Weather Forecast

Weather for Custer, SD looks good for our trip. There’s a beautiful sameness to the forecast.

Thursday

  74° F | 50° F

  Friday

  76° F | 50° F

  Saturday

  76° F | 52° F

   Sunday

    86° F | 56° F

Ever Been Bored By A Tide?

PPM writes from Anchorage that he visited Turnagain Arm, a bay outside of Anchorage and saw a tidal bore. This article says: “The bore tide is a rush of seawater that returns to a shallow and narrowing inlet from a broad bay. Bore tides come in after extreme minus low tides created by the full or new moon.

Bore tides occur all over the world—there are around 60 of them—but only a few are large enough to make a name for themselves. One in China, for example, stretches almost 30 feet tall and travels more than 20 miles per hour. Alaska’s most famous bore tide occurs in Turnagain Arm, just outside Anchorage. It climbs up to 6 – 10 feet tall and can reach speeds of 10 to 15 miles per hour. It takes not just a low tide but also about a 27-foot tidal differential (between high and low tide) for a bore to form in Turnagain Arm.

…it’s huge—one of the biggest in the world, actually. . It’s also amazingly accessible: you can see it by road along its entire 40- to 50-mile length. And it’s a wildlife-spotting opportunity: harbor seals often ride the tide into Turnagain Arm. Beluga whales may come in a half hour or so later once the water gets deeper.”

Important Meeting, I Nominate Richard and Ron to Represent Us!

Black Hills Climbing Coalition

June 2009

The next meeting of the BHCC will be 7 pm Wednesday, July 15, at Wilson Park on the corner of Mount Rushmore Road and Saint Andrew streets, Rapid City.

This will be a short meeting to finalize plans for Pinfest, and to examine all the coalition climbing ropes and equipment to make sure everything is in good condition.

Don’t forget that Pinfest will be Saturday, July 18, starting around 9 a.m. There will be top ropes put up on a variety of climbs in the Ten Pins area in Custer State Park. All climbers are welcome to come and join in this yearly Black Hills climbers gathering, and we especially appreciate climbers who are willing to put up ropes on the climbs, and help take down gear at the end of the day.

The area around the Ten Pins has been heavily logged to get rid of bug trees. There are huge piles of slash now spread all around the base of many climbs, which we would also like to clean up. If everyone worked for just 20-30 minutes it would make a huge difference in how the area looked. All you need to do is bring work gloves and be willing to help carry logs and branches away from the base of the climbs.

Unlike Beans & Beaners, there is no potluck at Pinfest, so bring your own food and water and come out for a great day of climbing in one of the most scenic and beautiful parts of the Black Hills!

Sue Scheirbeck is having a “most excellent cornmeal pancake breakfast” at 7:30 a.m. before Pinfest that is open to all climbers. RSVP to Sue  if you can make it so she knows how much batter to make up. You can also bring coffee, fruit, yogurt, nuts or syrup. Yumm!

Be sure to tell my boyfriend Ron that those cute girls from St. Paul are headed his way.

Deadhorse

Is the Alaskan town next to Prudhoe Bay. That’s where PPM is now. Here’s a story of a trip to that town. BTW, there is a haul road to Deadhorse from Fairbanks that is ride-able by bikes – Lisa? – but services are spotty according to this report.

You can see that it’s stunningly beautiful.

Half Ropes

Lisa and I were at VE today  - it was way too nice to climb outside. She got the idea of practicing our half rope technique. So we grabbed two ropes and practiced some leads. After we started, Pat came over and gave us handy tips and explained why he prefers that method of climbing – especially on longer routes – and why it’s safer. It was great fun but next time we’ll use two different colored ropes. It’s easier to keep straight which one needs to be clipped next. 

No Pain, No Swearing

When you hit your elbow on the rock, be sure to let loose a “Doggone it, that hurts.” Because apparently, it helps reduce with pain when you swear. At least according to these researchers. One of the researchers said, “I would advise people, if they hurt themselves, to swear.” Dang, that’s good to know.

Wow! Wausau!

A funny thing happened on the way to kayaking this weekend. I found out I love bouldering! I always thought of bouldering as just going up aways and traversing and coming back down. I'm happy to say I was set straight this weekend. Four of us paddlers/climbers were up at the crack of dawn to hit up Rib Mountain in Wausau before the water was turned on. I was introduced to real feral bouldering...so far away from the indoor kind of bouldering. Trust me on this...the routes are incredible from easy to extremely hard and everything in between. They were tall enough that once you past a point a fall wasn't really an option. What a great start to the day! Well worth the trip for just bouldering. Of course being Wausau there are so many other things in the area to do. Sorry, I didn't get any photos....I had my camera battery on the charger. Next time or just check out Mountain Project for more beta.

Good Use of Climbing Skills!

Thoughts on Food

Richard and I were discussing climbing foods just yesterday on our way home form Taylor's. We have been taking a more seasonal approach to replenishing the body after exercise. Spring time climbing should be followed by burgers and beer, while summer climbing should be followed by a stop at the DQ for ice cream. Here is another opinion from someone you don't know with letters behind her name.

Fitness Food: The Right Diet for Exercise
By Barbara Robb, MA

You need energy to exercise and energy comes from food. Make sure you've eaten adequately before any fitness activity and eat to refuel afterwards, says Sue Travis, RD, PhD, of the division of nutritional sciences at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

The amount of food a person needs will varies with age, sex, weight, and activity level. The rate at which you burn calories depends not only on the type of exercise you do, but also on how vigorously you do it.

Travis emphasizes that it’s important to divide your calories between carbohydrates, protein, and fat:

• Carbohydrates. Carbohydrates — sugars and starches — are broken down by the body into glucose, which muscles use for energy. Excess carbs are stored in the liver and tissues as glycogen and released as needed. It’s glycogen that provides the energy for high-intensity exercise and prolonged endurance. Some good sources of carbohydrates are whole grain breads and cereals, fruit, vegetables, pasta, and rice.
• Protein. Protein should be part of each of your major meals because it will help slow absorption of carbohydrates. Fish, eggs, chicken, meat, and beans are excellent sources of protein, and 3 ounces per meal is enough.
• Fat. You need some fat in your diet, too, says Travis. Low-fat dairy products, like 1 percent milk, and lean cuts of meat will give you the fat your body needs.

Try to have a combination of items from all three of these food groups at each of your major meals, says Travis. For a healthy breakfast, have a high-fiber cereal (either oatmeal or another whole-grain cereal), a low-fat dairy product, and fruit or a glass of juice. The easiest lunch might be a sandwich made with lean meat, poultry, or fish on whole-grain bread, with raw veggies and fruit served on the side. Protein and energy bars can be useful, but don't use them as a meal replacement, warns Travis. Look for bars with at least 10 grams of protein and some carbohydrates, rather than products with a high protein content and hardly any carbohydrates.

Hmmm, some VE folks got to the Black Hills before us.

Taylors Falls Friday

Lisa and I were checking out our anchor-setting, top belaying and rappelling skills in anticipation of our big trip. So here are some photos of Lisa setting up anchors and them rapping down on them. (Who knew girls could be good at this stuff?)

We’re Not As Tough As We Used To Be

Being outdoors is inherently dangerous. Here are two men who used their emergency locator beacon because there was too much sun in Alaska. They lasted one day out of their 7 day trip. (Hey girls, when you go to Alaska remember the sunscreen.) Man, I am glad I spend most of my time indoors.

(Of course, I should talk; I’m all excited about competing for a pair of pink tights. DO NOT tell Jack London or Ernie Hemmingway.)

Rushmore

I just notice that there are some new heads on Mt Rushmore. When did this happen? Was it in the news and I missed it?

Old and tired:

New and perky:

(When I do this stuff, I’m puzzled why so many people don’t want me taking photos of their faces.)

For Our Upcoming Trip

Look what treasures the internet contains – photos of all the rest areas along I 90 in South Dakota. What a wonderful resource, huh?

For example, if you see this rest area, you know you are at exit 296.

 

But if the exit looks like this, you are at exit 264. See the difference?

 

 

 

 

 

Now driving farther west, you might see an exit looking like this.

Quick, where are you? Exit 218 or exit 100? Answer here*

* It is obviously exit 218 because exit 100 looks like this.

Cross Training

Ron and John did some cross training to build strength for climbing by fencing today. No, not this kind of fencing:

 

(Although they would look delicious in those little white outfits.)

 

 

They did this kind of fencing:

 

 

Cool lookin’ hats boys!