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I was thinking of Kea, the Uber Snafflehound.

Birds who knaw on your gear and generally make pests of themselves are not snaffle?

Buy a cheap longboard when you get down there - most airlines charge you a bloody fortune to travel with boards these days (Alaska is $75 per SEGMENT) and when you add in the cost of a board bag, packing, the hassle etc. your better off buying something when you get down there. Plus you'll probably thrash your first board. For info on Surfing in Costa Rica - pick up a copy of Mike Parise's Surfer's Guide to Costa Rica (available cheapest, fastest, and autographed direct from his website surfingtravel.com). I'm jealous.

The Snowy Torrents is a collection of avalanche accidents. There are Volumes 1-4 - the most recent is volume 4 (1980-86) it's available from the Colorado Geological Survey. The rest are available used. Also good are: Field Guide to Snow Crystals - Ed Lachapelle The Secrets of the Snow - Ed Lachapelle I'd have to say don't waste your money on Snow Sense. It's old, it's dated, it's below basic in it's material covered.

Buy a copy of Snowy Torrents and read the incident reports at csac.org & avalanche.org

If your buying in bulk you'll get a good price at that type of store. Also try your local ace for small quantities. HD sucks.

Don't buy Windstopper Fleece Gloves. They're great - until they get wet. At which point they will never, ever dry. Wool Gloves or Standard Fleece Gloves are better.

Just go to the Timberline parking lot in a snowstorm! If the wheels are spinning - just gun it harder And that definitions list was tongue in cheak (and written but a far better skiier than I). Funny to watch Oregonians get their panties in a bunch though

I believe that's actually standard/required protection at some of the sandstone crags near Dresden in Germany. Others here probably know more.....

If you actually need to use a probe, ski poles that convert suck. They are a pain to convert, and aren't that useful as probes. It's also cheaper to buy a dedicated probe, and ski poles, than the combo probe poles.

I bought a cheap CF one from Climbaxe for ski touring. It's easy to set up, and lightweight. It won't hold up to regular use - which I sure as shit won't subject it too. For regular use I have my eye on an Aluminum Probe Pole that's tall enough for probe line work.

Fruitcake - Energy bars in loaf form!

Voile & Life-Link make probe extenders that work with most all ski poles to extend the poles to a reasonable distance. For goods sake its a shovel. Plastic ones work fine for shoveling snow, incl avy debris. Maybe I've just heard to many internet horror stories, but never seen any actual proof that they don't work. Any ways, I've got a LL T-Handle. And the T is more versatile, and IMHO more comfortable than a D. And it's got a large blade, but not a ginormous blade thats too damn big to lefting anything efficently (it's all about cadence!)

This ain't small potatoes here - someone's been having a bit too much lutefisk!

They aren't as fat as us, no. But the world as a whole is getting fatter.(see last weeks Economist)

This seems like the place for this (shamelessly lifted from A.Mclean) Steep-speak International Translations: France: Subtract 5 degrees & 1/3 of the stated vertical. ie: 1000 meters of 50 degrees = 660m of 45 degrees. Alaska Heliskiing - Subtract 20 degrees and cut the vertical in half. FIVE THOUSAND FUGGIN' FEET OF 60 DEGREES (Dude!) = 2,500' of 40 degrees. Montana & Washington - accept at stated values. California - Subtract 10 degrees, nip the vert by 1/4 and double the width of any stated couloir. Oregon - there is no steep skiing in Oregon. The East Coast - Overstated stats, but the conditions justify it. Accept at stated value. Colorado - Whatever Lou said it was. Utah - I'll take the 5th on that. Film/Movies - cut stated angles and length in half.

Ah yes. The standard retort. Park riding does take skill & athleticism. It's even fun on occaison. It just doesn't interest me at all. Watching jibbing movies is alot like shortboard surf movies - after awhile, all the cutbacks & floaters look the same. And a 360 off a jump in park with ski patrol standing next to the jump takes ALOT less huevos than, say, a 45 degree slope in the middle of nowhere, with the possibility of a 3000 foot fall.

That definitely applies to medical aid. Does it to rescues?

Post 9/11 his "secret undisclosed location" included trout fishing and duck hunting.

All excellent movies! Esp. "The Lavender Hill Mob". Kind Hearts is definitely one of the more unique acting acheivments.

Better off Dead!

The Trinity Alps - access is mostly on logging roads, and the whole place is remote. Alot of fun back there! There were signs of heavy avalanche activity (some hefty trees broke, etc.) on the summer backpacking trip I took in there.

Even the "hard" storage options (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, etc.) aren't that durable. The great advantage of digital(dense storage) becomes a big disadvantage here. Rayleigh criteria = diffraction limited. It sets the lower boundary for pixel size.

Speaking of Techie boots, what are the Salomon Ice boots like (not the mountain boots, but the ones like ines papert etc. wear)?

Is their anyfirm that does datawarehousing of digital pics at a consumer level? i.e. fully redundant, bomb proof storage.