billcoe

"anything the Gobment doesn't make money on is against the law" LOL!!!!!

Don't "just do it", bad advice.

I think Jim feels comfortable with less than perfection and sees the good in this as outweighing the bad as this is an opportunity to teach and expand folks worldview as it relates to climbing, ie, that things are less than perfect and you need to keep your head up and pay attention: while JH is seeing it as easy to fix and make it to near perfect and it is less than marginally suitable in it's present condition. They probably are both right, but I give Jim the slight nod on it, if someone raps off the end of their rope and their butt slams down 10 feet to the ground, they will have learned a valuable lesson cheaply about paying attention and tying knots in the ends of ropes. One they can transfer to a 1000' high cliff and have a better chance of surviving that.

They'll upgrade you to journeyman after you can do a 5.10 first ascent naked in the winter....wait.....you did that last year already. Hey, back to N00b status anyway for the interruption N00b, didn't you see that we're argueing bolts now....sheeese! LOL Congrats on your new quickdraw BTW.

Nice find! For posterity: "Tightrope artist sets record on Germany's highest mountain Swiss tightrope walker Freddy Nock balances on the 995-meter-long cable of the cable railway on top of the Zugspitz mountain, Germany's highest peak, Aug. 30, 2009 At least the view up there was nice Swiss daredevil Freddy Nock has set a record for the world's highest tightrope feat - atop Germany's tallest mountain, the Zugspitze. With no nets or safety ropes, the stunt was dangerous but for a good cause. Professional tightrope artist Freddy Nock on Sunday walked across 995 meters (3,264 feet) of cable, which is otherwise used to pull the aerial tram up the Zugspitze mountain, located in southern Germany near the Austrian border. "I made it, I'm happy, wow!" said the 44-year-old after it was all over. Nock's challenge was not just horizontal, but vertical as well. With the cable strung at a 56 percent incline, he increased his altitude by 348 meters over the 50-minute journey. His final destination at the mountain tram station was located at an altitude of 2,943 meters, setting a world record for the highest tightrope walk. Swiss tightrope walker Freddy Nock balances on the 995-meter-long cable of the cable railway on top of the Zugspitz mountain, Germany's highest peak, Aug. 30, 2009Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Nock's dangerous feat was for a good cause During the walk, Nock was suspended at up to 130 meters above ground. As he used no safety gear, the endeavor could have ended quite differently for Nock. Some 1,800 spectators turned out to watch the tightrope act - Nock's second, after a first attempt on Saturday was interrupted due to bad weather conditions. Through the event, over 13,000 euros in donations were raised for the charity "Menschen fuer Menschen," which runs rural development projects in Ethiopia. " hmmm, "Menschen fuer Menschen," sounds suspiciously like "Men on Men".

LOL! Not all of us! http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/901756/BOOOYAAAAA#Post901756

Can we get Larry Craig (bathroom stall with a dude bust) and him to give exit speeches to the little childrens first? I mean, they are after all, republicans and not those filthy Democrats trying to spread horrible and corrupting propaganda like the President was doing yesterday with all that talk of hard work and personal responsibility and all.

Maybe this damn draw moved over from Monkey Face. I think they are free-range running all over willy-nilly loose over that way. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/904724/LOST_17quickdraws_on_the_bolte#Post904724 I remember now, can I guess can I guess do I get it if I guess right? !!! Wait, I only need "TRAD" draws. They pair nicely with my "TRAD" chalkbag, "TRAD" harness and "TRAD" shoes. _________________________________________________________________ JH, probably just need to leave a longer quickdraw then....Adam has one you can borrow. Beacon has plenty of other new convenience raps, this rappel needs ones attention, just like the real world. If it's an emergency, clip a bolt 3/4 of the way down, back it up with a piece of gear and do a 2nd rap. That no one has been injured in the last 10 years suggests that it is not blatantly (or sneakily) dangerous, but merely an inconvenience. When ropes were 50 meters, you needed 2 to get down. 2 are still needed but the 60 gets you closer to the ground so folks shortcut. If the rap bolts were lowered from where they are, they would most likely be right on the 1st pitch route with folks using them for a belay and endangering themselves with potential rope cutting in a fall or they would just be in the way. Besides, they've been there long enough that its a tradition. _______________________________________________________________

Thanks for sharing this Bob. Nice looking van. I had no idea they were bringing this over to this side of the pond, you see similar stuff all over Europe. The Sprinter Vans are getting mid 20s highway mileage as well, but are very costly at like @40,000 base. Any idea what these will be going for?

Ahhh, but it can be a clean and honest transaction wherein all parties are satisfied!

Wise words indeed....in your mind please replace the word "Suck" with "anally probed by Aliens sans lubrication" then and whenever it is used inappropriately in the future. As long as we are on this correct use of wordage thing: I propose that in the future the word "Whore" be used as a good or positive descriptor for women, and not as a bad or negative reference to women as it traditionally has been used from now on.

Ditto on the A+ Ivan. If the "computer" is done tabulating and averaging it, what did the kids rate the effectiveness of the speech?

Sounds like your kids pretty much have it together Ivan:-) Newt Gingrich evidently said on the news that he thinks Obama’s school speech was “good for America,”. Good for him, I do too.

Always good to see others who are sicker than I! Nice stuff Dane!! Thanks for sharing.

Highly recommended book "Lenin's Tomb". They note that Stalin was 5'4".

Yesterday...short climb: 1/2 a pitch, reached the crux 8 feet from the top. Stood there burning the calves contemplating both how weak I was and my (solid) gear there and while considering all this and making pussy noises it started to rain....bailed off, got to the base and the heavens unleashed as I grabbed gear and dove for an overhang. Got home by @ 1 in the afternoon, took an hour nap....felt better. I feel good and am sore today. The moral of the story is still "Getting Old sucks", but it's better than the alternative I guess. Life is but an eyeblink. No pictures of this grovelfest.

I still find it amazing that folks would drive 300 miles or so to climb these routes just because they are finally in a guidebook. Wow, the power of a guidebook to drive hordes of people.

Based on what I read and how I respond to the president, on an emotional level, this speech is long over due to our kids. When Kennedy spoke "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." there was a visceral, gut level reaction that millions our fellow citizens responded to in a great way back then. When I see stories like this one at the bottom from the Financial Times, it makes me wonder why the republicans are whining about this (and it's not all of them). What are really thinking? That pissing and moaning for no reason will garner our respect? That we will be suspicios of BArak? Hey, I distrust politicians as much as the next person, but in this case, I'm distrusting the republicans. In fact, for myself, I think "what a bunch of counterproductive A-HOLES!!!" This had been needed to be said and encouraged for years and years as we see the emphasis on education slide to be replaced by this "me first screw you I don't need to be responsible" attitude: big-time bravo on Barak for stepping up to address this plate. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e4e4823a-9b1c-11de-a3a1-00144feabdc0.html "Obama speech to pupils riles Republicans By Anna Fifield in Washington Encouraging children to work hard at school and set goals for themselves would hardly appear to be an incendiary message. But the plans of Barack Obama, US president, to address students across the country on Tuesday have set off a political firestorm – the fiercest of his critics are comparing him to communist leaders Joseph Stalin and Kim Jong-il, and are accusing him of trying to indoctrinate children with “socialist” ideas. The angry reaction is a sign of how fractious the US political scene has become after an August break characterised by debates over health reform at townhalls and on the airwaves . It does not augur well for Mr Obama’s address to the joint Congress on Wednesday, in which he will appeal for fresh efforts to formulate a healthcare reform bill that both the Democrat and Republican parties can support. The Democrats will push ahead with their own bill if no agreement is reached by September 15. “It shows the level of paranoia that something as innocuous as the president telling children to work hard has sparked this kind of response,” said Matthew Yglesias from the Centre for American Progress, a left-leaning think-tank."

How could any kid not be inspired by the President? P.L.E.A.S.E E E! Some excerpts, but every one of us should read the full text and see if there is anything to disagree with. "And that’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. " Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up. No one’s written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future. " The petty arguing on this site only ignores what an amazing and inspiring writer and speaker the President is. Great stuff there and long overdue.

Hey wait a bit, was I there for that...? This story seems vaguely familiar. Neutrinos on a girth pillar hitch?

Mammut? Silvery lookin biners...?

camp?

6" petzl?

I have confusion as well.....Allen, what can we do to help you? Isn't a SPOT locator a GPS signal monitored by professionals? So if someone turned on the 911 signal, they would have the authorities there shortly post haste to be helping or listening to the explaining....

Tami Knight cartoon LOL