selkirk

Once again a good evening was had by all! Seems there is still some loose rock around and I helped clean the left hand route by pulling off a rather nice horn near the top. I have a feeling the freeze/thaw cycle going on is loosening stuff up a bit! Definitely time to look into the other lines on the crag though.

the "last" is just the size/shape/material of the footbed. I'd definitely second the 1/2 shank comment. They tend to be lighter and hike better. If you'll be doing technical rock/ice or hauling really heavy loads (50+lbs) in them you may want full shank, but for most glacier slogs, and almost all approach's the 1/2 shank is plenty. To some degree you can look at where the brand is designed/manufactured. Italian (Garmont, Montrail?) boots tend to be narrow, French (La Sportiva) boots even narrower, american boots are usually wider. Again, not to pimp specific stores, but e-mail the folks at Mountain Gear ( mgear.com ). They could probably recommend some specific brands/models and they know their shit.

i'm still tuning my layers as well but here's me .02 . Wool works great for a base layer, but i haven't really seen windproof wool stuff for mid-layers? It does seem a bit beefy though. Most people I know have kind of moved away from fleece for. It's a heavy and doesn't compact well compared to down/primaloft. It also seems easier/lighter/more compact/and more flexible to get an insulating layer of some sort and lightweight windshirt (they're down to 3 or 4 oz). For cool temps I often break out a slightly heaver windshirt (MH Transition) or a softshell as a mid/outer layer. The windproof fleece I have almost never leaves seattle anymore. To warm for strenuous stuff, but not as a warm as a belay jacket for standing-around and shivering. Not to sound like a salesman, but take a look at the Pro Mountain Sports website. Jim's got a good discussion of his take on a lightweight versatile layering system entails.

Should be at least 4 tools to pass around and I've got strap ons that i've been climbing in.

I'm planning on being there!

My wife was having flashbacks to middle/high school during that movie! She grew up southern Idaho and said most of it was spot on for that area as of about 15 years ago.

Calculators are for . We don't need no stinking numbers!

Obviously you haven't read the whole thread yet or this would be obvious! Math get's some folks all hot and bothered.

It's poll time!

What can I say, i've got an awfully good memory, but only for truly useless shit! Anything of value is in one ear and out the other

Gary, most problems are too hard for a PhD. If it wasn't open ended and difficult it probably wouldn't be worth doing. "Research is never finished, it's abandoned". (not my words but awfully accurate)

Yes but i'm also married to a sort-of non-geek, will actually be done with school in another hour, and have a fabulous memory for absolutely useless shit! So tell us minxy, what were your scored

BFD...those tests are roughly equivalent to the SAT math tests... No Shit. So what did you score? The analytical were at least moderately annoying though.

How come there aren't any good fishing Graemlins? I could really use one right now !

First rule of holes.... when your in one, stop digging! ps... I bet my Math and Analytical GRE scores were better than yours Gary

Does anyone else know the first rule of holes?

Thanks Gary! You make me feel like less of a geek today!

I almost hate to say this but I want a real job! Something that you know, actually pays real money, and has shit like time off that I can take when I want to take it! At the moment i'm fucking underemployed and still can't take any 3 day weekends Of course I already got one Christmas Present early! As of tomorrow I will officially be done with college after a mere 10 years, 1 ulcer, and way too much coffee to be good for anyone!

Hell of a thing Muffy! Geat job!

Getting comfortable on sport is all in your head. For most of the bolted lines around here as soon as you've got the 1st or 2nd bolt your out of groudfall (assuming your belayer is attentive) ( haven't been there but have heard Peshastin Pinnacles is a bit sparsely bolted). If your feeling a bit sketched about high first bolts get a stick clip. Beyond that.. don't z-clip (you'll probably do this once), don't backclip (bad form, might be dangerous), and keep your belayer near the base of the route or anchor them in so you dont' extend your fall. Other than that... mileage, exit 38 is good, If we get a warm sunny day the Feathers and Sunshine wall at Vantage are pretty nice and warm. That said.... Screw the bolts and come to dark side! Every one should have their own trad rack! Cracks are like good

Can't make it tomorrow, have unavoidable work that I won't be able to do any other time Have fun though and I should see you next week!

Went up the Salathe? WTF!? If he's clean and diggin it good for him!

Utterly anecdotal, but one of the ladies my wife works with is african american, grew up in the deep south and thinks were fucking nuts, and has absolutely no desire to do something as stupid as climbing ice covered volcanoes. Her family also thinks were fucking nuts. I agree with her so it doesn't bother me too much

So name 5 renaissance-era artists - without recourse to Google.

So what are the likelihoods of Chair and/or Tooth NE slabs being in reasonable condition? Now that i've got tools i'm feeling compelled to try not kill myself with them.