I could do that…
I fancy myself a fairly quick climber. Even when I'm out of shape (which is pretty much all the time) I am definitely on the fast side of the bell curve.  Christian Stangl makes me look like a little Nancy boy who needs mommy to tie my shoes.   In 2002 he climbed Aconcagua in 4 hours and 25 minutes. He climbed the Seven Summits with a combined climbing time of 58 hours, 45 minutes. Backpacker is reporting that he broke the Everest ascent record with a time of 17 hours (11,318ft. over about 6 mi.) Maybe they start from different places but I have heard of some Sherpa that go a weeee bit faster. According to my reading Pemba Dorji Sherpa did it in 8 hours 10 min... HOLY CRAP! I just realized that faster then my Rainier time. So maybe I'm not such a speed demon.
The New Chaco Poop Bag!
Companies everywhere lately are trying to jump on the Eco friendly band wagon. Just the other day we received an email from an "Eco friendly" leather handbag manufacturer. Pretty impressive, I'd like to see how they do it.
Companies seem to have realized that if they stand on top of a mountain and tell the world just how Eco-friendly they are, it might be good for business. The companies we should really be looking at though are the ones that haven't said a word about it at all.
The most exciting new Eco-friendly product lately isn't really a product at all. To the general consumer, Chaco appears to be a company that makes sandals and shoes that come in recycled cardboard boxes. Pretty cool. What the general consumer doesn't get to see though is the packaging from their flip flop appropriately named the Flip. Wrapped around any outdoor industry flip flop is a plastic bag. Teva uses a bag made out of a biodegradable material but they filled their bag with holes...weight savings maybe? The bag is virtually useless after shipping. Chaco, on the other hand, has a sturdy, biodegradable bag devoid of any holes.
Having spent countless hours bending over picking up my dogs' daily deposits, it quickly occurred to me that this bag is the perfect size for doing the deed. It's durable so my hands don't end up gross, it's big enough to manage everything, and it's biodegradable. What more could you want from a poop bag? Every outdoor retailer that carries the Chaco Flip will have these bags. Swing by and ask them to save the bags for your pooch. They should be more than happy to oblige. Pretty awesome Chaco. Mother Earth called, she has a high five waiting with your name all over it.
Come to think of it; I need a new knife.
So who is it going to be? I know one of you out there has some extra money lying around and is just dying to give an expensive gift to a random bloke you've never met. I'll write a post that does nothing but describe how awesome you are.
Yes, I will just immediately sell it so I can get a knife I actually want. The Damascus steel Leatherman Wave is at least on the interesting side of the spectrum.
Via: The Goat
Dang an 11 year old harder core than me.
Matt Moniz is planning to grab 14 14ers in 14 days in an effort to raise money for his friend Ian Hess who has pulmonary arterial hypertension. This kid is also the youngest to climb Aconcagua. I was impressed when I ran into a 14 year old on Shasta.
Coming to a Cathlic (or Japanese) school girl near you.
I'm all about things with toes, and I'm all against being able to see socks. I don't know what it is but if I can seem more than a couple millimeters of sock on someone it's to much. Don't even bring up socks with sandals. If I can go a whole winter walking to class through snow in my Chacos you can keep the socks off.
Injinji brings us the EX-Celerator Performance Compression Toesock. A name as long as the sock it represents.
Via: Get Outdoors
Why do I do this to myself?
I asked that question to a gentleman a few hundred feet above Helen Lake on mount Shasta. He did not speak English so she just pointed down the hill and mumbled something in German. I was brutally sick at Helen lake until four in the morning keeping everyone awake. Got a late start because of that and felt pretty decent the rest of the way up. Beautiful day, lots of sun, snow conditions were pretty solid until the afternoon and no wind at the summit. My most painful sunburn is one on my thigh from the car ride home...
I'll try to get some pics and a trip report up later. If you want to do some snow work on a 14k peak without being too technical Shasta's a great one to do it on. We took a guy who had never been past 10k before and he did fine.