"Glaces"...a history of ice climbing and technique

Just one of the many historical photos in "Glaces", Beyond Good and Evil., Mt. Blanc Range.

I like to read. I like to collect mountaineering books or at least have in the past. Obviously one of my passions is ice climbing. I come by that honestly having been lucky enough to havestarted waterfall climbing at the "golden" era of Canadian waterfall activity in the Rockies.



So I have autographed copies of Bill March's book, Chouinard's, Jeff Lowe's, Twight's, Will Gadd's and most recently Steve House's. All great books in their own way. I've talked about most of them here on the blog. But always special to me to have autographed copies even from guys like Chouinard or House who I have never met.



Some I think are more important historically than others. And some stand out for their influence on the English climbing community.



As a student of ice climbing history living in North America I have long known that Chouinard didn't invent the curved axe. And that the curved axe didn't really make the huge leap in climbing difficulty that some have implied. The climbers did generally and not all of them were from NA.



That was left to others living in the Mt. Blanc Massif and in Scotland and the gear they used or designed.



But that story, their story, has never been seen in one place that I know of, until recently...very recently in fact from what I have seen.



Leave it to my friends at Blue Ice to publish the most recent European tome on ice climbing, "Glaces: arts, experiences et techniques" by Jerome Banc-Gras and Manu Ibarra



There is a lot here. I could tell you more but my French is limited. No English version yet but I know they are working on it. It will be well received.



Short ummary of contents?









History

From Antiquity to 1908: Ice as an adversary

1908-1968 : La glace des faces nord 1908-1968: Ice faces north

1968-1998 : La glace des cascades 1968-1998: The ice cascades

1998 a nos jours: La glace sportive 1998 to Present: The ice sports

Ice

Snow

mixed

The gear

The gearprogression

Safety equipment

Maintenance

Choosing the route

Choice of technical equipment

Selection of protection

Organization of gearaterial

Moving on the ice

Which route?

Analysisof the possibility of collapse







The historial accountswhich I found most interesting by:

Walter Cecchinel

Ludger Simond

Bruno Sourzac

Will Gadd

Pavel Shabalin

Christophe Moulin

Ueli Steck

Fred Degoulet

Philippe Pellet

Jerome Blanc-Gras























"Glaces: arts, expériences et techniques" by Jerome Banc-Gras and Manu Ibarra is available from Blue Ice France now. Send them an email encouraging them to do a English version!





http://www.blueice.com/en/products/glaces-arts-experiences-et-techniques



Some more shots from the book that should give you an idea of how much a treat this one really is.











From ancient history to the most modern techniques, tools and climbers, it is all here.

Starring Nobody

I took on a touch too much this weekend. Huge group at work, cooking for 150 hungry black belts, rush out for a lap on the project with Lee and Sam, dash to Brissy for photos with The Red Phoenix Style team (AKA my twin daughters), back to work for Ethical Pickles production team (Yaana and Sandra) and more.

Let's just say corners were cut. Things were compromised. Mistakes were made.

But the results were fab.

Celebrity blogger "Starring Nobody" AKA Kirsten Morrison modeled some stunning threads by some totally important designers.

But this is not one of them. Lotus picked up this sparkly number in the op shop for 10 bucks. That's immersion quality clothing. And in she went.











The whole shoot was for the client "The French Peg" a sweet little Paddington boutique.

But this is not that.








Climbers, it's possible you are getting a pre-release peek at The Red Phoenix Emporium collection of necklaces and earrings "Nature in Neon"

This cowboy blogger never checks permissions. No time.








Adrift.































The style team at jjobrienclimbing are totally and utterly impressed with the new collection, seriously I don't know how those girls keep hitting the trend bang on.








Kirsten looks superb in this rig, confirming the fact that an RPE necklace will make a $10 dress look a million. That's a fact.








Snapped between shivering bouts. Kirsten is die hard dedicated to style.






Is the collection online yet? Keep checking Red Phoenix Emporium or drop into The French Peg


2/237 Given Tce, Paddington Brisbane.








There is nothing this girl has not covered in style on her blog starring-nobody.blogspot.com

Thank you Kirsten, Lotus, Willow and all for another amazing shoot.




jj

Spider Web Plumeria

Some strands of spider silk cross a petal of a plumeria.

Pinto Horse

Wordless Wednesday :: Spiraling Downward

Madison, Indiana ~ September 1994Copyright © 1994/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Lessons Learned

Larwill, Indiana combined 3rd and 4th grades, 1936-37 class. Mom is the 4 child from the left in the top row, she was in the 3rd grade. Two of her classmates are still good friends and they attended the birthday open house for mom's 80th birthday last Saturday.

Larwill, Indiana was (and still is) a small rural community about six miles west of Columbia City. Mom's family had moved there in 1935 and she attended the Larwill School for the rest of her school years. Classes for all grades, 1st through 12th, were held in one building, which was only a few blocks from their home.

Of course, mom learned reading, writing and arithmetic in school, along with history, home economics and social studies, but she was an "average" student, and according to her she didn't excel in anything, except making friends! Mom was the middle of five children and since their home wasn't far from school, it was the natural gathering place for all of their friends.

Along with the book learning, she learned how to do housework and help take care of her younger sister and brother. Life lessons learned through firsthand experience that served her well when she had children of her own after graduating in 1946.

When the time came for her to go to work outside the home, she was more than ready! Her first paying job was working in a factory, Playtime Products, in Warsaw, where they made toy baby buggies. Then my grandmother opened a restaurant in North Webster and mom went to work there. Her social skills came in quite handy while working with the customers and the other employees. In 1964, the restaurant was sold and mom got a job in another factory, North Webster Products. They made electrical wiring harnesses for refrigerators, freezers and other appliances. It wasn't easy work, but she was good at it. The company went through many changes over the years, but mom made it through all the lay-offs and downsizings and retired in 1993 after 29 years of service.

One of the most important lessons I learned from mom and the secret to her success, she says, was flexibility and a willingness to learn. Whenever she was asked if she had ever done a certain task, which she hadn't ever done before, instead of just saying "no" she always said "no, but I can give it a try" and invariably she would do just fine, not always, but most of the time. Many of her co-workers were women and many of them refused to even try a new task but she was always willing. She wasn't a perfectionist, but she always did the best that she could. Another lesson learned.

This post was written for the 48th Carnival of Genealogy whose topic is "Mom, how'd you get so smart?"

Wild Roses

I saw lots of wild roses blooming along the road. I took this photo with a meadow and a mountain showing the distance that one can see while still in the mountains.

Mt. Si

Mt. Si is the big hill, with the rocky top, right behind North Bend. For the most part, it is a hike on a dirt trail in the shade of tall evergreens. There is an inviting feature at the top called the Haystack. It consists of a few hundred feet of easy rock scrambling. It is fun to weave your own route to the top. For some reason it seems steeper on the way down.

The clouds rolled in as we reached the top. Pictured are: Dennis, Sabrina, Dave, Cody, Doug, Bethany, Danielle and Jim.

Rock Squirrel

this is a few photos of the rock squirrel that has decided to live under our small metal, junk shed. I first saw him earlier this week when he made this trip to get food out of the compost ben that I have. He decided that orange peels where the best I had at the time. I took the first two photos through a window and the last one out the back door that is a sliding glass door. After his forage into the compost he came and looked in the door at us. We have also seen him behind the shed where we discovered there was a hole where he could come and go.

Grab Your Ice Axe and Head for the Hills!

All right folks, this is it! You can ski 7,500 feet of vertical this weekend at Paradise!

First the hype.

Rarely during the winter does the weather turn so nice for so long! I made a run from just above Ingraham Flats (11,500') to Longmire (2,700'), and that's almost 9,000 feet in one run. As you'll read later in this post, I wouldn't particularly recommend skiing the lower 1,500 feet, but 7,500' isn't too bad, is it? With this intense temperature inversion in effect, it may be warmer at 5,500' than at 2,700'. In fact, at Camp Muir on Thursday morning, the temperature was 46 degrees! I could almost smell this coming weekend's barbeques in the Paradise lot, the sun tan oil, and the kids having a great time in the newly groomed snowplay area.


Now the beta.



The snow is setting up and developing into good corn. On the way up from Paradise this morning for a patrol to Camp Muir, the snow was set up enough to walk on with just boots (around 10:00 a.m.). The skinning was great, until I got to just below Pan Point. It was set up enough that it took two tries to get up a particular pitch I was trying to ascend. If you're going up early, I'd recommend a pair of crampons and an ice axe.


Just about everything was skiable in the Paradise area today. The snow is nice and smooth, but BEWARE! This afternoon's heat was bringing down small wet loose avalanches in steeper gulleys. Read the latest avalanche report from the NWAC: http://www.nwac.us/


Edith Creek Basin looked awesome and smooth. Mazama Ridge really looked nice. Once through the gauntlet at Pan Point, the rest was just a beautiful skin up to Camp Muir! The ski penetration eventually got to around 1-2 inches. That's nothing compared to slogging up in waist deep snow.


Once up to around 9,000 feet, the snowfield becomes badly pocked with sastrugi, and we're talking BIG sastrugi features. Not fun to ski through. If you're up on the Muir Snowfield, remember, it's always a good idea to have the "bearing sheet" for the compass bearing, if the weather should turn bad.


Camp Muir is open and ready for business. The toilets are shoveled out. The public shelter is accessible. Would someone please shovel the snow out that's drifted inside? Be aware that I tested the public radio, and it seems to be dead. I shoveled snow off of the solar panels on the roof. This may solve the problem. Bring a Verizon cell phone just in case of an emergency. Remember you need a backcountry permit (free) if you are just staying at Camp Muir and not going above.


I made it up to Ingraham Flats in a turtleneck T-shirt. Now that's rare for January! I was able to skin right up to the top of Cathedral Gap, but on the traverse past the Gap, just to be safe, I took the skis off and put the crampons on. But I could've walked with my crampons all the way from Paradise. Once I was back out on the glacier, the skis went back on and I was able to skin up to about 11,500' before it was time to turn around. The snow was nice styrofoam. If you're interested in heading up above Camp Muir, remember you need a climbing permit and a climbing pass whether your purposes are just skiing or climbing.


The ski down was great through Cathedral Gap. In 10 minutes I was back at Camp Muir. I left Muir at about 3:00 p.m. I skied through this terrible sastrugi that I described above, but then I dove off down the Nisqually Glacier. It goes! For those of you interested in skiing down the glacier, remember to bring along a friend and some extrication gear. The snow was getting soft in the afternoon making crevasse falls more likely. Since you're on a glacier, technically you need a climbing permit and a climbing pass.


I hit it at about 3:30, when it was a little on the soft side. Who knows how things will be this weekend, but I would try to stick it a little earlier. The slopes above on the Nisqually Cliffs were getting some warm sun. Be weary of avalanches coming down, and especially rockfall! Beware of a lot of little rocks and pebbles in the snow.


Once down on the flat part of the Nisqually (around 6,400 feet), I was surprised at how fast I was able to cruise. I crossed over to the west side of the glacier, and skied down the nose of the glacier to the terminus. It was very soft, a little too soft. I had my first biff. From there it was a cruise to the bridge. Bring a friend with another car for the ride back up to Paradise!


I continued skiing the Nisqually River bed down to Cougar Rock Campground where I caught the Wonderland Trail for the rest of the push to Longmire. All in all, I skied just about 9,000 feet of vert. But I wouldn't recommend this last bit from the bridge on down. With a few creek crossings and some wet feet, it was a bit of a jungle boogie.


In a nutshell, the skiing, the climbing, the sledding and/or just suntanning at Paradise looks great this weekend and if you're from Washington, you'll know that we need to take advantage of this!

Afternoon Sun

Afternoon Sun, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

The wildflower bloom is nearly over here in Southern California. I took this photo back in April on a remote road near Cayucos. The lupines were much thicker than this in some places - we found one patch of the flowers the length of a football field.

Early Winter Wonderland along Old Highway 61

Several November storms meant a lot of early snow accumulation inland from Lake Superior near Grand Portage, MN. This photo was taken on November 25, . I was a bit disappointed that these storms left little snow in my yard. I live right on the shores of Lake Superior and early winter storms often mean that rain falls along the shoreline instead of snow. Right now I barely have one inch of snow covering my yard, however one only needs to drive a few miles inland to see the ground covered with almost two feet of snow already!

No Ride Too Short?

You know how these things go. You get ready for a ride. You get dressed, fill the water bottles, top up the air in your tires,stuff your phone, money and snacks into your pockets,drag your bike outside.




You're excited, because maybe it's been a while. Like maybe you've had the flu and moved house all in the same week. Like maybe life has been nothing but chaos, and your lungs have been filled with fluid, and you've been lying on the couch in a bleak coastal village in Northern Ireland with the wind howling outside, wondering what will become of you now and weeping into your mug of Ovaltine whilst watching that trippy advert of hedgehogs enjoying a pizzaon Sky TV(they took medication to manage their lactose intolerance, and now they are so happy, so happy). And you've been missing your bike with a feverish madness, running your fingers along its sleek top tube with longing on your way from sofa to bathroom and back.




But those dark times are in the past now. Because you're finally feeling good and you've managed to get it together to make time for this ride, and you're ready to go. You've maneuvered your bike through the maze of tiny rooms and awkward doorways and narrow hallways in your new dwelling (which is the antithesis of open-concept in design - a fact you normally love, except when it comes to getting the bike out of the house). And now finally, finally you get out the door and set off.




And a short while later, you come right back. Because this ride just ain't happening. You deny it at first, even though your bike is getting blown all over the road and you see the local air field has cancelled its flights for the day. You deny it even though the skies - blue and sunny above your house - have turned black as soon as you've crossed the railroad tracks. You deny it even as large chunks of hail start to hit your helmet a minute later. You deny it and push on, determined to ride your bike on this day. Only when the wind grows so strong that you are barely moving forwardand can hardly stay in your lane around the bends of the A2, do you give in all at once and admit it's over.




Rolling up to my front door less than 30 minutes later, I ask myself this question. What constitutes the difference between a non-ride, and a very short ride? In that much-quoted tome Just Ride, Grant Petersen assures us that no ride is too short, and I find the idea inspiring. But what are we talking about here - 10 miles, 5 miles, 1.7 miles? Is it a matter of the difference between what you plan to do and what you actually do? Or is it a preparation time to riding time ratio?




Well, no matter. Because damn it, I am calling this one a ride. It was certainly short, but it had a bit of everything: climbing, descending, epic weather, ruddy cheeks, exhaustion, even a tiny patch of dirt. So why not. I will leave the big miles for next time, but for now I am just glad to be back in the saddle.

I'm not in Kansas anymore!

Ah, there's no place like home. An old cliché but oh, so true. As much as I enjoyed the brief sojourn in Springfield and roaming around the countryside in eastern Kansas, and even though I was gone only ten days, it sure feels good to be home.

I decided not to go to Iowa. Mixed results and a bit of frustration in Kansas, combined with realizing that there really just wasn't enough time to do full justice to the search, and the fact that I was just plain tired, lead to the decision to head home yesterday. I got home at about 6 p.m. this evening.

On Monday, from Baxter Springs I drove west on US 160 towards Grenola, in southwestern Elk County. I stopped at the library in Moline, but it was closed. I was hoping they had a diagram of the layout of the cemetery in Grenola. On Sunday (11/18) I had found the transcriptions online for Rachel (Fisher) and John Harvey in Greenlawn Cemetery in Grenola, Greenfield Township, along with several of their children, in section "B". Rachel is the sister of my 2nd Great Grandmother, Louisa Fisher Phend. Rachel died February 18, 1899 and John died in September 1899.

Moline is a small town but Grenola is even smaller. It was about 3 p.m. as I drove down Main Street and I felt as though I was in a ghost town. Not a soul was stirring, not an open store in sight. At the end of Main Street was a sign pointing left that said "cemetery" so I turned. It was a narrow road and seemed like miles, but was probably only about one. The cemetery was on the left, on top of a hill. I turned into the cemetery on the first lane. It was huge. The sections weren't marked. I thought there was no way I'd find them. I drove down each lane, slowly, hoping I'd see their stones.

There have been several times when searching for ancestors that I've gone to a cemetery knowing they were buried there but not knowing where and walking directly to their gravesites. But alas, no such luck this time. I stopped and walked around for a while then gave up and drove on to Winfield, county seat of Cowley County. Rachel and John had moved to Harvey Township in Cowley County sometime between 1870 and 1880. Harvey Township is bordered by Greenfield Township, Elk County on the east, which is probably why they are buried in Elk County.

Tuesday morning I went to the Courthouse in Winfield. Their original marriage record books have been moved to the Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum in Arkansas City, about 12 miles south of Winfield. The Probate office has the records digitized on CD Rom discs and they charge $12 for a lookup if you don't have the exact date of marriage. Which of course, I didn't have. Just have an approximate year, and several names to lookup. I asked about Guardianship or Probate records since Homer, the youngest son of Rachel and John, was only 16 years old when they died. The index books didn't list them. The clerk didn't seem to know what the transcribed information online for Homer meant.

Next stop was the Winfield Library. They have a nice little local history section but I didn't find anything helpful there. I then went to the Cherokee Strip Land Rush Museum. If you have ancestors or relatives that lived in the Winfield and Arkansas City areas then this place should definitely be on your list of places to visit. In addition to the Original Marriage Record Books, they have cemetery records, obituary notices, miscellaneous newspaper clippings, etc., etc. for COWLEY county, and lots of neat things on exhibit. I didn't find anything helpful in my search for the Harvey family except that it appears that none of their children were married in Cowley County!

Since it was "sort of" in the direction of my next destination (Iola, Allen County) I decided to go back to the cemetery at Grenola thinking maybe I'd get lucky this time. Nope. I walked through each section, up and down the rows, for about two hours. It was a gorgeous day. Sun shining, blue sky, not cold, just a little windy. Maybe John and Rachel and some of their family are buried there, but I sure didn't find them! Did get some exercise though.


One of Rachel and John's children, Lillian, and her husband Orlando Sellers are buried in Moline Cemetery so I stopped by there on the way to Howard, the county seat of Elk County. I found the cemetery but when I saw how big it was, bigger than Greenlawn, I turned into the first drive to turn around and leave. As I glanced to the right to check traffic, there they were, right up front, next to the road. Now, why couldn't that have happened with John and Rachel?

By the time I got to Howard the courthouse was closed so I went on to Iola. My intent was to spend Tuesday night in Iola then go to the cemetery and library, etc. to see what I could find on William and Minerva (Joslin) Knight. Minerva is a sister of my 2nd Great Grandmother, Malissa Joslin Brubaker Bower. William died in 1902. Minerva then married a J.N. Storey and reportedly died May 12, 1905 in a wheelchair on the street in Hot Springs, Arkansas. William and Minerva are buried in the Iola Cemetery.

It was dark when I got to Iola so I went to find a motel room, but there was no room at the inn. Three motels in town and they were all full. Nothing available in the nearby towns, according to the innkeeper. It was 50 miles or more north to I-35 and Ottawa, which was near my next destination of Lyndon. . . to be continued.