Snafflehunter

Funny how we don't hear Republicans whining like toddlers when the Democrats win a tight one. An interesting paradox if you ask me.

I guess smart is all relative though, right AlpineK?

That's pretty cool. And I'd just like to add that from what I remember from my climb of Golden Horn, it actually has some pretty solid rock by Cascade standards. The (North?) Face looked pretty solid and slabby.

Go for it - have a circle-jerk with like-minded people. You'll never need to feel threatened - or have to think. Kojak, it's neither your ideas nor the way you present them that bothers me. It's the sheer number of posts (7 out of the first 15 on the last page) that I object to. To me it's not unlike TV commercials, shopping at malls, or listening to commercial radio...I just don't need to have that crap pounded into my brain every other post. I know that folks such as yourself get a little excited and can't help prattling on just to hear yourselves talk, but that doesn't mean I have to sit hear and listen to it or read it. It's easier for me just to turn off the TV, listen to NPR, and ignore people who, IMHO, over-saturate this (CC.com) entertainment media. Nothing personal, I tune out chics who say the same things over and over, too....but at least they can be fun when the lights go out and the music's too loud to hear them yakking. The reason he is posting so much, sphincter err Thinker, is because it takes that many posts to respond to the predominantly liberal posting population on this message board. It's pretty easy to just skip over a post isn't it? Many could avoid the needless step of having to put someone on ignore by merely skipping to the next post when you see their name, but being the Thinker that you proclaim to be, I'm sure you've already thought about that.

A sad way to go. "Rocky Mountain Rescue Group member Kevin Harner said it's the first climbing death from asphyxiation he's ever heard of." I guess he's never heard about a climber being killed in an avalanche where the climber was buried alive in the snow and subsequently died of asphyxiation??

What's "refreshing" about it? It's the same old speculative, subjective, disrespectful, left-leaning propaganda that we've been reading since the war in Iraq began. I think it's time for folks to accept that war is ugly and support the troops who are over there risking their necks so we can sit here at our desks and spray on cc.com all day. The following quote is symbolic of the typical liberal attitude: "I didn’t shit the bed so I have no obligation to clean it up or sleep in it." But you have every obligation to bitch and moan and complain about it at every opportunity? Am I the only one who sees the irony in this? All of this IMHO, of course.

CBS, put it back in your pants! Sorry, Klenke .. I couldn't resist.

I believe Klenke meant specific instances of constitutional violations. You merely restated the 6th Amendment. if you can't think of it then you are completely and utterly stubborn, or in denial. waste of time If it's such a waste of time to explain your opinion, why are you sitting here wasting your time posting nothing? rrriiggghhhttttt........grow up man Just curious .. how aren't I grown by asking you to elaborate? Maybe you're all mixed up? Or perhaps you listened to your campus buddies too much and jumped to the same conclusions they did without taking the time to think everything through?

I believe Klenke meant specific instances of constitutional violations. You merely restated the 6th Amendment. if you can't think of it then you are completely and utterly stubborn, or in denial. waste of time If it's such a waste of time to explain your opinion, why are you sitting here wasting your time posting nothing?

People who haven't a clue what they're voting about shouldn't be voting in my opinion. Therefore, forcing someone to vote who doesn't know shit from shinola about current events and the candidates they're voting for is a stupid idea. IMHO of course. Besides, wouldn't this make us .... fascist?

I believe Klenke meant specific instances of constitutional violations. You merely restated the 6th Amendment.

I agree 100%. BTW, hi Klenke.

Matt Anderson and co. climbed it free and they rated the crux rock at 5.9 (if I remember correctly). But I don't think they were wearing rock shoes and it's all above 20,000 ft. Yikes! Something to add: Don't count on lines being fixed if you plan on summitting prior to ~October 28th. Sometimes they are fixed as early as October 15th, sometimes as late as November 1st. It's all going to depend on the weather and how motivated the Sherpas feel.

It really depends on who you go through to get your permit. 1 permit allows 10 or so climbers (could be 12), so if you can find someone who hasn't filled the max, then you could get on for ~US$500 per person. Add to that the cost of a liaison officer (US$2000 per team) and a garbage deposit (US$2000 per team - refundable after your expedition), and you can do the math from there. I would encourage you to look at getting on someone else's permit to save money obviously, but it isn't always possible. Try Henry Todd, or Dan Mazur -- those guys have teams up there every year. Do a google search. I think my entire trip (as a member of an independent team) cost about US$5000, but that included RT airfare to KTM, hotel accomodations in KTM, the round trip to Lukla, nightly stays in tea houses, sherpas, and porters. I was in the Khumbu region for just over 5 weeks total. If you need any more info, feel free to PM me.

The ropes are fixed by Sherpa or guides, but they use last year's ropes to fix the current year's ropes. In 2003, a German guide was climbing less than 500' above me while on the SE Ridge of Ama Dablam when one of the lines he was jugging on suddenly broke in half. The guy was trying to fix lines for the season (this was ~October 20th) when he fell. It turns out the line he was using was placed seasons prior, and it had been severely deteriorated by wind and blowing ice/snow. As for the technicality part, I didn't find jugging up the fixed lines was very difficult, but after witnessing that accident it became more of a mental thing for me.

Notice the ascenders. The climb is technical, but most parties elect to ascend via fixed ropes which takes a lot of the technicality (and in my opinion, fun) out of it. Nevertheless, an awesome achievement.

The only thing cooked here is your brain.

Give me a break.

...and by this time next week the unopened bottle will rest at the bottom of your pail beneath the warm, stagnant water that was once so clean and crystalized - awaiting a celebration never to be. BTW: Bush was chosen in 2000 by the electoral college. Many subsequent recounts, even those done by left-leaning papers, demonstrate this to be so. It is likely time for you to grow up and accept our system of government. This election holds the potential for Bush to win the popular vote, yet lose the election in the electoral. This is our way. I will accept it if it comes to pass. (however unlikely) I will not carry on like a whiney little bitch for 4 years about our "unelected" leader. Grow some hair. Exactly.

Who, then, would this information interest? If it doesn't interest someone concerned with performance of the stove in an alpine environment, why bring it up in this thread that you did "lab testing in the WTA mag"??

I came accross this while being redirected to MSN.com after logging out of hotmail. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6307190/?GT1=5472 What a crazy world.

Or you could do what I did and approach it via an old climber's path that parallells Colonial Creek. You can pretty much stay entirely in a dried-up water course from where you first emerge from the forest to avoid dense slide alder - depending on time of year of course. From the base of the waterfall in Colonial Basin ascend directly to climber's right through cliffbands eventually contouring towards the Colonial Glacier moraine. I'd say the two approaches (Pyramid Lake and Colonial Basin) are about even, but the Colonial Basin approach offers plenty of chances to get into some brush if your routefinding isn't up to snuff (especially on the way down). As for skiing, I haven't ever heard of any S. facing couloirs on Snowfield either. Looking at the map it looks steep on that South side (as steep if not steeper than the North side), but I'm not a hardcore skier, so what do I know.

nolanr, Check out summitpost.org for TRs from Fortress and Buck. Klenke owns the Buck page and did a great job on it - tons of info. There are also some excellent photos on the Buck page on summit post that will give you an idea of what you'd be getting into. It's a beautiful area all around there - have fun whatever you decide to do.

Buck is way more interesting a climb than Fortress. There's some super camp spots up there by the "pool of granite". It's one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. Fortress is a big pile of loose rock. Just my 2 cents.