wfinley

And a nice route once again! Congrats!!! Now that you've climbed this and the Montana Norwand what's next?

Thanks for all the advice; we're looking for hotels now. It will be nice to get on some good rock after a summer of rain and choss!

What do you need to know? You can trace the owner like JosephH suggestions - but beyond that you'll need a warrant (at least for another few weeks).

Suggestions? The price ranges are $30 - $500 / night... is a $30 hotel room scary and crawling with meth heads - or will be be alright?

Hi all -- headed to Red Rocks for the first time ever in early November. Looking for some first time visit suggestions.... and obviously have some questions: 1. Camping / Sleeping: I've heard the campground sucks. Is this true? Do people suggest a campground or hotel? (We have no qualms about paying for a hotel.) If hotel - any suggestions? 2. Car Rental: I'm assuming a basic economy car rental will work? Any reason to get something with more clearance? 3. Temps: I've heard early Nov. temps are around 60-70 by day - 30-40 by night. True? 4. Must do routes? I'm not much of a rock climber so they have to be moderates (max 5.8). Any other suggestions would be most welcome!

[video:youtube]1BDIv_0kPhE

Footage from a recent rescue on the Grand. The short haul footage at 7:00 is pretty intense! [video:vimeo]14894703

Was on Aconcagua this past winter. My wife got frostbite in Invernos. Her big toe turned black and she lost all the skin on it. Had she been wearing leathers she would have lost her toes.

Awesome awesome photos!!!! Bummer about the tent!

Enough with the elitism. Statistically speaking people who climb harder routes are more likely to have accidents. The Cassin sees an average of 20 climbers a year - and for the past 3 years there have been accidents on the route. A Belgium climber died on it this past June, last June two climbers were rescued and in 2008 Yamada and Inoue disappeared on the route. The whole argument against fees is that they unfairly target climbers. Advocating that some climbers pay and others don't is ridiculous.

The NPS needs to raise fees so they can continue to pay their staff to write papers like this.

Install this thing & you won't see it - or the annoying singles banner on CC.com: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/433/

You can ship freight... but it's not really worth it unless you have more than 500lbs. Plus with freight you run the risk of it taking longer than they say (avg. time estimate is 2-8 weeks) and have to deal with picking it up at the port which is a major pain. As John said - just buy your food up here. About the only mega-chain we don't have is Trader Joes.

My $.02... if you're going to climb, take climbing boots. If you're going to ski, take ski boots. I would think that hauling the extra weight and stiffness of ski boots up the Rib would suck. Likewise descending the WB back to the NE fork is a long slog - and unless you're planning on hauling skis up the route it will be a very uncomfy walk back down. I love my ski boots - but they suck for climbing. They're heavy and clunky for climbing and don't compare to a pair of climbing boots that fit well.

Give the conspiracy theories a rest for once -- the names of the other victims were released this afternoon. RIP Senator.

So how was ave danger? It looked fairly stable - but maybe you edited out the scary parts for mom?

Damn! Holy trenching!!! Nice job!

Good spot for one of the coolest base jump vids I've seen: [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erfCL-ZfZhY

[video:youtube]

Looks like you climbed Mt. Williwa -- a great peak in our backyard. Chugach State Park is the best part about living in Anchorage.... 5 minutes form my door i can be hiking there. Can't beat that!

Do you really think it's because of "conservative undertones" that Rand's drivel is pushed almost every day on the airwaves by neanderthals like Beck and Limbaugh? I agree with you that her philosophy is abhorrent, I was just pointing out that Atlas and Fountainhead were two of the most influential fiction novels of the 20th century. They're well written and in my opinion should be read by everyone -- especially given how relevant they are in today's political climate.

"She was an amphetamine-addicted author of sub-Dan Brown potboilers, who in her spare time wrote lavish torrents of praise for serial killers and the Bernie Madoff-style embezzlers of her day. She opposed democracy on the grounds that "the masses"—her readers—were "lice" and "parasites" who scarcely deserved to live [...] a horribly damaged woman who deserves the one thing she spent her life raging against: compassion." Ayn Rand might have developed the highly objectionably theory of Objectivism --- but she was an excellent writer. Comparing her to Dan Brown is ridiculous. Brown's books sell in the millions - but his books aren't an allegory for a movement. The beauty of Rand was that she wrote wonderful books that can be read and enjoyed by anyone -- but at the same time analyzed, critiqued and praised by multimillionaire execs who need to come up with a reason as for why they pay their workers minimum wage. Don't deride her writing -- Atas and the Fountainhead were excellent books that should be read by everyone. Deriding Rand's fiction becuase of its conservative undertones is akin to conservative's refusing to read Heller or Vonegut becuase of their view on war.

Denali rangers order paraglider off mountain, into hospital The Associated Press A 25-year-old climber from Pennsylvania who reportedly planned to paraglide off the summit of Alaska's Mount McKinley has been flown off the mountain and taken to a Fairbanks hospital. Denali National Park spokeswoman Maureen McLaughlin says the unidentified man was strapped to a backboard Wednesday and plucked from the 14,200-foot level of the 20,320-foot peak by an Army Chinook helicopter. The park's medical director prepared a 72-hour protective custody order after Park Service volunteer medical professionals evaluated the man's behavior, described as "increasingly unusual and erratic." The spokeswoman says rangers confronted the man when they learned of his plan to paraglide, a prohibited activity in the park. He reportedly agreed not to bring that equipment. But when he reached the 14,200-foot camp, "cold, wet and in distress," rangers found paragliding equipment in his sled. Other climbers reported the man lacked proper gear and was not climbing safely. His hometown was not immediately available. Read more: http://www.adn.com/2010/07/09/1360040/denali-rangers-airlift-paraglider.html#ixzz0tDDcPnMM * * * * What's up the crazies on Denali this year?

Starting from Hope you can bike Rez Pass to Cooper Landing. Then you'll have to bike up the road (about 10 miles) to Crescent Lake trail. Getting around the lake with your bike will require a bit of bushwhacking. After that go down the other side, bike down the road towards Seward about 20 miles then take Lost Lake trail up and over Lost Lake to just outside of Seward. Once you reach the other side it's about 5-10 miles to Seward. If you have a bike and are hanging out near Cooper Landing also check out Johnson Pass trail and the Russian Lakes trail. Be sure to figure out in advance how to hang your bike spray off your water bottle cage. Lots of bears on those trails and more and more mountain bikers are getting chomped these days. As for sites... check out: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/index.html And you might also want to read this: Mountain bikers fend off grizzly attack http://www.alaskadispatch.com/voices/tundra-talk/5944-bear-attack-a-firsthand-account Alaska Mtn Bike Forum; they're mostly friendly: http://akspokes.com/forum/index.php And finally... a gear link for you: http://www.revelatedesigns.com/