The Capitan. 1000 metres of fun.
Jenni’s art. This is titled “Ride On The Wild Side”.
Heidi Wirtz climbing in Morocco. She is a happy person.
-
« Home
Pages
-
Categories
-
Archives
Mother’s Day. Jenni and I are enroute home from the 5Point Film Festival in Carbondale, Colorado The Denver airport has the standard “hub hub” of a hub, yet there is an air of kindness that is, by my estimation, the overall feeling of goodwill that Mother’s Day generate.
Like you’d have to be a complete looser to bark at the ticket agent Mother’s Sunday.
Are we responsible for the well being of our planet and the humans & animals we share it with? This theme pervaded the weekend festivities. The work of ophthalmologist Geoff Tabin and his goal to eradicate cataract blindness in the developing world, Kevin Hand and the Cosmos Education program which brings science education to Africa, Mark Godley and the Big City Mountaineers – bringing outdoor skills to inner city youth, and Brad Ludden and the First Descent kayak team working with cancer patients and kayaking. The panel was lively and focused. The overarching sentiment was that as citizens of the US we have an obligation to help make our world a better place. The reason? We are 4 % of the world’s population living a lavish lifestyle. We consume 25 % of the planet’s resources. The world would implode if all 6.7 billion inhabitants lived at the level we do. Big houses, multiple automobiles and inter continental flights all lead to this.
Jenni and the basket Sam made for her. Nice loving son:)
The city of Glenwood Springs built an outdoor water park by moving the boulders around to create waves.
This fellow was riding a SURF BOARD! He was on the wave for many minutes. The cold water required wet suits.
Rob Raker, Hayden Kennedy & Lynn Hill. We climbed in Rifle that day.
The following post was lost in cyberspace. I wrote it on a small phone on the side of Kinabalu at our Easy Camp.
I’m currently in Colorado at the 5Point Film Festival. Located in Carbondale, the festival honors those inspired adventurers who have turned their own individual desire into a determined mission to help others. My dear wife Jenni and I are here to present the Khumbu Climbing School and working with Dr Geoff Tabin at the Himalayan Cataract Project. I’ll snap a few images and post them here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tropical Big Walls
It has been two weeks since I left Montana Jenni and the boys. The snow
on the last day is a far cry from the rain we are experiencing today.
Then again we are 39 degrees closer to the equator. Goes with out saying
rain is our constant companion. Not a day passes with out showers. Not
the type that involve soap and warm water rather the variety that soaks
us through and through. Staying dry is a challenge.
Mt Kinabalu is the highest peak in south east Asia and as such is a
destination for hikers and adventure seekers. The standard route is 8.5
km of trail winding up the steep southern escarpment. We have passed
through several levels of forest, all dictated by altitude. The lower
cloud forest is home to colorful singing birds and a canopy of hardwood
trees. Our camp at the head of Easy Valley is at 3857 metres is just at
the edge of the alpine zone. Similar to the northern latitudes the plant
life is stunted by wind with robust leaves and hardy flowers.
Our climbing goal is a 2000 meter granite wall first ascended by a
Spanish team 10 years ago. Progress has been good so far – we’ve climbed
seven very steep pitches. Today is a rest day before we camp on the wall
with portaledges (aluminium cots clipped to the cliff allowing a nights
rest. We’ll start in the morning and make the best of it. Funny thing is
we are here in the “dry” season. Which begs the question of what the
“rainy” season must be like. Hard to imagine more moisture.
This morning Alex Honnold and I hiked to the summit of the Low’s Peak.
It was refreshing to encounter a bunch of hikers getting out for some
exercise and fresh air. It was nice to share the views with them.
Our team of Mark Synnott, Kevin Thaw, Renan Ozturk, Alex and Jimmy Chin
is having tons of fun. Check out www.http.borneobigwall.blogspot.com for
some action updates.
Over the past year I have been putting the WS 4 watch through the paces.
From the Himalaya, to the Rocky Mountains and to Malaysian Borneo the
instrument has been a reliable companion. Glad to have the WS 4 along.
Till the next dispatch have fun, be happy and take time to get outdoors
and get the good tidings nature has to offer.
Your intrepid explorer, Conrad
Spring in the Rockies is a capricious thing – snow one day, rain the next and then vibrant life affirming sunshine every few hours. The grass sprouts, flowers poke their petals of attraction out for the bees and the birds announce sunrise with a symphony of cheer. Even Happy and Leroy, our trusty dogs know spring has turned the corner as they graze on the thick leaves of grass. 
Just a week ago I was in Malaysian Borneo in the state of Sabah, 6 degrees north of the equator. Today I’m half way to the North Pole at 45 degrees. What a change these 39 degrees of latitude makes. From the tropical rain and cloud forests of Kinabalu to the open plains and coniferous forests it is amazing a to see how much our planet changes. Temperature and precipitation are the two main agents of these different climates. After our climbing journey ( http://borneobigwall.blogspot.com/ ~ eight action packed video dispatches) we spent a half-day swimming, snorkeling and lounging on the beach. The warm ocean was home to a variety of tropical fish and a few patches of coral. Perhaps the best part were the large lizards (monitor) that lounged about looking for scraps under the picnic tables.
To counter act jet lag, Jenni the boys and I ventured off to Bridger Bowl, our local ski area. The lifts have been dormant for three weeks, yet an abundance of snow allowed us to click into our randonee skis. After a nice hike uphill we were rewarded with a fun ski back down. This was a most nice way to start a Saturday.
While in Borneo a PBS / NOW documentary titled “On Thin Ice” aired on the 17th of April. With host David Brancaccio 
we investigate the shrinking glaciers on our planet. The loss of glaciers is the most obvious manifestation of a warmer planet. If you are so inclined you may watch the program via the PBS.ORG website. Look up NOW and “On Thin Ice”.
Let me know what you think….
Till the next installment ~ find happiness in all you do.
Conrad and team checking in. We are fine & finding happiness everywhere.
Current Location:
Latitude:37.4411
Longitude:126.4566
Best,
Conrad
Wow… the jungle is alive. Even though it is on the horizon I smell the verdant air and experience afternoon rain.
The morning Jenni, Sam & Isaac drove me to Gallatin Field in Bozeman was a cold brisk day by Montana standards. Yet 8-inch snowfalls, temperatures below freezing are part of life above the 45th parallel. The late winter / early spring is my favorite time of year in Bozeman. The skiing is filled in, the weak layers in the snow pack from December have healed themselves, when the sun is out one can rock climb and the garden is coaxing life out of each incremental increase in sunlight. The birds sing and the kids get out the bikes and long boards. Jenni and I find time to get out after breakfast for hike, be it around the block or to one of our favorite spots.
Yet to the airport I had to go. The three weeks I will be in Malaysia climbing on Kinabalu Peak, the highest point on the island of Borneo. At 4095 M it is pretty lofty. The proximity to the equator 5-degrees north means it will be humid, with a close to 12 hour split between night and day. Our team consists of Mark Synnott, our motivated leader, Kevin Thaw as nutritionist, Jimmy Chin as the bachelor, Renan Ozturk as artist in residence, Alex Honnold as our secret weapon for all things overhanging and myself as portaledge engineer. The North Face supports the journey, and our mission is to find granite crags, cliffs and walls to climb. The motto of The North Face is to “Never Stop Exploring”, which entails finding unclimbed vertical landscapes and climbing them. Be they frozen or covered with vines thick enough for Tarzan to swing off of we’ll get after it.
The motto for our climbing team is “Strength through Unity”, which is the national saying of Malaysia, our host country. So when in Kota Kinabalu do as the Kota Kinabaluans do … be strong by being unified. Malaysia is a country of 27 million people rich in a variety of resources from tin to rubber to palm products with a strong recreation industry. This is my first visit to this wild place. I’m looking forward to meeting lots of friendly people, experiencing flora & fauna that is very different from what I am familiar with and having an adventure of the first order.
The Goldberg Variations, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 – 1750) is my favorite piano piece. The Goldberg Variations are welcome at any time. The 30 variations were initially composed as keyboard practice. And practice one must if one is to play the variations. Not being a pianist I delight in listening to the variations. The 20th century Canadian pianist Glenn Gould is perhaps best known for his recording of Bach’s masterpiece.
This past week was spring break for the Montana schools. Sam our, middle son, was off to Vienna, Salzburg and Prague on a Mozart tour with his high school orchestra. From the notes we received it seems that he has had a great time. Jenni. Isaac and I went to Tucson, AZ to visit Paul, Jenni’s dad. He turned 88 (a lucky year) while we were with him. At the Pima Air Museum we had a chance to see several of the aircraft he flew during WW II. Standing next to the F4 Corsair with Isaac was remarkable. A chance to share a bit of history.
On the 11th of march we held a fundraiser in Bozeman for our local Parks and recreation Department. We built the first boulder in 2005 and due to the success we figured we would build a second one.
The first boulder, pictured here, is a total hit with kids and grown ups alike. Regardless of one’s ability there are ways to challenge yourself. The next boulder will be twice the size. Our plan is to construct a total of four in Bozeman and hopefully one on the Montana State University campus.
In between all this I’m still getting out and climbing. One of the local trade routes is “Come and Get It”, established by the late Alex Lowe in 1997. It is a unique climb – starting out with ice, transitioning to a gently overhanging mid section and finishing on a steep pillar. By using my WS 4 I was able dial in my training. The first lap (on lead) took forty five minutes and on the forth go (on top rope) I had whittled the 35 meter lead down to 13 minutes. Silly climbers, eh?
I’m still soaking inthe expereince of being in Japan. Pachinko, a pinball game played on vertical machines, is a national past time. I didn’t play while in Tokyo, but I did get a kick out of this one outfit’s marketing angle. Perhaps by covering President Obama’s eyes they don’t have to get his permission. 
What ever it takes…. 
Spring is officially here – it snowed six inches in town last night. We’ll get out and play in the spring snow soon enough.
be good be kind & be happy ~ c
A month on from last entry in the public diary of the 21st century, the blog has me wondering where the time went. Looking at my calendar I count the days with my family, the days at work and the days on the road. In this I look for balance.
On the 16th of February our family joined the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center for a fund raising event at Bridger Bowl, the local ski hill. The challenge is to hike the last 400 vertical feet to the top of ridge to raise money from pledges for avalanche education.
Isaac hiking...
The following weekend I attended the annual meeting for the American Alpine Club in Golden, Colorado. It was my last board meeting after six years. The club celebrated Layton Kor, one of our pioneering climbers from the 50s and 60s. Tall and lanky, Layton is it the epitome of a “hard man” climber. He had the vision for clean lines and climbed them in style. Layton is my hero.
This last week I was in Japan for the “Ice Candy Climbing Competition” in the Yatsugatake Mountains of central Japan. The ice comp is on an ice encased scaffold tower.
The comp wall
After the weekend spent in the wonderful mountains I traveled to Tokyo for the release of the Timex WS 4 altimeter watch to the Japanese market. The wide screen visibility was a huge hit with the Japanese.
Back here in Montana winter has set in with a vengeance after six dry weeks. Our yard has a foot of snow, the temperatures are in the single digits and I am called by the ice climbs of Hyalite Canyon for a last dance with gravity before the waterfalls turn into our municipal water. Which I’ll go do as on the first of April I’m off to Borneo and Mount Kinabalu to visit the cloud forest and do a little climbing.
Till the next bat dispatch… grab the hold and don’t let go!
What is up with the night train to Zurich?
In a sense it is a mini version of the past two weeks. From the Keene Valley Ice festival I was home for a day then headed south to Salt Lake City and the Outdoor Retailer trade show. The attendees and exhibitors were quite excited about the new administration and the prospect of greater care and awareness of the wild places we hold so dear. The Conservation Alliance, on which I serve on the board, hosted a wonderful breakfast meeting with Steve Kazlowski, a photographer who has been documenting polar bears and the landscape change in the far north. The climate is changing in the higher latitudes and high mountain ranges faster than in temperate and tropical climates. If you live in an artificial climate with air conditioning, heated buildings and irrigated landscape the chances of a warmer climate might not be as noticeable. If you are a polar bear… it is changing very fast. Except polar bears can’t “wrap their head” around the fact that the ice is moving out to sea, forming thinner and providing fewer opportunities to hunt. Check out Steve’s website: www.lefteyepro.com for more information.
Timex launched the WS4 wrist instrument. The WS is wide screen, like in TV sets and movie theaters, providing more information readily available at a glance. The 4 is for the four functions, altimeter, barometer, compass and thermometer. In addition to all the goodies for adventure it tells time and has a stout alarm. Wakes even the most tired alpinist at three AM.
The next leg was back home for four nights and then back to Salt Lake and a flight to Munich for the Ispo trade show. I met up with my good friend, Bob Palais, a math professor at the University of Utah. As I had to hop on a flight in the morning and we had little time we decided to climb “Stairway to heaven” in Provo Canyon from 11 PM until 4 AM. I was a ton of fun and an interesting experience for both of us. I do this stuff kinda regular, but for Bob a math genius (he even has a theorem named after him) it was something new. Getting cold in the dark is something that might even unlock another mathematical mystery. Who knows?
I made the flight, which was full. Nothing worse than an empty airplane. Given the impact jets have on our climate full jets are nice. The Ispo trade show is the European coiunterpart to the US trade show. Except it is not limited to outdoor stuff. Table tennis, floor hockey, snow boarding, slack lining and were all bunched together.
Hari Berger, a friend, was killed two years ago in a climbing accident. He left behind Kristen and Zoe, his significant other and their daughter. I had never met Zoe, the spry child she is. The meeting was filled with sorrow and joy. Climbing is dangerous.
Once we wrapped up the WS4 launch at Ispo I caught the night train to Zurich to meet up with Tim, my friend studying biology at the Technical University of Zurich. We met after a night of riding the train and a four hour bivy in the Stuttgart train station. It was well worth it as we were able to share two fine days in Kandersteg, Switzerland ice climbing. The ice was in fantastic form. The January cold snap has frozen a stack of waterfalls into place for us to play on.
OK… see you soon and remember to get some fresh air 
