Happy Birthday to Me!

Our little trip took us to one of the most beautiful sites we've ever laid eyes on: our granddaughter. My mom will probably tell you that the picture above looks like my baby pictures. That's not why I think she is beautiful though. She just is!

Makes you want to sniff her newborn baby head, doesn't it? How is it that even baby slobber is cute?

I'm a little smitten with her. Ah, who am I kidding...I'm completely head over heels in love with her!!!!!

She is so smart and funny already. She makes a different face every ten seconds which cracks us up.

Papa thinks she is the greatest thing too!

My best birthday ever was when I had Aric (happy Birthday number one son) but this ranked right up there. She's a keeper to be sure!



Living the life as Mimi!

Conditions outlook...?

This morning I went out to check the state of ice here in SWPA. As expected everything that had been climbable now wasn't. All the wonderful ice from the last cold snap fell and everything currently on the wall is new build over the last 48 hrs. The current local forecast is for temps to be below freezing through Monday, then a warm up is predicted through the long term thereafter. Here's a few photos from today.

Gun Club, Pistol Whipped Wall - devastated

Gun Club, Main Wall - devastated

SCII, Overview - Very wet and devastated

SCII, Beast and Grand Central Walls - devastated and rebuilding

Ohiopyle State Park, Youghiogheny River - Up and roaring

Although I didn't take any photos, Meadow Run climbing areas have been wiped out as well, but are very quickly rebuilding. With a few cold days ahead, Monday should prove to be the best day to hit the local ice. Irishtown might have some formations up by then as well. I'd forget Krahlick, Confluence, Layton Falls or Stewarton. Happy hunting if looking for local, climbable ice this weekend... With a miracle the forecast for warm will change to cold and produce epic conditions! Unlikely....but possible

Where the Buffalo Roam...

Sure, they are “domesticated” Buffalo, being raised on a ranch, but they still roam...

Their manners and actions reminded me of once, a long time ago, when I stopped to photograph some cows back in Indiana. Apparently cows and buffalo are both curious creatures; they kept coming closer and closer.

So close that I could have reached out and touched them...
Momma was very protective of her calf.
Photos taken in south-central Montana on July 22, ..

Hairpins

Only when reviewing the route months later did I realise that I must have climbed for 7 miles to the high point of Cushendall Road. Effortful as this must have beenon a small wheel folding bike, itdid not register as such in my memory. What I do remember: Ascending - almost like floating - through an expanse of short, scraggly pine trees, past a surreal lake with steam rising off it. After that, there were farmlands and more farmlands, with their scatterings of placidly grazing sheep. Before long, I was at the top, and now the foggy glens edged by the sea spread out in front of me. Looking down, it was hard to believe that soon I would be at sea level.




I was not, at that point, used to descents longer than a couple of miles. This one was around 6. It began slow, but the grade steepened as it continued. As I gained momentum, the surrounding grasses and the sea began to blur together with the fog, into one green foamy mess. I felt intermittently dizzy and sleepy. In the distance I glimpses another forest and welcomed the variation in landscape.




When I saw the sharp curve in the road ahead, it was a jolt to my system, even though I had seen the map and knew to expect it. From my vantage point, the hairpin turn looked like a giant version of an actual hairpin. Somehow I'd thought the distinct shape only emerged in aerial pictures, and could not be glimpsed as such in real life from a bike. But there it was in front of me, a hairpin sure as day. There was the flash of recognition of what was about to happen, and then it happened. I reduced speed, then reduced it again, and leaned, and still felt the violent yank of whatever force did not want me to make the turn. But I made it: Braking clumsily, drenched in sweat and on the verge of skidding, I made it. For the rest of the descent I was wide awake.




Another time, back in Boston, I joined a friend on an unfamiliar route through some local hills. Having finished a climb we were about to descend a high traffic road, and she warned me not to pick up too much speed. The wind carried her voice away, but I could make out "Sharp turn! ...end up opposite traffic lane!" Gingerly I cycled around the bend, which I discovered to be another hairpin. Again it stunned me that even with the cars speeding past, even with the row of strip malls in the distance, even with all my energy focused on making the turn while keeping my line of travel, I could make out the shape of the mighty, beautiful hairpin.




So that makes two so far, which is also the number of actual pins I usually wear in my hair. That connection bears no significance what so ever, but it pops into my mind when I use the pins - just one of those silly associations.




Some years ago, a Tyrolean friend told me - in great, descriptive detail - about the Stelvio Pass, with its 48 hairpin turns. A vintage Austrian picture book was produced, dramatic hand gestures were involved. When she said her uncle liked to ride his bike there, I thought she was joking. How could such a thing be possible, on a bike? I felt lightheaded just looking at photos of the bends, scattered through the mountain like pins in some mad woman's hair.

Wandering

Lots on the schedule today so instead of anything original I'm going to send you to visit the Ontario Wanderer, who has just started a blog.

Besides showing me up on my false tree ID two posts ago, the Wanderer has added insult to injury by posting a photo of a hummingbird... on the nest! If you're a nature nut like me, you'll want to bookmark the site.

Also check out his excellent wildflower page. (I'm assuming that the Wanderer is Dean, but it's possibly one of his partners in crime.)

"Gasoline Rainbow" 28

My first climb at the grade. Gas Rain is probably still my favourite line at Coolum, it's a second pitch start, steepening up after the second bolt. I took so many plunges from the crux of this route, some of them beauties with an armfull of rope out to clip, just falling into clean air.

36 attempts finally acheived a tick.





photo: Phil Box

Cycling and Comfort: When Does It Hurt?

Small confession: For the past couple of days, I have been using my road bike for transportation. Not out of choice, but out of necessity - I can't spend more than 2 minutes on any of my upright or semi-upright bicycles right now without pain.



In my excitement about Marianne's conversion, I took her on her longest ride yet as a fixed gear - 28 miles. For the first 20 miles, everything was fine. The bike's geometry has never been the most comfortable, but as a fixed gear it felt better than ever and I was pedaling happily. But then, with just 8 miles to go, I suddenly became aware of a rapidly growing discomfort - not just in one area, but in several: in my shoulders, arms, back, pelvis, joints - pain seemed to be everywhere and it attacked me all at once. By the time I got home, I felt as if I had been run over by a train. I took some Ibuprofen and expected it would go away in the morning. But when I tried to ride my vintage Raleigh the next day, I felt the same pain immediately and barely managed to cycle to my destination a mere mile from home.



Mysteriously, I can still ride my roadbike with zero of the pain I experience on the upright bikes. Somehow being in the drop-bar position on the comfortable Rivendell does not activate any of the same discomfort.So, I am now in the ironic situation where I can go for 35 mile rides on a roadbike, but can't cycle for even a couple of miles on any of my city bicycles. Argh!



My working hypothesis of what happened is that while riding Marianne, my legs grew tired of the fixed gear pedaling, and without realising it I began to put more stress on my arms, hands, butt, and everything else. And because the mixte is semi-upright, this damaged some joints in a way that the pain only shows up in the upright position, but not in a leaned-over position. Does that make any sense as a possibility?



But this particular situation aside, I have been thinking a lot lately about comfort, and, more specifically, about when it is appropriate to declare that a bicycle is "comfortable". Had I limited my rides on Marianne to 20 miles at a time or less, I would have thought she was perfectly comfortable. I could have ridden her this way for years, thinking that I had a comfortable bike - but I would have been wrong. And that is why it is so difficult to determine a bicycle's comfort based on the sort of test rides you take at the bike shop, or even short rides on your own. Bicycle A might feel better than Bicycle B after a short spin, but how will they compare after mile 20? mile 50? mile 100? You just do not know, until you actually ride the bicycle for that distance.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Parkison Family

The Parkison plot in the Masonic Section, Greenhill Cemetery, Columbia City, Indiana. The large stone in the center is for George and Sarah Parkison. On the left is the marker for one of their sons, Benjamin F. Parkison.

Sarah Foster Parkison is my 3rd great grandmother. Born on May 14, 1818 in Perry County, Ohio she was the daughter of Benjamin Foster and Margaret "Peggy" Myers. Sarah's brother, Eli, was born December 28, 1819. I don't know for sure when their mother died, but on September 27, 1821 their father married Peggy's sister, Anna Maria "Mary" Myers. Benjamin and Mary Foster had eleven children between the years 1822 and 1843.

On November 20, 1843 Sarah Foster gave birth to a son, William Brubaker, who became my 2nd great grandfather. Born out of wedlock, his father was John Brubaker. On March 28, 1849 Sarah was married to George Thomas Parkison and two years later they moved to Thorncreek Township in Whitley County, Indiana. At that time the family consisted of William and his half-brother Jacob Henry Parkison. (William and Jacob would later marry sisters, Malissa and Roxie Joslin.) Sarah and George would have three more children, all born in Whitley County: Mary E. Parkison, Benjamin Foster Parkison, and George Washington Parkison.

GEORGE T. PARKISON / DIED JUNE 27, 1902 / AGED 81 Y. 10 M. 15 D. / SARAH - WIFE OF G. T. PARKISON / DIED APR. 24, 1904 / AGED 85 Y. 11 M. 10 D.

BENJAMIN F. / Son of / G. T. & S. PARKISON / DIED / Apr. 27, 1873. / AGED 19 Ys. 11 M. 15 D.

All Photographs taken October 20, .. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

Tricks of the Camera

I had three lenses with me in the camera bag yesterday, so I thought it would be neat to illustrate how different lenses affect the way a bicycle looks in pictures. Here are three photos of my mixte standing in the same position, taken with (left to right:) an 85mm lens, a 50mm lens, and a 35mm lens, using identical camera settings. Notice any differences?



Here is a closer look at the picture taken with the 85mm lens. First off, notice the relationship of the bicycle to the trees: In this picture the bike looks like it is positioned in between the trees. There are hardly any trees in the frame itself and if I wanted to I could crop them out all together, making the bike an isolated object in the midst of snow and sand. There is also not a great deal of background information in the space above the bike: a few stairs, but that is all. Furthermore, the things in the background are kind of blurry in comparison to how sharp the bicycle itself looks. And finally, take a look at the size of the bicycle's wheels. The bike is slightly turned toward the camera and the front wheel is closer to me than the rear. But despite this, the front wheel does not look much larger than the rear; the bicycle looks proportional. The 85mm lens is considered a "portrait lens" precisely because it creates these effects: It isolates the subject from the clutter of surrounding objects and reduces unflattering foreshortening effects in the subject's face and body.



Now the same scene, but taken with a 50mm lens. Notice how much more background information is visible in this picture. And it's impossible to crop out, because all that extra stuff is directly behind the bike, rather than around it. The same trees that were spread out to the right and left in the previous picture, now overlap with the bike's wheels and can't be cropped out. More stuff in the space above the bike is visible as well - now we see not just the stairs, but a winding path. And the background scenery is in sharper focus than in the previous picture. It's a nice composition as far as narrative goes (we get more of a sense of the bicycle being in the woods), but a portrait or product photographer would tell you that the background is starting to compete with the subject of the photo. One of the trees looks like it's growing out of the pannier, and the winding path draws the eye away from the forms of the bike itself.



And same scene once again, but with a 35mm lens. The entire patch of woods and the street behind it have now been wrangled into the shot. The background scenery is just as sharp as the bicycle itself, and there's so much of it, that the scene looks altogether cluttered. Also, notice that the front wheel of the bicycle looks considerably larger than the rear, as a result of being closer to the camera. Foreshortening effects are pretty strong with this lens: If I were photographing a person's face, their nose would appear exaggeratedly large in comparison to their eyes for the same reason as the mixte's wheels look to be different sizes.



There is much more to be said about differences between these lenses, and in fact I haven't given a proper introduction to camera lenses at all - but that would take ages and it's nothing you can't find in an online reference. Hopefully, these pictures illustrate the way in which lenses play a role in bicycle photography, and why sometimes it seems like you just can't compose the shot you want with your camera. For those of you who use digital SLRs with interchangeable lenses, which do you prefer to use for bicycle photos?

Concentration Camp: Auschwitz I

Auschwitz I is now an open-air museum and a UNESCO world heritage site. The once concentration camp is free for everyone to visit, however I would strongly recommend taking a local guide because it will make the visit smooth and meaningful. The guide can give a recap of the history and some interesting tidbits that are not heard of from TV, as well as this will save time from being all over the place because the guide knows the important museum buildings to visit.

The Nazi’s are unbelievably the most organized mass murderers that ever walked on planet earth. The Nazi slogan for this Holocaust extermination project—nothing must be laid to waste. Every bit of every belonging of the Jews was recycled, from shoes to eyeglasses to pots and pans. Even their hair (hair was said to be cheaper than wool) were shaved off and packed, ready for shipment for reselling, and to my shock—their ash remains as well! To be used for farm fertilizer. Inconceivable!


Arbeit macht frei means 'Work liberates or sets you free'. This sign was stolen early this year in January but was later recovered. The sign on the foto is a replica while the original is kept safe somewhere.


The buildings in the concentration camp, they are now museums housing the remnants of the Holocaust from shoes and bags of the victims to their hair. Right foto is the execution wall.


Halt! Stoj! Stop! That is our passionate and somber Polish tour guide, and the right foto is a Nazi watchtower.

I think the most moving and most distressing for me to come to terms with were the hair and the baggage. I saw this vast mountain load of hair behind the glass windows. They looked like wigs, and because I could not believe that they were real hair from the Holocaust victims, I forthrightly asked our guide if it were really, er—real. He replied looking at me as if I am an undesirable alien that just landed from Pluto—this isn’t Hollywood. Ugh, I felt so darn stupid for even asking the question.

And the suitcases… they have names on it, real names of the victims inscribed with their addresses and the countries they come from. I saw a good number of them with ‘Nederland’ on it which was a bit of a confrontation I must say knowing that there are persons behind those names, and that they are dead. They were murdered.

160,800 Dutch Jews were annihilated in Auschwitz as per the document behind a glass table says. I copied these while taking notes on my mobile phone but I didn’t take any fotos inside the buildings as a respect to the victims. As well as Jews from Estonia, Letland, Greece, France, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Lithuania, Bulgaria, England, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Spain and Austria were murdered mercilessly.

Cyclon B chemical was used in the gas chambers to annihilate the Jews, and the Gypsies as well and other prisoners of war, mostly Russian soldiers.

Some of the rules in the concentration camp are that if 1 escaped 10 are to starve. Father Maximillian offered his life when 10 people were put to starvation by the Nazis. These people were released but Father Maximillian died in behalf of them.

There is also a ‘standing prison’ fitted for four people. The prisoners work by day and in the evening they are sent to the standing prison—it is actually a very tiny chamber and if there are 4 people in there, they of course will have to stand for the whole night. Most often these prisoners die from exhaustion.


Left foto is where the prisoners are gathered for the daily roll call.


Left foto is the guard house of the Nazi soldiers holding the roll call. High voltage wires can kill, they are all around the concentration camp, of course now they do not carry voltage anymore. Right foto is where the first commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Hoss was hanged after sentenced to death by the Polish Supreme National Tribunal in 16 April 1947 (see the wooden platform at the back of the signboard).


The crematorium on the left, the only in tact gas chamber that survived after the war. Vorsicht, hochspannung, lebensgefahr (Deutsch) -- Voorzichtig, hoogspanning, levens gevaarlijk (Dutch) -- Caution, high voltage, perilous (English).

Over 800 Jews and Prisoner of War tried to escape Auschwitz, unfortunately 300 were caught and executed.

Soviet soldiers suffered the most. They were given half the daily calories the Jews were given which are minimal already, not even half of the standard daily calories required, as well as they have to do hard labor for 14 hours a day. The Nazis made sure the Russians soldiers are exhausted so they can’t plan any uprising.

Auschwitz I was killing 5 to 6 thousand people every day. The bodies were burned afterwards and cremated. A group of brave Jews who found a camera while sorting out the belongings of their comrades took fotos of these atrocities. The fotos were smuggled out of the concentration camp by non-Jewish workers and even got to Britain, however nobody really believed and acted. It was too late.

Ash remains of the Jews were used for farm fertilizers. Nothing was laid to waste.

The Crematorium faced capacity issues and because of this Auschwitz II – Birkenau and Auschwitz III – Monowitz were constructed. Auschwitz III – Monowitz was bombed by the Nazis, to cover their evil deed, however they were too late, Auchwitz II - Birkenau fell into the hands of the Russians. The Russians freed the prisoners and were shocked to find out the scale of the atrocities that happened in this concentration camp.

More fotos here: Auschwitz I - Poland
Read the sequel here: Concentration Camp: Auschwitz II - Birkenau

Every May in Europe, the heroes of the Second World War and the millions of victims are remembered.
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Huntingtoin's Phantom Wall?

May 3, .



"I just climbed the southwest face of Mount Huntington in the Alaska Range with Clint Helander. Call it what you want: the third ascent of the Phantom Wall, a new variation, or a new bail, whatever--it was incredible!



Here's the skinny on our climb of the Southwest Face of Huntington. We repeated the crux pitches of the Phantom, but missed the summit due to very bad weather. So call it whatever--I'm calling it a fun adventure up an incredibly beautiful mountain.



Clint and I left our camp on the Tokositna Glacier at 4:30AM on May 2 under perfect weather and snow conditions. The "Death Valley" used by Jay Smith and Paul Teare looked, well, deadly and we agreed to not submit ourselves to this needless objective danger. So, the plan was to gain the technical climbing on the southwest face (the crux pitches of the Phantom Wall) via a snowfield that cuts across the face from the Upper Park on the Harvard Route. We simuled up the Harvard, arriving

below the Spiral in about four hours. A short downclimb and traverse led to the middle part of the face. From here, we climbed about six pitches of technical terrain (75 degrees, M6R, A2) along the right edge of a steep diamond shaped wall to gain the lower angle terrain above. We had some beta from Jared Vilhauer that was crucial to moving quickly over this ground. The weather started to break down (the first time the forecast was right in a week!) as we simuled up the middle of the face above. We soon lost visibility as winds picked up to 30mph and snow started to fall. We couldn't see the summit, so we kept going straight up. This landed us in the middle of the summit ridge, where we conceded to the weather and turned tail, deciding that our fingers were worth more than any summit. The descent down the West Face Couloir (Nettle-Quirk) was awash with spindrift, often reducing our visibility to less than a few feet in the darkness, but it went surprisingly quickly at right around five hours. For a final bit of excitement, I poked into the bergschrund and another crevasse in the course of ten minutes, eventually stumbling back into our camp at 3AM on May 3rd for a 22.5 hour roundtrip."



Kurt Hicks



Kurt's guiding web site:

http://kurthicks.com/












Mark Westman's photo from the facelast year





Congrads gentlemen and well done!

Peak of the Season

Snow on most approaches has started to consolidate with the melt/freeze cycles we've been having. This makes boot-packing to the routes much more feasible. All of the roads in the park, except the Mowich Lake Road, are open to cars. The road crews hope to have Mowich Lake open by the end of July - there's still seven feet of snow at the lake!

At Camp Muir there are now three gallon and five gallon buckets with lids for food storage. The buckets are kept in the Public Shelter for anybody to use. After use, please return the buckets, cleaned out, to the Public Shelter. Hopefully, use of these buckets for food storage while you are climbing or sleeping will help deter foxes from becoming habituated.

Other peaks within the park have been seeing some climbing activity too. Pinnacle Peak, Castle Peak, Little Tahoma, and Pyramid Peak saw ascents this last week. Climbing in the park is about to peak, and stay popular for the next couple of weeks. Statistically, climbers have the best chance of success in July.

Sun-cups are growing larger and the grit is melting out making skiing conditions more challenging. Skiers descended the Wilson Headwall, Fuhrer Finger, Disappointment Cleaver, and Emmons/Winthrop, but all of them reported conditions are worsening - so get up here quick while there's still pleasant turns to be had!

Changes are Coming :: The First Step

This, a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier with 148,200 miles on it, has been replaced.

With this.

A .. Dodge Grand Caravan with 31,000 miles on it. I wasn't overly thrilled with the color (or lack thereof), but I can live with it ;-)

Now, why would ol' penny pincher me exchange a little fuel efficient Cavalier, which got 30 miles to the gallon, with a vehicle that will get 8-10 miles per gallon less? Oh! There's a reason. But I'm not telling just yet. For now I'll just say that an extended road trip is in the works. . . it's something that I have been wanting to do for a very long time, and that time has finally come! And the first step has been taken...

The little Cavalier has served me well for nearly 10 years. It was a good little car, and I think that my brother and his wife (who are now its owner) will get lots more use out of it. I'm sure it has a few more miles left. I can only hope that the Caravan will be as reliable and dependable as the Cavalier was.