Rolling with it

As we all know, I don't do well with change. I have a hard time adjusting to things that deviate from The Plan. Today my friend/climbing partner/tripmate shared the news that his hand would indeed need surgery and he is unable to go to Ecuador as planned.  The injury is the result of an unfortunate spill during a training hike in the snow and ice a few weeks ago. Until today, I had largely put it out of my mind that him not going was a real possibility. I was trying to exercise my magical thinking skills-- If I wished hard enough for it to be nothing, then it would be nothing.  His physician made it clear however that he cannot climb.  As my climbing partner put it, he can not even hold an ice axe, nor put weight on it, nor self arrest to save himself or others he is roped to on the glacier. I know its the right way to play it, but it sucks nonetheless. I'm glad he has trip insurance to recover some of his cost, but I feel bad that he's planned for so long for this and trained so hard, and now its put on the back burner. Selfishly, I feel bad for me too.
I hope he will still listen to me drone on and on about the minutia that I have been up until now--- like the gear reviews, climbers blogs, and crevasse rescue videos ad-nauseum. And I hope to bring him back some realistic information as to what to expect on HIS climb to the crater when his hand heals.

Taking a rest

The boys trudging through the fields in new snow with me

New Snow

Discipline vs. Rest Days

When its -6 outside with a wind chill of -15, and its 4:30 am and your bed is cozy, its easy to blow off the gym. I am by nature a morning person and getting up and working out at that time every day does not bother me. It’s just the routine I've been in for about 8 years. I get up and get dressed before my brain and body realizes what’s happening.  Last night I slept well and in fact got almost 7 hours of it, but as my alarm went off, I struggled to find a reason to get to boot camp today. No person in their right mind goes out in this cold just to get in a workout. I got up, flipped the lights on, went into the bathroom and promptly decided I wasn't having any of this nonsense and crawled back in bed. I laid there having the debate in my mind "You’re up! Just go!"/"Going now when you least feel like it will be beneficial later!"/"You'll beat yourself up about it if you don't go!" versus the, "Oh my God its warm in this bed!"/"What sane person willingly leaves this comfortable place?"/”You've worked out tons this week, take it as a rest day!"

This was the day that I almost succumbed.

But I willed myself to get up and get ready. Coffee always seems to make things seem more doable and today was no exception. I opened the garage door and started my car so it could heat up before I got in. I grabbed my gym bag and was off.

I never regret working out, but today I slogged through much of the class and it didn’t seem to change my mood much for the better.

The chaos of the holidays always throws me. To add to it, I found out last night that an old friend/coworker/mentor had passed away. I am profoundly saddened by the sudden change to her health that she experienced but glad that I knew about it in enough time to send her a letter telling her how much she impacted my life. I know she read it, because a mutual friend shared with me that she showed it to a visitor recently.

Simply put,  Donna is the reason I always give people a second chance.  When Donna and I first started working together, I slaved long hours at the hospital while she skated by doing the minimum (or so that was my impression) with no repercussions.  She was larger than life, classy, direct, and had a wicked sense of humor. She was full of character and everyone loved her and I could not understand why, as she completely rubbed me the wrong way. I constantly felt I was left to clean up her messes at work. There were many days that I came home from the hospital and started my dinner conversations with my now-husband, "Do you know what Donna did today??!!”

To spare you the details of a long story, she turned out to be one of the funniest, most generous, and most caring people I ever encountered.  The day I left that job, she stopped me in the ER on my way out and we had a really long discussion about how I wear my heart on my sleeve and how difficult that makes things in a professional setting. To this day I think about her words of advice.

We still stayed in touch a decade later, mainly through our Christmas cards but every so often I would hear a story about her from mutual friends. Usually one that would make me roll with laughter.

I was initially down on myself for not being disciplined enough to give it my best effort this morning at the gym but I ended the day by chalking it up to being nice to myself and merely calling it an off-day. Using the time to reflect on my friend was by far a better use of my time.

Sparkles

When all was said and done we got about 4 inches of snow and then the bottom dropped out on the temperatures. I tried a thinner sock combination in my boots today and hated it- not only did it run colder, there was too much slide inside the boot and I had to keep readjusting my laces, which completely sucks when its 10 degrees out with 12 mph winds. On the other hand, it was a good measure of just how long it takes for my fingers to freeze when exposed. About 30 seconds. 

It was 90 minutes total with a 30 lb pack but no incline, only uneven grassy horse trails.  Cold, but there was definitely the reward of the sparkle and quiet of new snowfall and the absence of any footprints before me that day.

Pretty proud of myself

It all fits on the first try-not even using any stuff sacks. And that's with an extra backpack at the bottom of the duffel bag.  I do however use Pack-It cubes from Eagle Creek for sorting purposes http://shop.eaglecreek.com/packit-cube/d/1081_c_212 

Crampons and boots and a few miscellaneous expensive and delicate items will go in my carry-on. Next up, figuring out what tech gadgets to bring.

Forest preserve in the snow

The first real snow of the season yielded a perfect time to try some new gear combinations for warmth. It also made me decide to buy a pair of goggles to throw in my backpack "just in case". 90 minutes later when I was back at the car, my whole body was warm but my eyelashes were full of snow and ice.

Headlamps

The temperature dropped to 15 degrees today but nonetheless I talked my son into a night hike around the wetlands in our backyard under the guise of,  "you can use your headlamp!". He is extremely happy-go-lucky and willingly obliged.  Although it's only a mile and a quarter "around the lake" (as we call it), its pitch black and heavily wooded on one side. Deer and coyote frequent the area and at some point on the dark path we both remembered this but neither of us said it aloud. As the wind picked up we sped up, staying on the light side of the wetlands nearer to the houses. In less than a half an hour we were back home deciding that daylight was a better time to practice in the elements instead. 

Fog

December is a mix of many things, but usually not fog and rain. I spent the better part of the afternoon trudging uphill in the forest preserve to test a few pieces of my gear and some clothing combinations. For as much obsessing as I did about my boot selection, I'm really happy with the way the Sportiva boots are treating my feet. So for a girl who's bothered by the flatlocked seams in her running tights every day, its always dicey to have to throw on layer upon layer in the mountain without getting irritated. If there's one thing I detest, its getting hot and sweaty and aggravated gearing up. Ask my parents, I have been like this since the day I was born.  Ask my husband- when I have to get dressed up for a wedding or formal event, I'm downright b*tchy as I get dressed. So today it was my new gaiters thrown into the mix.  I was first introduced to gaiters when I lived in Norway as an exchange student and I wasnt a fan of them then either. I don't really see the point.  Do they keep you that much cleaner and drier? Eh, can't be sure.  But with the addition of the crampons on this trip, the Outdoor Research Crocodile Expedition gaiters are a must so as to not rip my pants to a shred if I snag a point. Still, its just one more layer to mess with and I can never get them just right. Until today. Maybe it was the zen-ness of the gentle rain in the quiet forest, but the gaiters didn't bother me at all. I even adjusted them perfectly on the first try. The rain picked up throughout the hike, but listening to it hit the leaves on the trail took my mind off the fact that my pack was heavy. I do feel as strong and as fit as I have ever been these days, but will I feel as strong at 19,000 feet? 

 Climbing doesn't always entail blue skies and fair weather. Sometimes it pours, sometimes its really windy, and sometimes its bitter cold. I believe in training like you play. Dragging myself out in bad weather now will pay dividends later.

Sweetwater Creek and Kennesaw Hikes

The sacrifices of Kelly

This is my friend Kelly. We visited him and his wife in Atlanta during Thanksgiving, along with their two dogs Shamrock and Shady. One day we piled in his wife's car so we could go hiking at Sweetwater Creek State Park and he graciously sat in the back of the SUV with the dogs during the drive so we could all fit. In exchange I told him he'd get an entry on the blog :) 

This might be one of the funniest pictures in recent memory of my kids. It makes me laugh every time I look at it only because it displays the younger one's personality so perfectly. Older brother was not happy with the photobomb of what he called his "Jesus statue in Rio" pose.

Freedom of the Hills

Awesome unexpected gift from a friend arrived in the mail today!

Initial Gear Layout

Laying out and reviewing my gear is gratifying at a basic level. I'm like Rainman counting cards-totally in my element. Its a few select pieces, but ones that will keep me warm and safe. As with the Nepal trip, it will all fit in my red expedition duffel and a carry-on backpack (again, whoever invented the stuff sack is a genius).  The shorter duration of the trip means I will cut back on what clothing I bring. A big difference on this trip as compared to EBC is that showers will be more readily available where I am staying and the stink factor for re-wearing clothing on multiple days will be cut back.  For the EBC trip, I laid out my gear in the living room, which I'm sure my husband TOTALLY appreciated.  At least I have the decency to lay my stuff out in the den this time--although it takes up a lot of the room, at least its out of the way. Missing from the picture are a few things I'm putting on my Christmas list- Gore Tex gaiters, Leatherman Micra mini tool (got it confiscated at airport last trip), expedition mitts, and a few random personal items.

Today I wrote the check for the final payment on the trip. 75 days til departure. 

Coat-o-paxi?

One of the things I like to do is "stalk" gear before I buy it to get the best price. It's a game I'd like to think I've become good at but its also pretty much out of necessity. Deals on outerwear on my favorite. I choke on the huge prices of these items. Of the above, my favorite deal was $47 for a $169 Mountain Hardware fleece jacket. I stalk less than I used to because I have a fair amount of gear that will most likely last me for years to come, probably even a lifetime.  But I am partial to  certain stores and brands and have gotten to know their markdown cycles return policies. Today my $120 gloves arrived for $49. It pays to be size Unisex XS I guess.

Layering my outwear-In order: Peak XV parka from First Ascent, REI 3 in 1, North Face Apex Bionic shell, Mountain Hardware Thermostatic, First Ascent WindFoil Elite, REI Rain, North Face Khumbu, North Face Denali, Patagonia R1, North Face TKA, Mountain Hardware MicroChill (in 3 colors, I could live the rest of my life in this thing), and the newest addition: Mountain Hardware Hooded Pyxis. Im not taking all of these but probably half of them. Thank goodness for stuff sacks.

You Only Live Twice

The name of my sparkly red nail polish that I use to mark my gear is called You Only Live Twice (hmmmm...). Just a few dots on each piece for identification purposes. Half of you are thinking right now, "She owns nail polish??"
I'm struggling this month with balancing the facets of my life -work, family, Ecuador, and "other".  Almost everything seems to be changing at the same time. Its a feeling I typically experience as the season changes from Summer to Fall, but this year feels so much more pronounced.  The shorter days and colder weather wreak havoc with my intentions. Last pre-trip was colored by some unexpected surgery and my husband getting laid off.  This year, the government shutdown as well as parts of the Affordable Care Act implementation have drastically affected my work hours. Which translates into affecting income.
I'm all but done with acquiring my gear and now am moving on to the next level of training, which is to say, "gear-specific training".
September and October were productive in terms of training...
Generally:
Mondays-Core/Crossfit and Spin
Tuesdays-Core and Incline
Wednesdays-Potluck
Thursdays-Bootcamp and Incline
Fridays-Swim/Volleyball
Weekends-Running/Hiking
November will see the same training, with additional weighted-pack hiking trips, ropes review, boot breaking-in, and of course, YOUTUBE  instruction/review videos (glacier travel, route-finding, self-arrest, etc.)

Crampons

My Grivel G12 crampons arrived today. I have a hard time looking at directions for Lego sets so it takes a lot of patience for me to sit down and adjust these things using only vague pictures and a few sparse descriptive paragraphs, but I think I got it right.

Wisconsin Hikes

Spent Columbus Day holiday hiking with the boys in Kettle Moraine State Park, a few hours drive from Chicago. Weighted pack of 30# for me, about 7# each for the boys, we hiked the better part of 5 hours. Couldn't have been a more perfect Fall day!

Ice Axe

So its kind of hard to fake surprise when youve ordered your own birthday present, but in any event, it was a cool moment. Before this, I used what Mountain Madness provided. I really like the finish on the Black Diamond Raven and thankfully I ordered the right size. I added the molded protectors for travel and attached a leash. As I read the directions for attaching the leash I thought how funny it was that one minute I'm playing with my ice axe and an hour later I'm chaperoning 4th graders on a field trip. Best of both worlds for sure.

    

I adore the instructions enclosed with gear that have no words accompanying them. I totally think the guy who illustrated this for the company cracked himself up at the final image he drew:

Happy Birthday to me...

A DIAMOND FOR MY BIRTHDAY!
http://blackdiamondequipment.com/en/climbing%2Fice-axes-piolets/raven-ice-axe-BD410151000055_1.html

Harness

I bought a Petzl Luna harness which is a women's-specific fit and miraculously its pretty comfortable. Not sure if I should have sized down but I think I'm OK especially if I've got my fleece layer pants on under my soft shell pants. I  prefer to wear it around a bit so I can get used to it, seeing as I have so many tactile issues. Its not like I can NOT wear it if its bothering me on the mountain...better get used to having it on. I wonder what my husband thought when he saw me wearing it during the day, you know, putting laundry away etc. I think he smirked as I passed him coming down the stairs.
Eventually I returned it for a Black Diamond Alpine Bod harness, since its lower profile and lighter. I've decided I like it better.

Warning-

Label affixed to ropes in REI. I think that goes without saying...

Pages from my favorite book

One of the first things I bought for this trip was a book called Glacier Mountaineering, An Illustrated Guide to Glacier Travel and Crevasse Rescue by Andy Tyson and Mike Clelland. I need everything explained to me IN DETAIL.  The illustrations are definitely detailed and show all sorts of different scenarios, not just the ideal ones. Also, its funny.  For example, my kids both like the following page:

Awe

On the way back from walking the kids to school this morning, I noticed the wispy cirrus clouds in the sky. Reminded me how much I am looking forward to seeing the skies in Ecuador above Cotopaxi.

Know the Ropes

I love this page from Backpacker magazine. Thank goodness this trip has a guide. They make it look so easy. Crevasses make me want to barf.  Especially this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJtyzJg68sk

Prusik

Purchased new prusik cord and additional carabiners from REI this week. Part of preparation for this climb is learning/reviewing how to tie different knots. Youtube is very helpful for sure, but once I master it a knot, it never sticks in my brain-probably because I don't use them on a regular basis . Prusik is carried by all climbers and is a friction hitch that can be used to ascend rope without a mechanical ascender (jumar). It can be a lifesaver if you are in a crevasse----which I try to block from my mind from ever happening. One of my favorite videos is this one that shows a huge crevasse on Mt. Rainier from the bottom looking up. And then a guy using prusik to practice on the side of his house.  Not sure I'd ever practice that way, but interesting nonetheless. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxbNT2rlq4I    But if I'm in a crevasse I guess I need to know what to do, in the dark, and most certainly with a pounding heart. 

The carabiners in the glass case at REI always catch my eye...like the glass case in a jewelry store filled with diamonds.  This time it was the brown colored screw-lock carabiners that caught my eye.  

Weighted Pack

I adore my backpack.  An Osprey Talon 44 that's fit like a glove since the day I bought it. When I put it on, it truly is like a part of me. Since its only about 2400 cu inches in size, I do need a bigger pack for this trip, one that's about 5000 cu inches.  Staying with the Osprey, I bought an Ariel 75.  Not nuts about the blue color but hoping it will grow on me.  $130 cheaper than the graphite color so I'll definitely make do.  So far I've only been out with my smaller pack but weighted it down with 20 lbs in water bottles. This weekend I hiked for 2 hours. The humidity made the air extremely thick even though it was only in the mid eighties. On the way home, I walked along the creek near our house on the way back.  It was quiet and cool and I could hear the crunch of the rocks under my favorite boots,  a sound I happen to like a lot.

Spreadsheeting

This is the spreadsheet that's been in my purse for over a year now. A little tattered but there's a crisper copy on the side of my fridge. While I'm terrible at Excel, I might be the queen of analyzing. The spreadsheet was made after I'd finally come to terms with Kilimanjaro being a longer term goal than 5 years, due to the huge expense, especially seeing as I'd want to take my family along, if for nothing else, a post-climb safari. Its about $6,000 for the land-only portion of the trip for ONE PERSON. One of the reasons that I feel urgency to climb Kilimanjaro is that I want to see the ice fields at the top before they melt. I'm intrigued that, despite its location in the tropics, the cold and dry air at the top of the mountain has sustained large quantities of ice for more than 10,000 years. Another reason which I will address in a later post is the "Darren factor", a friend of mine from my exchange year who was killed in Arusha doing charity work at the foot of Kilimanjaro.

After returning from the Everest Base Camp trek (from here on out abbreviated EBC) in October 2011, I sat for a long time on what I wanted to do next. Everest is magical and spiritual and challenging and life-changing.  It carved out its own place in my heart that will never change. Deciding to postpone Kilimanjaro gave way to a few months obsession with Mt. Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe (18,510) and another one of the Seven Summits. I had considered it so seriously that I even picked the date I was going to go and was working towards it. Elbrus is considered one of the easiest of the Seven Summits, although it is not an easy mountain and there are 15-30 deaths each year on it.  Elbrus (in the Caucasus Range in  Russia) can be climbed in a relatively short amount of time and the total length away from home would be about 14 days, which is not only appealing but necessary with my schedule.

The thing that changed my mind about it for now is that a trusted source said that if it weren't one of the Seven Summits, no one would climb it. It's un-spectacular. It's still on my list, mainly because of the low technical requirements and of course the allure of it being one of the Seven Summits,but it would be a huge let down after Everest I've decided, especially culturally.  Is it just something to knock off? Will it be an "experience"? I put it on the back burner.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have the allure and  so many places to both trek AND climb, but the safety factor at this time makes them improbable. Adding to the existing safety issues, this year the following event took place on the ninth highest mountain in the world, Nanga Parbat  http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/climbing/mountaineering/David-Roberts-on-the-Nanga-Parbat-Massacre.html

The reality checks begin...

Big boxes arriving by UPS are a good sign that I have a trip coming up in the next year.  Some girls spend their money on manicures and purses.  I like to spend mine on outdoor gear. 

This particular box happens to be my first attempt at Koflach Arctic Expes, the classic double-plastic boots that are good on expeditions. I cleared my mind of any hate I would have for this boot, as any picture Ive ever seen of it looks like it would rip my foot to shreds. It'd be like climbing for 2 weeks with a cement ski boot on. Inflexible to say the least. 

$400 of yellowy  goodness! Hey, so they didnt exactly go with the outfit I wore to work but whatever.  Except they were not yellowy goodness.  They were yellowy badness. I was sweating putting them on because of my high instep, even the inner boot was a pain. I couldnt get them laced up tight enough, and they were 5 lbs of inflexibility.  But I wore them around the house for 15 minutes and theres no doubt that they would keep my feet warm at 19,000 feet. Have I mentioned there is only unisex sizing? My tiny foot can not be appeased with extra padding.  All I could think about is that I'd be fit enough to get to the summit but Id have to turn back because I had blisters and shin bruising like nobody's business? No thank you!  Just ask my husband, the stitching on my seamless socks bother my toes, these Koflachs will never work.

I reordered the next size up from Moosejaw just for comparison. And another boot that I'd been stalking, the La Sportiva Nepal Evo--it comes in a women's version! So a few days later I have $1500 in boots alone sitting in my living room. The good news is, the moment I put on the Evos, I knew they were for me. Fit like a dream, padded in all the right places, more flexibility, and a trusted boot pick of Whittaker Mountaineering women guides.  Koflachs went back to Moosejaw, keeping the Evos.  

Wanna see 'em??

The Evo is on top (its actually a lime green) and for comparison, my regular hikers are below it.  The notches for my crampons can be seen at the toe and heel. This might be the first year I can't wait for it to snow.

So in the end, its $509 of lime green goodness.

Hello Coto!

Signed up for Cotopaxi Express with Mountain Madness. Should be a great learning experience!