Mystery Photo #9

** Update ** Color version of photos added July 29, .. to help with analysis. Also added link to fM's post, see below.

This is the eighth post (and 9th photo) in a series of unidentified photographs from the Charles Wiseman Family Bible. See this post for background information. Click on the "Mystery Photo" label at the bottom of the post to see all of the photographs in this series. As always, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.





Paper photograph on card stock. 2 3/8 x 4 1/16. Printed on back: J. E. Walton, Photographer Vevay, Ind.

Depending upon when this picture was taken, it could be Susanna Wiseman, daughter of Charles and Naomi Bray Wiseman, who was born August 2, 1850. Susanna married James Scott on April 8, 1882. Or, it could be Elizabeth Detraz, born June 27, 1871 and daughter of Eliza Banta and Julius Detraz. Elizabeth married Charles Wiseman, Jr. on December 23, 1895. They all lived in Vevay. Or, of course, it could be someone else. . .

** Update July 29, .. **

footnoteMaven has posted Dating Old Photographs :: Becky's Mystery Photograph #9 which provides a great (tremendous, awesome) methodology for analyzing old photos. You have to check it out if you have any old pictures that have not been identified. fM also provides a list of resources/books she is using for help in creating a database for a project on Washington State and Territory photographers. A HUGE Thank You goes to fM!

A bit more informaton about the pictures, based on fM's methodology:

• Category: Card Measurement ~ the picture is 2 5/16 x 3 11/16 and the card is 2 1/2 x 4 1/8
• Category: Card Thickness ~ No calipers on hand ;-) but using the method suggested by fM and described here, the thickness of the card was 8 sheets of 20 bond paper or .032 inches thick, which puts it into the 1880-1900 date range.
• Category: Color of Card ~ The front of the card is off white/light tan with a hint of yellow. The background of the image is a bit darker than the card itself. The back of the card is white, not a bright white, but definitely white.

If there is just one thing I've learned in this process it is to scan all photographs, even monochromatic, in color, to take advantage of all clues hiding within the picture. It takes more time to get a good color "match" and you have to keep in mind that every monitor will display the pictures somewhat differently, which means not everyone will see it the way you do. Now I need to find the time to go back and rescan some of these Mystery Photos and apply fM's methodology, find the resources she mentioned, and see what information I can pull from these photos, as well as that big box of unidentified pictures my Dad gave me a few years before he passed away!

Teakettle Rock

This is Teakettle Rock. It even has a sign to tell you it is but someone who visited here took the time to shoot a hole in the 'O' of Rock. It is a huge, ancient rock that looks sort of like a teakettle. It has an arch way on top for the handle. It sit is a little valley way, way, way back in the way back of the Jemez Mountains which are part of the Santa Fe National Forest. It is my opinion that the Jemez Mountains were once a volcano that has been extent for thousands of years. This has allowed all the trees, scrubs, grass and flowers to grow and let wildlife and people evade the area. But when that volcano was active it spit out tons and tons of rock, lava, and volcanic ash out on what would become this beautiful forest some day. When it spit those tons of rock there was this one spit out in the middle of an open area that just happened to look like a teakettle to someone that would find it thousands of years later. I have heard it said by some that it looks more like a huge ostrich pecking at something. The handle of the 'teakettle' being the 'neck' of the bird.

Covered Bridge Number 4

Tonight the guys went to pickleball alone, and Mira and I stayed behind. She made dinner for all of us when they returned. It was spaghetti, and we all voted it to be the best sauce we ever tasted!

Bull Skull

Eddie Bauer BC MicroTherm Down Jacket

BC Micro Therm Down Jacket with a Patagonia Knifeblade soft shell and R1under it @ -18C, Canada Rockies.



If you look at Eddie Bauer's advertising the First Ascent Hyalite Jacket gets some serious play as THE technical "climbing jacket" in their speciality line. On the other hand I couldn't wait to get rid of mine and exchange it for something I might actually use skiing and as a second thought climbing. No stretch that I could discern in the FA Hyalite compared to a Gamma MX for example and no warmer. I have any number of state of the art garments with synthetic and down insulation to chose from. Getting me into an unproven garment to ice climb in is difficult. Getting me into one made of down is even more difficult.



Adding a water proof and breathable shell to a light weight down insulated piece makes a lot of sense. Even more so if you value light weight warmth over the ability to get it dried out and usable again if you are going to be working hard in the same jacket.



I climbed some in Hyalite Canyon using a Patagonia Down full zip Hooded Sweater last winter and loved it right up till it really started snowing hard and I was breaking trail in 4 feet of snow. I stayed warm but the jacket got wet and lost a lot of its insulation. Lesson relearned for the umpteenth time.



I am not a sweat hog. I don't sweat any more or any less than the rest of my climbing partners generally. My adventures arebest equippedwith very breathable and really light weight upper body clothing forwalking into winter climbs. Being able to change out to at least a dry top and then layer up for the climbing in generally mandatory if I want to be comfortable. The last layer will seldom get worn but is generallysome sort of "belay jacket". It's warmth will depend on the temps and moisture involved.



Our last trip to Canada I reverted from my tried and true climbing garment combos and went backwards in some sense to the more durable "soft shell" uppers as an action suit topover and R1 or a Merinowool version of the same hoodyand the required "belay jacket" over all of itto keep me warm once I stopped.



The combo is really a little heavier than it needs to be. But it is a well proven combo and is only three layers.



This trip one of the jackets I use exclusively for belay duty and climbing whilecold was the BC Micro Therm. I even used it on a couple of short approaches just to see how wet I could get it and still dry it out why climbing. Much to my surprise I even liked climbing technical ground in the Micro Therm when I was pretty chilled.



The hood was one reason. Its pattern is intentionally cut prettybig and easily fits over my helmet choices. The other is the sleeve size/length and being able to pull the Velcro cuff tabs and pull the jacket sleeves up past my elbows.











Not something that I could ever do previous to the chemo diet. But the sleeves fit a lot better (bigger) now and allow one to vent some serious heat if you can pull up the sleeves in your size. The other feature I really like is both side pockets are vertical vents straight to the body's core. Unzip the pockets...from the top or the bottom and you can work pretty hard in this jacket and still not over heat. I really like the simple design features and how well they work. Make sure you aren't going to dump your pocket contents though!



As far as I can tell the shell material, which is water proof and breathable 2-LAYER SHELL called

WeatherEdge® Pro, 1.7 oz 12-denier fabric with StormRepel® DWR finish; rated to 20K/20K" really is water proof. And no question it breathes very well from my testing as I could always get the down dried out on the belays from my own body heat. The long sleeves, the hood and the pocket ventsare easy to notice in use. It is a very good mid weigh piece of insulation and physically lwt weight belay jacket. My XL weighs in at 1# 5 oz. May be even a better cold weather ski jacket on the lifts or side country compared to many others jackets available and easily the best of the EB ski specific jackets imo.



It also comes in a women's specific version which I hear gets high ranks on fit and warmth as well.

No question the women's colors options are better!



Here is more of theEB spiel:



WATERPROOF/BREATHABLE 2-LAYER SHELL



WeatherEdge® Pro, 1.7 oz 12-denier fabric with StormRepel® DWR finish; rated to 20K/20K



800 FILL PREMIUM EUROPEAN GOOSE DOWN

Down-packed micro-baffles keep you warm with minimal weight and bulk



DUAL-FUNCTION CHEST POCKETS

Provide storage and double as heat-dumping core vents



INTEGRATED HOOD

Fits easily over a ski or climbing helmet



WEATHER-SEALED ZIPPERS AND CORDED PULLS

Eliminate need for flaps; more durable, slide more smoothly and make it easier to grab with gloves on



ERGONOMIC POCKETS AND ARTICULATED ELBOWS

Harness and pack compatible; facilitate easy movement



LOW-PROFILE CUFFS AND 1 INCH LONGER

Adjust for snug fit; provides more coverage to keep you warmer



SIZED A BIT MORE GENEROUSLY

Looser fit provides more room for layering; works for a wider range of body types



CARE INSTRUCTIONS

Machine wash

100% nylon waterproof/breathable 20K/20K shell; 800-fill down insulation

Center back length: Reg. 29 1/2", Tall 31 1/2"

Weight: 1 lb., 3.54 oz. (1 lb., 5oz. or 595g and 2.5" of loft for my XL)








Louise Falls photo courtesy of http://www.rafalandronowski.com/




After all I have a closet full of "real" mid weight climbing specific jackets. This one is a good fine to add to that list. A decent price (on sale) for a water proof and lightly insulated down jacket. One that I have used a good bit now and will again.



EB sez:



"Combining the microchannel construction of the MicroTherm™ Down Shirt into the lining of this fully waterproof and breathable shell rated to 20K/20K, we’ve built a warm, insulated jacket that is lighter than many non-insulated shells on the market. This jacket is built to be the minimalist, lightweight piece that our First Ascent guide team requires in the most challenging environments where every ounce counts. Highly packable. Two large cross-body vents double as pockets. Harness friendly design. Now one inch longer and sized a bit larger through the torso to provide more room for layering and fit more body types. Across the board, this piece was the alpine guides’ personal favorite, hands down."



http://www.skinet.com/skiing/photo-gallery/shell-games



http://www.eddiebauer.com/catalog/product.jsp?ensembleId=40146&oessoa=6046151&cm_mmc=CSE-_-Google%20Product%20Search-_-First%20Ascent%7CMen%27s%20First%20Ascent%20Jackets_and_Vests-_-1020706&CAWELAID=941026515





The video covers it all again:

days in the desert ....

This is Jennifer's break before her last quarter of nursing school. She wanted to go on a mini-vacation before putting her nose to the grindstone again.

We decided to hit some sites in Eastern Washington where the weather should be drier this time of year. I also got the idea from my previous climbing trips to Frenchman's Coulee that it would be nice to cover some ground by mountain biking on the jeep roads through the desert. So we loaded up the bikes and set course east.

On the way over, we decided to drive far the first day to Palouse Falls State Park. This would mean we could hit sites on the way back, and have a shorter drive on our final day. So we passed the coulees of Central Washington, and drove through the flat farmland to reach our destination in the southeast portion of the state. After making a few scenic stops and to check out camping accommodations we arrived at Palouse Falls State Park in the afternoon. Guidebooks herald the falls as one of the best in the state. This is true. But part of the beauty of the falls is that the Palouse river flows through the deep basalt cliffs of Palouse Canyon below the falls. Not quite The Grand Canyon, but quite a wonderful site to see. We strolled around the grounds and viewed the falls and upper falls. There are a few scrambles that would take you closer to the falls, but we opted not to. The "Falling can be deadly" signs must have worked on us.

Since camping was available in the park, we set up the tent and stayed the night.

Palouse Falls pics here.

The next day we awoke to rain. So we decided to head south to Walla Walla and check out some wineries. On the way there, we hoped to stop in Lyon's Ferry State Park, but it was closed for the season. We were able to get in via access through some federal land and got to glimpse the lower Palouse Canyon and the confluence of the Palouse and Snake rivers at Lyon's Ferry. Lyon's Ferry State Park also marks the location where the oldest human remains have been found in North America. The dig site is now buried under water, but it is still an interesting place. We walked a bit around, then headed toward Walla Walla.

Sulfur Lake and the confluence of the Palouse and Snake Rivers

We stopped in two wineries in Walla Walla; the Three Rivers and L'Ecole #41. Both were nice and the old school house that is L'Ecole #41 was really quaint. It appears most wineries in Walla Walla charge for a tasting. (Usually $5 per person, but we were able to split the charge.)

After Walla Walla the weather cleared a bit, and we were headed to Potholes State Park to camp for the night. On the way there, we were going to stop at Twin Sisters Rock a little south of the Walla Walla River on the Columbia. In the guide book, it looks more impressive in size than it actually is. It is a cool formation, but with such easy access to the road, it is heavily vandalized. After a short hike up, we headed north to Potholes.

Twin Sisters Rock

We arrived in Potholes State Park and much to our enjoyment read that the camping fee was free until April 1st. We set up camp and hiked around a bit. Potholes State Park is centered around Potholes Reservoir which is a man made reservoir out in the desert. The damming of the stream, caused the water table to rise, and filled many of the potholes in the area with water. Unlike the rest of the desert, there tends to be lots of water, and it is a bit greener too. A little to the east of Potholes State Park is the Columbia National Wildlife Refuge, which hosts many migrating birds. We hiked along the creek in Potholes and saw lots of deer tracks and coyote scat, but no mammals other than a muskrat.

We set our sites for the final day to ride the roads in the Wildlife Refuge through the desert. We went to sleep under clear but windy skies. The next morning we waited a bit for the sun to warm the desert before heading out. It is about a two mile road ride from the state park to earliest entrance to the refuge. You could ride along the narrow dam roadway if you wanted to enter the refuge farther east. We wanted to start our adventure as soon as possible and entered the refuge right before the dam.

Although it was clear the refuge had seen a fire some time in the past, the area is significantly more lush than the surrounding desert due to the higher water table. There is more variety of vegetation than the typical sagebrush and rye grass. We rode on jeep trails for a bit, until we noticed the sky darkening and rain starting to our east. We hoped to ride back to the west and out to avoid it, but wound up at a dead end. As we headed back to retrace our route, we went through a bit of a dust storm, and eventually the rain which was headed in the opposite direction of us. It was over before we got really wet, and we retraced our route back out to a location we could ride out from. Jennifer was a little tired, and we left to go home.

Overall, I'd like to do some more exploring in the desert on my mountain bike. It was a fun and faster way to get around than on foot. Although I did find it somewhat difficult in the more sandy sections. Hopefully I'll have more opportunity in the future to do it again.

Wildlife refuge pics here.

My Favorite Kind of Day

Since we spent all summer in Florida, and Florida in the summer is a dreadful experience temperature and humidity-wise, we are really enjoying the cooler days. We went out to Sixteen Hands and spent the day there alone because everyone else went to an event. It was just a lazy kind of a day.











The horses are starting to really know Nathan now. They greet him and then go and do their thing. Well, except Patriot who believes "we" are his thing.



Gypsy girl shows us how she multi-tasks by drinking and bathing at the same time.



And Chevy bravely walks over to me, rather than running away from me.



It was a good day! Hoping for more of them over the next few months!



Living the life in FL!

Steven's Pass Ski ..

First ski of the season. (Or about four months, ten days since my last ski.) I couldn't get a mid-week partner, but figured it would be safe enough to poach at Steven's Pass. The ski area is planning on opening on Friday, and I had seen a few trip reports reporting an adequate snow pack. The trip reports I saw for Hyak didn't appear as promising.

I left Seattle casually after 8am figuring that would give the DOT some time to clear the road. By the time I got to the pass, it was sunny and there was a bit of slush on the road, so nothing to worry about.

The scene when I arrived

I geared up in the parking lot where there were already 30+ cars! I guess many others had the same idea. I hiked up the stairs and walked in the snow a bit before putting my skis on. The snow was already fairly tracked out from previous days. (Probably Sunday.) So I went in search of fresh tracks by skinning under the Skyline Chair and eventually reaching the top of the Brooks Chair in a half hour or so. I transitioned at the top of the chair. Four months is plenty of time to get a little rusty transitioning. I then turned the skis downhill to go nowhere. The lower angle and deep unconsolidated snow was sticky. (Those factors combined with a need for a wax.) I worked my way to a slightly steeper section and mostly headed straight downhill without turning. It was the only way to keep up speed. Then I jumped back on a cat track for a bit before trying some other slope near the bottom. While I didn't fall, things were not smooth, and I wouldn't exactly say I enjoyed the run. So I decided to try something different on the next lap.

The next lap had me skinning to near the top of the Hogsback Lift. Once near the top, I decided to turn around and head down before getting into terrain I didn't want to be in. On the way up and from where I transitioned, I could see plenty of rocky areas that did not have good coverage, and I wanted to avoid those. So I ended up riding a cat track almost all the way down from my transition with a slight excursion into the powder near the bottom. Once again, the deeper untracked snow proved slow and unenjoyable. The time was now 12:30pm. I wanted to get one more run in that I really could enjoy. So I transitioned to skinning and headed up.

Dork
This time I headed up near the Big Chief Chair, skinning up the Showcase run. It was fairly tracked from early in the day as well as days earlier. (There were about 25 teenage boys with snowboards running up the slope to catch turns. They were also building kickers near the bottom of the slope.) I went up the slope for almost 30 minutes and decided to turn around at a flatter section of slope so I would not have to attempt to ski down this slower low angle area. During my transition I was joined by one of the teenage snowboarders. We had a chat about whether the ski area could kick us out or not and then he took his ride down. I followed shortly afterward on what was my favorite run of the day! Unfortunately, I was looking to get home and get my skis to the shop for a wax as I hope to get out later this week. So I headed to the car after ending on a high note.

Closing shot

Overall, I enjoyed my day out. The weather was mostly sunny, and fairly warm. (High was supposed to be 33°) I skinned in a light base layer and shell pants. I put on a shell jacket for the descents. It was nice to get back into the motion of skinning/skiing as well as working on my transitions without having others to wait for me. I tried out my new ski helmet which seemed to work as advertised and will be anticipating bringing it on other trips in the future.

The Masked Cyclist: a Halloween Tale

Sit down, dear reader, and grab a cup of hot apple cider. For in honor of this Hallow's Eve, I shall tell you a tale that is as true as it is chilling: the tale of the Masked Cyclist.



It was a dark, crisp Autumn night many years ago and I was a mere high school girl, cycling home from piano lessons on my step-through mountain bike. Thenonfunctional shifters and rusty chain emitted eerie creaking sounds as I rode through the nocturnal New England streets. My path was illuminated by moonlight, since my bicycle had no lights. Suddenly, I glimpsed something out of the corner of my eye - a moving shadow perhaps? I stopped, with a screech of my poorly adjusted brakes.



At first, I saw nothing at all. But soon, an image began to materialise before me.



And then, there she stood: the Masked Cyclist!



We had all heard of her, but only the very few had seen her - and never this closely. Legend had it, the Masked Cyclist haunted the roads of our town, clad in Edwardian garments and astride an oldbicycle - her urgent pleas getting lost in the howling of the wind. What did she want? No one knew, but we all feared her intense gaze.



As I stood frozen in place, the Masked Cyclist moved closer and closer toward me - until suddenly we were face to face. "Who are you, and want do you want?" I managed to utter.



"I am the Masked Cyclist," said she, "and I am not at peace, because the beautiful bicycles that used to roam our land so famously have been all but exterminated by sinister forces. Many decades ago, these streets were full of ladies in their finery, gliding mirthfully through town and through farmland on their trusty loop frames with delightful chaincases, dressguards and lights. But now everything is dark and silent, and our towns are empty, and our farmlands have been replaced with strip malls, and the few bicycles in existence are carelessly built monstrosities that bring little joy to their owners. No, this is too horrifying and I cannot rest. Will you help me?"



"But how can I help?"



"I see that you enjoy riding your bicycle, and I pity you for its poor quality and lack of proper accoutrements. If you agree to help me bring the joy of lovely bicycles to our people, I shall be able to rest. You need only tell me that you agree, and the rest will be taken care of."



I looked at her lovely, ghostly bicycle, and without knowing what came over me, I agreed. "Thank you!" she said to me. "You shall go home now and forget all about our little talk. But 13 years from now I will visit you again to thank you."



And so it was. That same evening, I fell asleep and forgot all about my encounter with the Masked Cyclist, and life took its course. Little did I know that the otherworldly creature had decided to possess me, biding her time until the day was right to create Lovely Bicycle. Ignorant of the Masked Cyclist's influence, I knew not what compelled me to write post after post about lugs, loop frames, dynamo lighting, and local frame builders. And thus it continued for over a year, until a fortnight ago. I was cycling home along a popular bicycle commuter route when the Masked Cyclist once again appeared before me. Suddenly I remembered everything. But instead of fear, I was filled with affection - as I now shared the Masked Cyclist's devotion to lovely bicycles.



"Masked cyclist!" I exclaimed, "Is that you?"



"It certainly is," she replied, "I have come to thank you for helping restore the glory of lovely bicycles to our land. Once again, I see many happy ladies gliding along our streets on their comfortable, trusty bikes, and I am finally able to rest with the knowledge that things are improving."



"But there is still so much work to do," said I, "surely you are not leaving me?"



"Don't be sad," replied the Masked Cyclist. "It is time for me to go now. But my spirit will continue to guide you. And so that you always remember, I leave you my own bicycle. Please take it and cherish it always."



And with those words, the Masked Cyclist disappeared. I have not seen her since, but I can feel that her spirit is at peace.

Blue Ridge Parkway

Living the life in gorgeous North Carolina!

Gunks Routes: Splashtic (5.10a) & Nice 5.9 Climb

(Photo: Gail about to make the crux move on pitch one of Splashtic (5.10a).)



What happened to my Spring season?



When I got out to climb with Maryana in late April I was feeling pretty good. After warming up with Gaston, I followed her up Obstacle Delusion (5.9), thenwe both cleanly toproped Teeny Face (5.10a).After thatI led Directissima (5.9) from the ground to the GT Ledge in one pitch and we both one-hanged Ridiculissima (5.10d) on toprope. Finally, Maryana redpointed Retribution (5.10b). I wanted to try leading it too but we were out of time, so I just followed it. It was a good day.



And then I got so busy I couldn't find time to climb. Trials at work, plus a home renovation that required us to pack up all our belongings and move, meant I couldn't find a day on which to play. I couldn't even find time to write a blog post about Directissimaand Ridiculissima.



The weeks flew by.



Memorial Day was fast approaching.I was headed to Utah with my wife and kids for a destination wedding in Park City. I had plans to stay in Salt Lake City afterwards for four--FOUR!!-- days of climbing with Adrian. I was excited to climb with Adrian again, and to see him for the first time since he moved back to Vancouver in February. The trip promised to be a climbing dream come true, but I didn't want to arrive feeling out of shape on real rock.



I was desperate to go to the Gunks. I needed a tune-up!



As is my wont, I hatcheda plan: I would tack an extraday onto my Memorial Day vacation and go to the Gunks right before we left town.



In many ways this wasn't a great idea. The forecast was not good. It had been raining for several days. And I needed to be back early. Plus I had no partner.



No matter. I decided to go for it. Iharassed Gail until she agreed to climb with me for half a day. At first she begged off, saying some nonsenseabout deadlines and proposals. When I told her this was important, that I really needed to climb to be prepared for my trip, she said that some different explanations for my behavior came to her mind. And then she used some ugly words. Words Ihesitate to repeat,like "obsession" and "compulsion..."



Luckily she is just asfixated on climbingas I am.She eventually agreed tomeet me. (She had work to do but brought her laptop computer to the cliff. Talk about obsessed. I think that woman has a problem: she works too hard.)



In addition to the climbing, I decided to cash in a gift certificate Adrian had given me for a free weekday rental from the Classic Car Club in Manhattan. At no cost, I got to drive to the Gunks in a 2007 Porsche Cayman S. So even if our day turned out to be a bust, I could at least enjoymy timedriving aroundin a realprecision speed machine.







(Photo: My ride for the day. Can you believe it?)



It had been a long time since I'd driven a stick shift. I was afraid that the Classic Car Club people would immediately discover my incompetence with a manual transmission, rip up the gift certificate,and send me packing. But even though I stalled out three times on the test drive, they nevertheless(unaccountably) let me leave the lot with this gleaming whitepriceless sports missile.



"Suckers!!" I thought as I drove away, trying my best to appear as ifI belonged in this car.



Imade believeI was an investment banker with a pocket full of Viagra.



I took corners in third gear.



Ipassed people on the right.



I think I got away with it. That's what happens when you drive this kind of car. People expect you to be an aggressive asshole and they get out of your way. I could get used to this kind of driving. It felt really good.



Isped up to the Gunks in a wet mist but by the time I picked up Gail in Gardiner the rain had stopped and the sun was beating down. It was a bit hot and humid, but hey, I wasn't about to complain. We were going to do some climbing!



I pulled my Porsche into the nearly empty West Trapps parking lot and we set off to look for something dry.



We didn't find anything dry.



There was wetness everywhere but the cliff seemed tobeless soakedas it got higher.We decided to do something with an easy start. Strictly From Nowhere was open, so we did Strictly's to Shockley's. We were using Gail's 70 Meter rope; I knew I could get from the bolts atop pitch one on Strictly's all the way to the top of the cliff in one pitch. I felt greatleading both pitches. I was so comfortable,I was unfazed by the copperhead I found nestled in a crack halfway up Strictly's. I wasparticularly happy with how Shockley's went; I managed the roof with much less awkwardness than in the past and got to the finish without any significant drag.



I wasn't so out of shape after all. Maybe it was time to try a 5.10?



We were close to Splashtic, a climb I'd glanced at a month earlier with Maryana. It looked dry now. Gail encouraged me to try it, saying she thought there was pro for the crux and that if I decided to bailI could escape around the corner to the right. And the 5.10 bit appeared like it would be short. It seemed the steep wall which began the climb was only about 30 feet high. After one or two hard face moves between horizontals itlooked likethe whole thing eased off to a low-angle romp.



I had no intention of doing the R-rated 5.9 pitch two. I didn't know how we'd get down without doing another pitch but Gail said she thought there was some kind of fixed anchor up there to the left.



I racked up and did it. My analysis: I think this is a pretty good easy 5.10. It isn't a great pitch by any stretch of the imagination. But if you are trying to get your feet wet in 5.10, as I am, Splashtic provides a short steep face with just a couple of hard moves on it.



You can come into the middle of the face from the right or the left. The right may be a little easier but there is no pro for the move that gets you established on the wall. I came in this way at first but couldn't work a C3 into the only little crack that is available. So I stepped down andtried itfrom the left, where there is a good slot for a cam and a hard, steep move to get up on the wall.



Then it's just a few moves of nice climbing to the jug below the crux. I got a nice piece in the obvious slot just below the jug. Don't block this whole slot because you might want some space available there. I don't want to give the move away so that's all I'm saying about that.



Also, because I'm a chicken (and a safe chicken at that),I placed two more small Aliens in another horizontal a few feet over to the right and a foot or so higher. These cams took a little more work, because thehorizontalis sort of flaring. But I thought they were good.



With three solid pieces in, I felt ready for the crux, which is a long reach to the next horizontal.



I stepped up and gave it a whirl. And I almost made the reach but didn't quite have it.



So I stepped back down, not weighting the rope.



Trying again, I made it! Whoa, my second 5.10 onsight, just like that.



Once up above the steep face, I moved left to the Gorilla My Dreams corner instead of right to the former Gaston belay, since I knew from my previous trip to the Gunks that the Gaston station was gone.



As Gail had remembered, there was arather small tree with some good-looking slings and rings in this vegetated corner to the left. I put in a piece to back up the tree while Gail climbed the route but then she went ahead andremoved the piece after she finished climbing, usingthe fixedstation alone for lowering.The stationseemed good enough for body weight, certainly.



With not much time left in our half day I suggested we do Nice 5.9 Climb, another 5.9 tick on my list that I hadn't led yet. I had done this one on toprope a few years ago with Nani and I had struggled at that time with the crux move, falling several times before finally getting it. Earlier this year I had done it in wet conditions, again on toprope, and it seemed much less mysterious. I figured now I would lead it quickly-- it is short--and we'd go on home. It was on the way out right at the beginning of the cliff.



Inone sense Nice 5.9 Climb resembles Splashtic as a good introduction to its grade. The crux is just one move, an escape out of a corner with an overhang,and it is well-protected. (There is an upper crux but it is just a little bit of 5.8 steepness, much easier than the lower crux, in my opinion.)



In another sense, however,I don't think Nice 5.9 is a great introductory 5.9, because that one crux move is really pretty tricky. It is a stand-up move in which you have to get your weight over your high foot just right. If my memory were erased and I had to onsight it right now I'm not sure I'd get it clean the first time.



But last Wednesday with Gailit went fine, although as with Splashtic I had to step up, step down, think it over, and try it again. At which time I got it, without ever weighting the rope.



And so I went home happy with my climbing, and ready (I thought) for Utah. Little did I realize that the granite slabs and cracks of Little Cottonwood Canyon would humble me, making this day in the Gunks seem like a distant memory.



Stay tuned. I'll tell you all about it next time.

Road Becomes Cycling Path

Every Sunday from April to October, a stretch of Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Mass. is closed to motorists to create "Riverbend Park" -- a car-free road for the use of cyclists, rollerbladers, skateboarders and pedestrians.

Today was the second time we went. The route is rather short (I think it is a 1-mile stretch?), but we wanted to support the initiative. The lanes are wide, so we were able to ride next to each other and talk. It was nice, though tamer than the kind of cycling we usually do. Once you get used to cycling in traffic and/or for long stretches, this sort of ride can feel restrictive.

I know that something similar to this event exists in Chicago and other cities. Do you make it a point to go to yours? Do you see these as beneficial?