Mt Hood Snow Dome ski
Posted by Hoppy | Filed under Rides
Mt. Hood is another great northwest classic ski mountain. Hood is to Portland what Rainier is to Seattle… the quintessential beacon to those who are drawn to mountains. The most popular route is up the south side beginning at Timberline lodge and finishing at the 11,054′ summit. We chose the to do the snow dome route on the north side because of its optimum ski qualities. The route begins at Cloud Cap campground and quickly rises up a jumbled rock ridge before dropping down on to the glacier. The lower part is easy going but steepens enough that crampons and ice axes are mandatory.
This climb was a good opportunity to give the new Kuhl Skuhl technical jacket a test of breathability. The morning was ice cold but quickly ripped up to screaming hot. No problems staying comfortable.
The route normally crosses a crevasse but recent warm weather forced us to do a traverse on hard exposed snow.
The conditions change quickly with the mid July heat baking the snow and making the window short for optimum corn. Make sure you start early and don’t continue up if the snow is getting too mushy as wet slide and rock fall are real hazards.
The skiing included a few crevasse leaps but mostly just perfect snow!
This is one of many routes on Hood. If you still got the ski bug the Northwest volcanos are still primed for skiing even into August this year. Get out and enjoy it!
Skiing Mt. Rainier
Posted by Hoppy | Filed under Rides
Wow! What a great adventure on the Grand Teton. If you like that entry here’s another you might like… Skiing Mt. Rainier in Washington. Rainier towers over the northwest beckoning climbers to attempt to reach its 14,410′ summit. Many attempt, some succeed but even fewer add the challenge of the ski descent. Ski mountaineering is the next logical step in reaching the summit. Why walk down when you can ski?
We left the Paradise ranger station at 8:00 am and followed the Muir trail for about an hour before dropping down onto the Nisqaully glacier. The Nisqually begins at the summit and drops 9,000 ft before terminating at the head of the Nisqaully river. Our route crosses the glacier and ascends 3,500′ before reaching camp at about 8,800′. The team rested and hydrated preparing for the big ski day ahead. We could look across and see our objective… the “Fear Finger”. This couloir rises upwards with pitches reaching 50 degrees. Objective hazards of rock fall and serac collapse make this a route to move through quickly. Here’s a shot as we work our way up.
Rotten snow conditions made for slow going as we postholed our way up.
Once out of the Fear Finger the rout makes its way back out onto the upper Nisqaully. We roped up for this section to scout the many crevasses and find a good ski descent. Here’s a shot of one crevasse we crossed.
Devil winds would explode onto us grabbing our skis like sails and threatening to send us tumbling downward. The summit danced for hours in front of us taunting our brains with the never shortening distance. The summit at last! Gail force winds greeted us pounding us off the ridge in a matter of seconds. Nothing left to do but ski, ski, ski.
Frozen wind carved sastrugi made the top 1500 less than desirable but as we descended the snow softened and we carved up the butter while surrounded by towering ice cliffs and bottomless crevices.
We worked our way down the Nisqually and dropped into the Fear Finger. Our slow ascent had put us in the room of doom later than we hoped so a quick descent was important to minimize wet slide and rock fall hazards.
We sailed into camp in one piece but thoroughly tired. A quick break and back on the skis for the final descent back to Paradise. Ahhh…. Ranier beer!
Gand Teton in A Day
Posted by marypuppy | Filed under Rides
It was the middle of the night but I wasn’t asleep. The alarm clock wasn’t supposed to go off for more than an hour but I was wide-awake with a mixture of anticipation, anxiety, and nervousness. The first time I passed through Wyoming I knew that I needed to go to the top of the Grand Teton. There was something magical about that mountain that is difficult to describe in words. It is looming. It is daunting. It is unbelievable majestic and each day that mountain wakes up to one of the most incredible 360o views on earth. I didn’t want to climb that mountain, I needed to. So, when the ranger station announced that all of the backcountry permits were sold out, I was way too stubborn to take ‘no’ for an answer.
But, before I get too involved into our tale it is important to for you to paint a good mental picture. Mountain climbers are strong people. They have tanned arms and broad shoulders. They eat beef jerky. They laugh easy and have holes in their clothes where stray sparks have flown out of the fire. I full-heartedly tip my hat to mountain climbers, or rather, my helmet. I am a scrawny cyclist. I wear little outfits and when no one else is looking I contemplate how much the seat on my bike weighs. I eat energy gels and jelly beans that contain electrolytes. The heaviest thing I carry on my back is a 100-ounce hydration pack, and even that feels cumbersome. In many ways, I am the anti-mountain climber. But, do you think any of those thoughts crossed my mind when I was faced with two options: go big or go home?
Accounting for the time crunch and my limited experience, my climbing partner and I decide to do the Owen-Spalding route. If you google ‘Owen-Spalding route’ you will see that this route has been rated as a 5.4. Now, all of you rock climbers and mountain climbers might shrug and think to yourself as I did, ‘no biggie, that’s little more than a scramble’. You don’t need to wear rock climbing shoes. You don’t need to chalk-up. Heck, you probably don’t even need to rope up! However, let me tell you one thing, though this is not an extremely technical route, it is the type of route that will remind you of your own mortality. I’m not sure why, but I believe as humans we rationalize that if you fall from 100 feet you will die, but if you fall from 1,000 feet you will die at least 10 times, maybe even 1,000 times.
Anyway, the trick to doing it in a day, and reaching the summit, before the afternoon storms roll in, is to start early. When you start hiking up a mountain at 3 in the morning you might very easily get lost in your own thoughts. Your pack is light with the minimal food, clothing and climbing gear. Your legs are fresh, the air is cool and the world seems incredibly peaceful under the light of your headlamp. It is just you and nature. You hear the sound of a light breeze running through the forest and the sound of your feet crunching the quiet dirt of the trail. You are making good time, but don’t forget that is one of the best ways to sneak up on a bear.
Not long after we started we had reached the Meadows. It was full of tents of sleeping climbers and, I for one, felt smug that we were getting a head start on them and didn’t have to lug up all of my camping stuff up there. From there, we picked our way in the dark through the Moraine, a rock-littered gulley and passed more tents perched behind boulders seeking shelter from the wind. The first bit of light was just starting to illuminate the world around us as we reached the Lower Saddle. The light made everything look unearthly and somehow the world looked even bigger from there than it usually does.
Whenever you climb a mountain it is impossible to not feel the pressure of time weighing you down. On mountain like the Grand Teton, time is even heavier. We had been making really good time, but as we reached the Lower Saddle and started the long and steep hike up to the Upper Saddle we were no longer alone. Many other groups had camped at the Lower Saddle had started up and had a good lead on us as was evidence by a string of headlamps like Christmas lights on the trail. This turned out to be the most frustrating part of the trip. Just like a good traffic jam, we got stopped up at every single rope section for a minimum of 45 minutes. Waiting your turn on a mountain is harder than climbing the mountain. There are hurricane-like winds that chill you to the bone and once your body stops producing heat from movement you very quickly realize just how extreme and harsh the environment is. My hands and feet went numb and there was no place where you could get out of the wind.
When the route finally did clear out, we moved quickly and anxiously and the world around me seemed too severe to be real. There were one-thousand-foot drop offs. There was a horizon that was completely covered with mountains- a view most people have only seen from an airplane. Some had spots of snow and they were all glowing with the pink light of morning. I couldn’t help but laugh to myself at my own appreciation of cliché: the best things in life are free. People spend hundreds of dollars to take their families to Disney Land and the Grand Teton is completely free. I have no doubt that standing at the top of the Grand Teton and looking down at Jenny Lake could give any theme park a run for its money.
As we continued to get closer and closer to the top, the energy in the air became palpable. You could almost taste the summit and the grip that time had kept on me since 3 in the morning seemed to loosen. It was now apparent that we would reach the top and wouldn’t have to turn back due to lightning. And then, finally as if the journey never even happened, we were there. The sky stretched on forever and I felt like I was on top of the world and at the same time so insignificant and miniscule. It would be an interesting study to compare the psyche of someone who has been completely humbled by a mountain with someone who has never left the city.
With most things in life, once you accomplish your goal you are done. This is not true in mountaineering. Once you accomplish your goal and reach the summit then you are halfway done. In my case, once I reached the summit I was exhausted. Waiting in the wind zapped the energy out of me. I was all too aware of how far it was back to the car and once again, time grabbed a better hold on me and nudged me on my way. But instead of dragging me back, it started to pull me along and I struggled to keep up.
We rappelled down most of the way to the Upper Saddle and then again picked our way down the steep scree field and watched in envy as the other climbers climbed into their tents as we continued down the mountain. At that point I looked longingly at those same tents I had felt smug about earlier that morning. Somehow the Moraine seemed even harder to follow during the day and the Meadows were so peaceful that I could have stayed there for the rest of my life. As the shadows of the day were getting longer we arrived back to the car and looked back in amazement at how far we had gone.
Want to do the Grand Teton in a Day? Here are my lessons learned:
- Learn how to climb. Make sure you are a confident trad climber and trust your protection placement. Confidence in your abilities can make a difference between having to walk down or taking a really REALLY big short-cut down.
- Prepare for the weather. The weather in the park may be 90 degrees but be prepared for sub-freezing temperatures. The chimney on the OS route was filled with ice.
- Start early. We started about an hour earlier than we planned and still ran into considerable traffic and this added at least 4 hours to our trip time. This was done on a weekend during peak season. If you go mid-week or during the shoulder or off-season you might not have this problem.
- Go easy. After we arrived back to the car we proceeded to drive 5 hours back home and go to work the next day. I don’t recommend that.
- Keep moving. The approach is long and the elevation change is substantial. You will want to start early and keep a sustainable pace.
- Get in shape. Having only ridden a bike all year, after the Grand, my legs were completely trashed. I had to pull myself up stairs using a handrail and lower myself down to sit at the kitchen table.
Hiking the Mighty Escalante River
Posted by Hoppy | Filed under Travel
If you are looking to get away from the crowds of Moab or the National Parks you might put The Grand Staircase National Monument on your list. This area incorporates the drainage of the Escalante River and its tributaries all the way down to Lake Powell. Most hikes are accessed of The- Hole-In-The-Rock Road or the Burr Trail.
On a recent trip we were able to do three days without seeing any other hikers. Use your imagination to avoid other people. Make sure and check the weather as these canyons are prone to flash flooding. Check out this picture of debris almost 25′ above the river bed. It must haver been quite a site.
Flash Flood Debris
The side drainages that access the Escalante can be dry so start with a a good amount of water. Doing loop hikes is a great way to see the canyon. Shuttle services are available but you can expect to pay $180-400 depending on where you want to be dropped off or have your vehicle shuttled to. Contact the Escalante BLM at 435-826-5600 for a directory of shuttle services.
Some of the hikes start out on top of the plateau and slowly drop into the magnificent canyons. Some of the access points off the Burr road offer stunning drives into the trail heads. Here is a photo of what you can expect. 4×4 highly recommended.
Dropping in to canyon country!
Once you reach the confluence you can expect to find plenty of water for filtering. I have drank from some springs without filtering but that decision is up to you. If you are hiking in the spring time check out www.usgs.gov then click on Utah, then click “realtime water data”, and finally scroll across the the state map till you find the lower Escalante station and click it. If the CFS (cubic feet per second) is 50 or higher be prepared for swift moving water and hazardous fording of the river. Dry bag your gear .
Here is a shot 20 miles below the station when it was reading about 10 cfs
One of many river crossings.
The main Escalante has huge desert varnished walls, waterfalls, slot canyons and great bird watching. Side canyons abound making for great side hikes and endless exploration. Anasazi writings are also present if you know where to look! The main corridor has many place where the trail is not maintained (ok there is no trail!) so watch for established paths and learn where to cross the river in the best spots. A stout walking stick is a good idea if the water is more than knee deep.
If you are into a play by play of what to do and where to go then go buy a guide book and let them remove the adventure of what’s around the next corner. I recommend buying a good map and being prepared for a little adventure. You will find it!
Happy hiking! Check out Kuhl’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/KUHL/106235069406072
for more pictures.
Hiking with dry bag.
Coolest 24 Hours
Posted by Ryan_k | Filed under Race Results
Camp KUHL
After coming off of a solo single speed 24 hour effort in Moab last fall, I was checking out a race schedule for 2010 to see what other 24 hour races were out there. My wife and I have some family in California and we were due for a visit so I considered any California 24 hour opportunities. One that got some good reviews in terms of course, organization, and etc; was the “Coolest 24 Hours” which was in Cool, CA. Cool is a small town just about 15 miles south of Auburn, CA (Auburn is about 30 east of Sacramento on I-80). The biggest issue for me was that it was May 1st and I knew my saddle time prior to this race would be limited. Regardless, I registered and figured it would be something to do while out there visiting family.
I got to the race venue Friday morning and the race director was there and was so impressed with my coming from Utah alone with two small kids in tow he gave me (in his opinion) the best pit space available and let me set up before they “officially” opened. I heard of the previous years horrible rain storms and cold weather but this year, the
After the race, covered in mud
weather outlook was much better; 70’s during the day and mid 40’s at night which was perfect. With kids in tow I wasn’t able to ride a practice lap, but saw folks coming back from the course covered in mud. They all said the mud on them and their bikes looks worst than it really was, but it was a bit of a bummer to see that much mud after just doing 1 lap.
The following day, my pit crew (my wife, sister-in-law, and her boyfriend) showed up and I was ready to ride. The solo single speed category was not huge compared to Moab; 10 riders total in the category, but I figured these guys probably had been riding a bit more than me leading up to the race (I had less than 10 rides under my belt prior to the start). I looked at prior years finishing lap totals in the solo single speed category, and 15-16 laps would get you on the podium and in some cases, you would win the category. So in the back of my mind, I figured 15 would be a good goal. Once the first frenzied lap was over, I found myself in a good rhythm. I wasn’t pushing too hard or slacking too much. I put my lights on at 8 pm and kept rolling along.
Pit Stop
A little after midnight it got cold and I took my first sit down break to put some clothes on. Up until then, I would have someone in my crew hand me some avocado (food of choice) and change out my bottles and I was rolling; probably less than a minute. Prior to this race I would take a 5 minute break or so after 3 or 4 laps, but I was going to try to limit my camp time this go around and see how much of a difference it would make.
Everything was going smoothly until about 3 a.m. when I started getting dizzy. So dizzy that I had to get off my bike and sit in the grass. After a minute or two I got back on the bike, drank a bunch of water and had a ShotBlox. That seemed to help a bit but nonetheless it was a really slow lap. The next lap after that was a little better but still off my pace. The following lap, the sun came up and that (as always) gives you new life and I felt 100% better. I still wasn’t setting the world on fire with my pace (I never really do), but I felt a lot better and was glad to be out there.
When I asked my wife where I was in the line up she told me 4th. The first two guys were way out, but the 3rd place guy was just 10 minutes in front of me. I really wanted to hear that all 3 folks were many laps ahead and there was no use in heading out again, but after some more convincing, I reluctantly mounted up and tried to close the gap on 3rd place. To no avail, he finished ahead of me. Nonetheless, I did 16 laps for 4th in the single speed category. The winner of the geared 24 hour solo rider in my age group (40-49 yrs) did 14 laps; so I felt fine with my effort. The course was 12 miles long, 1,700 feet of climbing each lap, and it was all rideable (which was really nice). So I did 192 miles and 27,200 feet of climbing. All-in-all a good race that I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for an early season 24 hour event.
Backpacking the Grand Canyon
Posted by Ryan_k | Filed under Travel
Morning on the Colorado
The Grand Canyon is one of the natural wonders of the world. It is over 1 mile deep, 18 miles across in places and has 277 river miles. Founded in 1919, just three years after the national park service was formed, the Grand Canyon is one of America’s first national parks.
A group of Rafters enjoying their day on the Colorado River
Floating the Colorado River is one of the most popular ways to see the canyon. A typical private float takes around 20 days while a guided trip can be done in as little as 5 days. We chose to see the canyon by foot, on 5 day backpacking trip.
Our trip started at the Grand Canyon village on the South rim. The first day was all about the downhill. We left the trail head on the Rim and descended down the hermit trail to our camp site at hermit campground. We managed to stay on route, despite the numerous rock slides that had washed out the trail. The temperature was great, though I could see how traveling on the Tonto trail in the canyon could be very hot. We made it to camp to find a fabulous pool with waterfall waiting to wash of the trail dust from the day.
Our second day was much mellower. We descended the rest of the way into the canyon and set up camp at Granite Rapids on the Colorado River. The river was much cooler than the water at hermit springs, making the swimming a little uncomfortable. The sandy beach made for great camping though.
Our third day was a day of rest and exploration. We used the opportunity to explore on of the side canyons that feeds the Colorado. We found beautiful rock formations in Monument creek.
Our fourth day was spent backpacking out of the canyon bottom. We spent the night back at Hermit campground. Having arrived at the campground early we decided to explore the upper reaches of hermit creek.
The Fifth day was by far the most challenging day of Hiking. UP, UP, UP. The Grand Canyon is DEEP. It made the beers taste that much better once we were back on the rim.
To see more photos of the Grand Check out our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com
Fat Tire Festival in Fruita, Colorado
Posted by Jason | Filed under Rides
The 15th Annual Fat Tire Festival took place in Fruita, Colorado on April 29th to May 2nd. This event supports the local businesses and world class mountain biking the area has to offer. With many vendors demonstrating their product you were able to check out new products and test them on the trails. After a long day of biking It was great to enjoy a beer at the New Belgium Beer Garden and listen to some great music. The area also has great mountain biking with easy flowing trails overlooking the Colorado River to technical climbing rock dodging trails.
On Saturday the famous Clunker Crit took place. This event was for all ages as long as you could pedal a bike. First the Kids Crit ages ?-12, which had them doing laps around the city block then changing direction and climbing through a bike for a final lap to win the race. Then the official Clunker Crit which 12 and up could participate. This race included flame throwing bikes to chariots racers. The race had them change bikes with other racers, two person lap, and cheating was encouraged.
If you missed this event I recommend that next year you put this on your calendar of things to do and don’t forget to bring your bike to enjoy some of Colorado’s awesome vistas!
Big April Storm Buries Snowbird
Posted by Hoppy | Filed under News
Little Cottonwood Canyon got socked again with a doozy of a storm on Monday and Tuesday. Storm totals were in the 40″ range. Over 80″ fell in the last week making for some hazardous avalanche conditions. The road never opened on Tuesday and the only public skiing was Chickadee. Alta was interlodged all day. The fire station got hit by a big avalanche that crossed the street and smashed the bus stop before piling into the Cliff lodge. Here are some photos.
Future Kuhl Team Rider
Posted by Hoppy | Filed under Rides
Ethan digging deep at the Tour de Kids.
Europe Ski Trip
Posted by Hoppy | Filed under Travel
R and D can be one of the most important aspects of any job. Fortunately for Kuhl skiing can be considered R and D. We flew to Munich, Germany first for the ISPO trade show. After a busy week in the show halls and the beer halls it was time to get out and play…. I mean R and D.
First stop Arlberg, Austria. Arlberg is a region that connects 5 towns by lifts. It’s big. I mean really big. For comparison Snowbird/Alta has about 4,500 acres,3000 vert and maybe 15 lifts. Arlberg has 80,000 acres, 6,500 vert and 82 lifts… one ticket. It snowed right before we got there so we spent the next four days mopping the off-piste. Real nice.
On the fifth day we packed it and headed for Engelberg, Switzerland. Engelberg is tucked up a mountain valley is truly an amazing place.
Here’s a view from the top of Titlis(the ski area at Engelberg)
We skied all over and settled on the Laub as our favorite. This is a picture showing the 1100 meter, 35 degree and 1/2 mile wide run.
On our third day it snowed 18″ an we skied the Laub till our legs begged for mercy.
Did I mention Engelberg is big? The next two show a run called The Galtiberg. This is a run that takes off from the summit glacier and pours 7,000 ft to the valley floor thru an amzing set of chutes and couloirs. Pure heaven. The first one is 1/2 way down and the second show the vie looking back up.
We continued on to Davos and finally Innsbruck then back to Munich.
Five Star R and D trip!
