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This page contains all entries posted to Hardwear Sessions in August 2008. They are listed from oldest to newest.
July 2008 is the previous archive.
September 2008 is the next archive.
Many more can be found on the main index page or by looking through the archives.
« July 2008 | Main | September 2008 »
Through August, Mountain Hardwear is giving away a pack a day. You say that you would like a new day pack? Very well... It's simple. Go to our Pack-A-Day website and enter your personal details. You might be today's lucky winner.
Only one winner will be chosen per day, but if you're not today's lucky winner, you can return and enter as many times as you like, until September rolls around.
Last week, we received an intriguing note from the Discovery Channel. They're casting for a new television show, "Alaskan Adventurer." According to the casting company, the new tv show will be similar to "The Alaska Experiment." If you've always wanted to be on television, this is your chance! Casting runs through August 8, 2008.
Here's the Discovery Channel's own description of "Alaskan Adventurer": "Travel to Alaska to be part of an epic quest and the ultimate test of courage. This amazing journey will test its participants in ways they never thought possible and, in the process, allow them to experience the raw beauty of nature and see the world like they never have before."
Find out more about the Discovery Channel's new project.
The firefighters did a phenomenal job battling the Telegraph Fire. By Sunday night, CalFire reported that they had achieved 90% containment, and expect to have the fire fully contained by the end of Monday.
Cruise through Al Golub's Telegraph Fire slideshow to get a glimpse of the manpower and resources necessary to fight a fire of this magnitude. Firefighters from all over California converged on the area, and you'll see crews from Union City, located near San Francisco, Kern County (northern California), and Riverside (from the South). Al's slideshow also includes some spectacular shots of DC-10 tankers dropping fire retardant over burning forests.
By Dawn Glanc
The Bugaboos, located in British Columbia, have been a place that I have read and heard about for years. Every time I saw a photo of the splitter granite spires, I would dream of climbing them. The place seemed magical and very alluring. The alpine climbing seemed perfect. On July 20, my dream of going to the Bugaboos became a reality. I received this guiding assignment with a giant smile.
I began the long drive from Bellingham Washington on that sunny Sunday morning with my new partner for the next 12 days, Michael Lowery. During the drive Michael and I got to know one another. We also discussed what we planned to climb. We had a long hit list of routes. The day went on with the pedal to the medal. By the days end we arrived in the town of Radium to enjoy our last dinner at the local pub.
In the morning we made the long drive into the Provincial Park. We did the last minute gear shuffle as quick as possible, while getting eaten alive by the mosquitoes. We then barricaded the van from the porcupines, who are rumored to enjoy eating brake lines and other important hoses. When the van was secure, I turned on my I-pod, hit shuffle, and began the 3 hour hike into the alpine playground.
View Photographs from Dawn's trip to the Bugaboos
By Andrew McLean
Last year, Mountain Hardwear purchased a mini HD DVD camera, wide-angle lens, solar charger and all of the accessories needed to shoot videos on expeditions. I had a chance to take the kit with me on a trip into the Wrangell-St.Elias Mountains where I shot a bunch of crappy footage and edited together an even crappier little film which did not do justice to the trip. More than anything, the experience made me realize that a) making a film is hard and b) I knew nothing about the process.
By Jessica Riquetti, Mountain Hardwear Design Team
Three days is what it takes. Three days is what it takes to convert us, the Mountain Hardwear Product Team, into enthusiastic ice climbers. In February, the six of us left our desks in Richmond, California and journeyed to Ouray, Colorado for the all women's ice climbing event called "Chicks with Picks." Tracey and Stephanie had ice climbed before but for the rest of us the idea of clinging to a wall of ice seemed a bit overwhelming and the concept somewhat like "stepping into a massive freezer." It turns out all we needed to bring was a good attitude and good warm gear.
Once we arrived we were taken under the wing of extraordinary women who spend their days guiding ice climbing trips around the world. First things first, and we were introduced to the plethora of spikes and straps this sport seems to involve. Once we got the harnesses on right side up and the crampons fitted to our boots, we were off to the ice walls of Ouray.
By Alex Baires, Mountain Hardwear Design Team
Thanks in part to the Mountain Hardwear Gives Back program we continued our partnership with REI Berkeley (San Francisco and Corte Madera stores also joined in) and Clif Bar & Company on June 18, 2008 with a project on Angel Island. REI Berkeley's Amber Hoffmann (Outreach Specialist) as well as Clif Bar & Company's Patrick Bush and Amy Guittard were responsible for organizing and making this project a success. The night before the project, several volunteers camped on Angel Island and we spent an absolutely beautiful night on the island before getting down and dirty with the service project the following day.
When it was all said and done, Mountain Hardwear had 22% of our entire staff volunteering on this project with nearly every department being represented. Even our executive team got in the act with 4 out of 5 executives joining in and getting their hands (and everything else) dirty.
View photographs from our Angel Island event.
Amber Hoffman, of REI Berkeley, contributed the following write-up:
Continue reading "Mountain Hardwear Gives Back: Angel Island" »
This morning, NPR broadcast an interesting story about "amenity migrants," folks who move to resort areas, searching for the simple life.
Daniel Kraker of NPR reports, "While other small towns are struggling, these communities are booming. They're growing two to three times faster than other rural areas, even faster than many metro areas. And as the baby boomers retire, Johnson says, the migration will accelerate.
"You get the wave of the baby boom, which is bigger than the wave before it, and on top of that, the baby boomers are more likely to purchase these second homes, or amenity homes, or move to these areas," Kenneth Johnson [of the University of New Hampshire's Carsey Institute] said. "And so you get, essentially, a demographic perfect storm."
As the numbers of "amenity migrants" rise, so does the cost of living, creating a bifurcated social structure (low-paid service workers, wealthy tourists). Many locals now find themselves priced out of their own community, unable to buy a home. Tensions can run high between locals and newcomers, as more compete for limited resources.
The NPR story focuses on Flagstaff, Arizona, as an example of a resort region under rapid transformation. Today, "one out of every four homes sold in Flagstaff is bought by a second homeowner." Kraker also notes that in Flagstaff, "The gap between that median home price and the average household income is twice as large as the national average."
Johnson predicts that this migration, from metropolitan areas to select rural "resort" areas, will continue. Certain rural areas, like the Mountain West, the Pacific Northwest, and the Upper Great Lakes region, are actually growing faster than the country's major metropolitan areas.
This trend, Johnson argues, will significantly change the face of rural America, increasing the diversity of America's small towns and rural regions. At the same time, this migration will push rural America further away from agriculture. Today, only 6.5% of the rural population is engaged in some form of agriculture, and as the costs of living (and operating) in urban environments continues to skyrocket, Johnson and his colleagues at the Carsey Institute predict that businesses will consider moving away from metropolitan areas, in an effort to cut costs and improve their competitive advantage.
By Ryan Riggs, MHW International
I guess 16 state highpoints in one calendar year isn't too bad for a couple of dads that hold down full-time jobs. Last week my buddy Brian and I were able to summit Gannett Peak in Wyoming for state #16 (Others we've done: OR, WA, ID, ME, NH, VT, NY, NJ, PA, MD, WV, DE, CT, MA and RI). Depending on who you talk to, Gannett Peak is ranked #2 or #3 amongst the state highpoints in difficulty, either ahead or behind Mt. Rainier, with Mt. McKinley easily holding down the #1 spot. My opinion...Gannett is a lot more work than Rainier, but has a much more rewarding approach. The Titcomb Basin of the Wind River Range could possibly be one of the most beautiful places on earth.
View More Photographs from Ryan's Trip
Gannett Peak sits at 13,804' and requires about 40-50 miles of backpacking and 11,000 ft of elevation gain round trip. The trailhead starts at 9300', so if you do the math that equals a lot of up and down. It should be said that there are so many lakes in the basin that this trip could be divided up a million different ways. Also, I think we were the only people we saw in the basin that didn't have a fly rod with them. The fishing is spectacular...from what I saw and heard. We decided to do the trip in four days.
By William Meinen
The Gargoyle - 5.10 FA W. Meinen B. Pullan
Editor's note: Brandon Pullan places a bolt at the belay. Last week, we credited the photograph to Brandon, but while Brandon is handy with a hammer, he's not so handy that he can photograph himself AND place a bolt. So the photo credit goes to Will Meinen, and bolt-placing credit? Brandon Pullan.
The Gargoyle Valley is a magical place. With Mt. Edith on side and Mt. Louis on the other and a small alpine meadow between the two, you really can't beat it for an early season alpine rock weekend.
Last year around the end of June, Brandon Pullan and I established a new route up Mt. Louis. It almost went without a hitch until I fell several hundred meters from the summit and broke my ankle. Needless to say, it quickly went epic and I'll never forget the misery that followed for the next 12 hours while I dragged myself out.
This weekend, we drove up to Yosemite National Park to meet some friends from out of town. We spent the day in Tuolumne Meadows, then met our friends at Curry Village for dinner. The high-summer crowds were out in full force. Curry Village felt like an amusement park, festive and a little claustrophobic. As we stood in line for our buffet dinner, I picked up a flyer with an intriguing headline.
"Park Planning Underway Now!" read the flyer. "Get involved."
Upon closer inspection, I realized that the flyer was an invitation to participate in the planning process for the Tuolumne and Merced River Plans, the management plans that guide the National Park Service's day-to-day operations along the Tuolumne and Merced River corridors. Both the Tuolumne and Merced Rivers are protected under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, and the Park Service is required to preserve the rivers' Wild & Scenic character, while providing park visitors with adequate services and amenities.
The NPS is currently creating comprehensive management plans for the Tuolumne and Merced Rivers, which both run through Yosemite National Park. As part of the process, the NPS must solicit public comment on its proposed management plans.
The flyer invited park visitors to read planning documents on the NPS website, and then submit comments for the public record.
Producing these management plans is no cakewalk. Planners must balance multiple agencies (from federal agencies, like the Bureau of Land Management, to local agencies), often with conflicting interests, and comply with federal legislation. The planning documents are arcane and difficult to understand, and the Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) are even worse.
This may all seem like a tedious bureaucratic exercise, but the resulting Tuolumne River Plan/Tuolume Meadow Plan and New Merced River Plan will both have a significant impact upon our experience of Yosemite National Park. These plans will guide future development within Yosemite, and may change or even limit visitor access to certain areas of the park.
Read this fascinating article about Pat Goodman's recent trip to India.
Our friend Jon Bowermaster is currently in Southern Louisiana, examining the area's wetlands and waterways. Follow Jon's journey through this magical landscape on his website, www.jonbowermaster.com.
Introduction:
By Jon Bowermaster
It's not news that water is a significant issue here in Southern Louisiana. [overview map] Much of the region lays below sea level and the waterways that surround - swamps & bayous, rivers & estuaries, man-made canals & the Gulf of Mexico - are never out of sight. Everyone debates concerns about its flow, purity and future at every level.
A dead zone the size of New Jersey - where nothing lives - grows at the mouth of the Mississippi River, thanks to chemical runoff. A recent oil spill in the big river unleashed 420,000 gallons of fuel oil that within 24 hours lined its banks for 100 miles. Old-growth Cyprus trees that anchor its historic swamps are clear-cut and turned into garden mulch. Wetlands are expanding, land is disappearing and New Orleans is still eight feet below sea level. Lots of grim news, right? So why does everyone we meet seem to be so damn happy? Follow along during the next two weeks as we explore Southern Louisiana from sea level and below.
Continue reading "Dispatches from the Bayou State: Jon Bowermaster in Louisiana" »
By Alex Baires
Mountain Hardwear and Montrail are teaming up with the Hilltop Family YMCA of Richmond once again for the second annual Home Front Festival 10k and 5k fun run/walk. The fun run/walk will be held on Sunday, October 5, 2008, along the beautiful San Francisco Bay Trail. Lucky returns as event sponsor and REI joins with additional support this year.
San Francisco Bay Area runners and walkers are invited to come out and join fellow runners/walkers. The run benefits the Hilltop Family YMCA, a great organization that serves the Richmond community with a wide range of health and wellness related activities. Please come join us for a day of fun that will start with the 5k or 10k run or walk and get a free Mountain Hardwear shirt as well as free entry into the Home Front Festival. To top it all off, category winners compete for some great prizes and everyone has a chance to win - we will be raffling out various prizes.
We are also looking for volunteers for the event, so if you want to participate but running/walking is not for you, please email Hardwear Sessions -- blog (at) mountainhardwear.com.
YMCA Home Front Festival 10K and 5K fun run/walk
By Mike Libecki
Spindrift Memories, Ten Years Ago: 32 days and nights in a portaledge on the 4,200 foot Walker Citadel, Baffin Island.
Russ Mitrovich enjoying the view on a haul day 3000 feet up 24 days on the wall.
Last year I was talking with Matt Samet, the editor at Climbing Magazine, about a bunch of my expeditions into virgin Earth in search of big-wall first ascents. We got on the subject of possible trips that might be a good sharing of adventure for their annual bad-ass Epics Issue. One of the first trips that came to mind was a journey that happened ten years ago, one that will never fall from the walls in the grand hallway of my mind. Huge framed memories from this monumental expedition are on display in the center of that hallway; I see them as I open my eyelids and start the day. I will never forget how my partners (Josh Helling and Russ Mitrovich) and I committed our entire lives in every possible way to get to the top of the north face of the Walker Citadel in Baffin Island. We spent 32 consecutive days on the side of the wall in a portaledge to complete the first ascent of the ominous north face of the 4,200-foot granite wall masterpiece (take El Cap, add another 1,200 feet of stone on top of it -- yes, a super giant).
Here are some journal excerpts from that unforgettable sufferfest. Check out the renowned Epics Issue of Climbing Magazine, the No. 270 October, 2008 Issue that goes on sale in September, for the full story and photos.
Journal Entry, May 19, 1998
The wind and snow are relentless, biting, hissing. We have stagnated here for three days. Avalanches explode in the distance. Then from high above--KABOOM! A massive shift in air pressure sucks the portaledge walls out, then in, like King Kong hyperventilating into our rainfly. Everything is shaking and swinging in the ledge. Then a freight train of snow. WHAM! The portaledge doors fly open, blasts of snow fill the ledge. We're lifted, and then dropped. With at least 700 pounds of humans and gear in the portaledge, and another 500 in the haulbags, the anchor shockloads violently. We are in a washing machine on arctic-mayhem cycle. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! We prepare to be thrown to our doom on the rock-hard sea ice, 600 feet below.
