Wordless Wednesday - Wall Flower

Somewhere in Indiana. Summer of 1981. Digitized ...Copyright © 1981/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman.

In the Woods

In the Woods, originally uploaded by ParsecTraveller.

Walking on the Stream Trail in Redwood Regional Park.

Although located a mile from Oakland, this park seems a world away. Huge, 150-foot+ redwoods stand majestically along the trails.

You will be craning your neck most of the time...

Clipless Miracle

Yes, it's a miracle. I have finally learned to ride clipless. It was almost anti-climactic really, considering the failures that have characterised my previous attempts.



For the past two years I have been riding roadbikes with Power Grips and could not master clipless pedals. Finally I had a fitting session where I started from scratch and tried several different systems. The Crankbrothers felt the least terrifying. Determined to finally learn how to do this, I ordered pedals and shoes from the Ride Studio Cafe. They arrived, and yesterday I went to get them installed.



Strapping an empty saddlebag to my bicycle in which I would later carry my sneakers and old pedals, I expected things to go like this: I would get the pedals and cleats set up, practice riding on the nearby Minuteman Trail, then change back into my street shoes to ride the rest of the way home in traffic. I would then practice every day on a quiet street in the neighborhood until I felt ready to go on a real ride.



Instead what happened was this: We got the pedals and cleats set up. I clipped in and rode home without incident, including the last portion through traffic. I guess there is no need to practice on a quiet street at this point.




The main difference between this experience and my previous attempts was the lack of anxiety. Unclipping from these pedals is so gentle and intuitive, that I am not afraid of getting trapped in them. And I think overcoming this fear was really 90% of the battle for me. Some complain that Crankbrothers pedals require that you twist your foot too much in order to unclip (15-20° release angle, depending on how you set them up), but this does not bother me. The important thing is that the release itself is easy. Putting my foot down at a stop is not any more difficult or scary than with my Power Grips.




I do need some practice clipping in. The right cleat goes in quickly, but for some reason I fumble a lot with the left one. I'm sure I'll get quicker at it; I just have to not be lazy and practice by intentionally clipping and unclipping my left foot when riding the bike.


I will write more about the shoes and pedals once I gain some experience with them; I don't want to speak too soon. I am just ridiculously happy that I finally did this.



The entire way down the Minuteman Trail I had an altered version of Ice Cube's "You Can Do It" playing in my head, with all the trees and flowers sexily swaying to the beat...




You can do it, clip you shoe inTO it!...

You can do it like there's nothing to it!...



Oh yeah.



The end.

Injury, recovery and death

If you play at this game long enough eventually you'll get hurt. Some will obviously die. But then we all die don't we? I would prefer something besides climbing. But we don't get to make that choice usually. It is the recovery I find interesting.

This is a forum post I made on CC.com after a fall in early May of .
What isn't mentioned until now is the many pee bottles my wife emptied, the breakfast and lunches she left at my night stand and the stress she went through watching all this unfold at home or waiting in a hospital room. And now seeing me climb and solo again. You had better pick a tough partner.


"I fell off."
Took me a while to decide to write about this. Still uncomfortable with the format I have chosen but hopefully some will find the comments enlightening. But it is written for me as much as it is for the forum.

I have been climbing awhile and taken many, many falls while leading on trad routes and later on sport routes. The longest a full 70’ onto a 2” swami with no leg loops. Very few falls (actually only a couple) came as a surprise on lead. The 70’ was one of them. But no harm, no foul and no serious injuries. The surprises and really pushing hard I generally saved for top ropes. From the early ‘80s to the mid ‘90s I was fortunate enough to do a number of 1st ascents of trad routes in the .11s to easy .12 range and was able to solo a lot. Solos included multi pitch 5.10 and 5.11 routes.

In all that mileage over the years the few injuries I did sustain in falls have been minor, blistered finger tips on a slab, a tweaked ankle I could walk on after dropping onto a sloping ledge, a grounder that I could at least hobble away from. None of them a surprise. Sore and bruised maybe but never broken. Only one kept me off the rock again that particular day.

So when I have read about rock climbing accidents over the years I have always put them off to bad luck, inexperience or just plain stupidity on the climbers part.

Then I fell off.

How hard was it? 5.6. How high? Maybe 20 feet? Most will know the route, The Fault on Lower Castle Rock. It is a simple chimney pitch, easily climbed inside the chimney until you can get some protection and squirm out of the crack just past the tree. Or you can face climb the chimney wall if you choose till you get to that first piece of pro in.

I have soloed the complete Fault/Catapult line to Logger’s Ledge and finished by climbing one route or another on upper Castle Rock many times.

I can tell you in detail how the fall happened. I remember a good left foot and a great left hand. Right hand was just in casual opposition on the edge of the chimney. It was all I needed to make the right step up. As I stepped up to a small ledge for my right foot I was thinking about how my Carhart pants were just a bit too tight for the high step I was taking. And that I had one more move before my first piece of pro would go in. No worries, casual.

Then my left bicep tore completely off my forearm (old injury my Doc said to rehab, which I did and then ice climbed on all winter) There is more to that story but not really relevant to my point of this post.

As I said I’ve taken enough falls to have a pretty good idea of what is now happening. Wall is just off vertical here. I remember thinking it was bad that I wasn’t falling straight down. In retrospect I suspect that saved me from even more serious injuries. ( like shattered ankles and broken legs) I felt the toe of my right foot hooking on the rock as I went down. Kinda like a crampon would do on ice. That is never a good thing. THANG! goes the right ankle. That ain’t going to be pretty is my last conscious thought. Next thing I am almost horizontal and figure I smacked the shallow scoop on the right wall. I’m out cold and bouncing down the wall now so who knows. Bouncing is another good thing in retrospect.

From the tally of my injuries later I suspect my partner Paul (SOBO here at CC.com) probably saved my life. Paul actually stood his ground and used his body to break my fall. I suspect I knocked him ass over tea-kettle.

(some of this may or may not have ACTUALLY happened, Paul can add any details I have wrong)

When I came to I can remember being annoyed that someone was yelling and shaking me to wake me up.
I was in a happy place and just wanted to be left alone to enjoy my sleep.

Then I realized I was sucking in dirt through my mouth and nose and was lying horizontal on my side facing the wall. And that I’d fallen off. Didn’t have the wind knocked out of me….although I suspect that all happened while I was unconscious. From just my little “reality check” I figured I was pretty fucked up. I rolled over, sat up and changed my shoes and soxs and took off my harness. At some point I remember saying “Sorry but I am done for today”. Then I tried to stand. That wasn’t going to happen. "Shit, can’t even hobble back to the car…this is embarrassing.”

A couple of other climbers came up the trail and didn’t notice anything special. Paul explained to them what had happened and asked them to use a phone to get an ambulance on the way. One of the guys split to get phone reception farther down the canyon near Leavenworth. I suspect less than 30 minutes later the emergency crews showed up, taped me to a back board and down the hill and off to Wenatchee Valley Hospital I went. I was out of the hospital 6 or 7 hrs later, had my wife and a friend pick up my car and checked us into a hotel in Leavenworth.

It was a rough drive getting home the next day.

For the next 4 weeks I lived with pee bottles, muscle relaxants and pain killers. Surgery on my torn bicep could not be done until the headaches eased from the concussion. (A helmet? Come on it is cragging in Leavenworth for chrimney sake) You have a 14 day window for the surgery before your bicep starts to really atorphy and then shrink into you upper shoulder. 14 days later the surgery would be a mute point. I went 10 days.

My head still felt like someone wanted to get in using a can opener. I wanted a working arm and decided the pain wasn’t that bad…at least not enough to mention again.

4 weeks on serious pain killers will plug up an healthy elephant. At some point I decided taking a shit was more important that being in happy land with no pain. I think it was the night I had to pull a turd out of my own ass and keep from passing out while doing so. Ya it was that grim. The second one wasn’t any better.
Fuck, it hurt.

It was bad and had to change. I decided shitting was more important than lack of pain and advil would have to do from that day forward. Although there were times I broke down and thankfully got another 4 hr fix so I could sleep.

It is now a full 6weeks later. I started spending most of the day out of bed @ 4 weeks. Simply because I couldn’t sleep without the pain killers. I still couldn’t walk. I could move my ankle so started rehab at home. I was actually able to run 2 miles yesterday. The first at 13 minutes and after a couple of minute break the second at 11 min. Up from sub 7s six weeks ago. I have a ways to go but I can walk and run again. There were times in the drug induced haze that I wondered.

Today I did a 10 mile bike ride. Took me 46 minutes on a course I can generally do in mid 30s. But I am mobile again. Things will go faster now. My head still hurts on a daily basis. I have some memory loss. Rehab always hurts but that will diminish in time as well.

When they put me into the ambulance I figured I was pretty messed up. I hurt from my big toe (the nail is totally black now) to my eyebrow (my only cut) on my right side. A torn bicep only hurts when you actually tear it off, them the pain is gone. So the left side was good. I refused any pain meds in the ambulance so I could accurately describe what I though my injuries were to the ER Dr.

After a lifetime of injuries I thought I had a pretty good idea on what I had broken…..again.

Right ankle broken (last shattered in ’93)
Broken hip…new one for me
Internal injuries on my right side… again new
Broken right little finger (’05)
Broken shoulder ( ’75)
Broken back ( ’73)
Broken neck …another new one
Left bicep detached (right bicep ’07)

Thankfully I was way off on my own diagnosis.
But trust me, every one of those areas still hurts 6 weeks later. Enough so that it is distracting.

(the real and misunderstood aftermath was the full year + for all the internal injuries to heal)

The ankle was just a severe sprain. Early rehab and 4 weeks of bed rest made for a quick recovery once I could take body weight on it. Nothing else broken besides the finger which was dislocated in the fall. It finally was realigned correctly this week when I shook hands with a buddy. Brought tears to my eyes but the finger works better now, just one sore nasty bitch at the moment.

Something not quite right with my guts. On the ride today everything between my hips and my armpit felt like they were unglued internally. Pushing hard on the bike just made me puke. I still can’t sleep on my right side. I’m counting on that just “going away”. Gotta make me think again on how lucky I was to have Paul break the fall and not just auger in to the dirt.

My right shoulder feels pretty much like it did after being dislocated. Loss in range of motion and it makes some funny sounds now. Professional rehab, lots of hard work and time for that one.

My neck now makes all sorts of funny noises when I move and gets really sore if I move it wrong or quickly. Head aches come and go. A 2” strip from the back of my neck to the top of my scalp still feels “weird” and itches. Again…if I had hit without Paul breaking the fall…...I suspect I’d now be dead or much more seriously injured.

The bicep surgery went fine. I am well on the way back to full strength on the left arm. Only down side is the top of my left hand and wrist are now numb from nerve damage during surgery…not uncommon.. Won’t be climbing any cracks till I get full feeling back there.

Turns out it was a full year to get the left bicep back to even half the original strength and usable climbing again. Surgery was not a total failure, the surgeon was, in comparison to the same tendon tear on my right arm.

So what did an off day on the rock really cost besides a few extra aches and pains?

To date, 6 weeks out of work and counting. I am just now starting to get a few hours a day in the shop. I work for myself so I can set my own schedule. Down side is if I don’t work there is no cash flow coming in and at the moment lots of it going out. I suspect it will be another 6 weeks before I can physically put in a full 40 hr week. I have a decent insurance plan but will still pay between 2 to $3000 out of pocket by the time I am done.

What really happened was I tried to get to work and working out too early and then spent a another 6 months rehabing when I should have been healing. At 56 it was a big mistake.

Not everything is in yet for billing and the rehab is a conservative estimate from what I have paid on other injuries in the past couple of years. You need to learn to be your own health’s advocate. Remember that our health professionals are still “practicing medicine”. You might as well start now, doing the same. No one knows your body better than you. Ask questions, learn to say no and most importantly listen to your body. And finally, don’t deck out

Considering a trip to the emergency room and only one “real” injury (torn bicep) was treated things add up fast.

The actual bills I have seen so far look something like this:

$1005.00 Ambulance from Castle to Wenatchee
6392.00 Emergency room Wenatchee
456.00 Wenatchee hostpital
2200.00 Orthopedic surgeon
3625.00 Ortho practice/ surgery room
1372.48 Anesthesia
3500.00 Rehab
1600.00 Radiologist CT and MRI

You might want to check out an insurance plan if you don’t already have one. Dropping $20K cash and another six months of wages on one day of climbing in Leavenworth is not my idea of a climbing vacation.




FWIW.. when I fell my right hand was on the white knob across from the horizontal crack in the shadow line of this picture. And yes it is just as easy as it looks. And Paul, "thanks bro" not many guys can hold their mud

The Scottish Mountain Heritage Collection?

This is a historially signifigant collection of ice climbing info. Well worth a look.

more here:



http://www.smhc.co.uk/

Brief Description

Chouinard zero ice axe. Wooden shaft with metal at base. One hole in middle of head painted blue inside. Adze, serrated pick.Pointed spike on ferrule with two flat sides and a white circle on each.

Materials

wood, metal

Dimensions

Shaft and ferrule 50 x 9.5 cms. Head 26.5(l) cms. Adze 6 (w)cms.

Number Of Objects

1

Inscription Description

On one side stamped inscription reads "CHOUINARD ZERO" Also a "C" inside a diamond and "CAMP" inside an unfinished square. On other side stamped inscription reads "MADE IN ITALY PREMANA"

Colour

silver, brown

Maker

Premana

Object Production Place

Italy

Provenance

A Chouinard Zero is the Rolls Royce of ice axes and 40 years after they were first produced folk still seek them out and pay a high price to own one. The only thing that stopped them becoming even more popular was technology, as they arrived just as wooden shafted axes were being replaced by stronger and more versatile metal versions. There were metal and some kind of glass fibre, shafted versions but they were not as iconic as the wooden version. The later zero's (as with the one we have here) had a laminated bamboo shaft to give more strength. Yvon Chounard's first factory was called the Great Pacific Pacific Iron Works and the catalogue from 1978 tells the story:-

"Northwall Hammer and Model Zero ice axe

The Model Zero Axe and the North Wall Hammer are designed for complementary use in vertical ice climbing on waterfalls, in Eastern or Canadian water ice, or for solo or super fast ascents of alpine gullies. These are specialist's tools and are not meant to replace the standard Chouinard Piolet for general Alpine climbing. The main difference in design is in the pick, which has more curve and teeth all the way along its length for better anchorage in piolet traction, but not so much curve that an unnatural swing is required. Both models also have shorter spikes to avoid self-inflicted wounds while swinging in awkward or confined circumstances. Length: 55 cm laminated bamboo shafts. Weight: 1 Ib. 12 oz. Price: $65.00"





"USE

You may wish to soak or rub the shaft with a 50/50 mixture of lin-seed oil and turpentine to prevent water absorption. For winter climb¬ing use pine tar to seal the wood and give a good base for rubbing on X-country wax. A violet wax on a cold day will give superb grip for iced-over mittens. Paint on the tar and carefully heat the handle with a torch until the tar begins to bubble, then wipe off the excess. The carabiner hole is solely a convenience for carrying the axe. It is not to be used for belaying; a shaft-boot belay is better."



Hamish MacInnes is still going strong and dug out this old press release for us:



THE MACINNES ALL METAL ICE AXE & TERRORDACTYL

FROM:

GLENCOE PRODUCTIONS LTD., GLENCOE, ARGYLL PA39 4HX

THE ALL METAL ICE AXE:

The first all metal ice axe was made by Hamlsh Maclnnes in the late 1940's. it was known as 'The Message". But it was not manufactured by him until the early 1960's, using aluminium alloy shafts. The decision to make these all metal ice axes available to the public was taken after Hamish found two wooden axes broken on a fall on Ben Nevis, where a party of three mountaineers were killed. All metal ice axes are now used throughout the world.

They were originally made in a barn at his home in Clencoe and the drop forgings of the production models, the first of their kind, were produced by B. & S. Massey of Manchester, John Byam Grounds, the managing director was himself a keen climber.

The ice axes, with their strong shafts, in place of wooden shafted models and slightly declined picks introduced a new standard of safety in mountaineering.

He continued making them for several years, but when manufacturers internationally copied Hamish's design he wound up production. He felt his aim in introducing a stronger and safer design which helped to save lives had been achieved.

Wordless Wednesday - One of the Joys of Summer!

August 1998. Digitized ...Copyright © 1998/.. by Rebeckah R. Wiseman

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

Listening to cyclists' stories about their first long or difficult rides, I often hear things like "Afterward, I wanted to throw my bike away" or "The next day, I couldn't even look at my bike."





It always struck me as interesting how the feelings of pain and exhaustion caused by riding can become associated with the bike itself. In a sense, it is easier to think of the bike, a concrete object, as the source of our discomfort than it is of a deficiency in fitness or endurance on our part.We look at the bike and remember how we felt during that hard ride.It's not so much that we literally blame the bicycle, as that the bike becomesa signifier of the pain and exhaustion we experienced. That feeling of wanting to throw it out, or not wanting to look at it, is a way of dealing with frustration over our own limitations.And of course this is in addition to the possibility that the bike itself is at least partly to blame - be it through saddle discomfort, harshness of ride, inappropriate gearing, or bad positioning.



If only mildly, I have had my share of all this. I've overdone it before, to the point of fatigue at the mere sight of a bike that only time away from it could cure.



But I am thinking of this now, because more recently I've experienced something of the opposite. Still feeling battered and drained after an especially tough ride, the morning after I walked past the bike and thought about how much I loved it, and about how much I loved cycling. It was an unexpected reaction, having tumbled out of bed feeling as if a train had run over me. After a day of passion and heartbreak, it feels good to still love it all, and to want to ride again tomorrow.

The Congress Trail

Within the Giant Forest area of Sequoia National Park are numerous trails that meander through the big trees. One of those trails leads to one of the main attractions of Sequoia National Park.

It isn't the oldest. It isn't the widest. It isn't the tallest. But a sign proclaims that because of the overall volume of its trunk, the General Sherman Tree is the biggest tree on earth. At its base it measures 103 feet in circumference. It is 275 feet tall. It is approximately 2200 years old. That is one big, old tree! Standing beneath it, gazing up at the high branches, it is difficult to take it all in. And a tiny photograph can't convey how big it really is. It is, quite simply, huge! Almost overwhelming, actually. The people standing beneath the behemoth are dwarfed by its size.

This shows the base of The General Sherman Tree and possibly 25 feet of its height. The lady standing to the left by the fence was about 5'5” tall.

The trail to the General Sherman tree continues on as the two-mile loop Congress Trail. Sequoia trees are very shallow rooted and do occasionally topple. The amazing thing to me about this fallen giant is that a small tree has taken root and is growing on the roots of the dead tree. The little one is perhaps four feet tall. I wonder how long it will survive?

Another glorious Giant, reaching for the sun... towering over all beneath it.

Saguaro National Park

After leaving Chiricahua National Monument it was a short drive to Saguaro National Park near Tucson. There are actually two “sections” to this park, East and West, and I stopped for a few hours in the East side park. There is no campground at Saguaro and I was concerned about finding a place to stay for the night. There are trails to hike but I figured I was going to get plenty of desert hiking done at Joshua Tree and Death Valley, so for me, this was a “drive-through” park, something I said I wasn't going to do...

I stopped at the Visitor Center to watch the park video and get their map and then took the driving tour on the loop road. At one stop I noticed a rather large Saguaro a short distance from the road. So with a bottle of water and the camera in hand, I walked off into the desert... perhaps 100 yards!

Here he is. Doesn't look so tall in this picture, but he towers over everything beneath him.

Me and “my” Saguaro.

Now you see how tall he is? I'm 5' 6” so just guessing he is 25-30 feet tall? This was the biggest Saguaro I saw in the short time that I was in the park. Nothing else even came close to his height or his girth. Amazing. As a side note, the camera was propped up against a rock on the ground. It took four tries to get this shot. I was glad that no one else stopped in the area while I was doing this – I sure felt silly running from the camera to the Saguaro - but I am thankful for self-timers on cameras!

I think he had eight “arms” coming out from his main trunk. Huge.

One of his prickly neighbors.

And another.

Photographs taken on March 15, ...

Poor Van Dora ...

Wednesday, March 7th - - My decision to leave Salt Lake City yesterday morning was made the previous week. I was ready to go after five weeks researching in Genea-Mecca but in hindsight perhaps I should have waited a few more days... I was headed to California but high winds with strong gusts were forecast for all of Nevada (and much of the west) for the next two days. I could take the northern route and get into the snow storm that was predicted and coming towards Salt Lake City. Or I could take the southern route through Las Vegas then west. After checking the weather reports before leaving yesterday morning I decided the safest route would be to go south.



I haven't checked to see what the weather was like along I-80 so I don't know if my chosen route (I-15 south) was the best or safest! But I do know it sure wasn't an easy day of driving! It wasn't too bad until I got about half way to St. George, which is about 300 miles south of Salt Lake City, when the winds really picked up. By the time I got to St. George, it was definitely two-handed white-knuckle driving! Then when I got into Nevada, there were times when visibility was extremely limited due to the blowing sand. There was an amazing amount of tumbleweeds blowing down the highway too, as well as plastic bags and bottles and various other debris.



My “plan” had been to stop at Valley of Fire State Park for the night, which is about 40 miles north of Las Vegas. But there was so much sand and dirt and gravel being blown about that I decided to continue on south. I stopped just north of Las Vegas for gas and had a really rough time trying to stand in one spot to pump the gas.



I made it through Las Vegas before the rush hour and drove the 50 miles or so west to Pahrump where I wimped out and spent the night at a motel. At around five o'clock or so we had a little rain added to the wind and I was glad that I was inside, safe and dry. I learned later on the news that the wind had been steady at about 30 mph most of the day with gusts up to 75 mph – no wonder my right arm and shoulder was sore!





Poor Van Dora. She needs a bath! This is what happens when you drive in blowing sand then a little rain comes along... I didn't really think the van was all that dirty when I got out at the motel. After the rain, all of the other cars in the parking lot were in this same condition, which means that as the rain fell it must have picked up some of the sand and dust in the air. I think it was basically raining mud, at least for a short time.





Van Dora looks worse now than she did traveling on the dirt roads in Alaska!

No More Tears: Clear Glasses for Winter

One of my biggest problems cycling in the winter used to be my eyes tearing up. It would get so bad, that the constant flow of tears would blur my vision, making it hard to see where I was going. But like many cyclists, I soon found the solution: clear glasses or goggles.




On moderately cold and windy days, I wear simple resin glasses that I am very happy with. They are unbranded, so I don't have an online source to refer you to, but many bike shops around here sell them at the counter. I bought mine from the Wheelworks, for around $20. What I like about these particular glasses is how comfortable they are, even on long rides. They sit sturdy, but are lightweight and don't press into my face or temples. The lenses are durable and the clarity is good.




On particularly freezing days with harsh winds, I wear these wrap-around safety glasses from MSA. They cost only $4 and perform double duty as shop safety glasses for framebuilding. The MSA glasses are wonderful for creating a seal from the cold, keeping my eyes warm and dry and the sensitive skin around them protected. An additional benefit for those who wear prescription glasses, is that these can be worn over them. The downside is that they are on the heavy side, and if I wear them for too long they give me a headache - so watch out, if you have issues with that. But for short rides they are excellent, and on days that are cold enough to necessitate them my rides are on the short side anyway.




If you prefer the high-end route, I've tried and really liked the clear version of the new Lazer Argon glasses. These are in the $80-90 range and come with interchangeable lenses, which can be replaced with tinted ones. Oakley, Rudy Project, and most other athletic sunglass manufacturers also make clear or photochromic versions of many models.




While some cyclists like to wear goggles, I am not a fan: They snag my hair and don't seem to stay put as well as regular glasses if I wear them on the bike. I find that the MSA safety glasses provide the same coverage but with less fuss.




There are many inexpensive options out there for clear goggles and glasses, so try a few and see what works. And if you need more coverage? Well, a few days ago I saw a man cycling with a clear face shield. Perhaps a new fashion trend in winter cycling.

Ouch! That hurts! Ski boot fit?

I think it takes some effort to wrap your head around how a BC ski boot should fit. If you are looking at an ski boot fitspecifically to climb in you may (should) think differently than the guy who wants a BC boot specifically to *just* ski in.



My take from the experience of seeing so many unhappy BC skiers (from ski guides to clients mind you) is most would be better served to simply forget the whole idea of a "ski boot" fit in an AT boot.



All this would seem rather obvious one would think. But fromskiing with various partners this winter nothing could be farther from the truth.



It would seem that there are a lot of skiers that try every thing possible to get the smallest shell size that will fit their feet. Then they go to great extremes to heat mold the liner or change liners and punch the shell to every bump and nuance thattheir specific foot needs require.



Done it myself. Likely the end result a perfect fit for skiing. Likely not the perfect fit if you want to climb or walk in those same boots any length of time.









A two minute search on the Internet will show you variations of this: "Boot liners are very cushy at first, but they will conform to your foot in 10-15 minutes, and after several ski days, they can really pack down. What feels so perfect in the store often feels sloppy and uncontrollable on the hill. The correct boot should feel snug all over without pressure points. If it feels too tight initially, almost enough to make your eyes bulge, it's probably about the right size."



"Eyes bulge?" Ya, likely not the right size you are looking for even when heatmolding your boots.



Might be a nice fitting ski boot. But think about that for a minute.....or more realistically way more than just a minute. Becauseyou will have a lot of time to think about it when walking 8 hours or so on your next day tour?! The localprofessional ski boot fitter may not be the guy you want fitting your back country boots. If you are going to be climbing in your ski boots...and your boot fitter has no clue what climbing or a full day in the back countryentails......he or she likely NOT the guy you want fitting your BC boots.



Typical ski boot fit for down hill rentals and the inexperienced:



"You see it more and more in rentals — “What’s your shoe size?” They tell me 10,
I’ll give them a 28 boot, which is a size too big, being conservative because
they’re rentals. The customer will open it up, put their foot in, and without
buckling it, they’ll say, “Oh, I need the next size up.” Then you have a choice
to make, because there’s a line of people waiting. You could do the right thing
and say, “Listen, I know it feels a little short. You want to buckle it up. When
you stand in the boot with a buckle, your heel is nowhere near the back, so your
toes are jammed in the front.” Depending on the day and the mood I’m in, I might
just say, “Here’s a 30, try that.”



More typical BC ski boot fit by the experienced:



Pick the correct shell size for back country skiing by placing bare foot in shell, touching end with toes, then seeing how many stacked fingers you can fit behind your heel. Any more than a 2 finger stack and the back country skiing boot shell is too big. Less than one-and-one-half fingers and it’s probably too small. In some cases (as in mine) you’ll be between shell sizes. If that happens try fitting the smaller shell first, but remember it’ll probably be colder and you may have problems with getting enough length for your toes. The larger shell will be warmer and easier to get comfortable for touring, but you may have problems getting the fit tight enough for downhill skiing.



The reason I bring all this up?



"tight enough for downhill skiing" There in lies the rub here.



We now have boots that ski very well that you can climb difficult technical ground in and not be at a disadvantage. But if you fit those same boots as tight as you might have fit your typical down hill ski boot the amount of time you'll want to spend in them is likely going to be limited. And you'll pay for that mistake in either pain or a new pair of boots in a larger size eventually.



This would seem to be a North American problem. Not a Euro problem as theyhave been climbing long and difficult technical ground while in ski boots for a while now. Pretty common there actually. I don't have to mention theirlong, hut to hut, ski tours. Here just the the thought of a full day out, on a up and down ski tour, seems to put most feet into some serious pain.



I intentionally thought of my TLTs as "climbing boots" and fit them accordingly. I use a 29 shell. My "ski boots" are generally a 28 shell. And I wear a size 12 street shoe! None of the28 shells do I want fora lot of walking. But no question the 28sdo ski great.



Still, I've had some of my best days skiing in the, "big"TLTs. I've alsospent some time walking, climbing or drive my truck's manual transmission in them with little complaint. And some times those were some lonnnnggg walks.



Always worth the effort of getting a custom insole/orthotic made to support your foot in any of these boots. A totally rigid boot sole is not a great thing for your feet...no matter the use. An properly fit orthotic can make the difference between a great fit and a painful ski boot.



A custom orthotic allows me to comfortably use a TLT 5 with a very narrow last. Without my orthotic in the boot my feet collapse enough that over time the boot is painful on the outside toes. With the orthotic my foot is supported enough that there is no pain or boot pressure. I don't require a orthotic in my mountain boots or running shoes. But in my ski boots it makes a big difference on how long I can stay in them comfortably.



We use a different and appropriate fit for our running shoes,rock shoes (trad and sport?) and our mountain boots. Probably time for some to look at how to fit their BC ski boots as compared to their down hill ski boots.



Because if it really is "all about the down" in your ski boots, likely your feet are going to suffer....a lot.







Done right the same boot can serve both purposes easy enough.












Get it wrong and it is a pleasure to simply get them off your feet!






Bottom line? I am not sure (almost positive) that a ski boot you'd want to climb in, isthe ski boot you'll want to take to the local lifted served area andski all day on your fat skis. Several years ago I thought you could have oneboot that would do both. Now I own two types of boots. Ski boots and BC boots. The boot model might well be the same today....but the boot fit is definitely not the same.



I can ski the same amount of ski under foot and generally the same length ski till I get around 115mm in a 29. Same boot Iice climb in. And am pretty happy with. At 115mm under foot with my ski I start looking for a size28 "ski boot". It is not so much that the support/design of the bootchanges but how the boots fit,does.

Southeast Aurora

Fromthis pastweekend's incredibly awesome geomagnetic storm. You know it's an excellent display of the northern lights when the best views are no longer to the north! This particular formation of the Aurora was actually emanating up from the southeast horizon! This was a 20 second exposure taken at ISO 1600 with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera and Canon EF 17-40mm lens.

Eyes!!

Upps! Camera setting was wrong, and did weird things to the kittens eyes.