DavidHiers

The typical rule is to make the distance between the climbers great enough to ensure that you won't fall into the same creavase, and short enough to manage. I usually start at 1/3 and adjust from there.

If NASA really wants to go to Mars, they'll 'discover' signs of oil there. We'll invade in no time...

Well, AL doesn't react with just water, as its always covered by AL oxide. You can add chlorine to get a reaction, and you can get electrolysis going with with all the non-AL (steel springs, etc) stuff on the common rack. It probably is AL oxide, which is stuff that you make sandpaper out of; abrasive, but not too far from neutral Ph as far as I can tell. Wash the stuff, and you should be OK.

You know it!

Lk O? Down by the tracks?

When one stops to consider that more people die from slamming into stationary objects than from falling objects, perhaps most helmets are not properly designed. We wear helmets to protect ourselves. We don't care what the source of trauma is. We want to protect our noggins. In my opinion, climbing helmets are the single most poorly designed piece of equipment we use today. I'd like a helmet that protects against acceleration, too! I guess its a matter of weight, however... You're moving about 20mph after a 32' fall, and you just keep accelerating. You pretty quickly gain enough speed to move out of the bicyle helmet (1m drop test) to the motorcycle drop test (3m drop test). I wonder what kind of helmet you'd need to pass a 10m drop test. You can protect against acceleration, if your willing to climb in something that is pretty close to a motorcycle helmet. Maybe an airbag-like-thingy. Physics, it seems, is not on our side.

Can you recommend a retailer for the Swiss and CEAV maps?

Bailing when you get too many "yellow lights" is a good way to stay out of ANAM.

Sorry I missed the party! Had a bit of a meltdown somewhere between IL and OK, so I had to work late. Too bad, as my sweetie had a ton of leftover pizza to cast to the wolves. Being quite the gearhead, I tend pack along enough rack/rope to contribute to the common good I'm betting horsethief will be dryer than Portland this weekend, so I'm looking to head out there.

WARNING: Major map nerdery follows.... Buy USGS 7.5 quads. Draw UTM grids using the blue ticks. Trim the margins, tape legend on the back of the map. Laminate with the thinnest vistafoil from brodart. Use a sharpie all you want, write plans, ransom demands on the back, etc... You'll get years of durable, waterproof service and a handy patch for those pesky sucking chest wounds (tape three sides).

I've used the big black Dromedary for years, never had a problem.

Climbing helmets protect you from small, high velocity objects; they aren't intended to protect your melon from slamming into a stationary object. Still, I climb with a Roc, myself.

I like this winds aloft format: FD1US1 DATA BASED ON 091200Z VALID 091800Z FOR USE 1400-2100Z. TEMPS NEG ABV 24000 FT 3000 6000 9000 12000 18000 24000 30000 34000 39000 AST 3306 3309+08 2811+03 2517-02 2535-14 2449-25 245840 244948 243853 IMB 2320+09 2229+03 2335-11 2433-24 253440 243849 244154 OTH 0209 3412+12 2809+07 2510+01 2430-11 2439-24 244040 243949 243955 PDX 2806 3010+08 2614+05 2422+00 2439-13 2450-24 245440 244949 243954 RDM 2706+11 2416+09 2319+03 2329-11 2434-24 243740 244049 244254 http://aviationweather.gov/products/nws/fdwinds/dynamic/sfo_fd1.shtml At 12000', The winds over portland are blowing from 240 degrees at 22 knots, temp is 0c.

I'll be at RB on Thursday, may have two people in tow...

Show? What show? I missed a show!?! Dang...

I'd go with the 1 + 2 option. Lunch Counter has good wind breaks, and if you toss some rocks in a few bags and you can tie down anything. You might not find enough rocks at LC, so pack 'em up from trail head

I like a 40-60 A/B with Titanium Dioxide. Keep slathering it on until you look like Casper. UVx has a hard time getting through metal. I'll dig my current juice and get the name for you. Oh, and I cover. The sun can pump about 1kw of energy into 1 sq meter of area, which (if I got the math right) will evaporate about 2.4L of water per hour just to remain at a constant temp. Of course, we're not perfect black bodies orthogonal to the incident rays, and we have wind, etc, but clearly the physics are not on our side. The camel-oriented countries have it right; you run a lot cooler if you wear your shade. As they say, only mad dogs and Englishmen... PS: I'm using the REI store brand right now; seems to do the trick.

Please refer to the Tea Partay thread. Funny!

I hear you guys on the getting stuck farther and deeper! While I try to portray off my road-wussiness as prudence and caution, that veneer is pretty darned thin

Thanks.... I just ordered the set of 3, the ink won't be dry on one of them for another month or so. I know what you mean about the TRs, some are real jewels.

Hey Geoff, Hope the hand gets better... Are the books in the Rock Climbing Western Oregon series any good for that area?

I'll head over there to check it out; but the bolts sound needed. I'd guard against an overly broad application of the non-chopping yellers' argument. There's only so much responsibility one can take for another's choices, and un-protected exposure is just one example.

I use a 3 y/o gecko with the barometer. It works fine, but the antenna is so small you don't get much signal under a canopy (even a light one).

That's pretty high on the current list, for sure... Not wanting to send all the torque to the one tire that's on the icy patch, I'm looking for some traction control. In the old days, you'd put lockers all around, but now I guess they've got active systems. I'm pretty sure the tacoma has that stuff.

I'm looking to upgrade my wheels to something that can better handle the drive up to the trailhead in winter. My corolla can follow the snow plows anywhere, but that's all I can ask of Sweet Bessie. While I don't expect to crawl over a downed tree or some monstrous V16 cast down by Tepeyollotl, I would like to get enough clearance and flotation to handle most of the approach roads in winter. What rigs are you all driving out there? Thanks in advance...