Rock Climber Girl - blogging by Sara, a pacific northwest woman who rock climbs

Going Places.

2010-03-09T22:13:00.000-08:00

It's been a strange winter, but I'm starting to come out from my hibernation. Only it hasn't been hibernation... it's been a strange experience in constant motion for the last few months... very little rest, a very lot of movement, and very little of any of it within as much of my own direction or control as I've become accustomed to. The short version might be, "Shit happens."

So, whatever I'd call it, here I am. I'm holed up for a couple of days in soft-water Spokane Valley, WA, in a kinda ok hotel. Work is full, and fun, and interesting, and really a dream come true kind of setup... I get to travel, meet new and interesting people who play outside, and talk a bit about gear, but mostly play outside and talk about playing outside.

There's a strange new learning, in this kind of worktravel blend. I hang the "do not disturb" sign like other professional travelers I've observed, so that the privacy of my chaotic little sanctuary away from home is the same when I return to it as when I leave it... a universal constant I take for granted at home. My systems for keeping organized are getting better. I'm trying to make more time for phone calls to friends and family (I'm failing miserably at that one, at the moment, but hopefully I'll improve). I'm getting better about eating well, and I'm determined to get better about exercising even while I'm on the road. I can feel myself slipping into expedition mode, where I have brief, meaningful interactions with strangers I may or may not ever see again, but whose time and words and smiles I value because I miss the human interaction normally delivered by my close friends and family.

Last week I set off for Nelson, BC for a ski event (which rocked, by the way) and a big stretch of the trip from Spokane through Metalline Falls, across the border and into Nelson was brand new to me. It was ground I'd never covered before, even though it's only a day's drive from home. I'm enjoying that part of my job... it won't always be new, but when it is, it's great. I have a bit of a dormant travel virus in me... last year's big trip was a flare-up, but since then, I've been in a bit of a recovery mode. Driving through new terrain in my home state made it flare up, just a bit.

I haven't been climbing much... partly, my personal life took over everything else there for a few weeks, and I'm still digging out a bit. Partly, I've been dealing with a nagging injury from last December, and my body finally issued a stop work order a few weeks ago that even I wasn't able to set aside. Some self-care has been in order, and is in order, for awhile to come.

My harness doesn't tighten down quite the way it should... my training dropped off entirely for a few necessary weeks. During that time, life was family -> work -> family -> work ... lather, rinse and repeat. It was a bit of a blessing in disguise, since the covalent bonds that connect me to the people I love and who love me back are ... not stronger, since they're always strong, but I've been reminded of them, and now's a good time for that, since my life is even a little less conventional right now than my normal level of unconventional.

As I move through this world so close to home but not home, I'm thinking a lot about friends who are getting ready to head to far flung places. This Everest season is unlike years past for me, where I was able to lightly follow the action from the comfort of my laptop and then watch the post-season documentaries with my climbing friends as a form of entertainment, this season is closer to home. I'm thinking positive thoughts of health, safety and success for each friend headed for the mountain -- the blessing bestowed upon me during my wander through the region last fall.

I'm looking forward to the next few days of work, and then to a few days closer to home, hopefully involving friends, family, and playing outside. And probably, a whole lot of salad and trail running. Next week, if plans hold, takes me down to Red Rock for the Red Rock Rendezvous, an event that will truly blur the line between work and play for me. I'm hoping for at least a bit of cragging while I'm there... I'm not in epic, long, trad-leading shape, at the moment, but I am excited about the prospect for getting in some bolt clipping in between work commitments while I'm there and seeing so many friends (and making so many new ones) all in one place.

If you've emailed / messaged / commented / etc and not gotten a response from me, I apologize. I usually manage to keep up, but just trust me when I say that the last few months have been unusual to a degree that I just wasn't able to respond to everything. I did / do read everything, though, and appreciate all the support and encouragement and concern and love, and look forward to life returning to a more normal level of abnormal, and being able to keep in touch better than I have been.

Take good care, and hopefully it won't be a month before my next post.

Nepal slideshow and fundraiser in Port Townsend on February 25th

2010-02-16T11:52:00.000-08:00

What: 10% of sales at Wildernest Outdoor Store in Port Townsend on February 25th will benefit Big City Mountaineers!

What #2: Nepal slideshow and shindig by Sara Lingafelter (that's me!), hosted by Steve and Kerry Sutorius of Wildernest at Jordini's in Port Townsend, starting about 6pm.

Where: Wildernest Outdoor Store & Jordinis, 929 Water Street, Port Townsend, WA

When: February 25th, 2010

To RSVP and help spread the word: Here's the Facebook Event for the whole day. The "event" starts at 10am when Wildernest opens for the day, and the slideshow itself kicks off just after 6pm.

More details:

Thanks to the incredible folks at Wildernest Outdoor Store in Port Townsend (and Bainbridge Island), there's a second opportunity to see my Nepal slideshow, and help raise funds for Big City Mountaineers at the same time.

If you can't attend, please consider contributing to the cause.

Here's the plan:

Steve and Kerry Sutorius of Wildernest are going to donate 10% of their sales on February 25th to my fundraising goal for Big City Mountaineers.

And, that evening, they've arranged a little shindig at Jordini's restaurant (same address as Wildernest) to host a replay of my Nepal slideshow. Jordini's will have beer, wine and snacks available at happy hour prices, and I'll start the slideshow once everybody's got their snacks, shortly after 6pm.

Please help spread the word in the West sound... not only is this a great chance to come meet Steve and Kerry and get to know one of my favorite retail shops -- it's also a great way to support my fundraising goals for Big City Mountaineers.

A little more info...
I was born and raised in Port Townsend, and am a 1994 PTHS grad. I'm really excited about the chance to do a slideshow and share some of these stories in my hometown, and can't wait to see friends and family there. I am planning a Seattle friends and family event for February 26th, so Seattle folks who can't get out to PT on the 25th, please save the date and watch for more details to come!

With Big City Mountaineers Summit for Someone program, I'm raising funds to help get kids into the outdoors. I'll be making my first attempt on Mount Rainier on an all-woman rope team including friends Candace, Tiffany and Katie, with all female guides, this August.

Here's a BCM Blog Post about my climbing team: Meet our Rainier Women Climbers!

The Season launched today!

2010-01-29T14:54:00.000-08:00

The Season, a much-anticipated web TV show produced by Fitz Cahall (aka, the soul behind Dirtbag Diaries,) and filmmaker Bryan Smith launched today on arcteryx.com.

I've been waiting with baited breath for The Season to kick off since I first saw the trailer.

The first episode exceeded my expectations. I watched it stop and go the first time through, since I was chatting on Twitter with other viewers... then sat back, closed the door, cranked the volume and watched it a second time through uninterrupted. And, my eyes watered.

Enjoy.

22 episodes are scheduled to go live this season, one episode each Friday. You can follow along on the sponsor websites, at http://www.theseasontv.com, or, subscribe via iTunes.

Here's a huge thank you to the sponsors of The Season: Arc'teryx, New Belgium Brewing, Outdoor Research and Kuat Racks.

I don't know if there's any way to communicate to sponsors just how much this community appreciates your support of projects like The Season and Dirtbag Diaries. I don't own a TV. I listen to two podcasts regularly, and one of them is the Diaries. Those of us who play outside come together over these stories. The characters are a part of our lives. These stories remind us of our common ground, even if we're addicts of different activities. And, it's not lost on us which companies choose to help make them happen. We notice.

Above all, here's a huge high five to Fitz, Bryan, and the athletes behind The Season. I can't wait to hear the rest of your stories.

Mad Rock Trigger Wire Carabiner demonstration

2010-01-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

While I was down in Salt Lake City for the Outdoor Retailer show, I asked folks on Twitter if they had any questions I might be able to answer during my free time on the floor. One question,from @ryanmullins on Twitter, lead me to the new Trigger Wire carabiner from Mad Rock. The video above shows the action of the biner, and it's also here on YouTube. Basically, you set the wire gate to "open," and it's held until it's triggered to close. Mad Rock is pitching this as an add on to your normal rack of quickdraws, for steep and especially difficult sections of climbing; for me, I'm far more likely to use this with a stick clip.

Mad Rock is working on the "stem" piece that actually holds the gate open, so that it will have a fingernail ridge or nubbin to make it easier to set to "open" with one hand (right now, it took me two hands with the demo biner to get it set, but I also didn't spend a ton of time with it... it might be something that takes a little bit of practice). The Trigger Wire is set to hit market in April, 2010, and I'll be putting one or two on my rack.

What's coming up...

2010-01-17T22:29:00.001-08:00

This will have to be snappy, since my sleep deprivation level is reaching critical, and I'm hitting the road again tomorrow early...

I had a kick ass day in the climbing gym yesterday with Candace and Tiffany... wow, I am having some serious fun climbing with you two. I'm thankful that my list of girl climbing partners has expanded by several over the last few months. I'm still taking it a little easy on my back and neck after a little injury in December, but along with close to 75 friends I've embarked on a pull-up pyramid training program which is giving me something to do even when I'm on the road and not climbing as much as I'd like. This winter really has been less climbing than usual, but I'm looking forward to entering this season uninjured for once, since I haven't been overtraining all winter in the climbing gym. Woo hoo!

Also coming up... I'm doing a slideshow from my trip to Nepal on January 27th at 6:30 pm at the Kitsap Vertical World. It will be informal, fun, and I promise... there are pretty pictures of mountains.

I'm off again tomorrow morning for Salt Lake City for a week. I'll have one ski day, and I'm hoping to get to the climbing gym at least once, but since it's a work trip all bets are off.

There is one time and place where I know I'll be for sure. I'm on a panel, happening guerilla-style, next door to the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market on Friday at 11am. The panel is called "Boots on the Ground: Real People Getting Things Done in Social Media." The full info is online at this Facebook Event Page, and here's the press release. I've got a few other social media events I'm hoping to attend to listen in, with more information here.

How's about a few comments from those of you who are actually getting out there, despite the fact that it's January? I could use a little bit of inspiration, myself, right about now. Please, let me live vicariously through your climbing adventures, for once...

Gear Reviews: Evolv XY and Crumpler Bags

2010-01-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy USING my stash of gear that I haven't kept up with my gear review write-ups! So, here are a few highlights from the items I've been putting through their paces over the last few months.

A couple of changes in my product reviews... while I'm a user first and an outdoor industry worker second, in order to avoid any appearance of unfairness I'm going to cut back on the number of product reviews I do personally for a bit. I'm hoping to have some guest reviewers chime in, too.

Also, the FTC has recently published final guidelines that require certain types of disclosure when companies provide items to reviewers (like me). I'm actually happy to fully disclose, per the FTC requirements. If I like a piece of gear enough to take the time to write it up, then I'm perfectly happy to tell you exactly how it was obtained.

One of the items I'm testing but not yet ready to review is Columbia Sportswear's rechargeable heated boot... So far, my one word review is: "TOASTY." But, I'd like to be able to say more than that, so stay tuned.

Evolv XY Custom Climbing Shoes

I've long been a fan of Evolv the company, ever since my second pair of climbing shoes. Those long ago first Evolvs never quite fit... but I was completely impressed with the company's customer service and responsiveness, and have thought fondly of them ever since. Every time I shop climbing shoes, I try Evolvs, but have yet to find a really good fit in their shoes.

When Evolv offered me a pair of their XY custom line to try out, I was excited to give them a try.I had a little bit of technical difficulty with their website for doing the shoe design (but they were in the middle of working out some kinks at the time, so hopefully those issues have been resolved). I wound up designing a custom pair of their Womens' Elektra model. I added the Pontas Lace "extra" rubber on the upper, and carefully picked my colors.

I went with my best guess on shoe size, based on my history with Evolvs, and ordered a 7.5 / EU 38. That was a size gamble... but I haven't consistently fit a size in Evolvs, and their recommendation is to order your street shoe size. My street shoe size is 8 in most US shoes, and 38 in most EU shoes, but my last pair of Evolvs (Heras) were quite big at an 8, so I though I'd try a half size down.

When my XY Customs arrived, I opened the box and with one look could tell that they were larger than I'd hoped for. I tried them on around my house, and was worried that they were going to be just plain too large. But, you can't judge a rock climbing shoe by its performance on carpet, so off to the gym I went.

I'm glad I did.

I did a bit of bouldering in the XY shoe and was surprised... usually, I have to have a very tight shoe for my feet to be comfortable on the wall. It sounds counterintuitive, but it's true. I tend to have foot cramps and/or pain, when I climb in larger shoes. Some women specific models are just too narrow for me, which contributes to the problem. I found, even with a more roomy fit, the Electra XY to support my foot and allow me to climb in comfort.

The end result? I've been climbing in the gym in these for a couple of months now, and they're my current pick for gym shoes. They're the perfect middle ground between my favorite performance models and the other shoes I've tried to wear for long routes and/or all day which, for some reason, give me foot cramps. I can wear these for long gym sessions without having to take them off in between every climb, and -- possibly the highest praise I give a shoe -- I don't even think about my feet while I have them on. I just climb.

I haven't climbed in a fully synthetic shoe for some time, and sure enough, these have not stretched the way I'm used to leather shoes stretching. While the fit isn't exactly what I expected when I ordered, it's turned out to be great for the gym.

I haven't yet gotten them outside, but I'm looking forward to it in the spring, since my hope is that these are a solution for my long route / all day shoe issues.

I do wish I could find a size and stick with it, in Evolv shoes -- but to be fair, I didn't go out and try Elektras on prior to ordering, so I was guessing at my size. Since custom shoes are not returnable / refundable, I'd be pretty darn sure you know what your size is in the platform you're ordering, before you place your order.

Overall? I'm very happy with the XY Elektras. They're definitely distinctive -- I get asked about them every time I wear them (I can confirm, climbers pay a ridiculous amount of attention to footwear), and I liked picking out my own colors, as silly as that sounds. I do think, if I order a second pair (which appears likely, given that I can't find my favorite old model of Red Chili Corona VCRs in my size anywhere) I'll try on Elektras and size down a bit for the fit I prefer, and add the stiff midsole option for a little more support for my funny feet.

Full disclosure: Evolv provided this sample pair of shoes at no charge for the purpose of my testing and review. And, I'm going to wear the crap out of 'em.

More information: http://www.evolvesports.com/flash_app/index.htm

Crumpler Customary Barge Deluxe

This second review is more in my capacity as a blogger and road warrior, but I know I'm not the only one so here goes.

I first got to know Crumpler at last year's Summer Outdoor Retailer during one of my wanders around the show floor, and was blown away by the company's sense of humor (their product capacity is often described in terms of how many beers the bags hold). I was on a hunt for a true blogger / media / journalist bag, and I found it in the Customary Barge.

From the outside, this looks like a Kermit-colored backpack. Inside, it's packing a wallop.

For photogs, this bag has an internal organization system that attaches to the interior with velcro (and holds well, in my testing) to hold lenses, camera bodies and accessories.

For road warriors, the bag has a well-padded laptop compartment that holds up to a 17-inch laptop.

For anybody who hauls their life around on their back on a daily basis (um, like me) the capacity is fantastic. The listed capacity is 28 litres, and for a road warrior commute bag, it's the best I've tried. It holds my gym wear, laptop, point and shoot camera, cords and accessories, makeup bag, and has a usable organization system that helps keep each item where it belongs. Even fully loaded, the bag is comfortable for me to carry (which isn't always the case with one-size fits all backpacks).

I get asked about the bag a LOT... probably because it's bright green, and larger than the average backpack carried by woman booking around Seattle... but it doesn't scream "I'm carrying expensive photography and computer equipment!" which I like.

The price tag ($255 retail, US) will put this outside of the price range of most of us dirtbag photographers. But, if you've got the funds, and you're looking for a really solid road warrior / media / blogger / journalist bag, then check this one out.

Full disclosure: Crumpler provided a sample of this bag at no charge for my review purposes, with the expectation that it will be returned at the end of my review period. I'd love to keep it, though.

More information: http://www.crumplerbags.com/

Please DON'T come to my party tonight!

2009-12-31T11:25:00.000-08:00

Who: You and me.

What: A Happy New Years Non-Party

When: From now until 11:59 PM on January 1st.

Where: Wherever your bunny slippers take you.

Why: To raise funds for Big City Mountaineers. I've pledged to raise at least $4,000, and to do my very best to climb Mount Rainier in August, to meet that fundrising goal.

How: Please view the non-invitation for all of the details... or, keep reading if you're not on Facebook.

You can also cut to the chase by visiting my Summit for Someone home page and making a tax-deductable donation today.

What on earth am I talking about? Read on for the whole story.

Dear friends and family,

I know you're all busy tonight.

But please -- and I know this is last minute -- consider joining me for my at-home fundraiser to benefit Big City Mountaineers.

Yes... I'm inviting you to an event that's not actually happening. But keep reading, please.

This August, if the mountain and the weather permit, I'll be climbing Mount Rainier via the Disappointment Cleaver route, with a summit at over 14,000 feet. Why would I do this to myself?

Because I love the views.

And, because I believe with my whole heart, that part of the reason the universe made me a climber is to help get other people outside -- especially, kids... and especially, girls who might not otherwise discover about themselves what I've discovered about myself in my life as a climber. My climb will raise funds for Big City Mountaineers, via their Summit for Someone program.

I'm asking for you to help me get kids outside.

Please, during this event that doesn't require a ticket, a shower, clean clothes, or even for you to change out of your bunny slippers... join me.

I'm asking for $14 of your help. That's one dollar for each thousand feet of mountain, just about. It's also way less than most people I know will spend on booze this evening.

Consider it a warm-up for tonight. You can have two fewer drinks during your New Years' festivities. Your liver will thank both of us, and you can feel good knowing that your donation will help some kid, somewhere, get out into a natural space near where they live. Perhaps, it will be a first of a lifetime experience, that changes the course of her life.

If each of you donate $14 today, I'll blow my minimum fundraising amount of $4,000 out of the water. If each of you donate $14 today, I'll still fundraise in 2010, but my planned events (think, slideshows from my trip to Nepal) will have a lower "suggested donation" to attend, which will make them more fun for all of us.

Every donation will help me reach my goal, and help a bunch of teens spend a week in the mountains next summer. Your $14 donation will pay for part of the costs of a teen to spend a week in the backcountry with some positive role models.

To donate by credit or debit card, just click the “Donate” button on my fundraising page, here:

http://www.summitforsomeone.org/main.php?page=4&climber=6786

When you complete the donation process, you’ll receive a confirmation e-mail that functions as a tax document, which allows you to deduct your contribution. (And you’ll get an ecstatic “thank you” e-mail from me.)

Thank you for your help, and have a great night tonight. I won't see you there!

Sara

Two years.

2009-12-29T12:33:00.000-08:00

Photo by Katie Trembley, view from the top of Solar Slab, Red Rock, NV

Well... this isn't the post I thought I'd be writing today... I had a few little gear reviews, and a "Wow, wasn't it a great year" post planned, just like everybody else at this time of year.

But, last night's long winded emails with my beloved pen pals turned into this morning's long winded emails with my beloved pen pals and at one point, I was typing away, and realized...

Today's not just nearly the end of 2009. Today has a significance for me beyond just being a day partway between Christmas and New Years. This day, two years ago, December 29, 2007, is the day that I discovered my self, for the very first time.

Nope... this isn't another year in review post, though I'll likely do one of those (probably, in pictures). And I'll warn you right now, this one's likely to be light on the climbing and heavy on the life, so I won't judge if you come back in a few days when it's back to pretty pictures of wild places and more stories of playing outside.

But, if you're so inclined, keep reading.

Two years and a day ago, I was "living the dream." Career, house, marriage, time with beloved friends and family, and more stability and security than I could have imagined. Never mind, that a few times a year I had a friend or colleague sit me down and say, "WHY are you so sad? It's not usual for someone your age to be so DOWN all the time." My climbing time was an escape... trips, and even weekends away, took me out of my daily existence, and gave me a little taste of my strength and independence, and of some fledgling happiness. By the time I had to turn toward home, each time, whether after three days or ten, at some point during the trip home I'd cry. At the time, I identified the feelings that triggered the tears as being connected to not wanting to go back to work... but really, I think now it was something deeper. Two years and a day ago, I was living a life that was not connected in any way to what I wanted, or needed, to be happy -- other than those periods of escape.

Two years ago, on December 29th, 2007, something happened. I was on a climbing trip in Red Rock, Nevada, and for the first time I can remember, I heard a voice inside my head telling me that the life I was living was not going to cut it. That I could no longer put others first, and that, at some point, I just might have to do something to take care of myself. That big changes were in store. It was a calm realization, despite its magnitude, and the consequences I feared might (and have) stemmed from that moment. There were no tears, there was no breakdown. Just a steady, calm listening to my inner voice, which somehow had always been drowned out, before.

The next year was full of big changes -- a move, a change in marital status, a new job -- and a number of smaller ones. I did a lot of work... on myself, at work, at the gym, in time spent with friends and professional service providers, and that work paid dividends in the form of a creeping sense of happiness. Increased self-esteem. A feeling of strength. Independence. Self-care. New friends, who quickly became old friends, and then quickly became family. Old friends, who continued to love and support me, even though I was evolving into a different person than they'd grown to love in the past.

I also did a lot of play. I spent more time than I ever have before outside, and that's continued right up until now. I've said this before... I do my best thinking when I'm outside, and my very best thinking when I'm high up on a multipitch climb, sitting on a belay ledge, feeling the world all around me as if I'm one big exposed nerve. I don't know what it is about being up high that helps open me up and helps me listen to the world and to myself more closely, with finer detail, but I'm thankful for the privilege.

And, somewhere along the line, I settled comfortably into this... the life I live now. This life is based on balancing care for others, with care for myself. This life is based on connecting with others, and maintaining connections with others, in a way that I think I could only have discovered by being "alone" and not distracted by the comforts and obligations of having a close partner in life. This life is a balance of work and play, although the line between the two is just blissfully blurred, at the moment. This life is about listening to my self, listening to my body, listening to the voices that point the way... because when I trust myself, and listen to myself, and follow my intuition, then it's a blessing when things work out. But, when things don't work out, at least I know how and why I wound up where I did -- and I can look back without regret, knowing that I did my best, and that's all I can ask of myself.

It's this life that's taken me to places I never would have imagined two years and a day ago. And, this life is what will lead me to places I can't imagine, even now.

None of this is because of climbing. I do think climbing may have sped up certain processes... in my first few years of climbing, I had to learn to trust myself, and to commit, and to make decisions, and to execute, and to accept and work with the consequences of my action or inaction. Once I'd learned those things in climbing, it would have been unnatural to not slowly apply them in the rest of my life. So maybe to say it's not because of climbing is too strong.

But aside from climbing, the life I live now is made possible by the love and support of my friends and family, and by the positive reinforcement I receive through my interactions with real live human beings out in the world. By living openly, and with the abundance that now is a natural state of being for me, I've gained a community of wonderful people who "Get" me, and with whom there's little to explain, and more to just appreciate.

I've gone from people expressing concern because of my sadness, to living a life where people ask me how it's possible to be so happy all the time. It's a remarkable change, and one that I can't help but savor and feel joyful about.

I talk and write a lot about being thankful, and grateful, and about feeling joy. I'm feeling all of those things, today. And, while I don't ordinarily open up quite this much in writing, today I felt inspired to do so. Thank you, for being a part of the last two years (or more). For following my adventures, and for being my inspiration, and for being inspired. Thank you for the coffee dates, the belays, the visits over dessert, the shared lessons, the advice, travel time, tent time, sofa-surfing and the time around the campfire. I have a vague sense memory of where I'd be, if it weren't for you. It wasn't bad... parts of that past life were very good, and certainly more stable in some ways than the life I live now. Despite that, I'm so incredibly full of gratitude to be where I am instead.

Here's wishing you a safe and happy new year, full of adventure and abundance of your own.

Inquiring minds want to know.

2009-12-23T20:39:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago, my friend Peter raised a question about the strange questions people type into search engines that result in traffic to websites, and that lead me and another friend, Steph to actually open up our logs. It makes me giggle on the rare occasion that I look my search engine referrers, since there are a lot of pretty predictable searches, but there are always a few doozies that come out of left field.

Since someone took the time to type it into Google, I'll take the time to respond to some of the keyword searches that have popped up recently.

[Insert Female Climber Name Here] Naked

My response... I'm having trouble deciding on just one. A candidate: Get a life. Another candidate: Try talking to girls in real life, instead of searching for naked ones on the Internet. But, whatever. To each their own. I suppose it's only appropriate to link to this classic, at this point. You just won't find what you're looking for here.

When is the Patagonia Winter Sale?

Based on past years, it's taken place in mid to late January.

Life Insurance for Rock Climbers

After a long search, I actually found life insurance that doesn't exclude my climbing activities from coverage. I wound up insured through Prudential, but your mileage may vary. When shopping life insurance (or, any other kind of insurance) make sure to read policy documents carefully, and "don't ask don't tell" might lead to gaps in coverage.

Climbergirl Raised With Monkeys

An oldie but a goodie. Variations on this search phrase show up frequently in my logs. Folks are looking for information on Tori Allen, profiled briefly here in an Outside Magazine article.

Do Rock Climbers Kiss?

Based on my unscientific and anecdotal experience, and experiencing them in their natural habitat, rock climbers may occasionally kiss.

Why Don't Girls Get Biceps?

They do. Believe me.

There are lots of variations on this theme. I seem to derive a great deal of search engine traffic from searches involving the words "girl" and "biceps." Another favorite from this week's logs: "amazing bicep girl."

Girls get biceps. Some of us love our biceps the way other girls might love ... I don't know ... eh ... anything I finish that sentence with is going to alienate someone, so I'll just stop right there.

How about you? What have YOU always wanted to know, and not asked? I reserve the right to not answer... but you never know...

A climbergirl on skis

2009-12-21T07:43:00.000-08:00

For those of you who know how I've always felt about skiing -- terrified of the sport, and pretty sure that if I ever strapped skis to my feet I'd wind up perilously injured -- this might come as a surprise. For those of you who previously didn't know those feelings, it comes as a surprise in another way -- "What? Are you kidding? What do you MEAN you've never skied?"

No, I'm not kidding.

Thanks to a very nice instructor at Crystal Mountain, and Candace who came with me with the important side effect that I then couldn't chicken out, I tried skiing for the first time yesterday and neither died, nor perilously injured myself.

I chose Crystal over the other local mountains partly because I have friends who ski there regularly, and partly because when I compared the various resorts' "beginner packages" I felt Crystal's offered the best value. $180 gets you three days of lessons (one full day, two half days), rentals and lift tickets if you're a new skier, through their 1-2-3 package.

The short version? I had a blast.

The long version? I definitely think those of you who encouraged me to try skiing to increase my comfort while mountaineering were right.

The whole story?

Candace and I got up to the mountain in the morning, just in time for me to register for my class, pick up my rentals, and report to the "First Timers" signpost. I had two other classmates for the morning, and a very friendly and warm instructor. We got a feel for our skis, learned the basics of duck walking uphill and pizza-ing downhill, then talked through the chairlift basics and before I could chicken out we headed awkwardly for the chairlift.

The lift turned out to be less scary than I thought it would be, and I managed to de-lift without biffing. Sweet. We spent several runs building confidence in our pizza stances, basic turns, and I learned quickly that falling is a part of learning to ski, but it's not as bad as I thought. I went pretty quickly from not-sure-I'm-going-to-get-the-hang-of-this to smiling and beaming as I pizza'd down the slope in a series of easygoing turns. Holy crap... I was skiing.

I also enjoyed getting comfortable with how stopping works on skis. At first, I was completely uncomfortable with the lack of a sudden "brake" to stop myself, so resorted to wrecking to stop myself.

I wrecked. A lot. A LOT a lot. But what fun would it be to not push it at all? It was a refreshing change... wrecking, in most of the things I do in my free time, ranges from dangerous to deadly. I learned, quickly, that while there are dangerous and deadly wrecks in skiing, the average yard sale just isn't that bad. I did have one good wreck that resulted in a slightly twisted left knee and a good lump on my right knee. It's turning all sorts of pretty colors.

Anyway, after getting more comfortable and competent with stopping, I really started to have fun. When I got the hang of it all enough to stop thinking, and to just go with the flow, I had a blast.

The two hour morning lesson flew by, and after re-calorie-ing and hydrating at lunch, I met up with my instructor again for the three-hour afternoon lesson.

I wanted to build my confidence before taking on anything more serious, so we kept at the bunny slope... introducing "french fries" and tigher turns, and more speed... and more continuous skiing with better speed control rather than having to stop all the time. I tried a run or two with poles, but that had two drawbacks... one, I seriously couldn't figure out what to do with them... I think my instructor was trying to teach me "plant turns" or something, but I just wound up turning the same way I had been all day and dragging a pole behind me in the snow. Two, I kind of liked the "Watch out, I'm an out of control newbie" appearance that comes with not carrying poles.

All afternoon, my instructor had suggested that perhaps I'd like to try something other than the bunny hill... I was nervous, but I did feel confident with what I'd learned, and we talked through what to expect on the other run she had in mind, so we set off for a different beginner run.

After getting off the lift and going slowly down a slope that was quite a bit more steep than I felt ready for, we worked our way down through an easier section to what I can only describe, in my beginner eye, as a precipice. Well, not really. I guess, in fairness, it was a beautiful long slope, which was probably only slightly steeper than the steepest sections I'd done that day... but much longer. To my climber brain, the exposure was scary, and the risks too high given my relative inexperience.

My instructor was wonderful... she worked through about ten different strategies for trying to go down, before I finally melted down entirely and it became clear... I was not going down. She suggested that ski patrol could come up and bring me down, or, we could pop our skis off and hike back up to the chairlift for a ride down. There was no way short of broken bones that I was going down in a sled.

As soon as my skis were off, and my boots loosened, and my toes turned uphill, I was a happy, happy camper. I was out in the mountains, on a lovely rainy day, I'd learned a ton of stuff, I'd not broken myself, and I'd finally tried skiing. The hike up was fantastic... familiar, comfortable, and happy. Once back at the base, I got in one last bunny hill run to remind myself how much I'd learned, and it was just great.

If you're a fellow member of the "too scared to ski" club... find a good lesson, and get out there. I'm so glad I did, and I can't wait to give it a try again. Candace and I chatted through how to transition from the bunny hill to that big scary hill the next time I go up, and I've got a plan. I've got a whole big toolkit of ways to cope with a big scary hill, and all but two of them involve keeping my skis on. I'm excited to give it another try now that I have some ideas of how to prepare.

How have you been enjoying the snow, this winter?

Pitiful

2009-12-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

I've been told that it's pitiful how infrequently I'm blogging right now... so here's a quick update.

I haven't blogged about Nepal more because I just, honestly, don't know what to say. Someday, I'll get around to "tactical" posts... where we stayed, what we ate, who we met, where we went, how we got there. But so far, I haven't been super inspired to write those. I usually write about climbing, here -- obviously -- and since I didn't actually climb in Nepal, there's nothing to say about climbing there. Instead, the trip, for me, was about things that I don't care to write about here -- and, frankly, which wouldn't be of interest to people reading a blog about rock climbing. As a result, I'm writing... but not here. Just for me, for once. Hopefully someday I'll have time to sit down and write those tactical posts... but not yet.

I also haven't been climbing as much as usual... I started a fantastic new job a few weeks ago, and have been full steam ahead on those commitments to get off to as good a start as possible. The upside: I am having a blast, and I am completely excited to go to work every single day. The downside: it's going to take me awhile to figure out a schedule that will let me train and climb as much as I want to, while still performing my job.

On the other hand, I got into the gym for only the second time since Thanksgiving on Friday... and I feel like I've turned a corner as a climber. Now... celebrating my fifth year of climbing, I seem to be able to take breaks without taking as many steps backward as I used to. When I return to the gym after a few weeks off now, I can tell that I've lost some endurance -- but I can climb at my typical training level without overdoing it. I'm pretty comfortable with being a moderate climber in terms of difficulty -- I'm just so happy to get to climb, that I'm also happy to not push difficulty too hard right now.

I had a great session down at Edgeworks in Tacoma today... my goal was to boulder until I couldn't boulder any more, and I did just that. I'm super tired... big muscle fatigue... which feels completely awesome. The vibe at Edgeworks was fantastic... very friendly people, great routesetting, and holds that were new to me, so the field trip was well worth it.

Otherwise, I've mixed in an irregular yoga practice at Samudra Yoga and Dharma Yoga here in Bremerton... I go when I can, which means I've been twice in about a month. The yoga just FEELS good... it feels good for my body, and it feels good for the rest of me, too. Being in a space with a singing bowl, and the word "Namaste," and breathing, is about the closest I can get to Nepal without packing my passport. Yoga is bringing up all sorts of wacky feelings and emotions for me... it's not easy, but it feels valuable to me both as a climber, and for me outside of climbing.

So, that's the pitiful update. I'm -- for the first time in years -- considering not taking a trip in December, and instead staying home to deal with some "real life" stuff that has to get ... well ... dealt with. I'm not terribly good at passing on climbing invitations, though, and I have a few possibilities, so we'll see.

How about you? What's going on in your non-pitiful climbing life? I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

Yosemite in pictures, Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-02T13:15:00.001-08:00

No long winded post this time. Just a few pictures from last weekend's quick, fun trip to Yosemite.

Leaves, in the valley, as seen through my glacier glasses.

Yosemite Falls, I think? I'm not good yet with locations in the park... just getting to know my way around.

View from the top of Manure Pile Buttress, toward North Dome and Half Dome.

Bouldering at the Ahwahnee Lodge Boulders.

Katie showing off her skin damage.

Candace, bad ass girl, bouldering.

Blue eyed girls. Candace, me, Katiebeth and Kayla.

Hugs and love to my Yosemite partners in crime...

Dry tooling, new job, and where are you eating turkey or Tofurky on Thursday?

2009-11-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

So, my Nepal post plans have fizzled for the moment... re-entry continued to be a challenge, and I decided to try to immerse myself in the present for a bit to see if that helped give me perspective on the trip, and whether it might help with the adjustment back home. I think it did, mostly... so one of these days, I'll start writing. Just not yet.

In the meantime, I've started my excellent new gig with Waypoint Outdoor as a Field Service Rep, and I'm having a great time getting settled in there (or, as settled as you get when "Field" and "Service" are in your job title).

I have been climbing strong in the gym... not quite at my personal best, but better, happier and with more confidence and increased bold than before my trip. I feel strong, which feels really good. I also invited myself along with some friends going dry tooling at Squak Mountain this weekend (that's new #kickassgirl friend Genevieve in the photo at the top of the post) and had an awesome time.

Seriously, dry tooling in pouring rain with temps in the 40s felt like about the single most bad ass thing I've ever done outside. I'm super sore today, and getting more sore as the day goes on... it was a workout even on toprope. The pictures didn't turn out fantastically since -- obviously -- conditions were wet and super muddy. But, a few are up on Facebook just because it was too funny and fun not to memorialize. Highlights...

First, out of five initial RSVPs "Yes," four of us actually showed up. In my experience, that's unheard of even when it's sunny and 65 degrees.

Second, I completely enjoyed the technical nature of dry tooling compared to regular climbing... I learned early on that my movement had to be very deliberate, my axe placements incredibly careful, and that balance was a key. It was fun to get to work on different skills than just pulling hard -- by halfway up each pitch, my core was worked from how much balance and care was required in my movements.

Third, at one point while I was climbing, I'd worked my way through the crux up onto a muddy ledge near the top of the pitch. Dan, on belay, called up

"I can lower you from there!"

I yelled down,

"WHY?!?!?!?"

Jeremy laughed, and I kept climbing. I mean, seriously -- this time of year, I'm not going to pass up even six feet of mud climbing, if it's outside, and it's climbing, then it's precious.

Anyway... tonight I'm pining for Nepal, so I'm going to go exercise a little self-care and have a good dinner (I'm STILL harvesting potatoes from my backyard stash... awesomeness) and get some rest. Looks like plans are holding to get out of dodge for turkey day, so then I'll be even more behind on trip reports.

Where are you headed, this upcoming play-outside ... I mean ... holiday weekend?

Index Lower Town Wall Acquision Fundraisers, THIS week!

2009-11-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

I've been out of the loop so a huge thank you to Jon for emailing me today about this event...

Please join cascadeclimbers.com for "Sausage Fest 2009" this Sunday, November 15th... pre-funk at 5pm and slideshows by Steve Swenson, Joe Puryear, Sky Sjue and maybe more (any volunteers?) starting at 7pm. Where? Shultzy's on the Ave, 4114 University Way, in Seattle. There's a gear raffle, and the event benefits the Index Town Wall acquisition that's well under way but needs YOUR help! Here's the link on cascadeclimbers.com, for more information.

Also, on Wednesday of this week (November 11th), Edgeworks Climbing is hosting "An Evening with Climbing Legend Fred Becky." The show begins at 8:00pm, at Edgeworks at 6102 N. 9th Street in Tacoma, WA. Tickets are $10, and this event also benefits the Index Town Wall Acquisition efforts.

Please get out there and show your support! More information about the acquisition efforts is available on the WCC website at http://www.washingtonclimbers.org/.

Meet my Expedition Hanesbrands family...

2009-11-10T03:16:00.000-08:00

Re-entry continues. I'm actually feeling okay... starting to understand that the trip is going to take some time to digest, and appreciating the support and advice from friends who've done big trips, and gone through adjustments when they've gotten home. I think, if I didn't have you all sending me such wonderful little tidbits and advice, I'd think I was going nuts. I had a great short afternoon in the climbing gym on Sunday, which turned out to be just the ticket -- it was crowded, and loud, and both of those things made me feel at home. I was also surprised by the sensation of climbing... after basically taking the last six weeks off, it felt really good to use my climbing muscles. I felt strong, which was a surprise, and my commitment level is way up (before the trip, I was so scared I'd twist an ankle, or hurt myself ... so I'd been climbing really cautiously, when I was managing to climb). So -- getting out of the house, and specifically, getting into the climbing gym, are helping. I'm still not sleeping, which is getting really annoying. But, stressing out about it only makes it worse, so instead, I'm just going to keep a pile of books by the bed, and trust that this will pass, eventually. I read pretty voraciously during parts of my trip, so I'm considering finally taking the plunge and getting myself a welcome home Kindle. Larry, you're a bad influence (not really).

Since I can't sleep this morning, I might as well be writing.

Eileen, aka, Rockgrrl is one smart cookie. Aside from her support and suggestions with regard to my re-entry, one of her questions about my trip gave me the perfect starting place for my posts about Nepal... she asked what I thought about the people I met. It makes sense to start there, since then when I tell the rest of the stories, you'll have an idea of who the folks are that I'm talking about. Brilliant! I met so many wonderful people, that I'm even going to have to break this down into chunks... so first, here's an introduction to my travel companions from North America (and New Zealand).

The Expedition Hanesbrands Climbing and Trekking Team
Starting at the beginning... the first people I met were our own team!

I'd metJamie when he came through Seattle last spring. For this trip, I flew to Vancouver BC to meet up with Jamie, Todd, a guide based in Golden, BC, and Jamie's childhood friend Aenea who'd be joining us for the trek. After our long flight to Hong Kong, we were on the moving sidewalks in the Hong Kong airport and I looked over and saw a Westerner with a mop of curly hair and thought, "That dude has GOT to be a climber." Turns out, it was Scott, our trip photographer and a climbing team member, based in Salt Lake City and New Zealand. Here are Jamie, Todd and Scott, outside the Boudhanath Stupa, on our first full day in Kathmandu.

And here's Jamie and Aenea, in one of their "moments." Occasionally, they's just start OFF... some kind of interaction pattern that probably started when they were in Grade 5. I vaguely recall that this one might have had something to do with shaving... but I can't remember for sure.

Todd, Scott, Aenea and I all got to know each other during our travel to Kathmandu, with visits from Jamie when he wasn't dozing in his big comfy seat at the front of the plane. We all hit it off instantly -- I'd been a little nervous about a trip that long when I had only barely met Jamie and didn't know the other climbers... my nerves were completely unfounded. All of us had a great rapport from the start, the vibe was positive, fun, and inclusive... the guys helped me feel at home, right away.

When we got to Kathmandu, we were greeted by rolling cameras and the film crew for our trip. Paul, Lovinder, Kenny and David had come ahead of us to do some shooting before the team arrived, and they were ready to roll when we got off the plane.

Here's Paul:

And, Dave and Kenny hamming it up on our first day of trekking:

The biggest smile I caught on Lovinder was on the day he was headed down.

Also, on arrival in Kathmandu, I was excited to see Mike and Charlie from Hanesbrands, who I'd gotten to meet in person this summer in Winston-Salem, and both of whom had been just wonderful to me in the weeks leading up to the trip. Here's Mike, AKA "Big Diesel":

who turned out to be a wee fraction of the man I'd met in Winston-Salem... where I'd gained weight like crazy for the trip, he'd lost a bunch! Here's Charlie:

Finally, our trip leaders from Berg International, Leila and Wally. Leila was our trekking guide as far as base camp, and Wally was our expedition leader. They're based in Canmore, Alberta and operate trips all over the world. Here's Wally, in Pheriche:

And, Scott and Leila, getting ready to head out from Namche.

In retrospect, I laugh about this... but the whole start of the trip, I was super nervous about meeting Wally. Wally is an incredibly respected, knowledgeable and experienced climber, guide, and expedition leader. The first American (now, Canadian) to stand on the summit of Lhotse, with a long Himalayan history and the stories to match -- let's just say I had some preconceived notions about meeting a high altitude mountaineer with his resume. Again, my concerns were unfounded. I met Wally the first time in the lodge dining room at Pheriche, and he walked over, gave me a huge hug, planted a kiss on my cheek, and said, "I'm so glad you're here. Welcome to Pheriche."

I was blown away, right away, by his and Leila's warmth and encouragement, and their excitement about having me on the trip erased any remaining fears or nagging doubts I might have had about my place on the team. In fact, I'll never forget the day that we reached Dugla for lunch, at about 15,100 feet. At that point, I was still going strong, and the altitude hadn't really hit yet. I got to a rest stop and Wally looked up, snapped some pictures, complimented me on my altitude smile, and with a huge smile on his own face, said, "You BELONG up here."

For a girl who lives at sea level, who'd never been above 10,000 feet before, that was the kind of encouragement that will stick with me forever. I swear, when I started to have some altitude sickness, I could hear Wally in my head, saying, "You BELONG up here." It might not sound like much -- and I don't want to digress into a discussion of gender politics in the climbing community -- but I'll treasure it.

Here's me, somewhere in Nepal, snapped by Scott:

Anyway...

Those are the folks from North America (and New Zealand). If you want a sneak peek about our Sherpa team, here's a dispatch from while we were on the mountain, and I'll share more when I do a post about my experiences with the rest of the folks I met in Nepal ... the locals, and other travelers.

At least now, when I tell stories, you'll have a face to put with the name. Thanks, Eileen, for the idea... and stay tuned for more!

The re-entry...

2009-11-08T07:01:00.001-08:00

I'm home!

I got into Seattle after the long trip home from Kathmandu a couple of days ago, for some time with my parents and sister, then came home to Kitsap yesterday. Everyone's anxious for the trip report, but that has three complications:

I have literally hundreds of photos to go through. Here's a taste of what I'm up against, just taking into account pictures from our quick trip down:

The trip, for me, had precious little to do with climbing, so I'm a bit at a loss for subject matter;

And, my re-entry so far has kicked my ass, so I'm having a hard time deciding whether I need to devote some emotional energy to a trip recap to move on ... or whether it's just too much right now... perhaps the more appropriate next step is to apply the immersion approach to the realities of my life at home.

Wacky, I know, but I'm a girl who has a hard time adjusting back to "normal life" after a long weekend of climbing a couple of hours away from home; I should have known better, and planned a spa retreat (or maybe, inpatient therapy) or something for my return from this particular trip.

So far, the stages I've moved through have been:

Friday: Catatonic with jet lag. That was fun. I actually, physically, couldn't keep my eyes open and felt nauseous my first day in Seattle. My poor family -- if they kept me talking, I could stay upright, so they had to listen to story after story about yaks and conditions on the mountain and my extended periods of time in the Communication tent ... good sports, all of them. I actually, at a few points in the day, heard phantom yak bells. I managed to get a bunch of sleep that night, though -- pacific time night, not my biological night -- so I think that was a good start on my recovery. Word of the day: "Voracious." I couldn't stop eating. My metabolism, apparently, thinks I'm still in the Himalaya.

Saturday: Depressed. That was less fun. I know it happens... but it's still not pleasant. That phase never lasts long for me, but it's compounded by dealing with some really hard stuff at home. On the other hand, it was balanced by finally getting to spend some extended time with one of my girl friends who I'd been just desperate to catch up with the last few weeks, so as post-trip depression goes, I think I got off easy. There was, of course, ice cream involved. Word of the day: "Profound." When I thought about anything, the descriptive word attached in my inner commentary was "Profound." "Profoundly jetlagged." "Profound culture shock." "Profound disorientation." You get the picture.

Sunday: The theme, and the Word of the Day seem to be the same. "Paralyzed." I've completely lost track of both the physical time, and my biological time, and am just not tired. I didn't sleep much last night, and woke up really early this morning, and thought to myself...

"Well... NOW what do I do with myself?"

So, I put on a Genius playlist based on "Blame it on the Tetons," the song that was running through my head when I woke up. Step two was to pour a cup of breakfast tea, since -- unlikely enough, and probably short lived -- I managed to kick my coffee addiction during the trip in favor of a tea addiction. Luckily, that lead to a bowl of cereal, which made me think I should probably eat some proper food today (after yesterday revolved primarily around Lucky Charms) which will get me out of the house, to the grocery store, and suddenly, it's like a magic cure for my paralysis since I now have a "To Do list." I'd imagine, another therapeutic step will be to go to the climbing gym, so perhaps that's what today will hold.

If anyone would like to give me a sneak peak of the next few stages of my re-entry, based on your own experiences, I'd be all over it. A little early warning might help me plan the next couple of weeks better.

My instincts have been to flee... I'm home unexpectedly early from my trip, and I think part of my increased disorientation comes because my trip home was just so FAST because we had to jump on logistical opportunities that would get me and Jamie out of Lukla early. Here's me, head spinning, on the flight from Lukla to Kathmandu...

So, why not just leave again? I've got the means, motive and opportunity, but on the other hand, then I'm just going to have to re-enter after TWO trips, and I don't know if that will help anything at all. Escapism is great, and all, but real life will still be here when I get back, so that doesn't really get me anywhere.

Not to mention, the rhythm of constant motion that I've gotten used to is only one part of what I'm missing. The other part, which is harder to reproduce, is that I'm now accustomed to being completely surrounded by people. I've been traveling and living with the climbing team and trekkers from my trip for the last month... aside from my time alone in my sleeping quarters each night, and my solo trekking time, I've had the companionship of my travel buddies at all times.

Aside from missing my travel companions, I'm also now conditioned to interact with strangers in the Nepali fashion... with intense curiosity and conversation, pretty much constantly. It was disorienting, and strange, to sit down on my last flight and not have the person next to me turn to me and ask, "Where are you from? What's your good name?
Are you traveling alone or with a group? Where were you trekking? Is this your first time here? What do you do for work? Are you married? Where did you go to school? How many brothers do you have? How do you like Nepal?" and on, and on. Compared to my "home" there -- address, "Perpetual Motion, Nepal" -- home here is incredibly quiet, even with my wonderful, heartfully missed friends and family doing their part to help me not be too lonely.

So, first tea. Then breakfast and some good music. I just finished doing my photo dump, so I'm going to open up iPhoto and see if I can stand to look at pictures yet, which will dictate the rest of the day. It'll either be, "Nope - not ready yet," in which case it'll be second breakfast followed by a trip to the gym. Then, the grocery store, and making a yummy, healthy dinner of whatever I feel like eating tonight. Or, if it's the alternative, it'll be a day of writing and photos and immersion back in the trip. You'll know soon enough.

A little bit of gratitude...

Thank you, all, for your well wishes, love and support during this trip... I was mostly only able to broadcast updates and view your messages, not respond, because of our bandwidth limitations -- but I'll be slowly catching up with those of you who sent messages of encouragement and positive thoughts, and every single one was appreciated.

Also -- here's a huge thank you to Tiffany and our guest posters, who held down the fort here so incredibly well, and with such love and care.

And, the world's hugest thank you to Jamie, Mike, Charlie, the rest of the Hanesbrands team, Elizabeth, and Wally and Leila with Berg Adventures for their parts in making this incredible, first-in-a-lifetime trip a reality for me. There just aren't words to express my gratitude, and appreciation.

Finally -- what do YOU want to know? Ask away, and it might help me figure out what to write up from this trip...

Guest Blogger Rebecca: Gore-Tex Summit - How The Stuff Works

2009-11-04T21:15:00.000-08:00

From RCG HQ: Here's Day 2 of Rebecca's adventures at Gore-Tex Bloggers summit!

One of the most interesting parts of the Gore-Tex Blogger Summit was learning about the core science behind what makes a garment waterproof and breathable. This actually is important information for the outdoor consumer. It’s not unique to Gore-Tex and the science applies to all kinds of outerwear, manufacturers, and sports.

What exactly makes a jacket waterproof and breathable? What does breathable mean? Why do I get wet inside my Gore-Tex or eVent or other waterproof/breathable material jacket? In order to understand why a garment is or isn’t working for you, it helps to understand the science behind what is going on. Sometimes it’s not the jacket that fails - it’s science doing its best to make you uncomfortable.

“The laws of science be a harsh mistress.” - Bender, Futurama

Waterproof breathable membranes have one characteristic in common: they are porous in nature, and these pores are what keep water droplets out and allow water vapor to pass through. In an ePTFE membrane like Gore-Tex, the pores are approximately 20,000 times smaller than a droplet of liquid water, but 700 times bigger than a molecule of water vapor. Brad, our science guy for the day at Gore-Tex described it thusly: think of the membrane as a chain link fence, the water vapor as sand and the water droplets as beach balls. Throw a beach ball at the fence and it won’t fit through the holes. Throw a handful of sand at the fence and it will pass through.

What does waterproof mean?

It means exactly what you’d think - no liquid water can pass through the membrane. This has a lot to do with the properties of liquid water like surface tension and other sciencey mumbo-jumbo that I’ll steer clear of today. The bottom line is that liquid water in its smallest form is much larger than water vapor.

What does breathable mean?

This is a more complicated answer. Many people think that breathable means the ability for air to pass through, but this is not the case. Have you ever seen someone pick up a Gore-Tex jacket and try to blow through it? That’s permeability, not breathability. Permeability is a measurement more important to windproof fabrics. Breathability refers to the rate at which water vapor molecules pass through the membrane.

Just because water vapor can pass through the membrane doesn’t mean that it will do so in the most efficient way possible. As you sweat, the moisture is being vaporized by the heat that your body is putting out. This vapor will ideally ‘breathe’ through the pores in the membrane. However, this is where science steps in and does its best to mess with things.

The rate at which this movement happens is based on the how fast you are cranking out sweat and vaporizing it, the climate difference between your body and the outside, as well as the resistance of the layers between you and the outside. So, in reality, there are a lot of factors that go into how breathable you perceive a garment to be, and those factors are going to be different every time you use it.

In addition, if the membrane gets polluted with dirt and oils, it impedes its ability to let water vapor molecules pass through. Lastly, if the laminated textile (usually the outer fabric) ‘wets out’ it will prevent that vapor from passing through. The DWR (durable water repellent) that you find on most waterproof outerwear works as the first line of defense against the wetting out of the fabric, helping the water bead up and roll off. Maintaining the DWR coating will go a long way to making your waterproof/breathable outerwear more comfortable. I’ll focus on the care of DWR and waterproof/breathable garments in an upcoming post.

Measuring Breathability

There is an ISO standard for measuring breathability, but the results are not commonly part of marketing or consumer materials. Unfortunately, tests of breathability can vary significantly due to the large number of variables described above and test method used. Since there is no consistent measurement between manufacturers, numbers on charts and labels can be misleading, especially when you are using them to compare garments.

What is the difference between all of the waterproof/breathable materials on the market?

My answer to this comes from W.L. Gore, so take this as you will. There are four core types of waterproof/breathable materials out there, three of which are based on polyurethane. The polyurethane membranes tend to perform at a lower standard in one or more of the following areas: waterproofness, durability, and breathability.

The fourth type is ePTFE. Gore-Tex, as described in the previous post, is made of this material. When W.L. Gore’s patent on this technology expired other competitors entered the market, the most well known of which is eVent. Gore freely admits that eVent has the same performance with regards to waterproofness and breathability, but claim that Gore-Tex is far superior in terms of durability and endurance.

Why? Well, although the ePTFE patent has expired, Gore still holds the patent on the idea of protective engineering. In other words, W.L. Gore has formulated a proprietary chemistry that can protect the membrane from sunscreens, oils, DEET, and other destructive materials. Remember, the accumulation of dirt and oils can seriously impact breathability, and Gore says their product is much better at keeping the membrane free of these contaminants.

I don’t know how long it takes a jacket to be contaminated to the point of reducing its effectiveness, but if you regularly junk up your waterproof garments with sweat, sunscreen, and DEET, it’s something to keep in mind.

Gore-Tex does not do proprietary branding for their customers. So any membrane that is specific to a manufacturer (like Mountain Hardwear Conduit, or Marmot Precip) is not made by Gore-Tex and is likely made of one or more of the three polyurethane types.

Why do I get wet in my Gore-Tex jacket?

Well, as described above there can be several reasons - climate conditions (temperature and humidity differences between your body and the outside), the resistance of your layering system as a whole, a dirt or oil polluted membrane, deterioration of the DWR, and many other factors. If you are cranking out the sweat faster than the system can keep up with it, it’s likely that you’ll get wet.

And you can’t forget to check the source of your jacket, too. One of the Gore associates said they will get returns of ‘Gore-Tex’ jackets where people complain that they don’t breathe, and it turns out they bought some kind of knockoff from eBay or other dubious source.

Sometimes, you will feel wet and clammy inside a waterproof breathable jacket even when you’re perfectly dry. This feeling is especially pronounced in outerwear that has deteriorated DWR. As the outer textile wets out in a cold rain it sits against your body. Your skin interprets the cold and pressure as moisture, when in reality you’re dry.

Coming Up: Science lesson over, thanks for bearing with me. Next, I’ll move on to the fun stuff: a tour through the Gore-Tex testing facilities (wind! cold! rain! Washing machines!), the seemingly backwards way to care for your Gore-Tex garments, and final impressions of the event.

When Rebecca isn't busy getting her nerd on with trip reports and gear over at calipidder.com, she can be found somewhere in the backcountry of California, backpacking, hiking, climbing, photographing, or just soaking in the scenery. She communicates best at 140 characters at a time, so she looks forward to continuing the conversation at twitter.com/calipidder.

Guest Blogger Rebecca: Gore-Tex Summit

2009-11-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone, RCG HQ here. Rebecca from calipidder.com has posted her take on the recent gathering of outdoor bloggers at Gore-Tex. Enjoy!

The Gore-Tex Blogger Summit was a short whirlwind of tours, education, entertainment, and fun with fourteen other outdoor bloggers and many Gore associates. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this event but it was clear from the beginning that it would be an interesting 48 hours with a great group of people. In the spirit of full disclosure, I should mention that Gore provided the travel and expenses for this trip.

Everyone arrived throughout the day on Wednesday and at 6 pm descended on the Gore Barksdale facility in Delaware for dinner, drinks, and a meet-and-greet. I felt like I was in a museum - the center atrium of the building has been turned into the Gore Capability Center - a display of their technology and the many applications it has. My interest was piqued as I passed by a guitar, an astronaut suit, a motorbike, and other things, but they quickly whisked us into a room where tables, drinks, and a slide show were waiting.

After a few minutes the remaining group arrived straight from the airport and a tour of the Capability Center kicked off. They did a quick round of introductions and it was exciting to see the diversity of bloggers around me. Although we all fell under the general ‘outdoor blogger’ umbrella, there were backpacking bloggers, climbing bloggers, skiing bloggers, snowboarding bloggers, travel bloggers, mountain biking bloggers and more. I looked forward to getting to know everyone, but there was no time for chitchat - we had things to learn about!

My familiarity with the Gore brand has always been through outdoor gear - all of us here know Gore-Tex and Windstopper, right? Well, this is just a small part of their business. The focus of Day 2 will be on this business, but tonight it’s an introduction to the Gore business as a whole, and it’s incredible.

Gene and Emily, two Gore associates, took us around the Capability Center, starting with an introduction to the science behind their products. Gore’s core business is based on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a material that Bill Gore was experimenting with back in the 50’s to make a better wire insulating tape. As the story usually goes with great discoveries, things were going terribly and in a moment of frustration Bill Gore yanked on the material and it expanded in an astonishing way.
This expanded PTFE is the material that eventually became Gore-Tex and a myriad of other products. As the history was described, we got to pass around a tube and sheets of ePTFE - it was really cool to feel what that membrane is like in my Gore-Tex jackets.

We then went through the other kiosks which demonstrated the applications of ePTFE in four scientific areas: physical, electromagnetic, chemical, and biological. I know the readers of calipidder.com are mostly interested in the outdoor applications, but I still have to mention how cool it is that Gore has been able to apply the ePTFE discovery to an incredible range of products. We saw everything from medical devices, wires that are used on Mars and Moon exploration robots, hydrogen-powered engines, to guitar strings and Glide floss.

There is a lot going on at Gore, and although this event’s focus was on their outdoor business, I couldn’t help but be impressed by all that the company is doing. There was one theme that was clear across all of the applications, and in a conversation I had with one of the associates he nailed it: Gore “only makes products to improve people’s lives”.

After the tour we sat down for dinner and had a chance to get to know one another a bit better. We also got a sneak peak at Gore-Tex’s new community at myexperiencemore.com. It looks great and I’ll post about it more once it launches and I get a chance to play with it. But it’s worth saying that Gore gets it when it comes to understanding their outdoor consumer and they want to listen to their community. In the process, they may be able to give their brand more of a personality. To consumers, Gore is a personality-free component maker that supplies the manufacturers of outdoor gear. However, as you’ll see from my Day 2 report, they go far above and beyond the role of supplier when it comes to their relationship with manufacturers and consumers.

Coming soon in the Day 2 report: the science of breathability and waterproofness, a tour of the Gore testing facilities, I survive a wind and rain storm, and silliness on the streets of Philadelphia.

When Rebecca isn't busy getting her nerd on with trip reports and gear over at calipidder.com, she can be found somewhere in the backcountry of California, backpacking, hiking, climbing, photographing, or just soaking in the scenery. She communicates best at 140 characters at a time, so she looks forward to continuing the conversation at twitter.com/calipidder.

Sara Post: Kala Patthar

2009-10-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

From RCG HQ: Check new pictures from Sara on her Flickr site. Here's her latest post - Enjoy!

Today has been a big day all the way around... the rest of the climbers overnighted at Advanced Base Camp last night, then pressed up to Camp 1 today. More information will come, on the official sites at www.climbwithus.com and Jamie's Twitter account.

My day revolved around my first big acclimatization hike: to the summit of Kala Patthar at approximately 18,360 feet. We could have gone back toward Gorakshep and up the gentle main trail from there... but no... while Kami usually takes me "easy way" when we hike together, today we took the direct "short cut" from our base camp that followed the trail about halfway to our Advance Base Camp, then turned to switchback up a steep rocky slope to the summit. It was a fun trip up... it felt good, after days of trekking and resting, to actually really exert and get some exercise. We made good time to the summit despite going slowly for acclimatization, and had the summit to ourselves for a few minutes before the next couple of groups ascended.

On the summit we radioed base camp, and a gentleman who'd just reached the summit overhead me -- he's a long time client of Wally Berg and Berg Adventures, our trip organizer. I handed over the radio so that Gus could chat with Wally back at base camp. What a small world.

The views were every bit as incredible as I'd heard. The trip down was scenic and serious too -- another "short cut" that skipped the meandering main trail around a series of ridges and instead came straight up and down a few ridges to drop us off right behind my tent. I felt great on the way up and down, and had a lovely time. My acclimatization continues to be much better this second time around, and I'm excited for more hikes during the rest of my time here.

Sara Post: Back at Pumori Base Camp

2009-10-26T11:08:00.000-07:00

I can’t even remember the last time I wrote directly, although some updates have gone up on other websites… but today I have the luxury of a few minutes at a computer, so here’s an update on the last few days.

The trek through the Nepali countryside has been blissful… comfortable accommodations, great friends, lots of laughter, and many steps forward through some of the most incredible scenery I’ve ever seen. I’m a fair to middling photographer, and even I can’t seem to take a bad photograph here… they just keep racking up on my camera, with only the blurry ones deleted. I’ve also found myself shooting more video than I expected… as much to try to record the sounds of this place for myself as anything else. I can’t sit still long enough to piece together any interesting video compilation since despite carefully working on pressure breathing while I type (talk about multitasking) I’m still not yet a master. My respiration rate tends to slow a great deal when I work on the computer, and it’s critical I keep my oxygen levels up.

If you hadn’t heard… on day 12 of our trek, after three nights in base camp, we decided unanimously that I had to go down.

I was having some trouble adjusting to the altitude once we left Pheriche on the way up: mostly, a moderate headache. But, when I was moving I felt better, so each day I’d head up with the team, thinking of it as an acclimatization hike, with the intention to head back down if my symptoms didn’t improve, but my stubbornness kicked in each evening and I never actually headed back down. By the time we reached base camp, I had more symptoms of AMS – a more severe headache; very suppressed appetite; and nausea. At first, my symptoms were managed with over the counter headache medicine and careful snacking; but by the evening of day 11, my symptoms plus my pulse/ox levels merited a team meeting. We decided that we’d see how I felt on the morning of the 12th, and either do a serious acclimatization hike to Kala Pataar if I was feeling up for it; or, head down to an altitude where I could recover if I wasn’t.

By the morning of day 12, there was no argument. I was going down. The headache no longer responded to over the counter pain meds, and the pain was so bad I could hardly function. I had great company for the trek back down to Pheriche – Layla, one of our trekking leaders, as well as friends David, Lavinder and Paul were all scheduled for the trip back to Pheriche that day – so we made our way slowly down.

When we walked through Gorakshep, I saw a pony warming up out in the sand dune, and thought for sure Layla was putting me on a “Khumbu Ambulance” for the trip down. Little did I know at the time – Layla was seriously considering it! But, the entire team made it into Pheriche in the early evening with the rest of the group, without the aid of any ponies.

We hadn’t even dropped packs in Pheriche when Layla whisked me to the Himalayan Rescue Association hospital to a greeting full of concern and care by Jen, Andy and Rachel. After just a couple of questions, Sara was full of pain killers and strapped to an oxygen mask, and laid down under heavy quilts to get some rest. The hospital was incredibly busy… patients and locals walked back and forth through the rooms the whole time, which was actually a welcome distraction. After the oxygen, and getting my headache under control, for the first time in days, everyone around the dinner table ate a pretty substantial meal, breathing in the relatively thick air at Pheriche.

I settled into a routine in Pheriche… breakfast with Todd, who was also down to recover from a chest cold; a visit with my new friends at the Himalayan Rescue Association; a walk, or, as I got better, an acclimatization hike; lunch with a random trekker in the lodge; and then an afternoon of rest and then dinner with Todd. After hour activities most nights took me to the HRA, either just for time with my new friends there, or one night, a movie night (action adventure movies aren’t the best choice for recovering from AMS since I found I held my breath through most of it – alas, even with me there, the girls at the clinic didn’t outnumber the boys, so “Taken” with Liam Neeson it was).

On the morning of day 15, we saw Charlie, Mike, Kenny and Aenea off via helicopter, for their speedy trip back to Kathmandu (a distance that took us six days to trek up, they covered by helicopter in a matter of minutes). Then, Wally (our other trip leader) and I headed to the HRA for a discussion of my options.

I can’t take Diamox, a drug that is used to aid acclimatization by increasing your respiration rate (and in other ways) because of a drug allergy. Doctors across the Khumbu had conferred about my case, and my goals up here in the mountains, and came to the conclusion that my two options would be to try again to acclimatize on my own through a slow ascent, or to try an experimental course of another drug, with the hope that it would aid my acclimatization.

Wally and I had one last sit-down with the doctors at the HRA to discuss my options for my return to basecamp, and unanimously decided that the best course of action would be to ascend slowly, and hope that my body would acclimatize on its own. With that, Wally, Cami (one of my favorite Sherpa) and I started the slow ascent toward Loboche, with a gain of nearly 900 meters, for an overnight to acclimatize.

My arrival at Loboche the second time around was a complete change from the first. On day 16, we headed up to Gorakshep, the last lunch stop on the way to base camp. I did great at first, then started to get a headache after a couple of hours in Gorakshep. I was extremely discouraged, at first, but then thrilled when the headache responded to a low dose of an over the counter pain reliever. We made it into base camp in great time, and I was able to spend the evening with the climbing team before they headed up to Advance Base Camp this afternoon (Day 17). I had a great night’s sleep that night; my appetite is excellent; and my headaches are minimal. The photo at the start of this post is of Wally, Todd, me and Scott on our return to base camp.

Now, it’s just me, Wally, Cami (although he’ll be providing support on the mountain for the climbers, too), Ang Tshering, Ang Temba, and the cook staff here at base camp. From the bustling herd we started with, our numbers have dwindled significantly.

I didn’t come here to summit Pumori, although if I’m 100% honest the thought was in the back of my mind the whole way up here, and even last night, I dreamt of climbing way up there, up high, my crampons and ice axe digging into the steep terrain with a huge smile on my face. It was hard to see the guys off this afternoon… partly because I feel a bit like a worried mama, and partly because it’s hard to not be going with them. But – given everything, I’m just incredibly thrilled to be back at base camp. When I left on day 12, the thought did not cross my mind that I wouldn’t be back in a few days. I didn’t even roll up my sleeping pad, or pack my tent. I left everything here, ready for my return. Somewhere along the line in Pheriche, when my symptoms weren’t resolving as quickly as I’d anticipated, I reset my goals to just – if the universe would let me – allow me to get back to base camp.

I’m thrilled to be here. I’ve got lots of work to do to help with communications for www.climbwithus.com while the guys are on the mountain, and I have a few reset climbing and trekking goals of my own, if my health continues to be good, which I’m optimistic it will.

Mostly, I’m just still incredibly thrilled to be here. I can’t believe how much I’ve learned, and how attached I’ve gotten to my travel companions. I feel like a whole different person this second time up to base camp – I feel healthy, and strong, and I’m having a truly lovely time just being here. I feel like climbing.

Neither my words, nor my little camera, do this place justice. Our base camp of several tents is nestled on a large talus field, next to a lake at the base of Kala Patthar and Pumori. Mount Everest and Nuptse are constant companions, whether by sunlight or moonlight. The starkness, the severity, and the beauty are absolutely beyond my expectations, and at times, more than I can believe. We rarely actually have rest time – I’ve been in a state of constant motion and then sleep, except for my rest days at Pheriche – but when I do, I find myself just sitting, staring up at Pumori or Everest and the incredibly blue sky. Taking in the sounds of the radio from the cook tent; the crowing of birds; and the chatter of the camp staff.

While I think of home often, and miss my friends and family (including my part-time dog Hana, who I can’t wait to see) I’m just so pleased to be back at this, my other “home.” Thanks so much for all of the well wishes and support – it’s been truly appreciated! Think positive thoughts for our guys who are now up on Pumori, and I’ll keep you posted as best I can!

In the meantime, you can keep tabs via www.climbwithus.com, and on Twitter at Jamie's account, my TheClimberGirl account and the official ClimbWithUs account.

Again, thanks so much for your support, encouragement, and positive thoughts. Take care, and have fun, in your own adventures!

-Sara

Sara Posts Latest On Trek Toward Pumori

2009-10-24T21:53:00.000-07:00

Quick check in here... Sara posts at Expedition Hanesbrands site...

Via @ClimbWithUs on Twitter: New update from @theclimbergirl Sara wrapping up days 5-11 on Mount Pumori. A great read! http://bit.ly/9PMiY

Expedition Hanesbrands at Pumori Base Camp

2009-10-20T12:35:00.000-07:00

The latest from RCG HQ, with updates from Nepal! Expedition leader Jamie Clark, Sara and the team have arrived at Pumori Base Camp, according to the Twitter feeds from @JC_Climbs and @ClimbWithUs. New videos too of the team being blessed and making their way deep into the mountain range:

New video: Trek detail from day 6 (Pangboche to Pheriche) http://bit.ly/hpXgd

New video: Trek detail from day 8 (Pheriche to Lobuche). http://bit.ly/ARZuA

Berg Adventures has great updates on their blog as well of the team's progress (scroll to the bottom of the page for links): http://bit.ly/2kvBzO

Update from Sara!

2009-10-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone - RCG HQ here with updates from Sara and the team:

A voicemail from Sara and an updated slideshow of pictures are posted at the Climb With Us web site: http://bit.ly/268kRH.

Also, Berg Adventures, which is climbing with the team, is posting pictures and dispatches here: http://bit.ly/2kvBzO

Scroll to the bottom of the page for the nearly-daily updates!

I've also started tracking the team on GoogleMaps, when Sara sends a SPOT text to let us know of their location: http://bit.ly/OPV3o

Enjoy!

Guest Blogger Aleya: "Fear"

2009-10-14T20:51:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone - While Sara's in Nepal, she's asked a few of us to post on her site about our latest adventures, as well as post updates from Nepal as we get them. Here's our first guest post from Aleya. Enjoy! - RCG HQ

Fear

Today I am exhausted. My back and knees hurt and my eyes are puffy from lack of sleep, but it’s worth it.

Yesterday I had an adventure. I got to climb six pitches on Seneca Rocks in WV, tackling four different named climbs, a summit scramble, one rap to the base and a steeeeep walk out. I’m sore, but I can’t stop smiling.

This weekend wasn’t supposed to involve climbing. Initially this was a “manly bonding” trip, and being of the female variety, I wasn’t invited. Then a week ago the instigating male decided that a “couples trip” would be more pleasant, and thus I received my invite.

The conversation about what we should climb went something like this:

George (my man): What were you guys planning on doing?
Mike (instigating male): I dunno, Ecstasy maybe.
Katie (Mike’s girl): The drug?
Mike: (Sigh) No dear, the climb… What are you guys planning?
George: Thought maybe we’d start on Skyline Traverse and take it from there.
Me: Um, hu? (Silently panics at hearing ‘Skyline”)
George: We’d have to pick another route at the ledge cause Skyline doesn’t summit…
Me: Oh, I see. (Pretending that was actually why I said “hu?”)
Mike: That sounds like a great time, fo sho.
Me: Ah, yeah. I think I forgot something back at my house… in Maryland… I should go get it… (Sneaks away.)

Skyline Traverse is my nemesis. The last time out we climbed the first pitch and I decided my nerves were too raw to keep going. This makes more sense if you understand that I’m afraid of heights. I’m still a beginner climber, especially outdoors, so these sensations and fears are new to me. I guess, more accurately, I’m afraid of falling. And hitting the ground. Or a ledge. Or a tree. Or a person. The first move on the second pitch of Skyline traverse is the ideal place to trigger this fear. Its one huge step off a ledge onto a tiny foot over a hundred of feet of air. Its not really difficult, but it’s exposed and a bit spicy, and much harder to do when your hands are shaking and your palms are sweating.

It’s a good thing I respond so easily to peer pressure, or I never would have agreed to do the route. We packed our gear and started the approach early, getting to the climb before any other long-weekend recreationalists. The first pitch is straightforward: Climb a dihedral to a ledge, climb another dihedral to another ledge. I followed my leader up, feeling pretty confident. At the first anchor I started to feel the familiar butterflies of fear. We transferred the gear, restacked the rope and commented on the perfect weather. Then he said. “Ok, I’m leaving.” After a few careful steps (which I had a hard time watching) he was past the crux and out of sight. I was alone.

I’ve read so much on fear and how to overcome it I should be an expert by now. Drink orange juice, vitamin C decreases anxiety. Pick a soothing aromatherapy balm. Have a mantra. Work up to it. I’ve tried letting go of my fears, but it seems I’m afraid of even that too. It’s like if I let go I’ll lose a safety net. But when it comes down to it, to the moment you have to take action, where your worst nightmare overcomes you, it’s all about making a choice to step outside your bubble of comfort, and jump.

As I stood on the ledge feeding out rope and listening for commands I took an inventory of the risks in climbing the next pitch. They were embarrassingly few. I’d be on belay from the top the whole time. If I fell it’d be over air so I wouldn’t hit anything. My fears were irrational and I knew it. I glanced at the changing fall landscape below me and watched a hundred golden leaves break free and swirl with the wind, then suddenly shoot skyward in an updraft. The effect was breathtaking. I’d like to say that in that moment I was set free as well, and climbed with confidence and grace over the abyss below…

Instead my stomach churned and I farted.

I did, however, decide in that moment to take that step outside my bubble, and fight hard for clarity. Climbing can be a spiritual experience, or an intensely temporal one. I felt my heart thump against my ribcage while a thousand voices screamed inside my head. My palms grew slick despite the chalk as they groped and clawed for security. When I rocked my weight onto the tiny, exposed ledge I learned the meaning of the term “commit.” That pitch, and the next three after that, was a sustained battle for control. And I won. I didn’t give in and I didn’t make any mistakes.

The last climb up Windy Corner was a good step and a half back into my comfort zone. I’d even go so far as to say I relaxed a bit and enjoyed myself. Then I realized that by persevering through my fears I’d also expanded my bubble so far to include routes like Windy Corner.

I may never be a badass climber, but give me a challenge and watch me overcome it. That’s why I can’t stop smiling.

“Today was such a relaxing day…” – Mike reflecting on the day’s climb.

Aleya lives and works just outside of DC and is lucky to know Sara through the wonderful world of Twitter. She blogs at www.rockandsky.com, tweets as Blueskeyes207, loves science, her dog, and long walks on moonlit beaches.

Kathmandu to Namche, Nepal

2009-10-12T01:38:00.000-07:00

I've said this before, but this is really the end of my real connectivity... from here on out I'll be helping with the official corporate communication at:

ClimbWithUs on Twitter, JC_Climbs on Twitter, and
The official Expedition Hanesbrands website.

And then, I'll do lengthy updates when I get back to faster internet connectivity either in Kathmandu, Hong Kong, or at home.

I'm hoping against hope to do two posts today... this one, and then a separate one just with photos from our trip photographer, Scott Simper, who is not only a breathtaking photographer (I'd go so far as to say "Portrait Artist") but also a kick ass travel buddy.
At the moment, though, I'm photo upload challenged, so please keep an eye on my Flickr Nepal feed today and tomorrow morning just in case I do get photo uploads up, from my own shots and from Scott's first few days of shooting.

I'm having a ton of fun with Scott and Todd and Jamie and the rest of the team, and for a bunch of people who hardly knew each other (if at all) before about six days ago, we're all getting along fantastically and having a great time. I chatted with an American climbing guide from Seattle this morning and he observed that our team seems to be having a lot of fun. Perhaps that means we're being obnoxious, but whatever. Spirits are high, mostly folks are staying healthy, and after two days of trekking, we're taking a delightful rest day in Namche today.

The trekking itself has been quite pleasant. We're able to move slowly to aid acclimatization, and I've had plenty of peaceful time to myself on the trail, as well as time with friends. I can't get enough of the views... I expected the mountains to take my breath away, but I didn't expect the trekking country to be this stunning. Thank goodness Todd taught me to walk a bit without looking at my feet yesterday, so that I can take in more of the views.

I just can't describe how much fun I'm having. During the flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, when I first saw the mountains out the little plane's window, I started to cry. I couldn't help it. It wasn't little sniffles... this was wholesale sobbing. I had to fish out a handkerchief. I expected to be afraid, on that flight... but instead, I was just so completely overwhelmed by the pure joy of being in that place, at that time, and seeing those views. I haven't ever in my life felt that kind of unbridled, uncontrollable joy. I think that was when it finally started to sink in that I'm HERE. That I have this incredible, once in a lifetime opportunity to be here, in this place, with these wonderful people, as part of this team.

So, from here on out, it's more of the same. One step after another. Fingers crossed I manage to find a connection to get some photos uploaded, since they really do kick ass. I mean, if I may say so myself... even mine are good. Scotty's are PHENOMENAL. I tried to edit down my shots taken so far today, and didn't manage to delete many. This place, its people, its views... it's pretty hard to take a bad photo.

Time to get packing... we've got a bunch of expedition gear to organize this afternoon, after a few bags being delayed by weather for the Lukla flight. Then, a bit more rest before we hit the trail again tomorrow. Namaste!