It's a School Night Matt.

The force is strong in this one.

Even before meeting him he had bugged the hell out of us all on qurank.com







"I turn my back for 5 minutes and these little Tinny (Mt. Tinbeerwah)kids are running around qurank and theCrag, posting like they're on red cordial and pixie sticks. Between posts from Sister Matt and Chester 2000, I'm finding it hard to catch some shut-eye.



We can blame JJ for encouraging them. "

Lee Cujes





It's true. I figuredthis precocioustweenager wasn't going to go away, so we had to take him in and show him the craft. Now he's my coach.











Within a few years Matt is working some of the hardest routes around. He is the onlyclimber to seriously take on the Lee Cujes test piece "Bite the Hand that Feeds" Coolum's hardest and as yet unrepeated.

























Sensational flexibility gained from previous years of gymnastics have given Matt a crazy range of moves.His years of pianoaccordian training haven't shown anyusefulness yet though. Mercifully.















Here's an example of whatputs schoolboy Matt Schimkein the top handful of Queenslands sport climbers.A wirey strength and explosive energy.

















Here's the kooky thing about Matt: He has a savant like memory for beta.He can tell you the sequence for any route that he has ever seen.Not just his beta but the exact sequence that each individual climber has used for each route.Spooky, I know.

I often say "Hey Matt how do I do this bit again?"



Thanks to Matt's Mum for all the yummy cookies.

Celestial Beings

[image via Spernicelli]


Depending on who you speak to, it is either the most over-rated vintage bicycle in existence, or the Holy Grail: The classic Bianchiin the legendary "celeste" green.






[image viaSpernicelli]


The first time I saw a true vintage Bianchi wasa couple of years ago,in Austria. It was many decades old and partially dilapidated, hanging in a dark corner of a stuffy bike shop - among dozens of other classic Italian bikes. Still, the Bianchi was the one I noticed. From across the room, I walked toward it with a flutter in my chest, my hand already stretching out to touch the lugwork. Amore.






[image via Mike's Bikes]




Started in Milan in 1885, Bianchi is described asthe world's oldest bicycle company still in existence. Though it has always produced a wide variety of models, Bianchi is best known for its classic racing bikes - particularly in the distinct "celeste" shade that has become its signature colour. Of dubious origins (some say inspired by the Milan sky, but most likely a product of surplus WWII paint), the exact formula of "celeste" has varied throughout the years. But it has always been some magical mix of sage green and powder blue - offset by the seductive shimmer of Campagnolo components.






[image via the Fixed Gear Blog]




As I stare at these images and sigh, I wonder what on earth attracts me to these bikes - Straight out racing bikes that two years ago I would not have even known how to mount, let alone ride.






[image via theoelliot]




Bianchieven produced several mixte models throughout the years - But somehow, it's the classic racing bikes that really draw me in.



And while initially my interest in Bianchi was purely aesthetic, that began to change as my cycling skills expanded. Over time,I have transitioned from thinking ofthese bicyclesas mere eye candy, to seeing myself riding one in future - most likely as my "wildcard" bike, to replace the vintage Trek currently occupying that spot.








[image via prollyisnotprobably]


One interesting industry development, is that the current Bianchi company is re-introducing lugged steel to its modern line-up as part of the Classica line. This began with the partly lugged Dolomiti roadbike in - greeted with some dismay due to its awkward mix of modern and classic features. The line up looks more promising, with the Tipo Corsa and the Pista Classica - both featuring chrome lugwork and fork crowns. Though the lugs look somewhat generic to me and the price is likely to be prohibitive, I am excited to see this and look forward to the models being released. Bianchi "celeste" is at its best when surrounded by lugwork, on a classic steel bike.

Your Crampon fit?

"Not the way life is suppose to be!"



photoscourtesy of Bertrand Cote





I would bet that over half of the people reading this blog are using a crampon/boot combination that doesn't "fit".



Before you call, "bullshit", read on, then go check your own rig again.



What do I mean by "fit"?I meanZERO movement between boot and crampon when latched and even more importantly when climbing.



If you can flex your crampons by holding your boot/cramponcombo between your legs and pull up on the front points and have the crampon flex...they don't fit. If you can move the toe of your boot inside the front bail eitherbefore it is buckled in, after it is buckledin or the toe migratesinside the crampon off to the sideonce you are climbing, the crampon doesn't fit.



If you can move the connecting bar sideways while holding your boot and crampon combo, your crampon doesn't fit. If your crampon's heel section can be moved by pushing or pulling on the center bar, the crampon doesn't fit. It yourreplaceablefront points have any flex in them left to right...you need to tighten the bolt that holds them to the crampon body. Not a fit issue..but you get the idea.



I own 5 pairs of boots from La Sportiva and Scarpa currently. And 6 pairs of technical crampons. The crampons are from Petzl, Black Diamond and Grivel. I mix and match heel pieces and toe bales on each brand to get the best fit possible. And still there aresome crampon and boot combinations that I simply findunsuitable for hard technical climbing.



Petzl and Scarpa both claim in emails to me that the newest Phantom series of boots and the Dartwin and Dart combination is a "good combination with no issues". I've seen people who should know better claim a "perfect fit" between the same combo. I wear a size 45 boot and mine simply don't "fit".



I get enough feed back that I have to wonder who is really dreaming here? But I'm still not going to use that combo in my own climbing, sorry. And I really like both the boots and the crampons.



Black Diamond knows there are issues with many of the newer super low profile boot soles and smaller boots in particular. None of the crampon manufactureshave anycontrol over what the boot manufactures come up with. But they must modify their crampons to fit. Easier said than done from my own experience.BD is currentlyworking on a newbail design to better the fit on all the new boots.



Having a crampon that doesn't fit perfectly just makes the climbing harder. It makes the climbingless safe. Dropping a crampon can literally be a life or death issue. It is never a good thing. Obviously few out there dropping crampons but the fit generally SUCKS!



Some where betweennow () and then(1980)have we allowed the manufactures to produce and we keep buying, some really bad combos for cramponandboot interface?



Why do I care? Having a "proper" crampon fit makes climbing so much easier. The crampons simply work better on hard technical terrain, especially so on ice.



Do me a favor and let me know if your crampons actually "fit" or don't. The reason I ask? I was playing with my Spantik's last night and the crampons I prefer touse on them. You can guess what I found...but my thought was, "sacrebleu, these don't fit!". And now you know how I came up with50%.





broken front bail mid pitchBertrand Cote photo



Here are links to other threads and public polls on the topic, but please feel free to comment, either way, here on the blog. Judge for yourself the level of fit we are getting in crampons.



http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB3/do-your-crampons-actually-fit-t57041.html



http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/997997/Do_your_crampons_fit#Post997997



http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=441834



http://www.gravsports-ice.com/icethreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=8475&#Post8475



http://neice.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=57639#Post57639

Leveling the Playing Field

File this under "duh" if you will, but I need to acknowledge this out of fairness to Rivendell, and as a means of providing information to others wondering just how much of an effect one's positioning on a bike can have on pedaling effort and speed. Earlier I described being considerably faster, particularly uphill, on the Seven bicycle I have on loan in comparison to my Rivendell Sam Hillborne. It was widely agreed that there were many factors involved in this difference - from frame geometry, to weight, to positioning. For some time now I'd been considering making changes to my Rivendell, and finally it's been done - thus somewhat leveling the playing field between the two bikes, with interesting results.



You may spot a number of other alterations in these pictures, but for now I will talk just about the difference in positioning. Namely, the bike now has a longer stem (8 cm, instead of 6 cm as previously). The handlebars have been positioned slightly lower as well.



We've also reduced the amount of setback on the saddle by about 2 cm (not just by moving the saddle forward, but by replacing the seatpost). The overall effect is that my lean has increased by a small amount, my weight on the bike has shifted forward, and my hips are move directly above the cranks.



It's important to stress that I would not have found this position comfortable a year ago, so making these changes is not so much "admitting a mistake," as altering the bicycle's set-up to reflect my changing skill level and preferences. I very much find this position comfortable now - comfortable and fast.



We rode to Lexington, MA to try some hill intervals. I did not attach a saddlebag, so that I could get a sense of how the bike itself performs. And it performed well - albeit differently from the Seven.

Here is my amateur description of what happens on the two bikes when I cycle uphill: The Seven allows me to very easily "attack" a hill - to cycle up it at a fairly high speed, until I run out of steam toward the end and am forced to slow down. In comparison, the Rivendell does not like to "attack" and forces me to slow down earlier. In its previous state, this slowing down happened almost immediately and drastically. Now it happens half way up, and the speed drop is considerably smaller. Cycling on flats, the new positioning makes the Rivendellfaster to accelerate than previously. Not as fast as a racing bike of course, but I no longer feel as if I am sitting "behind the bike" unable use my weight efficiently.

Once I attach bags, that will no doubt slow it down some. But I have a strong feeling that the change in performance is due to the forward placement of my weight more than anything else - when I ride the bike now it feels inherently different - more responsive and more efficient. I am not trying to convert the Rivendell to a Seven and I am not considering taking it on paceline rides. I want to keep the wide tires, the fenders, the rack, the bags, the lighting - there is no compromise possible on that end, as these features are extremely useful to me. But the Seven's positioning (and my enjoyment of that positioning) has most definitely affected my expectations in terms of performance, and I don't think I can go back to short stems and seatposts with generous setback. Not that there is any reason I should - It's all about what you are comfortable with at any given point in time.

New Beginnings

Earlier this week I finally made it to 12 Channel Street in South Boston - the new home of Royal H. Cycles, Geekhouse Bikes, Hubway Bikeshare and a number of other local bicycle-related ventures.





Organised by the intrepid Marty Walsh of Geekhouse, HQ Boston is a new collective space in an industrial waterfront area dubbed the "Innovation District," and its acquisition has been the talk of the town among bikey people. It is big news. The space is big (24,000 sq ft), the commitment is big (10 year lease), and the scope of the project is big. The move shows there is growth in the local small scale bicycle industry, and implies a collective faith in this growth continuing.






Seeing the venue for the first time - an entire second floor of a warehouse-type building, still mostly open floor space - I was overwhelmed by the sheer blank canvas potential of it. Anything could happen here. Many things will, soon.







All morning long there was energy, movement. Planks scattered, walls going up. Men at work. At the same time it was oddly peaceful for a place with so much going on. The size of the space diffuses the construction noise. The light coming in from the outside casts a soft white glow over the debris.






The floor space occupied by Geekhouse and Royal H has been set up and operational for months.There are beautiful machines, jigs, tools, frames and wheels suspended along the walls.





The presence of the framebuilders is there.





Oh yes.






Walking through the space, I admit to feeling some nostalgia. The new venue lacks the personality of the oldGeekhouse shack in Allstonwith its famous graffiti mural. It lacks the charm of the tiny old Royal H workshop in Somervilleby the railroad tracks, just minutes from my house. There is no small neighbourhood feel here. Huge industrial buildings greeted me as I looked out the window, blocking the view of the Harbor. But even as I thought these things, I knew that it was the sentimentalist in me talking. Any place can become a neighbourhood once filled with neighbours, and the Innovation District is attracting new creative small businesses every day. Murals will be painted in due course. The personality of a space takes time to develop.





This place has the potential for growth and collaboration that was not available to either of the occupants beforehand, and the excitement of this is almost tangible.







The spirit of working together is in the air. Though I came to meet with Bryan of Royal H., I later encountered Shane - the man behind BostonBiker. I've corresponded with Shane in the past and I thought that we'd met before, but obviously we haven't because this was a totally different person. It took me a bit just to wrap my head around that and readjust my mental image of him, but soon we were giddy with talk of joint projects involving Shane's skillz and mine.






But back to the main purpose of my visit: I am working on a new mixte prototype with Royal H. Cycles. I sold the mixte Bryan made for me in to finance this, and although this was difficult I don't regret it. The new collaboration will be my design and Bryan's framebuilding. If the prototype works out and is cost-effective, the idea is that it would become a model available to order. I am not thinking of this as my personal bike and not getting attached to it. Very possibly I will sell the prototype, particularly if we end up having to make another. There is so much to say about what I hope this bicycle will be, but in these early stages I am too nervous and excited to talk about it too much. As far as form, I can say that it will be a low-trail 650B mixte with curved twin lateral stays. Fully lugged, with lots of modified lugwork. As far as function, my hope is to make a bike that will be suitable for both urban and long-distance transportation, including over hilly terrain, optimised for women who ride in their everyday clothing. There are lots of details regarding what this involves in my mind and why, and I look forward to sharing them.






In the meantime, it looks like I will be paying these gentlemen more visits over the summer, which is certainly not a bad thing. It will be wonderful to watch HQ Boston develop. If anyone local is interested in joining, there is space available and rent is cheap. Things are happening in Boston. Here's to new beginnings.

Sweet FA (First Ascent)

You've worn his kneepads.

You've read his forum.

You've done his training.

Now let's see him climb.



You know the rules: If you bolt a new route, it's your project. No questions.However, if you leave the State it all gets a bit ambiguous.

William Monks bolted an extension to Friends in High Places, leading intobrave new territory between Gasoline Rainbow and Cleared for Take Off.



Willmade a public announcement opening the project on29th July .

By 10:00am on the 30th Lee had sent it.

The lower section is in common withsedate and slopy Friends in High Places 21





But the top goes nuts !

Along the way there's some spectacular scenery, big strong moves, razor sharp edges and the odd kneebar.













Did I mention the kneebars?





That is one spooky top out.

Climbers, you know the feeling: You are a long way off the deck, your rope is coming from below the overhang, everything slopes the wrong way, and you are pumped spastic.







Lee displays his trophy. The faded red tape that once marked the route's ownership to Mr Monks.

Thanks Will, for a terrifying new addition to an already intimidating wish list at Coolum Cave.

Tentatively graded 26.



Photo: Sam Cujes

Senior climbing photographer and style director from jjobrienclimbing was there to get the story.



jj

Boom, LOUD... Road closed...

The bombing operation referred to last week went by without a hitch (i.e. no one was blown up). However, it didn't solve all of the threats to the road. Unlike a typical ski patrol operation where they mitigate the hazard regularly, the snowpack above the road to Paradise grew so large that it required larger amounts of bomb making material to blast the heck out of the slopes. Good thing too, because those bombs released a substantial amount of snow that was more than ready to slide... And as for the entire day, avalanche control with the use of bombs made for a really unique NPS experience!

The explosive activity took place in an area called "Washington Cascades." That's about 1.5 miles below Paradise and just above the "Canyon Wye" (where you turn right to visit Stevens Canyon, Box Canyon, and Ohanapecosh.) As you can see to the right, Chris Olson is strapping some blasting caps to a 50 lb. bag of ammonium nitrate. This is something of a new operation for most of us (not so new to Chris). Anyway, this explosive was lowered on a plastic sled (the type your kids slide upon) into avalanche terrain where they were ignited with a "shock tube." All in all, it was impressive and really effective. Last Friday, those bombs released a number of large slides in "Washington Cascades." The slides buried the road with debris and took care of the looming avalanche hazard that threatened the road crew operators.

At this time, the road to Paradise remains closed. But that's largely due to the frequent and thunderous slides that have occurred lower on the road (i.e. well below Paradise). The rain and warmer temps activated a number of avalanche slopes. In one area, the "Christine Hairpin", located just below the Comet Falls trailhead, a slide covered both lanes of the road with over 20 feet of deposition! As far as we recall, nobody has seen this sort of debris at Christine Hairpin in the almost 20 years. Above the Glacier Bridge, there are four other significant slide paths in what we call "Glacier Hill". Slides in that area also produced similar piles of wet, heavy snow. The NPS road crew is now scratching, digging, and plowing away at the massive mounds, but it's considered that the road to Paradise may not open for another 4-7 days. As you can see in this image to the left, the road is gone/buried. Nobody has ventured above Ricksecker Point, roughly 5 miles below Paradise since Monday. Hopefully, we will be able to ski up to Paradise tomorrow, dig out the telemetry site, and see what's going on.

When thinking about the avalanche threat, we are somewhat fortunate. Warm weather has started to consolidate the snowpack and things appear a little safer this week. There is some rain in the forecast for the next 24 hours, but probably not enough to produce the large slides that observed so far. The NWAC has dropped the hazard level from Extreme to Considerable/Moderate (below 7000 feet). Stay tuned, we'll keep you up to date on what's shaking. For now, don't rely on being able to visit Paradise over the President's Day weekend. Top image by Stefan Lofgren, second by Chris Olson "The snowcovered road above Glacier Bridge."

Hello there Philippines

Counting the hours now until we fly out to the Philippine Islands! For 2 weeks! This is going to be my last holiday for this short ‘break period’ and then back to the corporate grind.

The Philippine Map. The Philippines is composed of 3 regions: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

We will be flying into Manila via KLM and then to Cebu. Unfortunately we booked with good ole Philippine Airlines for our Cebu leg instead of Cebu Pacific Air and their dancing flight attendants. Are we missing much?
.

Local crag feature "Irishtown" past and present

Well the start of the winter season /11 is underway and slowly I'm getting back into the groove of using tools and crampons on rock and ice again. Like with most previous local seasons, our first few days are spent scratching around on dismal ice, but mostly rock. Yes the cold has hit the Laurel Highlands and the ice is building fast, but the mixed climbing is our best option right now and getting even better. We really haven't seen many climbers out yet, but I'm sure this weekend will have ice climbers out at the easy access crags. With the early season mixed climbing in such good shape, I've decided to try to increase the amount of opportunity for ice climbers to try their hand at the abundance of mixed options we have in the area. I decided to revisit a climb that I top roped last season at a local crag named Irishtown. I've dubbed the route Dynamite.It's located on the lower wall at Irishtown.

equipping the route "Dynamite" at Irishtown

You can see footage of the climb at the end of this short Irishtown video by Ray Burnsworth of Wildfilm productions. Its the last climb of the clip. Now all you young whippersnappers don't be laughing too hard at the vintage '90s climbing attire. This clip shows some of the ice at Irishtown and theaboveroute is located on the lower cliff (the first of the two walls.)

This crag is an old abandoned Limestone mine that seeps water out over the front forming several nice lines. There is a lower and upper wall. The lower wall is obvious, but the upper wall is reached by going right of the lower wall andfollowing the trail to the upper wall. Its about a 5min. walk. The center of the Lower Wall is highlighted by an old mine opening, withmanymean lookingdaggers hanging off the lip. Use Caution - The warm air seeping out of the mine prevents thesolid attachment of the sickles hanging over the mouth. THEY FORM AND FALL CONTINUALLY all season long, so be careful!Since it's an old quarry/mine and some of the rock isn't the best quality, it makes for a fun mixed and drytooling crag whenother ice isn't fully formed. There are several pure ice lines which have been the main attraction of this crag in past years. Just to the right of the quarry opening is the ice route Mouth of Madness WI4-5.One of the earlier climbs of the cliff which was first climbed via top rope in the mid '80's. Not until recent years have the mixed options become so apparent. This season I hope to establish some new bolted mixed climbs to expand the options at this fun roadside crag. Another quality line at the main cliff is called The ProwWI3+,M4. Its located to the right of Mouth Of Madness. It ascends several shorter vertical sections before pulling through the rock. Finishes at the trees. You can also traverse left and finish that way if the overhanging rock intimidates you. I highly recommend this line.

Laura Hahn seconding The Prow WI4- M4 Feb

The Prow's conditions today

Myself on the Prow '09-'10 season

One of the most common email questions I receive is: I'm a newer ice climber, where do you recommend I go? Irishtown is a great choice. The Upper tier is home to several nice, (but short 15'-30') WI 3 to 3+ routes that areusually easy to top rope or great for a newer leader to get their feet wet. Here's a few photos of their condition as of today.

The main central flow of the upper Irishtown wall

Some short mixed options exist on the upper wall as well

The rightmost flow of the upper Irishtown wall

There you have it a brief introduction to Irishtown. By this weekend most lines should be in reasonable shape for this time of year. So come out to Southwestern PA and enjoy cragging at Irishtown.