Squid

The first step in curing your communism is admitting you're a communist.

Sounds suspiciously like I think we have a RED hidden in our midst!

Damn, this is a small world.

it's a distant second to climbing

I'm going mano-a-mano with Katie Brown in the Sumo ring.

FAT KIDS: AMERICA'S RENEWABLE RESOURCE eat all you like, we'll make more

killing fat people seems so drastic and (dare I say it?) 'Republican.' It would be much more humane to keep them in pens (not that they would run very far) and periodically harvest the fat via liposuction.

There may be a limit, but we're nowhere near it.

Dru! Come baaack to bed!

yecchg. face lifts one on th right reminds me of that character in "Brazil"

Is she looking for climbing partners?

I'm envious of anyone heading off to Utah. My latest crush is in St. George.

Damn. A man leaves the cubicle for a minute, and look what he misses. Work sucks.

After 2+ years of grumbling about your mid-week TR's, now you start bitching about 'work'? Sack up, chump!

Does this mean 5 separate flights up the glacier, or 5 tries once on the glacier?

Hey Chris - Ropegun THE TOOTH for me and I'll belay you up Rainier.

That's pretty cool. Props to unprecedented customer service.

It's when you and your partners talk yourselves into a frenzy on a Friday nigtt - "yeah, that's right, dude, we can blitz the North Ridge of Stuart in a day no problem. Let's get packed as soon as we finish this pitcher."

I'm hoping for lucky 13 on the Tooth

That's not funny, Dru. A close friend of my cousin died after eating a roll of duct tape. From what I hear it wasn't pretty. You should be more sensitive before you shoot your mouth off like that.

unless you wash it down with lots of olestra.

re: ascenders- if you're going to use them, get one that's quickly releasable (Petzl Ascension, not the Wild Country Ropeman)- otherwise you'll take forever hiking up the line. Also, given a choice between a left vs. a right ascender, take a lefty: the Butt has lines of traffic, and you'll be hiking up (and down) with the fixed lines to your left.

This is embarassing to confess, but I use this PHAT -20 down bag for winter glacier trips. It's way overkill, but I since I have the bag, I might as well use it. Besides- it's SOO freakin' comfy. It also has the added bonus of being a booty magnet.

I've got the Helium bag, so here's my $0.02: 1) you can't get much lighter than it, so I didn't find any pt in getting a 30 degree bag. If you think the Helium's too heavy, you'll prolly sleep w/ belay jacket & close friend 2. I wouldn't use it for winter volcanoes, but I think Cracked uses a similiar bag (the REI Sub-Kilo) for winter snow trips. He must run warmer than me. 3. Helium is big enough for me & my awe-inspriring chest. 4. duh. No mouth-breathing into your down bag. No wetting the bed. In the cold dry climes of Alaska and Himalaya you can dry out your clothes inside the bag, but I don't recommend such in the PNW. 5. Your call. I like extra space in my bag for hot water bottles during glacier climbs/ snow camping. All that said, I use the Helium from April-October. No complaints. YMMV