Sunday, December 31, 2017

Eight Hundred Foot Day

... great conditions yesterday...

... two miles of climbing...

... 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"...

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...

... 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...

Bruce Brown

... definitely some influence from this guy...

... 1937 - 2017... a life well lived...

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...

... "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)