SkiSickness

SUPERBLOG gear review

2009-11-07T23:13:00.001-08:00

I went to MEC today. I remembered some advertisement from a magazine about a folding helmet, so I made an inquiry with the friendly help. Indeed, MEC has folding helmets!

The problem is this: the folding helmet reduces the volume of the helmet by a small amount (not as much as I'd hoped), but the folding helmet felt significantly heavier than the helmet I already have. I won't be buying a folding helment.

I'll stick with my strategy of avoiding helmets whenever possible, which is most of the time. For rock climbing or skiing that seems like it might involve some objective danger (falling objects), I'll take my light helmet. For a long approach, it seems like the light helmet strapped to the outside of the pack will serve me better than a heavier helmet that, while it may fold, would still occupy way too much space in the pack.

The pussy is really happy and I'm going to scratch my ski bases tomorrow.

CIAO

Warm Days and Memories

2009-10-04T07:00:00.001-07:00

I'm finally home in Vancouver and there's definitely a chill in the air. Here's a picture from southern France last week.

Ivan fait le grand saut

Vive la belle vie Mediteranée!

Big Ballin'

2009-09-04T01:12:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to get ready for some work and play in Europe here, losing my mind like normal, and I went to the bank today. Extra exchange fees on each transaction really bother me. Thought I'd get some Euros. All they had was this, the biggest single bill I've ever had:

Note the reading material. Yeah.

Fun that goes Squish!

2009-08-19T08:42:00.001-07:00

It's a new trip report on Ski Sickness! It's more fun than you can lick without pausing to take a drink!

North North Arete, Angel's Crest, and Great Game

Mmmmmm Rat Chow!

2009-08-14T20:49:00.000-07:00

Watch what kinda rat chow you eat! Ha ha ha.

NY times blog article

Choose your high-performance foods accordingly? Clearly, it's all about that sweet milk....

BOOM go the particles

2009-08-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

And now for something different. More than you ever wanted to know about two particles colliding and transmuting into two different particles:
Relativistic two-body kinematics

The equations are so beautiful and precise. It's like an immaculate layback with a positive, sharp edge to grip and nice texture for the feet. It's not overwhelming; just take it one step at a time and work through it. It's all so exhilirating!

Flashback to the Boving Route

2009-08-10T18:40:00.001-07:00

Three years ago, when Ross and I were climbing together pretty often. This is Ross leading the spectacular double-roof pitch on the Boving Route, South Early Winters Spire, Washington Pass, North Cascades Highway, Washington.

Hope life's treating you well, surfer dude.

Extra-Stoked On Squamish

2009-08-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

Too bad I couldn't find a "partenaire" for today. I'm psyched to rock climb for the first time in years, more psyched than ever, and I really need to up the game if I'm ever going to tackle the Grand Wall. Oh well. Je vais à la plage.

Had a splendid day with Ziff on Saturday, climbing Rock On then Squamish Buttress. Hooked on Squamish works for me!

Rock On and Squamish Buttress

Thanks again for the great day, Ziff.

Bouldering!?

2009-08-02T09:16:00.000-07:00

I liked this quote (and article), but bouldering!? Let's promote climbing splitter cracks! Although I can understand how bouldering might have more mass appeal after seeing two guys and two girls bouldering while walking the Apron Connector trail in Squamish yesterday.

Kristof's column

One problem may be that the American environmental movement has focused so much on preserving nature that it has neglected to do enough to preserve a constituency for nature. It’s important not only to save forests, but also to promote camping, hiking, bouldering and white-water rafting so that people care about saving those forests.

All right, I'll try to stop blogging based on what I've read on nytimes.com....

Ryanair

2009-07-31T22:36:00.001-07:00

When I needed to get off the Scandinavian peninsula to go ski the Alps and I had been too stupid to think about it until two days prior to my departure from Finland, Ryanair saved my ass. Now there's an article about Ryanair in the New York Times and I'm going to link to it from here, particularly because their CEO suggested that business class pastures on hypothetical transatlantic flights would receive oral sex. I really do need to get rich.

Ryanair is Thrifty, and Chief Makes No Apologies

Here's to you, Mr O'Leary, from a blogger who is NOT ranting about poor service. Long live cheap flights! I don't need a pot to piss in....

Maybe I'll work on those trip reports from Chamonix, Argentiere and La Grave next week. But tomorrow, I'm going to Squamish again.

Stoked on Squamish

2009-07-29T18:50:00.000-07:00

What is it about skiing the Mowich Face that makes me more interested in rock climbing? I don't know, but it was the case in 2005 and it seems to be the case now.

Squamish really does have it all. The 700 m granite cliffs of the Chief at the head of the Howe Sound have blown my mind. Ryan and I took the bus to climb there two weekends in a row. Eco-warriors, baby!

Snake, St Vitus Dance, and Ultimate Everything

Thanks for the good times, Ryan.

In addition to fixing the MouseOvers for Safari and adding more MouseOvers, I'm moving all the advertisements to the bottom of the pages. (These things will take some time because I'm trying to have a life.) If you're entertained enough to read a whole TR, maybe the geniuses at the dominant search engine will have used keywords aptly enough to place something there that grabs your interest just enough to make you click on it. That's the idea, at least.

Safari Swap

2009-07-24T12:40:00.000-07:00

I had long forgotten problems with SkiSickness in Safari (Apple's browser). I'm in the process of fixing all the mouseovers on SkiSickness so that they'll work with Safari. When I made the site, I checked that everything worked with IE and Firefox and called it good. I just fixed the Mowich Map. I'll eventually put a prettier picture there and give the whole site a facelift. I'd really like to buy a new camera too, but that will just have to wait.

More importantly, I'm stoked to get on some of that flawless Chief granite this weekend. Squamish stoke!

>>*dork out*

Shastatina-Shastina-ShasTNA

2009-07-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

So the weather just wouldn't cooperate during my vacation. Desperation led to a ski trip I never would have made otherwise. But it was a nice change of pace. Sometimes different is good.

This is a half-assed trip report, but it still allows for a nice display of CSS steeze.
Shastina North Face et alia

Long Overdue from Wedge Mountain

2009-07-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here's a long overdue, fresh perspective from a very fun trip to Wedgemount Lake during Canada Day weekend, 2008.

Cécile on the Wedge Mountain safety patrol (In all fairness, l'histoire m'est envoyée depuis neuf mois!)

And now, to Squamish.

Mt Resplendent

2009-07-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Here is the first report from the fabulous week-long trip Andy Dimmen and I took to the Canadian Rockies this June.

I highly recommend skiing Mt Resplendent.

More to come soon from Robson and Andromeda.

Da Blog, Reloaded

2009-07-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

So, I've sacrificed my ideals and now there are advertisements on SkiSickness. I spent several days crying in a fetal position, but I'm finally over it. A new dream has been born: I'm going to become a dot-com millionaire!

With this dream, however unrealistic it may be, my motivation has returned. New trip reports should appear on the site every day or two for the foreseeable future, while I fill the backlog of trips from 2008-2009. These new trip reports will make the billions of people on this planet who care about wild, isolated, steep skiing visit $ki$ickne$$, click on the ads, and make me filthy rich so I can ski all the time and post more awesome skiing content!

Note how in this model, the chain of events is the following:

More SkiSickness content => more money => less need to work => more SkiSickness content.

This is a positive feedback loop! I had fallen into the trap of thinking like this:

More SkiSickness content => less time spent doing work that must be done => less time to ski => less reserves of experiences and photos to create SkiSickness content.

More posting, less skiing has been replaced with more posting, more skiing in SkiSickness 2.0. Now I can take over the world like The Brain!

Please use the open, anonymous comment feature available here to tell me how low I've sunk. Or how your cat's tongue feels like sandpaper. Just type something - there's plenty of room in the tube.

Recent addition:
Steep sickness on Mt Rainier's Edmunds Headwall

CIAO

Hi Mom!

2009-06-14T23:45:00.001-07:00

From the summit of Resplendent

Sidestepping

2009-05-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

It just never goes out of style.

Old dog, old trick.

Font Steeze I

2008-12-20T13:33:00.000-08:00

Most Relevant

2008-10-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

Yup, it takes me six weeks to get motivated enough to post another weather excerpt. Here's the one I like today:

Long range models show a decent pool of cool air behind this system, bringing highs only in the mid 50s for Wednesday amid scattered showers and perhaps some very low snow levels to around 4,000 feet or lower.

Next time I go skiing, I promise to take some pictures. I'll take this opportunity to salute more dedicated backcountry skiing bloggers, Andrew and Lou. You guys are the salt of the snowsliding blogosphere.

Talk about it.

2008-08-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Recently-transplanted, new-skool representin' DH (note the judicious use of initials, 'cuz I stand on my own two) yesterday drew my attention to Lou's comment on his blog where he wrote that we do it more than talk about it. He thought it could be interpreted as a diss. Personally, I'd rather be one to do something more than talk about it, as opposed to the alternative, so I consider it a compliment.

Regardless, I'm a contrarian, so I'm going to "talk about it" today. At the moment, the glorious slopes of Mt Maude elude this here blog and the hallowed hospices of Ski Sickness, so let us make amends. Here is a shot of Old E, esteemed professor and reformed man-ho, dropping into the North Face on July 6, 2008:

Here is a picture of yours truly enjoying the exquisite goods that same day:

And now we borrow powdherb's time machine and take you to 2005, when the top portion was in absolutely perfect condition and I had a definitive "What Skiing's All About" moment:

Three years later, I'm not even sure how I skied like that on TLT4Pros. This clip was taken from a much longer video on Sam's site.

CIAO!


_____________
<-|151|-78|->
M@G!K NUMB3R$

Paris

2008-07-23T10:11:00.000-07:00

J'ai longé La Seine. Smoking a Cuban:

Le Tour Eiffel:

Looking across the Seine at Notre Dame on the Île de la Cité:

One from the Jardin des Plantes for the Fatboy:


_____________
<-|-99|-78|->
M@G!K NUMB3R$

Try Triad Again

2008-07-14T10:39:00.000-07:00

Even if you've already "succeeded," it's still quite a line.

Photo by Sergio Verdina on July 7, 2007. There's actually more snow than the photo shows as of yesterday.

Thanks for a great day, Davide, Ryan, and Tim.


_____________
<-|-92|-78|->
M@G!K NUMB3R$

Just Because

2008-07-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

I'm at the lab at some stupid hour on a beautiful Saturday evening and my mental energy is spent. And I want to update the Magik Numbers.

The first ones, with tape on the left, were sloppy. The new one still drying on the right is perfect.

And here is the perfect new one erected in all its glory, ready for action. Too bad the focus is crap. Huh?

I'm going skiing tomorrow!


_____________
<-|-78|-77|->
M@G!K NUMB3R$

Bons Vivants à la Montagne

2008-07-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

Cécile m'a rendu une visite. Nous avons monté Wedge Mountain deux fois.

Here is a photo of the food and spirits we hauled to the hut at Wedgemount Lake. We weren't able to finish it all.

C'est la vie.

And happy 4^th of July everyone, HOORAY AMERICA !


_____________
<-|-59|-76|->
M@G!K NUMB3R$

Buck Mountain

2008-06-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Took a trip up Buck Creek last week(end) and the views were great. The views were great after we finished skiing, that is. The weather wasn't quite on the same schedule as us. But I still enjoyed the views on the homeward hike. Here's a shot of Buck Mountain, quite the impressive specimen.

In other news, Fitz Cahall did an audio story called The Crusade about Ben Manfredi, Charlie Berg, the Hummels, and finally me. It's here:
The Crusade on Dirtbag Diaries

Here's a trip report I posted on the TGR forums about Jack Mountain. That was just a classic trip. I'll cherish it for a long time to come. A more detailed report will probably follow on my site at some point, who knows when.
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125753

If you're in the PNW, I hope you're able to enjoy the beautiful weather coming our way this week. I certainly plan to take full advantage of it. If not, well, enjoy your desk and maybe get some pre/post-work skiing at one of the still-snowy passes.


_____________
<-|-55|-74|->
M@G!K NUMB3R$

Hello, gorgeous!

2008-06-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

Not just another pretty face, Jack delivers.


_____________
<-|-48|-73|->
M@G!K NUMB3R$

Storm Skiing

2008-06-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

Not what I expect in June, but much better than a desk. You were right, Charlie.

There's plenty of snow at Chinook Pass (5430 ft / 1656 m).

Overheard at a Bar

2008-06-04T12:52:00.000-07:00

"Nothing on an 8,000 ft peak could be as difficult as the Kautz Headwall."
"You're a dumbass."

Sometimes I think if one were to talk loud enough for long enough, one could simulate the effects of altitude at sea level. Hypoxic bar-talk shit. Take a deep breath and reflect, champ.

Why do people focus on elevation so much? If you're a downhill skier, what matters is change in elevation, and the manner in which that relief is achieved. Aiming to ski only the highest peaks is about as smart as aiming to ski in the coldest places. I have no desire to traverse the Arctic Ocean. Maybe I could try to be like Method Man and

...swim the English Channel backstroking.
You don't know me or my style.

Safety First

2008-05-21T07:55:00.000-07:00

That last post makes me feel like I'm going to get poked in the eye. So I'm going to bump it down the page with a few pictures from the Kautz Glacier last weekend.

Casey climbs the ice chute.

...skiing perfect snow below the ice chute...

I'd almost prefer to do the climb below the ice cliff rather than hit the fixed line. Almost....

Sorry I blew the exposure so badly on the the skiing photos I took of you, Casey and Eric! Great day though, guys.

Crack is back

2008-05-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

Dedicated to Lowell and Tim, this picture is a testament to how smooth I am on skis after drinking a bottle of Black Velvet.

SONAR

2008-05-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

With advanced technical capablities, this week we begin with SkiSickness in SONAR. Can you feel the pressure of my sonic radiation bouncing off your body? I see you, baby.

Here are a few pictures that don't begin to describe the experience of Colchuck Peak's Northeast Couloir off the top.

This is a special place.

Mount it like you want it.

It's a lazy afternoon.

Thanks for a great trip, Eric, Monika, and Ryan!

Here is a full photoessay on SONAR that includes pictures from Eric, Monika, and the illustrious John Scurlock:
SONAR

New Skool

2008-04-28T08:58:00.001-07:00

I'm not old skool, or new skool; I'm out of skool; I'm ditching.

Retro

2008-04-26T19:24:00.001-07:00

Previously unreleased photo of the Drew on Les Courtes.

Skiing sounds fun.

Roped Skiing

2008-04-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

Ted Mahon finishes skiing Colorado's fourteeners.

Firstly, congratulations to Ted Mahon on safely finishing the project. The blog comments made me want to say something about ski descents and aesthetics, though. And this is not meant to disrespect Ted and Al in any form!

Does anyone disagree that ropework detracts from a ski descent? I love technical skiing, maybe as much as anyone, but to me ropework interrupts the flow. Not because it's scary, or difficult, but because it inherently isn't skiing. I'd just as quickly downclimb, depending on the situation - whichever is more expedient.

Lou's comments struck me as funny, especially
Makes everything on the Grand Teton look old school, doesn’t it?

If new school is determined by how much one uses a rope to ski, then I want to be old skool. And please don't misinterpret: I have used ropes on ski descents; I will use them again. I'm just talking about what's ideal.

Which way will you look to ski Capitol, Frank?

Let's ski tomorrow.

2008-04-11T06:29:00.001-07:00

Who wants to ski tomorrow? Looks like great weather in Washington.

I arrive in Seattle tonight (2008.04.11) circa 18:00 after a much-delayed flight.

Drop an e-mail or leave a comment. Maybe leave your phone # too via e-mail since I lost my phone before I left town.

Oh yeah Cascades baby!

-Sky out from AMS Schiphol

Travels and Travails

2008-03-24T06:33:00.000-07:00

It's been a stressful fortnight for me, but I'm beginning to feel human again. This is the first day I've felt any relaxation. But there has been beauty along the way.

I took this photo early one morning returning from the lab to the flat. This is looking across frozen Jyväsjärvi at the lights of downtown Jyväskylä.

Tomorrow morning I'll stop taking data. One more day to tie all the loose ends together here, then to the Alps....

Curtis Blow

2008-03-06T09:01:00.000-08:00

Proving that while I may be a year older, I haven't gotten any smarter: yesterday Davide, Matthäus, and I skied the most western south-facing chute that connects the Upper and Lower Curtis Glaciers on mighty Shuksan.

Davide's amazing pictures

Eight-day Birthday Trifecta

2008-02-29T16:44:00.001-08:00

So good to me. For the finale, yesterday Eric and I skied this wicked couloir that connects to the North Face of Mt Shuksan:
NF->BYS Couloir

See below for references to the previous two episodes.

Seldom-Skied Summits

2008-02-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

Our first real winter snowpack-stability window of the season arrived last week. It's time to ski summits, especially summits that may not be skiable most of the time. It's been an amazing week.

Ryan boots to the summit of Whitehorse yesterday. Conditions were perfect for alpine ripping, fast boottop packed powder. No complaints here. Note the Puget Sound in the bottom-right background.

Several photos of me skiing from the summit of Chikamin last Thursday by Pinegar. Edit/disclosure: I just rotated the first two to make 1-my ax leash vertical and 2-the clouds horizontal.

Use Radiation

2008-02-15T18:42:00.000-08:00

Open soure: not just computers, RADIATION. Yes, I get to play with danger during the day job, too.

Better have another cup of coffee before touching that rat's nest.

Big thanks to Kate, the awesome lady who wrote the customs letter to help me ship my madness to Finland.

Next Month: a precision measurement with ~~JYFLTRAP~~ IGISOL. Then: La Grave: On y va!

Name that Gnar!

2008-02-07T16:19:00.000-08:00

For our 100th post, let's play a game. Name that gnar. Who knows where to find this sickness?

Encore

2008-02-06T17:51:00.000-08:00

These pictures were taken near the lowest, snow-crummiest pass in the lower 48 states. For some reason I can't stop going there. Neither getting stranded nor having close encounters with dangerous Snow Monsters stultify the stoke.

Snow Monsters follow after Snow Dragons attack the road.

This was taken last weekend, when we wandered through the forest because the Villagers were so scared of Snow Dragons that they called Flying Snow Monsters to drop firebombs on the mountains. We took refuge from the epic battle in steep snowy trees.

This is Sir AlpentalCorey, lazily floating through steep powder near his Magic Castle. He likes to hide there when the Snow Dragons are near, finding much excitement in the epic battles between steep and deep.

This is Charging, looking for unicorns.

Tuesday Dishins

2008-02-06T08:10:00.001-08:00

Here's a shot that summarizes conditions at Alpental yesterday.

Get down, Mr. Brown

We attempted to leave at 2:30 pm to do some work, but the pass was closed for avalanche control. We were able to do two more top-to-bottoms for another 5k of powpow. There is something very lovely about an unexpected extra dose of deepness to end the day.

Something Random

2008-01-11T15:52:00.000-08:00

I just made an astonishing discovery and I need to share it with everyone. Here it is:

That's accurate to 0.2%! Who the heck knew?

In other news, next week's weather looks like it demands some weak layer inspection far afield in the alpine. Who wants to stomp that pesky snowpack on some perilously steep slopes with me?

New Year's Resolutions

2008-01-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

Let us resolve to think deep thoughts and keep our lives in balance.

Recognize that others maintain, even with less security in their lives.

Don't feel overwhelmed when you can't see past your current situation.

Trust that the future won't present you with anything you can't handle.

Let us not throw caution to the wind, but seize the opportunities that arise from our crises.

Good things are worth the extra effort.

Seek and enjoy fresh experiences.

Try to ski the forest through the trees.

Spread good tidings wherever you may go.

When you come to a fork in the snow, take it.

$Powder_Platitudes_EOF

Thanks for the well wishes, everyone. I'm feeling fine.

Absolute Zzero

2007-11-29T11:17:00.000-08:00

Debate the weight.

In the neverending quest for the righteousness of the lightestness, I've acquired a stylish new pair of boots. The scales don't lie.

7.25 new

7.5 with only half the rubber left on the soles

They feel like shoes on my feet. It's going to be hard to stop myself from wearing them around town, but I want to save them for the slopes.

Once again, I feel pretty.

Coming soon through the powder near ~~you~~ me.

They're giving away a pair of these beauties on the Dynafit site (http://speedup.dynafit.us/). Maybe you could get lucky and escape being green with envy.

Don't miss it.

2007-11-15T16:24:00.001-08:00

I'm recovering from a strategical knife to the gut anyway, so it's not like I could be skiing. Come one, come all, to the Northwest Snow and Avalanche Summit. I'm going to give away all my secrets.

Trick-or-Treat

2007-10-31T17:15:00.000-07:00

What's in this big, scary box?

Never fear, that's just an ugly costume!

That's right, no less than five boxed pairs of sexy TLT Classics fit into one Fritschi box.

Rainbows and Unicorns

2007-10-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

The ingredients were selected rather randomly, but the end result was both tasty and pretty. The culinary canvas featured such a pleasingly colorful composition, I had to take some pictures. A bewildered roommate asked, "Did you just take a picture of your food?"

Broccoli, carrots, red bell pepper, garlic and olive oil

The mushroom vinegar and avocado tied it all together synergistically

"The avocado took it to a whole different level. Don't ever question the power of an avocado. Avocados are magical beasts, like unicorns, except you can buy one and eat it for two dollars."

If you are what you eat, then I feel pretty. I'm a beautiful rainbow.

Reset

2007-10-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

Only weeks after a final dose of corn, a first dose of powder. The Coleman Glacier was looking mighty fine for late September. Can't wait to check it again after this epic October cycle.

Sunrise

Bergschrund

Powder

Trite, not contrite

2007-09-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

Others may disagree, but I'm excited about this weather. Bring the snow. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Seattle highs in the fifties during late-September storms are worth millions of snowflakes.

Note my post title. A skier should never describe their platitudes as hackneyed - just say it, it's scary. Ask The Lovely.

2007 NWMJ

2007-09-22T19:35:00.000-07:00

Is Jason as stoked as I am to see West McMillan Spire above the table of contents? I'll bet he is. That's a nice shot by the "gentleman climber" photographer-cum-pilot. Great articles all around.

2007 Northwest Mountaineering Journal

Nice work to Jason on his Ptarmigan-Traverse-plus-kayak-and-bike solo loop. It would be really cool to see a map with that article - oh well.

It's never enough.

2007-09-20T12:57:00.000-07:00

4,000-m madness strikes the Swiss Alps. A design I'd decline:de-Klein Matterhorn. Don't those Euros know that 14,000 ft is the sacrosanct height? (Insert winky.)

UPS Yes Yes Yes

2007-09-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

It felt like Christmas chez SkiSickness today. The UPS man pulled into our driveway. I rushed to the door in anticipation. What could we be so feverishly anticipating in September? Skis, of course. Even the dog was stoked.

"Pant softly and sit next to a big stick."

Google: PWND

2007-09-04T13:43:00.000-07:00

Well, dear friends, it is with great excitement I tell you that today we have taken "Ski Sickness" from the quacks. Who needs medication when we have adrenal and pituitary glands?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ski+sickness&btnG=Google+Search

Like Jack White sings, "I just don't know what to do with myself." Maybe I'll go skiing.

Status Code 403

2007-09-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

Do you do anything besides ski?

Can you believe the nerve of these anonymous commenters? Ha ha ha. Tastefully ignoring my obvious segue into matters coprophagic, I'll answer yes.

Sometimes I hike through pretty ski country.

Then I'll find myself wishing I had my skis....

Also, I'm considering gymnastics.

Northward Ho!

2007-08-27T10:09:00.000-07:00

Wedge Mountain, just north of Whistler, is the highest peak in BC's Garibaldi Provincial Park. Drive time is under five hours from Seattle. Last Friday, Dan and I had absolutely perfect new August corn skiing Wedge's Northeast Arête. It just so happens that myriad other peaks near 9,000 ft are within another one to two hours north.

What am I thinking?

Wedgemount Lake

Smooth and soft

Cured?

2007-08-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

I asked if these two psychopaths could not be cured. "Cured?" Goss said. "Would you cure a singer of his voice?"

-from Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness

Show some Backbone.

2007-08-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

Seamless transition from ski season (all year) to climbing season (August) during the past week: Thursday, Amar and I climbed Rainier leaving skis at Muir, while Hannah left one ACL at Pan Point; Sunday, climbed Backbone Ridge with Ryan. The offwidth made a good first lead of the season. The half-skiing trip really helped ease my anxiety about leaving my skis at home when I knew there would be snow on the backside of Dragontail.

Moraine above Colchuck Lake

Scrambling toward the beginning of the climb

Foot, offwidth, big cam, Ryan: graphic depiction of wideness to help Hannah feel good about staying home to rehab the knee.

Working on gear to make an exposed traverse to avoid another offwidth, Colchuck Balanced Rock in the background

The Fin features fun, interesting climbing with spectacular scenery, but not without some loose and dirty.

Awesome undercling near the top of the Fin

North is next?

2007-08-01T16:20:00.000-07:00

Last week's trip to Robson has me crazy stoked. I just ordered Sean Dougherty's book from the publisher's site since I haven't been able to find it anywhere (Selected Alpine Climbs in the Canadian Rockies, rmbooks.com). Between SAC in the CR, Alpine Select, and Don Serl's The Waddington Guide, I'm determined to formulate a series of sorties to ski the B.C. BC.

Who's with me?

Let's Ski Mount Robson.

2007-07-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

July 1997 photo ganked from here:
Climbing Resplendent Mountain

Lefty: Why wait?

Let's go climb it ASAP - worst case we'll have a grand adventure. From what I gather, weather is the real bitch about Robson. The forecast looks bomber for Wednesday/Thursday. Leave Tuesday night? Dan, Hummel, ANYBODY???

Jasper:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/ab-70_metric_e.html
Valemount:
http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pages/bc-13_metric_e.html

If it's icy, we can try it again in September/October if another window comes after some early season snow.

Bueller, anyone?

Alps Steeps Season?

2007-07-18T16:09:00.000-07:00

Imbibed ramblings with Ross and Skeletor at the beach last night had me curious about ski season in the Alps. One particular point in question: How late is the Gervasutti Couloir skiable? The route has been described as a ~750 m (~2,500 ft) chute with a mostly 45° slope and 55° entrance crux, where one negotiates seracs that offer objective hazard for the remainder of the route. Of course, skiable is relative, but I did a search and found the following links:

Gervasutti Couloir

17 October 1968: First skied by Sylvain Saudan

7 May 2001: Hans Saari falls on an icy patch below a serac while skiing the Tardivel (more difficult) entrance.

31 May 2003: Edouard Baud killed by serac fall.

26 May 2006: Gervasutti Ski

The last link has an excellent route photo and some nice ski photos. If you go to the main site for the last link (http://www.snowhow.it/home.htm) there is a chronology that is quite thorough through early 2005. The 2005 hiatus extends from May 15^th to October 10^th, while the 2006 hiatus was quite short, from June 4^th to September 1^st. They actually skied a beautiful route on 2007.07.07 this year. Browse that site; it features some spectacular steep skiing photos!

It appears that the steeps seasons in the Cascades and Alps could be quite similar. The main result of my internet snooping, however, is that I want to ski the Alps more than ever before. Let's go!

Comments from skiers who have actually carved some of the steeps in the Alps? Let's hear examples of remarkably late (and early) big descents if anyone knows them. An example from the Canadian Rockies that comes to mind is the North Face of Robson, first skied September 1995 by Ptor Spricenieks and Troy Jungen - but that's the Canadian Rockies.

Make your friends sick!

2007-07-15T21:28:00.003-07:00

Sick with jealousy? Best conditions I've ever seen on the North Face of Shuksan yesterday. How's this for starters?

Chris gets it.

Memo from Doctor Brown

2007-07-05T12:42:00.000-07:00

This week we have an alternative perspective. It's a missive to SkiSickness from our good friend Doctor Brown. Thanks for the pearls, Doc!

Evening Wake-Up Call

I had two days free before heading to Texas for a week. In my usual fashion I had waited until the very last minute to decide what to do. I flirted briefly with the idea of scaling Rainier via Emmons solo, but with a 24 hour shift looming the following day, I needed to avoid sleep deprivation; I set my sights instead on the attainable one-day objective of Little Tahoma, provided the weather cleared.

At dusk on Friday the mountain remained obscured. When my alarm went off at 5, the skies in Seattle looked gray from my vantage point. I rolled over and went back to sleep. Hours later I awoke to perfect weather. In spite of the late hour I decided that the day was still sufficiently young for an outing, and set my course for Fryingpan Creek.

Processing my permit didn’t take long, and though I did not depart until after noon, I had over nine hours of daylight left. Conditions seemed favorable for fast travel. The east facing Whitman Glacier would be in the shade by the time I reached it, therefore probably not suitable for skiing. But even if I turned back at that point, I felt I would be unlikely to deem the day wasted.

In an hour I was across the new footlog and onto snow. A fresh boot pack took the direct line up to Meany Crest and onto the Fryingpan Glacier. I was able to make good time across its broad apron, enjoying the alpine environment, counting myself blessed to experience such a place. A thin, brittle ice layer gave easily to several inches of soft beneath. As I passed beneath Whitman Crest, one portion of its northern aspect captured my interest. A descent line just west of the bergschrund offered an enticingly steep drop of 150 feet or so before easing. This slope would remain in the sun until it set at 9 PM. At this point a certain Mal du Ski possessed me and I formed a plan for my return.

Hailing a large party of climbers, I crossed the saddle onto the Whitman Glacier. At 5 PM, its slopes were touched by lengthening shadows. 2000 feet below the summit and already the surface was firming. A pleasant, carefree descent it would not be. However, I could always downclimb. Five hours of daylight remained. Mal du Ski urged me upward.

I decided that if I had to don crampons this would indicate a need not to descend on skis. Conversely, if I could ascend without poons, a ski descent could at least still be considered. It took a zigzag line among small snow deposits, plus much vigorous step kicking that had my toes bruised, but I topped out without crampons. By this time the slope was completely in the shade. I doffed my pack and began scrambling over loose volcanic rock. This exercise in plastic boots was especially trying. My summit motivation flagged severely, vanishing at last about 15 vertical meters shy of the top, just when a silently falling rock cracked down hard by me. At this moment I reached the inflection point where again the voice of reason began to be heard.

One of the odd paradoxes of alpine pursuits is the fact that to carry on in good style, by which I mean with an eye to both safety and success, one must maintain one’s reasoning faculties at all times; yet pure reason will never carry one to the heights. The reasoning faculties, governing alone, would rule that one should never set out at all. With experience I seem to reach a more harmonious balance between reason and force of will, where each pays proper respect to the other.

Near the Whitman Glacier’s southern tip was a flat spot where I could safely don skis and test the slope. The surface was icy, to be sure; but it held an edge. With my eyes I traced a sinuous line of refrozen powder down. This line I followed, keeping my speed in check as the slope steepened. Over the roll; over the incipient bergschrund; skis chattering and scraping, but holding; a period of sustained steepness in the heart of the cirque; slope easing; then I was coasting across to the saddle. Reason and experience, applied rigorously, had prevailed within an unreasonable situation. My heart sang with the thrill of it.

I stopped briefly at the climbers’ tents to advise them of the best way up. Next stop was the sick line off the crest. I descended further east on the Whitman and cut north to the next col. At its edge the late sun again met my eyes. The time was 8:15 PM. Snow was feathery soft, firnspiegel glittering below, the sickly steep line inviting.

The first turn was perfect. The second was strangely icy. I skidded a ways, found I could not check my speed. Must regain control. Third turn hard ice, no edge, aware I was going way too fast, then down, streaking with unbelievable speed, feet caught flipped tumbling in air then impact head feet head feet crash crash once twice, still gaining speed helpless-- then sliding again, no longer tumbling, fast but slowing, prone and digging in, slowing, stopped.

Head spinning but still here. Standing, taking stock. Head, neck, limbs—all fine. Unhurt. But rattled, very rattled.

Sun-bathed or not, the slope had crusted into ice. The knowledge that three hours earlier it had taken an edge was worthless. I had rushed in where I should have feared to tread. In this place, reason had failed utterly to resist gravity. To be sure, reason had not failed completely; I took this line only because of its safe runout. Yet the powers of reason had not perceived the risk.

I remained troubled in the mind as I cruised down easier slopes. Two insights interrupted my concentration, flickering in my consciousness. The limited powers of the mind; and the overwhelming chaos applied to the frail human body when gravity, that elemental presence, takes over.

Though reason took a beating, it has not been defeated. Here are a few pearls of wisdom: eight PM is the wrong time to test a slope. Climb what you ski, even short slopes-- especially the steep ones. Consider the consequences of error on solo outings. Gravity keeps order among the stars but may be harsh on the human body. Pay respect to reason: may it guide you in places that make your heart sing.

“A sadder and a wiser man,
He rose the morrow morn.”
-Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Very glad that you're all right, my friend. I definitely know that rattled feeling.

Sunday Shenanigans

2007-07-02T15:22:00.001-07:00

Firstly, point-steeze from the H Bomb: Picking the proper Paradise patch to keep her TAY streak alive.

Disclaimer: This shenanigan actually occurred on Saturday.

Next, Dan on the fixed line, which really sucks with skis.

Dan on the crux of the Ice Chute, which was in quite friendly condition.

Fixed line from the flip side:

Why doesn't sunscreen work on my nose this year?

Errata

2007-06-24T19:42:00.000-07:00

Two books in which I've found microerrors recently:

Pacific Northwest: Land of Light and Water is a book featuring some spectacular photography by Art Wolfe. (See it on Amazon.) Pages 38-39 feature a gorgeous alpenglow spread of Mt Rainier's west side. The caption reads, "Mount Rainier at Sunrise." But such gorgeous alpenglow on Rainier's west side and Sunset Ridge is definitely the result of "Mount Rainier at Sunset."

Selected Climbs in the Cascades Volume II by Nelson and Potterfield has a photo on page 39 that has the glaciers incorrectly labelled. (See it on Amazon.) The photo shows "South Tahoma Glacier" where it should show "Success Glacier." It also reads "Success Glacier" where it should read "Kautz Glacier."

Selected Climbs also features a stunning view of Kumquat Couloir over and behind Bill Pilling in the background of the photo on page 154.

Interesting coincidence that both involve p. 39.

Mal du Ski

2007-06-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

SkiSickness en Francais:
Thumbs Up Puis Down Au Mont Rainier

Merci pour l'histoire, Christophe!

Ad Nauseam

2007-06-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

Apologies to anybody that's beginning to feel like I'm a one-trick pony. This seems to be my redundant ritual:

Post forecast, especially one that shows bad weekend weather either followed or preceded by perfect weekday weather.
Ski a line on Rainier during said good weather.

Here is how I plan to make amends. I will repeat my ridiculous first step, just because the seven-day pictorial prognoses always seem so uncanny with their weekend weather woes. Here it is:

But this time, I'm not going to Mt Rainier. The North Cascades are calling. I could even handle a trip to BC. (Also, Sunday looks good enough for a foray with the weekend warriors.) Now who wants to go skiing?

Success

2007-06-09T14:54:00.000-07:00

BOHICA, indeed.

Shot with Sky and Adams in E Success Glacier Couloir by Dave B-is-for-brings-the-noise.

BOHICA

2007-06-06T15:36:00.001-07:00

Friday looks like the pick of the litter. Apologies to all desk jockeys.

You've All Been Served

2007-06-03T20:34:00.000-07:00

Breakfast:

Ain't that right, dawg?

Altitude Sickness

2007-06-01T10:49:00.000-07:00

I'm surprised that I didn't get it yesterday while traversing Rainier and performing shenanigans on Sunset Ridge. Maybe SkiSickness is the cure?

Oh yeah, how'd it go, Lefty?

Bouldering: The Ski-Sick Version

2007-05-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

I never really wanted to climb the Boulder Glacier. Why? Because it's right next to the Boulder-Park Cleaver, a fabulous route that is nearly crevasse-free to 9,200' on the beautiful Baker's Horn. Also, the Boulder Glacier is the most lahar-prone place on the cornucopia 'cano. But after finding myself half way up it from poor navigation in a whiteout, I was happy to climb a new route and escape the jour blanc in the clouds.

We were a bit late for the Park Headwall in sunshine, but it seemed too icy to ski anyway. Conditions were strange that way: fresh snow from Sunday down low, but windscoured hardness up high. Maybe it was windy up there? (Not likely - prevailing winds usually place drifted pillows on the PHW.) Or the higher slopes were above a cloud deck the whole time? I don't know. Regardless, the net result was that I didn't ski the Park Headwall on my third try within a year. I'm getting soft.

Downed trees four miles from the trailhead made this a huge day, totalling 9k net vert. and a lot of miles. Beautiful views during a sunset hike down the road were the pleasant upshot.

Thanks for a great day, Baldwin and Christophe!

Memorial Day Weekend Weather

2007-05-22T16:54:00.000-07:00

Thursday afternoon update: It gets even better. I'm skiing tomorrow. Guess which days are the holiday weekend?

This picture says it all. So classic: Perfect on Friday and Tuesday.

Got 'em, Coach

2007-05-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

~~We're number one!~~
We're number two! (I always knew I was the isht.)

So Tony told me that I cried "Wolf!" Anybody want to help me fix it? See if you're linked:

http://skisickness.com/links.php

If you're linked, would you please give me a link? If you're not linked and you'd like to be, then leave a comment or send me an e-mail. On a side note, Tony's site doesn't have any links page. Hoser. You can get an e-mail address at

http://skisickness.com/about.php

Here is some code that should fix Google nicely:


<a href="http://skisickness.com">
SkiSickness.com: Sky Sjue's Ski Sickness
</a>

So much for anonymity.

Just make sure that "Ski Sickness" is in the anchor text, with the space.

**************************************************

On this day in history:

~~Google returns SkiSickness.com as the #1 result for "ski sickness."~~

This is highly appropriate, when you consider that it was returning a "malady" that pretty much consists of lazy, fat people getting sick when they hit the mountains. Take that, Wikipedia!

The Sun Also Rises

2007-05-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

When your time expires just below the top of the Mowich Face, accept your Farewell To Arms and ask not For Whom The Bell Tolls. Especially not when you have more than 4k of sustained, steep fall-line skiing to do, followed by neverending glacier cruising: truly A Moveable Feast. Forget about that hike out.

The Mowich Face from the top of Sunset Arête

The Ruff Rider rips again.

It's my turn.

One more:

This unmaintained trail is so comfy, waiting for The Lovely.

Thumbing through the lines

2007-05-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

Unexpected success is always that much more sweet. While driving to Rainier on Saturday night, it was pouring, or as Christophe said, "Il pleut comme un vache qui pisse."

Here are a several shots from skiing Fuhrer Thumb yesterday...

skinning up the Wilson Glacier

Skiing from Point Success, we ran into some cool cats not too far down.

We had been talking about skiing the Fuhrer Thumb for a change of pace. The CO boys had similar plans. Great minds think alike?
Christophe cuts the Thumb:

The Thumb was a sweet line. Better than the Finger, since it's slightly steeper and more sustained. Past observations tell me that it goes kaput from rockfall really quickly, though, even quicker than the Finger.
Isn't this a great view?

Parting shot on the Wilson Glacier

Ed: A solid sub-11-hr showing from Christophe and Sky

Nice Try, Sucka

2007-05-12T14:58:00.000-07:00

TGR "maggots" think they can bag my proj? Nice try. Bwahaha

My Only Friend

2007-05-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

Too bad he can't ski.

It's coming.

2007-05-02T16:08:00.000-07:00

At this point, I could care when. Any day of the week. Of course, we'll need a couple nice days to stabilize the copious fresh, but after that... REDRUM.

Northwest Migration?

2007-04-25T14:13:00.000-07:00

Looks like Davenport, Beidelman, and Mahon just had a sweet ski descent off the Grand Teton. Congratulations, guys!
http://www.tetonat.com/

One wonders where they're heading next... nevermind, the end of the TR says they went home. Nice work, though.

What's happening?

2007-04-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do a "big day" today. But it just didn't feel right late last night. So we changed plans, aiming for a nice morning on Red instead.

At North Bend, I had forgotten the Lovely's skis. So sorry! Punishment was unhesitant.

I drove to Snoqualmie Pass. Parking at Summit West, Red looked beautiful. I exited the car to hear the sound of pressurized air escaping from a small hole. Radiator? No. There was a fat, fresh puncture hole in my front passenger tire.

Quickly, before the tire was completely flat, we drove up the road to the Chevron. Their air station was broken. I had a spare, but it was flat too. So we walked toward Summit Central carrying a flat tire with one plug in it. Luckily, a resident en route to Central had a compressor. But one plug wasn't enough, the tire was still leaking, and we had left the rest of the plugs at the car.

At the Summit Central maintenance garage, a gruff mechanic was kind enough to put another plug in the tire. The air stopped leaking. Tired of trying to guide the tire down the road while rolling it, I carried it to the car.

Without much debate, we decided to make a quick lap at Alpental, dubious tire be damned. The sun and snow were lovely. Extra motivated by fear of a slow leak, we busted to the top in 65 minutes. We had a good ski.

A ginger drive home fell the morning well. Clouds ruled the peninsula and no regrets remained.

Funny Linkage WWW-W3C-Berners-Lee

2007-04-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

Homepage of Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web and head of the W3C:
http://www.w3.org/People/Berners-Lee/

Go to the bottom of the page and click the W3C HTML 4.01 check button: 47 errors. Bwahaha.

His page has lots of interesting stuff on it. He originally developed HTML while working at CERN, possibly the largest physics lab in the world.

Foe Toes

2007-04-02T09:08:00.000-07:00

Formidable: YEAH!
Eldorado
Have fun up there, crazy guy.
Perfect weather
Enter the dragon.
Storm's-eye view of the Olympics
Mt Angeles
Skin from the car!
Keep skinning.
On the summit of Mt Angeles
Fun downclimb!
Good skiing on Olympic instacorn that fell the previous night

Browser Compatibility

2007-03-29T14:27:00.000-07:00

Amigos,

If any of you have time to peruse this new website that's taken embarrassing amounts of my time (link below), I'd appreciate heads-ups about any funny business. Hopefully it works well in all newish browsers. On a related note, IE really sucks, but I think I have that dialed.

Much more should follow. I want to do some really neat stuff with the new regional pages that will link from the main map at some point in the future. But that will have to wait. First, content.

I was going to rant about the pathetic excuses for weather forecasts that the meteorologists gave us earlier this week, but I think I'll go enjoy the sunny weather amidst the beautiful cherry blossoms of the quad. I have to work an experiment shift here at the lab tonight, so it's not like I coulda went big today anyway.

Buenas tardes y gracias,
Cielo

Sickness Spreading?

2007-03-24T00:36:00.001-07:00

Too busy obsessing over skiing to make a fancy homepage?

http://skisickness.com

Pictures?

2007-03-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from the last week that I like. How about a random paragraph of captions? Casey is a good skier. Casey skis with views of some mountains in the backdrop that make me feel really badass. CHERRY BLOSSOMS, MY LOVE! Jason never did manage to start a fire. That approach kinda sucked. Very cool terrain. You can almost smell that salt water from 7k. That last sentence may have went too far revealing somebody's proj: I hope Lefty doesn't punch me, that sinister Canyucker.

Inside Information

2007-03-20T17:40:00.000-07:00

Please don't post this link elsewhere, as the whole site is still under development, but here is a new vortex of SkiSickness:

http://skisickness.com/Locate/

Tasty Cake?

2007-03-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

Nope, the refined recipe flopped in the oven and now we have a big, funky chocolate pancake.

Here's to my good friend, beer.

Refine the Recipe

2007-03-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

Just in time for one final winter send, the LONG TERM is showing hints of get-busy time:

.LONG TERM...FROM PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...COLD FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH
THE PINEAPPLE EXPRESS WILL SLIDE SOUTHEAST ACROSS WESTERN WASHINGTON
SUNDAY NIGHT BRINGING AN END TO THE STEADY RAINS AND USHERING IN
COOLER TEMPERATURES AND CORRESPONDING LOWER FREEZING LEVELS. WITH
THIS WE WILL TRANSITION TO A WESTERLY FLOW WITH A WEAK SYSTEM
EXPECTED TO ZIP ACROSS THE AREA LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY WHICH WILL
ENHANCE THE SHOWER ACTIVITY OVER THE REGION. TEMPERATURES WILL BE A
BIT COOLER THAN NORMAL WITH THE SNOW LEVEL BELOW PASS LEVELS.
BEYOND THAT (WED ONWARD) THE LONGER RANGE MODELS ARE OFFERING UP A
BIT OF A CHANGE FROM WHAT HAS BEEN ADVERTISED THE LAST FEW NIGHTS
WITH RIDGING TAKING HOLD OVER THE REGION. STILL PLENTY OF ACTIVITY
IN A RATHER STRONG JET OVER THIS RIDGE AND WE ARE RIGHT ON THE EDGE.
COULD END UP MILD AND DRY OR MILD AND WET. EITHER WAY...NUDGED
TEMPS AND FREEZING LEVELS UP A HAIR BUT LEFT THE REMAINDER OF THE
EXTENDED PERIOD ALONG AT THIS POINT. CERNIGLIA

Pineapple -> Cool & Wet -> Ridge -> GO BIG. Cross your fingers.

Not Spring, Not Winter

2007-03-08T17:59:00.000-08:00

That would describe the skiing today. It was better than work, though.

$1 pitchers of High Life, anyone?

Consider the Implications

2007-03-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

from Houston Chronicle:

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4604433.html

March 6, 2007, 12:35AM
Scientists say Asia's soot causing weather imbalance

By ERIC BERGER
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
TOOLS
Email

Get section feed
Print

Subscribe NOW

Pollution from the burning of wood and coal in Asia has spiked in recent years, causing increasingly erratic weather across much of the Northern Hemisphere, scientists say.

A team of researchers, led by Renyi Zhang at Texas A&M University, has linked soot from power plants and other sources to an intensification of wintertime storms over the North Pacific during the last two decades.

"If you change this storm system over the Pacific, you're going to change the weather everywhere," said Zhang, a professor of atmospheric sciences.

It is the first time pollution has been linked to such far-reaching changes in weather, changes that could include stronger winter storms, especially along the Pacific coast from California to Alaska.

Powder emphasis.

Davenport comes to Washington?

2007-03-06T15:46:00.000-08:00

New York Times article

The only real question is: Which route will he look to ski off the Raindawg?

Ice-Cream-Headache DEEP

2007-02-28T18:44:00.000-08:00

The southern slopes of Red Mountain had more than adequate powder.

Lefty tries not to leave any.

MORE POW

2007-02-26T16:47:00.000-08:00

Yes folks, more and more powder.

Dave and Ben enjoy a well-placed skintrack.

Phil teles in the deep stuff.

The topo geekery continues, with a new era of consensus and numbers loved by Lefty. More routes, anyone?

http://staff.washington.edu/skykilo/Map/topogk.html

Spastic Topographic

2007-02-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

Somebody's been geekin' hard on the topo maps. Have a look at some routes here:

http://staff.washington.edu/skykilo/Map/topogk.html

Can anybody think of more routes they'd like to see on that page?

Stuart Range Again?

2007-02-20T19:24:00.000-08:00

New forecast:

Friday is actually looking dry for the most part -- just can't rule out a few rogue showers, but 80% of us or so should be dry through the day. Highs will be around 45.

Who wants to go skiing east of the crest on Friday? Hmmm???

Ski Sickness: Cranial Couloir Cruising

2007-02-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

That's right, folks. A new form of SkiSickness, sweeping the Cascades: Ski a steep couloir using your head.

Ski Sickness: Mt Rainier, Cascade Pass

2007-02-14T22:57:00.000-08:00

See some revamped webpages with lots of steep ski descents and snazzy new layouts:

Mt Rainier
Cascade Pass