Such a Sad Sight

Mother Nature dumped about four inches of snow overnight in Northern Indiana. The wind has done more damage to the daffodils than the snow though. They had just started to bloom yesterday. They'll survive, just a little worse for the wear… and maybe not quite as pretty as they would have been.

Cow Skull & Ojo de Dios

This cow skull was my moms and now hangs on my back porch. The Ojo de Dios, or Eye of God, was my grandmothers, and my parents got it when she was gone. The Ojo de Dios are wonderful craft projects made out of 4 sticks or dowl rods with yarn wrapped around the sticks to make designs. This is one of the best I have ever seen and was made by a man grandma knew in Arizona, I think. But the colors were never what I liked. I am not a fan of the color orange. So it, too, hangs on the porch where it looks nice.

Chillaxin' at Meadow Run

Laura and I decided to have an easy day. So we spent the morning climbing a few lines at Lower Meadow Run in Ohiopyle State Park. We warmed up with alap on the Main Flow in verygood conditions. If you look back to my post fromJan 29th and compare thephotos, its pretty impressive how much ice built in just afew days.

























After our warm up, Laura wanted to try out her new picks on a mixed line. She topped out on the Main Flow andwent over and rigged a TRSeason Finale.She took her turn and made it up to her usual high point and came off. Not bad for her first go.























ROUTE NOTE: Although this line has beentop roped for years it has yet to see alead ascent.I've wanted to give this thing a whirl for quite a while, but thethuggish nature, poorrock quality and my inability to sack up has kept it as a someday kinda thing. Well I decided its time to put it to rest. So this time I decided to take gear with me and see if I could findreasonable gear to protect the route. Well I successfully climbed it and placed the gear on TR. I found 2 placements and 1 stubbie in 35'. Goes like this, first is the screw at the ice bulge (not necessary, but there),next isa #5 BD micro at 15'.Pump through the next 12' of crux to a good hook and a get the #.75 camalot. Finishatanchors.Falling while clipping the cam would most likely result in a grounder.Gonna take some EXTRA spinach to pull this one off.Laura went again pullingthe gear as she went up. She did way better this go. She made it up to the cam without falling. If she didn't have to stop to fuss with gear, I think she might've had it with no falls.I'manxious toto head back and give it a true attempt on lead.SEND or SPLAT! Either way the photos should be good! Since it was a mellow day for us, most of the photos are typical ass shots (we all knowhow much everyone loves those).I've tried to include afewof the moreinteresting!

Enjoying the blue hour at Bandon Beach

A shot of Jessica and I from our November trip out west. We had spent the day sightseeing and been in and out of rain all day long. As we drew near Bandon Beach just before sunset the clouds started to clear and it looked like sunset was going to be nice. And indeed it was! The sky lit up with glorious colors as the sun dipped below the horizon. We had a blast watching the changing sky and finding star fish and other sea life clinging to the sea stacks. After the sunset color faded from the sky we headed further down the beach to get closer to some of the sea stacks. From a distance they don't look very big but when you get close, WOW are they huge! I just had to get a shot of us posed in between these towering formations. It was a great end to a fun-filled day!

Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch

We arrived at the Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch trailhead mid-morning, which is an ideal time to start out for a slot canyon hike. Many (but not all) slot canyons are ideal to hike mid-day. Since very little light penetrates down into the canyons, mid-day when the sun is high can often be a good time to visit them. When we arrived at the trailhead we were a little disappointed to already see about a dozen vehicles parked there. Thankfully, though, this hike has 3 different canyons so people really get spread out and we only saw a few people along the hike.







































The 3 canyons along this hike are Spooky, Peekaboo and Dry Fork of Coyote Gulch. We hiked Spooky and Dry Fork, but opted out of Peekaboo because you literally had to climb a small cliff to get into Peekaboo and neither one of us wanted to do that. We had a blast in the other two canyons and felt like we didn't miss out on anything by not doing Peekaboo. The photo you see here was taken in Dry Fork, which was a super easy walk once we were in the canyon. The canyon bottom started out very wide and totally flat, and was sort of a gravel surface rather than sand so it was more of a stroll than a hike. After a while, though, the canyon did start to narrow and the bottom did get rougher with some rocks and small boulders that we had to step over. It was never very difficult, though. You can walk a long ways up Dry Fork, at least a mile (and probably more) but we decided to turn around after a while. We also hiked up Spooky Canyon, which was a fascinating canyon but got VERY narrow. So narrow, in fact, that I could only hike up about half of it because I couldn't fit through once it narrowed! Jessica was able to go further, so she checked out more of it.






















































Jessica and I posing for a shot in Spooky Canyon :-)

Stormy

On Saturday it was nice for around here so I took the ponies over to the big pen and let them play followed by a good brushing. Here is Stormy playing and standing to be brushed.

Trave and Stormy

After Bonita had her fill of running for fun (see previous blog) I let the ponies out into the big pen to play. They ran and ran and then took a good roll. some of the photos are blurry as the camera couldn't focus on them fast enough.

Control

Tuffee is determained to keep control of that darned water hose. As you might have guessed we frequently have tooth holes in the hose.

Happy Ground Hog day! Kinzua klimbing and A day at the Cliffs

Wow... Its looking miserable outside today. Yesterday we had temps in the mid 30's and rain. The forcast was calling for a couple mild days this week. Well mild was an understatement for the start of today. I went out on the deck and it felt like spring. Sunny and 45°. The Weather channel is saying the temps are going to fall into the mid 20's and that it'll be snowing by this afternoon. I sure hope they're right. The last 48hrs most likely put a hurting on the mixed lines I've been working on as well as the ice routes I've been patiently waiting to see come into shape. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'll try to head out tomorrow to scope the damages. I'm sure a fresh coating of snow will make things feels wintry again. If winter comes to a screeching halt we can all blame that HOG up in Punxy for not seeing his shadow. Well enough about the weather. On to our recent climbing adventures.

The dam located directly across from the climbing

Friday Jan. 28thLaura and I decided to take a short road trip up to Kinzua to climb. The climbing there is mostly casual with WI3 being the common grade. Usually its a great place for beginning leaders to cut their teeth on the sharp end. It was the location of my first ice climbing experience about 14 years ago. I've been at it ever since that first outing. In that respect Kinzua will always be a memorable place for me to visit. Laura had never been there, so we loaded up the climbingmobile and set off at 6:00am friday for the 3.5hr drive north. The drive went smooth considering the snow storm we drove in most of the way. Upon arrival, I was slightly disappointed to see the ice much thinner than what I had climbed in years past. I havn't been there in quite a few years, but every other tip I've made to Kinzua has provided FAT,blue flows. It was a real bummer since the trip was mostly for Laura to get in a bunch of time leading. Instead we pondered over which line was filled in most of the way. I could see rock through the clear ice as well as hear large amounts of running water. Seeing the ice in this current state, I decided to take the lead and check things out before Laura went up. I climbed the line directly across from the Entrance to the first parking lot. Its generally a low angle steeped WI3 with great protection. It took some searching to get in a few 13cm screws that were actually going to do something. As I climbed I could look down into the large holes and see the rock and water underneath. I reached to top and setup the belay to bring Laura up to the trees. She climbed up using her new BD Fusion ice tools. It wasn't much of a route to put them to use on, but she seemed to like them. I brought along some 8mm cord and rap rings to contribute to the local climbing community based on a post on NEice.com about the anchors being ratty and in need of replacement. I set up a station on a large tree up and left of the top out. Heres a photo of the new station and the climb.

Our first climb. Unusually thin compared to what I've typically seen here

Laura coming up the first climb we did

Laura seconding with trucks rumbling below.

Notice our car in the lot? Worlds easiest approach!

Our second climb was to the right of the first one. It was in the little alcove. It went up the low angle start and up to a short pillar. The ice on this route was better up on the pillar, but the bottom was still somewhat hollow and not well formed. I took the line over right above the exposed rock section and belayed/rapped from there.

Laura tooling on the second climb we did.

(The steepest we could find)

Coming up onto the belay of the 2nd climb

Well it only took two climbs and we decided to head back home to better conditions. We'll have to make another trip someday when things are more "in". All in all it was a nice quick revisit the moderates of Kinzua. will I do it again this season? Most likely not with the way conditions have been at home. There's always next season!





Sunday Jan. 30th. Laura was out for the day and I made plans with Dr. Bob to climb at the cliffs. Joel and Matt were already in town and were staying in Ohiopyle. They climbed Saturday at Upper Meadow where I guess quite a display of climbing went on. I wasn't there, but it sounded good. Anyhow... Sunday morning came and I drove to the parking area of the cliffs. It was snowed in and I did some shoveling to make parking better for those involved in the days antics. I was getting ready to hike in when Dr. Bob showed up. We split the ropes and made our way in. Dr. Bob is one of my oldest ice climbing friends. Due to life, etc. I haven't had the opportunity to spend much time on the rope with him recently as I have in the past. Bob and I decided to warm up on Called on Account of Security WI4. It was in great shape. A little new snow and some onion skin made climbing a little more interesting, but all in all it was in the best conditions I've ever seen. I led the pitch and belayed Bob from the top to shoot some pics on my new camera. Here are a few of the shots.

Dr Bob coming up Called on Account of Security WI4

Dr Bob doing work!

For our second route we decided to climb G-Gully WI4+/5- It was one of the driest routes we saw. The climb went well. It was much better than last season when we did the FFA. Bob commented many times how he enjoyed the 3D climbing that the route offered. Here's a few shots of Bob cleaning.

Bob cleaning G-Gully WI4+

Joel and Matt showed up a little later than expected. They had spend the evening before getting familiarized with life in Ohiopyle. Here's a photo of Joel upon arrival at the cliffs. Needless to say there's not much to report on their activities of the day. Matt was the lone climber taking a lap on G-Gully before hiking out.

Feeling a little fuzzy Joel?

Overall there was a lot of running water and things were building fast. The Beast WI5+ was in the process of making a rare appearance. Albeit with massive amounts of water flowing down it. I hope the weather didn't take too much of a toll on it.

The Beast about touching down for the 2nd year in a row!

On the last day of season (last year), Laura and I went on an early morning mission to climb it before the day warmed to well above freezing, but were turned back by the stupidity of forgetting our ropes. It WAS just about ready for the 2nd time in 5 or 6 years... Until today's rain. With any luck the it will be climbable and I'll finally get to climb it. If not there's still lots of mixed climbs out there begging to be climbed. We'll see what the weekend holds.

Overall conditions photo from Sunday

Hubbys Turn

Sonny was better for Lee than he was for me.

Up Close

You can see the white truck and trailer which gives a good idea just how big hot air balloons are. Balloon crews use a pickup or SUV with a trailer to haul their balloon and gandola around. Once the balloon is up and away the truck tries to follow the balloon from the ground. Of couse they use cell phones and 2 way radios to help keep track of the balloon. Some balloon owners bring their own chase crew, as the people who follow the balloon are called but some don't and the Balloon Fiesta is always in need of people to work on the chase crews.

The 2 Hour Commute

For the past week I have been spending every day at Mike Flanigan's workshop in semi-rural Holliston, MA. The place is 25 miles from my house and I decided to experiment with getting there by bike. This took about 2 hours, which is a pretty long commute. I then tried using other modes of transportation. To my surprise, the trip ended up being the same in duration. Here is a comparison:




Somerville-Holliston, via Roadbike (a loaded Rawland):

I left the house at 6:30am. The route I planned was a direct one, which I figured would be low traffic this early in the morning. And it was, for the first, suburban leg of the trip. After that I expected the road to get even nicer, as it grew more rural. What I did not count on, was that it would also become narrower and busier. Riding through Wellesley, Natick and Sherborn via Rt 16 in the morning was terrifying; I would not recommend it. The winding road is one lane in each direction with no shoulder. Lots of trucks drive at high speeds. I tried to stay calm, kept my line, and hoped for the best - but I would not repeat this trip intentionally. There are alternative routes that are longer and hillier, but safer. Once I entered Holliston, things improved and the last mile of the trip was pretty nice. I arrived 2 hours after I left the house, including a coffee stop along the way.






Somerville-Holliston, via Brompton + Train:

I left the house at 6:30am and cycled to the closest T-Station. From there I took the subway to South Station in Boston and the commuter rail to Framingham. The commuter train takes about 40 minutes. There is WiFi, and I used it to check my email. I disembarked in Framingham, and from there it was another 6 miles to my destination. I cycled on the main road again, simply because I had no time for a more circuitous route. This road actually wasn't too bad, save for one chaotic stripmall-esque intersection, which I walked across. There are a couple of climbs on the way, but they felt fine in my bike's lowest gear. I arrived at Mike's shop 2 hours after I left the house.






Somerville-Holliston, via Train + Car:

When a snowstorm descended upon us, Mike suggested I take the train without my bike, and he would pick me up at the station in his van. Weakened from all the sawing and filing I'd been doing, I wimped out and did just that. I left the house at 6:30am and walked to the T station, then took the subway and commuter rail to Framingham. The train was late and slower than usual, as tends to happen in bad weather. When I arrived, Mike picked me up in his warm and cozy van. There was some commuter traffic on the drive from the station to his workshop. We arrived over 2 hours after I left the house.Later, I spoke to an acquaintance who commutes from Holliston to Somerville by car. In theory, the drive should take about an hour. But in practice, the traffic in the morning and evening is so bad that it takes at least an hour and a half each way, sometimes longer.






If I had to deal with this commute on a regular basis, I think my preferred mode of transport would be train + Brompton. This would allow me to remain self-reliant, to carry a huge amount of stuff in my front bag, and to get some work done on the train while still squeezing in 12 miles of riding in the course of the day. Every so often it would also be nice to do the roadbike trip, but it would mean setting off even earlier in order to do the longer, safer route. Driving for 1.5+ hours in a car each way would be my least preferred method, but might nonetheless be necessary in winter: I am not tough enough to cycle on those hilly, narrow rural roads in snow and ice, especially in the dark.




A 25 mile commute is not abnormal in North America; in fact it is probably fairly typical. It's hard to believe that 7 years ago I was doing it myself, spending hours a day in my car.Doing it by bike would have been unimaginable back then, an absurdity. Now? Well, to tell the truth, it did not feel normal commuting for that long on a bike. But neither did it feel normal any other way. It's just too long of a ride/drive to be doing twice a day, every day, out of necessity, in all weather conditions. That's my take on the 2 hour commute. I am grateful to not have one these days.

Drugs in sport?

OK, no question I am sensitive to this subject. The recent cancer and more major rehab efforts in the not so distant past than I care to remember high light that sensitivity. But with what I realized just recently was over 40 years in endurance sports let me offer a few comments and more opinion yet..



I first noticed "enhanced athletes" when one of my climbing partners was light years beyond any of his peers in strength. He also had a health club membership that cost more than my monthly apartment rent while we were in our mid 20s. His personal coaching staff and trainer costs were way beyond the club's membership dues. Younger than me by a few years he had already successfully competed internationally in two different sports. He was gifted, talented, strong. and well supported financially. It was years later before I put two and two together and came up ( in my opinion) with the idea of his obvious use of performance enhancing drugs.



The same guy worked hard and was obviously talented as well. I've know a number of world class athletes over the years. But it was obvious even then what he was getting from his work outs was not what we were getting from ours.



Still it is only my opinion that my friend was using "dope" to enhance his own climbing. After all, how many enhance their own climbing by a little "weed" these days? Last trip to Index made it obvious many do. Red Bull, a triple expresso, Gu? Where does it start or end?



Herman Buhl used Dexedrine on Nanga Parbat. These days we haveliving at altitude to increase red blood cells or buying a bed chamber to simulate sleeping at altitude to increase red blood cells or blood doping to inject your own red blood cells. Diamox? Better yet Oxygen?



How many will take advantage of the IV option in the Grand Columbian Ironman distance race in September?



"For all Iron and Super distances (Aquathlon included) athletes may optionally purchase an 1000 ml IV during registration for $35 that guarantees them accelerated post race hydration and accelerated recovery. The purchase will assure you a no hassle IV that will set you on course for a quick recovery. We will have medical staff waiting at the finish line to administer them."



http://trifreaks.com/grand-columbian-super-tri/



I know from experience how long it took me to fully recover physically from a sub 12 hr long tri course event. No question an IV would have helped that recovery. I used two "force feed" 1000m IVs after a nasty bit of food poisoning when I was still required to perform, for "better or worse". But how can you not consider that doping? The same (IV) is a common occurrence in the pro peloton btw and totally legal. And how do you decide when to do an IV and what to add to them. It is so easy to add something to an IV. I literally lived off nothing but IVs for 5 months last winter so I know some of what is possible once you start sticking needles in your body. Yes, that was just an IV, no food or water via the mouth for months. It isn't just a slippery slope but a quick road to hell if you view doping as "hell".



I have friends in the military who have commented about the use of "juice" used from Viet Nam to Iraq and Iran. And none of them were pilots.



http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0809/p01s04-usmi.html



For any climb going past a 24hr c2c effort there are a lot of ways to chemically enhance your physical abilities if you are willing. Funny though as my only recovery for any climb has always been a hot shower, a good meal and some decent sleep. Even the massages I have always saved for after a hard bike or exceptionally hard run. Just never had the money for a massage when I was climbing hard.



Take a look around any big city triathlon or the local road races (bike or running). Sorry but IMO 60 year old men just don't finish in the top 10 or even top 20 of a 500 person race without being a past professional or a damn good collegiate athlete in their 20s. Even then top 10? Not on their own is my bet. The availability of drugs for thegeriatriccrowd these days is simply amazing and more common than you might think.



"Through the intelligent application of today’s performance enhancing drugs, we
no longer have to succumb to the natural stages of life. So long as that man is
willing to do his part by putting the required effort into his training &
nutrition, he will be able to stave off and even reverse the aging process on
both the inside and the outside."



http://www.ironmagazine.com//performance-enhancing-drugs-the-middle-aged-man/



http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/the-age-of-enhancement/



But then may be I am full of shit and no one really has any idea what the human body is capable of yet.

May be the world really wasn't flat after all. Imagine the possibilities.



http://www.runningandrambling.com//09/fast-old-guys-rule.html





Just food for thought.


Next? Back to the regular program of climbing and awesome gear.