rob

Crackers is why I send all my friends to cilogear shoulder strap problems aside, the pack still rocks. It's pretty much the only pack I use now, for single or multi-day.

Too true. I live in snohomish, and I can see the sprawl creeping up highway 9 like a spreading virus. I guess I'll just have to keep moving further and further out. Know any nice places in Index, arch?

undoubtedly -- great customer service. But...then I'd be without a pack for what? a week? two? I'll just head down to rainy pass. Can't be too much to have a bar tack thrown in.

I've got the newer 60L. Overall, I'm very happy with it. I removed the aluminum stay to make it lighter and more comfortable. The straps are useful for really dialing in the load. However, I did get a small tear in the pack fabric near one of the strap points from cranking the compression too tight, though. My biggest complaint is that the shoulder strap material is not bonded to the padding inside the strap -- the cover material slips around, causing the load lifters and sternum straps to shift into uncomfortable positions along the strap. I placed a couple of strategic stitches, but they aren't strong enough to hold the material in place. I think I'll get a couple of bartacks thrown on there to hold it down. In the meantime, I'm constantly readjusting the fabric to get it back in place. Also, the zippers on the lid seem kinda cheap -- the metal zipper pulls have already broken off. Luckily, the zipper itself is still OK, I just threaded some shoelace material through the zipper head to replace the missing pulls. Overall, a great pack -- super lightweight and adjustable.

Me either

"You gonna get used to wearin' them chains afer a while, Luke. Don't you never stop listenin' to them clinking. 'Cause they gonna remind you of what I been saying. For your own good."

Trip: Sherpa Peak - North Ridge Date: 6/21/2007 Trip Report: Forecasting some illicit timeoff, I called up Tvashtarkatena for some midweek climbing goodness. We agreed to meet at the Monroe P-R at 9 AM. Thankfully, I was able to catch my bus and arrive in Monroe in time to wait for Tvash, who lost his cell phone and ended up showing up around 10:45. A quick jaunt over the pass, lunch and a quick gear sort saw us leaving the TH at 1:55 PM. After several questionable stream crossings and some schwacking, we arrived at Sherpa basin about 4 hours later. We left camp about 5 AM the next morning to clear blue skies and hard snow. Instead of gaining the north ridge immediately, we decided to bypass several low-5th pitches by climbing a couloir that led us almost directly to the major notch on the ridge. We simul-climbed about 2 rope lengths up some slabby rock to the top of the notch, where we swapped leads to the summit -- about 8 pitches from the top of the couloir. We made a short rap SW off the summit, then downclimbed some loose gullies. Traversing to the col between Sherpa and Argonaut sounded like a drag, so we decided to downclimb a nearby steep (~40 degree) couloir that lead straight down to the basin. A small storm had blown in during our descent, with a few snow flakes and a bit of wind. Arriving at camp, we decided to bivy for the night and hike out in the morning, rather than risk schwacking out in the dark. Disappointed that I had not suffered any knee pain during the trip, I decided to take a short uncontrolled fall down an icy slope into some boulders ( ), but unfortunately I received only minor scrapes on my knuckles. I'll have to try harder next time. Gear Notes: 60m single, medium alpine rack to 3'' axe, crampons Approach Notes: Brushy

I will be free in Leavenworth on Saturday, anybody want to go do some moderate alpine? PM me

a lady talking on her cellphone almost ran me over on the sidewalk the other day as she turned into the parking lot of the grocery store. Funny thing is, SHE got mad at ME -- laid on her horn and yelled "what the fuck are you doing?" So I killed her.

11. thou shalt not run cyclists off the road

You guys are idiots. Clearly the gondola would never survive the avalanches and winds. Sheesh. A "gerbal tube" burried under the snow is what we need. An escalator would take you to the top, where you could step out of a hatch to get your summit photo taken.

I thought this was mildy interesting, so I figured this might be the place to post a link I saw this article on frostbite. Apparently, an anti-coagulant drug used to treat stroke victims is also effective at preventing amputations due to frostbite. I wonder if this drug will find a spot among the medications commonly brought along expeditions.

guilty as charged

This new diet drug is all the craze, apparently -- despite it causing postential "uncontrollable bowel movements" and "gas with oily discharge." WTF is up with all these diet aids? OMFG! JUST STOP EATING FUCKING TWINKIES! "It's probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work," the drug's Web site says.

I really like the offset aliens (Aliens...Oh noes! I'm gonna die!)

holy sphincter!

bump anyone?

Is he going to go off and solve the world's problems now?

Why do I need to dial Big Lou? I thought he had a batman-like signal that SAR could shine against the clouds.

Couldn't agree with you more. Bellevue is a snivveling aristocratic shithole devoid of human substance. A friend of mine was riding his bicycle along 158th on Friday and stopped at a red light. A lady in a BMW next to him got out of her car and told him to "either get a car, or get off the road!" She was probably late for her botox at the Pro Club.

Looking for someone to climb before/after work on Wednesday. I can climb until noon, or from 3 to sunset. .8's and .9's.

I don't think you should cut that tree. It looks like something that somebody might want to rappel off of... Just say'in. I think they should cut it just to prevent people from rapping off it.

You may have won this battle, SMS, but the war has just begun.

Can someone please post dinobot pix so this thread will be awesome? thx

just tuck it into your sock