Phantom Ultra vs the Trango Extreme GTX

Scarpa Phantom Ultra size 45 weight 35.5oz



La Sportiva Trango Extr Evo GTX size 45 weight 35oz



(how much do your gaiters weigh?)



These are two of my favorite lwt single boots for winter use.For those that missed it in the Hot Aches Production of "Pinnacle", MacLeod was wearing the similar Phantom Guide (slightly heavier and may be a bit warmer/harder to dry,than the Ultra)whileTurner was using the Trango Extreme GTX.



Given the option of either boot it is a hard decision on whichto choose when looking at temps that will easily allow either.



Let me do a run down of my thoughts on each and let you choose.



I have long skinny feet with very narrow ankles. I a Size 45 in either boot. The Ultra has a slightly bigger toe box. Enough to notice. The Trango a slightly more snugfit in the over all foot. The Ultra a better fit in the heel for me...zero heel lift tightly laced or even a bit loose.



The Ultra offers marginally more ankle support...but the Trango certainly offers enough for steep ice and both offer great flexibility.



Both boots offersuper sticky rubber soles with minimal lug height. Makes both brands of boot a little slick in some snow conditions. I have heard continual complaints now of the Trango having too narrow of a foot print and being unpleasant on trails..an "ankle twister". Hog wash was my first thought...but I heard it more than once and all from people I trust using the boot. Not something I personally experienced though.



The Ultra is a OutDry lined boot. The Trango a Goretex lined boot.



Both stay dry if you keep the water below boot top height. The Trango seems to retain more moisture from foot sweat. Both boots are difficult to dry once wet. The Ultra has a removable insulated insole, the Trango a removable, thin foam insole. The Ultra seems to dry slightly easier, to much faster.



The Ultra obviously offers more weather resistance with the built in gaiter than the very traditional Trango's open tongue andlace system. To make up for that I believe the Trango offers more insulation.



I think both boots really require an over the boot gaiter or pant gaiter. I have been using "pant" gaiters with both boots and done well insome very sloppy conditions. The Ultra will always fair better here as you have one more layer of protection from the elements.



The Trango is much, much easier for me to lace and manage the laces,. The Ultra has a zipper (which everyone seems to worry about) and a gaiter to deal with as well as the sorta complicated and super slick Dyneemalaces. Advantage on ease of lacing and keeping your boots tightgoes to the Trango I think.



The sole has some flex on the Ultra. But they are super easy to walk in and just stiff enough in my size 45s to climb vertical water ice very well, mixed even better. What really saves this boot imo is the added ankle support and exceptional heel fit on technical terrain 'cuz I reallydo wish they had a stiffer sole platform.



The Trango has a rock solid mid sole. I don't flex this boot's sole which is comforting. But the ankle offers almost zero support in any direction. Great for mixed, not perfect for long bouts of steep ice.But the super stiff sole also makes this boot a little unpleasant to walk in. I think it is a far better fitting boot than its stable mate, the Batura.



No question the Ultra can be laced very close to the foot. Almost like a rock shoe. And if you are not careful way, way too tight. None of those problems, even with a great fit and a tight boot inthe Trangos.



The Trango will give you an almost perfect fit in any current crampon made. The exception is some crampons (Petzl) will bite the back of your ankle when you flip up the binding lever. BD heel levers don't and will fit most any full binding crampon, including Petzl's.



I have yet to find an off the shelf crampon that fits the Ultra perfectly or even very well. The front toe profile on the Ultra is super thin and very narrow. To date I have tried Grivel G12s, G20s, Rambo IVs, BD Sabers, Seracs,Neve, Cyborgs, Camp Utralitesand Petzl Darts and Dartwins. Petzl and Scarpa tell me there is no problem Others have repeated that matra. BD admits it is an issue with their current bail. So they will beintroducing a totally new bail.



Ueli Steck on the le Droites in Dartwins and the Ultras...gotta say I don't particularly likethat boot crampon combo. That crampon/ boot combinationfit is poorimo. And I really like both the boot and the crampon and have used the combo a good bit myself as have others. It works but could be bettered on the Ultra.

Thoughts on Bar-End Shifters

When I was getting my first new roadbike in spring , I had it built up with bar-end shifters. This decision was arrived at via a process of elimination. I had ridden a couple of vintage roadbikes before with very limited success and found the classic downtube shifters too challenging. I had also tried to test ride some modern roadbikes and found their combination brake/shifter levers ("brifters") to be so uncomfortable that I had trouble using the brakes. Other cyclists I knew recommended bar-ends - an older style that had grown popular again in recent years. Rivendell - the manufacturer of the road frame I was having built up - was also strongly recommending this setup. And so that is what I went with.






A bar-end shifter is exactly what it sounds like: a gear-changing lever installed at the end of the handlebar. There are different styles. Some are longer, others are shorter. Some are friction, others are indexed. I have tried a few now on different bikes, and my favourite remains what I went with originally: Silver friction shifters. The length and shape make them easier for me to operate than other models; I get more leverage. I find the friction mode easy and intuitive to use, and I like the control it gives me. If a gear is imperfectly adjusted, I can simply move it a tiny bit manually. I can also shift multiple gears at a time quite easily.






The shorter, indexable Shimano bar-ends are another popular choice for this style of shifters. The Co-Habitant uses them on his bikes and loves them. But personally I find them more effortful and less comfortable to use that the Silvers.






Over the time I rode with bar-end shifters, I was more or less fine with them. I was able to switch gears and I was able to install the brake levers I liked, since they were independent from the shifters. But I did find two things about the shifters less than ideal. One was that they required me to dramatically change my hand position(s) on the bars in order to switch gears. I got better and quicker at this over time, but nonetheless I was never "in love" with the process. The other issue was that when stopped or off the bike the shifters would often poke me and give me bruises. But both of these points seemed relatively minor at the time, and I was not considering a different lever setup.





My switch to combination levers was a product of accidental discovery. I was discussing test riding a Seven roadbike with the staff of the Ride Studio Cafe, and all their demo models were set up with modern brifter-type levers. I told them about my inability to brake using brifters when I attempted to ride other modern roadbikes. Rob Vandermark asked which specific makes and models I'd tried. It had not occurred to me until then that this could make a real difference. I'd tried quite a few, all of them by Shimano and SRAM. Rob looked at the Tektro short reach brake levers on my own bike, and suggested I try Campagnolo; apparently the shape is very similar. And so it was. I test rode a demo bike with Campagnolo ergo shifters and it was as if my brain became integrated with them immediately. I resisted making a rash decision to make the switch on my own bike, but a couple of months later I finally did switch and have not looked back.






So what do I think of bar-end shifters in retrospect... Pretty much the same thing as before. I have no desire to "bash" them or to proclaim the superiority of brifters; it is really a matter of individual preference. I still like bar-ends and I am fine riding a roadbike set up with them. I especially love the friction mode. If given a choice of models, my favourites are the Silvers; they feel great in my hands. I imagine that bar-ends are well suited for those who prefer their shifters to be separate from their brake levers, who wish to have the option of friction shifting, and who have no problems moving their hands to the edges of the drops swiftly and efficiently when they need to change gears. I am sure there are other contexts in which bar-ends are the preferred choice, and those who have things to add on the subject are welcome to chime in. To me, bar-ends will always be associated with my first road cycling experiences, and I retain a fondness for them despite having switched to another system.

I've Been Out Walking

Before I started cycling, I used to walk a lot - and I mean a lot. It's a habit I picked up during childhood and carried all through adulthood, no matter where I lived and no matter the season. Whether wandering through industrial neighbourhoods, rambling through the woods, or strolling down endless beach roads - it didn't matter, as long as I walked. I walked fast and I could walk for hours. I exhausted friends who innocently asked to join me on my excursions, after which they no longer believed me when I'd say that something was "just a short walk from here." I horrified dinner party hostesses when they - upon seeing I had not arrived in a car - asked if I'd taken a taxi, by replying "Oh no, I just walked." "But you live an hour from here and you're wearing heels!" "Yes..."



Fast forward to a couple of days ago. With some snow and ice on the roads, I had not been on the roadbike for a few days and was feeling stir crazy. I decided to take a nice walk. It was 20°F out, so I donned my new unpadded bib tights (I am determined to get all the milage I can out of those!), some layers, and set off. This was the first time I'd attempted a real walk since maybe November, but it did not even cross my mind that it would be in any way challenging. I mean, I've always walked. Walking is what I do! Plus I've been cycling like crazy so I was in good shape.




Now I used to hear about this sort of thing from cyclists, but thought it was nonsense until it happened to me. Too much cycling can make you unlearn how to walk? You have got to be kidding me. ButI kid you not. After a pathetic half hour of brisk walking my feet and legs were aching, and I could feel some weird muscles around my knees straining as I tried to take my usual long strides. Like these muscles had gotten all scrunched up now from making pedaling motions instead of walking motions. I turned back, and then for some reason decided to run the last few blocks home. Within seconds there were shooting pains in my ankles and I arrived at my door practically an invalid. Unbelievable.


From now on, I am going to make it a point to walk several times a week. The very idea that something I think of as a lifelong ability and a physical strength of mine could atrophy so quickly is astonishing. I will get my walking groove back this winter and will try not to lose it again. Cycling isn't everything.

Happy Holidays from Shore Acres!

Today I had planned on being in California, but last night I had heard about this incredible Christmas light display at Shore Acres State Park. I wanted to visit Shore Acres anyway, since I knew that it could be an incredible place for viewing waves breaking against the cliffs. But that alone wasn't enough to make me want to put off going to California for one more day. However, once I heard about the Christmas light display, I knew I had to check it out.



I arrived at the park in the early afternoon so I could watch the waves for a while. I've heard stories of days where you get drenched from the spray coming off the waves, and while there were some pretty impressive waves, they weren't big enough to send spray over the top of the cliff where the viewing area was located. Nonetheless, it was awesome to witness the power of the ocean in such a beautiful place.



After the sun went down, people started showing up for the light display. According to the "Friends of Shore Acres" website, the light display is made possible by support from local businesses and the hard work of more than 1,500 volunteers. The holiday display uses "about" 275,000 lights, the majority of which are L.E.D. lights. The display draws around 40,000 to 50,000 visitors each year.



I shot a few video clips of the light displays, too. If you'd like to view them, click on this link which will bring you to the video gallery on my main photography website:

http://www.travisnovitsky.com/Video-Clips/Misc-Videos/4207197_KrddQ

spring on the desert

Spring has come to the desert as well as to my yard. We drove out a few miles the other day and found these tiny clumps of yellow flowers growing everywhere. I don't know what they are called. There are some cactus growing near these that will blooming in a few weeks.

Braunston circular

Led by Mel. With Norma, Maureen, Gordon, Barry, Barrie, Terry, Ian, Carol and me. Fine weather, but some overgrown fields and in places muddy conditions underfoot. Just under 6 miles.

The footpath sign is just by the churchyard gate

We started from Braunston church, which we should have looked at a little more closely. - Confession time - we visited Braunston next day, took some better pics, and went for lunch in The Old Plough. A baguette with filling, salad with dressing and coleslaw for £6.25.

Though the interior is interesting, the most intriguing feature of All Saints is outside. Go around the side of the west tower and there you will find an roughly carved statue, about 3 feet high, depicting a grinning figure. The reverse of the figure is flat, and it was used for many years to form a step, so the carving was only discovered when the step was taken up.

No one knows how old the carving is, or what it is supposed to represent, but it is almost certainly pre-Christian. It may be a symbol of an ancient fertility cult, or some form of Celtic Earth Mother. Whatever it is supposed to represent, it is a quite extraordinary bit of primitive sculpture, and deserves more recognition.

More discussion on this stone carvingand more info about the church and carving.

According to the info board she is supposed to ward off evil spirits.

We walked through the churchyard to take the footpath going west. After a couple of fields the path crosses the young river Gwash, and turns south-west. It followed field edges climbing gradually , with clear way markers until we came to a field of long grass where we followed our noses and the map, diagonally upwards to the opposite corner. In fact we veered slightly to our left, but rejoined our route after going through a gate at the top of the field.

Checking grid reference and map

We followed a wide bridleway east along the top of the ridge, until we reached a junction where we turned right. We walked downhill to and through a strip of muddy woodland. At the edge of this we turned left uphill along what looked like a wet and muddy track, but in fact it was reasonable for walking. The path met another track and we turned right and downhill for a short distance, before turning left again, following a bridleway to a junction of ways, where we stopped for a break, just after the three-mile point.




We continued walking straight on ( east) as far as Leigh Lodge. There we turned left (north-east) and followed the route of the Macmillan and Leighfield Ways, up a metalled road, for about a mile. When we reached the minor road to Braunston we turned left (north-west).




The original plan was to take a bridleway on our right, and follow the river Gwash to Braunston via the sewage works and the bridge pictured below. As it promised to be a mud-bath, we took the road instead.

Braunston

All Saints church, Braunston

Drawing of All Saints church by Harry Hamill

The walk touches/overlaps with these two previous walks - this onefrom Nov 28 , and this one from July 21 .

She had a tight grip...

According to the caption written by my grandmother, this photo of my grandfather and his first born child was taken in August 1923. That would make the little girl, my Aunt Phyllis, about 10 months old. She sure had a tight grip! I doubt that the bucket had any water in it, but still, I'm impressed.

Even though you can't see their faces, they are recognizable to me. This being Father's Day, I thought it was an appropriate picture. Grandpa's birthday was always celebrated on Father's Day, he was born on June 19th a hundred and sixteen years ago.