Old Man Ice Age

Ice is done for 08-09

2009-03-15T22:32:00.002-04:00

It was an awesome year. Cody was unbelieveable. The weather was perfect and the ice amazing. Ouray was life changing. I went Leashless in Ouray and I'm never going back.

Even more amazing: The freezer's ice maker decided to start working again!

Now pictures.
Cody:

And Ouray

Ok, I got plans

2009-01-06T14:16:00.001-05:00

Ice this year will be 3 days in Cody, WY, followed by 3 days in Ouray and then 2 weekend trips to the 'daks. Nice.

What to do.

2008-10-17T20:27:00.002-04:00

Well, Doesn't look like Peru is in the picture for next year. I don't know what I'm gonna do. I want to get some ice climbing in this winter, but nothing is firming up. Training is going along, the hamstring is working itself out, the hand is working well but I just can't get anything together. Not sure what I'm gonna do. I gotta get something together.

Continuing training

2008-10-10T20:06:00.002-04:00

Well, on Sept 12, I had carpal tunnel surgery on my left hand. I had the right done a year and a half ago, and just before the trip, the left was acting up. I had it injected prior to the trip. That did very well through the trip and into August, but by the end of August, my wrist was acting up again. As of today, it's about 90% and I've been climbing on it for a little over a week.

Currently, I'm trying to figure out plans for an ice trip this winter out to Ouray. Gonna try to get a trip to the 'daks figured out too.

The markets have crashed this week, but thankfully, it doesn't affect my day to day life. I feel very badly for those who are severely affected by this.

Marmot Layering

2008-09-10T21:08:00.001-04:00

Heh, this link was shot at col camp. Adrian is demonstrating the Marmot gear he uses.Marmot link

What's what

2008-08-28T20:33:00.003-04:00

Well, after testing myself and seeing what all I'm able of doing, it's clear to me that I've improved strength and endurance of hiking at the expense of speed. My hamstrings are still a little weak and still need rehab. I'm working at getting back to the speed/endurance of running I used to be at (10K at a 7:30 min/mile pace) while improving flexibility and strength of my hamstrings

What's next?

2008-08-07T21:20:00.002-04:00

That's right. What is the next challenge? Suggestions? I'm thinking of returning to Peru to do Artesonraju and possibly go back to finish Quitaraju. I'm thinking next summer. Looking for suggestions on training and possible problems with the plan.

One week after returning

2008-08-03T21:45:00.002-04:00

For the first 3 days after returning, I slept like the dead. Unfortunately, I'd wake up in the morning as tired as when I went to bed. I suspect I had been running on sleep deprivation for a week or so. By Thursday, I woke up and finally felt like myself.

Additionally, I found that I had pulled my right quadriceps at some point. It showed up when I tried to run and within a half dozen strides, I was completely lame. At a week out, I'm just now able to jog without pain. I figure it'll be another week or so before I'll be able to actually run. Climbed today. Felt good.

Travel in Peru.

2008-07-29T15:04:00.003-04:00

So, driving the roads between Lima, Huaraz and Cashapampa runs the gamut. The main road out of Lima headed to Huaraz is a normal, well paved high speed highway. However, once you turn inland from the coast towards Huaraz, the road becomes a two lane road, like most backroads in the US. After a few miles- however, the road begins to deteriorate. By the time you reach the switchbacks that start to climb the Andes, the pavement has numerous potholes devolving into broken pavement and eventually becoming a mixtgure of broken pavement, patches of gravel/dirt road and widened dirt sboulders to allow traffic to rnun in both directons. The following clip is a two minute clip from the actual ride back to Lima. I was moved to take the video after missing a chance to take a picture of a unique road warning indicating a problem ahead: a hornrd cow skull propped up against some rocks in the middle of the road. Be forewarned, Dramamine may be needed for this clip.

Road from Huaraz to Lima

Of course this is a one-minute clip which approximates about 3 hours of the trip. It wouldn’t be a big deal if it weren’t the only viable route to Lima from Huaraz—a new road to the coast from Huaraz is currently under construction.

The road from Huaraz to cashapampa is generally in slightly better condition, but has tighter switchbacks and narrower lanes, Oh, and much of it is dirt road. Overall, if you don’t get carsick, and you trust your driver, the drive is highly entertaining. La carretta esta estmulenta.

Josh

2008-07-28T16:49:00.000-04:00

The big man at Llamacorral

Josh is about the same age as Adrian. He's a big, tall guy. Amazingly strong and he has tremendous endurance. Plus, he's a wild man on a mountain bike. While at first blush, one might think Josh is really a 21 year old, it becomes pretty clear pretty quickly that he has an uncanny ability to make good decisions. Unlike me, Josh looks for the most fun option first and then decides if that's the right option, or should he go for something more toned down. It's good to have someone around who pulls me out of the "safe" decision mode.

What's more important is his high level of positive energy. When it gets to be "go time", he's fully firing and ready to jump in both feet first. On virtually every difficult part of this trip, Josh has carried more than his fair share of the load--which helped me continue on.

What was a surprise to me was how good Josh's Spanish is. He was able to fit right in. Does Josh have an Achilles heel? Si. Please see the section post on "Travel in Peru". Nothing more to be said.

I suspect he's going to have a long and very rewarding mountaineering career.

Adrian

2008-07-25T14:06:00.002-04:00

Adrian with "Peruvian Mountain Dog"
Adrian’s an interesting guy. 32`years old with a definite grunge style to his appearance. Tall and skinny, he doesn’t look like the typical outdoorsy professional guide—More like a former bass player from a Seattle grunge band. Very easy going about most things but clearly has a basic plan for how, where and when things should be happening. When things are falling behind a bit or need adjusting, he seems to have connections thoughout Huaraz and the cordillera blanca that seamlessly get things straightened out with no sense of scrambling. For instance, once we returned from Cashapampa, we quickly cleaned up and headed to Siam los de andes for best Thai food ever. Around 9 pm, Alfredo arrives to let us know that our transport to Lima for the next morning cannot drive because some special permit is needed. The 8 hour trip is critical to getting Josh and I home. Somehow, between 10 pm and 8 am the next morning, Adrian has arranged a new private transport with an emergency backup of professional bus tickets just in case the private transport doesn’t work out somehow—all the while stopping off to say goodbye to friends in Huaraz and drinking pisco sours with Josh and I in celebration until well after midnight.

He’s been active in the Huaraz scene for so long that every restaurant we go to, he’s greeted like family that hasn’t back to visit in a long time. The kids of the owners treat him like a favorite uncle. Our plans for after returning to base camp change when our arriero invites us to his home for cuy after we ride horses back to Cashapampa. Once there Tony and his wife asked Adrian to be their daughter’s godfather. It was an unbelievably positive and intimate experience, and I feel honored to have been invited into it.

The funny thing is, despite his laid back, unperturbed exterior, when things begin to go pearshaped, he quickly and subtly switches into a serious driven professional guide mode. Suddenly you realize he’s taking control of the situation, making decisions, setting up constituency plans and evaluating his resources. On the day that he and Josh summited Quitaraju, a Peruvian guide for the German team took a 60 meter fall when the anchor he was rappelling from failed. Despite being tired and almost back to col camp, he helped assess the situation since the Peruvian team didn’t have a radio to contact their Austrian IFMGA`certified guide. Upon returning to camp, Adrian told us, it was unclear when we’d be descending, but cautiously continue breaking down camp. He also informed me that I may be pressed into service as a physician and asked if I would be able to do so if needed. In the meantaime, he conferred with the Austrian guide and obtained phone numbers and contacts for emergency helicopter transport if needed. Once he saw the injured guide descending on his own, he was willing to start our descent to basecamp. Definitely not just a bass player from the Seattle grunge scene.

A whole lotta catching up

2008-07-24T19:54:00.002-04:00

Back to basecamp. The trip up to moraine camp was hard, but doable. Going from moraine to col camp was probably the hardest physical work I've ever done. 50 lb pack, over glacier terraine and 2 pitches of ice climbing. We decided to wait one day to allow the massive German team to clear out before trying our summit bid. The weather turned kinda bad and we waited until 11 am when there was a little clearing to make our bid.

Alpamayo

As has been the case, Josh was massively strong again today. I was sucking wind by the time we got to the first pitch--not even sure if I could climb. Thankfully, I was able to ice climb more efficiently than I travel on glaciers. Spindrifts, horizontal snow and bad visibility were the general tenor, but we summitted around 5:30 pm.

Rappeling down, we had to deal the darkness for the last two pitches. To add to the fun, the trail was completely covered so we did a bit of exploring for our route home. Finally got back to camp at 10 pm.

Quitaraju

I knew I was out for Quitaraju. It would be in 2 days and after the summit, we'd have to pack 50 lb packs back to basecamp. I knew I couldn't do it. Josh and Adrian left around 1 am. I saw them almost back to camp at 12:30 pm, but then they turned around. Turns out a Peruvian guide had fallen 60 M when an anchor pulled out. Adrian returned to the base of the mountain to see what he could do from there. They finally rolled in around 2:30 pm and looked beat.

Team Alpenglow on the return

Twas great to get back to basecamp, easy breathing and real food.

2008-07-19T15:02:00.002-04:00

The food is amazing. Alfredo has been feeding us 3 hots a day plus afternoon cappuccino. Breakfasts have included omletes with sausage, eggs with potatoes, and pancakes. Each day there’s coffee and fresh squeezed orange juice. Lunch always consists of a soup (today was cream of pumpkin), rice and a main dish of traditional Peruvian food. Today was beef with potatoes, yams, and some other squash. Dessert is usually canned fruit, although last night was pudding. Dinners are similar to lunch, just with larger portions. Tomorrow, Alfredo will be bringing up dinner to moraine camp.

Getting naranjas ready for Jugo de naranja

Today was a rest day. We spent many hours on basic systems, how we’re going to climb together and rescue systems. I called Janene which was awesome. It might be the last call for a few days.

2008-07-18T15:01:00.001-04:00

Today was a load haul to moraine camp, 4860 M (about 16200 ft). it took a couple hours to reach the site which is only about 1.5 miles away, but 2000 feet up. Uneventful hike, however, I`m now occasionally called El hombre antiguo de Alpamayo. On the pulse ox, I came in with strong numbers 83 O2 and 83 pulse. At base camp last night after dinner, my numbers were surprising, 92 O2 and pulse of 78, marked improvement over the numbers earlier in the day. When Adrian asked what we thought our numbers would be, I had joked “92”, he said, if your O2 is in the 90’s I’ll carry your pack. Pretty funny. Josh continues to be very strong. Lots of great stories being told. Rest day tomorrow, then the big push.

2 base camp

2008-07-17T14:56:00.002-04:00

Today was a leisure hike up from just past llamacorral at 12400 to basecamp at 14200. Felt great, better than yesterday`s hike. Breakfast was great and then we headed out. It was hysterical to be passed by our pack of burros- mine was in the lead again of course. I shall refer to him as burro el mas rapido . After hiking up the valley, we turned left and entered the hanging valley and a series of switchbacks . At the top, was another plain where a scattered mix of burros cows and horses meandered along the river beds. In the background, Quitaraju, Alpamayo and Artesanraju stand over the valley. At basecamp, Alfredo has made an awesome lunch. It`s tough roughing it. Tomorrow is a gear haul to moraine camp.

Burro scratching

Arriero's dog

Something else

...and the hiking begins

2008-07-16T14:50:00.001-04:00

A three hour drive on bad dirt roads (well 2 hrs on them after 1 hr on broken pavement.) we made final adjustments to pack and duffels and headed up the trail. We would meet the pack burros in Llamacorral later. Starting off at 9100 feet, we hiked pretty leisurely to llamacorral at 12000 feet in 3.5 hrs. Josh and Adrian hike much faster than me, but I maintained my pace of 2.7 mph. 15 minutes after arriving, MY burro arrived first, trotting in ahead of all the others. J and A walk faster, are faster on mtn bikes, out-eat me but by god, my burro was fastest. Feel great at 12500 feet. Finally got a chance to call janene on the sat phone. Really good to hear her voice, if only for a couple minutes. Once the sun is down,it gets cold fast

Mountain biking

2008-07-14T23:42:00.001-04:00

Today was the first full day in Huaraz. To help acclimatize, we did some mountain biking. We were hauled up to 13K feet on the Cordillera Negra and then headed back into town on dirt roads and some single track trails. It was pretty hard for me, but with some coaching from Julio, I improved significantly over the day. Definitely gives me new found respect for the mountain bikers. The vegetation shows huge and I mean HUGE aloe vera plants, like 6 feet high and 10 feet across. The mountain ranges are awe inspiring and the sky is virtually cloudless. It felt like 70F today with bright sun. My idea of winter.

Tonight, we ate at an amazing Thai restaurant here. The husband is from Thailand, via California and has been here 11 years. His wife is Colombian and met him here in Huaraz. They ahve a place in Colombia near the Darian Gap and split time between Huaraz, Colombia and traveling to Thailand for ingredients (among other things). Really great food.

I feel great. There's a slight dry cough but more likely secondary to a little reactive airway disease. Head is totally clear. Tomorrow we drive to the trail head and start out for Llamacorral, leaving from Cashapampa.

Lima to Huaraz

2008-07-14T22:47:00.003-04:00

Landed in Lima an hour late. Not bad for Newark. Oddest thing was, in the 2 seats next to me were two riders who are very good friends with my son. They were headed to Lima and then over to Machu Picchu and its sister city. Completely bizarre to fly to Peru with two people you indirectly know but had no idea would be traveling at all. It made for a very pleasant flight.

In Lima, Adrian spotted me right off. We had to wait about 1/2 hour more for Josh to arrive. Josh has some pretty amazing climbing experience in his past. Nepal, Rainier, Several 14K footers in Colorado. He's a mountain biker and does ice climbing. Really impressive. And very pleasant to be around. This is gonna be a good trip.

We stayed at a really nice hotel, El Patio, and got to see a bit of Lima, but not much. We left early the next morning for the 8 hour trip to Huaraz.

The drive starts out with barren landscape as in NO plants whatsoever. After a couple hours of the this (headed North up the coast), we start to climb a bit and start to see some native vegetation and some crops==sugarcane and corn mostly. We finally turned inland and started climbing up a series of switchbacks, all the time seeing more varied crops and farm animals. As the corn or peppers are harvasted, they're laid out on the ground in irregular swatches to dry. It makes for a patchwork of red, black and yellow over the farmland.

The ponies are very attactive and appear quite well cared for and well bred. I'm hoping the ponies we ride out are like these fellows. The look like great fun!

In Huaraz, we're staying at Olaza's. It is fantastic and close to everything we need to get to. Everywhere we stop, restaurants, shops, hotels, the owners greet Adrian like he's old family. It is awesome and really gives Huaraz a very friendly, inviting feeling.

Tres Dias

2008-07-09T20:56:00.002-04:00

All packed. Batteries charged. Spare cards for the camera. Only need a power adaptor and to get to the airport on Sat.

Una semana

2008-07-06T22:31:00.002-04:00

Feeling great. Climbing well. Hiking strong. Running freely. Got my technical clothes and boots packed. Crampons, treking poles, harness, prusiks, cordelette, biners, ice screw and Vthreader packed. Snacks, gels, camelbak, batteries, sterilizer, diamox, lomotil packed.

I'm getting excited.

Pics? You want pics?

Pretty Exciting Week.

2008-07-02T14:41:00.002-04:00

Climbed well, ran pretty well, minimal hamstring hassles. BUT, Gregory messed up my order on duffels. Only sent one and I need 2. After contacting Moosejaw (bought through them), they were supposed to send me out another bag. BUT they delayed and then sent it ground. So, today they're overnighting me the second bag to make sure it gets here (haven't received the tracking info yet though). I'll check again tomorrow if I don't hear. What a freakin' hassle.

Then, and more dramatically, Janene was taken out by a couple of dogs who dislocated her patella. She's on injured reserves, but looks like no surgery needed. However, Hanna will probably have to drive me to the airport next week. As for me, I haven't done any more work on getting my stuff together. Maybe tomorrow. I'm just happy that Janene's going to have a short rehab and be back on her horse shortly.

Last interval training was today. Woot.

Major hike

2008-06-23T21:02:00.002-04:00

Saturday was sort of a miscalculation. First, I slept in. Didn't get started on the hike until after 9 so I hit the heat of the day. I had planned on hiking around 10 miles with 30-40 pounds. However, I packed up and started out. It was slow going. When I got home, I had traveled 8 miles, almost entirely all up and down hill. I weighed in when I got home. 50 lb pack. Guess that's why it took 4 hours total time.

Picture time:

Time ticks on

2008-06-20T21:39:00.002-04:00

3 weeks (or so). My strength is much greater. My hamstrings are still tender, but doing better. Running is hard, but hiking, lifting and climbing are not. I'm ready.

I think.

Hike tomorrow.

Sprints today

2008-06-14T20:34:00.002-04:00

OK, today was sprints. Uphill. In the humidity and heat. The good news is, I cut 10 seconds of my sprint distance. Pretty happy with the work out today.

Progress!

2008-06-12T22:11:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the first major sign of tangible gains. At the gym, I flashed 2 V4 problems. Now usually I have to project V4, it often takes me a couple weeks to get them wired, so that is huge progress. Also, I was able to run up and down the campus board a couple of times. Time to get back to ice tool pull-ups however. The hamstrings are doing much better.

Been gardening to keep myself centered. That's been very fruitful.

Ha! Pun there.

Today's hike: That was weird...

2008-06-07T13:47:00.003-04:00

'Twas an odd hike today. The original plan was 10 miles with a 45-50 lb pack. First off, today is the first day of truly hot, humid mid-Atlantic weather. Despite this, I still brought the full pack, with ice axes on back. After getting out to the powerlines, I head East towards the main road. So far, all is unremarkable.

The main road is 3 miles from the start, so when I get there, the plan was to cross the road and continue along the powerlines for another mile or so. However, as I'm standing there at the main road, waiting to cross, what should drive by, but a power company truck =8O

He hits the brakes and pulls into the very next driveway. Now maybe he was just reading meters, but after a couple minutes, he pulls out and drives away, missing all the other driveways. Gotta figure he called in to the office that he saw some guy walking along with a big pack and a coupla pickaxes on the back.

At this point the plan for the day changed. I just continued walking up the main until I came to a side road that heads back towards home, but deadends in the woods. I've wanted to see where exactly that pops out at, so I decided to bushwhack up to my little road through the woods.

When I got home, the GPS said 5.2 miles, which is ok, but a little shorter than I had planned. However, I really didn't want to have to explain to the power company folks why I was carrying axes on a huge backpack. The whole Peru story might not fly the first few times they heard it. Weird.

Pretty hard day

2008-05-31T22:29:00.002-04:00

So, started the morning with a 3 mile hike carrying a 60 lb pack. Then, worked in the garden until the storms blew in. Did some welding and metalwork during the rain. at 5pm, the rain let up and still had the work out ahead. Sprint intervals. Man, I'm exhausted this evening...

Weekend of hiking

2008-05-25T21:30:00.004-04:00

Well, back out to the powerlines this weekend. Saturday was a 10 miler with a 30+ pound pack. Lots of hills. Pictures from Saturday:

Today was 5 miles over the same teraine with a 40+ lb pack and no trekking poles.

Man! It's getting close!

2008-05-21T21:25:00.002-04:00

I gotta do a LOT of stuff in the next 8 weeks! Geeze, this thing is creeping up on me. Still working. Added some hamstring exercises and feeling good, but DAMN, there's a lot to do.....

Peru, here I come...

2008-05-17T21:12:00.003-04:00

Well,

I talked with Adrian today. Wow. What an awesome guy. Rather than swap in some other guide (qualified as he/she might be), he cancelled his plans to guide in France and is guiding this trip himself. He's summited alpamayo 9 times.

We talked about my expectations, how Ian and I interacted. What my skills are and where I need to work more.

The awesomeness of this trip is back on.

I do wish Ian could have gone along, but this is gonna be great, and hopefully we can talk about it over beers this winter.

Thunderbolt, right to the head!

2008-05-16T21:00:00.003-04:00

Bazowah!

I am stunned. My friend, teacher and guide Ian, is out for the trip. He has some personal issues,that need to be addressed. I wish him all the luck in the world and he has my positive thoughts. I hope he's alright.

Now, I have some thinking to do. Adrian, an amazingly accomplished guide is gonna take over. Adrian, Josh and me.

I need to talk with Adrian

Ian is on the right.

Hamstrung :(

2008-05-16T11:31:00.006-04:00

Still feeling that pull, I decided to do some research. Well, I think a tweaked my left hamstring a few weeks back. For those who are curious what exactly the hamstrings are, here's a few diagrams and description:

Basically, the three muscles semitendinosus, semimembranosus and biceps femoris make up the hamstrings. They run from the ischial tuberosity on the pelvis to the tibia (medially for the semi's and laterally for biceps femoris). They allow you to extend the hip and bend the knee. I think I pulled mine up high, near the ischial tuberosity when I pulled on the heel hook.

I was surprised how weak they were when I got on the weight machine yesterday. Guess that's one more thing to work on and strengthen.

Saturday's hike

2008-05-12T19:07:00.006-04:00

I wanted to get my hike in before the rains started Sunday, so I got up at 5AM on Saturday for my hike. Just as I headed out, it started to sprinkle. I had promised to bring horses in if it was raining, so I was delayed a bit, and finally got out on the trail around 5:45.

It just drizzled a little throughout the trip, but the weather was otherwise fantastic. I headed out for the powerlines and started hiking up and down hills, and forded across several creeks.

Round trip was about 7 miles in three hours. The powerlines are an extremely fortunate benefit where I live. Very nicely groomed fields with undulating hills are just perfect for hiking--and virtually no one is ever out there!

Good week

2008-05-07T22:19:00.002-04:00

I've been able to ride every day this week. Although I'm still feeling the gluteal pull, it's not affecting my run times as much. I'm not heel hooking much, but that's as much to prevent further injury. Spanish lessons are back on track and going ok.

The daughter has finished high school and is climbing well. Things are clicking along. I've gotta start practicing tying knots with gloves on to improve my speed and accuracy. I gotta get on that this week.

Just more work

2008-05-03T21:22:00.001-04:00

Just continuing the work. Been slacking on the Spanish, but I'll try to pick up the pace tomorrow.

Another day...

2008-04-29T12:08:00.003-04:00

Still on track. Feeling good. I've been slacking on the Spanish lessons, but I have an excuse. The computer HD is starting to click, so I decided to upgrade the system. I've added a mass storage device that manages the drives and backups (called a Drobo) and moved the printer into a network printer attached by wireless print server.

These things did not happen without some amount of fiddling. I put the Drobo on as a network mass storage device and used a WAP to connect to the system. This lets me move stuff out of the living room and place them in less obvious, but still highly useful locations.

New computer will arrive in a couple days and the old one will be rehab'ed into my work computer (currently a Win 98SE box).

Good week

2008-04-25T11:12:00.002-04:00

Finally, nothing hurts this week. I'm not climbing this evening to prevent pulling that gluteal muscle thing again. Weights went well. Weather is turning nice. Spanish program is coming along, but I'm still not sure how much I'm actually learning. All in all, an excellent week. 10 to go.

Data point

2008-04-22T22:10:00.003-04:00

Geeze. Pulled my butt again. I gotta mend up. I don't need a gimpy ass before heading up the mountain. I'm gonna eat cheese tonight.

More of same

2008-04-20T18:17:00.002-04:00

Had a nice 7.5 mile run yesterday. Got a chance to run down a road that's been closed almost a year for bridge repairs. The first bridge is really amazing. Completely new approach and bridge. The second bridge is still basically a 3/4 lane (but is technically "closed"). The cyclists seem to like it this way, though. Afterwards, I dug postholes for a little over an hour. Then grilled up a steak.

Today was sprints. I hate 'em. But I did 'em. Heavy rains here today, but I caught a break in the weather to get my sprints in. Tomorrow's weights again.

Been working on Spanish. I have to say, Rosetta Stone is pretty fun. I don't know if I'm learning anything, but it's fun nonetheless.

The not fun stuff

2008-04-17T20:55:00.003-04:00

Went to the travel clinic yesterday. Paid a whole lotta money and got 4 shots. Yellow fever, Typhoid fever, hepatitis A and Tetanus. Picked up some Cipro and a prescription for Diamox. Then went to some friends for dinner. Slept in this morning, but did weights and Spanish this evening. Tomorrow is an off day.

Hola!

2008-04-16T14:45:00.003-04:00

Started learning Spanish last night. I'm using Rosetta Stone. It's actually pretty fun to use, for a learning module. I now can say Boy, Girl, Man, Woman, eating, cooking, drinking, reading and running.

El hombre corre

La nina bebe

Los ninos comen

Ella mujere leen

Los hombres cocinan

Woo hoo!

Old Rag

2008-04-12T22:12:00.006-04:00

Today, I headed down to central VA and did a training hike on Old Rag. I've never been there, so I had to get directions on line. I ended up using GPS and heading for Nethers, VA., a tiny little town.

After paying my $8 parking, I headed out for the trailhead. There were dozens of folks out today, including a Boy Scout troop. Starting out, I made pretty good time. As I approached the rock scramble area, I took a short break to take some pictures. In that little bit of time, the scouts ended up in the bottleneck areas of the scramble. So we waited.

And waited.

Finally, I decided to find a way around the bottleneck and continue on up to the summit.

The weather was fantastic, and aside from the crowds, the hike was great. Start to finish, the hike took me 3 hours, 50 minutes, with about 40 minutes of stopped time.

Weighty matters

2008-04-07T21:40:00.002-04:00

Weight training starts today. Talk about inefficient. I had to hunt up weights and parts. A little over 2 hours for what should have been a one hour workout. I gotta get a better system. Off day tomorrow, so I'll just climb some at the gym.

Time for the 12 Week Countdown

2008-04-06T17:41:00.000-04:00

This week starts the climbing specific training. For me, that means a little less running a little more weight training and much more attention to the heart rate monitor. I have an appointment with a travel health clinic in a week and a half. And, I ordered the last of the gear I'll need. Gotta start working on Spanish, at least enough to get to someone who can speak English.

40 minutes of relaxed running ---and a little climbing :o)

Oh, and hey, check out the Question of the Week. Answer posted next week

Another day...

2008-04-04T22:04:00.000-04:00

Still recovering from some sort of gluteal muscle pull. Elliptical for 60 minutes today.

This year, I spent a week in the Adirondacks, ice climbing on all but 1 day where we practiced rescue skills. We spent a lot of time on hauling systems. The best part of skills days is learning about techniques that allow you to do things you didn't know you could. The worst part is not getting many opportunities to practice the skills. About a month after getting back, I had a chance to practice my hauling systems, when the tractor with the front end loader stopped running. I still had to pull the 500 pound post driver into a tree to remount it on the large tractor, but now I needed another way to get it there.

This is the 6:1 hauling system I rigged up, running it through a locking carabiner, which is slung to a branch about 25 feet up in the tree. Worked great. I felt great that I could rig it up without referring to notes.

Oh, and we drove about 15 posts a few days later.

The beginning

2008-04-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

Ian is a friend, teacher and guide. It is from him that I've learned how to ice climb. Several years ago, he asked me about my climbing experience. I had done some easy mountaineering and easy rock climbing (scrambling really), and that's about it. At one point, he asked me if I had ever considered climbing in another country/continent.

I had just learned to ice climb and was thrilled with the whole experience. I couldn't imagine expending a lot of time and money on a mountaineering trip that didn't have some element of ice climbing in it.

Now, several years later, several ice seasons and one trip up the Coe Glacier on Mt. Hood later, Ian contacted me about a trip up Alpamayo and Quitaraju in Peru. Both summits are over 19,000 feet. Both require multiple pitches of grade IV ice climbing. Ian is pretty confident I'm up to the task, but it's gonna require training. Some of the days are gonna be long. And, I've never climbed at that sort of altitude.

This is gonna be an exciting ride.

Alpamayo

2008-04-03T21:38:00.000-04:00

I should have done this a few months ago. Back when Ian contacted me about a possible ice climbing/mountaineering trip to Peru. At the time, back in October 07, I didn't even think about it. I spent my time thinking about the trip, discussing it with my wife (who immediately said, "You've gotta do this!") and wondering if I could do this.

But, now, at the start of April 08, I'm finally getting this blog together. I have about 90% of my gear together. I'm currently in the middle of training for the trip and am recovering from pulling some sort of butt muscle at the climbing gym last week.

All in all, things are progressing and still I wonder if I can do it.

I'll add the back information to the trip in future blogs, cuz otherwise this will run on forever.