[Tom]

[Randy]

You tested those bad boys vs. your GPS or other altimeter? Anyone?

[Tom]

According to the reviews on the net the Alta watches track to +/-1 meter. I haven't had a chance to test mine against my GPS yet but I would think the watches would be more accurate than the GPS if calibrated properly. http://www.outsidemag.com/outsidestore/gearguy/0899/080299.html http://www.gearreview.com/altiwatches.asp

[Mike Collins]

Under most conditions the watch will be more accurate than the GPS. But if a weather system moves in causing the barometric measurements to change one would need to recalibrate at a known elevation. I usually pick a highpoint or outflow of a lake. Otherwise the altimeter will be giving false readings.

[Allison]

Ah, jeez, you guys are all going to be over at the hilaker meeting tonight! Gotta go meet Randy anyhoo.

[Tom]

yep, was there for dave w's ceremonial induction to president of the high lakers, otherwise I would have made it. polarbear, salish, and jonathan were there too. btw salish, sorry we didn't get a chance to converse more.

[Brian Curtis]

Darn, I sure wish I could have made it over to meet everybody who was there. Unfortunately there was no way I could get away tonight. How was the ANWR program?

[Tom]

Very beautiful presentation. It made you want to do everything possible to ensure they never drill that area (particularly the impact it might have on the caribou calving grounds). BTW Brian, they were passing around a book of pictures with big fish. I think I noticed a dated picture which sure looked like a dead ringer for the model in the curtis raft brochure. Could that perhaps have been you?

[Brian Curtis]

I was on the wrong side of the camera to be the model in the boat brochure. A sharp eye would spot me in that Hi-Lakers book in a few places, though.

[polarbear]

I'm not a member of the HiLakers, but I attended their meeting for the first time last night and was really impressed. They run a fun, light hearted meeting, know a heck of a lot about fish and can bring in some really interesting guest speakers on a variety of subjects. If you're interests include fishing and alpine lakes, you really need to attend one of their meetings and check it out. I saw some photos last night of some sizeable fish, though I was tactful enough not to inquire from which lakes they came Note that these pictures did not appear to be digitally altered or "scaled" in any way, though I believe I heard someone mumbling about a "rubber ruler" used to measure them. The slides from Alaska were beautiful--caribou, bear, fox, wolf, owls, and a fascinating bird which migrates from Alaska to India every year. The shots of the oil fields were also interesting. The meeting is held on Mercer Island at the Mercer Island Community Center--about 2 minutes off of I-90.

[salish]

Hi Tom, Not a problem, I'm sure we can have time to chat more later. Sorry if I was a little uncommunicative; I was just mesmerized with that young guys story in the Hi Laker Newsletter about his climbing Adams (Pahto) and Rainier in three days, then practically killing himself on a slog to a high lake. I just couldn't stop reading Brian C: the ANWR presentation was pretty good. The guy laid a good case against the drilling without being too confrontational about it. The story of the cariboo reminds me of our own loss of the buffalo on the plains. It would be nice if that did not happen again. I would have liked to have met you - we've traded enough emails over the past year or two I feel almost like I know you. Nice group of people. I've been talking about going for years now, so I've finally taken the plunge and joined. Maybe we'll hook up at next month's meeting. Take care, Salish

[MtnGoat]

The caribou herds *increased* in number in the time since the pipeline was built and Prudhoe bay exploited, in spite of the loud and vigorous insistence that this would not be the case. The fear about caribou and other north slope impacts are valid but it's also been shown these impacts can be managed and in the past have been vastly overstated and later shown to be basically fear tactics. We need to keep in perspective that the area impacted is a tiny, tiny fraction of the land there and that we're talking about tens of acres per site out of hundreds of thousands, if not millions of acres.

[Tom]

The concern wasn't necessarily how many acres would be impacted. Rather, it was the specific acres that would be impacted, i.e. the prime caribou calving grounds. Anyway, I'm not an expert on this. Just stating what I recall hearing from the presentation.

[Brian Curtis]

Hopefully I'll make it to the January meeting, Salish. I never seem to know if I'm going to make it until the last minute and I didn't make nearly enough last year. If not I will most definitely be at the February meeting since I'll be giving the program.

[MtnGoat]

Not every square inch can be prime caribou breeding ground, that doesn't leave any not so prime ground. Pick the "prime" spots, place the drill rigs on the not so prime. We can work it out just fine. The caribou can boink just fine 1000 feet this way or the other, I'm sure. It's certainly turned out to be the case for the other oil projects.