mtnsaremyhome

Dragontail Triple Couloirs

2012-02-13T17:16:00.000-08:00

A little photo essay of my trip with my buddy and climbing partner Andrew Yasso. We had a good weather window back in December right after I got out of school so we took advantage of it and put down one of the earliest assents in the season from any records we could find anywhere. Crazy to be 3,000ft up the face! We had two pitches of dicy mixed terrain and lots of simul soloing up snice.

What a beautiful day! So much fun, lots of work, but I can't think of a better place to spend three days.

Mouse development

2012-02-13T10:36:00.000-08:00

Here are some photos of the mouse I made in polyurethane foam and the photoshop rendering for my cad class. I like the white form, however I had to make the rendering a little more complex for class hence the racing stripes and scroll wheel. My concept was to make a more ergonomic and supportive version of the magic mouse from Apple with better styling than most of the other ergonomic mice out here which are huge, physically and visually. My inspiration was a catamaran ferry with pontoons and outriggers. The shape is really unique because it looks different and very unique from every angle.

Fun with Photoshop

2012-02-09T22:33:00.001-08:00

Oh my gosh! Its the highly endangered North American Micro Deer! There is only one specimen of this strange small cloven animal know in existence! However scientists say that with a little more coffee, and a bit more time spent at the computer another might be discovered in the computer lab of wwu...

Sketching

2012-02-09T22:20:00.000-08:00

Here are a few sketch pages I did recently, nothing fancy, but lots of information and ideas.

New Baby!

2012-02-06T15:31:00.000-08:00

Frame: 2012 Specialized Evo large, 142mm rear axle
Fork: 150mm Fox float 32 RLC kyshima coat, taperd steerer tube
Hubs: Chris King
Crank: XO
Brakes: XO
Tires:Maxxis Ardents
Rims: Specialized Roval
Spokes: DT Swiss double butted
Seat: Specialized Phenom 130mm
Handle Bar: Specialized Sworks Enduro Carbon
Chain: Sram
Casset: Sram something
Seatpost: Specialized Black Light
Grips: Specialized enduro xl
FD: X7
RD:XO
Shifters: X.9
Stem: FSA SLk 80mm
pedals: Shimano M540
Chain guide: Gamut 2 ring
Weight: 28.8lbs

Ridden once so far, awesome bike! Can't weight to put it through the pases. The 2011 was a lot of fun this one will be even better! Thinking of going to a direct mount chainring and a g2 mini SL would simplify things alot and eliminate like 8 parts, but we'll see its not like I'm riding much right now anyway.....

The Ski Journal

2012-02-06T12:46:00.000-08:00

Many of you know about or have read the Ski Journal. If you have not, check it out. Its a quarterly coffee table style book that has a very upscale feel, from the paper to the use of white space on pages its memorable and not to be missed.

I was fortunate enough to have something published in it, including a few photos. A little piece on the thread of ice trip Louie Dawson and I did last summer.

Very exciting!

Kirk

Photoshop

2012-02-06T12:39:00.000-08:00

I is fun to finally put a few things together, this is a hand sketch that was scanned and then rendered in photoshop the sketch adds a whole different feel and dimension. I still remembered most of my skills from the fall rendering class!

And more renderings

2012-02-06T12:32:00.000-08:00

And more, I think I am getting the hang of this..I seem to have alot of black, gray and red, I am going to try and force myself to branch out a little and see how that goes.

Renderings

2012-02-06T12:26:00.000-08:00

So some more renderings from my Cad class, which is more a rendering class, we did 30% illustrator to begin with and are now starting Photoshop.

Specialized EnduroWatch concept.

Been agessss

2012-02-06T12:10:00.000-08:00

Ok so itss been like for ever since I have posted anything, dunoo about this blog thing. I might give it a new go, if I can post photos on face book I can do it here. I've had some adventures that should have been up here, but didn't make enough effort to make that happen. With school I no longer do..... just about anything. I go to school, work, more school, and so on and so forth. With the Western ID program you realize you can live without a lot of things like sleep, eating, laundry, exercise etc. Four months till review and everyone is working their butts off night and day. So here's to maybe a new start, its going to be heavy on design and light on anything else, I don't remember the last time I rode my bike besides commuthing and I have yet to ski in the new year...

Mostly expect to see renderings, sketches and model photos. There is a heavy focus on outdoor tech gear because thats what I love. Enjoy and best wishes!

Angels Crest and other classic routes in Squamish,BC

2011-08-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well I loaded these back in the summer, so I might as well post them now. They are a mix of a bunch of classic Squamish routes. If I remember right, angels crest 5.10b/c 14 pitches, rock on, .10a 6pitch, snake .9 6pitches and maybe a few others, awesome time! My first 5.10 trad leads all went well, so it was cool to step up to the grade, though I know its still pretty moderate in the grand schem of things. Angels crest was awwsomeeee! Long and wandering very cool to be 2,000ft off the deck though the exposure is seldom very much. Looking at these makes me miss rock and summer :(
Enjoy!

Great days, great partner!

First Ski Descent of A Thread of Ice In the Picket Range

2011-07-15T00:17:00.000-07:00

So I finally have something to write about. Louie Dawson and I just got back from a three day trip to the southern pickets. I'm still recovering and still sore as I write this. This trip was the realization of a two year dream that began with a photo. This trip was incredible: incredibly beautiful, incredibly exhausting, incredibly scary at times, incredibly painful and incredibly rewarding.

We will start with the back story; the picket range is here in Washington State in the North Cascades National Park, the Southern Pickets are east and south of the ever popular Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan. Although these mountains are very close to Bellingham and even Seattle for that matter, they see very little traffic on a given year (Shuksan aside). Most of this traffic is backpackers and alpine climbers. None of these peaks are easy however, the names are very telling, Challenger, Furry, Terror, Despair, Damnation, even though most of these peaks are only in the 7,000ft range the valleys start around 1,000 so the local relief is impressive and many glaciers abound. Once we started trolling the internweb looking for trip reports and information it became evident very quickly that this is a rough and remote area. Many trips had horrible tales of bushwhacking through the jungle for days, abandoning gear, or small episodes of starvation, thankfully we were able to avoid most of these.

Steph Abegg’s first ascent of a Thead of Ice in 2008 started the whole project; she mentions that “a challenging ski descent might be possible in the right conditions”. John Scurlock’s website has one photo in full winter conditions, but the 1984 photo was the closest to spring we could find and that's what stuck in my mind. I don't know there was just something about the way the snow snakes down between the two pointy towers that captivated me. I think it’s one of the most esthetic lines I've seen in a long time.

So we’ve both been dreaming about this line and finally a nice weather window and three days off from work li ne up, we’ve had a pretty high snow year here in the pacific north wet, so it seemed like as good a time as any to have a look. We scoured the internet more and found as many maps and descriptions as possible. After some scrambled late night packing we were ready to go. It was going to be a long way in no matter where the snow line was so we went as light as seemed reasonable. TLT 5’s, waybacks, bivi sac, one alpine axe, one technical axe, two whippets, helmet etc. and just barely enough climbing gear to actually be useful. Our rack consisted of 5 nuts 1 pin, two cams, two sticks as dead men, and one ice screw. With what little information we could find on what we might really need it seemed reasonable we weren't expecting to spend much time on rock, in retrospect, a little more would have been nice, but such is life.

My 45L pack was busting at the seams lol, with skis 50lbs of gear is heavy no matter how you slice it. We got up early and headed in. The 1^st part of the trail is pretty straight forward besides a few stream crossings, although the last one has some butt-scooting across a log15ft off the water that was interesting. From there the real “fun” started, the trail gets much harder to follow and steep, very steep for 1,700ft this was some of the steepest bushwhacking I’ve ever done not to mention it was hot, big packs etc…Whippets were a must and we were very happy not to get lost, a lot of small cliffs abound and many roots made progress slow. The vegetation on the floor can make navigation difficult also. We did find this crazy big tree though, biggest I have ever see in my life. Once we made it finally to snowline 7hrs had passed, I think we both burned more energy that we though, finally able to skin we headed towards our spot for the night. We were expecting rock but only found snow. We dug in and got situated for the bivy ahead and the early morning the following day.

We were up with the sun and had a quick breakfast and headed across the valley towards the Otto-Himmel col, the gateway to our objective. Time and distance passed pretty quickly and we both did our poor Ueli Steck impressions up the slope toward the top. A ways up we were kind of surprised to find a cliff in our way with steep walls on both sides, though only 10ft high or so there was also a 10ft moat below it, after some recon we decided it was a no go. A little ways back we had seen a rock gully that looked promising so down and then up we went. The 3^rd class quickly got more difficult, I build an anchor and Louie belayed me on a pitch of 5^th class terrain. Ski boots, crampons and a pack made it interesting. I made the main couloir again without incident and belayed Louie up. From there it was a quick skip to the top and then some fantastic steep skiing down the other side, though even at 55 degrees it was child's play to later.

We arrived at the bottom of our objective and it looked good, we had burnt a little time on the rock, but we were still in very good standing. Ahead lay 1,200ft of snow and ice to the summit, we switched to booting with crampons and tools and off we went again. The steep snow was agreeable enough and we moved higher and higher, although many places were on their way to this couloirs namesake. We tried to be mindful that “whatever you go up you must go down” so when we found a large cornice at the very top we decided to ski directly below and to the side of it. This was some of the steepest snow terrain I have been on in the range of 65 degrees After some discussion we decided that building an anchor in the rock and that ski-belaying was the best and safest option. The photo at the top details our route.

After some maneuvering into his skis I belayed (let out rope, but not under load) Louie down with the rest of the rack. He put in an anchor, then it was my turn and I skied down gingerly and past him to another location and built an anchor. Transitioning to belay or rappel and the back a few times was one of the more scary parts of the day. The runnels and steepness I had just skied on belay did not make skiing feasible for Louie, so he wrapped down to me, and we slung a chock stone and rappelled down to the next patch. We then slowly “skied” (sideslip, ice axe plant, sideslip-repeat) in uncomfortably steep terrain quite a bit till the final rollover; Louie scraped what little snow there was off the bulge so he suggested I rap once more and I took that advice, the “picket” came in handy! I T-slotted it behind a moat wall and then met him further down below. We both finally made some joyous jump turns and picked our way toward the bottom. Success and relief! A serious new ski decent in the pickets had just been made by two early-twenty-something-yearold-hooligans. To be honest we were more relieved than anything and happy to drink and fuel, our mouths were dry and it had been too long since we last ate. We switched and began the long boot back home up the North side of the Otto-Himmel. Once we reached the top we decided a hot drink was in order, we had found a food cache on the way up from some years prior that the marmots had not destroyed for some reason and made the most wonderful, weird, hot powdered egg-nog I have ever had. Then we descended down to the cliff that had been impassable on the way up, slung a good horn and rapped again. Some of our best sloppy turns were down and out the south west side of the Outto-Himmel.(As far as we know no one else has skied any of these either?)

We found some running snowmelt water, filled up and headed back across the valley, we traversed as much as possible with skis, then went to skins, then back to booting finally in the dark back to our bivi. What was left of our 27oz of summer sausage and 2lbs of cheese and potatoes were absolutely fantastic under the stars. It had been a 16hr day and I slept like a log.

We finally stumbled out into the sunlight around 8 and had a leisurely breakfast. We packed up camp and headed out, we booted up to grab some extra turns and with still-too-heavy packs made our way through sloppy turns back to snow line and the hellish decent back out. Even with diligent descending we lost the trail on the way down, however we soon re-found it. We also chose to rap once more on a very scary exposed moss cliff. We our descent progress was matching our ascent speed lol. Many hours later we made it back to the streams which were much higher than before. They required more attention on this crossing and on the final one we used a different big log to butt scoot across. More walking and finally we made it back to the car, warm beer never tasted so good.

Its trips like this that remind me just how lucky I am to be happy, healthy and able to experience all the beauty that life has to offer. I am truly blessed to reside where I do.

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it!

You can see Louies report over at wildsnow.

Have fun out there and be safe! -Kirk

22Pitchs on my 22nd Birthday-Part 2

2011-04-09T17:57:00.001-07:00

13, Flake system, kind of fun

Walking and eating at the same time!

14,15,16

14,15,16

Not sure whats going on here haha.

Snarled rack, oh andrew..

19 D0wn!

17-22, lots of routes!

Final climb!

Photo in the parking lot,
Its a ghost, ghost, ghost...

Will post a list of all the climbs we did,
can't find it right now. This day was then
followed by 220z of Black Butte Porter,
slept well that night, total time climbing was 7am-7pm
12hrs, so .5hr pitch, ok, but we lost a bit of time with rapping
changing places etc. My fingerprints were were pretty well burn off and took a few weeks to return, totally worth it!
Thanks for reading!
Kirk

22Pitchs on my 22nd Birthday

2011-04-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

So this is a two part post due to sizing. This past fall was my golden birthday, I turned 22 on the 22nd of of September and on a whim an glorious scheme was hatched, why not climb 22pitches? Squamish was the obvious destination, 100's of quality routes in a very close vacinity. Thought the photos may not be all that fantastic consider it more of a photo essay of our day. The alarm went off way too early at 3AM, car was packed and ready to go. I then consumed 22oz of coffee on the way, we crossed the boarder at 5am, and were climbing by 7am, without further-adu 22photos!

Beginning of the day, routes 1. and 2. Murin park.
Yes that is running water

Routes 3.-4.
More cracks

5.
Big gear! Used #4 and #5 I think.

6.
Funny we Both have green and brown pants on

7.-8.
(9 not shown)

9.
Transferred location and lunch break over at the smoke bluffs

10.
Drew looks sleepy!

11. I ran out of fingers and had to improvise..

12. Left corner system was fun!

Lazyness and Utah

2011-04-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

So its been ages since I've posted thinking about reviving it.
Spent spring break far far from home, physics and work. Utah has to be one of my favorite places.

Here is why.

I spent 9 days straight skiing knee deep tree runs in solitude, it doesn't get much better. I had some company from my buddy Justin and my father on a few days but most of my ski time was solo. For me its the soul of skiing its just about exercise and enjoyment, its not about a tick list or objectives. Its just fun to be out and enjoy, disappear from society for a while.

Back in reality school rules my life, with physics 5 days a week, its hard to get out much, add work, and a little bit of exercise and days are full.

Final stats were in the neighborhood of 48,000ft of human powered vert in 9 days, most of my days were around 6,000ft at a moderate pace, I never got too crazy and I'm out of shape, most runs were around 1,000ft with an average ft/hr of 1,500-2,000ft so none of my days were too long and pace wasn't too crazy. I was surprised how quick my body fell into a daily and weekly rhythm and didn't bark twice. I was tired and a little sore, but after some time each night and a hot tub, a beer or two and, some good BBQ food I was fresh every morning. I was fun to play Greg Hill for a week or two. I know I could do 1Mil in a year, only ski or ski and bike, climb etc. at a later point in my life, but who knows, its all about how much time to devote to things, I'd need to live much closer to the vertical world then I am now.

Wow time flys!

2010-12-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

Pile of photos been a while since I posted...

Wow been lazy, lets get caught up!

2010-03-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

So far behind in posting things and my computer died. Lets just get the basics for now and then add some photos later:

+Took my AAIRE Avi Level One Course

+Led Kiddy Falls WI 3

+Skied the NW Couloir of Shuksan (50degrees)

+Climbed and skied Mt. Baker (10,700ft) in 11hrs

+Raced Vertfest 2010 at Alpental (wildsnow link here )

+Raced the Powderkeg, 6th out of 140

+Skied 30,000ft of human powered vert in 6 days here in UT!

Holy crap

2010-02-14T11:57:00.000-08:00

So its just a though right now.

This race is capped at 12 Elite racers right now, and I am the first on on the waiting list, they are thinking to expanding it to approx 20.

Its based out of Golden, BC up by Banff National Park, and yes you read it right, 15km 100% backcountry race in the middle of nowhere in the Sellkirk Mtns, and yes you read it right HELI-FLIGHTS IN AND OUT!!!!!!

I guess the name is right "epic".

*Shutters with excitement.....
:)

New Goal

2010-02-13T09:51:00.001-08:00

I want to skin 10,000+ feet of vertical in under 5hours.

Physically I think I could do it in a few weeks. I did 9,000 in 5hrs yesterday(I think that's a new record for me), and of that 6,000ft in around 2:45. So I have a problem. I believe its similar to a bell curve, or maybe diminishing returns. My body is able to go hard for 2-3hrs and then it starts tapering off; I can still go for hours on end but my energy seems to progressively wain and my speed dwindles. I think I need to fuel better also, drank 48oz gatorade, ate a bar, a PB&J, and an apple. I think I need to go back to Hammer Nutrition Heed, and some GU, I just don't think my body can keep up with the lower and slower burning fuels.

Vertical training seems to be actually more of a logistical problem here around baker. Finding a slope with more than 1,500 ft of gain is difficult, and lapping it gets a little old. Also your options are limited on a high avalanche danger day, though we haven't had too many of those this year....Granted it gives one a bit of practice on transitions, but 12+ transitions a day gets old. We'll see how things progress.
Thanks for reading!
Kirk

Sketching!

2010-02-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

I feel like I want and need to devote more time to sketching so we will see, but a while ago I though of having "A-Sketch-A-Day" to try and modivate myself a bit more, not sure if I can keep that up but everyone has to start somewhere right?
Day 1

Table mtn.

2010-02-08T23:41:00.000-08:00

So been trying to get out a lot more, made it almost all the way to the Coleman Pinnacle from Heather Meadows at Baker, its pretty darn beautiful. It seems unless you are doing a peak that most of the cascade runs are are on the shorter side, just means lots of transitions.

It also has to do with the AvI danger,(lots of wind slabs lately) be we also seem to do lots of traversing, and sadly there are only a few passes/trail heads you can drive to, most about 4,000ft, which is good cause the snow is there, but not great for altitude training. But a day in the mtns is better than a day at work! Got in 7hrs of touring on Thursday, and 5hrs yesterday with about 7,300ft of vert yesterday.

On track for the Powderkeg, (www.wasatchpowderkeg.com) but I need to get my high end up, I feel like my low is really solid from this fall.

Quiver!

2010-02-01T08:14:00.000-08:00

More details and an explination later!

Mountainsexual

2010-01-31T22:01:00.000-08:00

www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mountainsexual

1. MountainSexual

Similar to metrosexual but one who lives in the mountains or otherwise pursues the outdoors adventure lifestyle. Kind of a cleaned-up granola, a Woodsy GQ kinda guy with a splash of bohemian. Knows that he doesn't have to look or smell like a dirtbag to enjoy climbing, hiking, cycling, skiing (all forms), snowshoeing, etc. Probably reads Men's Journal, Outside, Outside's Go, National Geographic Adventure, even Wallpaper* and Dwell. Brands: Patagonia, Keen, Kuhl, The North Face, Mountain Hardwear, Marmot, Mountain Khakis. Strong environmental ethic. Drives a well-maintained truck, performance SUV, or cross-over when absolutely necessary but walks or rides a bicycle whenever possible. Works out gym but primarily to be in shape for outdoor pursuits. Shuns chain stores and shops in outdoor specialty stores such as The Trailhead in Buena Vista, Colorado.

"For such an outdoorsy guy, that dude sure has great style."

"Yeah, he's a veritable MountainSexual!"

I do believe they are right my friends(mostly), and they also just described 34.23% of Bellingham and many of my friends. Although they are way off on the magazines. The question is how core at heart are you? I think way too many people look the part, but seldom use the gear for its original intended purpose. Then again compared to guides who are out 5-6 days a week or what may have you, I'm only a wannabe. Dunoo funny but food for thought....

Its about time

2010-01-24T23:30:00.001-08:00

Sorry I have been slacking! Here are some photos from a recent tour in the baker backcountry. The parking lot of Heather meadows really is like LCC (Little Cottonwood Canyon, in SLC UT), the options are pretty amazing and the terrain is so vast, but not only that, one thing is distinctly absent, people. Many of these lines and peaks ever see a person in a given winter, but as one soon finds out, they are "close" but so far at the same time. Our original objective was the couloir off the top of Mt. Anne, by way of Table Mountain, but due to a very stubborn rain crust we encountered later in the day on the shoulder to Anne that option was out. We ended up doing lots of up for not much down(but it could have been wayyyy worse), and returned by way of the Shuksan Arm. What a crazy January day, sunny and 35+?out, it was really interesting to see the amount of different snow types you can experience in a day: from sun softened slop to windblown ice, to chalk, to 4in of powder. I must say snow capped peaks and glaciers in the winter are simply breath taking, not that Utah wasn't its just different I guess. All and all it was a good day, long but good.

Ode to the Unimog

2009-12-25T19:55:00.000-08:00

This is the Unimog 404 my dad just sold, it was the biggest pain in the a$$ manual I have ever driven, but it had 16 different gears and more stock low ranges than you could ever comprehend. Stock portal axles, stock 38in tires?(or close). This was a work rig designed for work in the harshest places and anything you could throw at it. When you were driving you could look down on the roof of a sedan.

The bottom line? Bad ass. Sad to see it go, but as I live 3,000 miles away I have no say in it.

Good bye old friend you will be missed.

Christmas in Maine!

2009-12-25T19:11:00.000-08:00

Oh to be home, it feels so good. Its funny how when you are a little kid and you envision going off to college and then coming home you think things will be the same. The walls are the same, the smell in the air is the same, but its all different. I am different. The first thing I though once I walked into the house was "wow its smaller than I remember". The trees are smaller, the hills are smaller, the mountains are smaller. I guess I am realizing that although there is no place like home, you can't go "home". Home is really about the people in it, and people change, not in a bad way, its just never quite going to be the same twice....

New Race skis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-12-03T21:01:00.000-08:00

Just mounted them tonight, fresh wax, man something about taking a hacksaw to a brand new pair of skis just seems wrong in so many wayyyyyyyyyyysssssss.

I will get some final weights up but as you can see the back top plate of my dynafits has been replaced with a custom lexan deal that I made, it dropped over 60g on each binding. My testing so far has showed no ill affects and the binding seems to function properly, I have also added a synthetic cork under the ball of my foot to combat the flexing of my Scarpa F1 Boots.

Black Diamond Ask QC

2009-12-03T11:43:00.000-08:00

I thought this was pretty funny in relation to climbing gear. QC Lab

"Sometimes if you’re in a situation, you do whatever it takes—because sometimes “something is better than nothing.” I’ve used my gear sling to girth a shrub, clipped my ice tool and left it there as my last piece as I’ve topped out, stuffed a knotted sling and even a carabiner into a crack as a stopper as well as a host of other not-so-smart-but-in-times-of-desperation-perhaps-better-than-nothing things."

They test all kinds of stuff in real world situations. Look up QC Lab.

To Blog or to Justice?

2009-12-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

Big decision. Both have rocker, both have camber, both are 185

BD are Lighter.

Different Approach to graphics.

Hummm

Climbing

2009-12-02T17:52:00.000-08:00

Climbing the boat launch wall at Larabee state Park. Wet standstone, lichen, pine needles and all, but hey its December, who can complain?!

Baker rando training

2009-12-01T08:57:00.000-08:00

Some photos from training at baker recently, haven't gotten my new skis mounted yet....

Safety first!

2009-12-01T08:56:00.000-08:00

Really good checklist on a recent AAI blog for climbing safety:
http://alpineinstitute.blogspot.com/

2009-12-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

I finally got signed up for my Avi 1 course!

http://www.aai.cc/Programs/Group/Avalanche-Ski-Courses/

Mate (Ma-tayyy)

2009-11-20T13:09:00.000-08:00

Yes how I like to start my days.

B-ham

2009-11-20T13:03:00.000-08:00

Pretty much what Bellingham has looked like recently... I have not seen the sun for days.

Welcome

2009-11-20T12:15:00.000-08:00

So I guess this is my new blog, I will update it periodically we shall see how it does or dosn't take off. Enjoy!