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| From Valhallas |
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| From Valhallas |
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| From Valhallas |
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| From Valhallas |
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| From Valhallas |
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| From Valhallas |
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| From Valhallas |
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| From Valhallas |
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| From Valhallas |
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Valhallas Reprise
I haven't updated this in awhile, so I figured I'd post some photos from an aborted trip to the Valhallas in eastern BC earlier this fall. Kristin and I had this trip on the radar screen for awhile, but when the time came the funk I'd been harboring in my lungs cut the legs out from under us. Bummer, but that's the way it goes. We still spent a couple of glorious days up at Mt. Gimli and managed to get up the ridge of Niselheim. Good times and inspiration for a return trip.
Blowin in the Wind in Joshua Tree
Mother Nature plays some cruel tricks in the desert. The fall rains held off a couple of extra weeks in the Pacific Northwest, but by the end of October they had finally rolled in, and Kristin and I were looking forward to some warm crack climbing during our upcoming trip to Joshua Tree. Each day we would pull up the weather report and each day we would see endless days of sunshine and highs in the 70s.
We flew into San Diego on Sunday evening and spent the night with our friends Keith and Beth, who provided us with camping gear for the rental car and a morning tour of Ocean Beach. Monday morning, we drove out to Jtree in the Ford Focus, pulling in to find the glorious weather we had dreamed of. We grabbed a site at Hidden Valley and pulled out the gear for a quick romp up the Eye.
The next morning, we woke up to wind - lots of wind. Not to be deterred, we headed out to Lost Horse and Bird on a Wire. Great climb! Cold as hell. We forced our way up the 300 ft of climbing in sustained 20-30 mph winds saved only by the fleeting warmth of the desert sun.
That afternoon, the clouds moved in, and it blew like hell for the next three days. Gusts to 40, periodic clouds, highs in the mid-50s - brrrrr. We managed to climb a few pitches each day.
Wonderland of Rocks (Mental Physics and Room to Shroom)
Real Hidden Valley (Loose Lady and Illusion Dweller)
And despite the wind, we still enjoyed the scenery of JTree.
And when we left? Well, the hands tell the story. We still managed to get in some pitches.
Yeah, we wish the weather had cooperated a bit more, but you take what you get in the desert. JTree's a great place for a Fall escape, and it was kind of like alpine climbing without the mountains, commitment, approaches, descents and exposure.
We flew into San Diego on Sunday evening and spent the night with our friends Keith and Beth, who provided us with camping gear for the rental car and a morning tour of Ocean Beach. Monday morning, we drove out to Jtree in the Ford Focus, pulling in to find the glorious weather we had dreamed of. We grabbed a site at Hidden Valley and pulled out the gear for a quick romp up the Eye.
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
The next morning, we woke up to wind - lots of wind. Not to be deterred, we headed out to Lost Horse and Bird on a Wire. Great climb! Cold as hell. We forced our way up the 300 ft of climbing in sustained 20-30 mph winds saved only by the fleeting warmth of the desert sun.
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
That afternoon, the clouds moved in, and it blew like hell for the next three days. Gusts to 40, periodic clouds, highs in the mid-50s - brrrrr. We managed to climb a few pitches each day.
Wonderland of Rocks (Mental Physics and Room to Shroom)
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
Real Hidden Valley (Loose Lady and Illusion Dweller)
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
And despite the wind, we still enjoyed the scenery of JTree.
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
And when we left? Well, the hands tell the story. We still managed to get in some pitches.
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| From Joshua Tree |
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| From Joshua Tree |
Yeah, we wish the weather had cooperated a bit more, but you take what you get in the desert. JTree's a great place for a Fall escape, and it was kind of like alpine climbing without the mountains, commitment, approaches, descents and exposure.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Vesper Peak - North Face
Vesper Peak - North Face
July 19, 2009
Drew Hansen and I climbed the North Face of Vesper Peak over the weekend. On Thursday morning, I flew up to Fairanks, AK to meet with clients. By Friday afternoon, I was back on the plane to PTown, touching down at about 11 pm after getting bumped from my original shuttle from Seattle. By 8 am, I was up and packing for a weekend of climbing in the North Cascades. We got in a few pitches at Index before crashing at the trailhead for an early start on Sunday.
Drew and I were looking for an alpine day trip with an interesting objective, and Vesper fit the bill perfectly. Situated off the Mountain Loop Highway in the North Cascades, the peak offers spectacular views of the range, a short glacier crossing, an incredible north facing slab and excellent positions. Here's an overview of the route:
We gained the rock from the snow finger in the middle of the glacier. We found pretty much the only spot we could see where the moat looked reasonably safe to cross. Even there, a fall would have been real ugly, and we focused hard as we stepped across the gaping slot and onto the rock with our aluminum crampons.
From there, we headed up low angle slabs for about half a pitch looking for a way to cut into the next gully to the left. The gully straight up above us looked unpleasant, but we didn't really see many other options. We ended up climbing a mid-fifth class, right facing corner that splits the two gullies. It basically heads straight up through the shadows from the top of the snow finger in the photo above. I managed to lead up on fairly sound rock that was coated in lichen and moss. Luckily it was dry, so we got pretty bomber hand jams and cam placements in moss covered cracks - a good alternative to tape!
From the top of that pitch, we pretty much simul-climbed the rest of the route with one or two stops for navigation and re-racking. The final corner was definitely the highlight, with fun moves on bomber rock. Stepping out of the corner, I topped out to a field of alpine wildflowers just under the summit block with not a soul in sight. Ahhhhhh.
Here are some more pics:
Sperry in morning light.
Looking up at the switchbacks towards Headlee Pass
Drew on the way up the pass
The cool tarn in the basin under the SE side of Vesper Peak.
Vesper Lake under the N side of the peak.
Drew crossing the glacier in the morning light.
Looking back down towards the glacier.
Looking up the final corner. We simul climbed through this section, which is maybe 300-400 feet long.
Looking back down the corner - this is maybe mid-fifth class but really very easy.
Summit flowers
Sperry Peak
Gratuitous summit shot
On the way back out
All in all, the climb took us 9 hours car-to-car, but it could be done much quicker than that. We took a wrong turn in the basin by the tarn and ended up spending an extra 30-45 minutes finding the notch. We ate a leisurely lunch on the summit and generally took it easy enjoying the fantastic weather and peaceful setting. The descent to the glacier looks kind of intimidating, but it was fairly straight forward on 3rd class ledges that dumped you out onto lower angle snow. The moat was definitely the crux followed by tricky routefinding to get out of the gullies. From there, its a romp up low angle slabs and corners to the summit followed by an easy walk off. Great day in the hills!
July 19, 2009
Drew Hansen and I climbed the North Face of Vesper Peak over the weekend. On Thursday morning, I flew up to Fairanks, AK to meet with clients. By Friday afternoon, I was back on the plane to PTown, touching down at about 11 pm after getting bumped from my original shuttle from Seattle. By 8 am, I was up and packing for a weekend of climbing in the North Cascades. We got in a few pitches at Index before crashing at the trailhead for an early start on Sunday.
Drew and I were looking for an alpine day trip with an interesting objective, and Vesper fit the bill perfectly. Situated off the Mountain Loop Highway in the North Cascades, the peak offers spectacular views of the range, a short glacier crossing, an incredible north facing slab and excellent positions. Here's an overview of the route:
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
We gained the rock from the snow finger in the middle of the glacier. We found pretty much the only spot we could see where the moat looked reasonably safe to cross. Even there, a fall would have been real ugly, and we focused hard as we stepped across the gaping slot and onto the rock with our aluminum crampons.
From there, we headed up low angle slabs for about half a pitch looking for a way to cut into the next gully to the left. The gully straight up above us looked unpleasant, but we didn't really see many other options. We ended up climbing a mid-fifth class, right facing corner that splits the two gullies. It basically heads straight up through the shadows from the top of the snow finger in the photo above. I managed to lead up on fairly sound rock that was coated in lichen and moss. Luckily it was dry, so we got pretty bomber hand jams and cam placements in moss covered cracks - a good alternative to tape!
From the top of that pitch, we pretty much simul-climbed the rest of the route with one or two stops for navigation and re-racking. The final corner was definitely the highlight, with fun moves on bomber rock. Stepping out of the corner, I topped out to a field of alpine wildflowers just under the summit block with not a soul in sight. Ahhhhhh.
Here are some more pics:
Sperry in morning light.
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
Looking up at the switchbacks towards Headlee Pass
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
Drew on the way up the pass
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
The cool tarn in the basin under the SE side of Vesper Peak.
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
Vesper Lake under the N side of the peak.
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
Drew crossing the glacier in the morning light.
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
Looking back down towards the glacier.
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
Looking up the final corner. We simul climbed through this section, which is maybe 300-400 feet long.
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
Looking back down the corner - this is maybe mid-fifth class but really very easy.
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
Summit flowers
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
Sperry Peak
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
Gratuitous summit shot
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
On the way back out
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
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| From Vesper Peak - July 09 |
All in all, the climb took us 9 hours car-to-car, but it could be done much quicker than that. We took a wrong turn in the basin by the tarn and ended up spending an extra 30-45 minutes finding the notch. We ate a leisurely lunch on the summit and generally took it easy enjoying the fantastic weather and peaceful setting. The descent to the glacier looks kind of intimidating, but it was fairly straight forward on 3rd class ledges that dumped you out onto lower angle snow. The moat was definitely the crux followed by tricky routefinding to get out of the gullies. From there, its a romp up low angle slabs and corners to the summit followed by an easy walk off. Great day in the hills!
Anders Osborne and Johnny Sansone
Anders Osborne, Johnny Sansone and Clarence Bucaro
Mississippi Studios
Portland, OR
July 20, 2009
Kristin and I caught a great show last night at Mississippi Studios. Anders and Johnny Sansone brought a little New Orleans spice to Stump Town on a hot Monday night. In the recently refurbished space on Mississippi Ave, no more than 100 people enjoyed an intimate setting as all three performers traded songs.
This was the first time I had been inside Mississippi Studios since the redesign, and they did a great job opening up the space while maintaining its character as a small and intimate setting. A small balcony overlooks a much larger seating area that accommodates more people. The stage is only a couple of feet off the floor, and the crowd is seated right up to the edge for an easy flow of energy from artist to audience. The sound quality was a little off, mostly in the first set, but I think that was mostly the sound guy working out the kinks than the venue itself. This would be a great place to book a rocking show! Maybe some late night post-Portland Blues Fest action next year?
My little Pentax Optio W60 was working overtime last night trying to deal with the interior light, but I got a couple of decent shots. Probably should have brought the SLR kit as it was a pretty informal setting.
Anders, Johnny and Clarence (R to L)
Mississippi Studios
Portland, OR
July 20, 2009
Kristin and I caught a great show last night at Mississippi Studios. Anders and Johnny Sansone brought a little New Orleans spice to Stump Town on a hot Monday night. In the recently refurbished space on Mississippi Ave, no more than 100 people enjoyed an intimate setting as all three performers traded songs.
This was the first time I had been inside Mississippi Studios since the redesign, and they did a great job opening up the space while maintaining its character as a small and intimate setting. A small balcony overlooks a much larger seating area that accommodates more people. The stage is only a couple of feet off the floor, and the crowd is seated right up to the edge for an easy flow of energy from artist to audience. The sound quality was a little off, mostly in the first set, but I think that was mostly the sound guy working out the kinks than the venue itself. This would be a great place to book a rocking show! Maybe some late night post-Portland Blues Fest action next year?
My little Pentax Optio W60 was working overtime last night trying to deal with the interior light, but I got a couple of decent shots. Probably should have brought the SLR kit as it was a pretty informal setting.
Anders, Johnny and Clarence (R to L)
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| From Anders Osborne - July 20, 2009 - Mississippi Studios |
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| From Anders Osborne - July 20, 2009 - Mississippi Studios |
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| From Anders Osborne - July 20, 2009 - Mississippi Studios |
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| From Anders Osborne - July 20, 2009 - Mississippi Studios |
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| From Anders Osborne - July 20, 2009 - Mississippi Studios |
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