Cat in a Box

It's My Box!! You can't have it.

Just One More Iris Photograph

I promise, this will be the last Iris picture posted this year! It's such an unusual color, least one I've never seen before. These are hybrids that we bought a couple of years ago that I brought with me when the house was sold. They didn't bloom last year but according to my mother that's normal as they don't usually bloom the year they are planted. This is the only one that is this color, all the others are the light blue/pale purple color.

Crevasse Falls

The past weekend went by without a hitch (no 911 calls) However, no one made the summit either. The recent climbing trend has involved crevasse falls. In the past two weeks, clients, guides, and rangers have all taken spills somewhere along the Ingraham Glacier Direct or upper Disappointment Cleaver route. No one was seriously injured, but the word on the glacier is that there a number of hidden or sketchy crevasses to cross high on the mountain. The latest report says that the wands have been removed from the Ingraham Glacier Direct, and the guided climbing teams are putting a route up the DC.

The other interesting trend that is being noticed is the number of skiers vs. the number of climbers. Over the past couple of years, I've seen an increase in the number of ski mountaineers on the hill in May and June. There have been quite a few weekends where we've actually seen more skiers than climbers at the high camps! It's no surprise that skiers and boarders flock to Rainier when the conditions are good (April/May/June) but to actually observe fewer climbers is interesting.

And with that said, ski demon Sky has been at it again. On the one day of really good weather last week (Friday), he and Dave Brown stormed the Success Couloirs and made short work of the route on skies. Not to be out done, Jason Hummel posted a sweet Fuhrer Finger trip report (a bit dated, but nice images). Photo by Dave Brown

It sure is smoky up here...

Visitors have been commenting on the haze and smoke in the air; climbers have noticed it too. The Seattle PI and Seattle Times commented on the wildfires in Washington State and in particular, the one near the NW corner of the park that is 150 acres. For climbers, the smoky haze at lower elevations will continue as the forecast calls for continued warm and dry weather throughout the next week. See the Mt. Rainier weather page for updated information and links.

Having spent 8 summers at Camp Schurman, this story caught my eye. The Seattle PI admired the artwork of Clark Schurman this week. If you don't know, Clark is the namesake for Camp Schurman. In addition to his artwork, Clark was an avid Rainier mountaineer and wilderness trip leader back in the day. Dee Molenaar (local legend and author of Challenge of Rainier) met Clark in 1939.(!) Dee said of him, "He was a natural-born artist and he loved mountains."

Things are looking good for the weekend. If you're at Camp Muir this Thursday, expect some helicopter action. It's time to prepare for September, i.e black barrels being flown downhill...

Today's image of the Emmons is provided by Jonathan Hedstrom.

Me & Dogs

Here is a photo of me, Tuffee, and Codee taking a break while stacking hay for horses. And another shot of Tuffee, and Codee as they think they are herding my bay mare, Nita, and the paint, Sundance.

Pretty in Pink

I've been threatening to buy Coco a pink collar since she became a family member. The poor girl gets called a boy by everyone. I know how much I'd hate that, so I really feel for her there. Since Austin left her with us for the week, I took full advantage of it. In trying to snap some shots to show him how nice she looked, I realized that pets are like kids when it comes to taking pictures of them. It starts with trying to get them to get close enough and to hold still.



Wait a minute...that's a bit too close. Coco...oh drat...squirell!



Let's just call this one good or we'll be here all day.





So what do you think about the pink collar? Can you tell she is a girl now? Living the life in Florida!

Wordless Wednesday :: Stone's Trace

The Tavern at Stone's Trace. Built in 1839. South of Ligonier, Indiana.

Bartering at the encampment.

Photographs taken on September 6, ...
Copyright © .. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

Sunday walk in Mollebos and tea at Het Wapen van Rijsenburg

Officially it’s spring in the Netherlands now but we are still very much in winter conditions. Along the coast, waters have frozen into beautiful forms, the temperatures still hover under 0C by day and the omnipresent wind is making sure it feels like -10C.



But this did not stop the Dutchman and I in going out for a walk in the forest. It has been a long time since we did something like this. In fact I have been curling up at home in my chair for the past weekend’s mainly because every weekend was themed with horrible weather—grey, cold, rainy or snowy. You do not want to get out when the weather is like this, except that, I’ve had it. I’ve really had it.



It is supposed to be spring, and I don’t care if the weather is not cooperating, I’ve had enough of staying in! I am going out =)



Mollebos forest walk in Utrechtse Heuvelrug







We decided to go to Driebergen-Rijsenburg in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug because its nearby. The Utrechtse Heuvelrug is a massive national park forest in Utrecht (in central Netherlands). It is in fact a conglomeration of forests, from small forests to bigger ones. We followed the sign to Het Grote Bos but ended up going into a much smaller forest—Mollebos.



Dutchman and I walked here for an hour. Because it was a relatively small forest, we ended up going around in circles. We’ll check out the other forest—Het Grote Bos next time.























Tea and apple tart at Het Wapen van Rijsenburg



Then it’s tea time!



The ‘Het Wapen van Rijsenburg’ restaurant is probably the best place to have lunch, tea and dinner in Driebergen-Rijsenburg. It’s location is quite strategic, right on the main street of the village with the view to the old church and the village boutique shops.



We indulged in some hot tea and apple tart from the house with whipped cream. Dutchman liked the apple tart while I thought it was a bit dry.

















A slow yet a very fulfilling and relaxing Sunday it was.



Visit Period: March

Destination: Driebergen-Rijsenburg (Utrechtse Heuvelrug – Utrecht), The Netherlands

Raindrop

I took this photo after our rain last Friday morning. You can see some of the other tree branchs in the raindrop

Dynafit ONE and TLT6 comparison?

I do havesome additional long term ski boot reviews in the pipeline but here is aninterestingobservation from this week that kinda surprised me. Although I have both boots in the closet and have skied the ONE a bunch the thought never occurred to me to make a comparison.



Big Steve and Marshal over at TGRwere the first I saw to bring up the likely comparison. Took me a week to have that AHA moment. One of the reasons TGR is a good place to hang.

A better comparison maybe? And a good place to start for a franken-boot project for those inclined and wanting to save some money? Likely!



A better comparison now with the current boots available instead of the TLT5 and 6 IMO is the TLT6 and the ONE PF-TX. Just 5.5oz/156g between the two boots, and either $100 or $300 less in cash. $650 retail for the One PF-TX (but seemingly easy to be had for $550 online) compared to new TLT6 Mtn @ $750 or the P @ $950.



The ONE is a lot more real ski boot than the 5.5 ounce weight gain would appear to be over the TLT Mountain.



It has been gnawing at me for a week or so. I seem to remember Lou over at Wild Snow or one of his members "asking" for a TLT ONE at some point in the recent past. Without a doubt imo that is exactly want the TLT6 is now.



Not sure what the weight is of the third buckle @ the toe andthe two added Pbax straps are for the ONE. The liners are off by one ounce. Add the spoiler, bigger power strap, added weight of the deeper tread and heavier lugs of the sole rubberand extra sole length of the ONE and the grams and then ounces add up quickly.



Performance wise I don't see a huge difference in either boot, except for skinning. There the advantage of a shorter sole/backed up tech fitting and more/easier ROM will help but also easier to go down a shell size in the ONE. (which Lou already thinks he can do in the TLT6) And ROM can be added easily enough or loosened up any way. I take a 29 TLT and use every bit of the length. Ieasily wear/ski a 28 ONE. And save3mm smaller BSL. Guess I'll also need to look into a 28 TLT myself. The tech fitting placement in the toe between th TLT and the ONE is the one of the few places I don't see a way to fudge the performance.



Sometimes it is easier to just ignore the obvious in front of your eyes. As I have clunked around in my TLT6s here at the house sorting out my liner fit I kept having the nagging feeling I was in just another ski boot. My most recent "ski boots" are the ONE and the RS. And now that feeling makes more sense to me. Taking a closer look at the TLT6 and the ONE side by side and looking down at either while they are on your feet and the resemblance is uncanny. Looks to me like Dynafit shot themselves in the foot here.



More details to come asap. But anyone doubt how easy it would be to chop 200+ grams off a ONE or Mercury shell and get under the factory TLT6 shell weight and equal or better the skiing of a TLT6?



Anyone done it yet? Details?

Pants? A quick drive by......

Jens in the stellar mixed chimney of Blue Moon, Mtn. Snoqualmie




It was pointed out to me this morning that I don't do much on pants here on the blog but a lot of writing on thetop layers. Fair enough.









More importantly I don't put a lot of thought into pant these days. And I should. I really should.



Everyone seems to worry about the heat loss from your neck and head. Few worry about the heat loss from your legs. Myself included. Much warmth to be had by a thoughtful pant choice. Obviously this subject needs some details filled in and the thought process behind them laid out. For now it is just a drive by of the pants I do like and use. More later.



I own one pair of Gortex hard shell bibs these days. Haven't used them in years. Still own them mind you, just haven't used them. And they are really nice Arcteryx Goretex bibs.



The basic rack climbing and skiing? It is all soft shell but one.



Arcteryx Gamma LT, AR, SV, MX

Gamma LT is my most used pant, by a fair margin, winter and summer, climbing and skiing. The LT is the only one of the bunch I have actually worn out and then replaced.



NWAlpine Salopettes

My idea to get Bill making these. Used something similar back to the '70s.

I have them in the standard fabric NWA offers which is somewhere between the LT and the AR material but not as good as either. Two more pair in different weights of insulated Neoshell.

Great bib pattern, stock fabrics and workmanship could be better. Price point helps you ignore the flaws.

Worn out one pair of the original bibs.

Don't own the pant





Patagonia

Great fabrics. Weird and over complicated design work.

North Wall pants......Polartec Power Stretch Pro? Best material made for cold weather pants to date imo. Still not thrilled with the design work.

Mixed Guide Pant. Love the fit. Close as I come to a hard shell that I actually use. Wish they were more soft shell and less hard shell. Others who know a lot more than me really like the combo of hard shell soft shell. Vents that work.

Alpine Guide Pant...nice pant, nice fabric.

Weird as it might sound I bought all the Patagonia pants because they fit me in the waist extremely well. Cuffs on all of them are FUBAR though. in comparison to the other pants I use more. Annoying that.









Dynafit

Easy to poke fun at lycra.I really like the lycra based Dynafit Movement pant. Even the white ones. Lycra has its place in the mtns. I own two pair of theseand would use them everywhere they were warm enough or I could more fast enough. If only they were easier to replace. Thoughtful combination of pockets and lycra with wind blocks and a built in gaiter that really works. Now I generally save them for fast ski days or sunshine. Wish I didn't have to save them. For the right weather and given the right fitness level by far my most favorite pant in the mountains.



Take a look through the photos here on the blog. Most of these pants are well represented.

Base layers to go under them? That is another story waiting to be told.

Lake Superior Wood Lily

My dad told me about these nice Wood Lilies that were blooming on the shoreline in front of their house... of course I had to check them out! I intentionally shot this "wide open" (aperture f5.6 at 400mm) with my Canon 100-400 lens to create a shallow depth of field and give the image a "dreamy” look.

Bike Reacts to Controversial Imagery

I was taking a walk around my neighborhood when I spotted a Dutch bicycle, looking disapprovingly at this poster. I am not sure whether the owner of the bike locked it up in front of the poster intentionally, but I couldn't get over the similarity of "colourways" and the bicycle's disapproving posture as it faced the image.

The poster is for an exhibition at the Kunsthaus Wien called Kontroversen - Justiz, Ethik und Fotografie ("Controversies - The Law, Ethics and Photography"). I hope to visit it over the weekend.

Foxes Feast on Food

Two foxes (of a rare sub species) are currently moving up and down the mountain from Paradise all the way up to the summit. While the mountain is their natural environment, the food they have been eating this year has not been coming from the mountain, most of it has been taken from climbers and day hikers at Camp Muir. Foxes have been consistently searching out food left in backpacks and tent vestibules.

Sadly, we have experienced what happens when foxes become habituated and dependent on humans in the park - we lost our friend Pickles.

Mount Rainier is home for these foxes, meaning we can't relocate them nor would we want to. At this point we are trying our best to have the foxes and climbers interactions be kept to a minimum. Please help us with this effort by maintaining a clean camp and storing all food zipped up, inside of your tent. Day hikers and skiers please be tidy during snack breaks and clean up your scraps (both food and wrappers). Thanks so much for your help!

Thoughts on Public Transport

While I avoid public transportation in Boston, I love it in Vienna. The Wiener Linien system consists of: the U-Bahn (subway), the Straßenbahn (trams), the Schnellbahn (high speed commuter rail), and the Autobus Linien (bus routes). Together, these options cover virtually every block of greater Vienna - making public transport here as useful for traveling to work, as it is for going to the countryside.
I have given it some thought, and here are some of the factors that make Vienna's Wiener Linien system easier and more pleasant for me to use than Boston's MBTA system:

. Density of coverage: In Vienna there are transit stops everywhere. My old flat was around the corner from an UBahn station. My current flat is 1/2 block from a tram station. In Boston, I have to walk for 15 minutes from my apartment to get to a T-Stop.

. Ease of access: In Vienna, it is the passenger's responsibility to purchase tickets and to keep them on their person, but the passenger does not need to produce the ticket in order to enter a station or to hop onto a tram/bus directly. Random ticket checks with steep financial penalties function as incentives for keeping people honest. The free entry speeds everything up considerably, prevents pushing and fighting to get to the front of a queue, and makes everything feel more easy-going. I simply buy a weekly or monthly ticket, slip it into my wallet, and forget about it.

. Purchasing tickets: Even though my English is better than my German, I find Wiener Linien tickets a million times easier to purchase and use than Boston's Charlie Card.

. Atmosphere: For some reason, I find public transport in Boston more stressful and exhausting than in Vienna. Not sure what accounts for such a difference, but I definitely feel it.

The convenience of Vienna's public transport is one major reason why I seldom cycle here for transportation, and vise versa in Boston. I wonder whether cities conduct research regarding what factors make their residents more or less likely to use public transport.

Happy Birthday, Dean!

Rich and Donna arrived here this week, and we are thrilled about that since we haven't seen them since Peace River. Donna is the one who kept encouraging me to get out there and play pickleball and I'd have most likely quit if it weren't for her and Karen.



She said something yesterday about it probably being too late to do a Happy Hour this week, but maybe next week. I told the guys that while we were on our way to grab some groceries for the week. The Happy Hour King (Austin) thought it was no problem to do one this week.



Since I'm crazy, I agreed. So Austin invited everyone to come to one THAT DAY...and everyone of course pulled it together with no problem. Even a bit of rain didn't slow us down. We just moved to the Rec Hall and did it there. The ladies amazed me with all of their goodies that they brought even with the "no notice" ahead of time. Especially Vicki and Margie.

We've been to lots of Happy Hours, but this was one of the most special ones because it was also Dean's birthday party. Dean is the Grandparent to the really cool kid, Gavin. You know, the one who is a falconer. If you know Dean, it isn't a surprise that Gavin is so cool. It runs in the family.



Dean is one of those sunny people that just brightens the world. You can't help but be in a better mood after hanging out with Dean. His smile alone will warm you right up. (Why do I hear Bob cracking up as I write that?) He's also one of those people that you feel sees something good in you, so when you spend time with him you begin to believe it yourself.



His wife Margie is pure sweetness, so they make a great pair.

Hope your birthday wish comes true, Dean!

We had a great time, surrounded by some of our favorite people!



Living the life in friend filled Florida!

Alpha FL and Shift LT shells?

Here is a quick comparison on two of the best inlight weight hard shell technology available today.



I added a third shortly after:

http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//01/a-third-shell-material-westcombs-focus.html



Any of the threecan be easilyused for most anysport where you need someprotection from nasty weather,including climbing. In the case of my buddy Dave and I, ice climbing for sure but lift/side-hill on a snow board or skis as well or a quick run on the bikes.



It was no accident that we both showed up for a reunion at our once home townski area kitted in similar gear. Even though I was skiing on lwt Dynafit gear and Davewas on a snow board we would be on the same terrain. Do this stuff long enough and there ends up being a well thought out and comfortable"uniform" fora goodday out. Matching colors with your Bro? That is just a little weird!



David and I have been playing on this particular ski hill together almost longer than I can remember. I do seem to recallusteaching basic search and rescue techniques to the volunteer ski patrol bitd and ripping it up around them on 3 pin tele gear though. GearI amhappy to see long gone from mystorage closet!












Below: Dave in his Arcteryx Alpha FL leading





Arcteryx Alpha FL shown above

10.7 oz. for a Men's Large, $400

Two different Goretex fabrics:

2.4 oz Gore Active Shell, 2.9 oz Gore-Tex Active Shell reinforcements

a very light Goretex shell













Below: Dane leading in his Westcomb, Shift LT.












The Westcomb, Shift, shownabove

11.9 ounces for a Men's Large, $400

Two different Neoshell Fabrics:

340 NRS Polartec® NeoShell® - Fly weight nylon ripstop and 360 NP Polartec® NeoShell®

Lightest Neoshell to date




Although I have likely climbed more ice in a hard shell than any other pieceof clothing, today a hard shell is one of my least favorite garments to use. More likely one I would use skiingthese days, so I can dress downfor a good work out and stillcut the wind chill.



But if you are going to climb in a hard shell the newest Gore and Polartec "hard shell" technologies are actually pretty spectacular. There is a light weightEpic shell that will be here soonthatwill make a goodcomparison to these two. That shouldbe interesting.



Before I offer some comparisons on these two how about some back ground? BITD (as in back in the day) belay jackets were rather unheard of. We had big jackets but few of the guys I climbed with ever bother to bring one. We dressed in the morning with what we thought we might need for warmth that day. May be a extra layer to go under our shell (likely apile jacket or down vest) but not likely one to go over it. Basically you assumed you would suffer, too hot when you were working hard and too cold when stuckwhile belaying a slow lead. You learned to climb fast for all the obvious reasons.



No one climbing ice seriously back then would ever tolerate a gumbie gettingon and then lacing up an ice climb like it was a rock climb in the sun. That same thing is socommon now. Couple of reasons for the lack of empathy back then. Few ever carried more than a 10 or so ice screws. Screws were justtoo hardto place even in the best of conditions. The other was yousimply didn't get on climbs you weren't technically capable of. Experience taught you and your partner that. Falling on ice was simply unacceptable. You ran out ice climbs, just to keep everything moving and everyone warm. I've had several painful reminders of how not to ice climb, when Dave can't come out to play.



When you are climbing within your skill level you can move quickly and carry little gear all while staying warmer.



The first one day ascents of GCC on Kitchener, the Super Coulior on Deltaform, Slipstream, Teardrop and Polar Circus were all done in a similar manner. Hard shells, no extra clothing. tiny packsand climbers performing well within their skill levels.



No surprise the skill levels have changed. The technical difficulty at which thecurrent generation of climbers are capable of is simply amazing within that perspective. Their ability to get above their own pro...not so much.



It should be no surprise then if you want to climb light and fasta hard shell built to exacting standards and lacking many of the modern accouterments some require is still a good choice for most conditions where ice is involved.



When Dave and I kitted up on the Parkway last week, we were both in soft shell pants, a moderate amount of base layers, little insulationand hard shell jackets. I used the Shift LT,Westcomb's new light weight (the LT), sewn from two types of Polartec's Neoshell. Dave showed up in theArcteryx, Alpha FL (fast and light) , using two weights of Goretex Active shell. The jackets are very, very similar in design and function. Which made for some easy comparisons.



What does all that mean to you? Either is a nice "action suit" jacket but not much reallyin actual differences. More differences in the pattern cut imo than performance. But no question, there are differences in performance. Lets talk pattern first. The "FL" designation from Arcteryxstands for "fast and light". Fair enough, the jacket deserves that kind of label. Not sure or care who got there first but the Westcomb Shift LT is equally "fast and light". Jackets might as well be clones of one another. Same single chest pocket and helmet capable hood. Greatfit on both hoods with a helmet. I find the Westcomb patternfits me in a large better than the Arcteryx stuff generally does in a Large. The Westcomb stuff is cut a little bigger in the shoulders and arms.I am thankful for the better Westcomb patterns (for my body shape anyway) as most every new shell my size I try onthese days seems to have arms the size of a #2 pencil. I'm 190# and 6'1". That forces me to get the next size up in a lot of clothing. But Dave (who is almost skinny) at 185# and 6'3"loves the fit of a size large Alpha FL. Both have long tails that stay tucked into a harness. The sleeves are long even when you are full stretched out and seal well under or over gloves. Perfect! We can easily move along from all that now.Find the one jacket that fits you the best, would be mysuggestion.



Performance of the shell fabrics?



Goretex has an enviable reputation of cutting the wind and keeping you dry. The Alpha FL does both. The Shift is currently the lightest Neoshell garment yet made. And IMO it shows. Awesome jacket for sure and I love climbing in mine. You will stay dry from the inside or the outside. The newestNeoshell material, like the newest Goretex stretches a bit. But while I think the Neoshell breaths better under a heavy work load I also thinkthe Goretex is more wind proof.



We were climbing in the minus mid teens Celsius. I've recently learned that jackets that are less than 100% wind proof are chilly. My Shift was perfect for leading. But I wanted toquickly get onmy belay jacket (which is wind proof) when I wasn't leading. With the samebase layers and very similar insulation under our shells, Dave wore a belay jacket once in several days of climbing. I wore mine at every belay, every day we were out, if there was any sort of wind. Some of that can be tossed to my"new" body reacting poorly to the cold these days. But not all of it.



So what did I really think? I like the bright yellows and green color combos on both jackets. When I was cold in the wind, rightfully or not, I liked (envied)the Goretex version. When I was pumped stupid and sweating bullets I preferred the Neoshell. I sure dried out fast! Truth is it all boils down to fit for me. The Westcomb fit me very well in a large. The Arcteryx didn't in a large (too small or a XL. too big). That is a pretty common issue for me..similar thing happens withsome of the Patagonia clothing.



Both fabrics are really really good for what we were using them for, which was ice climbing. May be even betterfor skiing and snow boarding is my thought.



Figure out what you need for clothing and what will fit into your own system. Then find the garment that has a pattern that fits you the best with those same qualities and features. Honestly? It is pretty hard to go wrong with so many really good choices. If you screw it up first time around you'll are just as likely to learn how to climb faster or suffer more. How bad can it really get :)