Found: One Sea Cave

What a day!

Snowstorm in Tahoe

Chris and I went up to Tahoe last weekend for a quick get away. It seems like we get a lot of juice for life here if we get out of town every 6 weeks or so. We hadn't made a trip away together since going to Shasta and the Finlandia Motel in October. So, we were over due. There's something that seems uncommonly like home for us as we drive into South Lake Tahoe. Some of our dearest friends are there and visiting SLT has been one of the only consistent parts of our life in California for the last decade of living in Santa Barbara, San Diego, and now San Francisco.

It's been over a year since we've been snowshoeing together so this was a really sweet time. We walked down to Vikingsholm (pictured) and watched the dark clouds descend as the storm first arrived. At first we could see across the lake and as we sat there the clouds swallowed the mountain peaks, the casinos, and the little island out in emerald bay. Later the road was closed so that was a good first choice. I've always wanted to see ice climbers on Eagle Falls, but no luck this time. The ice was not in. Later we went for an easy walk to Pope Beach and made a similar walk on Sunday in 18 inches of new snow.

Here are a couple shots. The full album is here:

tahoe snowstorm feb 08

The Island

I'm still not sure where I ran across this film. That's one of the fun things about netflix - films I will like show up at the house after I've forgotten that I was ever interested in them. The Island has a terriffic cast - check em out. The Island Cast etc. And, it's got a pretty interesting twist on the dystopian future sci-fi movies that I like so much. It deals with all kinds of ethical issues like genetic engineering of humans, longevity and mega corporations. And, there's plenty of eye candy so it definitely made a big effort to be a mainstream hollywood movie. I dont think I so much had a favorite part as I just liked it overall - I'd give it a B-.

Merry Christmas Across The Front Line

There was a shockingly human moment of truth during one of the darkest hours of human history during World War I when Scottish, French, and German soldiers gathered on Christmas eve to celebrate their mutual religious holiday. A moment of profound bonding and warmth was created in the midst of a terrible war which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives - an entire generation of Europeans.

I had wanted to see this film for a while and I was delighted when it arrived from Chris Netflix account yesterday. Please let me know if you've seen it. It is one of the great stories of modern times.

S1

Ahh, at this point in my life there are a lot of really wonderful tastee delights. I've been climbing the last two weekends. My wife and I have seen some great films. The weather is finally coming up out of the coldwetdrearydark and miserable season. And, my hobby past-time obsession game has just started afresh on a new server. Server 1 is up and running. Come get you some www.travian.com.

Dieter

When I first moved to SF, Dieter lived downstairs from my coworkers. He was up at their house all the time. I think at that point they were sharing some appliances - a washer and drier. Anyway, I got to know him a bit. Not too long after that he mentioned that he knew a bunch of people who were planning to gather weekly to practice spiritual disciplines together and have a pot-luck meal. I was pretty interested so Chris and I jumped in with the group and instantly made 30 great friends. Dieter and I made a bunch of climbing trips, lunches at the yummy $4 plate lunch Chinese place (it's since been closed and renamed - the Health Department might have been involved), and for a few months I was coaching soccer with him. He intially asked me b/c he was in a pinch for an assistant coach and I told him that I'd failed to make the JV soccer team in High School. And, JV soccer in Memphis has remarkably low standards. He didnt get the message untill I'd been 'coaching' with him for a couple months. My coaching contributions were primarily emotional support and ball chasing for the 8 yr olds. So, that didnt last. We've been backpacking once and have stayed in touch a little since he's moved north of SF. All in all, as older guys go, he's one of my better friends even though I dont see him much lately.

Last monday he had a stroke - completely out of no where. He's run marathons and is a very healthy guy. It seems to have been a serious stroke and he's still in a coma. They brought him out of it for a few minutes last night. There's more info on this blog.

It's hard to know how to really feel about it. I'm afraid he's going to be messed up. He's really deep so I'm sure he'll be able to cope with it. And, he's got a strong family, so I'm sure they'll pull together. It is just strange to still be waiting to see what will really be the result of this trauma.

First Trip of Many to Pinnacles

Our climbing adventure on Saturday was one of those brilliant overlapping coincidences that have the markings of the hand of God. And, we are grateful. We actually made our 6:30 AM planned get away from SF. All three of the alarms I set went off reliably. And, the little visitor’s center at Pinnacles National Monument was open when we arrived at 8:45 with the recently updated copy of the guidebook – which on only Thursday was unavailable there. And, the rain did indeed stop for us. Discovery Wall was dry and as I hoped, we had good weather until 3PM. That 9 hours of dry daylight looks like it’s going to be sandwiched between nonstop rain for several days on both sides. In an unusual turn, we actually made it to the base of a good first route, … within 1/2 hour of leaving the car (note the wonderment and confusion here on Luke's face as we try and find the climbers trail). We met a couple of other hospitable local climbers who helped direct us. Portent, 3 star 5.6, was our first and it went very well. We'll have to go back again and get the 2nd and 3rd pitches.

At about 2:45 I started up Ordeal, a 3 star 5.8 which is reportedly one of the best in the park. I was really struggling at the 3rd bolt anchor and was not feeling confident on my gear placements in the sketchy rock. Over the weekend Chris was gone to DC to party with MJ for her 40th. When she's gone, I pick up my stinky food habits. So, I indulged in a lunch of smoked oysters and double cream brie on a baguette. That didn’t put me in good strength for the climb ... go figure. So, I left my first bail out carabiner and gave up the climb. Then, to my surprise, it started to sprinkle. I was really glad I wasn’t getting rained on 10 feet from the last bolt on that pitch! What a messy situation that would have been.
This was my first outdoor trip with Luke and we had a great time. He’s a super conversation partner and was very patient with me while I was struggling up on my toughest sport lead on Wet Kiss. On the way down and back we had remarkable conversations about ecology, marriage, our vocations, and love of the outdoors. Luke has some amazing stories of climbing in his home area in Oregon and of amazing trips to Denali. We discovered that might even be able to partner together in the ongoing battle with our own consumerist urges at the local outdoor store.