And from our Friends in Finland!

From the top of Europe a great blog and an approprieate picture for the current and reaccuring topic of crampons.



Thanks Toby!



Gotta watch that crampon fit. Nepal Evos and Black Diamond Cyborgs should be good to go though. That one might well be operator error. SorryToni...as I was cheeringfor you! But I know the head of Black Diamond's hard goods program uses the same set up and hasn't lost a crampon yet.



More here:



http://lightfromthenorth.blogspot.com//01/january-ice-climbing-and-hiking.html





Black Diamond field testing the same boot/crampon combo on Utah ice last winter.

Going International

Looks like summertime is finally going to be with us for awhile. With nothing but sunny days in the forecast, now is the time to come out and crush the mountain! Conditions on the upper mountain are as good as they get for early July. Routes such as Liberty Ridge and the Fuhrer Finger that normally get a little thin this time of year are still holding lots of snow and should really be climbed a lot in the coming weeks.

Climbing rangers have been fairly busy over the past weeks with a number of tasks including climbing the mountain, training with the military, doing a couple of searches and rescues, and in our spare time trying to keep the toilets clean. One of the most special things that has happened in our world lately is that we have been able to host Ang Tshering Lama, a Nepalese climber, who was here as a guest ranger for three weeks in June. Ang spent time at both Camp Muir and Camp Schurman, patrolling climbing routes with rangers, taking part in our various trainings, and assisting in multiple rescues. If you were at Camp Muir or Schurman in the past few weeks you might have even caught a smell of the delicious food he cooked up for us during his stay. This is the third year in a row we have hosted Nepalese climbers in our program and we are very proud of our close relationship with their climbing community. Later this summer we will be hosting the Korean Alpine Rescue Team, so stay tuned...

Be sure to come by the Guide House up at Paradise, or one of the other ranger stations around the park, and say "hello."

Chalcedon Checkerspot on Thistle

Chalcedon Checkerspot in a park circa 2006.

Southwick and woods, circular

With Barrie E, Terry, Sue, Kate, Ian and Carol, Phil, Barry O, Gordon, Maureen, Eddie. Fine sunny morning. Just over 6 miles. And no stiles.





This walk follows the same route as the one fromWed, September 7th. This time we started from the lay-by just after the water tower on the road to Glapthorn from Southwick. I haven't written up details, as they're on the linked post, but here are a few snaps of some of the 'gang'.

Crossway Hand Farm

Not 'one of us'.

Father's day

On Father's Day, my niece learned to tell fish stories...



then later caught a big one, once she stole her Dad's fishing rod.



The bream's close-up.



---

My Dad died in 1989. I miss him every day.



My Dad, very young. He lied about his age to join the army before WWII. He was probably about 17 in this picture. His father, who played the saxophone, was his Captain.

Nice ice!

Exquisite Beauty

Friday, September 24th - - Words cannot describe, nor photographs convey completely, the simplicity and incredible beauty of this place... Crater Lake National Park.