Spring Blooms

Cherry, Apple, and Redbud blossoms before the wind hit them.

Pike Run Dry Tooling

The small outcrops at Pike Run work great for dry tooling

East coast ice climbing has had another dismal week. Above average temperatures and rain are preventing the ice climbing season from getting underway. Locally we've had 40 degree rainy days with evening temps hovering around freezing. Yesterday Laura and I had some time to get out climbing and didn't want the lack of ice this season ruin our motivation. With possible rain in the forecast, we decided to hit a small local spot for some dry tooling. We decided to head over to Pike Run for some dry tool investigation. Pike Run is predominantly a bouldering area with a few 25' outcrops that offer a little top roped climbing. I installed a few bolt anchors on top of the outcrops in 2000 to help lessen the impact of anchoring off the small trees at the top. For those that don't know, I used to own a climbing shop and guide service located about 5 minutes down the road in Donegal. Pike Run offered folks a place to climb very close to my shop. Much to my surprise Pike Run is still being used on a regular basis.

Tim checking out the Citronella Cave V4 to V6

Laura getting ready to give it a go...

Laura on our 3rd climb

Enjoying the new opportunities

The approach trail has had some impressive work done to it. Someone also went as far as to build landings at the bottom of the Tower outcrop at the descent trail. My hat is off to those ambitious folks that took the effort to help maintain this local climbing resource. The rock at Pike Run is sandstone. Its coarse, not nearly as compact and solid as the sandstone located in most places on Chestnut Ridge. The outcrops at Pike Run offer some great dry tool options. Laura and I had a great time exploring and trying out some lines. We climbed 3 lines overall taking laps on each several times. The moves varied from easier M3/4 to M8 with the climbing being somewhat technical and not as straight forward as it looks from the ground. Rounded and sloping are the norm with a few usable cracks here and there. It was nice to revisit and take a serious thrashing at an area I haven't climbed in a few years. I'm sure we'll be back to pump ourselves silly soon enough.

Laura practicing climbing in ice boots without tools

On a non climbing note:

On the way home from Pike Run we were pleasantly surprised to see a pair of Northern Goshawks near Acme Dam on county line road. One was actively hunting and perching while the other perched the whole time far off on a field edged by forest. It will be interesting to see if they are herewintering or passing through to other territory. Goshawks are our largest accipiter and are irregular visitors to our region. They live in the colder, northern climates of Canada during summer and migrate south for the winter. The Goshawk is related to our summer resident Sharp-Shinned and Coopers hawks. Here's a photo we shot of one perched on a dead snag.

Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis

near Acme Dam, Dec. 16,

Mt Rainier storm & flood damage photos - Ohanapecosh

Snow is accumulating at Paradise. I measured 46" total, with 15" of fresh snow this morning. It looks and feels like winter and if the park were open, skiers, boarders and snowshoers would be enjoying the early snowfall. But the floods really did a number on the roads and as the days pass, it becomes more clear how complicated the damage is, especially with the prompt arrival of winter.

Since it's going to be difficult to write about the climbing routes and upper mountain while the park is closed, I will devote more energy to the events surrounding the park being reopened. There will be updates, damage assessments, projected repairs and ongoing weather observations. I'll also pull together photos, when possible, like these NPS pictures of the Ohanapecosh area.

Above left is an interpretive sign in the Grove of the Patriarchs that has been flooded with mud and silt. Normally, this type of sign rests about 3 and 1/2 feet above ground.

The heavy rain also lead to a number of landslides, like this large one near Ohanapecosh Campground. The slide started on the road above (out of image) and swept everything in its path down to the Ohanapecosh River and Campground.

Here is the primary deposition zone for all of the timber that was unearthed in the same landslide.





The river also moved and in doing so, took a couple of the campsites with it. Here is the new loop C of Ohana.

A New Experience :: Kayaking!

Friday afternoon I took my first ride in a kayak! Wonderful. The day was cloudy and overcast but there was very little wind and the waters were calm. It was an amazing feeling gliding so easily over the surface of the water. It was quiet. The beaches were empty and no one else was around. Serene.

In Belfast Harbor. Getting ready to head out.

Looking out into the open ocean. Islands off in the distance.

Lobster trap buoys and the kayak paddle.

Two hours later, heading back towards the harbor.

Me and my cousin!

Grandpa Ott Morning Glory

The heirloom 'Grandpa Ott' from behind.

The Mont Bell Permafrost down jacket?

I had seen Mont Bell garments around for a few years. I liked many of the designs but until recently the sizing was off for me. I dropped weight and Mont Bell made an effort to re size. Now Mont Bell fits true to size for the North American market.



My first real exposure was actually "forced" upon me. I had agreed to do a synthetic jacket reviewforCC.com. They had wanted me to include twoMont Bell jackets. Fair enough and glad we did include them. I learned something from it.



The Mont Bellsynthetic versions really impressed me. I see a lot of gear, as in, a LOT of gear. And I used the Mont Bell Synthetics last spring and through the summer. I kept one (Thermawrap Pro) and continueto use it now in winter. It is a great mid weight by any comparison. And like all the Mont Bell garments I have seen recently an exceptional pattern and fit for me personally.



More on the original synthetic review here:



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//12/synthetic-insulation-60g-to-100g.html



It waswell over 3 years ago now that the idea of a "gear test" and the resulting,Cold Thistleblog, came from my search for a very warm, down "climbing" jacket.



"I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it,[Emphasis added.]


—Justice Potter Stewart,



I've been around long enough to "know it when I see it" when it comes to a down jacket appropriate for climbing.


I've sincelooked at a lot of jackets. Some I tossed aside unworthy, early on and didn't add to this list. Many (5 and counting) of these jackets have been changed a lot since I did my first reviews. So make sure you know what you are looking at. The most recent update (data is from the earlier reviews though) below of the jackets I have thought met that criteria of "climbing jacket":





L or XL
weight insulation @ the shoulderbox wall or sewn through



xEddie Bauer Peak
XV 1091g/ 38.5 5" box

xNarrona
Trollveggan 1063g/
37.5 3" box

xRab Neutrino Plus
794g/ 28 5" box

xArcteryx
Duelly 794g/28 2.5" non
laminated syn

xNarrona Lyngen 737g/ 26 3"
sewn + layer

Mont
Bell Permafrost 694g/24.5 4.5" box


xRab Neutrino Endurance 650g/22.9 3"
sewn

xMtn H Nilas 652g/ 23
3.5" box/sewn thru arms

xEB BC Micro Therm 590g/
21 2.5" sewn + layer

Mont Bell
Mirage 420g/ 14.7 3.5" box


xRab Infinity 402g/ 14
3" sewn





There is a sweet spot
between design, use and weight. Hard to define what will work best for you.
But for my own use generally the warmth to weight ration will cut through all
the fog. What works best for me has little to do with the quality of these
jackets. All are high quality, state of the art, down jackets. Any one of
them will keep you warm on most occasions. Each has a forte' and specific use
worth searching for if you want to spend your money wisely. Without having all
these jackets at hand in front of me there is no way I could have made a
educated decision on what was best for my own use. And I continue to be
surprised almost every time I start making these kinds of comparisons.




Between the fully baffled Eddie Bauer Peak XV and the light weight, sew through Rab
Infinity there is a lot of leeway, weight and warmth.



If you are looking the ultimate example of warmth and light weight construction in a down jacket is boxed wall construction. There has never been any doubt about that. The best down jackets made 40 years ago were box baffled construction and the best now are as well. It isn't a cheap way to make a jacket. It is however the best way to use down as insulation.



On the list above only these are full box baffled construction.



Eddie Bauer Peak XV* #

Narrona Trollveggan(the new one might make 4+")

Rab Neutrino Plus*#

Mont Bell Permafrost*#

Mont Bell Mirage(just under 4",moredetails in another review)



And of those only three jackets* break the legitimate 4" of loft at the shoulder #. These are all really warm jackets but going past 4" of loft is the exception here not the rule.Of those three the Permafrost is the lightest and the least amount of loft..@ 4.5" of 800 fill down.There is 9oz of the 800 downin a medium.



The Mont Bell's are the only large size jacketsin these comparisons. The weights aren't going to be far off for comparisons if you wondered. But a large Mont Bell now fits me like a XL RAB (MB lg is a bit bigger) or XLMountain Hardware Nilas (MB Lg is a bit smaller). "Like"but the Mount Bell jackets actually fit better with my intended layering systemthan either RAB or Mtn H.



Unzip the hood from the Permafrost and you drop 100g or 3.5oz.



4.5" of loft and nowthe Permafrost is 594g, or 21oz. Your decision on what is required of an insulatedhood. But the huge stand up collar and detachable hood gives you some options that don'toften see in these jackets. And something I don't generally like in my own jackets. This one may be a rare exception. I still have to wonder though what the weight would have been if they had ditched the stand up collar for a attached hood. The detachable hood will easily take a climbing helmet with room to spare inside. The zipper, baffleand detailing on the hood attachment is exceptionable.



The more I play with this jacket the more the Permafrostimpresses me for warmth, detailing and value. It fills aniche market no one else even playing in yet. Something I am just beginning to realise Mont Bell does a lot.











More comparisons here:

http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//03/more-on-mid-weight-down-jackets.html








The Permafrost's excellent stand up collar and detachable hood










The RAB Neutrino Plus also hasa stand up collar that includes the hood
with a Velcro "latch". The "latch" allows one to climb in the jacket with the
hood buried and free of snow when it is not up.





The Neutrino Plus also has a 30" back measurement in a XL. The Permafrost is 29". A little weight savings there.



The best pocket combo I have seen in a jacket of this style. Big gloves or 2 liters per side, easy, plus a sun glass pocket. Hand warmer pockets with a micro fleece as well on the outside.














Fair size sun glass pocket and the detailing of a Velcro closure on the big pockets.




The Permafrost hasVelcro and elastic wrist closures which work
extremely well.









The neck and collar are both lined with a super fast drying,soft micro fleece material.









The entire shell has a DWR coating and is made of Gore's Windstopper fabric. Winstopper laminated fabrics have proven to "offer total wind proofness and maximum breathability".









http://www.windstopper.com/remote/Satellite/toc/TechnologyOfComfortFrameset/index



All in all you have a very sophisticated jacket from Mont Bell.here.
Retail is $369.



I think it is well worth searching out the brand in your area and checking them out.



Backcountry.com carries them for mail order and Pro Mountain Sports in Seattle does locally as well.



http://www.promountainsports.com/

Dirt Trails on Skinny Tires?

Earlier today I went on a "welcome back to roadcycling" ride with Fixie Pixie and the route she planned out had us going though some short stretches of dirt trails. FP was riding a Redline cyclocross bike with 30mm tires and I was riding the Moser with 23mm tires.





Now in the past I've been on rides with others where I've refused to go off road on narrow-tired bikes, thinking that surely this was unsafe - at least for someone like me. But for better or worse I've come to trust the Pixie and to agree to whatever she suggests. And so we went.







Riding off road on the Moserwas surprisingly nice. In some ways it even felt easier than the bikes I have with fat tires, and I am trying to understand why. Possibly it is because the Moser is fast and doesn't get bogged down as much. But also, one thing I've noticed about bikes with racy geometry is that they "like to stay upright" more so than relaxed bikes. Maybe this is specific to me and my style of riding, I don't really know yet. But whatever the bike lacks in tire size it seems to make up for by recovering easily in instances where other bikes I own seem more prone to wiping out.






Maybe it is not as much about the tire size as it is about the bike itself - with certain geometries feeling more stable both on and off road? I do not understand the topic well enough to speculate. But it's interesting to discover that I do not need my 42mm tires to have fun and feel safe on dirt trails. Being able to go anywhere on one fast bike is simple and liberating.