dbconlin

whoah, what a day to hear your story. I got a cat recently and it has been doing really well with our dog. today is their first day home alone together while we are at work. i hope i don't come home to what you did!

So, you cannot load MapTech or National Geo maps to Garmin GPS units, correct?

i have a couple of questions for eTrex users: -what do you have to buy in order to download good topo maps? -if you stick the unit in your pocket, do you have to wait for it to acquire satelites again before you will get an accurate point? how long? -what do you do to get around the previous question?

i wouldn't consider a barometric altimeter to be 'fluff'.

I haven't used either but I say that getting a magnetic compass and barometric altimeter for $50 is worth it. That way you don't have to carry those two items separately (assuming they work well on the eTrex), which reduces weight and cluster. I assume they also have time functions and alarm...? That would be nice.

Cafe Vivace is hands down the best espresso/latte I have ever had. I go back there every time I am in Seattle. There is one (best) on Broadway and another (good) across from REI. In Leavenworth, the best coffee is at Starbucks, sorry all you starbucks haters. I actually think they have great drip, and the espresso is standard Starbucks. I've heard good things about the drip at O'Grady's Pantry (at Sleeping Lady), but their espresso sucks. There is no good place to get coffee/espresso in Twisp (I have tried them all). The Rocking Horse in Winthrop is great, as is the bakery in Pateros. Never trust an espresso joint that doesn't have whole milk!

ibid what rat said.

yeah, i second what everyone else said! Pic #2 is da shit! Kudos to you guys.

Holy shit those are cool! Number 3! And 4! What would happen if you took the 'magical substances' and then looked at those photos? Huh? What would you see? Crazy shit... 'Magical substances' are aid, anyway.

I saw a Viper Fang modified to fit a Cobra. Worked really well. He told me he just started reomoving material from the Fang where it didn't fit and kept doing so until it did. Sounded pretty simple and the end result looked/worked great. What is his name, Kurt? He lives in Spokane or Pullman and Kurt Hicks, NYC007, pup_on_the_mountain, and I climbed with him at Banks.

One more thing, how careful should I be about going out and climbing again?

Thanks for the suggestions. One q re: Layton. You said "stop doing heel raises, if you climb in the PNW, you don't need to do heel raises." Well, I actually haven't done heel raises since first injuring it about 8 months ago. But I thought it might be good to start again (after recovering), but increase gradually, rather than what I did the first time which caused the injury in the first place. But you say no, correct? How does climbing in the PNW differ from anywhere else? If I climbed elsewhere would you recommend I do do them? Incidentally, I do stretch my calves regularly, after a workout (weights or biking/skate skiing) and sometimes also after a day in the hills. So I will definitely continue to do this. I am interested in taking your advice doing forefoot raises. Care to comment on why this might help? Thanks, again! Dave

beauty. nice pics.

Wrapping the rope seemed to be standard at all the gyms I have gone to. At least one gym I used to frequent also had belayer anchors available that came out of the floor padding.

I injured my calf last year doing too many heel raises after being kind of out of shape. I thought I had recovered fully from this but just last weekend I was ice climbing and my calves (both) got quite sore. I didn't think too much of it, but as one of my calves recovered in the normal time, the previously injured one did not. Now I have the feeling of kind of a knot on the outside edge of my calf. Any suggestions what I can do to recover and prevent reinjuring it yet again?

Dude you are climbing all sorts of desert drips this year! Way to go!

Snowden - Anti Anti (funky modern/alt rock) Ladytron - Witching Hour (funky electronic) Josh Rouse - Nashville (country-folk singer-songwriter) Jeff Tweedy - Live (mostly Wilco tunes) Gorillaz - Demon Days (funky shit) Cat Empire - Two Shoes (reggae tinged funk) Black Keys - Rubber Factory (funky blues-rock) Kind of a funk theme goin' on this month, I guess.

I always carry at least 1 22 cm screw for this purpose. While in good ice, shorter lengths may provide adequate v-threads, why not make the best. Especially since I usually commit my whole life to this single anchor and I have some reservations about doing that even in good ice with 22 cm holes. I've usually used about 7mm cord. Sewn thin runners are sometimes easier to grab with the v-thread tool, but that gets pricey. I've tied cord with double fishermans. I've only used them for rapping, but I could see it being a good way to top rope (2 threads equalized). I haven't placed for pro due to time/fatigue placing it. I have usually used a single v-thread, if ice is good. If ice is sketch, I like to equalize 2, but you use 2-3 times as much cord/webbing. Suprisingly, I have never had too much trouble aiming the second hole properly even with 22 cm screws. Backing up with unweighted screw for first rappeller (perhaps heaviest) is definitely a good idea.

click 'my stuff', then 'my messages' at the top of the page. Should be a folder icon with your message. Also, if unread, there should be a blinking letter next to 'my stuff'. Click it.

So, why don't they import this to North America? Similar to XMonster (same head) but more traditional shaft Similar to taa-k-oon but lighter. Also, unlike taa-k-oon, you can clip into the spike with the horn-thingy in place. Don't know if it is designed to hold body-weight or not. I learned last weekend that having a weight bearing hole in the spike to clip your umbilical to may be something I would set as a priority when buying my next tools. We had a pin blow in our anchor, sending the second, who was tied off to it, on a short fall which was arrested by his umbilical, attached to two XMonsters. Of course better anchor design/management should prevent this (my fault), but why not have a back-up that just may save your ass, as it did in this case? As an aside, too bad they stopped making the double-spring. What is up with that? Also, what is up with the turtle-neck on this tool?

There are definitely a couple of different ways to climb the 'first pitch' of this route. Looks like you guys took the farthest left option. I've never gone that way, but maybe that is the source of the disagreement regarding steepness...? Anybody take the right-angling gully on the first pitch this past weekend, of the many parties that were there? That is the way I've done it (twice) and I think is how it is described in the book. More rock pro options that way.

I saw a sweet line on the Goat Wall today. Lots of ice. Steep. Probably 3-4 pitches. I was going to take a picture, but was working/driving and couldn't justify stopping and using co. camera. Too bad. But it is in.

Thanks for the enlightening post. Hopefully I will avoid the need, but it is definitely good to know.

I think the Civettas will take Intuitions. Civetta Extremes definitely will. I have them in Alphas.

My experiences: Garmont Sticky Twist - great support, good grip, durable, relatively stiff sole, my top choice of the shoes I've owned. They don't make 'em anymore, but here is the current version: Montrail D7 - Lightweight, more sneaker like, climbs good (probably the best of the ones I've tried), flimsy, not durable: La Sportiva Exum Ridge - Lightest, running-shoe-like fit, durable, not as sticky, don't climb as well: