Steven's Pass ..

Ken and I opted to use our free passes to Steven's Pass on the last Friday of operations. The weather wasn't forecast to be great, but we were going anyway. After all, you can't be a Pacific Northwest skier without skiing in the rain at least once a year.

The first ride up the chair was cloudy, but no precip. The second ride up involved rain that turned into "Wintry Mix" near the top. By the third time up, we had that precip freezing on the outsides of our shell pants.

First chair ride up.

The snow was decent on groomed runs and corn like at times with icy patches and some thicker patches. Anything that was not groomed was heavy, wet and hard to turn in. We stuck to Hog Heaven, and Barrier Ridge for our first few runs then decided to see what the other side of the ridge was like.

We rode the Tye Mill Chair up to the top and then went down Gemini which felt like the best run of the day so far. There was no one on the backside, and the weather was somewhat better. That changed, and the wind kicked up and the rides up the Jupiter Chair had us getting blasted in the face with icy pellets. After 3-4 runs down time was running out on the backside (they close the lifts at 3:15pm) so we decided to get back on the front of the ridge.

We had a few super enjoyable runs down The Crest Trail and Skid Road before making a few last runs down Skyline as the skies turned blue and we warmed up and dried out.

Overall we had a great day. The snow was pretty good where it had been groomed, or where lots of people were skiing. We stuck to all blue runs as the black diamonds were not groomed and not too many people were skiing them. The snow in those areas was not appealing, and neither Ken nor I were looking to get injured on our last day of lift served skiing this season.

Last chair of day.

Update from Salt Lake City

Well, I've been here a week now and thought I'd better post “something” so y'all would know I'm still alive! The days have been full (and fulfilling) and they have gone by quickly. Time flies whether you're having fun or not but seems to go by much quicker when you are enjoying what you are doing!



There haven't been any “breakthroughs” thus far but then I've been doing the “drudge” work, so to speak – gathering information from Deed Books. Yes, I'm digging into deeds once again. I've done some work in deeds “on location” in several counties in several states but it is so much easier and convenient to work on them here. Even though they don't have “everything” they do have much of what I need to look at. Of course, there are “a few” other things that I'll be working on as well.



And now, something to ponder...







The signatures above are for Charles Wiseman (my 2nd great grandfather) as found in Kosciusko County, Indiana Deed Book 57 pages 128 and 129 and recorded on February 27, 1885 (FHL Film 1705383). It is fairly obvious that the signatures are not the same. In fact, the two entries in the deed book are in a different handwriting (see below).



Also, Charles Wiseman resided in Switzerland County (in southern Indiana) when these deeds were executed. Thus, it is my conclusion that neither one of these is the actual signature of Charles Wiseman! Rather they are the interpretation of his signature that appeared on the documents that were sent to the Recorder's Office in Kosciusko County (in northern Indiana).



In other words, the signature is a transcription. So what this does for me is raise suspicions in regards to other “signatures” recorded in Deed Books or other types of records, such as this one for Wilhelm Foster. It's really kind of a bummer when you thought you might have the actual signature of an ancestor...





Kosciusko County, Indiana Deed Book 57 page 128 (FHL Film 1705383).Note that the writing is different in the two entries.

In The Shadow of Giants

These huge redwoods are awe-inspiring.

Bradford Pear Tree Blossoms

My little trees did real good this year. I guess it means that spring is here. The White blossoms are of my Bradford Pear Tree and pink flowers are of my peach tree.

Recycle that old Computer - America Recycles Day

In my post Sticker Shock, I mentioned that I had an old laptop that no longer works and I didn't know what to do with it. Well, in a comment on that post, Janice Brown, at Cow Hampshire, linked to an article about Staples and their computer recycle program.

Since I was going to Staples to purchase my new digital camera, I took the old laptop along. I asked the sales clerk who was helping me if they accepted computers for recycling and he responded in the affirmative. When it came time to check out I made a quick trip to the car and got the laptop. The young man was very nice and courteous but didn't know how to handle the recycling charge. Neither did the other cashier. They called the manager. He said there was a code they had to use. It wasn't at any of the registers so he had to go into the back office to get it. In the meantime, I filled out the paperwork identifying what was being turned in and signing my name stating that I understood that they were promising that the equipment would not be resold or used in any other way, that it was really going to be recycled.

What should have been a less than five minute process ended up taking about 20 minutes. Of course, the sales clerk apologized saying it was the first time anyone had actually recycled anything at their store. I wasn't in a hurry or anything so it was no big deal. But if you plan on recycling any electronic stuff, I'd suggest calling ahead to the store to let them know.

This morning, while on the Staples website checking the status of my camera shipment, I did a search for "recycle computers" but nothing came up. In their page on Media Information they have a News Release titled Fewer Than One in Four Americans Recycle Their Technology Waste that provides additional information on the program and what they will accept.

Did you know that Thursday, November 15th, is America Recycles Day? The Material Recovery Center at Columbia City (in Whitley County, Indiana) has a Saturday in November set aside for turning in hazardous materials, batteries, tires, appliances, etc. that they don't normally accept. Fort Wayne also does this. There is a fee involved with these things, but it is minimal. I'm not sure if they accept electronic equipment such as computers, printers, and scanners though. It might be worth checking your local recycling center, especially if you have multiple items (CPU, Monitor, Printer, etc.) as there is a $10 fee at Staples for each item. There is no charge for cell phones, pagers, digital cameras, mice, or keyboards.

It cost $10 to rid myself of a piece of junk, but I feel good about having done so. It got it out of my closet and hopefully some of the precious metals can be retrieved for other uses. As Janice suggested, I opened the laptop, found the hard drive and gave it more than a few good whacks. After putting the cover back on, the insides rattled a bit, but that shouldn't take away any of it's recycling value ;-)

As a side note, I purchased my new digital camera. A Sony Cyber-shot H7. 8.1 megapixal and 15x zoom. The only one they had in-store was the display model. I'm prejudiced against display models so opted for having it shipped to me. It is supposed to arrive tomorrow (Tuesday 11/13). I just want to be able to check it out for a few days before my trip to Missouri. I'm really looking forward to that 15x zoom. Awesome! Flag image from the America Recycles Day website.

Gunks Routes: Silhouette (5.7+) & Moby Dick (5.8), plus Keep on Struttin' (5.9)

(Photo: David almost to the GT Ledge on Silhouette (5.7+).)




Last Sunday I met up with David to climb in the Gunks. The weather was gorgeous and I was feeling pretty good. I wanted to hit one of the 5.10's on my list, and for some reason I was focused on Feast of Fools.




I also wanted to do some other climbs in that same area. I hadn't done much in this little section of the cliff. Apart from Hans' Puss (5.7 and a great route all the way to the top), I had not done any of the climbs on the buttress that sits to the right of the Arrow wall. I was interested not just in Feast of Fools, but also the two hard 5.9+ routes on this buttress: Proctoscope and Proctor Silex. I was also intrigued by Silhouette (5.7+), a climb to which Dick Williams grants two stars in his guidebook but which he also warns is not for the beginning 5.7 leader. I was even interested in an obscure 5.8 on the far-right edge of the buttress called Man's Quest for Flight.




Silhouette seemed like a nice way to begin the day, in spite of its PG-R rating. It sounded like the part with thin pro was right off the starting ledge. I wasn't too worried about handling the 5.7 climbing, provided I could find the route and not feel lost.I figured I could always back off if I didn't like the look of things.




It is easy to spot the starting ledge/pedestal for Silhouette from the ground. It is about 40 feet off the deck and the usual way to get there is to scramble in from the right, passing the start of Andrew and actually beginning the climb a fair distance off the ground. When we arrived, however, there was a party on Andrew. To avoid getting in their way we elected to climb directly up to the pedestal from the bottom, starting just slightly to its right. This climbing is easier than 5.7 and the pro is fine. Soon enough I found myself on the little ledge atop the pedestal contemplating the PG/R section of the climb.




There are a number of placement opportunities right at the top of the pedestal. I put a good cam in one of these slots and then began the real business of the pitch. The line isn't completely obvious but there are good holds-- just follow the path of least resistance, trending left off the little shelf at first, and then back right. After a few moves I found some gear and a piton, and shortly after this, as I placed another piece, I realized I must have cleared the supposed PG/R section. I guess that until you get some gear, you might hit the little ledge at the start if you fall. So I don't argue with the protection rating. But still, I don't think this climb is poorly protected by Gunks standards. There are many many more poorly protected PG climbs at the Gunks, see for example Moonlight (which we climbed later the same day). I thought the gear on Silhouette was fine.




And the climbing is great. The route wanders up the face to a roof and then you work your way to the edge of the roof on the right (where there is another pin) and pull over. The climbing up to this point is very nice but then the real fun begins, as the route follows a vertical crack system all the rest of the way to the GT Ledge. This is a good hand/fist crack. You could jam the whole thing (which I should have made myself do, for practice), but you don't need to as there are other holds. You can throw in a jam whenever you like, though, and in this section above the little roof pro is always available. The hardest moves on Silhouette are in this section, and it is G-rated all the way.




The way we did Silhouette, in one pitch to the GT Ledge and starting from the ground, it is a rope-stretcher. I was almost at the very end of Dave's 60 meter ropes by the time I made it to the GT Ledge. There was enough rope left for me to set up the belay on the ledge, but not much more.




Silhouette is a great route. It has interesting movement, good rock, and varied situations. Keep your head together for the first few moves and you'll be fine.









(Photo: Dave heading up Andrew (5.4) off the GT Ledge, on the way to the obvious V-notch of Moby Dick (5.8).)




Once we made it to the GT Ledge Dave decided to lead Moby Dick (5.8), a variation that starts up Andrew (5.4) but then veers left to an obvious V-notch when Andrew traverses right. There is another variation called Android (5.8) which starts further to the right and then crosses Andrew to arrive at Moby Dick's V-notch. It doesn't seem that either Android or Moby Dick is very popular, despite the fact that you can see Moby Dick's notch from the ground and it just begs to be climbed. I had never done it so I was happy to follow Dave up Moby Dick.









(Photo: In the V-notch of Moby Dick (5.8), placing pro.)




Dave made pretty quick work of it. It looked like an interesting traverse left and then a few good moves through the notch.




When I got up there I found it highly worthwhile. The move left to get under the notch is airy and then getting through the crux takes technique. The obvious comparison is V-3, a very popular 5.7 climb with a fun V-notch. Moby Dick's notch is harder and a bit longer. On V-3, as soon as you get your back into the notch you're basically done. Moby Dick, by contrast, is more of a stem problem with a few moves in succession. Good climbing and unusual, with good pro.




The only negative to Moby Dick is that it takes fifty feet of so-so 5.4 climbing to get to the good stuff. I suppose this is where the 5.8 Android start comes in to save the day. I'll have to try that some time. The guidebook description is confusing, but I bet when you get up there it all makes sense.




After we got back down to the ground I went to look at Feast of Fools but it was a nightmare over there. A large party had a top rope on Feast and another group was laying siege to Supper's Ready (5.12). It was all to be expected on a beautiful Sunday, but I was still disappointed. I consoled myself by knocking off a couple of 5.9's that I've been wanting to lead for a while: No Glow andKeep on Struttin'.




I was particularly happy about Keep on Struttin', a 5.9 that in my opinion has at least two little sections of 5.10 on it. I linked pitches two and three together into one lead. This combined pitch has to be one of the very best pitches in the Gunks. Both of the roof sections are solid 5.9 challenges but to me the cruxes come, first, at the thin moves below the first roof right off the GT Ledge, and second, at another face move off of a poor intermediate crimp right after you clip the bolt. Then after you make this hard move up to the good holds you have to move left through the pumpy roof. Here the main challenge is to place pro without flaming out. I think my solution is a good one. If you lean left from the stance above the bolt, placing a good cam as far to the left as you can reach, you can make the next few moves to the awesome horn without placing anything else. Then, with the horn in your grip, you can place one more piece and then gun it up over the overhang.




After the second roof, as you enter the traditional pitch three of Keep on Struttin', the character of the route changes completely, to a beautiful technical corner plus a few more interesting reaches around obstacles, all on that great white Arrow rock that you find on many of the upper pitches in this part of the Trapps. What a fantastic line!




After leading No Glow and Keep on Struttin' (and, I admit, flailing for a while trying to follow Dave up the bouldery start of Three Vultures (5.9)), I was feeling hot and tired, and my fingertips were sore. I decided to forget about 5.10 for the day and cool us down with Moonlight (5.6), which I hadn't done in nearly five years. It was a great finish to the day, but it merits its own post. Watch this space for my exciting account of Moonlight, yesterday and today!

Leics Round 10 - Burrough Hill to Launde Abbey via Owston and Withcote

With Marta. Fine day, cloudy and warm - muggy even. Muddy in little Dalby Wood, muddier in Owston Wood. Quite up and down - 528 ft of climbing. 8 miles and a bit.


Marta picks me up at Launde Abbey, and drives to the Burrough Hill Car Park - the pay machine is working again now! After a couple of hundred yards along the farm road we take the first path signed to the right, heading north across a couple of fields where a farmer on a quad bike was herding sheep - with the help of a dog as well.

I'm familiar with the route from a previous walk, so we walk along the edge of the second field, then downhill to the Dalby Woods Path, which goes east - fairly muddy as usual, and I realise I've left my trekking pole in the car.



We avoid turning right or south at the gap ion the trees, and continue successfully along the Leicestershire Round path, uphill and climbing the two sets of steps to the ridge.

Looking back from the top of the steps

The route ahead has been made good, and it's probably the first time I've followed its line according to the map - a couple of times it's been much easier to use the edge of the field.

A clear path ahead

The route is clearly marked and clear on the ground all the way into Somerby.

Guard dog in Somerby

We walk through a narrow ginnel into the village, and just opposite is Manor Lane - no LR sign, but this is the way. The first sign is when we arrive at the end of the road.

The view towards Owston

We walk up a narrow track between two fields, all clear and easy walking - but it's time for our break as we top the next small ridge.










We carry on down hill through three fields, keeping the hedge on our left. We cross the stream using a footbridge. We turn right along the stream to the corner of the field, then walk uphill. We follow the waymarkers - there's a memorial bench in the corner of one field. Our path is clearly marked until we reach the road, at a bend. We turn left here to walk into Owston.

I'm rather taken with some curved brick walls and a kitchen garden.







We glimpse the church through the houses.



We ignore the road to Lowesby, and then the Knossington Road, and carry on along Main Street as far as the Tilton Road. We pass an old pump and then a well in a field.







We turn right along the road to Tilton, then left along a path to Withcote after about 100 yards. This is well marked, though you could be confused by other marked paths. We follow flattened grass paths which take us through fields and eventually to the way into Owston Woods. The path through the woods is straight and clear, but, as usual, very muddy.

Walking in the footsteps of giants?

We try leaving the path, but it is not much of an idea! Still, my feet stay dry, though the boots are muddier than for some time. Last time I walked this was after snow.



When we come out of the wood we think of having another break, but in this muggy weather there are too many flies around - we give that idea up and head downhill towards Withcote. Last time I was here there were horses everywhere - no longer. We decide to go and investigate the chapel, which is looked after by the Churches Conservation Trust.

Withcote Chapel

As we pass the Hall, we ask the owner, who's outside gardening, if it's ok to go and have a look. She assures us that it is "But be careful - you could get roped in to help".

Two volunteers are giving the place a bit of a spring-clean, as there will be a service there in the near future - something that happens no more than once a year or so. They're very helpful and informative, ply us with leaflets, and even offer us a cup of tea, though we need to get moving by then.





We go back to the LR footpath, through the farmyard, then divert briefly to have a peep at the lake, where there is a swan family and other water birds.







Then it's through the gate, aim for the top of the hill, down the other side, over the footbridge, up slightly and down towards Launde Abbey. Once again, I recommend their baguettes with salad and coleslaw, and the coffee or tea - £1.50 for a pot - three cups at least.