Happy New Years Day ice climbing...

Happy New Year to all! Hope everyone survived the welcoming of . My New Years was much like the rest. Laura and I stayed home, didn't do much. We stuffed ourselves with some Kielbasa, Hot Dogs (veggie dogs), Sauerkraut, and some New Years Pretzel Bread that Laura baked up (see photo) which was bomb diggity! We rung in the New Year and made our way off to bed to rest up for my annual New Year's Revolution ice climbing! The temperatures weren't very favorable the previous days up to New Years Eve, but we still kept our spirits up as the weather forcast was for below freezing temps by morning with it going down as the day went on. Well it did just that. There was also a small amount of snow on the ground. A welcome sight from the dreary day before. We loaded up the gear and made our way to Secret Cliffs II. As we neared the cliffs, the snow deepened and winter seemed to be back in action. We hiked down to the climbs, only to find that the ice was still EXTREMELY wet and not very well bonded in most places. We seriously debated for a while whether or not Called on Account of Security would go. I'm sure it would've, but the delaminated ice at the top looked way too unsettled to rappel down from and we opted to let it go and continue to build for the upcoming cold week. After leaving Secret Cliffs we opted to continue our quest. We decided that to surely get in some climbing we should go to Lower Meadow Run to get on the mixed lines. We found that the ice there was in reasonable condition. I'd been itching to get back on Caveman and try to get the redpoint. I tooled my way up to the crux (3rd. bolt) and made it to the ice. I couldn't pull up around the corner and came off. The ice was poorly bonded and was washing out as I was climbing. I pulled back on and clipped the 4th bolt. The section above the fouth to the Rhody was very unstable as was the mucky topout. Given a little more attached ice and I think I would've got it. I can't wait to get back on it again. Laura gave it a quick go. Despite having a severe reach disadvantage she gave it her best. Captain Caveman proved to be more suited to those with long limbs. We roped up Anger Managment and took some turns on it. We did much more climbing than initially thought. It wasn't the best New Years Revolution conditions, but we climbed what we could and had a great time doing so! -As always climbing is a great way to bring in the New Year. Welcome !

Ice Land

Here is another wildly cool ice formation that we found on Artist's Point on Saturday. I loved the lines here and could not resist pointing my camera in their direction!

Winter, dry, both or none?

Obviously, the dry tooling route I did on the CIC cascades under the Ben Nevis north face last week was going to provoke a bit of debate. In my mind it’s perfectly suited to climbing in this style and it’s no threat to the traditional Scottish winter routes because it’s so clearly different from them. It did make me wince when I saw UKclimbing.com include a Scottish winter grade in their headline reporting the route. I didn’t give it a Scottish grade for a good reason! I should have seen that coming I guess, although it was hard to foresee that a casual comment by me comparing it to a similar piece of climbing terrain with a winter grade would mean folk would then take this one as a winter route. A bit like saying an E8 trad route has 7c+ climbing - it’s still different from a bolted 7c+! This seemed to fuel a bit of debate about how it related to the traditional winter climbing game. To me, it’s totally clear the route is a tooling route, not a Scottish winter route. Clear and simple.






Some folk argued that maybe it should be left alone in case it dilutes the Scottish winter conditions ethic. I personally don’t agree with this. My feeling is that a one size fits all ethic for anything climbed is unnecessarily simplistic. It’s a shame not to climb that crack just because it doesn’t get rimed up. It’s an excellent climb.




More so than any other climbing discipline, Scottish winter climbing seems to be awful scared of losing what we have. Of course it’s special and worth defending. Perhaps because I like going for the steepest routes I’ve spent more than my fair share of days walking in and turning on my heel because the project is not white enough. It’s natural to resist any changes (even if they are only additions) to the status quo, but not always good. Balanced against the fear of losing what we have must be a fear of losing what we could have. To me, the diversity of British climbing has always been it’s greatest asset. A strict and narrow focus on what can be climbed with tools is a strength in upholding a strong ethic, but a weakness in undermining the diversity of climbs that can be done. I just don’t see that the threat to the Scottish conditions ethic is real. Rather than diminished over the years I have been a climber, I feel it has strengthened. The ethic is so strong, it has room to accept some ‘outliers’. However, that is of course just an opinion of one and may be outweighed by those of others, which is no problem. If other folk thought the tooling route was a good idea, very few have come out and said so.









Winter condition or not? What do you think?



A further interesting twist came when the other new route I wrote about (The Snotter) was questioned for not being in winter condition. I must say that took me seriously by surprise. I’ve done plenty of mixed routes that were on the borderline, but it didn’t enter my head that this one wasn’t in good condition. Simon Richardson wrote a particularly below the belt post on his blog which is here. For some reason he didn’t mention my name in it, and is was a little weird that he wrote such strong words and then reported another new route of mine in the very next post. Anyway, the reason it took me so by surprise was the focus on the section of overhanging wall to get between the ice grooves below and the hanging icicle above. I deliberately went on the route because the recent sunny conditions has been good for helping the grooves below the icicles to become iced. In the 55 metre crux pitch, around 47 metres was climbed on water ice, with 6 metres crossing a grossly overhanging wall underneath the roof to get to the icicle. The 30 metres of grooves below the roof were climbed on ice, initially stepped iced slabby ledges, then a thin ice smeared rib and groove, apart from a few hooks on the right of the ice. Once on the icicle, there was a long section (15 metres at least) before the angle even started to lie back.The downside of this mix of conditions was that the overhanging wall itself was pretty dry. My thinking was that this is par for the course for this type of route. The sun helps more ice form, but at the expense of the rime. My interpretation (which may be ‘wrong’ if such a judgement can truly be made) of Scottish winter conditions is that basically the route must be wintery in appearance. If it was nearly all dry mixed with a little ice, it would be outside that definition and I would have come back another time. But the reality was the pitch was nearly all ice with a short section of dry rock.




A central view in my own new route climbing has always been that I don’t want it to be at the expense of anyone else, even if I don’t agree with their position or motives. Clearly, some folk feel that way. So I have taken away my blog post about the routes and recommend that folk forget about them, if that is what they want to do. They still exist of course, in my memory as great days out and two of the most fun climbs I’ve done in a while. Nothing more ultimately matters. Anyone else is welcome to climb them as first ascents if they feel those ascents are more worthy.

Overview and map of Alsace Wine Route Villages

Last month (April ) I did a road trip to the Alsace Wine Region in France. The area is famous for Riesling and Gewurtzraminer (white) wines. What can I say, I fell in love with the place! The whole region is so pretty, amazing, gastronomic and intoxicating! Haha! As the popular slogan goes — drink moderately, if you are in the area =)



Alsace Wine Route Map



For starters I have here below 2 maps of the Alsace Wine Route and Villages.









As you can see on the right map, there are many villages that fall along the 170-kilometre wine route and all these villages are pretty and welcoming in their own right. Some are bigger while the others are smaller. Because I do not have a week to leisurely explore these lovely places, obviously I have to make a choice, which proved to be quite difficult at first because I wanted to visit them all. On the left map shows a condensed map highlighting the popular villages.



Ideally, visitors to this region need a minimum of 2-3 days to see the highlights at a travelable not rushing pace. This is of course excluding the big cities such as Mulhouse and Strasbourg, the latter you need to spend at least a day or two. Based from my recent experience, I suggest a maximum of 3 villages in a day — first village in the morning where you have coffee, second village during midday where you spend your lunch at, and the third village in the afternoon for tea and to close the day. The villages are very near each other, about 10-15 minutes away. To calculate actual distances, go to googlemaps.



For Colmar, since this is a bigger town, I suggest to spend a day or a lunch until the afternoon here or during summer into the evening when the terraces are open late.











The actual Road Trip



So these are the wine villages (and cities) I visited during my road trip:



Ribeauville

Riquewihr

Kaysersberg

Eguisheim

Turckheim

St. Hippolyte (and Haut Konigsburg)

Colmar (where I stayed)

Strasbourg (where I did a pit stop going back – lunch, this city needs a revisit from moi in the near future)



Colmar I believe was the best place to base this trip because the city literally is nestled in the heart of the wine growing area giving it easy access to the villages up north as well as down south. The city is even christened as the capital of Alsatian wine. Well, I can tell you this, Colmar is the gateway to the Alsace wine country.



I chose these villages based on the reviews and pictures I saw online while researching the trip. And I strongly believed as well that I have indeed chosen the prettiest and best wine villages.



Stay tuned! I will be posting my stories and pictures soon.

Velo Inventory

Sometimes I am asked how many bicycles I have and what is the function of each. As we are building up my custom Royal H. mixte, I have been giving this some thought. I do not want to have redundant bikes and therefore I need to make some decisions. So here is my velo-inventory for the world to see - and pass harsh judgment upon, if so desired.



Pashley Princess Sovereign (Eustacia Vye)



used as: a transport bike

age: made in

unique? No. My vintage Raleigh performs the same role.

pros and cons? Pros: very stable and great in bad weather. Cons: very heavy and more sluggish than my vintage Raleigh.



Raleigh DL-1 Lady Tourist (Velouria)



used as: a transport bike

age: made in 1973

unique? No. My Pashley Princess performs the same role.

pros and cons? Pros: As fast and nimble as this kind of bike can possibly be. Cons: It is old and I am afraid to rely on it as my only transport bike.





Rivendell Sam Hillborne (Graham Greene)



used as: a road and touring bike

age: made in

unique? Yes. I have no other bike like this.

pros and cons? Pros: A fast and extremely comfortable bike for road cycling. Cons: none.



Mercier Mixte (Suzanne)



used as: an errand bike to keep in my photography studio (which is in another town) for running local errands

age: made in the late 1960's or early 1970's

unique? No. My Motobecane Mirage mixte could take its place.

pros and cons? Pros: makes a great errand bike. Cons: It is old and ever-so-slightly too small for me.



Motobecane Mirage Mixte (Marianne)



used as: A light touring bike when I want to be upright, yet go fast-ish and climb hills

age: made in 1981

unique? No. My new custom mixte will make it redundant.

pros and cons? Pros: It is pretty, but not a rare or high-end bike; can lock it up and not worry. Cons: It is too aggressive for its purpose; not a comfortable bike.



Royal H. Mixte (not yet built up or named)



(will be) used as: a light touring bike when I want to be upright, yet go fast-ish and climb hills

age: frame built in

unique? No. The vintage Motobecane already serves the same function.

pros and cons? Pros: Hopefully, when all built up it will be perfect. Cons: I will be afraid to lock it up and leave it unattended anywhere.



So there you have it, my inventory to date. As you can see, I "only" have 5 bikes so far, which I do not think is too insane. Okay, and a 6th one being built up. Still not totally bonkers, right?..



In terms of bikes performing overlapping roles, there are two major redundancies: the Pashley vs the vintage Raleigh, and the Royal H. mixte vs. the vintage Motobecane. The redundancies bother me, and I would like to have only one bike in each category. This would mean either selling whichever bike is redundant, or repurposing them in some way. Not at all sure what I will do yet regarding the Pashley vs Raleigh conflict. As for the vintage Motobecane mixte, she is currently in the process of being saved from elimination (or being butchered, depending on your perspective). God, I guess I do have too many bikes!

Rapha Women's Line... I Don't Get It

Rapha is one of those companies that people tend to either love, or love to hate. Essentially a manufacturer of high-end cycling clothing, but also a magazine publisher, racing sponsor, event organiser, bicycle design collaborator, and general "lifestyle brand," Rapha promotes an unapologetically romantic vision of roadcycling via an endless output of dreamy images as part of its advertising and social media campaigns. Slender, beautifully backlit cyclists suffer exquisitely as they scale mountains - often in black and white, and often to the accompaniment of haunting music, fostering a sense of nostalgia for a time that is not yet in the past. The garments offered are minimalist and expensive. That is Rapha in a nutshell.

Now, let me make it clear that I have nothing against Rapha's marketing tactics. I appreciate an effective advertising campaign achieved through emotional channels, and for this they surely deserve an award. When something inspires suchexcellent parody, you know it's reached iconic status. I also have nothing against brands that are considered luxury or high end, if the quality of their products reflects the price. So what's my problem with Rapha? It's not so much a problem, as a genuine feeling of dissonance - at least when it comes to the women's line. When I encounter their clothing in person, what's in front of me does not match the image cultivated by the impressive adverts.



Take, for instance, theWomen's Stowaway Jacket. Last summer I was desperate for a cycling rain jacket after my old windbreaker came apart. I wanted the jacket to be form-fitting, waterproof, and, ideally, red. Having exhausted the less pricey alternatives, I followed up on a suggestion to try Rapha. The Stowaway happened to be on sale at the Ride Studio Cafe at the time, and I came prepared to buy it. I tried on the jacket. It wasn't bad. I mean, not horrendous. Basically, it looked like a tracksuit top circa 1982 - something you'd expect to see on, say, an East German gymnast of that era. It's an intriguing look if you can pull that sort of thing off,but not especially flattering. The shade of red also strikes me as uninspired: not an exciting bright red and not a classic vintagey-brick either, but a dated crimson that I do not readily associate with cycling.



True to '80s tracksuits styling, the fit is tight in the chest, but mysteriously baggy above the chest - forming strange folds at the collar that threatened to constrict my breathing.



And do you see that bulge in the back? You're probably thinking that's the rear pockets. Nope. This cycling jacket has no rear pockets; that's just a bulge that forms on its own.



Although there are side pockets, they are small - so small, that I had trouble sticking my hands inside. Mind you, none of these design flaws are at all unusual in the sadistic world of women's cycling apparel, and if anything Rapha is not as bad as some of the alternatives. But for me, that is just not good enough given what I was made to expect.



Moving on to the Classic Women's Jersey - which I had considered when looking for wool cycling clothing: The styling in itself is all right, except that the full-length zipper creates artificial "tummy folds," as is common with this type of jersey.



The fabric is described as "sportwool," but as soon as I put it on, it became clear that this was a euphemism for a polyester-heavy blend. I later checked and yup: "sportwool" is 60% polyester.



Though the minimalist design is tasteful and subtle, I would rate the texture of the fabric as average on the rough vs silky scale. And for a hot weather jersey, it seemed somewhat heavy to me.



One nice thing about the Rapha jerseys, is that they come with arm warmers. Problem is (and I am not the only one to have noted this), that the arm warmers seem to be one size smaller than the jersey - rendering them essentially useless for those whose arms are not stick-thin. Too bad, because including matching arm warmers is a wonderful idea.



I could go on about other items in the Rapha women's line, but that's probably enough for now. Suffice to say that I find all of it more or less all right, but by no means extraordinary either in quality or looks. I am supportive of what Rapha is trying to do - create inspiring, classic, tasteful, well made cycling clothing. We can certainly use more brands that create such clothing for female cyclists, so really, I am all for it. But come on Rapha: Live up to your image. Watching all those dreamy backlit videos, I expected some truly "epic" women's cycling apparel... and this ain't it.

Big fun for me!

If you didn't know I spend some spare time designing and buildingice tool partsyou wouldn't know how excited I get seeing those tools getting used as intended.



The pictures here should giveyou anidea of where "my gear" has been.



http://coldthistletools.blogspot.com//08/ice-climbing-gear.html



But I have to say this one got me pretty jacked up this morning. Congrads to Ally and Dave on the Colton- MacIntyrevia the Alexis.





http://allyswinton.blogspot.com//09/something-that-i-am-starting-to-see.html







I hope Dave and Ally forgive me for stealing the picture!