The Inversion

The Music that Powered the Season

2010-04-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

Here's what I was rocking out to on the slopes this year:

Year of Big Ideas 2010

2010-01-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

The annual goals list is here, there are other goals to be achieved but this is the outdoors list:

1. Get my hand well and redpoint some more 11's and start working a 12
2. Finish the ski season with 65 days under my belt
3. Do the triumvirate: Ski, bike and climb all in one day (real ski, real ride and real climb is mandatory). Try to write the Dirtbag Diaries about this if it turns out good.
4. Ride the road bike a bit, and the MTB a lot
5. Run a half marathon off road
6. Get into the backcountry more often, and be really fast with my beacon & rescue skills
7. Do some ice climbing (the only failed goal from 2009)

The best of the fall

2009-12-04T08:49:00.001-08:00

Sorry I've not posted here, it's been a busy season. Here's the best of and hopefully we'll get some snow and put some ski vids up here soon. In order, you've got a climb of Beckey's route in LCC, a trip to Moab, first snowy hike of the season and a little MTB action.

Porter's Fork

2009-09-24T17:19:00.000-07:00

Just hiking and shooting some photos with PTMC:

Celebrating my BD

2009-09-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

Went to the Uintas with Kim, Sully and JP on my birthday for some climbing...

Mons Olympus Panorama

2009-08-25T07:01:00.000-07:00

Due to a little injury I'm sidelined for a week or so (hopefully), but here's a record of our speed ascent of Olympus last week.

The Roses

2009-08-18T14:45:00.001-07:00

The garden now has been tilled and we have Roses and Violet Blue flowers. Next move is to build the herb garden, fill the vegetable box and maybe plant some stuff in the wood chips area.

Pancakes

2009-08-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

Rick Apple interview and wicked climbing footage.

Action Shots

2009-08-12T15:32:00.001-07:00

Here is me climbing at Challenge Buttress in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Good photography, worth posting.

Can't Stop Progress

2009-08-12T15:20:00.001-07:00

The dying half of the grass is now turned over, tilled, beneath layers of manure, weed blocker fabric, and wood chips. The beds are all edged and two of the three beds are dug out and awaiting tilling and soil-enrichment. Next steps will be to do finish the beds. Then maybe turn to the deck. Also, the wood chips area will have some stuff going on in it as well, so don't despair. A raised herb garden and a variety of planters, as well as a possible fruit tree will populate that space.

Free Solo in LCC

2009-08-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

Moosetress

2009-08-08T18:58:00.000-07:00

Uintas Cloudy Day with Rick

2009-08-08T18:52:00.001-07:00

We did some scrambling, some climbing and some wildlife watching with Rick this weekend. Amelia did a great job of turning Rick's first climb from a nice 5.7 to a burly overhanging 5.11 with some camera angles:

Dog Lake Hike

2009-07-31T15:05:00.001-07:00

We hiked about 8 miles today to Dog Lake and beyond. It is wildflower season and things are great here. Also, Chipmunks! Here's the shots:

The Pathway As it Lies

2009-07-28T04:49:00.000-07:00

Progress. The pathway is down. The grass on the far side of the yard will stay, the grass on the close side will not (the dividing line being the center path.

Uintas 1

2009-07-27T05:59:00.001-07:00

We spent yesterday in the High Uintas - a section of the Wasatch National Forest that is generally above 11,000 feet. There is some great climbing up there, here's the pics.

Outside (sort of)

2009-07-22T10:07:00.000-07:00

We are tearing our backyard apart and redoing everything. This is close to a "before" shot although I already ripped everything out of the back (by that tree) and built the raised bed. Mostly we'll be planting food-bearing things and taking out a bunch of the dead-grass area to be replaced with a walkway, some landscaping, etc. Input is welcome, for sure. Until fall I'm mostly just prepping everything so that we will have fertile soil come spring.

This will eventually be the dog run:

Outdoor Retailer 2009

2009-07-22T09:50:00.001-07:00

I've been doing a little work with a local startup and one of the perks was a pass to get into the OR show this year, which is held 2x annually in SLC. Here are a few shots. I thought Prana did the coolest booth (it is the one with all of the ropes hanging down). In terms of sweet new gear, I was surprised to find very little stuff that I had not seen before. That being said, I was just browsing and some of the exhibitors save the special bits for one-on-one conversations with buyers.

And finally a shot of all the schwag that I walked away with. Evidently this year was WAY leaner on the free stuff than previous years, but some sweet shades, sandals, and a bunch of little goodies... hard to complain.

Last Weekend

2009-07-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

I met up with a person who was in town for the Outdoor Retailer show last weekend and we did a couple of days of very different climbing. The first day out we were sport climbing at Hellgate:

On the right of the gully there, up that arete, is the route "Little Hellion". Bring a 70M rope or a bellayer who can stand on their toes to get you down. Very long, varied route, but quite fun.

Day two we were trad climbing - a style that involves placing your protection into the rock as you go instead of clipping your rope into pre-drilled bolts that have been placed in the rock. Trad climbing can be tricky because if you place a bad piece, it won't catch you should you fall on it. We went up a route called "Pentapitch", so named because it is usually done in 5 pitches, or rope lengths, to the top. This climb was super scary at the top because you only have a teeny little seam to drop micro nuts into and I'm very glad to have followed* the final pitch. Now I have to figure out how to work up the cojones to lead it so that I can take Amelia up the route. The highlight of this climb was the supposed "hardest" pitch (I did not think it was), which is a perfect finger crack called "Sasquatch". It is somewhat rare to find this mixture of a perfect crack, high quality granite, and beauty. See pics of the route:

FYI - this is the Sasquatch Crack - super aesthetic...

*Note for the non-climber: Leading means you're going first and placing all of the protection, or clipping the bolts in a sport climb. Following means you're second, so if you fall you don't fall on the protection because the rope is above you and the person who went first is keeping you relatively tight on the rope. Following is not scary - leading can be hair raising when the protection is bad.

2009 Goals

2009-07-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

I made a list of outdoor related goals at the encouragement of The Dirtbag Diaries, and I thought it would be appropriate to post it up here. Some are already met, others are already clearly not going to be met. I will try to keep you updated when one of these is met. The deadline is midnight December 31, 2009. Here you go:

1. Ski 10 days before Christmas
2. Climb steep ice for the first time
3. Lead 5.10
4. Spend 10 nights on the trail
5. Log 2500 miles on the bike
6. Run a 6:15 mile
7. Find a job in the outdoor industry

Unfortunately I think this list is shorter than my original list which somehow got lost but there you go... best I can remember. So far the nights out and the cycling mileage look to be in significant peril. The 5.10 leading is done and the skiing will be a breeze. Now I just gotta find a good ice axe...

Say hello to my little friend

2009-07-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

We met this guy on the trail today... glad to have kept the dogs unbitten.

Rattlesnake Gulch

2009-07-15T12:12:00.001-07:00

Went for a hike this morning in Millcreek Canyon with the Coonhound. The Rattlesnake Gulch trail ascends next to a snowmelt stream and makes for some great little waterfalls. I'm throwing in a few photos taken with the point-and-shoot. All this and we were home by 7:30 am.

Backlog 1: Desolation Wilderness

2009-07-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

We meant to hike to Desolation Overlook - which is a 3 mile hike out and back. Instead, we hiked to the peak above Desolation overlook - 13.5 miles out and back. The mountaineering coonhound was SPENT at the end of this one. This adventure guest stars Dope, from Mexico. He will be back for some ski adventure in the winter, so you have that to look forward to.

First Post

2009-07-15T08:34:00.001-07:00

I grabbed this blog when we were hoping to come to Utah and now that I've been here a few weeks I feel like it is time to get going. Mostly, I'm just going to post photos videos and a bit of text to let interested parties see what I'm up to out here. Hopefully that will be predominately climbing, cycling, hiking, and skiing related.

The name of the blog comes from the cloud of pollution that descends upon Salt Lake City every winter for a few weeks. This cloud can be escaped relatively easily by driving about 15 minutes up into the mountains, but The Inversion is a fact of life if you stay in town.

The cast of characters will primarily of (but will not be limited to):

Mr. & Mrs. Wunderkind

And Phoenix the Mountaineering Coonhound

Hope you enjoy.