I went up to Kirkwood with a couple of friends yesterday.
It was a day of pretty amazing skiing. The weather was pretty awful, leading to a bunch of closed lifts, due to high winds, but the snow was wonderful!
On a different note: Next Sunday is the Kaiser Permanente 1/2 marathon in SF. I signed up a while ago, but hardly ran since the Las Vegas 1/2 marathon. So it's going to be interesting to see how this one works out.
I might be going on a short trip to J-Tree in a few weeks...
Monday, January 28, 2008
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Plans becoming reality...
Yes!
Got two slots for a tour at Ano Nuevo in March...
It seems to be super popular, since March 9th (the last Sunday of the Elephant Seal season) was the only day with openings...
I am excited to go!
Got two slots for a tour at Ano Nuevo in March...
It seems to be super popular, since March 9th (the last Sunday of the Elephant Seal season) was the only day with openings...
I am excited to go!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Gym climbing
Tonight I got my butt kicked climbing in the gym.
I did just 8 climbs, but it was pretty physical...
After warming up on a .10a, and a .10b, we did two .10c's back to back. So far so good.
Next was an RZ .11a, which I was working on last week. Unsuccessfully...Today I made it. There was a lot of hanging, but hey... That will be eliminated soon...
Since my fingers were pretty tired by now, I suggested to climb the chimney in the 'icebox'. Did I mention I don't like chimneys very much? I think I am just too tall...anyway, I squirmed my way up somehow. It was pretty sweaty though... That was not enough torture though... Looking at the off-width crack in the icebox I had an idea of how I might be able to climb the thing...It was the first time that I came up with a suitable idea! Yay! Liebacking on the left edge was the secret... Wendy did a way better job than me, but somehow we got up...It was not clean, actually it was quite bloody, so we could not have entered the raffle PG had going when they first opened the icebox: Everyone who would climb the OW clean in the first month would qualify for a drawing where they gave away a Black Diamond #6 Camalot.
I did just 8 climbs, but it was pretty physical...
After warming up on a .10a, and a .10b, we did two .10c's back to back. So far so good.
Next was an RZ .11a, which I was working on last week. Unsuccessfully...Today I made it. There was a lot of hanging, but hey... That will be eliminated soon...
Since my fingers were pretty tired by now, I suggested to climb the chimney in the 'icebox'. Did I mention I don't like chimneys very much? I think I am just too tall...anyway, I squirmed my way up somehow. It was pretty sweaty though... That was not enough torture though... Looking at the off-width crack in the icebox I had an idea of how I might be able to climb the thing...It was the first time that I came up with a suitable idea! Yay! Liebacking on the left edge was the secret... Wendy did a way better job than me, but somehow we got up...It was not clean, actually it was quite bloody, so we could not have entered the raffle PG had going when they first opened the icebox: Everyone who would climb the OW clean in the first month would qualify for a drawing where they gave away a Black Diamond #6 Camalot.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
A perfect day at the Pinnacles
Getting out off bed was pretty hard on Saturday, which lead to a rather late start for our day trip to the Pinnacles. Due to further delays (bank, breakfast, gas), Wendy and I didn't leave before 9am. It was no problem though...There was no traffic, the weather was nice, and we had a nice chat about a variety of subjects. In Hollister I looked over while passing another car and recognized Sam. I was aware of a SAC group heading to the Pinns as well, but communications were a little tricky on Friday.
We arrived in the Bear Gulch parking lot around 10:45, a little after Sam. A 10 minute hike took us to Discovery Wall, which seemed to resemble a climbing gym that morning. There was not only a rather large gathering of SAC peeps, but also plenty of guys and girls I recognized from PG.
Pretty much every route was busy...
Seeing the zoo, we decided to go and see what it was like at the Monolith. It was great! The morning shade had obviously kept most climbers away, so that we could hop on Monolith Regular (5.8) right away. I lead the 1st pitch to the anchors, w/ Wendy being tied in half way...The plan was for us to finish the route and for Sam to follow it in "one piece", being tied in at the end of the rope... Sounds good, except for the fact, that the second pitch is longer than the first, and we hadn't really checked for the middle of the rope...The result was that I ran out of rope 10 feet from the anchor...No drama though, since it was on (almost) horizontal terrain...
After belaying Sam up, we set up an anchor and top-roped the 10c direct version.
In the meantime Justin, Linnea and Co. had arrived at the East Face of the Monolith, and were setting up topropes over there. We joined up with them and TR'd P.O.D. and Subterranean Tango. P.O.D. was a hard piece of work, my forearms were pretty shot when I reached the top.
A long rest in the sun, chatting and joking, exchanging climbing quotes -The desperate lead climber: 'My nuts are too small and I don't have any friends!" or the advice on climbing a dihedral: ' Spread your legs and trust the rubber!'- made for a good time, so recovery was possible before doing ST. Wendy and I hung out a little more after Clint et al. arrived, but headed back North around 5PM. It was a an awesome day. A self-made pizza with salmon, spinach and garlic and a bottle of wine (almost) finished this great day...
We arrived in the Bear Gulch parking lot around 10:45, a little after Sam. A 10 minute hike took us to Discovery Wall, which seemed to resemble a climbing gym that morning. There was not only a rather large gathering of SAC peeps, but also plenty of guys and girls I recognized from PG.
Pretty much every route was busy...
Seeing the zoo, we decided to go and see what it was like at the Monolith. It was great! The morning shade had obviously kept most climbers away, so that we could hop on Monolith Regular (5.8) right away. I lead the 1st pitch to the anchors, w/ Wendy being tied in half way...The plan was for us to finish the route and for Sam to follow it in "one piece", being tied in at the end of the rope... Sounds good, except for the fact, that the second pitch is longer than the first, and we hadn't really checked for the middle of the rope...The result was that I ran out of rope 10 feet from the anchor...No drama though, since it was on (almost) horizontal terrain...
After belaying Sam up, we set up an anchor and top-roped the 10c direct version.
In the meantime Justin, Linnea and Co. had arrived at the East Face of the Monolith, and were setting up topropes over there. We joined up with them and TR'd P.O.D. and Subterranean Tango. P.O.D. was a hard piece of work, my forearms were pretty shot when I reached the top.
A long rest in the sun, chatting and joking, exchanging climbing quotes -The desperate lead climber: 'My nuts are too small and I don't have any friends!" or the advice on climbing a dihedral: ' Spread your legs and trust the rubber!'- made for a good time, so recovery was possible before doing ST. Wendy and I hung out a little more after Clint et al. arrived, but headed back North around 5PM. It was a an awesome day. A self-made pizza with salmon, spinach and garlic and a bottle of wine (almost) finished this great day...
Monday, January 14, 2008
Kirkwood
My expectations for skiing this past weekend were high. A major three day storm had just dumped 9 feet of snow in the Sierras, and the weather forecast for Saturday was good.
Unfortunately I had missed the fact that it had rained at Kirkwood on Thursday. When we got there early on Saturday the snow conditions were pretty poor. The groomed runs were ok, but it was pretty hard to make any turns on any other run.
With rising temperatures the conditions got better in the afternoon. Although it was still pretty chunky at spots.
Despite all that, and the fact that it was my first day of skiing this season and I got pretty tired soon, it was a lot of fun.
Let's hope that there will be some more snow on top of this base!
The forecast for this week sees no percipitation and high temperatures, so it's probably not worth going up there... climbing at the Pinnacles seems to be a good option!
Unfortunately I had missed the fact that it had rained at Kirkwood on Thursday. When we got there early on Saturday the snow conditions were pretty poor. The groomed runs were ok, but it was pretty hard to make any turns on any other run.
With rising temperatures the conditions got better in the afternoon. Although it was still pretty chunky at spots.
Despite all that, and the fact that it was my first day of skiing this season and I got pretty tired soon, it was a lot of fun.
Let's hope that there will be some more snow on top of this base!
The forecast for this week sees no percipitation and high temperatures, so it's probably not worth going up there... climbing at the Pinnacles seems to be a good option!
The Devils Teeth
My post about Ano Nuevo brought back memories to one of the best books I read during the last few years. 'The Devils Teeth' is a story about the Great White Shark population around the Farallon Islands. Located only 20 miles west of the Golden Gate the Farallones are a wild life sanctuary, a breeding ground for lots of sea birds, only found there. The book describes the history of the islands, the environmental impact of the military in the area, new facts about the Great Whites like the discovery of their migration patterns, and the ghosts resident to the islands. Also in the mix: stories of sea sickness (I can relate!) , a lost sail boat, a lone urchin diver, and lots of quirky characters.
All this is written in a very amusing, fast paced style. A real page turner!
Susan Casey, The Devils Teeth
All this is written in a very amusing, fast paced style. A real page turner!
Susan Casey, The Devils Teeth
Friday, January 11, 2008
Random babbling
Just signed up for the Kaiser Permanente 1/2 marathon in San Francisco in a few weeks.
Yay!
Also it's just a little more than 12 hours before we leave for skiing!
There will be a work trip to New Mexico coming up soon... I wonder if I can get a quick excursion to Hueco Tanks in.
Just some random thoughts.
Yay!
Also it's just a little more than 12 hours before we leave for skiing!
There will be a work trip to New Mexico coming up soon... I wonder if I can get a quick excursion to Hueco Tanks in.
Just some random thoughts.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
More plans...
It just came to my mind that it's January...
Well, I knew that before, but I realized that January is the season when thousands of Elephant seals converge on Ano Nuevo State Beach for their breeding season. Since that's only about 45 minutes from my place...I should go and and see it for myself. Hopefully my upcoming travel doesn't interfere!
Well, I knew that before, but I realized that January is the season when thousands of Elephant seals converge on Ano Nuevo State Beach for their breeding season. Since that's only about 45 minutes from my place...I should go and and see it for myself. Hopefully my upcoming travel doesn't interfere!
Another upcoming event, which should be exciting is the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour with its stop in Santa Cruz. The trailer looks amazing!
Is it Saturday yet?
The past weekend brought a big storm to Northern California.
Usually I am not a fan of rainy weather, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the stormy weather this time around. (Especially since I managed to squeeze a run in on Saturday morning and managed to stay dry.) But what was even more up-lifting was keeping track of the snow report from Kirkwood. Up to now the storm brought a total of roughly 120" of snow...
Guess what I am doing next weekend...
On another note: I went to a yoga class on Sunday afternoon. It was only the second time doing yoga in the last three months. It felt good during the class, but boy! do I still feel my lats!
I hope the climbing tonight might not suffer too much.
Also I really need to sign up for the Kaiser 1/2...somehow I am reluctant...the deadline is coming up...
Usually I am not a fan of rainy weather, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the stormy weather this time around. (Especially since I managed to squeeze a run in on Saturday morning and managed to stay dry.) But what was even more up-lifting was keeping track of the snow report from Kirkwood. Up to now the storm brought a total of roughly 120" of snow...
Guess what I am doing next weekend...
On another note: I went to a yoga class on Sunday afternoon. It was only the second time doing yoga in the last three months. It felt good during the class, but boy! do I still feel my lats!
I hope the climbing tonight might not suffer too much.
Also I really need to sign up for the Kaiser 1/2...somehow I am reluctant...the deadline is coming up...
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Back at it
I really like traveling, but 11 hours on a plane are just too much!
Right now I am fighting my jet lag after getting back from Germany last night.
The trip was good! Very relaxing, since I didn't do much besides some running every other day (3-5 miles) and some bouldering and some climbing.
It's actually pretty interesting to see the differences in the climbing gyms between the U.S. and Germany. Back in Germany one doesn't need a belay certification or a lead certification. But there are also way more draws to clip. The first one always reachable form the ground.
The exciting news is the weather forecast! Two storm systems are converging in the northern Pacific, which will result in a huge amount of rain here! Which is great, since it translates to expected 5-6 feet of snow at Tahoe! It's time to dust off the skiing gear!
Right now I am fighting my jet lag after getting back from Germany last night.
The trip was good! Very relaxing, since I didn't do much besides some running every other day (3-5 miles) and some bouldering and some climbing.
It's actually pretty interesting to see the differences in the climbing gyms between the U.S. and Germany. Back in Germany one doesn't need a belay certification or a lead certification. But there are also way more draws to clip. The first one always reachable form the ground.
The exciting news is the weather forecast! Two storm systems are converging in the northern Pacific, which will result in a huge amount of rain here! Which is great, since it translates to expected 5-6 feet of snow at Tahoe! It's time to dust off the skiing gear!
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