Pete_H

Nice job. Looks like a very productive and fun trip!

I would definitely agree with BGardner's assessment. I'd also recommend the Volkl Nunataq at 107mm underfoot. I'm on my 2nd season on them and I'm very stoked with them. They are much more versatile than I thought they'd be and ski well in a variety of conditions, excellent in pow, and are just under 8 lbs in the 186 cm. I do also have a little bit lighter and narrower ski for summer skiing but if I only had the Nunataq it would be a fine one ski quiver. I also got the Maestrale RS this season and have happy with them.

Could be your co-worker is former military. In my experience military dudes don't give a fuck who they poop around. Do they not have stalls in the Army or what?

Kevbone is good evidence devolution is occuring

That's fucking lame. Poor dog.

Definitely report back. I'd be interested in the skiing there. Probably not much help but theres a somewhat ambiguous article about skiing there in the recent issue of Skiing magazine.

Nope. Don't like things falling on my head when I'm climbing. And if the snows good I'd rather be skiing anyway.

Check the forecast. Probably won't be doing much climbing. Skiing might be a better call.

More specifically, is Steve Pool liberal? Conservative? Or neither?

There's already a Max from Oregon who lives in town; you'll have to move elsewhere.

The NE Ridge of Triumph would be a great full day solo

West Rib of S Early used to be my fave.

I'd go to the climbing store and try on a bunch of harnesses and hang in them and get the one that's most comfortable. For me it was the Metolious Safe Tech. I also like how it is over-built. Its not the lightest, but I have a lightweight Camp one for alpine and ski mountaineering.

May is usually kind of the shoulder season. If you get sun, as noted, can be good for alpine rock. But if trying snow / ice objectives snow usually isn't consolidated by then so be careful of early season dangers, like wet isothermic snow slides, cornice collapse, etc.

I know! Those haircuts are horrible and the baggy camo look is totally 2002. Seriously though, the drone issue is a tough one. I think in certain situations its a good legitimate tool but if used in a random fashion could be an invasion of privacy and runs into Constitutional issues, especially in Washington state. This is conjecture, but one reason for the militarization of the police, might be an increase in people with military experience becoming police officers. Police work clearly attracts some military types and veterans have an advantage in civil service exams.

Serious question: why do you think that? Do you believe the police have a hidden political agenda? What specific freedoms do you think the police might intrude upon by being well equipped? I personally would prefer the police to have every advantage over some shitbag armed with a .25 cal piece of junk or the AR-15 he just bought at Wal-Mart.

I don't necessarily disagree with your last point. I worked for a Prosecutor's Office in a large but poor county in eastern Washington for a while and spent most of the time putting alcoholic natives in jail for DUI and such. It was really sad.

If they enforce and prosecute any of those other "felonies" like they enforce and prosecute snowmobiling in a wilderness area then I'm not going to worry too much that the FBI is going to pull up in front of my house anytime soon.

I disagree. I think if you've shown that you are irresponsible enough to commit a felony, even a non-violent one, you have shown that you are not responsible enough to own a gun. I understand many felons come from disadvantaged, low income/high crime environments, but individuals have to be held to some level of personal responsibility. I'm sure even those convicted of pot offenses, weren't convicted of felonies for mere possession. It must have been for large scale production or distribution. Even though I agree with the decriminalization of pot, those individuals still knowingly broke the law on a large-scale. That said, it would seem reasonable to restore gun rights for non-violent felons if they had no infractions for ten years or something.

No.. actually there's a similar number of registered vehicles as guns in the US. There ARE more guns, but it's not by much. Wow that's a crazy statistic. However, my point still stands. People are out driving cars all day long every day, in comparison guns don't get used much.

What does it address, and how does it address it? I'm assuming you mean a national gun registry? or funding ATF more? Either action will increase enforcement capabilities. Seems like we would want to provide law enforcement with the tools they would need in which to enforce current laws and regulations. Won't solve all the problems or take all the illegal guns off the street but being able to apprehend and prosecute violators is usually the first step in reducing an illegal act. Keep in mind NRA lobby is a big driver in defunding the ATF and preventing a national gun registry.

Cars kill more people than guns but there are way more cars around than guns and they get used more so that's a valueless statistic.

Totally agree. Also fund ATF more and have a national gun registry. That all seems more than reasonable as far as I'm concenred.

Ironically, most western towns had very struct gun control laws. Any guesses what law Wyatt Earp was enforcing in the OK Corral? lol Sure but if Colt hadn't invented the six-shooter we'd still be calling Texas and Oklahoma Comanchia.

I don't particularly like guns. They're loud and shit. But I like having one around for home defense. If I lived in Germany, or Japan, I wouldn't be allowed to have one and I'd be cool with that. Its not a gun culture and its a less violent culture. In America "If guns were outlawed only outlaws will have guns," is a played-out old cliche, but there is some truth there.