dalius

I guess he just summited Annapurna last night. See article here

I was in S.America for most of last year, travelled to all the areas that you're talking about and more. If you were just to stay in the Peruvian and Bolivian highlands (the andes and westward, aka not east to the jungle) then I think what you need is Hep A and Hep B at a minimum (you should get these). They'll keep you from contracting these nasty and totally avoidable illnesses that you can catch from general uncleanly conditions. If you descend to the lowland jungles (amazon), chances are you'll need some other shots and pills. As far as other vaccinations, you should consider typhoid and yellow fever shots. I needed a yellow fever shot to get a visa into brazil and typhoid is a good idea when travelling to any tropical s.american countries. Depending on where you go, you might want to have some anti-malaria pills with you. I had a whole bunch, but ended up not taking them. I did go to some really deep and remote areas of the Peruvian amazon, but I was told by locals that there was no malaria in that particular part of the jungle. Had I been a hundred or so miles in a different direction, things might have been different. The only way you find those things out though is by going there. The general statements put out by health officials will only tell you very generally what parts of the country have it and what don't. If you're headed up high, you might want to take some Acetzolamide with you to help with the altitude. I think I went to the Kking county travel clinic ( I think) downtown for my shots and meds. I also had a "consultation", which I thought was going to be a joke. It wasn't. The travel nurse sat me down and taught me about all the nasty diseases that I may encounter, what to look for, how to avoid them, etc, etc. There are a lot more than what you'll be getting vaccinated for. It was super informative. That took 45 minutes. The shots took 5. It was worth it. One more thing... you can look up all this info on the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) website. Here's the link to their S.American info... http://www.cdc.gov/travel/tropsam.htm They'll let you know about any current outbreaks of anything. Hope that helps.

Pub club still a weekly occurance around here?

The Yossi Brain book is kinda thin, kinda lame. Check out Alain Mesili's book "The Andes of Bolivia". The first version was only in espanol (Los Andes de Bolivia), this second one in english. The new version has lots more updates, great pics, and more routes than you can shake a stick at. He's a french guy (?) that's been living in Bolivia since the 70s or so and has put up tons of first ascents. He's the Fred Beckey of Bolivia. I used the book when I went and found it very useful.

Winter is back! Go skiing now! Went up to Crystal yesterday (Sat) to seek out some fresh powder. 5 of us left the masses (1 hour long ticket line)behind at the base of the ski area and skinned up to Crystal Basin, skiing the chutes coming off the ridge to the left. We were a bit weary of the snow due to the large amount that has fallen in the last 2 weeks. After digging a few pits on N and NE aspects, we decided it was stable enough to ski. The skiing was SICK! Steep and deep, powder shots all around! 10" of fresh on top of a week's worth of more fresh. I couldn't believe conditions like that could exist this time of year, especially since we've had absolutely no winter to speak of. Tested out my brand new pair of TM-Xs I bought at second ascent at 50% off a few weeks ago (my previous pair of skis were TUA Montets 202 cm). Increadible. I hope winter sticks around a little while longer 'cuz I'm ready for a whole lot more.

Another route put up by the "brotherhood", Hagg Lake Road Slab, Oregon... The Brotherhood Difficulty: 5.7 Protection: 3 Bolts Description: Start directly below anchor bolts on a right leaning crack. Then head up the face above. Whach out after the 2nd bolt there is loose rock and a possible big fall. Looks like they're starting to send sport routes?

Bought a copy of Outside to pass time on a plane trip and lo and behold there was an article on ALPINIST. Interesting info on the background of the mag, Beckwith it's editor, and Ewing the multi-millionaire that is financing the whole thing. Seems like if it wasn't for Ewing's $$, this thing would not exist. They say the mag is deep in the red and making profit on this thing would require a miracle. I guess I'm not suprised due to the lack of ads and the high gloss coffee table like finish, but damn that sucks. Thought it was weird that Outside kept mentioning some sort of Brotherhood, of which they kept naming Twight and House as it's leading members. From the abstract on the article's first page... "Flush with tech-boom cash and answering to no one, Alpinist chronicles the exploits of a loosely aligned group of climbers known as the Brotherhood, who devote themselves to difficult routes, minimal gear, and big-time pain and suffering. Are these guys just a holier-than-thou elite - or the salvation of mountaineering?" Since when are hardcore climbers known as the brotherhood? WTF is that all about? Outside's method of labelling or are there actually wankers out there that call themselves that? Brotherhood. Yeah.

Maybe Liiloet is not the best place for an ice climbing fest. Has anyone thought about maybe having it at a place like Blackcomb? They seem to always have good ice up high when it's raining in Lilloet. Just a thought.

Well how about Bolivia then? I need a parnter !

yeah, could be a pub club in la paz. im going to need a few days to acclimatize as well as a few bolivian beers. you`re on.

I´m currently in Chile (have been travelling down here for a long time) and am planning on heading up to Bolivia mid June to climb until beginning of August. I have no partner at the moment, and am looking for folks to climb with. Nothing set in stone in terms of what I want to climb, gonna play it all by ear. Anybody going to be in La Paz around June 20? email me at daliusg-at-yahoo-dot-com dalius

Either climbing the nice granite spires of Cerro Catedral or heading up Cerro Tronador, a big glaciated peak in northern patagonia. Options options options...

Thanks for the info. I´m in the process of contacting some folks down here that might know some more information. It´s amazing how few people have been to this place, or have even heard of it. Looks pretty stellar though, if the weather is nice! Cheers, Dalius

Sorry to be a little off topic, but here it goes... I´m currently in Ushuaia, Arg. (Tierra del Fuego) and am looking to do some climbing in the Cordillera Darwin, a remote range off on islands off the west coast of TDF, Chile. I´m having a hell of a time finding out much information from locals as it seems the Argentinians and Chileans really don´t like each other down in these parts (they both are trying to defend their right to the southernmost tip of the world) and the Argentinians don´t want to divulge any information about anything Chilean in this area. So, my question is, has anybody ever done any climbing in the area (Monte Darwin, others...) and if so, could you please divulge any info regarding logistics of getting there, time, permits, etc?? This is a very remote range and I´m having trouble finding any info on the internet. Any help would be appreciated... Thanks, Dalius

I've been looking for a use for these photos...

I heard that Arnold is now wokring as a disgruntled doorman to make ends meet. Seems like he blew all his fortune. Anybody else heard this?

Dude Jager on tap! Yow! I'm still waiting for Robitussin on tap

There's none better.

I heard a rumor the FS ran out of money and isn't going to close the road for repairs. I could be wrong, but that's what I heard.

Or "Alpine cragging" if you will.

and Erik and Szyjakowski, of course.

Oh yeah, and you won't find anything on Bridge Creek Wall.

Yeah, someone killed themselves yesterday jumping off the Aurora bridge. Ouch. Kay Lasco, SeaTac CouncilMember commits suicide

I had a chance to peruse this book recently and noticed that since he does not like aid climbing, he lists anything that involves more than A1 as "unrecommended". He states that Liberty Crack is unrecommended because of the scary old bashies and 1/4" rusties on the route. Sounds like he'd prefer a 3/8" bolt ladder. He should just admit that he hates aid climbing, but shouldn't diss the route for others that like it. What a wanker. ....... Content aside, I have to say that the worst binding job I've ever seen on any books, is the one on the old Leavenworth guidebook (it seems that the new one may be bound this way as well). The damn thing falls apart after little use! I found the best way to keep mine together was to drill three holes and put those hinged rings in them. That way you can even clip it to yer pack! Here's another vote for the Squamish Guidebook!

Excuse me, but who in the hell is Anna?