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I read that and thought of the number of "vegetarians" I know who eat meat And JayB - didn't you know that a diet high in protein and amino acids is bad because it will fuel patriarchal genocide and conquest?

the way you refer to his Nazi activities maybe? The fact that you quote some stupid UK paper obit? You ever wonder what the French mountaineers were doing in the Alps during WW2? It's called collaboration Dru.

It's revisionist to include a couple of photo-ops out of a 50+year climbing career as "nazi affiliation" - particularly when the collaborating french of the generation get a freeride. But think what you like

ahh my revisionist neighbor to the north - ever seen pictures from the Berlin Olympics? Everyone gave the Hitler salute back then. Stop pissing on his grave for stupid revisionist bullshit. Great climber, good man, he didn't give a damn about politics - which can hardly be held against him, or are you going to start shitting on most climbers of today?

Overheard in a college library "I don't eat meat, meat is a symbol of the patriarchy" WTF? Most vegans I've met are absent a sense of humour at the very least, a few screws often. It's damn hard to get enough calories for an active lifestyle eschewing all animal products.

eh, Harrer was the tool. Heckmair just went along for the ride . And last I checked the climbing gear was theirs - until they entered the military.

"my life as a mountaineer" - one hell of a life. Dirtbag youth, hard climbs well into his 40's, Anderl rocked.

What the fuck is your point? Ice picks are simple, so what? I looked into making ice tools had a machine shop lined up who'd make be BD tools for 30% of retail. (which isn't signifigantly different than BD's production costs) I did the math and found I could make more money spending my time elsewhere. Unless you feel like being the climber charity you won't price the picks at $4 for long, because you can make more money, and you'll be a business like everyone else. Except they have engineers working for them, who are designing products, and who know what the hell is going on, like the difference between machining and forging, and that CNC is cheap. As a guess you were quoted for a machining a blank to shape not a forged pick - forging would require tooling, and a tool setup fee. Forged picks will be more durable than machined picks. But you seem to know everything

Southwest is cheaper - $100 (including taxes) rt to SLC from PDX. Better flight times. Depending on snow the drive can suck to Moab - I had snow for 100 miles on I70 in the rental car. Even on the way back it was 4 hrs. If your flying & driving it's no closer than Joshua Tree.

As was pointed out on the new hour last night 42 of the 46 countries in Africa have held elections in the past 20 years. An election does not a democracy make. Of course that pinko liberal program dared to have Arab reaction to the election instead of partisan gringo pundits.

Putin

Tallac's great. There's closer stuff though. For just Tahoe, and just a couple days, check out the Backcountry's where to go site: http://www.thebackcountry.net/backskiing/wheretogo.htm Squaw or Alpine are the best to go lift served - go midweek.

I have the rope in question. It's short and light - nice. You have to be able to catch your partner quick, and be a bit creative on the crevasse retrieval technique(no experience other than practive here, knock on wood). "Standard" technique would not apply. Probably better for well travelled well marked routes with obvious hazards as a precaution, And it's not that much flimsier than my 8.1mm Ice Line.

Weekend car rentals are cheap. $100 total for 4 days at LAX last year. Flying is quick and Cheap (~$200 roundtrips on Southwest) - you don't lose a whole day of your life to a boring ass drive. Fly. Leave PDX after work on Thursday, get back late Monday, and climb for 4 days.

And I just read about it on pg. 100 of a Lonely Planet guidebook

If you pay enough - you can even teach others how to climb!

Longterm - one of this morning's radio reports said all phone lines into Kathmandu had been severed, which would disrupt most peoples logistics to say the least.

Ohhhhh You worked in a gear shop! And went to NOLS! Give it up King Kong! Wind Shirts are more wind resistant and water resistant than, say, long underwear. So they're nice if it's misting or windy but you are still active. I liked them when I lived in California which is sunnier and warmer (in general) than the Cascades. didn't get so much use in Or/Wa

Skis aren't subject to the 62" max requirement.

You mean accessorizing your Pearl District loft, wandering over to Powells for a new book, and stopping by wholefoods for the farmraised atlantic, right?

Every airline allows skis - some state that you can have only 1pr of skis + poles w/o getting charged extra. Here's Delta's Policy A generous tip to the skycap or a smile to the hottie at the counter can bypass some of these, but not always.

They're different boots yes; the boot "architecture" still has the same stiffness limitations - the floating Flexon style tongue seems to be inherently softer than other architectures. I just wish Scarpa would make a 4 buckle boot with Dynafit fittings - my lasers are dying and I want something stiffer, but don't want 2 pairs of boots.

eh, I'm not sure Scarpa's done anything more than tweak their AT boots for a decade or more. Slightly change the last one year, add a different walk level the next, etc. I do want to check out the Tornado though!

Scarpa still makes the Laser - they just don't sell them in the states because BD doesn't want to import them. Pairs are always popping up on eBay if you'd like a pair - I've heard the Matrix is slightly stiffer FWIW.

That's not as catchy as the last folk ditty Harkin.