Liberty Ridge - Spring Ascent

A team of 3 Midwest climbers set their sites on Liberty Ridge last week... and for the second reported time in 2006, climbers made it again to the summit of Rainier. Erik Beeler, Neal Mueller and Isaac Will pushed through deep snow, high winds, whiteouts, steep ice, 5th class rock and even a moonlit night so that they could top out of Mount Rainier's classic of line.

The wintry conditions took more out of the team than expected. In particular, areas of really deep snow became troubling and time consuming. They had intended to spend three nights on route, but needed FIVE and were forced to bivy near 13,000 feet.

In this close up image of the upper route, green dots represent the high camps and bivies and the blue sections represent areas of difficulty or belays. It's interesting to note that the team took the far right variation out of Thumb Rock.

Neal made it clear that "some deep snow" was not going to thwart their summit efforts. A mix of Midwest pride and fortitude pushed the men through the exhausting conditions. And yes, they did wonder about avalanches...

They started late the 1st day and spent the night along the trail in the snow. The 2nd night found them near the access to the Carbon, 7,200 feet. It was up to Thumb Rock for the 3rd and 4th night. Isaac stated that the extra night was needed because,

"As soon as we started to set up camp, my body started to let me know exactly what I had done to it... I threw up before I got in the tent, and... three more times before I could get some Power Gels and water to stay down. I didn't have a headache and I was not concerned it was AMS. The weather was not perfect and when we woke up at 0500. I said I could use another day to recover. They all agreed a rest day was in order so we stayed in the tent all day long."

After a recovery, the team climbed a major porition of the upper route. The 5th night was pitched at a bivy site above 13,000 feet. At that camp, Issac described setting anchors into the rock for fear of either being blown or avalanched off the mountain. Thankfully, neither happened.

They belayed two pitches of alpine ice (one was described as 15 fee of WI 4) to reach Liberty Cap. After finding a few crevasses the hard way between Liberty Cap and the summit, the team cautiously descended to Camp Schurman. They spent a final night in the hut, but only after digging it out. Somehow, the door had blown open during the winter and for the most part, the hut was filed with snow...

The team intends to post a trip report on summitpost and cascadeclimbers. You can also find information on Neal Mueller's website.

Successfully climbing Liberty Ridge is quite an achievement this time of year, congratulations and thanks for your help digging out the Camp Schurman hut! Also, thanks to Pandora for sharing her image here.

Impossible Drop; Surviving a 3,000 foot fall after an avalanche, Gabe Coler

I met Gabe's parent's last weekend in Minneapolis. At the time of the climbing accident on Mount Deltaform, they were in Poland. Through a number of bureaucratic nightmares, Gabe’s parents did not get a chance to see their son for 10 days!

The information about Gabe was positive considering the fact that he was carried over 3,000 feet in an avalanche down the side of a major Canadian mountain! After the slide, Gabe fortuitously was not buried, but did end up spending three days and nights alone (at times in sub-freezing weather) on top of the debris.

Gabe is on the recovery schedule, but it’s going to be tough. He lost a fair amount of weight and was severely injured. Gabe fractured his right femur and tore numerous ligaments and tendons in his left knee. The femur fracture will mend, but the torn muscles, ligaments, tendons AND bone will be much more problematic. Included in the injury was a partially collapsed lung. As his father best said,

“All of this [however] seems so trivial compared to the wound he sustained from
losing his best friend, Charlie. I am far less certain of that injury ever
healing.”

Gabe was medi-evacuated to Eugene Oregon for extended treatment. If you’d like to send Gabe your thoughts, his address is:

St. Charles Medical Center
2500 NE Neff Road
Bend, OR 97701
Room 333

I’d like to acknowledge and thank the Canadian Park Wardens, medics, doctors, nurses and other caregivers that have responded to this incident and cared for Gabe and Charlie. This image is courtesy Parks Canada, Brad White.

Easton Maudit - Yardley Hastings - Easton Maudit

9 miles. Led by Barry. With Maureen and Eddie. Fine, but a chill wind. Some muddy fields.





First call was Easton Maudit church, and a wander round the graveyard, where Derek Nimmo is buried.

Then back to don boots and off along the path past this house

where the thatch is supported by some fine rustic poles - or trees. I like the orange tiles, as well!

We walked across the fields and gently uphill towards Horn Wood. In the wood we turned slightly right, and followed the path through a line of electricity pylons. Soon after these we turned left with the path, through some more woodland, until we reached the A428, which we crossed.

We followed the well-marked path (Milton Keynes Boundary Walk) south, then west until we reached the B5388 (Olney - Yardley Hastings. Here we turned right and walked along the road for about half a mile, past Pastures Farm.

The hollow in this tree looked like an ideal place for someone half our size.

Right, everyone, snack-break over!

When we reached a track to the left we climbed one of the few stiles and walked across a field - a notice warned us of low-flying model aircraft, but there were none around today.

We passed another Pastures Farm over to the right, and the path led us towards Yardley Hastings.

The first structure we saw was this one. I've discovered that it's a flood storage reservoir - quite empty at the moment.

There is a stream of sorts in the village, with bridges over it to lots of the houses. The village is very attractive, with its millenium village sign, list of residents in 2000, and human sundial.

















































There's a village shop, getting into seasonal mode

We walked through the village, past the church (St Andrews) .

The path we took goes to the right, just before a bridge at the end of the village, and continues to the right of the stream - in a deep ditch - for some distance.

When this path meets another one, you turn right (east) and go uphill gradually, crossing a minor road, and arrive back in Easton Maudit.

Bike Fit, How Does It Work?

Preparing my roadbike for the first skinny tire ride of Spring, I realised it's now been over a year since I've had it. And, looking at the somewhat unsightly spacer poking out above the stem I realised something else: My road position hasn't changed over that time. That bit of steerer was left uncut in case the handlebars turned out to be too low for comfort, which did not happen. The spacer below the stem has remained in place as well. Considering that prior to a year ago my position was in constant flux, it's nice to finally feel settled in.



Alas, this has not given me any great insights into the topic of bike fit.I have seen huge variations in the positions of people I ride with, each of them apparently suiting the rider just fine.I have also been exposed to a number of fit philosophies - each yielding a different conclusion about the size and setup of the bike I ought to be riding.Seasoned cyclists often advise new riders to "have an expert fitting." But depending on which philosophy the fitter subscribes to, results will vary.



Since my bike is a Seven and Seven Cycles are known for their fit methodology, I am occasionally asked to describe the fit process I went through. While I don't think my experience was typical, this seems like a good occasion to share it, so here goes:



When I first tried a Seven demo bike two summers ago, they set it up to match the position of my own bicycle. At the time, I was riding a bike with a long top tube, short stem, handlebars slightly above saddle height, and saddle pushed back to slacken an already relaxed seat tube even further. Setting up the demo bike to match mine was contrary to what I had expected going into the test ride. But Seven's Rob Vandermark suggested I start from a point of familiarity. Set up in this manner, the Seven felt good, and with the fit already familiar I could focus on its ride quality and speed. But this was a long term demo, and when I began taking part in fast group rides that summer I found myself squirming around: bending my elbows dramatically and scooting forward in the saddle. When I communicated this to Rob, he suggested some small changes, including moving the saddle forward and lowering the bars. When this adjustment was made, it felt like a step in the right direction. Eventually I was riding the bike with a straight seatpost and the handlebars placed as low as the frame would allow. It still wasn't quite right, as the frame was simply too large. But it felt better than my previous position.



Later that Fall, I built up a small vintage racing frame with modern components, based on the ideas of fit I picked up from the summer's experience. This bike had a short top tube and long stem, and handlebars just below saddle height. Though I sensedit could still use some tweaking, overallI wasnowvery pleased with my position. When I decided to buy a Seven for the coming spring, I came in with this bike and was measured again, as well as observed and asked questions while I rode on a trainer. The kind of things that were examined and discussed were: my cadence, where I keep my hands on the bars, how much time I spend out of the saddle, my back and shoulder position, the position of my feet on the pedals,and lots of other little things that I no doubt missed. Moreover, this was also the time I became involved with the Ride Studio Cafe cycling club (a Seven Cycles dealer) - taking part in their group rides and loitering in the shop. So my formal fit experience was no doubt supplemented by their getting to know me and my riding style.There is talk of a famous 50 page questionnaire that Seven customers fill out, but I have never seen such a document; I assume it was filled out on my behalf during and after the fitting session. I did sign off on a build form in the end, and hoped for the best.



When I got the new bike, it fit differently than anything I had ridden previously, but I was left with no doubt it was the "right" fit for me. There was a sense of everything falling into place. My hands knew where the hoods were and plopped right down; my legs felt integrated with the cranks and pedals. I didn't question any aspect of the positioning. Any other roadbike I've ridden since, I try to adjust to the same specs. Depending on a bike's size and geometry, it doesn't always work - but the closer I can get it, the better it feels to ride.



And by better, I don't mean abstract notions of "position X will make me faster/ more comfortable than position Y." Neither do I have a template in mind of what constitutes proper road fit or of what looks correct. Rather, I mean physically better - proven through personal experience to feel both more comfortable, more efficient and less fatiguing. I notice, for instance, that contrary to one popular narrative, my back hurtslesswith the handlebars set a bit lower. And contrary to another, my legs feel better with the saddle at a steeper, rather than a slacker angle over the bottom bracket. I don't presume that the same holds true for every rider and for every style of riding, but I can't ignore evidence of what works for me.No doubt in the future, my position on the bike will continue to evolve. At what point and in which direction I don't know yet. But for now it might be safe to cut down the extra bit of steerer - affectionately referred to as the "sternum puncher" by some of my riding friends.



Funny thing: I know about half a dozen female roadcyclists who are almost identical to me in size and who all do similar types of riding. When we try each other's bikes, hilarity ensues: The fit is all wrong. Yet we each find our own positions comfortable. And all of us have had expert fittings.



As these things go, I sometimes get bike fit advice from strangers when I am out and about. It is split pretty much evenly between (a)"Your setup is way too aggressive," (b)"Your setup is not aggressive enough," and (c)"That bike is set up just right!" I have a feeling that no matter what my bike looked like, this distribution would remain about the same.

Hodge Podge

Pink Peony.



Yellow ?



Mauve Rose.



Petunias.



Temple Square Gardens – Tuesday, June 7th

Ice Details

My focus for the past week has been to try and find interesting ice patterns. I believe I have found several that easily fit that criteria, the ones shown here are my favorites from the week. The first one (shown above) is a macro shot of frost on the sheet metal of my truck. This is a very close-up shot that only shows an area about 3x3 inches.



Above: One of my favorite types of ice is shown above, when ice completely coats vegetation along the Lake Superior shoreline. It never ceases to amaze me how things can freeze in such a way, as to have one blade of grass completely encased in ice, like that shown here.



Another fascinating type of ice is when puddles freeze in such a particular way as to have all these patterns within the ice. While walking along the Lake Superior shoreline I found several such puddles. Each one had such unique patterns it was mesmerizing and I had to stop and stare for a while at each one that I came across.

Aspen Meadows

New Paint

The paint on the siding on the house had been sand blasted until it was back to the orginal gray color so we painted it.

Death Valley :: Wiley Coyote

On the day that I drove down Badwater Road to the Devil's Golf Course and Badwater, I continued a bit further on for another 20 miles or so. I saw something crossing the road in the distance. Slowing down as I got closer, I saw that it was a coyote. It stood along the side of the road as I pulled over and stopped, trying to get the passenger side window down and grabbing my camera at the same time.

It was very close, within two or three feet of the side of the car. I took several quick shots thinking it would soon continue on its way. However, it just stood there watching me and I watched it. Realizing that I had a little more time, I zoomed in a bit to get a few closeup shots. It was incredible.

Five minutes went by and the coyote was still there. It was a little unnerving to look it in the eye. I'm guessing that at some time it had been fed by someone in a car, otherwise I'm pretty sure that it wouldn't have stuck around so long. It was still standing there as I drove off a few minutes later.

Death Valley :: Desert Flowers #2

Mt Rainier Route Photos

The heavy snowfall from last week slowed a number of teams, many have not made the summit. Since we're lite on route conditions, I'll share these recent climbing route photos. Here is the Nisqually Cleaver taken on May 30th.

There are a number of climbers at Camp Muir this weekend, none have reported successful ascents. One Seattle party spent 15 hours pushing the route in from Camp Schurman, while another team summited on Liberty Ridge Thursday/Friday. The "Liberty" team took quite a bit of extra time and had to spend at least one night on top... They radioed from Camp Schurman on Saturday to report that one member had 7 digits with frostbite! We remind climbers not to underestimate how physically difficult it is to climb Liberty Ridge.

Photo by Mike Gauthier

Feels Like a Pacific Island Around Here

With all the beautiful sunny days and scorchin' temps we've been having lately, some visitors to Rainier might feel like they are actually visiting a Pacific Island rather than on a cold snowy volcano in the Pacific North Wet. It's actually kind of fitting since this month of May, is National Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.



Even though our high camps are far away from warm Pacific Islands, rangers have sometimes been known to imagine themselves on a tropical beach of some sort. So bring your sunscreen, some tropical fruits, your favorite swim costume and head on up to our glacial island where you can almost see the Pacific Ocean on a clear day. We'll be waiting.



On another note the Northwest Avalanche Center has issued another special statement visitors to our mountain should read. If anyone sees anything weird going on with out snowpack we'd love to hear about it.

Water, Water Everywhere

In the morning they did warn me

it would be a day of rain.

But how could I've predicted

such tumult on its way!

Stroke after stroke I pedaled

with a swift and forceful motion,

but water fell upon me

as if amidst a stormy ocean.

Water, water everywhereand not a drop to drink!Water, water everywhere,my bike did nearly sink!

And so November is upon us, and with it the November Rain. Funny, because I don't remember it being quite this bad last year, but I've probably just blocked it out. Today it rained so hard, that the water not only covered my face, but went inside my nose and mouth. Feeling as if I might drown while cycling was a curious sensation. I could hardly see anything in front of me, but thankfully drivers seemed to all be showing remarkable courtesy. Maybe they just couldn't believe that a cyclist was on the road in such a downpour and felt sorry for me.

When it is raining this hard, I prefer to be on a heavy, upright, and exceptionally stable bike.When I owned my Pashley, I often talked of how good it was for cycling in the rain. To my relief, the vintageGazelle is the same, if not better. The handling makes this bike unfellable. The enormous wheels and wide tires part lake-sized puddles, grip slippery surfaces, and float over potholes. The fenders release a mighty spray and keep my beige raincoat beige. Defiant in the downpour, I cycled with dignity even as water streamed down my face. And I arrived at my destinations only slightly worse for wear.

The other two things I like to have when cycling in the rain are good lights and a saddle cover. I was not sure how well the bottle dynamo would function when wet, but it was absolutely fine (I am beginning to develop a fondness for the bottle) - and my LED-modified headlight made me highly visible. As for the saddle cover, despite having accumulated many Brooks covers at this point, my preferred method is to use a ratty plastic grocery bag. The plastic bag performs two functions: it is more waterproof (gasp!) than a Brooks saddle cover, and it makes the bicycle look considerably less appealing to thieves. Not that many thieves would be tempted to drag away a 50lb clunker with a locked rear wheel in a downpour...

And speaking of dragging: I must say that carrying a wet, slippery 50lb bicycle up the stairs is even more delightful than doing so with a dry one. I have noticed that when it comes to lifting a heavy step-through, it is important to find a comfortable spot to grip - one that is well balanced and will prevent the bicycle from twisting or buckling in my arms as I attempt to maneuver it. Despite being heavier than my previously-owned Pashley, the Gazelle has a better "sweet spot" in this regard, and so I find it easier to carry... just not when the frame is slick from the rain. Still, I managed to wrestle the enormous Dutch creature up the stairs and through the door without either of us taking a spill, after which we had a cup of tea and recited poetry together. It is essential to have a bicycle that is more than a fair weather friend.

Dog days

In the dog days of summer, Jasmine spends a lot of time under the porch. She's developed a bark-in-place policy.

During the daytime she only budges if you open the door to ask, "What in the world are you barking at?" Then she'll take off like a rocket towards the interloper (heron, rabbit, cow).

Lately I've wondered about hooking a walkie-talkie up to her collar so I could ask her the same thing when she's barking beneath the bedroom window at 3:30 am.

Sunset Smoke Haze

Smoke from the Pagami Creek Fire near Ely, MN makes for a dramatic sunset over Lake Superior in Grand Portage, MN on September 13, . One thing's for sure... all this smoke in our sky makes for some pretty wild sunsets!

Roe-Dee-Oh :: Chaos and Confusion

Sunday, August 21st - - The final event of the day was something called a Wild Horse Race. There were seven or eight teams, which made for a wild melee. The premise was to release the horses from the gate with a long rope about their necks. The teams then had to saddle the wild horse and one rider had to mount it and ride it across the arena and back to the gate.



Sounds simple enough but the execution was nearly impossible. From the git-go the horses were in command - as soon as the gates opened they were dragging men on the ground at the end of their ropes, running every which way. Some were able to get the saddles on right away but as soon as a rider mounted he was thrown off. Some never got their horse saddled. There were a few riders who got on but they didn't stay on very long. Unlike Marlboro Man's Team, no one was able to ride their horse across the arena although one fellow did manage to ride along the perimeter for some distance before being tossed off!













Near the end, the Wild Horses ran around riderless for a few minutes, with riders and teammates chasing them, then the announcer said it was all over. I think we were all a bit relieved, participants and audience members alike!



There were some injuries, hopefully none were serious, but the EMT's were out on the field attending to the fallen riders as we left the arena.