Well, the world's still going to hell, more new evidence this week as Breckenridge decriminalizes small amounts of marijuana, which should probably not effect Ullr Fest in the least. A cruise ship helps rescue a couple on a fishing boat, creating a tiny amount of good karma for cruise ships. An architect proposes a German city make an enormous man-made mountain (maybe we can fly over some mountaintops from the Appalachians?) National Geographic Adventure announces its Adventurers of the Year, and "Sky Flier Dean Potter" makes the list.   

• Breckenridge More Or Less Legalizes The Weed, Some People Disagree
• Nice Job U.S.; All Fish Contain Mercury
• Alpinist Tomaz Humar Dies
• Couple In Fishing Boat Rescued By Giant Cruise Ship
• Get In Line, Vail Opens Today
• Andy Skurka To Walk Giant Loop In Alaska, Yukon
• German City To Maybe Make Man-Made Mountain
• NGA Announces Adventurers of The Year, Includes Dean Potter For Some Reason

It's wonderful to see Sarah Palin finally getting the media attention she deserves. Apparently some of that $150k the Republican Party spent in Minneapolis getting the former beauty queen dolled up for TV was spent buying Icebreaker tops from Midwest Mountaineering. In her Newsweek cover photo (originally shot for Runner's World) the unemployed former half-term governor of Alaska is wearing an Icebreaker top. Icebreaker responded with a fair and balanced blog post on the topic, seeing as how they likely don't want to alienate their conservative customers by bashing the woman Newsweek labeled as "Bad News for the GOP--and Everybody Else, Too." Say what you want about the moose slayer; I read everything I find about the lady. It's like reading the book Alive or learning about the Donner Party in middle school; it's unbearably difficult to read, but appeals to some dark nature that loves to see humans torn apart and eaten.

"When I won the New York State World Alleycat Championship of the Universe, I wore jeans."

Via Bike Hugger.

Holy crap. A tourism company out of England is running an actual Titanic Memorial Cruise that will commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the world's largest metaphor. There's been some critical response, but people who were teenagers when the blockbuster "Titanic" came out seem to think it's a wonderful idea. The trip will include a memorial service at the spot where the giant boat sank and then a stopover where survivors were dropped. It will conclude in New York City, where the Titanic was supposed to end up, but it likely won't pull into the pier where the boat was supposed to dock since it was converted into a driving range sometime in the past 100 years.  Hopefully the boat becomes the 67th cruise this year to become stricken with an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness, and this cruise will be known historically as "The Titanic of Diarrhea."

The nut tool, in the entire history of its existence, has pretty much been an incomplete piece of climbing equipment. Manufacturers provide the tool, basically a narrow hook that can withstand frustrated climbers beating the shit out of it while trying to push, pull and yank stubborn chocks and cams out of cracks while following climbs and cursing their partner. But until recently, they've always left it up to you to figure out how to not lose it, should you drop it.

I'll tell you, few things are worse than coming up on a stopper that your partner placed, then set, in an awkward stance, or a cam that he/she jammed in there in a fit of desperation. Then you have to get it out, hanging onto that awkward stance for 10 seconds to 5 minutes. And you can't drop that nut tool. Most people just clipped a carabiner on the non-business end of the nut tool, and clipped that to their harness. Or you clipped a shoulder-length runner to it, and another carabiner, so you had some insurance while you were hacking away at that f%$*ing stopper. But then you still only had about two feet of freedom.   

Enter the $3 hardware store plastic coil keychain. Clip a hardware store, not-for-climbing carabiner to one of the key rings, clip the other end to your nut tool, and you've got a piece of pure dirtbag awesomeness in your hand. Hang off a finger lock with your other hand, stretch that nut tool out there and hack away, no limits on how far you are from the offending piece of pro. If you're pumped by the time you free it, simply let the nut tool fall to the end of the coil keychain and climb up to a better rest before you clip it back to your harness.

No need to figure this out, Metolius, BD, DMM -- my neighborhood Ace Hardware store has me covered. 

How long does a guy who cut his own arm off have to wait for someone to make a movie about him? Almost 7 years go by before someone decides Aron Ralston's story is worthy of theaters near you. That meatsack Miss California has only been infamous for a few months and already has a book published. And she deserves to have her arms cut off. In other news, you can buy a real-live geodesic dome from Antarctica, save money by carpooling to one of America's most money-hungry ski resorts, and still get shot in Vail.

• Aron Ralston's Story To Hit Big Screen
• Extreme Skiing Club Member Shoots Owner of Vail Bar
• Lindsey Vonn Works Out Way Harder Than You
• Buy The South Pole Geodesic Dome For Just $500,000
• Africa Splitting Apart, New Ocean Forming Under Ethiopia
• Breckenridge To Finally Take Less Of Your Money If You Carpool
• Scientists Find A Mere 1,200 New Species In Yellowstone
• Crested Butte Won't Be Getting Any Bigger Anytime Soon, THX

Legendary skier and Jackson Hole local Doug Coombs was inducted into the Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. Coombs died three years ago while skiing near La Grave resort in France. He was trying to reach a friend who’d slid out of view when his skis couldn’t hold an edge on a rocks just beneath a dusting of snow. Both men died.

Coombs’ induction certainly isn’t a surprise. The man’s skiing accomplishments the world over are second to none. But let’s say you want to take a visit to the U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. It must be located either in a bustling city or a suitable mountain town? Nope. The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame is tucked away in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the town Ishpeming, population 6,686. Why? Well, it’s claimed as the ‘birthplace of organized skiing’ in the United States, and the U.P. coalition was formed back in 1905, before common sense existed. 

Rocky blogged about this last week, but now, thanks to Dead Point Magazine, there's video of Max Zolotukhin falling while attempting a free solo of Supernova, a 30-foot 5.14b sport route at Rumney. When you look at the landing, it seems like Max was pretty lucky to  come away with only the injuries he did. Read his blog entry on the whole thing here before you decide to shit on him for attempting to free solo a route that hard, with a bad landing, etc.:

My lessons were clear. DON’T be overconfident; DON’T assume that everything will be okay; THINK about the effect that your decisions will have on those closest to you.

Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado wants to give something back to the community. Going forward, skiers who arrive at the hill with more than four people in their vehicle will be charged half-price for parking on weekends and will receive free parking weekdays. So you're telling me that Breckenridge actually charges to use their parking lot? This must be a Colorado move that helps cover the difference between their $400 season passes and the outrageous prices everyone else pays. Instead of charging at all they should offer the spots next to the slopeside bar to carpoolers while solo drivers and anyone in a vehicle that gets worse than 12mpg has to walk a mile in ski boots.

And why wouldn’t people in Breck want to carpool? Better hotboxing opportunities. Though the vote to legalize marijuana was largely symbolic (read: “meaningless”) you half expect the local police to take the hint and spend more time sleeping in their cruisers.

via Out There

Well, the NY Marathon came and went and the bomb did disappoint and missed my mark of 3.30 by more than a minute per mile.  A few things here, I didn't reach the start line until 12 minutes after the 'gun' but I don't think this should matter as we all had timing chips.  Regardless, pretty disappointed in this, but the experience was incredible, already applied for next year.  As you recall, it was Nevada Day the 31st, just before the race on the 1st.  I did my requisite shot of whiskey, had 5 vodka sodas, and 2 beers and got in at 1.30a to wake up at 5.30 to get to the start.  However, I did get an extra hour of sleep for daylight savings.  I approached the race as I would normally approach a long run, so I didn't change anything, including alcohol consumption.  Had I skipped the booze and went to bed early, I don't think it would've mattered, not going to use that as a rationalization.  All in all, a good time, I just didn't expect to be running shoulder to shoulder at mile 20, it was pretty exhausting dodging people.

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