tivoli_mike

Late reply on this one, but I am actually digging the Filson wool knickers on the left. Last I checked with Filsons they were only doing stuff in the wax coated 12 oz. "duck" cloth.

Check out the Clean's anthology album, pretty much influenced everyone from Yo La Tengo, Violent Femmes, through Seattle's Kinski. Or go with Abba's "Gold" , that sh*t rocks :-)

Try the "farmer's friend" salve from Burt's Bees. Good Honey-based cream. I use it after gym visits.

"bonafide academic institutions" Well there you go, we will just reorganize ourselves into the University of Crackology. Or perhaps the University of Washington Climbing Club will be overwhelmed by alumni doing "outings".

Well, if you're going to get the Outback go with the 6. One of my main issues with the 4 cylinder ( outback and legacy ) was the lack of pickup to get into traffic and then running high in the gears in the top speeds. I have got the '03 w/ the H6 and do see a small decrease in mileage over the GF's old Legacy.

Hmm. no Darrington. Fine by me. Let's keep it quiet :-)

We won't be NASCAR-free for long though! WooHoo Marysville

Actually the middle didn't decide this election, it was far larger turnout of the Republican base ( i.e. White Christian Evangelicals ) that turned it to Bush

Well, one thing I hope comes of this is that the Democratic party finally goes through the bloody transformation from being the party of "Republican-lite" to something more progressive or perhaps we'll slide into a Mexican-style democracy ( a la the PRI ) where one party is pretty much in power for 70 years...

Its a good shop for cycle gear as well, I have found some vintage wool jerseys for cheap!

here is the pix ( image 78 ) from the sidewalk

If you go to the site and select the images tab, go to page 4 and about image 67 - 71 appear to be on the Sidewalk... uh...nice helmet and tights.

Yikes! I went up the west buttress route a month ago for the first time. The sidewalk was a challenge, especially on tired legs on the descent, but not earth shattering. Why did they have to set fixed lines? Man, this does suck.

I would put another vote in for the Pocket Rocket as well, especially when you combine it with a small titanium pot and a snow peak ( about half the size of an MSR one) canister, you have a got a great lightweight cooking system.

Unfortunately , I don't have pix but I will probably return soon and then I'll take some pix. There are slabs on the NW shore of the lake and then some fair sized faces ( mulipitch probably ) as you head south. Even the trail on the Eastern shore cuts across a few slabs ( blasted out it looks like ).

Just spent a few days out amongst the Alpine Lakes from the Stevens Pass side. On todays hike up to Dorothy Lake, I noticed that on the West bank of the area that there are some nice slab and face routes. Looks like you can just cross at the outlet and some minimal bushwhack and boulder hopping took you to the base of one set of slabs. Any history of routes or climbing up there? Did a search here and google and didn't come up with much.

Climb: Blueberry Hill-Western Buttress aka Booty Central Date of Climb: 8/8/2004 Trip Report: Headed out on my first, long multipitch trad route w/ scottp. Hit the base of the Sidewalk around 9ish. Switched to rock shoes for a small part of the quite damp lower portion, we finally made it to the base of the climb around 10. Did about six pitches up to the terrace, scoring several slings and one big cam along the way. We found another one on the crux pitch, but it was pretty well stuck in its crack. Fumbled around the anchors to Dark Rhythm and decided on just rapping from trees more directly above our route. We rapped down to and used two of the Dark Rhythm anchors before traversing across to avoid the "rope eating flake" on Dark Rhythm's third pitch. Made it to the packs around 4:30, and cursed the entire descent down the "Sidewalk". Kudos to Perkins and the rest who make that journey on a regular basis. Notes about the route: There is one rather nasty looking flake above the fourth pitch that is bowing out into an arch and looks like it could release at any moment. We climbed along the left of it, but I would give it a wide berth if you can. Plus, we can't believe the booty we scored on this climb , including the 3.5 cam that came out of its crack with a quick application of the nut tool. All-in-all a great day to climb and gain some experience placing pro and getting critiqued "You fool! You call that a placement?" The last pitch is runout but fairly low key. Gear Notes: Bring lotsa slings , in case you 're having to rap from the trees. Gear up to 3.5" is appropriate Approach Notes: Hellish descent down the slabs after a day of climbing

bump - needed a laugh at work

Try the brooks leather B-17 saddle. Slightly wider than most road racing seats, breaks in well ( hey its leather ), and you can get it pretty light ( one model I believe comes with titanium rails ).

Awhile ago, someone posted this photo, but I can't find it ( or at least not using the right search strings )...

egads, someone's posting Meatmen lyrics...

do you use a front loader?

How about the old water tower in Volunteer Park? Excellent traversing... the walls are covered in chalk. http://www.urbanfreeflow.com/UrbanFreeFlow/frontpage.htm

You could try Second Ascent in Ballard, they seem to carry a fair amount of used clothes for skiing

Just got a note from Dallas Kloke, that the binder dropped the ball and the guides are now delayed until Jan...