JosephH

Was out today, a tad wet, but otherwise quite nice.

CMI 'Swivel of Death' is what we called them BITD.

We should send Karl, he's good at starting wars...

And yes, a Peck - great for sandstone.

Actually, being from Chicago, you rarely see anyone in a ditch in any weather and they drive like they're actually attempting to get somewhere. Ditto for Minneapolis, Detroit and Milwaukee.

And this explains why it's also complete chaos every year for the first three weeks of steady rain? It's like OMG! It's raining in Oregon! That's not the case in Chicago, where they heartily laugh at Saskachetoons...

That's a bit melodramatic. And R&I does no one any favors muddying the water with that 'gear guy' column. 'Doubles' is and always will be a synonymous with 'half ropes' (two ropes used independently) - not twins (two ropes used together as one) - it was a lousy column in that respect. Also, the reasons for, and the application of, double/half and twins ropes in alpine/ice and rock can vary quite a bit relative to the likelyhood of falling, sharp edges, and quality/frequency of protection with regard to how 'strict' an interpretation of protocols one should follow. Add to this advances in rope technology such that you can now buy a twin/half/single rated rope and the confusion is understandable. Then throw in the historical context from BITD when people used all manner of ropes in doubles/halfs mode and things get even weirder. But first up I'd say that, with today's [ultra] skinny ropes (like Metolius 7.8mm half/twin rated ropes), you probably want to toe the line pretty damn close to the recommendations of use in each modality or things might be dicey as Jon H suggests above. Ditto for ice applications. From there it gets a bit fuzzier from my perspective - though I agree it's a bad idea to mix modes relative to clipping protocols on a single pitch - either use them as doubles/halfs or as twins on a pitch, don't mix modes. In rock climbing there are a number of reasons for using two ropes. In places like Red Rock people use twins to not have to carry or drag a second rap line; doubles/halfs get used a lot at crags where routes often wander around; and I use doubles/halfs on FAs and lines where I know some stretches might or do involve razor edges that can slice your rope in a fall. In that latter case I've climbed with various combos - actual double/half rated ropes, doubled 9.8 single ropes, doubled 9.8 / 10.2 single ropes. BITD we sometimes used goldline or 11mm ropes as doubles/halfs. The quality of the placements also very much plays into how fast and loose you can play with things as well. Better toe the protocol line again if you are free climbing over screamered micro pro, whereas you have some wiggle room if the pro is bomb. Overall - and like most of climbing - it's a matter of skill, experience, and judgment. Don't have much? Then better toe the line and learn recommended standards, protocols, and best practices. You've developed deep skills and broad experience? Then you can start exercising your own judgment and bending the rules on a situation-by-situation basis.

After 22 years it still amazes me all over again just how incompetent the drivers here really are.

Keep'em if you got'em. I've broken my right ring finger twice in the past several years, severely spraining the fingers on each side of it both times. Went to the OHSU hand guy (Joel Solomon) who does Oregon Symphony musicians; he said he could do an artifical joint, but that it wouldn't hold up to climbing. Between the breaks, aprains, and arthritis my right hand is quickly going claw. Most of the problem with with straightening my fingers which fortunately I don't have to do much for climbing. Have to just deal with the pain however. For that I take a lot of Tumeric and other natural anti-inflamatories. I've been completely off of Advil for the past year (first time in decades) so I'd say it works.

Hindsight is great. I wonder how many emails, phone calls, letters Homeland Security/FBI/CIA/US embassies get per day saying, "I/someone I know/this guy on a streetcorner, etc am going to blow up a plane/kill the president/release sarin gas in the mall, etc" Bullshit. We had well-sourced, substantiated, and actionable info in 9/11, Ft. Hood, and this case. His father is a high-placed banker within Nigeria, not some random nut job. It's not at all a matter of hindsight - it's the same pattern of dropping the ball between field offices and Washington, between unconnected security systems, between individuals who lack the authority or interest to connect-the-dots. From an Israeli perspective its incompetence plain an simple. From a systems perspective it's a matter of the inability of complex human-machine workflows to provide the necessary coverage.

Not sure if this would be a good comparison as it doesn't sound like anyone was searching and they were rescued because they had an electronic 'locator'.

This guy's parents notified the US embassy he was going off the deep end and no one pulled his visa. The info was then sent to HS and no one there bothered to pull his visa or even put him on the no-fly list. Very similar to the back-end, inter-agency incompetence seen in the Ft. Hood shooter case (and in 9/11 for that matter). In both instances there was plenty of heads up, but no one bothered to follow it up.

Anyone up for Saturday?

During the Clinton era is the only time the climb came close to flattening out...

Anyone from Chicago could tell you that politics there is a highly pragmatic affair; idealism hasn't been seen around that town since the big fire. In that environment, everything is negotiable, there are no absolutes, and getting things done isn't about leading and fighting for agendas - it's about managing power and finding [lowest] common ground. Sadly, those politics are what run in Obama's blood, and I don't expect to see any real leadership from him on any agenda.

The Reagan administration was basically a nest of traitors and felons intent on developing an imperial executive to right what they saw as the structural weaknesses that led to Nixon's fall. After falling from grace they had their second chance to further fuck the nation when that team - now self-labeled as neocons - reconstituted as the recent Bush administration. Reagan was an incompetent leader by any standard and whose administration initiated the economic trends that led directly to current crisis. Both he and Bush Sr. used those false economics to distract from their entirely bankrupt military policies and adverturism.

Good to know, probably make a run out tomorrow.

Thanks for the sentiment. Pretty chilly and what with the fog down here I'll probably just stay dug in working.

So if by 'mountaineering' you mean alpine and alpine rock then I'd pass. If you're including rock climbing then I'd be willing to contribute something.

Not yet, I'm dug in coding for the winter, I'll be cranking it all back up around the end of Feb.

Beta on an area, beta on logistics of getting to and from the climbing, but beta on the climbs - I'll pass. Why? Being clueless eyeballing rock is the best part of it. No beta on FA's. Like chalk, it's just another crutch and addiction.

I left the decision with them, I was and am completely agnostic on which way it went - it had nothing to do with anyone telling anyone what to do.

No, neither did I when I put it up. But then the culture at Beacon is fairly anchor and beta dependent, particulary with regards to anchors. Given there is some natural confusion of the pitching on Menopause due to the fact it's an extension of 'Rythmn Method', but doesn't use its anchor, I provided beta on the first anchor location. I don't typically want beta on any aspect of a climb I'm going to do other than where it is and perhaps what the descent looks like.

Nope, just honoring Opdycke's request. I told him the status of the hold and asked him to sort out with folks what he and they wanted done - glued or trundled - the word I got back was fix if possible. It was. I did. I didn't make the call as I don't care - I can get up the pitch just fine either way.

If my intent were to have a 'true topic' that might be the case. As is, I could give a rip how 'accepting' anyone is about it.