TBay

Chriznitch not knowing your ability and your definition of easy-moderate winter alpine, a general answer to the question would still be, not really. but, if your willing to include a ski tour approach, i would highly recommend the north ridge or any line of weakness on the NE or NW faces of the pfiefferhorn. i would also recommend for the soloist the South Ridge of Mt. Superior and a winter route called Super Slabs (obivious north facing slabs as you start up LCC) which offers up to 600? feet of WI2-WI3 with option of heading higher into mixed terrain (descent: walk-off to climbers right of slabs). NYC007 (& Wazzu & chriz) PM me if you want to know whats in/out, no-crowd locales, the goods.

worthwhile winter alpine/mixed rigs in the wasatch that doesnt require super-long ski tour approaches to get to (i.e., pfiefferhorn, lone peak, nebo, (most of)timpanogos, et al) or deal with al the hulabaloo found at the local ice rigs. bring a rock and ice rack. these arent "sporto" routes. Big Cottonwood Canyon Scottish Gully WI3 M5 100m (can go higher on frozen turf) Lunar Gully WI? M? (climbers left of Scottish Gully) approach time: approx 5 minutes NE Face of Storm Mountain III? WI3-ish M? 1000ft.? (good melt-freeze ice or snow covered steeep slabs) approach time: approx 15 minutes (scary avi gulch) Little Cottonwood Canyon A Day In Scotland "5.9 A1" gully left of A Day... WI3- ish 5.easy approach time: approx 30 minutes South Ridge of Mount Superior 5.easy WI3 1000+ ft (can rock/snow scramble around ice steps) (great exposure) approach time: cross the road from Snowbird parking Perla's Ridge 5.8 WI? Mount Olympus this is the slab of rock you stare at from your downtown room w/a view, or the slab of rock that towers over the REI (SLC) parking lot. North Chimneys (any variation up top) WI2+ ish, M4+/- ish, 5.easyish, steeeep snowish (popular exum guide route) approach time: approx 30 minutes American Fork Haebus Corpus WI5 M5 5.8+/- starts at the top of the Timpanogas Cave (literally) approach time: ~45 minutes. hiked the Timp Cave walkway. Mount Timpanogos There is a very high avalanche danger on the approaches Hidden Lake WI4+ ~400ft then mountaineer up to the summit ridge approach time: ~1.5 hrs on snowshoes. East Face of Roberts Horn WI5- ? M6ish? Steeep snow ~1600ft (look for the ice on the lookers left of the east face) approach time: ~45 minutes on snowshoes. enjoy

Ade- roughly under what loads will your "homemade cowtails" fail? it is to my knowledge that grivel leashes (including the cowtails) are designed to "sustain body-weight and a bit more." my sceptical 2 cents (after what i witnessed last year)- a climber had his right tool cammed into a crack and his left tool sunk into a wet dagger, kicked and partially weighted it, then, pop! there went the fickle cicle. after witnessing a cicle the size of a refrigerator w/a leashless tool stuck to it crater from 60 feet above, i now understand why one would want to purchase grivel leashes/cowtails. (curious, how would your "homedmade cowtail" system have behaved in this situation?) 50 bucks is a better investment than 1000's (!!!!!) in medical/surgery bills.

Steve H and Vince A definitely benefitted from a type of Crossfit/Endurance Hybrid program as they 'hiked' (M5 X, 5.9, WI4) 4,100m up the Central Pillar of the Rupal Face on Nanga Parbat last september. Crossfit can be incorporated into an endurance trainging program. Oxygen Illusions: Using Crossfit to Improve Cardiovascular Endurance. Mark Twight/Mountain Mobility 2003-2004. after 7 months of "surviving" his CF/Enduro hybrid program i have experienced negligible hypertrophic gains and HUGE gains in strength, power-endurance, and endurance, even moreso than ever before. hard copy can be obtained from the man. (he asked to not circulate electronic copies (copyrighted material)). mark@grivelnorthamerica.com or redemption@gymjones.com "What you know does not matter - what you do matters...."

at a whole new level......

here you go...Volcaneering

The Payoff: 30+ years of Socialism

when your on top of urus scope out the lines on the north face/wall of ocshapalca. this wall contains a handfull of 400+ meter "sporty" mixed lines and waterfall ice to steep snow-n-ice lines. i've been on the face in mid-july 2000, and a friend repeated a german mixed line during 1st-week of august last year, and both agree that the approach from ischinca base camp is rather uncomplicated even later in the season. follow a moraine and make a non-trivial glacial crossing, bivy, climb. also, check in with the crew that run the ischinca refugio - good beta and damn good caliente chocolate con leche. (i'm super-serious about the surf!)

just so you don't leave peru disappointed due to late season impassible conditions in the blancas, here's my 0.02... -make quick work of urus and ishinca. take in the views. note the massive broken-up slope of tocllaraju and gape at the various lines offered on the north face of ranrapalca and the impassible creavasse field below it. make mental note to show up next time between late may and early july. -return to huarez, swing into El Tambo, swill a few , and listen to fellow climbers talk story about the season before they head home. this should also reaffirm the mental note made on top of ishinca. at this point, hop the bus north to trujillo in the north coast country and enjoy some of the best surf the western hemisphere has to offer. (fly your surfboard or sponge with you down to peru or buy a beater in trujillo). -head directly to chicama for the unforgetable super long lefts, -then up to mancora and surf the green waters of mancora and other nearby breaks. the small town of mancora is awesome: great eats, great sheets, eclectic locals, art, nightlife, etc. -drive the coast all the way back to lima, make plans to show up next time to the blancas in late june/early july and then off to the north coast in late july/august. enjoy

he's a Nietzschean jihadist excerpt from - Eric Rudolf writes home. ...'I prefer Nietzsche to the Bible' "Many good people continue to send me money and books," Rudolph writes in an undated letter. "Most of them have, of course, an agenda; mostly born-again Christians looking to save my soul. I suppose the assumption is made that because I'm in here I must be a 'sinner' in need of salvation, and they would be glad to sell me a ticket to heaven, hawking this salvation like peanuts at a ballgame. I do appreciate their charity, but I could really do without the condescension. They have been so nice I would hate to break it to them that I really prefer Nietzsche to the Bible." Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher, once declared "God is dead."

for starters... plenty to do around st. george. Late October to Late June Snow Canyon of course... Countless limestone sport rigs along the arizona strip... -the VRG -black-n-tans -gorilla cliffs -the diamond (general consensus: better limestone than france/spain) -laynge jefferies rigs -santa clara rigs ...many more Crank hard...eat buffet in mesquite,nv...kick it in the the terraced pools of "little jamaica"... Parawon Gap ("Maple Canyon-esque") ...many more cedar city rigs Late September through Late June -Zion (have climbed walls in january/february and in late june) -Kolob Year round, consultUtahClimbers.com

Momentarily ignoring the political pressure on scientists to justify the existence of global warming, I don't think it matters whether our Earth warmed (or cooled!) between 1979-1995. Let's say we're in a warming trend. Does that mean the trend will continue without end? Sometimes the Earth warms. Sometimes it cools. Climate changes. It's a fact. Trying to predict Earth's temperature during the next century, based on what may have happened during an arbitrary time period in the past, is simply...absurd. Climate cycles are thousands of years in duration. How much can be predicted from a 16-year window? Putting stock in the sort of trend analysis used by global warming advocates is a proven loser. Just look at the commodity futures market, a system that is a lot less complex than the global climate system. Trend analysis (or "charting" as it is known among commodity futures traders) is a popular gimmick used to decide when to buy and sell futures contracts. But for every trader who makes money through charting, there are many more who lose money. Why? Because trends start and end unpredictably. And you don't always know whether you're at the beginning, the middle or the end of a trend. Keep in mind, despite all our advanced technology, Harry Whoppler and the "Smart" Atmospheric Scientists gang still have trouble predicting TOMMORROWS weather. Why would anyone imagine we could predict the weather 50 years from now? If we're going to rely on trend analysis in the global warming debate, let's have the climatologists first prove they can successfully analyze simpler systems. For starters, what's going to happen in the bellies market?

Chuck stated: Dr Flash Amazing stated: if what you say is true, please explain why the liberal strong-holds of washington and oregon rank 34 and 36 respectively... 2004 Charitable donations (This index compares the average annual income of residents of all of the 50 states to their average annual donations to charity.) and why is it that the top 25 most generous states happened to vote for Bush in '04? it appears that the states that ranked 26, 29-37, 41, 42, 44-50 on the GI list voted kerry. This confuses me because you state that the democrats are "the party for the poor and the needy", and "the republicans are for the rich and oppressive." oh i get it, you (Chuck, DFA), liberal acedamia, and the blue states (or rather blue cities) are soooo unselfish that they dont bother to fill out average itemized charitable deductions (AICD) on their tax worksheet.

hmmm, image won't post. men in black walking down the hall towards my office..?.. mmmmmm crack

Rate the Fake Cracks on the Henry M Jackson Federal Building (aka the indian creek simulator).

geographic misconception- there's two east-west ranges in the US. 1. foraker's answer (unitahs) 2. next time when taking in views from atop Castle Rock at the city o' rocks note the mountain range to the south. this would be the Raft River Range. an ~60 mile east-west trending range which resulted from the combination of the Sevier Oreogenic Thrust Belt and Basin-N-Range extensions (synorogenic crustal activity) in the Albion-GrouseCreek-RaftRiver core complex...

the only problem with ownin' a lesbaru is "they" won't let play with "them" ... what a bunch of fuckin' Larries....

bill simpkins stated... then jim responded with greeaaat intellect... jim (and ilk) heads up... lets have a look at one of your icons... It should have been a slam-dunk for AL GORE when a group of U'Wa people from Colombia showed up at his Manchester, NH campaign headquarters in 2000. What they wanted was his support to pressure Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) into stopping their project to drill for oil on land belonging to the U'Wa people. The project, which reportedly would supply only enough oil to fuel the US for three months, would move 5,000 U'Wa people and, according to U'Wa spokespersons, would forever destroy their traditional homeland, the Colombian cloudforest. Environmental Champion??? Only, Gore didn't sympathize with them. He had them arrested instead. NOW WHY THE FUCK DID GORE NOT SYMPATHIZE WITH THE U'WA AND THE EVER SO SENSITIVE AND GREATLY BIODIVERSIFIED CLOUDFORESTS ABOVE THE AMAZON BASIN? Would it not have been another reason to hate "Bush-and-his-oil-cronies (ie Occidental Petroleum)" even more during the narrowly contested pres election 2000 if GORE, NYTIMES, and LATIMES took this public? oh wait! whats that? holy shit! really? no that cant be true! but, but he loves the environment, is deeply concerned about global warming, pushes for alternative energies, would rather fund research than war... yep, its okay, we took it hard too when we found out... OXY has been a steady supplier of campaign funds to Gore/Clinton and to the Democratic Party... (big deal you say) hold on, it gets better, and far deeper... Armand Hammer ring a bell.... he built Occidental Petroleum into the behemoth it is today and who's been described as "the Godfather of American corporate corruption." In late 1970's after his retirement from the US senate, Armands best friend, the great honorable Al Gore Sr. became first a Board of Director for Island Coal Creek Co. (OXY Subsidary) and eventually a BOARD OF DIRECTOR OF OXY... ...and guess who held a position (after "inventing the world-wide-web" of course) on the OXY BOARD OF DIRECTORS prior to his two terms as VP... Yours truly AL GORE! Which sole company built and continues to build the Gore Empire? Occidental Petroleum lets reiterate what jim said... Gore's Solution regarding US Energy Policy (in progress) Gore's answer to more extraction... "...Oil wells are a magnet for violence in Colombia. Occidental's Caño Limón pipeline, just north of U'wa territory, has been attacked by leftist guerillas more than 600 times in its 13 years of existence, spilling some 1.7 million barrels of crude oil into the soil and rivers, more than 8 times the Exxon Valdez! The Colombian government has militarized oil production and pipeline zones, often persecuting local populations the government assumes are helping the guerrillas. Last year alone, in the neighboring Arauca region, there were 38 assassinations, 31 incidents of torture and 44 kidnappings. No wonder the traditional authority of the U'wa are opposed to oil exploration on their land. They've said they prefer extermination to this possible future." Gore's answer to investing in alternative fuels research while 8 years as clinton's bitch... "...For activists in the U.S, the U'wa struggle is touchstone. With a $289 million aid package in 1999, Colombia is the third largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the world after Israel and Egypt. The U.S has stationed hundreds of military "advisors" in Colombia. In spite of record human rights abuses by the Colombian government (ten times more disappearances and murders than in Kosovo), the Clinton administration has proposed to give Colombia an additional $1.5 billion dollars." hmmmm, sounds like someone watched out for their own vested interests. further accounts of Gore's energy policy can be found at... hardly a 'right-winged' out-fit i'm done...

get your stoke on... southern utah is goin' off this year! January 13th '05, the santa clara river hit its 500-year flood and the virgin hit its 100-year flood... imagine what the VRG looked like!!!!! (there goes all the comunal weed crop at "little jamaica") only three weeks later the virgin hits it 50-year flood... what does this mean... its means that the southern wasatch is getting POUNDED! theyre at about 250% above normal snowfall. snowsport recommendations... other than brianhead and elk meadows you've got endless amounts of BC touring Bryce Canyon: what you'll want to do is head to bryce canyon and ski endless amount of shots through the labryinth of hoodoo, spires, towers...guaranteed to be your best outing, an unf#*king real experience! then skate ski the 30km groomed trail of the bryce canyon rim. (note that the ponderosa rival the size of the PNW doug fir). Red Canyon: just a repeat of bryce. that should keep you occupied in the so utah snowsport department. ice- cedarcicle, tusher falls, loads of never before ice in pangquitch canyon.... bro got on some fa gnar in kolob canyon. ever been on the grotto ice walk or johnston canyon ice walk in canada, zion has a coupla kick ass cruiser ice walks on navajo sandstone between the tunnel and checkerboard mesa. sorta like reverse canyoneering. shit busted! gotta go, boss is callin' pm for more beta

stumbled across this gem last winter season. David Thompson Resort first and foremost i would like to note that this place has zero "Foot-Ass" odor that tends to saturate the Rampart Creek Hostel air. -you get your own room (queen bed or bunk) with a shitter. -you get to control the thermostat in your own room. -HOT showers as long as you want. -Wash machines (bonus for those who use patagucci underwear) and Dryers. -huge kitchen/dinning/rec room that is equipped with a big screen TV. -Breakfast, never had it due to alpine starts, but she says she cooks up a mean one. -the hostess hooks you up... she will even drive into Nordegg and beyond to pick you up food, liquor, dvd/video rentals, postal delivery, car parts, etc.... oh yeah the ice... nothing but the breast, elliot's left hand, kitty hawk, cline river, and many more DT Hwy classics all within 5 miles from (and even located across the Hwy from) the B&B. Approx 20 miles away from the Icefield Parkway Goodness starting with Murchison and Oh le tabernac. Oh what! Low on gas (like every vehicle at Rampart Creek after a coupla days stay). dont worry the owner of the resort will turn on the resort gas pumps at your request (NOTE: pumps remain closed to the public during the winter season). fill your tank up and stay another week. If your leavin' the spouse (or dont have one) here's a trick to gettin' the couples rate ($60cdn) versus singles ($45cdn) - tell them your a gay couple! no shit, it worked for the two friends that were with us on our trip. Note: those of you who need a solution to keeping your wife motivated on wintertime in the Canadian Rockies stay at the DT B&B. upsidedown trees... vveeerryyy bizarre....

What else does one go to IC for? If your a solid .11 crack climber, spend your entire trip at the creek. If not, Willstrickland's posts a great tick list for the desert novice. After you run up the mega-classic (ie. popular) Supercrack head on over to the Cliffs of Insanity and get rewarded with 165' of ultra-classic hands-to-fists-forever pure goodness known as Wiggin's I (.11-). #4 Friend or #3.5 #4 Camalot forever (I plugged in about 18 or so of that size). More goodness can be found climbing the Lightning Bolt Cracks (.11 leftcrack start or .11- rightcrack start) on the North Six Shooter. Recommended Side Trips: take hwy 6 from SLC, once you enter Price head south (1 hr)to the San Rafael Swell North: Buckhorn Wash, Dylan Wall, Stock Exchange Wall, spaghetti Western Wall. (okay, now the cat's outa the bag.) Scenic Byway (easy .10) in Buckhorn Wash is a killer 4 pitch (.9, .10, .7, .8) introduction to colorado plateau climbing. when finished, drive further down canyon to the Dylan Wall and environs, this place kick ass. SLC climbing bros note (and i very much agree) this place as "IC-esque" (or as i overheard: IC for non-coloradans) minus the crowds and camping issues. Dylan and environs contain a much larger selection of classic easy .10 splitters than IC. From the base of aforementioned crags you will see many desert towers and mesas and to your suprise many contain classic cruiser routes (North Rib Window Blind Peak 5.7 4p, West Face Window Blind Peak, 5.9 5p, Thin Man Pinnacle, 5.9 A1 bolt ladder, 2p, etc....) In the immediated vicinity of San Rafael North is Joes Valley and "Triassics" in case you want to boulder a bit. In Moab, along the Potash Road (ie Wall street), you will want to head up into Long Canyon. There exists many splitters similar in quality to those of Supercrack Buttress (minus the crowds). hop on Program Director (.10)and No More Tears (.11-) for starters. On rainy day(s), hell even on a good day, head to the "Crack House" for a good fix. effin' amazing. A Must Do: Primrose Diheadral (.11+ or .10 A0), Moses Tower, Island in the Sky towers, towers, towers Advice: what E-rock sez. Running it out is SERIOUS business in the desert.

entertainment that might influence your vote. "Bushgame" ...those of you in cubicles makes sure you crank up the volume during Voltron's rampage "Kerry's Flip Flop Olympics" GregW, its all i could come up with for a rebuttal to the Bushgame. Bonus (or should i say 'boner) material- A Tribute to 'weird' moments in the world of sports.

I think there are other credible hypotheses that explain the increase in surface temperature, especially concerning observation methods as addressed in the link below. It seems that the newest and best way to determine global temperature is to use satellites to measure the temperature of the lower atmosphere, giving the Earth a uniform global sweep, oceans included, with no cities to create a false warming bias. The following link is an argument for an independent review of the `surface record'. The satellites have been independently reviewed several times (with orbital drift and decay error being resolved and producing accuracies to within one hundredth of a degree), so why has the `surface record' escaped an independent examination in the public interest? "The Surface Record: ‘Global Mean Temperature’ and how it is determined at surface level" As far as recent solar activity is concerned, i think its going to turn out to be a major player. Hotter-burning sun warming the planet Note the comments made by Sami Solanki, the director of the renowned Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research is there a correlation? Most likely. Me, you, and everyone who's be camping would agree that if someone stokes a campfire and throws some more fuel into it, what happens, the fire will put off greater heat. now imagine if the distance between you and the fire is fixed during the stoking and fueling, the surface of your skin (as would The South Cascade Glacier pertaining to the increase in solar activity) will feel the increase of energy output in the form of heat. and Bill Burrows, a climatologist and a member of the Royal Meteorological Society sometimes science overlooks the obvious (maybe because of the blinding power of politics)

edit: 6-7mph

Cycling...fun and a great workout...yes Running...depends on what you're you running from? One aspect of alpine climbing that needs to factored into the fitness training equation is the monotony of long approaches and the BOREDOM that typically accompanies them. (i'm not refering to the exciting devils club thrash approach in the cascades, i'm talkin more along the lines of Coastal Range, Alaska, peruvian/bolivian andes, baffin & greenland, and other greater ranges) This is where cycling fails for me. yeah my cardio and leg muscles benefit greatly, but the "fun-ness" of it all does not mentally prepare me to combat boredom. even when climbing long hills, just the very thought of descending the backside at light speed keeps the "psych-ness" up and the ride remains fun. on the other hand, as much as i loathe running, it does serve a purpose, other than seeking immediate safety. I use it to enhance my tolerance for boredom. Therefore, I typically show up at the gym at 5am (weekdays) with a camelbak, work the treadmill up to about 9-10% grade and run at 6-7 mm for 35-45 minutes (listening to headphones is aid). so, as I am working on my tolerance for boredom, my legs, abs, back, cardio are all getting the proper hill climbing treatment. Do Not underestimate the power of ski touring (the ultimate conditioner). ski tour your ass off all winter/spring and watch yourself fire any peak with ease, then stand atop the summit and shout (quoting alex huber at his latok slideshow) "I have power to waste."