Muir Snowfield and the Disappointment Cleaver Route

Check out this 2x6 style of crevasse crossing. The image was snapped over the weekend (thankfully the board didn't)... The lumber has since been pulled, so now climbers must find another way around the crevasse. Here's more on the DC...

I received a few comments about the ice mass on the Muir Snowfield. Avid Rainier skier Ron Jarvis had this to say,

"When I started playing on Rainier in 1991 there were no dismounts required while skiing from Muir to Pebble in late summer/fall and as I recall that seemed to be the case right up until the last 2 or 3 years (dementia notwithstanding :-) ).

I would also add that similar conditions (volume/snow-ice depth) also seem to be the case on the contiguous neighbor to the east, the Paradise Glacier."

Doward Farm to King Arthur's Cave.

Saturday 5 March - Leigh and Rita with dogs, Dan and Sara with Isaac and Rose, Chloé and Darren with Finn, Esther and Adrian with Joseph, Sharon and Mick, and me.

Followed along the road for a good way by Camilla the cat.



So - turned right along the road from the farm, past the byway to Pentumpkin and the narrow footpath on the left, past a cottage with chickens, and through a gate. We followed the path and probably ended up at King Arthur's cave, eventually turning past a disused quarry, before coming out near the road to a youth campsite and back to the road.







Leigh and Rita made it down to the river, but we were a little warier with the kids, and a little unsure of map-reading among the trees!

It is a tough Spring.......

Photo courtesy of Ben Tibbetts (permission pending)

http://bentibbetts.com/gallery/show/9




First Jon and crew on Everest.



ThenAlly decides to scare the chit out of everyone.

Just when I had convinced myself skiing was a much safer sport.

Ally takes up swimming and cliff diving.

Read Ally's post this willall eventually make sense.



Check Ally'smost recent blog post:



http://allyswinton.blogspot.com//05/swim-on-blanc.html

Foggy Fall Morning

Taken Saturday morning of last weekend. An overnight low temperature of 28 degrees made for some beautiful fog over the inland lakes Saturday morning. Fog combined with fall colors... not many things make for better photos conditions!

Trompe L'Oeil Lugwork

Having mentioned the idea of doing this as a joke some time ago, imagine my delight when I saw it in the wild: trompe l'oeil lugwork! Standing in the parlor of local pickelleur (randonneuring Dill Pickle bag maker) Emily O'Brien, when I first saw the bike across the room the illusion looked quite real. I figured it was an old beater frame, with the lugs spray painted to contrast the tubes. Then I got closer and realised the lugs looked unusually flat, and finally it hit me: They'd been cut out of tape and wrapped around the welded frame joints.






And lest you think this project is only about the fabulous looks, it does have practical merit: The tape is reflective. Just imagine the beautiful lugs glowing in the dark... A fun DIY idea to spruce up a boring frame in any event.








Apparently I am not the only one to have been fooled from a distance, as cyclists stop Emily all the time to ask about the interesting bike, usually assuming it is something vintage and Italian. Any guess as to what this bike is? Hint 1: It's a ubiquitous modern steel bike. Hint 2: The fork crown is lugged for real.

Blue on Blue

We have been waiting for Spring for so long, and looks like we finally got it. Sudden and intense, it is here!

On April 1st we dusted off the Motobecanes for the first time since late November, and since then I have been riding Marianne all over town and beyond. She just seems like the perfect spring bike - maybe it's the colour and the speed?

Oh yes, and the cherry blossoms on the handlebars.

Marianne is so happy to roam amidst the flowers. She has been asking me in a quivering voice to remember these good times and not to get rid of her despite having other mixtes. Indeed, how can I get rid of her when she matches the blue flowers so nicely!

Lake Itasca :: Day's End

Wednesday, August 10th - - It had been a perfect day! In hopes of catching a nice sunset, I strolled along the beach area. There were no clouds in the sky but the haze turned the sky into a stunningly brilliant orange.







Disclaimer: The image above has been cropped and digitally enhanced! The contrast has been adjusted and a little saturation added, although not all that much.







As the sun dropped below the horizon, the orange color deepened to almost red.



This little duck was all by itself. The kids had gotten out of the lake and it was zig-zagging all around the beach area. I love the patterns it made in the water...