catbirdseat

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.

Yeah, that clip has been posted here before. The leader was a dumbass for not getting any gear in when he had the perfect opportunity. From the way he seems to ignore jam cracks, he strikes me as a sport climber just getting into trad climbing.

Duh, we all know Land Sharks don't exist.

Type 2 is a whole lot more common than Type 1 and the situation is getting progressively worse. Seattle Students getting Junk-Food Fix Elsewhere (Seattle PI)

pink, some of us feel neglected.

We're gonna lure out old Beck with this one. He can't resist.

I think it will all blow over. You watch.

A classic backhanded compliment. Here's another. "I really don't like those skinny-as-a-rail chicks. I like girls like you, who have a little meat on them."

"Oh!", he thought. It wasn't really a tauntaun, but the puddle formed from a spilled Big Gulp. He'd slipped and hit his head.

My chemistry kit is limited to beer and Tylenol. I'll bring my down parka for the bivy. I'm not particularly sensitive to smoke, so I won't complain about your rasta kit.

For every climber SAR event there are 50 missing children, 100 alzheimer's victims who have wandered away, 10 lost hunters. Those events don't have the same drama that lost climbers do. How are climbers any less deserving than anyone else?

Pindude is a big shot with the Spokane Mountaineers. Send him a PM. There's also a guy named Donny Baker...