... get's ya' to eight hundred feet of downhill - with some steep in the upper mile...
... and the cold temperatures kept it all powder...
... our boy Howie...
... good stuff for our little "neck of the woods"...
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Monday, December 25, 2017
Land of the Giants
... yesterdays journey to the mythic 'Land of the Giants'...
... entrance - and passage thru the protectors of the surface world - keepers to the hideous denizens of the underworld...
... entrance - and passage thru the protectors of the surface world - keepers to the hideous denizens of the underworld...
... the all seeing 'Eye of the Cyclops' ...
... mighty 'Titan'...
... the stoic 'Sentinal'...
... 'Argonaut' Sarah (aka: Muscle Girl Sarah) adding some scale to the behemoths ...
... first of the gargantuan's - this be 'Goliath'...
... very steep and thin faces all...
... 'Talos' and 'Calibos' - guardians of the labyrinth... Sarah doing a quick scout for any lurking 'Harpies' before entering the void...
... the way is clear - so far so good...
... into the labyrinth...
... nice layback crack leading to the overlapping roof of the flesh eating 'Cacus'...
... the steep, thin wall of 'Icarus'...
... gateway to the underworld...
... the deity sisters 'Erinyes'...
... guarding the steep 'Arete of Nine Hells'...
... the pocketed 'Wall of Vengeance'...
... and the flaring and awkward 'Crack of Doom'...
... the dreaded hooded 'Daedalus'...
... lord of the underworld...
... through the 'Rhodendron Forest' and return to the surface world...
... 'Newt' - loyal companion to...
... the mighty 'Hercules'...
... final stop at the ever flowing 'Forgetful Falls of Lethe' (whosoever drinks from it's waters will experience complete forgetfulness) - end of the journey and return to Elysium...
... lots of big rock up there - and lots of ridiculous fun... have to add this...
...You Tube clip - no idea what language (sounds German)... coolest monster ever - the genius of Mr. Harryhausen...
... man, if we were six years old we'd have more fun playin' there than goin' to Disneyland...
Update 12/29/17: Here's another angle of 'Hercules' for those who asked:
... had quite a few inquiries about this area - we put up a number of routes in ancient times BC (before crash pads)... seriously speaking - the private landowner got pissed about ten years ago over the cutting of some rhododendron and some bolting (not by us) and subsequently posted it (still is - and we don't mean an internet-type post) - we're going on record as not recommending climbing there... nice Sunday hike... spare us all the wrath of the gods...
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Three Inch Day
... first snow of the season...
... better than nothin' - yesterdays ridge conditions and first trip on the BC 110's...
Sunday, December 3, 2017
A Fourth Path
... Hinduism extols three paths for liberation of the human spirit and to God: the path of faith and worship, the path of good deeds, and the path of knowledge and wisdom....
... need to add one more...
... need to add one more...
... "not a living soul within miles of you, nothing above but the sky and God"...*
... any cross-country ski path...
*(photo: Kentuck ski area, Ohiopyle, and the Laurel Highlands - 1980)
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Hep Cat
... Ig the Cat stashed and ready for the white stuff - togged to the bricks and gammin' the new dry goods...
... primal threads copped directly from the versace supreme...
... too much...
Sunday, October 29, 2017
White Rocks, Ghosts and Henry Barber
... autumn leaves, daytime temperatures in the 40's, bone chilling drizzle rain - must be gettin' close to Halloween time in SWPA...
... first time we ever laid eyes on "mountain climbing" gear was our first visit to the old 'Ligonier Mountain Outfitters' shop located along PA Route 30 at the base of 'Laurel Ridge' in Laughlintown, PA... handling a carabiner for the first time and staring at a wall of ropes and complicated looking gear, the imagination was immediately captivated and thoughts transported to images of dangling from sheer rock walls high above wilderness landscapes... sounds like fun!... but this is PA, not Colorado or Wyoming - where do ya' need or can even use this this stuff around here?... one of the guidebooks on the wall included information on a place called 'White Rocks', located high atop 'Chestnut Ridge' just outside the town of Fairchance, PA - hey, that's about a half hour from home!...
... returned a week or two later and purchased the basics - a rope, some nylon webbing, a few carabiners, a "figure-eight" device (for braking the rope) and two climbing harnesses (looks like a two man operation - don't know any climbers, so gonna' have to find someone to drag along)...
... eventually made our way up to White Rocks - upon first glance was a bit disheartened - a long low cliff and large boulders - expected a bit more, especially since the guidebook featured a photo of a gnarly looking guy on one of the routes dangling from pitons and aid climbing gear - and we've regularly climbed stone bridge piers along the Yough River taller and steeper than this stuff and without the need for ropes (although, there was a river below to break the fall)... oh well - a bit disappointed but not discouraged...
... there were two other climbers there who were pretty friendly and let us hang out and we quickly understood that the main attraction to all this was ascending the cliff and boulders by the most difficult way possible - and also that we were additionally gonna' need a pair of those special rubber-soled rock climbing shoes they both had, not bulky leather boots, if we were gonna' have any success (and fun) on anything that was considered the least bit difficult... was personally thrashin' around and frustrated on a route considered "moderate" per the then standards when one of the guys let me try a pair of his rubber soled 'EB's' - man, talk about magic - cruised right up that thing along with a few other routes a bit higher up the scale of difficulty... immediately hooked - went out the following Monday and purchased a pair of my own...
----------
... supposedly White Rocks is haunted by the ghost of a girl named 'Polly Williams' who long ago was either pushed or jumped to her death (depending upon whose side of the story you were on at the time) from the clifftop while arguing with her boyfriend - they even have the spot from which she tumbled highlighted in white paint...
... we subsequently got in the routine of traveling to White Rocks every Friday night after work to get in a few hours of climbing practice before dark - a lot of the stuff (the 'Beginners Wall', 'Ball Bearing' boulder, 'Norwegian' and some long, difficult, low to the ground traverses) was easy enough to climb unroped, so wasn't too concerned if a partner wasn't available - besides, looked forward to the evening solitude after working all week - climbers back then were between circus clowns and serial killers in number, so the place was usually empty...
... you'd think that a lone individual right in the middle of a ghost's sanctuary would be primed to be scared sh*tless by said spook, especially when hiking out long after dark, but sorry to say, no sightings - and quite a few evenings were spent there alone... at least neighbor ghost 'Betty Knox', who resides several miles to the north in the hollows of 'Dunbar Creek', has the "spirited" initiative to break a few twigs to get your attention...
----------
... over time, hadn't visited White Rocks for maybe two years, so one Friday decided to make an evening visit, just like times past... upon arrival, there was one vehicle in the parking lot, which looked familiar, so after arriving at the cliff following the long hike in, took a stroll about to see who was there, if anyone at all... had just rounded the large 'Norwegian' boulder block (think that is what it is called) and practically bumped heads with the (at the time) world renowned rock climber 'Henry Barber'... knew him right off the bat - was a familiar face in the magazines, and had just watched him a short time earlier on the TV show 'American Sportsman' climbing unroped on some large and difficult sea cliff in Britain... still, did a double take and am immediately thinking "what the f*k is this guy doin' at some totally obscure, small-ass cliff in PA on a Friday night" - all before saying hi... didn't take long to figure things out, though - noticed immediately that Henry was accompanied by RK Myers (Meyers?), owner of the aforementioned Ligonier Mountain Outfitters - Barber was at the time a rep for equipment manufacturer 'Chouinard Equipment Co.', and was in the area doin' his sales rep thing, so RK took 'em out climbing... pretty cool...
(internet image)
... Henry Barber...
... true to form he was climbing sans rope and barefoot (and no crashpads back then - probably wouldn't want one anyway, even if ya' stacked ten at his feet) - the boulders top out at maybe 30ft - watched him climb a route we recall as being named 'Orangutan' - a bit overhung, hard (for the time, rated 5.10) and a meatgrinder ta' boot (as recalled) - couldn't imagine doing it barefoot (again, as recalled) - he tapped the lip then downclimbed it - he moved to an adjacent block and repeated the performance on a moderate 5.8... by this time my feet were startin' to hurt watchin' this guy - as well, didn't want to keep hangin' around like some dick, so said nice to meet ya' and bid our farewell... master rock climber and a pretty nice guy...
... by the way, RK left this world years back, we were told, as the result of a farming accident - a belated Rest-in-Peace brother...
----------
... know a gal who claims that she came across some old rock piles in the woods up near 'Bear Run Nature Reserve' that were supposedly ground markers for some unnamed civil war military graves... so she starts rummaging about the stones, looking for any artifacts... she gets as far as moving two or three stones when someone from behind grabs her roughly by the shoulder and pulls her ass backward, away from the rock piles, and on to the ground... only problem is - she's alone...
[11/30/17 - had to re-edit content]
Sunday, October 15, 2017
We See Dead People
... must be gettin' close to Halloween... was playin' around with the air tools earlier today and conjured up this...
'The Apparition'
... 3.5"x6"x16" - Catskill Formation Sandstone - around 20lbs...
... done in about thirty minutes entirely with a 4" diamond grinding cup wheel...
... too much fun...
Sunday, October 8, 2017
September Fatboys
... spent the weekends hittin' up a few of the big local trails last month - those fat tires really flatten 'em out...
.... looping routes all with big hill climbs, fast rolling singletrack thru deep woods, technical rock climbs and drops and long technical downhills... and lots of mud... great stuff...
.... looping routes all with big hill climbs, fast rolling singletrack thru deep woods, technical rock climbs and drops and long technical downhills... and lots of mud... great stuff...
... headin' out...
... photos don't do justice to the steepness of the routes - this short hillclimb is about as steep as is rideable...
... low point of 'Johns Hollow'...
... log hop...
... clearin' one that was bit badly angled and blockin' the route...
... final resting for this relic early '70's Jeep Wagoneer...
... start of the 1/4 mile steep, washed, rocky and technical hill climb exiting Johns Hollow...
...'Sandy Flats' flats...
... more flats - top of the ridge...
... some technical, rocky downhill exiting the flats...
... fun drops...
... side trip over to this oft-photographed 'Yough' river overlook...
... high along the river flanks...
... more steep and rocky uphill - headin' up into 'Elk Rock'...
... again - photos do no justice...
... into the deep woods...
... and more steep climbing...
... boulder slot...
... checkin' out the big 'Elk Rock' boulders ...
... side trip over to check out the sandstone cliffs of 'Colls Cove' - viewing south out across the highlands - hadn't been up there for a few years - Elk Rock is the actual name for the cliff as well as the general vicinity along 'Chestnut Ridge'...
... view down the cliff face...
... back into the woods - another overlook viewing east, high above the 'Yough River' - some rough lighting conditions for photography this day...
... great downhill here - drops around 425ft in a little over a quarter mile along west flank of Yough River - with plenty of rocks - a bit treacherous in spots...
...lots of rolling terrain from here on out...
... black bear territory...
... lots of singletrack - doesn't appear as much traveled as "back in the day"...
... more deep woods and a sea of 'Stinging Nettles'...
... they were pretty potent too...
... more giant boulders and rough lighting...
... multi-purpose beater...
... "boy, bet you hate comin' back here" are some comments we get after returning from a trip out west - don't know - about everything local that we post here is within' twenty minutes to an hour from the front door... think some people need to get out a bit more...
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