catbirdseat

3 years before/ 1 year after

Actually, it is also a good spray topic too. Why don't you replicate it in Spray?

I'm kind of serious about this post. I want to hear about climbing procedures, otherwise I would have put it in spray.

So you are saying that before you found cc.com you always wore shorts over polypro? In other words you've been saved from fashion oblivion.

A water knot is a good knot if tied correctly. If there is already one sling on the station and I am just backing it up, I'll use the water knot.

For example, as a result of my readings on CC.com I almost always use the EDK instead of the double fisherman's knot for joining two ropes for rappel. After reading about Stefan's accident, if I am going to rap from a single sling, I always use a double fisherman's knot on the sling instead of a water knot.

Toast, Mudslinger, Suprglu and I met for breakfast at Sultan Bakery Sat. morning and then did the approach from Quartz Cr. TH on a pleasant sunny day. Made camp by 3 pm. Mudslinger and I hiked onto the glacier to scope out first bergschrund so we could get by quickly in the dark of the morning. Left camp at Pt. 5779 at 5 am. Found the route in good condition with solid ice, but a bit brittle in places. Climbed lower half (ca. 35 degrees) unroped then simulclimbed steeper upper half (ca. 45-50 degrees) in two long pitches. Fun climbing. Partner did a Vertical Limit imitation to get across a crevasse. Reached Yellow Shoulder on NE Ridge at 9 am. Summit at 10 am. Tried descending S. Ridge, which none in group had done before, and got discouraged with the tough routefinding, so went down gully to N. end Blanca Lake instead. Back to cars at 5 pm. A bit sore (okay, a LOT sore) this morning.

I saw an embedded geode on my climb this weekend, but I didn't want to ruin my ice axe to get it out. I'll bring a cold chisel for next time.

I checked my rack and the red tricam isn't there. Doggone it. Those knuckleheads.

The fact is that some climbers ARE a squabbling bunch of juvenile idiots.

90% of climbing is mental. The other half is also mental.

Not only does it feel good, but it brings luck.

Uncle Tricky believes in quality rather than quantity.

You Polish may be better climbers, but we Americans have you outgunned.

Rod, I wasn't even aware that my red tricam had been left behind. I'll have to go look at my rack. My partners never mentioned not being able to clean it. Assuming the second clipped through as I asked, the third should have cleaned it. If for some reason the second did not clip through, you'd think HE would have cleaned it. Did you find it high on the first pitch traverse in a shallow pocket?

No it is spelled Baba Ganouche. Store bought stuff is gross, but freshly made stuff is good.

Remember we're climbing on Saturday? You don't want to be hung over do you? Wait, you climb better with a hangover. Go ahead then.

Found at depths of up to 5652 feet. They die at depths of 5653 ft.

I thought you were a teacher. Are you on strike or what? I'd love to be you right now.

Oh erik, The Appaloosa which is native to Idaho, Washington, and Oregon; it came across the the ice bridge many many years ago along with camels and such... camels have long been extinct do to the killing nature of the Clovis people. but horses did survive the epidemic known as man, but mammoths, camels, along with many other mammals native to the eastern contenates didn't.... so really it depends on what type of breed your talking about that determines weather or not horses are native or not... they definitely are to our part of the country... Uh, Fejas, you better check your facts. I'm pretty sure that horses are not native to North America. All the horses that run wild are descendants of those lost by early Spanish and subsequent explorers and settlers. There were horses here many thousands of years ago, but not when Europeans first "discovered" the continent.

I didn't have any trouble at all reading that at normal speed because I have cc.com training. Thanks, Muffy, babnik and the rest!

What's in a name? A lot. Ever read The Fatal Shore? In the old days they called them buggers. The Aussies are very sensitive about it to this day.

I had heard that the dam was part of mining operations. They used hydropower then. Probably channelled the flow to a pelton wheel which turned a dynamo for electricity and possibly an air compressor for the rock drills. I have no idea where the prospects were. I've never seen any mine shafts.

Dwayner told me at PC he was going away on business for awhile and wouldn't be making PC for several weeks. I think perhaps that includes cc.com threads. Anyway don't panic. Just as soon as you start to forget him, he'll be back to rattle your cage.

If my body never wore out, I am certain I'd never get tired of life. I might get tired of climbing, but I'd move on to the next thing that captured my interest. People don't get tired of living. They get tired of their old worn out bodies.