catbirdseat

That would be uber classic! You could get some three-strand at West Marine that would pass for Goldline. It would be so much fun for the weird looks you'd get!

Dude you post on RC.com as much or more than you do here. With regard to what is "Wilderness", it doesn't matter what you or I define as Wilderness. It only matters what the Federal Government defines as Wilderness. It's pretty black and white as far as the law is concerned.

She'd likely serve knuckle sandwiches.

Brain? I thought you said it hit you on your boob?

Yes, considering chemistry is such an easy subject, how could you fail unless...

If you have the bread and want to be a self-starter, do the 8 day course. No question the guides are pros. It's their life, their living and their livelihood. They better be good. If you go that route, you need to be totally stoked to climb, fit and ready to go. You need to be prepared to learn a lot on your own and practice a lot on your own. Any course, whether the Mountaineers or a guide service is just a start. The rest is up to you. If you want to get good you have to climb a lot right after the course or you've wasted your time and money.

Thus far, I have climbed with about a dozen people that I've met through this site and there isn't a one I wouldn't climb with again. I've had good experiences with all of them. Maybe I'm lucky. Maybe I'm adaptable. Maybe I've learned to ask the right questions. Certainly, climbing in the Mountaineers I've learned to get along with a wide variety of personality types and skill levels.

An unfortunate event, but was it a stupid mistake? I think not. Sounds like one of those things that happens in ice climbing.

Can't make it this week. Have fun folks!

mnemonic devices are no replacement for actually knowing what you are doing.

With the Intermediate Course, the emphasis has always been on mountaineering and likely will remain so. This is why we recently created the Crag Course for people who are more interested in rock climbing. We spend about twice as much time on rock climbing in that course and that's all it covers.

Rudy, there are a few that are good rock climbers, but in the main you are correct. Seattle has some really good rock climbers like Steve Firebaugh and others.

It can't be denied that you will encounter a few Mountaineers instructors who seem like martinets, but speaking for my own branch (Everett), we have been working to be as laid back and as flexible as possible. We're trying to change our ways, and as Toast likes to say it, get rid of the "pointy helmet" behavior. These days the largest group you would expect on a Basic Climb is 6 for glacier and usually 4 on a rock climb. On an Intermediate climb, you'll find 2 to 4 in the party.

Okay, tell us what interests you in climbing. Are you into rock climbing and bouldering? Are into climbing peaks? What knowledge base are you starting from?

That would require an amendment to the Constitution. The things Bush has done have involved basically ingoring laws and crafting new laws that expand his power that don't require amending the Constitution.

I did almost the exact same thing in the exact same place. Although I didn't fall in nearly as far as you did, nor did I get as wet.

Dryad used something like that in her Himalayan trek to charge camera batteries with good success.

Damn, that must suck. Good luck.

Just think. You'll be like those old school Swiss guides. It'll be so cool.

I will depend on where you go. The rock will be mostly snow free by now. Expect snow on the approach. Three O'Clock Rock is probably your best bet at this point. You might not be able to get to the Granite Sidewalk on Exfoliation Dome without hiking part of the road. Let us know what you find up there. I was planning on going soon. See this thread.

How are you going to design a turbine that doesn't collect snow and ice?

Gary, as W.C. Fields once said, "There comes a time in the affairs of a man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation."

Why not use sun screen when it's too warm for gloves? You'll have to apply frequently, but it works.

Eric, quick, post your fishing trawler pic!

Chitlins at Icicle Canyon features a very fragile potato chip flake that keeps eroding away under traffic. I hadn't climbed it when it was first put up, but it's clearly harder than it's rating.