Apple Tree

We have two small apple trees. So far we have never had any apples of of them. But we have lots of blossoms this year. Here is a close up of a blossom that just opened. Notice some sort of insect on the leaf under the blossom.

"Glaces"...a history of ice climbing and technique

Just one of the many historical photos in "Glaces", Beyond Good and Evil., Mt. Blanc Range.

I like to read. I like to collect mountaineering books or at least have in the past. Obviously one of my passions is ice climbing. I come by that honestly having been lucky enough to havestarted waterfall climbing at the "golden" era of Canadian waterfall activity in the Rockies.



So I have autographed copies of Bill March's book, Chouinard's, Jeff Lowe's, Twight's, Will Gadd's and most recently Steve House's. All great books in their own way. I've talked about most of them here on the blog. But always special to me to have autographed copies even from guys like Chouinard or House who I have never met.



Some I think are more important historically than others. And some stand out for their influence on the English climbing community.



As a student of ice climbing history living in North America I have long known that Chouinard didn't invent the curved axe. And that the curved axe didn't really make the huge leap in climbing difficulty that some have implied. The climbers did generally and not all of them were from NA.



That was left to others living in the Mt. Blanc Massif and in Scotland and the gear they used or designed.



But that story, their story, has never been seen in one place that I know of, until recently...very recently in fact from what I have seen.



Leave it to my friends at Blue Ice to publish the most recent European tome on ice climbing, "Glaces: arts, experiences et techniques" by Jerome Banc-Gras and Manu Ibarra



There is a lot here. I could tell you more but my French is limited. No English version yet but I know they are working on it. It will be well received.



Short ummary of contents?









History

From Antiquity to 1908: Ice as an adversary

1908-1968 : La glace des faces nord 1908-1968: Ice faces north

1968-1998 : La glace des cascades 1968-1998: The ice cascades

1998 a nos jours: La glace sportive 1998 to Present: The ice sports

Ice

Snow

mixed

The gear

The gearprogression

Safety equipment

Maintenance

Choosing the route

Choice of technical equipment

Selection of protection

Organization of gearaterial

Moving on the ice

Which route?

Analysisof the possibility of collapse







The historial accountswhich I found most interesting by:

Walter Cecchinel

Ludger Simond

Bruno Sourzac

Will Gadd

Pavel Shabalin

Christophe Moulin

Ueli Steck

Fred Degoulet

Philippe Pellet

Jerome Blanc-Gras























"Glaces: arts, expériences et techniques" by Jerome Banc-Gras and Manu Ibarra is available from Blue Ice France now. Send them an email encouraging them to do a English version!





http://www.blueice.com/en/products/glaces-arts-experiences-et-techniques



Some more shots from the book that should give you an idea of how much a treat this one really is.











From ancient history to the most modern techniques, tools and climbers, it is all here.

Tombstone Tuesday :: Hazlette & Ray Ferguson

FERGUSON
HAZLETTE A. / 1902 - 1984
RAYMOND A. / 1890 - 1967
Hazlette Aileen Brubaker Phend Phend Dunn Ferguson, whom I and my siblings and cousins called Grandma Dunn and later Grandma Fergie, is buried in the Scott-Keister Cemetery in Etna Troy Township, Whitley County, Indiana near other family members. Grandma was married four times but only had three husbands! She was married to my grandfather, Vic Phend, twice.

The record of her marriage to Harold Dunn has eluded me but I found their divorce record in Dekalb County, Indiana which stated that they were married on September 8th 1945. That marriage lasted less than two years. In 1964, grandma married Ray "Fergie" Ferguson. It wasn't until a few years ago when I obtained their marriage record that I found out that they were married on my birthday! I suppose he must have been a decent fellow but I didn't much care for him. He passed away in April 1967.

Bikes, Trains, Sailboats

After months of deliberation and procrastination, we've finally done it: Traveled by train with our bikes. For a while now we have wanted to cycle around Cape Ann, which is a beautiful area about 40 miles North of Boston - accessible by the MBTA Commuter Rail via the Rockport line. A number of people we know have taken this trip with their bikes, so it seemed doable. Also, I was delighted to spot the following notice on the MBTA website: "Commuter Rail re-introduces The Bike Coach on the Rockport line for the summer season." Bike coach! No other information was provided, so I did some research. Turns out they have commuter trains with special cars dedicated entirely to bikes - with bike racks as far as the eye can see, like this.But I could not find any information regarding its schedule, and it seemed that only some weekend trains were Bike Coach trains. A call to the MBTA was fruitless, so we decided to just show up and hope for the best.

The commuter train to Cape Ann leaves from North Station, a 3.25 mile bike ride from our house through some of the busiest parts of Boston.I don't like cycling through the city on a roadbike, but on a Saturday morning the traffic wasn't bad. We arrived early, which was good as there was a line at the ticket machines. There were plenty of other people with bicycles. When our train arrived, the conductor came out and announced that all those with bikes must proceed to the first car of the train. Only those with bikes were allowed in that car. Only those without bikes were allowed in the other cars. The segregation gave us hope that this was the fabled Bike Coach, and we happily headed for the front car along with the procession of other cyclists.

What happened next was rather stunning. The car we were ushered into had no accommodations for bikes what so ever - just a small corner of space at one end where a couple of handicapped seats had been removed. This was definitely not the Bike Coach. Nonetheless, everybody proceeded to drag their bikes on the train - more and more of them, until not only this corner, but the entire aisle was filled with bikes. When even that space ran out, new passengers began to pile their bikes on top of other bikes. Loud clunking noises filled the train as tubes smashed against derailleurs.

Not wanting our bikes damaged in the velo moshpit that ensued, we found a seat near the exit and sort of held our bikes on our laps the entire time. As you might imagine, it was uncomfortable to sit that way for an hour. But the alternative was to accept that a dozen 50lb mountain bikes would be thrown on top of our bicycles - which was not a viable option. So we tried to have a sense of humour about the whole thing and looked forward to reaching our destination while seriously discussing the possibility of Bromptons in the future.

But no sooner had we reached Rockport than the train trauma was forgotten, as we were greeted with perfect weather and glorious coastal views.

The Cape Ann peninsula consists of Rockport, Annisquam Village and Gloucester - each of them with beautiful scenery. Severed from the mainland by the windingAnnisquam River, water views are everywhere.This was our first time in the area and we decided to do an exploratory loop along the coastline instead of a long-distance trip. The Cape Ann loop is about 20 miles, with mild but constant rolling hills, alternating between open water views and tree lined country roads. Especially considering the 4th of July weekend, the area was not crowded. Drivers were courteous everywhere except for the traffic circle in Gloucester, but even that was not too bad. Roads were good on the eastern side of the cape, but terrible on the western side. Navigation was intuitive - just follow the coastline!

My Rivendell is in the midst of a small (but exciting) make-over, so I took the loaner Seven on this trip. Overall it was pretty good, though a burlier bike might have been a better choice on the pothole-ridden roads.We also ventured off road a bit, which was "interesting" on 23mm racing tires!

Cape Ann is even quieter and less commercially developed than we expected, a pleasant surprise. Lots of parks, meadows and nature reserves. Not too many parking lots. And "motel sprawl" is virtually non-existant - at least compared to places like Cape Cod, the NH Seacoast, and much of coastal Maine.

Also, there are apparently sailboat races happening in Rockport - wonderful!

All in all, we loved the area andare now considering staying there for longer, instead of venturing further from home on vacation later this summer. After all - just load up our bikes on the commuter rail, it's so easy!Of course we'd forgotten about our train experience earlier that day. Or at least, we thought, there would surely not be as many bikes on the return trip. Or maybe we would finally get the mythical Bike Coach?

Nope, no such luck. On the return trip, passengers were once again segregated into those with bikes and those without, and this time the "bike car" had a car rack attached in the handicapped seating area. It accommodated 4-5 bikes, tightly squeezed, and was filled as soon as the train began to board.

Minutes later, that pathetic little bike rack was surrounded by dozens of other bikes, stacked and thrown against one another haphazardly.

Exits were blocked, aisles were blocked - no one seemed to care. When passengers with bikes needed to get on or off, they would simply throw the other bikes out of the way and the whole thing was like one huge pile of scrap metal.So we held our bikes on our laps again - hugging them ever closer to our bodies as other passengers kept trying to pile their bikes on top of ours (yes, even while we were holding our bikes on our laps!). It was a madhouse and probably violated all sorts of safety regulations. The MBTA clearly needs to have these alleged Bike Coach cars run with more frequency and on a predictable schedule. As we now understand it, the schedule is random and there is no way to time your trip to ensure that you will get a Bike Coach. Sounds improbable, but that's how it is!

Late in the evening, we rode home from the station along mostly empty city streets, recuperating from the train but also satiated from a day of exploring such a beautiful new place by bicycle. We only cycled 30 miles over all, and the point of the trip was mainly to hang out and get to know the area. Next time we will plan for a longer route.The North Shore is a great starting point for long distance touring: While there is no pleasant bicycle route North out of Boston, from Cape Ann we could just continue to cycle along the coast to Maine. Definitely something to consider, despite the less than ideal commuter rail experience.

What is it like to travel on a train with a bike where you live, and do you do it often?

Contact Strength

Susy Goldner spent eleven years, long hours, every day of the week,perfecting her contact skills.

As Manager of Contact Centres for Virgin Blue.










It's the same meticulous approach she brings to her climbing.

A reliable sourceinformed jjobrienclimbing that Susy was caught in Kalymnos with detailed sequence notes, including a breathing and resting strategyfor her project in her chalk bag. Meticulous? More than a bit.








For a girl who has spent so many years helping customers get into planes she has spent a disproportionate amount of time jumping out of them. She told me one day how many skydives she has made, I don't remember the number but it gave me vertigo.












That's a Kaly' tan right there.









Working for an airline has it's perks, there's those handy refresher towelettes, and then there's the travel.

U.S./ Kalymnos / China / Nowra / back and forth to the Bluies.








Getting things sorted.





Susy sends "Wholey Calamity" 26 at Coolum Cave





They call her the G-Star












A decade of fronting an airlines' customer contact could go either way.

It could make a girl jaded or it could feed a commitment to improvement and a desire to excel.

Guess what Susy chose?





to be continued

Climbing Program Manager

I'm pleased to announce that Stefan Lofgren has officially been selected for the permanent position as Climbing Program Manager. Of course, he's been serving in this role in an acting capacity for over a year now, but his skills, drive, and vision for the program have proven him to be the best person to further the professionalization of the Mount Rainier Climbing program. Stefan has worked for over 20 years in the parks in the Pacific Northwest-most have been here at Mount Rainier, but he has also worked at Olympic. He knows the mountain, the weather, the people, and the environment. While serving in the acting Program Mgr. role, Stefan has guided a major transformation toward professionalizing the overall operation, establishing increased permanent supervisory oversight for staff, provided his staff with increased training opportunities and additional time to prepare for the season, created clear guidelines and SOPs which have helped reduce risk for his employees, spearheaded the first major climbing permit fee increase in over 10 years, and has set a vision for the program which will provide for an even more effective operation that works safely and efficiently doing the amazing things that the climbing rangers do. In addition, he worked with park staff to envision and implement a webcam for Camp Muir and established network connectivity for the Camp. These items will increase the safety for visitors going up to Camp Muir, and enables supervisory staff to spend more time on the mountain than at their computers in Longmire. Congratulations, Stefan! - Chuck Young, Chief Ranger, Mount Rainier National Park

Looking South

From the Crest of the Sandia Mts you can look almost in all four directions. It was so hazey that day that we weren't getting the best views as you do on some days. I didn't get any good ones from the walkway but did get this one at the start of one of the trails where you can actually hike from the top of the Crest all the way down into Albuquerque, about 11,000 feet down.