The Return to Trout Creek!

Trout Creek

Back in the fall, sitting at my office desk in Portland, I suddenly started to get emails and messages about a potential closure of Trout Creek, one of the best crags in the Pacific Northwest.  BLM was threatening to close down this incredible gem to protect golden eagle nests in the area, and local climbers were looking for a little help interfacing with the land managers.  I had climbed at Trout a hand full of times and was more than happy to devote a little desk time to the cause if it would help.  Everyone wanted to protect the habitat and give the eagles a chance to nest, but BLM hadn't yet given climbers the opportunity to be a part of the solution.  The issue kind of languished for several weeks and then all of a sudden in January we found out the BLM was implementing an emergency closure without any advance public process.   

Working with the American Alpine Club, the Access Fund and the Mazamas, we pulled together a couple of letters, an action alert, and a quick meeting with the Prineville Office of BLM, which helped to get the agency working in cooperation with a dedicated group of local climbers, including Eric Sorenson, Jeff Wenger and Wally Fox.  Those guys did a great job taking the lead and developing a strong working relationship with the field staff, and BLM, to its credit, did a great job of involving them in decisions affecting Trout Creek.  After these initial discussions, BLM chose to implement a voluntary closure, and everyone started working on a voluntary monitoring program for the crag.  A few weeks after the closure went into effect, lo and behold a pair of goldens took up residence in the nest on the Main Wall, which validated all the efforts made by both the agency and the climbing community.  BLM staff in the Prineville office deserve a lot of credit for partnering with an important user group, and climbers followed through on their commitment to protect raptor habitat. 

For the next several months, the locals kept an eye on the nest, but by the middle of May it looked as if the birds had moved on without hatching a chick.  Working together, BLM and the local climbers checked the nest, confirmed that the eagles had left, and then decided to lift the closure.  All of a sudden, Trout Creek was open for business!   

This past weekend, a few days after the closure was lifted, I snuck in a day of fantastic climbing on the splitter cracks overlooking the Deschutes River in the Oregon High Desert.  I felt lucky just to have one day of climbing at this beautiful setting, but it's literally in my backyard - what a treat!  All the guys that put in time to steward Trout Creek deserve a huge thanks, because so many people find a little piece of what they're searching for in that moment of uncertainty above their last piece of pro.  We all deserve that chance, and places like Trout Creek and the people who take care of it make it all possible.  Pass it on!

A Trout Creek local

Spring Cragging in the Tieton Valley

Spring in the Tieton

Spring has settled over the Tieton River valley, and the climbing conditions are excellent!  Last weekend, Kristin and I spent two more beautiful days camped along the river by night, climbing by day.

Images of Bhutan - Leg 4 - Tiger's Nest to the Paro Tsetschu

At the Paro Tsetschu

For more than a year, we planned our trip with Mom around the five day Druk Path trek, during which we spent three days above 13,000 feet in the foothills of the Himalayas.  After successfully finishing the walk and descending back into the relatively thick air of the Thimphu valley, we hardly had time to enjoy our sense of gratitude and satisfaction and reflect on the experience, because our trip had not yet come to an end.  Over the next two days, our itinerary would take us to the Tiger's Nest monastery, a famous holy site that draws people from around the world, as well as one of the annual festivals - the Paro Tesetschu - which often provides the main focus for many tourists who visit Bhutan.  In between, the ladies still managed to squeeze in a bit more shopping, and we stopped in to visit more of the beautiful religious sites in the Paro and Thimphu valleys.  We could sense the end of our journey approaching, but, as with the whole trip, our surroundings helped us to stay focused on the present.   

Images of Bhutan - Leg 3 - Dochu La to the Druk Path Trek

The Views of the Himalayas from the Druk Path Trek

After visiting the beautiful farm land and religious sites of the Punakha valley, we anxiously piled back into our trusty mini-van for the drive back towards Thimphu and Paro en route to the start of the Druk Path trek.  For many months we had read about this five-day trekking route, which traverses a high ridge line between the two main valleys of Western Bhutan.  We were excited to leave the roads behind and travel on foot, but first we would have to  negotiate Dochu La one final time.

Images of Bhutan - Leg 2 - Thimphu to Punakha

The Golden Buddha

After an amazing visit to the Haa Valley, Madge, Kristin and I loaded into the min-van with Chundu, our guide, and Themang, our driver, for the journey to Thimphu.  During our brief stay in the capital of Bhutan, we hooked up with a couple of local trekking guides to climb at the only developed crag in the country - the Nose!  Just a bit smaller than its namesake in Yosemite, the 100-ft Nose basically includes all 14 of Bhutan's established rock routes.  Over the course of a really fun morning, we got to sample 4 of those 14 routes before lunch.

During the rest of our stay in Thimphu, we explored the local markets, visited the Giant Golden Buddha, still under construction, and saw the National Memorial Chorten, where locals spend their days spinning the large prayer wheels and walking clockwise around this holy site for good karma.

Images of Bhutan - Leg 1 - Chelela Pass to the Haa Valley

In December of 2010, Kristin and I gave my mother Madge a golden ticket for her 70th birthday.  This golden ticket entitled her to a trip anywhere in the world she chose to go.  After a few weeks of research, Madge decided on Bhutan and our preparations began. 

In March of this year, after many long months of planning, the three of us traveled to Bhutan for a two-week tour of the western and central portions of this tiny country.  At approximately 18,000 square miles, Bhutan is roughly the size of Vermont and New Hampshire combined, but this Himalayan kingdom retains a rich and unique cultural and religious heritage all of its own.

The images below tell the story from the first leg of our trip, in which we drove over Chelela Pass, the highest road in the country at close to 13,000 feet, and then descended into the Haa Valley.


Isolated to the west of the main cities of the country, fewer than 10% of the tourists that visit Bhutan venture into this area.  We began our trip with a hike to a tiny, cliff-side monastery, a visit to a local farmhouse for lunch, and a memorable drive down a deeply incised river valley choked with old-growth trees.

if you click on any of the images below, you can view a gallery where you can easily scan through the photos.

You can also see a slide show of these same images set to some local music here: VIMEO slide show.  (Be sure to watch the HD version.)

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll publish shots from the rest of the trip, including the five-day Druk Path trek, a visit to the famed Tiger's Nest monastery, and the annual religious festival in Paro. 

Sin or Salvation? Skiing Mt. Rainier National Park - The Nisqually and the Tatoosh

The Mighty Mt. Rainier

Home from Bhutan just over a week, I drove down Interstate 5 on Friday morning after a mid-week meeting in Seattle.  Following a month of constant travel, I silently debated whether I should go skiing or simply stay at home and tend to the every day details that had fallen by the wayside.  Laundry, unpacking, work, even processing the 5,000 photos from my trip - I had plenty of excuses to remain in town and slow down.

For a few minutes, the classic debate between the angel and devil, both perched on opposing shoulders, played out in my mind.  But then I turned a corner on the highway and saw the mighty Mt. Rainier rising up off the horizon in clear, morning skies.  The mountain was covered in a deep blanket of snow that had fallen almost constantly since I left for Asia in March.  I couldn't deny the strong temptation presented by a weekend of chores, the lure of yard work and organizing the basement.  But having assumed the form of a majestic mountain temple, the angel on my shoulder reminded me that these sinful pleasures just lead to further moral degradation.  In a split second, she squashed that puny devil and illuminated the path.  Let's go skiing!