Going, going...

... almost out of town. Haven't seen the sun for at least a week, and it's supposed to start raining in Mendoza the day I arrive in Argentina. You've got to be kidding.

And just in case you're curious, no, the UPS people don't know if they have a package for you, or where your last Christmas package is, or how the main roads are. And they're tired of

running up your un-shoveled walkway and getting the truck stuck in the snow and trying to work through a jam-packed

cargo area while answering these questions. Just hold

on and try to remember that Christmas will still be here whether you get your presents or not.

With all of the snow that must be falling in the mountains, I haven't actually gotten to go skiing, just working to recover financially from three months of playing! But I finally got around to waxing the skis and getting them ready to go for my return from down south - more ironing than I've done since... the last time I waxed skis. Priorities.

A huge thanks to those friends who have given me a place to live for the last month. But I'm definitely excited to get back to guiding work - being in town is really hard on me. The last time I was in one place for more than 10 days was two winters ago in Utah! Time to get out...

But it's getting better

This is what winter in Seattle offers for those of us who foolishly risk Seasonal Affective Disorder and Vitamin D deficiency - snow!  Mary and I went for my first foray into the mountains (yikes!) since Thanksgiving and were rewarded with a perfect day - quiet, fresh fluffy snow, and just enough of it to be fun.  

I finally made it to Annette Lake - the trail crosses some major avalanche paths so is unsafe and sometimes unfindable for much of the winter.  We brought snowshoes but didn't need to use them, preferring instead to enjoy the feeling of ankle-to-knee-deep powder.  Fun!  Plus I re-found a great hat I'd forgotten about, which added to the ridiculousness.

And now it's snowing in Seattle for the second time in a week!  Totally uncharacteristic - it's usually warm here next to the water with plenty of snow in the mountains - but nice because of that.  Won't be biking today - work is going to be interesting!

December in Seattle

Really isn't all it's cracked up to be.  And it's not cracked up to be much, so there you have it.  The nature of guiding and expedition work makes it highly subject to change, so instead of going to Argentina this month, I'm making ends meet here.  Fortunately I have incredibly generous with whom to stay whether they're in town or not, so have a roof over my head.  Thanks!!!

Got a job for the month with UPS during their busy holiday season, and signed up to do deliveries by bike in a small neighborhood in Madison Park.  Interesting, yes.  Fun?  Well, only when the weather's nice.  *grin*  I guess it's getting me used to cold and obnoxious weather again after some time in India.

But it's work, and I'm grateful for that!

"Desert"

Went to Phoenix for Thanksgiving week to visit a friend there and get some much-needed Vitamin D (ie sunshine).  Of our six days there, three were rainy.  Here's some pictures from when it wasn't raining...

Mary and I went for an overnight backpack into the Superstition Mountains - does range-naming get any better than that??  Being rainforest dwellers, we were fascinated by all the dry and pokey things.

It politely waited for us to be back in town before raining for three days.  But we went to Sedona anyway, where we felt right at home in the cold mud.  The top of Wilson mountain was less than vista-filled, but Kim assured us this was a rare treat - usually people are getting second-degree sunburns on this hike!

But the sun came out for our last day in Phoenix for one last dose of Vit D before heading back to Seattle - you guessed it, 48 degrees and misting.  Ah, the Northwest in fall.

A quick tour of the east

Unpack, repack, and head three more time zones over to see folks on the east edge of this continent. Is it still considered a red-eye flight if you're already not sure what time it is?

Jordan is still adjusting to life back in the States, specifically Connecticut, having recently finished her Peace Corps stint in Samoa. We walked around her new campus, met similarly adventurous friends and peers, and I got to enjoy the remains of a New England autumn, as did she, apparently.

Back to Boston to see old college/Seattle friends, run along the Charles River, and appreciate the city. We finally made it to the beach for a gorgeous sunset walk - though cold and windy, it was fun to be out with no agenda, just catching up.

Down to DC to visit my folks and some old Seattle friends living in a surprisingly nicely wooded neighborhood just minutes from the Beltway - a deer wandered through the yard! Some quiet catching up time with my parents a little farther south and one more chance to enjoy the crunchy leaves. This is my half of the annual family picture, which has turned slightly less serious in recent years...

One last stop in Denver/Boulder to see my sisters, both going to school and settling in for a hopefully less-severe Colorado winter. Sunny and warm during the day, cold at night, and a huge sky with amazing sunsets. What's not to love?

Re-entry

…is being particularly hard. Flew through Seoul on my way back to Seattle, catching the election results as I got off the plane for my layover. One of those where-were-you-when moments.

But though I have only been in India for less than six weeks, the same as last year, everything feels more familiar, and my jet-lagged brain isn’t ready for the States just yet. It’s weird, having become automatic even in such a short time, not to:

Flip light switches down to turn them on
Walk and drive on the left
Bring my own toilet paper everywhere
Use fingers to eat
Pay next to nothing for good food
Be different than everyone around me
Engage the organized chaos of traffic
Decide if directions or advice are actually accurate
Expect random crowds of staring onlookers, anytime, anywhere

Oddly enough, I’m still dreaming in India – waking up, I’m confused by the readily available English all around, the coats and fancy shoes, the briefcases and sense of self-importance, places to be and things to do. Ramblings about why and how are more than need to be discussed here…

One day in Seattle, and I’m off to visit friends and family on the east coast. The grey and rain and cold of the northwest was a bit of a shock, but now that I’ve traded my sandals for warm shoes and sparkly pinks and oranges for brown, I’ll figure out how to adjust, eventually.

Bangalore

Spent a week in Bangalore visiting friends from the bike race, doing a little climbing, a little running, a little biking, and meeting their friends in the city. The camera charger I got to replace my missing one wasn’t exactly functional, so I’m again lacking pictures, but am hoping other folks who took some will come through.

Walking past a climbing wall outside Kanteerava stadium my first day, I saw three women resting at the base – three Indian women, climbing! I talked to them for a bit, and they turned out to be two of the South Indian climbing champions, headed to nationals in Delhi next month. They were the first outgoing Indian women I’ve met yet, and it turned out that one of them was our guide for a day of bouldering south of the city later that week. Shanti was an amazing climber, fun to watch, harder to emulate, and always encouraging.

Having brought my shoes and pedals, I borrowed a bike to join Samim and Nilesh and Rohan for a ride at Nandi Hills – Sam rode there, caught up with us on the hill, and rode back to Bangalore while we took the car to the bottom of the hill to ride up and single-track down. Nellie really wants to develop the mountain biking in the area, so they negotiated with a local woman to figure out when and how ladders could be built to make a few too-rocky sections ridable.

Otherwise, spent my time running in the morning with Sriram and other new friends who recognized me on the path (nice to be overly conspicuous sometimes!), seeing a few sights, and wandering around my area of the city. One evening I got to be the trailing car for a ride to Nandi hills! Driving on the wrong side of the road wasn’t bad, as I was following them at cycle speed to keep everyone from getting run over by traffic – exciting nonetheless.

Now back to Delhi for a cycle friend’s brother’s wedding – should be interesting, as I haven’t seen the whole Indian wedding scene yet. Meeting up for lunch with a client from this summer who was climbing Island Peak with Alpine Ascents in Nepal and is flying out of Delhi the same day I am. What a funny, tiny world! Still haven’t seen the Taj Mahal, let along Rajastan, Goa, Sikkim… I’ll have to come back.