John Frieh

So far the majority of jobs they are outsourcing are software related... not hardware (which is me)... so far. I am voting for Kerry BTW. Regardless of whether or not it does come to that I am looking at getting my JD and doing patent law... they will pay for tuition and pay me my engineering salary to go to school. Only time will tell...

Yup. My undergrad was adv. chemistry... still cranking the MS.

The CEO of my company has a Ph.D. in materials science. And no MBA.

Than wipe the shit off your . Hell yeah I'm not a business student (which at the end of the day is still an art major)... I'd probably be unemployed. Chemical Physics from an American university beeyotch. And you thought calculus for business majors was hard

I smell management... I have no problem taking shots at a company that fired 400+ employees (you guys eliminated the entire Seattle based THAW production staff in the late 90s… THAW is code name for REI brand for those of you who don't know) to move there jobs to mexico after NAFTA passed. Being clever doesn't make it any less dishonest.

Check your pms... I'd post it but I like the idea of our crow bar laden defenders of the faith having to hunt for the bolts in question.

Slave for the "coop" for 2 years and see how many pennies you save...

Word up. However it is still pure speculation on how the bolts were placed. No one has confirmed: whether or not they were placed on lead how many exist if a power tool was used what features, if any, exist and other important questions that should be answered first before people should start screaming for so called justice.

One other question Dane: can you trace your family lineage back to Salem, MA in say... 1692? Dane doesn't know the answers to these questions... that's why he's asking for the answers on the other ban camp page. If he did his homework he would know they weren't/aren't sponsored by Petzl...

Option # 1: Lose weight. Option # 2: Make the items defective. This can be accomplished in any number of ways but it needs to be something that faults the manufacture and not you or this will not work. A few possibilities… stitching on zipper comes out (only cut in one place and then unthread from there), if it is a three layer jacket you can generally find corners and peel back the inner liner exposing the goretex. Finally spraying hair spray on a goretex jacket will cause the glue to delaminate from the outer fabric. DISCLAIMER: if you are unsuccessful (i.e. do not convince them to return it) you are stuck with it Option # 3: Claim the unsatisfied with product. Technically REI’s warranty covers this but customer service is trained to only reward/honor this with members that have a strong purchase history… if only shop the sales and buy a few items a year they are less likely to honor the promise. This might be the best choice as you don’t get stuck with items that you made defective. Option # 4: Karma is a harsh mistress. Sell the items and use this as a learning experience to ensure that next time you spend some cash on a jacket you make sure it fits. I would encourage this option and/or option 1. Finally: some further discussion on REI scamming And to all you who blasted Blake; how about blasting REI for basing employees’ annual raises (for already shitty wages) on how many memberships they sell per month. If the membership is such a good thing why does REI have to force their employees to push it on people? Shouldn't it sell itself? Just my 2 cents.

Billy: check your pms

Just quoting what 5.10 told me... I agree with you: probably fine. Just thought I'd throw it out there in case people try to return a pair that delams to 5.10 and cite that reason.

I thought the same thing a pair of mine are synthetic but 5.10 says washing them in the washing machine would weaken the glue bond on the shoes so they recommend a damp cloth. Unless you got slime build up odor shouldn't affect your climbing...

It could be worse... it could be the crux rock gym in Eugene.

I'm impressed with the new updates on the NOAA site... yeah they took away the mtn forecasts, but now you can specify the specific area by clicking a map. Good example: Stuart They give you the elevation also... not perfect but I think a nice improvement. PS: I think Sat is the day to get 'er done... Sunday should be wet... but it depends on where you are headed.

Won't happen... Yvon has gone on record more than once that he will sell to the employees at that time... the same thing he did with Chouinard equipment. But yeah… it would suck.

Sarkens have vertical front points mounted underneath horizontal front points... the vertical points poke out a few millimeters beyond the tip of the horizontal points... hot shit. Best of both worlds and they are lighter than other companies models. Look at a pair next time you are in a shop... Dru:

For alpine? I'm gonna get a pair of bolt ons for this winter... still shopping around... what bolt on cramp/boot combo do you use?

Too soft in the shank... too firm in the ankle. How's that? You climbing on a pair of these yet? Or are you a dart kid?

Putting the sarken on the makalu and then trying to alpine climb (mixed rock, steep snow/ice) is like putting a V8 engine in a golf cart... its overkill and if anything the golf cart will self destruct well before you reach the limits of the engine. What I'm getting at is the sarken is a sweet crampon for the alpine but its performance will be limited by the boot you put it on... the makalu sports a beefy leather upper which will prevent you from flexing/rotating your ankle... something you will need to do on genuine mixed terrain. Once the makalu softens up (generally a few seasons) its nothing more than a beefy back packing boot. I made the mistake of buying a pair at 15 when I was an aspiring OR mountaineer never again! What are a few routes you are looking at using the sarken on? I have a feeling you could get by with less...

I have two pairs: one in sidelock and one in spirlock. The sidelock will work on your koflachs (but check the height of the back rand... this can void the sidelock design working with your boot). If your Makalus have had a few miles on them they will be to soft for the crampon... always make sure your boot is more stiff than your crampon. If your makalus are newer the sidelock will work. I am confused by your question "good design"... can you clarify?

I would encourage anyone who has beef with me or feels I climb to talk about it to send me a pm. If I get a noticeable response I will stop posting. I will keep your pm anonymous.

Then why haven't I posted a TR for ever climb I have done over the past 30 consecutive weekends of climbing if I love telling people about what I have done? I am willing to bet I have posted less than 10 TR on this board. Yes I have dropped a few names but only when related to the subject... kinda like when you post pics of a rescue when someone asks about it. It’s not like I post a TR about having breakfast with Mark Twight. If it bothers you that I know Bubba or other recognizable names I can stop naming them specifically if it would make you happy. You guys love to bitch about this one but why didn't you whine when I posted for a found nut on the west ridge of stuart a few months prior to the found biner post? It’s still there… go look at it. Why didn't you guys hassle me then? Same situation; different route. Maybe it’s your insecurities getting in the way... whatever it is I posted the found biner on the pillar to specifically gather information about pillar. Thanks to the information I got from that post; a local guidebook author and I determined the route I did and special ed did two years prior to us is a new variation on the pillar and the original route is no longer the recommended route on the pillar. And a new unclimbed line exists. Do you see me preaching to the choir about any of this? Do you see me thumping away? If you don’t like the way I post I’m sorry. If you don’t like the fact I know and have climbed with well respected climbers I’m sorry. I can go back to lurking the page and refusing people information on climbs I have done that no one else on the board has.

Nice! Enjoy... those are both sweet areas! And you might want a screamer or two for some of the "bolts" on magic.

Black Magic?