Missed Opportunities

So without employment getting in my way, and a great weather system for climbing, you'd think I would have posted more trip reports in the last week.

Well, this is what I was trying to avoid when I mentioned my planning not always cooperating. Or is that the weather not cooperating with my planning? Anyway, weather has been great, and I was unsuccessful in getting partners for last week. Now that I have an influx of partners, I have an injury (blisters) that is keeping me from climbing. I am not happy, and I could be out doing a lot of cool things. Hopefully I'll be healed up enough for the weekend to do something fun.

This is the exactly the type of thing I need to stop happening for me to have a more fruitful and enjoyable climbing season. It also makes me more aware of the scheduling aspect of climbing. I said I would be more open to changes of plans, but I think I need to be more strict about my plans. I should come up with a plan for the good weather, and then find a partner. Not put multiple objectives on the table and find someone who may be willing to do them with me. The shotgun method is not working. Time for some sniper accuracy.

4 days after.

Gearing up?

For the guys that are really good at alpine climbing I doubt they spend as much time at sorting gear as I do. But with less time to climb and generally more time to think about it I admit to putting in some serious overtime sorting and deciding on the gear I'll useonalpine trip with a planned bivy.







The guy pictured above might be the exception to that general rule. But Mark still climbed more than he wrote or ever talked. So may be all the "real" guys just talk about it less but obsess obout itbehind the door of their own gear closet.



As I was about to finish this blog piece I got a hearty laugh. Thank God I am not selling anything as this is actually the ultimate ad for what Dane thinks is thecool shit :) Take the choices with a grain of salt here. Simply my/our choices for the moment. Things continue to change.....and I am swayed by things like cost as well as function just like everyone else. But from all thechoices available to me (and the choices are trulyunlimited) this is what we are using for this trip.

Everything else being equal (and it never really is) and I have the chance, I look at the numbers first. How much does it weigh?



If you look at the shell test we are about to do (which isthe reason I came upwith blog entry) there are shells there that weigh from 5.6oz to 22.9oz. You can bet which one I will start off in when I need a shell. But if you kick out the highs and lows there the better shells for what I had intended to test will run between 13oz. and 19 oz. Which makes much more sense "everything else being equal".



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//09/shell-shoot-off-mano-mano.html



I've had cold injuries this time of the year on Rainier's North' side. The option of dbl boots or the Batura is open to all of us. Doug and Lee will be in Baturas because they are easier to walk in and lighter than the best off the shelf doubles. I am tempted myself to take Baturas. Warmer than my Ultras but heavier as well.







Easier to climb in though than my Spantiks by volume and easier to walk in. The walk in is easy which we'll do in runners. That means I'll pack my boots from the car to 10K. When I weigh my Baturas and my Spantiks (customised with Baruntse inner boots) the difference is less than2.5 oz per boot...or 5oz for the pair. So themarginal addition of extra weight is worth the warmth and dry boots with a planed 2 days above 10K.









Nod at the moment goes to my Spantiks this time. I'll sleep better for the decision...but cuss the final 1000' of elevation gain on the walk up to Liberty Cap and over to Columbia CrestI suspect.



Crampons? I have a few choices but with heavy boots and a easierroute, a combo of the stainless Sabertooth front and a aluminum Neve heel seems appropriate for this climb. 10oz less a pair than the standard Saber so they are light. Because of the time of year for snow conditions (read cold and dry hopefully) and my questions about the durability/reliability of the stainless Sabertooth I have stripped the bots so I can more easily inspect the crampon for cracks. The other crampons being used are Doug's Petzl Dartwins and Lee's Grivels G22s.







I'm also taking along a lwt axe to supplement my Nomics (one CT hammer, new serrated pommel, ICE picksand no pick weights) on the easier snow climbing so even with out crampons I figure I could cut steps if a crampon failed. Doug has the New Quarks with CT accessories of course. Lee is using older Nomics, no hammers or pick weights. And we all have trekking poles.







At the moment with three of us in a stripepd Nemo TenshiTent a Feathered Friends Vireoseems like a good idea.







Two of us taking them. Lee is playing it smart and is taking a 2# Swallow. With Cascades Designs newest, high tech andsuper lightprototype NeoAir XTherm mattresses andthe tight quarters of the Nemo Tenshiwe should bewarm enough.







With all my gear hopefully stuffed into an admittedly small,25L Blue Ice Wart Hog pack.









Gloves between the three of us seem to be an equal split between Mountain Hardware and Outdoor Research with the odd pair from Arc'teryx thrown in. I'll get more specific on gloves later as it will consume an entire blog post. But Lee wants to take only one pair of gloves. I'll likely take three of differing weights. No sure what Doug will do. But those choices should be of interest with all the new models we have available from the three companies mentioned.







Doug and Lee will be in NWAlpine pants and Salopettes.I will either use NWAlpine Salopettes or the new Patagonia North Wall pant..depending on the tempsforecast between 10 and 14K and what I think will be required under them for longs.









Speaking of longs I am excited to try some of the newest technology (again a Polartec concept) in Cabela's E.C.W.C.S. It is aThermal Zone® Polartec® Power Dry® and might be much betterthan simply dbl layering my longs as I have done in the past to gain warmth in really cold conditions. Guess we'll find out soon enough with all three of us using the Thermal Zone technology.I had heard a rumor thatMr. Twightwas involved in the early design work on these.







The NWAlpine hoodies are a given for all of us as a base or mid layer. We have RAB Infinity Endurance 800 fill down jacketscomingfor a insulation layer.







I am hoping we can use the RAB high quality downgarments under/over these testshells and have the newest technology there WOW us with the performance.







Nastia climbing high on ourcurrent objective. (photo courtesy of N. B.)

Peak of the Season

Snow on most approaches has started to consolidate with the melt/freeze cycles we've been having. This makes boot-packing to the routes much more feasible. All of the roads in the park, except the Mowich Lake Road, are open to cars. The road crews hope to have Mowich Lake open by the end of July - there's still seven feet of snow at the lake!

At Camp Muir there are now three gallon and five gallon buckets with lids for food storage. The buckets are kept in the Public Shelter for anybody to use. After use, please return the buckets, cleaned out, to the Public Shelter. Hopefully, use of these buckets for food storage while you are climbing or sleeping will help deter foxes from becoming habituated.

Other peaks within the park have been seeing some climbing activity too. Pinnacle Peak, Castle Peak, Little Tahoma, and Pyramid Peak saw ascents this last week. Climbing in the park is about to peak, and stay popular for the next couple of weeks. Statistically, climbers have the best chance of success in July.

Sun-cups are growing larger and the grit is melting out making skiing conditions more challenging. Skiers descended the Wilson Headwall, Fuhrer Finger, Disappointment Cleaver, and Emmons/Winthrop, but all of them reported conditions are worsening - so get up here quick while there's still pleasant turns to be had!

Cymbidium Orchid

Cymbidium Orchid, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

I saw this cymbidium orchid at a retreat back in May. The retreat grounds were filled with all sorts of colorful flowers, especially California-native wildflowers.

Cold Weather Victories

When I saw this poster it made me laugh, reminding me of a street scene from the previous day: A woman bundled up in a shearling coat and hat waited for a taxi, while a cyclist in a long sleeve jersey and tights waited at a red light. The woman looked cold and uncomfortable. The cyclist looked ruddy and relaxed, checking his phone for messages with one unclipped toe on the ground.



In the short time window before the cyclist's light turned green and the woman's taxi arrived, somehow the two ended up in a conversation. As I walked past, I caught bits of their exchange. "But how can you... in the cold?," and so forth. By the time the cyclist replied, I was out of earshot. But whatever it was he said to her, they both laughed that special laugh that rings with anticipation. And when I looked back over my shoulder discreetly (I hope), sure enough the woman had her phone out and it looked like they were exchanging numbers. His light had turned green. Her taxi was waiting. They were on the side of the road smiling. "Stay warm!" I thought I heard him yell when he finally took off on his bike. More laughter.



Briskly walking down the street as I fiddled with my scarf, I experienced a moment of longing for my roadbike, and for my technical layers of cycling clothes! It's just so much nicer to be on the bike in cold weather, I caught myself thinking...

On The Road

Wow, here it is, September 6th already. It's been two weeks since my last post and the time has, quite literally, flown by!

After a few very long and hectic days (and nights) of packing, the apartment was vacated on August 30th - - It was 11pm when I got to my friend's house and 6:30 came around awfully quick the next morning! After my doctor's appointment in Fort Wayne on Monday, I finished going through the last bit of stuff deciding what to take and what to store. We worked a while on installing curtains in the van and after several unsuccessful attempts, came up with something that will work, I hope.

It was a little after 4 pm Tuesday when the bicycle rack and bike were secured to the back of the van. A few minutes later I was on my way, almost. A couple of quick stops to drop off the last few items in storage, get ice for the chest, and gas for the car... I left Columbia City at 5:00 pm

My friends thought I was crazy to leave so late in the day, but I just wanted to be on my way. I also knew, from past experience, that I wouldn't be able to sleep that night. Just too hyper and stressed out. I only drove for 3 hours or so and stopped for the night on my way to southern Indiana.

The next morning I was up at 7:00 but didn't leave the motel until 10:30. The plan was to go to Vevay, in Switzerland County, and to McKay Cemetery to get some good photographs of the grave-sites of my 3rd great grandparents, Samuel and Susanna (Ball) Bray. I had previously taken pictures of the stones but they were covered with moss or lichens and the images were not legible. I knew that the stones faced west, so the best time to photograph them would be shortly after noon. It was about 12:30 when I arrived at the cemetery and, as suspected the stones were still covered with lichen and illegible. However, a little bit of water and a soft bristle brush made all the difference in the world!

Vevay is a nice little town on the Ohio River that was a major stop for river boats and packets traveling along the Ohio back in the day. Someone has commemorated that history with a fine mural painted on one of the buildings just north of the city parking lot, near the library. I should have, but didn't, take the time to find out who the artist was or when it was done.



It's a challenge to drive on the backroads through the hills and valleys of Switzerland County, but it is fun too. McKay Cemetery is situated on top of a hill on the east side of Patton Hollow Road. Isn't that a neat name? Nice and quiet, except for the dogs barking. There are three houses near the cemetery, one on the east side and two on the west, but I saw nary another soul. And though I could hear people talking occasionally, I couldn't make out what they were saying. Once in a while a car or farm vehicle would pass by, but otherwise it was pretty quiet and peaceful.

I stopped for lunch in Vevay at 3 o'clock and finally hit the road again at 3:30. A couple more hours driving and I stopped for the night at some little burg along US 231.

The next day I took US 231 south to Owensboro, Kentucky and then to US 60 the rest of the way through Kentucky and on into Springfield, Missouri. The drive through Kentucky was beautiful. It was a two-lane highway all the way and not much traffic. I enjoyed it tremendously. Crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri, the road changed to a four lane limited access highway, with parts still under construction. Somewhat desolate looking and rather boring scenery. But it was easy driving and I made good time, arriving at my destination a little after 7 pm.

Night moves

For the past couple of years we've forgone exchanging Christmas presents, and bought something for the two of us. This year it was a game camera! It finally arrived, and we waited with bated breath for the first night's pictures.

Except there weren't any. It was pointed too high. So for the second night we lowered the angle, and by morning we had two pictures that were not a) Jasmine, or b) us.


3:56 AM: Coyote in a hurry.


5:03 AM: Star-struck spike buck.

We put out a mineral lick and some corn, to try to make the critters stop and pose. But we may need to move the camera to an area that's not quite so open, if the animals continue to stay so far from the flash area.


Close-up of the coyote.


Close-up of the deer.

Why is he looking directly into the camera, I wonder? I can't hear the camera trigger, but maybe he can.

I've wanted a camera like this since we first moved here. They say that there are no bears or mountain lions here anymore... we'll see!

The camera we got is the Cuddeback 3.0. The only downside is that the picture is taken about a second after the trigger. Still, that's a lot better than many of the competing models with 5 or 10 second triggers. And to get one faster (1/10 second) would have meant spending $1000, so...

I can't wait to see what all goes on at night when we're asleep!

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Go to the Cuddeback photo gallery for some really great wildlife pics from Cuddeback owners. Mostly deer, but also elk, bears, bobcats, and even a wolverine! Judging from the number of new pictures added daily, a lot of people received Cuddebacks for Christmas.