Although I have been a subscriber for only six months, I feel compelled to commend Outside for truly remarkable writing. The August issue nearly brought me to tears. Sebastian Junger's tribute to Scott Fischer ("Large as
Life") reminded me that regardless of our achievements, we are all standing on the shoulders of those giants who preceded us. Also, I have to express my absolute belief in the talents of Mark Jenkins. Both the August and September The Hard Way columns were small masterpieces. I cannot express the joy I derive from reading Outside. Thanks.
Ric Cochrane
Tacoma, Washington
Perhaps Sebastian Junger painted a realistic picture of his former mentor Scott Fischer as a youth, but why was there no mention that climbers in the Pacific Northwest called him "Mr. Rescue"? What about his leading fund-raising climbs up Mount McKinley and Kilimanjaro to benefit AIDS research? Those of us who knew Scott knew that during the last 15
years of his life he did his best to shake off that crazed climber-stud image. The mature, responsible guide, the respected climber, the father and husband— that's the image that counts.
Jeannie Price (Scott Fischer's wife)
Bellevue, Washington
Wilderness 2000
Imagine my delight after reading Elizabeth Arnold's superb story, "The New Wilderness Land Grab" (September): I was vacationing with my in-laws near Rocky Mountain National Park, and for several days I'd listened to my father-in-law's
nobody-is-willing-to-sacrifice-anymore-to-preserve-our-natural-heritage monologue. There I was, in one of the most beautiful places on earth, getting depressed. Then I read Arnold's story and insisted that my father-in-law do the same. Not only did the story inspire me, but he was proved wrong for the first time ever.
Larry Keltto
Owatonna, Minnesota
As I read your coverage of the current efforts to save America's wild places (("Good, Clean, Dangerous Places," September), I couldn't help but think the Wilderness Act doesn't go far enough. As it stands today, declaring a wilderness area eliminates access of "undesirables"
such as mountain bikers, but it does little to actually restore the wilderness. What is needed to make this designation a true environmental act, rather than a hiker land-grab, is immediate closure and reclamation of all trails and campsites within wilderness areas.
John S. Cloyd
Newfields, New Hampshire
Neigh-Saying
I just came off of the wild, crazy ride wonderfully captured by Florence Williams ("The Low-Tech, High-Speed, Retro-Manic Simple Life," September). What lessons can we learn from it? One: If someone asks to borrow a horse because his is lame, and he promises to treat yours as if
it were his own, be afraid. Be very afraid. Two: If that man talks about making love as he does about breeding livestock, heads up, girls. He's very likely to treat his beloved much the way he treats his horse. And three: Some romantics are best admired from afar.
Karen Lansing
Aptos, California
Mr. Johnson's Neighborhood
As a longtime resident of twentynine Palms, California, and a friend of Jocko Johnson's, I think you did both the town and the man a disservice with Brad Wetzler's recent article ("Jocko's Rocket," August). Amongst the "deadbeats, loners, and dropouts" of our small community we have
Dick Dale, the world's greatest surf guitarist; Huell Howser, the host of the PBS program California's Gold; and thousands of retired Marines who enjoy a relaxed lifestyle at the gateway to Joshua Tree National Park. As for Jocko, he may not have all the answers to our environmental problems, but at least he's trying, and
that's more than most folks are doing.
Randall Whitt
Twentynine Palms, California
Black Circles
Your article "negative spin" (dispatches, September), cites hearsay and incorrect data. Marco Pantani was disqualified from the Giro d'Italia with two days to go not because his blood test "indicated use of EPO," as you reported, but because his hematocrit was above what the
Union Cycliste Internationale deems a safe level. There is no doubt that a drug problem existed or exists in the international peloton. Yet I believe tremendous progress has been made, and the fact that not one athlete tested positive during the entire 1999 Tour de France is proof.
Bryan Ward
San Jose, California
The editors reply: Just before Marco Pantani was pulled from the Giro d'Italia, his hematocrit tested at over 52 percent, a very unsafe level indeed, as the UCI stated. Crucially, however, Pantani's hematocrit was at a level widely considered to be an almost definitive indicator of EPO use. There is an avalanche of evidence
supporting the assertion that EPO use has reached epidemic porportions among professional cyclists, and despite Lance Armstrong's inspiring victory in this year's Tour, the problem certainly has not yet disappeared.
Drop Shot
Katie Nietert's photo of Shannon Carroll launching off the top of Sahalie Falls in your August Dispatches is spectacular ("Now Entering the Drop Zone"). But what I want to see is the photo of Carroll arriving at the other end of this breathtaking leap. How does a boater fall that
far and survive reentry into the river below?
Eugene Cantin
San Rafael, California
Wild at Heart
Thanks to Tim Cahill for his piece on "killer" dolphins (Out There, September). I too was angered by the New York Times article about the violent side of dolphins, which was meant more to shock than to inform. As Cahill points out, dolphins are wild
animals, and the fact that a species is highly intelligent does not mean it is harmless. Humans are the most intelligent animals we know of, and I wouldn't want to boast of our track record.
Jonathan Seff
San Francisco, California
Hard Knocks
I have to disagree with one point in Mike Randolph's September analysis of the new lightweight climbing helmets adopted from bike helmet technology ("High Design," Dispatches). The one-hit limit to these helmets is not really a "drawback." After all, your skull only takes one
hit with a rock. With the helmet, at least you don't become an organ donor. I wear a $150 helmet, and I hope it takes one hit for me.
Edward Frank
Chicago, Illinois
Foot Fault
I've been skydiving for eight years, and I love how you've chosen to portray the sport in a positive light, especially with your fashion perspective ("Hang Time," September). The picture of two people in hiking boots with lace hooks troubled me, though. If a jumper deploys a
canopy in a bad body position, the hooks can catch the canopy lines, resulting in the particularly horrific malfunction called a horseshoe.
John H. Howell Jr.
Jersey City, New Jersey
Correspondence may be sent by e-mail (letters@outsidemag.com) or addressed to the Letters Editor, Outside, 400 Market St., Santa Fe, NM 87501. Please include your full name and address.
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