Ireneo_Funes

Hey, did anyone catch the Bush twins' speech last night at the RNC? Contrary to what you might expect, they did NOT come across as spoiled and vapid rich kids, and I definitely did NOT feel embarrassed for them... can't wait to vote for one or both of them in 20 or 30 years! Wait, I guess I mean the opposite of everything I just said. My loathing for GWB is starting to extend to his whole family...

"Top-roped ascents are only valid if your belayer is a Cornish game hen." - Jim Bridwell.

Stoke fight!

Was it "OM" or was it... Seriously, the idea of someone ditching their plastic shells rather than carry them out is hilarious.... sad and hilarious.

Shoulder-stands are so cirque-du-soleil.

What if I don't have a stick-clip but sometimes wish that I did? Does that make me a loser, or can I still hang with the cool kids?

Federal inmate? No, that wouldn't be appropriate... send the whole gang (Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz...hell, Powell too) to Abu Ghraib for a dose of their own medicine. Where's the naked-prisoner-on-a-leash icon?

The same thing used to happen to me, in exactly the same spot. I've tried a couple of stretches, but what really worked was getting a pair of trekking poles and using them on the downhill to take the weight off my knees a little. I've heard it's a pretty common running injury, though I can't remember what it's called - maybe some of the runners on the board know some exercises that work for them.

Swift Korean Olympians for Hamm Boat Truth?

Yeah, but I couldn't resist dropping some PE on y'all. Seriously, though, if we all just go along with it and pay our fines (justified or not) quietly and without complaint, it'll just keep getting worse. I'm not saying just blow it off - I'm saying write, complain, make it a pain for them. Photocopying the pass (if you've got one), etc. sounds like a reasonable thing to do in this case.

First time I've ever heard of someone actually getting a summons. The NW Forest Pass is bullshit -- don't encourage them by paying it. Take a stand, fight the power.

The most important skill of all.

Aw, rbw junior! Fer cute.

Grave and oedipal, you mean?

Was it 007's acclimatudinaltimization table? I also heard he left his depravation chamber up there somewhere.

When we tried this route in June, we got turned around by soft snow in the chimneys. Routefinding through the chimneys was a challenge, like other folks have said. It didn't seem like a beginner route to me.

Dude, if you're going to knock the class 1 hiking class, there's no way that they're going to let you into the summit register hauling module.

I couldn't agree more. Not only does it create hassles and objective hazards for other people who might be on the route, it also fosters a complacent attitude among people in the group...like what I imagine an RMI climb party is like. It's one of my big complaints with the Mazamas. On the other hand, I'd rather run into 12 Mazamas on the Hogsback than a dozen yokels who don't know how to use their ice axe.

OK, well I thought you were talking about the Basic School, which I do think has some merit. My mistake, but I stand by my point that the Mazamas do some good in teaching people something about climbing safely - and we all benefit from that, I think. Do they even have a hiking class? I can't imagine what they'd talk about after the 10 essentials lecture.

Where else can you take a class on hiking? Yeah, it's a class on hiking... where you learn to tie knots, belay properly, rappel, how to self-arrest with your axe, etc, etc. All the basic mountaineering skills that a lot of so-called self-taught mountaineers have no clue about. Present company excluded of course. I took the Mazamas Basic Class (and the Intermediate Class) after moving here from the midwest flatlands, having no practical knowledge of mountaineering, and I feel like I got a great foundation in how to climb safely. There's a lot of aspects of the club I don't agree with, like the enormous group sizes, and I'm not saying that everyone who goes through their programs is well-trained, but in general they do a good job of teaching people to be responsible climbers.

60 mph, wow... I get nervous when I get close to 40. 'Course I'm not riding a top-of-the line road bike.

Nice job, fellas. Looks like fun! So was it you doing the harrassing or the other way around?

That's good to know. We probably won't be getting there until 10 or so.

Thinking about checking out Beacon Rock on Sunday.

Can you imagine what it'd be like if Bush tried to have a rally open to everyone in Portland? This is what it would look like -- Oh, he's well liked here.