JosephH

Don't get me wrong either, I knew Obama's Illinois everything-is-a-compromise roots, his lets-not-get-too-far-out-there pragmatism, and his concern for the polls would trump all the campaign talk. I was for Hillary personally, she wouldn't have wasted two years trying to talk the republicans to death, she'd have been beating them with a club right out of the gate. Obama choosing Geithner is all you needed to know about where he was headed.

That's because the moron's, formerly known as republicans, forced the democrats to "pay" for the stimulus up front which was moronic in every respect. It really isn't 'stimulus' if you simply shuffle it from one pocket to another. It's really a matter of belief whether we should be doing debt-subsidized government spending to prevent this recession from turning into a depression. If the government doesn't spend and it all goes south as a result then all you mouthy bastards will be screaming for government spending then. Pretty ignorant all the way around.

Whoa there Bill. Let's be clear that the Lehman Bros. decision and TARP belong to W's crew. Just like the two wars, Obama and his crew inherited the mess. Now you can quibble about how they have subsequently handled the situation. But donations or no, this particular aspect of the overall fiasco is W's baby. The 'bailout' part Obama owns is Geithner's plan to use remaining TARP funds to buy toxic assets from banks. His 'Public-Private Investment Program' (P-PIP) is in my view a giveaway to the very sharks who fueled this problem and a bad idea in that it rewards bad behavior and simply wallpapers over the problem; their argument is it's necessary to 'reduce volatility in the banking sector' and, over time, we'll break even or make money on those assets. But both the overall funding being used and the wide discretion being employed were both established by W's crew. P.S. See above - it was the moron you voted for twice, that's who...

Absolutely. Like a pretty thong on the suppurating, syphilitic cunt that is the insurance industry, it really doesn't address or solve the problem - the only way of doing that is with basic universal coverage and a single-payer clearinghouse.

Exactly.

There's always been rockfall, it's just that no one did anything about it, but then why would rockfall be different.

Kenny, I see you seem intent on keeping on a roll here. Hey, the loose rock load just above Grassy Ledges up to the short chimney had built up to a ridiculous level and sending grapefruit size rocks down to the SE Corner's base. Could have been cleaned out or stacked earlier during the pre-open work session, but of course (surprise) it somehow just didn't happen. But what the hell, you just keep at it here, it's so damn productive and helpful.

Hanmi, would it be possible for you to post up a version of this one cropped in on the top a bit? Would like to see more detail on Bill's jumping jack flash action...

Heads-up for the weekend...

The final cleanup session of the season for accumulated loose rocks happened last night and the following were cleaned: * The last bushwacking pitch of Dastardly (if you do it consider bringing some pruning shears and thinning it out a bit) * Remainder of Grassy Ledges to the east * The area above Grassy Ledges on up to the short chimney * The blackberry and rock filled chute that crosses Grassy Ledges just before you go around the black rock to the top SE Corner rap - this chute had never been cleaned out and was precariously holding a really heavy rock load; it got cleaned out for about 35 feet below Grassy Ledges down to the point where it goes vertical * SE Corner Raps - all the rap station ledges down the raps got cleaned and the anchor slings inspected (they're fine) Bottom line is a LOT of rock and dirt got moved last night and some of it is going to be unsettled for a bit with the possibility of small rocks coming down on the start of the SE Corner. If you are going to hang out down there I'd strongly advise wearing a helmet until things calm down - ditto for climbing p1 of the Corner, wear a helmet and move through it at a reasonable pace. Also, Jill's upper pitches may be a bit dirty Fri/Sat, the actual cracks were cleaned out, but dirt may be on various surfaces of the climb. Oh, and the short thin finger crack to the left of the second of the SE Corner rap station definitely will need to be cleaned off before anyone attempts to climb it.

I'd be happy to take you around for a day. I'll pm you and we can sort out when.

Steve, yeah, there are a couple over there. Meant to get over there in this year's pre-open, but we got too busy. Still intend to make it out there one night coming up and hit that stretch and the area between Grassy Ledges and the 'Chimney'.

Hanmi, those are great shots of the upper pitches of Lost Warriors as well (the tree that came down used to be the last belay for it) which Bill and I did the FA of (with the help of a few other folks on the first pitch, and Karsten on the FFA). [ The green dot is an anchor that, with two 60's, will get you straight down to the 'Boardwalk' anchor. ]

Quite literally, but the honor was entirely mine for having such a great front row seat for the big show... Fabulous shooting Hanmi. P.S. Wasn't me on Dods. Wish I was, though it's a burly roped solo if that's what they were doing - not sure I'm ready for that just yet this year.

Couldn't go which was a drag...

Probably wouldn't happen, but jugging has always made me a bit nervous, even to watch. It's why I really like the idea of Beal's new Unicore ropes.

Hard to tell, but the line I'm pulling on is attached to the wedging block under Bill's feet and he's jumping up and down like a mad man on that diving board piece of rock trying to lever the big boy off. I stopped him and asked him if he thought that was a good idea and he stopped, looked at me for a second, and went back to jumping up and down on it until the whole shebang cut loose, him with it until his rap line kicked in and pulled him off of it and to the side with me.

Hanmi - Great shots! Bill about to ride the big boy after it got hung up after only about 8'! What a sight that was. Thanks for posting these up and for all your help.

Maybe try Craigslist rideshare (in both Seattle and Montana).

If REI take it back there, otherwise probably just call the guys at Metolius directly.

Haven't been up it to see if there's pro on the line, but it would have to be a real bolt ladder before I'd say anything. If folks want to practice aid on that face I don't have too many complaints; just a suggestion to be careful with big loose stuff up high.

She's been slammed but will be posting the whole saga up shortly...

Sorry, Bill talking about trundling made me nervous about it again. But then I can testify he's a world class trundler after his 'Slim Pickens' ride on the big one the other day - that was a sight to behold.

I'd be up for a mellow day...

Hey, glad you guys like going up there, but that panel is free-climbable without additional fixed pro or removing anything and it saw no shortage of aid ascents in the past without altering, adding or removing anything. It would be a bummer to lose the ability to free climb the line just for the sake of convenience.