blue_morph

So at 155lbs you're a featherweight. I like your idea of setting up a chair and doing some negatives though. I'm going to try it. The thing that is hard about pull ups is that it is a measurement of strength directly related to your body weight. I'm 215lbs and if I hacked off my legs or something (losing 60 lbs)I could do thirty pullups (but would have a hard time getting back down) I could probably lose 15 lbs w/o losing anything that I shouldn't but even so its harder for bigger fellas. You would probably have great difficulty doing a pullup with a 60lb pack on as well. The point is that the skinny ass 14 year old who actually has some upper arm strength will be able to easily do pull ups, while a guy who's 250lbs and in great shape will have a harder time doing pullups. I guess there are too many variables in your body to use "being able to do a pullup" as a real benchmark for anything except your own personal goals. This would be interesting to move into the personal fitness forum.

The pull-up is by all means very relevant to your climbing because it measures YOUR ability to pull YOUR OWN body, but the difficulty is totally different for each individual. Your body weight whether chub or muscle is the "weight" that you are pulling. Your arm strength is not necessarily greater just because you are carrying around a 6 foot 4 inch body compared to someone of equal fitness carrying around a 5 foot 9 inch body. This has always been interesting to me since I am fairly tall with a hard earned spare tire and have always noticed how the smaller guys can just chug through those things while I'll struggle to do 2 or 3. I could never do enough of them for it to be a decent exercise at that amount.

I'm on the Do Not Call list now and they haven't bothered me that much lately.

Just ordered them. It comes to about $13 with shipping. Can't go too wrong I guess. Even if they are unsuitable for high altitude, they'll be good for something.

I've been meaning to post a question regarding this for a while now. I have Scarpa Invernos and they have the liners that come with them from the factory. Scarpa sells "expedition" ones made out of something called "alveolite" I think and they are a whopping $200! Some of the local shops will make climbers liners for $150 or so. Has anyone specifically felt they needed the special "expedition" liners on a Denali climb or something else with extended time spent in the cold? $5 or $200 is a serious difference! I'll probably order some of these just to check them out. Thanks for the tip.

The real question is WHY would you want to?

If somebody video tapes this I would love to get to see it. I don't get that channel.

you're dreaming

What do you do with ass wands?

Seriously, just make sure they're really ladies!

Ton Sai Beach is just up from Rai Leh and a lot more chill. Last time I went (01) we stayed in a nice (private bath, ceiling fan, clean, etc.) place for about $10 a night. Who needs tv? Seriously, Ton Sai will feel a lot more homey than the scene at Rai Leh. You can get back and forth between the two by walking at low tide, or by quick water taxi. Bring the rope you care the least about and just leave it there, its not worth renting their junk. I don't remember many names of routes but "groove tube" was fun easy chimney. Theres one spot where you hike up into this cave for a ways and then rappel out of this super scenic opening in the limestone down to a great cragging area. Never had so much fun sport climbing! Take water taxi from Ton Sai / Rei Leh to town of Ao Nang to shop for fruit, bottled water, junk food, knock off sunglasses, etc as stuff at the beaches is a little pricey and limited. The beaches are geographically isolated so for all practical purposes, you are on an island. Don't waste any time on Kao San Road and do your Xmas shopping on your last day in BKK at the HUGE market (I forget its name but it'll be in the book. Have fun!

Thanks for the tips. I'll look up that place in PDX. I think I have the Coat lined up. I am still looking for a bag but am going to be incredibly patient to get just the right one. Ideal would be a used FF Ptarmigan in a long. Gotta be a long. Have those of you who have been on McKinley used a GPS up there? Battery issues? Pain to deal with or indispensable? It seems like they would be good for caching, and indispensable in a storm. I am going to get a good altimeter (Brunton Sherpa) that does not have to go under a clothing layer like the Suunto watches so I don't need it for elevation.

second vote for mozilla! Why use IE?

http://www.statravel.com/statravel/flights/fl_ColumbusResults.aspx?menuid=1001S1 You just need to convince them you are a student. Very easy. $714 seems pretty reasonable considerring how far it is.

The classics are fine unless you like to spend more money. If they came out with an Eddie Bauer edition of these snowshoes people would eat em up, but it doesn't make em better. I've seen the heel things blow out on the Ascents anyway. More parts to break or fail is a bad thing.

It seems like in California any Beach Bum can be a Grizzly "Expert", or a Politician, or anything else they choose! You've gotta wonder about a guy who gets into hanging out with grizzlies so he can kick drugs. Its too bad they had to kill the bears.

Mmmmm, used long underwear. Feel the love.

does he do mountain shoes (boots, plastics, etc) as well?

That's all I needed to hear "foam". Somehow I thought it was a big sheet of real ice or something. Seems like it would only be good for trying different tools briefly. Forget the foam!

Anyone ever try the indoor ice up at Cascade Crags? Is it worth it? What are the "modifications" they require for you to use your own equipment?

I probably should have posted that I generally wear XL in stuff, sometimes L depending on the fit.

Rent a car. Unless you're like 25 or younger the rail passes are no savings over buying tickets. Go directly to Switzerland, the mountains there are amazing and you can be served wine and cheese on a glacier. Don't try to do too much. With 6 weeks I'd do three countries max.

Some of you may have come off a Denali Expedition in the last year or two. I need to buy some of the "Alaska Only" gear. I am looking for used FF Rock and Ice XL or L, a -30 degree bag, and FF down pants. There must be plenty of really quality used stuff out there as most people only go up there once. Send PM.

I ordered some too, cant beat it! I have never been to the site before. You have to wonder why they are carrying ice tools at all. The rest of their stuff seems more like the way Eddie Bauer used to be.

As I remember last time I was down there there was a (correct me if I'm wrong) $15 fee to climb either Adams or St Helens in season, or you could buy something called a Volcano Pass for $30 bucks. Add those to the list. To add confusion to the mix these days, they have now decided that a National Park Pass works instead of the NW Forest Pass if you pay an additional $15 and purchase a special hologram sticker to place on the card. This has all gotten way out of hand. Next I will have to buy a day pass from ticketmaster and pay a convenience charge.