I found this article while researching info for one of my own and thought it worth republishing. Enjoy!
"The Trust: Ueli Steck and SCARPA discuss their symbiotic relationship of innovation and design
Mar. 29th
Literally coming off the heels of their latest collaboration, the new Rebel GTX Carbon alpine boot, speed climbing supercharger Ueli Steck and SCARPA answer a few questions about their decade-long relationship of designing, building and testing the best mountain boots, and how it pertains to the changing state-of-the-art in alpine climbing.
[For SCARPA:] Being a really good climber doesn’t necessarily make someone a great product designer. What makes Ueli stand out as a contributor to SCARPA product design? It is essentially a matter of feeling, and then a lot of experience in mountaineering and climbing. When you feel and use the product as Ueli does, you can also easily imagine it. And what our R&D needs is to make feelings and ideas concrete, and create a product that can be part of the action itself. Ueli has this kind of sensitivity and we firmly wanted him to share it with SCARPA.
[For Ueli:] You’ve actually been working with SCARPA for a while. How long? How did that relationship come about? It started in about 2001. It was actually Romolo Nottaris who supported me first. It was not just a business decision; it was also a personal feeling, which was always very important from the beginning.[For SCARPA:] What does SCARPA expect from Ueli as a design consultant? How do you use his feedback? His feedback is now extremely precious for us. First, from a strictly technical point of view, we try to create a product which can satisfy the needs of one of the greatest mountaineers ever, and, we also try to understand deeply its sense of speed and lightness.
This last point is one of our main goals: if Ueli and his ideas become a sort of icon in the mountaineering world, this is what we would like to have happen to our products as well. Quality and performance of our products and style are great strengths of our brand, and every day we aim to reach the highest levels.
[For Ueli:] What initially drew you into collaborating with SCARPA? What is the first product you were involved with? The first prototypes I got were the Phantom Light and the Phantom 8000. Erhard Lorethan and I got the shoes just when we went to the north face of Jannu for the first time in 2002. SCARPA managed to build them after the first Phantom Light and Phantom 8000 for the market, which was based on these prototypes. It is pretty nice to see that many other brands are making these types of shoes now. The first season SCARPA came out with them, everybody told us they’re never going to sell, that it’s just something for a very special interest. And now lots of people sell them. It is always hard to bring changes into the market.
[For SCARPA:] Ueli was quite involved in developing the midsole/sole platform on the new Phantom collection. How did his involvement affect and direct that project? Sensitivity, insulation and lightness are the main goals Ueli wants to work on. Due to the fact that these parameters have very different characteristics, it is often difficult to combine them together. In such a combination process, SCARPA can show its know-how and its ability in developing a product. This positive cooperation enables us to create a product that can provide a real innovation and benefit for the user.
[For Ueli:] You’ve been really involved with the new midsole/sole design (and its success) on boots like the new Phantom collection. What was your involvement around that project? What did you want to see SCARPA achieve? What do you think of the results? I was quite involved in the Phantom Ultra and Phantom Guide. The Ultra came definitely only on my demand. Everybody at SCARPA was afraid of the light sole. But that’s what I was looking for. The Phantom Ultra and the Phantom 6000 are very good boots. I also needed some time to convince SCARPA to use the lighter sole on the Phantom 6000 and to use a system to have an automatic crampon. It’s sometimes difficult to make someone understand what exactly we need for climbing. To make the best shoes you can’t always make decisions based on the commercial and production side of the business. You have to find the production solution for the shoe, and you have to find the marketing solution to make the market understand the product. Sometimes it is really hard to bring new ideas. People always think what they used for the last ten years was great. They first need to feel the difference, and for this they have to wear a new product.[For SCARPA:] What about Ueli’s contribution is unique, and how does that keep SCARPA at the forefront of alpine and climbing product design? We are currently assisting the growth of a new great generation of climbers whose approach to the discipline has radically changed from the past. They do not only climb hard, but they are also changing the way in which this sport is conceived.
Ueli isn’t just a fast climber. He applies his style of speed- and ultra-marathon level endurance to mountaineering that is as revolutionary as Reinhold Messner’s introduction of alpine-style climbing to the Himalayas in the 1970s. Steck is, in effect, creating a new sport, shattering speed records by moving faster over snow, rock and ice than most climbers can imagine.
For SCARPA to be a part of this new “innovative generation”, and have the opportunity to be linked to Ueli with our products, gives us a unique possibility to share our passion for the innovation and for this sport. Eventually, his time record for any given climb may be beaten. The contribution of Ueli gives our company once again the possibility to establish new milestones in history.
[For Ueli:] Where do you get your ideas for product design? Is it something you consider after a trip with regard to things that didn’t work as well as they could, or do ideas come to during actual climbs? Or both?
My vision is actually to combine trail running shoes with mountaineering boots. That’s all you need. Having a warm trail running shoe to climb Everest would be so great. For a technical face you need a climbing shoe that is warm enough. It’s simple. I just try to look at other sports to improve mountaineering boots. I think we can learn a lot. If you look at cross-country ski boots, they are very light and stiff enough to use crampons.
[For SCARPA:] What are the biggest rewards and hurdles with this kind of partnership? The chance to live every day with intense passion of our work, to interpret our mission as a footwear company in a very important, contemporary way, and to imagine and develop products for the climbers of the future. Ueli today represents the future of mountaineering, and the most ethically respectful climber ever.
We ask ourselves during the R&D meeting section “what does it mean for a footwear company to be focused on innovation?” Traditionally, in the climbing world, records were fixed. When a team or soloist bagged a first ascent, that was that. The route could be climbed again, climbed faster, or in a different style, and off course, with very innovative products. But the first ascent stayed on the books. Time-based records, like those in running, only hold until someone faster comes along.
SCARPA has been trying to push the limits of our products for 74 years, and set new standards with the cooperation some of the most important climbers in the world. I’m sure our company, with Ueli Steck at the moment, reaches the highest levels.
[For Ueli:] How does helping design products affect your own climbing experiences?A lot of ideas come from the fact I did these speed ascents. I needed something light and very precise to climb. And I really don’t like to suffer. Shoes make your life much easier.
I don’t like heavy boots. Think about your normal life. If you wear comfortable shoes at your home, why can’t we build shoes for mountaineering that are also comfortable enough for watching TV? This is what we have to think about. There is still a lot of work, and I hope I get the chance to work on that. I reached a point in my climbing where I cannot improve a lot more; I just can climb another project. I won’t have these mind-breaking changes anymore. Speed climbing is normal now. When I started, everybody thought I was on drugs to be that fast. I am looking for new challenges in my life. Building mind-breaking shoes is very interesting."
You can find the article here in the original form and more:
http://blog.scarpa.com/ueli-steck-and-scarpa-interview/
We have not visited as many zoos as I'd like, because Austin is not a fan of them. He was complaining on the way to this one, telling us that if you've seen one zoo then you've seen them all because it's the same animals over and over again.
While there are many animals that we do see in each zoo, once we were inside the zoo, we were surprised to see that they had quite a few unique animals there. So he joked that he was so glad he talked us into the zoo, because you always see a wide variety when visiting multiple zoos and they are never the same. We should listen to him more often, lol!
We only saw about half of the zoo due to getting distracted by Blue Bell Ice Cream and a visit to the Botanical Gardens, but what we did see was awesome. We loved this zoo!
Interesting clouds. Nice, yes?
But then I walked further down the road.
A change of position and I zoomed in a bit more.
Just a little further down the road.
It just got better with each passing minute.
And then it was over.
On the afternoon of Tuesday, July 1, a climber fell approximately 15 feet into a crevasse at around 11,400 feet on the Kautz Glacier of Mount Rainier while descending the Mountain. The injured climber, Mitchell Bell, was rescued from the crevasse by his four teammates. Bell had injured ribs and visible lacerations to his head and face, but he was conscious and in stable condition. A doctor in the team quickly determined that due to his known and potential injuries, Bell could not continue the descent without assistance. Two members of the party climbed down in search of help, leaving the doctor, another teammate, and the patient at the scene. Back at Camp Hazard about 1,000 feet below, they found Alpine Ascents International (AAI). Several AAI guides responded to the request for assistance and contacted the National Park Service. A plan was put in place for two AAI guides to travel to the accident scene that evening to assess the injured climber’s condition and bring with them materials for an overnight stay on the Mountain. Based on their assessment, the Incident Commander, David Gottlieb called for air-lift/hoist extraction the following morning.
Within an hour of take-off on Wednesday morning at approximately 6:45 a.m., a US Army Reserve Chinook helicopter from Fort Lewis successfully extracted the injured climber from the Kautz Glacier. The patient was transported to Madigan Hospital for further medical evaluation. He was released later that day. 
Finally, a cargo bike I can comfortably ride. A proper, enormous, heavy cargo bike. In the past I've described finding this genre of bicycles challenging to handle, and some of you have suggested that I might find a longtail easier than a front-load system. You were right! But this is not your typical longtail.
The idea of the MSC Truck is similar to that of a box bike or "long john," except that the loading platform is in the rear. Designed by my friend Wolfgang Hoefler for his delivery companyHeavy Pedals (in Vienna, Austria), the bike is manufactured by the Viennese Maderna Cycle Systems.
The mixte-esque frames are made of oversized steel tubing and is manufactured in Europe (Austria and Poland, as far as I understand).
The bike pictured with the aluminum box is Wolfgang's personal version with various customisations, and above is what the production version looks like with the platform empty. The wheelbase is 200cm and the total length is 265cm. The weight as pictured is 28kg (62lb). The wheels are 26". The rear rack is integrated with the frame, and the rack's tubing will fit many pannier systems including Ortlieb. The bike comes standard with a suspension fork, disk brakes, heavy duty kickstand, plastic fenders, padded vinyl saddle, and straight handlebars. There are several different gearing options, including derailleur and internally geared hub. Dynamo lighting is available as an option as well.
The loading platform is 60cm x 60cm.
The platform can house a variety of containers. Heavy Pedals prefer to use the customisable Alu-boxes. But it can also be fitted with a more traditional cargo box, or child seats. Personally I would love an option where slatted sides could be added to the platform so that it becomes a container in of itself.
There are provisions for bungee cord attachments. 
The front of the bike has a dock to which you could also attach a front rack. Overall the Truck is rated to transport 150kg (331lb) of weight, not counting the cyclist. 
The height of the rack coincides with the height of a typical crate, making it possible to turn the rear into a larger platform still for oversized objects.
When parked, the bike is very sturdy on its double-legged kickstand; there is no wobble.
Very sturdy indeed! As I discovered when handling the Truck, there is no need to lift it either to engage or pull up the kickstand - it works via tapping it with your foot and then rolling the bike either forward or back. Even a person of very slight stature can handle it. 
I was reluctant to try riding the Truck, because I did not want to overturn Wolfgang's cargo and chip his paint by crashing it. But he knows my riding style (having taught me to ride a brakeless track bike safely last summer), and assured me I'd be able to ride it. It would feel just like a regular bike, he promised. And there is no dramatic story coming, because it did.Balancing it felt the same as with a regular bike - no twitchiness when starting and braking as I had experienced with front-load bikes. It wasn't especially difficult to maneuver around the very cramped space you see me riding in. I could sense that I had a long tail, but it was intuitive what to do about it. I can't really explain it any better, other than to describe the handling as unremarkable - which, when it comes to cargo bikes, is a compliment. Though I did not ride it through the city, I would feel comfortable trying. According to Wolfgang, the handling is not any different when the platform is empty vs heavily loaded; the only difference is that it's more difficult to go uphill with the extra weight. Typical speed of a moderately loaded Truck is 20 km/h (12.5mph), though it is capable of going over 30 km/h (18.6mph) if the rider prefers to travel faster. The speed depends on the gearing you chose as well.
In addition to the fine handling, the Truck was easy to mount and dismount in a skirt thanks to the unisex frame. The adjustable saddle height (via quick-release) was convenient as well. The bike remained stable when I was walking it. A good design all around, it seems to me. It is not as "cute" as a traditional cargo bike and I am not a fan of the colour, but I have no complaints regarding its functionality. In fact, I am wondering what the benefit of a front-loading cargo bike is, if the same weight can be transported via a longtail system without impacting handling - particularly since stuff can be piled higher in the rear, where it will not block the cyclist's field of vision. This is not so much a criticism of front-load bikes, as a genuine question: What accounts for the fact that traditional makers have favoured the front-load system? 
Join the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in celebrating our annual Tree Talk & Winter Walk on Saturday, January 27, where we will be helping you in “Barking Up the Right Tree”. Our event features a robust Tree Sale, with more than 80 species from which to choose. Purchase the perfect native tree for your urban landscape. Join us for walks and talks, such as how to identify & maintain native trees, & explore the importance of trees in the urban landscape. The day will include a Tree Planting demonstration, and activities for children & families. Don't forget to stop on by our Gift Store, where children's author Michael Todd will be signing copies of his book Texas State Bird Pageant from noon to 3 p.m. You can also get a 20% discount on selected items while shopping at the store (what a deal)!