AlpineK

Nice pictures. It sounds like fun times. For future reference the North Cascades are north of Stevens Pass (HWY 2)

For years the big three, especially GM, were on top. They got complacent enough everybody hated them. That puts Toyota in the drivers seat, and like their predecessor they're starting down a slope. I'm sure they'll pull out for now, but being in the lead of auto manufacturing keeps them near the edge of a cliff. I'm going to look for one of them Indian or Bangladeshi cars.

Everybody likes shrimp. Shrimp are pretty much insects of the sea. Shrimp ain't bacon though.

Running down the trail from the summit with oncoming hikers is extreme Nice weekend

Read the last few posts above. We got your attention, didn't we! And the Via Ferrata photo we so enjoy is intended to put things into perspective....it's just one step beyond sport-climbing in so many ways! Grabbing my attention? Sure the picture did, and I think it is a amusing photo. The thing is it helps a thread turn to a clown show. I like a good clown act! Laughing at a picture doesn't make me jump to the conclusion that you have the correct viewpoint though. If your goal is to make a serious point then you have to save the circus act for later. Nice that ya met Rodger of Rodger's Corner.

I'm not sure Raindawg can carry on/participate in a serious debate about the subject of bolting with out use of [img:center]http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/503/Yes_You_.gif[/img] It would be interesting to see it happen. Rogers Corner

Those fucking paramarkers

Having been on Rainier with Hugh on the day where the use of the word capped later came up I can assure you, "Bug," that the chances of Hugh actually capping you are about 0%. Besides the thread quickly turned to Caping. [img:center]http://www.skirmishgoldcoast.com.au/images/sep%2009/caped%20crusaiders.jpg[/img] The only question we really have is differentiating posting based on subject. Lots of people like to bs around the campfire, but they may not want their conversation easily googled by folks thinking of hiring them for work. On the other hand serious subjects involving climbing ethics may be worth forcing everybody to stand behind what they say. No matter what given enough time and searching we can all be identified and tied to a user name. It's just a matter of whether or not to eliminate searching effort on some subjects.

Yep it is a double post, but in this case it's totally worth it. Bad ass route!

Trip: Blewitt Pass - Diamond Head and Little Diamond head Date: 2/6/2010 Trip Report: Blewitt Pass is an area of the Cascades I always meant to go skiing at, but somehow I never got around to actually skiing there. Fortunately for me I got a message from some backcounty skiers I know letting me know one of them planned on a trip to the Diamond Head area. Late is better than never, so I met up with the group. The main Blewitt Pass parking lot was full of snowmobilers. I've always avoided areas that crowd likes, but after a short treck up the logging road we were on a side trail and only heard a few engine whines the rest of the day. A bit of uptrack We skied on slopes on the north side of Diamond Head. The skiing was fun stuff but over quickly. From the bottom of our run we skied further to the north and summited Little Diamond Head. View back towards Diamond Head Skiing north facing slopes from here was fun. If I were to rate the ski runs I liked stuff off Little Diamond Head better. From here we skied north to Tronsen Meadows then back to the road. At the road one of our group snagged a ride and went up to the pass and picked up our vehicle. We could have lapped a few more runs, but a couple guys in the groups had to head home. The area is fun and worth skiing more at. I didn't see anything super gnarly, but the north facing snow up high was nice powder. It seems like a good area for skiing when avy conditions are questionable. Gear Notes: Backcountry ski gear Approach Notes: There are marked trails in the area. Cut off the main logging road to the right (eastwards) early on. The ski in heads due south. The parking on the way out from the Tronsen area is about 3/4ths of a mile north on 97 from the pass.

Actually I was more interested in this picture's view of the snow-skiing conditions. [img:center]http://www.cascadeclimbers.com/plab/data/504/medium/127_2733.JPG[/img] It may inspire a ski day.

The only prediction of snow I found was 38 degrees and a slight chance of snow at Snoqualmie on Sunday.

I like the trend this thread is finally taking! [video:youtube]

Not an animal, but white bark pines face similar problems. Trees can grow at higher elevations, but eventually they reach the top of the mountain. They provide food for animals. White bark pines

I'm thinking that even though the kids care and want to help they simply will not be able to prop him up in old age.

:tup:please make this topic go away Nice picture Not on topic, but at this point at least there's something cool to look at.

And I responded to that short sighted post. Keep up. You gave little of a response. Major impacts to the environment are like those that I described. There is a huge difference between them and bolting. Yes bolting has enough impact that it rates some discussion among differing sides, but the impact does not deserve attention like the mining I described or even the impact of ORVs in the wilderness. If we spend any time on the subject it should be to discourage overbolting, crack bolting, or creating routes out of character with a crag. Spending time and effort to preserve crags like Index is worth our time and effort. Idiotic arguements about whether bolts were placed on rap do not deserve our time. Sure saying I placed those bolts on lead is interesting information, but in the end a nice route with an appropriate amount of anchors is more important hang or no hang.

Butte Montana has a much bigger problem with environmental degradation than all the bolts in the world have caused. Now if you add in the Kellogg ID area bolts are nothing more than a blip only visible to a couple people.

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Nice photos. In most years I'd never expect to make it past plowed parking off the highway.

At this point it seems like this is the best commentary on Jesus. You can listen and decide how it relates to climbing skills [video:youtube]

I haven't seen anything. Usually there's an event at Alpental, but ??? this year. Alpental does say something about a 2010 event, but

The only way to not be a punk is to put in some years.

I didn't realize first-hand knowledge was a prerequisite for spouting off around here. I don't like to make statements about climbing routes without first hand knowledge, but that's just me. I have climbed Condorphamine Addiction. I like the climbing, and it has nice views of the mountains while climbing. I don't care whether the bolts were placed on lead or rap. The only negative in my view is it would be a much better route as a 3 pitch climb with half as many bolts. I would like to climb IB since I've never climbed in the Garfield area. Obviously power drilling in a wilderness area is a negative, but perhaps a necessary negative since I believe it will, or has, inspire route setters to study maps more to make sure they aren't in a wilderness area before breaking out the power drill. On CC bolting leads to a lot of idiotic debates that are both amusing and annoying. On questioning by folks who find out I mod here I usually tell them to read bolting debates here if they like to sift through a ton of bs or find that sort of thing funny. A serious discussion regarding bolting would be nice since I believe there are real issues, but I question if that would ever happen here. Raindawg and Pope are representatives of one faction of the discussion. They do have points worth discussing, but they usually represent their views with pictures of ham sandwiches on routes or Richard Simmons. I laughed the first time I saw it, but with humor you need to come up with new material otherwise it's stale.