A Rainy Day

This morning here in Bozeman proved to be a rainy one.  Although it started in a dreary manner, the afternoon held some great promise.  Jason and I were able to sneak out after classes to do some climbing up at Bozeman Pass.  After working on our current projects, Jason's being a very hard and balance orientated route and mine being a route I've been working on for a few days now, China Crisis.  Some great successes were made today, along with some of our largest falls to date! Yee Haw...  Once we had enough of the hard climbs we climbed a great 5.8 featured in the video below.  Cheers to great belaying and the rain holding off!  

A cool new development is the new toy in the arsenal.  I bought a video camera the other day, so look forward to new videos of some of the adventures in the near future!

Side note: A long game of phone tag ended with a good buddy yesterday (Travis).  Look forward to some Wisco stories in the near future on the blog.  Good talking man tell Jimmer I said what up also.

Yee Haw,

Kyle  

More posts on the way!

As my final semester of college winds to an end, time has become limited.  I look forward to getting through the final push of reports, tests and presentations and get back to contributing to this blog.

Last night a watched the documentary about a man who lived with the grizzlies.  Recently, I have heard a lot of talk about this man through my friends.  I decided it was time to watch it for myself.  I must say it was an incredible documentary.  A tragic story, but the way it was able to capture the incredible spirit of what a human can be, was mind blowing.  I urge all to view the movie.  Yes, I agree with most that his mission was flawed, but like many things in life, I think its important we take his passion and apply it to something in our own lives.

Unfortunately for me this is going to be my 15 page  paper and presentation due this week, but even something as uneventful as this, in a way I feel grizzly mans mission was accomplished.

Like so many people in this world, his passion was in the end his demise.  Whether its a sailor crossing the pacific, a climber on everest, archer stalking an alaskan brown bear, a freelance photographer documenting war zones, a backcountry skier skiing a dream line or an any other pursuit, in my eyes its all the same.  A passion the grizzly man had, living among bears, in his eyes was worth paying the ultimate price.

This is an incredible personality trait, which it seems very few have.  Finding a balance somewhere between the "grizzly man" and the rest of society seems to hold a lot of promise.

Check out this song-

Coyotes by Richard Thompson- 


One listen and I bet you'll buy it!



Next time your drinking a beer raise a glass and cheers the life of the grizzly man,

Yee haw

Kyle

As Kyle alluded to in his last post, I went and skied some powder at Altoona Ridge Lodge! Yes this was more than a week ago, and yes I have a serious procrastination problem (i'll get around to fixing that one of these days).  Fortunately it is 2012 and we can share images digitally and they do not deteriorate like daguerreotypes.

After leaving around 6am we finally started to wake up once some snow flakes began to fall.  Altoona Lodge is located in the Pintlers, so driving from bozeman we passed the current sheet of ice known as Georgetown Lake then drove on past Philipsburg on our way to the trail-head.  At the trail-head we all began smiling, strapping and stretching in preparation for the roughly five mile hike in.  Luckily we only broke one beer (don't worry we salvaged most of the contents) when loading the sled so after a bit of reorganizing we watched all our food and booze follow the one snowmobile up the trail ahead of us... Now i'm faced with a tricky transition - so i'll just come out and say it, we only hiked about two miles in, thanks to the snowmobile making great time then retuning to shuttle the rest of us up in tow.  Once at the (rather shwanky) lodge we established our game plan for the next two night and three days and set about skiing, hitting the sauna, cooking meals, and primarily enjoying ourselves. 

 Alex sending it deep

 Cris and Tod 

Cris about to land in the flats - but doing it with style!

Hiking up to the main ridge 

So all in all it was a great weekend.  I should also add that the weekend after this, I once again found myself skiing at Lost Trail after they received a generous amount of snow. I have no pictures to prove it so you'll just have to trust me when I tell you it was terrible and the mountain no longer exists thanks to a giant volcano imploding the entire range...

Á bientôt,

Aaron

Carl Ritter - The Last Word

Carl Ritter was not an "arm chair geographer".  The last few weeks I have been researching a famous geographer and it occurred to me today during a presentation I conducted on him, that he is falsely accused.  Yes, from what I have learned he did spent a lot of time looking over works of others only to build hypothesis of his own.  Is it really fair to claim he was an arm chair geographer though?

The Man Carl Ritter (Image Received from luise-berlin.de) 

Texts written about the man describe his ability to see places he has never been in vivid detail.  When it came to describing places he has seen he often lacked similar great detail.  It seems his mind worked much like an artist.  He could see images before he physically produced him.  At this time, the study of geography was crawling out of the classical stage and this vision he produced in his head and taught helped forge the way towards the birth of modern geography.

Alexander von Humboldt, a prominent name in the history of science, was incredibly detail oriented.  He studied things and places at extremely small scales and based his explorations on details.  Ritter on the other hand was opposite.  These small details hey found interesting, but what he found even more powerful was the larger scale.  Something called "comparative geography".

To get to the point so I don't bore everyone with a history lesson, I with confidence claim that "Although he spent a lot of time working away lost in literature behind his desk (most likely in an arm chair), Carl Ritter was not just an arm chair geographer".  I would argue time spent in his office wasn't time in his office at all, instead it was a place to go in order for him to travel the world.  Getting lost in the works of others allowed him to discover things those before him had missed, which led to the discovery of more.  He found details on the fringes and created a new type of vision.  Ritter would fill lecture halls with 100's of students year after year.  It is described, he would use the chalkboard like a canvas and his ideas would flow.

So why does this matter? Honestly I have no idea.  I think an interesting point about Ritter is that he had relatively few predecessors who continued his style.  Why, a man with such amazing esteem, could no one follow directly in his footsteps?  I believe no one could.  It seemed his mind worked in ways no one could follow 100% of the time.  Unlike Humboldt, who developed tools and methods for his trade followers could learn, Ritter's ideas were mental.  How could a student learn to paint vivid images in there head?  I feel this is a trait you must learn and create on your own.

Seeing more (Image Received From Google Images)

This man, Carl Ritter reminds me of a very influential person in my life, perhaps the reason I felt compelled to explore this a bit further.  Cheers to anyone who made it through this!

Everyone else more exciting posts on the way.....

Maybe some epic powder skiing shots....cough cough aaron

Yee haw,

Kyle    

Big Sky Big Grass

Once again an unbelievable showing by some of the most talented musicians of our time.  Emmitt Nershi band headlined the saturday show, with a band called Head or the Hills opening.  With the same style as last year Emmitt Nershi pulled members of other bands on stage to create an unbelievable sound.  Check out the video below.

video is Jakes view of the show.... Rangers got to him....

Great music accompanied by great friends made it an unreal night.  It has been decided this will be a yearly event for a group of us, no matter what the path.

Lessons Learned

-In the event of Fat Tire and Ranger being the only beers supplied, stick with Fat Tire.
-Always insulate the bottom of your bed while sleeping in the back of your truck, especially when the mercury drops below zero.
-It gets cold in Big Sky!
-In fact the planes hanging in Whiskey Jacks are fake.  It was noted that the engines are made from old beer cans this trip.  (debated for along time)
-There is a pool/hot tub in Big Sky that is very poachable (for a 6-pack ill give you the secret).
-Return to Fawn Pass, great backcountry skiing!

On a side note its great to see the white stuff once again...

Yee haw

Kyle

A Step Forward

2/10/12

A great surprise for many Bozeman residents was found this morning.  Snow and cold! The skiers are happy and the ice climbers, well we're happy for the skiers (ice climbing sounds cold and I'll assure you it can be, but it is however not so bad when its 45 and sunny).  With the new snow and cold temperatures, it was decided a trip into Hyalite to climb some ice was necessary.  After a morning of classes, my buddy Josh and I loaded up the trusty Tacoma and we were headed to the hills for some climbing.  For both of us it had been awhile since we were on ice, so the level of excitement was high.  Upon arrival we decided it was a good day to climb Mummy 2.

Mummy 2 and Snow in the Sky

It was agreed upon that we would do this climb in two smaller pitches about 20 meters, compared to one long pitch totaling about 40 meters.

Mummy 2 February 2012

One of the many goals of the climb was to work on some multi-pitch techniques, and the two pitch approach would allow it.  Josh was on the first lead sending it in style. Two vertical sections joined by a flatter section made up the first pitch.  Smooth climbing, a few screw placements, and some good sticks in the ice brought him to an area suitable to set up a belay station.

First Pitch

After spending a few minutes at the belay station a yell came from above that I was "On Belay", once I double checked everything I started climbing.  I followed Josh's path cleaning the screws and made my way toward him to switch leads.  Once we talked for a minute and double checked our gear, I started my lead of the second pitch.  At the start the pitch was mellow and little gear was needed.  The climb progressively continued to get steeper quick and I soon found myself on a vertical hollow curtain.  Most axe swings and screws traveled through the ice much easier than I would have liked.

Second Pitch (Photo Josh)

Once the curtain was climbed, the next move was an awkward transition to a final section of ice before the top out.  To say the least lessons were learned on the transition, from there a scramble to the chains was the final obstacle.  Upon arrival I unfortunately was met with the most insane case of the screaming barfies.  A quick 5 minute mental battle between the nerves in my fingers, my stomach, and my brain left me yelling "On Belay" to Josh.  He made quick work climbing and cleaning the second pitch and in no time was at the anchors passing a high five for the epic climb we both just had.  The rope was coiled, gear was cleaned, and  a short hike left us at the top of a very steep gully directly above the Sceptor. Avalanche concerns and the ominous weather aided in the decision to rappel down onto the rappel anchors instead of an unprotected awkward scramble down unstable rock/snow.

Rappelling the gully above the Sceptor 

Once the rappel anchors were reached a quick two person rope coil was conducted to find the mid-point and we both dropped off the edge of the cliff back to reality.  Once on the ground high fives were passed and we geared up for the approach out and the cans of Olympia waiting for us.  On the drive out  we noticed a fire burning and stopped by to warm up and enjoy the great night.

Days Reward (Photo Josh)

Some stories were passed between us and the two travelers from Jackson.  After we finished our beers we got in the truck and headed back to reality.  All in all a great safe day playing in the mountains!

Notes/Lessons Learned 
-Leave extra time for descents and make sure someone in the party has a headlamp with them.
-Ice may seem steeper than it appears.
-Never underestimate how terrible screaming barfies can feel.
-Always cary V-threading supplies on rappels in case of the need to make a makeshift anchor.
-Finally after talks with the guys from Jackson, always be thankful to live in Bozeman because this is one bad ass town!

Kyle

A Bozeman Winter?

The date reads February 6th, 2012 however the weather would lead one to believe it was March or April here in Bozeman Montana. Without much snow or bitter, freezing days those who go outdoors (aka all of the Bozeman populous) may find themselves in the mountains wearing only t-shirts and climbing dry, warm rock faces. This weekend a few of us had a chance to experience such a La Nina phenomena and went out to Allenspur in the Paradise Valley this past saturday. Here are a few pictures of the experience:

As you can see the clothing choices belie the current date. More soon.

Cheers!

Jameson

A year and a day

(click to enlarge)

To follow up on the last post here are two sunset images of the bridgers (same location - different lenses).  The Top one I just took (seriously like 25 min. ago) and the bottom one was taken last year on February 4th.  

So I'm keeping it short since I now must go back into the night and photograph, however, I may expand on this post later if I find some time and (more importantly) don't freeze off any of my fingers.

Stay Safe,

Aaron

La Nina?

Traveling around town, campus and even my house it is becoming apparent, the typical Northwest powder producer La Nina is losing its magical power in the eyes of the masses.  Where is it? Why can I count the number of powder days I've had this year on one hand?  The idea of a weak winter has driven me to do some research in order to find out what is going on and just how bad we really have it.

Bridger Snow Report for 2/1/2012. (Credit: BridgerBowl.com

Weather is sporadic and can be an extremely difficult thing to keep tabs on.  With a limited data set to work with there is great uncertainty.  Usable weather data is limited to about a 100 year history in the the US.  With detailed measurements such as snow pack depths, river discharges and other fine tuned observations, this data has been around for even shorter. To add to the mystery of weather, the measurement devices and techniques used in the past compared to today have changed so dramatically its sometimes hard to imaging what sources of error could have been changing data back then.

Old Way
(Credit: Cliff Mass Weather Blog)

New Way
(Credit: University of Tennessee)

So when we have a dry year in the Northwest, is it fair to blame the waters of the Pacific?  I say no!  In fact the latest data from last week shows we still have an extremely strong band of cool water running through the Pacific. The data also suggest the La Nina is getting stronger!  Hard to believe right!

Area of interest is the band of cool water between Australia and North America.  (Credit: NOAA)

For those of you who don't know the difference between an El Nino and La Nina see the two globes below.

The Upper globe shows an El Nino pattern and the lower globe shows a La Nina pattern.   (Credit: NOAA)

So why is it that with such a strong La Nina set up, we have yet to receive any of the sweet powder we have all been promised?  In short the the words of Cliff Mass "no one knows".  The best theory meteorologists have at this point is that it is all due to the Jet Stream and the location of the formation of low pressure systems.  In order to benefit from storm systems spawning in the Aleutian low, the jet stream must dip south placing the Northwest directly in line with a trough (trough=low pressure).  Instead storm generation for this year is occurring farther east than normal and is leaving us sitting on a ridge, high and dry. (Information taken from NOAA)     

High Pressure sitting on us once again.  (Credit: NOAA)

So what are these weather patterns doing for our local snowpack?  So far as of today, not much.  Sacajawea  in the Bridgers is sitting at 53% normal, Lone Mountain is at 79% normal, Brackett Creek in the Bridgers is at 54% normal and Shower Falls in Hyalite is at 82% normal (NRCS).  If this trend continues its going to be a rough summer for irrigators, water managers, and the forests.  Keep your fingers crossed, maybe the Weather Gods will help us out and bring some big late season storms.  Until then find me out back drinking Coronas and grilling enjoying this 50 degree winter day.  

Enjoy, 

Kyle

(PS: If your really into weather check out this blog - http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/)

My aim as a poster to this here glorious blog is to bring diversity.  While I’m surrounded by Ice Junkies (of the solidified water breed), I find my fix elsewhere therefore that is what I’ll share.  Also this blog needs pictures – So here is an Image I took about a week ago up in Hylight canyon Montana.    

In the picture –

Willy (being a badass) and Cris (taking a break from being a badass)    

Á bientôt,

Aaron 

Dribbling: A Route Analysis

Much in the style of Will Gadd and his descriptive posts I'd like to take some time to analyze yesterday's assault on The Dribbles (WI 4) in Hyalite Canyon, looking at the good, the bad and the icy.

The climb consists of 4 pitches of ice about a mile and a half hike in from the Hyalite Peak trailhead. The first pitch has two vertical sections of ice, about 5 meters a piece, with rolling low angle climbing in-between ending at either a tree belay (which we experienced is quite far off to the side and awkward to belay from) or a v-thread spot at the base of the next pitch. Kyle led this first pitch using a double rope setup and placing 3 screws along the way. The lead went very well, nice job Kyle, and the v-thread anchor he set up was bomber in the ice. One remark to be had about the climb was cleaning the route wasn't all that flawless. Cleaning the screws was fine, but having only clipped one rope on the way up left the second rope to be dangling awkwardly off to the right side. Since the clipped rope had the directionality of the line of ice screws it provided a nice top rope line, pulling up the intended ice route. The second rope however dropped low and got wrapped around a big ice bulge, pulling me quite vigorously off to one side requiring some interesting stemming of my right leg to prevent me from being pulled off route. A way of remedying this is either to not pull much slack from the unclipped rope, or to make sure directional screws can be placed on the route. In the end it worked out well and it wasn't really a fault on either of us, just an educational moment.

Dribbles January of 2012

Continuing on to the second pitch, I met Kyle at the belay where we had a very clean transition for my subsequent lead, trading screws and clippy-draws before I set off. The next lead went very smoothly up a probably WI-3, 20 meter pitch placing 3 screws on the steeper section and then v-threading an anchor off to the right of the next intended pitch. The belay and anchor were both bomber and the clean went very well with good communication, however my rope management was a bit sloppy. Instead of properly lap coiling the rope in front of me on the anchor I just let the rope dangle below me which required an extra 5 minutes of re-coiling it before Kyle could set off on his lead of the next pitch. A potential problem, that was luckily avoided, was the rope drifted off of a rocky overhang below us and could have snagged leading to an awkward recovery of the rope. In the future, proper rope management will make this potential problem null-and void while also saving some time.

The third pitch on The Dribbles is a 20-30 meter pitch of WI-4, starting off quite steep and angling out at the top to a solid v-thread belay (already set up) off to the right of the waterfall. Kyle led this pitch swiftly, placing 4 or 5 screws along the way and made an incredibly swift transition with the belay setup. He also called out a fair warning of thin ice in the middle, allowing me to safely traverse over onto much better ice to the right as a good partner should.

Moving onto lead again, I was off in no time after briefly exchanging screws and began to lead the fourth and final pitch (30 meters, WI-3). It became apparent to us as I was topping out that Kyle's belay spot was right in the middle of the funnel for all of the falling ice I knocked off which could have been devastating had I knocked anything large off onto him. It just goes to show that even if someone else has established part of a route (like his belay station), their placement may not be ideal and extra consideration should be taken into account when climbing. With lovely 20-20 hindsight, we came to the conclusion that moving the belay over would avoid the danger of falling ice and make the climb exponentially safer. 4 screws later I set up a belay, slinging a tree at the top and safely belayed him up to the top of the route. The summit! Success!

Any climber knows that the summit is not the end but barely half of the climb. Getting down still must be executed and executed well, with mental acuity and physical stamina otherwise lives could be put on the line. I admittedly fell prey to this legendary predator and was not in and of the right mind on the descent. Traversing over to a gully where we had read was an easy and proper rappel, we came to the top of a relatively steep chute with no trees and some wind-deposited snow. Kyle was the first to approach it and wisely began searching for a tree with which to set up a rappel to safely traverse the chute to the next set of trees to begin the rappel. I however, feeling mighty after conquering my first multi-pitch ice climb, was eager to press on and forget the safety line while traversing the chute (it looked as though other climbers hadn't used a rope so it seemed safe at the time, and maybe it was). Upon Kyle's insistance though we set up the rope and safely traversed the gully and began the rappel. It wasn't until later that night while I was reading a sad story of a climber, having completed a climb, descending a chute very similar to this one only to trigger an avalanche and end up in the hospital that I realized my mental instability. Two crucial things came to mind while reading this story: you must always consider the safety of you and your climbing team first and foremost (almost like the EMT training bulletin of analyzing the scene safety before approaching the patient), and second you must be able to rely on your partner. Cheers to Kyle for insisting upon the rope for the traverse over the gully for we both made it down tired, but safe.

All in all the climb was beautiful. We were graced with great weather, bomber ice, and a fun and successful climb. Can't wait for the next one!

Cheers,

James

A Line = A Lived Experience

Reading a book assigned in my Geographic Thought class last week some new ideas started floating around in my head that got me thinking.  Often things that are thought of on a whim get lost in the routine of daily life.  This blog hopefully will also act as a forum for us to get these random ideas written down in hopes of expanding upon them in coming weeks, months, and years.  Most likely some of the postings will not make sense to everyone, but take from them what you can.

Being a Geographer, I love the idea of maps and knowing where I am at all points in time.  Whether its driving around a new city, exploring a new trail, or even entering a new building.  The sense of place I desire often leaves me never truly feeling lost, but rather educated on my surroundings and inspired to discover more.  Explores throughout the history of the human race have always been willing to go a little further.  Whether it was in pursuit of spreading religion, finding spices, discovering riches, claiming land or conquering a group of people, the idea of discovery was the same.  What drove these men to get on ships and sail for years just to explore?  The amazing thing about these men is they had no idea what they were sailing into, these men were true explorers.  This was occurring at time the educated world was still perplexed at the idea that the sun was the center of the universe and that in fact North America might exist.

World Map during the Middle Ages - Large Potential for Non-Lived Experiences

The quote that struck me from the book was by a man named Gunnar Olsson, he stated "A line is a lived experience".  His use of the word "line" takes on many different meanings.  His basic point is that once a line is drawn on a map it can no longer be considered unexplored.  At some point it has been lived and experienced.  A potentially unsettling situation for modern day explorers.  For those wanting to explore and live unexperienced events it has become difficult.  In a world of Google Earth and detailed trail maps its hard to even imagine finding yourself in a place that someone has never been or seen from above through a computer screen.  For example the image below: Say you are wandering around the hills of Hyalite.  At any given moment in time you are within a distance of a trail displayed by the line on the map.  All of these trails are used heavily at all times of the year.  So in a way at no point are you exploring this area, but instead just re-visiting already discovered places. 

Hyalite Canyon - Lived Experience

Even climbing guide books detailing the approaches, routes and descents on rock and ice include lines and prove it has already been a lived experience by someone before.

Why so many Routes? Could it be people all wanted to leave a mark and explore there own route?

What do modern age explorers do in order to fulfill the same void that was filled by exploring unmapped lands and oceans long ago?  It seems apparent by looking on any climbing website, or flipping through the pages of rock and Ice, we have potentially found the next age of exploration.  It lies deep in the idea of a first ascent.  This idea is closely tied to the climbing population, but fits well with all other aspects of a persons life also.  Whether its a new 5.15 sport or trad route, ridiculously hard new mixed or ice route, the pursuit and exploration of a new idea, a trip to a foreign land to help people in need, or a scramble up a super easy rock just to get to the top, its clear human beings have always figured out a way to blur that line considered a lived experience and engage themselves in a un-lived state of being that fits them.  I would argue we are all explorers in our own right. Whats your own personal first ascent?

Yee Haw,

Kyle

Wow, what an amazing day!  Back to reality once again like many times before, but today was one James and I will never forget.  4 amazing pitches of ice and 3 heart pumping rappels down couloir like snow fields at dusk.  The completion (aka: safely drinking a beer back at the truck) marks the first multi-pitch ice climb ever completed for both James and I, V-Threads, double rope set up and hanging belays included.  This was an important one for both of us.  The day prior we had to retreat the climb early due to some factors in and out of our control (window rock cabin was rented the night prior).  The 12-pack of Olympia back at the truck provided by Kevin made the trip worth it, but a return was decided to be very necessary.  Temperatures hovered in the upper 30's all day with strong winds and a cloudy sky overhead.  The climb "Dribbles at WI 4" held some outstanding ice and some great memories.   Cheers to James for a safe trip, great belays and thinking gentle thoughts on the final pitch.  Poor belay placement put me in a direct fall line with falling ice.  Safe to say after a bruised cheek and a new scratch on the helmet a crucial lesson was learned!   Also, credit to the trusty Arcteryx pack owned by James.  While all other packs were blown swiftly off a cliff and lost in the woods well below us (70 meters up), the trusty pack remained and ensured our timely return to town.  It must also be noted to the best of my knowledge salting the roads in Hyalite doesn't happen.  Our return trip had us helping a guy out who was very stuck.  We left the scene without success, but passed a tow truck en route close to the canyon entrance.  Best of luck to him and his torn off muffler!

Dribbles attempt 1 with a very hungover crew (James, Kevin, Matt and Kyle).

The prize
(Well noted by Kevin the waterfall on the can appears to be frozen)

This inspiring day and a long walk back to the trail head provided the inspiration for this blog.  Up Th-Air is a blog designed to create a forum for all of our friends, family and anyone interested in getting a glimpse into the lives of a couple Bozeman college students passionate about the mountains and our education.  For some it will provide entertainment, many parents it will give some peace of mind (if thats possible when you have sons/daughters running around the mountains) and for us involved a chance to take note and look back on some of the amazing times truly shaping who we are.  Quick disclaimer for the parents: stories and pictures posted are in fact being made up for school projects and although look real are NOT!  We spend our free time playing chess and attending school functions.  On a serious note though all events that may be talked about are truthfully done in the safest manner possible.  The group of people you surround yourself with can make the difference between a safe day and scary day.  Knowing someone is there with a level head and similar plan, makes even the worst situation no more risky then opening a text book (we do that also).  We truly choose safety first and are all very aware there is always another day.  I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we are very fortunate to have such great families for strength and life long friends to enjoy the amazingly inspiring landscape we live in.  Thanks to all those reading today and future posts!

Yee Haw,

Kyle