Once long ago there was winter . . .

Here are some of the mountain adventures I had with friends or solo earlier in the winter (last year.)

Junuary and the coast.

A New Year in central Oregon, and apparently much of the rest of our worldly reality. January has come in on a huge white wing leaving thick blankets of snow everywhere here that now have melted into nothing or nearly so, with the mountains glazed over in a fast solid crust. Last week Julie and I frolicked out into the "Junuary" warmth for a skate ski at the local trails, I was over dressed with a bare chest and lite cotton leggings. Wow, that high altitude sun is nice, and I didn't have to worry about sun lotion yet as our northerly declination is only a month out of the Solstice. Skate skiing is a new sport to me and what fun to be learning something with new balance, speeds, gear, and conditions; when the downhill skiing is scary and nasty the snow is probably good for skating. We have had warm sunny weather for a fortnight now and there is no end in sight. If you are wondering where that perfect blend of seasons exists on the planet; look no further than the high dessert of Oregon. I was outside cooking at work today in the shade at 2pm in a t-shirt. And I didn't yet mention that we had 2 frosts in July. The seasons are all blended up. On our way home from skiing we passed the busy golf course. Also this week I enjoyed 3 mountain bike rides on mostly dry trails, another fun sport to play at while we wait for snow to fall.
We took full advantage of this fine weather and made it out to the coast of the mighty Pacific. We drove our heated car, Estefan, so we could enjoy to drive over the icy pass. We left on the tail of the stormy spell hoping to see some massive surf come ashore, as it sometimes does, especially during a La Niña year. Just our luck, high pressure set in and it was warm, sunny and not a drop of wind. Well, okay, twist my arm, I'll make the best of it. We went for beach walks, strolled along cliff trails, had a fire on the beach at sunset and laughed with friends. We stayed with our pals, Tod and Leslie, in there amazing beach house. And I awoke to watch January's Full Moon set over the ocean, as clean green storm waves from far away finally found a coast to rise and brake upon. After pancakes Tod, John, and I (our friend John had made it in for dinner previously,) suited up and hit the surf. I was on a laydown board (like what you think of when you think "surfer,") and had a great time paddling out among the waves and stand-up surfers (these guys stand all the time and use paddles similar to that of a canoe paddle.) The waves were overhead (big) and I tried once to catch one on my borrowed board but I realized that not only did I not have the balls to try surfing a 7' wave as my first wave in over 6 years, but the balls I do have were being crushed by my too tight wetsuit as I was arching up to paddle for the ride. Not a great feeling, so I opted to enjoy the watery world as a spectator, until I couldn't feel my feet. The ocean does get into the wetsuit and it is darn cold. What a great day on the water though. I will be back for more some day with the right gear and hopefully some beginner waves. We ended our coastal vacation with a hike out Cape Lookout, a 500' high ridge jutting 5 miles out into the ocean with lush evergreen forest perched to its heights. At the tip we looked down onto the back of dolphins swimming in the quiet ocean. The roar of the surf 5 miles back at the beach could not be heard, and with the wind as light as a butterflies wing beat, we listened to each breath as the porpoises surfaced! A quick stop at the Pelican Brewery for our second dose of fresh fried seafood of the trip and an award winning hand crafted brew (for me,) before Julie began our drive home. Here are some pics.

A little taste of X-mas

Julie was laughing it up with the Fam' back in Slidell, so I headed out with my friend John to a little ski hut in the central Oregon mountains for 2 nights and 3 days of backcountry skiing. Here are some highlights from the great snow we found in among the trees. The avalanche danger was high, so we kept out of the open bowls and chutes. A nice relaxing trip really. Check out the sleds that we used, easy to bring in lots of good food. How about John getting excited to use his snow saw in a snow pit, testing snow stability, AAARRrrrrrr.

Hot Springs Are Twice As Nice

California has many great hot springs and I hope to get to explore some new spots someday but for this recent trip I went to the best of those which Julie and I had found last year. The Travertine formation is a limestone ridge that is being formed by 160* mineral rich water. I enjoyed a High Life and a soak after my hiking and climbing in the Sierra. Because I still had hundreds of miles between me and Santa Barbara I got in Gloria and headed south on 395, a very scenic highway. Dusk over the high peaks entertained me for a couple hours until I was at my sleeping spot, a hot spring in the valley below Mammoth. I had to wait for the occupants to clear out and make some room in the small pool for me, so I went to bed with intent to soak in the morning. My body woke me at 4:30, perfect to see the Perseid meteor shower while staying warm in he hot waters. This also gave me a great early start on the 8 hours of driving to Santa Barbara. Love the air-cooled vehicle across the hot California dessert in August. Gloria is glorious. Here are some more photos of the Sierra.

Zach's Solo Trip

I just returned from a great 11 days on the road to Southern California. With my good friend from college getting married in Santa Barbara I thought it a good excuse to revisit California and play in some of my favorite places Julie and I discovered last year when we passed through. I'll be blogging in different segments in short stories so I don't get blogged out. Since I have a sprained ankle, it is good for me to be typing while sitting with my foot elevated and iced. We'll have to get to that story in the proper order though.
Starting at 6:00 am I drove, Gloria south along the eastern valleys of CA until the High Sierras rose above me in the setting sun. Parking at the end of the road in a little RV park I packed and dawned my pack setting off up the switch backs leading into the high alpine meadows. Just after dark I found my camp on the flat of a huge boulder stacked high on an old glacial moraine. Climbing and hiking the clean granite walls under the fractured ridge lines in between naps among the heather filled my second day. The objective for day 3 was relax and meditate on the rhythms of nature. Check! I hiked out during the late afternoon light, past deer grazing in the meadow, numerous water cascades with their day end torrents crashing down off the upper snow fields and other people enjoying all the great wild flowers et all. There was just enough time for me to throw my pack in the van and drive across the valley to the local, natural, primitive hot springs and soak in the sunset. Aha! Life in the flow.




Back soon with more. love and light zach

5000' more vert.

The great day started at just before 10 am with me bushwhacking straight at Faith, No. Sister. The late morning snow had a heavy caking quality, but at least I could keep my skis on once I hiked past the end of the road. A little fluoride wax helped immensely and the little bit of sticking still happening helped to climb the steady up slope. Out of the woods, onto the ancient moraines, the mountain showed me many great options for climbing and descending. I choose a climbing route on the north buttress which looked less exposed and smarter for my solo day. The sun baked snow above tree line was wind swept and hard, forcing me to put on skins. Luckily the caking stopped with the colder wind pack. I skinned up a great ramp right into a steep snow field on the northeast wall. I switched to crampons after a few switch backs in the surprisingly soft powder; about ankle deep. The front pointing was prime, with my duck bill sinking in far enough for the ball of my foot to secure each step. One foot in front of the other, slowly, giving me time to scope my route and gauge the snow conditions of various aspects of my upcoming descent down the Villard Glacier. Once on the north ridge of Faith I had a non technical traverse over surreal snow formations; like the scales of ice dragons, or wintery coral beds growing with the prevailing current. Sometimes the snow was hard and icy and other times thigh deep soft powder. The calmness of the day has been unprecedented and as I traversed some fair weather clouds produce by the heat of the day, were drifting up form the valley and adding to the etherial atmosphere. The clouds did not last long and there was, Hope, Middle Sister, showing her smiling north face. I finally came to the crux and stashed my skis and poles and switched to my ice axe. The crux was a 35' 5.6 class climb. I knew I was up to it but the NO-FALL zone gave me pause. Below me several cliff bands emptied into Villard Glacier's wide bowl. Slowly and surely I began climbing the mix of snow, ice, and rock. Scare myself? Yes I did, but these types of "edges" are far and few between for my mortal life and I know my spirit craves this type of "wave." Topping out on the summit ridge I was relieved to see a repel sling set up on a sizable and accessible boulder, which would allow me to skip the dangerous down climb. The summit, 10,084', was a ridge of cold powder snow and the sun on my back was warm with zero wind. Lunch, a photo shoot, and prayers of thanks for the magic of the day; then by 4:15 pm I started down and set up my repel. So much sweeter to be on a rope going down 35' of snow, ice and rock with 2000' below. Back at my skis I get ready to descend the couloir of choice. The top pitch is close to 50* but it has 6" or more of fresh powder on a stable base. I am high on adrenaline and prayer, and drop in. Yes, yes, yes! Those first truns set the tone and my smile is big as I stop to peak in at Early Morning Couloir. I looks great, but I have been meditating on the chute to my left (the main entrance into Villard) all day and it still speaks to me. I decide to save "Early" for another adventure, hopefully climbing with friends up the east buttress. I turn, say another prayer, as today my Faith is large, and drop into thousands of feet of soft wintery snow. It varies in depth, shin to thigh deep, with several face shots, but everything is soft until just after the mid point, 8,800', when a wind crust adds a little spice to my big happy turns. Wow, just writing about it gives me the warm fuzzies. Skiing all the way to the parking lot on spreadable butter, where I had to put my skis on my pack and walk the road a mere 3/4 mile on mostly gravel (just a few snow drifts the van could not tackle,) to my parking spot. Nearly 5000' of elevation gain and descent!














This day was a great gift of energy aligning perfectly! I hope to be doing more superb mountain adventures this spring in the winter lingering high on the mountains.

Birdman transforms your angste.

Mustache May has hit the scene and Garuda transmuted the toxins of a high altitude race. I won best costume and got to ski to the top and down Mt Bachelor, 5000' vertical.