Night begins on Mt. Maude

A 60 second exposure of fast-moving clouds at dusk taken on September 2, .

Leavenworth Fish Wall ..

I finally got the opportunity to go out for the first time since Mirabelle was born. There were multiple people coming, but in the end it was just Sabrina, Justin and myself.

On the way out we all decided on Fish Wall and the Duty Dome area as a place to be for the day. We were looking for moderate single pitch routes with the possibility of doing some multi pitch endeavours. When we arrived in the Icicle around 9am, we missed the pull out for Duty Dome and parked at Icicle Buttress and walked the short distance back down the road to the trail. It was still quite cold, although it was 50° out according to the car. In what seemed like no time, we were already at Fish Wall and figuring out what to climb.

We set our gear down by the far left route and looked around. I peeked at the book and announced that I would lead the far left route. (Sardine Routine) Justin and Sabrina poked around a bit and eventually Sabrina started belaying Justin up a bolted route, Crab Cakes 5.8+. The sun had not yet crept around the crag, and we were all quite chilly. Especially Justin who had to hold the cold rock while on lead. After his lead, Sabrina and I followed. I found the route to awkward, but I am not sure if that was the cold temps or because I was on rock for the first time in six months. The sun did finally start making an appearance when I topped out, although the last few cracks on the pitch were quite cold.

Justin, two clips up on Crab Cakes

We left the anchor up, so we could top rope the next route over, Virgin Sturgeon 5.8+. This route has two stars, and Justin wanted to get a feel for it on top rope before tackling it on lead. He was the first up and had some minor difficulties near the crux when climbing it. Sabrina went next and took a more direct line at the crux which appeared easier. I followed and found the route much nicer and more enjoyable than the previous. It was a route worth doing again. I guess that is the difference between one and two star routes. Justin and Sabrina then both led the route before Sabrina pulled the anchor.

Justin leading Virgin Sturgeon

I then geared up to lead Sardine Routine. A shorter route than the previous two with a combination of bolts and gear protecting it. It was enjoyable and had thin moves on the steepest section for the crux. Justin followed and Sabrina cleaned the anchor after her climb. We then started scouting the book for our next objective.

Yours truly starting up Sardine Routine (photo by Sabrina)

We opted to head to the right side slabs of Duty Dome. Justin was interested in climbing Kitty Corner 5.9+. We hiked up a few minutes to get to the route where we encountered another party gearing up for Straight Street, a three star route next to Kitty Corner, at only two stars. Justin geared up and I belayed him for the route. He warned me when he left the ground that he may need to take on a piece. This happened two or three times on his way up. The last piece he took on and then started to climb above it. He was a bit above it when I saw his feet scrambling for traction. I prepared to catch his fall and he started falling, yelling it as he finally broke from the rock. In what seemed immediate, he was on his back on the rock, with his head pointing toward the bottom of the slab. We asked if he was OK, and responded affirmatively. He stood up and collected himself while hanging for a bit.

Justin nearing his high point of Kitty Corner (photo by Sabrina)

He started to climb again, but I promptly stopped him because I could not take the rope in. I told him I thought the rope was stuck, and sure enough it was. He opted to build and anchor and tie into it while Sabrina and I started a rescue. Once in his anchor, I took him off belay, and Sabrina tied the it off to a tree as an added precaution while I got ready to lead the adjacent route. Then Sabrina belayed me up Straight Street so that we could get Justin down. When I arrived at the height Justin was at we worked out a plan for me to continue to the top anchor on Kitty Corner and then have Sabrina follow me. Sabrina would clean Straight Street and then I would lower her to Justin so she could clean Kitty Corner. I continued to the top of Straight Street. Possibly due to the now lack of sun on the route and the heightened adrenaline, I did not find Straight Street too enjoyable. Also, I was expecting it to be more friction, but it was more of an edging on slabs route.

I got to the top and Sabrina followed. She stopped half way to deliver Justin his down jacket so he could stay warmer. Once at the top, I explained to her what we would do and I prepared to lower her. She cleaned the route and was soon on the ground. Justin pulled up the rope and tied into the end and then I prepared to lower him. Once he was on the ground, I set up a rappel and took out the remaining high cam that he fell on, and proceeded to extricate the rope. This took a few pulls outward and a couple of different stances. I was a bit nervous because I felt that when it popped from the crack that I would spiral out of control even though I had done a leg wrap and autoblock to backup my rappel. Once freed, I threw the rope down and continued to the ground where we all decided that we had had enough for the day.

I was really happy to be out, and I felt I climbed pretty well for my first time on real rock in months. Our mini rescue training was nice practice and it was fortunate that we had brought a second rope along. After dropping Justin off Sabrina and I discussed some other options that we did not pursue in the rescue. I told her since Justin was conscious and communicating, that I was going to do whatever made him feel most comfortable. And I think that worked out pretty well for all of us.

The Risky Business of Attracting Women

On my way to Interbike registration yesterday, I walked by the Bikes Belong booth as they were setting up their new poster. I snapped a picture, uploaded it to Twitter, and received a flurry of hilarious reactions - ranging from "Where does she keep her keys?" to "Find Cipo and reshoot the scene!"




Of course this is a reference to Elly Blue's "Is this thing sexist?" bike test. Modeled after the Bechdel Test for women in movies, the bike test asks:

1.Are women present or represented at all?

2. Are the women presented as active subjects rather than passive objects?, and

3. If the gender were reversed, would the meaning stay more or less unchanged? (Or would the image become hilarious?)

Showing a woman pedaling a bicycle, the poster passes points 1 and 2. Assessing point 3 is trickier. Of course a poster of an identically dressed male would look ridiculous, but that's taking it too literally. What about a young male dressed in tight-tight cutoff shorts, a plaid shirt flapping open in the breeze, and a pained, sexy expression on his strategically unshaven face? I'd consider that the equivalent, in which case the meaning would indeed remain unchanged. So I say the Bikes Belong poster passes.




Still, images of women cycling in dresses and heels seem prone to rubbing us the wrong way. It is hard to describe what brings about the sense of unease, especially for those of us who actually wear dresses and heels on a bike. Often it boils down to subtle things: A coy facial expression, an unnatural posture, a too-conveniently billowing skirt... Point is, from a marketing perspective, images designed to attract women to cycling seem inherently risky. Too sporty or gender-neutral, and they can be read as "there is no place for femininity on the bike." Too feminine and they can be read as gendered, objectifying, or downright pornographic. The line between attracting women and offending them is blurry.







And while the sphere of roadcycling seems far removed from transportational advocacy, the same basic theme arises - see, for instance, Bike Shop Girl's "The Bike Industry Needs More Women Like Liz Hatch". When speaking to Felt Bicycles later in the day, the question of colour and graphics came up as well. When I commented on the dark violet hue of Felt's new women's road model, the representative explained how difficult it is to develop a colour scheme for women's lines of bikes. On the one hand, there is now a great deal of criticism hurled at anything pink, pastel or flowery. On the other hand, gender-neutral colour schemes don't sell as well. Women want something feminine, but not too feminine. They do not want a caricature of "girl bike," but they do want it distinguished from the men's models. I have heard exactly the same thing from the manufacturers of athletic cycling clothing. There is now almost a stigma to producing a women's jersey with any trace of the colour pink or flowers on it. Yet there is demand for feminine styles. Designers have to get a lot more creative these days in coming up with those styles; hitting just the right note is tricky.







Still, I believe the bicycle industry will keep trying. With women referred to as the "indicator species" for the success of transportational cycling and with the push for more women in cycling as a sport, the pressure is coming from all directions. As both manufacturers and activists struggle to figure out how exactly to market to women, we are likely to see some interesting results in the years to come.

A Sock for Your Lock?

image via thelocksock.com

A while ago, some of us began noticing knitted "u-lock cozies" on bicycles, and I always thought it would be neat if someone were to start selling them. Turns out a Lovely Bicycle reader recently did.



The Lock Sock is a hand-knitted sock that will fit a mini or standard u-lock - its function to prevent the lock from scuffing the bicycle's frame. I think these things are adorable, but never made one for myself because I don't use u-locks.



If you do use a u-lock and are longing to dress it in a knitted sock, one of these could be yours. Leave a comment describing how you lock up your bike and include your email address, and I will pick the recipient at random. Deadline is 11:59pm tonight, Pacific Standard Time. You will be able to choose a sock from the colors available and Stephen of The Lock Sock will mail it to you directly from Brooklyn, NY.



Thanks for reading and have a good weekend!

Duckie update

"Well," Hubby said, looking out the window at ducks chasing each other across the yard, "Duckie is definitely a girl."

Oh no, not already.

"Yep. And they're using her topknot to hang on. I think she's missing a few feathers."

Just in the past day or so I'd noticed that Duckie wasn't clinging to Bluebill (Mom duck) any longer. In fact Bluebill made another nest and is sitting on eggs again. So is the female Muscovy, but I think she's already been off the nest too long. She seems to think, especially in the first few days, that it's ok to sit on the nest half the day and then walk about the other half.



In other news, I have a new camera! But in the rush to take pictures before the light faded last night, I didn't adjust any settings, and most of the pictures turned out blurry. (Really, the light had already faded.)

Please let me know if this picture looks too dark on your computer screen. It looks fine on my laptop, but pictures seem darker on our other computer and I'm not sure which one is "normal".

Photos... and the heat wave

We had some aviation training today and along the way, I was able to snap a few images.

Here is a north side picture of Liberty and Ptarmigan Ridges. It has been a really hot week on the mountain, and the snow is melting quite rapidly...

I'll post more photos later today (when I can get some time to process them.) Photo by Mike Gauthier

"Queensland - The Steep State" The Crux Magazine story

Featuring the Phil Box photo that went to number one in the U.S. for 3 months on rockclimbing.com

Click on the story to enlarge and read.





The Rock! mag story







Poster that appeared in Crux 4



Photo: Neil Montieth





"Call of Duty" 28 Coolum Cave The very long and very steep "Call of Duty" is an extension of the original Gareth Llewellyn line "Weapon of Choice".





Photo: Antoine Mousette