"Billy Dixon"; Signed by Olive K. Dixon

[Canoe112]

Trigger Dr,

That was too cool having such a guy as Glenn sign the block. I am really sorry you lost them.

When I got divorced I misplaced some wonderful mementos Soviet officials gave me. I still have some.

The WORST was that I left my beloved custom 1911 A1 behind at my house. My soon to be ex was so angry that I left that she took my 1911 to the Sheriff's Office and turned it in for destruction. They ground it to dust.

Regards,

Hal

[Haverde Warner]

You-all probably know this, but Charley Siringo was a cowboy, Billy-the-Kid chaser, Pinkerton detective, and authored several books of his own. Wonder if the provenance of the volume in question goes through the Siringo family? As I recall, Siringo died in the '20's-probably plenty of family around still. Olive Dixon's signature might well be found in the Harry Ransom Center (HRC) at The University of Texas at Austin-they have an astounding collection.

[IronSight]

Canoe112,
By your reference to climbing "5 of the 7 sisters", are you referring to the Cascades?
This reminded me of 20 some years ago when a couple buddies and myself were closing the local adult beverage establishment and were all between jobs and kinda bored. I think this was during the 80's recession.

Can't recall exactly how it happened, but the next day we packed our Harleys with camping gear and set out for Oregon to do some serious backpacking in the 3 sisters area.
The two things i remember most about that excursion were the two mounted rangers we stumbled across on one of the trails a 100 miles from civilization. They were both packing pearl handled revolvers and each had lever action rifles holstered to their saddles. All our answers to their questions ended with 'Sir'.
The other thing was the mosquitoes! Been all over this country at one time or another including the Everglades. Never seen swarms like that!

[Omak Cowboy]

Iron,
Are you sure they were pearl handles? My bet is ivory, which is what is on my 1911. The benifit of Ivory is that when it's wet it gets sticky. Very useful sometimes.

You are right about the skeeters. Thank God for Cutters! Course for those of you who have never used such...be careful..it melts plastics!
Oh and you really, really don't want to put it anywhere above your eye line. NASTY if sweat mixed with that stuff hits your eyes!

[Canoe112]

IronSight,

The term Seven Sisters as used by Climbers means the Highest Peak on each Continent.

Asia, Everest, 29,035 ft. (Forsaken by many true Mountaineers because has become a tourist trap. Difficult)

Europe, Elbrus, 18,510 ft. (Known for the metal building near the pass which contains bullet holes. Bullet holes from Nazi rifles as they fought their way over the pass into Russia. Doable.)

Africa, Kilimanjaro, 19,340 ft. (A buddy did it with his girlfriend. They were in Sandals. Cake Walk.)

North America, Denali, 20,320 ft. (One friend saw an avalanche come down a Mountain and then up and over the opposite range. Also, notable as some sections require you to go "on rope" when you "go to the bathroom". Serious, but not Difficult.)

South America, Aconcagua, 22,834 ft. (I knew two Braggarts that tried a traverse of this Peak without proper knowledge and respect for the Peak. One came back without two feet and absent one hand and half of the other hand. His climbing buddy was not as fortunate. The Mouthy Guys die young. Serious, but not Difficult)

Australia, Kosciusko, 7,316 ft. (We only walk it because it is the highest point on that Continent. Cake Walk)

Antarctic, Vinson Massif, 16,077 ft. (Difficult to get to. Conditions always poor. Serious, but not Difficult.)

I learned early on there were only two types of climbers, "Climbing Rats" that have no money or responsibilities and just live that life. And, guys with enough cash to care for their families, leave work for extended period of time and burn money to climb. I decided not to be a Climbing Rat and therefore have been taken care of matters at home. The game plan was to return to climbing when my youngest turns 18.

I quit the climbing game because right after my first child was born I came very close to getting chopped pulling two kid's off of a cliff at 2:00 am. (I had been injured and came close to getting chopped numerous times before, but it was different now that I had a child. I resigned from Technical and told my buddies my life was no longer mine to lose.

I have also told my children that I get that aspect of my life back once they all turn 18.

One friend has climbed 6 of the 7. He has not gone to Everest because it is a tourist trap, he may change his mind. He has also climbed all 14,000 Peaks in US and each high point in every state (The 50 High Points). Kansas is not a challenge.

There is actually a record for doing all 50 points in the fastest time. The guy that holds the record leased his own plane to fly between each point. It is not as easy as it sounds, many variables come into play.

Yeah, I summited some in the Northwest. Two buddies of mine did all notable peaks in the Northwest in one summer. Even St. Helens before it blew its top.

The majority of my climbing buddies were all rescue guys. But I was fortunate to climb with some notables. A while back I wrote a review here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... 7?v=glance

I know this is not about Sharps. I am just trying to answer IronSight's question.

Regards,

Hal

[IronSight]

Omak,
They could of been ivory. Being a Midwest city boy back then, the only pearl handled revolvers i've seen up to that point were in the western movies. This was my first real closeup and personal experience with real cowboy- type lawmen all beit they were nat'l park rangers of some kind. Needless to say they instinctivley commanded our respect especially sitting atop those horses, the biggest horses i've ever seen.
We were'nt ready for those skeeters, no cutters. This actually forced us to change our plans and leave Oregon early to do some back packing in Yellowstone near or in Montanna which was on the way back home.

Much better, no skeeters and lived off cut-throat trout for a week in the mountians. Just wish i coulda had my .357 magnum with me as we had an encounter with a brown bear in our camping area.

Canoe112,
Thanks for clearing up the Sisters thing! Sounds like your really into climbing. You'll find BPCR shooting just as obsessing. By the way, this all reminds me of that Stallone movie 'Cliff Hanger'? where he also was a mountain rescue ranger, i think in Yosemite. Actually a pretty good movie.

This is all kinda humbling as the highest mountain (okay hill) i have on my property is about 40 feet above grade. In case your wondering, yeah i climbed it and reached the 'summit'.

[Canoe112]

IronSight,

Yeah, I remember that Stallone movie.

It was not shot in Yosemite I am certain of that. I know that area very well. Rock formations are totally different. It almost looked like European Mountains to me, but I am not certain. I know the cliffs and routes in Yosemite well, they were not in the movie.

You must go to Yosemite, if God dwells anywhere it is there. Except during tourist season. Go in Spring, Winter or Fall.

Actually, the Stallone show was REALLY Hollywood. It did not use actual Rescue or Climbing Techniques. If you want to see an accurate depiction see Clint Eastwood in "The Eiger Sanction". That is how it is. by the way the Ice Axe Clint uses is identical to the one I have used for years. It is now rare. The Axe is a Chouinard/Frost 70 mm laminated wood shaft. It is a great tool. I'm the last guy I know that still uses a wood Axe. Eiger Sanction is REAL. As accurate as Eastwood is with the guns in his Westerns, so also was the accuracy regarding the climbing equipment and technique. It is my understanding that some of our local guys worked technical on that movie. The Axes were made 20 miles south of me. The finest Ice An in the World lives within Spittin Distance of me. Yvon Chouinard.

The length of the Ice Axe tells you the type of Mountaineering the climber is involved in. The shorter the Axe the steeper the ascent. The longer the Axe the lesser the slope (eg. "Glacier Walkers"). The 70 mm is the shortest, after that you move to ice tools such as picks, hammers,etc. Chouinard did make a 50 mm for a very short while. I wish I had bought one. It was discontinued because it was just too close to the existing picks and hammers.

[Canoe112]

EDIT: The finest "Ice Man" in the World lives within Spittin Distance of me. Yvon Chouinard.