jon

Is it true if you are being chased by a bear that you want to run downhill because their front legs are shorter and they tumble down?

quote: Originally posted by faust: my old partner has become competely distracted by a new girlfriend and we never get out anymore. Erik that ain't cool leavin a brutha hangin man.

quote: Originally posted by mikeadam: increasingly anal admins I will have nothing to do with the anus.

I'm in the market for a digital myself. I'm a Nikon person so it will be an 885 or the new 5000. This will be used when I don't need to shoot a whole roll of film, when I want to go light as possible, or just messing around. A five megapixel camera will give you a perfect 11x14 print without having to go to town in Photoshop (by the way PS7 beta for OS X rocks!). Of course the 5000 is very expensive, and with anything digital what is top of the line now will be bottom in a year. Digital or slide film, I will be doing all my stuff using a digital darkroom. The new consumer slide scanners are starting to rival those of drum scans. The control this technique offers you is amazing. A interesting side note. When the Bill and Monica scandle hit the streets you remember the images of him hugger her at a rally. Interesting those shots came from a film camera, because the guys shooting digital dumped their images off their media to save space not knowing how significant they would be in the future.

The Access Fund:YOUR CLIMBING FUTUREVirtual Times #14http://www.accessfund.org/January 2002 Submissions/comments for the Virtual Times are welcome via email to john@accessfund.org -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IN THIS ISSUE:1. Access Fund Grant Helps Save Bouldering at Donner Summit, CA2. Castleton Tower Preservation Initiative 3. Indian Trust Litigation Prevents Public Access to DOI Websites & Networks4. BLM Asks for Voluntary Closure of Western Chalk Bluff 5. Bishop Camping Information 6. North Carolina Update 7. Bridalveil Falls, Colorado 8. In Memory of Jason Hunt 9. Help Wanted: Database Consultant --------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Access Fund Grant Helps Save Bouldering at Donner Summit, CA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------A $5,000 grant by the Access Fund will support a land acquisition by the Truckee Donner Land Trust to preserve bouldering. This acquisition will double the size of Donner State Park and preserve access to the Saddle Park boulders near Donner Summit, one of the state's more popular summer climbing areas. The grant is one of many outcomes already realized by the Access Fund's Bouldering Campaign, which seeks to: Raise awareness about bouldering among land managers and the public; Promote care and respect for natural places visited by boulderers; Mobilize the climbing community to act responsibly & work cooperatively with land managers; Protect and rehabilitating bouldering resources; Preserve bouldering access. For more information, contact Shawn Tierney, access and acquisitions director, at shawn@accessfund.org. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------2. Castleton Tower Preservation Initiative --------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Castleton Tower Preservation Initiative (CTPI) is making substantial progress. This collaborative effort, led by Utah Open Lands (UOL) and the Castle Rock Collaboration, and supported by the Access Fund, seeks to protect the integrity of Castleton Tower and its surrounding landscape. Castleton Tower is one of the most famous and spectacular climbing landmarks in North America, and its Kor-Ingalls route is one of the Fifty Classic Climbs of North America. For over 40 years, climbers have traveled to climb and camp at Castleton Tower. The acquisition and preservation of land adjacent to Castleton will preserve access to Castleton Tower and permanently protect the historic climbers' bivy site. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------3. Indian Trust Litigation Prevents Public Access to DOI Websites & Networks --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Access to all Department of Interior (DOI) websites and email addresses has been cut-off to comply with a court order issued to secure individual Indian trust data. On Wednesday December 5, 2001, District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the DOI to "immediately disconnect from the Internet all information technology systems that house or provide access to individual Indian trust data; and disconnect from the Internet all computers within the custody and control of the Department of the Interior, its employees and contractors, that have access to individual Indian trust data." The following agencies are within the DOI: National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, US Geologic Survey, Minerals Management Service, Office of Surface Mining and US Fish & Wildlife. The upshot of this Order is that all Interior agencies have disconnected their computer Internet access and external network connections, therefore, the public can neither access any DOI websites, nor email any DOI employee via their government email addresses. Phones are still working, so until the Order is lifted you can phone your local DOI agency office to obtain information or assistance. You can also check out http://www.doi.gov/ to obtain other limited information. The US Forest Service, under the Department of Agriculture, is not affected by this order. The ability of DOI agencies to conduct a large portion of their daily business has been impacted. Many DOI employees have even begun using hard-copy time cards again. The agencies are working with their information technology staff to seek an acceptable way to restore operations, while ensuring compliance with the court's Order. Until further notice, continued compliance with the Order is required. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. BLM Asks for Voluntary Closure of Western Chalk Bluff --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Steve Addington, field manager for the Bureau of Land Management in Bishop, CA, is asking the public to honor a voluntary seasonal closure of public lands along the western part of Chalk Bluff, north of Bishop, to protect raptor habitat. This action closes climbing from the northern edge of Chalk Bluff Road to the northern boundaries of Sections 19, 20 and 21, and from the eastern edge of Section 21 (touching the uppermost tip of Happy Boulders canyon) west to the edge of the power line road above Pleasant Valley Reservoir. This voluntary closure to foot, equestrian and vehicle traffic will be in effect from January 1 to July 31, 2002. The closure applies only to BLM-managed public lands (does not include the foot trail in the middle of Section 21). There will be signs posted in the area asking visitors to respect the closure, with additional notices at information kiosks and local businesses.As a result of public input and environmental analysis, the BLM decided on a voluntary closure for the 2002 raptor-breeding season. Visitors who do not respect the voluntary closure will not be penalized, but the Access Fund urges all climbers to honor this effort, as it will preserve climbing access in the future. The completed environmental analysis document is available at the Bishop library or from the BLM office in Bishop. BLM is continuing to study the situation and will begin a public planning effort to guide long-term management of the area. The process will be completed by September 30, 2002. Climbers can obtain more information contact Doug Dodge, Joe Pollini or Joy Fatooh at the BLM's Bishop office at 760-872-4881. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. Bishop Camping Information --------------------------------------------------------------------------------The BLM in Bishop, CA expects that the Pleasant Valley Winter Campground may get filled with campers during the major holiday periods this winter/spring. Holidays such as Martin Luther King's weekend, Presidents' Weekend, and Easter break usually see many climbers visit the Bishop area.If you plan on climbing and camping around Bishop at these times and the BLM winter campground is full, check with Colin and Molly, campground hosts, to see if they can accommodate you. Otherwise, plan on camping at other nearby campgrounds or sites listed below: A. The Bardini Foundation House: this is a climbers' hostel located at 515 Sierra St. in Bishop. $10 per night.B. Pleasant Valley County Campground: located on Pleasant Valley Road about a 1/4 mile beyond the turnoff to the BLM winter campground. This campground charges $10 per night, is open year round and contains facilities.D. The Pinion Site: free dispersed camping location above the gorge. No facilities. E. Buttermilk Country: free dispersed camping on Inyo National Forest land. 28 day limit. Take Hwy. 168 west from Bishop to the Buttermilk Road. Turn right and look for dispersed campsites about a mile after the turnoff. F. Millpond Campground: full service, commercial campground. $12 per night for up to four people. Open March 1 to December 1. Showers. Please do not camp on the Volcanic Tableland. This sensitive desert environment is vulnerable to camping related impacts and is easily damaged by camping use. Camp at one of the areas described above. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. North Carolina Update --------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Report submitted by Aram Attarian, Access Fund Regional Coordinator)During the past few months, the climbers in North Carolina formed the Pisgah Commercial Climbers Association and met with National Park Service personnel of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The PCCA was created to address many issues at climbing areas utilized by camps and schools in the Pisgah National Forest of Western North Carolina. The group's mission is to "Protect the future of climbing areas in the Pisgah Ranger District by addressing issues facing commercial climbing such as group impact, minimizing the impact large groups have on climbing areas, providing trail work, and promoting safe climbing practices."Representatives of camps, schools, outfitters, guides, and the USFS met in October and agreed the group would include a wide representation of climber interests and discuss climbing issues in the Pisgah Range District of the Pisgah National Forest. Check the Southeastern Climbers Coalition website for more information at http://www.seclimbers.org. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------7. Bridalveil Falls, Colorado --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Bridalveil Falls, one of the most sought-after ice climbs in this country, will be closed at least for the 2002 winter season. Idarado Mining Company, owner of the property where the falls is located, did not renew their year-to-year recreational access easement with the Town of Telluride. The Access Fund is working with Regional Coordinator Steve Johnson and local climbers to explore all options for restoring access to this historic climb. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------8. In Memory of Jason Hunt --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Rock climber and friend of the Access Fund Jason Hunt died on October from a climbing accident in Vancouver, British Columbia. Jason distinguished himself as a climber and instructor of youth in a therapeutic wilderness challenge program. He sought to instill the ideals of accomplishment, compassion, responsibility, and friendship in all of his students. Memorial donations to the Access Fund have been made by Liza Wilson, KellieThomas, Allison Johnson, Matt Shove, Michele Palma, and Don Pelletier. Climbers can honor Jason's memory by sending donations to the Access Fund at PO Box 17010, Boulder, CO 80308. Contact Kerry Cowan at kerry@accessfund.org for more information. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------9. Wanted: Database Consultant --------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Access Fund needs a consultant to help us part-time with our Microsoft Access 2000 Database. If you are proficient with this software, or know someone who is, please contact Kerry Cowan at 303.545.6772 x106, or kerry@accessfund.org. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Virtual Times Policies:1. The Access Fund office in Boulder is the only source ofoutgoing messages to the lists.2. The AF will not sell or give away email addresses for the V-Times.3. V-Times is an announcement-only e-mail list; therefore, you cannot reply to any of the list members.4. All e-mail addresses will remain confidential with every mail sent.

Sounds like a good idea. We might have to hack the board a little to do it the way you propose based on posts but it could be done. How bout some more name ideas? Beck you'd definately be the golden "shower" child.

I've got some Lowe Alpine half bibs that I really like. They don't come much higher than my beer belly button, and they are f#%king light as hell. I like these much better than full bibs cause I don't overheat, but having something a little higher than waistline with suspenders I like better than pants.

I've asked about this boot before, but has anyone tried or owns the La Sportiva Lhotse? I tried some on at Mountain Gear in Spovegas and they feel pretty damn sweet?

This is GREP! Caveman you are a sneaky bastard . Can I buy OfficeSpace, I love that movie. Ummmm yeeahhhh OK. GREP has spoken!

Tim's pal who is a ranger in yos said they lost their email, nps.gov and the whole shabang because of budget cuts or..... Alien hybrid supersoldiers drinking cloraminated water destroy the building housing the servers because Mulder......nevermind I'm a dork.

6.02x10^23

How ya like my new one?

Just a reminder!

I don't get intimidated by many people (that includes head to head road bike combat) but pacific northwest ledgend Jim Blakely scared the crap out of me. Edog I hope you've been working out beyyottch!

quote: Originally posted by mikeadam: We all know the tip grab and Glen Plake rule over all that snowrider nonsense! Werd to that! Didn't Plake invent the screemen semen? quote: UNIX RULES! My favorite command is GREP

Yeah that is a fun commute! This morning I had some chick honking at me, I won't repeat what I yelled at her. Then going over the montlake bridge I had some dude run into me not watching where he was going (and dumbshit wasn't wearing a helmet), unfortunately he decided to run into the wrong guy and I pretty much flattened his ass cause i had no where to go. He's lucky he fell off his bike where he did or he would have gone into oncoming traffic. Bronco I guess the Tikka helps the girbel see where he's goin huh

Friday night my Tikka saved my ass again. Riding along L. Wa. Blvd in Seattle in the dark on my bike going home to Bellevue my trusty NiteRider goes out. I forgot to charge it the night before and I was hating life. Luckily I had my Tikka in my backpack and it provided just enough light for me to get home without getting hit by a car. It is so small there is no reason not to take it. Anyone have any similar stories?

Just to clarify, the text in my message is an email from Scott Silver. He periodically sends me updates and I post them because usually there is some good points and quality links to articles.

Perhaps no public lands in all of the United Stated have so deeply embracedthe free-market concept of recreation user fees (and pay-to-play recreation)than have those managed by the Texas State Park system. And no one person ismore responsible for the implementation of these fees in Texas, thanfree-marketeer Terry L. Anderson -- executive director of the PoliticalEconomy Research Center and currently policy consultant to former TexasGovernor, George W. Bush.(MUST READ!!! --- http://www.perc.org/conservation.pdf) So.... whereas the comparatively progressive State of California recentlyreduced its park entrance fees by 50% in what has proved to be a successfuleffort to encourage visitation, Texas seems committed to pursuing major rateINCREASES. Unfortunately, it will be the policies in Texas and not California thatPresident Bush will be using as his model for the management of federallands everywhere. Let the following Action Alert from the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Clubserve as a warning to ALL fee-demo opponents in every corner of America.What's coming to Texas State Parks today, will be coming to National Forestsand National Parks tomorrow --- --- UNLESS, of course, people become actively engaged in stopping this fromhappening! Scott ----- Original Message ----- From: Brian Sybert To: LONESTAR-ACTION@LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORGSent: Friday, January 04, 2002 4:54 PMSubject: Action Alert # 1 Texas Parks & Wildlife Proposes State Park Entrance & User Fees Increases Texas Parks & Wildlife is proposing to increase state park entrance and userfees because of inflation, increased operating costs, and the fact thatlegislature neglected to adequately fund state park operations once again.According to Parks & Wildlife the fee increase is necessary for the agencyto maintain the current level of service at state parks. The proposal would increase the upper levels of the fee ranges for statepark entrance, facility use, and activity fees. Individual state park feesare adjusted by the Parks & Wildlife Commission and staff annually and mustbe kept within the approved fee ranges. Local market place factors such asoperational cost recovery, seasonality, and user demographics, and demandsare used to determine individual state park fees. The current range for per person entry fees is between $.50 and $5.00. Theproposal would allow the commission to raise the ceiling on entrance,facility and activities fee within each of the 123 state parks. Following isa sample list of fee types and the proposed ranges for those fees (currentfee ceilings in parentheses): · Per person entry (24 hours): $.50 - $10 ($5)· Campsite, primitive: $4 - $20 ($12)· Campsite w/electricity: $9 - $29 ($23)· Campsite, sewer hook-up: $10 - $35 ($25)· Screened shelter: $15 - $60 ($30)· Matagorda Island ferry/adult: $10 - $25 ($15) While it is true that state parks are seriously under-funded and thatadditional money is need to maintain the current level of service the,Sierra Club has concerns about the size of the of the fee range increases.Parks & Wildlife must insure that the proposed fee range increases do notprice middle and lower income families out of the state parks. Park & Wildlife is currently accepting comments on the proposed state parkfee increases. Comments must be submitted by 5:00 PM on January 14.Comments can be sent by e-mail to mike.crevier@tpwd.state.tx.us or by phoneat (800) 792-1112, follow the menus. Comments can also be sent by regularmail: State Park FeesTexas Parks and Wildlife4200 Smith School RoadAustin, TX 78744 You can view the proposed rules for park fees at:http://204.65.105.13/texreg/archive/December142001/PROPOSED/31.NATURAL%20RESOURCES%20AND%20CONSERVATION.html#149 Points to Include in Your Comments 1. Parks & Wildlife must be careful not to increase fees to the point thatthey discourage use of state parks and related facilities. 2. Parks & Wildlife must be mindful of the impact that higher park feescould have on the state's middle and lower income families. 3. State park entrance fees and fees for basic facilities such as simplecampsites should be kept as close to current levels as possible. Fees formore elaborate facilities might be increased by a slightly greater amount tohelp cover the additional costs associated with those facilities. 4. Fee increases should be incremental to ensure adequate participation.Any fee range increases should be limited to significantly less than thefull proposed increases. Brian SybertNatural Resources DirectorLone Star Chapter, Sierra Club512/477-1729512/477-8526 [FAX]briansybert@earthlink.net ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Scott SilverWild Wilderness248 NW Wilmington Ave.Bend, OR 97701 phone: 541-385-5261e-mail: ssilver@wildwilderness.orgInternet: http://www.wildwilderness.org ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ BEGIN QUOTE FROM HERITAGE FOUNDATION PUBLICATIONhttp://www.policyreview.com/mar97/townsq.html."Even the federal government is getting into the act. In 1996, Congresspassed legislation allowing some national park managers to raise entranceand user fees to more realistic levels. In so doing, Congress is followingthe lead of the Texas state parks, where, for an appropriate fee, visitorscan participate in a cattle drive, hike through the Chihuahua Desertwilderness and enjoy special nature tours. Through such strategies, theTexas Parks and Wildlife Department hopes to make all its state parksfinancially self-sustaining." FROM: Enviro-Capitalists: Doing Good While Doing Well by Terry L. Andersonand Donald R. Leal (Rowman & Littlefield, forthcoming spring 1997).

After two hours of getting worked in the climbing gym by my roommate and goin swimmin for an hour, nothing like coming home to drink lots of beer and work on the website. The fruits of my impared labor: http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/index_beta.php None of the links on top work yet, just give a little time and more beer. So whatcha think foo? Good, bad, good thing I do cancer research and not web design? Spray me your thoughts. And now it's time for a nursary rhyme.Beer is good for you and me.Don't you see I gotta go pee.Training on the bike tomorrow in the rain with hangover.Get off your cell phone, you bitch in the Range Rover.This isn't really haiku.But who care cause I pity da foo.

Well that game sucked! Your right the BCS sucks, and it ruined the tradition of the Rose Bowl. Oregon should have been in that game, but thanks to east coast sports writters and some stupid computer program we got tonights disgrace. You've never been to a football game until you go to one in Lincoln, NE. Those people are absolutely football crazy.

YOUR GONNA DIE MIAMI!

WTF?????

This is a great thead. Will is right about the apature on a P&S, you want a fast camera for most climbing stuff not using a tripod. I'm not sure about the mount on the N65, I'm pretty sure the N80 is a steel mount. I'm getting an N80 very soon. Typically the heaviest part of an SLR setup is the lens. Now with the cheap Nikon lens, yes it is a cheaper quality lense but that is why it is cheap. A cheap lens uses cheap glass and not a lot of glass. As you move into a more expensive lenses the apature become faster which requires more glass in the lens, hence more weight. So if you want a light lens you going to have to go with a cheap Nikon, Sigma, or Tamron lens or go with a fixed lense like a 50mm Nikon which is pretty light, and the lens won't be very fast.