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							<title>Skiing The Backcountry</title>
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							<description>Online blogs and route guides for backcountry skiing</description>
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								<title>Skiing the Backcountry</title>
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						 <title>Climbing the Grand Teton Part II</title>

						 <link>http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/blogs/Climbing_the_Grand_Teton_Part_II.php</link>
						 <description><![CDATA[This is a continuation of another story. You can find the first part here.As the early morning sun rose we were shocked to not see
anyone on the Upper Exum as we crossed the exposed awkward crux of wall
street.  Once on the ridge the sun met us
with arms wide open and illuminated the golden stair pitch, a fifty foot
section of granite prettier than Mathew Mcconaughey.

We simu-climbed up the perfect ridge encountering only a
small amount of snow in the more sheltered areas. As we made our way up, the
views to the south, west, and east are just incredible and can easily distract
from the climbing at hand. A slight breeze kept us climbing in pants and wind
breakers. As we approached the final leg to the summit we were still in shock
that we had seen no one!  No one, on the
Upper Exum in the middle of July!  That’s
like going to catch 1st tram on a 3-foot powder day and having no
one else in line.  It was great! 

Just before the summit my partner noticed his lower part of
his backpack was starting to drip on him. Turns out his crampon puncture our celebratory
beer! We quickly dug into the pack and chugged the remaining booze faster than John
Belushi.

As we summited we were greeted by a small group of 3 who
climbed the east face. The five us reveled in our solitude and accomplishment.
The weather was holding beautifully as there was not a cloud in the sky. We
knew we could take our time and really enjoy the top with no rush from
approaching bad weather.

After getting our fill we headed for the Owen Spalding Rappels
and after an always exciting hanging rappel we were on our way back to camp.

]]></description>
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						 <title>Climbing Ellingwood Ledges Crestone Needle and Peak</title>

						 <link>http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/blogs/Climbing_Ellingwood_Ledges_Crestone_Needle_and_Peak.php</link>
						 <description><![CDATA[Colorado's Sangre de Cristo range is home to the Crestone group.  Among other mountains, this group includes Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle.  One of Colorado’s four routes to make it into Steck and Roper’s “50 Classic Climbs in North America” is located on a very aesthetic ridge leading to the summit of Crestone Needle.  The original name given to this route by Ellingwood himself is Ellingwood Ledges, but it is often referred to these days as the Ellingwood Arête.The rock quality in the Crestones has a reputation for being some of the highest quality alpine rock in Colorado.  Geologically, the rock is a conglomerate of the same formation as the rock found in Eldorado Canyon and the Flatirons near Boulder, CO.  I had been feeling the tractor beam pull of this route for some time and decided it was finally time to do something about it.After hiking in and camping near the base of the climb on Thursday night, my partner and I awoke the next morning in time to begin climbing at first light.  We opted for a direct start which added about three pitches of 5th class climbing at the base of the route.  The standard route involves a less direct class 3-4 scramble to the climber’s left of the direct start.  There are multiple potential lines for a direct start up the initial apron including a prominent chimney and dihedral.  We opted for the dihedral right of the obvious chimney.We simul-climbed for the equivalent of about three pitches before topping out on the lower buttress and beginning the namesake ‘ledges’ portion of the route.  The lower part of the route involved mostly easy climbing with a few moderate sections no more difficult than 5.7.  We unroped for the 4th class ledges section and cautiously worked our way to the next and final stretch of climbing.There were 4 other climbing parties on the route, one of which was ahead of us.  We had a few rock missiles whiz past us as loose rocks were abundant on the 4th class stretch.In general, the routefinding was pretty strait forward and protection was sparse, except for when you needed it.  We encountered several old pitons, a couple of bolts, and a few stuck nuts – most of which were not to be trusted.  My partner and I swapped leads on the four upper pitches, which landed us on the summit of Crestone Needle.  The rock quality and aesthetic quality of the route met all my expectations, making it worthy of its reputation in my mind.Our original plan was to traverse from the summit of Crestone Needle to Crestone Peak.  Since the weather was looking like it would hold long enough for us to accomplish this, we began the traverse.  Most parties rappel off the summit of the Needle and then begin traversing.  Keith and I opted for an adventurous downclimb and subsequent traverse to get back to the standard traverse route.Getting off the Needle was the hardest part of the traverse from Needle to Peak.  Once we got down to the standard traverse route, we were able to relax and enjoy the 3rd class scrambling that dominated the rest of the route to the summit of Crestone Peak.Continuing our loop and Tour de Crestones, we climbed down the opposite side of the Peak from which we approached.  The descent wasn't too technical compared to what we had already done, and we hurried to beat the incoming weather.Although we didn't make it back to the tent before the hail, rain, thunder and lightning began, we did make it off the mountain and down to a safe location before the squall attacked.  This was one of the finest days in the Colorado mountains I've had yet.The next day we slept in before a nice hike up Humboldt Peak, the third and final 14er of our trip.  There wasn't much climbing to speak of on this hike, but the rewards were in the form of views of the Crestones and abundant wildlife.Not only did we see the standard alpine wildlife, but due to the time of year, we were fortunate enough to see the babies of most of the standard critters: ptarmigan and baby ptarmigan, marmots and baby marmots, pikas and baby pikas, sheep and lambs, chipmonks, and a porcupine.We returned to camp before noon and proceeded to lie down for a nap in the meadow next to our tent.  After throwing several rocks at me to get me wake up, my partner finally succeeded and informed me that there was a sheep behind me.  I turned around and there was a ewe, about 20 feet away, looking inquisitive.  Shortly thereafter, three lambs and two more ewes showed up to join in the fun. We watched them and took several pictures over the next hour or two.  They left the vicinity of our camp once they had eaten all the pee grass.]]></description>
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						 <title>Summertime Blues (and Purples and Yellows and Oranges too!)</title>

						 <link>http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/blogs/Summertime_Blues__and_Purples_and_Yellows_and_Oranges_too__.php</link>
						 <description><![CDATA[This summer 2008, has had many "firsts" for me so far, my first mohawk, my first time riding in a wheelbarrow while drinking heavily during a parade, and last but not least, my first time skiing in July in New Mexico. That's right, one more trip report from south of the border, the 4th of July couloir was in,  just in time for us to get month number 8. Only 4 more to go!We set out about 5:30 a.m., trying to time our climb with the sunrise. Our goal for the day was the 4th of July couloir located on the northern side of Lake Fork Peak, high in the Wheeler Peak Wilderness. We had not been out in over a month and Tele Matt and Eya were both itchin for some turnin. I had been up around Williams Lake the week prior, and knew the couloir would probably be holding the most continuous line around. Lake Fork peak and No Name Peak both had big and ski worthy snowfields, but neither was connected to the summit any longer. So the decision was easy for us to make. As we climbed up through the forest and into the alpine we were greeted by Columbines, Indian Paintbrush, and hundreds of little purple, blue and gold Asters and Sunflowers. The lake was quiet and still, the peaks with their last vestige of snow were awakening with the sun. I am always blown away every time I go into this area, how much it changes and continues to excite me. We climbed steadily upward through the talus fields, happy in the early hours to be exactly where we were.When we entered the Lake Fork Cirque we could see our line peeking out behind the rock walls that protected it. The couloir was in, the snow looked smooth and not suncupped or strewn with debris. Tele Matt and I were excited to try out our new Black Diamond Sabretooth Pro crampons and the 4th of July couloir would provide us with the perfect line to do some product testing. We strapped up and were off quickly. The climb was steep and steady, around 45 - 50 degrees and smooth. The snow was turning from firm to corn below us and we knew we had timed it perfectly.We reached the top and started to feel the excitement that comes with sliding down icy couloirs in the middle of the summer. The rat pack looked down excitedly at what we had climbed and each one of us planned our descent. Tele Matt was off first, hopping down the chute and signing it with his signature "really really Huge" tele turns. Eya slipped in next, and made clean smooth turns through the choke, savoring each one and counting her turns the whole way down. Finally it was my turn and I was excited. I dropped into the couloir and started to feel gravity working, pulling me down and down and down. I stopped counting my turns after 1 or 2 because it just didn't matter anymore. I was skiing, the wind whistling past my ears, snow sliding and whispering softly underneath my skis. It was perfect. Not too bad for July in New Mexico.Everyone met back up at the bottom to look back up at our tracks and enjoy our other favorite thing in the world, beer. We sat in the sunshine soaking it all in, the flowers, the breeze, the mountains in their summer attire, New Mexico's finest indeed. While we hiked back down we ran into many people hiking up, sweating in the afternoon sun, confused as to where in the world you could ski this time of year. We encouraged them to look around, explore a little further off the beaten track and maybe they would understand. As we descended down through the forest I couldn't help but wonder when I would be back again and what new surprises would be waiting for me upon my return.]]></description>
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						 <title>Tetons on Crack</title>

						 <link>http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/blogs/Tetons_on_Crack.php</link>
						 <description><![CDATA[Overwhelmed. Rock clothed in fractured glaciers reach toward
the sun beckoning adventure to all who lay their eyes on them. In an instant my
highly regarded Tetons are reduced to an insignificant spec on the mountaineering
map. I stand in a place where no camera, no poet, no one, can describe the
color of these glacial waters, the towering peaks and the over all magnitude
with any justice that is due to them.

This region mocks all my experience and draws me closer like
a siren. We planned on spending one week or two here….I now realize it would
take one or two lifetimes to fully understand these surroundings. Until then I humbly
soak in all I can as I stand in mist of the Canadian Rockies.

]]></description>
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						 <title>Climbing the Grand Teton</title>

						 <link>http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/blogs/Climbing_the_Grand_Teton.php</link>
						 <description><![CDATA[Despite plenty of snow around for backcountry skiing, we
left the skis at home and headed for the summit of the Grand Teton. Heading in
to the hills without skis I felt like an acne covered pre-teen at a school
dance, awkward, but nevertheless, it did not stop us from having a beautiful
trip to the Teton’s tallest via the Upper Exum Ridge. 

It is very common for people to make speed ascents on the
Grand quite regularly. The effort is quite impressive and is always a good ego
boost. However whenever I am racing up a route I usually have so much sweat in
my eyes and can’t see around the switchback let alone the spectacular views the
Tetons are famous for.  I feel like I get
robbed of what I really came to seek.  I enjoy
taking the time to go break up the trip by camping at the meadows and really
just soaking in all the Teton goodness that endlessly abounds.

There is still a ridiculous amount of snow up there in those
mountains and most of the trip from Garnet Canyon to the Lower Saddle is snow.
It makes the hike even extra enjoyable by walking over all the scree and
boulder fields instead of through them. I know my knees prefer the snow!

We camped by a raging creek at the Meadows Camp Ground and
did not hear our alarm go off in the morning because of all the white noise
from Niagara Falls outside our tent. We woke and realized we had slept in two
hours late! It turned out to be no big deal as we ended up waiting for the sun
to hit the route later on. 

Although there is snow up to the lower saddle, the climb up
from there is surprisingly dry where you need it to be. One of the nicest surprises
was the Eye of the Needle was not plugged with ice! With slug-like agility we
squished our way through the narrow slot on firm slick ice which acted like an unfriendly
lube to facilitate the gawky passage. Finally through the needle, we had to
cross a little snow field to Wall Street and that is where our climb really
began!

Stay tuned for part 2 later in the week!

]]></description>
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						 <title>SteriPEN Adventurer Review</title>

						 <link>http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/blogs/SteriPEN_Adventurer_Review.php</link>
						 <description><![CDATA[

 

Product
 

SteriPEN
Adventurer


 

Manufacturer
website 
 

www.steripen.com


 

MSRP
 

$99.95


 Year
 2007


What is it?
 Hydro-photon water purifier uses UV rays to kill Protozoa, bacteria and viruses in water.


 Dimensions
 6.1 x 1.5 x 1 inches


 Weight
 (with batteries) 3.6 ounces


 Output
 32 oz. per 90 seconds


 Field Cleanable?
 Yes. 


 Material
 Plastic


 Effectiveness
 Independently approved for water purification of clear water.  Check out this resource about water treatment.


 Intended Use
 Backcountry camping and foreign travel.  I take it with me on a day hike so that I don’t have to carry extra water, and for emergencies.


 Batteries
 CR123 Batteries.  $14 for 2. 


 Overall
 Overall, I love the steripen.  This isn’t necessarily because it doesn’t have any problems.  I love it because it’s the lightest, easiest, best tasting, most effective option for water purification.  I would rather use the steripen than any filter, iodine tablets, or purification system. I generally use it in a high alpine environment, where the water is very clear.  I carry Katadyn Micropur tablets in case the batteries run out or the system fails (which has happened).  


 Color
 Black and yellow.


 How it works
 I have to admit that the SteriPEN is still somewhat of a mystery to me.  But here is what I do:1)    Fill up my Nalgene with water from a stream.2)    Press the button on the Steripen3)    Wait for the green light4)    Stick the steripen in the water bottle5)    Stir the water gently with the steripen for about 90 seconds until the green light comes back on6)    Drinking water is ready to go!  Check out this video demonstration of the older model:http://www.steripen.com/video/index.html


 Things I Like
1)    Lightweight2)    Way quicker than most filters3)    Way easier than most filters 4)    Small


 Things that I would change
1)    The ON button is super small.  Sometimes I’m not sure if I pressed it2)    The indicator light is also super small and if it is bright outside I can barely see it3)    Instructions should be written on the Steripen.  The indicator light blinks 3 times if the battery is dead, it’s red if this, green twice if that… I have no idea what the indicator light means. (They tried to solve this with the new SteriPEN Journey model.  It has an LED screen, but it hasn’t gotten very good reviews)4)    Batteries need to last longer.  They honestly only work for one or two weekend trips at best.  It helps to store them outside of the steriPEN.  But especially in cold weather, the batteries drain insanely quickly.   (They also have solved this problem with the solar charger.  I highly recommend purchasing the solar charger because batteries cost $14 for just a few uses.)5)    The dependability of the steriPEN is highly suspect.  When it works, it is great.  However, I would never count on the steriPEN working.  ALWAYS bring backup purifier tablets!!!   In the past year (about 20 trips using the steriPEN), it has worked about 75% of the time. 


 Comments
 Whether or not to purchase the steriPEN depends on your personal preferences.  If you want a purifier that is small, easy to use and doesn’t make the water taste bad, then the steriPEN is a great choice.  If you need something 100% reliable or if you are on a tight budget, you might want to choose a traditional purifier or tablets. 


]]></description>
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						 <title>The Dog Skis Jackson Peak</title>

						 <link>http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/blogs/The_Dog_Skis_Jackson_Peak.php</link>
						 <description><![CDATA[Backcountry skiing and the mutt do not go good together. He generally could care less and often gets ice chunks in his paws and gives up half way through. But with the firmer snow of summer I decided to take him up Jackson Peak in mid June.We skied the the couloir  just lookers left of the summit that looks to be the most continuous. ]]></description>
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						 <title>Backcountry Skiing Continues Into Summer</title>

						 <link>http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/blogs/Backcountry_Skiing_Continues_Into_Summer.php</link>
						 <description><![CDATA[With so much to do and ski around here in northern Wyoming,
it’s funny how sometimes you can drive by such an obvious line day in and day out
and not notice it until summer. Once I saw this thing I knew I wanted to try to
ski it. So on June 14 2000-Great, I headed up cache creek on the finest full-suspension
bike Kmart produces (retails $150). 

This was my first time biking this season and it was by far
the most adventuresome part of the trip. With no brakes, loose pedals and rusty
gears I pedaled up the canyon 5 miles in where I would ditch my deathtrap on
wheels and begin my boot pack up towards the couloir.

After a mile in I strapped on the skins and was able to
cruise up to the base of the line. Only to my disappointment it was filled with
a lot of debris. I went in for a closer look and realized it as warming quick
and the debris might be skiable as it got softer from the sun.  

This is a very aesthetic line and was psyched I was able to
ski it on the first try. The turns were that of butter with toast crumbs on
top, but fun none-the-less. The snow was getting mushy by the minute and I made
some fun turns down to my ride. 

After celebrating by trying to see how many gummy worms I could
fit in my mouth at one time I rode my bike back to the trailhead trying to avoid
being clotheslined by my skis on the passing trees. Due to the wetness of the
trail and my lack of braking ability I almost went head over the handle bars a
couple times. This if it were to happen would probably be one of the funnier
sights for a third party to witness, with skis on my back and all! 

After asking around no one seemed to know the name of this
couloir, which I can’t believe since you can see it from town, so until I find
out its real name I am giving it the interim name of more- awesome-than-star-wars-lord-of-the-rings-and-superbad-put-together-and-you-can-s ee-from-town
couloir. 

(If anyone knows what this is really called I would love to know!)]]></description>
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						 <title>Ringing the Maroon Bells</title>

						 <link>http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/blogs/Ringing_the_Maroon_Bells.php</link>
						 <description><![CDATA[Backcountry Skiing June 27, 2008:      A buddy and I decided to ditch work on Friday, so we found our way over to the Aspen area on Thursday night.  Our original plan was to climb North Maroon Peak and Maroon Peak (collectively known as the Maroon Bells) on Friday, and climb Pyramid Peak on Saturday.We began hiking, with skis on our backs, at about 4:30 am.  By 7:30, we had dropped off our overnight gear at a camp spot and were putting our crampons on 3500 feet below the summit.  The weather was absolutely beautiful, making the majority of the climb sunny and hot. After weaving our way through some cliff bands lower down, we entered the Bell Cord Couloir at 12,000 feet.  This couloir is the extremely aesthetic line that bisects the two peaks.We climbed the steady 45 degree couloir for 1800 vertical feet to the saddle, where we could finally see over the other side and switch from climbing in ski boots to trail shoes.The physical demands required to reach this point were greater than anticipated.  We were both feeling tired and drank the last of our water at this point.  Having dealt with lack of water and dehydration before, I calculated that I could still complete the day's plan of summiting both Maroon Bells.  After a short break, we started towards North Maroon's summit.The ridge linking the two peaks offered great contrast to the snow couloir we had spent the last few hours in.  The sedimentary rock was awful (crumbly) by Colorado standards, but great by Cascade volcano standards (I’m originally from the Pacific Northwest).  Although only a short distance away, it took about an hour and a half for me to climb my way over to the summit and back in the tricky terrain.  The ridge traverse is rated Class 4, but I'd give it 5.4 in a few sections.  Of course, there’s always a chance I was slightly off route.After making it back to the saddle and top of the Bell Cord Couloir, our level of exhaustion was noticeably higher and we weren't becoming any less dehydrated.  The Bell Cord was littered with rocks, so our original plan of skiing down it was put into question.  On the way up, we could see the 'Y' Couloirs and they didn't seem to have nearly as much rockfall strewn about them.  As tired as we were, it was a difficult decision to make, but we decided to put our skis on our back for the final push up to Maroon Peak's summit.  Upon reaching the summit, we could only think of water, so we didn't spend much time there and began hiking down the south ridge, aiming for the top of the 'Y' Couloir's northern branch.As we approached the 'Y', we found a trickle of a stream of melting snow.  We put a water bottle under it for a few minutes and had our first water in quite some time.  I made sure not to overdo it since shocking a dehydrated system is generally not a good idea.  It was about 4:00 in the afternoon now, and we were anxious to get down.We took another short break at the top of the 'Y' to put our ski boots back on and prepare to ski.My buddy dropped in first as my knee brace had broken on the way up the Bell Cord couloir and I was a bit timid skiing without it (not looking forward to a third ACL replacement).  The fact that it was now so late in the day meant the snow was very sun softened, but it never froze overnight, so I doubt our timing had that great of an effect on the conditions.Although soft, the snow was still quite forgiving and very enjoyable to ski!  After descending through the narrowest part of the couloir, we encountered several water runnels, some posing fairly substantial obstacles.  My partner found his way into a rather large one of these and I managed to get a comical shot of his attempt to extract himself.Carefully choosing our line the rest of the way down to avoid future encounters with these man-eating runnels, we soaked in the beauty of the line we were skiing.Lower down, we skied through the garbage chute which had multiple waterfalls cascading over the surrounding cliffs, compounding the beauty of our location.After about 13 hours, we finally made it back to our camp.  This turned out to be pretty late in the season for skiing these particular couloirs, as the water runnels are now making the narrow cruxes even trickier.  With that said, I’d still recommend it for another week or two because it sure beats the hell out of walking down!  I’ll admit to having underestimated this endeavor.  For others planning a similar trip, I recommend an earlier start.  Or you can do what we did and pray to the mountain gods for a beautiful day sans lightening hazard.Needing more time to recover, we hiked out the next day and left Pyramid Peak for another time.]]></description>
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						 <title>Dakine Targa Mitten Backcountry Skiing Gear Review</title>

						 <link>http://www.skiingthebackcountry.com/blogs/Dakine_Targa_Mitten_Backcountry_Skiing_Gear_Review.php</link>
						 <description><![CDATA[Before you read this backcountry skiing gear review of the women's Dakine Targa Mitt, there is something you should know.  Although I love backcountry skiing, I am engaged in a constant battle with my body to stay warm.  My username was chosen because there is nothing better than a cup of thick, machine whipped, sugar filled hot chocolate to warm up my freezing body.  I wear a down jacket even during the summer.  I bring extra layers to the movie theater or anywhere that might have air conditioning.  I have battery-powered boot warmers in my ski boots, and even with the warmest mittens that I have found, I use disposable handwarmers every day I ski.  Now that you know where I'm coming from, you can judge for yourself whether the Dakine Targa Mitts would be right for you!  Here is my review:Product: Dakine Targa Mitt Manufacturer website: www.dakine.com MSRP: $69.95Year: 2007Insulation:Thermaloft Material:*Shell- Nylon Flextough panels, leather palm, Gore-Tex insert, waterproof neoprene cuff *lining- mid-weight fleeceAvailable Sizes: XS-XLRemovable Liner?NoClosure: Hook and loop wrist closureWarranty:LifetimeWaterproof?Snow-proof, but not rainproofIntended Use:Backcountry skiing.  AKA alpine touring, randonee, ATIs the packaging recyclable? In Jackson WY, only corrugated cardboard is recyclable.  If you live ina large city, you might be able to find somewhere to recycle thepackaging.First Overall Reactions:With winter temps between 0 and -20, there is no possible way that thismitten would keep my hands warm.  However, I have been using thesemittens over the last couple months of Spring skiing and they have beengreat!  I would highly recommend these mittens for skiing in dryconditions when the temp is between 25-50 degrees F.Color:  These mittens come in black, white, and olive/sage green.  I think these are nice color choices.Style: The mittens have a low profile and a nice shape.  Style wise, it’s nice that they aren’thuge!   You could wear these mittens both on the hill and around town. Things I Like: 1) Mittens are thin enough that I can clasp something in my hand.  2) Waterproof neoprene cuff will keep your wrists warm even if they get a little wet. 3) There is a buckle to attach gloves together so that you don’t lose one in your pack. 4) The nose-wipe thumb panel is soft.  5) They are very comfortable to wear. Things that I would change: I don’t think anyone has figured out how to design a lightweight, fully waterproof, breathable, warm mitten with a low profile.   This mitten is great for Spring skiing, but it is limited beyond that.   Comments: I have seen other reviews stating that this glove would be great for all conditions and strongly disagree.  Although I think that it is perfect for some conditions, the Targa GT glove is definitely not suitable for extreme cold, extreme moisture or lightweight expeditions. ]]></description>
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