JosephH

It would seem pictures of the gear that broke would be helpful to see and wouldn't be an issue with the victim or family as opposed to pictures of the victim himself. Maybe you could elaborate a bit on the sensitivity issue you think is involved relative to the gear? I'd like to see them (here or on some other thread) to better understand this incident.

I don't think Off White resembles that remark, but who knows, he is gettin' old...

Some of the notable Valley aid soloers - Ammon, Pete, Kate - all just use an unmodified grigri and call it good. The more cautiously inclined go for the SP, but I think it really has more utility free climbing even if it works fine for aid.

Will be interested to hear more details. 1" webbing is pretty tough to break and grounding from a fifth bolt sounds odd as well. Glad to hear it wasn't worse.

Love NC climbing and the locals always were and I suspect still are wildly creative bad asses with an interesting sense of humor.

Yeah, as you say this stuff can take years and climbers nationwide can use every win we can get with the BLM who are everywhere out west. Anything that improves the overall working relationship with the agency is a big deal for everyone.

You can bank money on the fact this poor guy is about to become the tea party's cause célèbre du jour.

Have you been in-country before? Or is this the first time?

In what capacity...? I don't think you'll be going back - we'll be out of there by then.

That's why I structure the executive powers in the post above the way I have - it gives the President enough authority to deal with terrorism and smaller regional conflicts, but puts constraints around it on congressional 'veto', force levels, and time.

From an ST post of mine back shortly after the start of the Iraq War that details my view on what armed conflict / war should mean:

...with our gas, straight from Rumsfeld's ass.

Not happy to hear that - you keep your head down and watch your ass. Here's to hoping this will be your last deployment.

Maybe we are swimming in debt because we have allowed the development and operation of a shadow economy with little oversight or regulation. Debt is the basis of that off-the-books economy and every percentage of our economy that can be converted over to that shadow economy is essentially moved off the books and into the shadows where the people who make money off of it are definitely not the average American. Hence the reason we have assiduously converted all four basic forms of consumer debt to those markets and have been vigorously following through doing the same with the principal forms of debt use by all forms of governments at all levels around the world. If all of our nation's and the world's monies were vested in regulated economies those funds would be out of reach of the folks who have structured this 'new [financial] world order' that revolves around various forms of unregulated debt. To see the resilience of this shadow economy you only need to look at the efforts that went into killing financial reforms after the 2008 crash - nothing has been structurally or significantly changed since then other than some tighter reserve requirements - otherwise the game is still the same. Debt and debt markets are today's financial 'lingua franca nova' and that, from my perspective, is why we are swimming in debt - debt is now what makes the world go round under-the-hood. And those markets get repeatedly pumped up by speculation and the human instinct to chase 'easy money' - the corporate reshuffling of the 80's, borrowing by world governments in the 90s, the internet bubble, suckering pension funds, the housing bubble all feed the beast (along with what I would argue is the very best of speculative, off-book, bubble businesses, war). Of course, the ultimate booty, would be the opening up of Social Security to 'private markets' so you know who anyone rooting for that is cheer leading for. Don't like debt? Then apply the same level of oversight, regulation, and transparency to the derivatives market as we do our above board markets and economy. The way we have it structured now is essentially an off-books debt-based economy run by a gentler-and-kinder form of organized crime that's sanctioned and abetted by our government. It's a forest-for-the-trees deal with 'guberment' mainly to blame - not for 'spending' - but rather for us allowing it to be co-opted into failing to regulate this new shadow economy. Dude, don't watch the walnut shells; watch the guy doing the shuffling, and question why you are sitting at the table in the first place. But then, oh yeah! That's the lure of 'easy money' and the real bottom line - we all be wantin' some. Also, and contrary to popular belief, the sky is not falling and we should consider easing up a bit on the undue angst, drama and hyperbole, but then it is an election year and lord knows we gots to drive that black devil outta da Whiteyhouse: But if you desperately want politicians to blame for our current hangover you need look no farther than: But hey, war is always free in America ("and for a good cause!"). Never more so than when you're portfolio is redhot and you are too preoccupied rounding up that second vacation home or property to flip. And especially if you're rich, because you sure as hell aren't going to be paying for it when the bill comes due - hell, that's what all the [flag-waving] suckers and chumps are for (oh, and remember - war and healthcare - you can't have both and one is clearly the spawn of Satan himself).

It would be great if you guys could establish a rapport with the BLM and whomever their biology resource such that you'd be able to assist with the monitoring. Given the Goldens could possibly nest elsewhere in a multi-nest rotation in any given year, it will be important to address both monitoring for nest use each year and then, if it is used, to establish the scope of the closure for those years and monitor fledging for the open.

Having served on a cruiser that was way past its due, I can testify how dangerous these babies get past a certain point. I'm sure the crew, while saddened, is glad the deed finally getting done as she probably should have be taken out of service a decade ago.

Yeah, nothing about that strikes me as at all unique, sounds more like a case of climbers not used columnar basalt having trouble reading the pro and, as you say, doubling up when necessary..

There's nothing particularly unique about the basalt there - are you thinking there are some sort of viable alternatives beyond pilot error or column shifts?

The rides I've taken on them are all the studies I need to know they can make the difference between merely falling and taking a really long ride.

It's all about a thousand times better than the gear used bitd to do all manner of badass ascents. Or, to quote the epitaph below the old windsurfing pic on the wall of Bart's Better Boards Consignment Shop in HR, "...the gear then was better than you are now"

This is why bouldering is so popular...

They were, and were a long ways towards regaining their orginal range and nesting pair counts. Then we started building wind farms in earnest and are now slicing and dicing unprecedented numbers of them. It's a bummer really from a climbing perspective, as it has put a renewed emphasis on protecting their eyries in an attempt to try and keep up the reproduction rate in the face of the wind farm losses.

Now your getting it. Aside from your brilliant guitar work, the thing I admire most about you is your straight-off-the-cuff honesty to all comers which is otherwise in short supply out there. You may be a total loon, but you're an honest one.

Yep, and they've been up in the Jolly Roger's crow's nest dumping like an old lady on an overdose of metamucil for years.