A Virtual Bouquet for Easter Sunday

These pictures were taken on March 28, .. along California Highways 46 and 41 near Cholame. (Which by the way, is where James Dean, a native Hoosier, was killed in an automobile accident 55 years ago, come September.)

Way too long, lots of climbing

All is good on Mount Rainier these days (despite my inability to update this blog!) Climbers have been scaling up and down the mountain by a variety of different routes over the past two weeks. One of the most impressive ascents was by a team of climbers who pushed their way up Ptarmigan Ridge after a long march.

The May 5th opening went by without issue. Yeah, the parking lot filled and U.S. Rep Norm Dicks and U.S Rep Dave Reichart showed up to help swing the gate (TNT). But most folks seemed more focused on getting to the mountain... which brings us to the important topic at hand, what's been going on above 6K on Mt Rainier?

Recently, there has been a lot of skiing, boarding and climbing. Here is a pretty awesome shot by Rainier ski-fan Sky Sjue... These images are from his recent descent down the Fuhrer Thumb with climbing/ski partner Christophe. I think, btw, that this is a first ski descent of the Fuhrer Thumb. I bet Lowell Skoog will be interested. Anyway, the Fuhrer's Thumb is the "climber's left" variation on the Fuhrer Finger route, OR "climber's right" of the Wilson Headwall, i.e. STEEP!

There is quite a bit of snow to carve between 5K-10K for the skier/boarder. Keep in mind that the recent weather has been great which means that the snow is melting fast! More than snowmelt, however, make sure you consider the avalanche conditions if you're headed out into the backcountry. You should personally check the snow conditions and snowpack before jumping into anything hairy. There have been numerous reports of slide activity between 5K-11K on 30-45 degree slopes. Of course, bring your avalanche equipment (beacon, shovel, probe, etc) and reliable partners.

Not to be outdone, the climbers have been having a great time on Mt. Rainier too. Our Updated Route Conditions page is getting filled with all sorts of cool reports... So far, folks have successfully ascended Liberty Ridge, the Ingraham Glacier, Gibralter Ledges, Emmons Glacier, the Tahoma Glacier (more on those two later) and a few other lines to boot. As stated, we have a FANTASTIC report about Ptarmigan Ridge!

Jefferson, Ohio to Reading Center, New York

Wordless Wednesday - A Hoosier Farm

Washington Township, Noble County, Indiana. August 1983. Digitized ...
Sepia Toned Infrared Photograph.
Copyright © 1983/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

Cousins, all dressed up!

Even though none of my ancestors are included, this is one of my favorite family photographs. I love the hats and the dresses. And just look how small their waists are!

Hazlette Wise, Grace Zinsmeister, and Ethel Wise.
Not dated but I'd guess about 1905-1910.

Hazlette Wise (1885-1977), daughter of William P. and Sophia (Dunfee) Wise, married Harlo Burns on October 10, 1911 in Whitley County, Indiana. They had two sons: Maurice Wise Burns who was born on July 31, 1912 and died on October 2, 1912. The other son, Thagrus Burns, was born in 1917 and recently celebrated his 91st birthday. My grandmother, Hazlette Brubaker, was named after Aunt Hazlette, who was in turn named after her great-grandmother Sophia Elizabeth Hazlett Dunfee.

Grace Zinsmeister (1888-1983) was the daughter of Rosilla "Rose" Wise and John Zinsmeister. Rose was the sister of William P. Wise. The Zinsmeister's moved to Lorain, Ohio just prior to 1900 and lived there the remainder of their lives though, apparently, they made several visits to the folks back in Indiana. Grace was a school teacher in Lorain for many years.

Ethel Wise (1882-1966) was the daughter of James Roscoe and Miriam Minerva (Blain) Wise. Ethel married George Weick in 1919, when she was 36 years old. They owned and operated a shoe store in Columbia City.

The parents of the girls (William, Rose, and James) were the children of Jacob and Malissa (Stem) Wise.

Here's the easy way to look good at the crag

Get one of these from Red Chili and leave the fashion choices up to the experts. How good would that look on film?Boulder Shirt by Red Chili

Fire Tower and the Milky Way Galaxy

My favorite shot from this weekend :-) This photo was taken while we were watching the Perseid meteor shower. My camera had been set up doing a sequence of images for a timelapse video when I noticed the nice alignment of the Milky Way between the fire tower and these trees. I had to take a break from shooting the timelapse sequence in order to capture this photo before the Milky Way moved too far to the west. Sure was a beautiful night for photographing the Milky Way.



Below: A couple more shots from the weekend.