Hardwear Sessions

As the wonderful Autumn climbing season ramps up, we want to see your best climbing shots. Have you been deep-water soloing in Thailand? Bouldering in Yosemite? Testing new routes in the Rockies? Share photographs of yourself and your friends, having a good time at the crags, and you could win some Mountain Hardwear gear!

Participating is easy. For the entire month of October, we simply want you to submit your coolest, quirkiest, most hardcore climbing shots, using the web form on this blog. This is a very low-key contest. Professionals need not apply. You don't have to be rocking Mountain Hardwear threads either, but we will of course ridicule you (all in good fun, my friends!). Feel free to vote on photographs, and drop a friendly comment or two.

Submit a photograph now

By Will Meinen

Last year I had attempted the East Ridge of Mt. Edith Cavell only to get shut down hard. Too much beer the night before, a late start the next morning, and a forgotten topo amongst other things were responsible for the imminent failure.

After being influenced by Rockies legend Urs Kallen, my alpine hit list was pretty big for this summer. Unfortunately it was one of the wettest summers in years. It wasn't until the end of August that things started to dry up and objectives all started to shape up.

View more photos from Will's busy summer

By Janet Bergman

I am writing with scabs on the backs of my hands and legs still sore, so the short of it is, yes, we did get to climb! As luck has it, I do not have to get into all the nitty gritty details of the account, because Pat already did, for the backcountry.com blog (who supplied us with oodles of freeze dried dinners and gu's!):

Did you read it? OK, here are my comments to add:

Our all-out-light-and-fast-town-to-town style of ascent (vs our original plan of establishing porter-supported camps along the way) was quite the adventure, and one of the most challenging physical undertakings I've ever had. Our choice to go ultra light (e.g. single set of cams per team) limited the lines we could choose, meaning easier climbing, but less optimal rock conditions (e.g. snowy, icy, wet, loose) and protection options. Freddie was, excuse my language, like a pig in shit on this type of terrain, while I was, at one point, squealing that I wanted to go wee wee all the way home.Too many seasons on good Cathedral, Yosemite and Patagonia granite I guess. It was my first time participating in this type of first ascent, and I remain in awe at the amount of experience Freddie (and Ben and Pat for that matter) has accumulated on every conceivable type of alpine terrain.

Early yesterday morning, a large granite slab detached from Glacier Point, raining rocky debris on the Curry Village tent cabins. Three people were injured, and five cabins were destroyed.

Park officials closed Curry Village after the incident.

Read about the rock slide on SFGate.com

View photographs and diagrams describing the incident.

By Jon Bowermaster

I went to Vietnam the first time because I knew so little about the place, especially its people. During seven years I returned four more times, spending most of my time exploring its long coastline, where one-third of Vietnam's 85 million live. Along the way my teams and I spent days with rich and poor, fishermen and entrepreneurs, almost all beach dwellers who live and depend on the sea. For many, we were the first Americans they had ever met. During our longest exploration, in 2001, I was accompanied by photographer Rob Howard who made beautiful portraits of many of those we met.

Perhaps my most compelling travel was done with Ngan Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee who'd fled the south with her family in 1975 and had grown up in the U.S. Traveling with her, especially through what was North Vietnam, was eye-opening for us both. The most emotional day for Ngan was when we kayaked along the Ben Hai River which had been the man-made demarcation separating north from south. The river symbolized for us all the tragic loss of more than 3 million Vietnamese lives, as well as more than 56,000 Americans ... which still today seems hard to rationalize, no matter where in the world you were born.

By Cynthia Houng

Driving home from the mountains last night, we crossed over the hill's brow and saw Angel Island outlined in flame.

Photo by SFist reader Jay Rodriguez, taken from neighboring Yerba Buena Island. See more of Jay's photographs on SFist

The fire shimmered on the Bay, a dark coppery red. From our vantage point in the East Bay hills, the red flames resembled molten lava.

Later, on the news, we watched helicopters circle over head, white flames gathering where land meets water. The weekend was dry and hot, and strong winds fanned the flames. The Angel Island spread from 5 acres to ten, growing exponentially by the hour.

MHW athletes Freddie Wilkinson, Janet Bergman, and Pat Goodman, along with climber/photographer Ben Ditto, tackled peak 5394 of India's Manikaran Spires.

Climbing.com published this account of the group's likely first ascent.

"The snowy south face of peak 5394.

By Cynthia Houng

October marks the 40th anniversary of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act.

The text of the Wild & Scenic Rivers act is remarkably simple, yet potent:

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the United States that certain selected rivers of the Nation which, with their immediate environments, possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural or other similar values, shall be preserved in free-flowing condition, and that they and their immediate environments shall be protected for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Congress declares that the established national policy of dams and other construction at appropriate sections of the rivers of the United States needs to be complemented by a policy that would preserve other selected rivers or sections thereof in their free-flowing condition to protect the water quality of such rivers and to fulfill other vital national conservation purposes. (Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, October 2, 1968)

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Act into law on October 2, 1968. The Act promises to conserve rivers in their "free-flowing condition," and lists a litany of resources -- scenic, recreational, geologic, and so on -- that merit protection.

Like so many pieces of legislation that were written by committee, the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act is mutable and open to interpretation. The Act's vagueness remains a source of great power. Who can say what precisely constitutes a "scenic" value? Which cultural values merit conservation? Yet the Act's vagueness is also a strength. Because the Act's language escapes precise definition, it allows environmentalists to pursue a broad conservation strategy.

Mountain Hardwear's photo contest ends on October 31, so you have 2 more weeks to submit your climbing photographs and win prizes.

"Do people really win?" you ask.

Why yes.

Blake Harrington won First Prize last week. Blake took home a Splitter pack. We're giving out three more First Prizes and a Grand Prize.

By Ben Clark

Intermittent snow showers are falling in the San Juans. Swirls of wet and heavy gropple are slowly accumulating in steep couloirs and barren bowls. Trickling cascades are cycling from raging torrents to verglased slabs soon to become frozen pillars. The southwestern Colorado desert is windy and wet with rain, soon we will traverse sandy clay washouts to our famed sandstone for 50 degree days on South facing cracks. Winter is on its way.

Every autumn is the same for me except for this one, I already went on 2 expeditions this year, I canceled my third trip to China to get some work done and avoid political turmoil. Now I am pinned to a desk job that lets me ski 90 days a winter and shoot video on climbs. That isn't so bad, producing and writing television is worth a little sacrifice...but not at the cost of fitness. Not Newport Beach fitness, all around expedition fitness. The expedition I'm training for now; an unclimbed 70 degree face on a 7000M peak that we will traverse and also ski for a first descent. So how do I get from my desk to there? Lifting a lot of weights and getting outside as much as possible.

Going to the gym sounds scarier to some climbers and mountaineers than a run out over powder covered granite slabs but is every bit as useful for the professional's arsenal of experience. Weather, conditions and hazards are always closing in on big mountains. You must always be pushing yourself, eliminating the risk from the everyday struggle can actually save your life when speed really counts. In ten years of expeditions around the globe, I've learned to prepare for everything that comes with the mountain, running through airports in Cusco with 100 pounds of gear in hand, hiking to basecamp with a 50 pound duffel bag under the lid of my 70 pound pack, running from gun shots. Overall fitness and good health, not just route sending adrenaline, will guide you through the cumulative test of challenges.

To prepare for a climb and the travel to it, endurance and power come into play but most importantly, recovering while moving is the most critical element of Alpine exploration. The ability to keep moving after climbing over an overhanging ice route with skis on your back above 6000M is critical to our method. I have yet to find myself on any of the cruxes of my dream climbs in the Himalaya basking in the sun of a balmy day and relishing in my accomplishment with hours to burn. It is often at the end of the day when weather is closing in and the conditions are threatening to close us out. That is when training really counts. Your imagination and experience will lead you into these situations, your body will move you through them.

The training method below is a template for such maneuvers of mind and body, it is done in 16 week cycles as I put myself back together from the previous expedition and prepare for the next. I have tested it on my climbing partners and athletes ranging from 19 to 47 years of age. It is not as sexy as Crossfit or Gym Jones but is something you can do with access to even the least equipped facility, i.e., affordable on a climber's budget. The following scenarios and goals are what this program is intended to supplement and allow you to overcome: mastering the approach, deep wallowing in dangerous snow, fast ascents up monotonous snowfields below objective hazards, steep climbs with a pack and awkward balance, WI 6 and 5.11 or technical mixed ground at over 5000M, skiing lines with a 45 pound pack that are 5000' or greater in vertical at altitude, having enough steam to build a tent site at the end of a long technical day and of course---shoveling a lot of snow.

Smile at the end of every workout...it will help you forget about the nausea and remember, I like to do these workouts 3 days a week on top of any other climbing, mountaineering or skiing I've already done!

You can not possibly overtrain for high altitude alpine climbing and skiing and this training will not just focus on strength, it will give you agility, some athletic skill, as well as improve your footwork and reaction time. Use it however and whenever you like, laugh while you do it and adapt it to your focus, greater discipline will produce greater results.

Every October for the past four years, motivated foodies decide to "eat local" and forgo exotic pleasures. According to the event's organizers, EatLocalChallenge.com, "The traditional Eat Local Challenge is a basic concept: commit to eating only locally grown foods for a period of thirty days. Declare "exceptions" that you will not be eating locally, and try as hard as you can to have everything else come from your local foodshed. "Local" is traditionally a 150-mile distance from your home, but can really be defined as any area near you. Some locavores choose their county, state, or region."

October is half over, but you can still participate. Eat Local Challenge organizers offer up a few simple waysto incorporate a local angle into your daily routine.

The idea behind the Eat Local Challenge is simple: Get to know your food, get to know your community.

Imagine, by 2011, a 670-mile natural gas pipeline may stretch from Wyoming to Northern California.

The project, known as the "Ruby Pipeline," aims to bring natural gas from the Opal Hub in Wyoming to Malin, Oregon, just outside of the California border. The project is estimated to cost about $3 billion, and will, according to Ruby Pipeline, the company developing the project, "will have an initial capacity of between 1.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) and 1.5 Bcf/d, depending on the final level of customer commitments."

The project will cross a number of sensitive environmental and cultural landscapes, including the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge and the Summit Lake Indian Reservation, both located in northern Nevada. The Summit Lake Paiute Council is strongly opposed to the Ruby Pipeline Project.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is currently soliciting public comment on the Ruby Pipeline Project. Public comments are part of the environment review process, and will be incorporated into FERC's production of the EIS, or "Environmental Impact Statement," a document that will assess the potential environmental impact of the Ruby Pipeline project.

Public comments are extremely important. They help guide the federal agency in charge of preparing the EIS. In this case, public comments will help FERC decide which environmental issues are important and deserve serious study. In short, your public comments will provide FERC with an outline for the EIS report. This is a powerful tool, and environmental activists should take full advantage of the public comment period.

However, FERC will close its public commentary period on October 29, 2008, so please submit your comments asap. Comments may be submitted verbally or in writing.

You may submit comments in writing through FERC's Quick Comment website. Reference this code: "Gas 1; DG2E; PJ-11.1."

If you run into problems, do not despair. You can call eFiling staff at 202-502-8258, or email them at this address: efiling@ferc.gov

You can also file your comments by mail. Send an original and two copies of your letter to:

Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street NE; Room 1A
Washington, DC, 20426

Label one copy of your comments for the attention of: Gas 1; DG2E; PJ-11.1.

Carleton Watkins, Yosemite Falls (River View), 1861, Albumen print from wet-collodion negative, Private Collection, Montecito, California

By Cynthia Houng

Editor's Note: This October, the Getty Center presents a retrospective of Carleton Watkins's photographs. The exhibition includes a rare glimpse of Watkins's immense camera. For those who love Yosemite Valley, the exhibition offers visitors a glimpse of the Valley in the late nineteenth century.

Carleton Watkins arrived in California in 1851, following on the tail of the original 49ers. In 1853 or 54, Watkins found employment in Robert Vance's photography studio in San Francisco.

Watkins found himself drawn to the art and soon began creating photographs of his own. By the 1860s, Watkins had mastered his craft. In 1868, he exhibited his photographs of the American West at the Paris International Exposition. Widely praised by his peers -- including the painters Alfred Bierstadt and William Keith -- Watkins enjoyed a period of fame of prosperity.

Watkins's images created a lasting impact upon our perception of the American West. He began working as a photographer at a time when the American public hungered for images of the newfound West, and his photographs were distributed widely throughout the U.S. and Europe.

In Kalymnos, September 23rd, 14 year old Kitty Wallace from London became the youngest British female to redpoint a confirmed 8a on rock, with an ascent of Daniboy.

The hardest redpoint from a British junior prior to this was Leah Crane's ascent of Orion, also in Kalymnos. This was originally graded 8a, but was subsequently downgraded to 7c+, which nonetheless was still the hardest to date. There is no chance of Daniboy being downgraded and it is widely regarded as being a very hard 8a.

The route is 20 metres high and overhangs continuously. The climbing style is powerful moves between reasonable but widely spaced handholds. Kitty worked it over 2 days and did it first redpoint on her third day.

Editor's Note: Joost Schreve, the founder and CEO of Everytrail.com, is an enthusiastic Mountain Hardwear Fan. Joost would like to share a bit about his company with his fellow MHW fans.

A screenshot from Everytrail.com

By Joost Schreve

EveryTrail is an online community that enables users from across the world to tell their travel stories using GPS data, photos and narrative.

Currently there are over 26,000 trips uploaded to EveryTrail from more than 120 countries, ranging from mountaineering, hiking and backcountry skiing to road trips and sightseeing, and many others.

Each trip consists of a map with the route (recorded with a GPS device), and photos. All photos are automatically geotagged (placed on the map), by matching the times the photos were taken with the time information in the GPS data. With the new EveryTrail app for the iPhone uploading trips is even easier, as it turns your iPhone into a fully featured GPS device.

The Yosemite Climbing Association will host a 50 year anniversary reunion on Nov 8, 2008, to commemorate the first ascent of the Nose on El Capitan.

On the YCA's website, Ken Yager writes:

"If you are here for this event don't forget to check out our exhibit in the Yosemite Museum (open everyday 10:00 - 4:00). Granite Frontiers: A Century of Yosemite Climbing will be up through November 9th. The exhibit has been the most popular exhibit shown in Yosemite and it will travel to other venues next year.

"During all this we are receiving more donated artifacts and trying to keep up on the cataloging. It is a lot of work and we appreciate your donations. Without them it would not be possible. If you haven't made a contribution lately, please consider a donation. We are a tax-exempt organization."

Warren and Powell. Image courtesy of the Yosemite Climbing Association

While you're in the Valley, stop by the Yosemite post office and get this special pictorial stamp cancellation:

Micah Dash now has a blog! Keep up with Micah at Micahdash.com

By Cynthia Houng

They tell us not to eat wild plants if we can't give a positive identification. I didn't have a guidebook with me, but those prickly, globular berries are quite distinctive, and I was reasonably sure that they were Sierra Gooseberries (Ribes roezlii), a wild gooseberry indigenous to the Sierra Nevada.

The well-armored berries don't look all that inviting, but after reading a thread about gooseberry jam on a climbers' forum and noticing the copious berry seeds in fresh bear scat by the trail, I decided to try them for myself.

Sierra gooseberries apparently taste the sweetest after a frost. Since the first snow has already fallen, the berries were sweet and ripe, with a rich wine flavor and hints of strawberry and plum. The wild berries hold less sugar than cultivated varieties, and the flavors were darker, with more dimension.

Sierra gooseberries were once common across California. In the twentieth century, foresters discovered that the plants can carry "white pine blister rust," an introduced fungal disease that can devastate pine forests. The disease, introduced from Asia, destroys valuable timber stands. To protect the timber industry, foresters embarked on an eradication program, removing Sierra gooseberries from pine forests to eliminate potential hosts. The Ribes family can also host fungi that are damaging to oak trees, leading gardeners to eschew currants and gooseberries. Today, the Sierra gooseberry plant has a more limited range.

Sierra gooseberries can be cultivated in the garden. In nature, Sierra gooseberries grow on the West side of the Sierras, in the Yellow Pine biome. They are often found growing with wild roses. In the garden, they prefer a shaded environment -- broken shade, such as the shade under trees, is ideal. In spring, the branches are covered with small, fuchsia-like blossoms that dangle, lantern-like, from thorny branches. The leaves turn a brilliant yellowish-orange in the fall.

Mountain Hardwear, Montrail and friends are sponsoring two upcoming fundraisers to help cover the uninsured costs of Rowan Jimenez's recent lung transplant, a valued employee at Mountain Hardwear and Montrail since 2001. In addition to being a rock star and musician, Rowan plays an integral role in the Warranty Department handling all international warranty claims, orders and situations.

Rowan was diagnosed in 2003 with Scleroderma, an autoimmune condition that began to manifest in his lungs in the Spring of 2007. In 2008, it became clear that a lung transplant would be inevitable. Rowan underwent the $800K procedure in September. After a very successful operation, he is now recovering nicely. For more of his personal story, please visit his blog at: www.rowanjimenez.com.

To help offset the uninsured transplant-related costs, friends of Rowan are hosting two bay-area fundraising events to help him and his family.

Full Lung Capacity Benefit Bouldering Comp

Saturday, November 1st at Berkeley Iron Works
800 Potter St. in Berkeley
6-10pm
$25-$100 donation for climbing comp, acro-yoga, DJ, good food and drinks

For more info go to: http://apps.facebook.com/causes/106208?recruiter_id=5382932

Rowan Is Rising! Recycle Life Fundraiser

Sunday, December 7th at Pizzaiolo
5008 Telegraph in Oakland
5-10pm

Silent auction, great food, open bar and live music by the Venezuelan Music Ensemble w/ Jackie Rago and Rootsy Bluegrass with Heller Highwater

$125 at the door or $100 in advance

By Cynthia Houng

The first rains are falling, and that means it's time to plant native bulbs. Native plants perform the best when planted out before the rainy season moves into full swing. This allows them to establish a strong, healthy root system before the summer drought returns.

Before you rush to your local nursery to select your new treasures, survey your garden environment. Native bulbs are not difficult, but unlike cultivated "garden variety" bulbs, which are bred to enjoy a range of typical garden environments, native bulbs do have strict habitat preferences.

Here in the Bay Area, once-common native bulbs and bulb-like plants (those with rhizomes, tubers, or corms) include: mariposa lilies (Calochortus species), Blue-Eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum), Wild Onions (Allium species), Fritillaries, Camas Lilies(Camassia species), and native Tiger and Turk's Cap lilies (Lilium species).

Dichlostemmas growing with goldfields, California foothills. May 2008.

Pay attention to your bulbs' cultural needs before you plant them. Certain plant associations may sound beautiful in theory, but cannot be achieved. For example: Some bulbs, such as the mariposa lilies, require a period of dry summer dormancy, and should not be watered during the summer drought period. Other bulbs are indigenous to wet, riparian areas and require supplemental watering. Mariposa lilies must rest during the summer drought, and should not be planted with Turk's Cap or Tiger lilies, which are native to moist, woodlands and enjoy a year-around watering regime.

If you have a Mediterranean garden, consider planting Brodiaeas, Triteleias, and Dichlostemmas in your borders. Plant them with Mediterranean plants, such as lavender and sage, or mix them into a native meadow. Also try them with conventional bulbs that do not mind a dry summer climate, such as miniature narcissus, or species tulips. Keep in mind that most California native bulbs are smaller in scale, and more delicate, than garden-variety tulips. They work well in rock gardens and perennial borders.