A month of records: Liam O'Sullivan claims new speed record

Less than a month after Justin Merle broke the speed summit record of Mount Rainier from Paradise to Columbia Crest and back, Liam O'Sullivan, a mountain guide employed by International Mountain Guides (IMG), raised the bar once again, beating Merle's time by 3 minutes with a new record of 4 hours, 46 minutes and 29 seconds (FYI: Both Merle and O'Sullivan had small amounts of supplies cached at Camp Muir and dropped crampons on the descent). O'Sullivan left the upper Paradise parking lot at 4:20:08 a.m. and arrived at Camp Muir 1 hr 24 minutes later, putting him well on the way to a new record. O'Sullivan then beat his own personal time to Columbia Crest by 5 minutes, with a one way time of 3:11:22. On a previous attempt this month, O'Sullivan had been on pace to beat the record, but then faced fierce cramps on the descent which prevented him from setting a new record. This was almost the case again, but he was able to pull through this time.

"Any long or awkward step (which the Cleaver has plenty of by now) would cause me to cramp, so I descended cautiously to Muir, by which time I had lost all but 1 minute of the lead I had gained on Justin Merle's pace. I descended the (unfortunately) still firm Muir Snowfield, reaching Pebble neck-and-neck with Justin's time. Then battling the rocky, stepped trail, I commenced. Below Glacier Vista I kicked, breaking away from the pace, opted for the more direct east side of Alta Vista (complete with skin-shredding steep asphalt descent), and reached the trailhead in 4:46:29!"

Climbing conditions on Disappoinment Cleaver (DC) are some of the best conditions seen in years, which could account for the recent trend of speed ascents this month, including record attempts by O'Sullivan and Alpine Ascents International (AAI) Guide Michael Horst, and an amazing combination bicycle ride and speed ascent by Randall Nordfors. Despite the phenomenal conditions on the DC all summer, the season is moving along and things are beginning to break up, so future speed ascent attempts may be more difficult due to less direct route and slower climbing conditions. However, this may not stop would-be record breakers like Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, a guide with Alpine Ascents International (AAI) and previous Everest record holder. Check out a recent article by The Seattle Times, covering this new competition for the "Rainier Speed Summit".

In addition to his record breaking climb, O'Sullivan has had a pretty good month - he made his 100th summit of Rainier on a tough Kautz route in less than ideal conditions, he guided Nordfors' Puget Sound to Summit trip and now begins a new path: medical school. After 10 years of mountain guiding on Mount Rainier and around the globe, we wish Liam the best and look forward to hearing more great things from him in the future.

Outdoor Cafe

I loved the colors I found in this outdoor cafe off of a coffee shop. There was no one there so we took the time to take several photos of the umbrellas, Spanish style table and chairs, ristras, and flowers in their little garden.

Merry Christmas from Show Us the World

We hope everyone out there had a very Merry Christmas. We only had two of the five kids with us, and no grandkids, so that made for a very quiet and somewhat sad day. Setting that aside, it was one of the best Christmases I can remember. We were low on funds, so we knew we would not get many material gifts. Which meant we had very low expectations. The really great thing about low expectations is you are rarely disappointed and in this case, we were tickled pink with whatever gifts we had. Nathan did all of the gift shopping and he did a great job. I really love that man!



The boys were very mature about the light number of gifts. I've been very proud of both of them lately for various reasons and today was another reminder of why. I told them today that they are so much cooler than I was when I was there age. One of them told me they are cooler than I am now. I agree!



We did enjoy our biggest family gift, which was Ava.

Lucky for us, we all love her and think she is a great gift. She spent the whole day going from one of us to the next, soaking up all of the love and cuddles she could get. Even the guy who swore he'd never get a little dog thinks she is the bees knees. Having just written that, the fact I use the phrase the bees knees might just be part of why the kids are so much cooler than me. Who cares. The point is, Ava is by far the best Christmas gift I've ever received. I love that dog so much!

Outside of the little sweetness known as Ava, our family had much sweetness this season with those people who are with us right now. I am really humbled by the gifts that others have given to us, especially with those given to the boys. It has reminded me of the true reason for the season. We really have had a great holiday so far and hope it continues into the New Year!

Hope everyone else enjoyed their day too.



Merry Christmas to all!

Ergo or Nomic?

Another gumby happy with his Ergos ;)



November 17, 11:41 AM







Aaron said...



"Your (Ergo) articles, and some swinging at a demo, convinced me to go with the Ergo as my first set of tools.



I agree that they look radical when compared to other tools, but after a few laps I was a believer! The swing felt a little different when compared to other tools I've used, but those were all more "traditionally" shaped tools (quark, viper, old set of prophets). It didn't take long to adjust.



Some field testing results to back up your statement about these being good beginner tools:



I'm a gumby when it comes to ice, and while I'm working on fixing that, I feel that the Ergo will help greatly along the way. Sticks are easy to get and the orientation of the handle, more like a pullup bar, eases pump and lets me move my hand around into different positions while hanging. This gives me more time to work on proper foot and tool placements without pumping out. I've let a bunch of my other ice gumby friends try them and they really are a hit. Most of the beginners felt that they were easier to climb with than the other tools we had (viper/cobra and quarks)."









Photo courtesy of Jon Griffith @ Alpine ExposuresUeli Steck and his Ergoson Super Coulior Direct

And more on the Dru.

http://www.tvmountain.com/video/alpinisme/8621-couloir-nord-des-drus-massif-du-mont-blanc.html

The Main Parallelogram

I am working on a step-through bicycle frame - a design which is simultaneously common and unusual. It is common if you look around the streets of Boston, which are teeming with vintage step-throughs. And it is unusual considering that no one I know has built this exact style of frame. Mixtes and modified step-throughs yes. But not plain step-throughs where the top and down tubes are parallel. In fact, this bicycle does not even have what can be called a main triangle. It is a main parallelogram.




The head tube and the seat tube are also parallel lines - each at a 72° angle. This double set of parallels makes for an interesting visual pattern.






For this frame I used straight gauge tubing, so that I could practice cutting and brazing unsupervised without worrying about butting and thin walls. The hardy tubing should also minimise flex and twist in the step-through design, as well as make it possible to store the finished machine outdoors and generally treat it as a beater bike.






The joints will be fillet brazed (lugless) - partly because I would like to practice fillet brazing, and partly because there isn't currently a reliable source for a step-through lugset. Fillet brazing requires using brass as the filler material and heating up the joints considerably more than you would with lugged silver brazing. Since I am using straight gauge tubing, this should not be a problem. The only thing I am a little nervous about is the bottom bracket. With a lugged bottom bracket, the tubes are inserted into hollow sleeves, allowing you to look inside after brazing and check whether the filler material has pulled through properly. With a plain shell like the one pictured here, this cannot be done. I've considered using a lugged bottom bracket while fillet brazing the rest of the joints, but ultimately decided against that. I'll just have to be especially diligent in this area.






My goal in making this frame was to get some practice with basic technique without having to worry about thin wall tubing, unusually wide tires or multitudes of braze-ons. However, it was also crucial to me that I ride the finished bike as much as possible as part of everyday life, and I knew that would not happen with a plain diamond frame. The resulting compromise was a single speed 26" wheel step-through with a raked-out fork. Basically very similar to the prototypical English "Sports Roadster," but with lower trail.






Getting the slanted top tube was in a sense straightforward, but not without its quirks. To start with I specced out the slope to match the angle of the downtube. Funny thing though: When the angles were mathematically identical they looked off to the human eye (several spectators confirmed this), so in fact the tubes had to be not quite parallel in order for them look right. Paul Carson taught me how to use his notching lathe, and none of the notches were problematic except for the top head joint. That one had to be adjusted repeatedly to make the angle look right - but finally it got there.




As the mocked up tubes are starting to look bike-like, those who see the beginnings of this frame tend to have an "Aha, I know what kind of bike this is!" type of reaction. It's been nice to get that feedback. While the first frame I made was done in the privacy of a teacher-student environment, now I am working in a shared shop space with loads of people around. Random people passing through will ask what I am working on, and repeatedly I find myself articulating not just the concept of the frame but the step-by-step process of building it. No doubt this recital helps me make more sense of the process myself.

Ingalls Peak

It was like a garden between Ingalls Pass and Ingalls lake. Danielle wants to live there.











The mountain goats were pretty friendly.













Snow on the edge of Ingalls Lake.

Dani exploring the shoreline. Mt. Stuart in the background.












Climbing Mt. Ingalls, North Peak.















Dave, Nicholas, Mark, Mike (and Doug) on the summit.














Nicholas rappelling down.









Ingalls Lake and Mt. Stuart as seen from Ingalls South Peak.

Domesticating the Transportation Bicycle?

[Bowery Lane bicycle, made in Brooklyn; image via bowerylanebicycles]

When a skirt-wearing woman is photographed astride a step-through bicycle, she is inevitably described as riding a "European bike."Transportation bicycles in North America are to a large extent synonymous with European bicycles, and the cause is understandable: Most classic bikes currently on the market are indeed imported from the EU. But ultimately, how good is this association for the fate of transportation cycling in North America? Tom Bowden taps into this idea inHow to Talk About Cycling to a Conservative, where he suggests to"refrain from gushing praise of European cycling culture, e.g. the Dutch, the Danes, or whoever. Conservatives are not inclined to emulate pre-colonial imperialist has-beens - at least not consciously." Funny, but true. And in my view not limited to conservatives. The US "as a whole" (inasmuch as there can be such a thing) prefers to be a cultural trendsetter, not a follower. Is it realistic to believe that bicycles are immune to that?

[vintage Schwinn, made in Chicago; image via eva.lu]

A separate issue is that of cultural affiliation. Does a European bicycle really mean anything to the majority of the North American population? Are images of Amsterdam, romantic as they may be, really of personal significance? I don't see how they could be. Images of a glowing midwestern girl riding a '50sSchwinn through the noisy streets of Chicago, or a carefree Californian on a beach cruiser, are likely to be more relatable. And thatbrings me to yet another point: the US has its own upright bicycle manufacturing tradition. From Victor Bicycles and Iver Johnson in Boston, to Worksman Cycles in New York and the aforementioned Schwinn in Chicago, the history is there and the cultural associations are there. Can new American manufacturers emerge from these historical roots?



[ANT basket bike; made in Holliston, MA]

Please don't misunderstand: Obviously, I love European bicycles. English Roadsters, Dutch bikes, French mixtes, Italian city bikes - I am crazy about them all. But in addition, it would be exciting to see the US revamp its own distinct cultural specimen. To some extent, Mike Flanigan of ANT does this nicely - but he is a custom framebuilder and not a manufacturer. Perhaps over time, someone will step up to the plate and we shall see the classic (lady's!) transportation bicycle domesticated.

Sometimes ya just strike out!

And you have to wonder, What were “they” thinking when this was filmed? It's not the first time I've come across something like this. And I'm sure it won't be the last! [big sigh] Somewhere on this page is the guy I'm looking for...





Index to Deeds, Union County, Ohio for the “A” surname and “W” given name.Family History Library film 571773 accessed February 24, ..

In Da House

So, apparently even in Vienna I am incapable of riding just one bike. Now I have Jacqueline the lady's Waffenrad and Kurt the trackbike living with me. Jacqueline stays in the courtyard, chained to a pipe. Kurt leads a pampered lifestyle indoors.

Here are his posh private quarters, under the loft stairs and on my housemate's nice rug. Amazingly, she does not object to her new tenant.

I have been riding Kurt every day after work since having gotten him on Monday, but today my legs demanded a break. My "adventures" so far have included getting a flat 5 miles from home and learning why tubular tires outside the track are not a great idea (you can't patch them up). With the rim and tire combination on this bike, it is actually okay to cycle on a flat slowly, and that is how I got home. But my hands were not too happy after the "vibrant" ride of shame. Later, Wolfgang switched out my entire front wheel for another one with an intact tire. I am guessing they don't make tubular tires with kevlar, eh?

Another fun thing that happened, was that the bolt came off one of my rear drop-outs and I did not notice until much later. I am guessing this happened from riding on potholes. Thankfully, the bolt on the other side of the wheel remained securely attached, but it was still scary to see. Today I bought a replacement (good Lord, Campagnolo bolts are expensive!), so all is well. From now on I will inspect the bike carefully before taking it out - which, I am realising, is something one needs to do on a bicycle like this.

I have been delighted to discover that the geometry of this bicycle activates the thigh muscles in a way that after 5 days I can already see a difference in the contours of my legs - very nice. Kurt is welcome in my house any time - I just hope he has the good manners to keep his bolts on and his tires inflated!

Rodeo

We went to the PRCA rodeo last night held at the Santa Ana Star Center here in Rio Rancho where they do a lot of events like hockey and concerts as well as the rodeos. I was a bit disappointed since it was billed as being a PRCA event, meaning that it was backed by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. But to me it seemed more like an amature event than a professional rodeo. I would have been alright with it if they had billed it as an amature event but not as professional. Consider this - out of about 8 steer wrestlers only one was able to jump off of his horse and wrestle his steer down as it is supposed to be done. Another rider got his down but it took him way, way to long so no score and the others just fell off their horses beside the steer which looked back at the cowboys as if to say 'Ha Ha - you missed' and ran out of the arena. Have to admit that the other events like the bareback bronc riding, calf roping, team roping and saddle bronc riding were better but the barrel racing wasn't great as most of the girls were riding way to close to the barrels so that the barrels got knocked over. I have seen teenage kids on TV do better than most of these professional were doing. The bull riding was Ok and I was able to get better photos of that as by then I had figured out how to adjust the camera to get some half way decent shots. Of course we were sitting up in VIP seating which was kind of high up but better viewing than I expected, plus the lighting wasn't the greatest being an indoor arena. Actually I almost didn't even take my camera as I didn't expect anything to come out, but my little camera did good considering.
Still it was fun especially as it was the first rodeo I had been to in about 20 years near as I can figure. The very worse part was the anouncer was so loud that we couldn't understand what he was saying so we didn't know who the contestants were or their scores.

One Switzer Family in Columbiana County - - Mine!

As stated in They were Shouting “Hey! What About Me? I had put research on the Switzer family on the back burner for many years. They just seemed too complicated. After all, there were three men named Jacob Switzer residing near each other in Columbiana County, Ohio at the same time. And two of them were about the same age and both had a wife named Catherine! And the resources for figuring them out simply were not available at that time.



There was some information on “my” Switzer family from a biography of Jacob Yarian and one of his son Jonathan Yarian. The full text of the biographies, including sources, can be read in the post mentioned above. Was it all true? Or were just parts of it valid? Below I've abstracted the basic information (shown in blue bold type) and what I've discovered (a combination of new info found in June at the Family History Library and old stuff) will be in normal black type.



One biography stated that Elizabeth Switzer was born near Lisbon in Columbiana County on September 23, 1815. The other one stated she was born September 24, 1815 in Columbiana County, Ohio.

Jacob and Elizabeth Yarian are buried in Randolph Hillside Cemetery in Portage County, Ohio. Their gravemarker shows that Elizabeth was born September 24, 1815 and died July 3, 1894. Jacob was born December 24, 1812 and died March 26. 1895.



As far as where she was born, I haven't yet determined where exactly the family was living but it was in either Salem or Fairfield townships both of which are just north of Centre township. The town of Lisbon, is in Centre township.

She married Jacob Yarian on April 2, 1835 in Columbiana County.

Their marriage is recorded in Columbiana County Marriage book 3 page 48, and they indeed were married on April 2, 1835.

The marriage record of Jacob Yarian and Elizabeth Switzer. Cropped portion of image downloaded from FamilySearch database "Ohio, County Marriages" on May 28, ...

Her parents were Jacob and Mary C. Switzer. Elizabeth was the oldest of their seven daughters.

The final settlement document in the estate file for Jacob Switzer (packet number 4962 dated November 7, 1859) named his heirs: his widow, Leathy Switzer; Jacob Yarian & wife; Jacob Monanack & wife; Peter Buckecker & wife, Daniel Deemer & wife. Marriage records of Columbiana County provided the first names of the Switzer daughters: Elizabeth married Jacob Yarian, Barbara married Jacob Manaweck, Rebecca married Peter Buckecker and Susan married Daniel Deemer. The names of the other three daughters, if there were that many, remain a mystery.



Leathy was Jacob's second wife. Columbiana County marriage book 38 page 168 shows that on March 10, 1853 Jacob Switzer was married to Leathy Bricker.



In Columbiana County marriage book 1 page 95 we find the record of the marriage of Jacob Switzer and Caty Brinker on February 26, 1811.



Confirmation that Caty Brinker was the mother of Elizabeth was found in a deed dated August 11, 1849 in which the heirs of Catherine Sweitzer were selling land that had been given to her by her father Andrew Brinker. (More on that discovery in a future post!)



The families of the four Switzer daughters have been found in census records through 1870 and it seems that Barbara was the oldest, being a year or two older than Elizabeth.

One biography states that Jacob Sweitzer was born in Switzerland. He was reared in that country and at the age of 27 came to America, locating in Columbiana County where he secured a tract of timbered land and literally hewed a farm from the wilderness. The other biography says that Jacob and Mary C. Switzer were natives of Pennsylvania.

The 1850 census of Salem Township, Columbiana County (p280) shows Jacob Switzer and Catherine A. Switzer, both age 65 and both born in Pennsylvania. I'm fairly certain that this is “my” Switzer family since Daniel Deemer and his wife Susanna are listed immediately after Jacob and Catherine.

Jacob and his wife survived to be old people. He passed away at the age of 87 and she at the age of 83.

According to Columbiana County Cemetery Inscriptions Volume 13, Jacob and Catharine are buried in the English Lutheran Cemetery in Salem Township. The transcription for Catharine says she was the wife of Jacob and that she died March 6, 1852 ae 64y 8m 17d. However, this puzzles me just a bit for two reason. First, Catherine was 65 years old in the 1850 census so either the census is wrong or the stone was difficult to read and mis-transcribed. Could the 4 in her age really be a 7? And second, the heirs of Catharine Switzer sold 213 acres of land on August 11, 1849 that had been deeded to her. Perhaps they were selling it on her behalf and simply releasing their claim to the land since it was sold for just $1 (one dollar) to Thomas McCoy. I have not yet researched to see if he is somehow related to them.

The cemetery transcription for Jacob Swettzer shows that he died November 2, 1859 ae 71y 9m 29d. As a side note, Jacob's second wife Leathy was also buried in the same cemetery. She died January 17, 1859 ae 79y 11m 25d.

Since I am approaching the age of 64 I can't really say that 64 is old ;-) but 79, yeah, I guess that's old. But neither Elizabeth nor Jacob reached the age of 83 or 87 as recorded in the biography.

Jacob Sweitzer and Ephraim Holloway were brothers-in-law of Martin Hoke. They entered section 25 about the year 1804.

This is not “my” Jacob Switzer. A deed record dated January 20, 1832 shows Jacob Switzer and Elizabeth his wife selling 156 acres in the NE ¼ of S 25 T15 R3 to Daniel Switzer for $1500 and other considerations. This land was granted to Jacob Switzer by Patent. (Again, more on this Jacob and this transaction in a future post.)

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

As with most family biographies published in county history books in the late 1800s and early 1900s there is some good/accurate information and some bad/inaccurate information. It is up to us, the family history researchers, to determine which is which!

Solstice!

Soon the longest day of the year will be upon us. For climbers this is significant not only because there are a lot of festivals, parties and music happenings throughout the area, but also because this is the time of the year when the long daylight hours allow us to climb headlamp free for many, many hours.



This year the actual Solstice is on June 20 at 23:09, however its effects will be noticed for a much longer period of time and are in fact currently being observed. Since the 20th is a weekday you can actually make it to the Fremont Fair and the associated parties going on this weekend, get down, recover and STILL get out in the wilderness or wherever else you enjoy being for the actual day of Solstice. (Just assuming wilderness is your thing since this is a blog about climbing Mount Rainier.)



The forecast for the upcoming week looks like a mixed bag with some sun and clouds, but no major storm events are on the horizon. Hopefully we are done with those for a while. Climbers have recently been summitting via all the standard routes, so check out the updates for the DC, Emmons, and Liberty Ridge among others. Don't forget your sunblock and stay hydrated out there!

The Jackson Visitor Center finally closes its doors

Without too much fanfare, the Jackson Visitor Center closed its doors to the public today, September 28th, . The NPS is replacing the facility with a new Jackson Visitor Center, scheduled to open (with much fanfare) on October 10th.

For curiosity and fun, I hung out near the main doorway as the final visitors exited and walked away. Over the past two weeks, a public reader board noted today’s significance by counting down the days. Next to it was a hand drawn picture of the space saucer shaped visitor center blasting off into orbit above Mount Rainier. As the front doors were finally locked, you could see rangers and concession employees giggling and smiling inside.
Before the doors closed, I spoke with about one dozen visitors. Interestingly, most didn’t know before arriving in the park that today was the Jackson Visitor Center’s “last day.” Those who did primarily lamented the loss of the 360 degree view from the observation deck, and why wouldn’t they? Today was perfect and the sun was showing off as it slowly slipped behind the mountains and down the Nisqually Valley. The day had been clear and surprisingly warm for late September.


A small crowd cheered as the family (above and left) was informally proclaimed “the last visitors to the JVC.” By the way, there is nothing official about this distinction. It’s just that the doors were promptly locked behind them as they left. Turns out, they were from Puyallup and cruised up in a restored 1969 Cougar to say goodbye. Here is TNT reporter Jeff Mayor talking with them. Note the smiles.

Anyway, now we're just wondering: what sort of welcoming will the new JVC get? More after October 10th.

WHAT... There's still ice

Just when I thought it was over. Ice season had ended. Low and behold there's (a little) more. We were given a bit of good news the other day. Laura caught wind from a good friend of ours that there was still some climbable ice if we were interested. Of course we were. He told her of a still fat 20' pillar tucked away in a shaded little nook. She called to tell me right away. Other than somemixed stuff with poorly bonded "snice" we really haven't had much climbable ice in a few weeks due to the heavy rains and unseasonable warm temperatures. Eagerly we made the half hour approach to see if we could squeeze in one more ice climb. Sure enough there was a short 20' pillar with a mixed exit that was still in good condition. Granted it wasn't a rope stretcher by any means, but it sure was fun to get on a little more ice. It was smooth and lovely (a little hollow), but amazing compared to anything I'd seen in a while now. Not to mention that it was a beautiful day for a walk in the woods. A much appreciated thanks goes out to the searching samurai that gave us the tip on this little beauty. Here's a few pictures of our fun outing.

As we set out. I'll admit I was doubtful

a little break for the passing trains, will there be ice?

Here's what we found. Hard to believe!

Laura finishing a screw unaware of the muck that lies ahead

On the ride home we stopped to check

out other ice enthusiasts

Trillium cuneatum

When they say that Trillium cuneatum is variable, they ain't kidding.


Two different sized cuneatum behind two Trillium decumbens.


Some have very dark petals.


Some are lighter.


A few are really light.


Even fewer are mostly green.


Close-up green.


Some can't seem to decide.


Petal shape can vary too. Tall and skinny...


...to practically pudgy.


They can be tall...


Or very small. (One this small is unusual - probably due to growing conditions.)


And leaf patterns can vary even more.


Three shades.

And I didn't even get into how some of the leaves are droopy, and some are held high... Or leaf shape... But you can see some of those differences in the pictures too. Can you tell that I'm obsessed with trilliums?!