sobo

No style crampage at all. Park the car, hike the trail, climb the falls, hike back out. Beer in George or Quincy. What's not to like? "Seasons of operation" mean nothing to the ice climber.

Happy birthday, Kevin. Even from me. Hope you, strumpett, and the young'ns all heal up soon.

Indeed! Five months since we last saw the Muffster. Hibernation must be over.

Thansk, ivan, for the clarification on all of that. And no, I did not know that about Napolean's grandkid. I should probably jsut get The Washing of the Spears and make it a point to read the damned thing.

First this: Then this: It may be over the line, but I say marc threw the glove down first.

Please explain - they had to reshoot the battle scenes?? WTF?? Please explain - haven't read it. Prolly won't ever get the time. Cliff notes, plz? Amen to that. Gettysburg, Bull Run/Manassas, Fredericksburg, Antietam/Sharpsburg, Shiloh, Harper's Ferry, the list goes on and on...

Correct, he was at most 17 yoa, depending upon exact dates of his birth and of the climb.

I'll see your 2,500 posts/year of nothingness and raise you 950 posts/year. The short version is that you spit out worthless shit almost 3 times as fast as I do. But you keep drinking your Kool-Aid, 'bone...

So, after 4 years and 10,000+ posts, kevbone finally puts up something that is mildly worth tuning in to. Congratulations. Now, if the speaker would have forgone the "hollow echo chamber effect" of his soliloquy, I might at least have been able to understand what he was musing about during the plummet.

That's a fuq'n great movie. I still think it's Michael Caine's best work, even if it was his big break into film in '64. I have a friend who visited Rorke's Drift. He said it made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. I had a similar experience in the Devil's Den at Gettysburg. That shite is weird.

Jiminy Christmas! That's not a crack'n'up. That's an anchor for an RC boat.

Yes, Keith, I would have to agree with everything you said. But no one bashed SeanMC, and it was only DH who bashed Quarryographer. And I don't know why you were down on Carl. He responded solely to DH's quip, and then provided SeanMC with yet another lead (post for a partner on craigslist). My reply to your comment about assholes was just for giggles, cuz I figure I can do that with you and it's all in good fun. And it was meant to encompass both of us. At least, that's how it was intended. Note the graemlin following my reply.

Thanks, but I had nothing to do with that (I luv that line ). You look very much like I thought you would. You remind me of my former ice climbing partner, Cragg. Seriously, Cragg Bryant. No lie... "Cragg"...

present company excluded, of course Yeah. Well it takes a crusty old fart to point it out that way now doesn't it? But of course, Keith... I am the personification of crusty old fart.

Marc, I sincerely hope that you retain that perspective, not just in climbing, but in everything that you undertake in life. IMHO, personal responsibility is rapidly becoming an oxymoron is today's society.

present company excluded, of course

Jiminy Christmas, Matt! HTF did he pull that off? I didn't think univ. profs could get that sort of gig. You're absofuqnlutely right, man, we're in the wrong business.

Damn, it's stories like this one, Chouinard's GPIW and Patagucci line, and Jeff Lowe's Hummingbirds and Cloudveil line that make this country great. Where else can you shirk a job and have a rise to fame like these guys? GAWD, I luv this county!

Reminds me of a story from many years ago... Old friends and climbing partners of mine, Pete Rieke (the 1st paraplegic to summit Rainier under his own power) and Ken Cushman, were out climbing ice in the Moses Coulee area one winter way back in the early 90s. They came across a couple of hunters. A pleasant discussion in the bitter cold ensues... Pete/Ken: Goddamn it's cold! Whadd'ar you guys hunting out here in this shit? Hunters: Coyotes! Pete/Ken: Coyotes? Who makes you do that? Hunters: We gets $5 bounty fer each tail we bring in. Whadd'ar you guys doing out here with all them picks and ropes? Pete/Ken: We're ice climbing! Hunters: Ice climbing??? Who makes you do that? Pete and Ken turn to each other and ask aloud, "Ya know, why do we do this shit anyway?"

So with that, I guess it's once again about time to trot out the 2005 report Climbing Rescues in America: Reality Does Not Support 'High-Risk, High-Cost' Perception by Lloyd Athearn of the AAC. Since I can't seem to call it up from the AAC's website anymore, perhaps someone who has AAC Library privileges can post a link to the full report??? This old link to the report is dead: http://www.americanalpineclub.org/pdfs/MRreal.pdf In the meantime, here is the report's conclusion statement: Charging for search and rescue transforms a public safety activity that is principally about saving lives into a business decision – with many unanticipated consequences. The agencies and individuals closest to the issue feel strongly that charging for search and rescue is unwise, creates added safety risks for victims and rescuers, and could open up government agencies to costly lawsuits. Contrary to popular beliefs, climbing injuries and fatalities have become progressively rarer in recent decades, climbers are not “risk-taking daredevils,” and climbing rescues are rather infrequent in comparison to rescues for other recreational groups. Though climbing rescues may be more expensive on average than rescues of many other recreational groups, climbers provide greater volunteer support and pay more directly to offset rescue costs than do virtually all other recreational groups. In those limited areas where charge-for-rescue laws have been established, they have done little to reduce public search and rescue expenses, and they have never been used to make a mountaineer or rock climber pay for a rescue. Thus, there is little justification to support discriminatory policies that would require climbers to pay for the costs of their search and rescue services while other groups would continue to be rescued without charge.

My folks are coming up on their 55th this October. Still a couple of lovebirds. It's sickening, really... So I'll post up a recent shot of the kids. That's my older brother, Chris. He's a long-haul trucker for Knight, and occasionally he gets to drag a load through the Dry Shitties. Whenever he does, we hook up for some beer drinkin' and chow, since the kids always seem to be off somewhere with the wife. This time, everyone was in town when Chris came through. The day this pic was taken (sorry for the low res - my wife used her phone), Uncle Chris and Elaina had finally got to meet for the first time. Nicholas was just 1 year old when Chris last saw him. I haven't seen my brother this happy in years, meeting his niece for the very first time and seeing his nephew again after 5 years. My son is a ham in front of anything with a lens, and my daughter never smiles for photos.

Exactly. Fairweather is undoubtedly relaying the message from a source that is spreading misleading information that at best is based on 10% truth and 90% B.S., with the goal being to try to influence public perception. Congress members, like corporate execs, have a total compensation package that far exceeds what the average person will ever see. And they determine their own benefits and increase them at will. And those benefits continue until they die. Not like ours, that must be continued either by making COBRA payments when we're fired/laid-off, getting picked up by another employer that offers them, pay for them by ourselves, or forego having benefits at all if we can't afford them.

The French have a saying for boobs that anything bigger than a champagne glass is wasted. But hey, WTF do the Froggies know, anyway?

I think I just took a trip... and never left the farm.

well, at least he has a plan...