It's been some time since I've had the opportunity to "watch" Avi's like this, and that is probably not all bad. This one was on the '02 trip to the East Side of Denali. Pictured is Joel Anderson getting a shot of what we assumed was just a little bit of hanging serac calving off to create a little slide. It ends up that this "little" slide was over a mile away when it started and by the time it was over the plume had engulfed us and thensome.
If you want to read more about this trip and or check out some other-what I feel are-cool pics then just go to the website. www.goaao.com and click on the tab that says "adventures" and then on East Face of Denali '02. It's definintley long winded, but at the time was a bit cathartic and I've been told kind of fun to read. Livin' the Dream! B Block

 

well it is an epic year up here in AK for Wildlife. On the Bus ride in to go try this new climb I saw Moose, Wolves-that actually were walking on the road ahead of the bus, Dahl sheep, a ptarmigan, 2 Grizzlies, a heard of Caribou, and lots of birds. When I was hiking out I split things down into two loads, as I couldn't see a reason to kill myself as I'd already carried the 125 pounds in with one massive carry. So, I had hiked all the way back to the road with the first pack and then turned and went to bring out the second pack and had seen one big Dark colored Grizzly on the McKinley Sand Bar earlier in the morning, but was pretty sure that it had passed. And I didn't end up seeing that one again, but as I was hiking in with my head down just motoring, I came around this bend in the trail, and you have to envision that the Alder Brush that surrounds the trails is HEAVY. Then there is all the Spruce and such that fills in the rest. So, I came around the corner and caught something out of the corener of my eye-which happened to be a Giant lighter colored Grizzly. It had its head down as well just cruising along the trail. It was all of about 60 feet or so up the trail. He or she must have gotten tired of plodding through the brush as well. I froze for a second, then said "HEY!" Then I told the bear that I was going to go back around the corner and I backed around the corner, and did precisely what they tell you NOT to do, and sprinted probably a half mile to the closest opening in the Brush. I'm not sure why I thought that was a good idea, but I figured that at least I could get up wind if I needed to use the Bear Spray. I could hear the bear kind of crashing through the underbrush and I got already and started yelling at the big thing and really contemplating just dashing all the way back to the main road and leaving the other pack of gear. I knew that I needed to go in though, and thought about waiting until more people came hiking along as it is a pretty popular trail that I was on. After like 20 minutes I just decided to go for it and yelled in and told the bear that I was coming through and asked if that was OK with him-or her I guess. Right before I went in, I realized that I could really smell chocolate, and realized that a big piece or Lindt Chocolate that I had in my pocket had gotten smashed up on the GPS, so then I took that out of my pocket and set it on the side of the trail so as not to make myself more appetizing. So, then I just went for it and I found some Big Tracks that came almost all the way to the clearing that I was waiting in. I got some pics of my hand next to the tracks and they were BIG. When it was walking on all fours its shoulders were up to about my chest. I think that I hiked that section soooo fast, and I was all kinds of jumpy. I was singing out some weird song that I made up that was like HEY Bear, Heeeeeeeeeeeeey Bear Ohhh ohhh ohh ohhh ohh hey bear! That and clanking my trekking poles together periodically to make as much noise as possible. I got to my pack on the Sand Bar where I left it, and got one of my ice axes off the pack and carried it with me in one hand just in case. I was hiking back out to the main road and singing and such and I caught something out of the corner of my eye up ahead and I got ready to rumble-or maybe run the other way again, when I realized that it was just other hikers coming through. I apologized if I ruined their Wilderness experience with my loud and obnoxious singing, but they said that they'd seen the big tracks so they were just fine with it!!!

 

So, it has come to my attention in the past couple of years that driving is not an inherent trait of human beings. Having logged over 75K miles of driving in a year of road repping I thought that I had seen it all. Well that was until this little ditty.
Coming back from a little Avalanche Refresher Course in CO we were suprised to find some skillfull crashmanship I guess that you could say.
When we climbed down to see if everyone was OK, we were happy to find the car vacated, and a bit frightened to find a baby seat in the back as well. Fortunately the only fatality here seemed to be a crushed violin Depending on the skill level of the owner, that may well have been a blessing in disguise for the significant other/roomate of the violin's owner.
I kept envisioning in my mind, what a great way to cover up a "violin accident". Just roll the car, put your life in peril, but then the question would still have to come from the Violin's owner. "Don't you think that it is weird that my violin case opened and somehow allowed the violin to escape and be crushed??" And of course the purpetrator having to explain away the strange footprints found on the bottom of the Violin. "Oh, it must have gotten under foot when I was trying to extricate myself from the vehicle-surely you wouldn't think that I would INTENTIONALLY stomp on your violin..."
Ahhhh Driving and the things that you'll see and the stories that you'll conjur up on your own. If only the price of Gas would regress.........B Block
 

So, in the short stint that I could find to get away from work in the midst of Preshows and such was during Christmas. Jim Donini was kind enough to offer to put us up at his little "Chalet" as he likes to call it, in Ouray CO. The Chalet in fact is an awesome little spot over the garge complete with heat, a little fridge, a shower/bathroom and it's own training facility with a couple of weights and a great bouldering wall. Oh, and lest I forget to mention, an incredible view of the San Juans through some immense windows.
Ouray is a great place to get out and test the new tools and or clothing that is on the market. Having just joined the Marmot team I was keen to try out a whole range of variables in the Glove and Soft Shell category.
I can tell you that the Sharp Point Jacket is the #1 selling soft shell for a reason. The fit was great, it took lots of abrasion and my groveling through tough rocky sectionswhile not shifting around or pulling out of my harness. I was suprisingly a huge fan of the Photon Soft Shell jacket as well, with room for all my stuff, like Belay mitts, and iPod and when necessary the best fitting hood yet, and when not necessary, I forgot the hood was there.
As far as gloves, they were all pretty solid. Having used everything from Napa Mechanix gloves, to the Cloud Veil Ice Floe gloves, as well as BD's fine selection of handwear trying to find the perfect combiniation of warmth with dexterity, I've come to the conclusion that once and for all, there is no perfect pair of gloves. Reassuring however is the fact that Marmot has multiple gloves that can run the gambit.
I found that the Alpinist Pro Tool Glove was super sticky, even when wet and kept me stuck to whatever tool I used. The gauntlet on the glove isn't too long or too short, but just right for the type of jackets that I was using. The same could be said of the Alpinist Pro Glove, which by comparison was a bit warmer, and an AK glove. Ideally it would have a bit longer gauntlet/cuff for plunging into deeper corn snow, but really a kick ass glove just the same.
With most any glove I've found that you can really crank up the heat a notch by simply adding the little shake and warm heat packets to the inside of your wrist. They even have little holders made for them these days. Somebody was on to something......
I tried a number of different Soft Shell Pants and found that the old Magic Line Pants that I've had for a couple of seasons are really beyond compare, but some solid runner's up are the Dolomite and ATV pant by Marmot. They allowed me to stretch-well maybe to far to hope to have children later- but let's just say that they didn't inhibit-i.e. give me an excuse for not being able to get up something that required gymnastic moves as much of Ouray's testpieces seem to require.
The lined ATV pant is a great piece for those activities where you're pushing pretty hard. Even though they are lined they didn't seem overwhelming as they did a great job of moisture management.
It was a great trip all in all and I look forward to future forays into "gear analysis" that have me out and about.
There is always ice somewhere. Anybody for a trip to the Cordillera Blanca??

P.S. Did you know that they have Sushi in Ouray again? Being from IA I won't even say anything about it being landlocked, etc. Taki in Des Moines has Great Sushi-on par with Seattle I swear.....B Block 

Sandstone Ice Fest this year was an Awesome event that was exceptionally well attended. Maybe it's the close proximity to the twin cities, or maybe it is the huge amount of effort that some of the Key players and the city of Sandstone put into making it a class event. Whatever the case, I would expect for this event to rival anything in the Midwest for event debauchery at the very least in the seasons to come.
By flooding the pond that is regularly a skating rink for the locals that runs above the quarry section that portions form into some great mixed and vert ice climbs, the number of lines available to particpants was tripled or quadrupled.
Some great input by supporting companies as well as rep attendance for the various lines made it hard for anyone to get out of the after hours festivities without finding themselves a winner of some of the great prizes that were provided.
Even those that didn't catch some of the last prizes that were literally thrown out into the crowd likely caught a buzz off the copious bottles of fine Irish Whiskey that circulated throughout the crowd and poured freely from the bar courtesy of Nodin Morgenstern and W-Trek Outfitters in Duluth!!

I look forward to next seasons event and will be training hard for it-my liver anyway! -B Block

 

The Marmot Motto is pretty good. For those of you that have heard me out there talking about brand direction and or asking where Marmot is "going", I think that this is a GREAT statement about what we are about and where we are going.
It's concise, clear, fun and a little "in your face" which I think is some of the attitude that Marmot has always had, but maybe didn't do the best job of espousing. I think that Marmot has always been about what the professionals use, but to help sell it well, like it or not in this Retail game there has to be a little of that and I think this says it well.

Live from the AK Brian Block 

I am so loving my new Montrail Rock shoes. Having the CTX moldability is great seeing as I have broken my 5th metatarsal on my right foot five or so times so getting a good fit that doesn't kill me is awesome!!
The Magnets were a bit of a surprise. I tried on the Wasabi's at OR and told them that I was taking them with me. I'd been climbing in them a fair bit in the past couple of months, and hadn't had any issues with the velcro-which apparently "WAS" a problem that they have already addressed for those with experience in that unfortunate situation. Mine had no issues.
I found myself out at Redrocks Rendezvous, which I highly reccomend that any and all attend if they can make the time, with an opportunity to try the Magnets and I was blown away. They are a little stiffer, with more support in the forefoot, and the lacing allows one to really "crank" down on them for a super precise fit.

The Wasabi's are likely my favorite bouldering/gym shoe, as they are easy on and off and seem to be molded to fit even without having baked them in the oven to maximize the fit like I have with my Magnets and Methods. The heel fit on ALL the montrail rock shoes is really beyond comparison. Having been the FiveTen Rep for a couple of years, and knowing full well the quality of the rubber-especially their new Onyx, I have to say that Montrail is not far off in the fricition coefficient category and for me the fit of the shoe all around likely makes up the difference. Oh, and then there is the cost differential. Wasabi's and Magnets under $100. Wasabi's and Magnets resoled with Onyx-doesn't even sound fair!!!!


The Index was kind of a surprise for an $80 shoe. Working as part of the Montrail team I of course have taken it upon myself to try and use each and every montrail shoe in its designed application-no matter how many hours or days out and about it takes to get that done. So, the Index was certainly a surprise. The rubber is a little more dense and was a great edging shoe, even on little nubbins, and I think it would make it a great all day shoe as well, as the last is stiff enough to make standing in them all day seem possible, as I would never say ideal about standing all day in rock shoes. What is especially cool about these shoes is the immediate ability to adjust volume with the two different slots available to feed the velcro tab through. This was great for me, as I could thread it through the wider of the two and throw on a light sock for alpine climbs, or crank it down on the narrower loop for my B width feet. Realistically it was just a plus for my friend to be able to borrow some shoes without worrying about him stretching them out with his E+ width feet. Yes it is a synthetic, but having owned MANY pair of rock shoes, many of them synthetic, I will tell you that regardless of what anyone says even synthetics stretch a quarter to a half size over time.

So, yeah, I am just really stoked about what Montrail is doing with their rock Shoe Program and am excited to climb in their new Smithers Shoe that will be out for Spring 07. More training for the Leadville 100 this fall-which trail shoes to use??? Brian Block