cj001f

Bullshit. REI hasn't been there for 20 years - I went to the opening of the College Park REI in the late 80's. They came after EMS. HTO has expanded, but Potomac Outdoors and Hudson Bay have folded. Whoopee you can order online Any decent climbing shop will special order stuff and allow you too pick it up for free.

Who wants a floor demo goat

People here have minds to share

The margins on hardgoods are 40% or so, clothing 60% - and the clothing market is much larger than the cam market. REI's size allows it to negotiate sale prices that other retailers are unable to offer, in addition to the regular rebate, oh I mean "dividend". I'm not sure there are that many markets large enough to support a highend specialty store in addition to the volume play of REI. Seattle (Feathered Friends), Salt Lake City (IME, also next door to REI), and Boulder (Neptune) have all had some success I venture, while the Bay Area has seen independant shops (high end) disapear - Western Mountaineering, Skinny Skis and Sunrise are a few of those that have disapeared. Washington DC has seen similar carnage - the local chain (Hudson Trail Outfitters) will probably perish when REI turns it's death ray on DC. Maybe I'd be proREI if they offered prices that were truly lower than available locally (like, gasp... Walmart does with consumer goods). I've found most every local shop willing to meet REI's sales (often have better of their own), give a discount comparable to the "dividend", and generally offer better service than the green goblins. REI manages to capture market share through the twin arms of worthless consumption - stripmalls and massadvertising.

They aren't a fucking co-op anymore. Try getting on the BOD ballot w/o being nominated (i.e. not a crony). 1% of active members signatures in 3 months. Yes folks, that's 16,000 signatures. What a joke. Of course once your on the board it's $20k a year where you should "expect to be in Seattle 2 days a month". Telling, that they consider Big5 and GIJoes as "competition". I keep wondering if they pitch memberships so heavily to continue to dilute member equity to the point they can go public, or management buyout for a pittance because our equity is so diluted no one would care about the $10 they owe us.

BD has 'em on Sale ($200), so does Backcountry.com ($175), so does REI.....

I've a half dozen guidebooks - I'm willing to loan you some if'n your interested. I also now live in cali There are lots of "Trans-Sierras" - some go up to 28 days!

The big problem with most of the Sierra tours is logistics - the shuttles can be a bitch (esp Sierra High Route), generally end up with loop routes. That said, the best known tours are probably Mammoth-Yosemite and the Sierra High Route. http://www.bobskiing.com/skiindex.htm Those are a week or less, depending on how you want to ski them.

As opposed to those great rulers of the right? Hitler, Mussolini, Pinochet, various African dictators - it's ok to imprison and bully minorities, not to mention the populace at large, as long as it's in the name of law and order, right?

yea. I'll try and get to it. If you've a couple days e-mail BD - they'll ship you one free.

So the audience applauding Lott's racist remarks doesn't reveal their feelings? Lott's remarks were well received and defended until the heat got to hot. Nice try KK but that analogy doesn't work.

You've got your hair permed. You've got your red dress on Screamin that second gear was such a turn on And the fog forming on my window Tells me that you'll be gone before too long Who taught you those new tricks? Damn I shouldn't start that talk, But life is one big question when you're starin' at the clock And all the answers waiting at the liquor store, 40oz to freedom

Mr Zogs (or Sticky Bumps if you've got it)

Her greatest strength as a canidate is probably the ability, like W has, to inspire her opposition into frothing at the mouth with hatred.

Copy the design of the Voile Climbing Post http://www.offpiste.com/Pages/Shims.html

I went sledging when I was down there. Class III whitewater on a boogie board is damn interesting. Freaky part was the guide did a class VI section that morning

Excellent!

Are either related to Admiral Akbar?

I already did.

Post deleted by jon

I pity the man that goes down on a telegirl

Now the Mountaineers have competition!

Careful Dru - Canada's cracking down on your kind of tourists.

Sshhh! Not so loud! Riley can hear!

newsflash: There was a refugio