jefffski

i broke my fib near the ankle in december while skiing (close enough to be called a broken ankle). although i did not tear any ligaments, allthe soft tissue had been stretched. i was 6 weeks on crutches, and two weeks walking in the cast. i march, after the boot cast came off i started cycling indoors, threw a frisbee around and did a few easy climbs in the gym. i did lots of physio and home exercises but am not vety good at doing a little. when the phyio said to do some steps ups onto a stool, i did 200. oops. ended up hurting myself which delayed recovery for another month. later i went kayaking and canoeing. both were hard on my ankle because of the bracing, but it was nice to be outdoors. i am now playing a bit of ultimate, have been climbing twice and yesterday went on a real hike. progress is coming, but it is slow and i have to be patient. i may lead harder climbs later, but for now easy leads and tr'ing is it. good luck and try not to eat too much.

strongly advise not going to bolivia at this time. the situation is very unstable. see this site for the latest news http://www.livinginlatinamerica.com/se/archives/cat_bolivia.shtml

i used auto gas im my msr whisperlite international. a little dirty but not bad. too carry your fuel bottles, wash 'em well and fill with water. duct tape over the "danger" label and carry on as water bottles. be prepared to drink from it when they pull it from your luggage though.

don't go on weekends when there is aconcert at the gorge http://www.hob.com/tickets/searchresults.asp?venid=125

a little disconcerting to see people, especially kids, climbing there without helmets. the rocks peel of the columns like sand off a sandcastle.

love to read your tr. been thinking about it for ages.

i heard that he really pissed off a lot of the locals. his recommendation to use kerosene was also very off base. i ended up switching to regular car gas and it was much better. i also did not like his guides-just porters really, but that's the same with most of the others. just my opinion.

in general i don't trust the agencies. the dr at the continental hotel is the scourge of all the other agencies. adolfo screwed me over re prices and timing of a jeep. beware most agencies' 'guides' are usually only experienced porters. there are 8 guides in bolivia who have been trained by the chamonix guides association. if you are not experienced i would suggest that you try to go with one of these. they cost more but they are trained. i was very impressed with alain mesili. his client, whom i spent some time with, seemed really pleased. best bar in la paz-ocha de agua-thurs and fri nights!

yes i burn it. quite easy and i haven't noticed any more bad smell. works well in winter when you can't really bury it.

i met alain mesili when i was in bolivia a couple of years ago ans spent some tim ewith him in the mountains. although i was not guided by him i can vouch for him. Unfortunatley he does not speak much english, but does speak french and spanish. he's a greta guy and probably bolivia's supreme alpinist. here are a few links and his email address. tell him that the candian guy with the cool bivvy shelter sent you. http://www.andes-mesili.com/text_ingles.htm Alain Mesili Guia de Alta Montaña - Bolivia Teléfono: 7158 2376 - 7062 3040 - La Paz - Bolivia e-mail & msn: amesili@hotmail.com

some flagging can be helpful, but last summer, on my way to climb that newish 10 pitch route on the chief in squamish, i removed about a whole roll of it. some areas had flags on 4 adjacent trees and then another bunch on a few trees only steps away. what garbage!

cabeza de condor. great exposure, not too technical but much harder than pequeno alpemayo. mesili is a wonderful character. ask around for him at the agencies on sagarnaga--if you speak french or spanish. don't trust any of the other 'guides' for route conditions. monitor the political conditions before you go. road blockades can you leave you stranded for days at a time. also i recommend hostal maya on sagarnaga. about $5us per night, great beds with warm comforters. showers are ok. good tv. clean and new. have fun.

some years ago 2 climbers were on the petit dru in chamonix when they felt rumblings and the entire pillar moving. they had a cell, called for help and were plucked off by a chopper (like i said--cham). A couple of days later a block came down with enough force to register on the richter scale. not too long after a russian (valerie babanov--babanov.com) climbed a new route on the scarred face!

do you have ANY idea how hard it is for us canadians to go to your country? if you want to visit, we'd be glad to have you, but you must follow the instructions. i'm surprised they allowed you BACK into the US without official documents. count yourselves lucky.

Thank you for the tragic news. While i have not been involved in any event so tragic i have had my share of close calls. I have learned much from those instances but am still in learning mode after nearly 15 years of climbing. Each time i read or hear of such news i am reminded of the dangerous game i play and am spurred on to continue learning. "never forget"

goodness, here's a kid who works hard in school, competes at a national level in one sport and at an international level in another sport, writes a book, gives money to charity, seems like a genuine person and she uses her talents to make money, without compromising her education-- she still attends high school. so, she calls herself an all around champion climber. ok, not accurate. and yes, her marketing campaign sounds a bit cheesy and may be exploiting her. but i think she's just having fun. compared to the majority of teens out there she is a terrific role model. i hope she tones down the rhetoric, but otherwise more power to her. now let's take on the real baddies out there that really exploit kids--tobacco co's, coke, nike, hollywood, drug dealers, mcD's, etc. it's unbelievabee that you take a 15 year old so seriously, but say nothing about the awful, really harmful hype all around us. try teaching 30 highschool kids who breathe mtv! i would really like to read her response to most of the inane comments people have made here. how many people here make a positive difference in other people's lives in their jobs, volunteer with kids, etc? i think torri has most of beat by a country mile and she's only 15.

where does it say that she is a champion? i've had a close look at her website and there is no reference to that statement. it does say that she is a gifted athlete. she also trains quite hard at the sports she does. i could find no evidence of her puffing up her abilities. btw all the proceeds from her book go to charity and she tithes annually. that's more that i can say. what i detect here are blasts of jealousy. she seems like a nice kid. a kid who has some talents, goes to high school and has goals for herself. i respect and admire that and wish that more kids were like her. we'd all be better off.

hearing a climber who just topped out on an 11b call down that her harness was undone. good thing she looked before she leaned back! i pulled off a 20lb rock on a popular 10b in skaha today. as i was watching it fall below me and towards my belayer i just got a hand on it and pushed it out of the way. 2 days 2 close calls

the hand traverse on skyridge (5.7) is one of the best routes i've everdone and the situation is superb.

i understand e-rock wants to know how well he climbs so that he can put a number on his ability. but i think he may be missing the point. first of all, have fun. don't worry about the numbers. i've climbed in many places, in the pnw, the gunks and wales all with very different grade standards. all you do is convert your home grade to the local grade, then climb on. so, i onsight 10 a/b's in squish, 8/9's in the gunks and hvs/e1 in wales. it's all the same fun though. second, climbing is sooo different in each place i've been that comparing the grades makes little sense. for instance, vantage is vertical, so the skill there is finding rests. in the gunks there are roofs and the technique is different than the slab or granite cracks of squamish. it's almost like comparing apples and oranges. as well, if i look at climbing only at the level of my hardest grades i might miss some of the beauties at grades that are well within my means. finally, i think that the inconsistency in grades is part of the joy of going to new areas and 'getting used to' the standard. it's like a puzzle that you have to figure out.

try bottom line to banana peel or deidre to boomstick to ultimate everything. 20 pitches. or snake to desert dyke or form (10a or b), to memorial crack to UE. harder but better climbing. also, last pitch of UE, go left--10b.

ken's crack the gunks. looks like a straight forward 5.7 handcrack, short, steep and on a slight diagonal. damn if there wasn't a bulge in the middle (felt a bit overhanging). great climb! there is a little 5.6 chimney in leavenworth on the approach to castle rock called the fault. a party was on it when i go there and the leader spent a good long time on this 'piddly' little climb. little did i know. it wasn't very hard but felt harder than 5.6! i'm glad i didn't mock him out loud.

thanks for the real deal on g3 skins. but i love my targas. i broke 3 pair of rainey shiiittiloops, and various other bindings. so far 3 hard years incl bumps and ice, deep pow etc and noooo problem with g3 bindings. my .02. now for a pair of skis that will handle bumps well (soft tip) and moderately wide with even overall flex for powder. any suggestions? i am leaning towards the k2 superstinx 180cm (i'm 5'9", 165lbs).

condolences. does anybody know the cause of the anchor failure?

we used about 50m of webbing on waddington this summer. $100?/3 people. pretty cheap especially considering one held me when i got thrown off a rap stance by a falling rock. thank goodness the 2 old pitons held too!