billcoe

EXACTLY! My ex-next door neighboor. Wow! Damn near beyond belief. Good guy, much more liberal than some of the more liberal libs here...but...as they are moving it comes up that he'd had a loaded shotgun leaning on the wall behind his bedroom door the entire 6 years that they had lived there. "But what about yer kids?" Says I. "They were taught at an early age not to touch it". "Loaded? Like full of shells?" says I... "Yeah", he looks me in the eyes "An unloaded gun is worthless". "I'm sure your kids were fine, but what about all the other neighboor kids who were running through here every summer..." " My kids wouldn't let them touch it"....he says. Fuck. And I though I was crazy. My kids would have been fine as they were trained as well. But the rest of the munchkins? Hmmm, bad idea to give children access to loaded shotguns. Never admitted to him that I'd bought gas masks for my family, and for all the kids on the block including his kids, but not for him and his wife. The only adult I confessed that too got all strange on me. Anyhows, back on topic. The plot thickens. Is everyone, and not just Trash and Rob, sniffing bath salts these dayz? https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/deport-everyone-signed-petition-withdraw-their-state-united-states-america/dmQl1bXL My state: "A petitioner from Tillamook, Ore., identified by the site as Kristopher W, worded his state’s petition this way: “Allow Oregon to vote on and leave the union peacefully and remain an ally to the nation.” He continues, “With the federal government increasing its size much larger than our Founding Father’s intended, and its abuse of power trumping over the rights of state constitutions, and the forcing of unconstitutional laws over its own citizens, the people of Oregon would like the chance to vote on leaving the Union immediately. The federal government has imposed policies on Oregon that are not in Oregon’s best interests, and we as citizens would respectively and peaceably separate ourselves from a tyrannical government who cares nothing about creating a sustainable future for our children. At any time that the citizens of Oregon [should feel] the federal government was no longer imposing on the Constitution, we could re-vote to again join the union under a new agreement.” One of the contrary petitions reads this way: “Strip the Citizenship from Everyone who Signed a Petition to Secede and Exile Them.” It continues, “Mr. President, please sign an executive order such that each American citizen who signed a petition from any state to secede from the USA shall have their citizenship stripped and be peacefully deported.” LOLZ ! Off to planet ....with ya! __________________________________________________ edited to add, a petition to end petitions LOL. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/shut-down-white-house-petitions-they-never-get-sincere-response-few-read-them-they-are-ultimately/nBtJ7d4R

Cape Horn would be perfect. A) Easy access B) No rock routes. I'd stay off Cigar Rock, it does have routes. Cape Horn: If you are looking for some FA's, the 3 pinnacles on the left in the lower photo are as yet unclimbed I believe. I was thinking of it, but keep putting it off. You can literally take a (new) easy, wide trail from the SR 14 road to the top of the cliff above the RR portal and set up a toprope (stay off the tracks of course). Park at the obvious turnout with the portapotty (which may be gone as they are doing road construction) at approx milepost 27-28 at the sharp right hand sweeping turn (you'll see the trail right there, no trail head marker yet) or I can give you better directions to get to the base of pinnacles with out rapping. To the right of that grassy spot in the lower pic, from the car, is less than a 1/4 and close to flat. Real sweet, easy, wheelchair access. The west side of the cliffs, accessed via the lower Cape Horn trail area, closes in Feb due to Peregrines, however, you could probably (cautiously) go to the other end of the cliff after Feb. The upper stays open and there is a couple cliffs up there that would be less desirable. The other end of the lower band has got to be close to a full mile away, and that side (east side) would be further complicated as the lower part is private property (farms). Lets see a trip report of how heinous it is:-) Wear helmets....have fun.

Texas has the votes required to get a "piss off" from the President. (25,000) Should be interesting to see how he handles the petition. Maybe a B-Ark? B-Ark(Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy): Their ancestors founded Texas it's said.

Sorry to hear it. We'll all keep an eye out for your stuff too. Few things worse than having your gear ripped off. What a pisser. Anything you can add? Markings, tape or paint, photos? The keeper sling on the grigri is pretty unique, what color is it? What color was the Grigri? What color was the reverso 3, what color was the rope? Other things like that? Like I have a lead rope I put 2 big assed black middle marks 5" long that are @ 6" apart which really would make an otherwise regular tan Mammut 10.5 rope really stand out.

Yes Murray -we use to. When I was young many people would put poppies on their lapels this day. Don't know why it ended. The poppies would grow wild where the shells of big guns had slammed and tilled the earth. So you had these wide swaths of destruction, where not even a blade of grass was left standing, turn into a beautiful field of a rolling carpet of pretty poppies after the troops stopped lobbing shells. As far as the poems go, the Wilfred Owens poem was always preferred by me as well. However, the poppies are the symbol of the great war, and Flanders Fields, despite being written by a Canadian, is the poem most commonly associated with it. Interestingly, in France, for domestic consumption: the Americans (and even lesser the Canadians) are noted in passing, and appear to have little historical mention as effecting the outcome. The vets of WW1 were dismayed to see that the War to End all Wars really was only just another big assed way when WW2 started. My grandfather was a Marine in WW1 stuck in the trenches of Belgium. His son - my dad, was in the 8th air force in WW2 and basically tilled the same earth.

Congrats and thanks to all who worked on this or even just tossed a letter into the ring explaining why option 2 would be the more desirable option for us. May the Climbers and the Eagles both flourish.

Having spoken to thousands of voters over the years, I can tell you first hand that this lame attempt at denigrating the American electorate is dead wrong. It was heartening on Halloween, when handing out candy, to hear several parties of adults having spirited (but otherwise friendly) political discourse on issues down on the sidewalk whilst waiting for their charges to beg and accumulate candy. It warmed my heart as much as seeing some of the little ones all dressed up.

Thus ends the day of remembrance of Armistice day, to celebrate the end of the War which would end all wars. Perhaps in Afghanistan, where they know for poppies, we can end that on 11-11-2014 as an end date so that the poppies can continue to be utilized as a symbol? All that's needed is a solid catch phrase. The "War to End all Wars" has already been done.

You'll get a lot of opinions here:-) I'd add mine on too. Good advice on biners upthread. I have a mix of Camp Nanos (almost too small but they work) and Wild Country Heliums. Loves me da Heliums ! On nuts: The Ukrainians claim that their plastic nuts are the lightest made: but they're not. They're sort of OK. However, the DMM wallnuts work much better and are very close to comparable weight wise. The DMM wallnuts are lighter than the DMM offsets Mike mentions, and also go up in size, potentially allowing you to drop a few cams (depending on what route you are on). There are times where offset nuts just work so good though, that it's hard not to take some anyway even when you are trying to go light. Any kind of pin scarred granite, they have no equal. That includes both the smaller brass ones and the larger alum offsets. Cams The Metolius four cams are very light cam and grip so awesome. If you are carrying a full rack of cams you can do the math and add the grams since both Metolius and BD have shifted things a bit, but it use to be you could carry an extra Metolius for the same or less weight than a rack of Camalots. I love Camalots too (better than the DMM Dragons) but they do weigh more, and if I have a choice of carrying 10 cams or 11 cams that weight less than the 10, AND actually grip better as well, I'm taking 11 for lighter weight. There's a reason that movie of Peter Croft and Lisa Rands are doing that 5.12 route on the Hulk with Metolius cams. Light. Work great. I'd pass on the new Wild Country Helium Cams. (I confess to only owning one set). I don't think they deliver a lot for what you pay for and was disappointed in them. If you can get a pro deal, I'd do it (OK, I go the deal and did it:-), but don't use them. Slings Too obvious, but note that the skinny 6mm Dyneema Mammut slings have a real short life and that's a huge trade off IMO. Sometimes you get that trade off with cams as well, and as Mike suggested, you get long life on those old thicker nylon slings they use to sling cams with. Regardless, the weight gain of a 6mm (do they even make them now?) over a 8mm sling is negligible, and if you are a sloth like most of us, 10mm can be tossed around and mistreated a lot longer and still be safe for a slight weight gain. I still use sewn 10mm slings I'd bought 20 years back for toproping. I do wonder what they'd test too.

~John McCrae, 1915

This debate could go on for a long time. However, it's in the "newbie" thread so that's where my thoughts were going and our responses should be directed to. As far as Matts insult/suggestion that don't trust the internet or specifically these guys responding to the post -I feel that is way off base. Some of the guys responding on this thread are total kick assed dudes who have as more real world experience and smarts than 90 percent of the "Guides" out there. I don't include myself in there: however the last few times I've bumped into "actual" guides it's been on long routes where I wish they would hurry up and bail or get the heck out of my way. I've been unimpressed with their belay setups which are slow, cumbersome, and add nothing of value. Last time was with Ujahn on Epinephrine, and as we caught up with the 2 in front each and every pitch despite giving them a breather starts (ie waiting a bit, it was 2 guides not guide/client) when we compared notes later Ujahn and I both learned the same thing, that neither of those guides was familiar and had ever seen anyone tie in with the climbing rope, which is a faster and stronger method than they were employing on the same route. Turns out that the AMGA at that time was into the whole cordelette thing. The fact that it works well for guides, especially large groups, is true. But a better way existed for 2 skilled guys climbing a route with no deadweight and they had no clue. They were on a climbing trip around the country and had been getting in a lot of mileage, but they were only climbing with each other and thus not broadening their knowledge base too much. So take that as you will. There is a place in the world for Cordelette/equalettes/clusterfuckolets. But a newbie climbing established routes with his buddy isn't one of them in my opinion. That's what this thread is about. That said, I suggest learning everything you can -and then some, including how to tie the equallete. Having extra arrows in your quiver never hurts, and you may decide that you like it. I go out with folks that use them and it's fine with me when I'm on lead and I know that they have a system that works for them. Getting out into the wild blue yonder and off the beaten track, having that extra piece of cord can be a godsend. But that discussion can be in a thread not titled Newbies IMO.

I would ask them wuz up with it. It could have nothing to do with the climbing (or not, I don't know) For instance, there were 3 business partners here. I was the oldest and a climber too, and the other 2 guys pretty much were golfers for their sport and relaxation. We all got insurance at the same place, same time, same reason and mine cost the least every month. In fact, they did a health evaluation which included drawing blood, and I just looked the best of the 3. The youngest guy was shocked that his was the highest, (we all were at first) until we realized that he was a smoker and his family history looked worse as well. It was a heads up to get his shit together. Stop smoking, eat better. His cholesterol count was up and so was his blood pressure. But he looked good on the outside. No one knew. You may have just gotten very very lucky to get this heads up in advance. Call and ask, your blood pressure might be off the charts or something similar which you might really need to know. If they don't give you a reason, look elsewhere for insurance. Love to see what they say, assuming that they do and if you feel like sharing. - good luck

It's lacking.

Trip report generator for anyone trying to keep up with Ivan? http://www.the-elite.net/story-generator/

Or you can follow Lost Cam around and pick up the ones he leaves behind on the ground or stuck in cracks. Wait, I wasn't going to say that. Nevermind that part. He's still missing a purple from the Ozone, that joke is clearly in bad taste so forget I said it. I was going to say that Fixe and Totem make identical "Alien style" cams. Totem cams version of the Alien, which they call the "Basic", are approx $20 cheaper if the Fixes are not on sale (rare). Totem only makes to the green. So you will have to go with Fixe or the used market for the smaller. Totem basic (actually an Alien but same same) on left, Totem on right. Photo Mikel from Totem. The regular Totem cams have gone from not something I wanted to use to have stolen my heart after I got some high mileage in on them. However, the smallest, the Blue, seems about or just a tad larger, than the green Alien. So if you are considering a set of the regular Totems, I'd supplement it with Green, Blue and Black Basic cams (AKA Aliens). The Totem Basics are @$20 cheaper than the Fixe Aliens, but Totem do not yet make the 2 smallest, the blue and black. EMS has them on sale right now for $63 each which is a great price. The standard Totem price is $59 but again, they only go down to green at this time. http://www.totemcams.com/index.php?id=1 The Metolius TCUS are sweet, and the used ones are usually a bargain. Furthermore, Metolius goes way above and beyond and will recondition them for cheap (if they are not total trash).

Holy crap, sorry to hear of the store break in.

As it's Beacon, and the off season, I realize it's going to be an argument soon enough:-), like to examine this idea. Pulled from the Beacon Trail Maintenance thread. Steve, Ivan asked for a photo, can we get one? Also, do you know who did your painting, and is it for sale? Research indicates that James W. Alden did a painting in 1857 called either "Castle Rock or 'McLeod's Castle'. Don't know where that is or what it looks like. But early photos and cards don't show the pillar you mention. 1908 photo of the other side

HOLY SMOKES, THAT'S SIGNIFICANT! Love to see this one Steve.....

Follow the YUM. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yum!_Brands KFC's a wildly packed in China. The profit picture.

Damnit that sucks. We'll all be lookin for it now, did you have any paint or tape markings?

NO SHIT? Earthshaking newz man. So sorry. When did ya lose the title Pat? edit: Street shout out to my bro Denali Dave. Dave, was Pat the Patron saint of fat fucks AND the queen of all bitches? or Just the first one?

Hahahaha! You didn't even read it. !!! That's OK, I didn't read yours either! (google) LOL! There's been a lot of conspiracies that are true, where the conventional wisdom was wrong (ML King, Bobby Kennedy), enough so that it's hard not to continue on that path of thought and wonder how many more there are in other instances. Reality can be an interesting thing. (perdicaris alive raisuli dead anyone?) I won't say Kev is wrong. Could be right and we'll all find out in 40 years. Anyone bother to follow up and read the John Kennedy link/investigation I posted? Didn't think so, ya ignoramuses. All sticking with the magic bullet still? LOL

OMG, Please. Just saw the damned trees down. That stuff is all 2nd or 3rd growth is it not? Who really wants to pay $10 for a 2 x 4 and million dollar shacks? Better to cut it when it's time, it's why we hire professionals to work in that field. It would be different if there was habitat issues Marbelled Murrilet Coos Bay sale for example) Don't make me go get my chainsaw, I need some firewood here. Sorry, but I can't get enthused in locking up timber that should be cut.

How would you respond to this guy Kev? http://jamesfetzer.blogspot.com/2011/08/debate-over-911-truth-kevin-ryan-vs-jim.html

You ever run into some of these kinds of folks trash? Howz that go? LOL