News of Ethics, Spray, and Slander

So I just got off a phone conversation with my mom, and really this is a constant bone of contention with my family: having moved out west to pursue mountain/summit related activities, I am constantly a subject of worry for my parents and my family. They are worried about me every weekend I go out.

This bothers me for a few reasons:

1. Obviously I dislike my family, particularly my mother, being so constantly stressed ...

....a century old misplaced gravestone of a prostitute who had committed suicide:

http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_22283004/hiker-finds-missing-114-year-old-headstone-santa?source=most_viewed

Happy New Year 2013, every SP'er out there!

Party safe, have fun and enjoy life :)

My resolution for 2013 is to try and care less if I don't always reach the summit!

So reading about Patagonia today. They are apparently famous for donating 1% of their revenues to environmental causes.

Now Patagonia makes some nice stuff. But so does North Face, Marmot, and for that matter REI and LL Bean. You pay a 5-20% premium to get the environmentally-conscious Patagonia brand name compared to comparable products from their competitors.

So, say, Patagonia only collects a 5% premium and donates 1% to charity, that's a 4:1 profit bonus. ...

...My feeling is that alpine mountaineers are the perfect victims for Extraterrestrial Abductions,...
I'm not really sure why that should be the case,...maybe, the Extraterrestrials have a captive breading program happening,...
...I wish Mr. Spock was around so that I could ask him,...
Should we be concerned ???

I am amazed at how many individuals on the net are off climbing almost every year to remote locations worldwide! I can understand how professional guides, sponsored by firms like North Face can spend each year on expeditions to Antarctica or the Hindu Kush, but there are many individuals who post that seem to find the $40,000 to go to the Polar Regions, or $60,000 to try ascents in Tibet, or other remote areas.
In ...

So it turns out Paul Ryan has a thing for Colorado 14ers. Sounds like more of a peakbagger than a mountaineer, but hey, so am I. As I recall, a previous veep, Al Gore, made a famous attempt at Rainier, getting somewhere around 10,000' before turning around (not sure I ever read an official report why he didnt summit).

Got me thinking, who was the biggest politician who was a climber? And who was the ...

Thanks for the comments! It really did help in the decision about the response.

I read that transportation science is getting close to teleportation technology. How will this affect our beloved mountains?

I predict crowded summits, increase in AMS occurance, and epic skiing. Your thoughts?

No politics...