mkporwit
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Posts posted by mkporwit
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There is indeed a book; it's been out now since 2006. Lots of new routes, anchors, and potential for more. Available only through Mountain Gear that I'm aware of. Rock Climbs of Central WA by Rick LaBelle.
Last I checked the main REI downtown also had copies... that's where I got mine.
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I hadn't read any reports about authorities not wanting to respond. The argument that the technology is flawed (quote from linked article) doesn't make much sense to me... PLBs have been used successfully for emergencies with aircraft and boats for years now. Why should authorities view PLB use in the backcountry any differently then they would PLB use for aircraft and boats?
In addition to the differences between a PLB and a SPOT that Rob enumerated, the circumstances in which an ELT/EPIRB would be activated on a plane/boat are different. On a boat an EPIRB is usually rigged to auto-deploy and activate when it is immersed in water, and when it is immersed in water you already know that the boat and crew are in deep shit. Not much else needs to be said.
The same typically goes for an ELT -- it is activated in case of a crash, where the G forces and impact of the crash itself activate the transmitter. Again, you know that something very serious has gone wrong.
The old ELT system did not transmit GPS coordinates, and had to be triangulated, which led to false alarms when these were sometimes triggered when the aircraft landed a little too hard and shook the device out of its slumber. Often these were resolved by calling the owner of the aircraft and checking if the plane was flying or not. The new ones transmit GPS coordinates and so can be automatically ruled out if the signal is coming from the airport...
The PLB and SPOT do not have fixed criteria for activation -- they are triggered at the decision of their user. As such, they are depended on the intelligence of said user, which, as we all know from reading spray, is highly variable.
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I've been very happy with beating the crap out of my Fuji FinePix F10. Great battery life, good low-light performance, and durable. Takes good pics -- I've blown up some favorites to 8x10 and they look very sharp. Only downside is they use the
card format. The new Fuji cameras have switched to SD. They don't make it anymore, but you should be able to find a refurb on eBay. -
Gunsight, but I don't know which tower. I'm gonna go with East face of South Gunsight?
Given the TR just posted, I'd say this is Castle Peak
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Amen dmuja
Doing the route last fall at the rope-up as a newbie trad leader, these were all things I kept in mind.
Well, except for missing that huge hand hold for the right hand, apparently...
Nothing a quick french free move didn't fix 
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I've climbed with pizza before. Take one of those Trader Joes personal pizzas, bake it, fold it in half and wrap in aluminum foil. Kept for 30 hours without any issue.
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Sierra Designs down booties
Unless it is super melted out, the work very well for me on snow.
I had a pair, don't remember the brand, with Cordura soles which were both fairly water resistant and not slippery, in addition to being fairly light and compressible.
Yep, that sounds like the booties I have
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Sierra Designs down booties
Unless it is super melted out, the work very well for me on snow.
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Trip: Guye Peak - West Face
Date: 8/2/2008
Trip Report:
Four of us went out to do some quick and easy alpine on the West Face of Guye on Saturday. The weather report had called for the clouds clearing by around 11am, so we were hopeful.
We got to Alpental at 7:30 and it was socked in. About 30 minutes later the drizzle we had passed in North Bend caught up with us as we were making our way up the talus slopes. We hit a headwall and started traversing left under it, like the route description says. We found what we thought was the furthest north gully and headed up. The visibility was poor -- probably 100' on average, so we were guessing. We guessed wrong. At ~4200' we decided this was not the way and bailed. We found some rap tat and reused it.
We came to the conclusion that we had come too far north, so we headed back south. After finding what we thought to be the chossy ramp leading up and to the right, we followed it until it narrowed into a class 4 gully. The rock was very loose, and the mist and drizzle made it slick, so the unroped scrambling was attention-getting to say the least. Again we decided this was not the way. This time we figured we were climbing up the Northwest Chimney route, so we bailed off that route. The thought of class 4 slab climbing at the top of the route on this slick crap was not appealing. Two raps, ~20 and ~160' got us down to what we were convinced was absolutely the correct ramp.
We headed up the ramp. And then we came to the realization that we were at what looked like the start of the Improbable Traverse. Not feeling like doing that in mountaineering boots in the rain, we retreated down to the car.
I'll have to come back when the visibility is better so that I can properly locate all the route starts. Photos to follow once I get them, though butt shots in the fog will probably only qualify them for the bad photo contest.
Gear Notes:
Light alpine rack which never left the pack -- 3 large hexes, a set of nuts, and cams in 0.5-2.
Approach Notes:
Steep and loose.
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Blue Angels
in Spray
though I do believe they are in a large phaseout, being replaced by the super hornets and eventually more F-22s. Not that it matters, our "antique" jets (f-14, f-15, etc.) are more advanced than pretty much anything anybody else has. Frankly, i'd imagine our vietnam era jets would outclass most of the world's cobbled together "air forces" for that matter. Russian made jets sit in hangers in maintenance more than they fly.
From the official Blue Angels web site FAQ:
** What is the difference between a Blue Angel Hornet and the new F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet?
The Super Hornet is 25% larger, can fly 40% further, remain on station 80% longer and carry more weapons than its predecessors. The Super Hornet F/A-18 E/F models have deployed with battle groups since 2001. This aircraft is the Navy’s newest acquisition and its advanced technology will be used to carry the fleet into the 21st century.
** Will the Blue Angels fly the Super Hornet?
The decision to transition to the Super Hornet has yet to be determined.
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This vid from yesterday now becomes stunningly apropos...
Well, and for those of you wanting to brush up on the Polish equivalent, "kurwa":
8r3Sq694kg4
What makes this extra funny for a select few on this site that speak Polish well enough is that the guy delivering the talk is a well-known professor of the Polish language and etymology known for his erudite fireside chats on linguistic curios.
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Not tonight, 5K. Gotta give the ol' liver a reprieve sometime, ya know...
You know, sobo, there's research out there that drinking coffee strongly reduces the risk of getting cirrhosis. Perhaps instead of abstinence you should drink (more?) coffee.
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je t'aime moi petite choux
That should probably be "mon petite chou"... if yer gonna use dem furner words, git'em right!
Cabbage?
Yes, literally it means "my little cabbage", but that's just a cheese-eating surrender monkey way of saying "sweetheart" or "love"
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je t'aime moi petite choux
That should probably be "mon petite chou"... if yer gonna use dem furner words, git'em right!
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Checked Januik's website and it appears they're out of the '04 Petit Verdot. They're a fine wine maker, so I'm sure whatever they bottled is well made... if you're not in a hurry you can ask when/if they'll have an '05.
BTW, Januik's Petit Verdot is from Ciel Du Cheval Vineyard (as was Spring Valley's), so it is most definitely grown in Washington.
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Spring Valley Vineyards used to have splits of Petit Verdot that I collected. You can check their website. If they still make it, Pete's was a good source of it. I also picked up some Australian Petit Verdot at Pete's in Eastlake. It was made by Pirramimma.
Other good places to try besides Esquin are:
Pete's (either Eastlake or Bellevue)
Redmond Fine Wine & Cigar (Redmond)
Having said that, Petit Verdot is not known for great taste. The wine is always a fantastically dark color, and the taste almost never lives up to it. The varietal is typically used to add weight to the color of Bordeaux blends. Even well-made examples of it such as Spring Valley are merely OK. I collected it more out of curiosity.
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DMM makes the Shield, not the Helium, which is made by Wild Country (Well, ok, they're both made by the same company in the UK, methinks)...
The Helium is great for draws -- nice wide gate opening, works well when ice climbing and you're clipping with gloves on. I've not had a problem with the gates freezing up. Plus it comes in silver or red, so you know which end goes to the rope and which to the pro. It is a tad cheaper than the Shield, and even cheaper if you buy in five-packs.
I use the Shield for racking. Also an excellent 'biner. From my limited experimentation with it, its shape makes it very difficult if not impossible to crossload. The Shield comes in two anodized colors, but they're too close together to be useful as two ends of a draw.
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Child abuse
in Spray
The real truth is I deserved every goddamned one of those whippings, and if I had not gotten them, I would either be dead or in prison today.Absolutely agree. I got a whipping on maybe fifteen or twenty occasions in my life, and I know (and knew then) why I got each one of those beatings. They were definitely well deserved and got important points across.
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I'll represent for the bigger boys out there
7/18- 262lbs.
Ball sports throughout high school are not conducive to endurance and power to weight activities like climbing and skiing. Newly stated goal is 230lbs. by October 3rd. Feel free to PM me shit to remind me.
Will do... 7/18 -- 244lbs. Down from 254 5 weeks earlier.
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The coldest temperature I experienced was the stare I got when I told my wife that despite having a three month old at home I was planning on going climbing pretty much every weekend in August...
You tend to live life on the edge, don't you? Crazy mutha...
I tried to live on the edge... but as her icy stare chilled me to the bone my balls withered and I cancelled my climbs...
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The coldest temperature I experienced was the stare I got when I told my wife that despite having a three month old at home I was planning on going climbing pretty much every weekend in August...
Beyond that... -30 plus some crazy windchill on a winter climb of Mt. Washington, NH.
[TR] Mt. Baker - North Ridge 8/4/2008
in North Cascades
Posted
Rides on choppers operated by government agencies of various sorts are generally free regardless of nationality. This would apply to the military, county SAR groups and helos under contract to the NPS.
Where financial ramifications kick in is when you switch to something like LifeFlight or some other air ambulance. Those you pay for, and dearly. When we did SAR in Yosemite, the NPS chopper would do the extraction, deposit the subject in the valley, and a LifeFlight chopper would take over from there. The NPS helo did not transport the subject to definitive medical care as it was too far and it was needed for other possible emergencies.
Here it is a little different, as the military will fly people to Madigan AFB or Harborview.