June Pictures

The weather lately has been phenomenal, although I think "real summer" is soon approaching. Here are some pictures of recent adventures.

 Taking my brother running....

....and scrambling 

Waterfall in Silver Fork 

Chesy on Mt. Van Cott 

Lone Peak 

Got lost ended up in the cirque 

Center Thumb 

Timp

Sewing up Plumb Line (5.10) 

Man Down

DISCLAIMER: This story is partially exaggerated and there are both normal climbing stoke pictures as well as slightly unnerving medical photography, proceed with caution.

After work on Friday, I was able to head up LCC and send Gordon’s Hangover (unclean, sure but I was stoked). Saturday, plans were made…where to now? Pentapitch, The Coffin, maybe hit up some other Wasatch classics. Also where should we run? Let’s go up to Alta it’s supposed to be hot…Sounds great!

Top-roping the Coffin (5.9) several weeks prior (post clean lead).

On Superior looking towards Alta, about to ski some summer slush (last weekend).

The waterfall on Superior

All of this sounded great, I just had to go into work for several hours that morning (reactions to run, etc, same old story).

I was seated at my bench top running a purification experiment (silica column chromatography) and picked up a bottle of solvent (CH₂Cl₂) near my feet. Unbeknownst to me, this bottle had a real sharp edge sticking out of it (a test tube, now broken and sharp, which I had attached to hold a permanent pipette); as it grazed up the side of my leg I felt an unfamiliar sting. Forrest Gump would have perceived this extrinsic source of stimuli as a bite but I knew better. As I looked down at my leg, hoping for the best, I saw a large flap of skin simply hanging almost as if my insides had been taken out. First thought, “Ok go get help”. Luckily at that very moment another one of my grad student brethren had walked into the lab to harass me.

Him: Hey you piece of shit do you have….?

Me: I need help.

Him: Holy Shit! Anonymous grad student get in here.

Other anonymous grad student: You need to go to the hospital.

Me: I dunno it’s not bleeding too much I think I’ll be fine.

Them: No we can see your insides.

In reality it wasn’t that bad, however the cut was so deep that there wasn’t much blood to be had. Thankfully I called Chesy, told her to meet me at the E.R., and my labmate dropped me off at the hospital.

8 stiches total (see pictures below), they’re pretty good at the U (University of Utah)

Pretty deep cut, you can see the fat cells. Probably about 3 inches long.

Angle #2: Pictures don’t do it justice or maybe I’m just not as hard as our forefathers

Angle #3

So now I’m training for the Speedgoat 50K and climbing via a bottle of alcohol.

Reason #254 not to go into work on a Saturday (still came back and finished that purification though).

In reality it was my fault, I knew the sharp piece of glassware was attached to that container but was too lazy to remove it and besides I usually throw my pipettes out anyway so the attached piece was useless broken or not. Now, because of me, my lab has a mandatory pants policy (which is probably for the best) but nonetheless…

Dromedary East Face

Lake Blanche has always been a favorite, amongst the smattering of places in the Wasatch, to visit. It's where Chesy and I did our first hike, it's where I took my brother to go camping when he came out to visit, and it's where I learned the art of mountain running (well walking). With Saturday free after work and no belayers in sight, one of whom was in Jacksonville, I decided a ski day was in order.

Surprisingly, Lake Blanche tugs on the heart strings of several other hundred Wasatch locals and the Mill B parking lot looked more like Disney Land than a trailhead. Given the population density on the trail I was greeted with several hundred questions as I passed the tourons as Tom would say (sometimes running with skis on back).

They are as follows:

Oh and I didn't actually say any of these things, normally I'd just smile and nod

"Is there still snow up there?"

-Nope just white rock

"You going skiing?"

-Nope just going to take these up here to sacrifice

"Where the HELL is he gonna ski?

-I didn't have an imaginary answer for this one I was kind of distraught by this persons angered tone to be honest, and he was at the lake. So either this loud mouthed gentlemen was blind or just stupid.

Out of 30 to 40 question and stares...2 people asked how the snow was (they deserve a medal).

Lake Florence

Monte Cristo (I think)

Tracks

Drom

Negative Space

Crack climbing is an inherently strange idea, unlike face climbing where everything is positive (in one manner or another...excluding I'm sure some crazy 5.14's) you are climbing through negative space. Your path to the endpoint (chains, the top, whatever) is through something that doesn't even exist. Now I'm sure that's part of the appeal for some people, but regardless of who you are you must admit it is a bit bizarre. 

This weekend Chesy and I got the chance to catch a glimpse of what Indian Creek's negative space was all about. Unfortunately, with the qualms of life it was that, just a glimpse. Nonetheless, we will return.

The day started with a run up Mt. Olympus (we couldn't leave after work that morning because Chesy had an event at 6) 

 Endless opportunity

 A sampling of Indian Creek's finest negative space

Plaque #1 Hand Solo 5.9

 My Beautiful Girlfriend

Rambling 

On 

Cactus

Another sampling Blue Sun (5.10)

Splitter hands 

 Chesy on TR

No hands rest 

Pictographs 

No matter where you go in the world you're likely to encounter at least one douchebag

The 16 gauge version (Hypodermic Needle)

Once I embarked away from the snowshoe tracks I was well on my way to the top of Maybird...on another note those snowshoer's have some balls walking almost to Maybird proper before descending (and they have to walk all the way back down not exactly my cup of tea on 5 star powder days.) Nearing the ridgeline I almost turned around as the boiler plate slide for life sections over cliffs didn't take to my liking or maybe I'm just a girl. I got to the ridgeline on Maybird in around 1:50 not bad for a fat kid.

One set of tracks greeted me into Hogum, I wondered to myself, who was as crazy as me to be skiing this kind of terrain alone?

Tracks down Hogum 200-600

As I began to follow the lonely skin track up the needle a lone skier began his descent, as he came into view he gave a friendly wave and then an acknowledgement as if we were friends. Pending a few seconds of dumbassery I realized it was Chris Cawley and we were in fact friends!

He mentioned some business about breaking trail and a heavy bag, and I replied something about being a fat kid and out of shape and so we took off on the skin track together. Little did I know Chris is as expert as they come and I found myself way behind, hands on my knees tired, as he slipped out of my sight. He did place like top 20 at the Speedgoat...me on the other hand, I was like top last.

Looking up the needle...if you look closely you can see a black dot...that's how far behind I had drifted. 

Looking back to Hogum 200 

It was deep 

The Pfeiff

Needless to say I was out of shape, tired, and a pretty big pussy, see look:

So I descended alone, weak, and unable to make the ridgeline...nonetheless, it was one of the best ski days of the year. Super stable with blower pow on top...amazing.

The Needle proper (taken from a few weeks earlier)

The red dot is where I pussed out. Got tired.

Needless to say  I found my way out, almost lost a ski, and hitched a ride back to my car at white pine.

Being Late

It seems as though I'm late for a number of things; I'm late for my doing proposal defense (grad school stuff), I was late to the Chemistry poster session last night, Chesy and I couldn't climb Lone in a day because we arrived too late, and usually any storm that strikes during the week I'm late in tracking things out, simply because I don't have the easiest schedule out there (yeah I know bitch bitch bitch).

So as I headed up white pine yesterday I figured I'd be late for finding any good snow. Crossing over to Maybird gulch...in boiler plate conditions I figured I was for once too early to take advantage of any sun effects on snow. This time however it was not a good thing as conditions were relatively crappy. After several missteps I placed my skis in my pack and booted to Maybird ridge only to find perfect corn/powder the whole way to LCC road. Yes!! perfectly timed not too hard not too soft.

The might Pfeiff 

I should've kept going but being partnerless I couldn't convince myself it was a good idea to mess around in Hogum.

I skied this, one of the many chutes off of Maybird ridge/peak 

Exit turns

Skiing Superior

Waking up on Sunday to several inches of snow at my house I figured it was best that I try to get up in the mountains and play around. Making good time up to Cardiff Summit I made my way up the Superior ridgeline. Partnerless, I couldn't convince myself to ski from the summit so I took some north facing shots followed by an exit out two trees.

Warning: The photos are pretty doctored

Since everyone else is ragging on the theme: A very crowded Wasangeles Indeed

Exit