Bigger Skies Ahead

Big Sky

Last March, I cruised down to Big Sky Montana for the 2013 USSA Masters National Championships with Mike.  The scenery along the Rockies south of Calgary was truly spectacular!

Blue bird conditions with lots of snowy mountains as we drove from Canada to the USA.

Big Sky is BIG - about 11,166 ft at the top and 7,500 ft at the village resort where we stayed.

Before the racing started, I had a couple of days to explore the mountain and check out the pow and try to acclimatize to the elevation!!!  (Living in the east does have some drawbacks when you venture into the mountains).

Before long, it was time to get down to business and enjoy the amazing snow, cool courses and excellent racing conditions at the US Nationals:

The temps were cold for March, but the sun was out and my start number was absolutely incredible (#3 in slalom, #1 in GS).  I was ready to rock!

Two nearly perfect days of ski racing!  The courses were long compared to what we get on the slopes in southern Ontario and I was definitely huffing big time in the finish, but WOW, this was "type 1 super fun"!!!

Here's a short vid of skiing and racing in Big Sky, Montana:

http://vimeo.com/63219257

Enjoy!

Revy or Not

Revelstoke BC is such a cool place to ski!  Awesome powder, steep lines, glades and fall line groomers equals one incredible ski experience in the interior of British Columbia.

I love the mountains and the incredible scenery out west.

We had a few powder days with some sunshine as well - somehow makes the hiking at 7,300 ft all worthwhile.

And don't believe what they say ... you DO have friends on a powder day!!! (As long as you keep up).

And at the end of the day, we got to enjoy some of this ...

... and this ...

... and this ...

Can't wait to go back to Revelstoke!

Here's a short video of the "Revy Experience" back in February 2013:

https://vimeo.com/61594196

Enjoy!

Winter Paradise

Finally!  It's getting close to ski season (in Ontario) and we eastern ski junkies are dreaming of snow, mountains, blue-bird conditions and lots of pow (when we can get it).

Today, I'm thinking of 7th Heaven at Whistler/Blackcomb ...

yah ...

smiles all round ...

Here's a small collection of pics and videos from "paradise" back in Winter 2012:

http://vimeo.com/55745502

Enjoy!

This and That

If I knew then ...

... what I know now ...

... I would have spent less time doing this ...

... and more time doing this ...

Winter's coming ... bring it on!!!!

Da Rules - Reboot

Two blonds, two rules??? (Nice shades mates!)

Awhile ago, I posted my thoughts on "The 2 Rules of Climbing" (or skiing or living, for that matter) and da rules were:

Rule #1. Get Strong

Rule #2. Don't Suck

I also added the "Zeroth Rule, which was:

Rule #0: Assess the situation and decide if it is safe (for you to continue).

To recap ...

Rule #1: Get Strong - Obviously, you are not going to all of a sudden become “stronger” just because you want to or need to or wish it to be so.  “Get strong” is you taking control over your body, pushing aside that feeling of getting pumped and about to fall, and finding that extra effort to “make the move on the rock” (while climbing) or to "hold that edge in a turn" (while skiing).  Just one more move and then maybe another and another as you finesse or power your way through the crux or slope.  (Maybe getting in shape ahead of time would be a good idea too!)

(One of these dudes is gettin' strong ... can you guess which one?)

Rule #2: Don’t Suck - Sometimes when we get out of our comfort zone or feel tired or lazy, we want the easy way out.  We feel that we’re “at our limit” and its time to quit.  You may think negative thoughts like “I can’t make the next moves through the crux so I’ll just sit on the gear, call ‘take’ or maybe have a little fall onto the last piece of pro” (climbing) or just skid your turn and come to a stop (skiing).  And you’ll never know if you could have made the move or turn because you gave up!  “Don’t suck” is you taking control over the situation, recognizing your negative thoughts and pushing them away while you commit to the move.

(Erin Mielzynski [Canada] getting 'er done on the Slalom World Cup in March 2012)

Really “Rule 1. Get Strong” and “Rule 2. Don’t Suck” is a mind/body state or experience that’s easy to say and not so easy to do.  "The 2 Rules of Climbing" seemed to apply to most situations, but maybe there was more than I originally thought?  What else was there to consider?

Well, it all became very clear to me this past summer when we tried "Alpine Climbing" out west in the Rockies.  "Get Strong" and "Don't Suck" will only get you so far in this venue.

What was abundantly needed, and what was repeated to me over and over again and again was:

Rule #3: Don't Fuck Up

This is a really useful rule when you're doing something "social" like "climbing together" and you're climbing (or skiing) along some sketchy snow / ice / rock / crevasse / avalanche slope terrain and there's about 1,000 feet of nothingness on both sides of your boots!

(Team "Fuzzy Peaches" heading towards the 11,155 ft peak on Lyell 4, Canadian Rockies)

How could I have missed Rule #3 all this time?  You know there are many situations out there when you need your "A Game" going and attention to detail is Sooooooooo important.  NOT falling or screwing up is an important skill to acquire.  Time to focus on the task at hand!!!

Many thanks to the ACC Toronto Section, Darcie and our sponsor Fuzzy Peaches for introducing me to Rule #3.  Summer 2012 was truly memorable.

(At the start of something?  ... We're not in Kansas anymore ...)

Little Wings

Sometimes the challenges of rock climbing can feel overwhelming.  You begin to struggle and waves of doubt and desperation start hammering your brain and sapping your strength.

Other times, you're in tune with the rock and just floating up the cliff.  It can even look like you've got wings!

Here's Tim climbing a tough finger crack at Smoke Bluffs in Squamish.

https://vimeo.com/51365516

Nice send!

Doing de Dacks

We tried something new this September and went climbing in the Adirondacks in upper New York state for the long weekend.  Nice place.  Interesting granite rock with some crack, lots of features, a little dirt and hundreds of single and multi-pitch "adventure climbing" routes to choose from.

Wilderness everywhere and no crowds!!!

We started in the Chapel Ponds region since it was near Lake Placid and because it has a high concentration of good climbing with short approaches like the "1 minute approach" to the slabs and other nearby cliffs.   Plus the crags had cool names like "The Beer Walls".

Pull off the road onto a small parking area and within minutes "you've arrived".

(By the way, I'm not so sure that I like these double ropes on these multi-pitch slab routes ... too much rope management and cluster F@#& at the belay stations!)

On hot sunny days, and we had plenty of heat during our stay in the Dacks, we would cool off and wash away the sunscreen, sweat and dirt from the day's adventures in the local pond at the bottom of the cliff.

I gotta admit the grades in the Dacks are stiff!  My visions of climbing some challenging 10's were quickly dashed as we "warmed up" on some 5.5's, 5.7's and 5.8's and got totally worked!  (Think 2 or more grades harder!)  Sure it takes some time to get used to a new climbing area but this place is nuts!!!

This is "5.7"?!?!?  (The Cave variation finish of the 5.5 Standard Route up the Chapel Pond Slab).

One day we hopped on Clutch and Cruise, a single pitch "5.8+" route (... yeah, right ...) with an overhanging hand crack and disappearing feet.  (Beta alert: bring two #3 BD cams for the crux, plenty of tape and be ready to fist jam).  It also had a telling description in the guide book as "the most sandbagged route in the Adirondacks.  I believe it!!!

A cool route with burly fun moves none the less.  Definitely worth doing.  (We only got the #3 cam stuck twice which made cleaning the overhanging route on rap fun, fun fun)!

But first things first.  Trad rack and helmut ... check!

Climbing partner, sunglasses and rope ... check!!

Cool granite 5.7 route with mandatory overhanging hand crack ... check!!!

Actually, this 5.7 two-pitch route, Labatt Ami, was more fun and "doable" than most of the routes we climbed in the Dacks.  The rock friction was great.  And the upper crux was easier than it looked from below.

Proof!

Most of the routes had walk off descents.  But one of the route descriptions indicated a rap off a pine tree ...

... hmmm ... we decided to pass on this little wee thing; maybe in 20 years we'll think about it.

Before we knew it, it was time to head back to Canada and say good bye to the Adirondacks and our little wilderness friend "Hooty", the Guardian of the Upper Beer Wall.

We'll definitely be back again!