Phil K

However, if you've never visited NPR or other subversive websites, you might want to hold off and keep your name off the NSA list. Hey, ya KNOW that if you aint talkin ta Al Queida on the phone, ya aint got nothin ta worry bout.

MBA? No, sounds like someone with serious, uncontrolled ADD. And a brain-scrambled, ex alki coke fiend. He ain't smart, but he does have low cunning. The big question in my mind- will history fall for all the crapola that 'Murica is swallowing right now, or will he claim his rightful place as the worstest preznit yet.

Check out Beyond Fleece www.beyondfleece.com Totally custom, so thay you can have whatever you want in pockets, etc. The steel pant sounds like the ticket for what you want. You can't beat the fit, because the garment is made to your measurements. And.... they come in any color you want as long as it's black. I got a Cold Fusion jacket from them and am totally stoked with the fit, quality, and service.

I bought a pair o Light Wings on the same theory; that they were easy on the back for alpine approaches and would do pretty well for water ice as well. I haven't been disappointed. They make a great technical tool for alpine without paying a weight penalty, work well in hard snow, and climb ice pretty well. You should compare clearance w/ other tools. I suspect that the Grivels don't have as much as some others, or if it really matters much either. This year I am planning on beefing up my Light Wings with some add-ons. You can get non-slip tape, like the kind that is used on stair treads, and cut a peice to put on the grip area of the shaft just like on the Air Tech Evolution. (Use some sandpaper to knock the really sharp texture off the tape first, or you'll shred your gloves.) There are two hammer heads, the piccolo which comes with the tool, and a heavier standard head. I've added a standard head to one of mine, and it seems to make a real difference. You can also add beefier picks, which give the head mo'mass, but might shatter a bit more in really brittle ice. The Goulotte pick is really a brute; I'm hoping to spring for a Mixte pick; a bit thinner in the tip, but still beefy. I think I will also try a nice, low tech, cheap big'old half inch bolt through the leash hole in the head, and rig the leashes through that slotted hole which must be there for some reason. With those kind of modifications, I think it becomes a pretty versatile tool. Strip it down for summer apline, busy it up for water ice. Yeah, go for it, add a horn and a trigger...... Hey wait a minute, this is starting to sound expensive. Oh, and on the Air Tech Evolution- thumbs down. Cool idea, but the head is really shaped for a straight shaft. With that bend in the shaft, I find that any natural swing results in the tip hitting at a funky angle. The plain Air Tech seems to work really well though, for a light axe.

The Grivel 360s Sharp and smooth, and the way they place so easily without having to carve a big clearance area for the hanger is SWEET! Plus, they have room to clip more than one biner at a time, unlike the BDs. My only dislike is that they don't rack as cleanly as other screws with longer hangers. Grivel makes a moulded rubber carrying setup (the panpipe {?}) to carry screws. Anyone tried that?

Philonius here was best friends with the guy who disappered on Fathers Day in 2000. He was never found. He was a very capable person, fit, experienced and equipped (yep, 'poons and ice axe.) My guess is that he's still somewhere in the rocks below the N. Sister traverse. Gawd that's an ugly place. 'Went back there two or threee years ago to check things out, and sure enough, someone else, a cardiogist from Portalnd, bought it while we were on the mountain. You can have it.

Howdja like that moat at the base of the SE face? Is my stuck climbing rope still in evidence?

Verified man-dog lobster throwing record. Guess who.

And while we're on the topic of things you should already have taken care of; make sure your bike is ready! A guy that I work with admitted last week that he still needed "someone" to do a little maintenence, so sucker that I am, I volunteered. Jeez, what a junker! Now, after trueing the wheels, replacing the front deraileur, bottom bracket bearing, brake cables, and handlebar tape, plus lubeing and adjusting, he's ready to go. Oh, and one more very important bit of advice; hope that the current weather forecast is wrong. Rain and headwinds make it a whole lot less enjoyable!

Nice read, unfortunately this guy and a few million well-placed voters are about 8 months too late in waking up to the stink that the bushistas have put on the good'ol'USA. Oh wait that's right, they own the voting machines. I guess it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Got a sammich waiting in the car. I'm not sure about the health codes, but I know what's gross. It's just a good thing we don't know most of the history of what goes into our mouths.

pale luminous eyes, cold fishy skin, stringy hair; "nassssty massster."

oxycontin

Yeah, I just checked out a Mtn. Hdware catalog; that's 9.5oz. ripstop nylon material- the actual anchors are 1 oz each. I've got four of 'em and they work great. The plastic shopping bag idea has been around for a while, I first read about it in a British "Climber's Handbook" under a section on expedition climbing written by Alan Rouse. The bio on the cover of the book (published shortly after Rouse's death) lists him as the first Brit to successfully climb K2. I always wondered about that, it seems to me that getting off the mountain alive was part of the whole success thing. Oh, and they work great too, surprisingly strong. But be sure to dig all the shredded plastic out when striking your tent.

For those of you who just can't (after all...) get enough of Terri Schiavo, I just heard that Jeb "not another" Bush is having the Fla. attorney General investigate the circumstances surrounding Teri's death. Just to show the world whiat a vindictive a-hole he is, I guess. Oh well, back to the recreational flesh rippers.

'Bailed on plans for Chimney Rock. Hiked up Carne Mtn. on Sunday for some fresh air & exercise. I'm ready for some nicer weekends someday.

'Might be the right time to try one of them scary death routes you've been eying.

I just can't stand to see those Wales suffer, they're such big, intellegent, peaceful creatures.

And disregard Dru's suggestion to dose it w/ peroxide daily. That dissolves the new skin growth.

"Least they aint no blue dress for 'em ta test no DNA on. Eh-he, eh-he."

Geneva conventions, shit. How about God's (or should I say god's) laws? These bastards have no morality at all. Showing Saddam in his tighty whities is the least of the crimes agianst justice and humanity that they have comitted. Sick fucking lying bastards.

I'd call it a bit scary; bad weather, bad snow, bad navigation, mondo packs, thrutching on the crux.... lucky to have made it?

"My other car is up my nose"

Hugh Banner Offsets: The best. OK, just an opinion, but I never pass up an opportunity to recommend these. I've used all sorts of shite, and find most of 'em about the same, but the HB's set so securely and work in funky flares like nothing else I've tried. Another thang, IMHO color coding doesn't do much for me. Maybe I'm too ADD to remember which is which. I look at the widget, look at the crevice, and nine times out of ten (or better) get it right. Too much brain power required to remember that red is 0.375 - 0.525" blue is 0.525 - 0.875" or whatever. Am I alone? (oh pleeze God, no!)

'Just got a Myo 3 'cause the past few times I had to actually find my way around in the dark, I realized that my Princeton Tech Aurora wasn't up to the task. I'll upgrade to the Lithium AA's 'cause they are both lighter and work better in the cold. The choice of LED for battery life or halogen for brightness is worth the extra weight in many cases. I'll keep the itty bitty Princeton for when I think it will be enuf.