Lara-Karena Kellogg (Bitenieks)

Lara-Karena Kellogg (formerly Lara-Karena Bitenieks) died Monday evening while climbing Mt. Wake in the Alaska Range. Some of you may have known Lara from her years as a climbing ranger and member of our Mt. Rainier search and rescue team. But when it came to friends and social networks, Lara was indeed a power-broker in Seattle. Her loss is greatly affecting many people. Her friends are coming together to sort through the sadness and remember her life.

The NPS released Lara's name after her husband, Chad Kellogg, was notified in China where he was climbing (he is now returning to Seattle). There is a lot more to say about Lara. She was a very close friend and influential force in the way the Mount Rainier climbing program runs today. Lara possessed an amazing amount of style, confidence, independence, and strength.

The Fairbanks Daily Newsminer spoke with her climbing partner Jed Brown for details of the accident, Jed has a detailed narrative about the climb and accident on his website. They were climbing the N.E. Ridge of Mt. Wake. The green dot indicates the high point and the red dot is where the accident occurred. This route has some history. In 1994, two Alaskan climbers fell at nearly the same location during a rappelling accident. We will post a lot more on Lara in the days to come.

Jed Brown provided this picture of Lara from their climb. The Mt. Wake photo was taken by Eamonn Walsh and provided to us by Mark Westman.

Snowy Road

Live curious

I am not a TV or movie person and the only reason why I watch TV is because of Discovery Channel, National Geographic and all travel, documentary and news-related programs. This poem aired by National Geographic caught me this week, which I believe is one of their recycled advertisements, totally reflects what I live for.



If you are, you breathe.

If you breathe, you talk.

If you talk, you ask.

If you ask, you think.

If you think, you search.

If you search, you experience.

If you experience, you learn.

If you learn, you grow.

If you grow, you wish.

If you wish, you find.

If you find, you doubt.

If you doubt, you question.

If you question, you understand.

If you understand, you know.

If you know, you want to know more.

If you want to know more, you are alive.



To see the video, go here: IF – Live Curious by National Geographic



Of course a foto must go with the poem above and I choose this one taken in Bantayan Island, Cebu, Philippines last year, August . I snapped this couple on their scooter with their proud dog looking like an experienced scooter rider as we overtook them, me strapped behind Dutchman on a (rental) scooter as well.



After my Spanish holiday entries, I will start posting our Bantayan Island holiday stories and beautiful fotos in Cebu, Philippines last year, a long overdue post due to fotos being lost in the camera-laptop-USB stick-laptop transfer process.



Bantayan! (which means in Tagalog—Abangan, and in English—Stay tuned)

Way too long, lots of climbing

All is good on Mount Rainier these days (despite my inability to update this blog!) Climbers have been scaling up and down the mountain by a variety of different routes over the past two weeks. One of the most impressive ascents was by a team of climbers who pushed their way up Ptarmigan Ridge after a long march.

The May 5th opening went by without issue. Yeah, the parking lot filled and U.S. Rep Norm Dicks and U.S Rep Dave Reichart showed up to help swing the gate (TNT). But most folks seemed more focused on getting to the mountain... which brings us to the important topic at hand, what's been going on above 6K on Mt Rainier?

Recently, there has been a lot of skiing, boarding and climbing. Here is a pretty awesome shot by Rainier ski-fan Sky Sjue... These images are from his recent descent down the Fuhrer Thumb with climbing/ski partner Christophe. I think, btw, that this is a first ski descent of the Fuhrer Thumb. I bet Lowell Skoog will be interested. Anyway, the Fuhrer's Thumb is the "climber's left" variation on the Fuhrer Finger route, OR "climber's right" of the Wilson Headwall, i.e. STEEP!

There is quite a bit of snow to carve between 5K-10K for the skier/boarder. Keep in mind that the recent weather has been great which means that the snow is melting fast! More than snowmelt, however, make sure you consider the avalanche conditions if you're headed out into the backcountry. You should personally check the snow conditions and snowpack before jumping into anything hairy. There have been numerous reports of slide activity between 5K-11K on 30-45 degree slopes. Of course, bring your avalanche equipment (beacon, shovel, probe, etc) and reliable partners.

Not to be outdone, the climbers have been having a great time on Mt. Rainier too. Our Updated Route Conditions page is getting filled with all sorts of cool reports... So far, folks have successfully ascended Liberty Ridge, the Ingraham Glacier, Gibralter Ledges, Emmons Glacier, the Tahoma Glacier (more on those two later) and a few other lines to boot. As stated, we have a FANTASTIC report about Ptarmigan Ridge!

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.