hefeweizen

Don't listen to those guys. The west ridge is a beautiful route and the enchantments are spectacular (dry, with larches in bloom) this time of year. If you've already done the S. side, the west ridge is well worth it.

Some of you sure put a lot of faith in gri gri's. In my opinion those things do nothing but teach bad habits and are especially dangerous in the hands of a beginning belayer. They are counterintuitive in that you are supposed to basically do nothing when your leader falls and in order to feed slack for a clip you have to hold the camming mechanism in place. I've heard other stories about accidents with these things and I personally know someone who shattered his calcaneous (heel bone) in the gym of all places because of one of these things. He blew a clip while his girlfriend (an inexperienced belayer) was holding down the camming mechanism to feed him slack. Her reaction was to tense up and hang on tight when he fell, thus the rope fed freely and he decked. I can't count how many times I've been walking around at Smith or other sporty areas and seen many belayers standing around jawing with no hand on the rope at all. They have their place, but I personally don't think it's with new belayers.

You are correct. That's why I'm laughing now. Supposedly once I do I wont get to go climbing anymore and I'll spend all my time on websites complaining about how I don't get to climb or do anything anymore because I have children. I did just get married, so I know my days are numbered.

It's okay to laugh... Found this on the site with the hungry kitty that Porter posted in the photos of large housecats thread.

Also from the CPC... NWAC Spring 2007 Newsletter The first link shows a map with regional forecasts for the contiguous US. The second is for the NWAC newsletter which has extensive data correlating strong and moderate La Nina/El Nino events and the resultant snowfall in the Pac NW. It does not seem to suggest dry conditions over the long range for La Nina years. Baker 98-99: strong La Nina~ World Record Snowfall!! Manifest destiny bishess!!

Sweet, I'm really glad that we're all funding this sick f*ck.

This lets me sleep at night.

And everything around it...

STFU!!!!!! WTF!!!!!! OMFG!!!!!! and of course....

PM'd.

Has anyone tried the Rogue Brew 10,000? Their website says it's sold out. I heard rave reviews.

I've got 1 1/2 sets of BD stoppers that have endured abuse for 10 years, they are all still in fine operating condition. I also have a set of DMM's that I really like. I find that the two brands fit in different types of rock better. DMM's for the tuff and other stuff given to weird shapes, the stoppers always get the nod on granite. The BD sizes that I am a happy man when placing: 8,9,10 (fingers).

Have you guys had anything from the Boundary Bay Brewery (B-Ham)? I order that when I can find it around Seattle. Sometimes Whole Paycheck has it and they will order you cases if you ask them to.

A3 pitch? Maybe 1950's A3. We did the same thing, fixing the first two in the afternoon and finishing the next day. I'd recommend this approach if you have the time and aren't hung up on the "one-day ascent."

IMO: it seems to be a selfish psychological drive to have kids in the first place. But hey, that's just me. You're saying that reproduction of the species is a selfish psychological drive? I would've thought it's more of an inherent evolutionary drive.

Well said! Favorite cheap beer? See the avatar. Favorite summer beer? New Belgium Springboard (6.2% and tasty) Favorite winter beer? Snowcap. Favorite beer at 2:30am and the store's closed? Whatevers still in the fridge!

National Stay Out of the Woods Weekend? I've finally learned that the headaches of travelling and the mysterious hords that appear at every TH are just not worth the extra day off. I just take an extra day off on a normal weekend when I need 3. I'll be putting in some QT with the fam and while I watch all the suckers lined up on HWY 2 drive by my house .

DON'T HASSEL THE HOFF!!

It's interesting to see how significant it was in the decision that the masonry floor and hardware were placed without permission. I have to wonder if the outcome would've been different had these improvements been made with consultation to the Washoe and the Forest Service. All in all, they seem to have a valid argument in closing the area to climbing. At least we got Camp 4!

Sounds like all that's missing is the midgets, donkeys, and tequila. Pics?

Don't you want to shoot this thing? Nothin but 107mm love.

SICK MUSIC FESTIVAL

Nobody said that patrolling is the only way to do that. There are certainly other jobs in the ski industry that provide the same mix of snow science, medical service, and flat out good turns. It depends on the individual and what their interests are. If all you want to do is ski, and you don't have any desire to explore those other facets, then of course there are different jobs that allow you to ski more for less work. Being a bartender, for example. I'm just trying to show the other side of the coin to the "blowhards, babysitting, bandaging and bamboo" that you seem to think embodies patrolling.

Do you like skiing every powder day all season? Do you like to blow stuff up? Are you interested in weather and snow science? Do you like waking up early and spending your whole day in the mountains over and over again? I'll admit, there are the days where you feel like a babysitter and have to answer the same questions over and over. They're called weekends. And as far as getting bored with skiing because you're a good skier and you get to do it everyday; I think that would have more to do with the mountain you work at. As long as you are somewhere that provides the kind of terrain you can get busy on, you can catch your line of the day on the way to the base to fill out paperwork on your "babysitting" charge. It's all about staying motivated and realizing that when you start to feel bored, it probably means you need to try a little harder and you will find something new again and again.