Veterans Day Weekend In Washington DC

Not really ready to test my knee on the ice just yet, I've been delaying getting back out into the mountains in favor of more treadmill and weights for rehab. It's a big difference between walking on tacky ground and slick ice. I'd feel foolish if I got hurt because I was in a rush to get out. Of course this is also a psychological barrier that everyone goes through, is it ready? Is it too soon?

My goal is to be mountain ready by Dec 1st and be doing some good hikes and climbs by the first of the year. This time of the year is weird. Lots of ice on the trails, not much snow. Still lots of mud too. Very clearly it's a transitional time of the year depending on altitude. But winter, the time of the year with snow on the ground, seems to get shorter each year and I'd rather make the most of that 3 month stretch than rush things.

So with that in mind we decided to take advantage of the down time and visit my sister in DC at George Mason.

We picked up the rental Friday afternoon, a PT Cruiser, and were on the road by 7pm. Both our cars are getting older, and rentals have free roadside assistance, and after you look at the maintainance cost per mile of driving your own car 800 miles over 2.5 days it pays to spend $70 on a rental for the weekend. Compare that with the government rate of 40 something cents a mile, or about $335 and rental makes more sense. Add in traffic on the I-95/ DC metro corridor and you are really abusing whatever you drive.

After making great time down to Newark, DE Friday night and staying at the Courtyard Marriott for $45 (not a bad price) we got to the National Zoo at 10:30am.

I've been to DC many times but never to the zoo, I wasn't all that impressed. It was at best average. Truthfully, the Memphis Zoo or Bronx Zoo are both better. The San Diego Zoo is one of the best. I'd expect more from the "National" Zoo. I should note though I'm biased, I actually hate zoos in general. Wild animals essentially in prison seems inherently wrong. Sure some of these animals are rescues but others are aren't. So for a zoo to impress me it has to be really good.

As far as the hoopla with the Pandas, these are the most boring bears. The funny part about Panda's is they are actually borderline bears. Genetically, they are closely related to the Red Panda which is more raccoon than bear. Which brings me to the most important part of this little rant...How can the National Zoo lack polar bears?

After the zoo we went to eat at Cactus Cantina a few blocks away. Honestly, one of the best Mexican places I've eaten at recently (actually in the last few years). The fresh tortillas were amazing and the chips and salsa were as well. The prices were very reasonable, and the portions were huge (based on other peoples orders). We just got appetizers (also fairly portioned) and sangria since we were headed to eat crabs shortly thereafter. The Sangria actually had enough alcohol in it to justify the cost (which again was reasonable) of $15 a pitcher.

Crabs!!! It's been a year since I've eaten Blue Claws with Heather and last time we each ate 24 crabs. This time we didn't even get close. Of course last time I was violently ill for hours after and this time I left comfortably stuffed. I was good on our 3rd tray but Heather had to be a smart ass and try to out do me, so she told the waitress to bring another.

Alright, lets play that game, bring it on biotch...Well, when the waitress returned she didn't bring the 10 she had been bringing per tray, but 18. Heather almost cried. We figured the waitress did it out of spite, but actually, after looking around the restaurant we were one of the last groups at 10pm and that was probably what they had left on the steamer.

Until we realized that though we spent quite a bit of time determining the optimal amount to eat to not look wasteful, after all, we were expecting 10 more crabs at most, not nearly 20. So we determined we needed to eat 4-5 each, but sadly after only 3 crabs Heather quit while glaring evilly at the waitress.

I won't go into the details but lets just say Heather was the one violently ill this time around.

Sunday, Aim and Heather got up early and got the Nintendo Wii from Target. It was supposed to be a birthday present from me but little did I know that 12 months after it's release it's still not in stock in the northeastern US. Target in Fairfax had 50 coming in and they got one.

We'll I was crab eating champ for 2007 after a tie in 2006 and I was GMU suite champ of Wii Sports Baseball.

After spending way too much time playing the Wii Sunday morning and eating Aim's birthday cake that Heather and Scott baked, we didn't get to DC till 4pm.

After I moaned groaned, and had cheese and crackers with my whine about missing all the Veterans Day ceremonies, I took a few shots. I didn't have much time and the crowds were obnoxious.

Originally, I intended to go in Saturday night around 2am to get my shots but I was too lazy, and getting around DC is about as inconvenient as any city in the US -at any time of the day. The way most people probably envision NYC is the way DC actually is, only unlike NYC which is amazingly well laid out and convenient and has mass transit 24/7, DC and the suburbs just aren't that well laid out.

The highlight of my trip was actually having a law enforcement officer be polite to me from the start. I had reservations about the rules of setting up a sturdy tripod in front of the White House and no sooner did I have it set up did a very polite uniformed Secret Service agent inform me I had to take it down. No problem, I kinda knew that was coming, and honestly, while most rules make no sense at all, allowing someone to put anything on a stable tripod in front of the White House would be a poor decision.

The trip home was as uneventful as any on I-95 I've ever had. We did the 400 miles from DC to Albany in just over 5:30 hours with 2 refueling stops and 2 pit stops.

technorati tags:Washington, DC, Veterans Day, National Zoo, Pentax, K10D, Photography, Night Photography, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, WW II, GMU, George Mason, crabs, Cactus Cantina, Copperhead, PT, Cruiser, Iguana, Panda, Sigma, Freedom, Veterans, I-95, Wii, Nintendo

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Climbing Is Inherently Dangerous: Poke-O-Moonshine Cliff Claims Another Life

10/08

CHESTERFIELD, N.Y. (AP) - A man well-known in rock climbing circles was killed yesterday when he fell about 200-feet from a mountain in the eastern Adirondacks.

State police say Dennis Luther of Morrisonville was descending Poke-O-Moonshine Mountain in Essex County when the 54-year-old veteran climber fell while repelling on the mountain's north face. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Troopers say the fall was accidental.

Mountain climber dies in fall from Adirondack peak - 13WHAM.com

The Adirondacks haven't had a ton of fatal climbing accidents, but certainly many non fatal accidents go unreported. If it doesn't require a rescue there really isn't any reason to contact anyone.

When I went flying down the Trap Dike in March 2006, I was one of 3-4 climbers who took several hundred foot falls on less than vertical technical climbs in the Adirondacks that winter. I was the only one that didn't require rescue, despite my fall being at least as far, if not further than the others.

I was lucky, and others have been luckier. Falling hundreds of vertical feet into deep snow or brush and walking away. Other people aren't so lucky, a 30ft whipper and they're dead. Someone I climbed with a single time, many years ago, had this happen to him a few years later in the Gunks. He fell 30ft, hitting his head and then hung inverted. Though the rescue was rapid, he died from his injuries.


The odd thing about most climbing fatalities is they aren't some NOOB, a slang term for newbie, or someone new at a sport, profession or activity. Heck, even doctors get the NOOB label, it's just classier: resident.

Ironically when a NOOB gets injured it's acceptable because it's expected. The problem with climbing is no one is allowed basic mistakes; gravity doesn't care if you've been climbing 6 months or 20 years.

In spite of the extreme sport perception of climbing, it's really not a dare devil sport. Most long time climbers are the most cautious people you'll ever meet. Climbing is about calculating risk and solving problems, and it's why many of the great climbers in the world are scientist and engineers.

In 2002, a Canadian from Toronto, decided to ice climb on Poko in known bad conditions during a warm spell, and an entire ice pillar came down as he was climbing it. I'd heard he made long drive and decided to give it a shot.
Even though that might sound like a terrible decision, this happens every day all over the world. People take a vacation somewhere and the conditions are terrible, but they spent their money and their limited time offm so they decide to climb anyway. The only time it looks like a bad decision is when you don't go home alive. We are all guilty of it at least once.

On October 8th, 2007 Dennis Luther fell 200ft on Poke-O-Moonshine. It's a steep cliff, highly visible from I-87, and I've only had the chance to climb there once myself. I climbed Neurosis, which is a moderate NEI 3+ ice climb close to where Dennis died. Dennis was an experienced climber with years spent on vertical rock faces.

Climbing is sort of the ultimate rubber necking, arm chair sport. Never has there been a sport where people on the ground think they have the answer to something going on hundreds of feet above them. Likewise, when an accident happens it's written about, and critiqued, and then hopefully learned from. Most of the time, everyone that wasn't involved shakes their head and says, "bummer, but that would never happen to me."

There is even a book that covers all the noted accidents in North America.
Accidents In North American Mountaineering

Thus far I don't think an official accident report has been released about the circumstances of Dennis Luther's accident, but state police said it was on a rappel.

Descent is always the most dangerous part of climbing. And rappelling is when you have the fewest links left in your protection system and it's when most avoidable fatal accidents occur.

There is no way to undo whats done, but hopefully people remember getting complacent means getting hurt.

technorati tags:Dennis Luther, climbing, Adirondacks, accidents, mountaineering, rock, climbing, cliffs, Poke-O-Moonshine, rappel, rap, descent, ice climbing, Neurosis, I-87, fall, fatal, ANAM

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Albany River Rats Home Opener

A few shots from my coverage of the Albany River Rats home opener versus the Norfolk Admirals. First time shooting hockey in a few years and the pro game is a bit faster than anything I've covered before (collegiate and intermural).

Overall lots of fun...

technorati tags:Albany River Rats, Hockey, Albany, Times Union Center, Pepsi Arena, 518, River Rats, AHL, Hurricanes, Carolina Hurricanes, Keith Aucoin, sports, action, Norfolk Admirals, Norfolk, shoot out, Pentax, K10D

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Going Vertical In The St. Regis Canoe Area

The St. Regis Canoe Area (STRCA) is a pond hoppers paradise. Having 58 ponds in 18,000 wilderness acres, the area has short -but plentiful- portages.

Out of the boat for a weekend we headed for Paul Smith's in the Northern Adirondacks which is just outside the eastern boundary to the STRCA. The goal was either a sunrise or sunset summit and we opted to leave home at around 12pm and watch the sunset.



We had great weather, although it was a bit chilly. Low 40s on the summit with a consistent 10mph breeze.

St. Regis Mountain is on the northern border of the STRCA and offers a commanding view of the "wilderness of waterways" below, as well as a nearly 360* view of the northern Adirondacks.



The hike in is a rolling 3.5 mile walk that goes vertical for the last 1 mile gaining most of the nearly 1300ft in that abbreviated stretch.

Although St. Regis summit has a fire tower, it is neither open, climbable or barely standing at this point.
 

In the States master plan and Unit Management Plans (UMP) fire towers are a grey area. The state temporaliy grandfathered them into the wilderness areas until the aerial fire survalence and modern communications systems were up and running at 100%. It has been some time since 100% operational status has been reached, and a decade or more since the last fire tower was last staffed. However, the St Regis firetower has been left to be an eyesore and eventually fall to the ground.

My feelings are if the State/DEC/APA feels it needs to go then tear it down and fully remove it from the summit. If it wants to keep it then let a private group restore it as has been done on the other towers in the non wilderness areas.

However, the current state of purgatory this tower is in is a disgrace. Barely standing, and with no lower laddering to even allow people to ascend part way like most closed towers allow.

Personally, I don't believe these belong in wilderness areas. However, I also don't have a major problem with them if they are restored. Regardless, a decision on the status of this tower would be appreciated.

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