Thursday, April 28, 2011
Rainbow Peak
Caitlyn had the morning off and both of us wanted to walk on dirt instead of in the snow so we headed south to Rainbow peak. Definitely one of my favorite early season hikes, the ridge can be as interesting as you want to make it, and the views are beautiful.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
First and Last Day of Back Country Skiing
Ryan, Kyle and I left the parking lot of Arctic valley at about 5pm and toured to the top of Mt. Gordon Lyon. This was the first time I went back country skiing all year. Usually the ski season starts in October up at Hatcher Pass, but a low to no snow level up there prevented that, then I went to Hawaii and then it was climbing season. Pretty disappointed in myself on letting a whole season slip by....skiing can be so much fun!
Ryan at the Top
Looking Down
Looking Up
Self Portrait
Ryan at the Top
Looking Down
Looking Up
Self Portrait
Monday, April 4, 2011
Grand Canyon: Bouche and Hermit Trail
Our grand plan was to try and do a rim to rim trip in a day at the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately there was still to much snow on the North Rim and so no way to do a car shuttle. I joked about a rim to rim to rim, but we all decided that was a bad idea.
Instead we decided to do a lollipop loop connecting the Bouche and Hermit trails. The guy at the park head quarters told us that we were nuts, both trails were rugged and it took some people all day just to get to the bottom. I have to admit he kinda made us all doubt our ambitions, but the facts were it was still only 22 miles with a 7,000+ gain. I just couldn't wrap my head around why those numbers were impossible...Lynn and Andrew agreed so we just decided to get an earlier start, and we decided on a turnaround time if we were moving to slow.
The weather was perfect, blue skies with wispy clouds, temps from 45 in the morning to maybe 75 at height of the heat. The walking was fun, similar to a maintained trail in Alaska.
The layers of rocks, amazing shapes and colors truly made every mile enjoyable.
The Colorado River
A worthy day out, and we even got back to the car before we needed headlamps, and still had time to eat out!
Slide Show of Lynn and My Pics
T.12:D.22:EG.7700
Instead we decided to do a lollipop loop connecting the Bouche and Hermit trails. The guy at the park head quarters told us that we were nuts, both trails were rugged and it took some people all day just to get to the bottom. I have to admit he kinda made us all doubt our ambitions, but the facts were it was still only 22 miles with a 7,000+ gain. I just couldn't wrap my head around why those numbers were impossible...Lynn and Andrew agreed so we just decided to get an earlier start, and we decided on a turnaround time if we were moving to slow.
The weather was perfect, blue skies with wispy clouds, temps from 45 in the morning to maybe 75 at height of the heat. The walking was fun, similar to a maintained trail in Alaska.
The layers of rocks, amazing shapes and colors truly made every mile enjoyable.
The Colorado River
A worthy day out, and we even got back to the car before we needed headlamps, and still had time to eat out!
Slide Show of Lynn and My Pics
T.12:D.22:EG.7700
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Restoring the Power: Sedona Vortex Link Up
Lynn, Andrew and I decided our power centers needed some replenishment so went and hiked to 3 of Sedona's vortexes. There is a lot of infomoration on the web, but the jist is this, "In Sedona vortexes are created, not by wind or water, but from spiraling spiritual energy. The vortexes of Sedona are named because they are believed to be spiritual locations where the energy is right to facilitate prayer, mediation and healing. Vortex sites are believed to be locations having energy flow that exists on multiple dimensions".
I'm not sure if I felt the spiritual energy, but I can say the vortexes that we visited were absolutely beautiful. My favorite was Catherdral rock, a slick rock trail that wound its way up to the base of these beautiful red rock formations.
Leave it to Lynn to have us crawling down some scrubby trail instead of staying on the main route!
An amazing day out, definitely a highlight of the trip. All the hikes were relatively short, which was good because I was feeling some soreness for the Hot Loop trail the day before!
Slide Show of Lynn and My Pics
I'm not sure if I felt the spiritual energy, but I can say the vortexes that we visited were absolutely beautiful. My favorite was Catherdral rock, a slick rock trail that wound its way up to the base of these beautiful red rock formations.
Leave it to Lynn to have us crawling down some scrubby trail instead of staying on the main route!
An amazing day out, definitely a highlight of the trip. All the hikes were relatively short, which was good because I was feeling some soreness for the Hot Loop trail the day before!
Slide Show of Lynn and My Pics
Friday, April 1, 2011
Hot Loop: Not Just a Name
I flew to Arizona and met my good friend Lynn and Andrew for some fun before they got married in Sedona on April 9th.
We all wanted to get out for a big day or two while we were in Arizona. We picked one close to where we were called Hot Loop Trail, it seemed like the perfect warm up day, 17 miles and only a 2,000 ft or so elevation gain. The funny thing was that the first sign we saw out of the parking lot stated that the trail wasn't a loop, and well just read it below. We debated for about 30 seconds then kept going.
The hike took us up to the top of a scrubby mesa, which we followed till it reached a deep canyon, it was pretty but not spectacular. It was about 90 degrees, and we all agreed that Hot Loop was a very appropriate name. Going up the last big hill I somehow lost my GPS. I almost died of heatstroke running back down and up to try and find it, then Lynn and Andrew retraced our steps again, but no luck.
Even though my GPS was gone Lynn and Andrew still had their garmin watches, and at mile 14 we were all pretty sure that we had more than 3 miles to go and began to wonder how accurate the sign at the beginning really was.
I had brought 3 liters of water, which is always more than enough, but I was close to out and when we came to this slow moving stream that appeared out of the ground, I couldn't resist filling up. I can't believe how much energy the heat can suck out of me, or how thirsty I constantly am. I figured possible giardia in 2 weeks beat dehydration right now.
Twenty one miles later we reached the car in the dark. Our book proved to be about 4 miles off, but at least it was a loop unlike what the sign had claimed!
Slide Show of Lynn and My Pics
We all wanted to get out for a big day or two while we were in Arizona. We picked one close to where we were called Hot Loop Trail, it seemed like the perfect warm up day, 17 miles and only a 2,000 ft or so elevation gain. The funny thing was that the first sign we saw out of the parking lot stated that the trail wasn't a loop, and well just read it below. We debated for about 30 seconds then kept going.
The hike took us up to the top of a scrubby mesa, which we followed till it reached a deep canyon, it was pretty but not spectacular. It was about 90 degrees, and we all agreed that Hot Loop was a very appropriate name. Going up the last big hill I somehow lost my GPS. I almost died of heatstroke running back down and up to try and find it, then Lynn and Andrew retraced our steps again, but no luck.
Even though my GPS was gone Lynn and Andrew still had their garmin watches, and at mile 14 we were all pretty sure that we had more than 3 miles to go and began to wonder how accurate the sign at the beginning really was.
I had brought 3 liters of water, which is always more than enough, but I was close to out and when we came to this slow moving stream that appeared out of the ground, I couldn't resist filling up. I can't believe how much energy the heat can suck out of me, or how thirsty I constantly am. I figured possible giardia in 2 weeks beat dehydration right now.
Twenty one miles later we reached the car in the dark. Our book proved to be about 4 miles off, but at least it was a loop unlike what the sign had claimed!
Slide Show of Lynn and My Pics
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Caribou Creek: A Whole New Approach
I hadn't been to the end of Caribou creek all winter and really wanted to check out the land slide that took out the climb Double Take. Billmier had the grand idea to ice skate back there. It was probably not ideal conditions, but it was definitely more entertaining than walking on ice.
Billmier Skating Past the Sublimation Wall
I was pretty proud of me and Bill when we got to the base of Robopick, saw it melting in the sun, wanting to climb it, but not even going through the the huge rock fall debate like we have the last 2 years, its already been confirmed, rocks fall off that wall down the route when its warm and sunny.
So we went back to the new wall of ice to the lookers right of the old Double Take. There were so many lines to choose from, all in the sun, all looked fun. I won the rosh, and got to lead a stellar soft, perfectly angled pitch of ice.
Billmier Rappelling the New Route Above the Landslide
Bill won the next rosh for the first pitch of Rhythm and Blues, I was bummed I really wanted that one. The pitch above is usually brittle and cantankerous, and this day was no exception. The difference in ice quality from the sunny to the shady side is stark, I much prefer soft and easy.
Rhythm and Blues (I think?)
The mild gradient back down Caribou Creek made for some fast ice skating. The climbing pack definitely upset the balance, and I went down twice at a complete standstill.
There was still a lot of light left in the day when we were walking past Kids Corner, so it was hard to pass up. My pack felt heavy and my mojo to low for a solo on the first pitch so Bill belayed me, but from there we soloed side by side and were at the top in well under an hour.
Billmier Skating Past the Sublimation Wall
I was pretty proud of me and Bill when we got to the base of Robopick, saw it melting in the sun, wanting to climb it, but not even going through the the huge rock fall debate like we have the last 2 years, its already been confirmed, rocks fall off that wall down the route when its warm and sunny.
So we went back to the new wall of ice to the lookers right of the old Double Take. There were so many lines to choose from, all in the sun, all looked fun. I won the rosh, and got to lead a stellar soft, perfectly angled pitch of ice.
Billmier Rappelling the New Route Above the Landslide
Bill won the next rosh for the first pitch of Rhythm and Blues, I was bummed I really wanted that one. The pitch above is usually brittle and cantankerous, and this day was no exception. The difference in ice quality from the sunny to the shady side is stark, I much prefer soft and easy.
Rhythm and Blues (I think?)
The mild gradient back down Caribou Creek made for some fast ice skating. The climbing pack definitely upset the balance, and I went down twice at a complete standstill.
There was still a lot of light left in the day when we were walking past Kids Corner, so it was hard to pass up. My pack felt heavy and my mojo to low for a solo on the first pitch so Bill belayed me, but from there we soloed side by side and were at the top in well under an hour.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Turnagain Arm Trail
Sometimes its nice to just wear running shoes and go play in the woods.
Turnagain Arm
George Anne and Me
George Anne's New Rack
Turnagain Arm
George Anne and Me
George Anne's New Rack
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Kids Corner: Leisure of Spring Sunshine
My buddy Rapheal knows how to take his time with things, and is adamant about me not rushing up when we go ice climbing together. This ascent of Kid's Corner gets first place for the most leisurely ascent, we broke it into 5 pitches and sat in patches of sunshine the whole way up, we took climbing to a whole new level of slow and enjoyed every step along the way.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Sheep Creek Climbing
Ryan and I met up with Makenzie, an awesome valdez local, and headed back up to Sheep Creek. We weren't really sure how long the route we wanted to climb was since it disappeared up the folds of a rock coloir, but the initial pitch looked cruiser.
True to the nature of Valdez things are one again bigger than they look. Four hundred feet of ice later on "the first pitch" I pulled over the last bulge. From here it was a steep 300 ft snow slope to the base of the next step.
A full 200 foot pitch of fun climbing took us to the base of another small step that unfortunately we couldn't see above. This is when the occasional trickle of melting snow and ice became a full on small avalanche that flew by me and Ryan but some pieces hit Makenzie below.
Mackenzie at the Top of the Third Pitch
There wasn't much debate on whether we should bail after that. While Ryan belayed Mackenzie I set the V-thread. I wish I could have seen over that last little step, because I know there is a lot more ice up there. Next time.
The conditions necessary to make this approach and routes feasible are a low snow year, but enough snow to fill in the holes in the creek, cloudy days where it doesn't snow, or early starts before the sun warms up enough to cause rock and snow avalanches. These things don't often all come together in Valdez!
True to the nature of Valdez things are one again bigger than they look. Four hundred feet of ice later on "the first pitch" I pulled over the last bulge. From here it was a steep 300 ft snow slope to the base of the next step.
A full 200 foot pitch of fun climbing took us to the base of another small step that unfortunately we couldn't see above. This is when the occasional trickle of melting snow and ice became a full on small avalanche that flew by me and Ryan but some pieces hit Makenzie below.
Mackenzie at the Top of the Third Pitch
There wasn't much debate on whether we should bail after that. While Ryan belayed Mackenzie I set the V-thread. I wish I could have seen over that last little step, because I know there is a lot more ice up there. Next time.
The conditions necessary to make this approach and routes feasible are a low snow year, but enough snow to fill in the holes in the creek, cloudy days where it doesn't snow, or early starts before the sun warms up enough to cause rock and snow avalanches. These things don't often all come together in Valdez!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sheep Creek Exploration
I have wanted to go explore the end of Sheep Creek ever since I read about it in BT's Ice Pixies guidebook. The avalanche potential out there is scary. Its automatically not an option if there has been recent snow. Conditions this spring are about perfect with wind scraped mountains and a high pressure system in place.
Sheep Creek with Secret Journey and Tsuri Gane on the Left
When Ryan and I were back here last December we got shut down by a large pool of water and sub zero temps, this time the pool wasn't even visible. Huge avalanche deposits filled the river and we walked up and down them cognizant of how much snow was underneath our feet, reinforcement for why I will never come here when its snowing.
The amount of ice in the back half of this canyon is mind boggling. I could spend my next 10 Valdez trips here and still have more to do. Long, Long, Long routes. I was racking up at the base of a beautiful line in the pic below, listening to the tinkle of ice and snow roll down the route, then a rock came down. I've had bad experiences with rockfall in Sheep creek, I just couldn't rationalize making the same mistake again, even though I really wanted to. When you see one rock, and the route is still in the sun, chances are high that there will be many more to follow. I just couldn't do it.
Ryan with the Route We Wanted to Climb
We ended up trying to get farther back into the canyon, I always feel pulled to see what is around the next corner. After a few alder escapades and a cliff at the end, our need to go on was extinguished, so we turned around and dropped a line down the steep ice in the pic below.
Ouray Ice Park in Valdez
It was about 50 unrelenting feet of dead vertical ice. I've never gotten the screaming barfies so bad. The pain was ridiculous as my fingers regained circulation, surely this is a sign pointing toward the absurdity of me ice climbing? An amazing day out nonetheless.
Sheep Creek with Secret Journey and Tsuri Gane on the Left
When Ryan and I were back here last December we got shut down by a large pool of water and sub zero temps, this time the pool wasn't even visible. Huge avalanche deposits filled the river and we walked up and down them cognizant of how much snow was underneath our feet, reinforcement for why I will never come here when its snowing.
The amount of ice in the back half of this canyon is mind boggling. I could spend my next 10 Valdez trips here and still have more to do. Long, Long, Long routes. I was racking up at the base of a beautiful line in the pic below, listening to the tinkle of ice and snow roll down the route, then a rock came down. I've had bad experiences with rockfall in Sheep creek, I just couldn't rationalize making the same mistake again, even though I really wanted to. When you see one rock, and the route is still in the sun, chances are high that there will be many more to follow. I just couldn't do it.
Ryan with the Route We Wanted to Climb
We ended up trying to get farther back into the canyon, I always feel pulled to see what is around the next corner. After a few alder escapades and a cliff at the end, our need to go on was extinguished, so we turned around and dropped a line down the steep ice in the pic below.
Ouray Ice Park in Valdez
It was about 50 unrelenting feet of dead vertical ice. I've never gotten the screaming barfies so bad. The pain was ridiculous as my fingers regained circulation, surely this is a sign pointing toward the absurdity of me ice climbing? An amazing day out nonetheless.
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