Pete_H

I think people would be interested in the T3s for lightweight freeheal touring and they'd be a good complement to some of the newer wider waxless skis out there. Depending on their condition and age, I would think $50 - $150 ?

If you work in Wenatchee - Cashmere, Peshastin, and Leavenworth are all within reasonable commuting distance.

There's some cool stuff around Yakima, like Tieton, but haven't heard many good things about the liveability factor. There's a fair amount of poverty and a gang problem there and not much of an outdoor community that I've heard of. Wenatchee, on the other hand, I think would be a decent place to live. Definitely a big bible thumper community there but also a great outdoor scene and some good amenities nearby like Mission Ridge and Sage Hills trails. Also, a nice downtown.

Probably good alpine ice in right now I would think.

Everyone crashes in the CHINESE DOWNHILL

Well, I did like your equation. I'll just have to take your word for the solution since I lost my algebra skills long ago.

Not on zat side, not on zis side, but right in zee mittel!!

Climax Control (11b or c) at Index is pretty good. Lots of other good technical sport pitches at the Country.

Poor guy. Just wants some beta on a route or two and ends up with this shit show.

The BD Kilowatts are widely considered to be one of the worst skis ever made. If you're looking for a setup just for backcountry I definitely wouldn't get anything with Barons on them. You should be able to find something with Dynafits. At any rate, $500 is way too much for that setup.

Bicyclists "privilege" should be paid for by someone else. Its called good policy. It encourages behavior that results in a net benefit to everyone. It's pretty fucking simple.

On a personal level, I'm not against the idea of licensing and taxing cyclists, especially if it means more amenities for cyclists, like bike paths. But, as a society I think we're better off encouraging more people to bike rather than drive by not taxing them. I think cyclists' impact on society is relatively minimal compared to the benefit: better health, less traffic / congestion, more parking, less emissions, etc.

That one had been on my list for a while but we never got around to it. I kind of suspected it would be a bit full-on for the grade. Suppose I could go look it up, but do you know who the first ascentionists were?

Ha. And car drivers are always so good about stopping for ped's at crosswalks. In that dumb "news" story clip, there's like three cars that don't yield for the reporter before one cyclist goes by. But cyclists ARE OUT OF CONTROL.

Good article. Thanks Jim.

Saw that on the news this evening. I suppose the guy who got punched in the face was technically a victim of assault, but he says he had been jockeying for lane position with the perpetrator before the assault. But the other dude was on a bike and he was in a car! I can see how the cyclist might have been a bit pissed. Then the reporter acts like she's going to get run over by cyclists while crossing the road. How about looking down the street to see if someone's coming before you step into the road, dumbass!

As of last weekend it was and I'm about 90% sure it still is. That's one thing the ranger station in 11worth usually knows so you can always call them.

If you ski, Norway in May would be awesome. But then you would definitely have some logistic issues hauling skis around the rest of the trip. I don't necessarily think May is out of the question for rock routes in the Alps, and definitely not for snow and ice mountaineering. I just think its less likely you would encounter good conditions than other times. For finding places to stay I've had good luck using booking.com and homeaway.com. Its frequently cheaper to rent studio or 1 bedroom apartments rather than hotels; and you've got a kitchen so you don't have to eat out every night.

You'll shoot your eye out!

If you're set on going in May, I can't say enough about Spain: beautiful country, excellent rock (both long and short routes), great food and wine, and much more affordable than lots of other parts of Europe.

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Ha. You long ago lost your standing to call anyone out for chestbeating. What's nauseating is your phony self-righteousness, especially when accusing Plotz, one of the most modest bad-asses around, of self-promotion. You should just shut up.

John Millar or Guy Edwards I think it was Guy. Oops. Thanks for the correction.

Nice job soloing Gendarme. I'd definitely be stoked to have done that!

Everytime I've been on one of the summits of Rainier, all I've wanted to do was get the fuck off of it. Have fun if you're into that sort of shit though.