catbirdseat

Man, you totally nailed it. HR people just hate me. They don't even acknowledge receipt of my resume. But, if I can talk to the people in the lab, I almost always hit it off great. Almost ever job I've had involved an inside contact- someone who knew me. The trick is coming up with that contact.

My partner for Leavenworth ice climbing called at 10 pm Saturday to report he had re-aggravated an injury from the previous summer. It was then too late to find another partner. The bright side is that I was able to finish pruning almost all of my fruit trees. What a job that was.

Nice work. Most detailed TR I've seen of this particular route.

Jens, it may be warm here but it is still very cold east of the mountains. There's still ice there.

I saw Doc Newell and mentioned this thread. He said that he was unaware of any correlation between arch height and preference of soft versus hard "orthoses". I went to see him about an injury I suffered at Joshua Tree. He called it a hyperextension similar to "turf toe". He's making up a "leather" as he calls it, to pad and protect the affected part of the foot so it will heal faster.

I do know of one death that was associated with the self-belay grip. Peter Morse fell on Kendall Peak in 1999. He tried to arrest using the adze. In the fall he suffered a puncture wound. Bad weather prevented an immediate helecopter rescue and he succumbed before he could be evacuated. I knew Peter, having met him in the gym a few times at the Sabey Building. He worked for the PI. It is possible that, had he used the self-arrest grip, the outcome might have been the same. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-64108277.html

Best thread revival of the year!

Gene Autry as many of you remember was, before he was owner of the California Angels, a popular Western Movie Star. If you knew Gene, it was said he had rather parsimonius nature, too. He had a beautiful horse named Trigger that was his stalwart through all his movies. When Trigger became old he was put out to pasture to live out his life in ease. One day Trigger died of old age. Gene went to a taxidermist and told him, "My horse Trigger meant the world to me. He and I went through hell and high water together. I can't bear to just plant him in the ground. Can you stuff him? I want to be able see my Trigger and remember what fine times we had together", and Gene proceeded to launch off into story after story about his trusty horse. The taxidermist said, "well, I think it would cost about $5,000", to which Autry replied, "$5,000?, $5,000!?!!!!!" "Bury the sombitch!"

That's why they call it "making money". It wouldn't work if it was actually worth something to begin with.

This is one of those things where the way a question is posed seems to demand a black and white answer, when in reality, the answer is "it depends". The times I a most likely to use the self - arrest grip is when I am on easy terrain and NOT actively using the axe for self-belay. I am moving fast, just using the axe for balance, if I slip it is easy to self arrest. Comfort of the grip isn't an issue as you aren't driving the shaft into snow.

I might be up for one day. I think that some of the Leavenworth area climbs might be in.

This group is using a gadget into which you shovel loose snow. It does not require blocks, but it does require snow that is cohesive. If conditions are too cold, this method might not work.

Let the snow conditions dictate whether or not you build an igloo. You need consolidated snow that makes good blocks if you want to make an igloo. Sometimes you can dig a pit to get down to the sort of snow you would need, but it is more work. I'd go with the snow cave.

It's much safer to use the self-arrest grip. If your axe is uncomfortable to use that way, then get a new axe. You can also put padding over the top to make it more comfortable.

If I said no, would you go do it?

I heard a story on the radio that they are going to move 85 elk from the Acme Valley to the hills above Darrington. Can't find the story in the local newspapers though. So apparently there are already a few elk in the Darrington area, which I never knew. Maybe we'll start seeing elk up the Clear Creek drainage? It's really happening in Acme.

In ice climbing, legs are overrated.

Whoa, nine pages! Didn't notice they put the page selector on the left side.

So what was the resolution? The thread stopped on the 18th.

Probably not a good idea, as they tend to break into segments.

I believe it was first known as The City of Silent Rocks. I guess people figured "silent" and "rock" were redundant.

The route Displacement is aptly named (Interstate Park). Climbers routinely displace rocks from it. Be careful where you set your belay.

Let's play Twenty Questions! Were you having a safety break just before you left behind the valuable item?

Nice We've learned to take what he says with a grain of salt.

I'm going to try to beat Dave Schuldt to the punch. Two words: IMPEACH BUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!