Maine-iac

I just got called back for the second round of interviews (well maybe third, since there was a phone interview, then a panel/scenario interview), and I am unsure what to expect.... How does a second round really differ from a panel/initial interview? Do I need to prepare any differently? It is for a job in the medical field, and this will be the last interview before a decision is made about hiring. Thanks.

Read this: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/407640 then this: http://www.mdconsult.com/books/page.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-03228-5..50006-9&isbn=978-0-323-03228-5&uniqId=311447894-154 If the second link does not work do a Google search for Paul Auerbach's Wilderness Medicine and read about altitude related illnesses.

Would any running shoe work for you? They typically weight 8-11oz per shoe and give a fair amount of support. The climbing in them is not fantastic.... but I have hopped many boulders in mine. Trail approaches are easy and even with a pack packed for a few days I have never had any issues.

Only travel in Alaska or remote areas in N. Cascades. Drink right out of the streams.

Up in alaska when doing multi day trips (fly in access only) our company had a few of them so that they could keep tabs on how the groups were doing. Each day we would get an update as to their location. This was really handy if we had to reschedule an air taxi or plan on a quick turn around for guides because they got held up by weather or injury. All of the pilots that I knew up there also used them, because you can have it send out your location every few minutes, and those small planes don't have emergency beacons in them. The only bad thing I knew of was one of the pilot's spots kept sending out the help message repeatedly, but other than that they all liked them.

Slow day at work? You do realize now that when you go to the doctors you will have to tell that story to the triage nurse, a student (maybe even two), a tech, the nurse, and all of those people will go to the doctor laughing about what you did, then the doctor will come and listen already thinking you are a bit of an idiot. But since CC is such a caring community- do let us know how it plays out.

Interesting thing from Will Gadd about the spot and spot connect: http://gravsports.blogspot.com/2011/09/quick-notes-on-spot-system.html

Current one-2011. 12 people died in 2010 because of a rappel error.

interesting write up, with some good pictures, about this topic in accidents in north american mountaineering. make sure to have this one figured out before weighting it in real life.

Really?? You have a few options of what a Kiwi could be- either a bird, fruit, or person from New Zealand. My guess is that, since the subject is actually in the photos, they are talking about somebody from NZ. Anyways, great photos! What type of camera are you using?

Yeah not too sure if I would advise the use of an epi-pen for that...... You were stung near your right eye correct (and didn't swell up for hours)? Did you experience any shortness of breath, mouth swelling (tongue or airway), wheezes, hives or any other full body reactions? An epi-pen is for an anaphylactic reaction, and a swollen eye isn't one. One thing to consider, that nobody seems to be aware of, is that an epi-pen used during true anaphylaxis will only give you about 15 minutes of extra time, then you will lapse back into the reaction. Something that everybody who carries an epi-pen should also carry is Benadryl, as that is the stuff that works to block the histamine receptors. If you got stung again, and had a similar reaction, i'd take the benadryl before I punched the epi-pen. The epi-pen opens your airway and has nothing to do with the allergic reaction you are having, it is the Benadryl that saves your life in the long run. (Here is the cover my ass portion, I am not a doctor, but I am training to be a paramedic, so do what you want with what i say, but if your doctor says otherwise listen to him/her)

I notice a big difference in how I feel with the diet and how well hydrated I am prior to any climb. Being dehydrated mimics AMS quite well, so making sure to be hydrated before the climb always helped me, and then having regular intervals where I stop and grab a sip seem to help. Also being well rested clearly makes a big difference. One thing all my coaches said was it is not the night before the event that matters, it is the night before the night of the event that matters. So if you are climbing on saturday thursday is the key night. Another tip is pressure breathing. Every few minutes, typically when I am going hard, just take a few deep breaths and force the air out through pursed lips to really empty your lungs. Altitude sickness of any sort is all about hypoxia (which is what the drugs work against by stimulating you to breath faster), so really working on your air exchange will help. Obviously, the longer you are at some sort of altitude the better you will feel, so on Hood try to get to the carpark as early as you can and just relax in T-line before you go to sleep. e.g. if you get out of work at 4pm on a friday and you are going to climb at 2am, aim to be in the lot by 6pm and just hang out. For some of those bigger climbs like Rainier I would suggest the same thing- spend a night in the carpark before even going to Muir (Don't spend it in Ashford though as the elevation there is only 1k). But the single largest thing I have found to be helpful is being hydrated and fueled to go.

Yeah getting to Katahdin will probably be a little tricky. Not many people hitch hike in Maine, and even less hitch hike in those parts (unless they are standing besides an AT trailhead). Here is a blog for a buddy of mine who is hitchhiking to the extreme. http://www.velabas.com/ Maybe have a look through and see if that helps you out any. I know people that have gone from OR to Vegas and that seemed to work alright... One thing that is fun to do is take the train across the country. For a reasonable price you can buy an unlimited month long rail pass and go anywhere in North America during that month.

Not sure if this is the correct forum for this.... But, I found a Gu in my pack that says "Best before 05/06" Think it's still good? It is orange flavored if that affects your opinion at all.

I carried a gun for almost all my trips where I saw bears does that count? If I live or travel a lot again in an area with a large bear population I'll either buy a gun or have spray.

At the headwaters of a lake where I was doing a 3 day solo hike. This was just the first print that I saw- they turned out to be everywhere. I really made sure to cook in a different location than where I slept! This beauty caught us off guard right around breakfast time. This picture is not zoomed in and the bear was probably 30m away. The bear walked into the bushes just to its left and started scratching its back on a tree. At this point we made sure all the group members were there. One person was missing (taking the kids to school if you catch my drift) but as the bear was leaving his scratching post we noticed where he was!! It was only later that I noticed i caught him in my photos (Note look for something yellow in the upper right corner- he is also about 30m away, but was almost caught with his pants down.

I think you really need to decide what binders you will be using which may limit your boot choice. Why do you say that? Most, if not all touring, boots are compatible with both dynafit and normal bindings. Unless you buy a dynafit or tele specific boot you shouldn't have any problems. The big question that I think you face is are you touring to ski something or are you touring to climb something. That will make a difference in the type of boot you buy. I would not want to wear a super lightweight touring boot to ski something gnarly, but that is just me. Make sure you spend some time with the boots because doing a 10 mile tour then walking 5 miles on the road really sucks if you boots are not anything but a slipper on your foot. Then think about the binding, spend a little to make sure it is not some plastic POS, then get your skis.

Alright I'm flying into Geneva- that sounds the most straight forward. Just a few questions. I assume since Cham is the hub of all outdoor activities that I'll easily be able to get MSR canister fuel. I would really prefer not to have to go out and buy a liquid gas stove and buy liquid gas there, and instead just buy a canister there. The second Q pertains to ice axes. I am going solo, and know nobody there so I was just thinking about taking a BD Venom. Is it worth my time to bring a pair of Vipers instead, incase I meet somebody looking to do something a little more interesting? It's my first time truly traveling with an intent to climb, and granted its only going to be for a week, but I don't want to show up and not have the right gear. Any advice on that matter? Thanks guys, I appreciate all the help!

How is Chamonix treating you? I think I might be there around the start of July!! Woot Woot. From what I have read it is fairly easy to get around town on foot, and get to the base of the trams on foot. I'll be there solo without a car, so I figured I'd get a hostel downtownish, sound about right? I am interested in doing some mountaineering while there. Does anybody have any experience about finding english speaking partners there, or about climbing solo. I would love to try the Three Mont Blanc route, which looks quite doable from a solo aspect, but is there anything that I am missing? Also, how did people actually get to Chamonix? Fly into Geneva then take the shuttle? Fly to Paris and take the train? Any advice on any maters would be greatly appreciated!!

I grew up in Maine and went to school in Oregon. I flew there with two 49lbs bags, a full backpack and another carry-on (look up the maximum carry-on size allowed and fill it to that limit). I also shipped my bike, and put some stuff in that box. Then I collected a bunch of shit over 4 years, and managed to pack a small car full of it and drive home. I shipped two boxes home (FedEx) before I drove, each weighing around 40lbs, then I shipped 2 or 3 boxes also weighing 30-40 lbs via USPS using their rates for sending books. Also, when I left OR I moved my bike and 3 different pairs of skis plus all my climbing shit. So I had some stuff. The trick is to send it all (to a certain extent, just the heavy shit) via USPS doing the library rate or whatever they call it. They say it can only be books or paper, but as long as it looks and feels damn heavy and does not make a noise when you shake the box they won't know. In stead of paying like $100 for 40 or 50lbs of stuff the book rate is like $30. Some tips. Don't bring a lot of shit. You don't need that much stuff if you are going to be in the dorms for a few years. That means you don't need to bring like 15 pairs of pants, unless you have some weird medical condition that makes you sweat more than anybody else, or unless you still piss your pants (getting drunk and pissing them is ok). Personally I would be careful bringing really expensive musical instruments to college, just because of the safety/theft issue (luck of the draw if your roommate is a moron who leaves the door open all the time), and also think about the time you will have. You probably won't have time to climb, slay hood rats, learn, and practice 4 different musical instruments. Get good at the game Tetris, because it will make packing 10x easier.

Oh one more thing. Climbing in bad weather/bad conditions builds character. It can't be nice for all your climbs, so if you only know how to climb in nice weather what are you going to do if bad weather comes in?

Just bring a really long rope and then it does not matter what the weather is. Just keep going upwards until you can not go up any further, then once you reach that spot check your GPS and any other fancy devices you have to make sure you are not just standing on some pillar, then start following that rope back down and you will always be able to get to where you started. Pretty fail safe in my opinion.

Got the best email yesterday. Hi dear. My name is Stephanie Bashir, a loving, caring and faithful girl. I saw your profile today on (cascadeclimbers.com) and i became interested in you, Hence i was moved to contact you, I will like to know you more. Kindly send a mail to my email address so i can give you my picture for you to know whom l am. Here is my email address (stephaniebashir@hotmail.com) I believe we can move from here. I am waiting for your mail to my email address above. miss Stephanie..(Remember the distance or color does not matter but love matters a lot in life) Please reply me with my email address here (stephaniebashir@hotmail.com) Yours, Stephanie. So I guess two things to keep in mind- 1. Watch for spammers. 2. Remember that distance or color dose not matter, but love matters a lot in life. My only hope is that this stephanie is that girl in the fitness ad we all see on the top of the page.

Apple. Both times I've needed anything they have shipped it to me within 24 hours of making the request. I had a powercord melt out and called them when it happened (of course it was during finals, and around 5pm), I had the new powercord free of charge by the next day!! But in terms of outdoor oriented companies, both OR and Patagonia have been helpful and quick for me (although patagonia repairs take a while).