Outhiking...

So...what do you do for a living?

2011-02-22T21:18:00.000-07:00

Otherwise known as the "cocktail" question. I'm sure you've been to a social gathering where you're familiar with some individuals, less so with others. During the course of the evening, eventually "the question" is asked what one does for a career. For many, it's an easy answer - I'm a doctor/lawyer/engineer/etc... For me, my response is generally met with a blank stare of confusion.

Me: "I'm a Instructor for a GIS company."
Other person: "GIS what?"
Me: "I work for a Mapping Software company."
Other person: "What's that?"
Me: "It's a company that writes software to work with maps and the data behind maps."
Other person: "Uh....."
Me: "Have you seen Google Earth?"
Other person: "Oh yes, I've used that many times - is that what you do?"
Me: "No, not really. Google Earth is just the beginning of what one can do with imagery and maps."
Other person: "Excuse me for a moment...honey can I get another drink."

In reality, it's not that blunt but most individuals do not understand that most if not all mapping, whether it's for climbing, navigating, a pretty wall map, is created using software that is designed for designing maps. Of course, the map is the front end that people see but the reality is that there's a lot more going on behind the scene of the map. The attributes of the data - thinks roads or lakes for example. The coordinates of the data - GPS units collect point or line data using a Geographic Coordinate System called WGS84. The maps designed for the Internet all require software to visualize and analyze the vast amount of data out there.

But why talk about it when I can show you. Below is a map that I quickly created from http://www.arcgis.com/ and then shared out as a bit of code to imbed into my blog. It's a map of Quandary Peak - one of the many 14ers that I've climbed.

View Larger Map

Of course, this is but one small example of the infinite number of Geographic Information System (GIS) maps that have been created over the years whether with our software or the host of other software's on the market. For additional information about the company, please visit http://www.esri.com/

But back to the "cocktail question" - what do you do for a living? I teach cartography, database design, software extensions, parcel management, basic introductory classes and more to people from all disciplines of life. Whether you work for the public sector or the private sector, the military or the non-profits, the K-12 teacher or the university professor, the person who wants to save the world or the person trying to determine where vital natural resources are located - your path may cross mine and we'll chat about how GIS can be that tool to aid your job. It's a rewarding profession and I'm pleased to be involved with GIS for 18+ years now.

Climb On my friends...

The Lucky 7...

2011-01-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year everyone! First I must apologize for being extremely tardy in my blog postings after my Qatar trip in September 2010. As I look out the window on this very cold night, I realized that it has been nearly 4 months since I posted anything. No time like the present.

The beginning of a new year is like any other for the most part. It's a renewing of the calendar year, a reset switch for individuals to make personal goals that they may or may not meet, an expectation that this year will be better than the last. As most of you know, I don't necessarily subscribe to "traditional" New Year's resolutions of any sort. Why? What's the point? Rather I set goals for the new year as something to work towards. My outdoor goal this year is to complete the 54 summits over 14,0000' in Colorado. Currently, I sit at 47 completed peaks with 7 remaining. Some of these remaining 7 peaks will be challenging from a mountaineering perspective while others less so.

So a bit of a preview of each one broken down by the two mountain ranges that these airy summits belong.

The Elk Range - known as some of Colorado's most rugged and beautiful peaks. The rock in this range is considered "rotten" in the sense that its crumbling, red sedimentary rock. I've climbed a few in this range already and can testify that these are mountains to approach with respect.

Capitol Peak (14,130') - among 14er aficionado's, this singular peak has been considered to be one of the hardest peaks in the state due to it's infamous 100' knife edge. My climbing partners and I attempted this in 2010 but turned back due to rain and freezing conditions. The picture above is a 40' knife edge called Kelso Ridge on approach to Torrey's Peak. Good practice for this one!
Snowmass Peak (14.092') - another rugged 14er that is considered fairly remote while being north of the glitzy Aspen community. Not as difficult as Capitol Peak, it has a long approach and a "namesake" snowfield that lasts well into summer making the trip up a little easier through the scree/talus fields.
Maroon Peak (14,156') - perhaps one of the most photographed peaks in Colorado and perhaps the West. This peak and it's sibling, North Maroon Peak, are collectively known as the "Deadly Bells" and for good reason. The rock is poor and route finding a challenge. I climbed it's neighbor, Pyramid Peak, in the summer of 2009 and can testify that one should carefully study the route and minimize the risks.

The San Juans - this mountain range is simply the most beautiful part of the state. Remote, rugged peaks far from the Front Range with amazing backpacking opportunities for the climber and non-climber alike.

Wetterhorn Peak (14,015') - this mountain is named after the more famous Wetterhorn rising above Grindelwald in Switzerland's Bernese Alps. For language fans, Wetternhorn loosely translated means "weather peak" in German. I attempted this peak in 2008 but did not have the necessary rock skills to comfortably summit this peak. After two years of rock climbing and classes, I look forward to this one quite a bit.
Handies Peak (14,048') - this is my 14er finisher! It's a Class 1 walk-up so hikers and climbers alike can walk up the trail to the rarefied air of 14k. The plan is to summit this in August 2011 if you're interested - please let me know. Details to follow in the summer.
Sunlight Peak (14,059') - another one of the 14ers spoken in reverence due to its "leap of fate" off the summit block. Most hikers/climbers don't stand on the small summit block. It's a bit exposed and requires a jump down to a angled rock block. On one side - safety and camp. On the other - a several hundred foot fall. I'm okay with reaching my hand up to touch the summit...
Mount Sneffels (14,150') - located 7 miles west of Ouray, CO. Ouray is home to the Ouray Ice Festival and is often called the "little Switzerland" of North America. If you've ever been there, you'd agree. This mountain serves as a good warm-up for aspiring mountaineers that have finished the "walk-up" 14ers and want to try something a bit harder. Should be great fun!

So that's it. The remaining 14ers that I have left to climb. To be honest with you, when I first started hiking the 14ers in 1998 I never really gave it much thought that I would complete "the list." But this year, if all goes well, "the list" will be completed and I will join about 1200-1300 people who have completed the 14ers. I look forward to the challenge...Climb On my friends!

Another 24 hours...the Doha Sequel...

2010-09-27T08:27:00.000-06:00

With my blockbuster post from 2 days ago, the director asked if I would write a sequel to my runaway hit. I graciously agreed on the caveat that they do something about the heat and humidity. Well, if 99 degrees and a heat index of 107 degrees is better, then life is good. Surprisingly, the temperatures did feel a bit better on my return walk to the Movenpick Tower and Suites this afternoon...I only felt 3/4 drained more than Qatar normal.
As discussed in my last post, Saturday was my day of R&R from the long plane ride halfway around the world. Sunday was my Monday as it were. I have a class of 14-15 students in my class and the cultural differences are interesting to observe. The males occupy the front of the classroom and are fairly active in discussions. The women occupy the back of the classroom and "generally" not as active in discussions, but they will ask questions if I walk near or they quietly get my attention to assist them. For cultural and/or religious beliefs, women in the Islamic world dress in an abayas - some veiled while others are not. As described in my hotel magazine, women wear abayas "to shroud their identity from the outside world." It's very effective...

One difficulty in teaching this particular class is the abbreviated Qatari work schedule. It's common to begin one's day around 8 AM, have a 30-minute brunch from 9:30-10 AM, a call to prayers at 11:45-12:15 PM and then depart for one's home by 2 PM. This class is designed around an 8 hour work day so losing nearly 4 hours a day to teach is problematic at best. One has to speed up delivery of instruction and skip exercises in order to complete the required materials. Even with that, I'm rushed to get done what I can.

Following class, my principle lead for CGIS and I discussed work details afterwards and then drove me to another part of Qatar for an Arabic sandwich - basically a falafel chicken sandwich - very tasty from the local falafel store. The great thing about this trip is I saw yet more of Doha while traveling in the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle. Beats walking in the hot, humid sun - but....

Walk I did as the sun was setting yesterday. The corniche is a many kilometer water promenade that goes around the Doha Bay. From my hotel, I began my hours long walk past the newly constructed skyscrapers of West Bay taking many pictures. I have to say, the architecture of these modern skyscrapers are unlike anything I've seen before. For the most part, they're very sleek, very progressive, very modern, and very impressive. Not knowing what to expect of Doha before my trip, I've been very impressed by the design of it's future and intrigue of it's past. Doha is a very modern 21st century city with a centuries old past that is rapidly disappearing in the older areas of town to rubble and new construction.

After my return to the Movenpick, I ventured downstairs for dinner in the hotel restaurant. Granted, in the US I would never do such a thing, but as I have no car and I was starving...so the Indian style buffet with amazing desserts had to suffice. The prices are a bit much for such a meal so Monday night, I plan to return to the Souq Waqif via a taxi and enjoy an inexpensive and much more enjoyable night.

I wrapped up my day with a Skype video phone call to my girl and the boy. First time I used this technology and it was great. My day was nearing an end (9 PM Qatar time) and Karen's was just beginning (12 PM MST). It was great to see her and the boy and get to talk to them - learned yet more about a new Beyblade that Ethan purchased - L-Drago!!! Halfway around the world is a bit harder than 450 miles north of ABQ - but the result is still the same - not in the same town and missing each other.

Well, Tuesday is my last full day in Doha to conclude my 3-day class and then off to meet an ESRI colleague for dinner. After that, get packed and ready to go for my return flight to the States - it will be a bit longer than the outbound flight due to going against the jet stream. Gggggrrrreeeeeaaaaaaatttttttt....

Until then, climb on my friends!

A Day in Doha...

2010-09-25T12:15:00.000-06:00

My first full day in Doha, Qatar and I believe I maximized my immersion into this hot yet beautiful country. A bit of a back story - I was selected by ESRI-Redlands 2 months ago to teach a 3-day class in Doha, Qatar. As the course is now retired and the number of available staff to teach it decreasing, I thought this would be a great opportunity to explore another small part of the world. My trip began on a beautiful Colorado Thursday afternoon from Denver to Washington DC. A brief layover in Dulles allowed me to wolf down a buffalo burger and enjoy a fine brew from the Old Dominion Brewing Company before boarding a 777 Qatar Airways jet direct to Doha, Qatar - 12.5 hours non-stop.

My longest plane trip ever was from Los Angeles, CA to the Big Island of Hawaii many years ago. That was only a 5 hour trip - very manageable. This one...well...there's not a lot to do for 12.5 hours but one manages. I met two college students in my row that were returning home to Islamabad, Pakistan after spending 6 months on a college visa to Indiana State University. They were studying agriculture as well as touring a small part of the USA. As the plane departed Dulles, we chatted for a while before donning our headphones to watch some movies. I selected the latest Robin Hood (with Russell Crowe) - not a great movie but not a bad one either - the second movie I watched - Shrek IV - also feel into this category as well. But the service on Qatar Airways is top notch - good food, free drinks, and plenty of attention to keep one comfortable on a long trip. For 12.5 hours it was needed.

I attempted to sleep in my coach seat for a period of time but that was not exactly comfortable or successful. One dozes more than sleeps. I watched the computer map tracking our path across the Atlantic, over the UK, over northern Europe, over Turkey, skirting down the border of Iraq/Iran and down the Persian Gulf to Doha, Qatar. My first impression at the 6:10 PM touchdown - a steamy 95 degrees in the face. Mind you when I left Colorado, the temps fluctuated between 58 and 75 and low humidity. How one forgets about humidity...ugh.

I sailed through immigration, grabbed my suitcase and found my limo driver with a sign "Welcome Robert LeClair." We jumped into the car and it was off to the 5-star Movenpick Tower and Suites in West Bay, Doha. The West Bay area is the newest construction in town and is a jungle of beautifully designed skyscrapers. This part of Doha is very modern and very expensive - a lot of new found oil and natural gas wealth in the past 5 years. After an Indian Buffet in the hotel restaurant - I crashed hard for the night.

7:30 AM on Saturday...what to do...well get a good workout in the gym first! My body was screaming at me for sitting so long on the plane. Then a good breakfast of waffles, hash browns, fresh fruit and coffee. Afterwards I spoke with the concierge and arranged transportation to the Souq in old Doha and the nearby Museum of Islamic Art. Originally I thought it would a nice day to walk the 4-5 miles along the water front to this area, but after seeing the weather report of 99 degrees and heat index of 113 - no way! The Souq is the traditional Arabic "shopping mall" if you will where vendors sell everything for traditional Muslim garments, to trinkets, to spices/candy/dates, to birds and cats. I wandered for 2 hours taking refuge in the air conditioned hallways before going back outside in the oppressive heat. After a 1 hour break to check the training facility with my work contact, I returned downtown to the Museum of Islamic Art - a very modern building with Middle Eastern art back to the 5th/6th century - pretty cool stuff.

It is now middle afternoon and I'm starving! I figured the 10-minute walk back to the Souq wouldn't be too bad - it was. The heat/humidity is brutal! A taxi driver pulled over - but I only had 5 minutes to go. I poured myself into a Lebanese restaurant for chicken kabobs and a traditional Lebanese salad - incredible! Afterwards, I followed up my meal with a traditional Turkish coffee - beats Starbucks by a mile! Feeling refreshed I went the Corner Cafe to try a shisha - apple flavored tobacco in a Arabic traditional water pipe. Cool experience - with plenty of people watching to do. Westerners, Asians, Indonesians, Qatari, non-Qatari, veiled women, non-veiled woman - I'm not in Colorado for sure. Spoke with Karen for 10 minutes on my ESRI global phone - she would enjoy this place but not the humidity. By then, my apple tobacco is done and I'm hungry again. It's off to an Indian restaurant for baryani chicken - the flavors oh so incredible! By this time, I'm hot/tired/sweaty and ready for the hotel and air conditioning! A $6 taxi ride and I'm now back looking over the West Bay of Doha from the 22nd floor updating my much neglected blog.

That's it for now. I'm teaching classes for the next 3-days and then return to the states on Wednesday AM. Climb On my friends!

Finishing the 14ers...

2010-08-29T10:30:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago, my climbing partner, Alan Arnette, completed his goal climbing all 54 14,000 peaks in Colorado. Alan was part of a 6-person group to the Chicago Basin located in southwest Colorado between Durango and Silverton. The 3 ranked 14ers, Mt. Eolus, Windom Peak, and Sunlight Peak are some of the most remote 14,000 peaks in Colorado that require a ride on the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to shorten the hike into the basin. For all, this was a trip we had talked about doing for years.

Our first full day in the basin brought abundant sunshine and Colorado blue skies - perfect conditions for climbing Mt. Eolus and it's neighbor North Eolus. One of our team members, John Little, had befriended Alan several years ago and had dreamed of climbing his first Class 3 mountain. I had not met John until this trip but had corresponded with him over the years. Eolus and North Eolus proved to be both very beautiful and very interesting rocks to climb. For Alan, this brought him closer to his end goal with 52 successful summits.

Our second day in the basin brought consistent low cloud cover, rain, drizzle, and groppel - not exactly perfect conditions for climbing Windom Peak and Sunlight Peak. We delayed our start time from camp about 1-2 hours to determine whether climbing was in the cards. Seeing a window, we set out for Windom Peak. Windom Peak is the easiest of the two mountains we were to attempt that day and through drizzle, groppel and some wind we summited the mountain surrounded by pea soup...53 successful summits for Alan. We then made a hasty retreat down the mountain to avoid freezing conditions. Successfully off of Windom, Alan and I attempted Sunlight Peak in marginal conditions. I got 200' from the top and Alan about 50' from the top before we made the call to turn around. Wet rock, exposed terrain, and icy conditions dictated that Sunlight, an unforgiving mountain, was not to be that day...stuck at 53 successful summits.

Our third day in the basin brought an overnight abundance of rain and hail but a dawn of abundant sunshine and Colorado blue skies. I had to hike out of the basin that morning to catch my train while Alan awoke at 4:30 AM to summit Sunlight Peak. Although he soloed Sunlight Peak, thoughts of his mother (who passed away from complications of Alzheimer's1 year and 1 day on his completion of the 14ers), his climbing accomplishments, and his memories of all 54 summits hopefully kept him company. A hearty congratulations in completing the goal of climbing all 54 14,000 peaks in Colorado - a task undertaken by many but accomplished by few.

As our team returned to our respective homes, all of us have had time to think about this trip and what it meant for each individual. For Alan, a completion of a goal and the beginning of a new goal - to raise awareness of and $1 million for Alzheimer's Research with his Memories are Everything: The 7 Summits for Alzheimer's. The project begins Q4 2010 and will conclude in 2011/2012. You can follow Alan's progress with this project on the link above. Please consider donating to this cause by giving 1 penny for each vertical foot Alan climbs - it can be for all 7 summits or just 1 - $13 to $196 depending on the summit.

Climb On my friends!

Third times a charm...

2010-08-08T14:57:00.000-06:00

Kit Carson Peak (14,165') has been an elusive 14er to climb for me. In 2009...on 2 respective trips...Kit Carson Peak thwarted my best efforts to gain the summit. The June 2009 attempt brought 6 hikers together with varied climbing skills. The snows from winter 2008-09 were still on the mountain - areas that required crampons and an ice axe. Half of our team only made neighboring Challenger Point (14,081') but an iced over ledge system called "The Avenue" stopped us. The September 2009 attempt brought 5 hikers together again but hours and hours of rain, groppel and hail throughout the night only iced the rock up. It was not meant to be...

Fast forward to early August 2010 and the snows are a distant memory - winter 2010 is only months away though... Ben Kubczak and I were the only folks able to give Kit Carson/Challenger Point a go this past weekend. The plan, as suggested by Ben, was to make this a day hike versus an overnight backpacking trip. The 14 miles round trip and 6250' gain/loss would have been easier broken into two days, but the advantage of 1 day was the ability to travel light. And heck, it would be a challenge - I'm always up for a challenge.

I drove to the Willow Lake trail head Friday night and slept in the 4Runner for the first time. Another perk of this "new to me" vehicle, I can lay down easily enough complete with pad and sleeping bag - couldn't do that with the CRV. Ben met me at the 4x4 turn-off at 3:30 AM Saturday and we were on trail by 4 AM. Walking through he woods by headlamp with only a sliver of moon was great. The air was still and the forest not quite awake. Ben noted that someone had seen a mountain lion here recently...ggggreeeeaaaatttttt....

We made Willow Lake in 2 hours 45 minutes and pumped water to refill our bottles. From there, we began the climb up towards Challenger Point. The standard trail is nothing more than a scree slope with some boulder hoping thrown in for good measure. Ben made it about halfway before calling his summit bid due to changing weather. I decided to continue to get a fuller weather picture on Challenger Point. I gained the summit and after evaluating the weather, decided Kit Carson was a go. I met up with 3 other folks who had the same plan and from Challenger, we began the trip over to Kit Carson.

Kit Carson is a complex mountain with 3 summits - Kat Carson, Kit Carson, and Challenger Point (although some give it the nickname of Johnny Carson!) The easiest way to summit Kit Carson is to use the ledge system (The Avenue) around the back side of the mountain to an easy Class 3 scramble to the summit. From Challenger summit to Kit Carson summit was 45 minutes. #47 in the books! I enjoyed the scenery for 20-30 minutes, took some pictures, texted Karen, and then began the long hike down to the 4Runner...7 miles away and 6250' down.

I met Ben back at Willow Lake and we hiked down the mountain to clean clothes, sandals and the thought of pizza/beer in Salida. After a hearty dinner, we departed to separate cities - me (Denver) and Ben (Colorado Springs). The ride home was tough - I was very, very tired and drank coffee to keep awake. Fortunately, the trip went well and I parked the car at home, left all my gear in the car, and promptly walked into my apartment and crashed for 10 hours. I feel much better now...

Next weekend is the Eolus group trip north of Durango with my regular climbing partners, Alan Arnette and Patrick Vall as well as some new additions - John Little and Anne/Kevin Martin. Looking forward to it!

Climb On my friends!

Marmot Love in the Crestones...

2010-07-19T21:52:00.000-06:00

What the heck? Marmot love? Surely that has nothing and everything to do with climbing. You see the Yellow Bellied Marmot live at altitudes above 6500' which is where I spend a lot of weekends during the summer climbing season. And this last weekend was no different...

Several weeks ago, I sent an email out to my regular climbing partners, Alan Arnette and Patrick Vall, to see if they had any interest in returning to Crestone Peak (14,294') and Crestone Needle (14,197'). Both had done these peaks on different trips but these were 2 mountains on my 2010 summit list to complete. Unfortunately Patrick was unavailable and Alan replied "only if we do the traverse." The traverse is considered one of the 4 great 14,000' climbs among the 14er group and one of the more difficult due to route finding, rock scrambling, and exposure. I was tentative about this traverse but agreed - what better way to gain more skills.

Alan and I left Denver Friday afternoon and 3.5 hours later we were at the trailhead, geared and ready for our 4 mile hike to base camp. We arrived at camp around 6 PM, set up our tents, ate dinner, and set the alarm for a 3:40 AM wake-up call. It arrived too soon but we were greeted by clear skies and tons of stars! We left camp at 4 AM to climb Broken Hand Pass - a several hundred foot scree slope to a weakness in the mountain. From there we descended to a beautiful lake valley and made our way to the Red Gully. The Red Gully is a polished, red rock section that climbers take to within 200' of the summit block. The hiking/climbing was moderately hard but manageable and soon enough we were on the summit of Crestone Peak. But the "fun" was only beginning....

To reach the traverse entry point between Crestone Peak and Crestone Needle, one has to descend 600-700' from the saddle of Crestone Peak. We spent some time attempting to find the entry point and eventually found a strong climbers trail - the traverse! The traverse is a slog of upclimb and downclimb between gullies and fractured rock to an obvious rock formation called the Black Gendarme. From this point on, the climbing gets more serious due to exposure - a fall in some portions is fatal. We took our time finding the safest route and eventually found ourselves at the base of the crux. The crux is an 80' climb on 70-80 degree rock with solid hand and foot holds. Alan was a spider monkey on this portion and free climbed it to the top. I, on the other hand, was a marmot but fortunately was able to tie into a rope from an earlier team that ascended this portion 10 minutes before us. Tied into a safety system, I climbed the 80' crux with no problem and soon enjoyed the summit of Crestone Needle. The remainder of the trip was a slog of a downclimb via the standard route off the Needle back to camp and exhaustive rest.

Overall, the Crestones are quite a beautiful range of mountains and I felt both spent from the exertion yet happy to have climbed these mountains. Next on the agenda, an attempt on Capitol, Wilson, and El Diente this weekend. The "list" grows shorter but my happiness in the mountains continue to grow...

Climb On my friends....

A sporting climb...

2010-06-12T11:47:00.000-06:00

For about 2 years now, two of my coworkers at ESRI and I have discussed rock climbing and the plethora of routes "near" the office. As I've advanced my mountaineering and rock climbing skills through CMC classes and am now an assistant instructor for Basic Mountaineering School, my rock skills are slowly getting more solid. And I'm getting more comfortable with exposure as well.

Earlier this week, Kevin Hodson approached me and asked if I was interested in some rock climbing before work on Thursday morning. Seeing how my week has been chaotic at best with beta testing of updated course materials for ArcGIS 10, I was ready to get something in this week. My running has been sidelined - mostly due to schedule and summer activities - so I said YES!

The plan - be at the base of High Wire Crag in Clear Creek Canyon by 5:45 AM to have a 2-2.5 hours to climb. The routes we were looking to do was "Stone Cold Moderate" (difficulty 5.7) and "Ace in the Hole" (difficulty 5.10a). As these were sport climbs (bolts placed in the rock every 8-10' for protection), we did not have to worry about bring trad gear (cams, nuts, etc.) to place our protection. Kevin has done some leading in this canyon before so I belayed him on both routes so he could set the top rope for my climbs up/down.

The first route, Stone Cold Moderate, was an enjoyable climb to warm up on. The route follows a crack to chains 100' above the belay station. We both climbed this route twice playing around with different handholds and footholds. The second route, Ace in the Hole, was much more of a challenge both in rating and smaller handhold/footholds. Kevin led this route again and it pushed his leading skills. When I lowered him down to the belay station, he was pumped about doing the route and at the same time, glad to be down. My turn now...this route was one of the harder routes that I've climbed this year but I was looking forward to it. The handholds/footholds are a bit smaller and you have to look around for them but they are there. It took me about 10-15 minutes to climb the 100' to the top but what a climb! After being lowered, we packed the gear and drove the office to begin the work day.

This weekend was supposed to be our BMS Grad Climb to Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park but heavy rains/snow in the northern and central mountains as well as the Front Range, has put the kibosh on our plans. Currently, the instructor team is quickly planning a day trip for Sunday morning but nothing solid as of yet. Regardless, the weekend is here and for that I'm happy!

Next weekend, heading down to ABQ to see my girl and enjoy the warm New Mexico desert! Climb On my friends!

The Dog is not Dead...

2010-06-02T21:03:00.000-06:00

Tsali, the wonder cat, is doing great in the LeClair household. But "the dog" otherwise known as the Dead Dog Couloir off of Torreys Peak was simply an amazing snow climb. I started climbing couloirs (i.e. a deep gully on mountain sides filled with snow) about 1.5 years ago for my Basic Mountaineering School class. My first exposure to them was the Cristo Couloir off of Quandary Peak. Since then, I've climbed the Lambslide Couloir off of Longs Peak as well but the Dead Dog Couloir had begun to intrigue me this year.

I have climbed Torreys Peak (14,267') via the standard route probably about 3 times now and although it is a very scenic mountain paired with neighboring Grays Peak (14,270'), it's probably not a mountain that I would actively choose to return to unless it was by a more technical approach. Several weeks ago, I started formulating a plan to climb the Dead Dog towards the end of May 2010. By months end, the snowpack has consolidated fairly nicely and the chance of point releases/wet slides are minimal - at least in the early morning hours. I discussed my plans with 14er climbing partner, Alan Arnette, who planned to join us after his Little Bear Peak climb the day before as well as my ESRI co-worker, Kevin Hodson. Two additional friends from the CMC, Greg Sherman and John Krhovjak, whom I've hiked with before had expressed an interest as well. The plans were set in motion....

My alarm went off at 3 AM in Westminster, CO and I awakened to quickly eat some cereal, brew some coffee, and grab my pack to meet folks at the Morrison Park-n-Ride by 4 AM. We wanted to be on the trail by 5 AM and at the base of the couloir by 6:30 AM in order to take advantage of hard snow. As it turned out, Alan was unable to join us due to a "wardrobe malfunction" (his double plastic boots broke) so the remaining 4 folks drove to the summer trailhead and began to hike in. The air temperature was in the high 30's and the snow on the trail was hard from the night's freezing temperatures - perfect! We arrived at the base of couloir by 6:30 AM and started to get ready. We put on our crampons, grabbed our ice axes, ate some food, drank some water and started up the couloir. There was some wet slide activity from previous days but this was not too much of a worry - the snow was firm today...at least until late morning.

The Dead Dog averages about 45 degrees most of the route up and steepens to 50 degrees for the last 100-200'. We took about 1.5 hours to ascend the 1200' to the summit ridge and stood on the summit by 8:20 AM. The views were simply amazing - a lot of snow is still on the high mountains although it's melting quickly. We could see Breckenridge Resort 20 miles to the west as well as numerous other 14,000' mountains nearby. This is one of the things I live for! We enjoyed the summit for about 20-30 minutes and then began our descent back via the standard route to the trailhead. Kevin had brought his tele skis so he skied down the couloir with another skier while Greg, John, and I glissaded 1200' down from the saddle between Grays and Torreys.

We were back at the 'yota by 11 AM and in Denver by 12 PM - perfect - we avoided the Memorial Day Weekend "rush hour" soon coming down I-70!

This weekend, my friend/lover/companion, Karen, is visiting this weekend for a weekend of concerts at Red Rocks, visiting with friends, hitting a festival or two, and catching up on lost time. Climb on my friends!

Da Bear...

2010-05-23T17:41:00.000-06:00

Nope, Mike Ditka was not on Little Bear Peak (14,037') on May 22, 2010 but there were at least 8 climbers that were on summit. My regular climbing partner, Patrick Vall, and I have been studying this mountain for a while now and came to the conclusion that the safest time to climb this mountain was when there was snow on the crux...otherwise known as the "hourglass." The hourglass is a rock formation that has a lot in common with a traditional hourglass - wide at the top/bottom and pinch point in the middle. In this case, the pinch point funnels a cascade of rocks onto water slicked cliff bands that climbers are attempting to ascend. Not wanting to be a clay pigeon in this shooting gallery, we decided to try the "bear" when the snow has consolidated into solid climbing conditions.

I left Denver Friday AM to pick up Patrick in Colorado Springs on way to the town of Blanca, CO. Not much in Blanca these days but they had big plans once. If you ever pull up Google Earth, you'll understand my comment. We drove about 3 miles up Lake Como Road until the 4Runner could no longer go up due to huge rock bands across the path. From there it was a 2-2.5 mile hike to Lake Como at 11,900'. As we were the first folks up to Lake Como, we selected a small 10x12 cabin that's been modified over the years for climbers and 4x4'ers alike. This was a good thing as winter still has a grasp on the high country at around 12,000'. After a dinner of Top Raman and tuna, we called it a night.

The alarm went off at 4 AM - we started to boil water for oatmeal and hot Starbucks coffee - thank God for Via! By 5 AM, we were geared and working our way to the first crux - a 600' snow filled 30-35 degree sloped gully. After some crampon maintenance, we were at the top of the gully and traversing across the west ridge to the base of the hourglass. At Point 12,980' Patrick called his climb due to not feeling 100% for the hourglass and encouraged me to continue...I did after knowing that Patrick would be watching my ascent for safety. Seeing 4 climbers ahead of me, I attempted to catch up with them to tag the summit.

The crux of the climb had arrived...the hourglass...something I've read about for a year now and I was nervous. Seeing good snow positioned at a 45 degree angle to the summit, I ascended. I caught the first of the 4-person party above the pinch point of the hourglass and took some pics for 14er partner's (Alan Arnette) attempt next weekend. Above the pinch point, the ascent went climber's left to the summit - a 50-55 degree snow slope. Since many parties has summited Friday and Saturday AM, there was a great set of "steps" in the snow. Within minutes, I'm on top of Little Bear Peak - #40 out of 54 summits complete. I called Patrick on the walkie-talkie - "I'm on summit!"

I spent the next 10-15 minutes talking to fellow climbers, taking pictures, and eating/drinking. My climb was half over...now I had to descend the hourglass. It took about 2 hours to get back to the base of the gully but I had made it. The "bear" is a tough mountain...it is to be respected. My BMS training this year and last was a major factor in my summiting and the training paid off.

Next on the schedule - Dead Dog Couloir on Torrey's Peak next Monday.

Climb On my friends...

The Iceman Cometh...

2010-05-19T22:09:00.000-06:00

Alright I'm not exactly a Colorado mountain yeti but I was up in the high country where there was snow...in May. Two weekends ago was the Basic Mountaineering School's "Hard Snow" day. The premise of this field trip was to introduce students to couloir climbing, hone self arrest skills with an ice axe, crampon use, and rope travel in teams. The route - Cristo Couloir on Quandary Peak.

Quandary Peak (14,265') is located south of Breckenridge, CO and is part of the Tenmile-Mosquito Range. It is generally climbable year round due to easy access and avy safe routes. The Cristo Couloir is located on the south side of Quandary Peak and is rated a Class 2 snow climb. The stats are 2.0 miles/2600' gain/loss. Typically, Cristo Couloir becomes climbable in early May but this year, conditions were questionable in the weeks leading up to the climb due to late snows that had not had time to consolidate. The only way to know for sure was to give it a shot.

Our student/instructor group left Denver at 4 AM and arrived at the trailhead at 5:30 AM for an alpine start. The alpine glow on the surrounding mountains was simply incredible. As the students geared up, we communicated the plans for the day. From there, we worked our way to the base of the couloir. Last year when I was a BMS student, the Cristo Couloir was my hard snow so I felt comfortable on this terrain. Initially, we asked the students to practice the 4 styles of self arrest with an ice axe - sliding down a snow slope on your back feet first, in a seated position, on your stomach face first and my favorite, on your back head first. Once they felt they had enough practice, we started our trek up the mountain. Snow conditions were not great but we continued on up practicing skills.

We successfully summited Quandary Peak about 1:30 PM and enjoyed an outstanding view on summit for about 20-30 minutes. A lot of folks called their Mom's to wish them a Happy Mother's Day. I called Karen and my Mom as well to wish them both a happy, happy. Afterwards, we down climbed about 500'-750' on the couloir before setting up the glissade - basically sitting on your butt and ride the snow down to the TH. We probably lost 1500' in about 5 minutes of sliding - great fun! All in all, hard snow day was a success and I believe the students learned quite a bit about snow travel.

Next on my agenda, climbing Little Bear Peak this Saturday AM with great friend and fellow climber, Patrick Vall. Little Bear is a serious mountain - a Class 4 - more so in the summer because of rockfall. Our plan is to do Little Bear as a snow climb thereby reducing the risk of rockfall. That and the snow provides a more solid anchor of sorts - we'll have crampons and ice axes to aid us. If successful, this will be #40 out 54 14,000' peaks in Colorado.

Climb On my friends!

3rd Rockin' and Rollin'...

2010-05-06T21:48:00.000-06:00

I apologize for the tardy update to the blog but finally had a moment to write. You see, the past 1.5 has been chaotic at best and (partially) stressful at least. Two weekends ago, I was in Albuquerque, NM visiting my wonderful girl and the boy after spending way too much time apart. Unfortunately, the company (aka. ESRI) summoned me to Redlands, CA soon thereafter to spend 5 days learning how to write multiple choice questions for an ArcSDE Instructor Exam. It was a good experience but mentally drained me...I was happy to be home!

Basic Mountaineering School continues. The BMS lecture format has ended but the field trips continue as the team nears the goal of the Grad Climb. This past weekend was termed "3rd Rock Day" and is the final trip dedicated solely to rock climbing. The goal - to complete a 4-pitch climb on the 5th Flatiron directly west of Boulder, CO. Last year when I was a student, the 5th Flatiron was my 3rd rock day and it pushed my comfort zone in terms of rock climbing and exposure. It's amazing to think what a year makes in personal growth and comfort with accepting the exposure...yet to persevere higher. I thoroughly enjoyed the 5th this time around.

Our team met at a reasonable 7 AM at the parking lot Chautaugua Park and geared up for the 1.5 mile, 1200' hike to Royal Arch. From there, we hiked the climbers trail to the base of the 5th Flatiron. Weather wise - it's was ever changing but the plan was to get the 4-pitch climb in. My team was composed of one student and two instructors for a total of 3 folks. We set about getting geared up and from there, our rock lead Chris Bartle started up. The BMS student, Zack Schiel, was 2nd on the team and I was 3rd. We successfully arrived at the first belay station as a team and then proceeded up the 2nd pitch. During this time, the weather changed from mixed sun/clouds to light snow. As the rocks were getting wetter and the weather showed no sign of improving, 2 of 3 teams decided to bail off the rock as conditions were sketchy at best. Our team hastily set up a 40'-50' rappel to the south side of the 5th Flatiron and hiked down to meet the team. The 3rd team remained on the rock and eventually completed the multi-pitch climb. All in all a successful trip.

This weekend is termed "hard snow day" as we attempt the Cristo Couloir on the south side of Quandary Peak. Conditions are mixed as of yet but we will see what the team can accomplish with crampon travel, ice axe work, glissading, and rope travel. If we summit this particular 14er, it's a bonus. But if snow conditions are poor, then we focus on training.

Climb On my friends!

On rappel...

2010-04-13T21:25:00.001-06:00

For regular readers of my blog, the subject line may seem a bit familiar. Back in January 2010, I joined a group of friends to ice climb down in Ouray. Well, it's now April and the snow/ice is mostly gone from the Colorado Front Range (although I'm sure we'll get hit by one more snowstorm...but that's another story...)

This past Sunday was 1st Rock Day for my Basic Mountaineering School students. As we prepared earlier in the week by testing the students about their knowledge of climbing knots and what they're used for, the field trip is intended to introduce them to the details of top roping, anchors, multi-pitch scenarios, how to escape the belay and ultimately to have fun. As I noted in my last blog posting, I had a sneaky suspicion of some anxiety about 1st rock day but when the time arrived, the students completed the task and hopefully learned some things as well.

We arrived at the trailhead at 7 AM and geared up for the hike/climb. Now granted, the climbing area was no more than 1/2 mile from the trailhead but the instructors thought it would be good practice to hike 1-2 miles with a full pack and climbing ropes. Our rationale is that as the field trips progress, we'll be hiking longer and higher with heavy packs of climbing gear, food/water, overnight gear, etc. We arrived at a big pile of rocks no more than 40' high and set up two anchor stations for top-roping and rappelling. The top rope station allowed students the opportunity to rock climb in their mountaineering boots, to practice climbing signals, and to belay each other up the rock. The rappel station allowed students the opportunity to rappel down a nearly vertical rock face and to understand how the systems work. The class builds redundancy into the climbing systems so the risk for injury is rather low. Fortunately, the redundant systems worked well as one of our first students to rappel down managed to do a full 180 degree flip with her back against the rock and her head towards the ground. To her credit, she held onto the rope, kept her wits about her, and righted herself to continue to rappel. I was pleased/happy/relieved.... The remainder of the students did very well and did several rappels during the course of the day. BTW, that's me on rappel...had to get one in!

This Sunday is 2nd rock day down in Castlewood Canyon near Castle Rock, CO. On the docket is prussiking, passing the knot, how to build anchors, more rappelling, and rock climbing. Should be great fun!

Climb On my friends!

Head west young man...or is it north...or...

2010-04-07T21:08:00.000-06:00

This past Sunday AM, Easter Sunday, was the first field day for a new Basic Mountaineering School (BMS) class. Last year at this same time, I was a student in BMS but this year I'm an assistant instructor. BMS is a class offered by the Colorado Mountain Club and is designed to give aspiring mountaineers the skills necessary for navigation, rock climbing, and snow skills. The class is broken down into 5 lecture nights and 6 mandatory fields trips with 2 "qualifying" trips afterwords to officially graduate from the school. The field trips cover such topics as map/compass, rappelling, rock climbing, escaping the belay, "passing the knot" in the rope, self arrest with an ice axe, crampon travel, and a host of other skill sets to prepare the student to safely traverse the mountains - whether it's in Colorado or other loftier ascents.

I had an excellent BMS experience last year and was pushed outside my comfort zone often - particularly when we got to the rock climbing field trips. I guess it's a natural fear that you don't want to fall off a mountain; yet rock climbing, by it's nature, is typically on vertical terrain and gravity always winds. You have to train your mind to trust your gear, your fellow students, and your instructors. It took some time to trust the gear but once I learned the reality that my body weight on a rope is really nothing for the system, then my fear of falling decreased dramatically. Now I can rappel off a 50-75' cliff without much fear. The class also has the added benefit that as I get closer to completing the 54 14ers in Colorado, my comfort level on the more difficult peaks is better than if I had not taken the class. Case in point, I climbed Pyramid Peak (one of the top 5 most difficult 14ers) last summer with my climbing partner, Alan Arnette, last summer and felt more confident in my abilities to summit.

So, this past Sunday...map/compass day with the students. The gist of the trip is to have the students guide the group to 6 points on a map using their compasses and terrain reading skills compared to the map. Our roles as instructors was to make sure they did not get into difficult terrain, to assist those who did not understand how to use a map/compass and provide support. Long story short, they were rock stars! They found all 6 points without much difficulty and in reviewing the GPS track, did it in an efficient manner. I was pleased with their teamwork and their skills.

Next Sunday is 1st rock day on Little Scraggy Peak. My guess is there's some anxiety among some of the students but I'm hopeful that they will do well. More to come...

Climb On my friends!

Make way for the Gubna...

2010-03-21T21:19:00.000-06:00

When I set up this blog a while back, I figured it would be one way I would share my "altitude addictions" with friends and family. Mostly I've stayed true to course...but sometimes change is good. So with that, I'd like to introduce the Gubna. For my non-Southern audience, that would be the "Governor."

As most of you know, I consider myself to be an amateur beer aficionado. I appreciate microbrews from all across the country whether it's a porter, stout, india pale ale, amber, brown, red, pumpkin, winter ale, summer ale, lager - basically anything made by the smaller breweries. Absolutely can't stand corporate beer - as in Budweiser, Coors, Miller, etc. or as Stone Brewing Company states on a bumper sticker - "fizzy, yellow beer is for wussies." Not that I want to offend anyone who happens to think that's good beer...I'm just saying.... Anyway, I've been brewing my own off/on since 1995 and have an Imperial Stout that's aged nicely - a hopped stout that's mighty tasty when it's cold outside. Friends of mine are also fellow homebrewers as well and have made some interesting brews that we share from time to time. My appreciation for the finer arts of barley, yeast, water and hops all comes together once a year in downtown Denver at the "Great American Beer Fest". As they advertise, close to 2000 beer samples in one convention hall...heaven!

So what's the Gubna you may ask? Well as the ad says - "it's a hop grenade in a can." As in a lot of hops...as in an explosion of hops in the back of your pallet...as in strong ale (10%)...as in beer happiness. It's brewed by Oskar Blues in Lyons, CO - just north of Boulder - and is simply an innovative brewery/restaurant. It's one of my regular stops when I'm coming back from Rocky Mountain National Park - great food, great music and of course, great brews. Why am I writing about the Gubna? Well, I stopped by my local liquor store this evening to use my $$$ dividend that adds up with each purchase and basically walked away with a free 4-pack of the Gubna. I had one with dinner and all I can say is IF Oskar Blues Brewing is in your local liquor store...you really should try this or any of the other styles they make. Simply amazing! Very smooth taste, very strong hop character, and a mild citrus flavor towards the end.

So what's next for me? I start "Basic Mountaineering School" as an assistant instructor on Monday. This is the course I took as a student last year and was pushed outside of my comfort zone in a good way. Now I get to do it all over again but on the other side teaching.

Sounds like fun....climb on my friends!

Baby we were born to run...

2010-02-28T19:47:00.000-07:00

With apologies to "the Boss", but the phrase fit the day. I can always tell when it's time to replace my pair of running shoes - something gets tweaked, a knee hurts, or it just doesn't feel right. Today was that day. With the best of intentions of a 1:10 training run late AM, it just did not happen. Perhaps it was the 1:05 long run last Friday during the lunch hour or cross country skiing all day Saturday or maybe I just needed a rest day.

One minute into my run, I felt the interior quadriceps muscle at the knee insertion point on my left leg tweak - just did not feel good. Overuse maybe, but fortunately just a muscle issue I'm thinking, I'm hoping. After a minute massage, I tried again but it was not cooperating. Realizing that's been 10+ months since I bought my Nike Air Max Moto 6's and many miles on them, I looked at them closer and realized that the heel tread was nearly gone and was exposing the white cushioning material. Yep, they're due for retirement. So I abandoned the run in favor of a rest day and made the pilgrimage to Runners Roost. I looked at several Nike pairs as those have been good to me in the past but ultimately settled upon the Asics Gel Nimbus 11. Compared to a top of the line Nike they just felt better - good cushion, good forefoot padding and to my surprise, the tweaky knee did not yell too much jogging outside the store during my "test drive." I'll put them to the test Monday to see how they feel overall...

Speaking of running, I recently finished a great book - "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall. Interesting read about the Tarahumara Indians living in Copper Canyon, Mexico and their ability to run incredibly long distances without all the 21st century technologies of Nike, Asics, Reeboks, etc... Rather they run in sandals, run for fun, run for sport, and run for life. The book investigates why human beings are natural born runners with our unique breathing abilities compared to other mammals, sweat glands, and little hair on our bodies. Our bodies are designed for long distance running over our life - originally for hunting/running down our food, but today mostly for sport and fitness.

It also investigates the rise of running injuries that 70-75% of us runners will experience in our lifetime that until 30 years ago was unheard of. Why? The book documents the rise of running shoes in the early-mid 1970's and the technologies developed to solve pronation, supination, arch weaknesses, etc. that may be the driving force behind these injuries. The book studies runners prior to the rise of Nike and describes how human beings naturally are forefoot runners -- NOT heel strikers. To understand what this means, go outside and run a short distance on the sidewalk. By form and choice, you will run on your forefoot rather than heel strike - it feels better to do so - the heel can't take the force of concrete/stone/asphalt/etc. but the forefoot can because you run "softer" and use your knee as a natural shock absorber. It might have some merit to change one's running form but the jury's still out. Me - I'll try it periodically during my runs but I'm not sure if I'll fully transition...change is hard...but it makes sense to me.

Climb On my friends!

It's "new to me"...

2010-02-16T21:21:00.000-07:00

After 8 years of trusty, reliable service by my 2002 Honda CRV, "she" is officially retired! Going places that it probably shouldn't, crossing Colorado streams for, as the 2002 Honda commercial advertises, "adventures in reality", numerous trips to Moab/Boise/Salt Lake City/Albuquerque/every place in Colorado, it was time to seek a replacement.

After months of researching different types of SUV's, CUV's, rugged station wagons and the like, I made my way to Mountain States Toyota last Saturday on the pretense of looking at a new vehicle. The sales consultant who met me asked very focused questions of what I was looking in a vehicle - easy - a vehicle with good ground clearance, can get me, my gear, and my climbing partners to a rugged trailhead, is comfortable to drive, doesn't mind a 4x4 rock-strewn "road", and not $30K. At that point, he directed me to a line of 12 used Toyota 4Runners - all quite nice. Some were newer, some were low miles, some were "Toyota Certified", some were 2.9% financing for 60 months, and some had the aroma of way too much perfume/smoke. What caught my eye was this beauty - a dark blue, 2006 4Runner SR5 with sunroof, skid plates, 6 cylinder, nice rims and a good price. Qualifying for 2.9% was a major perk as well. I spent most of Saturday afternoon test driving, asking a lot of questions, negotiating for new mats/new tires, deciding how much to put down and how much I could afford with monthly payments. Time well spent. By late afternoon, I was driving my 4Runner home and dreaming of new summits that the 2010 climbing season brings.

As one of my regular climbing partners, Patrick Vall, said and I quote..."I'm just glad you can't use your lame "my Honda can't make it up that road" excuse any more when we go 4-wheeling to get to a trailhead. My 160K mile 4Runner thanks you! I'm looking forward to sleeping while you drive;)"

Pretty much covers it...Climb On!

Belay is on, Climbing...Climb On!

2010-01-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Those set of verbal instructions are key for any rock or ice climber. It means that their partner is ready to protect them from a fall as they climb higher and higher. Those words were used A LOT this past weekend as I joined friends at the Ouray Ice Park in Ouray, CO to climb man-made waterfalls.

Winter means cold, snow, and ice for much of Colorado but it also opens a world to climbers when the mountains are covered in snow and, on some mountains, the risk of avalanche is too great to ascend safely without extensive training, avy gear and sometimes dumb luck to avoid the avy prone areas. This past year has been an education into rock climbing and those skills translate nicely to ice climbing as well. Granted, the terrain is a little different, the gear is a little different, but the core of vertical climbing is the same. Ascend safely, try to figure out the route in front of you and descend safely.

The Ouray Ice Park is world renown for its sheer number of climbable ice that is for the most part entirely man-made. The hundreds of routes available come to life every year with cold temperatures, a little water, and an extensive irrigation system that keeps the ice climbable for months. Friends from the Colorado Mountain Club schools I've been involved with over the years invited me to go this year and try my hand at ice climbing. Obviously, I said yes! Now granted my vertical climbing resume is only 2-3 years old and not too impressive compared to many, but I had the beginning skill sets to climb safely and have fun.

Our first day was spent climbing the ice falls in the "School Room" - an area for beginner and intermediate routes of various heights (see pic above of me nearing the top of an 70-80' ice fall). As the day progressed, I became more comfortable with the frozen environment and the techniques needed to ascend the ice. This translated into more ice climbing on Day Two at "New Funtier" and the numerous routes of yet another part of the ice park. Towards the end of the second day, as I was climbing a route, I thought to myself the absurdity of climbing ice with sharp tools (two ice axes and sharp crampons) when one's life being protected by a climbing rope. The thought passed quickly tho' as I quickly placed my axe into the ice to keep climbing higher. Life is like that - you know the risks but you savor the moments. And the moment...was...bomber!

Will I go ice climbing again - YES! It's an experience that is almost undescribable. For now...Climb On!

Shreddin' the Gnar...or something like that!

2010-01-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

That dot in the picture is me "screaming" down a black diamond called "Star Fire" run at Keystone Ski Resort this past Sunday. The 2010 Ski Reunion was great fun - catching up with old friends, skiing a lot of blue/blue-black/black diamond ski runs, having a few brews, and hearing about each others families. Hard to believe that it had been 6+ years since the last official ski trip. We've discussed doing it again next year...hope so!

Well winter is in full weirdness here in Colorado - or par for the course perhaps. Last week, night time lows were sub zero with daily high's barely creeping past the high single digits. This week, the sun is shining and the temps are hovering near 50 degrees - perfect running weather in shorts! The 5-day forecast shows more of the same and I'm okay with that. The bone chilling cold of last week is a little too cold for my tastes but it doesn't last forever. I know before I moved to CO I had this preconceived idea that Colorado winters were full of snow and cold. While true for the high country, it's not so much on the Front Range. Granted, we've had snow on the ground for nearly 30 days but I'm seeing more grass than white. January's are typically "dry" with regard to snow accumulation, February's are hit and miss and the lion's share of the white stuff comes in March/April/May - the spring storms.

Tonight, I received an email from a good friend in Boise who knows someone at the National Weather Service. The forecaster is starting to notice a breakdown in the pressure systems in the Pacific Ocean and the diminishing strength of the El Nino patterns as well. His prediction is for a ton of moisture to be streaming into California and points east. Does that mean big storms are on the agenda for CO soon? I hope so - I want to snowshoe in powder soon!

Anyway, enough rambling about CO weather. Next on the agenda is a trip to ABQ to visit Karen and Ethan during the MLK holiday and then off to Ouray, CO for some ice climbing the weekend after. Have never ice climbed before but hey, it's a chance to use my new crampons purchased Spring 2009 and to climb! I will take lots of pictures! Climb On my friends!

South Carolina Reunion Tour 2010

2010-01-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, U of M graduate/city planner/father of 3 boys/former Greenville-ian Wes Munzel emailed me that he had a hall pass from his wife and was interested in coming out to Colorado to ski for a weekend. I of course said come on out!

Some backstory for you - many years ago before I moved out to Colorado permanently, I lived in South Carolina for my undergrad/grad school/1st job. Starting in 1993, my group of friends organized a ski trip to Snowshoe, WV to ski what we thought at the time was difficult terrain. We did this 2 years in a row and had reasonably good conditions for East Coast skiing. In 1995, we decided to expand our horizons and fly to Colorado to ski the big mountains of Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, and Aspen as well as Park City, UT. The yearly groups were in the neighborhood of 6-10 folks usually and a good time was had by all. Flash forward to 2003 - said group of friends are getting married, having children, and busy with work/life/play. The ski trips take a hiatus for many years to follow but there was always talk of getting the gang together again.

So this weekend, flights from Ohio, Virginia and points east converge at Denver International Airport to jump into the ole reliable CRV to motor up the mountain to Breckenridge. Ski rentals are reserved, lift tickets are to be purchased, it's snowing until Thursday PM in Breck and the forecast is for sun and highs in the mid to high 20's - perfection! We have a condo reserved that has a hot tub I hope! This will be my first ski trip for 2010 and a good warm up to using my 4-pack at Loveland in the next few months. Looking forward to catching up with old friends, shreddin' the gnar, having a brew or two for apres ski, and enjoying life.

Climb On!

Happy New Year...early!

2009-12-27T23:19:00.000-07:00

I trust everyone's Christmas was enjoyable with time for family, Santa Claus, gifts, and time spent with your loved ones. Karen and I spent the holidays in Colorado - we enjoyed Happy Hour at the Southern Sun Wednesday afternoon to "convince" fellow hop-heads that Karen does in fact exist, completed last minute Christmas shopping on the 24th, wandered around LoDo for a traditional Christmas complete with carolers, a horse drawn carriage and HOT coffee at The Market and then to Breckenridge for snowshoeing, hot tubbing and relaxation. All in all a nice time!

So 2010 in 4 days. Am I the only one who can't believe its been 10 years since Y2K? Seems like yesterday but I know it's not. So where were you in 2000? Did you party like its 1999? Me - I spent the 2000 celebrations at friends home for a little champagne, decorating champagne flutes, watching the ball drop in London, Sydney, Moscow and New York. The lights didn't go out, the computers kept on crunching numbers, planes kept flying and all was good in the world.

So 2010 in 4 days. I will be in Albuquerque, NM visiting Karen and the boy for the holiday. We're not sure how many days or which day we'll have the boy but it will be a bit of Christmas and New Year's all in one. A mini-bottle of champagne, good wine, good brew, good friends - what more does one need for a New Year's Eve? As my dad used to say New Year's Eve is "the night for amateurs" - not sure which night is for "professionals!" I'm staying off the roads that night!

So 2010 in 4 days. Do you have a list for New Year's resolutions? Me - don't believe in them. Plan to keep on running (2 half marathons scheduled), keep on working out at Fitness 19, keep on climbing 14ers (10 new ones planned - 49 out of 53 completed by next years end), keep on teaching for ESRI, and keep on sharing my life with Karen.

So 2010 in 4 days. Enjoy! Have fun! Celebrate! Live! And Climb on!

Dear Santa...

2009-12-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I mailed you a letter to the North Pole - been busy growing up to be an adult. traveling for work this past week, playing in the mountains as much as possible and missing Karen as always. I'm sure you're busy with letters from the world's children and making sure those elves are working hard in the workshop for the big event in 6 days. But I'd like to throw another letter on the pile with my "toy" request.

So without further adieu, here's what I'd like:

World Peace - is that possible? It's the 21st century and we're killing each other over religion, oil, natural resources, territory...and...and...enough! YOU! Go to your corner until you can play nice.
An undivided country. We're still playing red states versus blue states in politics. It's enough to drive one crazy hearing media entertainers such as Limbaugh, Glenn Beck on the "right" side and the "drive-by" media on the other spout their respective jabberings. We're all Americans, aren't we? Aren't we...
An end to homelessness. While you're reading this blog update, someone's sleeping on a steam grate attempting to stay warm. Why is that?
An end to hunger. We're the richest nation in the world, yet people starve every day.
A real plan for climate change in Copenhagen. Whether one believes in global warming or not, isn't it enough to reduce one's impact for future generations rather than being hell bent on the here and now and damn the rest.
An end to reality TV and a beginning of reality living.
A new year, a new beginning - commit to make a difference in someone's life whatever it may be.
That my "Imperial Stout" to be bottled on 12/20/09 turns out to be the best homebrew to date!!!
More snow in the Colorado high country - it's been a while since we've had a "major storm event." Bring it on!
A Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday, Kwanzaa, Hannukah, Winter Solstice, or whatever one's call this time of the year - make it a great one!

That's it...is it too much? If so, then pick the best one of the list, I know it will make a difference to someone, somewhere. Climb on Santa!

A Snowy Birthday!

2009-12-14T23:22:00.000-07:00

December 12, 2009 - I'm officially 43 years of age - simply amazing! What's amazing about that you may ask? Well to me age is just a number but honestly I can't identify with the fact that I'M that number. So what did this new 43 year old do for his birthday? Uncle Bud's Hut near Leadville, CO!

The 10th Mountain Division Hut System is a network of "huts" that folks may snowshoe/cross country ski to in the winter time or hike/mountain bike to in the summer months. See the 10th Mountain Division hut page for details about the history, maps, memberships, and reservations for details!

Every year around this time, my friend Scott Olmer, reserves a hut for the annual Christmas hut trip. Attendees are "required" to bring a dish for Christmas dinner - think a fully cooked turkey, fresh cranberries, potatoes, stuffing, etc brought up by folks with backpacks as well as a "white elephant" gift for the gift exchange. This year Scott reserved "Uncle Bud's" hut - about a 6 mile trip one way from nearby Leadville, CO. The weather was forecasted to be in the low 20's with blowing snow - as it turned out. Our group made the hut anywhere from 3-5 hours based on fitness level, pack weight, etc. and enjoyed excellent hor d'oevres, wine, Christmas dinner and concluded the evening with the boys excusing themselves to the outside porch (temps in the 'teens) for cigars and Scott's homemade bourbon!

Sunday morning came promptly with a 7 AM "sunrise" of sorts and steadily falling snow at 11,380'. The stoves warmed for coffee and modified breakfast burritos minus the burrito shell and eggs (the person responsible for these items failed to show!) Afterwards, I had to leave to return to Denver to catch a 6:38 PM United flight to Redlands, CA for work...which is where I am tonight updating the blog. All in all, a nice birthday!

Next up...Mt. Silverheels possibly this weekend as well as finishing up Christmas shopping! Climb On my friends!

Okay...now I'm ready for Christmas!

2009-11-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

Halloween is over...Thanksgiving is over...bring on Christmas! I don't know if it's just me or not but when I was a kid, these 3 holidays had their own month, their own time to ramp up for the celebrations, their own couple of weeks to enjoy each holiday. These days it seems Christmas in July is a quote used by car dealerships IN JULY --- I swear I've seen Christmas stuff in the stores in late September or early October! I've always felt that the holidays have been bastardized by unabated commercialism in order for folks to buy more stuff but that's a whole different posting...hmmm, am I being too cynical???

Tomorrow is December 1st, the Christmas lights are starting to twinkle on homes around the neighborhood, we trimmed Karen's tree yesterday in ABQ, and I'm hearing "Dance of the Suger Plum Fairies" on TV for some car advertisement. I give...I'm ready...bring on Christmas!

Honestly, I love Christmas time - always have since I was kid. I love seeing the Christmas trees, mall Santa's working on the lists for the real Santa at the North Pole, watching the clay-mation "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", hoping/wishing for a white Christmas (always a chance here in Denver!), and waiting for the first time I hear Adam Sandler's "Hannukkah Song" on KBCO. What I really like is watching my nieces, Kit-Kat and Nee-Nee and Karen's son, Ethan, opening the presents - the excitement that builds up to that magical time. Christmas Day at 6:30 AM is the absolute latest one can hope to sleep if kids are in the house! As long as there's hot coffee - it's all good...

Off to Charlotte, NC Friday to visit Jim and the family for a pre-Christmas trip. Airfares are excessive during the Christmas week ($600+ per person) and I'm spending it in Colorado with Karen. Climb On my friends!

Up a Flattop...

2009-11-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving early! I'm currently in Albuquerque, NM visiting Karen and her son, Ethan, for the Thanksgiving holidays. We're only in ABQ for a short period of time before driving to Tucson, AZ to visit friends and family. I'm looking forward to a few days in the desert Southwest and the opportunity to wear shorts in warm weather! For only a few days ago...

The winds were forecasted to be 20-30 MPH steady with gusts to 35-40. Air temperatures hovered below freezing most of the day with a summit temperature of 17 degrees. Windchills easily around zero. Hmmm, sounds like a great day to go hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP)!

I signed up on a Colorado Mountain Club (CMC) hike to Flattop Mountain (12,324') located in eastern RMNP. The rating system that CMC uses classified it as an easy C hike - 11 miles round trip and 2750' elevation gain/loss. Fairly "easy" after this past summer's 14er trips. Good friends, Anne and Kevin Martin, joined the motley crue of hikers - no one knew each other well - it's the nature of signing up for CMC hikes. Our ascent up the snow covered trail was sssslllllooooowwww and the group is only as fast as the slowest hiker - and we had one. Regardless, the scenery was quite beautiful with lenticular clouds around (i.e. flying saucer clouds), windblown snow and blue Colorado skies. Longs Peak to the east was outstanding in grandeur but looked formidable with colder temps 2000' higher and high winds. Not a good day for a summit attempt there. We had a quick lunch near summit and abandoned our thoughts of nearby Hallet Peak - 1/2 the group was cold and ready to get back into the trees. I'll be back for another attempt on Hallet though...

Once back at the parking lot, our group bid farewell to the other group and made our drive down the hill to Oskar Blues in Lyons for hot food and cold, hoppy brew! Yum - tasty Gordon's IPA!

As this is the holiday week - I wish all of you a happy and safe Thanksgiving wherever your travels take you. Climb On!

The List...

2009-11-05T22:33:00.000-07:00

Well, the Oct-izzard of 2009 (radio DJ's came up with that one, not me!) is history. Typical of our schizophrenic weather patterns here in CO, the 2' of snow on the ground is gone and temperatures were in the 70's today. Strange...but that's why I love living here!

Lists. Everyone has them from David Letterman's Top 10 list to the top movies of the weekend - we're surrounded by them. My list is a little different than most - mine has to do with summitting all 14,000' peaks in Colorado before I'm 50. At the moment, I'm at 39 peaks and counting. Depending on whose list you use, there are either 53, 54 or 58 14,000' peaks in CO. For the sake of argument, I'll get the ones listed on my profile on 14ers.com that lists 58. My list for 2009 should have been at 42 but weather conspired against me on a few trips this year - mostly thunderstorms and snow (in summer). So without further adeui, here is my top 10 list for 2010:

Crestone Peak
Crestone Needle
Castle
Conundrum
Kit Carson
Mt. Sneffles
Eolus (and N. Eolus)
Windom
Sunlight
Wetterhorn Peak

Other extra bonus points include Maroon, Capitol, Snowmass, North Maroon Peak, Mt. Wilson, El Diente, Little Bear, and my last one - Handies Peak. Some will be difficult, others less so. The picture in this post is that of Pyramid Peak that I climbed this summer. It was by far the most difficult 14er I've done to date and ranks in the top 5 of most difficult 14ers in the state. While it challenged me mentally & physically, I thoroughly enjoyed this peak. So there you have it, my list for 14ers to attempt in 2010 - we'll see how the summer climbing season is after this winter that has only started. Climb On!

A Spook-tacular Snowstorm!

2009-10-29T21:34:00.000-06:00

Well as most across the nation have probably heard by now, the Rocky Mountain West has been "buried" by an early winter snowstorm. I think the last time I've seen this much snow this early in the season was when I first moved to Colorado in 1997. We had been here only 2 weeks when a similiar storm dropped two feet of snow in Lakewood - unfortunately I was not present for the storm then due to a family emergency. The storm was well forecasted by the talking heads on TV and arrived Tuesday evening initially as a very cold rain but quickly transitioned over to snow during the evening hours. I awoke Wednesday morning to about 1' of snow in Westminster and during the course of the day it continued to come down sideways. The drive home last night was eerily quiet as most schools and businesses closed early - I didn't mind so much.

Thursday AM brought an additional 6-8" of snow and again the drive into work was pretty easy and quiet. The temperatures during the past week were pretty mild so the road temperatures were not near freezing - made for a quick melt on the asphalt. Started to wrap up my afternoon around 4:30 PM to join friends in Boulder for Happy Hour when I looked out from my office and saw this rabbit who had hunkered down for the storm and was only now taking a peek out to a wintry landscape. Thought it was an interesting pic...

Off to ABQ tomorrow to visit Karen and Ethan - it's a birthday weekend! Karen turns the big 4-0 so much bally-who will be involved as well as bouncy gyms, perhaps putt-putt golf, a trip to the zoo and Trick or Treating! Should be a blast! Until next time - ski on!

Family History...

2009-10-25T10:08:00.000-06:00

Greetings on a gray, cold soon to be snowing Sunday AM. This week has been a struggle as I've been fighting a mean case of laryngitis for about 5-6 days now. All of which makes it more difficult when your job is teaching and it requires the use of one's voice to project thoughts, ideas, understandings. My Oklahoma City, OK students last week thought my raspy voice was reminiscent of Clint Eastwood so I did a liners from "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" and a varierty of Dirty Harry movies. They thought it was great...

But I digress, for this rambling post I'd thought I chat a moment or two about family history. I've been involved off-on with researching my maternal and paternal family history using Family Tree Maker 2005. A few weeks ago while researching the Trumbull side of the family, I found a connection who was researching a branch of the Trumbull's that shared the same family members. I emailed this person unsure if I would receive a response from a 5 year old posting. Imagine my surprise when a Susan Trumbull responded and said that we were in fact related. She is married to the son of my great-great-great-great-great grandfather's brother - otherwise my 3rd cousin once removed. In the 2 weeks of "meeting" each other over emails, we exchanged branches of our family trees and it's been a lion share of history for both. I've filled in one branch of the Trumbull tree that was entirely missing and have provided Susan with the same for my branch. She is active in researching the Trumbull family history as well and through our emails, we should be able to fill in more missing leaves and branches. It's truly fascinating to see where one comes from - for example, one of my distant grandfathers defected from the British military during the Revolutionary War and took up arms for the Colonial's pursuit of independence. If he had been caught during his escape and executed, then I would not be here today...FASCINATING!

I shoulda taken that left turn at Albuquerque...

2009-10-14T15:22:00.000-06:00

Yep, Bugs Bunny had an influence on any kid growing up in the 1970's. For some reason, the Albuquerque of Bugs Bunny lore looks nothing like the Albuquerque of reality...hmmm...

Well, fortunately work has taken me once again to ABQ to teach a 2-day "Creating and Editing Parcels using ArcGIS Desktop" class. I have a total of 5 eager students who are very engaged with the software, workflow, and how it can assist them in their respective organizations.

And I get to visit Karen for a few days as well. In a reversal of roles, I plan to pick her up at the ABQ airport this evening after she and Ethan's trip to NC to visit family and friends. I flew into ABQ yesterday (delayed flight AGAIN with United...) and had a great dinner/brews at Chama River Brewing Company. The IPA and Pumpkin Spice Ales were great as was the Buffalo meatloaf. Drove over to Karen's house to settle in for the night - weird being there by myself but that will change in a few hours. Plan to stay the weekend for "family" time and then back to Denver and another busy week - in Oklahoma City for 2 days, teaching an informal class for ITT-VIS and studying fast/furious for my upcoming SDE class the following week after next. Cheers!

Snow!

2009-10-09T22:47:00.000-06:00

Okay - I give! Summer is over...but my calendar says fall! And it's snowing in Rocktober! Seems a little early but technically it can snow in September so I'll consider myself lucky. Fall and spring are incredibly short seasons in Colorado - winter starts about now and typically lasts until April. Spring is quick - everything greens up quickly before the heat of summer turns on and the Front Range turns brown again. Fall is a blast of color both in the mountains and in Denver. And then old man winter throws the switch and it's winter again. Not that I'm complaining, I guess I'm not quite ready for it yet. I want to get in a few more mountains and I will over the next few months - they'll just be snowier. Climb On!

Riding in Durango!

2009-09-30T12:50:00.000-06:00

Fall has officially arrived according to the calendar but so far we've had a mix of wintry conditions last week in Denver followed by an "Indian Summer" in Durango. Karen and I met in Durango for the 3rd year to ride the Durango Fall Blaze. The previous 2 years were moderately lousy conditions - cold, rain, wind in the AM followed by sunny conditions after the ride. Not this year...except for cold AM's the weather was warm, sunny, no clouds and perfect!

We both drove up to Durango Friday late afternoon and had a great dinner at Carver's Brew Pub & Restaurant - highly recommend this place! Saturday AM came WWWWAAAAYYYY too early - checked the temps...39 degrees! Brrr...wearing spandex arms/legs we cycled over to Fort Lewis College for coffee/danish and a cannon start at 8 AM. This seems to be an "older" ride as the average age of the riders is 50's or so, but overall an active crowd. The 37 mile ride was the right distance as neither of us had trained especially hard. We finished around 11:30 AM and grabbed our provided lunch of huge potatoes with the fixin's, free Steamwork brew, and enjoyed the music/sun. Saturday afternoon was Oktoberfest in downtown and a great dinner at Steamworks.

Sunday AM I had to leave early to catch a 7:30 PM flight for a work assignment in Fort Worth, TX but we did manage to sneak in the best breakfast in town at Carver's (again!) - awesome pancakes. Teaching this week...next climb October 10-11 on Mt. Meeker! Climb On!

The Mouse that Gorged...

2009-09-21T22:17:00.000-06:00

With apologies to a certain 1959 movie - my climbing partner, Alan Arnette, and I tackled Blanca Peak (14, 435') and Ellingwood Point (14,042') in the Sangre de Cristo's this past weekend. These 2 mountains are rated a Difficult Class 2 and I would term them more of a walk up with a lot of talus/scree navigation and perhaps one or two fun rock moves at the top.

The plan was for me to meet Alan Friday evening at Crater Lake at the end of Lake Como Road. I use the term "road" loosely as the first 4.5 miles are certainly passable for most stock 4x4 vehicles but afterward one requires a "rock crawler" or ATV/dirt bike to get to the end of the road via mechanized means. My trusty ole Honda CRV made it 1.75 miles to the car/light truck parking lot requiring a hike in of 4-5 miles and 3700' of hiking to camp. I arrived into camp after an intense hail/rain/thunderstorm had hit Crater Lake and promptly set up my tent, devoured my dinner of noodles/tuna and turned in for a somewhat restful night. Our plan was to be on trail by 8 AM Saturday for the dual 14er day...

I awoke at 7 AM to get my gear in order and have some oatmeal/coffee beforehand only to discover that the rattling noise I heard overnight was a field mouse or chipmunk eating 1/2 of my food supplies - gone were my trail mix, almonds, 14-16 organic chocolate cookies, 1 oatmeal bag, 3 Lara bars and mouse "deposits" in my bag pack AND coffee cup! The food - okay, I can deal with that - but to sh*t in one's coffee cup - that's low... We quickly got ready for the day and headed up the trail at 8:15 AM. The morning was brisk and conditions slick with frost on the rocks and hail/groppel on the trail from the events 1 day earlier. We made the summit of Ellingwood Point in 3 hours following the trail blazed by folks earlier and then started our traverse to Blanca Peak. Blanca is the 4th highest peak in Colorado and the highest southern peak in the continental U.S. - one has to go to the Mexican volcanoes for higher summits. Overall the traverse was easy although we were lower than we wanted to be and the ridge line not as imposing as we thought from our vantage point on Ellingwood. There were one or two rock moves towards the top that made me think a bit due to the snow but overall it was great! We spent 30 minutes on summit enjoying the views of Lindsey, Little Bear, Iron Nipple, and Ellingwood - beautiful! See Alan's trip report: for details and a movie!

We worked our way back down the mountain, spent one more night at the Crater Lake camp, hiked down to Alan's Jeep Sunday AM and drove home. Overall, this was a great trip and makes #39 out of 54 14,000' peaks in Colorado climbed. I would like to get one more before the season closes but it's all dependent upon time and weather...would you believe it snowed in Denver today...Climb On!

A Labor (Day) of Hiking

2009-09-10T21:17:00.000-06:00

Ah a long weekend compliments of the Labor Day holiday. Karen was visiting from Albuquerque, NM for 4.5 days and we took advantage of the many happenings going on in Denver - dinner with friends, a tattoo convention, a hike to Chapin-Chiquita-Ypsilon with great friends Patrick and Shannon Vall.

The plan was to meet in Estes Park at 7 AM Sunday and head up to Fall River Road - the original dirt road in RMNP to the top of the continental divide. I had never been on this road before and it was quite beautiful early in the AM - not so much later in the day when the hordes of traffic slowly worked it's way up higher. Regardless, we were on trail by 8:30 AM for a nice day of Class 1 hiking to 3 summits. As it turned out, Patrick was fighting a bit of the bug and stop at the top of Chapin. After some food/water, Karen and I continued to Chiquita (banana) and summited our second peak for the day. We met a RMNP ranger/Search & Rescue ranger on top who politely asked us how far we were planning to go. We said due to questionable weather in the area this was it - he concurred and wish us well. We had a nice lunch on summit (photo) and then worked our way back down the mountain in periodic rain and 1 thunder-boom. Patrick and Shannon were resting at the car...from there back to Estes Park through the elk jams.

Afterwards, Karen and I grabbed pizza and brew at Oskar Blues and enjoyed hanging on the porch until time to travel home. All in all a great weekend! Next weekend - Challenger/Kit Carson!!! Climb On!

BMS Graduate...

2009-08-30T22:18:00.000-06:00

My return to Denver after 1 week in Albuquerque, NM was uneventful and on time considering I flew United Airlines. After a sound 4 hours of sleep, I awoke at 3:30 AM Saturday all geared and ready to climb Mt. Bancroft in the Indian Peaks. This climb was a make-up day for my Basic Mountaineering School class from the spring and was the last requirement needed to graduate the class.

Basic Mountaineering School is a class offered by the Colorado Mountain Club in Golden, CO. It is designed to hone the skills of a budding mountaineer in the areas of route finding, crampons, ice axe, rock climbing, and confidence building. This class did all of that and more. While I feel good at altitude on routes that require minor rock climbing and scrambling, true rock climbing with rocks, biners, rappelling, and knowledge of rock climbing knots were an area that I had little knowledge of...this class addressed that.

Mt. Bancroft stands at 13,250' and is a class 3/class 4 climb (read scrambling/low rock climbing) with the additional cruxes of an 80' rappel, low 5.2 rock climbing and serious exposure on the ridgeline (read "a fall here is fatal). We left the trailhead at 6:30 AM and after 4 hours of scrambling, climbing, rappeling, and trekking stood on the summit. I have to admit this mountain pushed me as some of the "unprotected" areas were sketchy but with the instructors giving their assurance I was able to get past these areas and continue to build solid mountaineering skills that I'm sure will come in handy in the future.

Climb On!

Enchanting...

2009-08-28T14:34:00.000-06:00

Hello again...it's the long lost blogger who fails to blog. I figure if I do short blog bursts rather than long diatribes, I will blog more.

I'm currently in the New Mexico - the "Land of Enchantment" - teaching a 5-day GIS class to introductory level students. The class goes great with a lot of "ah-hah" moments being witnessed as well as "1000-yard stares" starting to develop after 5 days of GIS lectures/exercises. It's to be expected...

The PLUS side of my business trip is that I've been able to spend a total of 7-days visiting Karen and Ethan. Feels more normal to be around one's companion rather than long distance phone calls several times a week. We've enjoyed our "family" time with Bakugan brawls, Transformer cartoons, marathon Uno games, hikes to Jemez Warm Springs, and pizza! Karen and I have enjoyed some together time as well with our dinner dates while Ethan is with his father.

I leave for Colorocky in about 5 hours - it will be nice to be home too to see Tsali the "wondercat" who's probably abandoned me after being gone for 1 week. Then in a short 14 hours from now, I'm awake, geared up and heading to my "make-up" route finding day for Basic Mountaineering School. Saturday will be a day of hiking, rock climbing and rappeling...more to follow...

Climb On!

The "United" Empire Strikes Back...

2008-09-20T08:36:00.003-06:00

It's Saturday morning and my original 8:55 AM flight from Lansing, MI to Denver, CO is delayed for 3 hours. Something about a cabin pressure issue...

I've been in Lansing since Wednesday night to teach an Intro GIS class at MSU. Getting here was an adventure in ineptitude for United Airlines. My outgoing flight was delayed 2.25 hours due another mechanical problem - a gear indicator light. As the annoucement was made for the delay, I sprinted to Customer Service to rebook my flights as I had "already" missed my connecting flight in Chicago to Lansing. I'm glad I ran b/c I was 4th in a line of 75-80 people. If you've ever stood in a Customer Service line you know the lines move glacially...cockroaches move faster...

So I was rebooked on a United flight to Minneapolis and a Northwest flight to Lansing - I seriously doubted my luggage would make it. I was correct. The luggage spent the night in Chicago, I spent the night in Lansing. I spent at least 1 hour in my hotel room with United and Northwest to arrange delivery of my suitcase to my hotel. Neither would accept responsibility b/c I had not filed a claim report in person at the Lansing airport. Here's the rub - there was no one to file a report with! My flight arrived at 11 PM in Lansing and customer service for NW and UAL (in Lansing) hours are 7 AM - 9 PM... AND they said they could not do it over the phone even though they had all the information they needed from the computer systems. I WAS LIVID!

So no thanks to NW or UAL, I had to drive to the Lansing airport after class Thursday in my 2-day worn clothes to pick up my suitcase. I now have clean undies! Class continued Friday and the students were happy with the materials and presentation.

I toured the old "Holiday Inn" homestead, got some dinner at Clara's (an old railroad depot in downtown Lansing) and went to a Blues Fest for about an hour. Headed back to the hotel, packed my suitcase, talked with Karen, and went to bed in preparation to be home in Denver by 11:30 AM MST. That was not to be the case...

So, here I am in the Lansing airport waiting for a delayed flight and hope to be home by 5 PM today...I'll miss a cookout this afternoon...BUT I am hiking Mt. Princeton tomorrow with good friends Pete and Nancy.

In sum, UNITED SUCKS *SS!

Climb On!

A Hard(rock) Weekend...

2008-07-14T21:11:00.002-06:00

This past weekend, I had the joy (and pain) of pacing my good friend Scott Olmer at the Hardrock 100 in Ouray/Silverton, Colorado. What is the Hardrock 100 you may ask??? Well, for some reason, some folks think that the marathon distance is not quite enough nor is a 50-mile run. Nooooo, they have to run, walk, trot 100 miles in 48 hours! Honestly, I can't fathom the idea but that's what folks, like Scott, want to do in their spare time. And they enjoy it....

Several weeks ago, I was approached by Bob Rayburn (one of the regulars at our Thursday night Southern Sun Happy Hours) and he quite simply asked "would you be interested in crewing for Scott at the Hardrock this year?" Crewing a runner means that you are a pacer, a motivator, a drill sergeant, a nutritionist, a stop watch - all for the purpose of motivating the runner to the finish line. Being a runner and an avid mountaineer, I was curious and asked what it entailed. Bob's reply..."well, all you have to do is do 2 legs - one is on Friday night and the other is taking Scott to the finish line..." Sounds like fun - count me in! What did I get myself into....

Friday, July 11th, 2:30 PM - Ouray - the little Switzerland of North America. Ouray is probably one of the prettiest places in Colorado with a small town surrounded by majestic peaks. Google it sometime, you'll see... I call Bob to learn that Scott is progressing nicely from his 6 AM start and should be in Ouray around 8 PM to pick up his first pacer of the race - me. My leg with Scott consists of "Ouray-Engineers Pass-Grouse" - 15.8 miles (5785' gain/2775' loss) in about 6:30 hours in the dark...with headlamps...through Bear Creek Canyon...average trail width 3' ...narrows to 1.5'/2'...with exposure...watch your step...or it's down the canyon with a not so good outcome. Apparently, there has been no injuries - serious or mortal in this section. I'm still a bit leery at this section b/c my new flashlight (in the LED section at Target) is not an LED rather it's the old fashioned yellow bulb (like the ones from childhood) and I've got a serious case of vertigo at the moment. While focusing on this one yellow beam, my equilibrium is not cooperating at the entrance to the canyon. Fortunately, Scott has a great LED light to brighten the path and the vertigo goes away. We proceed over up the mountain to an aid station around 12,000' and continue for the next few hours to the pacer hand-off at Grouse. We reach Grouse - it's 2:30 AM Saturday and Bob continues with Scott for his 32 mile leg that will take him until 4:48 PM Saturday...

Saturday, July 12, 3:30 AM - I'm back in Silverton at the cabins Scott has rented for everyone. I'm tired, my feet are wet from numerous stream crossings, and all I want is sleep. I crash hard for 5.5 hours and awake to the noise of Bob's wife, Jana, stirring in the main room of the cabin. We head over to the Brown Bear Cafe for pancakes/sausage/OJ/lots of coffee. We have the rest of the morning and afternoon to follow Scott's progress at "Hardrock Central" as well as play tourist in Silverton. About 3:30 PM, Jana and I decide we better head to Cunningham Gulch for the "pacer hand off" we believe to be around 5:30-6 PM. Much to our surprise, Scott has made up an hour over the day and arrives in at 4:48 PM. Scott and I leave the aid station at 4:49 PM and were on our last leg to the finish line in Silverton. The leg consists of 2700' gain/3840' loss - better than 14 hours ago. We work our way up the mountain - hiking slowly and gain the summit ridge in 2 hours. From there, the race is on - running down 3840' to Silverton! We run on goat trails (even saw one!), we run on Jeep 4WD trails, we run on single track trails, we run through streams filled with snow melt until we hear noise from the motorcycle rally at the old ski resort in Silverton. We're close! We break through the trees - the last 0.5 miles to the finish line! I slow down to run with Scott rather than ahead of him - no need to pull him through, he knows the finish line is there. We chat about being done, about his accomplishment. He thanks me for crewing him. We near the finish line and I slow down to walk into the crowd - the pacer does not cross the finish line - only the Hardrock finisher. Scott finishes another 100-miler in 38:35 ranked #30 out of 98 finishers - damn good!

Sunday, July 13th, 9 AM - the awards presentation at the Silverton High School Gym. There are hundreds of people here for breakfast and the awards program. Family members, volunteers, pacers, athletes - you name it. The breakfast is great - eggs, sausage, fruit, sweet rolls, OJ, coffee - the awards program entertaining. Bob and Scott ask "sooo, now that you've experienced a 100-miler as a pacer, what about as a runner?" My answer - quite simply - no. I enjoyed the experience as a pacer - would do it again if asked. But running/walking/sleep walking 100 miles - nope...I'm interested in altitude, going higher...

Climb On my friends!

Meet Karen...

2008-06-13T21:18:00.003-06:00

Okay, I know I've been REALLY slack on my outhiking blog - I think I need to set an Outlook reminder once a week to write something new - note to self - set reminder on Monday AM...

Here it is almost summer in Colorado and to say it's been a busy 2008 would be an understatement! Between traveling for work in April and May, teaching Denver classes in June, and attempting to start the 14er season with all the snow STILL in the mountains, I decided I would write this update to share with you someone who is very important in my life these days, my girlfriend Karen.

I first met Karen in 1998 as part of a Colorado Athletic Club "How to Climb a 14er" group that a mutual friend had formed. Basically it was 10-12 folks from the club who were interested in hiking easy 14ers and we "trained" over 4-6 weeks with progressively higher mountains culminating with my first 14er on Mt. Bierstadt. During the "class", my former spouse and I got to know Karen and her former spouse. Over the next 3-4 years we double dated with them - catching a flick sometimes, watching the Nutcracker Suite at Christmas and dinners out in Denver or Fort Collins.

About 4 years ago, Karen and her then husband moved to Albuquerque, NM for a business opportunity and as sometimes happens, we lost touch with them. Fast forward May 2007, an ESRI business trip takes me to ABQ to teach classes. Remembering they lived there, I emailed the only email address I had (Karen's) to meet for dinner and catch up on news/life. Well, life had changed f0r Karen as I came to find out during my visit. We had a wonderful meal, I met her son Ethan, and we caught up on 4 years of news. My connection with Karen had always been platonic but now the connection felt different for some reason. Towards the end of my week in ABQ, I posed a hypothetical email question "If I asked you out to dinner, what would your answer be?" Creatively, I received a hypothetical "Yes." I was nervously excited and interested to see where this could lead. I had no expectations - heck, I was in the midst of my divorce as was Karen. But for the first time in a long time, I felt like I could open myself up to another person again.

Fast forward June 2008, Karen and I have been dating for a year. We have a wonderful relationship (even if it is long distance for now) and our connection with each other is strong. We see each other at least once a month - twice a month if work takes me there. We have similar interests in some things and others are individual pursuits (i.e. my climbing "addictions" for example). I am a friend to her son and we sometimes plan my visits to coincide when he's there too. It's a kick, Ethan is totally into Star Wars, as am I, so we run around the house sometimes with light saber battles and shooting down Imperial Star Destroyers!

We all see each again end of June for a music festival - Karen, Ethan, and me - I'm looking forward to it!!!

Return to Posting....

2008-04-03T21:46:00.003-06:00

Whoa - I realized that I've been neglectful in posting anything since February 17, 2008!! Either I've been incredibly busy or pretty much slacking off from my once a week ramblings - I tend to think the later myself. So what has been going on you may ask? Well, winter in Colorado has slowly been transitioning to Spring with warmer daytime\nighttime temperatures and truly bizarre spring weather patterns during the day. For example, Thursday started off with a dusting of snow mixed with rain, nice sun/blue skies around noon, snow squalls blowing sideways at 3 PM and blue skies to wrap up the work day. Spring is a fun time of the year where the weather is schizophrenic at best leaving one to decide whether to wear a t-shirt or fleece...

So what's been going on in my life??? Easter was spent was friends at the Fowler-Hilliard hut near 11,000. The trip was complete with ham, potatoes, green bean casserole, wine, and 3 flavors of cheesecake! The Easter Bunny made his presence known as well by leaving plastic eggs along the 5-mile trek to the hut - the eggs were filled with candy and pocket shots of liquor. Apparently the Easter Bunny has started drinking excessively due to the numerous baskets he has to deliver to children... Beyond the hut trip, I spent a great weekend with Karen watching UNC basketball, eating wonderful gourmet pizza, hot tubing at Betty's Spa, and enjoying our time together.

April is proving to be incredibly busy with a 5-day teaching assignment in Albuquerque followed by a 4-day conference in Cedar City, Utah. Somewhere in the midst of this, I am volunteering with the Colorado Mountain Club's "Wilderness Trekking School" as an assistant instructor. And training for a 1/2 Marathon in May...

My good friend, Alan Arnette, has left for Nepal and his quest to summit Mount Everest. If your interest in following his trip, check out http://www.alanarnette.com

That's about it for now - I promise to be more diligent with the updates! Until then - Climb On!

Pause and Reflect

2008-02-17T18:45:00.005-07:00

Today I realized it's been 3 weeks since I returned from Orizaba and longer than I'd like in order to post a new update to the ole blog. Seems like a bit longer due to settling back into normal life of teaching classes for ESRI, a trip south to visit Karen, and skiing at A-Basin. How's the saying go - the only constant is change. True, true...

Folks have asked about the trip details -- I'm planning a "Brown Bag" presentation for coworkers this week to discuss the highlights. Interestingly enough, when I typically finish any trip report, folks tend to ask me what's next. Honestly I haven't thought about it much other than mountains on my 2008 14er list that Patrick, Alan and I will be discussing in the coming months. Too much snow in the high country at the moment to give it any serious thoughts.

But I do have to say that Orizaba presented a wonderful challenge not only in setting a new personal altitude record but also exposing me to just a small bit of international mountain climbing. If this truly translates to bigger mountains around the world, I don't know. Denali in Alaska is of interest but that's yet another level beyond anything I've done so far AND the success rate is abysmal. Killimanjaro is also of interest too - I'd like to see the glaciers on her before they melt. Aconcagua in western Argentina is another that is a strong possiblity as well but due to $$ of these trips realistically only 1 per year - unless I win the lottery! The positive of Orizaba is I geared up with stuff I could use on future trips. Perhaps a trek to base camp at Everest to just to see the monarch of all mountains - still no interest ever in climbing that one...

So what is next for me? Plan to hike with Alan and a "new" climber tomorrow on Longs Peak, have dinner with friends Friday night, plan to volunteer at a 10 mile race next Saturday, climb Mt. Silverheels with Alan and Patrick next Sunday, teach a new class "solo" next Monday, see Karen in 2 weeks, run a 1/2 marathon in May...really just live and enjoy life! As folks know, that means stay busy!

Climb On Friends!

Robert

Orizaba Success!

2008-01-29T21:30:00.000-07:00

At 7 AM January 26, 2008, our team successfully summited Pico de Orizaba east of Tlachichuca, Mexico, after leaving our high camp of 15,100' to the crest of the Orizaba caldera at 18,490'. After nearly a week of acclimatizing increasing altitudes from Mexico City to Tlachichuca to the Piedra Grande hut to our final high tent camp, the team took five hours in the early morning hours navigating "The Labyrinth "rock/cliff band to the Jamapa Glacier. There, the slope gradually increased from 10-30 degrees to a high of 50-60 degrees near the upper rock formation affectionately known as "The Sarcophagus!" Team members were roped together via a 100-meter climbing rope, equipped with plastics boots, crampons and ice axes.

Smelling whiffs of sulfur, we neared the summit at sunrise and were treated with incredible views of the Mexican plains to the east and west of the summit. To the west, the shadow of Pico de Orizaba formed a perfect pyramid shadow that perhaps the Aztecs used as a model for their pyramids hundreds of years ago. We stayed on the summit for about 20-30 minutes to take pictures, offer congratulations to fellow team members, and take in the accomplishment. With wind chills easily below zero, we began a tight rope descent upon the glacier. Three hours later, we were back at high camp to rest, drink water, break down camp for the return to Piedra Grand hut and Tlachichuca that evening. Cold cervezas greeted us at Senor Reyes climbing compound and after a hard nights rest, we traveled back to Mexico City. Some boarded flights back home that day while others remained for a day or two to tour this old city of 20+ million residents.

For detailed dispatches, please visit http://www.alanarnette.com/dispatches/live/index.php What an incredible experience with close friends and the "high point" of my climbing career! Climb On!

El Orizaba Cuatro!

2008-01-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

Or to the Spanish challenged (myself included) - the Orizaba Four! Our intrepid team leaves for Mexico City in a little over 3 days and I thought it good to introduce you to the team. Essentially, we're a team of many things. We are weekend warriors, friends, father's, big mountaineer's, homebrewers, ultra marathoner's, engineer's, instructor's, retired(?), and men with a climbing addiction.

In the photo on the far left is Scott Olmer - ultra marathoner extraordinaire. I've known Scott for nearly 10 years and over that time, we've backpacked and/or hiked 14ers in Colorado, gone on too many hut trips to count, enjoy a good cigar from time to time, and enjoy the finer Colorado micro brews weekly at the Southern Sun Brewpub in Boulder. Scott is a natural athlete and excels in 50/100 mile races a couple times of year - crazy!

In the next photo is the remainder of the team. From left to right is Robert ("The Goat") LeClair, Patrick ("The Navigator") Vall, and Alan ("Big Pappy") Arnette.

I first met Patrick on our Rainier trip in July 2004 and got to know him well over the years on numerous 14er hikes. Patrick owns his own veterinarian practice in Woodland Park, CO, has a wonderful family of 4 children, a very understanding wife (Shannon), and a slight obsession with THE University of Ohio State - this presents a problem at times when he sees a "University of Meeechigan" hiker on some of our summit attempts. Patrick is a very strong yet smart hiker and provides his GPS expertise to our group during the summer climbing seasons. He has written numerous trip reports on SummitPost (http://www.summitpost.com/) and is a great friend.

Alan, "Big Pappy", Arnette is our hiking/climbing guru. I first met Alan back in 2001/02 through my former spouse and our mutual interest in mountains lead to many hikes in the Colorado high country. Alan has traveled the world in search of mountain peaks to climb, breathed the rarefied air above 25,000', and was the instigator of the 2004 Rainier trip. He provides a wealth of information about mountaineering to both Patrick and I - we're constantly learning more about the topic through his patience and guidance. Orizaba is the final preparatory climb for Alan - he's planning to return to Mt. Everest in April/May 2008 as part of his "Memories are Everything" campaign to raise awareness and donations for the Cure Alzheimers Fund.

So there you have it - the "client" team for Orizaba 2008. I look forward to challenge of Orizaba as well as sharing the summit with some very good friends - it will be an experience! Climb On!

Successful Summit!

2008-01-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Alan Arnette (aka "Big Pappy") for his successful summit of Aconcagua (22,841') yesterday. His team, guided by Mountain Professionals LLC (our guide service to Orizaba), successfully made the summit 8 hours after an early alpine start (3:30 AM 'ish) from their Advance Base Camp. Cold temperatures (0 degrees) and high winds made for a challenging summit push but Alan reported that the team did well.

If you want to hear audio dispatches of the climb, please visit the following URL for details: http://www.alanarnette.com/dispatches/live/index.php I believe Alan's site will have audio dispatches as well as periodic updates of our progress on Orizaba January 20-27, 2008 if you're interested in following that climb too. Climb On!

Orizaba: Day by Day

2008-01-03T21:15:00.000-07:00

Last night, I realized when talking to Mom that very few folks know the full extent of my upcoming trip to Orizaba in Mexico. My flight to Mexico City takes off in 17 days, so come along on a virtual journey...

January 20th: Depart Denver, Colorado (5,280') at 8:47 AM to Mexico City via Los Angeles, CA. Arrive in Mexico City (7,340') around 7 PM. Catch the free Holiday Inn shuttle to the Holiday Inn-Plaza Dali and meet Alan Arnette/Patrick Vall/Scott Olmer for dinner and cerveza's.

January 21st: Meet Ryan Water and Dave Elmore from Mountain Professionals, LLC and transport gear/people to Tlachichuca, Puebla, Mexico (8,497'). Welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

January 22nd: Expedition overview, gear check, and explore local artisan market. Believe it or not but this is part of the acclimization process - having fun!!

January 23rd: Transport via 4-wheel drive to the Piedra Grande hut at 13,972. Acclimization hike and return to hut.

January 24th: Acclimization hike to high camp; set up tent camp and return to Piedra Grande hut for a good night's sleep.

January 25th: Hike to high camp with the remainder of summit gear and attempt to get some sleep.

January 26th: SUMMIT DAY to 18,490'! Alpine start (usually 12 AM - 2 AM - depends on guide service) and push for the summit. Pray for good weather!! Return to base camp to break down high camp, hike back down to the Piedra Grande hut for rest of the gear, and jeep back down to Tlachichuca for a celebratory dinner and Cuban cigars!

January 27th: Morning transport back to Mexico City to catch flight back to Denver, Colorado feeling exhausted but happy!

That's it friends! If you're interested in more details, you can visit Alan Arnette's website at http://www.alanarnette.com/alan/orizaba.php His site is a wealth of information about climbing in the States and around the world. As part of Alan's 2008 return to Everest, he is raising funds for Alzheimer's research and a cure for this horrid disease. Unfortunately, this disease has hit home as his Mother is suffering from this mind-robbing condition. Please consider making a charitable donation through his website. Climb On!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T21:26:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it, but another year has ended and a new one started this morning at 12 AM! I've never been a huge New Year's Eve partier nor desire to pay those huge cover charges to hang out in a club with a couple hundred people you don't know. My Dad used to work in hotel management years and years ago for Holiday Inn and he called New Year's Eve "the night of amateurs!" Rather than join the amateurs, I spent the night at a friends house party and rang in the New Year with a small glass of champagne and a late night call to K. Awoke to brilliant Colorado sunshine and hit the cross country ski trails at Eldora for a day of blue sky, light winds, and rolling terrain!

I always have to laugh when I read the newspaper on New Year's Day - all the advertising is geared towards New Year's Resolutions and NCAA Bowl Games. I prefer the later myself but that's another story - GO CLEMSON BTW! Resolutions are a funny thing - it's that one time of the year people "promise" to change something in their life for the better. Although a noble idea, most resolutions are doomed to failure whether it be to exercise more, lose weight, etc.. because folks often return to what is comfortable, easy, or in most cases, life just plain gets in the way.

I prefer goals rather than resolutions - goals are often attainable and are easier to gauge success or failure against. So without further adieu, here are my 10 goals for 2008 in no particular order:

Be happy!
Spend time with K and her son!
Live each day to its fullest!
Volunteer in 1-2 organizations.
Make a difference in someones life.
Run the Colorado Colfax Marathon in May 2008 - brother Jim's upcoming Disney Marathon inspired me - signed up December 31, 2007.
Stay in contact with friends via phone, email or visits.
A safe and successful climb on Pico de Orizaba January 20-27, 2008.
Continue good health through good eating, exercise, and mental R&R.
Continue hiking, climbing, mountain biking, down hill skiing, XC skiing, homebrewing...and...and...

That's it friends - Happy New Year and make it a good one! Climb on!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

I wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas this year and a Happy New Year! Tomorrow I leave early o'clock in the AM for Charlotte, NC to spend the holiday season with K, my brother's family, my Mom, and my brother's in-laws. It will be great to watch Christmas through my nieces eyes as they still get excited (at 6:30 AM Christmas morning) for Santa's arrival and gifts from the North Pole! Brings back memories of my early childhood that's for sure!

All the best this holiday season and I'll post a new entry upon my return to Colorado!

An Early Christmas in the Rockies

2007-12-19T21:54:00.001-07:00

Christmas in the Colorado high country - a bit early. Last weekend was the 5th or 6th (no one really knows) Annual Christmas Hut Trip complete with turkey, stuffing, home made cranberry sauce and a "white elephant" gift exchange. Most of the time when I tell friends and family that I'm doing a "hut trip", it's definitely not what they envision. Sure there is the slight detail of snowshoeing anywhere between 4-11 miles in order to get to the "hut", but it's well worth the effort!

The 10th Mountain Division hut system is a series of 29 huts in the central Colorado Rockies linked together by 350 miles of trails. The "huts" are typically 2 stories and can accommodate up to 16 people per night. Basically, one has all the basic necessities to survive many nights in typically sub-zero temperatures. There is an extensive kitchen complete with 4-burner propane stoves, solar paneled light system for the evening hours, 2 cast iron wood stoves for heating, and all the water you drink in the form of fresh fallen snow that you constantly gather and melt. Definitely visit the following URL for details: http://www.huts.org/

Our group of 11 was composed of "grizzled" hut veterans as well as 2 hut virgins. The trip in was about 3 miles of snow covered roads and 3 miles of single track snow covered trail to the Uncle Bud's Hut at an elevation of 11,300'. The hut is named after World War II soldier Bud Winter (1925-1945) who trained at nearby Camp Hale north of Leadville, CO and was part of an elite force trained for winter combat. Our group took about 3-4 hours to traverse the 6 snow covered miles and were greeted by a warm hut and endless hor d'oeuvres to satisfy our hungry bodies. Food was abundant with the holiday dinner complete with wine, conversation was lively, and as per the norm, the "boys" hit the front porch later that evening for cigars and scotch at 10 degrees!

Morning brought a quick snow squall, but the cabin was warm as breakfast burritos and cowboy coffee were brewing in the kitchen. Our group left at different times throughout the morning, but the comfort/beauty of the hut trip was a nice way to start the holiday season.

Merry Christmas friends and Climb On!

Another Birthday...

2007-12-13T22:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I turned 41. I find it very hard to believe but the facts don't lie. Physically, Mother Nature confirms it although the mind does not. I remember as a kid I was thinking about the year 2000 and that I would be 33 years old. At the time I thought that was "old." Amazing how time changes one's perspective of things. Now many years on the other side of the year 2000, I wonder where the time goes and that the years seem to go by faster. I imagine most folks think the same thing.

So, where am I at 41? Career wise - I've found a very rewarding job that challenges me mentally and professionally. It took almost 20 years from college graduation but I think I've found what I've always known. I love to work with people and I enjoy the teaching profession. Perhaps it runs in the blood. My maternal grandparents were both public school teachers and my Mom is an Instructor at the University of Texas-Arlington. My aunt and uncle are both teachers. My cousins are both teachers. Hmm, notice the trend?

Personally, I'm at a place in my life that is opposite of what one thinks they will be when they think of their life from the 22-year old perspective. When I was 22, I thought I would follow "tradition", be married with children. Reality, I'm divorced - no children. Am I upset or bitter? Hardly, I've had a great life so far. I've found my "home" in Colorado. In Colorado, I've found my peace in mountaineering. I've made life long friends who share this passion as well. And I've found a wonderful woman that I can talk to, spend time with, and share my life with. K - you're wonderful!

At 22, I loved Jimmy Buffet. He had a song "A Pirate Looks at 40" - hmmm, I'm looking at 41. Aaarr..... http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=2228310

Climb On Friends!

The Next Climb!

2007-12-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

Waking up Tuesday morning and seeing the falling snow reminded me that 14er season in Colorado is officially over. Another major snow storm is again pounding the high country with reports of snow in the feet range and totals just under a foot here in the Broomfield area. When winter moves in to the Colorado high country, many of Colorado's 54 14ers (mountains over 14,000') are just too technical for the "fair weather" hiker/climber and only a few are hikeable without significant avalanche danger. Needless to say, my "14er addiction" takes a rest for 6 months and thoughts turn to winter pursuits such as snowshoeing, alpine skiing, XC skiing, and hut trips.

This year is different though. You see, my 14er crew (Alan "Big Pappy" Arnette, Patrick "The Navigator" Vall, and Scott "Ultra-Marathoner" Olmer) are all in training for Pico de Orizaba in Mexico! We have hired Mountain Professionals LLC (http://mtnprofessionals.com/) based out of Boulder, Colorado to be our guides for the one week trip. Thus, my 14er "end of season" training has continued in earnest with hills runs (when it's not snowing), upper and lower body weight lifting workouts, and endless sessions on the StairMaster at the gym.

Some details about the trip - Pico de Orizaba translated means "Star Mountain" and is one of many dormant volcanoes in Mexico. Orizaba is the third highest mountain in North America standing anywhere between 18,490 and 18,900 depending on who you talk to. Whatever the correct elevation truly is, this will be my highest elevation challenge to date AND I'm very excited about this challenge. We will be ascending Orizaba via the normal route - "Glaciar Jamapa." For detailed information, you can visit one of my favorite climbing sites - SummitPost - to get specifics about the mountain. See the following URL: http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/150192/pico-de-orizaba.html

Our trip is scheduled for January 20-27, 2008 and all appears to be going according to plan at this time. My Christmas list for the family has been focused on new climbing gear that I will need for the trip and can use for the 2008 14er season.

The only negative with the timing of this trip is that I will not be going to Walt Disney World this year for the Marathon Weekend (ran 2005-2007) and to see brother Jim run his first marathon! Honestly, I never thought he had any interest in endurance events but he and his wife, Andrea, are training hard! I'm very proud of them both!

So there you have it friends, details about my next climb. It will be a challenge of a lifetime and I'm grateful to be doing this with great friends. Until my next dispatch - Climb On Friends!

The teachers life...

2007-12-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

I'm out of town this week in Albuquerque, NM teaching Introductory GIS concepts to a collection of students from the public and private sectors.

The first question I get after folks ask me what I do for a living (Corporate Trainer/Instructor by the way) is "What is GIS?" My answer is simply this - "...have you ever seen a National Geographic map?" Most folks answer yes. Then I follow up with - "...well our company produces the software that National Geographic uses to create those maps." This inevitably leads to next question - is it like Google Earth? Well, not exactly - GE is more like the "eye candy" or the "gateway drug" into GIS technologies. You see, people all around the world are involved with GIS technologies whether they know it or not. Car companies are installing GPS devices for street navigation in automobiles. Other are buying hand held GPS devices for geocaching or navigation. Runners have GPS wrist devices like Garmin Forerunners to track their distance and time. GIS has moved into the mainstream and most individuals don't realize it.

I work for a company called ESRI - Environmental System Research Institute (http://www.esri.com/) ESRI is the world's largest GIS software company and has offices worldwide. In terms of market share, they are the largest in the industry. There are other GIS companies out there, such as MapInfo, Manifold, GRASS, OpenSource GIS, and a host of much smaller companies, but ESRI is certainly the largest.

I've been involved with GIS technologies for 15 years in both the public and private sectors before accepting a position with ESRI in January 2007. I fell into GIS completely by accident - it was the only job I could get right out of graduate school (horrible job market) AND I had zero experience. My first employer (South Carolina Appalachian Council of Governments - http://www.scacog.org/) offered me a 1-year contract to learn the software and become productive. If, at the end of the first year, I was not able to learn/use GIS, then we would part ways. I stayed on board for over 5 years. I am completely self taught in ArcInfo, ArcView and ArcGIS. I've held the roles of GIS Technician, GIS Analyst, GIS Programmer (although I hate to program), GIS Coordinator, and now, GIS Instructor with ESRI.

I love my new position, meeting new people in the classes, and teaching them how to use the software. My biggest reward (besides salary... :-) ) is seeing the proverbial light bulb go off in their heads. The "ah-hah" moment I call it! In every class I teach, I can see when that moment hits and the student's understanding of what I've been lecturing for 2-5 days finally hits home. It's pretty cool!

Well, I'm about to begin a new lecture. Climb on friends!

Welcome to my Blog!

2007-12-02T15:52:00.000-07:00

Outhiking - an email address I've used for 11 years. When I started the process of creating a blog, I debated about what to name what I hope to be an interesting blog for friends and family. Should I call it "Robert LeClair's Blog" or "Rleclair Blog" or something unique to my life in Colorado. Effective, yes, but somewhat boring. Then I started thinking about personal interests that have introduced me to many good friends and challenged me physically, mentally and sometimes emotionally.

Hiking, for me, began as a child hiking short hikes on family vacations, progressing to hikes under 5 miles in length with the Boy Scouts, to backpacking trips in Yellowstone and Alaska, to hiking 14ers in Colorado and in its current form, training to hike/climb bigger mountains. Hiking in its purist form is a way for me to reconnect with nature and myself. It's as simple as lacing up the boots and heading out the door. A recharge of the batteries if you will.

My hope/plan is to use this blog site as a way for friends and family to connect with me and me with them. I plan to post ramblings, pictures of my climbs, plans for the future, and just about anything that is on my mind. Pretty much what blogs are meant for I guess. If you stumble upon my site, I hope you enjoy it! Now get out there...lace up the boots and start hiking...