We're off the Potrero Chico tonight! Sun, bolts and limestone.
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| From Trout Creek |
Defending our Wildest Landscapes
1 week ago
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Trout Creek
I spent a day out at Trout Creek last weekend. The light never really cooperated because of some haze. I got a couple of decent shots, but the colors of the stone set against the sky don't really pop like they usually do up there during the late afternoon. I love this place but the next day I always feel like I got spit out of a meatgrinder.
We're off the Potrero Chico tonight! Sun, bolts and limestone.
We're off the Potrero Chico tonight! Sun, bolts and limestone.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Testing MapMyRide.com
I just discovered mapmyride.com, which is an on-line mapping tool that tracks your bike rides. Let's see how it works. Here's the ride I took this afternoon:
Friday, March 5, 2010
GALACTIC
Galactic
The Roseland Theater
Portland, Oregon
February 27, 2010
Halloween weekend 1998, I found myself in Las Vegas surrounded by a bunch of freaky kids who traveled from all corners of the country to see Phish dress up in a musical costume. I can't remember who came up with the idea, but I flew down there with my buddies Jason and Gene from Portland and landed a room in the giant neon green MGM Grand.
On Halloween night, Phish dressed up in the Velvet Undeground's Loaded and the Oh Sweet Nuthin just about blew my mind (check it out). The show let out but the party wasn't over. We had tickets to this up and coming young funk band from New Orleans that was supposed to play until dawn. Galactic brought the heat, and since then I've been catching them off and on when I can, mostly down in New Orleans for Jazz Fest. 12 years later and they're still at it, having become a main stay in the New Orleans scene. Collaborating with the young guns and the old timers, they've bridged the generations and updated the cajun funk sound for the 21st century.
Check out some footage from last year.
Last weekend Galactic rolled through town on a tour that will pretty much land them in New Orleans just on time for Jazz Fest. Kristin and I decided at the last minute to check them out, and we're glad we did.
The show was good, but if you compare the first two clips you can tell they were feeling the crowd more in their hometown venue. We still enjoyed our little taste of Nawlins here in Portland, and we're looking forward to a little more cajun love later this Spring. Will you be there?
The Roseland Theater
Portland, Oregon
February 27, 2010
Halloween weekend 1998, I found myself in Las Vegas surrounded by a bunch of freaky kids who traveled from all corners of the country to see Phish dress up in a musical costume. I can't remember who came up with the idea, but I flew down there with my buddies Jason and Gene from Portland and landed a room in the giant neon green MGM Grand.
On Halloween night, Phish dressed up in the Velvet Undeground's Loaded and the Oh Sweet Nuthin just about blew my mind (check it out). The show let out but the party wasn't over. We had tickets to this up and coming young funk band from New Orleans that was supposed to play until dawn. Galactic brought the heat, and since then I've been catching them off and on when I can, mostly down in New Orleans for Jazz Fest. 12 years later and they're still at it, having become a main stay in the New Orleans scene. Collaborating with the young guns and the old timers, they've bridged the generations and updated the cajun funk sound for the 21st century.
Check out some footage from last year.
Last weekend Galactic rolled through town on a tour that will pretty much land them in New Orleans just on time for Jazz Fest. Kristin and I decided at the last minute to check them out, and we're glad we did.
The show was good, but if you compare the first two clips you can tell they were feeling the crowd more in their hometown venue. We still enjoyed our little taste of Nawlins here in Portland, and we're looking forward to a little more cajun love later this Spring. Will you be there?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Video of the Mt. Hood Ski Descent
My buddy Matt Bedrin pulled together this little video of our most excellent day on Mt. Hood. Enjoy, and check out his exploits at skiingcascadia.com.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Mt. Hood Summit and Ski Descent
The winter-long pattern of warm rain and crappy skiing conditions relented this week as a high pressure system moved into the area. I made the executive decision to take a mental health day and cut out for a climb and ski descent of Mt. Hood. I called my buddy, Matt Bedrin, who's trying to become the first person to climb and ski the highest 40 volcanoes in Cascadia, so I knew he'd be game for a last minute, mid-week outing.
We geared up and left the car at 2 am, only seconds before the first and only yard sale of the day. Walking across the parking lot, Matt hit a pocket of black ice and went down hard. My brain barely had time to think "be careful" before I hit the ground a split second later. With bruised egos, scraped elbows and a groggy heads, we picked up our stuff and started the slog up the Palmer.
We prepped for a battle, as the wind was blowing 20-30 mph from Timberline Lodge all the way up to the top of the Palmer, making for some cold, dark skinning conditions.
With an east wind, we were able to find a little shelter near the lift shack at the top of the Palmer, and we stopped to fuel up. The cold set in pretty quick, so we geared back up and started moving after a quick rest. 15-20 minutes later, just as we were warming back up, the wind dropped to a dead calm. At first I thought it was a brief lull, but from there on out we were treated to excellent, calm skies.
We got to the Hogsback as the sun rose and stared up at the blank canvass of a mountain, wiped clean by the snows earlier in the week.
From the Hogback, we punched in a boot track up towards the Old Chute.
We had the whole mountain to ourselves and were treated to amazing views of the Cascades and surrounding foothills - mid-winter solitude at its best.
5000' of vertical was just too temping, and we eventually bid farewell to the summit and started the ski descent. The upper section was survival sideslipping, but we eventually found the goods on the steep slopes of the Old Chute and then the Hogsback. Great turns in a beautiful setting.
From there we got some photo ops at Illumination Rock and then charged the ripper corduroy back to the Lodge. Great Day!
Good luck to Matt on the Cascadia 40!
We geared up and left the car at 2 am, only seconds before the first and only yard sale of the day. Walking across the parking lot, Matt hit a pocket of black ice and went down hard. My brain barely had time to think "be careful" before I hit the ground a split second later. With bruised egos, scraped elbows and a groggy heads, we picked up our stuff and started the slog up the Palmer.
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
We prepped for a battle, as the wind was blowing 20-30 mph from Timberline Lodge all the way up to the top of the Palmer, making for some cold, dark skinning conditions.
 |
| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
With an east wind, we were able to find a little shelter near the lift shack at the top of the Palmer, and we stopped to fuel up. The cold set in pretty quick, so we geared back up and started moving after a quick rest. 15-20 minutes later, just as we were warming back up, the wind dropped to a dead calm. At first I thought it was a brief lull, but from there on out we were treated to excellent, calm skies.
We got to the Hogsback as the sun rose and stared up at the blank canvass of a mountain, wiped clean by the snows earlier in the week.
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
From the Hogback, we punched in a boot track up towards the Old Chute.
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
We had the whole mountain to ourselves and were treated to amazing views of the Cascades and surrounding foothills - mid-winter solitude at its best.
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
5000' of vertical was just too temping, and we eventually bid farewell to the summit and started the ski descent. The upper section was survival sideslipping, but we eventually found the goods on the steep slopes of the Old Chute and then the Hogsback. Great turns in a beautiful setting.
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
From there we got some photo ops at Illumination Rock and then charged the ripper corduroy back to the Lodge. Great Day!
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
Good luck to Matt on the Cascadia 40!
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| From Mt. Hood Ski Descent |
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.
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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 |
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.
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