Every trick in the book.

He's got a job at the new Coles. He's got his P licence. 2 weeks of school left. But something is missing. A new tick.



Matt pauses at the start of his new second pitch route to allow the camera to make a wardrobe decision. Yellow La Sportiva?




And we go with the white Bob Dylan singlet.










Hegets the gear sorted, I work out the angles, and it's go time.










The route straight away sucks him in close with a gaston, undercling, stem combo.












Itpushes him deeperintothe scoop, unknowingly playing to his flexibility strengths.











Kneepads by Upskill







It goads him onto it's thorny bollards and tries tolure him into cutting loose, thus ripping his fore arm flesh,he resists and stays firmlyattached.













Then it's the old "hang onmy magic hold till your arms drop off" trick.

.






There's Bob staring at you.




He sees through it and punches on.






























Uh oh.Climbers, we've all fallen for this one.

It's the massive lunge off the slopey crimp and the end of the route story.



















This route knows all the dirty tricks.




























Even Matty falls forit this time.






















PS. Matt sent the route today 13/11/ calling it Tropic Thunder, 27






jj

chouinard ice poster

My long time climbing partner has an original Chouinard poster (this one in fact) for sale if anyone is interested. If so you can leave a bid in the comments.



super topo comments here:



http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/2200762/Chouinard-Ice-poster

Solo on the Cassin?

I asked my friend Cosmin Andron to share some of his experience on the Cassin last spring.

Solos are always a journey. This one no less so.







"It’s been snowing for days and I am going bonkers at the Ski Hill (NE Fork) camp (cca 2400 m alt.). Tent bound since the 13th of June I start doubting I’d be able to get on the “Cassin” on this trip and I’m getting sure my acclimatization is wearing out by the hour now… I’ve listened my music, I’ve read my books, I’ve weighted my options all the while the snow was incessantly falling…





Then it’s 20th morning and the sun is shining and the skies are clear. Mark, back at KIA, mentioned something about a break in the weather for the weekend and I guess this must be it. I am weighting my options: go light – no tent, no sleeping bag just the stove, my Sirius down jacket and compressor pants and some bars and gels. Or plan for a three days ascent and go heavy: tent, sleeping bag, food, haul line in case I need to pull my bag, some cams and screws in case I need an anchor… It’s all about weight and weighting my options.



I’ve never done the route and weather proved to change swiftly. I may have lost my acclimatisation while doing book-worm work in my tent for the last seven days. Caution takes over the judgment steering and I opt for the heavy option; and heavy it is. "





More of the story here:



http://www.cosmin-andron.com//07/cassin-ridge-solo/







Cosmin picks up the story here with the gear list he used and what he might suggest or use himself now listed in the2nd column..







Cosmin sez:



Before I left for the Cassin Ridge I was worried that I spent too much time (7 days) at low elevation (NE Fork) and that the weather window won’t last longer than that day. I knew the route was long and all I had was a printed topo. I had to make a choice if to go light or go prepared to stick it out. From the info I had (through the grapevine) was that a Russian team did the route while I was in 14000 ft Camp and they spent 4 days on it. I prepared for 3, but I thought luxurious 3 so I can extend to 5 or 6 if needed.





Not knowing what was the condition of the route I took enough gear to protect some pitches if necessary.



I am usually cold so I erred on the side of warmth rather than lightweight.



With such a gear load and bivy equipment my priority was not to move very fast but safe, which meant that I spent a whole day listening music on Cassin ledge, waiting for the night and firm snow conditions. Second day I wasted half of it wandering lost within the first rock band.



In I started climbing at 4am on 21 June. By 8am same day I was finishing setting up my tent on Cassin ledge and took some photos. I spent the whole day (very warm day) on the ledge listening to music. On 22 June at 12:45am I set off. I am at the hanging glacier early morning. I wasted 2 to 3 hours fixing my broken old Jetboil. I spent 1 hour eating and hiding from the sun. Lunchtime I entered the first rock bad, had a rest near M shape d rocks and spent the next 4 or so hours climbing up and down looking for the route. I joined a pair of Canadians that came up and found the bivy spot with them early that evening. On 23 June I left the bivy spot around 2:30pm (allowing the Canadian team three hours advance). By 9pm on 23 Jun I reached the bivy spot above the 3rd rock band (5350m) and the Canadian pair who were just cooking dinner. They left early morning on 24 June, for the summit. I packed up at 4pm and left for the summit at about 4:30pm. I was on the summit at exactly 11pm.







All in all the bag was quite heavy for what I am accustomed to and I haven’t used quite everything. The pro I used was:



- an ice –screw belay 50 up from the ‘shrund on the Japanese couloir so I can haul my backpack over it. (I fell into the ‘shrund while trying to climb it with my backpack on when the snow collapsed)



- the rope to haul the backpack in the Japanese couloir, and twice while climbing off-route in the first rock band



- the rope to abseil four/five times within the rock bad (used natural anchors)



- camalot # .5 and 60cm dynema sling





I had dual points on my Cyborgs and combined with the heavy backpack and hard ice or crumbly ice I had to kick twice/thrice to stick it. When I climbed without the backpack on, it went smooth. Besides climbing lighter, next time I’d stick to monopoints….



Having a third tool (first time ever) was a good choice. On the last abseil within the first rock band I clipped my Cobras on my ice-clippers and because of the tangle I unclipped the umbilical. I flicked the rope over my right hip, the Cobra snagged and unclipped and tumbled down the pitch and stopped on a shelf. Just then the Canadian pair was coming up so they brought it up, but it was comforting knowing I had another tool in my backpack.



Below I made two lists. In the first one is what I had in June . In the second list is what I would carry now if I were to do it again. I believe that with a partner, with an tweak in gear, in similar conditions and

climbing competently we could do it with two bivis and leading on a single 8.1 Iceline (not recommended by the manufacturer). Trying it alone again, with the benefit of current knowledge of the route and with a lighter pack I believe I could do it without a bivy. In neither scenario I am planning on super fast ascents.





gearin June if I were to do it again



Equipment Equipment



BD Speed 40L (with lid) BD Speed 30L (no lid)



BD Cobra (pair) BD Cobra (pair)







Grivel leash BD Spinner leash



Grivel Matrix Light hammerGrivel Quantum Light hammer -



BD Cyborg crampons BD Cyborg crampons



Grivel helmet BD Half dome helmet



BD Camalots ( .5, .75,1, 2, ) BD Camalots (.5) BD



BD Express screws (4) BD Express screws (1)



Titanium pegs (4) Titanium pegs (2)



BD nuts (5) - -



BD Neutrino (16) BD Neutrino (6)



BD Dyneema 60cm (8) BD Dyneema 60cm (3)



BD Dyneema 12cm (2) BD Dyneema 12cm



CT Oval locking biners (3) CT Oval locking biners (1)



BD Oval wiregate biner BD Oval wiregate biner



Kong Duck (2) Kong Duck (1)



BD ATC guide BD ATC guide



Arc’teryx M280 Harness Arc’teryx M280 Harness



Beal Iceline 8.1mm (1X50m) Beal IceTwin 7.7mm (1X50m)



Mammut 5mm X 5m- Mammut 5mm (1X2m)







Bivy gear Bivy gear



BD Firstlight tent

Valandre Odin Sleeping bag



Foam matteress



Jetboil and small canister) Jetboil and small canister







Food Food



Adventure Food – B-fast (3)



Adventure Food – Meal (3)



Adventure Food – Dessert (4)



Powerbars (6) Energy bars (5)



Sweets (100g) Sweets (50g)



Isostar powder (100g) Energy drink powder (50g)







Clothing Clothing



Arc’teryx Rho LT top Arc’teryx Rho AR top



HH bottom Arc’teryx Phase AR bottom



Arc’teryx Gamma SalopetteArc’teryx Gamma Salopette



Arc’teryx Accelero Pullover



Arc’teryx Gamma MX Hoody Arc’teryx Gamma MX Hoody







Arc’teryx Dually Belay Parka Arc’teryx Atom LT Hoody



Valandre Syrius Down Jacket Valandre Syrius Down Jacket



MH Compressor pantArc’teryx Alpha SL pant







Smartwool Hiking Liner x 2 Smartwool Hiking Liner



Smartwool Mt Extra HW x 2 Smartwool Mt Extra



BD Guide (old) gloves x 2 BD Punisher gloves



BD Absolute (old) mitt BD Absolute mitts



Valandre down mitt



Valandre down botties



Arc’teryx embroid capArc’teryx embroid cap



No-name fleece balaclava Arc’teryx Rho LT Balaclava



La Sportiva Spantik La Sportiva Spantik



BD gaiters BD gaiters







AccessoriesAccessories



Salice googles googles



Iridium satphone Spot device



Cassio Pro-Trek watch Cassio Pro-Trek watch



Keymaze GPS watch



iPod Shuffle music player iPod Shuffle music player



BD Mt walking poles (pair)



MSR snowshoes W Rib access to route



Nalgene bottle Nalgene bottle



Camera Camera

Jordan Calling

OMG, what have I done today? I booked a flight ticket to Jordan for April and I can’t seem to get over from the excitement!



Jordan is one of my key travel destinations for . The whole travel itinerary has been planned and laid out and will probably need a few pinches here and there but I am so over the moon and looking forward to a travel of fun, adventure and discovery of culture, history and nature, lots of art & architecture finds and food thrills, mmm.







So here’s how the journey will look like:



(1) Do Amman of course, the capital city of Jordan and visit the mosques, palaces, gardens and the gold souqs.

(2) Hop on a rental car and drive down south on the Kings Highway to bask in the beautiful countryside landscape of Jordan.

(3) Experience Petra! The stunning hidden ancient city and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

(4) Race back in time with a 4x4 jeep together with Lawrence of Arabia and conquer the deserts of Wadi Rum.

(5) Check out the Red Sea and view Egypt and Israel and perhaps if there is time, enjoy some marine life in Aqaba, the summer resort of Jordan.

(6) In the evening, have a traditional Jordanian dinner with the Bedouins in a tent in the desert and be serenaded under the stars.

(7) Follow the Bibilical trails of Moses by climbing the famous Mount Nebo where he looked over to the ‘The Promise Land’ (Israel).

(8) Then follow the trails of Jesus Christ and John the Baptist as well along the Jordan River and on to Bethany Beyond Jordan.

(9) Check out the ancient city of Madaba (Moab) for the mosaics.

(10) Then conclude the holiday with a stay at one of the lovely Dead Sea Spa Resort Hotels. Pamper myself with Jordan’s famous mineral, the black mud spa and have my foto taken floating in the Dead Sea while reading a book =)



To guide me in this leisure, discovery and historical trip is the Bible (thank you mom!), and now all I need is a Quran in English. I would like to be able to compare both books in terms of history and information about the area. I understand that Jordan is the setting of 5 books in the Old Testament but not sure about Quran. Thus, these will be my company and treasure books for the entire holiday. It has always been my wish to visit the important places in the Old Testament book, and I will, one at a time.



Cannot wait but before Jordan I will be off to the Alps for our winter skiing holiday, so you’ll probably hear more about the snow first and other stuff before the desert and Bible stories.

Chocolate making in Brussels

Brussels is the chocolate centre of the world and I had the chance to attend a chocolate making session in the European capital last month.

If you have been reading this blog, you would know of my penchant for anything else other than sweets. Now, I was in Brussels for work, and after the business meeting we were given the option to participate in a beer tasting session or a chocolate making session.

I was quite confused about the agenda actually as it was a last-minute surprise, thus I ended up following the women to another location where the chocolate making session is held. Had I known about the beer tasting option, I would have changed course.

We first had a chocolate history lesson and some chocolate snacking. Afterwards we were asked to dress in plastic gowns, plastic head caps and plastic shoe covers before we start the actual hands-on activity. The whole dressing up process was like a déjà vu to me. More than a decade ago I used to sell enterprise software applications and services to the manufacturing industry in the Philippines. By protocol, visitors to these production sites are covered head to toe with head caps, lab gowns, and shoe covers. This was a standard ritual for me back then.

Anyway, we proceeded to the basement of Planete Chocolat and started the chocolate making session.

Honestly, I don’t think I paid any attention at all. I was too busy taking pictures and just going along with the flow to have a good comprehension of the whole chocolate making process, haha.

It was a nice event though. At the end of the chocolate making session we were treated to a hot cup of chocolate drink. We were also able to bring home the chocolates we made. A handy present for the Dutchman.


Most of these pictures were taken by my Nokia Mini phone and a few from my iPhone.

Living As Locals and Neighbors

In an attempt to settle in and try to "live like the locals", Diana and I went out to see what kind of trouble we could stir up.

We haven't had this much fun since we ate dried bugs! As much fun as this was, we had to find some other things to do too. We started the day with pickleball with the women. The ladies have been starting at 8:30 so they can get in a few games before everyone else joins in. After that we took a walk around the campground. Then we took the kids to the library and to lunch. We had to do the daily Wal-Mart run too, of course. It was such an average, mundane day. And I loved that.



You see, for years Diana and I have said we wished we could live by each other. I lived in Michigan. She lived in Virginia. I moved to Virginia, and she moved to Florida. I moved to Florida and she moved back to Virginia. So that living as neighbors never really happened.



For the past few years, we've been able to travel together and spend much time together. It's been wonderful. We still haven't quite lived as neighbors though. And while I love being travel buddies, this week it hit me how much we are living more as neighbors since being here. It's been pretty cool in its own way.



Living the life in Virginia!

Royal Palm

A royal palm, Roystonea regia, in Arizona.

The 'Backlash': Why Are We Surprised?

[image via nytimes]

For the past couple of weeks, cycling blogs have been abuzz with news of a backlash in New York City against bicyclists and bicycle infrastructure. Police are overzealously handing out traffic tickets to cyclists. Members of the community are demanding the removal of bike lanes. Protests are underway. Anti-cycling op-ed pieces are appearing in respectable publications. Alarmed and disappointed, cyclists all over the country are wondering what the heck is going on.



But what I'm wondering is: Why are we surprised?



Think about it objectively. Since when has society embraced sudden change? Since when have the values of a minority been unquestioningly accepted by the majority? Since when have people welcomed ideas that they believe threaten their own lifestyles? Since never. That's not how things work. And cycling - a fringe activity that over the past couple of years has attempted to torpedo itself into the North American mainstream - is no exception. The "cycling culture" is not so special as to be immune to the laws of social psychology. Ingroup-outgroup bias, prejudice, stereotyping, and all that good stuff, apply to the interactions between non-cyclists and cyclists just as they do to interactions between other social groups with conflicting goals and value systems. It was naive on our part to believe that sweeping changes could be imposed on our neighbourhoods - both in the form of bicycle infrastructure and even just in the form of increasing numbers of cyclists on the roads - without non-cyclists feeling threatened.



The incident that took place in Boston several months back illustrated this point perfectly. Just weeks after bicycle lanes were installed in Charlestown, the local residents had a Council meeting, voted to have them removed, and swiftly did so. Many cyclists were outraged by the events, and in a way so was I - The waste of government funds this battle of wills involved was unacceptable. But the reaction of the Charlestown community in of itself was understandable to me. Adequate research was not done to determine whether neighbourhoods through which bike lanes were planned wanted them or not in order to gauge possible resistance or hostility. No effort was made to establish good will with the neighbourhoods, and so there was no good will. The community felt that something strange, foreign and dangerous was being shoved down its throat by the big city planners, and they wanted none of it.



I think that we, as cyclists, need to be aware (1) that we are in the minority, (2) that cycling is perceived as weird and dangerous by the majority, which means resistance to it will be high, and (3) that we live in a democratic society where we cannot impose our beliefs on others no matter how right we think we are. There needs to be sincere and open dialogue (as in two-way conversation) with the non-cycling community, free of smugness, slogans and arrogance. It is not productive to tell people that "Everyone can cycle," that "You too can live without a car if you tried," or even that "Cycling is good for you." Rather than encouraging, those messages are perceived as threatening, making people feel as if they are being told that their way of life is inferior and that some bizarre social engineering project is unfolding against their will. I don't think that most cycling activists even realise that, because those are the only types of messages I see when attempts are made to reach out to the public.



What I suggest instead is sending messages that don't just focus on ourselves and our point of view, but on the community at large - and especially on those who don't ride a bike and don't plan to. Why not spread information that bike lanes make neighbourhoods safer? That bike lanes help small businesses? That bike lanes help motorists? Imagine a public service announcement commercial that goes something like this:

A man gets out of his sedan in front of an office building. He looks at his watch, then faces the camera with a smile. "Finally got to work on time!" The camera pans out to show the road with freely moving car traffic, and a bike lane with lots of bikes. "With the new Main Street bike lane, more people are choosing to ride their bikes, leaving the roads clear for those who prefer driving. No more traffic jams, that's for sure." And a caption underneath reads "Traffic congestion in Neighbourhood A has decreased X% since bike lanes were installed."

Sure it's simplistic, but so was "Got milk." To avoid a backlash, we need to show that cycling is good for everyone.

Covered Bridge Number 4

Tonight the guys went to pickleball alone, and Mira and I stayed behind. She made dinner for all of us when they returned. It was spaghetti, and we all voted it to be the best sauce we ever tasted!