Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Willow and East Thorn
I've got pictures and a trip report to add, but here is my trek from Sunday. Over 15 miles in 11 hours.
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GPS tracking powered by InstaMapper.com
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Me Go FAST!
I went for a road ride yesterday. The weather was beautiful and I felt great. I started from work and went up Buck Creek to the gate at Mountain Star, then over to Wildridge. Climbed to the top there and then back to Mountain Star and down. On the way down Mountain Star, I hit the fastest speed I have ever gone on a bike... 53 MPH!!!! It wasn't scary until I tried to stop. That took a bit longer than expected. Good thing I had given myself plenty of room to slow down.
I obviously didn't take this while riding, but it shows my max speed from the ride.
I obviously didn't take this while riding, but it shows my max speed from the ride.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Notch Mountain Traverse
Last weekend was pretty stellar. Went camping in Mushroom Bowl (behind China Bowl on Vail Mountain) Friday night. It was pretty secluded and we had a raging fire. After a short hike the next morning, I went for a quick mountain bike ride from Meadow Mountain to the Grouse Creek trailhead, and then climbed that afternoon with Blake. We wanted to camp that night, but couldn't decide where. We ended up deciding to hike up Notch Mountain the next day. I wanted to get more familiar with the area since many of our SAR missions are in that area. We camped in his new WilderNest on Tigiwon Road. That thing is friggin' HUGE!
We slept in on Sunday and got on the trail around 10:00 a.m. after a delicious breakfast sandwich. I'm hooked on them ever since my friend Alex introduced me. Bacon, egg over medium cooked in the bacon grease, cheese and jelly, all on toast. SO GOOD! The hike up to Half Moon Pass was quick with some good views.
Here is Blake just before the top of Half Moon Pass.
This was my first view of Mount of the Holy Cross from the trail leading up to Notch Mountain. It's pretty obvious how it got the name Holy Cross.
Spiderwebs were scattered around the top of the mountain. We found this guy feasting on a moth. He also had a few flies waiting to be eaten. That really made Blake happy.
From the top of Notch Mountain with Holy Cross impaling me.
Blake found a nice spot for a cheesy pose.
I may take up sword swallowing, but that's about all I'll swallow.
Goofed off on the top of Notch Mountain and then decided to traverse over to the other side of the notch. My friend did it the day before and gave us a little beta (scroll down for a definition) on how to get there. After a little easy scrambling, Blake found a key hole for us to climb through. It led right to the top of the south side of Notch Mountain.
Enjoying the view of the Holy Cross valley.
This is part of the Halo Ridge route. You hike from the Stone Hut around to the top of Holy Cross. I'm thinking of doing a big loop from Half Moon Pass to Notch Mountain, around the notch, around Halo Ridge to Holy Cross, down the ridge to East Cross Creek, and back up Half Moon Pass. It would be a LLLLOOOONNNNNGGGGGGG day, but a cool loop.
On the way to the Stone Hut. The rain showers were just south of us. We were pretty lucky to stay dry all day.
Alot of groups hike up to the Stone Hut to look at the Holy Cross. It has a fireplace and big picnic table in it. Since it is so high and exposed, there are a few lightning rods on top with wires spread all around outside to keep the hut from being blown up by a strike.
Inside the hut. Blake has a good eye for photography lighting.
Relaxin' on the table.
The hike down was really long. It took us just as long to get up Notch Mountain as it did to get down. You can usually hike down alot faster, but there were so many switchbacks that it took us nearly 2 hours. I tracked most of the trip on my phone GPS, so you can check out the map below.
GPS tracking powered by InstaMapper.com
We slept in on Sunday and got on the trail around 10:00 a.m. after a delicious breakfast sandwich. I'm hooked on them ever since my friend Alex introduced me. Bacon, egg over medium cooked in the bacon grease, cheese and jelly, all on toast. SO GOOD! The hike up to Half Moon Pass was quick with some good views.
Here is Blake just before the top of Half Moon Pass.
This was my first view of Mount of the Holy Cross from the trail leading up to Notch Mountain. It's pretty obvious how it got the name Holy Cross.
Spiderwebs were scattered around the top of the mountain. We found this guy feasting on a moth. He also had a few flies waiting to be eaten. That really made Blake happy.
From the top of Notch Mountain with Holy Cross impaling me.
Blake found a nice spot for a cheesy pose.
I may take up sword swallowing, but that's about all I'll swallow.
Goofed off on the top of Notch Mountain and then decided to traverse over to the other side of the notch. My friend did it the day before and gave us a little beta (scroll down for a definition) on how to get there. After a little easy scrambling, Blake found a key hole for us to climb through. It led right to the top of the south side of Notch Mountain.
Enjoying the view of the Holy Cross valley.
This is part of the Halo Ridge route. You hike from the Stone Hut around to the top of Holy Cross. I'm thinking of doing a big loop from Half Moon Pass to Notch Mountain, around the notch, around Halo Ridge to Holy Cross, down the ridge to East Cross Creek, and back up Half Moon Pass. It would be a LLLLOOOONNNNNGGGGGGG day, but a cool loop.
On the way to the Stone Hut. The rain showers were just south of us. We were pretty lucky to stay dry all day.
Alot of groups hike up to the Stone Hut to look at the Holy Cross. It has a fireplace and big picnic table in it. Since it is so high and exposed, there are a few lightning rods on top with wires spread all around outside to keep the hut from being blown up by a strike.
Inside the hut. Blake has a good eye for photography lighting.
Relaxin' on the table.
The hike down was really long. It took us just as long to get up Notch Mountain as it did to get down. You can usually hike down alot faster, but there were so many switchbacks that it took us nearly 2 hours. I tracked most of the trip on my phone GPS, so you can check out the map below.
GPS tracking powered by InstaMapper.com
Thursday, July 16, 2009
First SAR Mission
Over the past few months I have been attending meetings and training sessions so I can join Vail Mountain Rescue Group (VMRG). They do search and rescue (SAR) for Eagle County. I was deployed on my first mission Wednesday night.
The page went out about 5 p.m. that evening. When I called in, the incident coordinator asked if I could stay out overnight. "Yes." So I grabbed my gear and was at the staging area shortly thereafter. Two hikers had camped at East Cross Creek the night before. They summitted Mount of the Holy Cross that afternoon, and got off the trail on their way back to their camp. We were told they had pants, shirts, sweaters, rain gear, a cell phone with a dying battery, and some water bottles. No food, water, or any survival gear.
Nine of us were set to go and we were broken into 2 teams. They put me on the rapid-search team. We hit the trail at 7:45 and made it to the top of Half Moon Pass by about 8:30. So we gained about 1,500 feet of elevation over 1.9 miles in 45 minutes. Just as we were reaching the top, we got another page that we were to stand down. The hikers had been communicating with command via cell phone. Command had guided them to the trail so they could return to their camp site at East Cross Creek.
Apparently this is a pretty typical mission. We may get deployed, but we often are told to return before we even find the missing party. I really enjoyed it because I learned how a real scenario works. The sunset view from the top of Half Moon Pass wasn't bad either. Actually it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in a long time. These pictures just don't do it justice. Here is a view on Mount Jackson to the west.
This is an incredible view of The Gore Range to the north-east.
Since The Mount of the Holy Cross is one of 2 Fourteeners I have left in the Sawatch Range, I'm really looking forward to getting back out there soon. Hopefully I'll have many more pictures to share.
The page went out about 5 p.m. that evening. When I called in, the incident coordinator asked if I could stay out overnight. "Yes." So I grabbed my gear and was at the staging area shortly thereafter. Two hikers had camped at East Cross Creek the night before. They summitted Mount of the Holy Cross that afternoon, and got off the trail on their way back to their camp. We were told they had pants, shirts, sweaters, rain gear, a cell phone with a dying battery, and some water bottles. No food, water, or any survival gear.
Nine of us were set to go and we were broken into 2 teams. They put me on the rapid-search team. We hit the trail at 7:45 and made it to the top of Half Moon Pass by about 8:30. So we gained about 1,500 feet of elevation over 1.9 miles in 45 minutes. Just as we were reaching the top, we got another page that we were to stand down. The hikers had been communicating with command via cell phone. Command had guided them to the trail so they could return to their camp site at East Cross Creek.
Apparently this is a pretty typical mission. We may get deployed, but we often are told to return before we even find the missing party. I really enjoyed it because I learned how a real scenario works. The sunset view from the top of Half Moon Pass wasn't bad either. Actually it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen in a long time. These pictures just don't do it justice. Here is a view on Mount Jackson to the west.
This is an incredible view of The Gore Range to the north-east.
Since The Mount of the Holy Cross is one of 2 Fourteeners I have left in the Sawatch Range, I'm really looking forward to getting back out there soon. Hopefully I'll have many more pictures to share.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Mt. Harvard (Test)
I found a free application for my phone that will track my location via GPS and transmit my location to a webpage. I turned it on while on the top of Mt. Harvard (the 3rd highest peak in CO), and forgot to turn it off. So it tracked me from the top until I realized it was still on this afternoon. Once I deleted all the data points after the time I got back to the trailhead, I came up with the map below.
GPS tracking powered by InstaMapper.com
I'll add some pictures later, but this is what I have so far.
GPS tracking powered by InstaMapper.com
I'll add some pictures later, but this is what I have so far.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Spring's a-comin' ... eventually
A week and a half ago the weather was gorgeous. Spring was here. 70 degrees and clear blue skies. Since that weekend it has been snowing like crazy! And I have mixed emotions about all this winter-isn't-gone-yet-just-teasing-you-with-Spring stuff. I had already started to get out and jog, taken my bike to the shop for a tune, etc. I was ready and excited for Spring. Especially considering the lack of snow we had in the latter part of the season. Then it gets cold again and we have been bombed with snow. Not the crappy heavy snow, but the light soft powder that people dream about skiing. I was knee deep... at least!
So I'm glad we are getting lots of incredible powder to play in. But I'm ready for weather where I can hike Hanging Lake again. You know, walk out onto a huge log in the middle of a crystal clear green lake suspended way up on the side of a gorge? (No, I don't have a really fat lip. That is my tongue.)
Overlooking the valley on the way up to the lake. A little side-chute from Glenwood Canyon.
Yep, Spring pretty much rocks. Please come back.... after you're done dumping more powder on us of course.
On a side note... here's a shot I took at Ski Jooring in Leadville. I never took the opportunity to post it here. It was the first picture I took that day and just about the only good crash.
So I'm glad we are getting lots of incredible powder to play in. But I'm ready for weather where I can hike Hanging Lake again. You know, walk out onto a huge log in the middle of a crystal clear green lake suspended way up on the side of a gorge? (No, I don't have a really fat lip. That is my tongue.)
Overlooking the valley on the way up to the lake. A little side-chute from Glenwood Canyon.
Yep, Spring pretty much rocks. Please come back.... after you're done dumping more powder on us of course.
On a side note... here's a shot I took at Ski Jooring in Leadville. I never took the opportunity to post it here. It was the first picture I took that day and just about the only good crash.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Random Pictures to go with Random Stories
Here are a bunch of pictures that I like, but hadn't posted because... well I wasn't posting for a long time. Enjoy!
Way back in mid-January we hiked/snowmobiled up Meadow Mountain. Here is a view of the Gore Range from the top.
We built a snow tunnel/slide through a cornice. It sounds alot more fun than it was. Nobody went down more than maybe 5 times. And most of those were during construction so we were smacking our head on the top and sides.
These are from the next Saturday in Beaver Creek. It was snowing, but it was still so warm that the "snow" was melting as it landed on us. Our jackets and pants ended up soaked on the outside.
Apparently I'm really not that great at taking artsy photos.
I really like this one though.
This is the inside of a waterfall that I climbed up with ice tools and regular shoes. It's climbed enough that people have kicked out foot holds.
And this concludes my random post.
Way back in mid-January we hiked/snowmobiled up Meadow Mountain. Here is a view of the Gore Range from the top.
We built a snow tunnel/slide through a cornice. It sounds alot more fun than it was. Nobody went down more than maybe 5 times. And most of those were during construction so we were smacking our head on the top and sides.
These are from the next Saturday in Beaver Creek. It was snowing, but it was still so warm that the "snow" was melting as it landed on us. Our jackets and pants ended up soaked on the outside.
Apparently I'm really not that great at taking artsy photos.
I really like this one though.
This is the inside of a waterfall that I climbed up with ice tools and regular shoes. It's climbed enough that people have kicked out foot holds.
And this concludes my random post.
Uber-Productive Sunday
This weekend was great! Got first chair with Chris in Keystone on Saturday. We were growing tired of Vail and Beaver Creek and haven't skiied Keystone during the day before. Super cold in the morning (7 degrees), but it got really warm by the afternoon when we stopped for lunch. Turkey and cheese with our favorite - hot chocolate and St. Brendan's (think Baileys, only better).
My legs got tired quickly because I went for my first jog of the season the night before. Since we haven't been getting any good new snow, we took Sunday off and decided to build a work bench in the garage for ski tuning and other stuff. It turned out awesome. I also installed a stereo system and tied it into the house stereo. Yes, I'm a nerd.
After lunch, I got a bunch of other little stuff done around the house that I have been putting off... trimming my beard, cleaning the bathroom, laundry, grocery store, cooking dinner, etc. It felt really good to get all that stuff done. Especially in such a short time. Seems like I've got out of my lazy funk and getting stuff done is a reality again. Hooray!
My legs got tired quickly because I went for my first jog of the season the night before. Since we haven't been getting any good new snow, we took Sunday off and decided to build a work bench in the garage for ski tuning and other stuff. It turned out awesome. I also installed a stereo system and tied it into the house stereo. Yes, I'm a nerd.
After lunch, I got a bunch of other little stuff done around the house that I have been putting off... trimming my beard, cleaning the bathroom, laundry, grocery store, cooking dinner, etc. It felt really good to get all that stuff done. Especially in such a short time. Seems like I've got out of my lazy funk and getting stuff done is a reality again. Hooray!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Malik Ewan Poitras
As I mentioned before, my sister and her husband had a baby! He was born on 2/18/2009. It will be a few months before I get to meet him, but here are some pictures that were sent to me to tide me over.
I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this one. HILARIOUS!!!
I couldn't stop laughing when I saw this one. HILARIOUS!!!
Chuck Norris
My roommate was given an awesome book recently. It's called The Truth About Chuck Norris: 400 Facts About the Greatest Human Alive. A few of my favorites... well, I probably shouldn't put them on here. So either stop reading or forgive my crudeness and read on. I'll start with some tame ones.
- Chuck Norris can speak braille.
- When the boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.
- The quickest way to a man's heart is with Chuck Norris's fist.
- Chuck Norris once ate an entire factory of sleeping pills. They made him blink.
- Chuck Norris can create a rock so heavy that even he can't lift it. And then he lifts it anyway, just to show you who the fuck Chuck Norris is.
- Chuck Norris clogs the toilet when he pisses.
- Pee-wee Herman once got arrested for masturbating in public. That same day, Chuck Norris got an award for masturbating in public.
- Chuck Norris secretly sleeps with every woman in the world once a month. They bleed for five days as a result.
- Chuck Norris's dick is so big it has its own dick. And Chuck Norris's dick's dick is bigger than yours.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Things Happening
I couldn't really get myself into writing a whole post about anything. Instead I'm going to list a few things that have been going on.
- My sister is having a baby! Her water broke around 34 HOURS ago and she still hasn't given birth yet. Please send good thoughts to her!
- My roommate brought my stereo back from Austin so I am debating on putting it in my room or in the living room. Right now it's just set up with 2 speakers and my sub so I can play CD's or my computer through it.
- Valentine's Day is over! Hooray!!!!
- I am washing my sheets.
- My car hasn't been washed in almost a year.
- I just got my phone replaced under warranty because the trackball wouldn't "select" when I clicked it.
- I still haven't sold anything on eBay. Maybe I'll work on that tonight.
- I've had a light cold for the last week and I think I'm almost over it.
- The number nine is my favorite number. I could explain why, but you would just think I'm weird... or a dork. Probably the latter.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Valen-DUMB Day
I have never liked this day. I have never had a reason to like this day. There is only one time in my life that I remember actually doing something Valentinesy... and that was the worst relationship of my life. Every other year I've wished I was either with the person I loved or not single-and-dateless (and there was only one year that the former applies to). Pretty much all of them have been spent single and alone.
And even if I was lucky enough to have a special someone, it's a social requirement to do something creative to prove that you still love them. If you don't do anything or your creativity is lacking, then you OBVIOUSLY don't care for her.
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of being romantic and all, but this day has been more of a reminder of my lack of relationships than anything. Just my little Valen-dumb rant.
Happy V-Day!
And even if I was lucky enough to have a special someone, it's a social requirement to do something creative to prove that you still love them. If you don't do anything or your creativity is lacking, then you OBVIOUSLY don't care for her.
Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of being romantic and all, but this day has been more of a reminder of my lack of relationships than anything. Just my little Valen-dumb rant.
Happy V-Day!
Friday, February 13, 2009
Long Time No See
Wow, it's been two and a half months since I've updated this thing hasn't it? Life has been pretty good lately. The new job is going well. I like the work infinitely more than my last job and I can afford to pay my bills. I don't get free time to ski during the week, but I guess you have to make sacrifices. It's pretty sweet when your biggest sacrifice is not being able to ski a few hours during the week.
Moving on... I have been wanting a new shell to wear for skiing and other inclimate outdoor adventures. After MUCH research I settled on 3 different jackets that I liked. Tried 2 of them on and decided one of them wasn't the right one. The third still intrigued me and I thought it would be the best match. Searched online for more details and found it on sale for 29% off. Perfect color and size for me. These jackets rarely go on sale so I started the check out process. It asked if I had a coupon code. "Why not search for one," I thought. And BAM... I found a code for an additional 15% off! So now I pretty much HAD to buy it. After all was said and done I got it for 40% off retail. My new Arc'Teryx Theta SV jacket:
It was still stupid expensive, so I am going to try to sell some stuff on eBay. I have way too much unused stuff anyway. Surely somebody could get some use out of it... for a reasonable price.
Moving on... I have been wanting a new shell to wear for skiing and other inclimate outdoor adventures. After MUCH research I settled on 3 different jackets that I liked. Tried 2 of them on and decided one of them wasn't the right one. The third still intrigued me and I thought it would be the best match. Searched online for more details and found it on sale for 29% off. Perfect color and size for me. These jackets rarely go on sale so I started the check out process. It asked if I had a coupon code. "Why not search for one," I thought. And BAM... I found a code for an additional 15% off! So now I pretty much HAD to buy it. After all was said and done I got it for 40% off retail. My new Arc'Teryx Theta SV jacket:
It was still stupid expensive, so I am going to try to sell some stuff on eBay. I have way too much unused stuff anyway. Surely somebody could get some use out of it... for a reasonable price.
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