knelson

Uggg. You had to remind me of the other shrub... didn't you. Rather ironic though, isn't it?! One could almost say the Kerry voters are enlightened, eh? -kurt

Interesting way to look at population density. (Or at least who forgets to turn off the lights when they leave the room.) -kurt

Wasn't looking to start the discussion again - just pointing out that one bit of evidence doesn't end it. But thanks for letting me know the rules of the discussion! Yes, Ray's personna doesn't really portray a "trusted source." Personally, I'd also give more credence to Brooke's info than Cavey's (even tho I don't know either one of them!) BUT, when someone makes a statement such as "I personally saw someone doing such-and-such." and the reply is "BS - prove it" one can usually expect a rather gruff reply. Again... as noted on this thread earlier, the attitude that CC.com is THE climbing community in the PNW is pretty elitist, and just plain wrong. Your implication that Brooke's information puts this thread to bed kinda smacks of that attitude, which I was tryin' to point out nicely to you... before others that like to jump all over your ass do! Anyway, if I come across any viable evidence of the route, I'll be sure and send it your way! -kurt

Don't hurt yourself patting yourself on the back there NOLSe. Just because Brooke says there is no apparent rap bolted line up the headwall doesn't mean it wasn't there. (How many times have you missed seeing that "apparent" line, or the "obvious" bolt?) Seems rather hypocritical to cast off one person's account of said rap-bolting (Cavey), but totally gobble up another person's info as Gospel. I wouldn't say ANYONE has gotten "to the bottom of it." It's just another piece of the picture that has fallen into place. No.. I'm not in the anti-bolt/chopping camp. I just don't like seeing people get too smug with themselves. -kurt

Just because it's pink and fur trimmed shouldn't automatically classify it as feminine. What about... This is pink AND pink fur trimmed. Granted, you'd raise a few eyebrows lugging this into work and plopping it down on your desk, but deep down... you'd love to do it, wouldn't you? -kurt

Dru, I'm not so sure there - but then I *have* been known to momentarily oogle a slim long-haired person at the crags just before HE turns around. I think this pic is related to this... http://www.trv.net/phuket/general/stories/vegfest.htm Really makes you want to jump a plane to Thailand, eh? I'm still thinking it's a guy. It just plain looks like a "guy thing." Women are waaaaaaaaaaaaaay smarter than this. -kurt

Inadvertent practical joke... During high school, I worked at my Uncle's office after school. My cousin, who was about 10 years older than me, worked there too as a graphic artist. We had multiple phone lines in the office. It was just me and my cousin in the office so I decided to have some phone fun. I called in on the main line, and when my cousin would answer, I'd do the typical Saturday Night Live "landshark" response. Of course, my cousin would know it's me and hang up. So I dial up again, doing a very bad imitation of some famous guy. He'd hang up. I must've done this about a dozen times, with him answering the phone each time. I mean... he had to - it was a business line and it was during business hours! So... the main line rings right after I get done doing a really bad imitation of Ronald Reagan. I shout over the wall, "THAT'S NOT ME!" to which my cousin replied "YEAH... RIGHT." and proceeds to pick up the phone, listen for a minute, and then suddenly say "OH FUCK OFF, WILL YA?" and slams down the receiver. Just as he was slamming down the receiver, I peer from around the door opening and he sees me. When he sees me he turns ghost white, then starts laughing hysterically. He says, "I just told Booth Gardner to fuck off!" [Note to youngins' and outofstaters... Garder was Governor of WA in the early 80s.] My uncle worked with the Democratic campaigns back then, and it wasn't unimaginable that Booth would be calling for him. About a minute after my cousin hung up, the phone rang again. He wouldn't answer it, and made ME pick it up. As I tried to sound my most professional, a very hesitant voice on the other end asked for my Uncle. Yup... it was Booth Gardner alright. I took a message, hung up, and laughed with my cousin for about 30 minutes straight. We still laugh about it to this day.

Another big for MEC branded clothes. Unless people are talkin' about the stuff that MEC can't ship outside of Canada (which is like 75% of their inventory, thanks to REI leaning on their suppliers/distributors to cut MEC out of the US market), ordering from them is no problem, like Fern mentioned. -kurt

Three questions remain though... 1. Was he in a Wilderness Area when this was done? 2. Was this done on lead? 3. And finally... WTF is that fur-edged pink thing he's wearing??

From left to right: "Damn Dad. I can't believe you said that. Am I *really* related to you?" "Good. I hated living in that big house anyway. Especially with all those semen stains on the carpet that Bill left behind." "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Guess I'm gonna have to come up with a different excuse for those stains at the next house."

I agree. Voter Fruad is an issue. So much so that I was Googling "voter" and "freud" so I could ad some smartass comment to this thread and go on a spelling crusade. And I came across this... http://www.waltermillerhomepage.com/ OMFG. (Don't worry - it's work safe.) Here's but a snippet of what you'll find... "Also please think first beffore reading it at work: A numbor of people have alredy lost there jobs for laughin there ass off at work. Also there may be a few typoes on some pages.Please enjoy my updates. They are listed in reverse chronollogical order with the latest ones at the top." And to those that will probably point out that this web address is buried somewhere deep in the threads of cc.com from 47 years ago... -kurt

Another vote for nail polish. And if you get some obnoxious color and paint it over the brand name of your gear, then when/if it wears off you still get it in the etchings as Bug noted. Getting the most obnoxious color gives you better odds you won't find someone with the same choice in colors! Also, electrical tape can get ugly. When it finally decides to depart from your gear, it leaves a gooey sticky mess. If you're bound and determined to use tape for marking, get some of the thin pinstriping tape they use on cars. The adhesive on that is waaaaaay more aggressive than electrical tape and has a great chance to stay put. I kick myself for putting electrical tape on some of my stuff early on - made a mess than tends to get everywhere. -kurt

Having seen some corporations' public "statement of ethics" called to the mat in the past, their response is always the same. Here's my predicition... ******************************** "As partners with you in preserving the wilderness for future generations, it pains us to hear that a small part of our Subaru Primal Quest family did not adhere to our "Leave No Trace" principles. We will look into this matter and make the needed changes to next year's race guidelines so that the Subaru Primal Quest can continue to draw attention to the pristine wilderness areas we've all been blessed with. While we do not condone the actions of a few, we at Subaru Primal Quest feel the need to remind everyone of the positive aspects of our race. The Subaru Primal Quest donates a substantial portion of its sponsorship to charitable causes and governing agencies in and around the race area. These monies help local agencies and groups in a time when funding is scarce. While this doesn't offset the supposed damage done, it is an important aspect to consider when judging the overall impact of the Subaru Primal Quest. Again, we apologize for any miscommunications between Subaru Primal Quest and it's support staff during the Exfoliation Dome course during our recent race. We look forward to working with your group during the next racing season!" ************************ To those that skim these posts and don't read the whole thing... THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL SUBARU RESPONSE! This is just what I think you're going to be up against. I believe Ketch's post points to this. Just my 2 cents... -kurt

Actually Klenke, I thought you were just making a very subtle commentary on the "wilderness power driller" thread going on elsewhere on the board! But now that I realize you were serious... Your climbing analogy doesn't quite work - last I checked, climbing is legal. Doing 200+ isn't. -kurt

Ahh.... I needed a good laugh this AM. Reminds me of a run in I had with a mini-snaffle up on Burroughs Mt one time. The wife and I were taking a quick rest on First Burroughs on our way to Third. I was in a comfy reclined position laying on my pack, munching trail mix out of my little ziploc bag, watching all the little chipmunks scurrying around looking for handouts. There was one in particular that was just camped out at my feet, watching my every bite... it's little whiskers twitching nervously. I muttered something under my breath at it to the effect of "don't even think about" and it immediately bolted up between my legs and perched itself right smack dab in the middle of my nylon-covered crotch and sat up on it's hind legs. It reminded me of playing chess and when your opponent suddenly makes that move you didn't see coming. Oh shit... I've got an angry mini-snaffle smack dab in the motherland. At this point my wife is starting to chuckle, being safely out of chomping range. I, however, was not amused. Not wanting to make any sudden movements, for obvious reasons, I started a stare down match with the little rodent. It wasn't working. I only ended up noticing how nervously his little whiskers twitched and how large his little teeth were compared to his body size. I slowly brought the bag of trailmix up closer to my chest, thinking it was out of reach of the little demon. Yeah... right. As I did that, Mr. Sabertoothed Chipmunk made a dash up onto my chest and parked it within inches of my little ziploc hoard of trailmix. OK... so I'm starting to breath again because now he's just perched on my chest and seems focused on what's in the bag instead of what's under the nylon shorts. Before I could even think about tossing the bag away from me, mini-snaffle lunged at the bag, locked onto it with his viselock jaws of death, and began tugging for all it's worth. Like an idiot, I tugged back. Actually... I was kind of flinging the little bugger around in the air as it was still clamped onto the bag. And yes... I was screaming and cursing all the time at it. By this time, my wife was laughing pretty hysterically. I guess from a distance you couldn't see the little thing attached to my trailmix bag and it just looked like I was having some type of psychotic episode. I was. Eventually, the bag tore... releasing the mini-snaffle from it's death grip and launching it across the rock strewn rest area. I watched as it bounced across a couple rocks, did a couple rolls, and without missing a step - turned back around and headed straight for me again. Well... the brain didn't work quick enough to stop me from flinging my trailmix bag around once the chipmunk was released. So here I am... flinging around a torn bag of trailmix - spraying trailmix in all directions within a 10 foot radius of me. I believe the war cry of my little saber toothed opponent alerted all living chipmunks on that little plateau as to the feast that it had liberated from my ziploc. Now... we could see chipmunks flying over rocks, coming in from all directions. My wife, being the usual wisest one of us, had already packed back up her pack and was on her feet. She'd played out the scene in her mind already and decided it was probably a good time to get back on the trail. I quickly gathered my stuff, drug it down the trail a bit to clear myself from the trail mix orgy going on, restuffed my pack, and headed out. As I was heading out, a couple came upon the scene - chipmunks feasting on trailmix that looked like it'd been flung about by a whirlybird fertilizer spreader - and begain scolding me for "feeding the animals" and how didn't I know if you feed the animals they can't fend for themselves? I'm pretty sure I still had the psychotic look in my eyes as I just bust out in hysterical laughter. As I was leaving, I just mumbled something to them to the effect that I was sure the little fukers would do JUST FINE fending for themselves. Especially the one (as I pointed to it) that was still pawing desperately at it's mouth trying to get shredded plastic out of its mouth. Haven't been back to Burroughs since. -kurt

Soaked up the rays at the awesome bivy spot at 8500' on lower Ptarmigan Ridge (Rainier). [it'd be the PERFECT awesome bivy spot if there was running water close by.] Watched the lenticular form above the summit, engulf the upper 2000', slowly dissapate, then reform. Pretty cool... from a distance! For anyone thinkin' about heading up for some turns, looks like there's new snow above about 8500' on the Russell. Pretty smooth on the left side, pretty cracked up on the right below 8500'. Looks good above that. I'm not an ice climber, but the Flett on the north side of Observation doesn't look quite ripe yet. The patch further to the west does look ripe for the pickin' though. Just about all the snow on the other side of Knapsack Pass is gone, and conditions up there are more like late September, not late August. -kurt

Yup. And look at the price. Ouch. The Omnifuel idea seems great if you're traveling and want the option to use cannister or liquid, but don't want to pack two stoves with you. If you're just doing overnighters and coming back home, seems like having two different stoves really isn't a drawback. Plus, you don't have to compromise on the weight issue. Just my thoughts... kurt

Yup. Then you burn more fuel, which decreases the pressure of the cannister, which causes you to burn more fuel... The wife and I were out on a winter trip right after we got a cannister stove. It was cold. REALLY cold. I swear we used one whole cannister just for 4 quarts of water from snow and to bring a quart up to a full boil. Actually... don't think we ever got it to a full boil as I remember very cruchy freeze-dried that night. Since then, the hand-pump white gas stove goes wherever there is snow to be melted and it's cold. The cannister goes everywhere else. If I was a newbie starting out again, I'd still want a cannister AND a gas stove. Each shines in it's own environment. -kurt

Previous thread a few weeks back... http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/threadz/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/372754/page/0/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1 Officially - Cougar Rock or Ohan are the closest car camps. Unofficially - see linked thread. (And the answer to the last question on the thread is: "Just a bit after you come through the Nisqually gate, on the left.) ~Kurt

Another group offering classes is BOEALPS (boealps.org). While they are a Boeing organized group, last I remember they still let "outsiders" in to take classes. (I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, as I see a few closet BOEALPers floating around on this board!) Any organized group offering instruction will be... well... organized. As many have noted, depending on what you're looking for, this could be a drawback. From what I've seen, Boealps groups are a little more laid back versus the mounties. The instructors are there teaching because they WANT to, not because they HAVE to. The offer both a basic (basic skills) and intermediate class (leading)- pretty much mirroring the mountie's classes. Depending on your skill level, from what you describe for experience you could *probably* get into Boealps Intermediate class without going through the basic class. Maybe. With the mounties, pretty sure that wouldn't happen. Anyway, there's another option to look in to. Their basic class starts up late Feb/early Mar and I'm thinking the Intermediate class starts in late April. Watch their website for more details... -Kurt

Marylou, Try here... http://update.mozilla.org/extensions/?application=firefox These are all the extensions for FF that people have submitted. Check out the comments though before installing - some listed don't work too well and break some things in FF. Looking through them, I don't see one listed to do what you want though. But I agree - FF is just as good as IE, if not better in some areas. -Kurt

Have to agree with MCash. I have them all (CAG and Selected Climbs) and would recommend CAG if you're looking for the most bang for your buck. Selected Climbs is purty and all, but CAG is way more useful overall. My analogy... When people go on road trips, they can either (1) get a highway map from the store or web and figure it out for themselves, or (2) go to AAA and get one of those nice maps in flip-folder form with the entire route highlighted in orange with all the gas stations and Starbucks marked in red. Beckey guide is (1) and Selected Climbs is (2). Both good in their own right, but one is way more useful after the roadtrip. And yes... Vol 3 (Red) IS useful to a guy in Redmond. If nothing else, after looking through it you'll want to move north! -Kurt