tvashtarkatena

It kind of depends on you budget, whether or not you want to climb at high altitude (with the extra acclimation time budgeted in), and what kind of cultural experience you're looking for. Bolivia's Cordillera Real (as well as Peru, but I haven't climbed there personally) is in good shape, route and weather wise, that time of year. Either the capital La Paz (Illimani, Hyana Potosi, Condoriri, Sorata, etc) or small hill town of Sorata (Illampu, Ancohoma, Pico Shutlz, etc) provide good bases of operations there. Otherwise, you really can't go too far wrong anywhere in the lower 48 or lower Canada. Sawtooths (ID), Cascades, Sierras, Wind Rivers, Bugaboos, Tetons, Canadian Rockies, Coast Range...it's a long list.

According to one apostle (Matthew, was it?), all the dead became zombies that night. I believe!

Did Jesus write his name as "Yeshua" in the roman alphabet? Just sayin'....

My setup: 90cm snowblades with Stubai universal bindings. Very light and portable. Total cost: Snowblades $40 (slightly used) + Stubais bindings $65 (slightly used) + custom cut skins from a raw strip $40 + ski crampons $60 + heel lifters $20 + free crampon straps from the REI basement. Some things I've learned about them: They're wonderful for spring conditions where big flotation isn't an issue. Love these things. With skins, they climb as steeply as any other ski. Ski crampons only come so wide. If you want them as an option (obviously very useful), don't get too wide a ski. It's a flotation vs ability to crampon thing/wt thing. With skis this short, stability/flexibility of the binding doesn't matter all that much. These Stubais are about as noodly as it gets, but they still work fine, even in avi debris. Standard ski mountaineering bindings would be huge overkill and, as has been mentioned, pointlessly heavy. Snowblades are so thin that you must 'clamp' the bindings on the ski by countersinking through the ski base and using pancake nuts (available at ski shops), followed by a petex job. Even if the petex comes out of the countersink, you won't really feel the difference...these aren't exactly high performance skis anyway. You can try epoxied threaded inserts and to leave the bases intact if you wish...that system lasted exactly one run for me before the binding screw pulled out and I switched to the aforementioned system. I'm making my own custom universal bindings from some Rivas for a higher flotation, winter pair (the Stubais aren't exactly easy to get). We'll see how that works out.

You can just feel the adventure.

Come out of the Rectory, Ivan!

Come out of the Chloset, Ivan!

Oh, and I didn't watch the snuff flick, you fucked up cunts.

Of course, none of you armchair douchebags knows what's really happening in that video.

This guy is all over the tube. Freakin monster.

Take any more of our shit away and just see what happens.

Yeah, but you can fuck up her freebie wardrobe pretty good.

Such a brood would have to be nuked from space.

Sort of like a giant, whiskey swillin, tibacky smokin, Beowulf spoutin, fuck this, fuck that kind of Jesus. The kind of a Jesus a planet really fucking desperate for a savior might receive.

Celebrities without talent tend to fade away quickly like morning dew. Or Mountain Dew, in Palin's case.

Certainly not a critique, but it would seem that all Sarah Palin cares about is free clothing and catching up on her daytime TV from the comfort of her Walmart jammies (all true, apparently). I really don't think that makes for much of a political Joan of Arc. More like the Shopping Network meets Extremely Cheap Makeover.

We saw them take off from a gentle hillside in Blue Lake Basin. It was more like base jogging.

I wouldn't wipe my ass with a Democratic congressman...to cleanse myself of a Republican congressman even.

Jesus, STFU, you drama queen real world violence...give me fuckin break, man.

Mile 12. Shoot. Somebody's website's wrong. Damn.

If you really give a damn about this issue, write your state legislators and urge them to strongly support marijuana reclassification. It didn't make it in this session, but this multiyear campaign has been steadily gaining support, especially more recently with budget problems and the general realization that the drug war is bunk: Linky

It's spelled with an 'L'.

or the prostitutes, meth dealers or young boys and girls, if recent American Christian behavior is any indication.

And here all this time I've wondering where I put my lawn gnome...

I saw one of those assclown 'marriage = man stick figure + woman stick figure' bumper stickers on an SUV yesterday. I really have to start carrying a baseball bat around.