sobo

I do not dispute what you say about following a curved path along the flux line, nor about turning around if the numbers decrease. I said all that above. But I would still classify it as a directional beacon because it does tell you which direction the signal is stronger, as soon as you take one more step forward. In answer to your questions above: yes, and yes. I practice it with it at least several times a year regardless of season. Mostly right about now, as I head into the backcountry for winter skiing, but also in the spring before the volcano climbing season gets active. I have gotten quite good (and fast) with it. In our unit practices, I am invariably the first one to locate the "subject" every time. Not a chestbeat, just a fact. I have gotten very comfortable with it. I just wonder why I don't see more of them around. It's a good machine, IMO. ...sobo

WTF's up with that? I'm just filling you in on the acronym.

This message is for geordie, Big Wave, and J-WOO, and anyone else seeking to scoop early season ice on the eastside: Go here.

Don't sweep so fast, then. You don't need to once the unit locates the initial signal and you've deterimed that you're moving in the correct direction. I never sweep after I've locked on the intial signal, and I've never experienced the problem to which you refer, altho I can see where it would be frustrating.

The ARVA 9000 is both of those things. So now what? Not by my definition... I would only call a beacon directional/digital if it has a set of lights or other indicators that tell you which direction the flux line is is. As far as I know, there are only three beacons that meet that criteria: B-vox Tracker X-1 All other beacons require you to stop or slow down and sweep the unit from side to side to determine the direction of search. I think the M2 and the Arva are very similar in function. Please correct me if I am wrong. Well, by your definition, the ARVA 9000 would be a "semi-directional" digital beacon. It has an arrow that lines you up with the flux line and points you in a direction parallel to it. You then move along that line while watching the digital distance read-out. If it decreases, you're going in the right direction toward the subject. If the value increases, you're 180 degrees off, so turn around and go the other way. You do not really need to sweep to determine the direction of search with this device, and you definitely do not need to stop at all.

Bend Over Here It Comes Again yeeesh!

Literally, it would be "vino di tavola", but I've also heard these gems of libation referred to as "bomboli", which literally translated means something like a 5-gallon propane cylinder over here.

Not entirely true, Dru. Are you trying to say that every house that has a well doesn't need a pump in the borehole? hmmmm...

Gettin' a new rig, eh erik?

That's exactly what I was thinking...

I'm on the list, too, but some of them fuckers still keep calling me. Goddamned telemarkers...

Oooo! Insert spanking graemlin here...

those things are wicked cool. i be waiting for the action movie where 007 sticks one in the carotid to f up the bad guy. Ya know, I always thought that'd be a great way to kill someone, too. Shot 'em up with an embolism - PSSS! Deader'n a doornail.

Just relax a little, geordie. All will be well in good time. I was gonna go up on Sunday to inspect, but I've lived in Yakivegas long enough to know that it woulda been a wasted afternoon. So I hung out with the wife and baby and nursed my hangover from my birthday celebration the night before..

Coolest thing I've used is one of those "cork-popper" style cork removers. Has a thick needle on a handle, and you hook up a NO Whippit to it. Remove foil, insert needle, push end of Whippit, POP! Bottle's open. After the wine is done, inhale NO from the Whippit for more good times!

The ARVA 9000 is both of those things. So now what?

and Might I ask why?

Schweet!

Not a choice you listed, but ARVA 9000!

So what did you guys do? Swing over Chinook Pass from Olympia a grab a new line, scoot down 410 to the wye, shoot up 12 to Strobach, eye the climbs (or didja climb anything?), check out Clear Creek Falls, and head home? Did you go down FS Road 19 at all to check out Little Naches? Headin' out right now meself to see what up.

Mebbe we could convince some elk shooters to leave their camp up for the winter.

Yeah, Bronco, I agree. I guess we all should have seen it coming...

Well, it does, O Most Revered One of the Northlands, just not around the Eastern WA desert. The referenced contributors have a lot more to do with ice climbing around places like say, oh, Colorado. For a groundwater acquifer to play a serious role in forming ice climbs, it's got to be near the surface so the water can flow up and out, then freeze. The acquifers in the Ellensburg and Grand Rhonde formations are nowhere near enough to the surface to contribute to climb formation in the Eastern WA desert. It is the shallow ARTIFICIAL acquifers that are contributing to the climb formation, said shallow acquifers are caused by IRRIGATION. WHICH IS WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET ACROSS ALL ALONG. Note that every one of my posts above, save the 1.2 Gigawatt one, addresses irrigation as the major contributing factor to ice climb formation in the Coulees. I shooda jest let this thread die when it was already dead. I'm going out for own Pub Club now...

Yeah, I saw that too and thought the same thing.

Sorry to bring this back to the top, but yes, Laura, I have been around Banks Lake in the summer (it's part of my job), and contrary to your belief, there is a SHITPOT of irrigation going on EVERY YEAR, all over the flatlands above the cliffs! That's WHY we have ice climbs of the sort we do at Banks. It's because of all that irrigation water being stored in shallow acquifers and soil horizons, then seeping out over the winter and freezing as it finds its way to the cliff faces. The fact that you have water in your well in Omak has more to do with groundwater hydrology, pore pressures, and capillary action than anything else.