Stormy Morning

With brisk overnight winds coming from the southwest I thought it would be a good morning to go out and catch some waves hitting the Lake Superior shoreline. I went to the shoreline in front of my parents house, which has a rock ledge that extends out into the lake and is aligned such that when the waves are from the southwest they crash right over this ledge. It sure is fun sitting on the rocks and watching the waves pound the shore!

Happy New Year; keeping the tradition alive.

Nothing like 45 and raining for New Years Day ice climbing...

Happy everyone. Its been a tradition of mine to climb on New Years day for 15 years now. It started on January 1, 1997 with original ice climbing partners, Matt Johns and Scott Richards. It was the beginning of our 2nd year of ice climbing. We decided to "start the year off right" by climbing. We set our ambitions high and decided to try for the first ascent of a 2 pitch route in a local active quarry. The day went great despite a few "minor" incidents. I led the first pitch and Scott led the 2nd. It went successful and we ended up naming the route New Years Revolution WI4+. It was quite an accomplishment for us at the time. We used by today's standards archaic tools and gear. No speed cranks on screws, Snargs, original Footfangs, Black Prophets, North Face lobster mitts, etc. Little did I know that day was the start of a tradition that I still uphold. A year or so later, Matt moved from PA to KY. He's found great climbing life at the mega popular Red River Gorge. He and I remain great friends to the day. We don't get to climb together as much as we'd like, but that makes the time that we share on the rope that much better. He occasionally visits to climb ice in the winter and boulder in the warmer months. Scott moved across country to Wenatchee, Washington to pursue an outdoor lifestyle there. Tragically he died in a kayaking accident on Icicle Creek shortly after his move there. I had no idea we'd never climb together again. Life is different from the old days, but still the tradition continues and each New Years Day I think back to how it all began and am thankful for how much fun I have and all the great friends I've made climbing here in PA.

Starting up the first ascent of NYR 4+ first pitch 1997

Scott Richards on Pitch 2

Enjoying New Years 1997

Today was no exception. It almost didn't happen. Despite an incredible start to the /11 ice season, New Years Day and several days leading up to it, were warmer than normal. When Laura and I left the house the first time, it was 50 degrees and raining. Still we were determined to climb. We drove to Ohiopyle to climb only to have some serious downpour happening at the parking lot. We turned tail and drove home deciding not to climb in the rains. We went home and hung out for a few hours and as luck would have it, the rains stopped and we decided to pack back up and make the return drive to the cliffs. It was raining a lot less, but still raining. We decided to "climb" anyhow. Laura got some new boots to try and was itching to put them to use.

L's new kicks, Lowa Mountain Expert GTX

We rigged the main flow and Season Finale on top rope. We each ran a few laps with some older CF Cobras that Fred from Exkursion lent to Laura to mess with. It was the most fun we've had on 25' of seriously wet ice. What a fun day, no ground breaking accomplishments, just a lot of fun climbing with my incredible partner, Laura. Here's a few pictures from the day.

Fred's tools and a tool happy to be outside for the new year

The warm temps sent the start to my project down.

It about crushed our heads. Get it L!

Happy ! from "US"

Laura bringing in the new year on the deteriorating ice

Tomorrow the temps are supposed to drop below freezing and the 10 day is looking very promising. Next weekend we should be out at it again with vastly improved conditions. Hope everyone had as much fun this New Years day as we did!

Green Giant Buttress Dreamer ..

Finally, our schedules and weather cooperated to let Steve and I climb together. Since it was early October, and the snow level was around 5000' most of the week, we decided alpine options would be a little cold and snowy (for rock climbing.) We made the decision Thursday night to make an attempt at Dreamer (5.9) on Green Giant Buttress.

Temps were hovering around freezing as we made the drive out to Darrington Saturday morning. The drive in is pretty straight forward. Although with a standard sedan, you may wish to stop earlier than Steve and I. (We bottomed the car on rocks a few times.) A high clearance 4WD could get even further than we did. Our driving progress stopped at a slight pullout on the left of the road just before a ditch.

We started hiking the road and after a 1/4 mile came to the point all vehicles would have to stop. Brush got thicker, but it was never that much of a bushwhack. Beta for the approach was accurate, and after some point in time we were near old mining debris and crossing the "braided stream." This is where is got slightly tricky. We approached the base of the "three tiered waterfall" as described in the approach. There was a very faint trail through serious vegetation right at the base of the falls. It did not look easily passable. So Steve and I hiked up a slippery slab at the first tier of the waterfall and found a more suitable looking path. We did a not so fun bushwhack up this path for about 10 minutes until it became a dead end. We hiked back down and found the correct bushwhack start from the falls. Which was at the base of the slab we climbed. It is currently marked by a log going up from the water into the bushes.

Once we found the correct drainage, things started going more smoothly. A bit of bushwhacking and we were back to homo erectus. Now on semi-wet slabs scrambling up the drainage. Near the top of the drainage we had a choice, go right up something that looked like the side of a moraine (Rock loosely embedded in dirt.) or go up a "path" to the left. We wrongly chose path. If we had looked at the beta, we would have correctly gone right and taken less time and danger to reach the base of the route, but instead this is what followed:

Photo by Steve Machuga.

We scrambled 3rd and 4th class slabs for a bit. (And possibly some 5th class moves.) We even got out the rope at one point. Then the rock eased a bit, and we were finally near the base, where another party had left a pack. We geared up and from what I can tell, scrambled some 4th or 5th class up to the base. (Actually we got the rope out again for the final bit to the base.) At this point it was close to five hours since we left the car.

I led out on the first pitch, and according to Nelson's topo, combined it with the second pitch. From where we started, we were just shy of a full rope length, so there was about 15' of simul-climbing that Steve and I had to do to reach the anchor. Because I am blind, I totally missed the three bolt anchor and slung a bush and brought Steve up.

Steve started out on the next pitch, which looked too run-out for my taste. (Once again, we couldn't see bolts correctly and this pitch was somewhat off-route.) This pitch is supposed to go right and then up, but the bolts we could see were directly up and then far right. It wasn't until it was too late to turn around that we saw the bolt directly right of the belay, and the line of bolts leading up below the bolt we "aimed" for. Steve felt "our" variation was in the 5.10a land. This wouldn't surprise me, as the first bolt he clipped was on the Urban Bypass, which I believe goes at 10a. He made a scary run-out traverse over dirty rock to reach the next bolt. (No pics, as I was watching him closely.) I followed up behind, taking what may have been a slightly easier path.

We got to the next pitch where I led off on somewhat run-out knobby slab. The climbing was enjoyable and got the heart beating a bit. Steve led up the next pitch which had some awkward moves up what was called a 5.7 corner. The pitch was fun and ending in the most comfortable belay stance since the top of the first pitch. Steve led out on the next pitch which is the one Dreamer is known for. It starts in a shallow corner with easier climbing. It then goes to the top of a pillar, where a bolt is clipped. Then traverses right with no protection up to the bottom of a large flake. Then a 5.9 traverse back left and over the flake to enter "The Blue Crack." An awkward, 5.9 flake/crack that brings you up to the next hanging belay. Steve led it in fine style. I got cold at the belay as the sun went behind the ridge. I was getting tired and I think the cold I was getting all week finally was getting the upper hand. I followed behind, but felt really tired. (I also hadn't eaten a lunch yet.) I took a fall midway through the 5.9 traverse. Regained my composure, but had to struggle the rest of the way up the pitch. At the top, I asked Steve what time it was, and he said 4:30pm. I told him we had two hours of daylight, and it was in our best interest to descend.

This turned out to be a wise decision, as we had minor difficulties rapping with daylight. (One rap left Steve 15' shy of the anchor, and I had to lower him.) I had to make an intermediate stop to make sure I would reach the next anchor. On the last two raps, the other party reached us, and we shared their ropes for the final raps. I was a little slow packing up, and we lost them going into the bushwhack. We turned on our headlamps and headed downhill. Steve and I then proceeded to march around (through?) vine maples for what seemed an eternity before we regained the gully where we should have left it in the morning. The rest of the scramble/swhack/hike out was uneventful, but all by headlamp.

Overall, the climbing on Dreamer is a step up from what I am used to doing. I think my difficulties with the 5.9 pitch were more due to fatigue than my climbing ability, but I will most likely have to wait until next year to tackle that climb again.

Pics are located here.
(I included Steve's pics as well.)

Correcting Mistakes :: Elsie and Charles Wiseman

Being human, we all make mistakes. Once the errant data is posted "out there" on the World Wide Web it can't be taken back. And then it gets propagated by others researching the same family. What do you do? If you wait to post anything until your research is "completed" then the chances are good your research will never be seen by anyone else. Dear Myrtle has a post this morning about Correcting Mistakes in your genealogy research. It's worth your time to read it.

My Tombstone Tuesday post earlier today is a case in point. The inscriptions for my dad's parents Elsie Shuder and Charlie Wiseman show that they were both born in 1886. And that was what was recorded by my cousin in the papers that I received from her years ago. I haven't done all that much research myself on my Dad's lines because my cousin spent quite a few years researching the Wiseman and Shuder lines. I'm not laying any "blame" on her, after all, I entered the date in my database without verifying it, and that's what was on the tombstone so it had to be right!

Anyway, as I was going through some of my cousins papers last year I noticed that there were no copies of the marriage application or death records for Elsie and Charlie. So, I ordered them and discovered that for both of them their year of birth is 1885, not 1886.

A search on WorldConnect for Elsie Shuder, born 1885, returned no results. A search for her born 1886 turned up 12 databases, all of which (including mine: rwiseman_bray) give her date of birth as 18 Aug 1886. A search for Charles Wilson Wiseman, born 1886, returned 14 results. The 13 entries that are for him all give 20 Sep 1886 as his date of birth. Someday, if I get ambitious enough, I might contact the contributors of those other databases or perhaps add a post-em note to their entries for Elsie and Charles. A second issue with Charles is his date of death. My cousin had it as February 4, 1943 but his death record shows that he died on January 28th.

In an ideal world, I would update my WorldConnect database immediately, but for a variety of reasons, it isn't likely that I will be doing that anytime soon. To me, this isn't "critical" information. Important, yes, but not critical. It doesn't involve a connection to the wrong lineage or anything major, so what I've done is add post-ems with the correct information. (You do read post-ems on WorldConnect when you see them, don't you?) As soon as this is posted I'll edit the post-ems to include a link here so people can see the documents for themselves.

As always, click on the images below to view a larger version. . .

Marriage Application, Charles Wiseman and Elsie Shuder. March 1, 1906. Kosciusko County, Indiana (Book N Page 224)

Death Certificate, Elsie Shuder Wiseman. February 3, 1926. Indiana State Board of Health (Certificate 5058)

Death Certificate, Charles Wiseman. January 28, 1943. Indiana State Board of Health (Certificate 3636)

Twins in the family - Maude and Maurice Wise

This picture shows my Great-Grandmother Maude Wise Brubaker Yontz and her twin brother Maurice James Wise.

They were born on December 9, 1877 in Whitley County, Indiana. There is no date written on the back so I don't know when the picture was taken but based on several other photographs of Maude, it was probably in the mid-late 1920s. Maurice died on July 25, 1943 in an automobile accident in Elkhart, Indiana. He was 65 years old.

This is a very nice picture but it has an amusing aspect as well, at least to me. Looking at this picture, you wouldn't know that Maude stood just a little over 5 feet tall, perhaps 5'3" at the most, while Maurice was 6'2" tall (according to my mother). You can distinctly see the height difference in the Wise family photograph included in the biography of their parents, William P. Wise and Sophia Dunfee. (Scroll about halfway down the page.)

At the time of his death, Maurice was living at 103 North Nottawa Street in Sturgis, Michigan and was the owner of the Wise Restaurant in Sturgis. His obituary said he was active in civic affairs at Sturgis and had been living there for six years. Again, according to my mother, Maurice had never been married and didn't have any children. I really don't know any more about him, I'll have to ask my mother and her sisters again, but in the past all they have said is that he owned a restaurant and was much taller than his twin sister.

Snake

I had to run out and try to plant some wildflower rescues before it rained. But I was stopped short by a very pretty black and yellow snake at the edge of the woods.

"Hello, little snake. You're very pretty. Thomas will definitely want to see you. Don't go away. Stay right there!"

He didn't listen to me though. By the time I got back with the camera, he was gone. I tried calling him, but it didn't work.

"Come back, pretty snake!"
(Snakes are above flattery.)
"Thomas will be so disappointed!"
(Snakes are impervious to guilt.)
"I'll make you a big star!"
(Snakes don't suffer from vanity.)

Oh, well. As with Thomas and his recent misadventures, things don't always work out like you plan.

OK, so what do I already have a picture of, that a first grade boy might like?

Maybe this.


Teeth on a deer skeleton.


Guess who dragged it into the yard.


Yep, that's who.

OK, Monk is coming on. It's the Halloween episode - I have to go watch Danny's house!

4th Horse

It was never planned that we would have more than two horses and here we were at three. So another horse came to live with us, making it four. Sundance is about 20 years old. He was another of the millions of unwanted equines that are hunting homes everywhere. Sunny, as he is better known as, is an ex-roping horse or that is what we assume, with what was a bad hoof when he came to us. Lots of vet work and even more good farrier work has fixed the bad hoof up enough that we can now ride him for short lenghts of time. At some point the hoof and heel of his right front foot had been injured, almost as if it had been sliced off. There wasn't a lot that could be done to repair it except let time see if it could. It has as much as it can, I think. And for us Sunny is a decent riding horse, considering neither of us is up to riding for long periods of time. Sunny is abit stand-offish, but will do anything I ask him to but would rather do it for my husband. Sunny will follow Lee like a puppy dog. Sunny is a big horse, like our bay mare, Nita. Both are close to 16 hands, and weight about 1200 pounds. Sunny is a brown and white paint Quarter Horse. As soon as Sunny came in I was able to put him out with Nita. But it has taken about 2 years to be able to put them out with Jack and Star. There has been quite a bit of fussing, kicking, and nipping to determine what the pecking order is to be in this little herd. But when all was said and done, Sunny came out on top. He is the boss. Jack is next, followed by Nita, and poor little Star came in at the bottom. In this photo he is looking out across the desert toward the Sandia Mountains. Actually Albuquerque is hiding down in the valley just under the moutains, and over the desert ridge.