dmuja

couple good links on a sad subject http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/intro.htm http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/north%20cascade%20glacier%20retreat.htm The planets getting hotter, the glaciers will melt (sooner than most believe) and despite what some ill informed or ill intended people claim, human activity is greatly contributing to it.

Yea! Now I got a name for the lump just blow the ring finger of my right hand! (tnx for da updated thread) I thought it was just a small ruptured tendon or sumpin. I used to just say "its a lump". Mine seemed to appear over night also, but it may have been that I "suddenly" noticed it. I gave climbing a rest for a while but it didn't get any better or go away so I decided to just basically ignore it. After doing bar pull-ups or 30Lb dumbell curls it seemed to be smaller (almost like it got "pushed" back in place). It sorta comes and goes a little. It doesn't hurt, but now that it has a name, it probably will start hurting. On second thought, I'm gonna forget about the name and just go back to calling it "a lump". That way I won't be making up some lame assed excuses for not climbing, nor forming any "DC" support groups, nor saddly ponder my hopeless future as a "victim" of DC etc.. etc.. bla bla.., demand my rights as a DC survivor etc.. Oh for the good old days when people just toughed it out, or died of shit like "the Kroup" or "ol'age". PS - Do you have occasional pain in your legs? You may have RLS "restless leg syndrome" D

yeah....imagine

I think Landis is ripe to be set up. Unlike LA, he doesn't have the support network to fight this. The French would sell their mothers to take down an American, they're desperate to get the TDF title back. Was the fist sample tested in France? Wanking can raise your testosterone levels, maybe he wanked at the wrong time?

#1) Howy Schultz sucks pig dong, I blame him mostly. Boycott flarbucks! Here's a guy who took a team/business, did nothing with it except lose - including "Mr Sonic" Nate Mcmillin - and utterly could NOT figure out how to make his business/team connect with its home town and fans. Some business man. What a fucking moron. Then to top it off - or in spite - he sells the team to out of towners! As far as Im concerned he dissed Seattle big time. #2) Seattle doesn't give a fuk because no one here is from Seattle! Seattle is full of over paid, lazy-techno-yuppie-suedo-liberals from the Bay area who want to pretend that they are on some other level from the rest of the country. Theyre not. They sit by while the city is on the fast track to becoming a suburb of Bellevue or Marin county CA. Soon, the whole thing will be one big fucking condo spread and they can rename it to "the Ivory City" because not a single working class person will be in sight! #3) If they keep up the snotty attitude they'll drive the entire business tax base away and THEN see how expensive it is to live there "Well, we still have Gates and Boeing etc.." give me a break! How long do you think THEY will put up with this shit? #4) It wouldn't have been the the Sonics fault that there is no good transit system, blame the worst mayor in history Nickles for insisting on a "Big Dig" fucking tunnel to replace the *very fixable* viaduct. I can't wait I love the "seattle angst", worrying about their cities "conciousness" as if there were such a thing. Seattlelites -what ever the fuk - get what they deserve. The only thing worse than Seattle politics, is ..well..I can't think of anything right now.. D

2 doubled fig 8s on a bite looped into each other, backed up with an overhand and biner clipped around the rope on each side, and backed up again with single fisherman stoppers on each line. Wow! You could rap down inside your truck with that pig! Just dont pull your rope down cuz half the mountain will come with it!

yes yes, I stay away from fig 8 anything for tying two ropes. But what do you use for say, tying a 9.8mm to a 6mm?

Im tempted to move, but that would be just hiding from the problem. Besides Index is filled with meth-head hillbilly's like the rest of those backwater northwest towns isn't it?

But what can we do? I mean do we just decide that "thats the way thing are?" I mean, arnt there examples of societies that are much less violent and ideologically twisted, and if so, shouldn't we be trying to foster and promote such cultural values?

I don't usually watch "the news" but this week has been an exception for various reasons. I know it may be a very large and complex problem but, seriously, whats wrong with our society? 2 bright and gentle people are shot dead 3 miles down a trail. A family is destroyed in Kirkland including 2 children. A 12 year old is almost snatched out of her bed on Vashon Island of all places, the perverted fuckhead is still at large. I feel like I just want mandatory execution of assaultive felons, period! One strike and your "offed" kinda thing. I don't think this is the best solution though, its just how I feel - sick, sad and pissed. How do you feel? What do you *think* will actually help create a better, less violent society?

http://www.promountainsports.com/bags-wm-summer-lite.shtml

This is wrong for the Colman/Demming. For C/D, after you leave the trail and head up the moraine, your basically headed SSE from 6000 feet until you begin to swing more Easterly do to the ridge youll encounter between 7 and 9000 ft. B'tween like 9000 and 10400 youll be bearing pretty much East, before the final summit walk over to the NE. http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?z=10&n=5403783&e=584993&size=l&datum=nad83

Sport generally = bolts as intermediate protection. Trad generally = placing your own intermediate protection. -- Sport generally = 2 or 3 bolt anchors at each belay and rap stations. Trad generally = building your own belay anchors with natural features such as trees and rock horns and or gear your bring up with you, also possibly rappeling from such features as well. -- Sport = bring rope, shoes, harness and quickdraws, teeshirt, smokes, have some beer near by. Trad = bring most of the above + epic essentials (warmer clothes, food, water, maybe bivy stuff etc..) and of coarse pro and slings, but you leave the smokes and beer for after you get back to the car. -- Sport = usually short trail aproaches. Trad = often means rough difficult to find back country paths and hard scrambles to reach the actual climb. -- Sport = generally going into the well known and well tamed. Trad = often going into the less known and less tamed. -- Sport = Shut up and just climb, grab (flail), cuss, sweat, grunt, clip, fall, talk WAY too much, get back on the rock, do same, fall again, climb and fall some more, keep climbin and fallin until you think you have actually improved on your physical climbing technique. Some just jump off when they get pumped and yell "yeeehaaw". Trad = Think, plan, actually shut up and climb, grab (flail) much less, check rock quality, cuss about the same amount, sweat more, grunt just a little, check rock, pick and place pro, clip while pumping out, run it out, don't fall, run it out some more, do it all again and DON'T FALL. Also never yell "yeeehaaw" on a trad climb. -- Sport = you and too many of your friends at a crag having too good a time and maybe not taking things seriously enough. Trad = you and your one partner possibly witnessing the last climb of some sporties that were having "too good a time" in a trad environment. -- Sport = often climbing with familiar moves and body positions. Trad = "I never did that kind of move before, never thought I even could do that with my body and never fucking want to try that again". -- Sport = What does "rappel" mean? Should I have brought a helmet? Trad = Now for the really dangerous part.. -- Sport = You find your car has been broken into upon your return. Trad = They would be lucky to even find your car if you don't return.

I learned that, on occasion, an old sling dated "2-24-06" (thankyou to this thoughtful climber btw) *MAY* still be strong enough to rap off of on "7-16-06", but you will be very nervous while doing it. Best to not copy this sort of behavior.. D

Ok, call me stupid, but when I said "exchanged them" I meant I got another pair from REI (I like these shoes so much I had to give them a second chance). What do you know, I went climbing today and the same damned thing is happening this time to the other foot - ie sole and rand separating near the toe. F__K!! rei musta got all the rejects So, my question is now, what shoe is stiff (board lasted) enough to wear all day, really sticky, and has rubber lace bumpers on top making cracks feel oh so nice, also preferably with a lining??? Please help me find a replacement thats close to this shoe

Having some experience (a relative with a serious hd injury) I can say that although it takes a while, this much progress this early on is indeed a good sign. May you continue to get well Kurt!

Here's another way of looking at it... What is the percentage of climbers who fall while free soloing that DONT get hurt or killed? vs What is the percentage of climbers who fall while roped that DONT get hurt or killed? Sometimes over thinking shit can be very bad news

I wish someone would get bold and construct better gyms! Maybe let you practice simulated multipitch w/ rappels, traverses, or at least let you boulder more than 4 freakin feet off the floor! I might even settle for more realistic holds.. right now we got "top rope", or "lead and jump offs", pretty silly if you ask me.

I tried to love my TM's, really I did! Gottem at REI about 2 months ago. Very comfortable shoe if sized right. Stiff enough to wear for hours. Nice and sticky rubber, stickiest Ive tried. Great for crack climbing with the rubber lace bumpers on top. Just returned them to the store for an exchange because after only a dozen outings the rand began to separate from the sole near the big toe area. First it was just a split seam, then it became a hole and I could peel the rand back like a flap of loose skin. Not normal at all so I give em a C-.

Also, In trad environment, I NEVER intentionally fall

Ive used the prusik above the device too. It works well also but you might get it hung up tight - then you just have to make a loop in the rope(s) below you to stand up thus giving you slack in the prussik enough to loosen it. Not to bad, but a bit less convenient than the auto block-break method.

For a long time I thought it was very bad (stupid even, based on what I read and was told) to rappel *withOUT* knots in the ends of the rope. This year, I took a intermediate rock coarse and while we were rapping multipitch we got a rope stuck because of the end knots. It was a very good demonstration of why you have to *THINK* through situations in the mountains - not just blindly go off one particular fact, advice or senario. I now *usually* DO NOT use knots in the ends (even remove the tape). A method; What I do is to back up the rappel with a small autoblock loop (5 mil cord, 3 raps around both strands below aka -on the break side of- the rappel device) clipped into a locker on my leg loop. This method of backing up a rappel works extremely well should I lose control of the break side of the rope. Test it yourself in a safe place before trying it in the mnts. A prussik hitch can also be used as an autoblock (is stronger) instead of simply rapping the loops around the rope, but prussiks are slightly more difficult to slide down the rope with. Check, recheck, then check again, maybe check everthing once more to boot..Nice ABC list btw! "How is a climber supposed to get the requisite knowledge...." Research, get multiple opinions, ask, study, try, practice, get MORE experience and above all think think think, and thats the best way imho but Im just a work in progress myself. PS leave the "sport climbing" competitive attitude out of the trad environment ..period. Amoung other things, Sport *mentality* is about getting to the top, while Trad mentality is about developing the safest possible practices to get there and back. Its important to learn how to distinguish these 2 mind sets when they are occurring. D

Repo wall Left, 5.6 trad crack "First things First", about 20-25 feet up, there is a smallish cam (Im not sure the make) that belongs to <tony.f@superfeet.com>. Im not the one who got it stuck, but I was there when it happened Im sure he would be glad and suprised to get it back - he was mentoring a new leader.. cool D

My best to the injured party. PS - Im sure you each had your "ten essentials" and cell phones and all that, BUT C'MMMON!! "14 in a group in the mountains" is pretty disgustingly rude!!! It may be fun for those in the group, but regardless of how "well managed" it still sucks for others to run into THAT. This should be obvious! I believe even the mounties limit their group size to much less unless teaching at at crag..at least I hope so. Once again, Im soooo glad I solo