Hardwear Sessions

By Sean McDevitt, MHW Tent Designer

In the days leading up to the Coolest 24 Hour Race Against Cancer, I thought about my love for racing my mountain bike for 24 hours. I am no young up and coming racer, I have a full time career designing and developing tents and bivies for Mountain Hardwear. As a life long athlete, I have never been good with moderation. I am either full in or not. When I ran, I ran marathons and ultra marathons, when I climbed, I free-climbed El Capitan or Lost Arrow Spire. But in regards to my love of 24 solo bike racing, I am reminded of a quote from Steve Prefontaine:

"A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more."
- Steve Prefontaine

At noon on May 3rd I rolled out in the back of the pack of 24 solo riders as the race began. It was my third 24 solo bike race since September. I had improved at every race; I was hoping to better my 16th place at Old Pueblo. I took my time as I slowly reeled rider after rider in. Half way through the lap the top teams relay riders caught me and passed me. I was just trying ride within myself. I finished the lap with my buddy Pat who was racing 8 hour duo and doubling with Jonas as my pit crew.

Lap after lap I tried not to think about going 24 hours. I had learned to turn my brain off; 24 hours was just too much to bear psychologically. After 3 or 4 hours of racing in 90F weather the fresh legs gave way to a two pronged attack of nausea and cramping legs. After the 5th time I gagged trying to swallow Endurolyte pills I started chewing them. After chewing maybe 20 pills I rolled into my pit to try some crackers to settle my stomach. It was a bad sign that I had trouble swallowing; but a good sign that I had done 78 miles of mountain biking in roughly 7 hours.

Around 8pm I rolled into camp for a quick dinner; change of kit and to put on lights. As I shoveled tortellini, I heard over a speaker "And in first place 8 hour duo, my grandma rules." Grinning from ear to ear, medals in hand, Pat and Jonas strolled into camp then quickly got me rolling with fresh bottles and lights. At midnight I rolled into camp and changed batteries and forced down more tortellini and bread. As I rolled out for more Jonas mentioned that they were crashing for the night. They had prepped all my bottles, food and batteries for the remainder of the night. It was up to me; all I had to do was to pedal.

By Kenton Cool

Kathmandu:

I hope you know by now team Marie Curie summated Mount Everest at 6.30am Nepalese Time. It was a hard fought summit this time and the only bad news was that Ran wasn't with Rob and myself.

It all started from the South Col, Ran had put in an amazing effort to get from camp 3 at 7300m to camp 4 (South Col) at 7950m in a startling quick 6hrs. Getting to the South Col early means that there is time to recover before the final summit push. In the time we have, we all try to drink and eat as much as possible but ones body loses the want to eat. Ran however seemed to have a healthy appetite and was wolfing down litres of drink and a whole meal, he also seemed to be in great sprits. After a few hours at the Col Ran asked if it would be possible to stay an extra day in order to let him recover that little bit more. Now i'ts not something I would normally do, as resting at 8000m is not really resting, in fact the body would normally just deteriorate, however we had everything in place so that this would be possible if the situation arose. As all this was going on Rob had been talking to a friend from IMG who had indicated the forecast wasn't looking good for a stay at the Col. A quick Radio call to BC confirmed this and I broke the news to Ran. He took it well and put his head back into his sleeping bag to get the most out of the few hours we had left.

At 6pm we had a live broadcast to do for ITN. Rob did a great job struggling out of his sleeping bag to put the laptop and Bgan together before contacting London. The broadcast went really well and by 6.20pm we had finished what quite possibly was the highest ever 2 way broadcast. With this finished, we knew we only had a couple of hours left before lift off so it was heads down to melting water and trying to sort our stuff out.

8.30pm and we burst from the tent, ready to go. We clipped on crampons and checked pressure on O2 bottles. This was it, time to go, 8months of preparation at home and 6 weeks on the mountain boils down to this..... the final push to the top of the world.

Four new photos from Robert Jasper and the Baffin team:

On Monday, May 26, 2008, we received this dispatch from Ueli Steck's office in Switzerland:

"Ueli and Simon started today their way back to Kathmandu. Both are tired and happy to go back home as soon as possible. After this tremendous effort, they would need at least a couple of days to get physically and mentally fully recovered in order to go for another attempt for Annapurna South face. Also, the monsoon season starts very soon, that's why they decided not to try once more an attempt on Annapurna South Face. We are all happy that both are doing fine and hopefully they might get another chance to go for this project sometime in the future."

Ueli and Simon were both involved in the rescue effort on Annapurna. It was a physically and emotionally taxing endeavor, and we are grateful for their safe return.

By Ben Clark

May 27, 2008, Hong Kong:

We have arrived at the trail's end and are on the road home.

The morning of 5/23 we boarded a plane in Jomosom, a tiny Nepali airstrip located between the Annapurna and Dhauligiri ranges. The airline, Gorkha: "Fly with us the gallant way." What? Six expeditions here and I never really knew how to define something such as flying as "gallant."

As poor weather delayed our flight for 2 hours we pondered our position. The upper hand was always in our favor as we were done walking and food was available everywhere. Flying was almost wishful thinking. The weather this year has been relentless, when the call came the crowd spread like rats.

The pilot boarded the plane-towel around his neck and fingerless gloves tougher than Chuck Norris. As we darted forward in the tiny caravan we thrust upward at the last minute, our stomachs lighter than a plastic bag. The pilot had no room for error, the runway ends abruptly with almost a kicker or tiny raised lip to push us over the edge and into the upper valley. Wingtip to wingtip soaring again, the "gallant" way?

By the same afternoon we were on the hunt for adventure again. An old friend, David Riggs, met us in Pokhara. He is on his post graduation trip from Thunderbird where he just received his MBA. He formerly ran an import/export business in Nepal between his undergrad and Thunderbird. When Riggs joined us for our last few days things really got fun.

"Motorcycles, Clark" Riggs threw out, "We have to get some."

By Cynthia Houng

View Photos from the San Francisco Chronicle

Early Thursday morning, a wildfire broke out in the Santa Cruz mountains, in an area about sixty miles south of San Francisco. By Thursday night, the fire consumed had consumed over 3,200 acres. (See a map of the fire.) The fire spread quickly, fed by gusty winds (over 45 mph). Due to the hot and dry conditions, high winds, and high fuel loads, firefighters believe that it will be a few more days before they can contain the fire, but today's milder winds gave them fresh hope that the ordeal may end earlier.

Here in Richmond, about 100 miles from the fire, we can see faint traces of smoke. This morning a soft brown haze hung in the air, and I thought I could smell something like burning wood.

The weather has everyone on edge, as the Summit fire could very well happen anywhere--even in our backyard. (We are only a few miles north of the area that burned in 1991, in the Berkeley-Oakland firestorm.)

By Pat Deavoll

As a sequel to last year's great fun but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to make the first ascent of Beka Brakkai Chhok (6940m) in the Baltar Glacier region, Northern Pakistan, I'm heading off on May 31 to have another go at the mountain, thanks in part to some very generous sponsorship form Mountain Hardwear.

To fill you in on the background .....last year (2007) Lydia Bradey (of first-woman-to-climb-Everest-without-oxygen fame ) and I were lucky enough to secure a rather large financial grant from 'Sport and Recreation New Zealand' allowing us to organise a two woman assault on Beka Brakkai Chhok (BBC).

I won't go into too much detail on the in and outs of the expedition, other than to say we came to a halt at 6000m but had an awesome time and ended up making a first ascent of a smaller mountain we called Wahine (5800m) with two gorgeous Italian men (Giampi and Lorenzo Corona) who had also failed on their chosen peak. What more can two girls ask for!

You can read an amusing account of the trip Lydia wrote for the New Zealand Alpine Club Annual Bulletin on my blog site, www.patdeavoll.co.nz ,and an essay I did on the experience in the 'Essays and Reflections' section of Hardwear Sessions.

This year I'm attempting BBC with Malcolm Bass from England. Malcolm is a great mate and really talented climber and bastard 'ard! On the mountain he hardly wears any clothes and never feels the cold! We met in Alaska in '02, again in '03, then organised an expedition together to the Indian Gharwal in 2004, then last met up in Western China in October 2006 to make the much coveted first ascent of Haizi Shan. I think we were the eleventh expedition to try the peak! You can read both of our climbing resumes on my blog.

Anyway, a bit about our mountain of the moment...Beka Brakkai Chhok (6940m)

The employees of Mountain Hardwear would like to extend their deepest sympathies to the friends and family of Iñaki Ochoa de Olza; Spanish mountaineer who died on Annapurna - Thursday May 22, 2008. We've all been glued to news sources watching this story unfold - keeping our fingers crossed and our thoughts with Iñaki and the rescue teams.

Iñaki passed away after four days being sick and stranded at camp 4 (7,400 meters). He will be missed. The commitment and courage exemplified by everyone involved in this story has been amazing and inspiring. We wish the best to everyone still in the region. Come home safely.

Read more details at MountEverest.net.

View more photos

By Pat Deavoll

Pakistan - Islamic republic, hotchpotch of federally administered states and tribal areas, land of vast physical contrast. Its an intriguing place to visit post 9/11.

My friend Lydia and I discovered this on a trip in July 2007, the original focus of which was to be the first to climb a 7000m peak in the northern region of Hunza as a team of two of New Zealand's best female mountaineers. We had strong financial backing and having generated some unexpected media interest, were driven singlemindedly towards our task. So it was with some surprise we found on arrival our interests piqued by the implications of being in a Muslim country in 2007.

Shivering on the summit of Mt. Russell.

A few weeks ago, a reader sent us this photograph. Read about the climb--and the shiver bivy--on the Alaska Mountaineering School's blog.

View more photos

By Freddie Wilkinson

"There they are! She's almost to the second ice band.... wow! Is today their fifth or sixth day on the climb?"

If being an alpine paparazzi is your thing, it's hard to beat hanging out at basecamp on the Southeast fork of the Kahiltna glacier in Alaska. The SE fork is the starting point for virtually all ascents of the Alaska Range's big three: Denali, Mount Foraker, and Mount Hunter. On a busy evening in mid-May, one finds plane loads of guided West Buttress expeditions with their matching tents, private groups of gumbies trying to figure out how to light their stoves, and brooding alpinists sulking around "waiting for the forecast to improve". Basecamp is to Alaskan climbing what Ellis Island was to American immigrants: a snowbound customs house where the journey ends and the climbing begins. It all makes for excellent people watching.

And nobody gets more scrutiny then those attempting the North Buttress of Mount Hunter, a gleaming turret of ice and rock only two miles from basecamp.Through the National Park Service's high-powered spotting scope, you can sit back and watch a team's every move.

When Ben Gilmore, Max Turgeon and I arrived there two weeks ago, I immediately noticed a group of folks lurking around the scope and knew: somebody was up on the Moonflower.

By Cynthia Houng

The American West has never been a lush, verdant place. From the Plains west, we enter a land of little rain. The Pacific Northwest, with its temperate rainforest and ample moisture, is an exception.

California is famously arid. Here, in the San Francisco Bay Area, the average annual rainfall is a scant 20.4 inches a year.

This past March and April were some of the driest on the record. March was the 6th driest March in 89 years. As of this week, the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), the water district that supplies Mountain Hardwear's offices--and my house--with water, began rationing water this week.

The EBMUD would like to reduce overall water use by 15 percent. Although California received ample snow this winter, spring has been unusually hot and dry, and water reservoirs are low.

These new restrictions on water usage, coupled with the possibility that we are entering another extended drought cycle, made me reconsider my gardening practices. This past weekend, I sat down with a nice fat stack of books on gardening in dry climates, and tried to make sense of my options. I was determined to start my own kitchen garden this summer, but the new water restrictions added a new wrinkle to my plans. And would the food that I grow at home truly be better for the environment than what I pick up at the store? Would I really leave a smaller carbon footprint?

The New York Times recently covered the Fred Hutchinson Center's Climb for Cancer. The Climb includes Mountain Hardwear athletes Kevin Mahoney and Dawn Glanc. The Climb is intended to increase public awareness of cancer.

The four climbers (Kevin, Dawn, Matt Farmer and Bayard Russell) are currently on a "dry run" on Mount Rainier. In June, the group will head to Alaska to climb an unclimbed peak in the Fairweather Range.

Barn Owl, by John James Audubon, courtesy of the Huntington Library

By Cynthia Houng

Last week, we came across an owl pellet on our front patio. After a bit of research, we decided that the pellet probably came from a Barn Owl (Tyto Alba). Smooth, with bits of embedded fur and bone, the owl pellet reminded me of petrified dirt.

We haven't seen the owl. Not yet.

Owls are actually quite common near rural residences, and will even nest in some suburban neighborhoods, but their nocturnal habits render them elusive. I've caught occasional glimpses of barn owls, flying low at dusk, diving for prey. With their heart-shaped faces and duff-colored wings unmistakable, especially here in northern California, where we have no other large, light-colored owls. Once, walking alone, one flew towards me, swooping low overhead, and for a moment we looked eye-to-eye. It's easy, once you've looked into a barn owl's face and seen those marble-like eyes and that almost human face, why the barn owl is also known as the "monkey-faced owl."

By Ben Clark

May 20, 2008, Manang:

Warm Tuborg beer from a dusty brown bottle flowed through my lips while the howling winds of the Marsyangdi valley pelted the windows with sand and dust. I sat there shivering in the calm air after taking my first shower in about a month. We are now on the Annapurna Circuit, a popular route for travelers to Nepal.

View More Photographs from Everest

By Kenton Cool

ITS ON!!!!!!! We have just got the latest weather in 10minutes ago. Finally after an age of waiting the weather forecast looks like its good for the 24th. This means we leave early tomorrow morning on a push to camp 2. Keep fingers and toes crossed for us all as we battle our way to the summit

While you're waiting to hear more from Kenton, Rob, and Ran, read a little about life at base camp:

Many people ask what a standard day at base camp is like, so here is a short piece explaining a typical day.

On a rest day there is no alarm call so I generally wake naturally at around 6.30 and simply lounge in my sleeping bag until the sun hits the tent at 6.45. If it's not cloudy the tent warms so quickly that by 7 I'm dressed and outside. It's quite a tricky path from my tent to the kitchen area and my smashed ankles take a little while to warm up over the boulders but its not so far and there is the prize of a cup of tea at the end.

By Ben Clark

May 18, 2008

Tossing and turning throughout the night, my eyes scoured tiny visions of darkness through the slit between my fleece hat and draft collar on my sleeping bag. Where was morning? A frozen water bottle held my watch around its mouth, inches from my ear but an eternity from the base of the mountain. It was a long cold night waiting for the alarm to sound and preparing for the edgiest descent of my life.

Josh and I have towed the line on three expeditions in remote areas of the world. Most notably we have been pioneering routes in Sichuan, on the Eastern Alp like Himalaya. Our goals always process the same way-light,2 man teams for big technical mountains-climbed alone and leaving no trace. Of course,the devil is always in the details and until you are living and breathing the adventure the spirit of this style does not come alive. Here it pulsated like Chernobyl, resin of the experience now peels from my face in the form of one of over 20 layers of sunscreen. I feel intensely alive at the core.

Stefan, Robert, and the rest of the team successfully summited their route. Spring has come to Baffin Island, and the team will set out for Clyde River tomorrow.

View more photographs from Baffin.

Annapurna base camp, Friday, May 16 2008

We are back at the base camp. Simon and I decided to go back. The avalanches came down already at 9 pm. The weather and the wall conditions made it impossible to climb further up. To dangerous. Just now the weather clears up and we see the wall. From our secure place at the bc, the whole avalanche-scenario looks simply impressive. We still have 22 days before the expedition comes to its end. We do hope that more stable weather will come in and that we get the chance to go up the Annapurna Southface. We don't give up!

By Ben Clark

May 16, 2008 -- Camp 3, Annapurna IV

Well, the time is here...up or down? It is an easy decision. We worked the weather window and conditions and now that is what is working us. We get to ski tomorrow!

When we elected not to leave camp this morning it was a good decision. Now that we have had steady westerly winds and drifts of over a foot in camp it is clear what to do. We're going down. That will be sketchy enough.

Yesterday, Ueli wrote a little about camp cuisine.

Today, we want to know: what do you crave at altitude? What do you eat when you need to keep going?

Leave us a comment with your favorite foods--and a recipe or two, if you like--and let's find out what folks eat when they're on a big summit push.

And no, your office desk does not count as "altitude."

By Ben Clark

May 15, 2008--Camp 3, Annapurna IV

We arrived in camp 3 today at 3 PM. We are now in the high Himalaya at 20,000' and as wide eyed and ready as ever. For what? Everything a mountain can throw at you.

We awoke at 6:30 this morning, ready to meet the daily slush of Annapurna IV, but today was different-we no longer wanted to fight the snow. Josh took the first three hours of moderate and steep wet slogging up 45-50 degree slopes before handing me the crux. It was a hot day again but when we arrived at the technical difficulties, both our heads cooled down.

By Ueli Steck

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

It's a good week since Simon and I arrived at the Annapurna base camp. On Thursday, May 8, we went up to install the ABC at about 5100m. We left the necessary equipment there, which we would need for our ascent. Then we went back to the base camp. The weather conditions and the forecast were still too bad. Back at the camp a fragrant dinner was waiting for us. For dessert we had apple pie.

Already at the Thengkampoche base camp I stood whenever possible with Kaji, our cook, together in the camp kitchen. No doubt: Kaji is a great cook. But like in alpinism, details are important in the kitchen, too. And working with him, I tried to improve exactly these details. The "Italian Pizza", for instance, with the mushrooms picked by my father, or the one with "prosciutto" ham from Cervinio is getting better and better. Last but not least we baked a carrot cake.

We have to watch out a little bit. Each pound of weight too much, not only in our backpacks but also on our bodies, which we have to carry up the mountain, will decide our success or failure.

Something seems to happen also in the "weather kitchen": the forecast for the following days and for the next few weeks seem to be promising. Simon and I have decided: tomorrow we will start for our next project: the Annapurna Southface.

By Ben Clark

May 14, 2008, intermediate camp

Today was hard. Short, pumpy and physical. The snow and weather is deteriorating on Annapurna IV's north ridge--and we are in the middle of it--but safe.

Josh and I climbed out of camp 1 at 6AM, it was beginning to cloud up below As I lead a block of pitches of snow, rock and ice scrambling out of camp, we were getting happy about moving--things were frozen--our greatest wish. As I neared 18,000' it became a struggle like a pebble versus a stream, I could not win swimming through consistent hip deep rotten snow. It was mind blowing--even for a climber who spends all summer wading through it in Colorado's San Juan mountains.

By Ben Clark

May 13, 2008

Himalayan climbing is challenging, pioneering in this great range is an even more daunting proposition. The mountain has spoken to us, it is all around us, it is inside of us as we melt and drink it to sustain ourselves. This is the awareness and connection I come here for. It is not what everyone wants and feels.

It has been a few days since the last e-mail dispatch and we are alive and better than ever, without the summit. The three of us made a deliberate and exhausting foray onto the upper flanks of the mountain reaching deep within ourselves and high onto the peak. Sometimes the rewards of climbing mountains are reached well below the summit and for our enthusiastic teammate Tim Clarke, this is the case.

More photographs

By Ueli Steck

With a beer Simon and I celebrated out first ascent of Tengkampoche Northface when we got back the same night of April 24, to Tengkampoche basecamp. For more, we were too exhausted and the following morning we were already on the way back to Kathmandu. In the capital we just stayed to get the permit for Annapurna Southface. Now we are in Pokhara trying to get some rest. Several porters are already on the way to the Annapurna basecamp with all our equipment.

By Cynthia Houng

Illustration from James M. Hutchings's 1888 book, In the Heart of the Sierras.

When the snow begins to melt, a strange, brilliant red plant makes its appearance. Growing in singles or clusters, with fleshy, sword-shaped stalks like an asparagus, the snow plant forms a dazzling contrast to the drab brown leaf litter.

Without chlorophyll for photosynthesis, the snow plant is a saprophyte--it feeds on decomposing leaf litter, much like a mushroom or other fungus. The plant's botanical name, Sarcodes sanguinea, means "the blood red flesh eater," an apt description for this unusual saprophyte. Snow plants below to the heath family, but most heath plants make an honest living through photosynthesis.

At maturity, a snow plant ranges between 12 and 20 inches in height. After flowering, the plant sets seed and the stalk slowly dries to a dark reddish-brown. The snow plant was first described in English in 1851 by John Torrey, from a specimen collected by John C. Fremont.

Native to the western United States, the snow plant is distributed between the Siskiyou Mountains (Oregon) and the Sierra San Pedro Martir (Baja California). In the Sierras, snow plants appear in early spring, and bloom from May through July. Broadly distributed in California, they are often found growing in communities dominated by yellow pines, red firs, or lodgepole pines, and are most common between 4,000 and 8,000 feet. Snow plants appear to form symbiotic relationships with the mychorrhizal fungi that occur in pine forests.

Today, the snow plant is uncommon and should not be disturbed. In California, Sarcodes sanguinea is a protected species, and seed and plant collection are both prohibited by law.

Have you encountered this plant--or something similar--on your hikes? Leave us a comment and tell us about your find.