DUDE, REIN-O!

This post is a test of a live feed into Facebook.

Pyramid Peak 01, originally uploaded by Adam Reiner.

I took this shot coming into work this morning. This is Pyramid Peak, the only 14er visible from Highway 82 near Aspen. It is only October 7, but an early storm has dusted the entire mountain with snow.

IMG_0051, originally uploaded by Adam Reiner.

I took this photo back in the spring time, from the hill below my house. In the foreground, on the far right, is Mt. Sopris.  It is 12,953 feet tall and has a larger vertical rise of any mountain thousands of miles away from the Pacific Coast.  A climb of it is a classic mountaineering experience.  I have not done so.

Of to the left in the background is the knife-shaped ridge of Capitol Peak, named for its resemblance of the U.S. Capitol Building.  I climbed it in the summer of 2007.  To the left of Capitol is Mt. Daly.

Sopris can be seen prominently from all parts of the lower valley.  From the first turn out of Glenwood Springs, the mountain is in your full frame of vision.  The snow has melted by September, but soon some light precipitation will dust the upper heights.

Bush says he’s working hard on economic turmoil

What is going on lately? The government is buying up all these companies. Yes…THE GOVERNMENT.

At the start of this week, the Federal Reserve rescued American International Group Inc., an insurance giant, from bankruptcy by granting an emergency $85 billion loan. In the historic bailout, the government gets almost an 80 percent stake in the company, a vastly far-reaching intervention.

Eighty percent? Now that the Fed. owns it, will it ever even be sold back? Possibly, if the U.S. Government ever needs to be bailed out in the future. But who will buy it then? Another Nation? China? India? Mexico? So then we will have another nation’s government controlling the insurance of all the businesses in America.

Every single immigrant worker in this country sends all his earnings back to his home country. Millions of U.S. Dollars are flowing out of the country on a daily basis. What happens when the ratio of dollars out exceeds dollars in? Pretty soon there really won’t be any more money. Its all gone, left the country.

The stock market crashed.  Clark is freaked out.  He kept giving reasons for going back to the shop room, to listen to National Public Radio tell him when to load up on ammunition.  I’ve never been laid off before.  I wouldn’t know what to do.  Clark says its nothing to worry about, and you can collect unemployment.

“But you gotta get laid off.  You get fired, you get nothing.  You quit, you get nothing.”  So you just float your way through the job all day, just hoping the boss man says “see you tomorrow” at the end of the day.

But if not, “You just move out of your apartment, get yourself a P.O. Box for your mail and a bank account for the unemployment deposit, and you go out in the desert and search for Dinosaur Fossils!”

Apparantly a Saber Tooth Tiger skull is worth $100,000 on Ebay.  I wonder what a T-Rex will get?

When I was a little boy, all I wanted to do all day was sit in the sandbox or beach and look for dinosaur fossils.  Could I have the chance to fufill my childhood dreams?  What kind of trial is this, to come in every day waiting for the bossman to hand you your check and release you from servitude?  I wonder if that day will ever come.

After finishing my motorcycle safety training course with the Iron Buffalo this past weekend, I was super stoked to jump in headfirst to the motorcycling culture. The class was very rewarding, and sent the message home that a motorcycle is more efficient than any other vehicle for transporting yourself from one place to another.

After the class ended, I found myself burning time by browsing on craigslist at various bike for sale, then comparing model names to the resources available in Wikipedia. In a days time, I learned how large the market really is for many different types of people.

Constantly glancing at my bank account, I was lowering the price ceiling little by little. Soon I was looking at classic sport bikes like the Ninja 500 and GS500E, There are some great deals out there, but while gaping at a $1000 motorcycle, I was struck with the realization that I had paid just as much for my brand new Transition Multi-sport.

I decided then that I am not going to buy a motorcycle this year. I had taken that training to reach a small goal, and I did. But I still did not feel 100% confident of getting involved in the lifestyle just yet. Every day on a motorcycle means a day not on the road bicycle. I had set an original goal of getting in shape both mentally and physically and getting off the petroleum program by commuting through the crisp mountain air on the bicycle.

I must turn my financial resources to an original priority, that of getting my trusty F-250 in shape for contention in the title of the “Ultimate Off-Road Vehicle.” The secret drawers and platform were a hug success with the girlfriend. Sustainability is the next step, plus a few added comforts like fresh coffee straight out of the cab.

For next year, I think I have my sights focused on a KLR 650.  I’ve been reading about the all-around ability and durabilty of these bikes.  They have spawned a cult of riders with a spark for adventure that I’m all about.  I will be doing a bit more investigation, but I could very well be riding one by next spring.

Williams Peak — 10,300′
Garfield County, CO

Adjusting to a new locality can be somewhat difficult; especially when the new area has an array of completely different backcountry stashes known only to the locals. When I left Denver, my home for three years, it was hard to leave behind my front range spots like Butler Gulch, Rollins Pass, the IPW, The Park, and my personal local playground–the Mt. Evans Wilderness. For the past few weeks I have found myself transplanted in the middle of the Roaring Fork Valley, with virtually no knowledge of the backcountry terrain.

However, upon my first two weeks here, I was offered a chance to check out the Glenwood Springs locals’ stash: Mt. Williams (a.k.a. “Willie’s”) with a 5 years local and his bro from Denver. This was also the first outing with the girlfriend, who has been super stoked to get to the BC and try out all her sweet new avy gear and recent education. My guide claimed that the lines were “mellow”, and I had a good idea of what was in store: classic winter low-angle glade skiing. NO worries, I was not out looking for insane avy lines this early in winter, and I was just excited to get a tour from someone in the know.

We met up with the GS boys at 10:00 am and headed up the road toward Sunlight Mountain Resort. At the top of the road, we turned off to a hard-packed road and continued to climb. I was surprised at how high the trailhead was, but soon we pulled upon a row of cars parked parallel. No sooner did I turn off the engine, than two snowboarders came shooting out of the trees and onto the road, hooting cries of joy and a most bodacious powder ride. We quickly put on all gear (myself and our leader on splits, the other two board-packing it).

Climbing the skin track

The author skinning up

We hiked up the road for about a half mile then turned off into the trees. The trail was very hard packed and definitely has seen a lot of traffic. However, while hiking, I took note of several uncut stashes of powder, with the occasional line or two around it. Although popular, this mountain is big enough for everyone.
During the ascent, the two guys had quickly disappeard out of sight. V left me in her tracks as she skipped up the mountain with ease, with a snowboard on her back. I was left bringing up the rear, which I am no stranger to, and I groveled along on my split. As I climbed, I took in the wonderful new surroundings. It was beautiful sunny day, and I could see far out west towards Grand Mesa, and the Western end of the Rockie Mountains.

View to the West

Near the upper section the climb, we found a corniced terrain trap. Curious after my avy class the previous day, I decided to try to make the cornice go. It only took one ski kick, and the cornice shattered, dumping blocks of snow into the flat spot below. I was in a safe, controlled location, but it was good to see that activity, in case I saw something bigger and more exposed later.

The small cornice I set off

The weather progressivly got more cloudy, and soon it began to snow. I started having trouble keeping my skins adhered to my boards, and after struggling with them twice, I was finally fed up with them, and shouldered my skis for the next 200 feet to the top. At the top, I was greeted with an ice-cold Miller Lite (they sure know how to treat a Chicago boy up here!)

V and I on the summit, with the awesome Mt. Sopris in the background

Having just taken an Avy Awareness course on Richmond Ridge the day before, I was eager to dig a pit an analyze a snowpack. While I was occupied with my excavation, the summit quickly became crowded. There were only another 4 or 5 people, but about twice as many dogs! One of them made quick work to my lunch, which was stashed in my half-opened pack 30 feet away from me. However, I was fixated on the snow pit. I performed a simple shovel shear test and broke loose a 2′ slab that certainly made me worry. The snowpack was still a little sketchy, but from what I’d gathered, our descent was of the G.F.P. nature, and would be relatively safe.

Jesse looks ready for the descent

From the top, our guide instructed us to ride the roller-coaster skin track down the ridge to the saddle, then drop onto the north face. I did as followed, and found a casual surf through knee deep powder. The terrain was very unique. Occasionally the dark tree run would open up into a huge glade full of untracked snow, and then funnel back into the trees, and out into the open again, at least three or four times. I found countless features ranging from small mushrooms to large rocks with nice soft landings below them.

Gotta love the aspen riding

He missed out on it, but you know I hit that mushroom in the middle of the pic

Eventually I lost track of my crew, and continued to follow the fall line to the road. As I removed my board and walked down to the road, I passed a boarder bootpacking it up.

“I left you a FEW lines…but you better get after it!”

After all, I was now tuned in to the Glenwood Springs local stash, and I definitely planned to go back.

Torrey’s Peak, 14,267′
Front Range, Rocky Mountains
Ascent via Standard Route
Descent via Northwest Face
Gaffers: Adam and Brian

Its Friday already and while already in the middle of planning tomorrow’s outing, I’ve realized I forgot to finish off the Memorial Weekend blog with Torrey’s Peak Northwest Face. This is a line that I’ve driven past on I-70 with a veteran skier many times who feels it necessary to remind me EVERY time that he has skied it. It is large, wide, and long, with an easy approach, so I found it perfect to finish the weekend with.

Early Memorial Day morning, Old Style and I sped off under the rising sun and arrived at Steven’s Gulch Trailhead around 7am. We were planning to do a complete loop from the Trailhead, up Torrey’s Peak via the Standard class 2 route, down the Northwest Face, and hike out Grizzly Gulch. To top things off, the recommended car shuttle from Grizzly Gulch back up to Steven’s Gulch (and our vehicle) would be achieved using convienently stashed mountain bikes.

Your Narrator…it was sunny all morning!

Going up the standard route provided many interesting encounters with a wide range of outdoor explorers. Up on Kelso Mountain we saw two skiers traveling the ridge. Four mountaineers were visible inside Dead Dog Couloir, all safely spaced 200 feet apart. Even the standard route had a few gapers with blue jeans and the always stylish shorts-with-gaitors setup.

Brian (nice tights!)

At 9am we saw four mountaineers in Dead Dog. It alreadly looked crowded so I was very glad that this wasn’t our intended line

We were able to hike the first 1/2 mile on dry land with lightweight shoes, but by the time we reached continous snow it had already started to softed, so we skinned it across the flat part of the trail. Once the uphill part of the trail started, it had been bootpacked enough that I was able to hike it all with snowboard boots. My partner remained on skins the entire time. Although we had taked different approaches up the mountain, I didn’t notice any difference in our pace.

It had been sunny all day until about 10:30am. By the time we reached the saddle between Grays and Torreys, the clouds had gathered and were looking very strong. We hauled ass up the remaining 800 feet, stopping only briefly to talk to the Dead Dog mountaineers who were on their way down the standard route.

By 11am it was snowing at the top of the mountain as we switched over into our ski gear. At this point we had no idea if the morning sun had cooked the Northwest face enough to make for comfortable skiing, but since we had no idea how long it would take for the clouds to disappear and the sun to return, we decided to play it safe by heading down right away.

Looking up at the summit from farther down the West Ridge

This was a fun experience because it was the first trip where I played the role of leader. I had gathered all the beta on the route, and now it was up to me to find the start of our line. The upper terrain for the first 50 yards skier’s left (from the summit) was a boneyard. I walked another 50 yards until I found what I thought to be the best possible start. We would have to ski through a tight section about 10 feet wide, and then we would be out on the huge open face for the rest of the run.

At the top of our line

I dropped in first when I had a small break of light through the clouds. Old Style followed, and we exchanged leads a few times during the whole run. The upper section was pretty harsh. While the sun had melted out the snow during the early morning hours, the small storm that hit us earlier on the ascent had done some chemistry on the snow, and the surface was turned back into a choppy and crusty layer.

However, near the middle of the run we encountered nice corn, and the remaining 1500 foot drop was a blast. It was fun to carve nice wide turns into the side of the mountain after my recent experiences in tight steep couloirs.

Much better

Damn I wonder if this guy is sponsored?

Probably the only pic with decent exposure

Looking back up at the couloir. From this point the snowfield was full and continous, and we ripped it with style.

The hike out of Grizzly Gulch was less than ideal. It is that time of year where the approaches aren’t totally melted out, but aren’t totally full of snow (for an ideal skin-out). We had changed back into out hiking shoes, but had to posthole through snow drifts and cross the river 3 times. Finally, after an hour of hiking, we spotted the mountain bikes! We stashed the gear and hopped on the bikes. Two more miles of a steep and exhilarating ride, and we were back at the truck.

Our descent line in red

In a matter of 6 hours, we had completely circumnavigated Kelso Mountain…via the summit of Torrey’s Peak!

What the hell has happened to the first quarter of 2007? I have been unable or unallowed (is that a word) to sit still for more than a few minutes for the past 3 months. Now as I sit on this airplane, I’m am forced to do just that. For the next two hours I am forced to still my legs and mind and reflect on the fastest 3 months I’ve faced in life so far.

For starters, this all goes back down to Pueblo, CO, where I found at least one part of my soul washed up on the barren desert rocks of Lake Pueblo State Park. After a fun-filled ski trip in Utah in January, I was sent to find a short-term home about 2 hours south of my long-term one. Alone and forced to reckon with the natives, I succeeded in overcoming the difficult challenge of building about $1.5M worth of pipes, roads, walks, and pavement. Pipes that provide your house with water, electricity, and also take away the less desirable stuff that you don’t want around. Roads you drive on, on your way to Bed, Bath & Beyond with the wife.
Between stressful daytime hours full of talk & action, and peaceful nightime hours of thought, I’ve managed to grow into a much stronger and confident human being.

During this time, my own life back in Denver was constantly burning my other end, and I had to endure the task of juggling my career performance and advancement with my domestic life. It was no easy job to do. I’ve spent dozens of hours in a truck, dozens more on the phone or internet, handling all of my affairs with the best efficiency I could. Sadly, no matter how hard I think I suffered, I feel more for my pet cat, Sambuca. The cat had no idea what was going on, just that she would see me for a few days or hours, then I’d be gone. Back and forth, back and forth. However, everytime I open the front door to my home, she would always greet me with superb optimism. Unfortunately, there were others in my life who were affected by my schedule that were not able to survive.

Aside from the demands of my work and personal life, I still managed to push the limits of adventure a step further, as I entered the 27th year of my existence on this world. My newfound passion for snowboard-mountaineering has started to develop into more than a hobby. After many years of trying new sports and many dollars spent on equipment, I can think of nothing more exciting to do than sticking on a set of climbing skins or crampons, and ascending a majestic rocky mountain peak, taking a quick glance at the view from the top, and then surfing down the steep slopes at top (safe) speed, back to civilization. I’ve been taking a class with the Colorado Mountain Club that has improved my skills an attitude on a weekly basis. Each trip I’ve pushed my stamina and adrenaline up and down 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 vertical feet in a day, with no thought to ever looking back. Last week we took a trip up Uneva peak, near Vail pass, a 12,000 foot windblown hunk of rock with dozens of steep couliors running down its side. After long sweaty hours of hauling up the rock, my first shot through an alpine coulior was like finishing one book in my volume of adventure and starting a new one. I gained the confidence that I could handle anything I’ve seen in the hundreds of ski movies I’ve watched stoned & drunk on the couch back home.

I’m heading across the dark flatlands of America on my way to my past. To see old friends and family. I am looking forward to this trip more so than any other trip to Illinois before it. I can’t wait to see familiar faces, comfortable voices, and jolly good times with no worry. Because if t he next 26 years of my life will go even higher and faster than the first, I’ll need a weekend in the Windy City to chill my ass out.

…when NFL films presents a heart wrenching tribute to the lives and legacies of both Brian Piccollo and Walter Payton? I admit, watching the 20-minute montage during yesterday’s pre-game brought me to tears while sitting on my couch with a beer in my hand.

However, no more tears where expended the rest of the night. Not when the Colts picked off a pass and ran it back for a touchdown in the 2nd half, and pretty much locked up the game for Indy. When the game was all said and done, I didn’t cry, pout, or yell. I just sat back in my bar chair and reflected on the amazing season the Chicago Bears just completed! They may not have won “the big one”, but the strength & unity that the team brought to the City of Chicago, as well as loyal fans across the world, will be remembered for years to come.

Week after week I sat in front of the big screen TV in my local pub and cheered on my team as they rolled their way through the regular season. We may have had a few hiccups, and there is no argument that our quarterback became the media’s most speculated and criticized player in the history of the NFL, but every game was exciting, entertaining, and downright enjoyable to watch!

Today I’m sure there are a lot of depressed Bears fans across the nation. I say to them: do not despair. The Chicago Bears made it to their second Super Bowl in 41 years! Instead of getting upset by not winning, let us rejoice in the accomplishment!

Bring back Lovie. Bring back Rivera. Bring back our former rookies like Hester and Manning. Bring back our veterans like Muhammed, Kreutz, and Urlacher. Lets have a fair and honest competition for the starting quarterback job.

After a decade of mediocre seasons, this past performance has left us fans with intense hope for the future. The George S. Halas trophy sits safely and proudly within the confines of Halas Hall. Let’s keep it that way.

The Chicago Bears are back amongst the NFL’s elite!! Let us rejoice and give thanks over Polish Sausage and Miller Lite!!

(Oh yeah…55 days till opening day!)