SmithVentures

Yay pretty mountains...

2012-02-08T20:55:00.001-08:00

View from the "crack" outside of Marathon, Ontario

2012-02-08T20:48:00.000-08:00

View of Lake Superior

New home in Nunavut

2012-01-28T10:00:00.000-08:00

This March, I will be moving from the project in Marathon, Ontario to Kiyuk Lake, Nunavut. In preparation, I'm going to study some literature on the local culture as well as the regional geology. I'm sad about leaving Marathon but it's a place that I hope to get back to soon. The lake there is beautiful and the snow is impressive.

For Nunavut, I'm packing my cross-country skis. Hopefully that will bring some excitement to camp life there. Any book suggestions?

Short and Sweet Ski Video from Marathon, Ontario

2012-01-14T11:59:00.000-08:00

I'm practicing my cross-country skills as well as my video editing skills. The Bouldering at Grayson Highlands was my first ever video edit. This is my second. Let me know what you think!

Hilton, Virginia

2012-01-05T15:12:00.001-08:00

Hilton, Virginia- A sleepy little town hidden in a valley of the Appalachian Mountains. While larger towns and cities are bustling nearby, time passes at a different rate in the shadow of the mountains. Country music buffs may recognize it as the home of the Carter Family, which traveled by foot to nearby Bristol, Virginia to record with the legendary Victor Label. Last weekend, on a spur trip, we traveled to Hilton to explore a few local spots. Eager to show my out of town friend some sights, we stopped briefly at the Mount Vernon Methodist Church to pay our respects to Sarah and A.P. Carter as well as some of the more recently deceased children. On the way towards the Carter Family Fold I quickly point out a house that is purported to have been owned by Johnny Cash. After seeing its monstrous size in an area formally known as Poor Valley, I can believe the brick mansion was once owned by the Man in Black.

After peeking into A.P. Carter's childhood cabin, we amble around the Carter Family Fold inspecting the property and viewing a wonderful mural of the original Carter Family on the side of the barn. After a quick tour, we continue on the rolling roads of the valley and take in the warmth of the green farmland around us.

Train 542

Nearing the Post Office, we stop briefly at an abandoned rail car marking the once-active train station in town. The restored station is nearby, however, the unique rail car draws our attention. It sits in town as a relict of another time when this area prospered from the black gold being mined out of the mountains. This was a time when fashionable clothing was brought into town by rail and people traveled frequently to the bigger cities to do business. Now, however, the town is quiet and the rail car is a rusty, down-beaten reminder of another time. Amazingly, a few of the windows remain unbroken while others have spider web cracks emanating from what are most certainly bullet holes. Large flakes of rust form intricate patterns along the body of the train while a view inside reveals remnants of the train's former utility. Two green wooden benches along the back of the car once provided seating while two large aluminum light fixtures once lit the cabin. After a few photo opportunities, my Mom is craving her nicotine locked away in her car, so we hit the road again still feeling the after-effects of history of the sleepy little town of Hilton, Virginia.

Train 542. The numbers are still visible under years of rust.

Grayson Highlands State Park Bouldering

2011-12-14T18:17:00.000-08:00

Some of the most amazing scenery of the 2011 summer field season in the Yukon

2011-12-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

Aurora Borealis in the Yukon

2011-12-12T20:15:00.000-08:00

Working with helicopters in the Yukon

2011-12-12T19:19:00.000-08:00

These are some various shots from working around helicopters in the field. We were very lucky to have several highly experienced pilots working for us this summer and I hope to see them again next year!

Moving the CanDig via longlining by the helicopter. The trench in the foreground was created earlier that day by a portable trenching machine known as the CanDig. The CanDig had to be moved each time via longline to its new location. During the move, everyone on the ground is very careful to be out of the way in case the load shifts during pickup.

Practicing hover exits and entries with the Bell Longranger. During this process, the person entering or exiting the helicopter has to carefully shift their body weight onto the skid and slowly move toward the ground or cockpit. This way, the pilot is able to counteract the pressure being applied while the person exits. If you move too rapidly bad things happen.

Precision GeoSurveys conducted helicopter supported geophysical surveys of Smash Mineral's Yukon claims. The survey included radiometrics and magnetics and was completed during the 2011 field season.

It is a common occurrence in camp to have several helicopters occupying the area. Much care must be taken around approaching helicopters as well as keeping an eye out for aircraft. The gravel area in this view is a portion of the landing zone for our camp. Several flights arrived weekly to bring us resupplies, to transport people in and out of camp, and to export our samples for later geochemical analyses.

A helicopter on loan to our camp for a day: the Fireweed

Working in the field in the Yukon

2011-12-12T19:07:00.000-08:00

After discovering a moose antler in the bush, Kristy decides to try it on for size. We later discover that the moose antler smells terribly and we are haunted by the disgusting acrid aroma for the rest of our field day. Note to future self; sniff it before you touch it.

A fresh black bear track in the sediments accumulating near a tailings pile. From the bold impression in the soil; I assume that the bear passed by long before we ever arrived.

This glacier was a welcome break from pushing through the thick bush that day. We had already been pelted by rain all day and were literally pulling ourselves through the thick vegetation. So, when we saw the large white glacier present, we quickly traversed down to the stream and delicately walked across the precarious structure. The glacier did not exist long downstream and we were forced back again into the thick bush.

Some wonderful wolf and pup tracks in the dry stream bed.

Myself celebrating a hard day in the field as a fresh, young geologist.

Cross-country skiing in Marathon, Ontario

2011-12-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

Woot! Greetings from Ontararario!!

I'm currently working here short term for an exploration company. I'm basically assisting them in catching up with work over the holidays. More recently, however a friend of mine and I decided to buy some cross-country skis. There are numerous trails here. However, the only ski tracks I've seen are ours. Yesterday, desperate for snow, we travelled shortly outside of town and discovered a snowmobile route. Since the snow isn't deep enough yet for snowmobiles, we figured it would be safe enough for our travels.

Overall, it was an amazing experience. It's only my third time out and I think we travelled around 12 km on this trail.

The deer that was not.

2011-11-17T20:45:00.000-08:00

My uncle lives just outside of town. He doesn't have any neighbors within sight and there are long-barren corn fields surrounding his house with a steep hill looming over the back of the house. One warm summer night, while he and his wife sat on the front porch drinking beers and enjoying the chorus of crickets, they both heard something in the front yard. Listening carefully, my uncle indeed heard movement, and after peering into the darkness for awhile he finally saw the rough outline of a deer and the faint glow of its eyes against the overgrown landscape. He was excited! He loved deer meat. This was a perfect catch for him. Keeping his excitement quiet so as not to disturb the deer, he retrieves his rifle from his house and silently steadis his aim. Bang! The gunshot echoed throughout the rural community. Next, he hears something strange. It was not the sound of a deer, but the whinny of a dying horse. Realizing his mistake, he spends all night digging in the yard and attempting to burn the remains. The owner of the horse eventually shows up. My uncle is nervous but holds up under the pressure. He convinces the man that unfortunately he never saw the horse, but will be sure to let him know if he does. The man leaves satisfied and not noticing the charred hoof sticking up from a pile of dirt at the edge of my uncle's yard.

When my brothers and I go there to play in the yard, we are always careful to mind the soft depression in the ground where no deer is at rest.

Yukon Field Work

2011-06-05T10:15:00.001-07:00

This summer, I am working for an exploration geology camp in the Yukon. I have been here for about two weeks and have already learned a lot and made a lot of great friends. So far, I have walked a lot of the backcountry collecting assay samples.

The camp is located just North of the confluence of the Yukon and Stewart Rivers. It is decorated by rounded tents neatly aligned along a gravel runway. The tents have their backs to a stream and are surrounded on all sides by steeply sloping hills. Each day, the helicopter takes us beyond these hills to the nearby claims and we hike along the ridges, travel down the saddles, and traverse along stream beds and hillsides to learn more about the geology and collect samples that will later be assayed for elements indicative of gold. At the very highest elevations, the ptarmigans still have their winter whites and the whiskey jacks are abundant. There are other birds here that I'm not familiar with. Several starlings hover around camp each day and dive low on the water to catch insects or circle our heads much in the same way that bats will.

Two weeks here and I have not seen any large wildlife, just traces of them. I have come across a couple of moose antlers in the bush. The last one was host to a thick crust of moss growing on the surface. The first one was freshly dropped off in the middle of a moose highway by the creek. The moose highways are the best trails here. The second best are no trails, but lots of spongy moss to walk across. It is a bit of a workout though. Every step is soft, but also an effort to escape the mossy pad and step onto the next one. My favorite trails are the delicate balanced walks across deadfall. They are the quickest of them all but the most painful if you fall.

New gear

2011-04-15T22:30:00.000-07:00

The local outdoor store, Alpine Shop recently had a half off clearance items sale. So I got about 400 dollars worth of discounted gear for 200 bucks. Sweet. However, not the point. The point is, I've new gear to test out. I also recently bought a Mountain Hardwear Lamina 20 degree bag, which I have yet to test outdoors but I love because the feel closely resembles a down bag. The bag itself it quite cozy. I'll be camping next week so I'll try it out.

For Christmas, my Mom bought me a Thermo-rest Z-lite pad. It has the same R-square heat value as their Pro-Lite pad, so reasonably, I thought it would be just as toasty. It's not. The two things I hate most about it is it's inability to fold into something that I might reasonably attach or insert into my pack. Secondly, I hate how I can feel my hips and shoulders touch the ground when sleeping on it. I'm not overweight, so I shouldn't have had trouble with this, but I did. The close spaces at my hips and shoulders created cold spots that kept me awake all night. No good. I might try to sell the pad soon, or use it solely for car camping. Which is still kind of a waste of space and my mom's money. :(

More gear updates soon...I promise.

Frozen Chalkball Wars-Bouldering Garden, Columbia, Mo

2011-02-24T10:10:00.000-08:00

Frozen Chalkball Wars. These pics were taken at the Bouldering Garden in Columbia, MO. It's a great place to climb. I'll post more pics of the gym itself later on.

I love overhanging routes!

3rd place!

Congratulations to all the competitors of last weekends 1st annual Frozen Chalkball Wars in Columbia MO.

Results:

1st Place
Will Harpham

2nd Place
Cody Horvat

3rd Place
Amanda "Danger" Smith

4th Place
Ryan Kook

5th Place
Eric Andrews

A special thanks to Jessica Turlin, the Missouri Rock Climbing League Photographer, for attending and taking great pictures of every competitor.

Horseshoe Canyon Ranch, Arkansas

2011-01-09T18:23:00.000-08:00

We like to sleep in style when we travel to Horsehoe Canyon Ranch, Arkansas

There are a ton of great sport routes here. We've been several times and still haven't gotten on half of the routes.

On top of Titanic Boulder

On Titanic Boulder again

Damn You Seal Rock

2011-01-05T16:49:00.000-08:00

Last year, my friends and I were itching to get some trad climbing experience. We had always stuck to our uber-friendly sport routes at Horseshoe Canyon Ranch and had yet to experience any real exposure that is associated with big wall climbing. My friend Mark had gone climbing at the Flatirons with our other climbing partner Mike in Colorado earlier that year. Out of the four of us (Mike, Mark, Me, and Danielle) Mike has by-far the most climbing experience and definitely the biggest rack. So we elicited Mike's help to lead us on a Flatiron during the summer. After discovering closures on several routes due to rapture nesting habitat, we settled on Seal Rock just on the outskirts of Boulder. The route we chose was listed as a four pitch, 5.4 trad route with an 800 foot exposure on Mountain Project, which we all felt was perfect for our group.

Our plan was set forth, we would leave Friday afternoon from Tulsa and drive as far as possible to Colorado. Somewhere along the way, we reasoned, we would get a cheap hotel room and then continue to Boulder in the wee hours of the morning. Then, if the weather held, we would pack our gear and begin the hike to Seal Rock from the NCAR trailhead.

We met Mike in Oklahoma City around 5:00 PM and got on the road towards Boulder. In Kansas after several hours of driving and discussing which climbing areas we were going to tackle, we were began to tire of driving and started scanning road signs for hotels. One after another, we would stop and the rooms were all booked. Considering it a fluke, we drove on to another town and again we were met with 'No Vacancy' signs or handwritten signs taped to the doors indicating they were at capacity. After several stops, Mark finally asked one hotel desk clerk why everything was full, and the clerk responded that everyone was in Kansas for the haarrrvvesstt. Yes, he said harvest all creepily like that.

Mark returned to the car and explained the situation. We all raised our eyebrows in unison and decided to continue on I-70 while making fun of the haarrrvvesstt. Eventually, we stopped at a rest area and debated sleeping in the car. While the boys up front in the large seats were fine with this and even began to recline their seats to encroach upon the girl's space, I fervently protested this option. It was late, I was tired, and no fricking way was I going to sleep sitting up straight in the back of a car, with the driver's seat nearly in my lap and the street lamp outside shining in the car. I opted to give it a few more miles proposing that Boulder really wasn't that much further. We were nearly there. I would drive if everyone else wanted to sleep.

It was decided to push on and continue driving. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, we came upon a hotel with a vacancy sign. I was awake and excited at this point, we had finally found a place to stay. We stopped and tried to rent a room at this little roadside joint. The lobby door was locked and the sign suggested that during after hours, we should ring the bell. We tried the bell and to no avail, the clerk never showed up. However, we could see him in the back of the hotel in his living quarters. He might have been watching tv. I thought I saw the shadows dancing on his back wall from fuzzy porn I'm sure. He definitely chose to sit in the dark, ignoring our pleas for a good rest, possibly attending to his own personal business. Defeated, we left the hotel in search of other lodging at a nearby KOA campground. Exhausted, we neglected to set up a tent and camped on the ground. It was a rough night, but I managed to get three or four hours of sleep before we were attacked by early-rising mosquitoes. I could only ignore so many nips on my ears before I rose from the ground in frustration and went in search of coffee. My friends awoke to the early Kansas sun and we refueled our systems on caffeine and hit the pavement as soon as possible, each one of us cursing KOA for life. Damn that KOA.

Besides the poor rest, the Saturday morning weather looked great. Someone checked their Smarty phone and discovered that the forecast for Boulder looked decent all day, except for the possibility of showers in the late afternoon. A thirty percent possibility of showers. Not too bad we mused. We had gotten up early enough to be in Boulder by 9:30 or ten, which was plenty of time to do our climb.

In Boulder, after a delicious breakfast burrito, juice, and more coffee, we arrived at the NCAR parking lot, sorted our gear, and reviewed our climbing plan. Mike decided that the best way for the four of us to summit Seal Rock would be to simultaneously climb in teams of two. We had all climbed together many times and he knew that we were confident enough climbers to climb Seal Rock without an active belay. He would lead the route, place all of the gear, while Danielle fed him rope. Once enough rope and been let out, Danielle would follow his line, unclipping her end of the rope from the protection while she climbed. Then Mark would follow on a separate rope and I would belay him till it was time to follow, then I would clean the gear. The only thing we were worried about was that we were short one climbing helmet. Unfortunately, Danielle did not own a helmet and we had forgotten to borrow one before leaving for our road trip so Mike offered his own to her. After a short hike, we found the path leading to the base of Seal Rock. At this point, I was very excited to see the tall rock path standing before us. Just to be at the top of this thing was going to be exhilarating. I could not wait to get on the rock. We got our gear ready, Mike tied to his end of the rope and started up Seal Rock with Danielle on his temporary belay. Mark and I waited, discussing what we thought the climb would be like, basking in the sunlight that was caught in the void spaces of trees. Soon, Mike disappeared over the rock and out of sight and all three of us were left staring at his rope bouncing around at the first piece of placed protection. After sometime, Danielle yelled to Mike that the rope was getting close to her end and it was time for her to ascend. After double checking her harness and knot, Danielle tightened her laces, repositioned her borrowed helmet, and began the route. So far so good. Smooth sailing for the Mike and Danielle. Once Danielle had advanced far enough, Mark followed her path clipping his rope at each anchor, while I belayed patiently from below taking in the sounds of the forest around me.

From this point, Danielle was out of my sight and Mark was beginning to pull our shared rope taut. I yelled ahead that it was time for me to climb. Finally, I was getting some action on the rock. Excited, I began my slow-paced climb up the steeply dipping wall, keeping in mind to mind the slack in case my partner decided to fall. I fell into a procedural pattern of cleaning gear and moving up the route in short spurts of distance. I was prohibited by how fast the party moved ahead of me, which was fine with me because I could find ways to entertain myself on the rock by taking in the views and testing differing angles of smear with my shoes. Or poking my fingers into various crevices looking for lizards. Sorry, I made that last one up.

From this point, everything looked great. The view was amazing, the rock was warm to my fingertips, I was finally getting some distance between me and the ground, everything was sailing smooth. Ahead of me, I could see Danielle and Mark enjoying the climb as well. They were lucky because they could converse during the climb due to their close distance. Meanwhile, I maintained an appearance that was close to one of a homeless person. I was mumbling to myself, asking myself questions, singing intermittent songs of which I knew limited lyrics too. Mike was too far ahead to be seen but would call out randomly and give us updates.

Further along the route, I could no longer see the ground, however a new foe appeared. The sky. It was turning dark and ominous, just like every scary story read to us as a child. I was much further below everyone so I had a better angle of what was coming for us and it was bearing down on us quickly. The sound of thunder rumbled not so distantly from our position. I yelled ahead to the others but I think my comments were obscured by the wind or the sheer vertical distance between me and the rest of my group. Mark and Danielle had also begun to notice a change, but in later retellings Mike would inform us that he had no idea at this point that our thirty-percent rainstorm was coming for us.

It was clear that this was going to get worse. I considered the options around me; should I take up the slack and climb closer to my partner Mark, or take a risky exit to the right that appeared to be a large boulder pile. I knew that there was a rappel station that exited to my right, maybe I could meet my group at the base. If I untied, they would have full use of the rope. Both of these ideas seemed too risky, if Mark fell I wouldn't be able to stop the fall with slack unless there was some way to tie the slack off while closing the distance. If I took the exit to the right, would I actually be able to get down or would I get stuck during the storm, and what if something happened to my friends while I left them behind in the danger zone. I couldn't take an action with that sort of uncertainty in front of me so I kept the correct distance and quietly cleaned gear trying not to look up too often.

Mike had reached the summit and was now fully aware that a rainstorm was headed our way. He yelled with a certain urgency that we needed to hurry up. Yes, hurry up, that part was obvious. However, I was still limited by how quickly my partners were climbing. I could only crouch helplessly on the rock monitoring my friends progress. The weight of the gear was producing a pain in my shoulder as I shifted pieces around distributing the load. All at once, Danielle had clamored up the rock and was out of my sight. She had come to the last section where Mike had stopped placing gear due to the ease of the route and she had quickly exited to the anchors. Mark's progress however was still a bit slower. He had increased his pace considerably since seeing the storm cloud, but if you know Mark well, you know he is SLOW. He might argue that he's methodical, but when you're staring at a dark, omnious, storybook storm cloud, your definition of fast may be different than his depending on your location on said Seal Rock. Especially, when I was still looking at climbing nearly half of the eight hundred foot route when the rain started to fall.

At some point, I felt the rope tugging against my harness and I knew Mark had reached the top of the route. I mused, 'they're actually trying to pull me up this route'. Later they would tell me it was true, Danielle and Mark had grabbed my rope and were tugging with all their might. This put me in a bind because I still had to clean gear while being half pulled/half madly climbing up the route. I had gear everywhere. I was no longer taking my time with each piece of gear, now it was sloppy and hanging off my rack, off my harness, a couple of pieces were clipped to the rope instead of my harness. I pulled over a small roof section and felt a huge tug from above but it was at a poor time because a nut from my harness had slipped into the crack and held me in place. I needed slack to move forward but no one could hear me. I was trying to get the nut out and they were pulling even harder. I grabbed the rope with one hand and pulled hard enough to gain enough stretch to get the nut out. Then I tried my best to sling the rack to my side to keep long pieces from trapping me. The rain was coming down even harder, it was difficult to see, my shoes were slipping against the rock, and I wasn't sure how much route was left. Mike yelled something from above and I vaguely thought he meant to leave the nuts. I concurred, leave the nuts. I could do that, but I still had to unclip from said nuts. I found that it was easier to take the whole piece since most of the nuts slid easily from their preferred cracks. One nut wouldn't budge so I hastily unclipped the quickdraw from it and kept moving. My visibility was severely limited and to make matters worse, it began to hail.

I kept climbing upwards, following the direction of the rope, while nickel and dime-sized hail pieces bounced from the back of my hands. I felt like it was speed climbing at the maximum. I truly felt that I was at my limit and could go no faster. My lungs were aching and I was getting chilled. All of a sudden, I was free of the slope. Mark had grabbed my hand and pulled me over the ledge and I arrived to find the shocked expressions of my three friends.

Danielle had coiled the first rope and Mike was impatiently awaiting my end of the rope so he could run the rope through the rappel anchors. He instructed me to anchor into Mark and untie my figure 8. I followed his orders while looking out at the situation hailing down onto us. It was as bad as I had feared. Mark was coiling the other end of my rope as quickly as he could and I handed my end to Mike, who then proceeded to tie through the anchors. Suddenly, he cusses. In his hurry, he hadn't tied through the anchors and had to do the whole thing over again. I kept very quite at this point, I didn't want to say anything to take Mike's attention away from the rappel anchors. I also didn't want to verbalize my fear of the storm. If said out loud, maybe we would panic. The only thing standing between us and the solid ground was 165 feet of open-air rappelling.

To break the silence, Mark jokes loudly that at least we've all got our helmets. The three of us throw irritated looks in his direction and simultaneously point out that Mike is sans helmet and is being pelted in the head with hail. Oh, Mark says, right, I forgot. Oops. Mike has the anchor knot ready and hands half of the rope to Danielle. He says, remember, we're pulling the red rope. Then Danielle and Mike toss each half of the rope over the edge and Mike begins his rappel.

Even though we were being beaten senseless by hail, I felt like things were looking better. Mike was on his way to the ground and then I estimated the amount of time until my turn. Not so bad, I thought, however, it is taking Mike awhile to get off of the rope. Danielle tried to see Mike's progress but she wasn't sure what he was doing. She told us that he had stopped and then we all wait again. The hail hurts and I'm cussing every few seconds. The lightening is closer to us and that idea makes me cuss more. Mark and Danielle are silent but share worried glances. I cheat the hail and use Mark and the rocks around me to block from it. So now the hail was only getting the top of my shoulders, not so bad, but I was still cold, so I cussed.

Later, after huddling under a small rock ledge for shelter, we would notice that Mike's leg was bleeding and he would tell us about how when he tried to rappel he found that part of the rope was wedged around a tree. He had rappelled below the tree and once he realized the predicament, he had to climb up past the tree and tug on the rope. With a large tug, the rope suddenly was free. Mike however, was swinging in the open-air. He held his brake hand on the rope and the other hand went up protectively by his head. The accidental rope swings carries Mike at least one hundred feet and he slams into the rock wall at the opposite end. His massive swing ends with a large amount of meat scraped off of his inner calf and another smaller scrape on his arm, but for the most part, Mike is unharmed though badly shaken.

At the top, Danielle sees Mike on the ground and he waves for her to rappel. She turns to us with a frightened look, and says something like okay, how do I do this? make sure I do this right. Mark helps with setting her belay device up correctly while instructing Danielle on how to use her brake hand. I tugged the water-soaked rope up so that Mark could position everything correctly. Once everything is in place, Mark and I wish Danielle good luck and help her with moving over the ledge and instruct her to weight the rope first before moving down. In my opinion, one of the hardest parts of rappelling is to get yourself to trust the rope and step over the ledge.

Once Danielle is over the ledge, Mark and I don't say much. The lightning is getting much closer and the temperature felt like it dropped forty degrees. I huddle against Mark and the rock and continue to cuss to pass the time. While descending, Danielle was fighting wind gusts which pushed her away from the wall. She later estimated that the wind gusts had pulled her thirty or forty feet away from where she felt like she should be.

Mark and I both see the tension relax on the rope, and Mark leans over the edge to see that Danielle is on the ground. He looks at me and offers me the rappel. I told him that although I didn't want to be the last person up here, I felt that climbing over him might be more dangerous. I was worried about tripping up and falling over the ledge or sliding down the slope. The better option was for him to go first. He reluctantly agrees and asks me to help him put the rope through the belay device. At this point, the rope was ridiculously heavy and I was worried about my solo rappel but didn't say anything. Leaning against the rope to weight himself, Mark is ready to descend. I begged him to please hurry down and to be safe. He returned the advice and asked me to be safe as well. As he starts down, over his right shoulder I see lightening strike the nearest peak. Oh shit, I uttered. He saw the look in my eyes and asked me what happened? I simply replied in a chipper voice, nothing really don't worry about it, I'll tell you later. It was nothing. Just hurry, okay?

The wait for my turn seemed like an eternity. I had wedged myself against the rock in the most awkward position but it felt the safest. I was trying to hide from the hail and the lightening all at once. I tried my best to keep my thoughts calm and to relax. It seemed to work and after some time it was my turn to descend. It turned out that Mark too had fought the wind and it delayed his descent by several minutes. Carefully holding my belay device in my teeth, with my locking carabiner secured onto my harness, I pulled the rope over the ledge in an effort to thread everything correctly. My hands were numb and I was shivering violently. At this point, I could barely operate my fingers. They weren't responding to my urgent commands. I had somehow managed to thread only one half of the rope onto my carabiner and belay device. Damn, I had to start over. I struggled to remove the rope. Something that would have only taken seconds on a warm day, took a couple of minutes to complete. Once the rope was free, I hoisted more of it off the ground and made a vain effort to hold it between my legs while trying to pull the loop through my device. Finally, I had the rope in the belay device where it belonged. Double checking my efforts, I stepped over the ledge, weighted the rope, removed my personal anchor and began my own rappel. This time there was no wedged rope or wind gusts. I only had a saturated rope to deal with. I was frustrated with how slowly the rope was feeding. I eventually started pushing the rope with my brake hand and pulled with the other in an effort to get to the ground faster. This tactic was successful and soon I was on the ground. I arrived to see Mark's excited face. We made it!

Danielle and Mike had fled downhill to find shelter and were waiting for the two of us. We begin to pull the red end of the rope and Mark tells me about how he arrived at the bottom to find Mike in a shocked state. He said Mike just kept saying we've got to get to shelter, we've got to get to shelter and warm up. That sounds good to me so I pull the rope as quickly as possible, hyperventilating while tugging the soggy rope down. Eventually, the rope is free and comes flying towards us. It slams on the talus above us and I run and gather the fallen end while Mark is picks up his end. In a communal fashion, we pass the waterlogged rope back and forth while trying to navigate across the rubble pile. One of us goes down a few steps, while the other hands the rope down. We repeat this process until the ground levels out. Suddenly a brilliant flash appears to our left accompanied by a loud crack. Lightening had just struck within twenty feet of our position. I yell to Mark, how ironic would it be to get struck by lightening after we just got off of that beast, motioning towards the top of Seal Rock. How fucking ironic would that be? Not fair dude, we escape from the Seal to be struck down in the damn woods. That's not cool.

Danielle hears my loud statement and calls out to us. We quickly scramble beneath the small rock shelter they found. Mike's eyes are wide and Danielle is shivering. We're all cold and we do the manly thing and huddle together to warm up. Each of us wrings several ounces of water from our shirts and complain about the cold. I notice red welts on the backs of Danielle and Mark. The next day, they realize they were actually bruised by the hail and show us the bluish marks.

After the shivering stops and we all calm down, we returned to the base of Seal Rock to find our packs and shoes soaked of course. Stripping our gear off is a relief but I opted to keep my helmet on for warmth. We pack our bags and hike our grateful selves down the trail. Along the way, we each tell our own version of what happened. Mike tells us again about how far his swing was and had frightening it had been. I excitedly brag about about the last part of my climb and how I had never climbed so fast and I only lost one nut and how I couldn't see the route but kept climbing. We're all relieved, muddy and soaked but satisfied. As soon as we hit the lower trail, the sun comes out. Near the trailhead we pass several people who greet us warmly and say things like, beautiful day, huh? can you believe this weather, it's so nice out? all while seemingly ignoring the fact that the climbers are soaked and muddy, with frightened looks on our faces. I'm sure they could see it in our eyes but just couldn't wait to tell us about how great the day was. Damn you Seal Rock.

Teva Mountain Games 2009 hosted in Vail Colorado

2011-01-05T16:32:00.001-08:00

I would encourage anyone who is interested in attending the Teva Mountain Games to check it out this year in June. It's a lot of fun with several different events and vendors (last year the main sponsor was Eddie Bauer). We were able to spend more time there in 2009 and loved it. We have participated in the Citizens Bouldering Comp for two years now. There is no charge for spectators and you can usually book a local hotel for a reasonable price.

Chai in Colorado Teva Mountain Games 2009

2011-01-05T16:23:00.000-08:00

Chai looks so stoic in this shot. You can see the seriousness in her eyes.

She is always ready to greet me with a kiss.

Chai in the grass. I love the look in her eyes in this one too.

Sometimes Chai looks not so happy at the camera.

Sorry, I'm updating posts but I wanted to share with you pictures of Chai in Colorado. Chai likes it there and hopes to someday retire by the shade of the mountains. These were taken at the Teva Mountain Games in June of 2009.

2010-12-04T11:01:00.000-08:00

RECENTLY:
[music: Deer Tick]
[podcast: pod climber]
[reading: Dark Tower series]
[watching: Ghost World]
[project: greeting card project]

127 Hours

2010-12-04T09:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, go see it. It was amazing! It premiered last night at our local indie filmhouse, the Ragtag.

I read the original Between a Rock and A Hardplace several years ago and loved it. Aron Ralston does a great job of describing the geology, history, and his emotions of his experience in the canyon. After spending six days trapped in the canyon, he uses his dull blade to self-amputate his arm. I won't ruin it for you, but he gives a lot of detail in the book about first breaking both bones in his forearm, then the process of getting through everything that is trapping him against the canyon wall.

During the amputation scene last night, as people were cringing, moaning, and looking away, I couldn't help but be reminded of a Stephen King story called Gerald's Game, in which a woman is handcuffed to a bed in a foreplay-gone-horribly-wrong scenario. After being trapped for a few days, the woman is forced to break a glass and use the shard to cut away at her own wrist until she is able to pull her arm free of the handcuff. This is the only time I ever thought I was gonna faint while reading a book. Just a few pages of words and you have a pit in your stomach for a few hours...

During 127 hours, the amputation scene is the ultimate sacrifice for survival. I should warn you, it is a bit graphic, just keep reminding yourself that it is a movie. Remind yourself that the blood isn't real, or that isn't really his forearm muscle he is pawning his fingers through searching for a bundle of nerves to severe. Just keep doing that and you'll be fine and maybe you won't pass out. But if you do pass out, like one unlucky person last night, everyone will quickly know about it as your girlfriend starts shaking you and calling your name out loudly in the theater. Quite a frenzied climatic way to end that whole gory scene...the guy was okay, but they decided to leave. Possibly due to embarrassment. :/

Adventures on Old Rag Mountain in Virginia

2010-10-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

Beautiful stream along our hike taken by my friend Chris Latimer.

Biggest black bear I have seen to date.

From my first backpacking experience. This was taken at the summit of Old Rag in Virginia.

Natural Staircase

Old Rag from afar. It's a lot of exposed granite right in the mountains of Virginia.

I need to update

2010-09-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

For those of you reading and keeping track, I really need to update my blog. A crazy amount of events have happened since my last post. So, please be patient as I post my new updates about climbing in Arkansas, Teva Mountain Games, heading out east to the New River Gorge, and a horrifying experience with lightening and Seal Rock, in Colorado. Many, many amazing new stories are coming and my posts about my hopes and dreams. :)

Birch Knob, Clintwood, Va

2010-05-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

Another breathtaking view from Virginia. This is for an ongoing argument with a friend that Virginia (and the east coast) is much prettier than her home state of Wyoming.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park, Missouri

2010-04-14T22:54:00.000-07:00

I was heading back to school after a conference in Branson when I stopped to take a brief look around at this state park. Walking up onto castle ruins in the midwest is pretty awesome. I'll be going back to get some better pics of things soon.

Climbing Stoned?? How dangerous is it?

2010-03-26T13:28:00.001-07:00

In short, I've never climbed stoned, but I've spent time at the local crags and observed people clambering up the wall 'under the influence'...so to speak. I was also witness to a young guy who free soloed a 5.10 route right after smoking a blunt. I left the scene when he was around 35 feet off the ground. Do what you want when you climb, but don't break your neck in front of me. I don't want to see someone die on a pretty day.

I'm writing this because I'd like to understand why people climb stoned. I want to know how it affects them. Is it fun? Would you trad climb high? Sport climb? Top-rope? Free-solo?

What are the effects that people feel? I know it's not the same, but if I get a little tipsy off of beer, my reaction times are completely different. I learned this a couple of years ago while trying to bike home a little drunk. I couldn't seem to get the brakes right and wrecked a couple of times before getting back.

During the summer I came across this article about rock climbing and murder on rockclimbing.com. It's a story about three guys who take another unprepared guy from their workplace on a multi-pitch climb. The unprepared guy had only climbed in his teens, but is now an overweight desk jockey who shows up in his tennis shoes raring to go. The other guys, seeing his tennis shoes tell him that those are good enough for this climb, no climbing shoes needed. Sometime, during one of the pitches, the unprepared guy looses his footing on wet slab and falls. His belayer is able to catch him and after he stops, his rope loosens from his harness and he falls to his death.

Prior to the climb, the three experienced guys toke up before starting their ascent. You'll have to read the story to get the full implication of this but the blame for the man's death was assigned to the experienced guys for climbing stoned.

It seems that marijuana would keep you relaxed while climbing and maybe the jello legs wouldn't occur. It scares me though, because I'm sure that I would forget something really important like tying my rope properly, clipping in a carabiner, or some other stupid thing that would get me killed.

I also think that some people might smoke before climbing so that they aren't as nervous when they climb...maybe it gives them an extra boost of confidence on the wall. I usually get nervous on the first big climb of the day, so I just suck in some extra air and go for it.

Feel free to post your experiences/observations about rock climbing and marijuana use.

John Muir's book 'The Mountains of California'

2010-03-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

In the morning everything is joyous and bright, the delicious purple of the dawn changes softly to daffodil yellow and white; while the sunbeams pouring through the passes between the peaks give a margin of gold to each of them. Then the spires of the firs in the hollows of the middle region catch the glow, and your camp grove is filled with light. The birds begin to stir, seeking sunny branches on the edge of the meadow for sun-baths after the cold night, and looking for their breakfasts, every one of them as fresh as a lily and as charmingly arrayed. Innumerable insects begin to dance, the deer withdraw from the open glades and ridge tops to their leafy hiding-places in the chaparral, the flowers open and straighten their petals as he dew vanishes, every pulse beats high, every life-cell rejoices, the very rocks seem to tingle with life, and God is felt brooding over everything great and small.

This is an excerpt from John Muir's book 'The Mountains of California'

DoggyRide Novel coming soon!

2010-03-21T11:45:00.001-07:00

This is coming in the mail soon! I can't wait. I am going to take Chai biking and camping on the Katy Trail in Missouri. I need to remember to puts the new tires on my bike soon.

Recent Thefts in Coeburn, VA

2010-03-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

I know that this is essentially hopeless to post, but on Thursday, March 11 someone broke into our home in Flatwoods in Coeburn, Va and stole several valuable items as well as destroyed sentimental items. I have a strong conviction that I know who is responsible but my parents spoke with town police in Coeburn and are now left with few options as what to do. The biggest item that was stolen was a 42 inch flat panel tv by Vizio. It was purchased at Walmart around Christmas. The person(s) also took it upon themselves to destroy things in the house that were very sentimental and irreplaceable. Because specific sentimental things were stolen, I personally believe it was John Walling. He is my half-cousin and was temporarily adopted by my family when he was younger. Recently, he escaped juvenile detention while on a home visit with other relatives. That being said, I am offering a cash $$$$ reward for the arrest and conviction of those involved with the break-in. I am also offering a cash reward for information leading to the return of our tv. I will post more details later about other items taken from my house. Hopefully pictures as well.

Rainy day rant....

2010-03-13T21:25:00.000-08:00

I know this post doesn't have much to do with previous posts, but this is what popped into my head one rainy night and I thought I would write it down.

Infinite Thinking Machines

It is not always about inherited genius. Sometimes it is about applying yourself and coming up with creative solutions. We are not useless individuals. We all can contribute something to the overall benefit of others. Each person has the opportunity or talent to improve their lives in some way. We must believe in our capabilities and strive to reach beyond what others have done before us. THe key is to self-motivate and push boundaries. Try new things. Challenge yourself to learn new skills and talents. Be better everyday than you were the day before. These are our tools for an enriching life.

We must strive to continue in excellence.

We are infinite thinking machines, with infinite ideas, thoughts, and fortunes.

This is our purpose.

Ouchies! :(

2010-03-08T20:59:00.000-08:00

Recently sprained my ankle whilst bouldering at a local gym. I was going for a route on the ceiling and I swung off on one of the last moves and my ankle hit an uneven mat and rolled it. I felt three snaps in my ankle and nearly 2 weeks later it's still sore and swollen. Ouch.

World's cutest dog

2009-11-24T20:29:00.001-08:00

Mizzou Climbing Club 2009 Boulderfest Winners!

2009-11-24T20:16:00.000-08:00

Boulderfest winners:

Advanced Men: 1.Venu 2.Andy 3.Eli
Advanced Women: 1.Amanda (me!) 2.Tuesday 3. Alysha & Haley
Rec. Men: 1.Dylan & Wes 3.Jake
Rec. Women: 1.Laura 2.Shannon

Speed Climbing Winner: Dylan
Lead Climbing Winner: Andrew "Fireman" Terry

I was really, really ill during the competition so I only climbed V0 and V1 during the beginning. I attempted a couple of more difficult routes in the beginning and the effort made me feel like I would throw up. Needless to say, I stayed off the harder routes until I felt well enough to attempt them. My best three routes happened all in a row right at the end of the competition. My biggest competitor had actually stopped climbing earlier because she was winning and didn't realize I would attempt harder routes. With the five minute announcement, I tackled three routes right in a row and flashed two. I later found out that I won the girl's division by a mere 20 points. For my first place award, I received a 25 dollar gift certificate to a local outdoor sporting goods store. I immediately ordered a quickdraw set (which is on backorder at the moment) for next Spring's climbing.

Also, Venu and I were the first place winners at last year's competition. I told him jokingly that I would compete against him next year.

Manda

Yosemite Adventure...coming this fall!

2009-10-14T15:25:00.001-07:00

This trip needs it's own story but I haven't been able to bring myself to write one yet. I am so proud of Gina for having the perseverance to make the long journey to the top of Half Dome. Why am I so proud? Gina is legally blind. Mark however has no excuse. lol. Anyhow, we were able to safely lead our friend on an 18 mile roundtrip journey to the top of Half Dome. There are a few more things to tell about our trip, but I will write them when the time is right.

Feet over the edge...long way down!

Wonderful panoramic view

This picture is sideways and I do not know how to fix it...without reloading the image.

Gina, Mark, and I on our way up...we're so close because of our harness system :p

Mark at the edge

Gina and I posing at the top of Vernal Falls

I finally purchased climbing rope!!

2009-10-14T15:18:00.002-07:00

Okay, it may be a bit lame that I've been seriously climbing for the past year and moderately climbing for about four years now and I've never gotten around to purchasing a rope. Mostly because I had always gone with friends that had their own gear. I have a friend that works at a local outdoor store that can get me 20% discounts off of all my purchases so I finally decided to invest in a nice rope. I bought a dry-treated 60 meter dynamic rope from Sterling. I can't remember the diameter offhand thought.

The sad part is that the weather here is Missouri got cold and I haven't been able to try it out. If you live in Columbia and you are up for climbing, please let me know and we can try it out when the weather warms back up.

Climbing at Capen Park, Columbia, MO

2009-10-14T15:18:00.001-07:00

Not sure if you can tell here but I fell off. This route is called Foot Loose and is rated 5.11 but I don't believe it. The part where I fell requires either a heelhook to my left or careful footwork to the right and a couple of strong pull-ups to the top. I later finished this route, but I really don't think it is as hard as its rated. It's a little overhung but not enough to give it a really tough rating.

Foot Loose

Hanging out at the local climbing crag.

Preview of Yellowknife, NWT

2009-09-08T11:31:00.001-07:00

Yellowknife, Canada

2009-07-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

I'm heading out on the 3rd of August for field research for my master's thesis. Therefore, I probably will not get an opportunity to update for about four weeks.

I'm at work now and moving out of my apartment at three, so I can't write much now....I hope to update soon!

The Rest of Everest

2009-07-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

I'm currently compiling a list of podcasts that I would recommend for any outdoor lover to listen/watch. Right now, The Rest of Everest is one of my top recommendations.

The film, and therefore this video podcast, documents the 2003 expedition to the Northeast Ridge route in Tibet, and coincides with the 50th anniversary climbing season. The story revolves around 23-year old climber Ben Clark and the fulfillment of his dream to become one of the youngest climbers to ever summit Everest.

You can download this podcast from iTunes. Make sure you start the story from the beginning of the podcast not the latest episode.

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, OK

2009-06-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

These are some highlights of the only topography I've seen in Oklahoma. The pics are from the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.

Eddie Bauer First Ascent in Bankruptcy

2009-06-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

1963 Eddie Bauer outfits the first American ascent of Everest

2009 Eddie Bauer/Whittaker Mountaineering launches the First Ascent clothing line.

June 2009, Eddie Bauer store associate pitches an incredibly girly fleece jacket to an unsuspecting customer claiming that it's First Ascent merchandise. Myself, standing 15 feet away at the register waiting to check out, can see that it is not First Ascent merch. The woman however, falls for his brilliant pitch.

In June 2009 Eddie Bauer files for ch. 11 bankrupty.

Eddie Bauer packs up - again CnnMoney.com

The Washington-based clothing retailer, which is known for its mom jeans and rugged outdoor gear, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June.

This is the company's second spin through the courts. Its previous owner, Speigel Catalog, which bought the company in 1988, had filed for Chapter 11 in 2003. When Spiegel emerged in 2005, Eddie Bauer was spun off and became a stand-alone company for the first time since it was first acquired, by General Mills, in 1971.

"Unfortunately, a crushing debt burden left from the Spiegel bankruptcy combined with the severe, prolonged recession have left us with no choice but to look for ways to restructure the company's balance sheet," said President and CEO Neil Fiske in a statement.

When Eddie Bauer filed for bankruptcy, it claimed between $100 million and $500 million in assets, but just as much in liabilities. Eddie Bauer intends to sell the majority of its assets to CCMP Capital for $202 million, though bidding is still open.

CCMP has agreed to keep the majority of the company's 371 stores open, as well as its catalogue and Web site operations. Gift cards, however, will only be honored until Sept. 1 or the company sells its assets -- whichever comes first.

I've only shopped at Eddie Bauer once and they did seem to have some decent clothing there. I bought a couple of field pants for my upcoming research trip to Canada. I would have never purchased for their full retail price of 60 dollars because I don't know how well the material performs in weather conditions, however, at their sale price of 20 dollars, I took the gamble. It seemed to me that they need to decide what sort of clothing company they are going to be: outdoor clothing or casual clothing company. Maybe it doesn't really matter now.

Eastern Mountain Sport's climbing school

2009-06-28T13:58:00.000-07:00

http://www.emsclimb.com/

Skills I'd love to learn:

2009-06-24T20:41:00.000-07:00

piano, guitar, CPR, self-defense, how to tune a bike, snowboarding, Arabic, Swahili, French, drawing, lead climbing, ice climbing, basic carpentry, hot to cook, compass skills, hacky-sack turned pro, surfing, basic computer programming, how to trade stocks, billiard skills, how to fish and clean my catch, a handstand, some other basic gymnastics, some auto mechanic stuff, how to ride a motorcycle....

These are in no particular order and represent a finite amount of the skills I'd love to learn.

Puggle Mania!!!

2009-06-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

Check out this sweet puggle!! A puggle is half beagle and half pug, not truly a breed but yet such an awesome dog combo. I adopted Chai, which means 'tea' in several languages including Swahili, from the Central Missouri Humane Society. Someone had found her wandering as a stray and she was turned into the humane society. When I adopted her, she had been in the stray section of the kennel for about two-three weeks, she had had pups recently, she had a yeast infection in her ear (ew), an infection of whipworms, and was just getting over kennel cough.

Chai is the best doggie ever!! She is around two years old, probably less and may have had pups several times. For the first few weeks that I had her, she would only go potty on the sidewalk and hardly ever in the grass. She has finally grown out of that habit and is fairly well potty trained. I've had her since January and she is very attached to me and vice versa. Since my apartment at the time was not pet friendly, I had to sneak her in and out three times a day for walks. I tried under my coat a few times, but she would always wag her tail and give me away. Eventually, I tried to pick times in which I knew there would be no one around in the building to discover my secret pet! She is currently an Oklahoma doggie but is not very fond of the hot weather.

I love New Belgium Beer!!

2009-06-18T21:13:00.000-07:00

If you check out New Belgium's website, you can purchase their awesome posters for a dollar each. I bought the entire set and used them to decorate my apartment last semester. When I get back to school, I'm going to create a new display for them.

Loss of skin from a dyno

2009-06-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, I was bouldering at the OKC Rocktown Climbing gym, and this happened to my finger. I apologize for the poor quality of the photo...it's from my cell phone. I need to purchase a camera SOON!

FYI. This is the first time I've ever torn skin from climbing in 3+ years of experience. I was doing a dyno on the inclined wall and when I was done I felt something strange on my hand. Looking down I saw that I hard torn about a nickel size amount of skin off. Of course, I know people have done worse, but I'm practicing my blogging skills at the moment so I'm writing about trivial things such as this. Please bear with me until I get a camera and more interesting stories.

Rocktown OKC and Vail, Colorado

2009-06-01T16:31:00.000-07:00

Did some indoor climbing at the Rocktown Gym in Oklahoma City yesterday. As far as routes goes, Rocktown has many beginner, intermediate, and hard routes. They also have a slab route wall and a bouldering room. There is a ton of stuff here to climb on. They also have some unique routes which are open on the outside of the building. The tallest of which is 85 feet and rated a four-star (which I was told by the staff equals a 5.11).

Rocktown does a fairly decent job with their routes and the climbs are interesting because they are on the inside of a former corn silo.

I should do laundry tomorrow, but I think I'm gonna head back to Rocktown and do some climbing in prep for the Teva Games hosted in Vail, Colorado.

I plan on competing in the amateur competition on Sunday at the Teva Games. I'm not sure what my bouldering level is but I think I'm going to enter the intermediate category. At school, I boulder three or more times a week for more than an hour at a time. From August 2008 till now, I have noticed incredible differences in my grip strength, balance, flexibility, and ability to figure out problems. I went from barely being able to do a single pull up to being able to do 8-10. Which is pretty damn good for a girl!

Anyhow, that's all for now. I feel that I have rambled too much. Latergater.

2009-05-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the first post of SmithVentures. Hopefully, this blog will grow and flourish, unlike my faltered previous attempt at a blog. A little bit of information about myself: I'm currently a graduate student (Master's) in Geology at the University of Missouri. I am living in Oklahoma City at the moment interning with a natural gas company. I am very new to this part of the country with it's red dirt and flat terrains....not sure how much I like it at the moment.