Chad_A

Not nice to spray on TRs. Nice pics, thanks for posting

I can't imagine that things are formed up yet, just a guess. Might take a little while longer. Things might clear up enough today for you to get a glance, so go take a ride around the east side and let us know. Historically, November/December are the best months for the route, but I'm sure there's a lurker out there that's done it in October.

Great information, Joe- this should be shared as much as possible. Thanks for your hard work; I certainly appreciate it as many others on this board surely do.

Ah, yes. I do recall seeing that now that I think of it. 'Tis a good pic.

Nice pics! Looks fun. Thanks for posting!

pic please? I know not of the cover shot you all speak of....

Cool, thanks for the resounding reply. I'll get to work researching these spots (even if they aren't all in the North Cascades!) Thanks again, Chad

I need some more! Gimme Gimme Gimme! Don't ask what for! 1,2,3,4! Standing her like a loaded gun, waiting to go off... Could be a good fight song. Oh, I just had a thought..."Welcome to the Terrordome" by Public Enemy?

Dez Cadena was better than Rollins, IMO. I'd have to revisit some of his old 1/4 stick records to see if I've forgotten anything.

Oh, yeah...Mudhoney. They have some noise going for them. Throw in some Today is the Day for pure agression. Xbyd6wI1WjI

The g/f and I are looking to take a few days to ourselves somewhere in January. Last year or two, we went to some placed outside of the Nisqually entrance of Rainier (Copper Creek Inn, etc) but we're kind of tired of that now. Looking for something maybe around Glacier; any recommendations? Would like somewhere she can cross country ski, or somewhere we can go on a snowshoe hike. I looked at NC Basecamp, one of the sponsors here, but that's kind of expensive...but if it's par-for-the-course for that time of year, I'll swallow it. Thanks in advance. -Chad

Oh, sure, be picky why don't you. Well, Archie, I'll leave the Slayer choice up to you, then.

Slayer...of course. Exile off of "God Hates us All" comes to mind. Can't count the ways that you light my fuckin fuse I can't tolerate the sight of you, the thought of you or anything about you You know what I want to see? How many ways can a loser fucking lose I know you'll find a way The humility awakening the idiot inside You spineless fucking maggot - you're just wasting my time Get out of my face - Get out of my life Out of my fucking way - Just die See also "Blood and Thunder" by Mastodon.

I'll swallow your soul! I'll swallow your soul!

I've been through this whole thing before; not much fun. Ours was to the tune of stolen plants; my g/f's plants that line the north and east side of our property(that were gifts from her parents) walked off in the middle of the night. I remember getting up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water, and I probably saw the lady doing it, but she looked like she had stopped to get something out of her handbag. Not too unusual, as the local light rail station isn't too far from our house, and we get foot traffic at all times of the day. Little did I know she was stuffing her bag with all of our freshly planted lavender. Pathetic.

I received an email that drew my attention to this. Spread the word to anyone you think would be interested. The main information below is on the www.hyalite.org page. THE LATEST NEWS! updated September 26, 2007 : SCROLL DOWN FOR CURRENT ACTION STEPS The Gallatin National Forest remains committed to the agreement reached with ice climbers on March 15, 2007 (see below for more information). This is a great situation and the Forest Service's continued dedication and efforts to acknowledge and encourage the incredible skiing and climbing assets of Hyalite has been phenomenal. However, the unfortunate issue of the landslide on the road near Practice Rock has complicated some of the plans we hoped to impliment this season. As many of you know, there was a mudslide across the road in the spring of 2007. Check back to this site soon as I'll be posting images of the mudslide. There remain additional fractures in the hillside (that could go in the next deep rain) and can not get fixed until next summer (2008). Thus, throughout the winter the road will remain narrowed to a single lane with jersey barriers blocking the debris and hopefully protecting the road from futher damage. In light of these safety concerns, and compounded with the City's baffling and last minute arguments over road use threatening the watershed and the entire water supply to Bozeman, the acting Forest Supervisor Tom Puchlerz has unilaterally decided to more or less maintain the status quo for the Hyalite Road for the 2007-08 winter season. This gives the Forest Service, among other things, time to fix the slumping hillside, develop plans for other road improvements (see below for longer term plans), source funds for plowing, and generally buy more time to re-educate the public about the recent changes and future plans for Hyalite. Please keep in mind, the status quo refers to the road only. All other aspects of the travel plan will be implemented. That is, no snowmobiles off the road, across the reservoir or beyond the Grotto Falls or Emerald Lake Trailheads. For the 2007-2008 season, Hyalite Access looks like this: 1/ The Hyalite Road will not be plowed. The County will continue to plow to the Fishing Access at the bottom of the canyon just as they always have. 2/ The Main Road will remain open to motor vehicle traffic to the Emerald Lake Trailhead (East Fork and Flanders) and Grotto Falls Parking Lot as long as conditions allow. This is exactly what we've traditionally had. 3/ If and when a "season-ending" event happens or the road is otherwise too tricky to drive, it will be gated at the bottom. At this time the Bridger Ski Foundaton may or may not groom the main road. 4/ Snowmobiles will be allowed on the main roads ONLY (not on the Reservoir or elsewhere) to Emerald Lake Trailhead and Grotto Falls parking lot until March 31. If you are an ice climber with a snowmobile it is critical you do NOT drive it past the Trailheads. 5/ The Forest Service will install a series of signs regarding the hazards of the road as well as recommended times of travel, among other things. This is part of a larger educational push we will be making in order to help reduce the amount of bone-head behavior we are so familiar with. 6/ The entire canyon will be gated at the bottom between April 1 and May 15. The Medium term plan (1 to 3 years) includes: 1/ The Forest Service is currently putting together a plan to install guard rails at various points along the Hyalite Road. This is the first step to bring it up to "Winter Use Standards" to ease City watershed concerns. 2/ Create a separate XC ski trail that is preferably away from the road on the east side of the Reservoir. This is a key element to link up many of the desired trails farther up the valley and for loops around the Reservoir, etc. It also leaves the road free for vehicle access for hikers and climbers. 3/ Create an independent snowmobile route on the west side of the Reservoir that allows access to the Window Rock Cabin and to the Grotto Falls trailhead. 4/ Form a non-profit organization to run point on the education aspects of getting the word out about Hyalite and to help manage the plowing funds (since they will be coming from several sources) and perhaps some day even a permit system, if it gets to that. 5/ Start lobbying (see long term plan below) for Highway Trust Fund money to improve and pave the road at least to Chisolm Campground if not all the way to Grotto Falls Trailhead. CRITICAL ACTION STEPS 1/ Go ice climbing this season in Hyalite Canyon! For once in our political lifes we are asked to do something we want to and is fun! The more climbers go up Hyalite and keep the road passable, the longer we'll maintain vehicle access. 2/ While in Hyalite, do the right thing. Do NOT drive your snowmobile past the trailheads. EVER. As long as everyone follows action step number one, there should be good trails from the parking lots leading to all the climbs. The same thing goes for the Reservoir itself. Stay on the main road around the east side. Do not cross the reservoir itself. This is very important. We are working closely with the Forest Service to develop signs and educational programs about how we can all get along and make Hyalite a better place for everyone. In otherwords, do everything you can to AVOID conflict and accidents with other users as this will be the quickest way possible to get the entire canyon closed to vehicles. Make no mistake, road safety is THE number one priority for the Forest Supervisor and the District Managers. It is up to climbers to help keep them from loosing sleep. 3/ Write the incoming Gallatin Forest Supervisor a short letter and send it to: Gallatin National Forest Supervisor PO Box 130 Bozeman, MT 59771-0130 State that having vehicle access to Hyalite Canyon ice climbing is important to you (use your own language here) and that you applaud the Forest's efforts to work with ice climbers in managing the road, that you support the local climbing coalition and that you look forward to seeing long term solutions to keeping the Hyalite road open to vehicles for a majority of the winter. 4/ Join the Southwest Montana Climber's Coalition (SMCC). We need your help! If you are interested in getting involved in the Hyalite Road issue please contact Joe Josephson at (406) 581-1716 or joe at firstascentpress dot com. Long Term Plan Between the next election cycle and that incredible waste of treasury known as the Iraq War, it is going to be a challenge to find any federal money to plow the road up Hyalite. There is light at the end of the tunnel, however. Provided he gets reelected in 2008, Montana's senior Senator, Max Baucus (D), will be the lead writer of the next Highway Trust Fund Bill (2009). This is the mulit-billion dollar appropriation to fund America's highways, roads and other infrastructure. The SMCC and the Access Fund will be lobbying Max and the rest of the MT delegation to appropriate funds to not only improve the Hyalite road from the Reservoir to the parking lot (one of the Forest Service's stated goals as well), but also to secure long term funds for plowing for the entire season (until April 1). This will benefit not only ice climbers and xc skiers, but the entire outdoor community (both the extreme and the casual) of Bozeman. However, it is a bit too early in the process to start our Congressional letter writing campaign. But rest assured we will need your help. So please, join the SMCC or the Access Fund so you'll get the email alerts. Otherwise bookmark this page and stay posted for future action steps (encouraging your state delegation to support the MT efforts at appropriations) that will be critical in securing season long access to the world-class ice of Hyalite.

I've been running trails on a street shoe under the stipulation that I use my stiff orthotics with them (suggestion from a local running store). I've found that even with the stiff full length orthotics I have come very near to rolling my ankles multiple times. So, I tried out a pair of these: Low profile, remarkable cusioning for reasonably short stretches of pavement (as in running from your house to get to the trail) and incredibly supportive (the tongue doesn't move; it's sewn in place, and the whole shoe fits more like a sock than a shoe). In short, it summarizes everything people have stated above. Haven't come close to rolling an ankle since.

Oh, don't worry, there's some tippy boulders up there that make it feel like Oregon "alpine" rock...and it ain't such a good thing. Nice pics, thanks for the report! I really like that route.

Post edited to send via PM instead (duh, I should read the subject heading).

Thanks for the responses, I'll check them out

I usually don't get mired into the cc.com political discussions, but I had an instant thought the second I read this. What makes me nervous is the potential for freedoms I don't know are being taken away. I don't trust my goverment, and I believe in a healthy level of skepticism. Though most supporters of my government would simply label it as "paranoia". Also, as far as my (or any of our) education credentials....it's ludicrous to ask of such a thing in a discussion such as this. Sure, lots of people are more educated that I am. The president should HAVE to more educated than most, but I guess that doesn't mean that he's smarter, though, does it (evidently)?

How appropriate! Thanks for the TR, looks like you had a great time

I wish that some of the dry tool crags I've been at had perfect holds to stein pull and hook into Thanks for posting that, though... I never thought there would be a specific market for dry tooling holds.

That would be more interesting.