Alex

vote yes but levies and state sales taxes are a stoopid way to fund education and government will the next candidate for gov PLEASE run on a platform of tax code reform? thanks

what a crock of shit

this happened to me two years ago. I knew I was in trouble when we were still on the tarmac and the overweight woman overflowing the chair next to me loudly introduced herself to me as one of the principle plaintiffs in the contractor lawsuit against Microsoft. Great.

Ray, I have heard the same thing said about Clark that you said: within the military he was not respected. I don't know much about him, so can't make any real guesses as to how good a candidate he is. Knowing you would not choose Clark, who would you choose of the other 3 front runners now? Kerry, Dean, or Edwards?

The FCC launching an immediate investigation into Janets display makes me puke. Only in the US could one ever believe that an audience of 120 MILLION CABLE TV SUBSCRIBERS had never seen a tit before. The football crowd needs to get out more. Or get laid more. Or something. Shit.

now you're sounding like CBS

stellar pic Caveman!!

I think that anything near the passes, where its been snowing hard the last several days, would be a bad idea.

I think the ice around Lilwet didnt suffer much Alex

I reserve such areas for times when I wanna get worked over good damn..

A snowmobile is handy for the uphill approach. If you go the long windy logging roads, the ski approach is something on the order of 3+ hours up (but only 25 min down)! So don't go in that way if you dont have a snomobile. (You could always tempt fate and try to hitch a tow from passing sledders) If you are skiing in, the Preston/Nevers approach to Split Rock Camp is probably the straightest line in. Bring a USGS quad, a compass, and bust it out. Its not bad, just trees and occaisional underbrush. Tues the travel conditions were great through the trees and through the boulderfields. The snow was very firm and consolidated, and there were no holes to punch through and not much new snow to posthole through. That coupled with the fact that I've been in there a few times makes getting to the base of the routes pretty easy. There is orange flagging from the corner of the clearcut where 609 ends to the boulderfield, but its no more than a 10 minute through-the-trees 'shwack. If it is snowing up there now, I would say it will be slower travel once again.

So a little quick math "Sunday .. Sunny. Low minus 16. High minus 7." Sunday, your approach in the dark will be frigid and your headlamp batteries will be dead anyway. Might as well get plastered Sat night and sleep in.

Arrrrr!

no, we banned them all, Seattle-liberal style

while the free climbing below now-missing fixed pin was probably 5.10 and does actually take bomber gear, pulling into and through the slot was pretty fucking hard, as I recall, with no rest or stance to place pro. You'll notice the little 5.11+ there, thats the move(s) that the pin protected.

I think Captain Black Bart just became my new favorite avatar on this site!

Chris, nice TR! Fishhook Arete and that Dihedral on Russel look cool.

a pentium 266 running XP huh? sounds like a waitin' good time!

yeah, we just ban people at random now to test the drop down box for the BBS software

man I remember the day when carabiners were 3.33 in bulk from Campmor. Thats 3 carabiners!!

A long-ass time ago I learned a very valuable, important lesson about the Internet: No one gives a fuck about you. No one will "miss you" when you are gone. I made the mistake of thinking that I was more important to one site I administered for many years, once. But no one cared when I left there. Oh sure, when I visited from time to time (trying to figure out if they missed me enough to ask me back yet) they remembered something about me...but it wasnt like they had emergency back-room meetings.."Alex is leaving!!! What do we DO???" New people to this or any site won't have the context of your posts or personality, and old posters will either bring you up at Pub Club while telling a drunken funny story, or not at all. Its natural for you to think that people you spend so much time with and who you possibly think are your friends should miss you or support you. In many cases, they might. But don't fool yourself about how important you might be to the majority of posters here. If you really want to leave something, then I suggest that a legacy you *can* leave is to leave well thought out, timeless content in the trip reports sections of the site. (I just read a CLASSIC one this am from Layton about an alpine climb from the perspective of his pending poop seeking freedom!!) These are the posts people will be searching through in the future. This is the material people will read, then click on your avatar icon, find your email address, and send you a message. Alex

I have my own sled (the 1979 Arctic Cat Panther in the foreground). I have to say reverse, push button start, and headlights are really nice features in a snowmobile though! I asked about the air date for this feature. Don't hold your breath, sometime in Fall 2004 maybe. I would like to also mention that Nick, Ed and Todd were troopers. They hauled alot of weight and did alot of work, and made a really good impression with their professionalism, enthusiasm, and homework. I have no doubt that what they produce will be really excellent!

Climb: Strobach-Sad Ce'bu and Sudden Change of Plan Date of Climb: 1/27/2004 Trip Report: This was a little more unusual. Oregon Public Broadcasting contacted Jason to do a public TV special on ice climbing/adventure many months ago. At the time, we settled on Strobach as a location for an adventurous ice climbing and snowmobiling day out, since we figured if any place had a chance of having a climbable route and colder conditions in late Jan, it would be there. We all met in Naches at 7am and got underway. It was warm. With the filming, interviewing, and general logistical challenges of moving lots of camera equipment, 3 TV guys and 4 climbers up the mountain, we only got climbing at around noon (despite the approach being only 20 min with the sled). Camera crew and climbers mingling at the end of the 609 road. When we first got to the area, things were looking pretty lean. Here are two of the routes left of Seperation Gully. I briefly thought about trying the route on the left, but threw out that idea when I got closer and the ice looked real chandeliered. So far the conditions were not looking that great for quality TV programming! We moved over to Sudden Change and Sad Ce'bu, which in years past Jason, Gene, and I have been able to climb even when the rest of the area was out. Those looked good enough and with Dropline menacing as a backdrop, we set up to climb for the cameras. Jason got to take a "helmet cam" up the route with him, while Gene and I took a DV camcorder up Sad Ce'bu and the film crew shot from the ground. Sudden Change, Sad Ce'bu, and Dropline in hard conditions. The climbing was steep and technical, with sometimes delecate but adequate pro. Everyone had fun! Gene Pires leads the second pitch of Sad Ce'bu. Conditions: Travel conditions very good in the boulder fields. It took us only 20-30 min from clearcut at end of 609 to base of the climbs on snowshoes. The entire area is a bit water-starved. Need more snow and more cold to feed and grow the routes. The first route left of Seperation is in but thin. Sad Cebu and Sudden Change are in. The rest of the routes in the Motherlode area are not "in", but many are trying hard. Gear Notes: good ice and pro, but bring some stubbies! Approach Notes: sno mo trails are well-used.

you can buy a fair sized kitchen appliance for 250$ these days...

michelle, your confusion is due to: the "one pin that generally has webbing on it about 20' off the deck" is actually 2 pins very close together and equalized. the third pin is the one in the v-slot below and left of the ringing flake someone confirm?