Wednesday Wanderings...

Here are some pictures that Brenna took over the weekend on Angles Crest!

The start of the Aracnaphobe Towers. A great 5.5 slab traverse with the most incredible exposure.

Here is me at the belay on top of the towers. What a great perch!

Rapping down off of the towers.

Looking up at the last couple of pitches of the route. Stellar!

Fondue for breakfast... Yes that is right chocolate dipped goodness for breakfast! Awe... life is sweet to me... Reminds me of a bumper sticker that I once saw "Forget love, I would rater fall in chocolate."

I am so impressed by the amount of people out biking these days. It seems as if people are coming out in hoards. Well, that might be an exaggeration but there are a considerable amount of people out pedaling around and it seems like they are people making commuting trips (panniers, milk crate storage...). I think that the more bikers are on the road, the less dangerous it will become. Drivers will eventually get used to seeing pedestrians sharing the road. John has started to commute as well. I am so stoked that our household bikes to work more that we drive. I would imagine that on a day where we both bike we save about 30+ miles from being driven. That is great to be a part of.

We went to Sehome and bouldered last night. What a blast... We warmed up on the "Dr. Google Eyes" traverse. I feel like I am one more session away from dialing down the starting move then I just need to get the courage to do the finishing move. I am getting more and more comfortable with it each time. We then high-tailed it to the "Three Brains" area. This was new to all of us. There are three boulders sitting right next to each other. V3, V5, & V7. John and Bryan were climbing really strong and hiked the two easier problems. I am working on the V3, I think I will piece it together next go. Exciting! I love it! Tonight I want to go soak up some sun at the beach, then rest, then get out for the three day weekend. Squamish????

Little creatures

Here is Betsy's new bundle of fun.... HANK!

















Zara and Immanuel's baby boy. Johnathan at four monthes old.
I can't wait to meet the kiddo.

Rediscovery

On Friday I got a call from Brenna, inviting me to go climbing with her and a few people associated with AAI. I was hesitant, having been moving forward with the house and the weather was super hot, and guides, I must say I was a bit skeptical. John reminded me that the house can wait till the weekdays and I know we can find shade to hang out in and I could learn a ton climbing with experienced guides. Friday night, after a fantastic dinner with the the Family Dorr at La Fiamma (wonderful pizza) we packed to spend the weekend up north.

Saturday morning John and Bryan left early, beating the heat and the people, attempted the Grand Wall but got stuck behind a slow party and bailed. These guys can climb so fast, I am excited to hear how it goes when they finally get a chance to go at it with no rain or slow parties in front of them. From what I gather, the two of them did Rutabaga and in which Bryan on sighted it. Kudos, it is a great climb. After this they retreated to the forest for some bouldering, Viper and American Gigolo was two of their problems. John said that Bryan is climbing really well these days. It is great to witness, he is really excited to climb and it shows. The two of them are going to tear it up this summer.

I met the gang on Saturday morning. I met everyone for the first time, my weekend was exciting just getting to know all these new people. Katie was sweet as can be. She is a ball of happiness and joy. She just rolls around as happy as can be. What great energy to be around. The best thing is, she mountain bikes. Music to my ears. This is actually the first woman I have met that bikes. She said she will be on Galbraith about three times a week this summer. I am so excited about getting to know her better and knowing more woman bikers!! Mary, is a guide with AAI, so she has tons of experience climbing. She is in town for the summer, guiding around the area. She is a tough cookie (literally, I think her biceps are bigger than John's...). I was stoked to climb with her in the Bluffs. It was nice to climb with a female who can climb hard. It was the first lesson of the weekend: women can climb and they can climb hard if they choose. She made me want to push myself as harder in climbing. Great inspiration.

Mary, Katie, Brenna and I loaded down Mary's Westie and met Ben, Vren, and his wife Julie in the Bluffs. We did Mosquito/Phlemish Dance and S&M Delight to warm up. Hit up the Penny Lane climbs (Crime of the Century was a blast!), as always, fantastic routes! Then headed up to the Split Beaver for a little variety. As we pulled into the the Chief campground, surprisingly Steve Murphy greeted us. That was a blast to see him. He was in good spirits. He has been testing himself by mastering the art of solo aide. More power to you Steve.

Sunday, Brenna and I got up and did The Angles Crest. It was the perfect choice was perfect: a northern aspect kept the climb out of the scorching sun, it was 14 pitches with the crux pitches being a good grade for me right now, and the fact that it is hands down one of the best moderate long climbs in Squamish. Well, we weren't the only ones with this brilliant idea, there were a total of six (6!!) parties on the route that day. The climb was in the shade all day, imagine that, we would have baked if we had any sun, it was way too hot just in the shade. I struggled leading a few pitches, instead of dwelling on the fact that I did have troubles in a couple cruxy areas, I made a simple conscious decision to get over it. I told my self that these emotions were totally irrational because I can climb and I can place gear that will keep me safe. I had a conversation the previous night with Brenna, questioning the motive behind why we climb, and I thought about that and reminded myself that I had choose to do this climb, I had sacrificed a lot to go climbing for the weekend, if I am going to get frustrated climbing I should stop doing it. WHAM! I turned things around. All of the sudden I was climbing for myself. I had a blast! I started to move more efficiently, place fewer and better pieces of gear, and overall enjoy myself and being out climbing. I felt free, free from this burden I had placed on myself. I felt strong and confident. What a difference it makes. I have a new desire to climb and it comes from the heart. I am breaking through the platue. Back to the climb... The acrophobe towers were fun, getting some great exposure, the second to last pitch was hard down low in the wide sections and finished up fun when it got to be a great finger crack. The exit pitch, a 5.8 off width was a spectacular way to top out. It ended up being a bit too epic for what the Crest should be, but we made and I am very proud that we did. Oh but wait... We got back to the van and the entire crew were making HAMBURGERS!!! It was incredible. The was one sitting there just for me, with a big side of home fries! These guys were great! They were so nice to us, I am excited to have met such inspired people and hopefully do more climbing with them!

SUNSHINE and Seventy

Wow!

Have you seen the weather...currently 73... A perfect Bellingham temperature...

From the comfort of my office it seems incredible. Oh but wait, it is Friday and clocking out time. I am about to go soak it up... all weekend!

New bike bonanza

The weekend is just around the corner. What a wonderful thought that is.

Bryan made it to Alma, CO. to do the South Park Music Festival that Corrie is a part of. That area should blow his mind. It is just spectacular. I sure hope that he gets out and hikes around up there (elevation 10578 feet).

John got his hands on a new commuter last night. He picked up a Surly Crosscheck. What fun... new bikes..... Just another step in reducing short car trips.

Time to wrap up the work day and go boulder at Sehome for a few hours!

Home Improvement

Last night was part two in John and my week of "getting the house done so we can play and sit on our butts." It felt good let me tell you. Slowly the monkey is adjusting on our backs, slowly ready to make its move. Not so fast I guess.

Curb appeal 101
We started with the outside. Who knew what a little white paint could do. The entry way and trim on the front side of the house is all spiffed up. Looks sharp I must say. There are still some more touches that need to be done. Worlds of improvement though.

Kitchen remodel 301
We are on the home stretch with the kitchen. Actually, shall I say when we get home tonight we will know if we are close to being done. The water is hooked up to the fridge, sink is not leaking anymore...the counter tops are the lone remaining project. Last night John jumped in, tearing the sink out, he laid the Formica, cutting with laser accuracy and glued it down to the big sheet down over the existing couter top. Oops... well now come to think of it, we thought that it might be best that we scored the previous couter top to give the glue more adhesion. Oh how I hope it worked...

Enough work for the time being.... The beach is in order tonight! Have you seen the weather outside!

Bike lanes and the fury that ensues...

The Bellingham Herald once again did a pathetic job of reporting on a very hot topic. The comment section of this article is worth checking out if one has any interest in the topic, or to see some passionate views of Bellingham citizens. Monday night the Bellingham City Council voted 5 - 2 to remove parking on the west side of Cornwall Avenue from Ohio Street to West Illinois Street. The Avenue is currently under construction and the instillation of a bike lane consisting solely of re stripping, not a major nor costly task. Currently the road is particularly wide, providing parking on each side of the road. The issue here is not the use of public funding for bike lanes it is parking. Parking on a transportation corridor. As seen in the comment section this has hit a chord with a large group of people.

The parking on Cornwall is not primary parking for the downtown. People are not going to park by BHS to walk downtown. The parking that is lost are for residential homes. There are plenty of feeder streets in this neighborhood in which cars can park for the houses and Cornwall can be better utilized as a transportation corridor for which it was intended. The creation of a bike lane on this street is not threatening drivers. It is not taking away rights of drivers, it is simply making a physical space for bikes to utilize.


I completely support the installation of the Bike Lanes. It is a proper use of available public resources for the greatest good.Yes, there are other streets that need Bike capacity, but that is no reason not to install lanes on Cornwall. Biking is a legitimate for of transportation for many people. Biking is not an option for everyone but for those who it is a means of transportation, there needs to be infrastructure to support it. With the infrastructure to support alternative modes of transportation, it makes it more accessible to others and safer to the ones who already participate. Not to get to cliche but "If you build it, they will come."



There are some great bike lanes around Bellingham like on Bakerview between Fred Meyer to just east of the Guide. These are areas that are dense with business in which people often frequent or work and are dangerous for bike transportation. There are some serious areas where pedestrian access needs to be addressed such as Guide Meridian area and the Lakeway are. Need I mention Holly Street! These areas must be addressed in cars and pedestrians plan on sharing the roads.

As for those who complain about cyclists behavior...you have a great point. If cycling is going be a formal part of our transportation system, then we need to have higher standards for cyclists behavior and increase enforcement of the laws. Education and awareness is the key factor here. Drivers need to start seeing and recognizing bikes. They are there and they are going to be a means of transportation for many people. Bikers need to be respectful of traffic laws and give as mush space to a car that one would want on a bike. The last important factor in this hopper is infrastructure. They needs to be a stronger presence of accommodation of bikes in our transportation system. Bike lanes, street sweeping, signs, sensors in the road that feel bikes, and community education.

A more functional transportation marketplace increases choices, reduces costs and increases freedoms. This cannot be argued. I applaud the leadership the City Council showed Monday night.

To be continued....

"Red Square Scare"

Black Cloud Thunder

Thank you John for digging up this gem...


Black Cloud Thunder
by Twark Might
05-Oct-2005


It is eleven PM. Thirty feet of snow has fallen in the last twenty minutes. My fingers are frozen solid. The wind is pounding our ropes and our determination. Our belay consists of one piton hammer stuck three millimeters into a rotting hunk of moss. Harry Hampered is vomiting green and brown spew and bleeds copiously from his rock-fall-broken nose as I get ready for the final pitch of our new route on Les Grands Tombés in Chamonix. Worst of all, I think I'm out of batteries and can't listen to my Discman.

I got the call three weeks ago in Boulder. I was sitting at the Airy Green Fairy café with--let's call her--Amy. "Twark," she pressed, sensing doubt perhaps by the way I held my pinky on my espresso-cup hand, "now is when I need you. I'm starting my organic community garden for underprivileged Latino youth with cerebral palsy and autism, and I need your support. I want you here with me and those kids, being a role model and helping." Away off in the distance, September snows dusted the Rockies. Her voice drifted away into the clear empty air as icy couloirs, sheer granite cracks and ripping winds filled my mind with the usual NWA soundtrack: "You think I give a damn about a bitch? I ain't a sucker!" "I've got stuff to do," I told her, throwing a fiver on the table and standing up. Idly, I wondered if she was good for another round in the sack, and then forgot about it as I saw the Big Bad Bodies Gym sign down the street. Time for pain.

Climbing will go faster, I realize, now that I have cut Leif Trailer free from the rope and he has fallen to the death that suits wussy people who refuse to lead dangerous pitches. His screaming is nearly gone from my mind as I start up the pitch. I find a tenuous placement for my left tool. An enormous chunk of ice slams my right shoulder, breaking my arm. I now have only one arm to climb with. As the pitch begins to overhang by 45 degrees, I have to do one-armed dynos with my left tool to ever smaller holds with no feet. I move up thirty feet on no gear, then grab my tool with my teeth so I can use my arm to put in a screw. "Eat my ass, Will Gadd, Raphael Slawinski and Stevie Haston," I mutter through a mouthful of tool. "THIS is mixed climbing."

Alpine climbing is brute amazing pain, punctuated with moments of elation that only the few and the proud-the hard alpinists-will (and should) ever be able to savor. I begin my training routine with six hundred one-armed pull-ups per arm off of my Stubai straight-shafts. Bent tools are for posers. I follow this with six marathons and two thousand push-ups. In the weeks that follow, the frequency of Amy's phone messages drops to around one per day. I get into the Zone, crank up the Joy Division and the Rancid, and get hard. Nights, I rent Masters of Stone videos and wonder at all the losers working boulder problems, prominently displaying their Patagucci and Horse Race clothing. The only way you could get farther from Real Climbing is to sit on a beach and imagine a mountain. And then float up it.

"Secure," I scream at Harry. Towers of black cloud thunder over us as Harry jugs the pitch. He arrives, and I look deep into his eyes, and want to kiss him when he says "You are one crazy motherfucker." This is why I climb in the alpine-to feel so close to both death and another man that kissing him and watching him die become equivalent sensations and equal possibilities. We are close, Harry and I, as we posthole toward the summit up the final snow slope. Then I hear the rumble of the avalanche.

I want to go light. We pack two screws, one nut, three small cams and one two-millimeter rope. Weight is for gumbies. I am naked under my Gore-Tex suit. The harness feels delicious on my scrotum as I test my gear in the privacy of my apartment. We will bring only water, energy bars and caffeine pills, and we will climb for 80 hours non-stop in order to finish the route. Boulder is full of girls with 'biners holding coffee mugs to their backpacks and morons in SUVs with Petzl stickers as I head to the airport. Maybe the hardest moment of the climb is persevering through the dangerous approach slopes of sport, trad rock, bouldering, aid and gym climbing that threaten to avalanche safe idiocy onto me as I work toward The Real Thing.

Hanging with one heel spur, the avalanche roars over me. I vaguely hear Harry screaming as I take his full weight and he dangles in space. Something jogs my Discman, and suddenly the music returns. "Don't call, don't call me white," sings Pennywise, something I can identify with. Who wants to be a member of the lame loser class that dominates? I get energy, and use my arm to haul Harry up. We continue to the top, blink twice, and stumble down toward bed. The next morning, we discuss the route name and grade over coffee. We agree on "Fuck the Entire Universe, Who Are Losers but Don't Know It," and grade the route at Grade VIII, WI7 A5+ 5.15c M22X. Harry, after this experience, will never climb with me again. And so, at the end of the climb, I am only really beginning up the lonely mountain of total alpinist commitment.

I'm Training To Ruin A Marathon
By Paul Consella June 18, 2008 The Onion - Issue 44•25

Related Articles
Exercise Briefly Considered September 29, 1999
Shape Magazine Declares July 'Let Yourself Go' Month July 9, 2003
When I set my mind to something, there's no turning back, no slowing down, and no excuses. So when I heard about the upcoming 17th Annual Richland County Marathon, I started training immediately. For the last four months, I have been pushing myself to the brink of exhaustion to prepare my mind and body for the ultimate physical challenge: ruining a marathon.
I'm going to ruin the whole thing.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Sure, everyone would like to ruin a marathon, but who among us has the discipline and energy to get up at the crack of dawn morning after morning, through rain, sleet, and snow, and practice handing out cups of vinegar to the frontrunners? Me, that's who. Yes, there are some mornings when it's darn near impossible to keep going—when you feel like you just can't chip one more pothole in the course with a pickax. But endurance ruining is all about pushing through the pain. And when the big day comes, and you make it over that final hurdle, dodge the cops, and shove an old guy into the bushes, you'll know all that training was worth it.
Granted, I've never taken on anything of this magnitude before. Oh, I used to ruin cross-country meets back in high school. And there was that father-son fun ruin I did back in '06, of course, but that was just for charity. If I'm going to needlessly sabotage a full 26.2 miles of road, I have to make sure I'm at the top of my game. No ifs, ands, or buts.
That's why I like to start off my training day bright and early with a full breakfast of espresso, some diet pills, and a small bag of rock candy. It keeps me edgy and volatile when I'm in the thick of disrupting a tight race. Also—and I can't stress this enough—it's very important to stretch properly before and after yelling derogatory remarks at Kenyans. You don't want your legs cramping up on the way to the escape route.
Training rituals like this may seem tiresome and pointless now, but trust me: When you're two hours into terrorizing a highly anticipated marathon, they make all the difference in the world.
After you've been ruining a marathon for a couple hours, your body will just take over and you won't even realize that you're spoiling the day for everyone. I call that getting in the "ruiner's zone." It's like my arms and legs could just keep dumping buckets of cooking oil off a highway overpass forever. When you get there, more than ever, it's important to keep focused and not let your mind wander. You've got a lot of race to wreck, and you've got to keep your mind sharp for what's coming up ahead.
It's good to make a checklist in my mind, so I don't get distracted on race day. Are there any cables or streamers around that I can use as trip wires? Is this a good time to call the fire department to report a massive four-alarm blaze at the 12-mile mark? Do I hip-check the guy in front of me or stop abruptly and trip up the three people behind?
If I make all the right decisions, and really push myself, I could ruin this marathon in record time.
The biggest thing I've learned about training to thwart a marathon is that you have to set small, manageable goals for yourself, and then gradually work up to bigger, more challenging goals. Try starting off with something simple, like printing out "Marathon Continues to the Right" signs and pasting them up by the on-ramp to the interstate. Once you're comfortable with that, you can work your way up to a larger goal, like breaking beer bottles into a sack and dumping them out in front of the wheelchair racers, or loading up on carbs and dairy so you can vomit all over the finish line.
As the day of the marathon approaches, it's easy to psych yourself out by thinking of all the tiny things that could go wrong. The hornets could all die en route to the starting line, or I might forget to slash the tires of the first-aid trucks that follow the runners. But when you're ruining a marathon, you have to push all those little what-ifs out of your head and just go out there and try your hardest.
Sure, you might not end up ruining every inch of the marathon, but just imagine the looks on their faces when 300-plus people fail to cross that finish line.
Race day's tomorrow. No more excuses. No more letting my own fears, or my wife's sobbing pleas, or the combined efforts of city and state law enforcement agencies get in the way of me accomplishing my goal. No, sir. Not this time.
I've trained too hard for that.

Love from the Stiles house

The best dog in the entire universe...

Natasha

Poppy from the garden

Oh the sweet peas....

Rowdy.....Recover....Rally....

The weekend was quite the experience... I made it here to work on this fine Monday morning so I guess it wasn't that bad.

Friday was a blast. We rolled down to Sam's house for a little celebratory BBQ. Sam sold his house, finished school and is on to the next chapter in his life. I am really excited for him. He has some pretty exciting things lined up for himself and I know he will make the best of what comes his way. Andy and Az are getting ever so close to beginning their little journey and climbing trip. Joe celebrated his birthday. The entire crew was there. Better yet, Jess even came and put up with our flagrant spraying of climbing for the evening. I ended up getting pretty fired up and had a lot of fun. I got Brenna all ready to go do a climb in the alpine. I think that we are going to go do Sepentine in mid July. Oh, my mouth got me in trouble. We will have fun and we will get it done, probably get scared as well. Then, there was a direct correlation between the amount of cocktails I consumed and the fun factor. It got pretty out of control to say the least. Thank goodness that John drug my booty home.
Saturday, oh Saturday....
As anyone who saw Friday knew, I was a hurting unit on Saturday. I didn't get out of bed. Bad news. I don't need to do this again for a really long time.

Sunday! Grand Expectations...
Bryan, Joe, John and myself got up early and went to Squamish. We knew we were rolling the dice with weather, but we live in the Northwest, it is what we do best -- guess at the weather. We got to Squamish early, it had rained that morning and things were still damp and it was still drizzling. Our intent was to do the Grand Wall. We were all pretty stoked to fire the thing off. We were shut down by the weather and settled for bouldering in the woods until the sun came out and dried up the Bluffs. I had a great time bouldering, feeling like I could move along on some problems. Sometimes I just need to adjust my paradigm and find a way that I can work a problem. Once the sun started to poke through the trees, we made a move to the Smoke Bluffs, high tailing it to the Penny Lane area. John, being bold as he is, led Partners in Crime, Climb and Punishment, Power Windows and rounded out the afternoon with Up Up and Away. They were all a blast. The sun was shining and we were really casual but got some harder climbing in. I felt increadable climbing. I didn't relize it until I was all tangled up in the climbs that it has been a long time since I climbed some cracks. It is just a total differnt ball game than sport climbing and slab climbing. Wow, I love climbing cracks. There is really just nothing like it. All in all - it was a great day even though we didn't get on the Grand. We just have something to look forward to in the next couple of weeks.

This morning I awoke with renewed energy. The sun comes up so early this time of year. I walked outside and was totally inspired. My front porch was bursting with color from all the flowers. I love them! I ended up scooting out of the house a bit early and biking the long way to work. It was a great way to start the day and week for that matter.

Green tea pound cake

One of the true pleasures in life is food. It is a necessity in the simplest of forms. I love to bake, cakes, cookies, bars, breads... I love it. I am not necessarily that good at it but like everything it takes practice.

Here is a recipe the Annie shared with me...


Green Tea Pound Cake


2 large eggs


1 cup flour


2/3 cup sugar



1/2 cup butter



1 tbsp. maccha



1/2 tsp. baking powder



Cream butter and sugar, add eggs. Sitf in dry ingredients.

Bake at350 for 30-40 minutes