Tom, I have a nephew getting married in Minnesota at absolutely the wrong time (for me). He was the ring-bearer in our wedding 19 years ago, so I couldn't decline being a groomsman in his even though it screws up DV plans for John and I. Let me be clear, though, Joe: I only postponed DV (till possibly Oct/Nov), not canceled.
I hated telling John that I wouldn't be going to DV in March. We both had a great time last year and have been looking forward to bagging some peaks this year with old friends and new out there. John's big priority in 2012 though is Rainier, so the change of plans really gave him a little more latitude to possibly come to the Sierra with Barb, Bri and I this summer as a tune-up (or cool-down) for Rainier. We'll see when he decides to pull the trigger on a guide service. Either way, the fam and I will definitely be out there for our ritual summer adventures. I couldn't back off of that even if I wanted to - Laura and Bri have been brewing up some scheme the past few weeks to head off into the Sierra together for a "girl's" trip. That should be quite interesting.
And yeah - anybody wants to come east and hike our Blue Ridge molehills, we'd be excellent hosts. Hypoxia wouldn't be an issue, but you might be surprised at the thigh-burn some of these slopes can throw at you. Trail builders out here weren't particularly big on switchbacks.
