Blue Magic - James Gunn

Beta alert! Look away if you want to onsight Blue Magic 8b.

Followers of johnjobrien on Instagram will know that I recently returned from another quick Chinese climbing and tofu and photo gathering expedition.

I met some of the finest people. They made me welcome amongst them. They shared their time and their snacks. And they climbed like machines possessed.

Here's James Gunn. One of the finest.




The day I set up for this shoot it was dull and cold. I got into position, the talent tied in and chalked up.

The second he laid a finger on the stone the sun unexpectedly cracked the gloom, plastering my shadow all over the wall. Not quite the plan.

But the effect was uplifting, one of those magic moments when I know there is no other place in the world I'd rather be. I like to believe that everyone at the crag felt the same euphoria.




James Gunn - on the send.














James and Tom make ready at Skull Mountain.

I made that up, it's White Mountain.










I love White Mountain. Despite my humble performance there.

It's a humbling and magnificent crag.

















The first couple of moves, watching through the lens, I'm thinking, "I could do that".

At about the second clip I'm thinking, "nah that's me done".















Lining up the first crux









"Catching the last move of crux #1"








"The rest" James seemed quite relaxed and centred. But in real terms, it not a rest.







James worked the route with Dave Van Den Berg and Tom Allen. He says he was psyched for it right from the start. There was no stopper move to contend with, but it didn't go down easy. Conditions on the first day were exceptional but he never got the same break again.






Tom.






"Exiting the rest into the final crux sequence"























Sun's out, Gunn's out.

James reckons his fav route is "Lost in China" at Getu, China.

Note to self: get the booking staff at jjobreinclimbing to schedule me a trip, say it is for photos or something.




He likes Mie Fun. I like Mei Fun.

He likes Drum and Bass. I like Drum and Bass.

He's a G.I.S. analyst/specialist for an engineering consultancy.

I like Mie Fun.




James told me what he did for a job, but I didn't understand. Very technical and important.

All I understood was that there are remarkable and surprising people out there. I continue to be amazed.

Talented, friendly, crazy strong and photogenic.




Find James on Facebook - James Gunn Auckland, New Zealand.




Cook your own Mie Fun




200grams rice noodles (thin)

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 carrot, julienne cut, 1/2 cup onion, sliced, 1 1/2 cups cabbage, shredded

tofu pieces 2 large
eggs

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

1 cup bean sprouts,
1/4 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon brown
sugar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce (to
taste)

salt, to taste, fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Place the rice noodles in a pot of hot water and allow
them to soak for 15 to 20 minutes.

2. While the noodles are soaking, heat the sesame oil in a
large wok over high heat. Fry the tofu
pieces. Add the carrot and onion. Cook and stir until crisp tender. Stir in the
cabbage, cooking and stirring for 1 minute longer.

3. Stir in the ginger, bean sprouts and eggs. Once the eggs
are cooked, stir in the water, brown sugar and soy sauce. Cook and stir

4. Drain the rice noodles and add them to the skillet.
Season with salt, pepper or soy sauce, t o taste. Yum










jj




PS this post has been reconstructed after Google lost all the photo links. Sorry if it's a bit different.

Beautiful day on Devilfish Lake

We are heading out kayaking again today! Right now the conditions are foggy on the Lake Superior shoreline but we are headed to an inland lake so maybe it won't be foggy up there. Of course, if it is foggy I won't complain because that could make for some interesting pictures! In the meantime, here is another shot from last week's paddle on Devilfish Lake. I loved this tree hanging over the water and couldn't resist paddling under it to photograph Jessica out in the lake with the tree in the foreground.

Ice Crystal Sunrise at Hollow Rock

A recent sunrise image from Hollow Rock in Grand Portage, MN. The next several days are calling for temperatures in the mid to upper 30's... hopefully all this wonderful ice we've had along the shoreline lately won't fall prey to the warm temperatures!

Crex Meadows Wildlife Area

After our bike ride on the Cannon Valley Trail earlier this week, we headed to Crex Meadows WildlifeArea in Grantsburg, Wisconsin.In thefirst two photos shown here Jessica is looking for Sandhill Cranes in the fog during the first light of the day. We could hearalot of cranesin the distance but couldn't see them at first because the fog was so thick.













Eventuallly the fog started to clear enough that we were able to start seeing some of the cranes.








Loved this view through the fog of a group of cranes standing on a mud flat.








For about 10 minutes the clouds and fog cleared enough that a bit of sunlight came through and gave us some really cool light. Once the sky cleared a little, the cranes started to take flight.














Sandhill Cranes in the early morning light, diffused by thick fog.








There were several thousand cranes at the refuge, this view along Main Dike Road was where we saw most of them.








These three cranes were walking with purpose across this flowage.








Cranes in flight... love the subtle yet beautiful variation in color on their wings!








We enjoyed a breakfast snack at the "Rest Area" along North Refuge Road. The rest area was surrounded by beautiful oak trees, and looked out over a vast field which included a pond complete with a beaver lodge along the edge of the pond. Every now and then a few cranes would call as they flew overhead. It was a little slice of heaven for us :-)

3/9 Friday Pit Profile

Speechless? Batman Cave!

Not often I am speechless.Nothing to do with climbing. But this is good.










"The narrow cave, no wider than Alexander is tall, is located in Roca Foradada Mountains in Montserrat, Spain—a location that has inspired this professional Italian Norwegian athlete’s flying dream his whole life. Alexander hopes his success will inspire others not only to ‘climb over their mountains,’ but to also fly right through them!"



http://alexanderpolli.com/

La Sportiva Hang5

La Sportiva's Hang5






Product: La Sportiva's Hang5



Length Tested: 178cm
Turn Radius: 23/30/23m


side cut: 145/117/135


camber: 7.7mm
Tip rocker: 425mm


Tail rocker:
0

Running length: 1510mm

Weight: per skis: 1900g / 4lb. 3oz.



Binding: Dynfit Radical Speed toe TLT Speed heel



Mount point: Mounted @ La Sportiva's suggested line



Ski
weight with bindings: 5lb evenper ski



Environmental
Conditions: early and late Spring skiing



Location of Test: Crystal Mountain Washington




Number of Runs: 15+days of spring skiing,



Snow Conditions: Early and late Spring skiing conditions ice to slush



Demo or Own: own















CONSTRUCTION TYPE: FUSION SIDEWALL - 70% Camber / 30% Rocker

SIDEWALL MATERIAL: ABS Thermoplastic

TOP SHEET: 0.5 mm Double Polyamide (ISO ICP8210) - Glossy

CORE: Vertical Laminated Light Karuba Paulownia Wood

LAMINATE LAYER 1: Tri-Directional Fiberglass

LAMINATE LAYER 2: Bi-Directional Carbon/Fiberglass mat

SPECIAL MATERIALS: Fiberglass Veil

REINFORCEMENTS PLATES: Under bindings

TIP AND TAIL REINFORCEMENTS: Rubber

BASE MATERIAL: P-Tex 2000 factory hand waxed

EDGE MATERIAL: 1,8 mm steel + rubber laminate

FEATURES: Tip and tail attachment holes, flat/notched tail

SIZES: 178, & 188

COLOR: 99H Yellow

PRICE: $825 USD



Tester Info:



Height/Weight:
6'1" 190lb



Ski
Days/Season: 30+



Years
Skiing: 30+

Aggressiveness& Moderate



Current
Quiver: Huascaran, Aspect, GTR, Lo5, Hi5, 112RP, 138, Broad Peak, 112RPC,
138. Praxis GPO and Protest



Home Area: Silver Mtn Idaho, Crystal Mtn
and Alpental WA.



Preferred Terrain: off-piste, trees,
steeps




1 (worst)
to 5 (best) star ratings

$ Value: *****







Durability: unknown at this
point but they still look good







Edge Grip: considering the 117mm
under foot *****







Maneuverability:****-







Performance:*****



From another fan of the Hang5 earlier in the winter:



"It's a bit of a charger, eh? Good skiers seem to love them. Not so good ones, not so much. You gotta stay on top of them. If youget in the back seat they'll throw you around. It's a way different ski than the Hi5. Is strange, but at 117 underfoot it was really more of an everyday ski for me this past winter. I can ride it inbounds all day and; then take it BC too. Much more versatile than the Hi5 IMO. Yeah, Iwassurprised at the lack of fanfare for this ski. It's my favorite."





I agreed whole heartilywith thoseobservations. Same things I saw. My favorite ski as well of the 4 GTR/Lo5/Hi5/Hang5.Although I now think the GTR is the other unsung ski that should have a cult following. It does with me anyway. Obviously all the la Sportiva skis are intended for different purposes. And I try to make that comparison to each ski in class.GTR fairs well. I put the Hi5 in the same class as the DPS 112. People love them. I am just not a big fan of either after a season on each.



Skiing the Hang5late this winter and Springin comparison with the Huascaran (same length), longer DPS RPC,and a Dynastar Cham 107 (184) and my Lo5s. Best comparison was the DPS RPC (192cm). The RPCskied very similar for me in our current spring conditions. Bothadd huge confidence under foot. Says even more for a 178cm ski I think. I found the Hang5 to be the ski I wanted to be on as we rotated through the day.



That is some dang good company for a 1st year ski.

Funny this: by late Saturday my legs were cooked and was skiing the Dynastar (which has gotten some rave reviews). I was hating them..really hating them. Decided if I skied so badly it was time to wrap it up. I got the Hang5 back on top of the hill and headed home. Much to my surprise, even with worn out legs the Hang5s still skied very well and seemingly made me stone sober.

They certainly make light of some terrible snow conditions, ice crust or boot deep slush.



Enough fluff :) Thought about this a lot over the first week I skied the Hang5s and bought a pair asap in the same 178 size.









Thoughts for the guys who also got a turn at my demo pair.



"I take them out for almost any moderate touring day. I find it to have less of a

new-school slarving personality as it needs to be stepped on to really charge. Lots of> energy return and super fun. Makes tight enough turns and is stable at speed."



"uncomfortable, too unbalanced front to back. Always felt like I was on a teeter totter."



"Too heavy and slow in tight conditions, not a ski that is much fun in jump turns"









"Nice ski, could easily be my all mountain ski, all winter ski even at 117 under foot."



My own take was interesting after forcing them off on friends. Most of them ski better than I as well so I valuetheir opinions even if it is notalways my own experience.






Scarpa Maestrale RS






The Hang5 is not a ski I like skiing in my TLTs. Although Jerry had no problem skiing his TLT Mountains on the Hang5.I much prefer a Dynafit One or the Scarpa Maestrale RS for the Hang5 even in the short 178 version. It is a lot of ski for me at 117mm under foot and 145 at the tip with no real or imaginative foo-foo design work to make it ski shorter or lighter.



That said I don't look for the Hang5 as my "first take" back country ski. It is fine in a skin track and booting as long as I am not doing a lot of either. If so I want a lighter ski. But on the down these things simply rock for me. They are ultimately stable, No teeter totter for me. Likely the one ski in my dozen ski quiverthat has a perfect mount point sorted out. And it makes a difference. For me this ski gives a 5 star ride in any conditions, powder to Spring ice and anything in between. I really, really like this ski. Enough so to over look its' weight. Mind you it still weights less than the vast majority of skis of this size and attributes by a fair margin.



The 178Hang5 is afull pound more per ski @ 4.25# than a 177Huascaran @ 3.25# . And the weight and ski stiffness/flex relates that as well. The 178cm Hang5 is a 1/4 pound per ski less than the 182cm Praxis GPO @ 4.5#. Good company imo all all three skis.



The Hang5 skis more like the Praxis GPO than the Huascaran or even my 192 RPCs..No question with numbers like 145mm/117mm/ 135mm teh Hang5is a BIG ski with a rather traditional flat tail, decent side cut and a slightly rockered tip. Nothing here really to give away the performance that I came to really value in the Hang5.



I skied them on the morning ice of a good Spring day and the resulting slush of a warm spring day. I skied them in a few tight rock lined gullies, soft bumps that were huge and everything in between. On typical cold Spring snow with its wash board effect fro a surface I loved them. For me once I had some speed going they were effortless and turned on a dime..exactly where I wanted and when I wanted. No effort involved. Not everyone one liked them 2:2 was the consensus I think. With 3:4 bias in most conditions on the plus side. But some what grudingly. Even the lone doubter was swayed soemby the end of the day.



It is a ski that likes to be driven. If you are comfortable on the ski and willing to work them I think the Hang5offers a lot of feed back and is super fun. And I don't work any ski very hard. More importantly to me it seems very confidence building and super stable even in the 178 size I first demoed and then bought.



The 177cm Huascaran was the first ski to turn me on to this size of ski (short 177cm and 115+/- under foot). I now have 3 pair of them, the Praxis GPO, the Huascaran and the Hang5. I generally prefer (or thought I did until recently)a 192 or bigger ski. I have and ski on several including a longer 196 Huascaran,192 DPS 112RPC, the 192 GPO, Protests and DPS 138.



But I don'tthink I own a more fun ski than the 115+/-mm under foot by178 cm. The Hang5s just reinforced that idea. Give them even a little bit of room to make a turn on, in any kind of snow,and this ski will rip and put a smile on your face allat the same time.









Of the "big" skis La Sportiva offers I think this is the sleeper of the bunch. By far my favorite ski between the Lo5, Hi5and Hang5 Series and does everything better than either of the other two imo.

At least two new skis coming from La Sportiva. A more resort driven Lo5 call the Mega 5 and a totally new lwt fattyI am really interested in,.



IMO the Hang5 best balanced ski in my own quiver of a dozen or so skis. The mount point is squared away for a very neutralride in my size 28/29 boots.Others were not so impressed with the ski. Preferring a few of the other offerings I have. I was impressed enough to buy a pair of Hang5safter just a couple of days of skiing on them. For me this is a "any mission ski". I wish it weighted less for packing around or skins. But I can live with the ski's weight. The performance is so high and so very predictable in any snow condition the weight is generally unnoticed unless it needs to be carried or skinning. Typical shite days at the lift when the snow is chopped up and only OK...this is going to be one of my "go to" ski.



I really like this ski. And the color as well :)



Hard to find a decent review on this ski or anyone that has skied it. If 117 under foot sounds like something that might interest you...the Hang5 is more than worth making the effort to try out. Be prepared to open the wallet if you do. I wasn't and had to pry the cash out for these after skiing them.



I'd like to say more. I cna't seem to do justice to what I really liek about this ski. The Hang5deserves it in spades.It does quick turns down the fall line easily and big ripping GS turns on any slope with ease for me. Saving a lot of effort in the process by being so stable under foot. And I do find it a stable ski. Enough tip rocker to fillet the crap snow you always run into on-piste and wide enough to slay any sort of pow or crust off-piste. What is not to like. Icy narrow gullies? Have to admit they are not the best ski there. Takes some speed to get them to turn around. But I will willingly ski them there just because they are so stable and forgiving.



One reviewer complained about turning a short Hauscaran short of Mach1!!?? Ha, ha, the short Huascaran is a gully ski for me. And I ski sloooowwwwwwwwwlllllllllyyyyy i nthe no fall zone..



I really like this ski! Few skiI can really say that about with some conviction. The reward of owning a Hang5was some of the best Spring runs off a lift and boot packing I had this year. Gotta give credit where it belongs. In this case it goes to the Hang5.

Joslin Rendezvous :: Cemetery Walk

Saturday, August 20th - - Each time the Joslin Clan has visited the homestead, they stop by the small Cedar Butte Cemetery where about ten people are buried including two of their Hutcheson relatives, brothers of their mother/grandmother Mary Matilda Hutcheson Joslin.





George and Jim opening the gate to the cemetery.



And each time they visit, they have to go hunting and digging for the gravestones! Many years ago someone planted a few Iris near the graves and they have multiplied and multiplied until they cover a rather large area, including the two graves. A little poking and prodding and the graves were found.





SOLDIER REST THY WORK IS DONECORNELIUS MBORN JAN. 5, 1896DIED APR 3, 1930



OUR LITTLE ONEROBERT W.BORN OCT 1, 1918DIED AUG. 17, 1923



And each time they visit, they take home a few of the Iris bulbs. It was quite a chore digging up the bulbs with a little garden trowel, but Fred persevered.





The Iris patch. In the center, to the left and right are the two Hutcheson graves.



The Joslin Clan – Babs, Richard, George, Joann, Ruth, Tim, Jim, and Sue.

California Poppies

Thoughts on RootsTech

Much has already been written about the RootsTech Conference, which was held last week in Salt Lake City. Randy Seaver has compiled a list of Geneablogger posts in his post RootsTech .. Geneabloggers Review. But I thought I'd add my two cents worth...



I managed to arrive on time for the keynote speakers on Thursday morning in spite of having to remove two inches of heavy, wet snow off of Van Dora and then driving in "rush hour" traffic through the valley. That drive stressed me out so much that I decided to forgo the keynote addresses on Friday and Saturday - knowing too that they were being recorded and would be available for viewing later.



I'm not going to give a run-down of the sessions that I attended but will just say that with 6700+ people in attendance, most rooms were crowded. There were several sessions I wanted to attend but couldn't because the room was already at capacity when I arrived 5-10 minutes before they were due to start!



This year I decided to attend sessions on topics that I knew very little about. For the most part, that strategy worked out well. However, I had a big issue with the descriptions of some of the sessions and the fact that very few were identified as Intermediate level. The bigger issue, however, is that several sessions identified as Intermediate were definitely not. And, the titles of some sessions were misleading.



One session, billed as "using technology to solve research problems," was very disappointing. In my opinion, it was a basic beginners level overview of how to do your genealogy - the only "technology" mentioned was the use of the internet and genealogy software. In fact, the speaker, after polling the audience to determine our research level, stated that she expected more beginners to attend.







Some of the highlights... learning about the Genographic Project, picking up some ideas from Denise Olson on using Powerpoint (or other presentation software) to tell short family stories with pictures (photo above), and learning that Thomas W. Jones utilizes online family trees in his research process.







On that latter point, the Thomas Jones session "Can a Complex Research Problem Be Solved Solely Online?" was worth being stuffed into the smallest room available. The session was unlike any other I attended - an interactive experience with the audience responding to questions regarding resources that might be used and then learning from 'the master' what was actually used. Can you imagine getting an email from Tom Jones inquiring about the sources for your online tree?



Will I attend RootsTech next year? Doubtful. But then, that's what I said last year! I think a better option for me is to watch the sessions that are live-streamed and archived for later viewing. Also, if they follow through on their plans to have 600+ locations holding sessions locally at the same time in conjunction with live-streaming - well, that would be awesome.








The downside of attending virtually, of
course, is that you miss out on the interaction with other attendees
and spending time with friends. But if RootsTech grows in attendance
next year like it did this year, the current venue would be
impossibly crowded...

Glacier :: Highline Trail

The next morning (Tuesday July 27th) I drove the Going to the Sun Road. The shuttles are nice and you have the opportunity to look at the tremendous views as you are riding, but it is nearly impossible to get good photos through the window of the moving bus! Also, the shuttle does not stop at any of the overlooks.

Taken from about a third of the way up the road.

A little further up the road with the road visible on the right. Steep drop-offs were the norm with guardrails in only some sections.

Nearing Logan Pass. This was taken from the Highline Trail. Construction along the highway can cause delays of up to half and hour in several different sections. It took me 1.5 hours to get to Logan Pass and another 1.5 hours to get to the east side entrance at St. Marys.

The Highline Trail, which begins at Logan Pass on the Going to the Sun Road, is one of the premier hiking trails at Glacier National Park. I only walked the first mile or so where it hovers several hundred feet above the Going to the Sun Road. This section of trail was rather wide in most places, perhaps 5-6 feet, but narrowed to less than 2 feet in some spots. They did have a chain threaded through water hoses and attached to the mountain side for you to hang onto if you felt the need...

A portion of the Highline trail on the left (in the shade), Going to the Sun Road winding up the hill, and Clements Mountain in the background.

Wildflowers were in bloom, scattered here and there, clinging to the walls of the mountain.

Another view of the Going to the Sun Road and Clements Mountain. Waterfalls graced the sides of the valley – one can be seen in the lower right corner.