Gamble Plantation State Park

We visited this neat place last year, and enjoyed it so much. It is a antebellum mansion that sat on a sugar plantation. It is the only surviving plantation in South Florida. It is a beautiful building and it has beautiful grounds. We enjoyed our visit this year too.



You can read more about it here: Gamble Plantation

Buddy and Diane Visit Us at The Villages

We had a visit from some of our favorite people in the world: Buddy and Diane. They came during the week that Nathan and I went back down to Wauchula, but luckily they waited for us to get back for a night out with them and Rich and Donna.



We headed down to Wildwood to eat at a place that Rich and Donna had been to before, the Cotillion Southern Cafe.






We had dinner reservations at 4:30. We arrived early enough to peek at the menu that had sitting out front. It looked like a wonderful country cooking menu to me. Once we were inside I could see how unique this place really was. The decorations were so down home and relaxing, right down to our mis-matched dishes at our table. Most importantly was the food there. It was very good! We ordered a variety of dishes and we all agreed that our food was wonderful. I highly recommend this place to anyone in the area.






We enjoyed our night of fun, food and most important of all: Friends!

Ice climbing techniques?

In many ways things have changed little in the skills required to climb steep ice for the last 33 years or more.



Will Gadd recently published a timely commentary on his blog that is worth a read.

http://willgadd.com/x-vs-t-why-the-old-x-technique-is-inferior/



Here is a similar comment from two years ago trying to "drive home" the same point. :)



http://coldthistle.blogspot.com//01/ice-climbing-skills-and-techniques.html



I added this to Will's web site to give credit where it is really do.



"Good stuff as always Will. Just one clarification I think might be due.. Your countrymen, John Lauchlan and crew at Yamnuska Mtn school were teaching the “A” technique back in the fall/winter of 1980 when I showed up there. “A” likely a better description than a “T” for body position. John’s term BTW not mine and how he taught it indoors on a chalk board and outdoors on the ice. My take at the time was John and Dwayne adopted the same technique early and just furthered the idea in their season in the alps. That crew, Albi Sole, Dwayne Congdon, James Blench, Gregg Cronn among others at least tried to climb with and teach the "A" technique. It was an obvious improvement over the "X". Much easier to do now, as you know, using leashless tools."



“In the summer of 1980, with Dwayne Congdon, he represented Canada at the Rassemblement International, a bi-annual event held in Chamonix, France, that attracts two of the best climbers from each country. John and Dwayne succeeded in making the third ascent of the MacIntyre/Coulton Route on the Grande Jorasses, a route that had defeated many of Europe’s top alpinists. John went on to climb the North Face of Les Droites and to solo the Gabbaroux Couloir on Mt Blanc. (among others) In Canada, ice climbing was one of John’s main interests, and he led the movement towards new routes and bolder styles. His list of first ascents includes Takakkaw Falls, Pilsner Pillar, Slipsteam and Nemesis (the first free ascent).”



"Weeping Pillar and Nemesis were done prior to ’80 and done free so I suspect they didn’t adopt much. But the “A” on perfect alpine Neve makes the technique a lot easier to adopt and then transfer that skill to steep water ice."



What follows is a sequence of photos on Grade 3 to 3+ water ice. Small bulges of almost vertical but the majority of the ice is between 65 and 75 degrees. Steep enough but also a great situation to really push your skill level in the A position and the most efficient use of a moderntool that offers two distinct grip positions. In this case, the tool used is a current model of BD Cobra but any of them (the newest 2 grip tools)will work. Big thanks to Craig Pope here formakingthis blog post possible. I've wanted to shoot and write this one up for a long time. But it has beenreally hard to get the chance, with the right weather, rightclimb and right climber with the skills worthy of the photo demo.



I have nothing to gain from this, so take it for what it is worth... If you are not climbing leashless on a modern tool designed to be leashless you are wasting energy.

I have done all this on a straight shafted bamboo axe as well. And while possible to use these skills and the technique on any tool it is not nearly as efficient, safeor as fun with out the current leashless gear.









Classic example of using the second grip on the right tool and getting full extention off both tools.

Which in turns means fewer placements and less engery wasted.














Changing grip position on the shaft after shaking out.


















Note he has gone to the upper grip on the right hand to eliminate a placement.





To pull over a small bulge his tools are closer than he would generally like. Classic way to pull over a bulge.Craigis using both tool grip positionsto good effect.









Easier ice and a BIG extension










Always take advantage of any rest, drop your arms and shake. It will keep you warmer and stronger.





Easy "holster" of a tool (thumb hook) and again, avoids a unneeded placement of your tool









Using the 2nd grip to good effect





Bottom line? The fewer times you swing on any given piece of ice the stronger you will be climbing.

Think, efficent use of the tool first, rest by getting off your arms when possible second.





Perfect place for a screw and good leverage to get it started just below chestheight







Rockin!





Lane at the belay below, from mid pitch, 100+ feet out.



Two videos linked below that hopefully will help. One of Will on picked out, cold, hard (in texture), vertical ice. More hooking than swing there to good effect. And the other from Peak Mtn Guides.



<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rjMVSlQilKk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>



<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/X1AJS-hccXE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>



In the second video from Peak Mtn Guides,mycritic would be that a lot of effort is wastedby not driving the tool straight above the climber but instead isshown being driven off to the side and with straight hip angles. It is more efficient to drive the tool at the apex of the triangle or top of the A, and allow your hips to follow.

The C-T Dream Boot ? One of a few BTW.

In a recent Dynafit TLT 6boot conversation onthe TGR tech forum (skiing specific)

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/266818-Dyna-TLT6



I was asked,



"What would you have done (differently), aside from creating a One/Mercury/Vulcan? (honestly curious)"



My answer if you areinterested is below. Add a commentif this is a bootyou would like to see built. 'Cuz it would be so easy to do!





"Gottarealise where I am coming from. It aint skiing.



My priority was/is a technical winter/ice/mixed climbing boot I could ski in. The TLT5 was the best thing we (climbers) have seen in decades and the best ski boot that climbs well on technical ground any of us have ever seen.



No question the TLT6 skis better...it was a gimme. No real effort there to enhance the technology IMO, Dynafit is resting on their laurels.



TLT 6 and the CR liner in the American market is the perfect example.They want to get reimbursed on some of that technology now. Fair enough. No more hassles or listening to the US skiers bitch about cold feet and a bad fit (in too small of shells) all the while skiing a rando race boot with fat heavy skis while riding a lift. It hardly makes sense to me and I do it. Makes no sense to the Euros if you have played some in both places.



Kinda hard to blame them very much. But it aint what I WANTED so I'll bitch'n now Even though I've bought three new pair of Dynafits before the season has even gotten started yet!



I have no interest in the Vulcan/Mercury. Although I ski in a ONE a good bit on lifts. Face it, ski boots are "easy". Lots of them. And lots of really good ones! Dynafit has just kept spinning the now OLD technology of the DyNA rando race boot into better and better down hill ski boots or offering a better price point. How hard is that!??. They all skin and walk well by comparison. But the bigger and heavier they get, they worse they climb in comparison to a real climbing boot. Even the original DyNA is better as a climbing/ski boot. Really a toss up between the MTN and the P version for a few reasons as to what boot was better in my world. So far for climbing the TLT5 has been the best overall of the entire group including DyNA/PDG/5 or 6 if I had to choose.



Dynafit has all the parts and the technology to build an incredible and very specific boot. The climbing community is small by comparison to the ski community world wide so I understand why they bailed on the project going forward as a "climbing" boot. Even the Rando community in Europe makes the alpine climbing community here look tiny. Here in NA we hardly have a Rando community yet. It is growing butthere really isn't one by comparison.....there wouldn't be any rando gear we didn''t get in NA if there really was a rando community here. Now we only get a small percentage of what is available for gear in Europe. And all of it way too expensive simply because the market base is so small to absorb the investment in technology.



Good on Dynafit for pumping the price of a ski boot up to an "acceptable $1000". I laughed at that price first time I saw them at OR. Thought no way that boot will ever be a commercial success. Scambled and HADto have ahave a pair within a year !



Dynafit built an over whelming commercial hit with the TLT5 based on the DyNA. But it took the new 6 to make it a real commercial success I'd bet. Then Dynafit got by passed by /lambasted with the Alien 1 in the race world. And climbers took note...but a $1800 ski boot? A $1800 climbing boot? You got to be chiting me! That ain't ever going tobe a real commercial success. The Stratos Cube? May be even better as a boot but how durable is it and @ a shocking $2500! Of course I want a pair at -600g per boot in my 29. I am not sure Dynafit ever understood the DyNA/TLT5 series product outside the Rando race world to be honest. Certainly doesn't seem so. But they are running with the design...all the way to the bank. Instead of pushing the technology into something newer yet...which was never a down hill ski boot really. But it is now. An expensive and fragile one at that by comparison.



Ski a Maestrale/ RS/Freedom or a One/Vulcan/Mercury side by side and you'll better understand that comment of "easy" to make a decent ski boot.



The "easy" climbing boot I would have already built given the chance is just a composite of what has been done and parts/materials easily available at Dynafit today. I suspect it is the boot many already want...I know I do and would have given my eye teeth for one in the past working on skis or in the mtns.



this is what I want:



TLT 5 with the toe bellows bottom made of Pebax for more durability, upper cuff made of Fiber glass and another inch higher in the front of the cuff. (see the Alien 1 cuff) I want more support there but no power strap. Stripped of all the faff. No power strap and no tongues. (of course everyone would bitch about that, massive roll of eyes here) A decent seal on the boot so you stay dry. A metal on metal ankle hinge rivet. Better set of buckles than the 6 has and less complicated. Something between a ONE (but only two buckles) and the DyNA. I'd move that second buckle location to better seat the heel...ala One...may be in between the two positions each boot uses. All of that could be done better but I pay cash of my boots so I'm not going to drill extra holes in them just to find out.



That is a boot you could climb Grade 6 ice and M5/6 mixed easy enough. Ski any where I am capable of skiing with a decent width ski and be as light or lighter than what most of us use forwinter climbing now. Lighter for sure than most any other ski boot, short of full on rando race gear. Best part? A reinforced Intuition style liner for skiing (to partially shut the US market up) and a Palau lwt liner for climbing. Which is better for both IMO. Buy one or both. Both heat modable of course. Not required but I might work the rocker and toe some to better fit technical crampons. La Sportiva went too far there. No crampon fits their boots. So ya gotta be careful.Although the Grivel G20/22 work pretty dang good on the TLT5s as is. Every other crampon is rather ho-hum for fit.



I'd pay for that boot..in a heart beat.



For those that know the area..this is the boot youdo the high traverse off first bin on the Grand Montet and ski over to the base of les Droites. Run up the Ginat with G20s snapped on the same boot. With Dynafit Nanga Parbat ski and tech race bindings strapped on your back. Hit the breche, and a few raps later skis on and down before the last train heads back into town.









Likely a decentboot for control work @ Odark30 for the morning bomb run? Lifty boot for warm feetand to catch that quick run on the secret stash of pow? Nice one for guiding long days in the back country. Or a quick run up and down Rainier or Mt Blanc. Call it simply a MOUNTAIN boot.

Wild Critters

Today it's raining buckets, so here are some pictures from earlier in the week.


Male Falcate Orange Tip butterflies jousting for the attention of a female.


A green anole that kept a close watch on me. Like a chameleon, he can change color in the blink of an eye (from drab brown to bright green). This one was not willing to demonstrate.


Some tiny snails in the creek. I don't have a book that descibes snails but if anyone knows their name please leave a comment or email me.


These muskrats were too far away to get a good picture. I really should learn to tie up the dog if I'm going to try sneaking up on wild critters.

If you look closely you can see the very long tail of the one on the left - it's shining in the sun.

A Guilty Farewell to Vintage Roadbikes

Earlier this month, I parted with my remaining vintage roadbikes: a 1982 Bianchi and a 1978Francesco Moser. Both bicycles ended up going to people I know, and their futures look promising. The Moser will be built up as a geared roadbike again and ridden by a long-time local cyclist.TheBianchiwill get a make-over and may end up riding in theEroica. The bikes moved on to greener pastures, leaving me with only my Rivendell to contemplate lessons learned and a direction for the future.

I've been experimenting with vintage roadbikes since last summer, which has included riding other people's bikes and also buying a few for the express purpose of playing around with them. The bicycles I've tried in this manner have included examples of American, French, Japanese, English and Italian bikes from the late 1970s and early '80s. Not an enormous sample, but a nice beginner's crash course. Somewhat to my surprise, I found that I liked every Italian bicycle I tried, whereas the mid-tier French bicycles felt the worst. The Japanese bikes were comfortable, and I could see the roots of Rivendell's philosophy in their geometry and handling. It was very interesting - but ultimately unsustainable.

For one thing, even if a vintage bike is in good condition, it takes me a great deal of resources to set it up in a way I find ridable: Usually I have to change the brake levers, the handlebars, and - if I want to comfortably switch gears - the shifters. Not only does this require time and money, but it also ultimately changes the bike's character.



However, the bigger issue is that trying a modern roadbike this summer - and enjoying the benefits of its light, easy-to use components - has made me realise just how far I'd have to go to get the same level of performance out of a vintage bike. Assuming that I can find one in the correct size for me and with a sufficiently light, good quality racing frame, I would have to then put a modern wheelset and component group on it, as well as structurally alter the frame in order to make that possible - all just to determine whether the complete bike will be up to par. It does not seem like a practical endevour to me.

Considering the kind of cycling I have been gravitating toward, I would ultimately like to have three roadbikes: a fully equipped touring bike that is capable of going off road, a fixed gear bike,and a "racy" bike that is suitable for competitive cycling. The first I already have. The second I am finally working onafter a year of riding a conversion. And the third will be my next priority. I feel guilty that I don't see vintage in the equation, but practical needs trump aesthetic and historical interest. When I am older and have more time and money, I would love to collect gorgeous, historically significant vintage frames. But for now I would like to ride more, tinker less.

Wooly Pine Scale

Snow? No. (It's Alabama in July.)

A heron's been sitting overhead? No. (Above us only sky.)

The strange white goop on this small Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) turned out to be Woolly Pine Scale (Pseudophilippia quaintancii).

According to ACES (Alabama Cooperative Extension System), small periodic infestations are not harmful to unstressed trees.

Of course due to a late spring freeze and the recent early summer drought, pretty much everything in north Alabama is stressed.

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Pine Needle Scale (Chionaspis pinifoliae) is another scale insect that looks like white gunk on pine needles.