wfinley

PS... here's the URL for CCC: http://www.carolinaclimbers.org/ They are currently raising money to buy Laurel Knob which is one of the largest rock faces on the east coast and until last year, closed to climbing. These guys are a model of how climbers and land owners can work together and come to an agreement that benefits all.

My wife and I give a small amount every year; not near enough but we're trying. The environmental orgs we support are smaller groups that are tackling big issues; I prefer not to give or become involved with larger nationwide groups. We are members of: - Ak Center for the Environment (http://akcenter.org/) - our local enviro nonprofit that tackles alot of local issues. - Northern AK Environmental Center (http://www.northern.org/) - these guys are focuses on northern alaska issues like ANWR - The Renewable Resources Coalition (http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org) which is a group of hunters and fishermen hoping to block a large mine in western alaska. Outside of Alaska I give to the Greater Yellowstone Coalition (http://greateryellowstone.org) which I think does great work. In the past I have donated to Earthjustice which I think does great work as well. Politically I donate some time and money to democrats running for office in Alaska (because I live here), Washington (because Cantwell really gives Ted Stevens a hard time and I want to support that) and Virginia (where I'm originally from). However donations are sporadic and only occur during elections. Socially my wife and I give to United Way. We also give to the following climbing clubs: - The American Alpine Club - Mountaineering Club of Alaska - The Carolina Climbers Coalition (because they need the money to buy big rocks in NC!) And finally... we always buy girl scout cookies.

Once when I was in college I knew a guy who went climbing with another guy who I knew. They climbed this pinnacle at the NRG that has a mellow route up to a ledge. Above the ledge is 20' of easy 5th class rock. The guys I knew dropped the rope on the ledge and scrambled up the 20' of easy rock to the summit where they partook and watched the sun set. I heard it was a very cool sunset and that what they partook of was good too. The sun having set they decided it was time to down climb to the anchors and rap off. However... upon beginning the down-climb they discovered that it is very hard to reverse simple rock moves sans rope when you are 80' off the deck and stoned out of your mind. So they climbed back up and sat on the top scratching their heads and discussing their options. Luckily they had dropped the rope but not the gear. They then proceeded to fashion a make shift rope / chain out of all the carabiners and slings. i heard the chain was about 8 feet long. They had some cams too. So they then began leap frogging down the 20' of easy climbing.... one person downclimbing about 6 feet, stuffing a cam in a crack and then next person leap frogging down. Time slowed to a crawl and the section which had taken then 1 minute to scramble up took them close to 30 minutes to down-climb. They reached the rope well after dark and fiddled about rigging an anchor without headlamps. Upon reaching the ground I heard that they swore never to partake and climb again.

Yeah - their numbers are stellar.

Last year my wife worked with a Native woman who brought in Sea Lion to share one day. My wife refused to eat it and came home spouting obscenities about federal subsistence rights.

My mistake; I was unaware of the Newfoundland seal hunt - I thought this was a rant against native hunts which usually consist of pretty low numbers. Here's more info on the seal hunt; pretty f'ked up if you ask me: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque/faq_e.htm

PS... Walrus Cam Goes Offline for Hunt: http://www.livescience.com/animalworld/050908_ap_walrus_camera.html

Explain to me why Inuits in Baffin should be held to the same laws as Vancouverites when it comes to subsistence?

Perhaps you should take time to read some of the studies the AAC has put out. The whole point of arguing against government regulation is that regulation unfairly targets a specific user group that in all actuality is a small percentage of rescues. Furthermore the fact that most of these rescues take place on public lands further complicates the possibility of rescue by private companies.

Dmuja - I sure hope you knocked on wood before you posted that. I know many climbers who have limbs and lives thanks to the devotion of groups like the Alaska Mountain Rescue group or military branches like the PJs. To pretend that you are immune from misfortune is stupid.

Don't forget aboout the classic 1979 dog team ascent of the West Butress by Susan Butcher, Joe Redington, Brian Okonek, Ray Genet and Robert Stapleton. A few of the dogs made the summit!

Having been the object of media glorification in the past I'll give my $.02. In 1998 my partner and I made the classic mountaineering blunder and opted to descend a section of steep snow without running protection while neglecting to place running protection because we considered it 'easy'. To make a long story short we fell; he was badly injured and our rescue - along with another accident that happened almost simultaneously with ours on the same route - become national news as the world sat poised in front of NBC to watch the rescue unfold. My photo was on the cover of many big news rags, the same photo ran in newsweek. Upon returning safely to Anchorage I was contacted by numerous newspapers and media companies. I turned down interviews with the Today show, Readers Digest, the local papers and even a program from the Weather Channel about rescues in foul weather. It was my feeling that the international attention I and my partner were receiving was unjust in that my partner was in a coma and his wife and family were praying for his survival. Furthermore I thought it was unjust that the media turned our stupid blunder into some sort of heroic survival trick. I know the public wants news and loves crap like mountain rescues but regardless - I wasn't going to give them my time or comments so they could stretch out the events into the headlines for another day. The media turned it into an event and frankly it sickened me. In my opinion it is climbers like these guys who perpetuate the public opinion that climbers are foolish risk takers. I am the first to agree that anyone can make a stupid mistake - but to flaunt your stupid mistake and use it to get your 15 minutes of fame does a great disservice to the rest of us. If you get into an accident keep your mouth shut and tell the media to fuck off. If you feel the urge to explain yourself write an article; whatever you do - resist the urge to go on national TV with a stupid grin.

Doggles are the answer.

That Leica is one sexy camera!!!! However -- One thing to note is the lack of a view finder on many of the new cameras. If you do a lot of long cold climbs (I think you do) then you might find that the view finder feature eats up more battery and power than you want it to. Likewise bright light can be a pain when all you can use is your screen. Note that this isn't always a bad thing -- I used the Pentax W10 without a view finder on Island this past fall without a viewfinder and both the battery and screen were fine. Other than that I can't say either way as I haven't used either one. I've just always lusted over Leica!

If you drop down to the valley floor the MT's West Ridge is a good option. Here's some stoke for you: Edited to add... a few years ago I flew out with a pilot named PJ who was working for Doug Geeting Aviation. He had another pilot in the plane with him and decided to play Vietnam and spent the next hour hurtling over passes like Espresso Gap and flying within spitting distance of the E. face of the Bear Tooth. It was an outrageous experience (at one point the pilot started screaming "THIS IS JUST LIKE IT WAS I N' NAM MAN!!!) that I'd never repeat - but I dug every minute of it. One day I'll scan all the photos I took!!!

Unfortunately moderate routes in the Ruth are not really listed anywhere. Your best bet is to tentatively plan on a peak and plan to spend a couple hours at the Talkeetna Ranger Station browsing through their log books of routes and route reports. This years AAJ lists 2 routes on the Bear Tooth - the original route (2,600', 60 degrees) and White Russian (2600' 70 degrees). A source you might contact is the owner of the restaurant that Clint alluded to. I believe he climbed the Bear Tooth a couple years ago (but I could be wrong). His name is Rod and you could potentially reach him via email at the address on this page: http://www.moosestooth.net/aboutus.htm

When I was growing up there was a rather famous dog that lived near us on a country road in rural Virginia. Every morning he's walk out to the road and 'hitch hike' - or rather stand on the side of the road until someone in a pick up truck slowed and stopped. Then he'd hop in the truck and ride 7 miles to the country store where he'd hang out all day getting pet and fed pork rinds. (During hunting season he'd get a little more though.) Then come evening he'd jump in the back of a random pickup truck and catch a ride home. He did it for years!

In a fit of geekdom my wife bought me a subscription to the OED for Valentines Day. I'm eager to show it off!!

If you move the PREV / NEXT arrow buttons to the top of the photos then it's more user friendly in that one does not have to poke around to jump to the next photo... like this.

I was attacked by rednecks in my tent at Obed River in Tennessee once. Tent smash, shot gun blast, tires slashed... the works.

It's a legitimate word - but Preformant is a noun. According to the OED: performant, n. [< PERFORM v. + -ANT suffix1, perh. after e.g. INFORMANT n. Cf. earlier PERFORMER n.] A person who performs a duty, ceremony, etc., a performer. 1809 S. T. COLERIDGE in Sir H. Davy Remains (1858) 110, I contemplate Dr. Stock as the performant. 1894 tr. Pausanias in Jrnl. Hellenic Stud. 14 139 These rites are performed both by private persons and in public every year by the Phigaleians. The performant is a priestess. 1927 C. AIKEN Blue Voy. ii. 33 Like automatic performants of a queer primitive ritual.

Hell yeah Clint! Looks like you guys has decent weather and temps. How was the snow up high?

I'm inspired by the view of Foraker sticking out above the clouds when skate skiing along the inlet at dusk.

If you throw a piece of webbing across the shoulder and clip the picket in the 3rd hole or so and then clip it to your shoulder webbing, it stays well out of the way. I don't know about cascades snow - but up here there are times when I can barely pound my picket in - yet it's not ice so screws won't work. Flukes would be a true pain to place. As for slowing you down... my wife is a beginner alpinist and doesn't like to solo steep snow. Last year we climbed a long snow route with a few others who chose to solo while she & I roped up and placed pickets for close to 1500' of steep snow. We reached the summit 20 minutes after the party that was soloing did; thus I'd argue that if you have decent technique the use of pickets won't slow you down too much.

You can buy chix in a foil packet. It's pretty heavy but not too bad if you eat it by the 3rd day. In the past I've dried chicken and carried it on trips. Basically I just cooked chicken breast then threw them in the dehydrator for about 12 hours. Chop them up really small and you don't have to let them soak to re-hydrate. I find that if you add alot of soy sauce it taste pretty good. I've taken bagels before -- they are good for the first 4-5 days. However - they're bulky and heavy - consider pilot bread; it's lighter and never goes stale (or rather you can't really tell if it's stale or not). Some fav meals; I couldn't tell you the exact measurements - I usually just toss a bunch of stuff in a bag and vacuum seal it: Chix & Potatoes - dried mashed potatoes - dried chicken - dried peas - dried corn - spices Pesto / Rice / Chix - minute rice - dried pesto - dried chix - dried spinach Bacon / Corn / Potatoes - bacon - mashers - corn - gravy And my fav: Thanksgiving: - chix - potatoes - corn - stuffing - gravy - a handful of craisens We always measure out enough for 2 people then dump it into a bag and vacuum seal. Dried meats will last an expedition plus 2+ days on either end (if it's not too hot). Dried veggies last forever. Keep what you don't eat in the freezer for next year.