Crater Explorations

Late July brought a climbing team to Mount Rainier that was looking to do something a little bit different. Their mission was to explore the summit crater and it's ice caves, with the Kautz Glacier as their route of access. By the looks of their pictures it looks like they succeeded, big is the only way to look at them.













No significant in-depth exploration or research of the crater caves has been done since Willian Lokey in 1971 and 1972.William Lokey will be presenting about "Project Crater" and his crater explorations at the Paradise Inn Saturday, August 17th starting at 9:00 PM! This event is free however Park Admission is still required.










From Xavier:

"The climb went great. We spent 24th on the summit which was probably the hardest part of the whole climb. You know... altitude."










"The caves are amazing. We didn't get much time in them as everybody was feeling a bit altitude sick + cold and tired but I got some good shots nonetheless. See below. I would love to spend more time up there and document the phenomenon more thoroughly."










"Ice caves in crater, wicked!"



The summit craters and steam vents have provided mystery and refuge to climbers since the early days of climbing Rainier. For more information check out Dee Molenaar's classic The Challenge of Rainier.



-682

Still a Lot of Lands to See...

I have been afraid to write about this, because then it would become real... But this morning I've been listening to Joni Mitchell for inspiration, determined to finally do it. So here it is: in the end of March I am going to Death Valley in California for a bit of bicycle riding. Chris Kostman of AdventureCORPS has invited me to a couple of events that he organises: a century ride called the Hell's Gate Hundred, preceded by 5 days of cycling, hiking and yoga that is known asCORPSCamp.




I have never been to Death Valley, or to California before. And these events will be like nothing I've ever done previously. I will probably fail at them terribly, but I want to try anyway. The reason goes back to my trip to Interbike in Las Vegas last September.






I met many interesting people at Interbike. Some were sponsors with whom I've hitherto only had email contact, and Chris Kostman was among them. Describing Chris is a challenge, because "on paper" I knew of him as an athlete (the youngest to complete the Race Across America at age 20, he finished 9th). But when we met in person it was so removed from that, that I had a difficult time even picturing him on a bike. In fact I'd wanted to photograph and write about him back in September, but all the pictures came out looking like a GAP commercial, it was no good! An endurance cyclist since his teenage years, for decades Chris has been racing and competing in endurance events, and was even part of Team Bridgestone in the early '90s. Somewhere down the line he founded AdventureCORPS and now organises well known "ultra-cycling" events such as theFurnace Creek 508, as well as various century and double-century rides and cycling camps.




Reading about these things, as well as Chris's many articles on training and nutrition, one gets the sense that this is a person who lives and breathes sport and spends most of his waking hours training. I was almost nervous to meet him. Would he make me do push-ups as we chatted? Turns out we had a lot to talk about. Chris is alarmingly intelligent, and one of those people who is interested in everything - soaking up knowledge like a sponge and sharing it freely with others. Since I started roadcycling, he has given me valuable advice and has opened up my mind about the place cycling can have in my life.He also sparked my interest in the desert landscape.





Interbike was overwhelmingly hectic, and after taking pictures of bicycles non-stop as I walked around the huge showrooms for hours,I was exhausted. Still, when Chris offered to show me Red Rock Canyon outside Las Vegas on my last day there, I dragged myself out of bed early and, with a migraine and eyes half closed, grabbed my camera bag and made it into his time-traveling car. The only desert I'd seen before had been in the Middle East, and my memories of it were not fond. I expected a version of the same here. As we drove to Red Rock I mostly wanted to get it over with just as a "there, I've seen it" sort of thing.





But my experience proved to be different. I am a very visual person, and normally it is the way a place looks that influences me the most. And Red Rock was certainly striking, with its striped mountains and fields of rocks, cacti and unusual grasses. But that is not what I remember the most, and it's not what got to me. My strongest memory of the place has to do with how the air felt and smelled. It was so weird, I am not sure how to describe it. We got out of the car and immediately I walked 5 steps into the desert and just stood there. It wasn't hot. Or maybe it was, but I didn't notice. The air had a dewy quality to it that was not only unexpected, but nothing like the dewy morning air I am used to in Northern climates. There was a scent to it, too. Very faint and I bet the people who live there no longer notice it, but for me it was new. I think the scent was coming from all the weird little plants, and the overall effect was kind of melony - lightly sweet and refreshing.






Within 5 minutes my headache went away and I no longer felt tired or sleepy. In fact I felt like going on a very long hike or bike ride. This change in energy levels and sense of well-being was so quick and dramatic that it was as if I'd gotten an injection. Crazy. There wasn't much time before I had to get back to Las Vegas, but I walked around taking pictures for as long as I could, for the first time regretting that I could not stay and explore the area longer.





We saw some cyclists in the desert, and I was envious. Riding in that fresh dewy air with the cactus scents and the stripey mountains looming in the distance must be nice. And that is when Chris remarked casually that I should take part in one of the rides he organises - in response to which I, of course, laughed, since it seemed wildly unrealistic. But by the time December rolled around, I'd been cycling like crazy and it changed to seeming only moderately unrealistic. When AdventureCORPS and the Furnace Creek Ranch officially invited me to the March events in Death Valley, I decided to go.





To save myself future embarrassment I've been trying to be non-comittal about classifying myself as a participant vs a photographer/support person. Chris assures me I'll be fine doing the rides, but he must think I am being modest in describing what a poor cyclist I am. Still, I've now registered on BikeReg and everything is settled, so it looks like it's happening.Soma Fabricationswill be loaning me a Smoothie roadbike to test ride while I am in California, which I am excited about as well.



Physically I'm not ready for the Hell's Gate Hundred and the 5 days of cycling that is CORPSCamp. But I keep from hyperventilating by telling myself there isn't really any pressure on me to finish all the rides, and that I can do as little or as much as I feel comfortable with. It will be both scary and interesting to find out how much that is. And of course, I will get to see California. I am nervous and looking forward to it all in equal measure.

Concentration Camp: Auschwitz I

Auschwitz I is now an open-air museum and a UNESCO world heritage site. The once concentration camp is free for everyone to visit, however I would strongly recommend taking a local guide because it will make the visit smooth and meaningful. The guide can give a recap of the history and some interesting tidbits that are not heard of from TV, as well as this will save time from being all over the place because the guide knows the important museum buildings to visit.

The Nazi’s are unbelievably the most organized mass murderers that ever walked on planet earth. The Nazi slogan for this Holocaust extermination project—nothing must be laid to waste. Every bit of every belonging of the Jews was recycled, from shoes to eyeglasses to pots and pans. Even their hair (hair was said to be cheaper than wool) were shaved off and packed, ready for shipment for reselling, and to my shock—their ash remains as well! To be used for farm fertilizer. Inconceivable!


Arbeit macht frei means 'Work liberates or sets you free'. This sign was stolen early this year in January but was later recovered. The sign on the foto is a replica while the original is kept safe somewhere.


The buildings in the concentration camp, they are now museums housing the remnants of the Holocaust from shoes and bags of the victims to their hair. Right foto is the execution wall.


Halt! Stoj! Stop! That is our passionate and somber Polish tour guide, and the right foto is a Nazi watchtower.

I think the most moving and most distressing for me to come to terms with were the hair and the baggage. I saw this vast mountain load of hair behind the glass windows. They looked like wigs, and because I could not believe that they were real hair from the Holocaust victims, I forthrightly asked our guide if it were really, er—real. He replied looking at me as if I am an undesirable alien that just landed from Pluto—this isn’t Hollywood. Ugh, I felt so darn stupid for even asking the question.

And the suitcases… they have names on it, real names of the victims inscribed with their addresses and the countries they come from. I saw a good number of them with ‘Nederland’ on it which was a bit of a confrontation I must say knowing that there are persons behind those names, and that they are dead. They were murdered.

160,800 Dutch Jews were annihilated in Auschwitz as per the document behind a glass table says. I copied these while taking notes on my mobile phone but I didn’t take any fotos inside the buildings as a respect to the victims. As well as Jews from Estonia, Letland, Greece, France, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Bulgaria, England, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Spain and Austria were murdered mercilessly.

Cyclon B chemical was used in the gas chambers to annihilate the Jews, and the Gypsies as well and other prisoners of war, mostly Russian soldiers.

Some of the rules in the concentration camp are that if 1 escaped 10 are to starve. Father Maximillian offered his life when 10 people were put to starvation by the Nazis. These people were released but Father Maximillian died in behalf of them.

There is also a ‘standing prison’ fitted for four people. The prisoners work by day and in the evening they are sent to the standing prison—it is actually a very tiny chamber and if there are 4 people in there, they of course will have to stand for the whole night. Most often these prisoners die from exhaustion.


Left foto is where the prisoners are gathered for the daily roll call.


Left foto is the guard house of the Nazi soldiers holding the roll call. High voltage wires can kill, they are all around the concentration camp, of course now they do not carry voltage anymore. Right foto is where the first commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Hoss was hanged after sentenced to death by the Polish Supreme National Tribunal in 16 April 1947 (see the wooden platform at the back of the signboard).


The crematorium on the left, the only in tact gas chamber that survived after the war. Vorsicht, hochspannung, lebensgefahr (Deutsch) -- Voorzichtig, hoogspanning, levens gevaarlijk (Dutch) -- Caution, high voltage, perilous (English).

Over 800 Jews and Prisoner of War tried to escape Auschwitz, unfortunately 300 were caught and executed.

Soviet soldiers suffered the most. They were given half the daily calories the Jews were given which are minimal already, not even half of the standard daily calories required, as well as they have to do hard labor for 14 hours a day. The Nazis made sure the Russians soldiers are exhausted so they can’t plan any uprising.

Auschwitz I was killing 5 to 6 thousand people every day. The bodies were burned afterwards and cremated. A group of brave Jews who found a camera while sorting out the belongings of their comrades took fotos of these atrocities. The fotos were smuggled out of the concentration camp by non-Jewish workers and even got to Britain, however nobody really believed and acted. It was too late.

Ash remains of the Jews were used for farm fertilizers. Nothing was laid to waste.

The Crematorium faced capacity issues and because of this Auschwitz II – Birkenau and Auschwitz III – Monowitz were constructed. Auschwitz III – Monowitz was bombed by the Nazis, to cover their evil deed, however they were too late, Auchwitz II - Birkenau fell into the hands of the Russians. The Russians freed the prisoners and were shocked to find out the scale of the atrocities that happened in this concentration camp.

More fotos here: Auschwitz I - Poland
Read the sequel here: Concentration Camp: Auschwitz II - Birkenau

Every May in Europe, the heroes of the Second World War and the millions of victims are remembered.
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Old, Mawsley Village, back of Lamport, Scaldwell, Old

Led by Barry, with Gordon and me. About 8 miles - dry, cloudy this morning, and sticky mud in some of the fields. A sharpish wind too.

grove and mound near Lamport Hall

Scaldwell church

Jemez Springs, New Mexico

I took some photos of the village of Jemez Springs the other day. I keep meaning to stop and take a group of photos of this quaint little town. It is something I'll have to come by my self to do as hubby doesn't seem interested. The one photo here is of the steeple of the Catholic church that is in use there now. Jemez Springs Momument is located in the town and the ruins of the old mission chuch from about 300 years ago are still there. I need to visit there again and take some photos of it, too. I have photos from when I used a 35 mm camera but no digital photos. The other photo in this posting is of the main business section of town. The saloon is on one side, a gift shop on the other side from it. The Bath House which is a true hot springs is also to the left side but hid from view. The police station is just down the street in the photo.

The Royal Hermmann Lipizzaner Stallions

I've visited the Lipizzaner horses three times before. Nathan had not made it there before today. So we drove over with our friends, the Evans family.

The show went well, and was the same neat things as the other times I've been here.

At some point, it became very interesting to me though because I saw something different. When Aric and I were here, they told us that they were bringing out a new stallion. They weren't sure how he'd do. He did great. Today was his second time. He's the middle horse in this group and you can see the look on his face that tells us he is feeling feisty already:



Here he is plotting his grand plan to do his own thing:

This is where he lets us know he is going to implement that plan:

And this is where he does it:

This is where that plan gets nipped in the bud:

And this is where he pouts about it. He wasn't happy about being reigned back in. He wanted to show us his stuff. He didn't want to simply perform the show that mere humans came up with. They stopped the show to explain what the deal was. They explained that it was his second time out with the big boys. They said he was the teenager in the bunch. That explains this expression:

I had no idea horses could make that face. I'm on teenager number five. I recognize this face all too well!

It's not all that amusing when my teens give me that look, but I have to tell you that it was hysterical when he did it. I feel for his mother is all I have to say. I have loved every trip to this wonderful place, but this was the best by far.



Living the life in Florida!

Beachcombing #1

Padre Island National Seashore
Corpus Christi, Texas
February 17, ..