The alpine uniform AKA "the action suit"

Photo courtesy ofDave Searle. Ally Swinton high on the Colton/Mac

I get asked all the time, "what do you wear?"



Easy answer generally for all my alpine climbing. Likely little different from Ally's or Dave's (any Dave) outfit. Two layers on the bottom, 3 layers on top. Add and subtract as required.



Here is my list for a typical alpine ice climb in late fall conditions through much of the winter.



Boots:

singles or more likely doubles

2 pair of liner socks or simple mid weight if the approach is short and my feet tough



Bottoms:

long under wear base layer (maybe two pair depending on weight)

uninsulated soft shell pants or salopettes

OR/and insulated soft shells, ltw insulated hard shells or water proof shells as needed



Top:

base layer (generally a lwt hoody but may be two base layers stacked on each other if it is really cold)

mid layer (soft shell or Atom Lt or a simple wind shell, all choices temp dependant)

OR/and shell jacketor belay jacket (again size and volume is temp dependant)



Head:

all the various hoods

"Buff" style headband

Helmet



Gloves:

as required by temps and expected moisture on route.



Hardware, harness, 35L or *smaller* pack, tools,crampons and various other bits as required by planned time on route.



I could take any one of a dozen photos from Colin's or Jon'sblog or mine and little will change. Nothing really going to change much if you climb fast and in control. . Layers change as the temps, your energyand your speed go up or down.



Until you end up loooking like this!



Yes that is actually 7 layers I've got on trying to keep warm in a Loo bivy mid winter on the Midi. Move fast, dress light to stay dry and hopefully just warm enough. And if everything goesright.....pass every ass you come across and avoid the bivy all together ;)













It is always a horse race. Jon makessome good observations and suggestions here:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/review.php?id=3533

Hard shell pants are still very popular in the Alps in winter...because it can be really cold there up higheven compared to the Canadian Rockies. You can get high and stay high so easily in the Alps.

Down works in dry climates. In my experience down doesn't work if you have to climb hard in it or you have a moist climate. Much of any one's suggestions for clothing will depend on where they actually do climb and when.

It was pointed out to me recently that the Atom Lt makes a good belay jacket for a earlyfall ascent on the Grand Wall @ Squamish."But it is too warm for anything else". Several of ususe the Atom Lt as our primarymid layer climbing inwinter. Use an Atom Lt as a belay jacket there and you might just die. Different environments and different uses. In our case a down verison of the same garment wouldn't work at all, as the down would eventually get wet from perspiration.

What works for me may not work for you. Pay attention to the details, make your own decisions, trustno one.

I often wonder why I keep repeating this stuff past wanting to put a cool picture to good use. I just took a few minutes to reread a part of Twight's "Extreme Alpinism: Climbing Light, Fast, and High"



Mark covers it all better and in moredepth than I ever do here. The specific gear selections might be out dated ten years on but the ideas behind the gear are not. Try Chapter 7 pages 82/103 If you are reading this blog and don't have your owncopy of " Extreme Alpinism: Climbing Light, Fast, and High" and use it as a reference your beta is seriously fooked up.



http://www.amazon.com/Extreme-Alpinism-Climbing-Light-Fast/dp/0898866545

A month of records: Liam O'Sullivan claims new speed record

Less than a month after Justin Merle broke the speed summit record of Mount Rainier from Paradise to Columbia Crest and back, Liam O'Sullivan, a mountain guide employed by International Mountain Guides (IMG), raised the bar once again, beating Merle's time by 3 minutes with a new record of 4 hours, 46 minutes and 29 seconds (FYI: Both Merle and O'Sullivan had small amounts of supplies cached at Camp Muir and dropped crampons on the descent). O'Sullivan left the upper Paradise parking lot at 4:20:08 a.m. and arrived at Camp Muir 1 hr 24 minutes later, putting him well on the way to a new record. O'Sullivan then beat his own personal time to Columbia Crest by 5 minutes, with a one way time of 3:11:22. On a previous attempt this month, O'Sullivan had been on pace to beat the record, but then faced fierce cramps on the descent which prevented him from setting a new record. This was almost the case again, but he was able to pull through this time.

"Any long or awkward step (which the Cleaver has plenty of by now) would cause me to cramp, so I descended cautiously to Muir, by which time I had lost all but 1 minute of the lead I had gained on Justin Merle's pace. I descended the (unfortunately) still firm Muir Snowfield, reaching Pebble neck-and-neck with Justin's time. Then battling the rocky, stepped trail, I commenced. Below Glacier Vista I kicked, breaking away from the pace, opted for the more direct east side of Alta Vista (complete with skin-shredding steep asphalt descent), and reached the trailhead in 4:46:29!"

Climbing conditions on Disappoinment Cleaver (DC) are some of the best conditions seen in years, which could account for the recent trend of speed ascents this month, including record attempts by O'Sullivan and Alpine Ascents International (AAI) Guide Michael Horst, and an amazing combination bicycle ride and speed ascent by Randall Nordfors. Despite the phenomenal conditions on the DC all summer, the season is moving along and things are beginning to break up, so future speed ascent attempts may be more difficult due to less direct route and slower climbing conditions. However, this may not stop would-be record breakers like Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, a guide with Alpine Ascents International (AAI) and previous Everest record holder. Check out a recent article by The Seattle Times, covering this new competition for the "Rainier Speed Summit".

In addition to his record breaking climb, O'Sullivan has had a pretty good month - he made his 100th summit of Rainier on a tough Kautz route in less than ideal conditions, he guided Nordfors' Puget Sound to Summit trip and now begins a new path: medical school. After 10 years of mountain guiding on Mount Rainier and around the globe, we wish Liam the best and look forward to hearing more great things from him in the future.

Beauty in the Morning

Each morning the beauty of the morning glories help me get started on another day. I have about 4 different areas where there is hundreds of blossoms each day. Sadly they are all gone by evening but I know another group of them will be there to greet me the next morning. I love this blue color but also have other shades of blue and some purple. Morning glories have always been one of my favorite flowers not only because of their beauty but because they are so easy to grow. They are an anual and do have to be replanted each spring but grow fast, with little fertilizer and not as much water as a lot of other flowers. One group decided to grow up into my Bradford Pear tree. A Bradford pear is an ornimental pear meaning it has beautiful white flowers in the spring but no fruit.

Old Friends and Fond Memories

Bob, Sandy, John, Gary, and Smitty. This photo was taken in December 1973, just a few weeks before I left Reykjavik, Iceland. It's really hard to believe that it was 35 years ago! My one-year tour of duty in Iceland was made much more pleasant because of their presence.

We stayed in touch for a while. . . Bob was onboard a ship heading for Japan about the time I left there in May 1979. I saw Sandy a couple of times before I went to Japan. John and his wife met me at the airport in Hawaii when I was on my way to Japan in May 1977 and I visited them in Seattle after my return. I have no idea what happened to Gary and Smitty. As often happens, we lost contact after a few years. I often wonder what became of them and some of the other friends I had while in the Navy. Occasionally I Google their names, but haven't found anything on them yet. I did get a couple of emails earlier this year from two of the girls with whom I went through bootcamp. They had found the posts on my letters from bootcamp. It was nice because I actually remembered who they were!

As my contribution to the 8th Edition of Smile For The Camera :: Stocking Stuffer, I would like to stuff this picture into the stockings of Bob, Sandy, John, Gary, and Smitty. Thanks for the memories!

Independence

Some of the fireworks in Tahoe City, California on the 4th of July.

What happened to the Camp Muir Webcam?

April 14,

The webcam hasn't worked since a fateful day in late November.

I have it in my office in Longmire. I went up about two months ago with all the tools to fix it, but I was unable to make field repairs, so I dismantled it and brought it down the hill.

I have been able to connect to the on-board server, but the image doesn't come up in the admin tool. I will delegate this repair to one of the climbing rangers over the next few weeks. If we can't repair or make an easy adjustment, then we'll have to order a new one.

How did it get broken? Well, reports have come in from various places, but it appears that the webcam has been consistently been taking a good beating. Not by weather, but by people, well-meaning people, to be more exact. The webcam during storms gets rimed up and it obscures the view. It may stay like this for days. So when avid viewers are actually at Camp Muir and in a position to "fix" the rime on the camera, they either hit or scrape the rime off the camera.

The marks on the camera's protective dome seem to corroborate the circumstantial evidence and the hear-say. It definitely looks like dome has taken some pretty heavy blows with a sharp object.

It will still be a month or more until I can get it working again.

Sorry for the delay.

Greetings from... Georgia

After I left Anastasia State Park and my visit with Denise, I headed a little further north into Georgia. I'm not going to say just where since I'm still there and will be until January 2nd.

It hasn't been nearly as warm these past 10 days as I'd like (daytime highs in the upper 50s and lower 60s and nightime lows in the upper 30s and lower 40s) but there have been a few very nice, warm days! And I'm not complaining, really, just saying... Still beats the winter weather in the Hoosier State!

A visit to my niece to see my new great-grandnephew was a highlight as was spending Christmas Day with Carrie and her family (though Jasmine and Valen weren't there). I just wanted to reassure everyone that wondered where I spent Christmas, that I was not alone, I was with family! And I thank you for your concern...

This will be my longest stay in any one spot since I left home in September. It's a little strange not to be on the move yet, but I wanted to get “settled” in somewhere for the holidays. I looked into staying in Florida but many of the State Parks were booked up for both Christmas and New Years. I guess the “big thing” in Florida and Georgia (and probably other southern states) is to go camping on holidays. I rather expected it during the summer holidays, but not this time of year. Guess it makes sense though, about as much as anything does.

This may be my last post of .. so I'd like to wish all of my readers a Happy New Year! May the coming year be the best ever for you, may your brick walls tumble, and may you enjoy health, happiness, and prosperity.

With that I'll leave you with a final sunset photo – actually, it is what I call the “after glow” of sunset, because the sun had already fallen below the horizon when this was taken (and the sun was off to the left outside the view of the camera). I'll tell you where it was taken once I leave this place...

Burning Turns!

My buddy Kevin sent me this one today after I begged him for the pictures and called him nasty names for getting in some awesome turns without me.



This may be worse than missing a good day on the ice.



"Woke up at 3 am Friday morning to get up to heliotrope ridge trail head. We were the second car at the TH and followed a set of skin tracks up the mountain. Our original intention was to climb and ski the Coleman-Deming route on Baker. However upon reaching an area just before Colfax we

realized that our group progress was too slow - especially with breaking trail in all the new snow. Instead we ripped skins and enjoyed great turns down. We picked a point to drop off our glacier gear and ended up doing several laps on the face. Around 3pm we called it a day since one member of our group had to be back in Issaquah for work that night!"



Jealous? Ya, damn right I am jealous! But some nice turns in those TLTs Kevin :) Be sure to dbl click every photo for full effect.





Photos and trip reportcourtesy of Kevin Oberholser

Jealousy?...all mine!

They even had someone setting track for them. It is killing me!!

Snowpack Profile Update. Waffles!

Wow, big news here at the Old Station in Paradise. We now have a computerized weather display running 24hrs and Waffle Weekdays will be starting this week!

The computerized weather display is located inside the Old Station in the windows to the left of the inner door.

You read that right. If you can't get enough of the Mountain during the weekend and can make it up on Friday you can join the ranger(s) in the Old Station for hot drinks and waffles. Start your weekend early between 11 and 3 this Friday, February 10.

Please bring your own cup or mug, donations of hot drinks, waffle makings and fixings will be gratefully accepted (new and unopened) to keep Waffle Weekdays happening.

Now for why you really read this, the snow pack profile update. No failures were observed in either the compression test or extended column test. All layers were fairly dense and well settled.

An Author, A Project, and the Oscars

Last Friday night, Amy Stewart came to Book People, and four of the Austin Garden bloggers were there to greet her. I’m so glad that I went – her talk was great, Book People is a wonderful local bookstore, and it’s always fun to get together with friends.

Book People had copies of Amy’s new book Flower Confidential for sale as we walked in, so I bought mine then went upstairs, meeting MMS of Zanthan on the steps. We found seats and were soon joined by Pam/Digging and Julie of the Human Flower Project, and we had some time to chat and catch up before Amy arrived and we started waving at her. Amy was so much fun and so enthusiastic, in spite of her hectic schedule.

Amy brought in fresh flowers she’d found at a nearby Whole Foods. She used them to illustrate points in her presentation, giving us glimpses of what she’s written about in her book - plant breeding, the way flowers are bought and shipped, and how safety and ecological concerns are impacting the consumer decisions.
After the talk, she personally thanked us for coming out and then a swarm of people brought their books up for inscriptions, followed by clerks bearing stacks of books bought by people unable to attend, but who'd requested signatures.

We garden bloggers were in no hurry and waited until the line had gone down. With her tumbled curls and delicate skin, Amy looks so Elizabethan that she should have used a quill instead of a pen. She signed my copy and told me to take a flower home - I couldn’t resist one of the pale apricot tulips.

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Amy Stewart with the Austin Garden Bloggers.If you’ve been to Pam’s blog recently, you’ve already seen this group photo with Pam from Digging, MSS of Zanthan Gardens, Amy Stewart, ‘Annie in Austin’ and Julie from the Human Flower Project. Yes, we are now revealed, so if you’re in Austin and you recognize us – please say hello! [What are the odds this first happens at a nursery?]

Although I’ve only had time to read the first 30 pages of Flower Confidential, it’s fascinating so far, and I’m glad I bought it.

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There's a story about how the 'Stargazer' lily became such a big hit, partly for it's packable qualities. Just reading about oriental lilies was enough to send me to old photo albums, to find a picture of these beauties growing in my Illinois garden back in 1997. The one I loved most was not 'Stargazer', but 'Casablanca'.
But this was not a reading kind of weekend, with warm, dry temperatures and the garden calling. We’ve been constructing a new border, and had the preliminary work done. One Saturday Philo and I went to GardenVille, shoveled compost and decomposed granite into sacks and hauled the stuff home. We went to pick up some free rocks; we stopped at Pam’s house and swapped a few plants [the advantage was all on my side ~ thank you Pam!], and shopped at the Natural Gardener, finding shrubs for the new border, a palm for the patio, and some perennials. The wind was fierce on Saturday afternoon, and local fire departments struggled to put out fires that had started in fields and soon threatened homes. Sunday was a calmer day – and we made more progress on the border.

On Sunday night I watched the Academy Awards show, because it's still fun, even when you don't care much who wins. Of the movies nominated for direction, story, performances etc., we’d only seen Little Miss Sunshine, Babel, An Inconvenient Truth, The Devil Wears Prada, and The Illusionist. We’ll eventually catch up with many of the others, like The Queen, Children of Men and Little Children, but although I’m glad Scorcese got his Oscar, it’s doubtful that I’ll make an effort to see The Departed – my pick of Scorcese movies is Bringing Out the Dead. Among my favorites this year were the wonderful, imaginative Science of Sleep, the biting and relentless Thank You For Smoking, and the supposedly unfilmable Tristram Shandy, A Cock and Bull Story – with not a nomination among them. No wonder I have few movies to cheer for at award shows!

And at the risk of alienating those of you who love "American Idol", and even though I think Jennifer Hudson is darling, [and my cousin works with Jennifer Hudson’s sister so I'm just a few degrees of separation from this Oscar-winner], the current style of singing doesn't do much for me - listening to more than one song like those from Dreamgirls gives me a headache. Cranky old Annie prefers Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin as the singing Johnson Sisters in A Prairie Home Companion. That’s the movie that earned my money in .. – both at the box office and when I bought the DVD.

Spring on Hollow Rock Creek

I haven't been spending much time with the camera lately. I guess the main reason is because I spent so much time pursuing images during my month-long southwest trip that I sort of got tired of it for a little while. Plus, the weather lately has been kind of cold and wet, which is more conducive to sitting inside. Today I had to get out for a hike, so I decided to do some exploring on a section of Hollow Rock Creek that I had never been on before. I found some nice rapids and small waterfalls, and had fun creating exposures of the rushing water.



Some sections of the creek only had a few inches of water flowing over the rocks and some of those rocks had some interesting patterns and colored lines in them. Combined with a long exposure to smooth the water, the images that I ended up with were kind of interesting, too.



Spring is a great time to explore your local creeks and rivers. They possess a character in the spring that is unseen the rest of the year. Get out and explore while the water is high!

Holly sheet...are the retailers nuts?

I had an interesting conversation come up this week.



Most know I buy a lot of gear at retail. I also return a lot of gear to retailers with out a .oz or remorse.

Couldn't write the blog other wise.



I personally shop most everyone online and all the retail climbing stores in the Seattle area.



Economic times are a little tough for most. Myself and extended family no different from anyone out side Wall StreetI suspect. But we (climbers and skiers) all have a certain amount of disposable income. I have when unemployed and when working full time. Most do, if you climb. You make "gear"a priority. How much of a priority is up to you :) Rent or new double boots? Food or gas money?



So....I suspect you'll be as amazed as I was with this conversation.



After a few years off a friend wants to do the Cassin in good style spring of . It has been a while since he has been in the alpine. But he has always skied and climbed hard. Hard enough to have been on pro deals in the past. The Cassin is a great goal but shouldn't be out of his reach either. He no longer has to trade food for gas money financially. But he wants to get in a couple of good seasons in yet before kids are part of hisfuture responsibilities.



A quick look at his gear room, our conversations and worse yet, a look here at the blog and it is obvious some new gear will make things easier, safer and warmer for his climbs, this winter and eventually the Cassin.



My guy is a businessman. He knows numbers. So out comes his hit"list". The number when done is $5000 of new gear. Where to start the shopping? I send him to literally all of my normalsources with $5000 in hand and a list he wants filled. How hard can that be? I mention that with $5K...most retailers should be willing to cough up a fair discount. If it were me I'd want 20% off the top, no questions asked. And I'd want the EXACT color, size and item on my list. No chit chat, no BS, no hassles. I give you a $5K order. I pay $$4K for it plus shipping and taxes as required. That $5K will cost most retailersbetween $3000 and $2500 at a 40% or 50% margin depending on whetherit is hard goods or soft goods. This order is a combo..but mostly clothes which go at 50%.



Sure they will have shipping and time involved and if the items are not in stock they will have to order the gear. Which is more time involved. But then $1000 for a few hours work would seem to be a decent day's wage when the guy on the phones @ less than $20 per hr.After all my guy has the ability to go anywhere and buy the gear,hassle free, at retail.



You would think someone would take on a quick turnlike this one and it would be done same day.



The list has yet to be resolved but from first contact the buyer is so frustrated it seems he is willing to just pay retail from any business that won't bull shit him around.



Retail specialtystores...the ones still open...wonder why they are doing poorly? The online folks? It doesn't take much effort to have good customer service let alone great customer service. Seems a few of them will be out of business before they figure that one out.



I don't mind paying retail. But like most I prefer not to if there are other options available.Those that I do buy from better be damn nice to me and earn my money.But no question ifI were going to drop $4 or 5K at one location...they would be giving me a discount or I'd shop else where. Even if that means EBAY. Given enough time I could dig up everything on his list at 1/2 price, new with the hang tags intact. If you are a retailer and think other wise you are an idiot.



Can't wait to readand then publish the anonymousexcuses ;)

Photos... and the heat wave

We had some aviation training today and along the way, I was able to snap a few images.

Here is a north side picture of Liberty and Ptarmigan Ridges. It has been a really hot week on the mountain, and the snow is melting quite rapidly...

I'll post more photos later today (when I can get some time to process them.) Photo by Mike Gauthier

Water Falling

A beautiful, yet artificial, waterfall in Arizona.

Smokey Sun Photos

The photos were taken the other night when the Albuquerque, and Rio Rancho areas were filled with smoke from the Whitewater/Baldy fire in the Gila national forest which is a little over 300 miles from us. I would rather it hadn't come over us. but since it did I took some photos.

Handmade Soap

Life's on hold while I make soap!

Soapmaking by the cold process method involves patience. After the liquid soap is poured into the molds, it is insulated and left to harden for 24 hours. Then the soap is unmolded and air-hardened for one or two days before being cut into bars. After another few days the bars are trimmed. Then the bars "cure" for at least a month, to allow time for the excess water to evaporate.

Handmade soaps are perishable goods; they don't last forever. Soapmaking is a delicate balance of trying to meet demand with the freshest product possible. Make too little and customers have to wait. Make too much and you'll end up throwing it away.

I hate throwing soap away.

I also hate not having a particular soap in stock when someone wants it.



With my current equipment, I can make almost 400 bars of soap a day. But I prefer using only my newer molds (and saving my back), so normally I make about half that.

Our next craft show is Yellow Daisy, in September at Stone Mountain, Georgia. It's the best traditional craft show in the country. About 250,000 people will pass through the festival over the course of four days.