Surreal Sky

I am always on the lookout for interesting clouds to photograph, and this morning I definitely saw some interesting ones. The clouds shown in this photo were very high altitude and held their shape for a very long time. I shot this photo with my Canon 100-400mm lens at 400mm.

Amsterdam in just a few hours

Three weeks ago, my cousin—Dr. Balin came to visit me in the Netherlands. She’s on a work-related trip here in Europe and I’m so glad she took time to come over for a weekend.


Of course, Amsterdam is in the agenda. I asked Dutchman to bring us to the capital city by car. Going back we will be taking the train to Utrecht, and then the Dutchman can fetch us from train station. With this I do not have to pay a ludicrous amount of money for parking.



Like last weekend, I was in Amsterdam for dinner and I paid 32 freaking euros for less than 6 hours parking. That could be a light dinner for 1 person already.



Anywho, here’s what we did in Amsterdam for 8 hours. From 4 in the afternoon to half past 12 midnight.





Dutch fastfood: Febo food vending machine in Leidseplein. Typically Dutch.





And beside Febo is the 'Wok to Walk' and we ordered this for our additional afternoon snack.





We had some cheese tasting and quickly visited the floating Flower Market.





We checked the lovely canals of course.





Dr. Balin and moi.





I wanted to show her 'Begijnhof' but it was already closed. This is the Spui area.





Cafe terracing and people watching at Spui.





On the way to the Westerkerk in Jordaan.





At the homo monument.





The Jordaan neighbourhood.









We had our nachos with cheese light dinner at Escape in Rembrandtplein.







At the Dam...





The 'Waag' at the Nieuwmarkt (New Market Square) which is formerly a gate and a weighing house is now a cafe restaurant.





The Red Light District.







Cool coffee shop in the Red Light District.





Waiting for our intercity train to Utrecht at half past 12.





Finally in the train enroute to Utrecht. My feet and legs are so tired from walking. It was a lovely 8 hours with Balin in Amsterdam.



Visit Period: September

Destination: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Gunks Routes: P-38 (5.10b)

(Photo: Past the low crux overhang and into the awkward corner of P-38 (5.10b).)


Gail and I recently got out for a little weekday fun in the Gunks.



We saw little reason to stray too far from the Uberfall. There were lots of people around, to be sure, but nothing approaching the weekend crowds.



The spring weather was delightful and my only big goal for the day was to hit at least one 5.10 from my list. After spending a few pleasant hours in the Frog's Head area we decided it was time. We headed over to P-38 (5.10b). Gail had followed it before but it was years ago. I had never tried it so it was to be an onsight attempt for me.



Sitting as it does within spitting distance of the outhouse known as the "Über Pooper," P-38 is for most climbers a familiar sight. The slanting crack that defines the climb is obvious from the road below.



I wanted to do it because of that crack. I expected it would provide good gear. About the climbing, I guess I knew very little. I thought, not unreasonably, that I was in for a crack climb. But it turned out that there isn't any crack climbing on P-38, which is cool because I'm no good at that anyway!



I was hoping that maybe, just this once, I'd onsight one of these 5.10's. I have not had much luck with getting them clean. Over and over again I've had to work the cruxes a bit, or on some occasions I've even had to back off.



The first hard move on P-38 comes right off the deck, as you attempt to surmount a little overhang that is just over your head as you stand below the climb. There is pro here, and I actually placed two pieces as I stepped up and down, several times, working out the opening move. Eventually, after several reconnaissance missions, checking the gear and making plans, I executed my little sequence and made it up over the little roof.



Success! Maybe I was on my way to victory.



I was surprised by the next few moves. I thought the climb would be sustained and awkward. And it is sort of awkward, but after the opening moves it is really pretty easy up to the crux. There are jugs outside the crack and you can actually wedge your leg into the crack as you move up, providing opportunities to place gear, rest and shake out.



Soon enough I arrived at the crux sequence. You'll know it when you arrive there. There is a delicate step left to a little dish for your toe, and then a couple of thin moves up to a tantalizing ledge, so close but yet so far.



I placed what I thought was a bomber purple Camalot and then made the step left. As I tried to move up I thought about placing more gear but the climbing was pumpy and insecure. I just wanted to move-- the rest stance was in sight-- and so I did, without dealing with any more placements. I moved up once, feeling like I was barely in balance, just holding on. I thought that if I could make one additional move, a high-step to a polished pebble, I would be through the crux.



I was just a move away, but as I tried to get my toe on the pebble I lost the grip and took a fall. It happened suddenly and caught me a little bit off guard. I meant to yell "falling!" But instead in the moment said "take!"



Of course it happened so fast that Gail couldn't take; she just caught me as I took what turned out to be a pretty good whipper. The Camalot held just fine and the fall was totally clean. It is steep there and the gear is a little to the right so there isn't much risk of the rope catching your leg. It is about the best fall you could hope for.



Still I was a little taken aback by how far I fell and as I went back up, onsight already blown, I decided to place more gear before trying the crux again. I ended up getting a higher cam from the rest stance and then, after moving left again, I placed a great red Alien from the delicate position after you step up into the crux sequence. I ended up hanging a couple of times as I placed the additional gear and then, as I got set to try the final crux move again, I took a couple more falls as I rushed it trying to get back to the crux move and then failed at the crux when I tried to repeat the same sequence I used the first time.



Hanging there, I told myself to focus. I had come closer to success on my first try than I had on my subsequent fumbling efforts. I needed to execute my beta to get to the final move, and then try something new. I visualized exactly what I planned to do and then tried to be precise and patient.



And this time it went like butter. I danced up to the final move. Then I switched feet and stepped through up to the polished pebble, and it flowed. It actually felt easy, and I found myself at the rest stance, wishing I'd thought to try the move this way the first time. I came so close to the onsight! One little pebble away from victory.



I seem to find myself saying this every time, but now that I've worked it out I think I can go back and get the redpoint. I remember the whole sequence and I think so long as I'm careful I can climb it without a problem. The only question is whether I will be able to do it while placing the extra gear mid-crux. This gear isn't strictly necessary but I'd like to have it. If I decide to place it the crux will be a little bit harder.



Once the crux is over, P-38 eases off considerably. There is an easy traverse left and then a few 5.8 moves over a bulge to the finish. Some describe this section of the pitch as run out, but I did not find it to be so. I placed a couple of Tricams along the traverse and a nut in a flake right below the sloper holds that take you over the final bulge.



Once up on the finishing ledge, I was surprised to find the traditional belay tree long gone. There is no tree, just a rotting stump, which is obviously not a suitable anchor. I arranged a belay with gear placed between the huge boulders on the ledge, but you could also go to the top and belay from a living tree. The walk-off down the Uberfall is very close if you choose to go all the way to the top. If you belay on the ledge as I did you can use the Radcliffe descent which is right there behind the climb. This was my first time down Radcliffe and it is a little more exposed at a couple of spots than the Uberfall descent.



P-38 is a really good little climb. I will go back to send it. It has two stiff cruxes, one at the opening move and then a harder, more technical crux above. It has some unusual moves for the Gunks, good gear, and it could hardly be more accessible. I am bummed out that I didn't figure it out the first time, but I shall return!

Failure to Yield and Crosswalk Design

In Somerville, MA we have this community path for bicyclists and pedestrians that stretches all the way to the neighbouring town of Arlington, grazing Cambridge along the way. The path is great, except that it is frequently interrupted by busy roads and the crossings can be challenging. We had this one particular interruption, where cyclists had to make a complicated series of turns and negotiate a major intersection in order to get from one stretch of the path to another.Then sometime last year, construction began at that intersection. Rumor had it they were making a crosswalk that would cut through the series of islands - a straight line connecting the disjointed stretches of community path. That is exactly what they did, and the new intersection was unveiled a couple of months ago.






It's hard to capture the whole thing in photographs; it is vast and consists of 4 separate crosswalk segments. But the pictures above each show a chunk that should give you an idea of how it's designed. In 3 of the 4 segments there are traffic lights with clear red and green signals. And there is another small segment not visible here where there is just a crosswalk without a traffic light. In theory the design is great, because it creates a direct line of travel connecting the community path, without forcing cyclists to make an elaborate detour. In practice however, there is one big problem: Drivers don't yield. Some drivers make right turns on a red light at full speed without even checking whether anyone is in the crosswalk, others make U-turns on a red light, and others still simply run the red light altogether. In some instances the drivers obviously see me, but proceed anyway, forcing me to stop abruptly in the middle of the intersection or to speed up if I am already in their line of travel.






Roughly half the time I go through this intersection, something like this happens - to the point where I absolutely do not trust it anymore. It's a shame that all this work was done, and drivers' failure to yield ruins it. It is also frightening that the crosswalks look so nice and friendly, while in reality it is quite dangerous. I cannot really think of a solution, but it's clear that something needs to change in the local drivers' mentalities in order for attempts to create decent, convenient infrastructure to be truly successful. The infrastructure itself is not always enough.

First dinner in Amman: Tahini Kufta

Amsterdam to Amman is about 5 hours. Flight was uneventful and I was able to sleep for an hour. The Royal Jordanian airplane was half full, obviously due to the Middle East situation very few tourists are travelling to this part of the globe. Lekker rustig. Royal Jordanian has the only direct flight from Amsterdam to Amman. KLM flies via Paris and we would have arrived past 11PM if we chose this option.



So after checking in to our hotel, we went to Al Rainbow Street (a local hangout area with many coffee and tea shops) located in 1st Circle, Amman and we had dinner in a restaurant that has a bar and outdoor cafe terrace called -- Old Times Restaurant.



Old Times Restaurant at Al Rainbow Street







The view from our table is the terrace and the busy Al Rainbow Street.



We ordered Tahini Kufta, a typical Arabic (Jordanian) lamb meal with potatoes and while enjoying our first meal in Jordan we did some people watching as well. It was so tempting to do the hubbly bubbly but we'll wait for another night perhaps.



Tahini Kufta for dinner













The restaurant seems to be a popular and chic place to hangout?



And oh, Jordan is 1 hour ahead of Amsterdam time. We have free internet in the hotel so making the most of it by blogging =)



Laters!

Cycling and Sun Damage

Though I have derived many benefits from cycling, the one drawback I am still struggling with is sun damage. During my first year on the bike as an adult, I thought that I was being pretty good about using sun protection, but noticed visible damage to my skin that seemed to be a direct result of cycling over the summer months. Darkened patches and wrinkles appeared in areas of my face and body that had been most exposed to the sun while cycling. And this was despite using high SPF sunblock and staying off the road during the hottest times of the day.



At some point last summer, I switched from chemical to physical sunblock (titanium dioxide or zinc oxide), which seems to have helped. My skin was sensitive to the chemical stuff, and some friends told me that30SPF physical block worked better for them than 60+SPF chemical, as well as lasted considerably longer. I switched and found this to be true for me as well. Physical sunblock remains visible after application and looks kind of goofy, but at this point I couldn't care less and just want to ride my bike without wrecking my skin.After year two there was still some additional skin damage, but less than before.This summer I will try to be extra good about applying the sunblock as frequently as possible.



In speaking to long-time road cyclists about sun damage, I've learned that it is a common complaint - to the extent that some just accept it as inevitable, embrace their wrinkles and brown spots, and pay frequent visits to the dermatologist. I really don't want to believe that it has to be that way, but my own case has done nothing to prove them wrong.What has been your experience with sun damage as a result of cycling, and how do you deal with it?

The Climbing Sweater?

The German-Austrian expedition in the best kit of the day on Nanga Parbat, 1934.

One of the things I have recently realised is there is a big difference between a belay jacket and a bivy jacket designed specifically for climbing. It has only been with in the last couple of seasons that I have actually seen jackets that I consider real belay jackets. The difference to me is a belay jacket is something light enough that you can really climb hard technical ground in after freezing your ass off on a cold belay and NOT get way over heated and "fried" by the end of the pitch.



I still own a bivy jacket. The kind of jacket you would use with a half bag to bivy in ( or bivy in just the jacket) or on Denali for extra warmth with a light bag. But something you'd only climb in on the type of days you really shouldn't be out at all. Windy and cold summit days on Denali or Rainier in winter type of days. I have never used a jacket of that weight any where else.



A belay jacket you'll put on earlier and take off later and then realise you can use it to dry things out as you climb and still not over heat. Your own heat management will be more efficient because of it, if the design and materials are up to the task.



Using my terms, once you start climbing in a true belay jacket, the "bivy" jacket won't see much use. I wouldn't take a jacket that heavy to Denali now. And for many things you might start thinking 1/2 pound of well designed stretchy synthetic insulation might well be be really useful to climb in during some really cold weather...say alpine stuff in Canada's winter.



Kinda a heavy weight hoody (using the benchmark Patagonia R1 Hoody as a reference) with wind protection....more like a belay sweater? To coin a new label.



But really just a climbing specific, sweater. By definition a very breathable and windproof garment with enough warmth to avoid adding a belay jacket for climbing generally.



I've not seen a garment to match that description till just recently. Although Ueli Steck mentioned a similar garment that he used when soloing the McIntyre/Colton last winter.While a great piece for climbing, Mountain Hardwear's original answer was the "Compressor Hoody". But the commercial version wasn't as light weight as what I was looking for. The Compressor Hoody makes a good outer layer and a great belay jacket, just a little too warm to climb in all the time.



The more I climb the more I go backto clothingideas that have been used for the last 75 years or more. The "climbing sweater" is one of them. If you are trying to getto the bare essentials for weight and warmth hard to beat a thin base layer, a insulated layer, wind shell and finally your last bit of insulation, the belay jacket,when it is required.



I generally us a R1 hoody or a lwt Merino wool sweater as a base layer but if it is cold enough I'll had a light weight layer of wool or synthetic under that.



The insulated layer for warmth can be the original soft shell, a simple wool sweater. Or it might be a boiled woolDachstein sweater as pictured in the 1934 picture above.



More likely today it will be some sort of pile in the thickness, wind resistance and breath ability you require, a wind shell combo with pile or a lightlyinsulated soft shell. I've use a similar systems myself until recently.



In the last few years I have almost totally stoppedusing pile insulation and soft shells in the mtns as an insulation layer.



I am back to using light weightwools sweaters orinstead of a heavy wool sweater or pile I have switched to either a down or a synthetic layer that I would consider "sweater" weight. By the looks of what is available today it seems I am notthe only one.



Arcteryx Atom Lt used in cold (-20/-25C) climbing conditions.

As a comparison here is what the weights are of several pieces of clothing I use all the time for winter climbing. Could be a day ice cragging in Bozeman or a full on winter day in the Icefields's at 10K feet or higher.



Belay sweater, insulated shell or just a sweater, your call and your label.



Arcteryx Squamish pullover XL 5.6oz (pure wind shell)



Modern technical sweaters:



Patagonia Nano Puff sweater1/2 zip large 11.5oz •60 gm/m²prima loft 1 insulation



Patagonia Nano Puff Hooded sweater large 13.5oz •60 gm/m² prima loft 1 insulation





Arcteryx Atom LT Hoody large 14.3 oz •60 gm/m² Coreloft™ insulation



Arcteryx Atom Hoody LT XL 15.6 oz •60 gm/m² Coreloft™ insulation



Patagonia Down Sweater Hoody XL 15.6 800 fill



Patagonia Down Sweater XL 14.6 800 fill



EB 1st Ascent Downlight Sweater XL 14.4 800 down fill



EB 1st Ascent Downlight Hoodie 1/2 zip XL 15.4 800 down fill



light weightinsulated jackets as a comparison

Mtn Hardware Compressor Hoody 19.8oz (Primaloft)

Arcteryx Atom hoody SV 19.0oz

Patagonia micro puff Hoody 22 oz (Primaloft)

Arcteryx Gamma MX Hoody XL 24oz (Polartec Power Shield soft shell)



I've been using an Arcteryx Atom LT Sweaternow for a couple of seasons. It is 10oz lighter than a soft shellMX Hoody and more water resistant from my experience. Big plus is it also breathes better. This winter simply because of thecomfort and warmth of down clothing I have started using the Eddie Bauer Downlight series of sweaters and the Patagonia Hooded Down Sweater. The use of down insulated clothing while ice and alpine climbing as base layers is clearly questionable. And generally they are not very durable.



Some quick photos to see the sweaters used in combos. Below: Here in -20C temps, no wind,with a Atom LT and a Compressor Hoody used at a belay stance.





Below: Colin Haley using the Patagonia Nano high on Denali while soloing the Cassin.

http://colinhaley.blogspot.com/_06_01_archive.html

Below:Atom LT again in -20 temps and windy conditions. Atom Lt over a R1 Hoody and aArcteryx Squamish pullover. Just enough insulation if I kept moving.

Below: Same set up again but climbing slowly and cold shadedbelays. Perfect combo with the hood down for the temps which were around -10C.



Below: R1 Hoody here with a Polartec Power Shield Arcteryx Gamma MX Hoody, temps again a balmy -10/-15C with the hoods going up and down as I climbed. No question the Gamma MX is the most durable of the "sweaters" under discussion. It also weights in at 10oz more.



Below: This a combo for really cold weather (-15/-20C)I used for climbing a couple of years ago.On top of a R1 hoody again is a med weighthooded pile pull over jacket, and aPatagonia "Puff" pullover over that. What I am using now is as warm but again half the weight. By the time I retired my Puff it was mostly held together by ducttape. Warm, but not all that durable.



I would never recommend any of these sweaters in a down version for serious climbing. Although I have to say I am using mine there on more and more occasions knowing full well just how worthless they are when wet from the environment or just as likely from perspiration while working hard. Poking holes in a synthetic sweater is bad enough. Even worse with down gear. It will happen if you are using them for ice or alpine. Plan ahead.

A synthetic belay jacket can dry a downsweater out pretty quickly with body heat alone but it still a huge hassle. Best to know what will work or won't for your own use/project before getting into these toodeep..

Besides Patagonia and Eddie Bauer, Mtn Hardware, Raband Arcteryx are making similar products made with down or synthetic insulation.If nothing else the "sweater" in any insulation materialis another option you'll want to be fully awareof in your winter clothing system.



The following are comparison pictures and comments of the current sweaters I am using. Most of it relates to the down versions with a few comments and pictures for the Arcteryz Atom LT.









Above: Blue jacket in this picture is the Patagonia Down Hoody, the gold Jacket a Eddie Bauer Downlight Sweater. Cuffs are virtually the same.





Above: Again Pata and EB..pocket comparisons. Same/same.



Above: First major difference. Both down versions are simple sewn through baffles. The Patagonia version (red) has a full front lining that adds some warmth and wind proofness. The EB front lining (tan) only covers the lower torso behind the pockets.

Above: Another small difference is the Patagonia version has a draw string at the waist. EB version elastic only.



Above: Sewing quality issame/same form what I can see.

Above: Patagonia's hooded version in blue.

Above: Eddie Bauer's sweater collar in gold.

Above: Eddie Bauer's Hooded version in a dark blue.



Above: Arcteryx's Atom LT hood in lt blue with a red zipper pull.

Above: Atom LT's (in blue) •Polartec® Power Stretch® with Hardface® Technology in the

stretch side panel ventsin the side of the jacket. High tech climbing gear here imo.I really like it for my own use. It is a bit of technology that canbe down rightnippy in a cold wind though. The Atom SV is a very similar jacket but warmer and heavier with 100g fill (instead of 60g) without thevery breathable stretch side panels. But it is very breathable in the under arm area with less insulation there. More of a full blown jacket than sweater though. It is a bit warmer than the Atom LT but doesn't breath as well because of it. Look for a update and comparison on the Atom SV and Atom LT in the nearfuture.

Above: Cuffs, L to R,from the EB, Pata, Arcteryx. Again the Atom LT does it a bit better imo.

Above: For those that wonder...between Patagonia and Eddie Bauer..800 fill down. It is the good stuff. Virtually the same weight jackets but the Eddie Bauer jackets show a lot more loft when measured side by side...almost twice the loft. Which at best is still only 2 inches!Patagonia Nanomuch less. EB has 25% more down fill in any size sweater. 3oz for Patagonia to 4oz in the Eddie Bauer in a medium size men's.







Above: The baffles size on the Patagonia garment are also smaller, so more sewn through seams and over all less insulation because of it. Patagonia really needs that full front lining to be in the same category for warmth as the Eddie Bauer versions.

Finally, while I like the pull overs and they are very warm for their weight it limits their use a bit. For example I use any insulation over my light weight sleeping bags when required. I generally try not to sleep in every piece of clothing I own because it gets to confining.A full zip sweater can add some insulation over the top of my bag. While a pull over sweater can be used in the same manner it is much less likely to stay in place.All of these patterns are very simple and easy to reconfigure. If anyone at Eddie Bauer is listening...I'd like a full zip hoodie asap !

Retail on the Patagonia Down Hoodie is $250Retail on the Patagonia Down Sweater is $200.

Retail on the Eddie Bauer DownlightHoody is $189 Retail on the Eddie Bauer Downlight Sweater is $169

Sale prices? Patagonia is difficult to find on sale.Eddie Bauer is almost easy to buy at a factory story discount.





http://blog.firstascent.com//12/25/update-from-dave-morton-in-k2-base-camp-part-6/

-30 and snowing.. less than 16oz.....Jan