catbirdseat

Confucious say, man who fart in church sits in his own pew. If it were easy, I would have done it myself. It's good enough for the girls I go with. It's good enough for government work. Slower than a sack of shit on a sand dune. Colder than a brass toilet seat on the shady side of an iceberg.

Jason Gowans, Phillip Marble and I departed the parking lot at 5:30 am Friday January 7. We left snowshoes in the car because they were not needed. We put crampons on at the top of the Palmer Lift. We arrived at the summit at 1 pm. We met skiers Shredmaximus (Pat) and party from Portland on the way, wonderful, friendly people all. Snow conditions were hard and wind packed in most places with a few icy spots showing. The bergschrund is almost completely filled in. It presents no significant obstacle. There was almost no wind all day long, even though it had been reported very windy the previous day. We returned to the parking lot at 5 pm tired and happy.

I did a search on the PI website and did not find anything.

This is an old favorite of mine. Apologies to Matt. A truck driver frequently traveled through a small town where there was a courthouse at the side of the road. Of course, there were always lawyers walking along the road. The truck driver made it a practice to hit any pedestrian lawyers with his truck as he sped by. One day, he spotted a priest walking along the road and stopped to give him a ride. A little further along, as he approached the town, he spotted a lawyer walking along the side of the road. Automatically, he veered his truck towards the lawyer, but...then he remembered his passenger. He swerved back to the center, but he heard a "whump" and in the rear view mirror he spotted the lawyer rolling across the field. He turned to the priest and said, "Father, I'm sure that I missed that lawyer." And the priest replied (best Irish accent), "That's OK, my son, I got him with the door."

It all reminds me of some of Fred Beckey's introductions in CAG only even more technical. I just love it when you guys use all those big words, like "allocthonous terranes". Is that cool, or what?

Toast, remember that 75% of the hot babes don't smoke and they all prefer other nonsmokers. Isn't it better to have three times better odds than you have now?

My my, how this thread has deteriorated. I started out so well. When the posts get to 6 words or less for several posts in a row that means nobody cares anymore to post for the publich at large. You might as well be in an f'ing chat room.

Diana, you're almost hooked. Time to register with cc.com. It only takes a minute. What have you got to lose?

I paid for it in advance, god dammit. Of course I do!

I see these type of tracks where dogs are not allowed all the time. I guess that means the people are just as stupid as the dogs.

Trask, if DFA is retarded, then you are a vegetable.

Blood Bag Story

It wasn't until we were pulling in to the theater parking lot that I was told the movie "was about three women". I remember thinking, "Oh, no, chick flick! What have I gotten myself into?" Anyway, I must have scored big points for sitting through the whole thing, because she didn't bat an eyelash when I announced I was going to climb Hood on Friday.

DFA has got to be the most literate soul on this board.

I'm not into violence and video game-like movies with no plot. There are plenty of movies I like that women also like, for example: As Good as it Get's (Nicholson), The Green Mile, and (I'll get flamed to admit it) I actually enjoyed Sleepless in Seattle.

Never underestimate the capacity of women writers like Virginia Woolf to create their own private hell within the confines of their own mind. They should do like men do. If you can't stand it inside your own head, go scare yourself shitless on some cliff face. Don't just sit there. I have a theory about the need of human kind to endure suffering. We evolved in a struggle for existence, constantly worrying about the next meal. Snake hid in the grass and lions stalked us constantly. We became adrenaline junkies. Put us in a nice safe, quiet environment and you take away the adrenaline. We'll make ourselves suffer because we need to. We develop clinical depression. Climbers would rather let the elements make us suffer. Yeah it's contrived, but it is closer to being a caveman than our modern existence gives us.

The Missus dragged me in to the cinema to watch Nichole Kidman and Meryl Streep in The Hours. I had hoped the Hours would fly by, but they crawled. Talk about the ultimate chick flick. Chick Flick to the n-th power. It was about a bunch of clinically depressed women with lesbian tendencies who wore anquished looks on their faces for TWO HOURS . If I had had a gun with me in the theater, I might have shot myself. Excuse me while I go pop a couple Prozac...

I liked the Celtic Bayou idea. Redmond, right off 520. Easy access, parking.

I'd like to scamper up Hood on Thursday-Friday. Thus far we have an excellent long range weather forecast. I will probably drive down from Seattle on Thursday morning, hike up to above Silcox Hut and camp. Friday, we'd get an Alpine start, summit and drive home that evening. Anyone interested please contact me by PM tout suite. My bad. I had the date wrong. It's correct now. --Brian

Have you ever noticed how trails that have switchbacks have false trails continuing out straight from the end of each switchback? They are caused by dogs off-leash who don't know enough to make the turn. I sure wish everyone would just keep their dogs on leash.

Yep it's a great opportunity. No doubt about it. I'd bet it would be hard to raise capital right now.

Improved weather appears to be on the way. I am planning on going up Hood on Thursday or Friday. We may camp Thursday above Silcox hut and summit Friday, or just do it as a one day on Friday. Any interest? PM me.

I believe the knot you describe is a Bachman knot and yes, it is a lot easier to slide along the rope, because of the "handle" formed by the carabiner.

Your tent is hosed. You can stop the mildew from growing and maybe even get rid of the smell, but you'll never get rid of the stain without damaging the fabric or its waterproof coating. The stain will fade over time if the tent is used in sunlight. I suggest that you not lend any more gear to your supposed "friend". Friends don't store gear wet.

I just got back from Stevens Pass ski area. Nobody knew about it up there. Wow.