JosephH

Wazzu pissing? I was just saying it's doable if you're outfitted right.

Karsten (Texplorer) and I did YW over the Christmas holiday a couple of years ago when the temp was 25 degrees with a pretty brisk east wind. We were outfitted appropriately so while a bit chilly on the tips at times and belaying, it was otherwise a great day. You just have to be geared right for it.

Given we all live and climb in the heart of Sasquatch country the good folks over at SuperTopo.com would like to hear of your encounters with that special big guy or gal. Have you ever had a Bigfoot encounter ?

Bill, I'm not making any supposition, just noting the irony of the 100k level. Yermakov is the one claiming the similarities. Things that are different aren't necessarily in our favor, though. For one, pushing the Taliban (radical Pashtuns) and other hostile Afghan Pashtuns into Pakistan has served to cement a lot of Pashtun tribal relationships which heretofore were pretty fractious. Coordinating their strategy and movements on both sides of the border makes the Taliban more powerful in Afghanistan and strengthens the hand of their brethren in Pakistan's NW Tribal Areas. This is not unlike the situation with the VC operating out of Laos - but with the difference that Pakistan has endless support resouces compared to 1970's Laos. The new troops are deploying south which likely means McCrystal has an ugly Pashtun sandwich in mind, with our new troops sealing the border as best they can while Special Forces, the Pakistan Army, and our Predator teams start beating the bushes on all sides. Expect things to really heat up this spring as we should have enough troops and GATORs in place to at least nominally control the border by then. I'm guessing the plan is to then stir the pot enough in those Tribal Areas to keep the Pashtun and Taliban leadership on the move in the hope of picking them off with the Predators; kill enough of them to make those Pakistaninis left standing decide it just ain't worth it. A somewhat fair chance of that working I suppose. The real problem, though, is the Warlords who once again control Afghanistan. The Taliban were grudgingly 'welcomed' to power as the lesser of two evils after years of abuse by the Warlords in the post-Soviet era. Our biggest mistake was returning them to power - but who else was going to run things with no government and an appalling low U.S. forces level? We had no one to turn to but the same miserable bastards who caused the hell to begin with. And that's part of the problem in Afghanistan; that their only choice once again is either being ruthlessly ruled by the Warlords or the equally miserable Taliban. For all our blood and dollars we still haven't given the people of Afghanistan even a glimpse of a future worth giving a damn about, and the sad reality is our current [exit] strategy won't give them one either. And that's not to say that any amount of men, money, and blood would ever be enough to help the Afghans help themselves. Tribalism still defines Afghan life and will likely always rule out a government capable of exerting it's will across the whole of the country.

Here's to hoping you find all the ice you want this winter...

Cross posted from ST: 30k increase in forces level brings us up to about the same 100k the Soviets had in there for basically nine years and one of their Afghan commanders, Gen. Victor Yermakov, is not anymore optimistic about our fate. Running the absolute bare minimum force levels required for containing the Taliban while providing effective security across Afghanistan would look something like this: - Kabul: 75k - Kandahar: 50k - Sealing Pakistan Border: 100k - Security for 10-15k out of 35k villages: 100-150k Total: 325-375k troops (again, the bare minimum) Ain't gonna happen and anything short of that is just a matter of letting the clock and bankroll run down while attempting to save face.

Old School is a matter of perspective I guess. With the exception of the Salewa ascenders and the 1st gen. Camalots I'd climb on all the rest of it no problem. Glad I don't have to climb on goldline anymore, though, that stuff did suck.

I don't know Mark all that well, but I suspect he is pretty methodical, consistent, and 'strict' about his training. Doubt he kept a journal, however. Supertopo NIAD thread

How do you then account for that apparently not being the case for Mark? NIAD is a pretty rigorous benchmark compared to all-round climbing.

When I start training again I'll be doing the routine Mark Hudon said he did prior to his recent 15 hour NIAD run. Lots of discussion on all the different climbing forums on various training regimes - nice to see one with indisputable results on stone.

Ok, got it. I'm a little slow on the uptake - thanks for the clarification...

Kletterhund - just back in town, good for you. I'm as surprised to hear he didn't have a set. Never mentioned it, so I just assumed he had them.

Bill, are you talking about the first picture above? I don't think I recognize anything about it, but then I'm going senile.

No tape.

bump

bump

Kids Scale the Walls, and the Principal Approves

Have it if you want it back...

Could be wrong and I'm an admittedly really old guy, but that sort of thing sounds like a really bad idea from a finger and hand longevity perspective

It's like martinis - an acquired taste with a slightly bitter uptake.

I believe Karabin does, I don't think Pennequin or Yager do, though Yager is more Yosemite-focused compared to Karabin and Pennequin's boundless fanaticism over all pro.

Are you trying to claim that the Secret Service and FBI aren't being completely swamped trying to keep up with rising tide of racist, anti-government, and rightwing nutjob threats these days? Because that would make you pretty much an idiot in the attempt. Glenn and Rush are moderates these days and the fringe-influencing threat they alone pose is serious enough let alone the small media whacks right of them and the ocean of agitated white males currently experiencing a victimal nirvana.

Not sure if it's the sort of thing you might entertain, but that D-Best Quickie would probably make a nice addition to either Yager, Karabin or Pennequin's museum collections.

I took a look and didn't bother - plenty of other things to do. Even if I were interested shoes would be all I would bring.

I did a post on Mark's ST thread reflecting on the challenge of lining up motivation, discipline, and experience for such an endeavor. Two out of three won't cut it. That trifecta is not easy to muster and the inability to come up with it is what leaves 99.9% of folks on the ground looking up wishfully thinking about it.