Great Grey Owl in the Meadow

Yesterday there was a Great Grey Owl hanging out in the meadow at Grand Portage National Monument for most of the day. I had been gone out of town for most of the day photographing other things and when I got home there were messages from Jessica waiting for me throughout the village. Luckily the first place I stopped was the post office where our local postmaster conveyed the message from Jessica about the owl. So, I headed over to where the bird had been seen and there he was, sitting on the ground out in the meadow. At first I thought he must have been hurt, because I was told that he had been sitting there all day long. Eventually, though, he did fly away and seemed to be perfectly fine. Seeing this owl was the highlight of my day for sure!

Pristine, Pink, Breathless

That's what it was like on the mountain this weekend. I made it to Camp Muir Saturday, my first opportunity in over two months. Finally, time to survey the camp and search for possible storm damage (and test the snow conditions on the Muir Snowfield).

Things looked normal for early December. There was access to the public shelter, but the toilets were drifted in with deep snow. As for obvious signs of rain and wind damage, it seems that only the NPS suffered. We lost two storage boxes. The weather telemetry equipment for the NWAC appears to be working. It's my hope that once the power resumes at Paradise, the weather data will come back up online.

I was a bit surprised that there wasn't more snow cover between 7-11k. Everything looked wind scoured, i.e, lots of exposed rocks along the eastern edge of the Muir Snowfield, Cowlitz Cleaver, Muir Rock, etc. As for the upper mountain, the Nisqually Glacier looked very, very good. And while we're talking, so did the Nisqually Cleaver and Gib Ledges. Plenty of snow and ice in those rocky steep sections

After surveying the camp, it was time to confirm the conditions on the Muir Snowfield. And it was just as I thought it would be: 4,500 feet of untracked packed powder, with a few rocky areas around McClure. As you can see, the mountain turned pink for our descent. Top photo by Ethan McKinley

JUST IN: The Camp Muir and Paradise weather telemetry data are back up. I hope they last! I know that they ran the generator at Paradise today.

The Sky is a Happening Place

The thing about the weather on the coast of Northern Ireland, is not that it's good, bad, cold or warm, but that it changes rapidly and constantly. "Four seasons in a day," they say here.




But it's more than about changes in temperature and precipitation. The real action is in the sky. There is drama there - a celestial theater that I could stand and watch for hours. The cloud formations, like temperamental actors rushing about the stage, appear to feed off of each other's emotions. Plots thicken. Characters develop. Tempers fly. Action builds up toward crescendos. The end of an act can be explosive, or anti-climactic. Curtains close, then open again for the next act.




Here one cloud approaches another, pressingly, entreatingly. The object of its attention demurs. Like characters in a Chekhov play, they engage in a moody, fateful struggle. Tragically but also coyly, they dance over the peak of the mountain - back and forth, back and forth, until finally they collide - turning into a different creature entirely and swooping down to swallow the mountain whole. A roar of applause.




In my winter clothes I stand on the beach of Castle Rock on a June afternoon and watch all this, my bike propped against the stone wall. There are only two colours: beige and blue. There are only two entities: sky and earth. And in the moment, this seems like all there is, or ever was, or ever will be. It is more than enough.

How much did it weigh, 1984?

In 1984 John Bouchard wrote of his and Titione's, six day, January ascent of the S. Face of Aconcagua with a total of.....".no more than 10# of clothing and 25# packs". The details are reprinted above.



I added up a similar and very specific list a few days ago.The price of this fullkit list today could easilymake a grown man weepto get it under 10#.



Total is 8.9#



* 2 pair of socks liner and a med weight

5.25 oz/ 150g



* boots/inner boots

2# 8 oz/ 1134g Scarpa Phantom 6000 with Baruntse liner



*Long john bottom

166g/ 5.8oz wool blend 166g /5.8oz



*Pants

602g/ 21oz bib in Polartec's Neoshell/ Power Shield Pro/ grid fleece interior



*t shirt

220g / 8oz Patagonia lwt fleece zip T



*shell

340g/ 12oz Westcomb Shift 12oz



(or combine the two with a Arcteryx Venta MX 22oz / 628g and save 1oz. )



*insulation/ wind shelllayer

RAB Xenon Hoody 311g / 11oz



*Belay jacket

Mtn H Nilas 631g/ 22.2oz



*gloves

Mtn Hydra 262g / 9.25oz



*hat

Arc. Rho beanie

36g / 1.25 oz



*helmet

Petzl Meteor

224/ 7.9oz



Lots of different combos available. This is the best I could do for the warmth involved and a systems approach. How does your gear's weight measure upto 1984 standards? And the more specificquestion I think, "how much better/warmer is it?"

Elena Atanasov for Red Phoenix Emporium

Climbers, I know you have been thinking "Where's the Red Phoenix Autumn/Winter collection for ?"

It's called the "Covet" collection and it's almost here.

The style team at jjobrienclimbing recently put the always fabulous, and very tall, Elena Atanasov under the lights to bring you the look.



















You'll remember Elena from the Red Phoenix collection launch at Stone and Metal last year.

There's Nate Foster, Kirsten and Jo Zhou too.












Elena modelled the luscious black sequin shift dress.













Pick from many colours of the shoulder dusting tassel earrings also in tiny cut glass beads and seed pearls.









This seasons statement necklaces are way awesome over sized slabs of crystal, rose quartz, delicate aquamarine, howlite and of cause more agate.






That's the "In the Navy" shift dress.





























The look came together with the "It's all geometric to me" shift dress, new season scarf, the most massive statement series necklace and cut glass tassel earrings.

I'm proud to say, all from Red Phoenix Emporium.







My personal fav "Covet Thy Necklace" includes aquamarine.








The statement piece "You're my desire"
































New season RPE scarves, silver sequin shift, new bracelet sets and the latest necklaces with detachable metallic finish leather tassel.







The "Never Enough Necklaces" necklace.

















The "Cross the Seven Seas" necklace.




























Red Phoenix style team.




Thanks Elena, you make the whole collection shine. Follow Elena on instagram@lenaatanasov
















A small fortune has been invested in the new website which goes live in June.

New iPad and iPhone compatible versions included.

Summer Afternoon on Wauswaugoning Bay

On several recent afternoons we have been experiencing late summer rain squalls that are very intense but short-lived. They often only last a few minutes then the sky clears and the sun comes back out from behind the clouds. These photoswere taken last week during our outing on Lake Superior where we dodged several of these rain squalls. When these photos weremade a squall had just passed over Wauswaugoning Bay to the west of us. We could see the rain falling in sheets over the bay and over Mt. Josephine, but we remained dry from our vantage point. As the clouds broke up after the rain had passed the conditions were so beautiful I just HAD to photograph the scene (imagine that!).

Cottonwood Tree

This is the biggest cottonwood tree that survived the fire in this little area. Paseo del Norte highway is to the left of it. The pathway runs to the right of it. You can see the dead cottonwood trunk that has the sandhill crane on top of it. The Rio Grande River is farther on beyond the tree and park.

Velo Vision

About a year ago, I started to notice that I couldn't see things in the distance as well as I used to. I could read and see up close just the same as before, but things far away were losing their clarity. I noticed this most of all while cycling.The landscape was not as sharp as it once was, far-away roadsigns were more difficult to read, faces of people riding toward me were harder to recognise. As someone who's always had perfect eyesight, I had no prior experience with vision loss and it took me a while to acknowledge what was happening. But finally I went to have an eye exam and the loss of "perfect" status in the eyesight department was confirmed. I was given a prescription for glasses that the doctor said I would need mostly "for driving."






I expected shopping for glasses to be a nightmare, for the same reason finding a decent pair of cycling sunglasses had been a nightmare. But I underestimated modern technology and our neightbourhood's offering of optical shops.Picking up friends' glasses in the past, I remember them being heavy. But apparently eyeglasses today can be made extremely lightweight - with high-tech plastic and titanium frames. There is also enormous variety in shapes and sizes. I had no problem finding some that fit my face and weighed next to nothing.






With cycling in mind, I got a pair with plastic frames and photochromic lenses. They cover a good part of my face, and the lenses turn dark in the sun, but clear at night. I have already worn them on a couple of rides and the fit is very comfortable.But wearing corrective lenses will take some getting used to!Everything in the distance now looks unnaturally sharp, or hyper-3-D. My feel for how close or far away objects are is a little disturbed by this, but I am assuming my brain will adjust eventually.






Another thing that's happening, is that whilethe glasses correct my far-away vision, they do so at the expense of making things blurry up close. On the bike, this means that I can't really see anything that's directly in front of me or at handlebar level (i.e. the cycling computer on my roadbike) unless I take them off or look underneath the lenses. I am still working out how to adapt to this. Meanwhile, it's a relief to see clearly at a distance again.

Happy Birthday, Brother

My Brother, Jack Lynn Wiseman, was born on this date in 1949. In the picture below, I was 17 months old, Doug was 28 months old, and Jack was about 3 weeks old. He probably won't see this, but I was thinking about him. . .

Manic!

photo stolen directly off Andy's web site :) More here on what the gear was for:

http://slcsherpa.blogspot.com//12/light-and-fast-ski-mountaineering-part_12.html


I've been rather manic the last week or so. Not able to get out. But knowing there is an end to that nonsense. I start devouring the Internet chatter and searching things that interests me at the moment. Thatwill be ice soon enough. At the moment it is skiing. Primarily trying to get the gear I want for this winter before it is sold out and unobtainable for another season. 2 pair of skis and 2 pair of binding to go yet.



Although 2 years old now, this a good piece I found and read while dicking around in my manic phase today. In this game everyone seems tohave an AHA MOMENT.



Mine was theski from the top of the Grand Montets tele over to the base of les Droites North face2 months after Andy wrote this. Took me another couple of months to wrap my head around $1000 ski boots. But I have not looked back. More like damn the torpedos and full speed ahead! And you thought race bike andcar parts were expensive?



"Everyone does it. Bloggers, or as I prefer,
those that keep "online journals", always seem to give unsolicited advice about
how to go faster, be more efficient, or do things better. After a 3 hour
aggressive conversation with a couple friends about training methods yesterday,
I decided to put down my thoughts in a multi part series on everything from
training, gear, clothing, partners, etc."



"They showed up on skinny skis and funny boots (F1s and early model Dynafit race
boots). From the gun, I had trouble keeping up - even on the flats. By the
time I landed on Box Elder's panoramic summit, Sam had been waiting for days and
the other guys were half way up the Pfeiff. I was utterly blown."



More here:



http://slcsherpa.blogspot.com//12/light-and-fast-ski-mountaineering-part.html





http://slcsherpa.blogspot.com//12/light-and-fast-ski-mountaineering-part_12.html

Gretton - Kirby Hall

14 of us for this short walk before our annual pre-Christmas get together at Mel and Norma's.

Weather - icy underfoot, which was better across fields than mud. The rain began to persist later in the walk. About five and a half miles.



From the village hall, down the track towards Kirby Hall, then just after the junction, follow footpath signs over a few fields, coming out near the recycling plant on Gretton (Brook) Road. Turn left and follow the road past the turning to Kirby Hall. Go as far as the deer-proof gate. Turn right along the footpath. We followed this for about half a mile, then turned right to visit the new bridge to Priors Hall, for a photo opp, and a snack break.


















From here we retraced our footsteps and continued to Kirby Lane, then along the drive to Kirby Hall, and up the slope behind the gift shop, through the magnificent new gate, which has replaced the very dodgy broken stile.

Across the fields, and down to the four-stile crossing with mud, and up to the metalled track leading back to Gretton.