tvashtarkatena

the BD spectres would come in handy on very chandeliered, brittle ice where a lot of hooking is required. Such ice might not take screws at all, or require a major excavation to get to reliable ice. Here's an example from this weekend I encountered (on top rope): You're hooking a chandelier overhang which won't take screws from a shelf. The nearest screw placement is at your feet. I can see hooking a Spectre up high in the chandelier to keep from hitting that shelf if your tool pops.

The Iranians I've worked with have all been great folks, but if I have to hate them for my country, I suppose that's the sacrifice freedom sometimes requires.

Go away, kid, ya bother me.

The technology revolution coupled with resource depletion are ignited a new spurt in human evolution. Since the dawn of agriculture humans have selected for potential for their relative productive capacity within their localized society. Resource depletion can no longer support a system of prosperity and pro-creative desirability that is coupled with human labor and therefore population growth, however. The planet will soon have to de-populate, so a future system of prosperity that is decoupled from human labor will be created. The advent of artificial, creative intelligence and self replicating technologies will decouple prosperity from human labor, allowing de-population not only to occur, but to be favored by policy. Public policy, the ethics of sustainability, and economics will discourage large families. A gay lifestyle will not only become accepted, but encouraged. Gay marriages will flourish, produce more offspring, and the gay gene pool will expand. An increase in homosexual voter numbers will reinforce policies that encourage homosexuality; a positive feedback loop that will result in a natural selection for gay genes. In short, homosapiens will become more homo over time. In contrast, those who in the present world survive by physical labor, which will be less valuable over time, will become increasingly less desireable as mates. Their relative numbers will diminish. The goatee and mullet genes will eventually be bred out of the population. Similarly, the Born Again and Far Right genes, painfully obsolete even now, will also simply be bred out of the population. Genetic engineering will, of course, be employed to accelerate this process as the those in power become increasingly impatient with those who cling to the resource depletion model of human progress. Eventually, humankind will become a race of tall, buff, hip, hyper sensitive, giggly, well dressed metro-sexual liberals with a passion for gardening, collecting antique trucker paraphenalia and yelling at the robot help. When the nanobots finally take over, they won't know what hit them.

Go git 'em: Ice pitons at Sierra Trading Post

My people wouldn't know much about that. We're Irish; a not-peaceful people who repeatedly got our ass kicked by other not-peaceful peoples. We still managed to outbreed the best of them.

Could you possibly be suggesting that hanging from tools is good training for hanging from tools? I'm on it. After Lillooet, that got added to my project list for this week. A progression of pull ups till failure, then a lock off till failure, then just hanging on as long as possible, would probably max out lats, then biceps, then grippers in that order.

UR READING COMPREHENSION. U BROKED IT. Uh, nope. My reading comprehension still appears to be fine. Your OCD response still doesn't connect the dots, brah.

Not since Nixon have we had such a Dick in high office. Where, exactly, did you ski (don't know where 21 Pines is). I'd like to go into the Scottish Lakes side after some freshies get laid down. Much better terrain on that side.

That jus mean dat evvybody got a piece o yo mamma fo da las 2000 yeahs, bro.

Jesus, you guy's don't need grip strength, you need tethers to keep your stick insect asses earthbound.

You guys have got to see this really cool German commercial...let's see if I can find it....

The article says that we don't know what's been happening with evolution in the last 2000 years. Hmmm, nothing much has happened in the technology/human migration/ interaction standpoint in that time; humans must be continuing to evolve as they were back then. Point of order for us blue eyed mutants; the article also didn't state that there were no blue eyes 5000 years ago.

Fuck you, fast fingers.

!!!!!??????

See? This is what happens when you put a drunk frat boy in the driver's seat of the Armada. Everybody gets a piece of the action.

A thought from the low climbing standard perspective.... I've incorporated an Ivanko Vicegripper into my weight lifting routine so I can hang on to an ice tool on steeper stuff longer. I just got it, so it's too early to gauge any effect. The weight training itself, however, turned me from a slob who couldn't hang on to his ice tools for 30 feet of WI 5 to a slob who can do laps on longer routes of the same grade. I still suck, but now I suck with some hope of a better future. Night and day. Grip endurance is a common weak point for alot of ice climbers. Alot of times you know exactly what you need to do to move up, but you just can't hang on any longer.

Spraying about the American economy tanking from Canada is like laughing at the Titanic sinking from a lifeboat chained to its hull. As we go, so shall thee, brother. Good luck with that.

It was my second try, so it was like losing two wars... ...except that I don't have to blow a trillion dollars on a rematch.

I've posted one more avi panorama for you.

I'll have pic CDs at the Christmas pub club this Thu for the folks on the trip, so show up!

I was solo on the last two backcountry trips, so no partner considerations. I carry a Canon Powershot on my waist belt, so shooting doesn't take long. If I'm going to dweeb a while on some macro shots, I just let my partner(s) go ahead and catch up with them when I'm done. I don't use a tripod, so even macros go quickly. In any case, I've never had a problem in this regard. Most people are more than happy to be the star in a hero shot now and then.

Many places in Canuckia have dropped calculating the exchange rate when you pay in greenbacks, so you make, like, 1.5 cents on every dollar you spend. It's awesome. Got git some.

The Earth might be hit with an asteroid. We should weaponize the space shuttle ASAP.

Gripper exercizers are great for ice climbing. Remember, there's more than just rock out there.