Eye to Eye With Nature

As I was editing more pictures of us feeding the elk, I noticed how often we were making eye contact with the animals. I thought to myself that this is probably part of why it touched us so much to interact with them. There is just something so profound about looking animals in the eye and having them return the favor.

Dynamite M6 First Ascent

Putting work into Dynamite M6

Recently I wrote about a mixed climb that I had top roped last season. It was a fun line that I thought was worth investing some time and effort into. In recent days I spent some time equipping the route and giving it a few tries with State College climber and friend Joel Torretti. Early season and tired arms shut me down several times. With a night of rest I managed to get it. This new climb at Irishtown crag in Dunbar is now officially named Dynamite and is roughly M6. Yesterday my faithful partner Laura accompanied me to video, belay and motivate me for the send. With several days pump and some sheer determination I sent. I decided to put a short clip together to show everyone the climb. I hope this motivates more folks to come join in the great winter climbing that Southwestern PA has to offer. This is my first ever attempt at doing any video work, so any feedback is appreciated. click here and enjoy the clip!

My newly created helmet art

Tomorrowshould be an incredible day. Its Laura and myfirst day back at the local big ice playground. Laura and I are so excited to get our first pure ice day in (maybe). Rumor has it thatice climbing hardmanand old buddy Chip Kamin will be joining us for some tool swinging at some of the biggest local ice he's ever climbed. Dr. Bob, Regina, Felipe, Laura and myself are planning for some big fun on the best looking early season ice in 10 years.Of note, last yearI witnessedan incredible mixed lineform that I hadn't seen in otheryears. If its in tomorrow, I think I may have to investigate. Stay tuned for the details!

Projected corner line (last season) - Ohhhh, Ahhhhhhhh!

The ‘Hoogtepunten’ or the Blue Route

Last September Dutchman and I did a 12-kilometre hike in Doorn, in Kaapse Bossen which is part of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug forest.



We went to our current favourite starting point, the Heleneheuvel, and this time we took the Blue Route or the Hoogtepunten Route (which means: highlights). We liked this route because we walked on different types of terrain through the forest and across the plains, and we saw a variety of scenery.



Normally it takes 3 hours to finish this route but we did it in 2 hours and 15 minutes. We barely stopped to rest, although we slackened our walk in between inorder to take fotos and appreciate nature’s beauty around us. Because of this my knees were slighting a bit. Lesson learned, take some rest at least after an hour of non-stop walking.



At the end of the hike we had pancakes, scone with jam and clotted cream and fresh mint tea at the Heleneheuvel Chalet. Dutchman had pancakes while I chose to try their home-made scone which was delicious paired with the clotted cream. It was quite timely as by the time we sat down at the terrace of the chalet and ordered our food, it started to rain. We had to quickly move indoors.



Anyway, I now have a very good reason to come back to this place. Enjoy their scone and clotted cream once again and do the Brown Route or Hoog Moersbergen Route. In other words, the 14-kilometre hike =)



The route we took was supposed to be a 3-hour hike.



Stiltegebied means Quiet Territory.



These looked like lean fir trees and the beetle, always fighting for his life.



Pretty house in the forest. Not sure if I would feel safe living in the forest. I always hear about scary stories, as simple as thieves visiting at night!



We came across a field with a children's playground and saw droopy mushrooms.



This is the view from the Helenaheuvel Chalet. Very relaxing.



Cheese and ham pancake and a scone with jam and clotted cream.



The chalet and its terrace. The Heleneheuvel chalet is located in the middle of the forest (Kaapse Bossen).



Walking Period: September

Destination: Doorn (Utrechtse Heuvelrug - Utrecht), The Netherlands

Greetings from... Maine!

Okay, so here it is Friday and I still haven't posted anything about Ohio and New York and very little on Vermont. I left Charlotte, Vermont Tuesday just after noon and arrived at my first cousins place in Belfast, Maine that night. They live just an hours drive from Acadia National Park so on Wednesday I got the "grand tour" of Acadia. You'll probably get really tired of me saying that something is "awesome" or "beautiful" but 'tis true. It was. It started out as a bright, sunny day but quickly turned overcast and cloudy. But at least we didn't get any rain!

My cousin's place overlooks a tidal river with a view out into the bay. Beautiful! (Yeah, that word again!) I'll be here a few more days but will be busy having some fun and "catching up" with my cousin (at least 15 years since we've seen each other) so don't know if I'll get anything more posted anytime soon or not. But eventually, I will. Not doing a whole lot of genealogy research either right now - just enjoying myself and Mother Nature.

Till later, Becky

The Virtues of Versatility

For a couple of months now I've been riding only one bicycle for transportation instead of switching between several, and I've got to say that I like it. Not only that, but I am realising that strictly speaking, the others I own are not really necessary, as this one is sufficiently versatile to do everything I need. I've never felt this way toward another transport bicycle before, which is why I've always had multiples: at the very least one IGH bike for local errands and winter cycling, and a lighter, derailleur-geared bike for long distance trips with hills. But now that division of labor is no longer neeeded.

The bicycle I am riding is a modified Bella Ciao Donna that Ifinally have all to myself againafter it served as a guinea pig for a project I was working on. It is not perfect at everything. My other transport bike is a vintage Gazelle and it's a cushier, more luxurious ride with greater carrying capacity. I also have a Royal H mixte that is faster, lighter weight, easier uphill, and equipped with better lighting. But the Gazelle cannot be ridden long distances efficiently. And the mixte cannot be ridden in the winter, plus the frame can be a pain to mount and dismount in some outfits. Neither of the two would work as an "only bike." But the Bella Ciao can handle long distances, does a decent job of tackling hills, is suitable for winter, and accommodates any outfit.The 3-speed drivetrain keeps things simple. The powdercoat and chaincase keep it maintenance-free. The handling has a distinctly vintage feel that is not for everyone, but works well for me.Sure I've wished for more cush over potholes, more cargo capacity and more gears while riding this bike. But I can count on one hand the number of times that has happened over the past two months.

Versatility is not an exciting characteristic, because it implies compromise. "Jack of all trades, master of none" sort of thing. But I guess for transportation cycling I am finding that the jack of all trades is winning me over - at least for the time being. More than anything, I think the trick is finding that sweet spot of a bike - what one person considers versatile may not be sufficiently versatile for another. But if you do find one that does it for you, it can be such a relief!Getting around on the same bike regardless of destination has simplified my life considerably, giving me a new appreciation for versatility.

New Mexico Sunset

The view from my campsite at Rockhound State Park.Southeast of Deming, New Mexico.January 6, ...

Improved ice bouldering 12.13.11

Laura making the best out of the limited ice currently in the area

Laura and I decided to head out and see if the ice bouldering was still "in". The weather forecast isn't looking too promising for the next week, so we decided to get in what we could. Laura had spent the previous day on the Laurel highlands hiking trail in the vicinity of the ice bouldering with "Shifty" our Doxie want-a-be. He's a 30lb hiking machine that we found at Schoolhouse crag several years ago. Their favorable outing prompted us to take the short drive up the ridge and see if we could scratch around a little. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the ice flows grew a little since my last visit. This was Laura's first visit to our new ice training resource. We spent a few hours traversing the flows and rock getting a bit of a workout in. Laura took advantage of the plentiful sunshine basking and warming when necessary.

Is that a climber in distress? No, its just Laura basking.

Its a lot of fun and a great way to get a little training in. Well worth our time considering it was 45° in Pittsburgh today. We hiked back to the car in a plethora of sunshine and blue skies. A very enjoyable day for sure.

Plenty of training to be had. Lots of traversing on

limestonewith a little ice thrown in.

More of Williamsburg VA

More of Williamsburg. Today we had a nice lunch together. We were the only ones in the restaurant which meant the server could chat with us. Sometimes that is a nice thing, sometimes that is not so nice. It was ok today. Nathan commented on the great copper plated menus and he told us the guy who ordered them got fired over it. They were very pricey and he ordered 500 of them. Very strange, since maybe 100 would have been enough for this place. Ah, the things we learn from talking to people.



And for Jack and Diane:

The skiers are taking over!

New snow and warm temperatures this final weekend in June brought out the most skiers I have ever seen on Rainier. The DC, Emmons, Winthrop, and Fuhrer Finger were all skied. The ski conditions were great for the most part. The snow was firm but somewhat punchy down to 13,000 feet. Conditions improved as the snow softened and became less wind- affected. There was good corn skiing from about 11,500' to about 10,000'. The snow became heavy and wet below that altitude. Above is a photo of one of those skiers descending the Cleaver. Although the skiing can be fabulous, be realistic about conditions and your ability, and be sure to be "on your game", as exposure to cliffs below can severely impact your outing in the event of an uncontrolled slip!

Conditions and weather have combined this week to give us stable weather and great climbing. Climbers summitted via the Disappointment Cleaver, Ingraham Direct, Fuhrer Finger, Kautz Glacier, Tahoma Glacier, Liberty Ridge, Winthrop Glacier, and the Emmons Glacier. Of course, the warm weather has its downside: rock fall and ice fall have increased exponentially, and a few routes have started to melt out... notably Gibralter Ledges, which had seen quite a few ascents this year.
--Adrienne Sherred - Photo by Andy Anderson