Brownwood Paddock Town Square

After line dancing yesterday, Donna and I grabbed some lunch. Then we headed down to Brownwood Paddock Town Square. Just as the recreation centers are all themed, so are the town squares here. There are three of them and Brownwood Paddock is the newest one.



In fact it is so new, that it is still in the process of being built. There is a movie theater and a few restaurants and stores that are open. Other than that, it is pretty quiet.




That worked out great for us, because that allowed us to take lots of pictures. Just like the recreation centers, the details in the decorations of this place are just incredible.







I'm so glad we got down here and finally I have some pictures. It really is a neat place!

Three Trees

Fun memories.....and the Vuarnet Cateye sun glass

Mugs Stump soloing on Thelay Sagar, 1986. Photoby Micheal Kennedy (courtesy of Patagonia's archives)




I had just returned from the head. There were several tables of us crowded around in the Road House that had just gotten off Denali after a big storm cycle went through. Everyone at the table had beenstuck at 17K for a few days. Mugs and I had dug out each others tents a few times as the clients stayed in doors.We were all happy,hungry and glad to be out of the mountains (at least I was anyway).



I sat back down and found my pork chopmissing along with most of my mashed potatoes. When my jaw dropped opened and my temper started to flare, Mugs and the rest of the table had a deep and well deserved laugh at my expense. Great way to finally relax a bit, get warm and drink a beer or two.



I didn't have enough money in my pocket to buy another dinner.May be an extra beer. Of course they had already ordered and paid for one of both for me. And I quickly realised how much of a dick I was being but not quickly enough. Mugs could be hilarious in a social setting. I eventually had a good laugh as well. Mug's story of the coldon the Moose's Tooth bivy was funny and frightening. He toldus his headwent numb from the cold. Ithad me rolling on the tent floor. "No? Really? Your head hu?"Or maybe it was the whisky. Likely both. Great story either way. I was never sure if he was pulling my leg. But I didn't think so. Damn, that would be really, seriously,COLD ;) Bet he is still laughing about that one! Yep, "my head went numb!" May be it was Bridwell's bivy stash that did that?



Hard for me not to remember Mugs and smile when I see a pair ofVuarnets. Maybe it was the picture above and the Patagonia's Capilinead. It is a picture that still defines alpinism for me even today. And you have to remember Michael Kennedypulled out a camera to get the shot while soloing as well!





We all went over the 'shrund together when Mugs and Paul Aubry did the Moonflower. Brad and I failed on our proposed route. Mugs was wearing Vuarnets in the bright sun that day as well.May, 1981.



Much more about Mugs here:

http://www.thecleanestline.com//02/the-dream-a-journey-of-the-spirit-with-mugs-stump.html



Anyway Vuarnets are a funmemory for me. Mugs and I would see each other on and off in Alaska every season fora few years. He introduced me to Wild Things gearand by example, harder climbingthan I had ever imagined possible.



Now that I think about it, even Doug Klewin had a pair or two of Vuarnets bitd. Doug was wearing blackframed, Cat Eye, Nuatilux lens Vuarnetson the 1st ascent of the North Buttress of Hunter! Hard to believe that tiny bit of important NA mountaineering history (trivia) might have be lost! :)






Doug Klewin racking up mid "Shaft" on the 1st ascent, N. Butt of Hunter, Todd Bilbler photo




Anyway when I was doing the sunglass review earlier two things I found very exciting. The first was my original Vuarnets had lasted 35+ years. They cost$58 at the time, which was a pot full of money for me. My Galibier Mountain glasses had only been $38 a couple of years earlier. So the Vuarnets were a big step up for me. In my mind they were my first pieceof "man jewelry". Gas was .63 centsa gallon in 1978! I havebroken three frames in those 35 years. They are easy enough to replace if you have an oven or even boiling water handy. But my lenses have no scratches and only one tiny pit on one lens from being dropped flat onto fresh pavement from about 6 feet up. They are the only piece of my originalclimbing gear I still use. More importantly one of the few pieces I still really like. They have been "everywhere" with me climbing. I had them on for my first 5.10 lead. And all but one of the walls I did in the Valley. Most every ice climb I had done in Canada up til 1990 as well. And with few limitations theyare as good as any thing available today I think. Fewwould think of a $100 pair of sunglasses as jewelry today.



The second thing I find exciting? I had looked around and saw Vuarnets selling for anywhere between $200+ and $350. Crazy money IMO for a retro pair of glasses no matter how good the lens.

Maybe not so muchcrazy money if I remember how long they have lasted.



But then I found them, where else, but on Ebay. Direct from France in all styles and lenses and at decent prices. Nothing over $150 that I actually wanted and most a few bucks less.



For some reason I kept digging around on the Internet and found a US dealer who specialises in repairing vintage Vuarnets and selling parts as well as complete sunglasses for $105 including the shipping.



On a serious note. The Vaurnet glass lens give excellent sun protection for your eyes. There are multiple lenses available to fit most every one's needs. I can attest thatall theglasslenses are really tough and durable under hard useconditions. The original nylon "cat eye" frames are robust and tough. Most importantly for me is they fold almost flat and are easily carried/stored in a pocket on longmountain trips (like Denali). Same place modern sunglasses can be bulky and hard to pack and fragile while living in the confines of a tent.



"Vuarnet lenses filter out all harmful UVZ, UVB and UVC radiation. Their multi-layered anti-reflective coatings eliminate glare and bounce-back light.




All Vuarnet lenses are made from the finest glass, ground and polished on both sides to ensure distortion free vision, and are heat tempered for impact and scratch resistance.



They meet the most stringent quality control standards and exceed all the performance criteria imposed by European, American and Australian consumer legislation.


















Skilynx Brown Silver Gradient Mineral lenses: PX4000, The Original and Legendary Vuarnet Ski Lens. Amber yellow base, brown & anti-reflective coatings.




Double gradient silver exterior filters to absorb white light glare, especially on or around snow and bright light conditions. Eliminates glare and reflection, enhances contrast and depth of field.




The essential lens for mountains activities and at sea. The Skilynx lens blocks nearly all of the violet and blue light, thus reducing glare and eye strain, while allowing more of the yellow-orange-red end of the spectrum to pass through to the eye, enhancing contrast, depth perception and sharpness of vision, making distant objects visually clearer.



This lens benefits from chemical tempering in order to make it secure. Besides the excellent adherence of surface treatments, it benefits from an outstanding longevity.



Each lens is engraved with the letter , symbol of authenticity Vuarnet."







Here are the links that I found for Vaurnet. I have recentlyordered from both companies and been happy with their service and products. Enjoy!









JMARGIFTS.....a USA based company based in Saint Paul, MN.

Repairs, spare parts, and new sunglasses they can build you to your spec/color/lens on some styles, the Cat Eye in particular. Quick service. $105.00 for a new set of Cat Eye Skilynx (Mugg's choice in the mountains) or Nautiluxincluding the shipping in the US!

http://www.jmargifts.com/index.htm



SHOPEYEWORLD....a French based company in Courbevoie, France

New glasses and spare framesin most every (all?) originalVaurnet styles. Decent prices and free shipping if there are multiple purchases at once. Hit or miss on the speed of delivery though. You'll need to be patient. Typically $150 for the same Cat Eye Skilynx here but frames and some of the other Vuarnet lens tintscan be had cheaper oron sale here occasionally.

http://stores.ebay.com/shopeyeworld





I suspect Mugs would get a laugh out of the fact Vuarnets are still around and that I'm suggesting here they are a good pair of glasses :)But I am not pulling your leg. And I'llremember to hangonto my pork chop!

Day Four~Day at Sea

One of the things we enjoyed about the cruise was what we encountered all day long on the last day, or the day "at sea". There was something to do all day long and we did not have to do any of the work involved. We were able to show up and just enjoy it. While it is not how I'd want to travel, or even want to live all the time-it was nice to be able to do that for this time period. It really was so nice to let someone else worry about all the ins and out of how to make it all work.



We ended up doing many of the shows and contests while we were on the ship and we thought they were enjoyable overall. My only complaint at all, in fact, was one of the shows where there was far too much skin showing for my tastes. It didn't add to the beautiful dancing for me, it just made it seem more cheap. Beyond that, I thought it was very family friendly and even though some of it was silly, it was fun.



Case in point: the Belly Flop Contest! First off, I have to share a picture of the cruise director Marc who made all things fun, even more fun. He was what I want to call a cutie patootie but most guys hate that so I will instead say he was gifted with a charismatic personality. He was really witty and seemed to love his job and love people. And he had an adorable foreign accent to boot.



Back to the Belly Flop Contest. Picture lots of people on the pool deck watching six poor souls provide entertainment for the rest of us.



They had to stand up and tell us about themselves.



Provide a little dancing:



And then leap into the air and do a belly flop.



Mr Tony, the dive instructor was the last contestant. No, I don't think that was his name but he reminded me of Tony on Seinfeld. So he became Mr. Tony to us.



He was also the winner!



You know how when you are in high school and engaged in the silliest of things, that you think are the most important things because well, they are in your world. When you are there adults look at you and sigh and say, enjoy it while it lasts because once you grow up you won't be able to spend your days like that? You kind of do get to do that all over again when you are on a cruise. You truly do get to spend all day long doing silly, meaningless but fun things....because that is all there is to do there. And while a steady diet of that would be nauseating to me, a vacation sized dose of it was just what the doctor ordered.



Living the life at sea and already thinking of how we can get the kids to join our next cruise!

Paradise to Muir -

December 29th,

I just did a nice check on Camp Muir this morning. I left Paradise at about 9:00 a.m. It was a little chilly. I was really surprised how few skiers were actually out. Kudos to the brave soul who marched up the Nisqually and skied the chute solo. Style.

First things first. Attention everyone. There was a wicked layer of surface hoar that didn't get any sun action today before the clouds started rolling in. It's going to get buried. There are all sorts of facets in the snow in the top 20 cm. What's worrisome is that the surface hoar is growing on a layer of sun crust. Underneath the sun crust is another layer of facets. Check out the snowpit profile.


Click on the image for a better, more readable size.

Expect these faceted layers to remain intact on all aspects for a while.


So the rest of the trip to Muir was outstanding. Skiing was 7 out of 10, for the windswept snowfield, anyway. The new snow that is forecast should make the skiing even better.


One thing I want everyone to be aware of is what we call the "Ant Trap". Remember that sand pit that Luke got thrown into by Jabba? Well, this is kind of like that.

It's located right next to McClure Rock. Click that picture to the right and note the coordinates on the bottom of the photo: -121.724123 46.808050 (WGS84). Plug that into your GPS and avoid it like the plague.

Many people have been eaten by the Ant Trap and more than a few have broken bones because of it.

Things are looking good at Camp Muir, albeit there is a lot of snow. Remember you'll have to dig your way into the upper half of the middle toilet. So plan on a little shoveling before you are moved to use it!



Also, remember if you're coming up to climb, to stop at the Paradise Old Station (the A-frame in the upper parking lot) and self-register. You can also pay the 30 dollar climbing fee to the 'iron ranger' there as well.

A storm was quickly moving in, so I had to ski-dattle. Down at Paradise, the parking lot is completely full! Hundreds of cars and sledders.








December 23rd, - Sweet Turns at Paradise!

This is it. Finally our snowpack at Paradise is back to normal at 78 inches. The rain from the last warm spell has stopped and we have up to 18 inches of new snow that has consolidated and another 5 inches of pretty light snow on top of it.


I started up the road this morning after we opened it at around 08:00 am. The light on the mountain was absolutely spectacular. It was clear and there was a little bit of surface hoar when I went to the weather station this morning. Here was the weather obs:

High: 22 Low: 16 Current: 22 Precip: .02 New: Tr Total Snow: 78" Winds: N @ 3-4.

We had our morning chores to do, cones in the parking lot, bumping sign andbamboo in the snowplay area, then folks started coming in droves.
The snowplay area is open and the runs are fast. However, because there's relatively little snow, we can only put one run in. The lines are a little long. Remember to get out of the run when you've come to a stop!

About noon we headed up towards Pan Point. What's this? It's noon at Paradise on a sunny day and there's no tracks? Where are all the skiers? Gary Voigt was up making turns in upper Edith Creek below McClure.


We've been telling people for years that the right way up Pan Point is in the trees on the nose. However, sometimes I think you're better off just going up the gully. We should've. The south facing part of the nose of the ridge was a little wet and heavy. It was starting to crack as we got onto steeper ground >40 degrees.

Always evaluate your own avalanche conditions!


We crested the ridge and decided to head for the top of Pan Point at around 7200 feet.

I was still surprised to see no tracks up above us since we had such a late start and the Paradise parking lot was FULL.

Whatever, the more powder for us.


Well, the way down was fabulous. My favorite run is to cut underneath McClure Rock. It's a little less exposed to the cliff bands around Pan Point. I rarely find avalanche conditions out this far. However, I did notice a crown feature on those cliff bands back down towards Pan Point. East facing, steep, ridge top... no surprise.

However, out where we were, the snow was outstanding.

Once we hit the flats to the east of Pan point, we traversed down the top of Mazama Ridge until we got to a slope locally known as Bundy's Blunder. It's just upridge of Sluiskin Falls. There was some slide deposition on it from the sun action today. It was only 4-5", but wet and heavy. It was enough to carry us, so we traversed out a hundred yards to the right and merrily made sweet turns all the way to the Paradise Valley Road.

Here's the latest weather history comparison:

Date 12/23

Max Recorded Snowdepth at Paradise 166 inches

Year of Max Recorded Snowdepth at Paradise 1916

Historic Average Snowpack at Paradise 77.9 inches

Current Snowdepth at Paradise 78 inches

Percent of Normal 100.13%

Percent of Historic Max 46.99%

Average Hi Temp: 32

Today's Hi Temp 22

Average Lo Temp: 21

Today's Lo Temp 16


Come on up! It's good!

Chiricahua National Monument

If you should happen to be driving along Interstate 10 in southeast Arizona, you need to turn south onto highway 186 in Wilcox. Your destination is a little over 30 miles through the desert, uphill. It is the same terrain you have been driving through from Texas and New Mexico and you're wondering why or how this will be any different. But when you reach the little road that takes you into a canyon, you enter a different world. A delightful, surprising one.

There was green grass. And trees. Not just the little scrub bushes but real trees. And it was cool. And there was a stream with flowing water. Of course, it was early spring. There had been a lot of snow during the winter and it was melting. The first time in many years that there had actually been water flowing in Bonita Creek, according to one of the Park Rangers.

This fascinating place is Chiricahua National Monument. I had never heard of it until I saw a sign on the Interstate. I'm so glad that I took that road. The campground was pleasant with some sun making its way through the trees. It was refreshing to return to after several hours of hiking the trails, which were created by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

My Campsite.

The Erickson/Riggs home at Faraway Ranch, Bonita Canyon.
In 1887, this remote canyon became the home of Neil and Emma Erickson. Swedish emigrants, they met at Fort Craig, New Mexico. He was a sergeant in the Army and she was a a maid and companion to the Colonel's wife. Neil was often away from home, working, and Emma tended to the children and the ranch. In 1903 he became a forest ranger, which took him further away from Bonita Canyon. In 1917, the eldest daughter, Lillian, began inviting guests to the ranch and it became the getaway destination. Her husband, Ed Riggs, became foreman of a CCC Camp and helped build the trails used by visitors today. They did an amazing job on the trails. Faraway Ranch is now a part of Chiricahua National Monument.

Beyond Bonita Canyon are the mountains. The trails wind through the incredible rock formations – pillars and balancing rocks galore! It is a wondrous place, indeed.

Winners in the Pickleball for Paws Tournament

We played men's and women's doubles in the morning. We then broke for lunch. Next up was the mixed doubles. Unfortunately it started to rain during that part of the tournament so we didn't get to finish the mixed doubles. We had to just wrap up the tournament and leave due to the rain.



So the winner's in the men's and women's competition:





Austin and I were thrilled we placed and we gave Nathan a consolation hug because he deserved to place. After we left, we headed over to Paul's where Stan and Sally joined us for an early dinner. We had a great day!