catbirdseat

Dru that one doesn't count and you know it. The biner was broken because the figure eight device caught on the gate and broke it by its leverage action.

Do you think that if you handed the cops a couple guys and a bag full of credit cards, they would see fit to make an arrest? Probably not.

I thought her post was funny as hell. She was right in a way.

Dru, no need to obfuscate the issue. Biners can and do break, but it is far more likely the one on your last piece of pro.

This fellow lives in Oregon, so it would be Mazamas for him, if he wanted to go that route.

9/16 is fine with or without rap rings. Some of my runners are sewn spectra but I always carry some tied 9/16 climb spec nylon runners for rappels, when necessary.

It's a case of what came first, the chicken or the egg.

The freakish, snarling beast in the photograph doesn't have anything to do with the story.

Why is it that when I go to the park to run, I see people sitting in their cars with the engine idling? "I can see lazy, fat people. They are everywhere."

Just some dumb law.

Who, Brian Dennehy?

It was beautiful over in Leavenworth on Saturday. I climbed a whole bunch and worked on my sun tan. It was hot even. We were up at Pearly Gates and saw only two other parties.

You never did find that can of whoopass that you had misplaced a couple years back. I figured it out only after I posted. In court you'd have a laptop. Problem solved.

He broke his leg for godsakes! This guy had better get himself a copy of FOTH and apprentice himself to a competent climber before he gets himself killed.

Dru, what concrete object you put you hand on? The screen, the CPU, or the keyboard?

Found this thread after searching "for us or against us". I just saw Star Wars. Do you think George Lucas was taking a swipe at Dubya when he put this line in the light saber fight between the nacent Darth Vader and Obi Wan Kenobi? Just speculating.

I hadn't heard of this 2 kN figure before, but it seems completely reasonable. It makes total sense when you think about it. If belay biners could fail by cross loading, they would, but you never hear about. I think I've heard about maybe one instance.

You'll get used to them. Soon anything less than a 6.0 will elicit a yawn.

How dreadful.

In poor visibility, the map isn't as valuable without the compass. I climbed Vesper in a total white out once and damn if the compass didn't come in handy.

If you listen to NPR radio right now you'll here my old P-Chem proffesor, Sherwood Rowland talking about measuring carbon dioxide.

That direction leads to the Sultan River, eventually.

Here's another stupid hiker story from the book. A helicopter pilot was flying over Havasu Canyon, I believe and noticed a flash flood forming high in the canyon. Knowing that there would be lots of people hiking in the canyon, he decided to ignore regulations and fly down the canyon to warn people. He went from group to group using hand gestures to indicate they should leave the canyon. Most understood him and moved. He came to a pair of women who were wading in the creek and when he signalled, they just waved back, thinking he was being just being friendly. When he persisted, they finally moved out of the water up onto the bank. The pilot continued down the wash to warn others. After he left, one of the two women went back into the water and SURPRISE! was caught by a wall of brown water with rocks and trees in it. She survived only by dumb luck when she was pushed against a boulder and was able to wriggle her way on top of it.

Authorities will do little to stop identity theft because credit card companies profit handsomely from it.

Nah, I doubt it.