J_Fisher

Thanks for the feedback Matt. Curious what you mean by "moderate" and why. Moderate means WI3 to some and sub WI7 or sub M9 to others. I expect to use the vipers for WI5/5+ and my occasional dabbling in easier M-climbs.

OK . . . I went straight to the source and called BD . . . they said they're interchangeable. BTW, mountain gear is selling sets of vipers for a pretty good price right now. But you've got to get 1 axe/1 hammer, thus my question. Guess I'll be trying the leashless thing this next winter.

Does anyone know if the modular hammer/adze doohickeys are compatible with other BD tools (e.g. Cobras) or is it viper specific?

Try this: calories per hour It gets a lot more activity and intensity specific than those other sources, for example, various types of climbing.

I just used the Garmont Tower GTXs on a trip to Dorado Needle this weekend and am quite pleased. Relatively light and comfy on the trail and performed great on steep glacier stuff, both early AM styrofoam and late PM mashers. I did get blisters, but this is my first alpine trip this season and these are moderately stiff boots, so that's not exactly a surprise. Unless these boots blow out unexpectedly, my old La Sportiva K2s will now be sitting on the shelf of unused gear. Edit: On fit, I've got narrowish, low volume feet. These boots fit me great. If your feet aren't shaped all funny and skinny like mine, these boots might not be for you.

Maybe I didn't explain that very well. RICO doesn't make stuff illegal. RICO provides for enhanced civil penalties and asset forfeiture for stuff that's already illegal if you do it in a "conspiracy." The argument for its repeal is that is applied abusively and arbitrarily and primarilly in cases for which it was never intended to be used. I don't beleive it has anything to jail time.

I thought exactly the same thing. My first climbing shoes were a pair of old Robbins boots that someone gave me. Wish I could find a picture of those things.

RICO doesn't make insider trading illegal, Section 16 of the 34 Act does. RICO was intended to go after assets of the mob. Due to overbroad drafting it in fact has been used as a bludgeon for prosecuters and plaintiffs lawyers in a bunch of areas it was not intended to be used (see insider trading, anti-abortion groups, etc.). Their point is that RICO should be reformed. Though I do challenge you to explain how you are (or anyone else is) harmed by insider trading. "Simplistic and unrealistic" pretty much describes the platforms of the Ds and the Rs too. It's just a bunch of hullabaloo to rile up the true believers.

Aviation forecasts are pretty helpful for climbing b/c they include temps and winds at various elevations, and where the cloud tops are. Translating them isn't so bad once you get the hang of it. This may help: METAR glossary If you subscribe to a system called DUATs you can read aviation forecasts online in English. DUATs is free (or it was the last time I was into this stuff)

The only thing delusional is thinking that banning bolts is going to magically make all the climbers go away. There were fixed anchors, including bolt ladders, in the mountains for as long as there have been climbs. The vast majority of climber impacts in the mountains are not from the tiny handful of routes that rely on extensive fixed pro. A fixed anchor ban is not a ban on sport climbs, it's a ban on any route without a walkoff or natural rap ancors. A sling on a tree or a fixed pin is as much a fixed anchor a bolt. The fact that you can't grasp these simple distinctions or understand the implications of what you advocate shows why it would be better if you just shut up and left this to the non-zealots.

As I understand it, the bolting ban in the Gunks was based as much on the wishes of a plurality of the climbing community as anything else. In any event, the Gunks are private property so the relevance of the attitudes of those "land managers" is moot since we're talking public lands here. I've never done one of these "alpine sport climbs" that pope seems to think are taking over the mountains (unless you count the DEB of S. Early winter Spire, bolted by that notorious sporto Beckey back in, what, the 50s?), but I've done a lot of traditional routes in the mountains with totally trashed and eroded climbers tracks to the base. This noise about bolted climbs being the cause of crowds in the hills and messed up trails is a bit silly. Climbers impact in the hills is an issue, but railing against bolts is a total red herring and not productive. There have been examples in the past where a militant anti-bolt minority have agitated the powers that be into pushing policies that were anti-climbing (or at least anti-climbing as practiced by 98% of the community). (Proposed bans on fixed anchors in Josh and Sawtooths in the 90s come to mind). I'd hate to see that happen here.

This may be what Josh had in mind or this (fairly work safe)

If a reporter wants to report on war, the DoD has to be the primary source. If you report stock prices, you get the info from the NYSE. Are they supposed to call Noam Chomsky for the body count of the latest action in Fajullah or the last earnings report for GE? And whether you think the war is the greatest thing since sliced bread or the NYSE should be dismantled and all shares given to Fidel Castro, you don't need original sources to make that bias known.

They were comparing quotes from "right of center" vs. "left of center", not just Ds vs. Rs. That is subjective. While the study is interesting trivia it doesn't really show bias one way or the other. Bias would be shown by whether the quoted source was put in a favorable or unfavorable light, etc. Also note that their sample was May - August 2003. During this time there was a war going on, being pursued by a republican administration. Their sources for most stories will of course be from the administration.

If you want to stay in the SLC area, the Wx is hot and you don't mind a slog, Lone Peak cirque has a pile of awesome grade II and III crack routes at a refreshing 11,000 feet of elevation. Gorgeous position too. Even if its 95 degrees in town, as other posters suggested, by chasing shade in BCC and/or Ferguson canyon you should be able to stay cool and get plenty of good climbing in. The granite in LCC is pretty much all south facing, but it's high enough that it may be fine too. I've climbed there comfortably in July.

The self-righteous indignation of people on this site never cease to amaze me. Anyway, Brashears bolted that hold, not her.

What about the spanish chick in Brashears otherwise suck-o-rific IMAX flick? I don't remember whether she summited or not, but she was pretty hot

I would second this, and add Sinsemilla, Red M&Ms and a mid .10 thin crack over toward the Far Side that I think is Burning Spears. Though in full disclosure, I've only TR'd Red M&Ms and and Lingerie, so I don't know if that counts. Another data point for the grade debate: I've only lead mid-10s on gear other places, but have lead Jihad, Mr. Clean and S&S (well, I fell on a 5.10 move at the top of S&S so maybe that doesn't count either). Evidence of soft grading? It may just be that I've got more time logged at Vantage since I seem to mostly crag early spring and late fall? Bob's Yer Uncle seems to deviate from the soft grades theory though. The crux tips move is stinkin' hard.

Huh? The data in CBO report you linked to had data through 2001, which was before the Bush tax cuts even took effect. The article was about the effects of the Bush tax cuts. The CBO report is irrelevant to the topic.

There's nothing inconsistent about the Seattle Times article and PP's figures. The wealthiest pay greater amounts in taxes in absolute terms and relative to those in lower tax brackets, despite reductions in the tax rates in the highest brackets, because incomes for the wealthiest have risen exponentially faster for those in the upper brackets than for everyone else.

I don't think the point is that the climb won't be there, but that it's in a giant SW facing terrain trap when the forecast is for sun and temps in the high 50s. But whatever floats yer boat

I've got a pretty similar problem that I trace back to a couple motorcycle crashes 2 years ago that involved landing on my head and hyper extending my neck and shoulder muscles (mostly upper and mid traps). Like you describe, long periods at the desk can lead to painful spasms, even neck totally locked up. I've used various permutations of drugs (flexeril)(no help, but vaguely recreational, esp. with a few beers), visiting an orthopedist (zero help), massage and a chiropracter. Massage feels good and seems to have some marginal benefit. The visits to the chiro have had the strongest correlation to relief, but I attribute this more to his other recommendations than the adjustments (which I've been getting anyway). The chiro recommends periodic icing of the affected area, spending at least 15 minutes on your back on the floor with a 3" rolled up towel under your neck to restore position and let muscles relax in their natural position, really focusing on posture, esp at the desk (sit up straight, no slouching, shouldsers back, etc.) and stretching the affected muscles. (Stretches are too hard to explain, but basically anything working through the range of motion will help, and I bet some google searches will turn up some recommendations). If I had it to do over again, I would have gone straight to PT. Since I've been doing well lately I haven't taken that step, but will if things get bad again. If nothing works, I understand a physiatrist (not an ortho) is the right kind of doc to visit. You might PM ice girl for some names. Good luck

Dale, just curious. Do you carry leashes with you on big climbs but only put them on the tools if you think you'll need them? I've been noodling the leashless thing, but don't think I get out enough to justify new tools, esp. since there are so few M climbs around here. Besides, I'm weak and like my leashes . . .

It is a twisted legal system we have where you can spend 20 years in jail for a $30,000 trade that didn't hurt anyone in any way, but you can run a stop sign and kill a motorcyclist or rape someone in the back of your cop car and spend only a couple days in jail. http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/0123-06.htm http://www.bikernews.net/getnews.cfm?article=95&badcop=true

I'm not sure anyone was saying downtempo electronica was "jazz". But out of curiousity I pulled the dictionary definition. I'm not steeped in music theory but one could make a sound argument that the definition describes a lot of electronica. DJs spinning live do incorporate improvisation. It's fine if you don't think a turntable, beat box and synth are "real" instruments, but at the end of the day it's people using machines to make noises that sound cool. Main Entry: 1jazz Pronunciation: 'jaz Function: noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: origin unknown 1 a : American music developed especially from ragtime and blues and characterized by propulsive syncopated rhythms, polyphonic ensemble playing, varying degrees of improvisation, and often deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre b : popular dance music influenced by jazz and played in a loud rhythmic manner