rbw1966

I have always had real good service at the Mountain Shop.

Yes--an interesting story of someone from a privileged background who made a huge sacrifice for his country as told by someone doing their best to sell a lot of books. It could have been told in about 50 pages but Krakauer stretched it out as much as he could. I've never been a big fan of Krakauer but I picked up the book while in the airport and in need of something to read. There is a reason it was so deeply discounted. Thats my $.02.

Anyone remember the "Ratagonia" debacle?

Moral relativism eh?

Another vote for the Laser.

Snorkeling with sea turtles, manta rays, iguanas; rappelling into volcano vents and sipping cervezas surfside in the Galapagos is way better than suffering the indignities of "work."

I dont think Ratagonia is making the Das Parka anymore. Take a look at the micro puff parka. It may take some trial and error to find what works best for you. Dont be afraid to buy used and sell it if its not cutting it. Check out the yard sale here.

I have one of those FISH bags and the thing is nearly bulletproof. 2 Alaska trips and 3 trips to South America and it finally has a hole in the bottom from me dragging it around airports and on concrete. Pick up one of the booze mufflers while you are at it.

Jrat? As in Ratagonia? Tom is that you?

clearly you have not mastered the art of leading w/ cig in mouth! makes you feel oh-so-french I thought pulling on the gear is what makes one feel french?

Thats quite a stimulus package

Yeah--since you are a dad we know the answers to those questions. Chris Hanson is on his way to interview you.

I have a dakine ski bag I bought on STP for something like $20. Nicely padded, it fits two pairs of skis, two sets of poles, skins and other odds and ends--could easily fit crampons and ice tools if you remove the pics. Rang in just below 50 lbs when I went to Austria over xmas. Weight of skis should be a bigger consideration than weight of bag.

Check out Fred's TDI board for all the evangelism on VW TDI's you could possibly stomach. I had two TDI's, both 1997s, one a sedan and the other a wagon. The engine is pretty much bulletproof; the electrics are most definitely NOT. I averaged about 47MPG in either vehicle. I bought my wagon in PA and drove it to Portland, only filling the tank 3 times. Do that in a Prius. It was nice getting such killer mileage for the first 5 years or so but maintenance costs pretty much made any savings a wash over time. The wagon was 2WD and I went anywhere in that car that I did in my 4runner and almost never slid or had any problems getting stuck. VW may very well have improved their reliability issues. I won't be rushing to buy one though. I drive a Honda now.

Foam (or bicycle-like) helmets are good for ONE hard hit then they should be retired. The foam absorbs the impact and is deformed. Hit something hard enough and this helmet will shatter but your noggin will be protected. Its very similar to a bike helmet. The solid-plastic shell helmets are good for many small strikes--e.g. falling rocks, ice, etc. Not so good for big impacts but some protection is better than nothing.

Do you find it surprising?

GW has the ignoble record of spending the most time vacationing than any other president in history--and under his watch we had 9/11 and two wars.

I thought Pink was Kevbone's guy.

Are you taking skis? If so your ski boots should be fine. I've climbed in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru and didn't need plastic boots. I used gaitors but not overboots. I took overboots on my first trip but never used them. I wore Salomon Pro Ice boots. I'm a believer in getting a good nights sleep so I dont scrimp on sleeping bags--I took the same bag with me I used in Alaska and was glad I did (-40F) because I used it with a bivvy sack in Bolivia. You could get by with a lot less if you have to.

Did you know that about once a week, on average, someone jumps off the Fremont Bridge?

:[]

a more sensible cut n' paste job, complete w/ the source, another dead hero, douglas adams: "This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy. " Much better!

more zeitgeist bullshit? At least you could attribute your source.

Off is in FINE form!

That red fang video kicks ass!