Spring Already?!

Man, it has been so nice recently! I love the month of February/May! Got some slacklining done in the quad last week which was excellent. I love slacking; you just set up a line anywhere, and people gravitate to it like moths to a light. Inevitably I meet some new slackliner in Corvallis every time. Slacklining is different for me now. I used to have to focus so hard to stay on, that it was a meditation really. Now, it is easy enough to walk and talk or look up that it has lost some of it's feeling of pure focus. Maybe I need to go set up another highline to force that focus upon myself... :)

It is also time to start thinking about your gardens people!!! This week we are turning over the soil, adding year old compost from our composter, and planting Spinach, Bok Choy, Sugar snaps, and snow peas. I think a small project for this spring will also be to remove a strip of grass near the roses so the sprinklers don't get the roses wet s much. They got horrible blackspot the last year and we lost one due to it I think. We are maybe going to put in a border of Lavender where the grass was. I cant wait!

Oh, and Col and I have been drinking crazy amounts of tea the last few months. For Christmas we got some different kinds of loose leaf tea from the tea shop in Corvallis, and I tell ya, they have some amazing blends! Chai-Chai is the best thing ever, and they ahve some really wonderful green tea varieties as well. I highly recommend Da Zhang Mountain Green Tea if you are going by there.

A run up Hood

Its that time of year again. Climbing season is upon us. Forrest and I went up the old Pearly Gates route on the south side of Mt Hood last weekend (after I snowboarded all the day before...).
We went up sunday morning early looking to climb Leutholds, and made great time up to Illumination Rock, but once there determined that Leutholds was out due to new snow and me being a whiny bitch about the logistics of carrying our board/skiis all the way up knee deep postholing (doable, but not fun). After resting in the avy pit we had dug and killing way too much time debating which route to go to, we decided to head up to Pearly Gates or Devils Kitchen Headwall (inspired by the earlier trip report on cascadeclimbers.com).
We decided to skin up the west side of Crater Rock, and in doing so, realized why everyone typically goes to the east side of crater rock. We picked our way through steep muddy steam vents, slipping and sliding all over, which probably was the most harrowing, sketchy part of the trip. After collapsing a few snow bridges over small vents we made it up to the hogsback in time for sunrise. While gearing up, I remembered that I had carried several roman candles up in my pack. I pulled them out, stuck them in the snow, and fired off a few. Forrest wanted to play too, so I gave him the last one which he lit, held, and promptly had blow up in his face (mom, you didn't read that, k?). After checking for both eyes, ears and a nose, we decided fireworks would no longer be held in the hand...
We chugged our way up through deep, but consolidated fresh snow to the west Pearly Gates chute. 150 ft of clawing up 40-50 degree sugar snow led us to a fun, clean, 30 ft step of BOMBER blue water ice at about WI2. From there it was a quick run up to the top. We downclimbed the same line back to our packs. From there, we both agreed, was one of the best ski/board descents either of us had ever experienced. I got to rip on my new splitboard and Forrest rocked his ATs the whole way down on five inches of 99% virgin powder. We rode the 5,000+ vertical feet all the way back to the car, and enjoyed some cold beers while waiting for Forrest's ride. A good day!
Forrest's video:


Oh, and I had an interesting experience with Patagonia. I was very close to writing a quite negative post about them several days ago though. You see, I have a giant down jacket for mountaineering that recently had a baffle in the sleeve collapse(its about 1.5 yrs old), effectively deflating part of the sleeve of all down. I sent it in to get fixed, but Patagonia called back saying it was unfixable. When I pressed him, the guy said that actually the repair division was just really swamped and only taking care of the easy fixes at the time and the baffle was too time consuming to bother with. Instead they were prepared to offer me a 160$ gift certificate; ...for a 320$ jacket! Bull Sh**!!!!
I just said to send the jacket back and I would take it to the gear repair in town to get fixed. At that point I was very unhappy because this went against every guarantee I have ever heard from Patagonia. Well, the guy called back about a half hour later and said that he had talked to his manager and he had approved a full refund for the jacket. :) So now, I must say, that they are on thin ice, but still holding up to their end of the bargain. I am still questioning where Patagonia's quality is headed as they grow...

What up doc?

Weeeeeellllll really not a whole lot of interesting stuff going on right now. Buuut I figured I'd check in anyway! I am sitting in a Hilton in Little Rock Arkansas (WTF!, why do they have to pronounce it Arkensaw?!?) rocking out to Obama's state of the union address. I love that guy, even with all the shit he has been getting recently. Being president is a tough job! Anyway, I am in AR with my boss to meet with the head honchos of the company to redesign our billing and inventory web interface. It currently is a P.O.S. designed by backwoods Arkansians (and when I say backwoods, I mean it!) but I think we made a lot of headway in making things easier for everyone here and across the country.
While here I have had an interesting cultural experience. By "interesting cultural experience" I mean, the southeast is a whole different fucking world. Everything edible is fried and they speak a whoooole different language. As an example of the regular food around here, yesterday, for lunch and dinner, I ate the following: fried chicken, fried okra, fried pickles, fried crawfish tail, fried catfish, meatloaf, french fries, and greasy-ass (fried?) corn bread. I have to eat healthy salads for a week to offset that funkiness.
The MLK house was fun this year. There wasn't much snow to be had so we hashed, hiked the river trail, and drank a lot. I think we pissed some people off the last night, but in our defense, we HAD to finish the keg! You understand right? The cop understood!
Oh, and I bought Keith's splitboard, so I am ready to take on the fuckin' world this winter. Unfortunately I did so in an exceptionally "El Nino" year with a very poor PNW snowpack. Colorado anyone? :)

Sunriver Hash

I am excited. In addition to the usual shenanigans, this year's Sunriver house is going to have an associated Snowbunny Hash. Interested in coming?

Here's some photos from the break:

A close call!

Greg, Rob and I went ice climbing in the Gorge last week during the big chill. Greg posted a good trip report here and here. I wont repeat the adventure, but I will say that while we were playing hookey from work that day, my boss was too. He was driving to Idaho to visit family, and while driving through the Gorge, saw several "crazy guys" ice climbing below Crown Point. After he mentioned this yesterday, I casually asked some details and I realized he had seen the party above us, and Greg D, while he was leading! Close call! We also made it into the news! Thats Greg, Rob and I on the ledge, with the party my boss saw (orange jacket) above.

Turkey Day; Backcountry Style!

For thanksgiving this year, I needed to get away and have an adventure. Working in CA had kept me from my monthly allotment of adventures and I needed to catch up. Denise mentioned I could come on a trip withabout 25 other folks to a 4 mile ski-in cabin near Mt. Bailey in OR so I signed up. Over the long weekend we managed to climb up and ride down Mt Bailey twice (thanks for the split board Keith!), build one helluva sled/kayak course, eat 3 turkeys, drink 2 kegs of beer along with untold bottles of booze and moonshine, and soak at Umpqua Hot Springs. I think thats a good adventure!

Epic Thanksgiving Dinner in the cabin
Party Shirts! (I must say, the Kiwis take their party shirts very seriously)
Around the campfire
Fire poi
Fire poi
I gave fire poi a go and only hit myself in the nuts with flaming balls twice! Look ma, no burns!
Headed for the tree at 20 mph.
The sled/kayak run.
Colonel Mackey at your service!
Skinning up the mountain through 6 in of 12 hr old powder.
Digging a pit to see where the layer is
11pm under a full moon. Mt Thielsen presiding over Diamond Lake.
Can you believe these guys actually were the leaders?!
Midnight sledding, no injuries (miraculously)
My humble little sled I towed in.

The Cove

My hatred for the people of Taiji knows no bounds. This is the most despicable thing I have ever seen. The whole world should be forced to watch this, to understand what terrible things these fucking bastards do.

CRAB!

Cousin Jack and I scored 24 crab this weekend in Puget Sound. We found a super secret crab spot while scuba diving that paid off in a big way. In two dives we limited out each morning, and then went for a recreational dive each afternoon. I was really hoping to show Jack an octopus, but unfortunately my dive lights are both broken, so we couldn't actually look in the two octo dens we found on the last dive. I think every time I go diving up there, I see something new by weekend's end, and this weekend was no different. I got to add several 10" Giant Nudibranchs to the list. Most nudibranches are 2-3 inches.
(not my photo)basically they are just predatory, ornate slugs.
Saturday night Deverton, Rhiannon, Jack, Emily and I sat down to an absolute feast! Crab, turnip, potato, fancy salad w/ brie cheese, and tons of other tasty things were on the menu. Yum. Good weekend.

Slot Canyons anyone?

Will G and I are talking about going to the SW to cruise some slot canyons in Zion NP around Jan 1. Anyone interested?

the unknown

This 60 yr old pilot listens to Tool, System of a Down, and other hard rock while he is flying. He said it keeps him alert and he got bored with his generation's music decades ago. Awesome.


It's been a while since I've been back to CA. Unfortunately this visit isn't for fun. Work has taken me to the northern half of CA (think Lassen area) for 18,000 ac of forestry work with 2 helicopters. Part of the project is fire rehab and part is forestry. It has only been a week, but I am ready to head home. Unfortunately there are still at least 2 more weeks (if we are lucky and the weather cooperates).
We stayed at the worst "nice" hotel ever in Susanville. Don't EVER stay at the Diamond Mountain Casino. It is only 2 years old but the list includes: 2 broken/destroyed desk chairs in my boss's room, not cleaning the room for 2 days, checking me into someone else's room, no sheets on the bed, clogged drain, no refrigerator and microwave after asking 3 times over 2 days, our truck driver had a sticky nightstand cover and never had his floor vacuumed once, and no one was EVER at the front desk. It doesn't seem like a big deal really, but when you are living out of a hotel for 4 months a year, you need a certain standard to keep sane.
Enough with the bitching already! I have had some fun in between working. Yesterday we had a half day due to wind so I took the opportunity to go climbing! There is a formation called Lone Rock that I have had to drive past every day on the way into work. The local forester said that when he was a young lad back in the day he had climbed it. I had to go play. I warmed up on a really fun boulder sitting very invitingly in a soft meadow, and then a large flat slab wall on lone rock itself, traversing across the very solid andesite(?). Once I was comfortable with the feel of the rock I went over to where the forester said I could probably find a weakness to the top. Sure enough, in a large alcove, there was a ledge system with steps of 20 ft boulder problems on very solid rock. After a few timid starts, I committed to the crux (juggy, steep, 5.6ish) and pulled past it, making sure I was comfortable with downclimbing later. A short scramble took me to the top, and I sat there celebrating with nothing but the wind for a while.
I found some old climber's chalk on rocks, so I definitely wasn't the only climber who'd been there, but it felt like I was. I have never celebrated a summit by myself, but it was really peaceful to just sit cross legged, smiling ear to ear, and listen to the wind wash through the needles of the few pines remaining after the fire. I considered whooping and hollering from the top, just because I could, but decided it would be inappropriate to try and break the calmness. It felt more respectful somehow to sit and experience things rather than impose myself on the world.

To get no beta more than, "it's been done before" and to then go out and climb, solo, was incredibly cool for me to experience. There was no question about safety, I felt 100% in control, and the rock was solid and perfect for climbing. There is something that just feels so much better about climbing the unknown! I know the word "better" isn't very descriptive, but it really encompasses the whole feel I have from this, and I want to experience it more. Jake and I got a similar experience this summer at Carver Cliff, when we looked at a climb, said, "hey, that looks fun," had a blast climbing it, and then found out it was .12a. The unknown is something we rarely get to experience anymore unfortunately, because there is always a map, guidebook, or description of some sort. It is scary to just go out and do it, but the rewards are always, for lack of a more descriptive term, BETTER!

Oh, and while I've got you, I managed to experience my first on-the-job accident. I had a hoody on (acted like blinders to my peripheral vision) yesterday morning while we were calibrating a new fertilizer bucket (to sling under the helicopter) and I accidentally stuck my head into the 1100 rpm spinner at the bottom. Through the hood, I got a 1 inch cut on my scalp that immediately hemmoraged blood all over. by the time I could get gauze on it, it had filled the bottome of my safety goggles with blood. I probably should have gotten stitches, but I figured that since it is all covered in hair anyway, who cares!
I really shouldnt be smiling with that much blood all over.

Serpentine Arete on Dragontail

Myself and Deverton climbed Serpentine Arete 2,000 ft 5.8 Grade IV, 23 hrs car to car last sunday. I haven't done a ton of long alpine routes and I definitely learned some lessons on this one. I felt the route had 5 great pitches, but the looseness (comparable to cascade volcanoes in the summer) of the upper pitches really detracted from the total quality of the climb. The quality pitches included a gorgeous finger crack, and a perfect hand crack for a full rope length. Shortly after the fun crux pitches things became a slog just to get off the peak. I am hard pressed to recommend this route to others unless you really want a low 5th class adventure. The descent down Aasgard pass also detracted from the overall adventure. We were expecting a little more of a real trail to descend (at night with one headlamp, Aasgard is sketchy to descend). The positive thing to come out of this was that we brought enough food and water for the whole adventure. I think this is the first time that has hapened for me personally. (probably means we brought too much, huh...)
Notes for next time:
dont let the stoner be in charge of the alarm (he went back to sleep and got us up way late,
always bring 2 headlamps,
bring less shit,
anticipate more time for approach,
simul climb on shorter rope lengths (60m = way to much drag on low 5th class),
dont do it car to car; it hurts,
Oh, and make sure your ride waiting back in icicle doesn't have to be somewhere on monday early; they left without me and took all my stuff. I had to take the train back to OR. Fuckers.

Over all, a helluva adventure, but no pictures unfortunately. And I think I had a slightly better time than Dev did. :)

Garden update

Our garden officially rocks! anyone want cucumber? Just say the word! We have already gotten a ton of squash and zooks, tomatoes are just starting to go crazy, carrots are perfectly straight and big, the pumpkins are doubling in size every week, and we've gotten a modest first blueberry crop.
Lessons for next year:
more basil
less cucumber
more eggplant
more winter squashes
earlier start on the onions & garlic
more leeks (spaced wider)
more green beans (planted 2 wks apart)

Oh yea, and Colleen is officially an excellent cook! I "graded" the "final exam" on a blueberry pie/cobbler she made, as well as some curry/squash quinoa. She scored very high marks for both on taste as well as presentation. There was also some scrumptious zuchinni bread made recently.

the way too long AK post

Ok, sorry this has taken so long to post. Col and I have been having waaay too much fun the past 4 weeks to slow down long enough for a blog post. At the end of June we(Colleen, Ariel, Sesha, Jake, and I) went for a 10 day trip to Alaska, with six of those days spend sea kayaking in two inlets across the bay from Homer, AK. Sesha’s uncle Steve lived in Anchorage and was an immense help with logistics before and after our adventure. His friend actually drove 4 hrs from Homer just to pick us up in Anchorage and give us a ride. (Thanks Tom!) On the way down Tom also acted as our tour guide, making sure to stop at all the cool side trips and wildlife (just on the drive we saw moose+babies, eagles, dall sheep, beaver, and otter).
For boats, Louie and Jasmine pointed us towards True North Kayak on the Homer Spit. As TNK ferried us across the bay I was the one tasked with remembering directions on the exact locations of our camp spots and yurts. We were dropped us with our mountain of gear at the boats with little fanfare and then proceeded to figure out how to fit a square peg (our gear) through an oval hole (the boat hatches). After two to three hours we had it all packed. We then paddled one mile, got hungry, and exploded the boats again looking for lunch! We made camp on a sandy point two thirds of the way into Sadie Cove and hiked around for a bit. AK, being bear country, had us (mostly me I think) a little nervous, so earlier when Steve insisted we take a revolver with us, I didn’t hesitate. Thus, on our land explorations we quite literally “loaded for bear.” (we didn’t see a one the whole trip). Sesha and our newfound friend Mike (Tom’s summer hand) met us at camp the next morning by ferry and joined up for the rest of the trip. We paddled in the morning to a yurt at the mouth of the bay and relaxed for the afternoon. Near the yurt was a perfect cliff jump, so we had to do it. Swimming in AK was a must-do for bragging later. Unfortunately Mike slipped getting out and put a deep gash on the bottom of his foot (definitely would have gotten stitches if we had been near a doctor). Sans Mike and Sesha the next morning we hiked 4,000 vert. ft. up a ridge to an amazing view of the surrounding area. Above treeline the trail petered out into rolling heather tussocks all around so we took off cross country to the summit on a spongy 8” mat of tundra. Tired of yelling “hey bear” on the way down, we called out different types of cheese for the 4 mile descent with only a few repeats.
I pointed out earlier that I was in charge of navigations throughout the trip. Well, I kiiiinda forgot where a few of the beaches were. They all look so similar after three days of bobbing around on the ocean! It all turned out ok thanks to a salmon hatchery which let us use a phone to call TNK for directions. And we actually found a better spot on an island for one night.
The second to last night, we stayed in a yurt near the end of the inlet. This was a really nice spot because we had a nice view of the bay and there was a Bald Eagle chick in a nest 40 ft from the yurt. I climbed a tree next to it for better photos and really felt like a pro wildlife photographer, dodging mother eagles, dangling from branches, and trying to get the perfect shot. Unfortunately I think they are all just good to mediocre photos. I needed a longer lens. (Of course it comes down to more gear!)
The last full day, Col Mike, Jake and Ariel went for a hike up a knife edge ridge while Sesha and I took the opportunity to paddle 4 miles to the far end of the bay on the glassy morning water. After a paddle through arches, past otters, and dodging seals, afternoon found us camped on the point again for our final night. Sesha and Jake paddled to a spring for water and I decided to go for a solo paddle to some arches off the coastline for the evening (had to paddle through all the arches I could find). After an hour or two of that I got back to Sesha and Jake flipping out about Killer Whales they’d paddled with (so jealous!) for an hour. We went out to try and find the pod at about 11pm (still light mind you) but only found a few porpoises (still, a pretty good runner up prize!). Sesha started each days paddling with, “Guys, today is a whale day,” and she finally got to see them, up close and personal.
We rounded out the trip with a wonderful hour long tasting and tour at the Fry’s Bear Creek Winery (I left with a case of assorted berry wines). The 4 person swing there is amazing! We also shot some guns at Tom’s cabin in the woods. One was a true elephant gun that, after two shots, left my shoulder veeery sore the next day. This was an amazing trip made all the easier by the kind people we met along the way. We were planning our return trip before we had even gotten on the plane to leave!