JosephH

I and Hamni will be out at Beacon in the afternoon, you can always join in with us...

That is by design. There are two views...Active Topics and Active Posts. Click on Active Topics and you don't see "duplicate thread listings". Then please make 'Active Topics' the default for the 'Past 24 hours' page.

And a bible-thumping, religion-touting America would fair any better...? Fundamentalists suck regardless what their women wear.

Thanks, now if you eliminate the duplicate thread listings it will back to what it was before - perfect.

Hey, the new "Past 24 hours" deal is way less useful than before. I don't want to see every post from each thread - just want to see what threads had activity. It's now gone from that very efficient mechanism to basically wading through a bunch of stuff I have no interest in... Also, on that same screen - either show the buttons or the links, but don't show both for the same thing.

Of p2? Probably 10a or b with the understanding the moves can be a bit technical and feel a bit runout or with minimal pro in a spot or two. The next pitch through the roofs to the upper half of the line will likely be hard 11 up through 13 and possibly some aid - no telling yet (but I have hunch I need to lose another ten pounds...). P.S. Oh, and hurrah for the Return of the Stewart!

The University of Edinburgh, Scotland - dodgy ice climbing all over the place.

Bill, thanks for being on the other end of line with me, again - and those are some great stories. A lot of folks have put in time helping out belaying and dodging both rocks and me coming down their way. Bill, Ivan, Jim Opdycke, Marco Fedrizzi, Mike Reddig, and Jim Anglin have all contributed to the line in turn. Jim O. and Marco both got pretty hard raps to their [helmeted] heads from my rack of cams during falls before we figured out a better stance to belay from for the second roof. I'm originally from Southern Illinois where we mainly climbed roofs so I've had my eye on the large, wide A-frame roof (up and right of the new p2 anchor) on this line for decades and seriously for about the past five years. The unclimbed face with more roofs above the initial big roofs is also a big driver. 'Lost Warriors' with Bill and Karsten was my first shot at poking around up that way and I had planned on working on this line next before getting side-tracked with the anchor work over that past several years. It's been good to finally get back to it. Close up of the new p2 anchor location The line has definitely been a challenge relative to all the moss, loose and weak rock in places, and marginal initial placements. I've chopped one lead line trundling the initial loose panel of rock that was the likely reason this line was still unclimbed. I also rained a steady stream of me, moss, dirt, and big rocks down by my brave belayers. Now it has been pretty well cleaned up and better holds and placements uncovered though one or two fragile or loose points remain. So far the line runs up past the traditional 'Rythmn Method' anchor on up to slightly above Bill's old bolt for p1. P2 runs straight up the dihedral which starts at that newly moved bolt. You move around and over two roofs on the way to the new p2 anchor on the face up under the big roofs. It's 55 meters in two pitches so far. The climbing now is about as Bill describes it in his post above, with the first roof about 5.9+ and the second roof about 5.10+, both are somewhat technical relative to the moves. It's a straight 55 meter shot and a clean rope pull from the base of 'Rythmn Method' First roof on p2 as seen from the p1 anchor Second roof on p2 as seen from above the first roof View from atop the second roof on p2 It's cool if anyone wants to head up and check it all out, but be aware stuff may still pull on you and a few ballnuts (#2 and #3's) wouldn't be out place on p2. Also, once above the first roof on p2 you can bail out up and left rather than doing the second roof. The bail line takes you up, left, and around a corner and to a point high in the dihedral above 'Boardwalk'. Again, you head up and left and turn the corner just under the right-angle roof you can see in the upper middle of the following pic. The rap from that point will take you down to 'Boardwalk' anchor with one rope (or to the 'Young Warriors' p1 anchor). Bail path to rap anchor above 'Boardwalk' A word to the wise to anyone contemplating departing the p2 anchor for parts unknown. The rock from this point forward is better, but anything loose up in the main roofs and beyond is very likely to be quite large. Also, on making progress through these roofs you likely won't be able to retreat without ending up hanging in space at the end of your rope unless you are tagging line whose other end is anchored into the p2 anchor. With regard to the ethic to-date, it has been onsight, groundup, cleaning and trundling free on lead with the use of protection following Beacon traditions - (and to quote Jeff Lowe's recent SuperTopo comments) gear whenever possible, pins if necessary, and bolts only as an absolute last resort - at this point I would expect that ethic to remain in play to the top of the line. P.S. I'm still always looking for folks to climb with so get ahold of me if you'd like to help out and take a closer look at it all.

Mike, great climbing with you yesterday. Man, that was a big help... (Anyone up for it Saturday, I'll be out and looking for a partner.)

The trouble isn't seeing the tick marks. I'm so inept with any color of chalk I always end up looking like the Pillsbury doughboy no matter how little I use - just opening the bag is a high risk venture.

Ivan, thanks. I left Mike a message saying I'd be up for a 3pm go if no one else is up for heading out earlier, and would call him and leave another message if something earlier does work out.

Anyone interested in playing hooky friday and climbing?

I do rarely on occasion use chalk, when I do I use the gray stuff from REI.

Human reproductive biochemistry as presented in the Manchester Study suggests females have evolved as not so much monogamous or polygamous as opportunistic. 'Opportunistic' in this case means establishing a long-term 'mated' relationship with the best male possible and then attracting and mating with superior males as opportunities present themselves. To the degree this isn't the behavioral norm today suggests modern relationships diverging from model likely indicate a significant cultural component to the structure of our mating habits.

Tomorrow's the day weatherwise - hopefully one of you lucky bastards can take advantage of it. I'm stuck until Wed. at the earliest but by then we lose ten degrees for the duration...

Someone could have tried anal sex with me at the time and I would likely not have noticed.

If you've had it you'd know. Basically all i remember is being in a face down, kneeling and rocking fetal ball with large-scale cramps cycling from my asshole to my throat at a rate of about once every three seconds. I remember telling the ER doc to either make it stop or kill me. Don't remember what they gave me; something for the cramps and something for the Giardia I believe. We lived in a little town of 400 in NH with a jury-rigged water supply and a lot of beavers - never a good combination. Never again.

Go see Layton just South of downtown I believe...

Also, I plan on climbing all day Wed. - can anyone else play hooky? Could possibly change that to Mon. Thu. or Fri., - Tue. is out for sure. And definitely plan on hitting hard next weekend both days.

So well spoken....I need to buy you a beer. Any time...

Not necessarily, see my pm to you. Bill, Ivan is thinking early around 9ish. I'm not sure as I have to check my daughter's schedule as it's just her and I this weekend.

More of Mukasey's testimony that you didn't include in your post: ...Mr. Mukasey noted that a 2002 memorandum by Jay Bybee, an assistant attorney general at the time, stating that the president had the power to circumvent the Geneva Conventions as well as laws banning torture, was later disavowed and superseded. "Would it be a safe characterization of what you’ve just said that you repudiate this memo as not only being contrary to law, but also contrary to the values America stands for?" Mr. Leahy asked. "I do," the nominee replied. "Thank you," Mr. Leahy said. "Is there such a thing as a commander-in-chief override that would allow the immunization of acts of torture that violate the law?" "Not that I'm aware of," Mr. Mukasey sa Ah, good point. The quotes you reference are from his testimony on Wednesday the 17th. The quote I referenced in my original post was from Thursday the 18th - a day later. The about face in his views in this matter were so startling that Sen. Leahy made the following comment: "In your answers yesterday, there was a very bright line on questions of torture and the ability of an executive, or inability of an executive, to ignore the law, that seems nowhere near as bright a line today, and maybe I just don’t understand." He went on to wonder, "I don’t know whether you received some criticism from anybody in the administration last night after your testimony, but I sensed a difference, and a number of people here, Republican and Democratic alike, have sensed a difference." The juxtaposition of the comments we are both referencing, when presented in chronological order, is simply all the more disturbing (and positively smacks of preemptive Rovian pressure on the nominee).

It should also be noted that by declaring a "war" on terror the President in many ways lent legitimiacy to the actions of 9/11 terrorists by casting these criminals as enemy combatants. As simply terrorists, there was no doubt about the criminality of their actions; as enemy combatants engaged in a war who used such means as were at their disposal to attack a nation possessing overwhelmingly military superiority - he almost did them a favor. The use of the phrase "war on terror", the development of military tribunals, and the designation of terrorists as "enemy combatants" only serves to legitimize their "war" against us.

Principles, legalities, and things like the Constitution are hard no doubt, but sometimes, for some of you, I get the impression they are even harder. As for blaming Bush - yes, many of the things which have transpired over the past six years which represent a gross failure to protect our country, wield our military might effectively, and improve versus worsen our internal and external security can be laid directly at his feet. He has failed our nation and it has been a failure of epic proportions whose consequences will be felt for decades. This makes Johnson and Nixon's missteps in Vietnam seem inconsequential by comparison. And Carter's lapse in Iran pales to insignificance besides W's lapses in any quarter of the globe. Hell, Reagan was a Titan of far less felonious intent in any such matchup - even as he was slipping into darkness.

Right - and he did not have sex with that woman...