Bigtree

Clipped from Union of Concerned Scientists website (http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/catalyst/fa04-catalyst-forest-carbon-sequestration.html)... "Photosynthesis and respiration are the essential machinery by which forests store and release carbon. As a tree grows, it absorbs CO2 from the air and, through the process of photosynthesis, uses solar energy to store carbon in its roots, stems, branches, and foliage. Some carbon is released back into the atmosphere as CO2 during respiration, but a living tree acts as a carbon “sink”—storing more carbon than it releases. Trees continue to accumulate carbon until they reach maturity, at which point about half of the average tree’s dry weight will be carbon. When trees decay and die, they become a carbon source, releasing more carbon than they can absorb. And when forests are harvested, burned, or cleared by humans, or in the event of a natural disturbance such as fire or disease, some of the carbon stored in the trees’ cells is released into the atmosphere. Stored carbon, however, can be transferred into forest products—for example, wood used for lumber, furniture, and other durable goods can hold its carbon for decades or even centuries if well maintained. Recent estimates show that U.S. forests, grasslands, and agricultural lands form a sizable carbon sink. Even a forest that undergoes regular harvesting can act as a carbon sink as long as yearly growth exceeds the amount of carbon removed during harvest. The U.S. carbon sink absorbs 1.1 to 2.6 million metric tons of CO2 each year, which is equivalent to 20 to 46 percent of total U.S. global warming emissions."

Pindude, http://www.peakfreaks.com/greentheme.htm is a very funny read (e.g., "The Carbon Neutral movement was started by the David Suzuki Foundation" or, "...'carbon credits'...a must-have accessory for individuals and organizations who want to fight climate change and show their green credentials." or, "Everyone from banks like HSBC, to rock bands like the Rolling Stones, to almost 500 NHL players are purchasing carbon offsets for their emissions."

The "theory" is called respiration which is "The release of energy from glucose or other organic substances inside living cells. During respiration, sugar/starch, and oxygen is turned into carbon dioxide, water and energy. Every cell needs to respire in order to produce the energy it needs." Since CO2 is a greenhouse gas, and presuming that you believe in the guilt-ridden theory that global warming is caused by anthropogenic activities, I'm tempted to encourage all such believers to adopt your suggested fix; however, that would result in the elimination of some good fun for me, so don't do it.

You'll do fine. Its usually skiable until May.

For sure. Scurlock takes some amazing and beautiful photos. Thanks for the TR Porter.

April '08 Scientific American: "In the late 1890s in a laboratory atop a 4,554-meter peak in the Monta Rosa range in the Italian Alps, physiologist Angelo Mosso made the first direct observations of the effects of high altitude on the human brain: by eye and with an apparatus he designed, Mosso peeked into the skull of a man whose brain had been partly exposed in an accident, observing changes in swelling and pulsation. Now a similar experiment has been done with noninvasive brain imaging, and for those of us who love to climb the results are not elevating. Neurologist Nicolás Fayed and his colleagues in Zaragoza, Spain, performed MRI brain scans on 35 climbers (12 professionals and 23 amateurs) who had returned from high-altitude expeditions, including 13 who had attempted Everest. They found brain damage in virtually every Everest climber but also in many climbers of lesser peaks who returned unaware that they had injured their brain. It seems that climbers of high mountains, whether weekend warrior or seasoned professional, face returning from the high peaks with a brain that is not in the same condition it was in beforehand. What Gives in a Climber’s Brain? Although a person’s tolerance to hypoxia (lack of oxygen) varies according to differences in innate physiology and physical conditioning, no one is immune. Those effects can be acute, affecting you only while you are at altitude, or—as the Fayed study found—they can be longer-lasting. The first acute stage is called, naturally enough, acute mountain sickness. It can cause headache, insomnia, dizziness, fatigue, nausea and vomiting. The next, more serious stage is high-­altitude cerebral edema, also known as HACE, brain swelling that is potentially fatal. Lack of oxygen can directly damage brain cells. In addition, the walls of blood capillaries begin to leak at high altitudes, and the leaked fluid can cause dangerous swelling, pressing the brain outward against the rigid skull. Sometimes the optic nerves swell so badly they bulge into the back of the eye, degrading vision and causing retinal hemorrhages. Meanwhile blood, concentrated from dehydration and thickened by increased numbers of red blood cells, clots more easily. This clotting, along with the hemorrhage from the thinned capillaries, can cause a stroke. A climber with HACE may experience amnesia, confusion, ­delusions, emotional disturbance, personality changes and loss of consciousness. Severe cases of acute high-altitude disease have long been known to cause brain damage. But one of the sobering things about the Fayed study is that even when climbers showed no signs of acute sickness, the scans still found brain damage. The results in the Everest climbers were the starkest. Of the 13 climbers, three had made the 8,848-meter summit, three had reached 8,100 meters, and seven had topped out between 6,500 and 7,500 meters. The expedition had no major mishaps, and none of the 12 professional climbers evinced any obvious signs of high-altitude illness; the only acute case of mountain sickness was a mild one in the expedition’s amateur climber. Yet only one of the 13 climbers (a professional) returned with a normal brain scan. All the scans of the other 12 showed cortical atrophy or enlargement of the Virchow-Robin (VR) spaces. These spaces surround the blood vessels that drain brain fluid and communicate with the lymph system; widening of these VR spaces is seen in the elderly but rarely in the young. The amateur climber’s brain had also suffered subcortical lesions in the frontal lobes. How High Is Too High? Of course, Everest is extreme. Fayed and his colleagues also studied an eight-person team that attempted Aconcagua, a 6,962-meter summit in the Argentine Andes. Two climbers reached the summit, five climbed to between 6,000 and 6,400 meters, and one reached 5,500 meters. Yet three members experienced acute mountain sickness, and two displayed symptoms of brain edema—probably because they ascended more rapidly from lower altitudes than the Everest climbers did. All eight Aconcagua climbers showed cortical atrophy on MRI scans. Seven showed enlarged VR spaces, and four showed numerous subcortical lesions. Some needed no scan to tell them their brains had been injured. One climber suffered aphasia (problems with speech), from which he recovered six months later. Two complained of transient memory loss after returning, and three others struggled with bradypsychia (slowed mental function). The body is remarkably resilient: Does the brain recover from these mountaineering wounds? To answer this question, the researchers reexamined the same climbers three years after the expedition, with no other high-altitude climbing intervening. In all cases, the damage was still apparent on the second set of scans. Still, Aconcagua is one of the world’s highest mountains. Mont Blanc in the western Alps is less extreme. Its 4,810-meter summit is climbed every year by thousands of mountaineers who probably do not expect injury to their “second favorite organ,” to use Woody Allen’s nomenclature for the brain. Yet the researchers found that of seven climbers who reached Mont Blanc’s summit, two returned with enlarged VR spaces. Because Why? The study suggests that chronic exposure to high altitudes is not required to experience irreversible brain damage. In fact, amateurs seem to be at greater risk, because they are more likely to suffer acute mountain sickness or high-altitude cerebral edema. At the same time, the experience required to become well acclimated seems to take an ever increasing cumulative toll; compared with the amateurs, professional climbers in this study had ­greater cortical atrophy overall. They felt stronger but showed more brain damage. Mountain climbing is growing in popularity—and with good reason. It can provide experiences of a lifetime; a communion with nature and with friends that feeds the soul; intense and enduring rewards surpassing those found within the bounds of routine; and adventure and challenge that build courage, stamina and fortitude. It also gets you into incomparable mountain wilderness—although that is vanishing. Many sense that the singular “it” residing in George Mallory’s pithy raison d’ascent—“Because it’s there!”—may soon be gone. Some 5,000 climbers ascend Himalayan peaks every year. Thousands more climb peaks in the Alps and Andes. Many of these people spend liberally to mount expeditions or to be guided to the summit. But it is increasingly clear that these climbers are paying for the privilege with something more than hard-earned cash. They’re paying with brain tissue."

ChucK, let me get this right. A guy posts a message on a public climbing oriented website essentially saying look at me and some website about a bunch of guys making a political and environmental statement by purporting to climb Denali in a carbon neutral fashion. I express a contrarian opinion or two and you think that's bad? Assuming I haven't misunderstood you, and for the second time, I apologise. In the future I'll strive to only express opinions that are positive and affirming in nature, but most importantly ones that are consistent with your and mattp's views of the world. As an aside, I have found this website, and a number of contributors to it, very helpful (and yes entertaining) over the years. However, I have been awed on the odd occaision at how intolerant some folks can be of public discourse - perhaps you'll prove me wrong. Cheers.

No superiority from this camp Mattp; rather, just a humble statement that: a) the emperor has no clothes; and, b) better to climb for the sake of pure self satisfaction/pleasure as opposed to some sort of "special" cause - whether it be Christ, global warming, blind, no legged, over 70 etc. That said, Zoran strikes me a nice guy. I'll try and be more sensitive of his (and your) feelings next time by sugar coating my opinions. Yeesh.

Ha, ha...very good Zoran. You'll like Wiegele's by the way. I used to work nearby in the late 1980's and would stop in periodically to check out his operation. It was spectacular then and I'm sure its only gotten better.

Ha, ha, ha...Wiegele world's helicopters don't generate gobs and gobs of carbon now do they? How about the carbon neutral climbing team earn some well-needed carbon credits to compensate for Wiegele's inexcusable anti-enviro behaviour by rowing a boat with themselves and their gear up to Anchorage with stops along the way to plant some west coast trees in BC and on the panhandle; then, hike/climb in from there. Now that's something worth bragging about.

The current state of the global warming debate strikes me as getting McCarthyistic in nature. It wouldn't surprise me if pretty soon committees will be set up to suss out and arrest non-believers. This hypocritical climb just proves it. Say hi to the Climbing For Christ team when you get there. Perhaps you can do some collective hand-wringing and say a few hail Marys together. Forgot to mention, despite my criticism of your motives, have safe and successful climb.

Nice. Thanks for the tip dmuja.

Kinda reminds my of an experience I had years ago. I had a new KX500 dirt bike stolen from my girlfriend's backyard years ago. Every time I had tried to ride the beast, the bike that is, I dropped it/got spit off and/or broke something. So, first thing we did was contact local bike shops to see if anyone had ordered a radiator shroud for what was at that time a rare bike in my locale. Sure enough we struck gold, and better yet, when the thief ordered the part he paid for it with his VISA. After shaming the local cops into action who I gathered were more interested in downing donuts and padding their already fat asses than catching crooks, they finally checked the guy's house out and located my bike in his garage along with a bunch of others. Anyway, it ended well enough for me and reinforced my belief that: a) crooks/thiefs are generally dumb; and, b) cops are slothful creatures.

Here you go...complete nutters... bCrCsTMokTU

Whatever works for you Bill. Note that I recently found a Garmin e-Trex on a back country ski trip. Seems to work very well and is much more compact that my 60 Csx. Food for thought for you.

Nice. Thx a bunch.

In an effort to earn some matrimonial play/climbing credits I'm taking my wife to Seattle for 3-nights Memorial day weekend in May. I've driven through the place lots, but never stayed there. Would appreciate a hotel recommendation or 2 if anything comes to mind. Price isn't a problem, but must be dog friendly, reasonably close to downtown and have some green space close by for the pooch. Thx.

Wikipedia is amazing... "Hammer Drill...The hammer action is provided by two cam plates which makes the chuck rapidly pulse forward and backward as the drill spins on its axis. This pulsing (hammering) action is measured in Blows Per Minute (BPM) with 10,000 or more BPMs being common. Because of the relative masses of the chuck+bit and the remainder of the drill the energy transfer is relatively inefficient and can sometimes make it difficult for larger bits to penetrate harder materials such as poured concrete. Vibration is quite noticable by the operator, and the cams are generally made from hardened steel to avoid them wearing out quickly. Most electic hammer drills are rated at between 6.3 and 9 amps, and are restricted to standard masonary bits 1/2 inch in size maximum. A typical application for a hammer drill would be to install electrical boxes, conduit straps or shelves in concrete. Compare this to a rotary/pneumatic hammer drill where just the bit is accelerated to the work. This is accomplished through a piston design, rather than a spinning cam. Rotary hammers have relatively little vibration and penetrate most building materials. They can also be used as "drill only" or as "hammer only" which extends their usefulness for tasks such as chipping brick or concrete. Hole drilling progress is greatly superior to cam type hammer drills, and these drills are generally used for holes of 3/4 an inch or greater in size. A typical application for a rotary hammer drill would be to bore large holes for lag bolts in foundations, or to install large lead anchors in concrete for handrails or benches. A standard hammer drill accepts 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch drill bits, while a rotary hammer uses SDS or Spline Shank bits. These heavy bits are adept at pulverising the masonry and drill into this hard material with relative ease. However there is a big difference in cost. In the UK typically £12 upward for a cam hammer and £35 up for a rotary/pneumatic. In the US a typical hammer drill will cost between $70 and $120, and a rotary hammer between $150 and $500 (depending on bit size). For DIY use or to drill holes less than 1/2 inch in size, the hammer drill is most commonly used."

PM sent re: mitts.

The Fitzroy's a nice tent - just got one a few months back. There is one current being auctioned on that site I don't think I can mention here. Current bid price is just over $100 with 1-day to go.

G-spotter, was just snooping on Rockclimbing.com. I saw a few routes for the Tyee area I mentioned above, but nothing for the Ecstall (no pics in my files either I'm afraid). The crack on the left (5.8ish) and the route with the roofs (5.10ish) were always my favs (I can't recall what we used to call either - other than good fun):

Robotsweat, there's a number of fine walls with potential climbing opportunities along the Ecstall including the one in your photo. There is a shorter wall on the south side of Cuthbert Cr. (roughly 12 km down the Ecstall on the east side - look for the old log dump/road/cut-blocks) that I used to look at /ponder all the time when work used to take me there. As you likely know already, jet boat access is the way to go from Hwy 16 boat ramp, but watch out for the sandbars - I've spent more hours than I care to remember stuck on them. I also assume that you're aware of the place we used to call the Tyee Bluffs just above the train tracks immediately east of the the bridge where hwy 16 meets the Skeena (look for the aboriginal pictograph). Lots of great single-pitch climbs there ranging from 5.6 to 5.10+. Cheers.

She looks like she just smoked a fatty to me...

Paradise gift store.

Never been there, but would like to this year or next. Nevertheless...