Doug

I was there as well. The responses to this thread were mostly on the mark as to the nature of the meeting. Most of the local guide services were well represented, and it does appear that they really do want a slice of the pie in guiding on the mountain. One impediment may be that the park superintendent does have the final say in the prospectus that is issued to solicit bids for the next concession contract. He can also just give it to the incumbent at his own disgression. While I support a minimum guide presence on the mountain, I'm also in support of RMI (or any single source for that matter) of having a bit of competition. I was impressed with the quality of statements and testimonials given by local climbers regarding the commercial use plan for the park. The overridng message seemed to be "keep it as undeveloped as possible". Where the crowd lacked in quantity, it made up for it in quality. I'd like to see the Park hold a meeting with the local guide services to solicit their input regarding the feasablilty of "slicing the pie", and to solicit their solutions to it. I would guess that their main bitch right now is that RMI has the concession.

quote: Originally posted by Dwayner: I'm in Norway right now and I'm drunk....that's all.aloha, Dwayner Dwayner, Are you sure you didn't take LSD and Lutefisk and end up on a bad trip to Ballard?

I've been taking 1500mg of Glucosamine with Chondroitin a day for about 4 years. I've had artroscopic surgery for torn meniscus on each knee, 1 10 years ago, the other 4 years ago. I started taking it shortly after the second surgery. My results have been good. I believe my joints overall are in better condition now than they wer 4 years ago. My MD even believes that there are benefit from it.

A few months ago I asked for a recommendation for someone who might be able to tweak my boots to get them to fit better. A business called Custom Boot Fitters run by a guy named Jim Mates was recommended. I finally went to see him. I think he fixed me up, was very fast, very nice guy to b.s. with and his prices were very reasonable. He specializes in Ski Boots, Hiking Boots & In-Line Skates. Consider this an endorsement for him: Custom Boot Service6500 4th Ave. NWSeattle, WA 98117 (206) 297-9298 As an added bonus, you get to go to Ballard to see him!

And the guy was a skier making his second run down the hill that day. Telemarker for those who may care.

There seem to be an abundance of deals on the internet. One that I've used a couple of times is Northern Mountain Supply http://www.northernmountain.com They have a section called "Killer Deals" that sometimes are. I've bought a couple of things from them for good prices. Customer service seems to be good as well. I've bought a few things at Second Bounce/Second ascent. If you hit it right there are some good deals there as well. One of the underlying problems in this area seems to be that anyone that new shop that comes along has a hard time competing with some of the bigger guys. Especially when the bigger guys have distributors and manufacturers sign no-compete agreements within a certain radius. I've heard rumours that is what drove Wilderness Sports out of business.

WHOOO HOOOO!!!!!!! Go Jimmy Go!!!!!!!!!

WHOOO HOOOO!!!!!!! Go Jimmy Go!!!!!!!!!

quote: Originally posted by gregm: i'm going to write a screenplay about caveman and adamson being missing. it will be called "silence of the hams". i don't know if jodie foster will be available so we might have to settle for drew barrymore. Come on, like that's even a contest.....

This site helps me from going mad at work most days. Some go out and smoke cigarettes, I log on to cc.com and spray, get sprayed and learn a few things in the process. Keep up the good work!

Ouch. You females sure know how to hurt eachother! This is cool though. If I ever see a woman leave a group and go to the bathroom alone, I know that she's been very bad.

Give me a call Charlie (before the weekend, I'm headin' to Australia). I'll give you some beta on Cancun.

This is an interesting thread. 1st of all, I'm very impressed with the response that occured after Jim's fall. It was a classic example of people stepping in to help in a very delicate situation. I can only imagine how difficult it is to respond to an accident that involves a close friend. I hope to hear more details later on. Fortuneatly, I haven't been invoved in a climbing accident myself. I remember the accident that Jim mentioned. I was involved in doing a review of it. One of the hings that impressed me the most was the way in which the entire climbing party responded. Some went out for help, some went to the scene, others just stayed out of the way. The 1st responder was a guy who was waiting his turn at the bottom of the route. He just immediately went in to action. And handled it and himself very well. I don't know if the ability to respond to an accident in an appropriate emotional manner is something that can be taught. I do believe that whatever it is that allows for that type of emotional response is something that most anybody who climbs already possess. A few years back I was starting a hike up Tiger Mt. from the road off of I-90. As I was starting up the trail, I saw a couple of buddies pull in and head up to the upper parking area. I told them I'd meet them there and hike up with them. So as I get to the power lines, I head right towards the upper lot. About 100yds or so down the road, I see someone off to the right, just at the edge of the woods. I'm thinking "hmmm, something ain't right here". So I stop and look closer. It's someone hanging from a tree at the edge of the woods. At 1st I thought t was a haloween prank, since it was that time of year. But sure enough, it was real. I went to the lot and one of my buddies had a cell phone and we called the Sheriff, and they came out and retrieved the body. Turns out it was a young homeless guy who wasn;t looking forward to spending another cold winter on the streets. The image stayed with me for a few days. Luckiliy, I had enough people to talk to about it that it didn't stay with me that long . Since that time, I've become active in a SAR group and have been out on numerous calls that involved some pretty hairy stuff, messy accidents, patients dying before they could be evacuated, body recoveries of some fairly damaged corpses. The ability to tolerate it comes easier with each time out. If you know any EMT's, Firemen, cops, ER docs & nurses they'll probably tell you the same thing. At some point in time all of us who climb have to think about it. If you dont think you could handle it, you may want to re-evaluate what you are doing. Or not.

A couple of my favorites: "Your voice has changed, but you've got the same breath." "Will the owner of this stench please retrive it and get it the hell out of here?"

Took a 30' fall, not sure what route he was on, though based on the description of the location it was somewhere around sub-station.

Leave the seat up or put it down. Whatever. Just remember to steal money from her before she leaves.

quote: Originally posted by max: Are you saying he's a big asshole? Shame on you! Oh God No!! Big Lou is just, well he's Big Lou. He's a swell guy! If you dig far enough back you'll see that He is so big that......

Imagine if they charged to be a member. 1 member online and 47 guests.

What a wonderful idea. Have authors sit in ink and autograph their books with their asterick * . How special. You think Joe Simpson's may have a permanent pucker to it? And what about Big Lou? Think his would fit on the average page?

I was talking with a friend this weekend. We were talking about getting mountaineering books autographed. He went to see Big Jim at Nordstrom or somewhere like that and he asked Big Jim to autograph not only his autobiography, but also his twin Bros' as well. Jeff explained that if he ever got a chance to come across Big Lou that he would ask him to do the same. (As a side note, I suggested that if we really wanted to run across Big Lou that he should either a) hang out at Whittaker's Bunk House or b) follow Dwayner & pope around since they appear to be stalking the poor guy). Anyway, back to the story, What Big Jim wrote in Big Lou's autobiography: Great Novel, wasn't it.

Thanks to everyone who helped out and continue to help with Jim. He's one hell of a good guy!

I've always been told that farting while on ascent up a rock face is considered to be aid climbing. Is this true? RURP, you surely must know.

I think he's finally been caught...

I think he's finally been caught...

Cavey, Don't take this wrong, but you missed the "Climbing News" forum. Thought you'd like to cover all of your bases.