KaskadskyjKozak

I've read that the most dangerous drunk drivers are the "casual drinkers" not the "drunks". The former are those who go out a few times a year and indulge in a few adult beverages. These drivers have far less experience behind the wheel while impaired. I'm not sure what kind of BAL they would typically have, but would not be surprised if it was around 0.10...

He's on suicide watch - they'll prevent him from killing himself. Rather, they'll run him through the legal system and he'll rot on death row for a decade or two. Seeing as how he's in Cali, he'll probably die of natural causes in prison.

How is the political situation there? Stable/relatively safe?

They would already be sweaty.

So, if you are coming off a glacier climb with a base layer, climbing pants, and shell pants, and still have a 5 mile hike to the TH, and its about 30 degrees warmer than when you started for the summit, you prefer to drop trou', peel off your long underwear, pull on a pair of regular underwear, and put your climbing pants back on - and then finally zip off the legs to simply doing the latter? All this to avoid some kind of climber fashion faux pas? Now THAT'S something I'd expect from a chick...

ya tozhe ochen' lyublyu kavkazskiye blyuda - vklyuchaya shashlik. gruzinskoye vino tozhe mne nravitsya (konkretno kindzmarauli, khvanchkara). lyudi tam priyatnyye, druzheskiye

zamechatel'no!

spasibo bol'shoe.

Assuming I flew in to Peterburg, about how expensive would it be to get to Elbrus, do the climb and return to Peterburg? And how long would the climb take (Peterburg to Peterburg). I speak Russian with near-native fluency, so taking advantage of means to travel, booking reservations, etc would not be a problem... Other options I am considering are coming in from Tbilisi or Yerevan.

Is the walkup truly the only reasonable route up? And even if so, it is the highest point in Europe, and a unique experience to visit the Kavkaz. I have a personal interest in the area.

to each his own

Has anyone here climbed Elbrus? Did you use a guide service or go with your own party? How expensive was it? What route did you take? Was it a worthwhile destination? Any other thoughts?

That would be the a first: K2 - a nurturing environment

Your choice of derision is interesting considering the utter ineptness of RuMR's puerile barbs.

The age of pioneering is certainly not over! Consider: RuMR can be the first member of an all-gay, mentally-retarded team to summit K2. Then he can go on a lecture tour and make some cash as well!

Yes, it inspires me that some chicks can kick my ass by climbing K2.

Maybe she's just trying to inspire women to try things they would otherwise not even consider?

Hmm, I guess you disagree with cj001f and the link he posted. My car gets 24 m/gal on the freeway AND it is paid off. I am not going to sell it to buy a new car (new debt that I can not afford) or a used car, whose history I know nothing about (I'm the only owner and I've performed all the recommended maintenance). I also have no access to reasonable public transport (i.e. that doesn't take much longer with about the same expense). I can't afford to move closer to work, and I can't find a job closer to home. If the government chooses to raise gas taxes, I will have to reallocate other parts of my budget to cover it. Many people find themselves in similar circumstances.

It could be, if the US chose to go that way. IMO, that is the case in Europe. I was more arguing against using gas taxes for this purpose, than stating that they are used this way in the US today. In the US, state and local governments raise gas taxes more to increase revenues than control people's behavior. And they do this incrementally over time, always increasing them. Since gas taxes are just one more tax, they tend to get swallowed up in the overall picture (aggregate total of taxes), and people fail to realize that they are being "nickel and dimed" to death. What makes gas taxes insidious is that people can rarely avoid them. Indeed, many choose not to. It's been a while since I took economics but there is a name for items that government can raise taxes on without affecting people's behavior much (e.g. tobacco, alcohol). These are freebies for them - raise taxes, comsumption will not drop, revenues increase. On the other hand, I think our state and local governments in Seattle ARE attempting to socially engineer behaviour by refusing to solve problems with traffic and congestion in our state. They refuse to improve the freeway system, and, despite hundreds of millions that have been pumped into voter-approved mass transit initiatives, we have little to show for our money. One wonders exactly what the gas tax money is spent on, yet alone the voter approved taxes. One really wonders, when you see an on-ramp being worked on by a work crew for 9 months (no kidding) before it is actually completed. They must be paid by the hour...

Nah, just the gas will be enough. Nope, you are still getting out - proof that the gas taxes are not working. Climbing gear is a luxury item, like boats, it needs to be taxed as such. The best way to cut the excessive waste of climbers going into the mountains is to tax them out of this habit. Ditto for skiiers, snowmobilers, and all outdoor enthusiasts who use the roads to get to their destination of choice.

Never heard of speck... I'll have to double-check with a native speaker. Russians wash down everything with vodka...

Yep, and we should start by cutting all trips to the mountains. Climbing causes pollution to the environment, and we impact nature just be entering it. Leave no Trace, right. Don't go in the first place. I propose we tax all climbing gear with a 500% luxury tax. That would be a good start.

That does not refute my point; a lot of unflattering stuff was left in.

Americans typically do not save enough, or manage their finances responsible. In terms of gasoline usage/prices they don't change their habits, but still suffer the costs. Gas is more expensive in other countries because they add ridiculous taxes to the price. In WA we pay something like $.28 per gallon, in Europe they pay as much as 3-4 times what we pay in total - because of the taxation. I reject the notion that social engineers have a right to change my life in such a drastic way by applying draconian taxes to fuel - something which I can not live without. Perhaps government should tax drinking water at $2-3 per gallon, or raise electricity taxes by ten-fold as well? After all, the (over)use of water and electricity affect the environment in huge ways. Gee, how would that affect the lives of ordinary people? The social engineers don't care.