Paradise to Muir -

December 29th,

I just did a nice check on Camp Muir this morning. I left Paradise at about 9:00 a.m. It was a little chilly. I was really surprised how few skiers were actually out. Kudos to the brave soul who marched up the Nisqually and skied the chute solo. Style.

First things first. Attention everyone. There was a wicked layer of surface hoar that didn't get any sun action today before the clouds started rolling in. It's going to get buried. There are all sorts of facets in the snow in the top 20 cm. What's worrisome is that the surface hoar is growing on a layer of sun crust. Underneath the sun crust is another layer of facets. Check out the snowpit profile.


Click on the image for a better, more readable size.

Expect these faceted layers to remain intact on all aspects for a while.


So the rest of the trip to Muir was outstanding. Skiing was 7 out of 10, for the windswept snowfield, anyway. The new snow that is forecast should make the skiing even better.


One thing I want everyone to be aware of is what we call the "Ant Trap". Remember that sand pit that Luke got thrown into by Jabba? Well, this is kind of like that.

It's located right next to McClure Rock. Click that picture to the right and note the coordinates on the bottom of the photo: -121.724123 46.808050 (WGS84). Plug that into your GPS and avoid it like the plague.

Many people have been eaten by the Ant Trap and more than a few have broken bones because of it.

Things are looking good at Camp Muir, albeit there is a lot of snow. Remember you'll have to dig your way into the upper half of the middle toilet. So plan on a little shoveling before you are moved to use it!



Also, remember if you're coming up to climb, to stop at the Paradise Old Station (the A-frame in the upper parking lot) and self-register. You can also pay the 30 dollar climbing fee to the 'iron ranger' there as well.

A storm was quickly moving in, so I had to ski-dattle. Down at Paradise, the parking lot is completely full! Hundreds of cars and sledders.








December 23rd, - Sweet Turns at Paradise!

This is it. Finally our snowpack at Paradise is back to normal at 78 inches. The rain from the last warm spell has stopped and we have up to 18 inches of new snow that has consolidated and another 5 inches of pretty light snow on top of it.


I started up the road this morning after we opened it at around 08:00 am. The light on the mountain was absolutely spectacular. It was clear and there was a little bit of surface hoar when I went to the weather station this morning. Here was the weather obs:

High: 22 Low: 16 Current: 22 Precip: .02 New: Tr Total Snow: 78" Winds: N @ 3-4.

We had our morning chores to do, cones in the parking lot, bumping sign andbamboo in the snowplay area, then folks started coming in droves.
The snowplay area is open and the runs are fast. However, because there's relatively little snow, we can only put one run in. The lines are a little long. Remember to get out of the run when you've come to a stop!

About noon we headed up towards Pan Point. What's this? It's noon at Paradise on a sunny day and there's no tracks? Where are all the skiers? Gary Voigt was up making turns in upper Edith Creek below McClure.


We've been telling people for years that the right way up Pan Point is in the trees on the nose. However, sometimes I think you're better off just going up the gully. We should've. The south facing part of the nose of the ridge was a little wet and heavy. It was starting to crack as we got onto steeper ground >40 degrees.

Always evaluate your own avalanche conditions!


We crested the ridge and decided to head for the top of Pan Point at around 7200 feet.

I was still surprised to see no tracks up above us since we had such a late start and the Paradise parking lot was FULL.

Whatever, the more powder for us.


Well, the way down was fabulous. My favorite run is to cut underneath McClure Rock. It's a little less exposed to the cliff bands around Pan Point. I rarely find avalanche conditions out this far. However, I did notice a crown feature on those cliff bands back down towards Pan Point. East facing, steep, ridge top... no surprise.

However, out where we were, the snow was outstanding.

Once we hit the flats to the east of Pan point, we traversed down the top of Mazama Ridge until we got to a slope locally known as Bundy's Blunder. It's just upridge of Sluiskin Falls. There was some slide deposition on it from the sun action today. It was only 4-5", but wet and heavy. It was enough to carry us, so we traversed out a hundred yards to the right and merrily made sweet turns all the way to the Paradise Valley Road.

Here's the latest weather history comparison:

Date 12/23

Max Recorded Snowdepth at Paradise 166 inches

Year of Max Recorded Snowdepth at Paradise 1916

Historic Average Snowpack at Paradise 77.9 inches

Current Snowdepth at Paradise 78 inches

Percent of Normal 100.13%

Percent of Historic Max 46.99%

Average Hi Temp: 32

Today's Hi Temp 22

Average Lo Temp: 21

Today's Lo Temp 16


Come on up! It's good!

Gravity - Caught in the Act

Gravity - Caught in the Act, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

For years I have wanted to capture the parabolas the show up when a ball bounces to the ground. With a 39-cent light-up bouncy ball I was able to do just that.

The Devils Claw Seed Pod

This is a green seed pod from the devils caw flower. You can see the 'claw' as it clings to part of the stem and the other end has the dried flower on it. Later it will turn a dryed brown color and have little seed in it. These big seed pods work great in dryed flower arrangements.

Christmas Lights

These are our lights for Christmas. Electric ones and luminerias from our front door. Hard to take photos of lights.

Snowdepth Record at Paradise

Starting on the 7th of August this year, we have more snow at Paradise than ever recorded since 1916. The world-record snow years in the early 1970's made for similar snow packs this time of year, but the cool weather has caused the snow to melt more slowly than usual. Our total snowfall for the winter of was approximately 907 inches - not a world record, but one of the five biggest snow years Paradise has ever seen.



What's different is our cool summer we've had this year. Just today, I skied all the way to Camp Muir from the Paradise parking lot. That's amazing. It's August and we should be enjoying the flowers.



I anticipate that our record breaking trend will continue a few weeks. It never really cleared off today at Paradise. The moist, marine-layer that has Seattle fogged in is strong enough to push all the way to Paradise.





Here's the data break down:

Fall Aspens

We took a trip to the Jemez Mountains last week to see if any of the aspen trees leaves were turning that nice shade of yellow they turn in the fall. there were lots of beautiful trees. And there was one squirrel that wanted his photo taken. These squirrels are called Abert or tassle eared squirrles.

Wiley & the Angel

Wiley sitting up on the shelf that is over my kitchen sink and divides the kitchen from the living room. This shelf is about 10 feet long and 18 inches wide. Wiley likes to chase his tail up here while moving back and forth on the shelf. I don't know how he keeps from falling off. It is a long leap to get up there for such a young cat. Oh, and that is a griffin siting between Wiley and the Angel.

Trip Into the Desert

This is a tree, a juniper,that I like to take photos of because of the where branches have been broke of it and cows have rubbed for so many years they have polished the wood.












Different views of the high mesa desert that I live on in New Mexico. This is a few miles from my home.







Our truck where we stopped while going down one of the arroyos (a ditch made by nature)that are filled with sand. If you stop in the wrong place you will be there until you can find someone to pull you out. 4-wheel-drive is a must.



Taken out the windshield as we make a quick drive to get out of the arroyo.







Chola cactus with the Sandia Mountains behind it. The cactus should be starting to bloom about now but looks as if it is dieing from the drought.

Dry tooling? More like wet tooling!

Laura and I had a few hours to get out today. Her shoulder is still bothering her from the other day when she hit her shoulder on Anger Management and didn't want to climb, but eagerly volunteered to belay me if I wanted to climb.I opted to head to Upper Meadow again to see how much ice was left and work on our new line there. Upon arrival, we saw that the main ice pillar (finish of the climb) had fallen. As we expected, it fell in towards the cave. The other columns were still standing and/or hanging. My first assesment was that it was a little sketchy i.e. dangerousto be in there. Since we made the drive, I figured I'd give it one go. We hurried up and got ready. I started up the route,Sunday's ice was now seriously unbonded crap. I worked up through to the rock. I attempted to use some of the ice, but as expected I sent it crashing down towards Laura. When I felt the ice go Ihad her take me up. She was positioned out of the way and was fine. I pulled back on and continued up hitting each hook. I finished my burn at the lip with water pouring down my neck. Laura took me up and I lowered off. We took a few pics and hiked out, bidding the icefarwell. I can't wait for winters return and a chance to climb this fun new mixed line. By then my I should have my new Lowa"fruit boots". I can't wait to give 'em a go.Lookout sucka!!!

Mt. Olympus, Blue Glacier

We made the long drive up to the northwest corner of the state to climb Mt. Olympus. It is located deep in the Hoh Rain Forest. The climb involves a round trip hike of 45 miles with an elevation gain of 8,000'.



There were huge, moss covered Douglas Fir, Cedar, Spruce and Hemlock trees everywhere.



Elk Lake at the 15 mile mark.





This cable ladder was put in place to help climbers cross an avalanche chute just before the camp at Glacier Meadows.





The Blue Glacier as seen from the lateral moraine. The true summit is the farthest peak in the middle of the picture. Snow Dome is on the right.





Doug and Dave on the summit in our rain gear. It rained for about an hour when we first started up the glacier. We had traveled and hiked way to far to turn around because of rain! The sun even came out later that morning.



The view from the summit looking down on Snow Dome and the Blue Glacier.






The lower part of the glacier is a square mile of hard ice. It is covered with hundreds of small icy streams. They usually disappear into a hole or crevasse on the glacier.



It would have been easy to spend an entire day there exploring that part of the mountain. We had to walk on the high spots to stay dry.




We made our way back down the moraine to Glacier Meadows where the biting flies convinced us to start the hike out to the car. The next day, we stopped at the beach for a while and then started the long drive home. It was nice to accomplish another climb that had been on our "to do" list for a while.

Moonrise Magic

If you've never stayed up and watched a moonrise in the middle of the night, you need to do it sometime. Put it at the top of your list! When its dark out and the moon comes up, it is soooo orange, you won't believe your eyes. Couple that warm light with calm waters and some nice clouds and you're in for a treat you won't soon forget!



My friend Roger was up for another visit, and we were getting in some more night-time shooting experience with our cameras. We waited for the moonrise on both friday and saturday nights. Both nights were equally spectacular. We made exposures anywhere from 30 seconds to half an hour in length. The clouds made for some very special images for the both of us. These two nights were some of the most fun that I've had shooting the moonrise.

The skiers are taking over!

New snow and warm temperatures this final weekend in June brought out the most skiers I have ever seen on Rainier. The DC, Emmons, Winthrop, and Fuhrer Finger were all skied. The ski conditions were great for the most part. The snow was firm but somewhat punchy down to 13,000 feet. Conditions improved as the snow softened and became less wind- affected. There was good corn skiing from about 11,500' to about 10,000'. The snow became heavy and wet below that altitude. Above is a photo of one of those skiers descending the Cleaver. Although the skiing can be fabulous, be realistic about conditions and your ability, and be sure to be "on your game", as exposure to cliffs below can severely impact your outing in the event of an uncontrolled slip!

Conditions and weather have combined this week to give us stable weather and great climbing. Climbers summitted via the Disappointment Cleaver, Ingraham Direct, Fuhrer Finger, Kautz Glacier, Tahoma Glacier, Liberty Ridge, Winthrop Glacier, and the Emmons Glacier. Of course, the warm weather has its downside: rock fall and ice fall have increased exponentially, and a few routes have started to melt out... notably Gibralter Ledges, which had seen quite a few ascents this year.
--Adrienne Sherred - Photo by Andy Anderson

Test Riding the Breezer Uptown 8

Since the start of this blog, I've received more requests to review the Breezer Uptown than any other city bike on the market. I have not done so earlier for two reasons. First, availability: Until now, I had not seen the Breezer for sale in any local bike shop. After a break of several years Harris Cyclery now carries them again, which is how I came across this one. But additionally, I was reluctant to review a bike that I was unenthusiastic about: theBreezerhas never appealed to me, and I have no interest in it other than general industry curiosity. However, I would have said the same about Seven Cycles a year ago, and trying one of those (in response to readers' requests as well) had a profound effect on me as a cyclist. I also unexpectedly liked the Urbana, which I tried for no reason other than the manufacturer's urging. In short, you never know and it's good to keep an open mind. That is how I approached my test ride of the Breezer Uptown.

The Uptown is Breezer's fully equipped commuter model, available in 3-speed and 8-speed variants. The bike includes fenders, a chainguard, a rear rack, a kickstand, an integrated rear wheel lock, and front and rear dynamo lighting.

The welded aluminum U-frame has "unitube" construction.Steel unicrown fork. The 26" wheels are fitted with 1.5" wide tires.I tried the 17" sized frame. There are other sizes and also a diamond frame version.Please seeherefor full specs.

The colour is a deep, sparkly forest green, with contrasting silver panels on the chainstays, near the bottom bracket,and on the fork. The two-tone paint job gives the bike a sporty look that strikes me as being at odds with its purpose as a commuter. But the dominant green colour is pleasant.

As far as functionality, it must be said that this bike is excellently equipped for commuting. Front and rear dynamo lighting seems to be of good quality and is internally routed, exiting through the rear fender for the tail light.

The rear rack's tubing will accommodate a variety of pannier systems.

The tires are wide. The fenders provide full coverage and include small plastic mudflaps.

There are braze-ons for the shifter and brake cables, so that nothing is hanging loose, and there are waterbottle bosses.

The wide range Shimano8-speed hub could be attractive for hilly areas. The shape of the handlebars provides a sufficient gripping area despite the twist shifter.

The handlebars are mildly swept back. The brake levers are comfortably placed, and the front and rear v-brakes provide strong stopping power.

All of these features, for a retail price of $980 (or $720 for the 3-speed model), make the Breezer Uptown look undeniably good "on paper." This is the kind of commuter bike you are likely to find in a mainstream European bike shop today - modern, affordable, fairly lightweight, designed to be ridden in everyday clothing, and fully equipped - and it's great to see the same available in the US.

Having said that, I did not like this bike on a number of levels. From an aesthetic and emotional standpoint, I found the Breezer to be "unlovable." The huge welds, the hollow feel of the aluminum tubing, the athletically-inspired colour scheme - it all feels so generic and impersonal. I like a bicycle with some warmth to it, with some evidence of a human touch, and I just don't feel any sense of this from the Breezer. It's not just about lugged vs welded and steel vs aluminum, but about the very essence of how the bike feels to look at, to touch and to ride. This is truly the vacuum cleaner of bicycles - and while for some that's a good thing, for me it's uninspiring.

But more importantly - and more disappointingly - the Breezer's ride quality did not work for me. I rode it for about 3 miles and already felt the sort of strain in my knees that I've experienced on bikes with the infamous "comfort" geometry. This could also be because I would consistently end up in a gear that was too high: I found that being in too high of a gear was the only way I could make the bicycle go at the speed I wanted. In a gear where my cadence felt appropriate, the bike would not move fast enough for my liking.

Additionally, something about the relationship between the seat tube angle and bottom bracket felt "off," and after examining the frame geometry online I still do not know what. Subjectively, it felt as if the seat tube angle was extremely steep - almost a straight drop from the saddle down to the pedals - which contributed to the knee discomfort, but, oddly, failed to add to pedaling efficiency. According to the frame specs, the seat tube angle is actually 72 degrees, which is entirely normal for a city bike. I do not know how to explain my subjective sensation of steepness in light of this.

Aside from these issues, I thought the bike felt rather harsh going over bumps and potholes. Not horrible, but definitely not great. Even on smooth terrain, I felt road buzz through the handlebars, which became painful for my (overly sensitive) hands fairly quickly. Maybe wider tires or a suspension fork would help here.

On a positive note, I thought the BreezerUptown was solidly put together and truly functional, unlike other bikes that only play at being fully-equipped commuters. It was also stable and well-balanced, and there was no toe overlap on the 17" frame. This bike should be easy to handle for a novice transportation cyclist.

When it comes to impressions of ride quality, everyone is different, and I urge you to take that into account when reading my earlier feedback. I know there are people who love this bike and commute on it daily, so obviously it is possible. The manufacturer's history is also quite interesting (lugged mountain bikes!), and worth looking into. Would I buy a Breezer Uptown for myself? No. But if the ride quality works for you and you find the bike attractive, I agree with those who call it a good value.