Happy Holidays at Sea World

Today we visited Sea World, which was decked out for the holidays. It was such a treat to walk around hearing Christmas music while seeing all the decorations. It definitely put me in the holiday spirit.

We don't even have a Christmas tree this year. Nathan said he brought me to a place where there were tons of trees instead.

Beyond the fabulous decorations, there was holiday entertainment too. Christmas music:

An ice skating show:

Even Shamu's show was Holiday themed. I sat next to a cutie pie who made the show ten times better because she squealed with delight each time she saw the whales.

We had a great time and really loved the different shows! We hope to get back again to see the few shows we did miss before they change them out.



Living the life in Florida!

Jacob and Louisa (Fisher) Phend

Jacob Phend was born June 27, 1829 in Aarmuhle, prefecture of Interlaken, Canton Bern, Switzerland. Not quite three years later, on June 11th 1832 Jacob left the city of LeHavre, France on his way to a new country. He was onboard a ship with his parents, Johannes and Susanna Kübla B'hend, his two half-sisters, Barbara and Margaret, and his half-brother, John, "bound for Baltimore, with the intention of settling in Ohio" according to his father's passport. Family tradition has it that as the ship was nearing the American shore they encountered a severe storm that drove them off their course and the ship was driven onto rocks. It is not known where they came ashore, or where they went immediately afterwards, only that by October of 1832 his father had purchased land in Stark County, Ohio. The family settled in that area of Stark County that by the end of 1832 became part of newly-formed Carroll County.

It was there that Jacob grew up, presumably performing the same tasks as any other youngster raised on a farm during that time period. In December, 1840, the Michael Fisher family moved into the neighborhood. Their oldest child was 11 year old Louisa. Seven years later, on August 27, 1847 according to family records, Jacob Phend and Louisa Fisher became husband and wife. It is thought that Jacob and Louisa may have moved to Holmes county, Ohio where his half-sister Margaret Phend Weiss lived with her family. According to family records, it was in Holmes county that John, the first child of Jacob and Louisa, was born on July 29th 1848.



The following year, Jacob moved his young family to Taylor township in Greene County, Indiana. His half-sister, Barbara, had moved there about 1840 with her husband, Christian Feutz. On May 12th 1851, the second child was born to Jacob and Louisa and he was named Christian.

In March of 1852, Jacob sold his land in Greene County and headed north to Marshall County near the Kosciusko County line, not far from where "his wife's people" lived. Louisa's father had died in 1845 and at about the same time that she and Jacob went to southern Indiana, her mother had moved with the other children to northern Indiana. It is not known why she went north and they went south; perhaps she had relatives living there. At any rate, in the spring of 1852, Jacob and Louisa moved their family to northern Indiana and settled in German township, Marshall county.

The Phend-Fisher Family History written by Clarence Phend (oldest son of Christian) in 1928 provides the following account of the family's journey to northern Indiana: "In the year of 1852, Jacob Phend took his family and a few meager possessions which included one horse, a yoke of oxen, a wagon, and a dog onto a canal boat and journeyed to Lafayette, Indiana. While they were loading the oxen and the horse onto the canal boat, the horse became frightened and jumped overboard into the canal. Immediately the dog jumped off the boat, seized the rope to the horse's halter with his teeth and swam to shore with the horse in tow. A passenger on the canal boat, upon seeing this unusual fete performed by the dog, offered to pay twenty dollars for the animal, but the offer was refused. Upon arriving in Lafayette the dog was missing. A thorough search failed to reveal the whereabouts of the animal. From Lafayette they journeyed to their claim in Marshall county by ox cart. There was no house on this land so it was necessary for them to stay with some German people who lived nearby. They immediately set about to build a log house in which to live, and it was here that their children Samuel, William, Jacob and Sophia were born."

The family moved once again, in 1865, but only about one mile east to Scott township in Kosciusko county. They lived near the small town of Hepton, about two miles south of where the town of Nappanee would be built in 1875. That part of the county, as it would have been at the time the Phend's lived there, was described in A Standard History of Kosciusko County, Indiana (1919): "Scott Township was the last of the three northwestern townships to be settled, and it compares favorably, as to soil and drainage, with other portions of the county. The first post office was established in the southern portion of the township during the year 1853. Scott Township settled very slowly, although a small hamlet commenced to form in the neighborhood of the Hepler and Yockey farms. The original name of the village was Hepton. A general store, a mill, a creamery, a good school and other evidences of an intelligent and settled community gradually appeared in that neighborhood."

The farm at Hepton became known as the "Phend Homestead" and it was there, in November 1865, that Henry Phend, the last child of Jacob and Louisa, was born. The "Biographical and Historical Record of Kosciusko County" (1887) states: "Jacob and Louisa Phend purchased 120 acres of partially improved land, and now have about 100 acres in a good state of cultivation. Mr. Phend has built a fine residence and good, substantial farm buildings, and is considered one of the representative farmers of Scott township. Politically he affiliates with the Republican party. He and his wife are members of the Evangelical church."

It wasn't until 1875 that Jacob and Louisa sold their farm in Marshall county to their two oldest children, John and Christian. In the deed there was an added provision whereby a plot of land, to be used for church purposes, was given to the trustees of the Ebenezer Church, Evangelical Association of North America. A small white church stands there today, though I don't know when it was built. Later, Jacob was instrumental in establishing three other churches; one at Hepton, one in Nappanee, and the other at the community of Pleasant Plains near Limon, Colorado.

To be continued. . . see part 2 (link added September 26, ..)

Mt Erie ..

Steve and I decided on doing some rock climbing at Mt. Erie on Monday. Skies were to be clear, and temps around 40° up in Anacortes. This was our choice after being somewhat tired from our Saturday climb, and not thinking the skiing was going to be all that great.

We had a leisurely start to the day, and left Edmonds around 8:30am. Our intention was to climb in the Snag Buttress area of the mountain, and check out some new (to us) routes in that area. Steve's main interest was in the route Touching the Sky, a 5.9 sport route accessed from Snag Buttress. That meant climbing the first pitch of Zig Zag (5.7) to get there. Once on the ledge, we determined that the down climb, and water seep on the route meant we did not want to do it. Instead we opted to climb up the ledge slightly above the top of Snag Buttress where there were multiple routes to chose from. We opted for the Ray Auld Memorial Route (5.7) which brought us up to the top of wall.

We hiked around a bit trying to make sense of the maps and crags. We stumbled upon a short blocky sport route which I am thinking might be A View to a Climb (5.6) on the Lumpy Crag. Hard to tell. We climbed it, and just west of the top we were above the Friction Slab area. After that, we played the typical Mt. Erie find the best way down game. We looked through the book and followed some weak trails down. (Made more fun by walking on slippery grass with rock shoes.) A free-hanging rappel off a Madrone tree and some bramble bushwhacking got us back to the packs.

It was a fun day. However, I seemed not mentally up to the climbing and had difficulty at times with moves/grades that are well within my ability. Also of note, was the generally crummy rock quality and lack of good protection in some areas. Plenty of relic pitons and old bolts around too.

Coming up Zig Zag (photo by Steve Machuga)

Steve leading up Ray Auld

Show off

Ice, Snice and a good Screw...

Here is another recycled bit from 2/1/10 early last winter.







I wrote the following on 2/28/08



"Ice screws? If you are not currently climbing with the newest generation of Grivel screws you are wasting energy. I’ve tried EVERY new screw design currently on the market, in almost every snow and ice condition you can think of. With all due respect to Black Diamond, and with no hype, no bs, there is no other manufacture even close to Grivel's current production. The Grivel screws are as revolutionary to ice climbing as Jardine's Friends were 30 years ago. Big statement I know. But placing good gear, easily, where you want it instead of were you could makes climbing much, much easier and a lot safer."



"To support my comments I have the newest Grivels (360s and Helix) and both models of the newest BD screws on my rack now. I'll stand by my original comments as the Helix being the best of the bunch the majority of time. Although the 360 is good may be even a toss up with the BDs..although the BDs rack/stack and deploy much easier. The BDs just don't start or cut ice as easily. I am not a big fan of the 360, wacky hanger design, although the 360 does have an advantage over all of them in tight placements."



"Sitting here at the key board I see that the BD screw has longer initial teeth and a thinner tube profile. Both of which should be an advantage over the Grivel chewing into ice. Grivel threads start a bit shallower at the teeth (by 1/10s of an inch). Which technically means it will start a bit quicker but it isn't much. The thread designs are totally different from Grivel to BD. Grivel's finish is obviously smoother. All issues which will make a difference +/- in performance.



I'll easily admit both Companies offer good products and everyone develops there own preferences."



In the past two years, I have learned a lot about ice screw manufacture. The level of nickel plating, the weight of ice screws, the differences in thread, tooth and tube profiles and the inside diameter of the tubes. I've looked at the hanger designs and how that effects racking and initial placement.



In design and manufacture I would have thought that the newest BD screws would have been the best available. I've seen a multitude of in house tests that show all sorts of info why the BD or the Grivel tubes are the "best".



I am a big believer in numbers so the other day I pulled out a few more brand new BD Express screws to make up for the other half of my Helix rack I would leave at home. Off I went, fat, dumb and happy to the local ice crag.



Mind you the climbing wasn't hard...WI4 and good feet but really bad ice. Ice was covered with snow in many places, terribly chandelier and thin. Scary enough for me that many times I was placing two screws at a time hoping to get at least one solid screw if I wasn't hitting rock. Not a technique I would normally use or recommend so you can get an idea on my mind set. In 130 feet I placed 9 screws as pro. 6 of them were placed as 3 pairs.



Once again I got a clear picture of the actual physical differences between BD and Grivel screw placement. I then spent part of the afternoon today, resharpening the same batch of screws, both BD and Grivel.



Some of my observations I found interesting while doing the sharpening. The BD screws remind me of a fine honed razor knife. Really sharp but something that won't hold an edge for long or be very durable. Cuts well till it gets dull. But the thinner side walls and razor edge dulls quickly in my experience. The Grivel on the other hand have more of what I would call a "combat edge", that stays sharp even with some abuse. Both take some effort to resharpen to factory spec.



I don't particularly like the 360. I find the crank and hanger too cumbersome in use. So I generally don't use it. The Helix marginally better. But enough better that I prefer its down sides over the additional effort to place a BD Express. I have no loyalty to any gear manufacture be it BD or Grivel. My loyalty is guaranteed by what works.



So I used the Helix on water ice almost exclusively. But because of the huge weight savings over any other steel screw I take the BD Turbos into the alpine...for water ice or snice. There is so little "real" difference in use between the two brands. But the weight difference is a "big" thing. 20g or close to 1 oz in a 6 oz screw.



Last winter a BD Express literally saved my live while being lowered off a thin lead and one of my two screws popped out of marginal snice. Another place where I had set a pair of screws hoping for the best. A pair of BD Express this time and the only gear 60 feet out, set in a tiny patch of "hope and a prayer" snice, 10" apart. The first screw popped within milliseconds after taking full body weight! The second took the dynamic load and then held, thankfully. My guardian angel had to work over time for a few months last year :)



Screws are really expensive these days. BD Express or the Grivel Helix can be had for $55/60.

I pay retail for mine and it is painful. I'd suggest you "try before you buy" if it is possible.



A comment from a buddy I trust, Doug Shepard, doing a BD Turbo Express review in Dec of '07.





"How is real world performance? These things rock!



They start easier than my old BD screws. At least as fast to start and place as the Grivel 360 screws in my opinion, which I thought was the fastest screw on the market to place. Combined with the multiple clip-in points, this screw takes what is great about the Petzl Laser (ease of use), the Grivel 360 (extremely easy to start), and the old Turbo Express (durability and ease of racking) and duplicates or improves on each idea.



Multiple partners have all commented on how much easier the new Turbo Express screws are to start, place, and remove. They are an all-around improvement over the old model. Only time and extended use will tell how durable they are compared to the old model and competing products."





Bottom line? You can get too anal about some things :) I am about ice screws for sure. To some extent it is personal preference and what you are most used to climbing with. Between the BD and Grivel the difference is little. Obviously I have a preference and I am sure the BD crew cringes and roll their eyes, rightfully so, when I post something like this, while Gioachino @ Grivel rubs his hands in glee.



The newest generation of ice screws are amazing. In many ways they have opened up much of the new mixed terrain and allowed the old "classics" to be done faster and much safer. There are no losers here.

A mountain of maintenance

I've been wondering about the upper mountain. It must be snowing up there today, because the temperatures are much cooler here in Longmire. The Camp Muir and Paradise weather stations are both offline... Perhaps they are casualties of the intermittent disruption of power, phone and internet. I do know this: there was 7 inches of snow on the ground at Paradise yesterday, and I can see a snowline at 3,500 feet today.

I am also wondering about all that rain on the glacier. I have a feeling that at some elevations, the rain turned the glacier into hard/bulletproof ice when the temperature dropped. Here is the Nisqually Glacier from the air, taken on Wednesday.

It has been raining steadily today, but the river flow and currents have remained normal. Access to the backcountry and mountain is dependent upon repairing the park's infrastructure. A lot of cranes, dozers, and dump trucks will be needed to re-sculpt the land for roads and sewer systems. Like today, I saw a large crane moving rock in the Nisqually River in order to help protect a historic cabin, road and treatment plant. But it's not everyday you see this sort of thing in a national park.

There was another spate of articles online at MSNBC and in the local papers about the park closure and flood damage. The big pieces were in the News Tribune, Seattle Times and the Yakima Herald. In the meantime, let there be colder temps and stable weather.

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!

We're Leaving on a Jet Plane

For my birthday, Nathan planned a little trip for us. Since it is definitely high season here at the park, I didn't plan to go any place until the end of the season. Thank to him, the manager and the girls who covered my shifts-we were able to go now.



Normally when we fly, we both read books. This time we both had smartphones to entertain us. Which means Nathan did this:



While I did this:

Gunks Routes: Immaculate Conception/Son of Bitchy Virgin (5.6) & Bitchy Virgin (5.5)

(Photo: Heading up pitch 2 of Son of Bitchy Virgin (5.6))



Good judgment.



It is important to have good judgment when climbing. As a leader, I hope I have it. It is important to me to think that I have it. Thinking I have it is probably almost as important to my leading as actually having it.



As I've edged back into pushing my limits this year, I've tried to be cautious. But I know enthusiasm can at times threaten my good judgment. And I have a lot of enthusiasm.



My friend and longtime climbing partner Liz is having a baby in the fall. She has continued climbing (though not leading anything) during her pregnancy. She was with me on Apoplexy (5.9) earlier this year, for example. As her pregnancy has progressed she's gradually been forced to accept that she has to dial it back to easier climbing. But she hasn't given up without a fight. She gamely followed me up Birdland (5.8) in May even though she struggled with the cruxes of both pitches. On another occasion, climbing not with me, she had to prussik through the crux while following Modern Times (5.8+).



I was looking for partners while I was in New Paltz for the week before July 4 with my family, so I was excited Liz was thinking about joining us. I didn't want to put either of us in a dangerous situation given that she was now about halfway through her pregnancy. So I promised her that if she joined us at our summer house in New Paltz in early July, I wouldn't push her to do anything hard. We could focus on 5.6 and below, which we felt would be easy and casual for both of us.



My first idea was that we should do the Bitchy Virgin climbs. I had never done them. The original route, Bitchy Virgin, has two pitches of 5.5, and the successor Son of BV ups the ante slightly with one pitch of 5.5 and a second that is 5.6. In between is a variation single-pitch climb called Immaculate Conception (also 5.6) which ends at the Son of BV anchor. If we did them all we'd get 5 pitches done in this one little spot. Liz hadn't tried these climbs either so she agreed.



When we arrived at the base of the climbs, I thought Immaculate Conception looked like the most interesting line. A couple steep moves past some suspect flakes about 15-20 feet up seemed like the crux.



Once we racked up, I enjoyed it. The crux steep bit past the flakes leads over a bulge to easier climbing at a lower angle. The flakes are creaky but I don't think they're popping out any time soon. Once over the bulge there is a little bit of a runout to the belay ledge, but this runout is through territory much easier than 5.6. At the belay ledge there is a station made from slings threaded around a boulder, but I elected to build a gear anchor in the good cracks right above the ledge instead, so we could both comfortably stand on the ledge and belay with the anchor above our hands.



If our first pitch, Immaculate Conception, was nice, pitch two of Son of BV was really quite nice indeed. The climb goes straight up, trending a little left. It is nothing but good face climbing. Clean, steep and sustained, with good moves and good holds. I have seen reports of inadequate pro, but I thought the pro was just good enough. The horizontals appear every so often, and I even passed up an opportunity or two to place something a little off line to the left and the right. This is definitely not a pitch that you can sew up, however, and if 5.6 is your lead limit this climb might not be the best one for you. With that caveat aside, I would say Son of BV is yet another high quality 5.6 in the Gunks, worth the two stars Dick bestows upon it (when linked with Immaculate Conception) and further evidence that 5.6 is one of the great grades at the Gunks.



The rap tree on the GT Ledge at the top of Son of BV bears watching. This muti-forked tree has some live branches, and some that are dead or dying. It has seen better days. We went ahead and used it, because it didn't look like it would be that easy to get over to the much bigger and healthier-looking tree atop Bitchy Virgin. Pretty soon, unless the tree atop Son of BV recovers a bit, we may not have a choice. I have seen worse rap trees in the Gunks, but I think at another time in my climbing life I would have insisted we use a different station to get off the cliff. It may be that I have mellowed a bit when it comes to using these sketchy rap anchors, and I'm not sure this is a good thing. Perhaps we should not have used it.



Liz had no trouble following me up either of our first two 5.6 pitches, so I thought the two 5.5 pitches of Bitchy Virgin would be a breeze for her. It was getting hot out but neither of us were concerned. We didn't stop to take a break. Once we returned to the base I went right at pitch one of Bitchy Virgin.



The pitch climbs a corner at the back of a little gully that goes between the main cliff and the left side of the Mantle Block. I was surprised to find the Bitchy Virgin corner a little dirty. I didn't see much evidence of other climbers, either. This was in stark contrast to Immaculate Conception, the climb we'd just finished to the left, which had tons of chalk on it, even though all the nearby climbs were only recently reopened after the peregrine nesting that closes a portion of the cliff every year.



Is Bitchy Virgin unpopular? Dick Williams gives it a star. Perhaps it is the little scramble up the gully to the start that puts people off?



Whatever the reason, I think if people are taking a pass on Bitchy Virgin they are missing out. In my opinion it is good, and a bit stiff for 5.5. Nice moves go up the corner, using the crack at the back for pro and sometimes for upward progress. Eventually there is a somewhat awkward struggle past a tree (admittedly this part of the pitch isn't so great), after which you move a little further up the corner, almost to its top, before obvious holds take you on a fun, short traverse with good pro to the outside arete and around onto the main face, about 10 to 15 feet above the belay station for Immaculate Conception/Son of BV.



If I'm right that Bitchy Virgin isn't getting much traffic, I think that's an injustice. It is not a superclassic 5.5 like Horseman or Ursula, but I've done much worse one-star climbs in the Trapps. It is a totally worthwhile climb, and there aren't enough quality 5.5's out there for it to get so little attention, in my opinion.



Once I built us a belay, Liz had no trouble following the pitch. There was no sign of any problem. She came right up. Things were still going well.



So I set off on pitch two, having fun. It seemed a lot like pitch two of Son of BV, but easier. Clean steep climbing with good holds.



I was about twenty feet off the belay when Liz called up to me to say that she wasn't feeling well.



Uh oh.



I guessed that she was maybe feeling a little sick to her stomach.



I stopped and asked her a question. "Do you think you'll be able to finish this pitch?"



"No," she said. "I feel like I'm about to pass out!"



Crap. Not good.



Clearly we needed to get down. I immediately chastised myself for taking Liz up a multipitch climb. She hadn't had any fainting episodes on the rock before, but it suddenly seemed patently unwise to have her belaying me 100 feet off the ground halfway through her pregnancy, in the bright sunshine, away from the food and water. What a stupid thing to do. Both of us should have known better.



I stepped down to the last piece of gear I had placed and thought about our options. Option one: I could place another piece or two and build an anchor from which she could lower me to the belay. This meant that we'd be leaving pieces behind, which of course was a secondary consideration but still something to think about. Also, what if she passed out while lowering me? She was tied in, so she wouldn't go anywhere, but what about me? I'd be falling through space. She was belaying me with a Cinch, which should lock off if she were to let go, but still... this was not an acceptable option. I supposed I could build an anchor, attach myself to it, then pull up the rope and rap. But this seemed very time-consuming. There had to be a better way.



Quickly I came up with option two: I could just downclimb back to her. This immediately seemed like the better idea. She'd keep me on belay, I wouldn't leave any gear, and if she lost consciousness I'd still be on the rock, and not relying solely on her Cinch to catch me. The climbing had so far been through easy territory and I was confident downclimbing would be no problem.



I racked my brain for another option, but these were the best I could come up with.



So I downclimbed the twenty feet back to her, going as fast as I reasonably could and all the while talking to her to make sure she was still with me. It didn't take long, and it seemed with each passing second that it was less likely she'd actually faint. Nevertheless I was relieved to get back to the belay and clip in.



Once we were together I lowered her from the belay ledge to the ground, and then I rapped off. Even as I lowered her it seemed that the crisis had passed, but it still made sense to go find some shade, have some fluids, and rest a bit.



On the ground we ate and drank and Liz soon felt better; we even resumed some single-pitch climbing after we took a break.



As crises go this wasn't a big one. No one actually lost consciousness. No one was hurt.



But still one can learn from these experiences.



Obviously some of our decisions could have been better that day. We probably should have made more of an effort to stay in the shade, and to take things slow. And while maybe we didn't have to rule out multipitch climbing completely, at the very least we should have brought up some food and water with us on the cliff. I think we were lulled into a certain complacency by the fact that the climbing was easy and things were going smoothly.



So we maybe should have been more careful not to get into the situation in which we found ourselves. With that said, I think we behaved reasonably when the issue emerged. And I think the decision I made to downclimb was the right one, under the circumstances. The most conservative thing to do would have been to build an anchor, leave the gear, and rap to Liz. That would have allowed me to descend to her without requiring any belaying from her. If the climbing had been more difficult this likely would have been the only reasonable choice. But since the climbing was so easy I think my decision to downclimb instead was correct; it was the less complicated solution and quicker as well.



Good judgment? I guess I'll give myself a B. Poor planning, but a decent recovery.

My Concessions to the Bicycle

In the past, I've expressed my view that an effective transportation bicycle is one that "allows us to be ourselves" - meaning that we should not have to change the way we dress or lead our lives in order to ride it. Recently a reader called me on this, asking the following (edited) question over email:

You write that you do not believe in compromising personal style when it comes to cycling for transportation and I am wondering just how far you take this idea. Have you really never made any compromises in your wardrobe in order to commute by bike?

That is a good point, and I did not mean to imply that I never compromise on my clothing choices in order to cycle for transportation.



For one thing, I have stopped wearing high heels since I began cycling. While I know that many women find it perfectly natural to cycle in heels and I admire this ability, I myself cannot do it in a way that makes me feel safe and comfortable. I was willing to give up heels, because my relationship with them was already waning - the bike was simply the last straw. Throughout my late teens and all of my twenties, I pretty much wore 3-3.5" heels all the time. In fact, my body got so trained to the resulting posture, that my lower back would hurt when I would attempt to wear flat shoes! The wisdom of having done that for so many years is a separate topic, but either way - I somehow grew out of it, or maybe just became more messy/natural over time, and gradually lost the addiction to towering footwear. My point being, that by the time I gave them up altogether in order to feel safe on my bicycle, it no longer felt like a sacrifice. 10 or even 5 years ago it would have been a problem, but not now.



Another wardrobeadjustment since I began cycling, has been my choice of skirts. I wear almost exclusively skirts and dresses, and they vary in design. I have always favoured "a-line"styles, which flare out at the bottom, over "pencil" styles, which fit tightly around the knees. I do own a couple of pencil skirts and skirt-suits that I am fond of, but I cannot wear them on a bicycle at all, as they constrain both my pedaling and my ability to mount the bike. Hiking the skirt up does help, but it wrinkles the fabric, shows my underpants to the world, and is just generally too much hassle for me. So I have mostly stopped wearing pencil skirts, favouring a-line, pleated, flared, fluted and full styles instead. I also cannot wear super-mini skirts on a bike, because somehow the hem tends to catch on the back of the saddle when I dismount. Again, not really a huge sacrifice, as I've mostly stopped wearing mini skirts anyway.



And finally, on the hottest days of summer, I seldom wear solid pastel colours since I started cycling - especially blouses - because they show sweat stains. Instead, I opt for florals, paisleys, stripes, or some other pattern that disguises sweating. It's a useful trick for cycling in extreme heat and humidity while still wearing work clothing.



While I do make some compromises in the way I dress in order to ride a bicycle comfortably, I feel that they are relativelyminor and don't sacrifice my sense of individuality. It's one thing for someone like me to stick to a-line skirts and to stop wearing high heels when I was already in the process of abandoning them. But it would be another thing to suddenly start wearing pants, sneakers and neon windbreakers in order to commute on a diamond frame roadbike. It's basically a difference between making compromises "within your stylistic comfort zone" vs. changing your style entirely. So the next question is: What if wearing high heels is super-important to someone and they view it as a crucial part of their identity, yet they cannot cycle in heels? Well, if they are absolutely unwilling to give up the heels, they have two options really: to make an extra effort to get comfortable cycling in them, or to choose other transportation options. Riding a bike is not for everyone and it can't be forced if other priorities overshadow the desire to cycle.



But on a separate note, it is worth considering that style evolves. Our choice of clothing is a function of how we live our lives, and the way we dress can change over time - influenced by a myriad of factors. Who is to say that cycling cannot be one of them? I am curious to see how something like that would play out in the wardrobe of, say, a corporate lawyer or a diplomat. Could be interesting!

Mt. Shasta, Avalanche Gulch

Mt. Shasta had been on our radar for a while and since northern California had a good forecast, we decided to head south. It is the second highest volcano in the lower 48 (Rainier is the highest). This is the view from the trailhead at Bunny Flat (6,900'). The huge valley in this photo is Avalanche Gulch. The route starts up the left side, goes around Helen Lake (10,400') and ends up on the right side.We seem to spend a lot of time standing still and looking up. The snow was firm and allowed us to make good time. We made it above the Red Banks in time to see the sunrise. There is nothing like watching a sunrise from high up on a mountain. It was starting to get cold and windy.The shadow of Shasta is projected onto the countryside as the sun comes up. Next, we had to climb a feature called Misery Hill and a few false summits. We finally made it to the true summit.Doug and Dave on the summit. You would think that northern California would be warmer on June 25th, but it was cold at 14,162'!When the conditions are good, you can glissade about 3,000' down this route. The snow was still too firm, so we had to walk down. There were still a lot of climbers heading up.

All that was left was the long drive home. We got to see a bunch of deer, antelope, turkey vultures and about 10 more snow covered volcanoes.

It was fun to take a road trip to a new area and finally climb this giant.

Da birdz

This rather handsome fellow is called Big Red. I never in a million years would have purposely ordered a Rhode Island Red rooster, since they have a reputation for meanness and we already have enough of that.

We were supposed to just be fostering him and five RIR hens. But when we never got paid, we were stuck. (No good deed ever goes unpunished!) So far he's actually very sweet though.

Anyway, Big Red dropped in to tell you about Birdstock, the 16th edition of I and the Bird, that is hosted over at the Dharma Bums.

He also reminded me that I never posted a link to the last Circus of the Spineless. Sorry about that!

The Sneeker Waterpoort

There is not much information available about Sneek’s medieval water port or gateway (located in Sneek, Friesland in the north of the Netherlands). It was believed that the port was built around 1492 by an unknown architect and its primary function was to control the water flowing into the town. Back then cities and towns are built around thick stone walls for protection from enemy invasion, and in the Netherlands because of its quagmire topography, they make use of the water as moats, serving an additional line of defence.

I saw this poem engraved on a block of stone, written in Fries by Marcel van der Meulen on the trattoir just beside the water port. Fries is a language spoken in the northern part of the Netherlands, primarily in the Friesland province where Sneek is a part of. It is a bit similar to Dutch of course so I can understand some of it (written but not spoken) but not all.

Here is my meagre English translation (in Fries or Dutch they actually rhyme but not in English, too bad):

Butter, bread and milk in our cup
Who cannot say this is not a real Sneker
I am though, because I live in the Water Port
There in ‘hewwe jim’ it was heard (this line I am having a hard time translating, help!)
It is a very old building that I adore
Boats, canals and the city
Sneek will always be my biggest love

And here are a few more fotos of the famous Sneeker Waterpoort:


In Madurodam (The Hague), the mini-Holland park or the smallest city in the Netherlands, there is a little replica of the Sneeker Waterpoort, scaled down to 1:25. I think I even have a foto of it, hmm, need to search my archives. Other replicas are to be found in China (Holland Village in Shenyang), Japan (Huis ten Bosch in Nagasaki) and Denmark (Legoland in Billund).

Many say that the Sneeker Waterpoort, one of the great examples of medieval architecture, is the Netherlands most beautiful water gateway. I quite agree.