The Desert

This is out on the desert near where I sometimes ride. On this day I walking my Border Collie Tuffee. You can see the Sandia Mountains in the distance. Albuquerque is hiden between us and the mountains down along the Rio Grande valley.

Detroit Zoo and Nieces

We left the two boys with their Aunt Traci and Ashleigh, so they could have some additional family time. I brought two of our nieces back with us: Sherae and Kyanna. Sherae is special to me, not only because she is a sweetheart but also because she shares my middle name. I've always had a soft spot for Rae Rae. Ky is just adorable. When she was younger she'd introduce herself as "Hi, I Ky". Total cuteness! Kyanna is the youngest of the nieces right now, so she is pretty spoiled by all the aunts in the family. Since I live in the land of testosterone lately, I was tickled pink to have GIRLS around. Both of them are true girlie girls to boot. I am surrounded by pink, pink and more pink!



Yesterday we hung out at the campground and did some boring things like grocery shopping. Then we went swimming and played Wii. Today we took the girls to the Detroit Zoo. We have not been here for years and they've changed it around quite a bit.

As cool as the zoo was, the girls made it a hundred times better. I forgot how fun non-teen kids are to take to the zoo! Some of my favorite moments were:

When Kyanna fed the peacocks:

When she showed us how the "mingoes" stand:

When Sherae tried to get the kangaroo to box with her:

And when this beautiful guy let me pet him:

and then told me a story complete with teeth baring and head bobbing:

And last but not least...years ago Nathan and I took our girls to this very same zoo. Ashleigh was three and Ambir was two. Ambir was addicted to her "binky" at the time. (We sent her to Binkies Anonymous at some point, so she's fine now) We got to the zoo and she lost her binky. We didn't have a back-up binky. Soooo...she screamed "I want my binky" the entire time we were at the zoo. It was awful. She had some fierce lungs on her and when she screamed, the whole world knew it. I think this was the main reason we have not visited this zoo since in fact.



Today Kyanna picked something up and when we saw what it was, we cracked up. It was the exact same kind of "binky" that Ambir lost there almost 20 years ago. Ambs, we found your binky!

Living the life in Pinkville, even if temporary, in beautiful family-filled Michigan!

Smoothies All Around!

No sooner had I returned from New York over the weekend, than the Soma Smothie I'd been anticipating for review had arrived. So I took a break from the loop frame delirium of the New Amsterdam Bicycle Show and immediately took it for a spin. Soma roadbikes are not very common here on the East Coast. So imagine my surprise when on my way home I encountered another Smoothie!





As I stopped to snap some pictures at the end of my ride, these gentlemen recognised me and we had a nice chat about their 650B conversions - one a vintage Andre Bertin and the other a Soma Smoothie ES with a Bontrager fork. I am so happy to be back home! Where else but in Boston does one encounter this sort of thing?







But enough about other people's bikes for now, and here is more about the one I am riding. This Soma Smoothie is on loan for review directly from the manufacturer. It is a 52cm steel frameset that was built up to accommodate my Campagnolo lever preferences, which was very nice of them. Everything shown on the bike is directly from Soma, except for my bag and pedals.





I have not weighed the bike yet, but (without saddlebag) it feels pretty similar to my vintage Moser - so I'd say around 21lb.Described as a road/race frame, the Smoothie nonetheless has eyelets for fenders and clearances for 28mm tires.






One thing it does't have? Toe overlap! That's right: Here is a stock 52cm road/racing bike with no TCO. They exist. I wear size 37-38 shoes and with 23mm tires there is a boatload of clearance (well maybe it's a small boat, but still). I can definitely fit it with 25mms without a problem, maybe even 28mm.




The pearly white colourscheme is adaptable to a wide range of aesthetics, from classic to colourful to stark. The TIG welded frame will not satisfy lug lovers but is solid and smooth-jointed. It is a versatile, unobtrusive frameset. A carbon fork is available in place of the standard steel one for those wishing to go that route.






This is not a review, so I won't go over the details of the build at this stage. But as far as first impressions (and mind you this is after just 25 miles), a couple of things stand out: First, it is smooth - as advertised. And I am talking about ride quality: very comfy over bumps and I do not feel any road vibration. And second, it handles tamely and predictably. No twitchiness and very precise cornering at the moderate speeds maintained during my conservative "shake down" ride.








The Smothie ES owner I met on the road is very happy with his bicycle, which he's got outfitted with 32mm tires and fenders. I will refrain from writing more about the bike I have on loan until I ride it extensively, but at under $400 for the frame, I am impressed so far. We need more of these on the East Coast and I hope some local shops will carry floor models in the near future.

Wind Again

100 years ago

I was bitten by the genealogy bug.

I was also bitten by the 19th century fashion bug. More precisely, the bug pertaining to the period of fashion between 1840 and 1920. (The better to date old photos.)

The side effect is that I have become one of those people who wants to shout out historical inaccuracies in the middle of movies.

"They won an academy award for this?! Women didn't wear bustles in 1900!"

Or, "That sleeve wasn't invented until 1880!"

Even, "That dress has an 1840s bodice and a 1910 sleeve!"

And so on.

-----

The photo was taken in northwest Georgia, a little over 100 years ago. Judging from the baby's age and the plant growth: around September 1905. The two men in the middle (wearing bowties) are my ancestors three and four generations back. The older woman is my great-great-grandmother Martha, born in 1852. She's the daughter of Julia Ann of the broken heart.

The baby in this picture, Ennis, died in a Typhoid outbreak in July of 1921. A relative wrote:

"During the huckleberry season, about 9 people in our community had typhoid fever from drinking water from the stream in the mountain. Grace and I recovered." Seven others died.

My Mom told me that they normally started picking huckleberries on the 4th of July every year. Ennis died at one o'clock in the afternoon, on Sunday July 17th. He was 16 years old. (Antibiotic treatment for typhoid would not be available for another 27 years.)

I imagine his family had been frantic, calling two different doctors to see him. He had two death certificates, filled out by different doctors. The first began treating him on July 10th, and the second on July 13th.*

I love collecting stories about relatives from the past, but they are often so tragic.

The inscription on Ennis' tombstone reads, "Just in the morning of his day, In youth and love he died." This was apparently a fairly common saying to put on a young person's stone, and I wondered if it was from a poem.

I found in "Hymns for Christian Devotion" (copyright 1853!) one called "Death of a Scholar". It includes the lines,

Death has been here, and borne away
A brother from our side :
Just in the morning of his day,
As young as we he died.

I believe this was later changed in some churches, to this version I found listed from another tombstone:

Death has been here and born away
a brother from our side :
Just in the morning of his day,
In youth and love he died.

I also found "so fair and young he died" as an ending for this epitaph. It seemed to have been common to use just the last two lines.

-----

* A historian at the Georgia State Archives told me that she'd seen two death certificates for the same person before, but never from two different doctors.

Summer Sandhill Crane

Boy did we ever have a nice surprise today! We headed across the border to Canada this morning to pick our own strawberries at Belluz Farms then we spent the afternoon in Thunder Bay. We picked up delicious sandwiches from an Italian deli then went to Kam River Park for a river-side lunch, followed by a matinee movie. About half-way through the drive home Jessica exclaimed "Whoa! There was a sandhill crane standing in the ditch back there!" I swung the car around and we went back for a look. Sure enough, there was a crane just off the road! It had walked away from the highway through a thin line of brush and was standing out in a swampy area less than 100 feet from the road. We watched it walk around in the tall grass for a while, all the while taking photos of it. Eventually we saw a second one a short distance away from the one we had been watching, which leads us to believe they might be nesting in that swampy area. Very exciting to think there could be a young colt somewhere out there in that tall grass!

Paradise Road Damaged!

Updated Winter Access to Paradise

The washout approximately 6 miles above Longmire at mile 12.4 on the road to Paradise (just above the Nisqually Bridge) has been rated to be acceptable for 1-way traffic by the Federal Highways Administration inspectors.

Mount Rainier National Park has arranged for weekend and holiday access to Paradise. There will be one-way-at-a-time traffic operation with a flagger at milepost 11.3 (Glacier Bridge chain-up area) and another flagger up above at milepost 13.3 (Canyon Rim Overlook). Expect about a 5 to 10-minute wait for cars to pass each way before the opposite direction traffic is allowed.

Overnight use, climbing, and backcountry camping are allowed, but your trip itineraries need to be limited to these periods that the road is open to the public (weekend and holiday periods).

Updated: January 31st, The NPS is trying remain flexible about road closures during the mid-week. If the weather forecast for the day looks good (clear and sunny, or at least no snow forecast), we are currently making a strong effort for the road to be opened to the public. This means that if the forecast looks good, you should be able to plan a climb!

On Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays the road will close each evening at 5:30 p.m. No traffic is allowed down or up the road after the road is closed. The road crew typically is able to re-open the road sometime between 7:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. each day, depending on the amount of new snow received during the night.

Listed below are good guidelines to follow regarding estimating when the road may open. Please bear in mind that these estimated times are by no means a promise, so your patience is requested. Many variables exist that determine when the road is ready to open. Snow density affects plowing operation, with lighter snow being easier to move. Wind is another factor, since drifts and wind-packed snow take longer to remove. A large front-end loader or extended times with a blower are often needed to remove avalanche debris. How many plow drivers are on duty is a yet another factor. But generally, at Paradise:

0-3 inches of new snow: 7:00 - 8:00 a.m. opening
3-6 inches of new snow: 8:00 - 10:00 a.m. opening
6-10 inches of new snow: 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. opening (avalanche danger may be an issue with this much new snow)
10-15 inches of new snow: 11:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m. opening (avalanche danger may prohibit the road from opening at all)!
15 inches or more: The road may remain closed either due to snow removal problems or due to avalanche danger!

It is very important for visitors to realize that during or for an unspecified time after heavy snow periods, the road may not open at all. Be flexible! To make the best use of time at Rainier during these periods plan an alternate trip itinerary, perhaps to a backcountry destination such as Eagle Peak, Indian Henry’s, or even up into Van Trump Park and onto the upper mountain via the Kautz Glacier Route!

Don't forget to pick up a climbing or backcountry permit and a climbing pass at the Longmire Museum, open 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

Have fun, stay out of avalanches, and be safe!

Year in Review

We thought you devoted readers of the Mount Rainier Climbing blog would enjoy reading a 2007 Year in Review. We know, this should have been posted in December, but I was busy. Anyway, better late than never, right?

So, without further ado, my talented assistant Rebecca Agiewich and I present: Mount Rainier 2007: a blogosphere perspective of climbing on Mount Rainier.

January and February

CLOSED! Basically, every major road in the park was wiped out (to some degree) by the epic rainfall (18 inches in 36 hours) and subsequent flooding of November 2006. Fixing that sort of damage completely was too much for a meager NPS budget to handle, which created quite the buzz about how it was all going to get cleaned up. So much so that acclaimed cartoon satirist, David Horsey, poked fun at the park’s desperate financial situation. Despite Horsey’s pointed jab at government priorities and politics, Congressman Norm Dicks came to the rescue by reallocating 36 million dollars for flood repairs from the Department of Transportation and the Department of the Interior. NICE eh?

As for mountain climbing? Very little happened early in the year because of the difficult access.

The Tacoma News Tribune reported extensively on the damage. They even took time to poke a little lighthearted fun at me. The fact, however, remained: little changed in February and climbers weren’t scaling the peak. Therefore, this blog devoted more time to the flood recovery (i.e. a specific “Flood Blog” and photo gallery) than to climbing. Things were so slow around here that I took a trip to South America for an ascent of Aconcagua. Recommendations? Visit Mendoza, it’s wonderful.

March

This month started off sadly. A devoted married couple drowned in Ipsut creek while on a backpacking trip. Frances "Annette" Blakeley slipped while crossing a log over Ipsut Creek. Her husband Robert tried to rescue her by immediately diving in. Tragically, both were swept up in the torrent and caught in a “strainer” (log-jam).

On the lighthearted side of things, former Mount Rainier climbing ranger Mimi Allin was noticed by the Seattle Times for her work as the Poetess of Green Lake. See what sort of career opportunities exist post-climbing-ranger employment?

The Seattle Times judged the National Park Inn in Longmire “one of the most exclusive hotels in the world”. Such distinction!… Well that was the case for a little while, but that was because the inn stayed open even as park roads remained closed. Those visitors were shuttled into Longmire via a back Forest Service road and were allowed to "enjoy indoor plumbing in the park's largely unpeopled wilderness."

April

Road re-construction continued at a feverish pace as preparations commenced for the park to “re-open.” During that time, the Mount Rainier community mourned the loss of former climbing ranger Lara Kellogg. She fell while descending Mt. Wake in Ruth Gorge of the Alaska Range. Her death was a significant loss for the local climbing community as she was a wonderful person and significant social hub.

Meanwhile, outdoor writer extraordinaire Greg Johnston wrote about his experiences climbing Mount Rainier for the Seattle PI, which included witnessing a rescue at Camp Muir. He also wrote an article about changes at the park from due to the flooding.

Most notable of Greg’s articles, however, was the piece about the historic change in the guiding concessions on Mount Rainier. This, perhaps, was some of the biggest mountaineering news on Rainier in the past decade. For the first time in over 30 years, RMI would be sharing their exclusive guiding concession privileges. Into the scene entered Alpine Ascents and International Mountain Guides. Now prospective climbers have three guide services to choose from for mountaineering services. All routinely offer summit climbs and other expedition experiences on the mountain and beyond, truly connecting Mount Rainier to the international mountaineering circuit.

We also posted the 2006 "Mountaineering Report" in April. It includes a variety of interesting statistics such as the overall success rate for 2006 (63%) and the amount of human waste carried down from the mountain (four and a half tons). As an aside, we’re working on the 2007 report, so hang tight!

May

And with great fanfare, the primary road into the park re-opened on May 5th. More interesting for you upper mountain lovers, ski sicko Sky Sjue and partner Christophe Martine made what is probably the first ski descent of the Fuhrer Thumb. Thanks Sky for your continued cool reports from the upper glaciers. Everyone loves them.

Meanwhile, more sad news came out of Alaska when mountain climber Mizuki Takahashi and Brian Massey -- well-known climbers in the Seattle area who both loved to climb Rainier-- died while on Mount McKinley. They fell on the upper reaches of the West Rib route.

June

911 is not a climbing information service. Amid a flurry of climbing activity, a number of climbers dialed those sacred three digits when they probably shouldn't have. Because of it, they received a lecture about when and how to use the “emergency service.” We also used the blog to remind some climbers about the importance of not leaving sick or slow-moving partners behind.

While on the topic of emergencies, an actual tragedy struck off of the mountain yet in the park. Hiker Jeff Graves fell to his death when he became disoriented on Eagle Peak. Clouds and heavy snowpack were contributing factors to his getting off route.

Less dramatic, the door to the outhouse blew away over at Camp Schurman (three times). This made for a cold – yet scenic -- potty experience.

July

Bill Painter strikes again! Washington State’s famed 84-year old climber made yet another successful ascent via the Emmons Glacier route, resetting his own record as the oldest person to climb Mount Rainier.

Speaking of fame, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell visited Camp Muir and chatted up some of the climbing rangers. Imagine a sitting U.S. Senator getting the inside scoop on the park from a group of mountain climbers (I’m glad she didn’t call 911 for such questions!). Anyway, this wasn’t the last of Senator Cantwell, as she reappears in August for a summit climb.

The "no-rescue" streak (for the upper mountain) that began in 2006 ended in July when a climber broke his ankle practicing self-arrest at Camp Muir. Afterward, there were a few other minor incidents later in the summer, but it is worth noting that no significant accidents or injuries occurred in 2007. There were a number of great trip reports in June and July, so check out the archives.

August and September

Park superintendent Dave Uberauga and Deputy Superintendent Randy King made a successful summit attempt. Along the way, they caught up on the progress of hut repairs at Camp Muir and checked up on the new guiding operations. In this busy climbing month, lots of folks went up the Emmons/Winthrop Glacier route.

There was a flurry of helicopter activity around the upper mountain during a mock-rescue operation in late August. KOMO TV and other media types went along for the ride. Senator Maria Cantwell returned to the mountain for a summit climb -- a trip that was reported on by the Puget Sound Business Journal. She would have likely made the summit, but a longer route and team dynamics thwarted the attempt. Perhaps she’ll try again in ?

October, November and the end of 2007

There was a touching story about two “old-time” mountain rescuers who revisited the mountain. In September, they were flown around Camp Schurman on a special flight. Back in the early 60’s, they helped to build the Camp Schurman hut (read about it yourself.) Some climber/skiers did a trip on the Kautz Glacier and although they didn't meet their objective they posted a funny trip report with lots of photos.

As a video-game devotee, I was thrilled to discover Mount Rainier featured in the new X-Box 360 version of Halo 3. And then there were those two lost hikers on the Muir Snowfield, whose butts were saved by a Canadian climbing guide Phil Michael. Go Canada! Not so lucky was Pickles, the famed fox of Mount Rainier. Poor Pickles had to be euthanized after being hit by a car. Other November news can be found here.

December kicked the winter off with intense snowfall (198 inches) which then created long periods of exceptionally high avalanche hazard. That hazard caught hiker Kirk Reiser. Kirk and his best friend Troy Metcalf were descending to Paradise from when Kirk was caught and buried in an avalanche in Edith Creek. It was a terribly sad way to close out 2007.

Back in Florida with Friends and Family

It is so odd to go from weather where we had the heater on, to wearing shorts the next day...but that's what happens when you travel hundreds of miles in one day. We have landed back in Florida and it's good to be back. Last year I was a bit sad when we came back because I knew it meant travel would not be happening. This year I couldn't get back fast enough!



We were were tickled pink that we made it back in time to see Zoe. On top of that goodness, Auburn was in Orlando so we got to see her too. Even though I was exhausted from the trip, I still soaked up the sunshine of the two girls that I adore so much.

Happy Ground Hog day! Kinzua klimbing and A day at the Cliffs

Wow... Its looking miserable outside today. Yesterday we had temps in the mid 30's and rain. The forcast was calling for a couple mild days this week. Well mild was an understatement for the start of today. I went out on the deck and it felt like spring. Sunny and 45°. The Weather channel is saying the temps are going to fall into the mid 20's and that it'll be snowing by this afternoon. I sure hope they're right. The last 48hrs most likely put a hurting on the mixed lines I've been working on as well as the ice routes I've been patiently waiting to see come into shape. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'll try to head out tomorrow to scope the damages. I'm sure a fresh coating of snow will make things feels wintry again. If winter comes to a screeching halt we can all blame that HOG up in Punxy for not seeing his shadow. Well enough about the weather. On to our recent climbing adventures.

The dam located directly across from the climbing

Friday Jan. 28thLaura and I decided to take a short road trip up to Kinzua to climb. The climbing there is mostly casual with WI3 being the common grade. Usually its a great place for beginning leaders to cut their teeth on the sharp end. It was the location of my first ice climbing experience about 14 years ago. I've been at it ever since that first outing. In that respect Kinzua will always be a memorable place for me to visit. Laura had never been there, so we loaded up the climbingmobile and set off at 6:00am friday for the 3.5hr drive north. The drive went smooth considering the snow storm we drove in most of the way. Upon arrival, I was slightly disappointed to see the ice much thinner than what I had climbed in years past. I havn't been there in quite a few years, but every other tip I've made to Kinzua has provided FAT,blue flows. It was a real bummer since the trip was mostly for Laura to get in a bunch of time leading. Instead we pondered over which line was filled in most of the way. I could see rock through the clear ice as well as hear large amounts of running water. Seeing the ice in this current state, I decided to take the lead and check things out before Laura went up. I climbed the line directly across from the Entrance to the first parking lot. Its generally a low angle steeped WI3 with great protection. It took some searching to get in a few 13cm screws that were actually going to do something. As I climbed I could look down into the large holes and see the rock and water underneath. I reached to top and setup the belay to bring Laura up to the trees. She climbed up using her new BD Fusion ice tools. It wasn't much of a route to put them to use on, but she seemed to like them. I brought along some 8mm cord and rap rings to contribute to the local climbing community based on a post on NEice.com about the anchors being ratty and in need of replacement. I set up a station on a large tree up and left of the top out. Heres a photo of the new station and the climb.

Our first climb. Unusually thin compared to what I've typically seen here

Laura coming up the first climb we did

Laura seconding with trucks rumbling below.

Notice our car in the lot? Worlds easiest approach!

Our second climb was to the right of the first one. It was in the little alcove. It went up the low angle start and up to a short pillar. The ice on this route was better up on the pillar, but the bottom was still somewhat hollow and not well formed. I took the line over right above the exposed rock section and belayed/rapped from there.

Laura tooling on the second climb we did.

(The steepest we could find)

Coming up onto the belay of the 2nd climb

Well it only took two climbs and we decided to head back home to better conditions. We'll have to make another trip someday when things are more "in". All in all it was a nice quick revisit the moderates of Kinzua. will I do it again this season? Most likely not with the way conditions have been at home. There's always next season!





Sunday Jan. 30th. Laura was out for the day and I made plans with Dr. Bob to climb at the cliffs. Joel and Matt were already in town and were staying in Ohiopyle. They climbed Saturday at Upper Meadow where I guess quite a display of climbing went on. I wasn't there, but it sounded good. Anyhow... Sunday morning came and I drove to the parking area of the cliffs. It was snowed in and I did some shoveling to make parking better for those involved in the days antics. I was getting ready to hike in when Dr. Bob showed up. We split the ropes and made our way in. Dr. Bob is one of my oldest ice climbing friends. Due to life, etc. I haven't had the opportunity to spend much time on the rope with him recently as I have in the past. Bob and I decided to warm up on Called on Account of Security WI4. It was in great shape. A little new snow and some onion skin made climbing a little more interesting, but all in all it was in the best conditions I've ever seen. I led the pitch and belayed Bob from the top to shoot some pics on my new camera. Here are a few of the shots.

Dr Bob coming up Called on Account of Security WI4

Dr Bob doing work!

For our second route we decided to climb G-Gully WI4+/5- It was one of the driest routes we saw. The climb went well. It was much better than last season when we did the FFA. Bob commented many times how he enjoyed the 3D climbing that the route offered. Here's a few shots of Bob cleaning.

Bob cleaning G-Gully WI4+

Joel and Matt showed up a little later than expected. They had spend the evening before getting familiarized with life in Ohiopyle. Here's a photo of Joel upon arrival at the cliffs. Needless to say there's not much to report on their activities of the day. Matt was the lone climber taking a lap on G-Gully before hiking out.

Feeling a little fuzzy Joel?

Overall there was a lot of running water and things were building fast. The Beast WI5+ was in the process of making a rare appearance. Albeit with massive amounts of water flowing down it. I hope the weather didn't take too much of a toll on it.

The Beast about touching down for the 2nd year in a row!

On the last day of season (last year), Laura and I went on an early morning mission to climb it before the day warmed to well above freezing, but were turned back by the stupidity of forgetting our ropes. It WAS just about ready for the 2nd time in 5 or 6 years... Until today's rain. With any luck the it will be climbable and I'll finally get to climb it. If not there's still lots of mixed climbs out there begging to be climbed. We'll see what the weekend holds.

Overall conditions photo from Sunday

Washington DC

I'm way behind in my blogging this week. So please do excuse me for posting this days later. Sunday, Nathan and Austin headed to Washington DC for a concert. They bought the tickets months ago, and have been anxiously awaiting it ever since. They didn't bring any pictures back from the concert, but they did visit some other things while there and brought me pictures of some of that.