Sasquatch Festival 2010

I was at a loss of what to do this weekend.  It was a long one, so I really had to do something fun, but there were several fun options and I just couldn't figure out which one to pursue, but finally settled on going to Sasquatch Festival with the Old Guard of friends from highschool.  I was not disappointed. 
Here's a link to the full lineup if you are interested.
With 4 stages and nearly 90 different performers, there was only so much that could be fit into the 3 days, but we did a good job of catching the good ones.  As usual, Chris seemed to have done the legwork and researched/planned out the best shows to see.  I departed from that schedule a bit though, to catch some of my own favorites.  Being the closet raver I am, I had to swing by to watch DeadMau5 (deadmouse) the first night and go to the Rumpus Room for A-Trak, Neon Indian, and Simian Mobile Disco.  I can honestly say that I had a TON of fun dancing (voluntarily, mind you!!!) in there to some crazy electronica/trance.  It was weird to have that much fun doing something I have shrunk from all these years!  I don't think I will ever be comfortable enough to just kick up my heels at  any old music, but for some good trance, dancing seems to flow naturally; it felt good.  The atmosphere at DeadMau5 and A-Trak was just amazing, and I headed into that tent fighting to get into the thickest, most ruckus part of it.  The other thing that amazed me was the endorphin flood after leaving.  The rest of the night was TOTALLY different.  I had really high energy, and just couldn't stop raving (at least in my head).  Totally rode that high for several hours after.
The great shows from the more traditional Sasquatch lineup were Miike Snow, Nada Surf, Broken Social Scene, Vampire Weekend, Kid Cudi, Teagan and Sara (unexpectedly a great performance), LCD Sound System, MGMT, Band of Horses, Ween, The New Pornographers, and Dr. Dog.  I had never heard of Dr. Dog before and really liked their music.  I was really impressed with Teagan and Sara; they had a seemingly  unrehearsed, fun set that really jived with me.  Band of Horses got the best start out of the gates with a long, very high energy intro.  Think all the energy and running and jumping of a Metallica guitar/drum solo, but with better music!  Vampire weekend was fun too, and there was a huge crowd response that made it that much more entertaining.  Miike Snow was another fun artist where I immediately recognized a number of the songs, but hadn't really know the artist name. 
Of course, the other half of the fun is in the campground after the official show ends.  Friday night I was in fine form, if I do say so myself.  First I drunkenly talked a lot of bravado about being able to get into a lady's car after she broke the key off in the trunk, but I backed up the big talk with a 30 second (litterally!) unlocking of her subaru with a bent car antenna.  Free drinks!!!  Then we headed off to a huge mound of haybales a nearby farmer had stacked ever so invitingly.  We had seen large groups of people on the bales eriodically, so we figured we better go have fun too.  When we got near, there were 3 progressively taller and wobblier fences to hop.  I vaulted all three in record time using my ninja skills, turned off the headlamp, and ran the 100 yards to the haybales, not waiting up for the rest of the group.  I scrambled up the terraced side and reveled on top for a few minutes while everyone was still hopping fences.  After a little bit I walked to the edge to look down, and there I saw 3 security guards down below hiding at the corners, waiting for the group to finish hopping the fence before busting them.  That made me feel REALLY SNEAKY, that I had gotten on top without them seeing.  Now, I had to get OFF without getting caught.  After waiting for a little bit the guards took off to apprehend the rest of my group, and I bailed down that 50 ft pile like greased lightning and took off into the desert.  After a few minutes I joined up with everyone again, appearing out of the darkness silently like a ninja (just for more sneaky effect) to a relieved set of friends.  I know there was a lot more fun that night, but that is about where things get real fuzzy.  I remember rescuing some beachballs, Chris chasing around trying to meet some hot (sounding at least) chicks he met on channel 4 of his handheld radio, and a lot of music. 

Yeah, a lot of great music...

Summer Plans

I have been jonesing to go hike the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island for a while now.  I think this summer is the time to get it done.  We were planning on perhaps some time in July, but it looks like my July is now going to be very full of work (New York for a week and New Mexico for two weeks of invasive buffel grass removal from Saguaro Nat'l Park).  I am thinking about kicking the timing back to some time in August now.  With that said, is there anyone interested in hiking the trail with us?  Having a few friends along would really be fun!  Reservations are required (limited # of starts each day).  Let me know if you can work it out!

Some random Flickr photos

Eugene Marathon

Here's the photos I took of everyone at the eugene marathon. Some aren't the best (you always look a little funny while running...) but I figured you would want proof anyway. You guys rule!

Buggered up fingers lead to diversified outings!

I partially tore my A2 pulley in my middle finger, and it is taking for ever to heal. It feels good enough now that I can get out and at least screw around on rock a little. I decided that now would be as good a time as any to figure out this whole aid-climbing nonsense, since I can't "really" rock climb still. I got the required mess of slings, steps, hooks, mini speakers (so I can rock out to music while hanging/belaying) and grabbed Matt to go play at Broughtons. We first aided a very steep half bolted half traditional climb. This felt good, so we went over to a flaring, slightly funkier, crack. Matt pulled first lead, which was fine because it started with a bad hook move then a micro nut for the first two moves. Since there was no point belaying yet, I spotted him from the ground. He was able to weight and lightly bounce the micro nut, but after about a minute of it holding his body weight, the thing blew and he was plopped back onto the flat ground. No worse for wear, Matt donned climbing shoes and free'd the first 15 ft to get some gear in, then continued the aid climb uneventfully to the top. I did the same to finish it off.
I have ripped on aid climbers a lot over the years, and while I am not prepared to stop it entirely, I realized that aiding, especially a few hook moves, can feel just as scary as free climbing. Aid is definitely something good to have in the back pocket, but I can't wait to get my fingers curled around a nice big hold again soon!

Spring!

I recently celebrated my birthday, and I must give Colleen huge props for pulling together an awesome birthday weekend. Unfortunately work tried it's best to get in the way, but I managed to fend off the worst of it and still make it to the party. After a photo finish at work, we zipped up to a lovely sushi dinner friday night with Rachel, Jake, Dev, and Rhiannon, then went to the Roseland Theater to watch RJD2 live (instrumental electronica, kinda). It has been a really long time since I went to a small venue show like that, and I must say, it was great! I really want to go to more in the coming months (works well, especially because Matt Stasiak is a bouncer at the crystal ballroom) The show went until 2am, I went to Col's folks house to sleep for 2 hours, then I drove back to Corvallis to complete a spray project for OSU that started at 6am. Then it was back to Portland! On Sunday, Rhiannon, Dev, Col, and I went to Edgefield McMenamins to enjoy drinks at each of their 12 bars, sit in their hot baths, and walk the 300 ac of gardens. The gardening prowess of their master gardeners is amazing. I can think of only my Aunt Sandy who has a nicer, more creatively composed garden.

SNOW!

Winter is lurking... Meadows got over 4 feet of snow on 3 separate days, and I tore it up all 3 days. Heaven. And thanks to Graham, I found a whole bunch more terrain that suits me much better than what I have been playing on there. I think some of what I rode this week was the steepest I have ever been on. And with that much new snow, it was just heaven.

Don't Forget to Warm Up!

I have a project on my garage boulder wall I've been working it on and
off for months. I think Matt Stasiak and I first put it up last spring before
he left. The route traverses across the wall on wide spaced slopers,
with a large matching jug in the middle. The final moves are on large
gently curving slopes that get you spread out in all directions. At
this point, there are three options for movement, a left bump, right
hand dynamic barn door, or a "fuck-it" dyno to the finish hold,
skipping the intermediate sloper. Every combo of this has been tried
by many people, least of all me, with every attempt getting so close,
but ultimately failing. After ignoring the problem for most of fall, I
gave it another go. Lo and behold, working the finish moves, I found
another way, and after a few goes, was able to finish the problem's
last move! This got me all stoked for sending and I promptly spent the
next two boulder sessions trying to link the whole thing. The
strenuous moves early in the problem worked me over and I didn't send
in those two days of solid effort. I gave it another go a few days
later, and got a little hasty in my attempts. I hadnt warmed up
enough, knew it, ignored it, and in my haste for the big send promptly
blew out the pulley in my middle finger. It is a little disturbing to
hear an audible "pop" from your hand, and then involuntarily lose all
grip strength. The best diagnosis I can figure out, without going to a doctor, is that the pulley tendon at the base of my finger is partially torn (a full tear would show bulging finger tendons). So now I am bummin that I pretty much can't rock climb for spring.
On the plus side, I have made great use of my 10 time pass at Mt Hood Meadows, and have gotten out to climb mountains the last few weekends. The most recent adventure was an attempt on Shasta, which fell short due to a storm moving in a little earlier than planned. We camped at treeline (I got to use my new Mountain Hardwear EV3 tent!!!!) and got some really nice turns from about 10,000 ft down. We made the right decision on not climbing; a fatality occurred that morning due to AMS (?) after two climbers bivied near the summit. RIP.

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.