Choada_Boy

You demonstrate what seems to be total ignorance of how Science works. It must be easy to not have to think...

Arguing with zealots is a waste of time. There is not a single thing you can say to a zealot that will get them to consider the fact of the life-long brainwashing, and/or ignorance of the true facts of the physical world, that created and allows the persistence of their religious beliefs. Arguing with them only serves to give them the opportunity to "assume the Christ Pose" as they too become persecuted and crucified for their beliefs. I do not oblige them in this and they typically find it infuriating. I would have stood next to the nutcase and begun my own monologue: a graphic and detailed depiction of man on man sodomy. Once, for fun, I stood next to a nutcase going off on sodomites at Bumbershoot and just babbled random gibberish. He was not happy Re: The Bible. As David Cross would say, the Bible was written 2000 years ago, when we were EVEN DUMBER than we are now. My Bible is THIS

I can explain the Republican agenda: to bring about the Apocalypse and hasten the Second Coming. Seriously.

That's why it's important to learn how to belay using the holes in the lobe of a #4 Camalot...

You are fine.

I am allowed thanks for this post to important thread.

Some thoughts: Tough to get past .10+ in the mountains unless you have copious natural talent and/or plenty of free time on your hands. Having a job and bills does not help the situation. Couch surfing and sleeping in the dirt does help but gets old as you get old, or at least it does for most people. Pulling plastic is boring. The Worthleavin' crowd is best positioned for pulling off what Blake is talking about, due to their proximity to the goods. This is evident in the fucking rad routes Sol, Jens, et al, have been establishing in that area. They can day trip what is a weekend with 5 hours of driving and $90 in gas for me. I don't see people putting up hard new routes on Nooksack Tower. Maybe I will. But it's a whole different ball game than strolling up the trail to Colchuck Lake. I do it for the views of late, which can't be beat in the lower 48, that I've seen. Alone on a mountain surrounded by mountains in the middle of nowhere. Rock, snow, glacier, wind. Memories of summits past and aspirations for the future. Hours of solitude, just myself and the dog. Sore legs back at the car and no desire to get caught up in a dick-wagging contest. Changing expectations...

yes, gear blowing during a fall will reduce energy in the system, and therefore slow your fall. obviously, the more marginal it is, the less effect it will have. and an unequalized anchor of crappy pieces is better than no anchor at all, yes? yes to the first part (reduced properties), and no to the second (more force). I read somewhere that it takes a dynamic rope about 5-10 minutes to shrink back to its original length after a hard fall. so, the rope is viscoelastic, which in this case means that it takes measurable time for the rope to regain it's initial elasticity state. the time between blowing out one piece and hitting the next piece is small enough that the stretch will not rebound. the impact on the second piece will not be the *same* as the impact on the first piece, but that definitely does not mean that the force on the second piece will be higher than if the first piece did not exist. this is because, in typical situations (aha, more assumptions!) the rope will still retain a lot of it's elasticity (you're not going to max out the elasticity in one fall on one piece that rips out). hopefully I'm able to explain my thinking clearly here, and that I'm making sense. The posted article provides evidence that contradicts a number of your points above.

Conclusion: "A residual velocity after the initial anchor point failure results in an increased effective fall factor for subsequent impacts. For equally spaced anchors of equal strength, this increased effective fall factor makes sequential failure highly likely."

It is all as simple as each of you suspect, and each of you are correct. Carry on...

As a dog owner: Please leave your dogs at home.

I prefer new weapons systems to quality education: Exhibit A

Put it on Soundcloud. I like to use this recording technique: [video:youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCgicEWD1Nc

Nice job!

Glad you didn't die on the glacier. I was thumbing through Red Fred the other day and found the approach beta I'd jotted down for myself: 1) Get flat tire on wrong logging road 2) Lose second canopy off of Mike's truck in the same spot as the first canopy. 3) Tree bear cub and run away, uphill, with packs. 4) Hike past airliner crash debris and memorial site to set tone. 5) Traverse bare glacier remnant without crampons while using nut tool and rock combo for self-arrest. 6) Rappel from slung avalanche debris into avalanche path. 7) Run under active serac. 8) Start climb. It's that easy! Also, pay your respects to the "Bone Cairn" in the grotto if you have time. Pretty powerful mojo in there...

"White Pee" a.k.a. "Number Three"

Danica Patrick and half the riders HERE would disagree. In other news, Ashley Force Hood: [video:youtube]

I'll keep after it, Mr. Pabst.

The therapist? Or the rapist?

I went to your churches! I went to your schools! I went to your institutional learning facilities! So how can you say that I'm crazy?

Trip: North Twin Sister - West Ridge PSA Date: 7/25/2012 Trip Report: I climbed the West Ridge of the North Twin Sister again the other day and thought I'd write it up on my blog here: Suicycle Alpinism. Sweet climb on immaculate rock in a spectacular setting. Get after it!! Gear Notes: Suicycle. Crampons for the North Slope descent in early morning before it softens up. Approach Notes: No active logging on Blue Mountain Road but they are getting at it on the approach from the gated bridge. Be careful!!

Thanks for all the info, folks. Any of you buying contacts online?

Any advice? More trouble than it's worth? Should I just stick with glasses?

We were headed up to Squish a while back, told the Canadian officer at the booth we were going climbing, he asked us: "What route?" "Um...The Ultimate-Everything." "Haven't heard of that one." So we handed him the topo, he checked it out, gave it back, and said "Have a nice day."