Off to work

The weather has been crazy for the last little while - snow and hail in the city for the last few days, and more this weekend. Freezing levels have been around 1500 feet, so there's a lot of snow out there! Good for the climbing season, bad for poor Seattlites who are starting to wonder if we'll ever see the sun again.

Fortunately, I have to get out, even if I would rather sit on the couch and eat chocolate - the Denali Prep courses mean a week of whatever weather Mt Rainier hands us. Off we go!

Picked up and brought in

Ah, the damp and chilly experience that is the Northwest in spring. Of twelve days out, eight of them were spent in rain gear, sometimes admiring the shining aliveness of the rainforest, sometimes head down wishing I had decided to bike in Arizona instead.

Took the ferry across the water from Seattle and caught the Hood Canal bridge to Highway 101. Around the top of the Olympic Peninsula, then down the coast and around the various harbors at places like Aberdeen. Crossed over into Oregon with a few days left, so kept going south a bit past Tillamook before taking a left and heading in to Portland - about 588 miles all together.

Camped mostly along beaches, logging land, and closed campgrounds and didn't see another person camping the whole time. Beautiful. It's been a while since I did a solo trip (too long!), and possibly longer since I was over on the coast. It cleared up for a beautiful weekend heading into Portland where a friend came down to do double duty visiting his friend there and picking me up.

The funny thing is, despite the rain, I didn't really want to come back. At least once I found myself thinking that I could just keep going and head all the way down through Mexico... I felt like I ran away from home and got picked up, taken back, and told to play by the rules. I'll try to pretend, at least for a while.

Down time

Hell's Canyon was nice - managed to find a little camp spot by a stream and have some nature time to myself. Lovely.

How to stay in shape and out of trouble (ie sitting on the couch or spending lots of money)... Took the last week to catch up with some Seattle friends, hiking and climbing and skiing, and get affairs like oil changes and drivers license renewals in order. A couple more days of that, then ready to head off on a bike trip to Portland, the long way.

It's about 430 miles around the north side of the Olympic Peninsula on Hwy 101 then down to Rain City avoiding the interstate. Plenty of time to ride as slow or fast as I want, with a couple days to escape the rain if need be. The weather's supposed to clear up next week (it snowed in the city today!), but it is, after all, spring in the Northwest. Rainy and 41 degrees...

Planning to return to town mid-April, with little chance of internet on the trek. Til then, it's central heating appreciation fortnight - enjoy!

Apply powder liberally

Didn't realize I left things hanging in my mad dash from Alta to Oregon, but all is well!

I just got down from doing some powder hosting for Wallowa Alpine Huts for the last 11 days. (see wallowahuts.com) It was great, and exactly what the WFR manual proscribes for cracked ribs. A super-steep learning curve, getting to know the skin tracks and secret powder runs of the basin, but my lead hosts were generous and patient and extremely knowledgeable. It's a beautiful place, deep in the wilderness. The yurts are far enough in that day skiers don't come all the way in, and an hour of skinning yields whatever kind of terrain you're looking to ski, from some steep chutes to wide open bowls. Met some really cool guests, including some wild women from Idaho, and had a great time. Very much looking forward to spending more time here next winter.

A few pictures here pirated from the WAH website - more current ones if people send theirs to share.

It will be a little while longer until I don't have to worry about my rib, but I can actually take a deep breath again and almost sleep on my left side! It's the little things...

CB doesn't need me for the rest of the ski season here, so I have a whole month before work resumes in Washington. Headed out now for a few days of backpacking around Hell's Canyon since I'm in the area, then I'll need to get creative for the next little while to keep myself entertained. So far the potential list includes: cycling down the coast in the rain, living in the yome for a while, taking up residence in a fire lookout, heading for Moab or back to Alta... Low-budget suggestions accepted!

Alta warmup

Off to Alta to visit my friend Dan (going big in the picture) and get a little loading dose of winter. I left Seattle just ahead of an incoming storm, and sure enough it followed me to Utah for a nice 12" powder day. Finally got to get on my new powder skis (Atomic Janek boards), and was pleasantly surprised by how well my legs remembered their turns. Tired, definitely, but being acclimatized from the big hill helped a lot here at nine thousand feet.

Unfortunately, I had a little run in with a tree and managed to at least crack a rib - I can hear some sounds that ribs don't normally make. Went backcountry the next day anyway, which was not a good idea, but it was definitely fun. Mmm... deep powder...

Taking today off in a belated attempt to take care of myself - I'm supposed to be working in the Wallowas in two days! Hmm. It's snowing again at the moment - it's nice to be back in the winter season after some time away. Always an adventure.

Aconcagua, round 2

Whew! It's a lot of work getting ten people up a big mountain, but that's exactly what we did! We had a great, strong crew - many thanks to them for sticking it out. Working with the same lead guide and another guide who stayed on the mountain from the previous expedition, we successfully got ten climbers and three guides to the top. Lovely and all, but it's essentially a big rock pile, and I'm glad I'm working to help others reach their goals.

(These pictures don't have the same panache of those from the previous trip, but they're what you get with a disposable camera - enjoy!)

The weather wasn't quite as supremely cooperative as on the first trip, but was still good enough to summit at the beginning of our time window. Mendoza is a nice little city, even if I don't eat meat, one of the Argentinian specialties along with good wine. But it's time to get back to the north and catch up with winter rather than hang out here for another week.

It was surprisingly painless to get my ticket changed - I should be getting back to Seattle sometime on Monday. Missing one of the best winters of snow in quite some time has been killing me - there's actually powder on the ground in the great Northwet from what I hear! Time to get some skiing in. See you soon!

Back up the hill...

Ushuaia was great - nice to get some time in the forests and mountains and greenery, and some time to myself. Ironically, the weather was great there (where Mary got snowed on several years ago) while it rained buckets every day in Mendoza. Unlike my winter season coordination (it is dumping snow now both at Alta and in the Northwest while I'm down south), I actually picked the right time for the weather here.

After much more relaxed preparation this time around, we're getting ready to head back up for our second expedition. The group is looking strong, and the weather good, and it's time to climb a mountain! Keep an eye on Aconcagua's Team 6: http://www.alpineascents.com/aconcagua-cybercast.asp and check out the previous Aconcagua post below for a couple of pictures. See you on the other side!