How do you tie that knot?

Tonight I went climbing with Matt. It has been a very long time since we roped up together. I would dare say it has been a month. We have been bouldering a few times, but it isn't the same. The weather has been beautiful, it's been rolling in the 70's all week. We decided today would be a good day to go hit up Bongeater. Bongeater is at the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. It is a 10d dihedral. When I say we climbed it, I mean we flailed up it. Okay, so it wasn't quite flailing, but we definitely got worked. Since neither of us is even remotely close to being a 10d trad leader we threw up a TR on it. It starts out as a flaring crack that you pretty much jam in a foot and scramble your way up about 15 feet to a couple of blocks wedged in the crack where you can almost get a decent jam. Then you have to go over these block for about another 15 feet or so before the crack narrows into beautiful hand jams. After about 20 feet of hand width, the crack widens to ridiculous off-width which you just lieback. It is a cool climb and I definitely clawed, jammed, grunted, sweated, and even bled a little to get up. It was painful but as soon as you get back to the ground you think "hey, it wasn't that bad, perhaps I'll give it another go."

It felt good to rope up. It had definitely been too long. Even in that short time I became a little rusty and the rock felt a little foreign. What is it going to be like after a winter of no climbing? I don't know. It was a good time and it felt good to be back up at the rocks.

Winter is coming soon. I can't wait. Pretty soon the snow will begin to fall and daydreams will turn long trail runs to dawn tours and endless powder days. This winter will be fairly crazy. Jess is due at the start of December (beginning of ski season). I know I won't be able to ski as much as I used to, but I don't really care. It is going to be extremely exciting to have a baby!

I am not into resort skiing right now. Most of my ski days will be dawn patrols before work. I figure this should work out well since we will probably be up with the baby. Once the baby goes to sleep, instead of going back to bed, I'll just boot up and hit the skin track. I do look forward to the days I will get to ride with Jess. She is by far my favorite person to ski with. Since we don't have backcountry gear for her we will be heading to the resorts (probably mostly Beaver Mountain). On the days we can't get a sitter for the baby we will go snowshoeing with the baby. It is going to be a good winter.

Running Again

I finally got my shoes today. They are the Montrail Hurricane Ridge XCR. The fit pretty well except in the left shoe there is one seam that sticks out a little that rubs a little funny, but I think it will be easily fixed. I went out for a short run, about 35 minutes, up Millcreek Canyon. It was a beautiful evening. It has been raining off and on for the past week and everything had the deeper color that only comes from rain. I love running when it is raining and right after it rains. The best part is running in the mud and puddles. I was a little nervous about the run because it was going to tell me if I was really injured or not. Everything was a little tight so I took it easy. There wasn't any pain anywhere during the run and so far everything feels good post-run. I just need to remember to ease back into running since it has been two weeks since the marathon and my legs had sore areas from the race. I didn't think I would miss running but I did. It felt really good to get out again.

Bike Commuting

I finally finished my second bike. It is a single speed commuter that I now ride to my carpool. As I mentioned in a previous post, there is no feasible way to fully bike commute to work. I am especially stoked about this bike because 1-I put it together myself (with some good pointers and help from my friend Matt) and 2-It cost less than $40. A friend gave me the frame (he found it in the dumpster along with another frame that he kept for himself). All of the parts came from the SLC Bike Collective. Check out their website. They are a rad non-profit that sells bike parts, has bike education classes, and fixes up bikes to give to under-privileged kids. I am especially stoked (and also promote) bike commuting for the following reasons:

1. It saves money. I had driven our second car to meet up with the carpool 3-4 days a week. We ended up filling the car with gas about every two weeks. Current cost to top off the tank, about $35. In two weeks of bike commuting the bike will be paid for.
2. Exercise. I now get an extra 35-40 minutes of exercise a day. You can't complain about this.
3. It is good for the environment. Less driving equals less emissions.
4. It feels good to be socially responsible.

Check out the bike:
I still have yet to run since the marathon. I actually wish I could run, I don't like not running. My left knee is still a little sore so I guess it is good that I haven't run yet. The main reason why I haven't run is my shoes are so ridiculously worn out. I have a new pair coming from Montrail and the day I get them I will definitely be out on the trail breaking them (and myself) in.

Run, Run, Run, Run, and Run Some More!

On Saturday I ran my first marathon. It was the Mid Mountain Marathon in Park City. It starts at Deer Valley Ski Resort and traverses at 8000 feet to Park City Mountain Resort and then on to the Canyons where you finish at the base of the resort. It was a relatively grueling run. I had run the length of the course over a couple of training runs in the weeks prior to the race, so I knew what to expect. I finished with a time of 5:07. My time goal was 4:30, but that was a fairly lofty goal for a first marathon that happened to be a trail marathon that isn't on a fast course. There were some interesting challenges to overcome during the race. I started off at a relatively good pace, but after five miles I decided to pick up the pace a little (rookie mistake). That decision did lead to some extreme tiredness later in the race, but the biggest challenge was knee problems that began at mile 10. For the most part it didn't hurt too bad, except on the downhills. This proved to be especially challenging at the end of race where the last six miles are downhill! The last six miles were extremely slow. Overall, I feel really good about the race and am very pleased with my performance and my time. It was certainly a good learning experience and I will hopefully not make the same mistakes in future races. Below is a picture near the start.

I made a bike

Okay that isn't true, I made two bikes. Well I didn't actually "make" the bikes, I just pieced together two bikes from some frames that I had. One is a single speed cruiser for riding around the neighborhood, to the store, etc. The other bike is a single speed commuter. I won't actually commute to work, but I'll ride it to where our carpool meets. I wouldn't ever actually bike to work. A guy from work decided to ride his bike from SLC to Park City. He left at 4:30 AM and got to work at 7:15 AM. Not really a feasible task for everyday. Anyway...The commuter isn't quite done yet. I still need to put on the brake and tape the handlebars, but other than that it is good to go. For now here's a picture of the cruiser. I'll post a pic of the commuter when it is finished.

The Joys of Being Sick

So I think I have had my first run in with a small bout of food poisoning. It is definitely no bueno. Although working from home is quite nice. On the brighter side of things...

The Mid Mountain Marathon is in a week and a half. I am excited for it. On Saturday I ran the second (read more difficult) half of the course. It actually wasn't too bad, except the last 6 miles or so is downhill. It killed my knees. I went for a short run on Monday and the ligaments were very sore. I am going out again tomorrow and try to ease back into things. The hard part is I have to ease fast because I really only have a week of running before the race since I'll be taking Thursday and Friday as rest days. Over the past few runs I have come to the realization that I am a slow runner. To me it seems like the time it takes me to cover certain distances is way off. I know trail running is slower than road running, but is it by that much? I am very eager to see my time at the end of the race and compare to what my estimated road marathon time would be. I ran a half road marathon in 2 hours. Am I as slow on trails as I think I am? Or am I faster? I can't believe the time discrepancies that I have experienced on trails that are of equal grade and distance. I don't know what it is.

Ah the ramblings of someone who is trying to figure something out...

Tbe Chaco is Alive!

After about 20 minutes of work and waiting overnight, the Chaco has survived and is alive and well. It was a hack job, but it is fixed and it is working for now. I am very excited because it should at least last for the rest of the year.

It was a sad day at the Miller household today

After four years of loyal, dedicated service, my Chacos finally gave up the ghost! As I was walking into work I noticed one of the straps near my ankle was riding a little high (For those of you who don't know, Chacos feature one, continuous strap thread throughout the sandal making them extremely adjustable). I didn't think much of it because I had just used them alot the previous weekend and thought perhaps I tweaked the strap. When I got to my desk, I reached down, gave the strap a slight pull, and pulled the strap right out of the sandal! It looks as though sand and dirt had gotten in the sandal (which is common) but over time it either cut the strap in half or wore the glue off (I'm not exactly sure how the straps are secured. They may be fixable (definitely a hack job) but who knows. I took a few minutes to reminisce about our time together. This particular pair of Chaco's was worn everyday spring, summer, fall, (and some winter days) for four years. They had been on many hikes, a few climbs, many roadtrips, worn exclusively on one backpacking trip (I left my boots next to the front door), and had seen at least a few hundred miles. They have been by far the best piece of footwear I have owned. The footbed is contoured to my feet. The cost to restrap and resole them would be more than buying a new pair. I don't necessarily look forward to breaking in a new pair, but I do look forward to the many adventures that will be experienced in them.

Wyoming...

Jessi's brother James was up from Texas this past week. We drove him up to Wyoming on Friday to go and visit family. It was a good trip, filled with many fun activities. On Saturday Jess was able to go and sew part of the bumper pad for our crib. While she was doing that I went climbing with James and his friend Dale. We hit up the Wild Iris and got in a few hours worth of climbing in before a thunderstorm happened upon us. Running through a meadow and along an exposed ridge to try to stay ahead of the the thunder and lightning isn't exactly what I would call a good time (especially with about 25 pounds of gear and a rope on your back), but it was exciting. We got pounded with some rain and a little hail. After the rain stopped and everything dried out we went bouldering a little bit around the cabins on the Loop Road. We hit up some problems we had put up in previous years.

Sunday was a bit of a relaxing day. We spent a couple hours revisiting another bouldering where we had put up problems a few years ago. While we were there, we not-so-gently removed a dead tree blocking a potential problem (it consisted of us pushing it over, it getting stuck on a nearby tree, us throwing sticks and rocks to try to break the the branch it was stuck on, jumping on the tree, and then finally using huge branches to lever the stump up so we could roll it off the branch). That was definitely a good time! Jess came with us to enjoy the sunshine and she definitely got a kick out of us and the dead tree. Pictures from climbing will be coming soon.

Yesterdays run proved to be the most punishing yet. We were in Logan for my nephew's baptism and a familiy bbq. I knew I had to do a longer run and thought it would be a good opportunity to do run I have eyed ever since we lived in Logan. It starts at the mouth of Logan Canyon, follows along the Logan River on the Riverside Nature Trail until it meets up with the Crimson Trail loop, and finishes down the Nature Trail to the mouth of the canyon. The Crimson Trail is a steep loop that climbs up canyon, traverses back down canyon across the top of a band of 200 foot cliffs for about half a mile, and then descends down canyon back to the Nature Trail.

The run was only 10 miles in total. I have run 10 miles before. The punishment came with the 2400 feet of elevation gain (and subsequent loss which isn't as bad) over the course of the run. The hardest part was about 85% of the elevation gain occurring in about a mile and half (mile 3.5-5). What was running quickly turned into power-hiking and then deteriorated into just trying to make it to the top. It was rough.

I have never wanted to stopped moving as much as I did by the end of the run. I was completely haggered at the end. I also haven't ever been as dehydrated as I was. Over the course of the run I drank three litres (100 oz) of water and a 32 oz Gatorade at the end and it was over an hour before I had to go to the bathroom. I think I actually stopped sweating during the second half of the run.

Although it was the most punishing run I have ever been, there was a big feeling of accomplishment at the end. This was a run I have been wanting to do for about three or four years now, but when we lived in Logan there was no way I could have run that far. I did enjoy the run, didn't enjoy the dehydration so much ( still am trying to rehydrate), and would consider doing it again.

Nothing to write about.

Is it better to not write when you have nothing to write about or should you write a post about how you have nothing to write about? I think it may depend. If you never have anything to write about then your readers (if you have any left) will quickly get bored of you and stop reading. However, I think everyone at some time will write a post on how they have nothing to write about. It is good because it expresses to your readers that you are still committed to writing your blog, but you may be suffering from a lack of ideas.

Recent Outings

Here are some pictures from recent outings:

This is a boulder problem called "Mud" in Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was kind of crazy because you had to pull off the ground with no feet, swing your leg into a heel-hook match, and then make a big move to a sloper. Good times.

This is on the Desolation Lake trail in Big Cottonwood Canyon. This turned out to be a fairly interesting run. After a fairly punishing uphill section the trail leveled off and cut through a meadow. I was feeling stoked to be done pushing uphill so I kicked up the speed a little. As you enter the meadow there is a marshy area to the right where a stream pools and makes a shallow pond. About halfway past the marshy area I heard some wicked loud crashing in the thickets to my right. About 60 feet in front of me a huge cow moose comes flying onto the trail. To the right there is another moose charging through the thicket the other way. I skidded to a stop as the moose crossed the trail into the brush on the other side. The first thought that crossed my mind was "I hope she doesn't have a calf and I hope she doesn't see me". There really wasn't anywhere I could seek refuge...no big boulders to hide behind and no trees to climb. Luckily as I started to back off the moose kept running. I walked back to the shelter of some smaller pines and took stock of the situation. I really wanted to get to Desolation Lake; I had heard the vistas were beautiful. I had just completed the most taxing part of the run and only had about1 more mile and about 500 more vert to go. As I decided to proceed I stepped gingerly back onto the trail scanning both to the left and to the right to try and spot the moose. After about a hundred feet I figured both moose kept on going and were long gone. Right as I started to run again I heard some branches snap to my left. I looked over in time to see the moose eyeball me. I immediately retreated once again to the small pines not wanting to see first hand how fast a moose could really run. I took stock of the situation once again, wussed out, and decided to head home. I knew I could probably get the past the moose on the way to the lake because I knew where they were, but I didn't want to chance surprising them on my way back through. As I ran down the trail I stopped to snap this shot of the trail and wildflowers.

Finally someone is actually doing something about it!

I came across this article a couple of months ago and it made me excited. Currently one of my biggest pet peeves, dislikes, whatever you want to call it is cigarette butts. Why can smokers just throw their butts out of their car windows or drop them on the ground when they are walking. IT IS LITTERING!! How can they get away with this? I find it to be absolutely ridiculous at how unconcerned many smokers are. Do they not realize how detrimental it is? You might be saying "Eric, cigarette butts are small, it doesn't really matter." It does matter. As the article clearly states, 32 BILLION butts were discarded improperly in 2005 in Australia ALONE! 32 billion of anything adds up and that is in one nation alone over the course of one year.

A couple things that irk me the most are
1-Butts on the ground outside of buildings. Almost all buildings have ashtrays by the doors or garbage cans. You are only a couple feet away, why can't you put it in the ashtray or snub it out and throw it away?
2-Finding butts in the wilderness. I do quite a bit of trail running and climbing and on every outing I find a mininum of 2 butts on the trail. I am currently keeping a tally of how many butts I find over the course of the summer.
3-Butts thrown out of cars. Most cars (especially older models) have ashtrays. Snub your cigarette when you are done and put it in the ashtray. Why is this so hard? Are you afraid it is going to make your car smell? Well it already smells. Then when you are at the gas station filling up your vehicle, grab the ashtray and dump it in the trash. You have two minutes to spare, chances are you are just looking around while waiting for the pump to stop.

So to this I propose a couple of solutions. First I provide solutions for smokers. They need to quit being lazy and throw their butts in the trash. If there isn't a can or ashtray you most likely have a pack you pulled the full cigarette from, snub the butt and put it back in there. If you aren't into that then get a pocket ashtray. If any of this seems too hard, THEN QUIT SMOKING! You know what, quit smoking anyway.

To the tobacco companies: Make the cigarette butts out of easily biodegradable materials so in case someone does litter, it has a better chance of not ruining the environment. Better yet, stop putting butts on cigarettes. What? Do they protect smokers from a harmful substance contained in the cigarette?

I like what Australia did and I would be curious how well a program like that would perform in the US. It could probably be a huge source of revenue for local governments. Someone should look in it.

This was a beautiful sunset I was able to enjoy coming out of Ferguson Canyon after an evening of climbing. There are a couple of distinct advantages to climbing in the evening. One it isn't so blasted hot and two you get to enjoy the sun going down. Nothing quite like being 400 feet off the deck and basking in alpineglow as you belay your partner up the next pitch. It is rad to be able to look around the canyon and see everything in a slightly golden hue. What is equally amazing is the deep colors that you get to enjoy after the alpenglow has subsided.


This picture was taken from the start of the second pitch of Beckey's Wall in Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Is now really the time to buy and SUV?

The other day I read an interesting article from MSN Money about how now may be the best time to buy an SUV. For your enjoyment here it is.

Although the author brings up the point about using the savings you can instantly realize in buying certain SUVs for gas money for a year (it approximately equals out) what he failed to write about is the additional cost you will spend gasing your SUV for the years to come. Gas prices are on a steady rise, I don't think they will ever drop again. What other costs are associated with SUVs? It seems the bigger you go (even for small SUVs) the more they cost. Insurance is more, tires are more, parts are more, etc. Is it ever a good time to buy an SUV?

Now don't get me wrong. I know that SUVs have their place and they are better than other vehicles for some people, but you have to draw the line somewhere. How many people actually NEED an Excursion or Hummer (I know this is an all too often used example). I have heard the arguments that they have the money so they can buy such an expensive vehicle and the price of gas doesn't affect them. What does this show about them as people, as citizens of this nation? It comes across to me that they couldn't care less about the environment (yet another string that is pulled on all too often) or what is happening in the places we get oil. They in part are large contributers to some of the biggest problems that we are currently facing as nation.

I know some people would say I am hypocritical because I too drive a car with a gas combustion engine and I too buy gas. I believe there is a difference. Maybe I am splitting hairs here but at least I drive a car that consistently gets at least 37 mpg and I carpool everyday to work with 4 individuals. I feel as though I am actively taking steps to better our oil situation and better our environment. Even if you piled a Hummer to full occupancy you still wouldn't get as good of gas mileage as if I drove by myself.

So is this really the best time to buy an SUV. I think this is a sad attempt by US auto makers to pay off reporters to write articles to help drive up sales for our floundering US auto makers?

I will now step off my soap box.

Time to play quick catch up...

Jess and I moved from downtown SLC to Holladay at the beginning of May. We live in a cute little duplex close to the Cottonwood Canyons, Millcreek Canyon, and Parleys. It is nice because moving cut my commuting time in half and left Jess's about the same. We are beginning to prepare the apartment for our first baby whom we are expecting to arrive sometime near the end of November/start of December. We are very excited (and a just a wee bit nervous) about being first time parents. I know it will be a big change but we fully plan on continuing to play and do the things we love.

We have been taking advantage of having weekends off by going on many trips. So far we have been to Moab, City of Rocks, Lake Tahoe, and Lander about two or three times. We know we will be going back to Lander at least once more this summer. I hope to make it up to Lava Hot Springs to do some "whitewater" tubing and sit in some hot springs. Other than that we don't have any other trips planned yet, but we will be getting out some more.

This past weekend I ran my first half-marathon, the Lander Valley Half Marathon. It was a brutal course with the first mile being flat, the next eleven miles were hilly, and the last mile was flat. I pushed a little too hard in the middle section of hills, zapping my energy and leg endurance. As a result i missed my goal by little over a minute. I finished with a time of 2:01:07. I was hoping to run it in under two hours, but I am pleased with my first go at running a "long distance" race. I plan on running Park Citys "Mid Mountain Marathon" in September and I may run the "Jupiter Peak Steeplechase" in August.

With Jess being pregnant I had to find a new climbing partner. I have been climbing about once a week with co-worker/friend Matt. I usually get out once a week. I have been focusing almost all of my climbing time with trad routes. I have only climb sport three times this year and bouldered only a handful of times, the rest has been trad. Below is a small collection of photos from climbing outings.

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It has been a long time since I posted. A lot has happened since my last post. The biggest contributor to not posting was we moved and have been without internet access for almost two months (now we finally have it and I can get caught up). I will post again soon with updates for what has been going on along with pictures from recent activities and outings.

I am clearly a "laggard" on the Beard Technology Adoption Curve

Everett Rogers created what is now known as the "Rogers Adoption/Innovation Curve" in his book titled Diffusion of Innovation. By this model you can classify the willingness of individuals to adopt new technology. A few months ago, while skiing with a friend on a particularly cold, powder day, he commented on how the "Beard Technology" was keeping his face warm. This comment caused me to ponder "Beard Technology" and inevitably I wound up persuing the thought of where I would fit on the adoption curve for this technology and what/who would make up the different categories. The chart below illustrates what I believe the beard technology curve would look like and where I would fit on it.

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I know I have a long wait until I can fully take advantage of this technology, which clearly places me into the "laggard" category, so when the day comes that I can finally grow a fully beard I will will be growing one just like Grizzly Adams. Not because I have the desire to look like him but because I will finally be able to take advantage of the Beard Technology.

This past weekend we went to southern Utah to hike, climb, and visit some family. We spent most of our time hiking in Arches National Park. These are a few photos bouldering in Moab. I am on the Sand Traverse (v2) on the Sand Traverse boulder at the Big Bend boulders.

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I was going through some pictures and found these pictures. For Christmas, as a joke, Jessi bought me a Darth Tater. On Christmas Day evening I was a little bored and created "Darth Tater vs. the Nutcrackers: The Epic Battle"

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Me standing on Tom's Hill in the Wasatch Backcountry