tvashtarkatena

I could have used something like this on a massive scree slog down in the Sierras back in Oct. I munched on Clif Bloks but clearly not enough- cramping that demanded stopping and eating for a while. Sometimes I feel like I'm not hard enough when I'm munching all kinds of gels and snacks and hydrating during a climb and a partner is barely taking anything in and gets kind of sullen towards the end of the day... The true hard men neither eat nor drink. Ever. Many don't sleep, either. If you find yourself eating and drinking during anything less than a 36 hour continuous push, you might think about taking up scuba diving.

Well, SWA, studies of top endurance athletes have shown that bacon cheese burger cravings are really just a masked homoestatic response to dangerously low blood alcohol. This condition can lead to a thickening of the blood, feelings of general dissatisfaction, poor humor, timidness among members of the opposite sex, and excessive longevity. It can become dangerous, should your partner take extreme exception to your incessant whining. By all means, have the bacon cheese burger, but don't kid yourself that you've addressed the root cause of your condition; you need to elevate your blood alcohol level as soon after cravings begin as possible.

Adventure racing.

Mallory was both gymnast and nudist.

Annabelle? I fucked her.

<+):=@

Electrolyte pills will get rid of those exclamation points for ya.

typo corrected.

As opposed to old style salt pills, which you can also purchase, which are not balanced for humans.

You can purchase them online or at bike stores. Ecaps and Endurolytes are two brands. They are electrolytes balanced for humans. Running out of electrolytes is the most common problem endurance athletes encounter. This condition can manifest itself as cramping, fatigue, clumsiness, fuzzy thinking, thirst (common) and hunger. There are no negative side affects; this is stuff your body needs to function. Anecdote: when I first started training for AR, I ran a 25 mile trail with about 11,500' of gain. I didn't use electrolyte pills. About 15 minutes after I finished, I experience massive cramping in my legs and back (from using trek poles). Not fun. I started using electrolyte pills. Six weeks later I ran an 80 mile race (including mtn. biking and white water) with 16,000' of gain. 25 hours of continuous motion. Not one cramp.

Tired, moldy reduxs are not appropriate in this hallowed hall of the greats, KKK. If you cannot rise the appropriate level of respect, you're not welcome here: Quietly leave a donation and slink out the side door.

New pics up in original posting.

Your turn, Billcoe. I love Christmas. Good times!

Voted best not by a hard man? Don't sell yourself short, buddy, although I'm certainly not in the Hall of Fame league, either.

Wow. If that joke wasn't obvious enough....

Kidnap, torture and rape. Please fill out this HR complaint form, ma'am. Here's a free company pen. This is what happens when you do not hold private contractors to the same legal standards as uniformed personnel, and then throw an opaque 'national security' blanket over them. No accountability. If this were an isolated incident, it would be one thing. According to several independent reports, including one by the International Committee of the Red Cross, it is anything but.

I've never quoted my dad on this forum. We have a philosophical difference. I don't bat for either team, the 'team' idea is the route of the problem. In this new age of resource depletion and global climate change, like it or not, we're all one big team now, and we'd better figure out how that's going to work or we're all fucked. Culturally, Iran is as close to the U.S. as a Middle Eastern country gets. We've both squandered that relationship in recent years; it's time to re-establish it. Regarding N. Korea, I'd say Chinese dissatisfaction had more to do with Kim's acquiescence than our military presence, which is really a trip wire, but the influence of that presence is duly noted. As always, I'd suggest anyone interested in the cost of the Vietnam war on the U.S. economy do their own research and draw their own conclusions. I've done it before; don't want to spend the time to do it again. It's a piece of widely accepted economic history.

There was a time, long ago, when the well appointed alpinist didn't resemble a NASCAR racer. A time before "The North Face" came to mean "card me", "Patagonia" came to mean "Can I give you my Windemere card?", and "LoweAlpine" came to mean "I couldn't afford the Patagonia". A simpler time, before GTX, Stealth C4, and Modest Mouse. A time when climbing required not much more than a thrift store and a sewing machine. I now present Runway of the HardMen: Don in your basic blue down jacket, boots, and gaitors, accessorized with cabby cap, a Woodbine, and a flask, with Chris echoing. Bring back Basic! RR, too, had a thing for jaunty headgear Whatever happened to the sweater? Gaston lived his motto like few others: "The bigger the hair, the closer to God." Can you get a German to keep his clothes on? Herman a half a century before his time in patched cargos. Fred sporting the "I just escaped from a gulag" look, with nickers you could bivvy in. From prisoner to cop: Fred was, and still is, a full spectrum dresser, never to be assimilated. Yvon, before his 'form fitting' period. Lou looking strong in the primaries. King of Cotton: The Bad Boy of Big breaks all the rules with his apre-ascent wear, still readily available at a Goodwill near you. Fred pays homage to Gaston and Lou in his latest signature sweater, which nevers fails to draw a comment or two from Canadian waitresses. No accessorizing required Tenzing in aviators and Sir Edmund in classic glacier goggles and bomber style earmuffs George Mallory, best dressed of them all:

One more thing that hasn't been mentioned. Hypoglycemic people tend to get a little 'scratchy', or bitchy, as we say in the AR biz. Why put your partner through that?

Strong work. Beautiful spot.

Bullseye. With the singular exception of WWII, when were were the only economy left standing, wars are a get rich quick scheme for a slice of the economy at the expense of the majority of the economy. In addition to much of the products made being destroyed, much of the production tooling, expertise, etc. that normally evolves continuously in the commercial world is thrown into the trash bin after the conflict is over. Pay a few Pauls now; a lot of Peters pay later.

Lillooet. Used to be a nice small town in the middle of inter-mountain nowhere. I just hate what's happened to the place.

Clarification: I never posited a cause for the teetering American economy. What is more relevant in this discussion is the affect a new war, a probably several new wars, would have on the U.S. debt burden, which is a major determinant for the availability of credit, which is a major determinant for economic health. Military spending has been the most significant factor in increasing our debt burden. It is squarely in the center of our economic woes. Regarding the highly disputed Iranian operatives in Iraq: the Kurds, with our blessing and probable material support, have been killing Iranians on Iranian territory for well over a decade now. As insulting as it may be, that seems like a minor game of tit for tat better negotiated away than a justification for global conflagration. The U.S. needs to take it's Zero Tolerance stick out of it's ass and do the following: Accept that Hamas will need to be part of any Palestinian/Israeli peace negotations. This means that the counterproductive 'terrorist organization' list goes away in the face of modern day reality. Resolving this is central to any regional stability. Begin several party talks with the Iranians included to establish a regional plan for a return to stability and figure out what the Iranians want in exchange for a pledge to keep their nuclear program on ice. The reality is that Iran will have a major influence over it's Iraqi neighbors long after we're gone. We're going to need to accept that reality, because there's really nothing we can do about it. Disengage from the middle eastern oil tit as quickly as possible. If this means reducing military spending, and I don't see how it will not, so be it. The mullahs in Iran may be there for some time to come, but I'm-a-dinner-jacket and his hard line buddies, who have fallen out of favor with even the Holy Ones, will probably not be in a job much longer. This presents a political opportunity. The Iranians understand our military threat. OK, fine. It's now time for the U.S. to capitalize on the negotiating clout it's gained with that threat, preferably before our loony toon president leaves office and the opportunity is missed. Will that happen? Probably not. With the one notable exception of N. Korea, Bush has proven himself time and time again unable to play checkers, nevermind chess.

There, that's better:

I think the ad agency responsible was just old school: