tvashtarkatena

You and every other humorless twit out there. If ya wants it moved, rent a truck and good luck. Otherwise, suck it!

Thar, she beckons!

HA. I drove the Scarab Tacoma-Seattle last night through the thick of it. I 5 was littered with the frozen bodies of the damned. I maneuvered around them like the unfeeling insect I am. In nature there are only the medalists and the dead.

Delbene probably hasn't a clue as to what's in it. That's common.

It's hard to tease out what Delbene's objections to the bigger bill are. She failed to explain even one of them.

Three simple tricks for measuring 3 critical slope angles a skier might care about. You can eyeball perpendicularity to within +/- a couple of degrees or so. Slope Angle w Ski Poles by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr

-20F before the high windchill yesterday at HLP, and 20F in the S. Fork. That's weird.

You can't swing a dead bobcat without hitting a NWsterner who claims they've been stalked by a cougar. Cats are not exactly the kind of thing that keeps an ice climber up at night unless Tabby has a habit of curling up on your face or using your screamers for scratchin' posts. Show me a North American cat that won't exit stage Fuck This if you run right at it screaming and I'll show you a dead North American cat.

Russians do not seem to like the idea of being stalked by a mountain lion, so, as you can imagine, I talked that shit up for a while.

Your TR's are crack. Five stars all going nova and shit for this action. Didn't know there were any real climbers in d Phinney Range.

Just cat tracks. Too small for a cougar. Most likely a bobcat (lynx rufus). There's a resident wolverine around Stehekin, according to some folks I met who study them.

Regarding lodging, the Double Diamond X bunkhouse (sleeps up to 6) was $37 per a night before the 10% AAC discount. Best you're gonna do it Cody is about $20-25 a night per. Do the math with gas, time, and quality of life and it makes little sense to stay in Cody (IMO) unless you really hate cooking for yourself, love winter driving after a long day, or can't be away from a mini mart for longer than 24 hours. The smell alone is worth giving Cody a miss. The ranch also has at least one 2 bed cabins for 127 and a five bed house w full kitchen (bunkhouse has a hot plate, microwave, toaster oven, coffee maker, and full sized fridge) for 195 a night. No limit of persons staying in either. They are working on providing food and drink. The Ranch is a mile from the Hunter Ck/S Fork junction, and 7 mi from the end of the S Fork road. Pretty much a perfect location.

There was no shortage of feisty dinner plates... Looked for studs for the Scarab but time and cost (weird sized tires - a whole new set of tires/wheels would have been required) nudged us towards the road tested Snowshark, even if it warmed the planet a wee bit more. Comfy enough ride - cruise control, decent heater, adequate cargo space. Plus it was fun cruising the very same snowy roads as the few $50K+ SUVs we saw in the valley. That, and the Scarab sports the Bronco colors. Guess I gotta be careful about that these next few weeks. Don't wanna get run over by a Duck.

Trip: Sub Zero Zen in the Land of Furry White Asses - South Fork, Shoshone River - Cody WY Date: 1/28/2014 Trip Report: Main Vein by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr There are three steps to assessing an ice pitch: 1-The Approach: “Oh God, that looks terrifying” 2-The Base: “This doesn’t look so bad” 3-Halfway Up: “Oh God, this is terrifying” But you’ve gotten yourself treed on something that is shattering and fracturing in great, skritchy columns that cock for an inch and come to rest on a thumb sized nubbin of frozen dirt. The ice is blue-brittle, the feet imaginary, the rock you seek refuge on crumbles beneath your front points, and the cruelest irony of all: despite the Enceladusian temperatures, the sun is melting your screws out, one by one. Not that they’d hold, anyway. There’s nowhere to go but up, so up you go, using every trick, every cheat, every breathing technique, every appeal to an indifferent universe you can muster. And suddenly, both crampons are crunching through low angle snice, and your self-inflicted battle with the universe’s most ubiquitous and fickle medium is over as quickly as it began. You exhale. Gravity releases a growing smile. It's your belayer’s turn. The first pitch of Main Vein is seldom in. It’s still hard to say whether it was in or not during our final day of climbing in the South Fork of the Shoshone River. There is a rock bypass, which reputedly offers up its own set of horrors. I suppose a pitch like that does serve a purpose – to let you know that it’s time to go home. Carter Mountain by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr Save a brief visit from our host Matt of the Double Diamond X Ranch, we saw no one for our first two days in the South Fork of the Shoshone River. That’s not to say the place is devoid of life. It’s a frozen petting zoo of bighorns, white tail deer, elk, eagles, red tail hawks, ravens, ouzels, magpies, ducks, great horned owls, lynxes, coyotes, foxes, rabbits – I’m just naming what we saw or heard – to that add grizzlies, mountain lions, pronghorns, moose...I’ve never seen wildlife density like it anywhere. The mountains surrounding the valley are stunning – and full of ice. Hey There, Ice Climber by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr On Second Thought, Think of the Children by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr Matt and Jeanine own and operate the Double Diamond X Ranch, our home for the week and the clearly superior alternative to staying in some dumpy motel in rotten-egg reeking Cody - an hour commute each way – if the road is clear, that is. Staying in the valley allows one to become immersed in its silence and solitude – even more so if sub zero temperatures and snow conspire the keep other ice pilgrims away. Home at the Double Diamond X Ranch by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr High On Boulder by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr The river crossing to High On Boulder was mostly frozen; only a couple of punch through slushies. The climb itself was in excellent condition save some delicate and brittle crux ice (shown). Cabin Fever by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr Cabin Fever, as I discovered on lead, was not quite as solid as our previous objective. I knew something was up when water spurted out of my pick strike like a struck artery – then it snapped into focus – the entire flow save some WI6 icicles to the right was only an inch thick and visibly flowing on its inside surface. It certainly wasn't going to take screws - and probably not me, either. Fortunately, I was only 15 feet up and could easily back off of it and save it for another day. Temperatures were, indeed, low. I led with 4 merino layers, a micropuffy, and a windshirt, and was barely holding my own with that. The amphitheatre, far from protecting from the spindrift laden wind, acted as a wind scoop. Still, it’s a spectacular place and the posthole in and out provided a scenic workout. Postholing back from Cabin Fever by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr After our experience on Cabin Fever, we were ready for a sure bet, and we got one with the wonderful, moderate butter ice on Bozo’s Revenge. It didn’t come hassle-free, however. Snice and sub zero temperatures provided challenges that the climbing itself did not. Snicing up to Bozo's Revenge by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr Bozo's Revenge by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr Post-Bozo's Revenge Saunter by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr Untitled by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr I should mention our vehicle – the Snow Shark, complete with a full set of Craigslist acquired I’Zen Studs and world’s dimmest low beams. That thing really ate up the snowy roads, though, even if it had to burn a bunker’s worth of fuel doing it. Snowshark Sighting by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr The Special Love I Have For You (crux section, Main Vein) by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr Sunday Afternoon by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr Cold Crescent by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr For me, the South Fork was as much about its beauty and solitude as the climbing. I fell in love with the place. A frightening final climb effectively pushed me out of that nest, but I have a feeling I’ll return - winter and summer, for the rest of my life. After Cody, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to tolerate the tourististan that is Canmore, but to each his or her own, I reckon. Parting Shot - South Fork of the Shoshone River by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr After a tough drive, DougD and his gracious wife Catherine were kind enough to put us up, feed us a wonderful dinner and breakfast, and provide excellent company and conversation in Spokane – which logged impressive 4 F temperatures the following morning. Thank you both for that. Scenic Montana by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr Gear Notes: Feet: large fitting Scarpa Mont Blancs with two pairs of thick Smartwool socks worked well for me, Scarpa Phantom Guides with 2 pairs of thinner wool socks were a bit too chilly for Nastia. Hands: Seirus neoprene liner gloves inside and XL OR Vert gloves for leading, OR Alti mitts for approaches/belaying. Pants: I used Icebreaker boxers, the thinnest Smartwool long johns, and REI ACME pants. Nastia went with a merino baselayer and primaloft pants. Top: I wore the thinnest Icebreaker short sleeve T, Ibex Indie Hoody, a $10 merino sweater from Goodwill, a Montbell UL hooded down puffy, and a light windshirt. Added an extra merino midlayer for the really cold day at Cabin Fever - plus a big assed puffy for standing around that day. My gear kept me comfy enough. Approach Notes: Snow shoes would have come in handy for the Cabin Fever approach. Not so much for any of the others. Skis not recommended. Not enough coverage, too many rocks.

Repeating the request for a Pan Dome update, if anyone's been up there. Thx

Diluting the hate, one star at a time.

Two words: Hut system. Go Euro or go home.

flat belayer reqd for max R

tree+pig=trebuchet. check my math here.

Full on spring corn and weather up there this weekend. Anybody with spring ski traverse plans should just get on that action right now.

I'm gonna try to verify with some actual route info to see what the longest horiz penjis are out there. Don't know if you can do the 45 deg. thing in practice on too many routes. Can also come up with a generalized equation for that ultra nerd. Hittin the road for a bit, back later. Any steps missing in drawings should be easy to figure out. I just drew the essential states required to royally hose oneself regarding a safe retreat.

Redux, with screaming pendiz. These are the only ways I could think of to do this with one rope. R = max horizontal distance between the pendi fulcrum and the next anchor assuming both are at the same elevation, if only one rope is used. This is a specific case where you're penjiing over to a spot directly horiz to anchor 1 at max angle of 45. Not sure how much you can push that angle practically speaking. Depends I reckon. Also, if anchor 1 is higher, horiz reach is farther. If its lower, less. This is a specific case for horiz reach = vert between anchor 1 and fulcrum Method 1 Pro: Faster, good if EZ down low, horiz reach 17m Con: Dangler cn snag while leader penjiz, 2 fulcrums Method 2 Pro: Good if EZ up high, no dangler snag, 1 fulcrum Con: Slower, horiz reach only 15m PenjiLand2 by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr

Both leader and follower must pendulum in the both methods I've drawn. Nobody gets out alive. I didn't show anybody actually swinging and screaming is all.

Agreed. Volunteer service is just what it sounds like - you're not getting compensated in any way for your service. And that's the basic question here - are donations covering the costs of YOUR activities outside the core mission of the charity, or are you being reimbursed for expenses incurred doing that core mission? If the former, you're just asking for someone to pay for your vacation, plain and simple. In essence, you're unreported overhead for that charity. One could argue that the PR value would collect donations that wouldn't otherwise be made, but I can guarantee you that if this climbing team spent the same amount of time and effort in direct funding raising efforts - phone banking, outreach, key donor relationship building, etc, they'd collect a lot more $$$ for that charities core mission with much lower overhead.

This assume you've got only one rope, per the OP. Method 1 Pro: Faster, good if EZ down low, horiz reach 17m Con: Dangler cn snag while leader penjiz, 2 fulcrums Method 2 Pro: Good if EZ up high, no dangler snag, 1 fulcrum Con: Slower, horiz reach only 15m PenjiLand by PatGallagherArt, on Flickr