heard about the Kayland is that the soles wear out super quick. I'm looking for a versatile general mountaineering boot. It needs to have good support, a stiff (not rigid) sole, and suitable for both long approaches and alpine ice. If you have any of these, I'd apprecaite your thoughts.

I've taken MOFA from the Mountaineers. It's a good class, comprehensive and pretty straight forward. The mounties absence policy of no exceptions is the only downside (but understandable.) Plus, the price is right.

Seriously, Tost is a good spot. Sort of a slinky cocktail bar with loose grooves and a nice compliment to the other Class H liquor establishments in Thaisville, cough... I mean Fremont. Bitters (the former storefront's life) wuz a bit of a waste of space. If we could only lure 2nd Bounce back (sigh.)

You are * SO * kinky.

Do both/either of you climb?

If you're NEWSTIPS, who's king5news?