DPS

My worst time crossing the border was to go to Squamish to rock climb with my daughter when she was 8. I had her birth certificate and ss card. The guard wanted a notarized letter from her mother indicating it was ok for me, her father, to take her across the border. I explained her mother left when she 15 months old and has not been able to be located as she kept moving to avoid paying child support. We were detained and separated, my daughter interogated to make sure I was not kidnapping her. Around the same time a female teacher kidnapped a student, carried none of the kid's identification and was not challenged at the border. Gender profiling at work.

To answer what I think you are asking, yeah, nobody will be happy seeing crampon marks and enhanced holds on Outter Space, but if the ice forms up you shouldn't be damaging the rock anyway. Perhaps I lack imagination or fail to climb M at any reasonable level, but the smooth slabs and hand side cracks don't really invite full on dry too fests.

A lot of my partners like to smoke grass while climbing.

My dogs workout so hard sometimes when I walk them they throw up. But I think its really because they eat grass.

In this country (Bremeton) a sexually abused boy brought this mother's boyfriend's loaded handgun to school to protect himself and accidently shot a classmate. It was the 9 year old kid who was charged with a crime, not the parents who allowed access or the uncle who was sexually abusing the boy. That's how it goes down here.

Good suggestions Gene. Colchuck Lake (Dragontail and Colchuck Peaks) would be a totally worthwhile trip on a hot day. Colchuck Glacier can be icy - take axe and crampons. From east of Leavenworth drive south on HWY 97 to get to I-90 South Face of Ingalls would be a pretty easy day trip, not more that 10-12 hours even for a slow party me thinks.

Early July might not be too hot. I've climbed there some july 4th weekends when it was downright chilly. Depends on how early in July and the year. One can reasonably follow the shade and climb early in the morning and late in the afternoon and go swimming during the hottest part of the day if it is an issue.

Geezus, DPS, what the hell happened to you?! I noticed those short little legs on your dog in the photo--impressive for the little guy. You didn't kick him the whole way, did you? I don't kick the little guy, but I have to carry him sometimes. He's getting a bit long in the tooth. I'm *recovering* from a serious illness. Being out of the hospital and off of IV pain drugs is big step forward. Walking the dogs is like an expedition.

You better rest up after that, Bud. (but you can probably climb a hell of a lot better than I) I can barely climb off the couch right now. 2 1/2 miles is a big deal for me and my short legged dogs.

I walked the dogs 2 1/2 miles.

Vantage will likely be very warm, and kinda sucks anyway. Leavenworth would be good and has a good variety of moderate single pitch sport and trad. You can find shade if its hot. Viktor Kramar's guide book to Leavenworth is standard http://www.amazon.com/Leavenworth-Second-Edition-Viktor-Kramar/dp/B000U69294/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330828879&sr=1-3-fkmr0. Dave Whitelaw's 'Weekend Rock Climbs' http://www.amazon.com/Weekend-Rock-Washington-David-Whitelaw/dp/0898869846 is a good one also and covers other areas. Index in July is pretty great, but you should be pretty solid at trad 5.9 if you want to climb much there. Sky Valley Rock by Daryl Cramer covers Index. http://www.amazon.com/Sky-Valley-Rock-Climbs-Skyomish/dp/0967853109/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330828948&sr=1-2

Wow, great idea Dan! Thanks, Dan, I sure thought so. Wow, great idea Dan! Thanks, Dan, I sure thought so. Hey thanks Gene, I sure thought so.

Wow, great idea Dan! Thanks, Dan, I sure thought so.

A hardshell should fit over all the layers you plan on climbing/moving in. Your belay jacket should fit over all of these.

I'll attest to that. And a girl who fills out a pair of Carharts nicely at that.

Back then the sat phone would have been $400 and the flight was somewhere in the $600 range - combined too expensive. Ruth Gorge was just $350 plus we didn't need that sat phone, a much cheaper trip.

Actually many of the pilots these days are requiring that you have a sat phone with you -- especially if you are traveling to some spot of the beaten path (i.e. not the Ruth or Kahiltna). That way you can communicate to the pilot what conditions are around you. I've done AK expeditions where the single largest line item expensive was the rental and pre paid minutes for the satellite phone. Now with fuel prices being so high and sat phones being less expensive I'm sure that is not the case. But that cost had us change our objectve from a FA in the Luchania/Mt Steele area to the Ruth Gorge where a sat phone was not required.

Here is a constructive idea: Make your art, take photos of it, and project it on the cliff walls at night with a projector with the blessings of the Park and Dept of Fish and Wildlife so you don't disturb any birds. You get your pictograph idea across without being invasive.

I'm very interested in the radios, like the one mark Webster mentioned. What makes them so complicated to use? Are there classes one can take? As I mentioned, I am bad with technology, I can barely remember how to use my cell phone.

FYI, used Dana Designs ~80 liter pack looks to be in nice shape for sale here (not mine) http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=61479

Had problems with a sat phone in AK. Ran into Dr. Bill Straka on his way down Denali and he asked about my phone. I told him it wasn't working well. He explained that the satellites orbiting over the poles 'dropped' the signal as the signal switched from one satellite to the other. He knew this because he designed the satellite system. It was the Iridium system. Maybe they have improved now. Used the Spot once on a week long trip to send 'we're ok' messages to our spouses. Not one message went through. Again, it could be because I'm a Luddite, but they didn't work for me under non emergency situations so I don't trust them to work when I really need them. Not to mention the expense to buy the equipment and the fees for the network are for a just in case type of thing. Seems that a cell phone has just as much chance of working and since I already have that, I may just as well stick with it.

My experience with various comm devices including satelite phones, cellular phones, and Spot devices is they have all failed nearly 100% of the time. Perhaps me and my partners are hopeless Luddites, but the devices seem so hit and miss. If I am going to spend the money and weight I want something that is going to be nearly fail safe. Is there any one device that can make this claim, or should climbers now be expected to carry a cell phone, satelite phone, Spot, flares, mirror, and a Ham radio? Unfortunately, the excellent article in the NWAJ does not answer this basic question. Mark Webster's suggestion for the radio seems to be the best alternative, yet isn't it still bound by line of sight like all radios and cell phones or is it powerfull enough to broadcast out of say the bottom of the Luna Cirque?

I was the one who mentioned vagueness over on SP. The problem I see is the answers to many of these questions are situational. For examples: Basic Information Name (if you wish to be cited in a way other than your username): Dan Smith Age: 43 Weight: 165 Physical Height: 5'9" Name or Elevation of Childhood Town:* Seattle, sea level *Side interest, used to determine if childhood environment impacts ability to adapt to certain levels of height while climbing- My guess is few places in the US are high enough elevation to select for the genetics that lead to improved performance at high altitude, (Leadville, CO perhaps...) and the mobility and cross breading of the US population negates that anyway. In places like Bolivia and Tibet which have the highest permanent settlements and low genetic diversity this certainly may be an important factor. EDIT: Just read your reference. It supports my hypothesis. As a scientist I recommend you follow up on my suggestion below. (Something you many want to look at is existance of childhood respiratory challenges. Lots of annecdotal evidence to suggest that pulmonary disease (Asthma, etc) makes for stronger high altitude climbers: Jim and Lou Whittaker, Galen Rowell, Anatoli Bukarev, etc. Climbing Information all types Typical Carrying Capacity (if known): What does this mean? How much I can carry, or how much I do carry. It varies considerably for each objective. Years of Experience: 20 yrs Highest Recorded Personal Height: 18k Longest Climb (Guesstimate): Longest by what measure? Average Number of Climbing Partners: At a time or the number of people I've cimbed with? Usual/Favorite locale: Which one, favorite venues or usual venues? These are different. Preferred Manufacturer(s): For what? Sleeping bags? Clothing? Tents? Ice climbing gear? Backpacks? Rock climbing gear? Footware? Personal Accounts ???? - How often do you go climbing? 3-5 days a week With partners? Yes? Alone? Yes? Do you stick to areas you are familiar with or are you often in search for new conquests? Yes - What do you consider the bare minimum in safety equipment for your typical heights? Situationally dependent. Depends upon the type of climb, the season, the mountain, and specific route. - On average, what does your climbing loadout consist of? Loadout? Not sure what you mean - Do you find the weight of your gear to be a noticeable encumbrance? Has it ever endangered your safety? Yes and no. - Have you ever sacrificed a piece of necessary (or unnecessary) equipment for speed's sake? What was it? Why? Yes, fewer ice screws to save weight on a long approach to an alpine ice route. Left behind sleeping bag and tent (shiver bivi) to save weight and take a smaller pack for a technical alpine rock route. - What are some of the more notable injuries (if any) you have received while climbing? Where were you? In hindsight, is there anything that could have been done to avoid it? Broken arms, head injury, broken ankle, spinal inury. Girth Pillar, Mount Stuart. Avoidable loose rock. Should have trusted my 'inner voice'. - Do you insist on your climbing partners having matching gear or do you spread out necessities amongst the group? How much “personalization” is involved? Not sure what you mean. Some gear is shared, some is personal. Typically, the rope, rack, tent, stove kit, first aid kit, and sometimes even a sleeping bag or belay jacket are shared between partners. - Has a climbing partner ever endangered themselves or the well-being of others? How? Was it an acceptable risk? Climbing generally exposes climbers and their partners to risk and endangers themselves and others. Not sure how you or even I define what is an acceptable risk. It is again, situationally dependent. - What constitutes an “acceptable risk” for yourself Again, situationally dependant. Soloing 5.7 on solid rock might be an acceptable risk while soloing non technical terrain on a big glacier never is acceptable to me, but might be to others. - Has your safety equipment ever failed during a climb? What was it? What did you do? Yes. An A3 placment (small nut behind a flaring crack) failed when bounce testing. I fell, replaced the piece with a tiny cam and resumed the climb. - Why do you climb? It is fun - Other comments:

Corvids like to be known as the 'bad boys' of the bird world so they steal cigarettes to smoke behind the high school.

Corvids are considered the smartest birds, at least as smart as cats.