The Daily Stoke!!

The Weekend That Was...

2011-03-23T08:51:00.002-05:00

Well no climbing got accomplished last weekend. John texted me Friday to let me know he couldn't make it, and I caught some sort of cold or flu bug that put me out of commission. Oh well, onto next week.

The Weekend to Be - Update

2011-03-17T15:14:00.002-05:00

So now that I've checked the weather forecast for this weekend the plan has changed.

Weather.com has the following forecasts for the weekend.

Saturday - High 51 - 0% Chance of Precip.
Sunday - High 50 - 30% Chance of Precip.

We'll be there Saturday instead. If you're there all weekend you have a 100% chance (not that I believe in a 100% chance of anything) of a rain free day and a 70% chance of a rain free weekend.

See you Saturday!

I am psyched!

The Weekend to Be - 03/19/2011 to 03/20/2011

2011-03-17T15:04:00.002-05:00

The Vernal Equinox Season Kickoff is On!

John K and I will be at the lake Sunday. I'll be coming off the couch after basically a year hiatus for injury. John is just back from Red Rocks and Joshua Tree. I'm ready to get my ass kicked.

Vernal Equinox Season Kickoff?

2011-03-14T08:21:00.001-05:00

Anyone up for a day of climbing at the Lake next weekend? Next weekend is the official start of Spring.

180 Degrees South

2011-03-05T07:03:00.001-06:00

So I checked out "180 Degrees South" last night, definitely a good flick.

The only annoing part is the Yvon Chouinard/Doug Tompkins soapbox full of hypocrisy and shame. I just want to say, "Guys, it's ok that you're successful, and the environmental stuff you do is great, but you both actually started giant consumer goods companies and the profits from them fund your adventures and philanthropy - so please stop slamming consumerism every other breath."

Other than the rest of the movie tells the story of a grand adventure. I'd say more, but I don't want to give anything away.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

The Lake featured in Climbing magazine, check it out.

2011-03-04T08:10:00.004-06:00

The March 2011 (#293) issue of Climbing magazine has a feature written by good friend Jay Knower. You should check out his blog A Purposeful Life.

Climbing season is almost here!

2011-03-03T14:25:00.002-06:00

So I blew out my finger last spring and pretty much took the season off. With the official start of Spring just seventeen days away we all have a lot to look forward to this season. Can't wait to see all of you out there.

200 el-bees

2009-03-09T08:01:00.002-05:00

For three straight days now I've tipped the scale at a consistent 200 lbs. Which means I've lost 15.2 lbs in 3 short weeks, and have come better than halfway to my goal of getting down to 185 lbs. I'm pretty psyched about that.

Unchanged in in Vegas...

2009-02-17T15:41:00.002-06:00

I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I hopped on the scale and found out I hadn't gained a bit of weight while I was in Vegas. Truth be told I kept the food and drink intake under control - I even managed 2.2 mile run up an down the strip Sunday morning. Back to the grind now though...

Another 2.2lbs

2009-02-11T09:05:00.002-06:00

So it seems that decreasing one's food intake, and increasing one's energy consumption causes one to start losing weight, and if the changes are big enough the weight loss is apparently pretty rapid (like 3.2 lbs per day rapid).

Christina thinks this is too fast, and I'd tend to agree with her if I thought I could maintain this pace, but the fact is I had a big weekend, and spiked up to all-time highs by Monday morning, and now I'm spiking back down.

Day 2...

2009-02-10T08:17:00.004-06:00

I begrudgingly arose around 6am this morning, weighed in and headed for the gym. The verdict from the scale was 211 lbs down 4.2 lbs from yesterday. I know that a large part of that is normal daily fluctuation, but at least the fluctuation is in the right direction.

My plan is evolving day by day - I've decided to slightly modify the way I track my food intake, by only doing so from when I wake up until I leave work. One of my biggest problems is all the junk I consume while sitting in front of my computer for most of the day, plus it's pretty hard to pin down decent nutritional information on homemade dinners.

The Long Road Back and Every Journey Begins With the First Step... Etc. etc. etc.

2009-02-09T12:59:00.002-06:00

So it's been a while since the Daily Stoke was last updated. Todd and I went out to the Pacific Northwest and completed our routes (the easy ones) on Hood and Adams last June. Then I proceeded to rest on those laurels and give up most forms of physical activity. I went to the lake a few times and climbed for the rest of the summer and fall, but the majority of my physical activity since the PNW trip has consisted of me lifting food and beer into my mouth...

Todd and I have made plans to go to Rainier this summer, and while I have known about this trip, and my need to get in shape for it, I have somehow managed to ignore this fact and gorge myself mightily for the past several months. Yesterday after having spent most of the weekend on my couch playing video games, and after having consumed a donut for breakfast - a giant cheeseburger, chips, and 3 pints (at least it was Coors light) at lunch, - a full order of Shrimp with Lobster Sauce, a couple of Potstickers and some Crab Rangoons for dinner - I decided I could no longer put off the healthy changes that needed to come. So I set the alarm for 5:30am and mentally prepared myself for the most dreaded of all places, The Gym.

Apparently I'm fairly well tuned into my body. I got on the scale this morning to find myself at new all-time highs (215.2lbs - I'm 6'3" and have a big frame, so I can pull this off when fully clothed, however shirtless is a different story.), shockingly just after I had become completely disgusted with my lethargy and over-indulgence. I made it to the gym, spent a few minutes stretching, and a few minutes on the rowing machine, then a few more minutes stretching.

All told I spent about 40 minutes in the gym and pulled in 67 points on my training log (which is my totally subjective, but at least somewhat useful record of my workouts) - so it's back to the gym this afternoon. I've also added a nutritional component to the training log to keep track or total calories and the composition of my meals. I'm going to try to post regular updates here, and hopefully that will keep me motivated. I want to drop down to 185lbs (yes I know that's 30lbs) in six months.

And so the first step down that long road to fitness has been taken...

Thumbs up! - A belated trip report from last summer...

2008-07-14T09:49:00.021-05:00

The first part of this post was written shortly after returning from Oregon and Washington, the balance was written later - much later.

I know it's been a while since my last post, but I've been exceptionally busy during the week at work since returning from the Pacific Northwest, and I've spent the past two weekends at the Lake because Jay was back home visiting from New Hampshire. So here is the skinny on Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood.

Day 1 - Saturday, June 21 - Arrival

We arrived in Portland midday on Saturday, picked up the car and headed towards Mt. Adams. We stopped in Hood River for groceries, and then in Trout Lake for some final supplies. We spent Saturday night camped alongside the road to Cold Spring Campground on the side of Mt. Adams in the National Forest.

Day 2 - Sunday, June 22 - Approach

We had a leisurely start to Sunday morning, and drove back into town (Trout Lake) to pick up a few last minute items. We drove back up the road, which was open nearly to Gotchen Creek, maybe a mile from Morrison Creek, parked the car and started walking up the snow covered road. After a few miles we arrived at Cold Spring Campground, and the South Climb Trailhead.

We started up the South Climb Trail and followed it until about tree line. We left it roughly where it cuts west to loop around the Crescent Glacier, and instead followed a well worn boot track through the snow up toward the east side of the Crescent Glacier. While we were walking and talking the subject of "epics" came up and I related some of my previous experiences in that department. Todd must have thought it sounded pretty cool, and he said something akin to, "I would someday like to experience an epic, not a major one, and only one, but one nonetheless."

A stunned me replied "Don't ever say that! They have a way of finding you on their own, they certainly don't need any encouragement." We continued on and eventually made camp on a pumice ridge at approximately 6800 feet, well below the Lunch Counter.

We started melting and boiling snow while we set the rest of camp up, and since we had flown in I decided to buy canisters for my stove, instead of using white gas. The isobutane started easier and seemed to burn just as well, and we continued to setup camp. Now you the reader can blame whoever you want for the epic that ensued, but I say it was Todd's fault for asking for an epic, and the fact that I incorrectly assumed one canister of fuel would be enough for two people for one night was completely irrelevant. Not surprisingly we ran out of fuel. We had made two liters of water per person, and enough extra to make a mug of water with two packets of Cup-a-Soup©, which we shared for dinner. Over our "meal" of Cup-a-Soup© we discussed the potential for the following day. We wouldn't be able to eat much, because we didn't have enough water to metabolize it, and we certainly wouldn't be able to drink much. We decided to go for it despite the setback, so we set our alarms for 2am and tried to get some sleep.

Day 3 - Monday, June 23 - The Epic Continues

Well around 4am I noticed that neither of us had woken up to our alarms, and we were behind schedule. When I woke Todd up and confronted him with this news we decided to press on, (This is where I left off previously) despite yet another setback. At some point some of you may start to question our judgement, and that's fair, but we kept a close eye on the weather and snow conditions and felt like we were still making good decisions. We made good time, and an overcast sky kept the snow firm and safe. We reached the summit in the afternoon under cloudy skies, that never let more than a mist of precipitation fly.

Summit time was pretty short we were, after all. practically out of water, and behind schedule, so we turned around, sat down and let gravity do the work.

We made it out that night, and spent the night at the general store in Trout Lake. I ate a whole bag of Doritos© and drank excessive amounts of water, and a few beers.

Mt. Hood...

After a couple of days of rest we found ourselves in the parking lot of the Timberline Lodge at the base of Mt. Hood's South Side route (after spending the day in one of the most annoying places in the world, Government Camp, Oregon, where super-rad-gnar-gnar 12 year-old kids hang out at their snowboard camp imagining themselves as quite possibly as bad ass as it gets). We left at about midnight, just as the snowcats were leaving to haul the local guiding company's clients up to the top of the ski hill. Those of us that were there on our own buttoned up to enjoy the long grinding hike up the edge of the snowfield. Every ten minutes or so another snowcat full of clients would pass us, which was at times energizing ("We're doing it for real.") and at times demoralizing ("Why didn't we sign up for a snowcat ride?").

We reached the caldera early enough in the morning, but the sun was starting to come around and hit the upper reaches of the ridge, and there was a giant log jam of guided clients on the upper slopes. Todd was having second thoughts about things because of all the people and I certainly didn't blame him for that. I suggested we press on to the Hogsback (a snow ridge that runs from Crater Rock up to the summit ridge), have a snack, and re-evaluate.

The last time I was on Hood before this trip (1999) the Hogsback went directly up to the Pearly Gates, making for any easy dash to the summit, but since then it has shifted West making the Old Chute route more accessible, and as a result the current favorite route of the guide companies. So the Old Chute was a mess of clients and guides, six to a rope, no gear and rope team upon rope team right above each other. This situation has caused accidents before. Todd and I agreed that this was not the way to approach the mountain. Luckily we had brought a rope, and some protection, so our options remained open. We decided to strip the gear down into one pack, and "have a look" at the Pearly Gates. We crossed the bergschrund in a hurry and headed into the coulior. The climbing was solid, and we simul-climbed it for the most part. I stopped once mid-route to belay Todd up and re-rack the gear he had cleaned. At the top I stopped again and belayed Todd up the final hundred feet or so, and it was a good thing too, since he blew a crampon about twenty feet from the top of the coulior. Some tense words were exchanged, but eventually he found a good spot to stop and re-attach it. The last few hundred feet to the summit were a relatively easy walk, and we topped out happily away from the crowds which had already begun their descent.The fun wasn't quite over yet though. Since the sun was starting to shine fully on the inside of the caldera and the guided parties were mostly on their way down we decided to go down the Old Chute route. A small section of knife-edge, the chunk of ice that melted off the rim and sailed into me, and the slow party in front of us provided a little pucker factor to the descent, but eventually we made it back to the hogsback, had a snack, and continued on down without any real issue. We made it back to the car about eleven hours and forty-five minutes after we departed, which I thought was a respectable time for us to do it in.

We spent the rest of the trip hanging out in Hood River and Trout Lake, relaxing and enjoying the weather.

The Weekend to Be...

2008-06-10T09:29:00.002-05:00

Well weather.com is calling for the following as of right now...

Saturday:
Sunny - High 72 - Low 59 - 20% chance of precip
Sunday:
Scattered T-Storms - High 78 - Low 57 - 40% chance of precip

Which suggests the following:
Chance of at least on rain free day: 92%
Chance of a rain free weekend: 48%

Looks like a possibly good climbing weekend, unfortunately weather.com is also predicting at least a 30% chance of rain for every day between now and Friday with a 70% chance for Thursday. This isn't good for the area; which has received far too much rain in the last week, resulting in the flooding shown below. What you're seeing in those videos is the collapse of Lake Delton a few miles from Baraboo.

Lake Delton

2008-06-09T14:25:00.000-05:00

The weekend that was... rainy.

2008-06-09T11:04:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I posted, and the last time I did I mentioned a Florida trip. Christina and I had a great time there hanging out with my parents. Jenny was psyched when we got back.

This most recent weekend Christina, Jenny and I drove up to Wheeler's Saturday morning. I met up with Todd, and he and I embarked on what was to be our dress rehearsal for out trip out west. The plan was to hike in mountaineering boots and 35lb packs from Parfrey's Glen, to Devils Lake, down the CCC trail, up Potholes, down Balanced Rock, around the south end of the lake, up the West Bluff, down the West Bluff, around the north end of the lake, up the East Bluff and back to Parfrey's Glen (~18-20 miles).

Conditions were, to say the least, not optimal.

We left the parking lot at Parfrey's around 9:50 in the morning and marched into what felt like the jungle. It was sunny, with temps in the high-70s to low-80s, and extremely high humidity. The mosquitoes and black flies were out in force and my practice of ignoring them was working just fine until Todd pointed out that I had, "...like six mosquitoes on each leg and four on each arm..." This comment of course turned me into a fly-swatting machine unable to simply ignore the mosquitoes.

As we made our way from Parfrey's over to Devil's Lake, blues skies became partly cloudy, became mostly cloudy, became gray skies. About the time we crossed into the park I started texting Christina for a weather forecast. By the time she got back to me with word of the tornado watch we were almost to the CCC. We pressed on because the sky wasn't looking that bad. We went down the CCC, and then up the Potholes. That's when word of the Tornado warning came from Christina, accompanied by ever more ominous skies to the west.

We booked it over to the Balanced Rock trail and started down. We were shocked by the large number of totally unprepared people wandering up the trail oblivious to impending doom gathering in the skies overhead. I even told Todd that it was almost a certainty that there would be a rescue later in the day. We continued to hurry down the trail sidestepping tourists on their way up.

At the south shore we sat outside on a picnic table near the beach. We took off our boots, had a snack and watched the approaching weather. I gave Todd a quick tutorial on weather patterns (specifically why all that upper level wind out of the south was really bad with the giant blackness off to the west -- for more see "Low Pressure System" here), as the skies to the northwest turned an evil shade of green. The rangers were driving around announcing the tornado warning over a loudspeaker, and we decided to move closer to the shelter as the wind picked up and the aforementioned blackness started to roll over the west bluff.

I have never seen weather like that at the Devils Lake. It was ferocious, no tornado, but straight line winds that I had to lean into in order to remain standing. People at the shelter were freaking out. Children were crying and their parents were trying to reassure them, but lack of confidence in those parental voices was pretty obvious. It was scary, especially since the "shelter" we chose was fitted with giant picture windows overlooking the lake, and as a result offered little in the way of actual protection had there been a storm of any significance. We sat by the windows (I know it was dumb) and I taped up the gaping blister that had popped on my left heel, leaving the unpopped blister on my right heel for a later date.

After the storm subsided we put our boots back on and headed around the south end of the lake toward the West Bluff. On our way we ran into my old friend/boss Paul, who was on his way out after having ridden the storm out on the West Bluff with some friends. While we were chatting another ranger drove by announcing that there was another tornado warning. Paul and I both thought that this warning would prove to be fruitless. So after some discussion Todd and I continued toward the West Bluff trail.

About 200 yards up the trail it became obvious that things were going to get much worse before they got better (now we were the idiots going up the trail despite the impending doom gathering overhead, but at least we were prepared and I had an intimate knowledge of the area). I decided it would be best to haul ass to Misery Rocks and hang out in the cave under the Pillow (where the "5" is in the picture). The rain, lightning and wind were heinous, this storm was at least as bad as the one that had preceeded it. So we waited, and finally the storm let up.

We headed back up the Misery gulley, and back to the trail. We continued on our way to the north shore and started to discuss the idea of bailing. It seemed like we had made a valiant effort, and that with the highly uncertain weather this was the best option, but we left that decision for the north shore. The remainder of the way up the west bluff was otherworldly. It felt like a rain forest. At the top of the trail above Great Chimney and Lost Face we could scarcely see the east bluff through the fog. Perhaps the coolest thing we saw was the water running off from the west bluff. The trail was more stream than trail in some places, with water as deep as six inches. It was an amazing sight to behold.

We got down to the north shore and decided to bail -- which was good, because the storms didn't let up, and we would have been miserable hiking back into Parfrey's Glen after dark. We went back to the camper and made brats and had beers in the rain.

Sunday wasn't any better and we bailed early.

The weekend to be

2008-05-28T08:46:00.002-05:00

It looks like a great weekend at the Lake. Highs in the mid to upper 70s and only a 20% chance of rain on each day. Which translates into a 96% chance of at least 1 clear day, and a 64% chance of two clear days.

Unfortunately for me I won't be able to make it. I'm on my way to Florida with Christina and my Mom & Dad.

The Weekend that Was

2008-05-27T09:58:00.003-05:00

Another fine Memorial Day weekend in Wisconsin.

Christina, Jenny and I arrived at the camper around 10:30pm on Friday night. We greeted with the familiar image of Lollie, Marc, Nate and Ron sitting around the front fire and waiting for the remaining check-ins. It was good to see Ron, as this was his first trip to the Lake this entire season, and things just haven't been the same without him. After consuming a beer or two and some conversation around the campfire it was time for bed.

Saturday morning was a lazy morning, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't out of be until at least 9:00am. Once I was up and moving Christina and I headed into town to pick up some donuts and assorted other breakfast type food. When we arrived back at the campground we helped Ron assemble the "Thunderdome" around his camper, and generally took it easy.

Ron and I finally started to find some motivation around 10:30am and we made it to the CCC parking lot around 11:00am, after getting Ron his park sticker for the year. The hike up to the bluff went fairly well. We had decided to do a "tour of the East" -- which to us means leading a few routes on several formations. Since it was Ron's first day out and I had gotten a few routes in already this season we decided it would be best for me to lead. I was apprehensive (this would be mt first day of leading for the season, and more to the point, my first day leading since last August).

The tour started on Full Stop (5.6), the scene of the now infamous (at least among my closer climbing friends) "mud incident" -- which Ron was kind enough to remind me of shortly before I began the route. It's good to return to old familiar routes when you haven't been climbing in a while. It's like seeing an old friend you haven't seen in a while. It's a bit awkward at first, but eventually the familiarity overcomes the awkwardness and a pleasant conversation ensues. After bringing Ron up he complimented me on not being too rusty, and I in turn admitted that there had been a little ""...wind in the wires..."

Next on the docket was Peter's Project (5.7), but a group had just thrown a toprope on it, and they weren't too keen on the idea of us leading through. So we headed on down the bluff toward Foreplay (5.5) where we found a Boyscout troop or some other such nightmare setup all over the bedroom amphitheater. We still asked if we could lead through and to my surprise the guide was more than okay with it. So we quickly led through (Ron even had to tell me to take my time) without incident and discussed where to head next.

We decided that since we were so close The Pretzel (5.6) we should just scramble down Leaning Tower Gully and do that. After a quick lunch/smoke break we racked up and did the route, which was as awkward as I remembered, but good nonetheless. The only real incident on this route was the "sketch factor" added by the Scout troop stumbling up and down Leaning Tower Gully kicking rocks down left and right. This didn't present a real danger for Ron and I as we were along the side of the gully and out of the fall line, but it was exceedingly annoying.

After completing The Pretzel we headed back down the bluff toward Peter's Project and found it in the best conditions one could hope for on a beautiful Memorial Day weekend -- open. At this point Ron's lingering elbow-itis was flaring up, so I built an anchor above the route and he wandered around to the base. The plan was that I would rap the route, lead it, and clean it on lower. Trouble is Ron had the rope in his pack, so after I was done building the anchor I had to wander down around to the base as well. The route went well, and it made a for a nice end to the day. We packed up and headed for Wheeler's, having done four routes in about four hours car to car.

We spent the rest of the day Saturday doing site maintenance, and grilling out in full Wisconsin Memorial Day weekend style.

Sunday was another lazy morning, and Ron had to leave around 10:00am to go to Kato and Pete-o's party up in Appleton. Christina and I went to Pierce's for fresh donuts again, and then started making plans for my parents to meet us at the campground for a Memorial Day weekend cookout around 2:30pm. We had a little time to kill, so we went to the Lake, I went on a long hike and Christina and Jenny went for a run.

My hike started out on the South Bluff (from the West Bluff parking lot) where I visited "The Reserve" and some of the talus fields west of the cliff bands on the South Bluff. I think I got some really good pictures of the lake (we'll see when the film comes back) . I had intended on going to the cliff bands, but ran into a section of densely forested talus field, and was tired of bushwhacking since the black flies and mosquitoes were eating me alive. So I bushwhacked my way down the South Bluff to the South Shore visitor center, and then walked over to the Grottos trail. I took the Grottos over to the CCC and then took the CCC up the East Bluff. Then I took the East Bluff trail to the North Shore where Christina picked me up.

Christina and I pulled into Wheeler's just in front of my parents, it took us a little while to get the fire going and lunch cooked, but we got it done eventually, and had a great meal. The weather started to look like it was going to take a turn for the worse, so my Mom and Dad headed out pretty quickly after lunch.

Jenny, Christina and I decided to ride the storm out in the camper, Jenny was scared out of her mind, but the storm came and went pretty fast. We were left with an incredible rainbow in the front field at Wheeler's. I took some pictures, but I'm not sure how they'll turn out until I get the film back. The rest of the night was pretty relaxed, and went by quickly. We all went to bed fairly early.

Monday morning was the earliest of the long weekend, and saw us up around 8:00am. We packed up the truck and were on the road by 11:00am. Traffic wasn't too bad and we took our time which got us home around 3:oopm. All things considered it was a great weekend.

2008-05-22T10:36:00.002-05:00

I saw this on youtube the other day and I think it captures the spirit of the Valley really well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkRnwO8oyBk

The Weekend to Be - Memorial Day '08

2008-05-22T09:22:00.004-05:00

A 3-day Weekend and I can't wait...

As of now, the always reliable weather.com forecasts the following data:

Saturday: High 72 - Low 54 - 0% chance of rain

Sunday: High 77 - Low 63 - 40% chance of rain

Monday: High 80 - Low 50 - 40% chance of rain

That all adds up to the following:

Probability of one rain-free day: 100%

Probability of two rain-free days: 84%

Probability of three rain-free days: 36%

Here is a pic of last Memorial Day:

Coming back...

2008-05-19T14:28:00.002-05:00

So it's been a while since I've posted, but I'm starting to get psyched for the summer season. My friend Todd and I are headed out to climb Mt Adams and Mt. Hood in June. We've both been training pretty hard, and this weekend I did a pretty good training hike, and I wanted to share it with you.

11:05 AM -- leave Parfrey's Glen
11:53 AM -- arrive at Solum road
12:26 PM -- cross 113
12:33 PM -- arrive at First bench after hwy 113 and take break
12:43 PM -- end of break
1:10 PM -- arrive at the top of CCC (where the climber trail splits off to the left below Pedestal Buttress) to hike down it
1:24 PM -- base of Potholes trail and a break
1:33 PM -- end of break start up Potholes
1:45 PM -- top of Potholes headed for Balanced Rock Trail
2:01 PM -- base of Balanced Rock Trail, headed around the south shore to the West Bluff
2:24 PM -- base of West Bluff Trail
2:43 PM -- arrive at the "Fire Road Benches" above Great Chimney and a break
2:52 PM -- end of break
3:05 PM -- arrive N end of West Bluff trail
3:35 PM -- arrive at my camper at Wheeler's

I'm guessing at a distance of about 12 or 13 miles give or take...

It was a great day.

The Weekend That Was

2007-05-20T23:12:00.000-05:00

The Fine Line Between “F**K” and “F**K YEAH”

If you read The Daily Stoke’s report from last weekend; you should have come away with the impression that I was especially stoked for this weekend. With last weekend’s major theme being defeat, I was ready to put it all on the line in order to come out victorious this weekend.
Friday afternoon found me in my usual state of staring at the clock, waiting for work to be over. This is obviously counter-productive because it makes the time pass even more slowly. Time did however (as it inevitably does) pass and I found myself making the familiar drive from Chicago, to the Lake.

Chasing the sunset West over the Illinois plains has become a meaningful metaphor for me. Every time I see a sunset these days I am filled with the twin notions of freedom and joy. This phenomenon has developed in me over the course of several years of driving West out of the city towards the Lake, the setting sun, and the freedom I so enjoy on my weekend escapes. This phenomenon is further strengthened during my return journey to the East when I can see the setting sun in my rearview mirror and along with it the waning thoughts of the Lake and its enduring status as the place in the world where I feel most happy and free.

Now I find myself sitting in my camper writing this report on Sunday, watching the tiny raindrops accumulate on and then evaporate from the camper window, trying to avoid the inevitable return to the city and all its entrapments. Today has been a lazy day for me, some reading, some eating, some mild camper maintenance, and now the writing of this report.
Saturday morning dawned, bringing with it blissful sun, mild temperatures, a gentle breeze, and the hopeful expectations of the climbing day to come. If one were to paint a picture of the most idyllic day possible for climbing that picture would mirror Saturday perfectly.

The pre-climbing routine passed easily. The weather radio predicted that the rest of the day would be as perfect as the morning; the teapot whistled to a boil; the rack was sorted and the packs were packed. Coach stopped by, Jamie and Randy text-messaged and all agreed Old Sandstone was the place to be. Coach headed there, and Jamie and Randy agreed to meet us there. Ron and I stayed at the campground and waited for Chuck. He arrived and we all headed for the crag.

The parking lot was nearly full, but we knew three of the six cars were “friendlies,” so we parked and started up the trail. Upon arriving at the crag we found a relatively crowded scene, but our group was certainly the dominant force, with most of classics already setup. I skipped the requisite socializing at the base and hurried to the top – so that I could setup Pacific Ocean Wall (5.11d), I was after all a man on a mission. The setup went quickly, because I have become fairly intimate with it over the past several months having worked the route on and off for that time.

My climbing day began with a quick warm-up on the easier variation of Gargantua (5.9). It went well, and I felt fairly strong, so I decided to dive right into my project. My first burn went as expected, carefully picking my way through the thin climbing leading up to the first crux where I fell as I was trying to remember the foot sequence I had worked out. I thought, “No big deal, I’ve got a lot of day left, and it was just my first burn, and man these new shoes are killing my feet, I'll just lower off.”

My second burn went nearly the same, although I felt like I botched the lower, easier section of the route. I again made it to the first crux, botched the footwork for too long, and by the time I was situated was out of gas. Although on this burn I did a little more research, because I had my older more comfortable shoes on. I still could not recall the exact sequence I had worked out in the past. I started to feel tired and weak, so I lowered off, knowing further progress would have to wait. Upon reaching the ground I could feel the all too familiar pangs of defeat beginning to creep into my mind.

I rested a while, and did some socializing, then started on my third burn. I climbed smoothly up to the lower crux. Then not-surprisingly I fell off while trying to pull through; despite nailing the footwork. My feet hurt (damn the new shoes again), but I “batmanned” up the rope so that I could work the upper crux moves, and found nothing there but demoralization. Not only had I forgotten the lower crux, but apparently the upper crux as well. “F**K!” I thought, this route is never going to go, so I lowered to the ground. All but defeated I untied form the rope, and removed my shoes in disgust.

More rest, and more socializing found me belaying Terry on Tarantula (5.10b). This happens to be a close neighbor to Pacific Ocean Wall. Everyone seemed to be losing steam and I found myself contemplating leaving without taking another burn on P.O. Terry topped out on Tarantula (which he completely hiked), and as I was lowering him asked if me if I was going to take another burn on P.O. I responded with something to the effect of, “I guess I might as well, at least I’ll get stronger.”

So began my fourth burn, an unmotivated attempt, only meant to increase my strength. I tied in, velcroed my comfy shoes on and started up the route. Easy and familiar moves lead to the base of the scoop. Then match hands on thin incut rail, left foot on slopey hold out and around the corner, stand up. Both feet on good edges, lean in, no hands rest, shakeout, chalkup. Both hands to low crimps, left foot sloper, right foot crescent patina, then stand it up – slowly. Left hand up, right hand up – chalk left, chalk right. Left foot high, right foot down, then work the right foot up slow and catch an edge. Okay, leg-press with left leg – left hand reach, come on reach, okay, got the rounded corner above the lip. Right hand to the good crimp, both feet up – chalk left, chalk right. Right foot to smear, left foot way out to corner – breathe. Right hand to Gaston, left foot to center, right foot to left foot, left foot high on the smear on the corner, left hand up, pull hard, left hand up again, thumb-catch, come on stand it up, right foot good edge. “Holy shit I’m through the first crux.” I allow myself to think for a second. One more move to the rest. Right hand up, left foot up, right foot up, breathe, chalkup, most importantly don’t blow it now.
Okay, left hand up, left foot up, right foot in the invisible seam, and right hand up. Then left hand again, right hand, right foot, left foot then right hand again, only one hard move to go. Pull, then left hand to sloper, now bring the right hand over to match. “Oh F**K I’m losing it, bear down.”
This is the moment where all the foregone calories, the daily weighing, the tons of iron moved in the weight room, the miles running, biking and swimming – the months of dedication and discipline – right here is where I meet the task at hand or come up wanting. “Bear down.” I repeat.

Right hand match, that is all there is, got it, “F**K YEAH.” Now keep it together, left hand to jug, right hand match, establish your feet. Right hand into horizontal, left hand match, left foot up, kneebar. Find the good holds, standup touch the lip, and relax you just accomplished your goal.

The Weekend to Come

2007-05-18T15:12:00.000-05:00

This weekend's forecast has been all over the map this week, but it has settled into a beautiful forecast. Weather.com is pricing in a 99% chance of at least one rain-free day and an 87% chance of a rain-free weekend.

There will also be 15 hours of daylight on Saturday, with an extra two minutes on Sunday.

Highs in the upper 70's with high winds on Saturday. Sunday has predicted highs in the upper 60's with higher humidity and lighter winds...

Should be a great weekend...

The Weekend That Was

2007-05-14T15:30:00.000-05:00

"Defeat" is the word that could best describe my weekend...

Saturday I woke to the sound of raindrops on the camper roof. Luckily it was a light rain and only lasted for an hour or so. After the rain subsided the sun appeared and a light breeze developed. By 8:30 the classic rule "If the road's dry; the rock's dry" was in effect. Around 9:00am Ron, Christina and I left the campground heading for the CCC parking lot. There we ran into an old friend, Paul. We talked for a little bit, and then started to make our way up the CCC trail.

At the top of the CCC trail we ran into Coach, who was stylin' at the Campus Wall. We chatted for a little while with Coach and did a little walking and talking as he was moving to Mouse's Wall.

We continued to our destination of Psuedo Hawk's Nest, where we dropped two ropes; one on "Chicken Delight (5.7)" and "Chicken Tonight (5.8)" and the other on "Beginner's Demise (5.11a)". Ron took the "honors" and warmed up on a somewhat jacked (due to rope placement issues) combination of "Beginner's Delight" (5.4) and "Chicken Delight". Christina went second with a successful burn on "Beginner's Delight".

Then the flailing started as I took the first of seven (yes seven) unsuccessful burns on "Beginner's Demise". On most burns my foot continued to blow off the same hold at the upper crux. Once I managed to make what I refered to as "a complete mockery" of the lower half of the route. Twice I managed to pull through this crux and fall off the jugs above it. Several times I erupted into tirades so embarassing I felt obligated to apologize to other climbers nearby.

Ron left around 2pm (after sending "Chicken Delight" proper and absolutely hiking "Chicken Tonight") in order to attend his Dad's birthday party (and probably from the shame of being around me). Christina (and her apparently infinite patience) stayed to belay me on my final two or three attempts at "Beginner's Demise". She cruised the direct start of "Chicken Delight" into "Beginner's Delight), I'd call the linkup 5.6.

Saturday night Christina and I had dinner with my parents for Mother's Day, and Ron returned to the campground after his Dad's party.

Sunday morning I woke to raindrops on the camper again, but these were much bigger and more frequent than Saturday. It rained most of the morning and into the afternoon, and so much of the day was spent on site improvement.

After the rain stopped Christina and I went for our training run. This shut me down as well, 2 miles into our 4 mile run I had to stop because my shin splints were so bad. Defeated again, I walked in pain the rest of the way around the Lake. The beautiful afternoon shining in stark contrast to the ugliness of my physical performance for the weekend.

Anyway this weekend is over, and I am psyched for the next. After all it's always darkest before the dawn. I think I'll get on "Pacific Ocean Wall" (5.11d) next weekend. That bitch is going down!

The Weekend to Come

2007-05-11T14:09:00.000-05:00

The weekend forecast is shaping up nicely with cool temps and partly cloudy skies on Saturday, and slightly warmer with a chance of rain on Sunday.

Overall, Weather.com is pricing in a 96% chance of at lest one rain-free day, and a 54% chance of a rain-free weekend. So you can bet there will be some climbing done!

Saturday is going to sport a whopping 14:37 of daylight and Sunday will check in with an extra 2 minutes beyond that.

See you this weekend!!

June 1st Goals

2007-05-11T14:00:00.000-05:00

So I have the following agenda to accomplish before June 1st:

Toprope 4 of the following 5:

Great White Hope (5.11a)
Cop-Out (5.11a)
Mouse Tracks (5.11a)
Beginner's Demise (5.11a)
Happy Hunting Grounds (5.11a)

and toprope Pacific Ocean Wall (5.11d)

The Weekend That Was

2007-05-11T13:34:00.000-05:00

So even though I sent out a "Hump Day Report" this week I thought I post last weekends summary here for posterity anyway.

Last weekend only included one day (Sunday) of climbing for me as many factors conspired against my presence at the Lake on Saturday. I travelled from Chicago to Portage via Amtrak and thouroughly enjoyed it; if they had a better schedule, then I would take the train every weekend.

Upon arriving at the Lake (around 7:30) I promptly "broke-in" to my camper, because I had forgotten my keys in Chicago. Once I finished practicing my burglary skills I went for a run. Started at the North end of the West Bluff trail, went up and over the, and came back along the Lake on the Tumbled Rocks trail. It was a gorgeous night to be running beside the Lake in fading light.

Ron's campsite saw a major improvement. He spent most of Friday and Saturday constructing a "carport" arounf his camper. It looks considerably better than the old silver tarp.

Congrats are in order to Jay as he redpointed his first 5.14 this week, Cold War (5.14a) at Rumney. Nice send dude!

As for Sunday's climbing Ron and I chose to head to Balanced Rock Wall. The combination of easy approach and flat base were easy on Ron's still mildly ailing ankle. We worked Watermarks (5.8), Watermarks Leftside (5.8), Morning After (5.10d) and briefly on Night Before (5.11d). I managed to send Morning After; which is a fairly interesting route. Ron sent Watermarks Leftside (after a sustained effoet which you'll have to ask him about) even with bum ankle.

After climbing we returned to the campground and closed up the campers for the week and headed home. All in all not a bad little Sunday.

Cheers

The Weekend to come...

2007-05-03T15:42:00.000-05:00

All week the weather has been looking great, but today a slight deterioration has been detected. A 50% chance of rain is being priced in for Saturday. Which means that there is still a 95% chance of one rain-free day and a 45% chance of a rain-free weekend. So we're still a huge favorite to get a good weekend of climbing in...

Ahh rednecks...

2007-04-30T12:19:00.001-05:00

http://www.azfamily.com/sharedcontent/video/makeASX.php?titl>>>>>

Ahh the French...

2007-04-30T11:57:00.000-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnf7VukjAFk

The Weekend that was...

2007-04-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning found Ron, Coach and I leaving Wheeler's around 9:30am. Coach was concerned about the hatch by the lake, so we headed up the West Bluff service road towards Lost Face. We dropped ropes on Lost Face(5.6-5.8), Cracker Jack(5.8), and Coup d'Etat(5.11b).

The day went fairly well, that is until Ron rolled his ankle at the base of Lost Face. A few scary moments passed (Lost Face would not be the easiest place to carry someone out of) as Coach and I watched Ron tumble, then slide face first for a few feet, but as soon as the choice words started flowing I knew he'd be fine. He managed to hobble out under his own power.

Since it was already afternoon we decided to call it a day shortly after Ron's tumble, and adjourned to Wheeler's where boat drinks and ibuprofen seemed to ease everyone's pain.

Sunday was deemed site improvement day, so we did some maintenance around the campers and laid low.

15 min to Freedom - F!@# yeah

2007-04-27T14:46:00.001-05:00

15 min to the weekend - see you all at the Lake!

2007-04-27T12:44:00.000-05:00

So it is quarter to one on friday and, bored out of my frikking mind, am I. I, wait to get out of here and on my way up to the lake, cannot.

So decided to write a get stoked blog in yoda, have I, because you laugh it might make, and of the afternoon hopefully get you through the rest.

Basking in the glow of the afternoon sun and the cool breeze of devil's lake, just remember in 24 hours you should be.

So get psyched and get after it.

Cheers,
James

P.s. Found the end of the internet with this yoda converter, have I. Hmmmmmm.

Daily weather report 4-27-07

2007-04-27T12:25:00.000-05:00

Weather is still looking great for the weekend ahead. Both forecasted windspeed and temps have increase. Humidities for Saturady and Sunday are predicted in the mid to upper 40% range.

Weather.com still pricing in a 99% chance of one rain free day and an 87% chance of a rain free weekend...

All in all should be a great weekend for climbing at the Lake!

Hope to see you there!

Cheers,
James

Welcome

2007-04-27T09:44:00.000-05:00

So I've finally given in and decided to give blogging a try. I have so many random thoughts that need to be shared and as such this gives me a forum for that type of thing. My goal here is to detail my current training for climbing and the Chicago marathon this fall. Maybe everyone can learn something...

I three climbing goals for the season. Lead 5.10 trad, lead 5.11 sport and toprope 5.12.

So welcome...