catbirdseat

Yeah, I noticed that error too. Unfortunate, the writer left off that pesky S. There was also a column by Joel Connolly that talked about the 2006 season on Everest and the death of that climber Sharp on the standard route contrasting that with Dan Mazur's rescue of another climber on the North Ridge route.

Kevin, are your Russian screws with coffee grinders, the Ushba? These are much more advanced than the old Irbis titanium screws.

About 8 years ago, I started getting morning heel pain that was diagnosed as plantar faciitis by a poditrist in Kirkland, one Dr. Berg. Judging from what I saw in his waiting room, he served mostly elderly ladies. I asked about custom orthotics and was told they probably wouldn't help. Berg showed me how to tape my foot to support it. It worked after a fashion but was too inconvenient to keep up. I'd already tried Superfeet (the green ones), and it didn't help. I went to a different podiatrist, one Stanley Newell at Northgate, who thought custom orthotics would help. My foot was cast and 3/4 length rigid beds were made in carbon fiber and epoxy. They are very light. After about three months of wearing them, the heel pain gradually went away. Then I started getting knee pain. I went back to Newell and he said, "what happened to you, you were supposed to come back in 4 weeks?". He adjusted the pronation by building up the bottom of the orthotic using a cork and rubber putty and grinding it to just the right angle. After that I've been fine for 6 years. No pain.

I highly doubt it would matter if I could. I've been in these debates before. You have a belief system built up that doesn't permit alteration. Thus, even when presented with evidence to the contrary, you'd deny it. At least a scientist, when presented with actual credible evidence of a supernatural being, would say 'Hey, look at that!' and try to study it and learn more. You seem happy wallowing in your medieval pig sty of ignorance. Okay then go back to page 4 the paper I put on there and debunk it. You cna't prove a thing and I can't. You have your atheist religion and I have mine. Don't try to tell me yours is the truth and I will not tell you mine is. Your so blinded by yours that you say its 100% right when it not. At least I can say neither can be proved. Who is more closed minded? The main scientific reason why there is no evidence for evolution in either the present or the past (except in the creative imagination of evolutionary scientists) is because one of the most fundamental laws of nature precludes it. The law of increasing entropy — also known as the second law of thermodynamics — stipulates that all systems in the real world tend to go "downhill," as it were, toward disorganization and decreased complexity. This law of entropy is, by any measure, one of the most universal, bestproved laws of nature. It applies not only in physical and chemical systems, but also in biological and geological systems — in fact, in all systems, without exception. No exception to the second law of thermodynamics has ever been found — not even a tiny one. Like conservation of energy (the "first law"), the existence of a law so precise and so independent of details of models must have a logical foundation that is independent of the fact that matter is composed of interacting particles.18 The author of this quote is referring primarily to physics, but he does point out that the second law is "independent of details of models." Besides, practically all evolutionary biologists are reductionists — that is, they insist that there are no "vitalist" forces in living systems, and that all biological processes are explicable in terms of physics and chemistry. That being the case, biological processes also must operate in accordance with the laws of thermodynamics, and practically all biologists acknowledge this. Evolutionists commonly insist, however, that evolution is a fact anyhow, and that the conflict is resolved by noting that the earth is an "open system," with the incoming energy from the sun able to sustain evolution throughout the geological ages in spite of the natural tendency of all systems to deteriorate toward disorganization. That is how an evolutionary entomologist has dismissed W. A. Dembski's impressive recent book, Intelligent Design. This scientist defends what he thinks is "natural processes' ability to increase complexity" by noting what he calls a "flaw" in "the arguments against evolution based on the second law of thermodynamics." And what is this flaw? Although the overall amount of disorder in a closed system cannot decrease, local order within a larger system can increase even without the actions of an intelligent agent.19 This naive response to the entropy law is typical of evolutionary dissimulation. While it is true that local order can increase in an open system if certain conditions are met, the fact is that evolution does not meet those conditions. Simply saying that the earth is open to the energy from the sun says nothing about how that raw solar heat is converted into increased complexity in any system, open or closed. The fact is that the best known and most fundamental equation of thermodynamics says that the influx of heat into an open system will increase the entropy of that system, not decrease it. All known cases of decreased entropy (or increased organization) in open systems involve a guiding program of some sort and one or more energy conversion mechanisms. Evolution has neither of these. Mutations are not "organizing" mechanisms, but disorganizing (in accord with the second law). They are commonly harmful, sometimes neutral, but never beneficial (at least as far as observed mutations are concerned). Natural selection cannot generate order, but can only "sieve out" the disorganizing mutations presented to it, thereby conserving the existing order, but never generating new order. In principle, it may be barely conceivable that evolution could occur in open systems, in spite of the tendency of all systems to disintegrate sooner or later. But no one yet has been able to show that it actually has the ability to overcome this universal tendency, and that is the basic reason why there is still no bona fide proof of evolution, past or present. From the statements of evolutionists themselves, therefore, we have learned that there is no real scientific evidence for real evolution. The only observable evidence is that of very limited horizontal (or downward) changes within strict limits. Here is another shining example of your posting material of which you have not a clue to its meaning. Entropy is overcome every day you are alive. It takes energy to overcome entropy, lots of energy. Look at the equation dG = dH - TdS. Where G is the Gibbs Free Energy, H is the Enthalpy, T is temperature and S is Entropy. If dG is negative the reaction proceeds in the forward direction. A large negative dH term can overcome the TdS term, especially at lower temperatures. It is disingenuous to say that mutations are never beneficial. The vast majority are not. Take HIV for example. This virus mutates very rapidly and manages to acquire resistence to antiretroviral drugs. This resistence is beneficial to the virus in that it enables it to replicate itself to a larger extent. Go ahead and say that a virus isn't "alive", if you want, but it is an example of system of replicating nucleic acids common to us all.

So you are back after a hiatus of nearly five years! Anything change for the better around here? Worse? Personally, I don't regard a mountain as conquered when I climb it. I consider that I've overcome my own limitations.

Was the plane a Douglass SBD Dauntless, by any chance? I just saw a TV program about this plane. There was an American pilot who fought three Japanese A6 Zeros at the same time in one of these planes. He not only survived, but shot down all the enemy planes.

Quoting from Lost on Everest by Peter Firstbrook, "Of all these unauthorized ventures, the most remarkable was made by Marice Wilson in 1934. (p. 151) "Wilson was a Yorkshireman, born in Bradford in 1898. Like most young men of his generatin, he joined the British Army on his eighteenth birthday and fought in France. He had distinguished record in the infantry and was awarded the Military Cross during the third battle of Ypres, before being seriously wounded by machine-gun fire and subsequently invalided home... ...(p. 151)"After a short rest, he set out alone in good weather up the East Rongbuk Glacier, carrying a 20 kg rucksack. The 21st of April was his birthday and he wrote: '36 to-day. Wished myself many happy returns. Had hellish cold feet all night. Storm stil raging...' The folowing day the weather continued to deteriorate and he reach a point just 5 km short of Camp III. He recorded in his diary: ' No use going on. Eyes terrible & throat dry....even huculean effor, could not make Camp II in time, weather bad.' "Wilson was now in a serious perdicament: he was inexperienced, alone at high altitude, short of food, in great pain from his old war-wound and exhausted. By now, the temperature had fallen to -30 C, yet somehow he summoned enough energy to gather his things and struggel back to the monastery.. He had been alone on the glacier for nine days. Despite his ordeal, he wrote in his diary that night, 'I still know that I can do it'... "...(p. 152) He staggered back to Camp III on 25 May, exhausted and beaten. He worte in his diary 'Only one thing to do - no food, no water - get back.' After two days rest, he had recovered and id his best to persuade the Sherpas to accompany him to Camp V: 'This will be a last effort, and I feel successful...' HIs Sherpas refuse do accompany him and on 29 May he set off alone. The last entry in his diary on 31 May 1934 read: 'Off again, gorgeous day.' "The following year, Maurice Wilson's body was found by Eric Shipton's expedition. He was lying on his side alongside the remains of his tent. He had probaly died from a combination of exposure and exhaustion. Among his effects, Shipton and Warren recovered his diary, which is now kept in the archives of the Alpine Club in London. The climbing party wrapped his remains in his tent and buried him by rolling the body into a crevasse on the East Rongbuk. But just as his body occasionally reappears from its interment in the ice (it was found by the Chinese in 1960, again in 1965 and several times since), so stories of a bizarre nature continue to resurface about the man."

I saw an article in the Los Angeles Times the other day about Puppy Prozac. There was a cat that was cured of spraying by putting it on a tricyclic antidepressant, etc. Check this out.

I broke the trigger wires on my orange Alien for the second time in two months. This last time was the result of the cam walking into a wider section of crack and inverting when it was fallen on. As you know, Aliens do not have stops to prevent inversion. This got me to thinking about what cam would or could replace the orange Alien. Zeros don't go that large and neither do BD C3 cams. Metolius TCUs are a candidate, but aren't quite as good in shallow horizontal cracks. Any ideas? It would be cool if WC Zeros added a couple more larger sizes.

I climbed the route last year with Jim Spencer. It's all right, not great, but definitely worth doing. Not that much exposure, a few too many bolts, but the rock is clean for the most part. We used The Sickle and Boomstick for the approach pitches up the apron, if my memory serves me. I didn't mind the little hike up through the forest. Maybe I'm easy to please, but I had a good time. It took us less than four hours to do the 10 pitches. That put us on the summit at 2 pm with enough time to hike down, do lunch and go out to do two more pitches at Campground Wall. That remains my record for pitches in a day at 17.

I spent today without the brace and it would appear the injury has healed significantly. I'll be back at it in another week, I'm sure. Got any pictures Fenderfour?

Hey you all, thanks for the good wishes. Here's a picture from Joshua Tree of me leading Peabody's Peril, 5.9. I didn't know it, but my foot was injured from a fall earlier that day. The doc says its is either a ligament strain or a stress fracture. I have to wear a brace for two weeks.

I can't believe the weather down here in Laguna. It's been 70 degrees for the past two days and sunny. We did a cool bike ride up Aliso Canyon yesterday. Single track riding was like an E-ticket at Disneyland. I'll have to try more of that. Tomorrow off to Joshua Tree.

Bob, National Geographic is supposed to be entertainment, not a scientific journal. You are holding it to a different standard than that to which it aspires. This was first posted in October.

Walking is good. Have you started taking on hills yet?

I'm sure that I could learn to ride well if I devoted half as much time to it as I devote to climbing, but I've decided that I need to focus on a few things and not try to be good at everything (not saying I am good at climbing).

Festivus is not all it is cracked up to be, you try wrestling 300 lb dude for 5 minutes. I was exhausted at the end of 5 minutes. George Kostanza wasn't all that big on Festivus either, but his old man was a little guy.

At least one foam pad was found in the cave, was it not? Insulation is essential. Of course packs and the rope help in this regard too.

Actually, Americans are leading the way in hibernation research. Check this out: www.ikaria.com

While I don't completely bail on Christmas, my family thinks I am nuts for wanting to go climbing at Joshua Tree the day after Christmas, instead of hanging around and visiting with them. I think one day with my relatives is plenty. We got our gift exchange over with already. We call it happy Solstice. A truly worthwhile thing to celebrate- days getting longer. Of course there are those who celebrate Festivus. Did you know you can buy Festivus poles now? Festivus Poles Between the Feats of Strength and the Airing of Grievances, I'd say Festivus is perfect holiday for climbers from cc.com.

Whole Paycheck Market, then.

The area between the sacrament and the annointment is known as the perineum.

Hey, I'm leaving Sunday too! Feel free to drop in on us in Laguna Beach.

My second winter ascent of Rainier via Gib Ledges. It was only two weeks after a previous ascent by the Ingraham Direct. You'd think I'd have been in better shape the second time and I was, but it was much colder, so we lugged more clothes, and it had snowed in between, so the second time it was 18 inches of postholing about 50% of the time. I thought seriously about spending another night at Camp Muir, but everyone else wanted to get out of there. I remember reaching the flats below Panorama Point at 9 pm where the postholing resumed after a fairly smooth descent of the Muir Snowfield. It was disheartening to say the least.

Horses scare the crap out of me. What is really scary is riding one. It's like it has a mind of it's own, which it has. For me climbing is a lot less scary. Hang me out over a 1000 ft void any day, but if you put me on a horse, it better be a waybacked stable nag who can only walk slowly.