Jason_Martin

That area is suposidly closed to climbing right now. Not many people are fighting for it because it's somewhat obscure in light of Red Rock and J-Tree both being so close. Jason

This just in... ________________________________________________________ NOVEMBER 23rd 2004 OHIO CONGRESSMAN RAMS PUBLIC LAND ACCESS FEES THROUGH CONGRESS Western Senators Try But Fail to Stop Controversial Measure An Ohio congressman with no public lands in his district has forced a measure through Congress to implement permanent access fees for recreation on all land managed by the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation. Ralph Regula (R-OH), the original architect of the unpopular Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo), succeeded in attaching his bill as a rider to the giant Omnibus Appropriations Bill recently enacted in the lame duck session of Congress. The bill was never passed by the House and was never introduced, given a hearing, or voted upon in the Senate. Omnibus bills are considered “must pass” legislation because of the potential for a government shutdown. Some members of Congress use riders attached to them as a way of getting funding for pet projects often referred to as “pork.” Regula’s bill, HR 3283, allows the federal land management agencies to charge access fees for recreational use of public lands by the general public. The bill has been highly controversial and is opposed by hundreds of organizations, state legislatures, county governments and rural Americans. HR 3283 passed the House Committee on Resources in September under strong pressure from Regula, who is expected to become the next Chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee. His bill is a radical change in the way public lands are funded and stands in contrast to a more moderate competing bill passed by the Senate. There, Senator Thomas (R-WY) sponsored S.1107 that would let the National Park Service retain their entrance fees for local use but would allow access fees to expire in the other agencies. Thomas’s bill passed the Senate in May by unanimous consent but never had a hearing in the House. Early in last week’s lame duck session, Regula’s attempts to attach his rider were strongly rejected by the Chairmen of all four pertinent Senate committees. Senator Thomas of the National Parks Subcommittee, Senator Domenici (R-NM) at Energy and Natural Resources, Senator Craig (R-ID) of the Public Lands Subcommittee, and Senator Burns (R-MT), Chair of the Interior Appropriations Committee, all westerners, succeeded in forcing Regula to remove his rider on Tuesday. By Thursday, however, Regula had reneged on the agreement. He went over the heads of the Senate’s public lands chairmen and struck a deal with Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Regula reportedly agreed to give Stevens funding for a road in a remote community in Alaska in exchange for allowing Regula’s bill to be reattached. That left the four Senators who had negotiated the original deal hopping mad and disappointed millions of fee opponents who expected that such a seismic shift in policy would receive public hearings, not be done behind closed doors “This was a victory of pork over principle,” said Robert Funkhouser, President of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition, which has worked to oppose the Fee Demo program. “Ralph Regula is responsible for the first tax increase of the Bush administration. He and Senator Stevens have sold out America’s heritage of public lands for the price of a road.” The Regula bill will go into effect when Fee Demo expires at the beginning of fiscal year 2005 unless the new congress acts to derail it. Its key provisions include permanent recreation fee authority for all National Forests and BLM land as well as all land managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the National Park Service. Failure to pay the fees will be a criminal offense punishable by up to $5,000 and/or 6 months in jail. Drivers, owners, and occupants of vehicles not displaying either a daily or annual pass will be presumed guilty of failure to pay and can all be charged, without obligation by the government to prove their guilt. The measure encourages agencies to contract with private companies and other non-governmental entities to manage public lands and to enforce fee collection. The bill also establishes a national, interagency annual pass called the America the Beautiful Pass, expected to cost $85-$100 initially. These provisions have encountered strong opposition in the west and in rural areas nationwide. The program is considered a double tax by many and puts the burden of funding the management agencies on the backs of rural Americans. Regula’s bill failed to attract a single western sponsor but was co-sponsored by seven eastern congressmen. “This is an abuse of position by Congressman Regula” according to Funkhouser. “Changing public land policy in the middle of the night via a rider is despicable. Once again the Congressman has proven to be hostile to rural and western values and will stop at nothing to push his agenda”. The provisions in HR 3283 are intended to replace the former Fee Demo program, also created by Regula. Fee Demo was similarly passed as a rider on an Omnibus Appropriations bill in 1996. Originally a two-year demonstration, it was repeatedly extended and is now in its eighth year. Fee Demo has sparked protests nationwide and widespread non-compliance. Hundreds of organized groups, as well as four state legislatures and dozens of counties, opposed the program. Contacts: Senator Thomas’s office – 202-224-6441 Congressman Regula’s office – 202-225-3876 Senator Stevens’s office – 202-224-3004 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- November 30, 2004 OK, fellow Public Lands accessors! We may have proof of Divine existence here. There seems to be one last chance to defeat Fee Demo after all. A few days ago it seemed a done deal, then that Ohio Senator pulled his underhanded last minute sneak play, adding Fee Demo to the money bill. The House passed the bill unread, but the Senate objected, and we have a chance. If you never make another political call, make this one! Please read the notice and help! Doug Green, RMCC Conservation ACTION ALERT! PERMANENT FEES CAN STILL BE PULLED FROM REGULA’S OMNIBUS BILL An unexpected delay in final passage of the massive omnibus Appropriations bill has given public lands fee opponents ANOTHER CHANCE to defeat Ralph Regula's scheme to legislate permanent public lands fees behind closed doors using a parliamentary sleight of hand, without debate or public hearings. You may have heard in the news that a clause offensive to privacy Rights advocates (it would allow certain members of Congress and their staffs To view previously off-limits IRS tax returns) was discovered in the Spending bill. The bill, with the offending clause, had already received House approval. The Senate deleted the IRS clause before they voted. The House and Senate versions are therefore different, and so final approval has not yet been achieved and the bill has not yet been sent to the President for signature The Congress has been called back for a second lame duck session beginning December 6 to settle the issues. At that time, House leadership can also make any other changes they like to the bill, INCLUDING REMOVAL OF CONGRESSMAN REGULA’S UNAMERICAN PERMANENT FEE BILL, HR 3283. HELP PULL FEES OUT OF THE OMNIBUS BILL. I am sending the following letter to Leadership of both the House and Senate: Dear Sirs: The Western Slope No-Fee Coalition respectfully requests that you move immediately to delete HR 3283 from the omnibus spending bill currently under consideration by the U.S. House. This bill is substantive legislation, including criminal penalties, that fundamentally changes the way America's public lands are funded and managed. Yet it has never been approved by the full House and has never been introduced, had hearings, or been voted upon in the Senate. HR 3283 would allow the federal land management agencies to charge access fees for recreational use of public lands by the general public. It would replace the Recreational Fee Demonstration Program (Fee Demo) which began in 1996 (via an appropriations rider) as a two-year demonstration and has been extended (as a rider) every year since then, with a permanent fee program. Fee Demo has been highly controversial and is opposed by hundreds of organizations, state legislatures, and county governments and by millions of rural Americans. These fees are a double tax that puts the burden of funding the management agencies on the backs of rural Americans. HR 3283 would constitute the first tax increase of the Bush administration. The attempt to slip such a controversial measure into the omnibus has ignited a firestorm in the West. Fee Demo is even more intensely unpopular now than it was when it was originally implemented, and this bill would be unlikely to pass on its own merits. To tack it on as an appropriations rider is an abuse of legislative power. House leadership should take this opportunity to right the wrong that is about to be perpetrated on the American people. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Robert Funkhouser, President, Western Slope No-Fee Coalition HERES WHAT YOU CAN DO: THIS WEEK, before December 3rd, contact the key congressional leaders Listed below, by phone or fax. Also call or fax your own Representative and both of your Senators. A massive outpouring of opposition, not only to the bill itself but to its method of passage, WILL have a major impact! SAMPLE LETTER OR PHONE CALL: Please remove HR 3283 as a rider on the omnibus spending bill. Substantive legislation, especially with criminal penalties involved, should go through a full legislative procedure of public hearings and debate. I am outraged at this abuse of the appropriations process HR 3283 should not be passed without ever seeing the light of day. (please vary the wording) Here is who to contact: Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House Phone: 202/225-2976 Fax: 202/225-0697 Tom Delay, House Majority Leader Phone: 202/225-5951 Fax: 202/225-5241 Rep. Ralph Regula Phone: 202/225-3876 Fax: 202/225-3059 Bill Young, Chair, House Appropriation Committee Phone: 202/225-5961 Fax: 202/225-9764 Bill Frist, Senate Majority Leader Phone: 202/224-3344 Fax: 202/228-1264 Ted Stevens, Chair, Senate Appropriations Committee Phone: 202/224-3004 Fax: 202/224-2354 Thank you again for your support! Robert Funkhouser

I have to admit I have not seen it in Seattle. But in Las Vegas, it's quite clear that the Banff people have selected the films. Jason

Mountaineers have nothing to do with which films are shown at a given performance. The agency which brings the film festival really doesn't do much aside from provide the space and do the advertising... Jason

They didn't edit it out of our book. In fact nobody at mountaineers ever even questioned it... Jason

Bertulis is far more at fault than the film festival -- at least initially. The BMFF cannot be expected to research the orgins of every entry made to their festival. There is a level of trust there for those who submit films. On the other hand, the fact that Bertulis did not do his homework here is somewhat unforgivable. As was stated above, I don't think this was a malicious thing that Bertulis did. Instead, it was an ignorant thing. Not confirming the filmmaker's death and taking the prize money is not excusable. I believe that if the BMFF doesn't make amends with the original filmmaker, then it is up to Bertulis. On that note, though I don't believe that the BMFF is responsible for this oversight. I do believe that they should apologize and possibly even take the award back. Though it may have been an oversight, it's still wrong. Jason

Butterfly knots tend to work better between the climbers than other knots. This is because the butterfly knot is on both sides of the rope, whereas the overhand or the eight knot is only on one side of the rope. The butterfly knot is far more likely to catch on the lip of the crevasse than pretty much any other knot because of its shape. The number one problem with knots in between climbers is extraction. Prusiking past knots or creating a hauling system with knots in the rope are both problematic situations. In either case you must pass a knot. The only way to do this effectively is to have your crevasse rescue techniques down cold. Miller recommended a guide for instruction of this technique. I completely concur. Most people practice their crevasse rescue once or twice a year, if that. Guides practice and teach these techniques all summer. As such you are more likely to learn an efficient way to pull someone out quickly from a guide than from a friend who practices every once in awhile. Jason

A bit of snow in Red Rock today too. Jason

I'm curious who the guide was... The methods he was using seem slightly unusual. So there are a few things to consider here. The reality of a magic x or a self equalizing anchor is that should something fail, there will be a shockload on the remaining anchor. However, I do believe that the magic x is a valid type of anchor system. It may not be as good as an anchor system wherein an overhand eight is employed to make the anchor SRENE or ERNEST or RENE or whatever acronym you like, but it is an acceptable anchor in some circumstances. All of the same concerns listed in the directional anchor discussion exist in ice climbing. It is important to keep people from being jerked up into a roof. Ice screws in good ice are somewhat multi-directional, so that shouldn't be such a concern. The idea of belaying off the anchor is better for a leader belaying a second. This is better than belaying off the harness because of the simplicity of belay escapes and the ease of some of the modern belay devices like the reverso and the Gi-Gi. Belaying a leader off the anchor is NOT an acceptable option. If the guide was doing this, it's likely an indication of a lack of professional guide training. Another thing that is very important to realize while building a belay station on ice is that the screws should not be side by side. They should be offset. We get used to seeing bolts side by side on the rock and don't think much about it on the ice, but this can be dangerous. It is far better to have them offset to make it less likely that they are in the same patch of ice. Lastly, when swaping leads on ice, I often don't really build an equalized anchor. It's difficult to mess around with slings and such when one hand is totally engaged by a tool and a wrist-leash. Instead, I put in two offset screws with locking carabiners on each of them. Then I simply clove hitch the lead rope to each of the screws on locking biners. After I'm hanging I can adjust the clove hitches so that it is somewhat taut between the two screws creating a small amount of equalization. Of course, to do this you must practice your one handed clove hitches. If I'm doing all of the leading, the preceding concept doesn't work very well. Instead, I usually do mess around with a cordellete or slings until I have a SRENE anchor. Jason

Check out Red Rock Canyon. Oak Creek's the last canyon on the loop road. Jason

An anchor set to eliminate upward pull may be important in some cases and not so important in others. If the belayer is beneath a roof or some other obstacle where a leader fall will lift them into the obstacle, a piece set to eliminate this is very important. If the anchor is made primarily of stoppers, which can sometimes pop out with an upward pull, you may want to include a piece that elimates this. If there are two people hanging off the cordellette, the combined weight of the two climbers at the anchor can sometimes eliminate the need for an upward piece. If there is some variety in the anchor -- in other words, the anchor includes a couple cams -- and there is no danger of the belayer being injured by a leader fall, then it's not so important to add a piece that will eliminate an upward pull on the anchor. Jason

If you could be a little more specific with your question, it might be easier to answer. At first it seems that your asking about an additional anchor to keep the danger of an upward pull due to a fall at bay. But then you talk about how tight things are. If you clarify, you'll get a better response. Jason

I usually don't rant on this webpage, but the recent election makes my blood boil. So here it is, I'm going to rant for awhile and then I'm not going to write again on this thread. The people this pisses off will just have to attack me behind my back, because I don't even intend on looking at the thread again... I do believe that Bush's reelection was legitimate and perhaps that is why I'm so angry. I'm angry that people ARE too stupid to see through his propaganda and his lies. Equating a differing opinion and intollerance with stupidity...? Maybe I do...but I'm a little bit intollerant myself when it comes to what's happened to this country in the last few days. I think people who think the world is 6000 years old are stupid. There is no rational reason for people to believe this. It flys in the face of all science. Taking evolution out of text books is stupid...and so are the people who want to do it. I think people who are worried about what homosexuals do in their bedrooms and want to legislate who one may or may not legitimately love are stupid. Who cares? Get over it! People who say their not homosexual certainly spend a lot of time thinking about it...self loathing for homoerotic fantasies? Maybe. I don't know. But I do know that their bigotry is stupid and not an opinion. I think people who want to take a woman's right to choose away from her are stupid. Could we possibly get any closer to becoming Nazis? I think people who want to insert prayer into public schools are stupid. This actually UNDERCUTS the freedom of religion in this country. Students who do not partake in the dominate religion at a given school will be faced with it on a daily basis. Ultimately, this is a technique of conversion under the guise of something else instituted by the radical right. I think people who want to take money out of public education -- so that "No Child Left Behind" might be further underfunded -- are simply not paying attention. They might even be kind of stupid. I heard a joke wherein someone asked how you can tell a Republican on a pirate ship? He's the one wearing two eye patches. Open your eyes! GW brought us to war on false pretenses! How could you possibly support someone who does this? This is not a question of conservative, liberal, democrat or republican. We are fighting a war that was justified by calculated mistruths. There is still a percentage of this country that believes that Sadam was somehow behind September 11th... I have a feeling that the people who believe this don't have very high IQs. Indeed, they might even be kind of stupid! Theoretically conservatives like fiscal conservativism. What happened to that? Everyone knows the numbers...they have nothing to do with opinion. Those who have simply dropped their concerns about America's financial future because their party is in control are simply not thinking things through. They could be stupid. They called Kerry a liberal. People don't seem to remember what liberals have been responsible for in the past. Liberals freed the slaves even though back in those days liberals were Republicans. Liberals got women the vote. Liberals fought for civil rights. Liberals have fought for the homeless and those who live in near poverty. Liberals have fought to keep us out of unneeded wars. Liberals are the reason we have modern environmentalism. Liberals fight for teachers and for education. Liberals make the movies you watch and sing the songs you listen to. According to the Bush camp, Liberals are the stupid ones. The reason, because we know we can do better. We know it. And we know who the dumb ones are. So I guess I am an intollerant liberal...seems like an oxymoron, but there it is... People who voted for Bush are STUPID!!!!!

McCain will probably be too old.

I recieved the following in an email from a friend: State Avg. IQ 2004 1 Connecticut 113 Kerry 2 Massachusetts 111 Kerry 3 New Jersey 111 Kerry 4 New York 109 Kerry 5 Rhode Island 107 Kerry 6 Hawaii 106 Kerry 7 Maryland 105 Kerry 8 New Hampshire 105 Kerry 9 Illinois 104 Kerry 10 Delaware 103 Kerry 11 Minnesota 102 Kerry 12 Vermont 102 Kerry 13 Washington 102 Kerry 14 California 101 Kerry 15 Pennsylvania 101 Kerry 16 Maine 100 Kerry 17 Virginia 100 Bush 18 Wisconsin 100 Kerry 19 Colorado 99 Bush 20 Iowa 99 Bush 21 Michigan 99 Kerry 22 Nevada 99 Bush 23 Ohio 99 Bush 24 Oregon 99 Kerry 25 Alaska 98 Bush 26 Florida 98 Bush 27 Missouri 98 Bush 28 Kansas 96 Bush 29 Nebraska 95 Bush 30 Arizona 94 Bush 31 Indiana 94 Bush 32 Tennessee 94 Bush 33 North Carolina 93 Bush 34 West Virginia 93 Bush 35 Arkansas 92 Bush 36 Georgia 92 Bush 37 Kentucky 92 Bush 38 New Mexico 92 Bush 39 North Dakota 92 Bush 40 Texas 92 Bush 41 Alabama 90 Bush 42 Louisiana 90 Bush 43 Montana 90 Bush 44 Oklahoma 90 Bush 45 South Dakota 90 Bush 46 South Carolina 89 Bush 47 Wyoming 89 Bush 48 Idaho 87 Bush 49 Utah 87 Bush 50 Mississippi 85 Bush The IQ numbers were originally attributed to the book "IQ and the Wealth of Nations", though they do not appear in the current edition. The tests and data were administered via the Raven's APT, and the The Test Agency, one of the UK's leading publishers and distributors of psychometric tests. This data has been published in the Economist and the St. Petersburg Times, though this does not mean it should be taken as fact. Though the data does correlate somewhat to IQ of students per state based on SAT/ACT data, though this would be biased for those that had completed a high school education. Someone has also taken 2000 census data on percentage of state residents that have earned a college degree and used that to compare the voting in the 2000 election, it's funny, but that seems to correlate as well.

The Guy who directed "Billy Elliot" and "The Hours" is doing it. Those are both pretty good movies. He's not an action movie director, which I think is a really good thing. I have a feeling that it might not be too bad. Jason

If someone came to the Northwest and said that he had to climb five routes and only five routes, these are the one's I'd recommend: 1) Outerspace 2) Dreamer 3) N. Ridge of Stuart 4) Northwest Face to North Ridge of Forbidden Peak 5) North Face of Shuksan I think these routes are some of the best because of the sound rock, views, and quality climbing. They aren't necessarily the biggest or the hardest routes in the range, but I do think that they are all qualify as "must dos." Jason

Check this out: Mount Charleston Ice (Hi Guys!) Jason

Don't Rap the route on Johnny Vegas. People get their ropes stuck on that route almost every day. Rap Solar Slab Gully. You can buy the Uriosite Guidebook at Desert Rock Sports in Las Vegas. The title of the book is, "The Red Rocks of Southern Nevada." Jason

Send me a pm. Jason

The following is in a dorky nasal voice: "Yep, there's a buttload of street gangs at this school. They all want me to join. I'm pretty good with a bowstaff." Jason

Last year Alex, Gene, Mark, and I all went out to Strobach mountain with these guys from Oregon Public Broadcasting and did a segment for their show on ice climbing. This particular segment is going to be shown on Thursday October 21st at 8:30 p.m. and then repeats on Sunday at 6:30 in the evening. It will be shown on Oregon Public Broadcasting. Eventually it will be shown on KCTS in Seattle, but the guy at OPB didn't know when. Jason

Not even close! Like I said, I thought the movie was great up until the puppets get busy. But after that there are only a few parts which even came close to making me laugh hard. "I'm so Ronery" and the puking are great, but other than that, I only laughed a bit during the second half of the movie. If you want to really laugh hard, see "Napolean Dynamite" and "Sean of the Dead." Both of those movies are far far far funnier than "Team America." Jason

One thing that has helped me out a bit is working with a well known climbing coach... I'm by no means a competition climber, but that doesn't negate the things that a coach has to offer. The advantage a coach has is that he or she is often able to see things that you are doing, that you don't realize you are doing. They help you with your technique as well and they know how to help you train without injury. A slightly cheaper alternative to a coach is one of the many training books out there. "How to Climb 5.12" or "Climbing for Peak Performance" or whatever else you might find can be helpful is you follow their training suggestions very closely. Good luck! Jason

The first third is pretty damn funny, but after the notorious sex scene...it kind of fizzles out. Jason