dougd

That blows...

Very nice work fellas. Thanks for sharing. The condition of the ledges look similar to last 04/05Jun, plenty of snow filled in... Great pics. Nice to see a winter TR in for Rainier! d

Great advice from a guy who has been there. Hope Rick heeds it. d

Reserve America took over control of access at Tilly Jane Cabin 20Dec11 from the Oregon Nordic Club. Are you trying to working through them and getting the run around? d

Yes, very interesting article. Thanks for sharing it. OW hits on an important point IMO. Amending (updating) our constitution is pretty tough... Article V "The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate." Would improvement lie somewhere between simple majority, and the above requirement, considering the need for relevance of this document in todays society? I think so. Just where is the right balance of difficulty and necessity of change? Whom decides this and how? Do we leave it to todays so called "leaders"? I think not. And to Pat's point, albeit brief, but no less important. Given the interpretation by many in this country that the second amendment's provision that "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." means that common citizens have the right to possess (and from time to time use them to mow down large quantities of their fellow citizens), modern military style assault weapons when we have a perfectly good "militia" we now refer to as the US Military speaks to the anachronistic nature of this document. I believe that were the founders to know of how it is today it would not be so. Yes, in my opinion, the US Constitution is outdated and needs changing. Given today's top to bottom polarized society, amending the Constitution isn't going to happen again in my lifetime. Further, given the current makeup of the Supreme Court the final word on interpretation of the Constitution, I have little faith that any positive change will be forthcoming. So, here we sit... d

The latest on one of em... http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2012/02/mount_hood_climber.html

That's it, I'm movin to DC... d

A baseball metaphor seems appropriate here. Swinging at every pitch is unwise. This is an easy pitch to pass on. Just let it go... d

Mark Richey. http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/mark_richey_to_receive_aacs_top_award/ Wanted to be among the first to congratulate Mark. Here's a guy who's been at it a long time, is still getting it done at a very high level, and getting his due per the AAC. Nice to see. d

Sobo, you should check out this book. Homer's Odyssey, by Gwen Cooper d

That is true for most. I think that's why I chose Alaska to live at this point in my life. We're a certain rare breed up here and the Lower 48 mentality doesn't really apply to us. Maybe we are all self absorbed to some degree... In Interior Alaska what I like is that folks are sure willing to help and go out of their way: We help folks get diesel for their stove if they run out at 50 below, offer to help light a fire under cars when there oil pan heater goes out, help to haul water if their car won't start, offer a gun or bear spray if they go out in the bush to help with grizzly protection, help the neighbor cut up his moose, and make sure his dogs are fed and watered if he's out of town. We run 50K's to raise money for folks with cancer and leukemia.... good people up here...I just can't seem to care much about politics is all. I agree helping the next guy is helping ones country. I'm happy to say I see similar things happening where I live all the time. "Be the change you want to see in the world" Gandhi That's some heavy shit right there. I may have to change my signature now. Gonna be tough to move Muir out though... Finally I will say I believe apathy to be one of our worst enemies, very close to extremism of all kinds. d

So now I know... yikes

I agree.....too bad we have not had one of those in a while. not so sure about - there's a hell of a lot of twits in this here republic. Yeah, law of averages... d

any word when that's coming out? I'm definitely into seeing that one when it comes out. Would be nice to know when to have the DVR set... Matching shirt and rope, the complete ensemble! d

The ID was in in March last year, that changed in late May however... White River road didn't open to the CG until like May 27 or 28th?... Could be different this year but probably not much different if at all. Going from the WR CG to Schurman was a long slog in early June last year. Wonder how many miles would add from the closure to Schurman... No, I don't wanna know... d

I also have serious doubts about whether my vote matters or not but at the same time I cannot bring myself to just quit voting like some I know have done. I certainly do understand why people just turn away though. It's tough right now but democracy has never been easy. Our system of representative government remains the best one I can see but it has become rotten with corruption, distorted with selfish ideas of those in power and many people are losing confidence in the government. Doing the right thing for the country has become less important to leadership than personal gain it seems. People want change but nobody seems to know how to affect change... Change to me would include real immigration reform including amnesty for those already in our country. I thought bush had the right idea on immigration reform but that bill was defeated by a "bi partisan" group of so called leaders in 2007... Reducing if not eliminating corporate influence in government (fat chance of that happening), taking away the ability of elected officials to invest in companies possibly influenced by pending legislation, sunsetting, finally, the bush tax cuts for the rich, the return of the Glass Steagall Act (ie: the Volker rule) and adoption of most if not all of the Deficit Reduction Committee's recommendations to name a few. My thinking is the guy we have now is most likely to make a real effort to get some of these things done. But this split congress needs to be fixed before any chance is to be had for this kind of change to occur. I have favored split congresses in the past but we've seen what has happened. It cannot work in the politically poisoned environment we have now. What is important to y'all? d

Oh yeah, that's a happy happy post yesserreee For the record, I care, and I participate, no matter how difficult it is at times. It's how representative government works. Not perfect, not pretty, ie: your government, like it or not. No worries mate, the rest of us will take up the slack. d

The different ways in which folks view the world would certainly be very interesting were it not so sad these days. We, and unfortunately for all of us, our political "leaders", prefer to fiddle while rome burns than to fix any goddamned thing... Health Care Reform being one notable exception IMHO and in the opinion btw of the majority of the country if you can believe polls. d

How much is Newt's moon colony going to cost? On the bright side there won't be a shortage of cheese. Newt's moon colony "idea" officially rings in the silly season. Anyone entering the political arena in America should have their head examined. d

That can't be right! Must have been cheney's fault... lol

Indeed. Hopefully in a couple weeks I can get back out and have a look see... d

Thanks for the pics and report on the spur. Not gonna be in for a while looks like... d

Far from a "spraylord" here, but glad to wish Anastasia a very happy birthday. Here's lookin' at you kid d

An Abbey-ism if ever I saw one...

That is a really nice link Dane. A lot of wisdom found by this man in his life in the mountains that we would all do well to contemplate. A life well lived. RIP d