Starting with the basics… the Trail mate has the Indiglo night feature. Always handy in the middle of the night or in a subway that lost power in the middle of a tunnel. (Not that broken subways happen on a regular basis, just good to know we are prepared).

The watch is built upon the four toggle function that is cross platform for many of the Iron Man and Expedition series. Once the accelerometer to set to your height and weight you are set to track your distance travelled by monitoring the swing of your arms.  This data is then calculated to show how many steps one has hiked and, by extension, how many calories one has burned.

Being a bit of a gadget guy, I have had a bit of fun working though the various functions. I’ve used it running up hill, walking around town and ona couple of hard runs.

The watch is set to be relaesed on the 24th of June at a launch party at the Eastern Mountain Sports SoHo store. If you are in “The City” please join us for this special daye. I’ll have a slide show and tie it into the Outdoor Nation event the same weekend.

If you can’t make the opening, please look into the sweepstakes being held. If you win (and ya gotta play to win!) we’ll spend twep days climbing in New Hampshiore this coming 7 – 9 December.

Sign up here:  http://ebm.email.ems.com/r/regf2?aid=358553007&n=10&a=0+

More details on the watch: http://www.timex.com/Trail-Mate-Special-Features/b/2648188011

Cliff Hudson and Zero X. One sharp pilot and his honed 185. 40 # lighter with out the paint......

…. Jump forward five days….

leaving Anchorage this morning for the drive to Talkeetna. A busy day purchasing food and dialing in equipment for our intrepid group of eleven. The locals have been commenting on how dry the region has been and the increased likelyhood of summer wildfires. The mountain is drying, resulting in more exposed “blue ice”. When a mountain melts out and / or is not replenished at a sustanable level, the ancient old dense ice exposes itself. From an earth sciences perspective it is part of the dynamic environment of the mountains. From an alpinist and skier’s POV the blue ice is extra dangerous. We need to aware of the conditions especially above 14 camp.

Wet in the Rockies and dry in the Alaska Range. Being in the wilds of Alaska is always enriching. Looking forward to our 14 days on Denali. A fine adventure.

In 2010 -11 BSD7 has led in a diversity of measures. The football won state – the first title in 93 years. The girl’s cross-country team has earned its fourth consecutive state title. The wrestlers wrangled the first state championship in 39 years and the students in automotive shop won the Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition. It’s comforting to know these students will graduate and work on our vehicles, making life safer for all of us. There are 8 National Merit Finalists, an award bestowed upon the brightest and most promising students. Paul Anderson, who teaches biology at the high school, is Montana State teacher of the year and is one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year. This is the first time since 1953 that a teacher from Montana has made it this far. Three BSD7 schools are state recognized Blue Ribbon Schools, a recognition that comes with dedication and perseverance.
This value to the community isn’t free. We have to believe in the service and quality of our education system and support it as such. The Elementary and High School General Fund Levies are this opportunity.
If these levies pass, our tax requirement would decrease. The school district will be retiring the temporary mill levy for Hyalite Elementary School, as it fulfilled its mission. If the levies do not pass, taxes would decrease slightly more. Either way we will see a decrease in tax. This small windfall needs to be reinvested into the education system. The current request, if approved, amounts to an overall decrease 72 cents per $100,000 of property value. With state school funding yet to be determined we need to approve the funding measure to ensure that our schools continue to be leaders in the state and in the nation.
Sound investments take time. Solid returns do not happen overnight. If we want to be a growing community education is a safe bet. Companies looking to relocate or expand often look at the value a community places on education. The recent comment by the former CEO of Intel to Arizona lawmakers on how de-funding education affects business development is a clear reminder that business needs an educated workforce. If we want to be a magnet for business development and the jobs that come with it, a vote for the school levies is the right decision.

My dream mountain.

My reality (just joking with a ton of love!)

~c

From the press release of John Boehner:

“We have pledged to save taxpayers’ money by reducing waste and duplication in Congress,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who becomes speaker in January.

“The Select Committee on Global Warming was created by Democrats simply to provide political cover to pass their job-killing national energy tax. It is unnecessary, and taxpayers will not have to fund it in the 112th Congress,” Steel said.

Oh well. We’ll have to look to China and Germany for innovation and political will to address climate change.

___________________________________________________________

The sun dips lower on the southern horizon till solstice on the 21st of December. Each day we loose two minutes of sunlight. The sun, low in the horizon, is less powerful and the reduced energy forces adaption upon all living things. Trees, now dormant, have shed their leaves preparing for the bite of winter. Birds, by and large, fly south on their annual migration for warmth and a place to raise their off spring. Bears endure by hibernating, burrowing in to stave off cold and hunger. As the ultimate tool users, we humans bundle up with tools sourced from the earth’s resources. From flight to hibernation to complex material systems each species has a unique way of adapting to seasons. How each of these species reacts to seasonal change is an indicator of future adaptability to a warmer climate.

The sun we loose in Montana is gained in the southern hemisphere. Summer is just around the corner on the planet’s coldest and driest continent, Antarctica. Winter ice is at a minimum and the long days set the biological clock in motion for the wildlife of the frozen continent. One denizen, the Adelie penguin, is a flightless bird that has evolved to its state in the absence of land-based predators and a rich marine environment. The waddling tuxedo like birds have adapted to seasonal change with a generous stores of fat. As humans we have an affinity for animals that resemble us. This anthropomorphic adulation has been popularized in film and zoos. The adelie, as all penguins, are adept swimmers. The krill and similar small marine organisms keep the birds healthy. Seals, orcas and two of the many animals that then feed on penguins. Whereas flighted birds fly for the seasons the Adelie’s adaptation involves fattening up before the onset of winter and huddling together.
The temperatures recorded on the Antarctic Peninsula have increased 9 degrees in the past 50 years. Warmer winters, with fewer freeze days, when combined with warmer waters result in less seasonal ice. Seasonal ice provides a home for the adelies and is at the source of their food. Algae and plankton grow on the underside of the translucent ice, which feed larval krill, which in turn are the food stores for the adelies. Is there a correlation between the shrinking ice and the adelie population? Steve Forrest, Research Associate with the Antarctic Site Inventory, is convinced warmer climates are affecting Adelie populations. He notes, “Lack of ice is driving Adelies on the Antarctic Peninsula to breeding extinction.” He has been studying adelie population on Peterman Island, and at about 20 other sites with Adelie penguins along the Antarctic Peninsula,for the past 15 years. Petermann Island populations have a recorded population loss of 57% since the 1980s. Each year the population declines 15 to 20%.
The result is, there will be no Adelie penguins breeding on the Peninsula in the next 20 years. In this changing and warmer climate, Adelies, adapted to ice and cold, are limited in their options. A raptor in the Rockies can fly from New Mexico to Alaska to find the right climate. The breeding grounds of penguins with nearby krill populations are fixed, and once they no longer serve the Adelie, the species faces extinction, trapped by climate change.

The temperature induced challenges facing penguins and polar bears are irrefutable indicators of a warming planet. Because of this heat, earth faces the steepest extinction rate in 65 million years. The species that survive this extinction will have to adapt quickly. For humans to survive we need to ramp our adaptation skills. We adapt with tools, efficiency and new technology. By focusing on how we can invent a more sustainable existence we’ll be ahead of the curve and leave future generations the opportunity that the previous generations have left us.

Bozeman Daily Chronicle Editorial Submission for 26 November 2010
© Conrad Anker 2009

Hyalite Canyon, due its northerly drainage and volcanic rock, freezes up each winter to provide the most reliable and varied ice climbing in the lower 48. Thanks to the County Road and Bridge and the Forest Service’s plowing efforts, Hyalite Canyon is accessible for winter enthusiasts be they fishermen, skiers or climbers. The Twin Falls freezes up offering a great introductory experience on water ice. The springtime drips transform into frigid test pieces attracting the best to test their mettle. From the moderate to the extreme, Hyalite Canyon offers a high density of climbs in a remote setting.
To celebrate the sport, each December climbers from around the world meet for instruction and a good time at the annual Bozeman Ice Festival. The cold temps and dependable conditions allow us to hold the first of the seasonal ice festivals. Ice climbing is a global sport with similar gatherings taking place in Korea, Canada, the Alps and Russia each winter. Competitive ice climbing is part of the fun and entails scratching one’s way up a fake cliff dribbled with blobs of ice. Climbers compete in difficulty and speed. Competitions are popular enough that at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics ice climbing will be a demonstration sport. For the sport to eventually make it to the Olympics, a track record of “World Cup” level competition needs to be held. Currently, the ice climbing world cup is held in Europe and Asia each winter. With an eye on the 2014 Olympics climbers are training and competing to represent our country.

To date there is no venue for world cup ice climbing in the United States. Not having a national training facility creates an opportunity for Bozeman. By designing and building a competition climbing structure Bozeman would be the first community in the United States to host the Ice Climbing World Cup. The event could tie in with the Bozeman Ice Festival in a logical and efficient way.

Imagine a structure at the County Fairgrounds reaching 100 feet into the sky. Designed and built with side-cycled chair lift towers from the old Deer Park and Bridger lifts at Bridger Bowl, the tripod shaped tower would allow climbing and rope work. In the summer climbers could challenge themselves on warm rock. Novices could ascend the stairs and learn to rappel. In winter the structure would be draped with several tons of ice, providing ice climbers a controlled feature to train on. Additionally, the tower would be an ideal place for the County Search and Rescue Team to train for evacuations and high angle rope work. The aerie at the summit would provide an eagle’s view of the fairgrounds and have a flag visible from Interstate-90. The tower would require a small footprint and could be maintained by volunteers and the fairground staff in a similar manner to Haynes Ice Hockey Pavilion.

With the completion of the fifth boulder in Rose Park this summer we will have enhanced our parks with equipment that appeals to all ages and most abilities. Scampering around on a cement rock encourages exercise, an activity that benefits all. The boulders were built with support from the community and the Parks and Recreation Department. To extrapolate the concept of the outdoor boulders to a community funded winter ice-climbing tower is a sensible progression. It would put Bozeman on the map as “ice climbing central” and bring more visitors to the County Fairgrounds.

If you are interested and would like to learn more please visit www.montanaice.com or come to an evening event at the Bozeman Ice Festival at the Emerson on the 10th or 11th of December.

Plutocracy : noun, government by the wealthy; an elite or ruling class whose power drives from their wealth

As a nation we are living beyond our means. The current national debt (how much the government has borrowed and owes) is somewhere in the vicinity of $13.4 trillion dollars. I have no idea how many times to the moon and back 13 trillion dollars would amount to; suffice it to say it is a figure that is beyond the comprehension of most Americans. The national deficit (spending more money on an annual basis than it takes in) has been constant since 1969. If you and I were to run our households in this manner it wouldn’t be too long before we were in bankruptcy. As recent demonstrations attest, he fiscal state of our government is front and center in the 2010 mid – term election.

In 2001 & 2003 the Bush Administration passed tax cuts across the board for US citizens. The previous tax code under President Clinton started at 15% for the lowest wage earners and was tiered up to 39.6% for the wealthiest. The Bush tax breaks moved the taxes down on a sliding scale to 10% for the lowest income earners to 35% for the wealthiest in our nation. These tax cuts provided taxpayers $1.7 trillion in additional income through 2008, money that otherwise would have gone to pay for government services and debt reduction. Unless the Bush tax cut is reinstated it will expire at year-end. The question our federal lawmakers face is should we let the tax breaks expire, extend them for two years or make them permanent. How our elected officials choose to vote on this matter will affect each citizen and the long-term health of our nation.

President Obama has indicated he wants to keep the tax cuts in place for the 96% of citizens earning less than $200,000 as an individual or $250,000 for a household. Taxes for 4 % of the population defined as rich would increase. If implemented, the net gain over a ten-year period would amount to $700 billion of additional tax revenue. To set this in an annual context, $700 billion is what we spend on defense. This amounts to $1.9 billion spent 24 hours.

Economists Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez analyzed income between 2002 & 2007. In this period 99% of Americans saw their income grow 1.3 % per year, which is below the annual cost of living increase of 2.8%. For the remaining 1% of our population, the wealthiest, their income increased 10% a year. The Bush tax cuts favored high-income households who saw an increase in real dollar terms and also as a percentage of income. As a result the top 1 % of our population captures 23.5 % of our nation’s total income. Contrast this with the 13.2% of Americans living in poverty who earn less than 1% of our nation’s income. If these tax cuts were such a stimulus to our economy why are we mired in a recession? Obviously this is a very complex equation, yet the tax cuts have not panned out to the economic panacea they were promised to be.

In 2008 the average net worth of our Senators was $13.9 million. Congress checked in at $4.6 million. Increasing the tax 4.6% on the wealthiest (as it was in the 90s) isn’t going to put our elected officials and the wealthiest in the poor house. The additional revenue from those who have benefited most from our free market system will nudge our government closer to fiscal responsibility.

The logical way towards a balanced budget and reasonable debt is to decrease expenditures and increase revenue. Will our elected officials have the courage to raise their own taxes?

First off – facebook had me change from a friend type of thing to a fan page. All this because I had over 5000 friends. If I may impart my two cents worth – don’t go there. Not nearly the community that I had built in the three years on fb and a kinda one sided conversation. I’m keen on the fluid communication of the old set up. A bit more equal. Chatting with climbers from Mumbai – kinda fun. Anyhow… no sour grapes. Just made me realize how superficial and non essential fb is. Yeah I’m glad you had a nice weekend but do you really need to know what I had on the grill? What is it?

Too much information.

Here is Scott, training partner and ace ecologist at Frog Rock in Montana. The route, John Coltrane is a pun on the 125 wagon coal trains that trundle down our valley several times a day. Off to Seattle to power X Boxes and hairdryers. We get it back a bit later in the form of mercury in our lakes. Well – no big deal – fishing is about catch and release – not catch and feast. So what’s a little pollution? Quite a bit in my book. Subsidies to the extractos is business as usual. Subsidies to the wind and solar guys (China is growing their business with massive government subsidies) is government meddling.

Here is a snapshot of Daniel Woods crushing the final route at the Summer Trade show comp. Max Lowe took this picture. Max’s images are spot on. Daniel is one fierce boulderer. Dedicated he is.

On the harsh reality end of things, got news today that Kurt Albert, German rock and alpine climber passed away. He fell a distance of 18 metres. Kurt was a wonderful man, dedicated to the sport of climbing and will forever be remembered for “red point” ascents. Routes that were climbed free in the Frankenjura were given a red dot, hence the climbing parlance of a red point ascent. Rest in peace my friend.

This is Juan Martinez on the descent from the Grand Teton. This was his first climbing experience. He sent the peak and endured a blizzard on the descent. Juan is from South Central LA. You the man, Juan. I’m coming to visit you and your family.

This is the type of stuff that I like. A durable, analog Expedition watch from Timex. Easy to read dial (bi focals not needed), the date (so you don’t look like a slacker when writing a check at the supermarket – uh … What day is it?), the Indiglo night dial for checking time when drunk frat boys stumble down the alley and pound on my wife’s horse trailer at 2 AM (and covert ops – fully morse code compatible) and the type of classic style that is right there. Always there. Cool and timeless. Functional and timely.

OK . Bye for now.

The effects of the oil spill are far reaching. Oxygen starved oceans, soiled beaches, lost oil and disrupted communities are the obvious negative effects. Yet from every disaster there is potential for a silver lining. The engineers that design offshore drilling rigs will be able to address the weaknesses that caused the blow out. It takes failure to learn about mistakes and how to prevent similar catastrophes. As our need for oil is far too great to forego offshore reserves, oil companies will be able to work safer and with greater awareness for the environment.

A second silver lining can touch the lives of citizens across the nation. Offshore oil reserves belong to the citizens of the United States. Oil companies lease regions with the greatest potential and in turn for this privilege pay a royalty to the federal government. Last year, the federal government collected over $5 billion in off shore leasing revenues. In 1965 Congress passed the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to receive $900 million annually from the Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas leases. The funds from the LWCF have been shared with all 50 states and have connected with American citizens.

The parks, river ways and open space that we enjoy in landlocked Montana are in part funded by the LWCF. Here in southwest Montana, LWCF has protected Yellowstone River headwaters near Cooke City, critical elk passage up the Taylor Fork drainage, a popular climbing area in Bozeman Pass, and Madison Valley fishing access and ranch lands, to name a few. The program has also provided grants to hundreds of state and local parks across Montana including our own Peet’s Hill and the new Rose Park for Frisbee golf enthusiasts.

The challenge is that the full funding for the LWCF has fallen short every year but one since 1965, with most of the $900 million diverted to other purposes. Of the $5 billion in revenue from 2009 only 180 million was set-aside for the LWCF. This is 3% of the total of the total tax revenue from off shore oil and gas leases. To set this in economic context, the profits of BP in the quarter leading up to the Deepwater Horizon disaster were $4.7 billion. In 2008 Exxon Mobil posted record annual profits of $45.22 billion. And these figures are after paying royalties to the federal government of offshore leases. Given the catastrophe in the Gulf, the annual loss of open space to development, the importance of wetlands to water quality and the benefit of recreation to our population it is only fair to ask for full funding of the revenue be set aside for our nation’s natural heritage.

The LWCF is set to expire in 2015, 50 years after it’s signing. As a way to keep this part of our heritage, Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced the Land and Water Conservation Authorization and Funding Act, S.2747, on November 6, 2009, and Senator Jon Tester joined to co-sponsor the bill. This legislation is simple and straightforward: it would permanently reauthorize the fund and make $900 million available annually to LWCF as dedicated funding. As the Congress considers ‘oil spill’ legislation in the coming weeks, full funding of LWCF should be a part of the solution.

Americans strongly support this initiative. In a May 2010 national public opinion survey 77 % support funding at the $900 million annual level. The revenue is from the oil we consume (and we all consume oil) and is shared by all. As a way of ensuring the land, water and recreation heritage we depend upon as part of our children’s lives, full funding of the LWCF is the right thing to do.

“While action is not without cost, the costs of inaction are greater. What is the cost of a trout stream whose waters are too warm to fish?”
U.S. Senator Max Baucus

Senator Baucus framed the importance of climate change in a way that we in Montana can identify with. While we live in the green vale of the Gallatin, we might not think that the climate is changing. May was wet and chilly and local snowpack is still gracing the peaks that define our valley. For Montana this was the fourth coolest on record. Yet on a global scale May 2010 was the warmest since humans began record keeping in 1880. 2009 was the second warmest year for the northern hemisphere and the warmest for the southern hemisphere. The first decade of the 21st century was the warmest on record. The data is gathered from more than a thousand meteorological stations around the world, Antarctic research station measurements, and satellite observations of sea surface temperatures. The net result is that the temperature is rising 0.36 degree Fahrenheit per decade. Overall temperatures have risen 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 100 years, with the majority of the warming occurring in the past three decades.

Climatologists specifically study the weather over a period of time. Weather creates climate and trends over time give provide a clear measure of temperature. 97% of these atmospheric scientists attribute the increased temperatures to human based activity. Our voracious appetite for energy comes at a cost. The emissions that result from their combustion, notably carbon dioxide, are insulating the planet and trapping heat. The resulting conclusion is that climate change is anthropogenic. The fact that we are in a stage of rapid warming is undisputable.
Earth’s climate is always changing. It has changed dramatically over for the past 4.5 billion years. Some attribute the recent warming to natural causes, a normal variation that has no connection to human activity. Paleoclimatology is the study of the climate taken from the entire history of Earth. By using records found in ice sheets, tree rings, corals, sediment and rocks scientists can understand the constantly changing climate on Earth. The consensus from the Geological Society of America is, “The warming of the last century is unusual in both speed and size, and cannot be explained by natural factors, except for the modest solar contribution during the first half of the century.”

The trout streams mentioned by Senator Baucus and the pine beetle infestation that is ravaging our forests are two examples of a warmer regional climate. On a global scale Canada and Russia might benefit from increased crop yields. This would be offset by crop losses at lower latitudes where many plants are at the limit of what they can tolerate. For the 80 % of the world’s population that lives on less than 10 dollars a day the intense storm cycles, rising oceans and decreased crop yields will make their existence even more troublesome.

As a citizen of the United States as ask myself what can we do? Our education system leads the world in innovation. The same determination that landed man on the moon in 1969 needs to be applied to energy sources, energy conservation and human well being. The clean energy economy has potential to employ millions of people and make our planet a better place for future generations. On a personal level we can strive for good energy practices, while understanding that none of us, by our very existence, will achieve perfection. These small steps when pulled together and combined with a comprehensive national energy policy will get us on the track towards being better stewards of our planet.