mtnear

Nothing to "see" with flat chicks...

ehmmic's got it dialed... built to spill is the place to be

Can't fight heredity. Other than a warm stockin cap this time of year and sunscreen in the summer... it's all good. Plus you can run faster...

Actually, Larry Flint bought the photos but is refusing to publish them because he thinks she's a nice person and thinks she's been used as a pawn by the Bush Administration PR machine. Sounds like he's got some class to me. Either that or she's really ugly naked...

Touching the Void - Joe Simpson. Gripping survival tale of 2 partners climbing in South America. Good book to give to your climbing partners. Soon to be a movie... For movie info... http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0379557/

C'mon... what about Vertical Limit? (Kidding)

We have a group going Kautz... ditto on the weather, though. Not looking good.

I heard D. - claims 55 minutes car to car...

Seppek- I just climbed this route a couple of weeks ago and posted a trip report on this web site. (Alpine Lakes, page 2 I think) - It may not be much use to you since conditions will change a bit by mid-to-late July. Routefinding should be a little more straightforward by then without all the snow; quite a bit of it follows a well-beaten path. Caution you to know what you are getting yourself into -- this route is a lot of traversing and scrambling. If you are coming from NY and looking for some good cascade granite, there are a lot of better things to do. If you want a long, alpine scrambling excursion with some great views and some minor rope work, then this is your climb. If you're just hard up to climb Stuart, then this is a good route and more exciting than some of the simpler slogs. As stated above, come in over Long's Pass and out via Cascadian Coulor that late in the summer. If attempting in a single day, get a very early start. The following site isn't bad for beta but I'd couple it with Beckey's. http://www.climbingwashington.com/classics/mtstuartwestridge.htm Have fun and enjoy.

Could care less about the bbq - just interesting to see a lawyer living up to the stereotype. Location = BC? I thought Canadians were cool... or on drugs. If the shoe fits.... What do you call 1000 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean... a good start.

My bro & I joined up with Capt. Amazing (avater = Tod) for a run up Stuart's West Ridge. Came in Long's Pass with a bivy ~5400 ft near Ingalls Creek below the route. Nice warm night for a bivy! Approach gully to the shoulder not bad, thin in spots - motored up kicking steps. Near the top of the ridge enjoyed class 4 and low 5 scrambling to gain the ridge... got a little off route but not too bad, lost maybe 45 minutes. Recommend taking Beckey description plus 1 other this time of year. After that mostly a long traverse of alternating snow fields and more class 4-5 scrambling; couple of nice exposed spots, always fun with a pack. Soloed the whole trip with the exception of the last summit block pitch (5.7-ish?) - lots of harder variations available. Overall a nice, fun route. Thanks Capt Amazing for the route finding ability! Could be done in a day traveling fast and light. I found it a little longer, slower, and hotter than planned. No speed demons here but no turtles either. Left bivy 5AM, summit 4:00PM, car at 8:30PM. Nobody else on route but saw a group of 4 ascended West Coulour late in the afternoon - assumed they were planning a bivy. Descended Ulrich's, smart choice. Shorter and less dirtier than Cascadian. In the basin high water flow in the creek... crossings few and far between... we picked a nice "Fear Factor" tree crossing. Bring an axe, no need for plastics or crampons in this weather. Some chocks, small cams and long slings should suffice. Ridge is long and hot, take lots of water or suffer.

We were all rookies at one point in time, and have to show respect for others that wish to share the mountains. But there has to be a balance. For example, 2 years ago on Hood (dog route) I witnessed a Mazama group of 5. Guide had all 4 of 'em short-roped together zig-zaging above the 'shrund creating quite a dangerous situation and bottleneck delay. Could've easily started a catastrophe not unlike the heli incident in 2002. (in other words, newbies fall creating chain reaction) At that point I questioned my own intelligence for selecting such a swap meet route. Never again... We can bash them all we want, but realize that they are not going away and growing in number. So get an early start, play hookey & climb on weekdays

Try costco.com or shutterfly.com... average picture quality for regular expense. If you want a higher quality try your local photo speciality shop.