tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76060562027989550332024-03-17T20:04:03.485-07:00What Would Jason Do?Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.comBlogger95125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-15587675786186093782019-01-17T12:34:00.001-08:002021-01-18T06:45:10.347-08:00My Plantar Fasciitis Story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As a serious runner of 15 years, I'd heard others talk about fights with <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/plantar-fasciitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20354846" target="_blank">plantar fasciitis </a>(PF) but had been lucky to never deal with it myself. I didn't fully understand what it was or how it manifested itself when it came about.<br />
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Then, one fateful evening in October 2017, I went to play my weekly match of tennis with my dad but forgot my tennis shoes. I had worn some Vans casual shoes to work that day and figured one evening of relatively low-key tennis in those shoes should be just fine. We only played a couple sets of friendly tennis and all went well. The next day, however, I felt like I had a bruised right heel. This made sense--I ran around on a hard surface in some flat, no-cushion shoes for a couple hours. It seemed a no-brainer I had bruised my heel. No biggie, I'll just take a week off from running to let the bruise heal up and get back to normal.<br />
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Fast forward 15 months and I'm here laying on the couch recovering after undergoing a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71DFCb8eWnk" target="_blank">plantar fasciotomy surgery</a> on January 15, 2019 hoping that within the next few months, I'll be able to get back to my pre-PF activity level. In the past 15 months I struggled with every conservative PF treatment I heard about trying to get this PF resolved without any success. Surgery was the final, last ditch option; one I had tried to avoid.<br />
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This blog post is my detail of the the last 15 months with a timeline of how I came to understand I had PF and how I tried to treat it conservatively. If you're reading this because you're currently dealing with PF or considering surgery, I hope you find something helpful here.<br />
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October 2017 - December 2017: The Onset</h3>
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As I mentioned in the introduction, I'm 100 percent sure when my PF began--after a night of playing tennis in poorly supportive and poorly cushioned work shoes. In hindsight, of course, this was stupid. But I had done similar things many times without issue and have never had PF before so it didn't even cross my mind. The day after playing that tennis match, my heel felt bruised. It wasn't bad, just there. Having never dealt with PF, or even really being aware of what it is, I was oblivious to the fact that I may have PF and thought it was just a bruised heel. For the next two months, I'd take a week or so off from running and try again hoping my heel wasn't bruised anymore. We went to Greece in November 2017 and I really wanted to run there to explore the countryside so I did run. It was running on loose limestone rocks so it wasn't very comfortable. A few weeks after returning from Greece I was talking to my friend Bill about my ongoing bruised heel issue. He had had PF a couple times in the past and suggested I may be dealing with PF. This was late December 2017 by this point. After doing some reading about PF I was quite sure that, yes, I had PF:</div>
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- Pain in the bottom of the heel: Check. </div>
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- Pain is worst in the morning, first thing out of bed: Check</div>
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- Pain subsides throughout the day and often only hurts after exercise, not during: Check.<br />
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January 2018 - March 2018: Initial Treatments</h3>
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I began reading as much as I could about PF and started the recommended stretches, including stretching my foot in bed in the morning before getting out of bed. I also went to a familiar face in Los Alamos, podiatrist Jeffrey Sauer. I had a long history with Dr. Sauer starting in 2004 when he surgically shortened the second toe on my right foot. In January 2016, Dr. Sauer <a href="http://jasonhalladay.blogspot.com/2016/01/mortons-neuroma-surgery.html" target="_blank">surgically removed a neuroma from my right foot</a>. He quickly came to the same conclusion as me about my heel pain--plantar fasciitis. He suggested continued stretching of my calves and foot and administered a steroid injection. I didn't feel any relief as a result of the steroid injection and, having had previously injections for my neuroma without any relief from them, I opted to not try any more injections. </div>
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I tend to seek out second and even third opinions. Therefore, I made a visit to Dr. Joel Wilner, a podiatrist in Santa Fe, about my PF. He suggested <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/plantar-fasciitis-stretches" target="_blank">more stretches</a> and custom orthotic footbeds for my shoes. There in the office he had me step into foam molds which he would send off for the custom footbeds to be made. This all seemed reasonable and appropriate. Two weeks later I had the $250 custom footbeds and began using them in my work shoes and running shoes every day. </div>
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By this time, I was in a daily routine of waking up, stretching my foot immediately out of bed and then stretching my foot on the stairs at home. I was also using a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lacrosse-Massage-Myofascial-Mobility-Physical/dp/B00NF1FJA2/ref=sr_1_10_a_it" target="_blank">lacrosse massage ball</a> directly on my plantar fascia to massage and work the fascia. I would also use a roller massage bar to massage my calf. This was my daily routine. I had also more or less stopped running and moved to mountain biking a lot more. We had a pathetic winter in terms of snowfall which allowed for plenty of mountain biking all winter, thankfully. I was glad to have something to do that didn't bother my PF yet kept me active and fit. That said, I did manage to run the <a href="https://my3.raceresult.com/87103/results?lang=en#2_B9BBE8" target="_blank">Run Through Time half marathon</a> in Salida, CO in March which, of course, didn't help the PF. My PF wasn't getting worse but it wasn't getting better, either. I <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BgNEBIJBCif/" target="_blank">posted on Instagram about my half marathon run</a> and ongoing PF issues and was happy to receive a number of other suggestions including a suggestion for acupuncture.<br />
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April 2018 - June 2018: Trying More and More</h3>
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Adding to my daily stretching routine, I went for eight acupuncture treatments, once a week for eight weeks, with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ahlefelder-Henry-Acupuncture-Center-Los-Alamos/1692822180936618" target="_blank">Dr. Henry Ahlefelder at Acupuncture Los Alamos</a>. The morning after the first treatment, I didn't feel my PF at all anymore. I thought I had found the panacea and was super excited and relieved. Unfortunately, a few days later it was feeling the same as it had before. I continued the treatments but only found temporary relief. Still, I feel this is a worthy treatment option worth exploring for those in the initial stages of PF. I also talked to a friend, a physical therapist, that had recently become certified in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUjNKHaNdgw" target="_blank">dry needling with electronic stimulation</a> (estim.) She was wonderful and looking for a person to practice on while gaining more experience. I was a happy guinea pig and saw her for about eight weeks of estim with the needling being done in my calf and foot to help release tension. Again, I felt a temporary relief from these treatments but as it would turn out, it didn't help in the long run.<br />
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July 2018 - October 2018: </h3>
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I had skipped over the idea of using a night splint boot despite it being suggested in many places online and by others I had talked to. I finally got <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PX5HGPE" target="_blank">a night splint boot</a> and began wearing it every night. I really wish I had started this long ago as it seemed to help the most. If I have one piece of advice for new sufferers of PF, <span style="font-size: large;"><b>get the night splint ASAP and use it habitually</b></span>. This felt like it offered the best treatment and I feel like if I had started with this immediately, along with the daily stretching, the PF would have subsided. By this time, though, my PF was so chronic it would feel better after a night in the splint but then just return pretty quickly. </div>
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By now, I was a year into this PF ordeal and getting depressed and desperate. In July, I met up with a great group of ultrarunners near Salida, CO to do a training run for a 100 mile race I was registered for, the <a href="https://www.highlonesome100.com/" target="_blank">High Lonesome 100</a> in August 2018. During this training run, I ran a number of miles with the race director, Caleb, and he told me about his experience with PF and the <a href="https://www.verywellhealth.com/shock-wave-therapy-for-plantar-fasciitis-2549421" target="_blank">extracorporeal shockwave treatments</a> (ESWT) he had had success with. He said they were highly effective for him but had a catch--most insurance companies did not cover the cost of the treatment. I searched around discovered the podiatrist I had seen earlier in the year, Dr. Wilner, also did the shockwave treatment. I saw him again and signed up for four sessions of ESWT at a whopping $750 total cost. Long story short, the ESWT was not effective for me despite reportedly being effective for roughly 80 percent of patients. I was gutted and distraught. As you may have guessed, I did not end up running the High Lonesome 100 in August. We did travel to Scotland in mid-September where I ran the <a href="http://www.skylinescotland.com/ben-nevis-ultra/" target="_blank">Ben Nevis 50k trail run race</a>, however. I had signed up for this in January 2018 naively expecting to be over the plantar fasciitis. It was a slow, arduous race for me but an enjoyable experience nonetheless. </div>
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I began questioning if I really had PF and thinking perhaps I had a fractured calcaneus. With that in mind, I made an appointment with my primary care physician to see if I could get an x-ray. He was very understanding and ordered the x-ray. Whilst sitting in the x-ray waiting room at the Los Alamos Medical Center, I saw an advert on a display there for a new podiatrist in the medical center, <a href="https://npidb.org/doctors/podiatric_medicine/surgery-foot-ankle_213es0103x/1174934343.aspx" target="_blank">Dr. Marta Riniker</a>. Fortuitous as the only podiatrist in town, Dr. Sauer, had retired in March 2018 shortly after I had seen him initially. Riniker suggested I get an MRI done so she could see just how significant the PF was. The MRI report showed "acute on chronic PF." Dr. Riniker didn't push surgery but after hearing all that I had tried in the past year suggested surgery is likely the next best option. I concurred.<br />
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October 2018 - January 2019:</h3>
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Having scheduled the endoscopic plantar fasciotomy surgery for January 8, 2019, I resolved to stopping running, stretching even more and taking it real easy in hopes I wouldn't actually have to follow through with the surgery. During this time, I did a good bit of internet research to see if I could find cases of active runners and climbers having this surgery done and what their outcome was. I didn't find much but <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/ultrarunning/comments/a3pzb9/running_after_plantar_fasciotomy_surgery/ebbbo6q/?context=3" target="_blank">a couple posts on reddit</a>, including a private message exchange with another Reddit user that had been through this, was helpful. </div>
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But, alas, January rolled around and I was no better or no worse so surgery it was. It was scheduled for January 8th but that morning the elevator that gets patients up and, more importantly, down after surgery broke. Due to safety concerns, all surgeries for that day were canceled. I was rescheduled for January 15, 2019. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kEM_Oss6GH6b0B2FYqh7ByzVcScvlNlAwrv4qVhMfWDfVx5__hb7CgoPnUf7GsT_thRtdQIP_Hv6bFlj5ru-l-RwEE40oIVv4mbIRyCr4nX0HXtDyBEcXepjWbffM7aoISi8DvLtgAY/s1600/Resized_20190115_091720_4465.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="777" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8kEM_Oss6GH6b0B2FYqh7ByzVcScvlNlAwrv4qVhMfWDfVx5__hb7CgoPnUf7GsT_thRtdQIP_Hv6bFlj5ru-l-RwEE40oIVv4mbIRyCr4nX0HXtDyBEcXepjWbffM7aoISi8DvLtgAY/s400/Resized_20190115_091720_4465.jpg" width="193" /></a></div>
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January 17, 2019: Two Days Post-Op</h3>
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The surgery on January 15th went well, as I'm told. I was home in the early afternoon after the short, 20 minute surgery (prep time and recovery time accounted for the rest of the morning.) I've had no pain as a result of the surgery. None at all. I took two percocet that first evening thinking that once the nerve block in my foot wore off, it would hurt but it never did. So my last percocet was at 10pm the night of the surgery. Since then, I've been keeping it elevated and spending a lot of time on the couch. Nothing very exciting. Dr. Riniker called this morning to see how I was doing. She told me my fascia was the thickest she'd ever worked on and it took three passes to get it cut enough. Even then, she said it wasn't as much as she wanted but that it should help. I've been crutching around the house and have a walking boot (saved from my last foot surgery!) Riniker said I could put weight on it if necessary but ideally I should stay off the foot for two weeks while the stitches heal. </div>
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She had hoped to do a single incision on the inside of my heel using a single tool that was both a camera and a saw that uses a single incision but apparently my insurance, BCBSNM, didn't approve that. Instead, she made two incisions--one on the inside of the heel and one on the outside of the heel-- to put the camera in one and the saw tool in the other. </div>
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I've been sleeping just fine. The only discomfort I have is if I put pressure on the arch of my foot by standing on it. I haven't yet put full weight on my foot as I'm trying to be a "good patient" and not weight the foot at all. I'll continue to update this blog post as my recovery progresses....<br />
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January 21, 2019: Six Days Post-Op</h3>
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For the past two days I've been hobbling around sans crutch while wearing my <a href="http://www.deroyal.com/medicalproducts/orthopedics/product.aspx?id=pc-bracing-trackexwalker" target="_blank">DeRoyal walking boot</a>. If I stay on the ball of my foot, it's not uncomfortable. If I put direct pressure down on my heel/arch, it feels very "bruised" and uncomfortable. I did get out of the house for the first time this week with <a href="https://www.cardinalhealth.com/en/consumer-products/home-healthcare-products/walkers-rollators-and-accessories/steerable-knee-walker.html" target="_blank">a knee scooter</a> trip to the local grocery store. A friend of mine borrowed the knee scooter from a friend at work and it's great for a situation like this. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNOUEztJTwn0jKFMnVGxCv4WiQbzKNluOCwZm_Xb5j-WT1sTInHQrt0MuCZq0nKwH0It-YMxhdkEbiRPN1GxafZGZ6_yaw4OlTMprBtALiGUfHU_LgUOKeShQ9E7PmaNgE0gaMAu3Y8M/s1600/KneeScooterFlames_Crop.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="890" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSNOUEztJTwn0jKFMnVGxCv4WiQbzKNluOCwZm_Xb5j-WT1sTInHQrt0MuCZq0nKwH0It-YMxhdkEbiRPN1GxafZGZ6_yaw4OlTMprBtALiGUfHU_LgUOKeShQ9E7PmaNgE0gaMAu3Y8M/s400/KneeScooterFlames_Crop.jpg" width="221" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wild Friday night scootin' around the grocery store. Going so fast I caused flames!</td></tr>
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Sleeping has still be quite good. I have woken up a couple times with discomfort on the outside edge of my foot around the middle of the arch. I think this is from my foot rotating out while I sleep thus causing pressure on the part of my foot where the bandage is bunched up. If I flop over to my left side, the discomfort dissipates. </div>
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I peeled back the bandages yesterday to take a look at the stitches on the medial side of my foot and it looks great. I was pleasantly surprised. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoiBtWB0c9FOQBZeKlnDUUB8jW6dATkQ49p_lZyJVG6Bv5Q7lK4ldNpOm7IU63xuSQN6Ahr95WIyG70XoY2WdsDiwwDC-JcLEIQgAHm46yc0qKvJuf4e-tC2yOnEldXQ13JUxILYNXt0/s1600/PF_incision_2019.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEoiBtWB0c9FOQBZeKlnDUUB8jW6dATkQ49p_lZyJVG6Bv5Q7lK4ldNpOm7IU63xuSQN6Ahr95WIyG70XoY2WdsDiwwDC-JcLEIQgAHm46yc0qKvJuf4e-tC2yOnEldXQ13JUxILYNXt0/s320/PF_incision_2019.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a peek at the medial stitches. There's another incision on the lateral side but I haven't peeked at that yet.</td></tr>
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Also, I can drive now! I'm used to driving in my soft snowboard boots so driving in the walking boot is a piece of cake. The training paid off!<br />
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January 22, 2019: One week post-op update</h3>
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I had my one week post-op appointment today with Dr. Riniker. The incisions appear to be healing very well. It was my first time seeing both incisions as I had worked to be a good patient and not remove the dressing. The area around the incisions is bruised, as expected, but not unreasonably so. In another week I'll return to have the sutures removed. Functionally, I'm still hobbling around well in the walking boot and if I stay on the front of my foot, it's not uncomfortable. If I step on the heel, it's pretty tender but feeling a little bit better each day. Some photos:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTL-LJlAl-dDu2OC7ivUdRk9_FXpmotlHoa1GR9NeIrOTDhBDWgp74EOZvuck_lFMUvitcAW0X_P2rUcozDXrjb1g4cWxn-3d9G2BHaGK0HtV7O_8GFBuvrzr6PF-BBfFwo4q4649Pk7M/s1600/Lateral_heel_2019-01-22+14.33.05.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTL-LJlAl-dDu2OC7ivUdRk9_FXpmotlHoa1GR9NeIrOTDhBDWgp74EOZvuck_lFMUvitcAW0X_P2rUcozDXrjb1g4cWxn-3d9G2BHaGK0HtV7O_8GFBuvrzr6PF-BBfFwo4q4649Pk7M/s320/Lateral_heel_2019-01-22+14.33.05.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lateral incision, one week post-op</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5J0vIGKPuv0w_yoCCbvGy4p0r5XOuv5RIAcMlNLzhcdyWacU4bYKaGfUf7QN5NZuN8xfOvjv4OHX27AdB_6iE9htpnsuTRPDafYWWR8ij-mN24D5jCEdyX40kRHyvP3HhH3dASEdiWY/s1600/Medial_heel_2019-01-22.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK5J0vIGKPuv0w_yoCCbvGy4p0r5XOuv5RIAcMlNLzhcdyWacU4bYKaGfUf7QN5NZuN8xfOvjv4OHX27AdB_6iE9htpnsuTRPDafYWWR8ij-mN24D5jCEdyX40kRHyvP3HhH3dASEdiWY/s320/Medial_heel_2019-01-22.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medial incision, one week post-op</td></tr>
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January 24, 2019: Nine days post-op</h3>
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This morning I was able to put my pants on by putting all my weight on my affected foot instead of sitting down to get them on. Progress! It's still uncomfortable but not debilitatingly so. Walking around the walking boot is a lot more natural now. Sleeping has been completely normal.<br />
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January 25-27: Ten days to twelve days post-op</h3>
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Ten days post-op my foot was feeling good enough I knew I could at least top-rope some climbing routes in the climbing gym while wearing the boot. I called the climbing gym and verified it's cool to climb in a walking boot and they were fully on board with it. After a couple of easy top rope routes on the vertical wall I was confident climbing wasn't going to bug my foot (the walking boot is so stiff I was virtually climbing one-footed anyway) so I went to the steeper lead wall for some leads. Turns out it was easier, in a sense, on the steep wall because the routes are generally less foot-intensive (at least in the 5.10 range I was climbing in.) I did a lot of pull-ups and pixie kick moves to make up for not being able to fully use my right foot. I was gassed but it was exactly what I wanted and felt great to be climbing again after a few weeks off. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJ2nzfUhzecdqvaAx6e02o7L8K6teLSZKGHAeuFOiJC1Oupzr99No0ah6zZgMWp6zd9tZy0XOVOda_fpYJaJNov03_kgvJwLcVQDWZ6KnTMBe_bdf6hfTwvOpYiKvjXMKekX3MqPNkYE/s1600/20190125_134840-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="914" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUJ2nzfUhzecdqvaAx6e02o7L8K6teLSZKGHAeuFOiJC1Oupzr99No0ah6zZgMWp6zd9tZy0XOVOda_fpYJaJNov03_kgvJwLcVQDWZ6KnTMBe_bdf6hfTwvOpYiKvjXMKekX3MqPNkYE/s320/20190125_134840-1.jpg" width="182" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ten days post-op, leading a steep, juggy route--perfect for 1.5 foot climbing</td></tr>
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Around home on Saturday, I installed new blinds in every window in our house so I was on my foot a lot (in the boot) and it seemed not to be a problem. The incisions look to be healing great and each day I feel less discomfort (but still feeling discomfort) when I weight the foot, especially the middle/back of the arch area. Staying on the ball of my foot is quite comfortable but walking a full stride motion (heel on ground first, roll through length of foot and push off ball of foot to take next step) is definitely uncomfortable kinda like someone took a meat tenderizer to my arch and beat on it for an extended period of time.<br />
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Sunday, twelve days post-op we went climbing at the gym again and again had a great time. I'm finding it useful and good training to climb with mostly just one foot. It translates to more dynamic movement on the wall and certainly a lot more campus-like moves. It also means I climb slower and spend more time on a route shaking out and trying to recover--good training for my forearms. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe7T_C0VhTGhg6i7uldPO_psiIRE9YmOIBSCAkCCibfXYdMLIGeRjj0s86DvS3rUuIU1VmTP_uC32o0WJc8kv-qxP_8CKxtOh_73E-mAACZwniFBHJq0SxsddXsUL2TXFLtfCxO7E1nBY/s1600/2019-01-26+15.57.23.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1600" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe7T_C0VhTGhg6i7uldPO_psiIRE9YmOIBSCAkCCibfXYdMLIGeRjj0s86DvS3rUuIU1VmTP_uC32o0WJc8kv-qxP_8CKxtOh_73E-mAACZwniFBHJq0SxsddXsUL2TXFLtfCxO7E1nBY/s320/2019-01-26+15.57.23.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medial incision eleven days post-op</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The sutures were supposed to be removed Tuesday, 14 days post-op, but the appointment was rescheduled for Thursday, sixteen days post-op. So four more days!<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
January 31, 2019: Sixteen Days Post-op</h3>
<div>
I showered! I actually showered yesterday, fifteen days post-op and again today. I figured since the sutures were supposed to come out at 14 days post-op (and they looked great!), it was OK to shower before the official go-ahead on that. I had been taking baths with one leg out of the tub which, at 6'5", baths already suck bad for me and this was worse. So the shower felt great. I saw Dr. Rinker today and she was very happy with the healing and removed the sutures this morning. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU348CNkL0PgKEuxONmU-_k-D1G1hx9jR2_HbD3sAE9_MLOEJi2CBu5k5_mU16tLTXZKIX-NxSrRH8EUdgOSg6BlIKdMnXABgAl0rGn3tfsR_z7CLSbdr3NuzpTRqC6JVHd4aDHqZ5Yn4/s1600/2019-01-31+08.08.42.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU348CNkL0PgKEuxONmU-_k-D1G1hx9jR2_HbD3sAE9_MLOEJi2CBu5k5_mU16tLTXZKIX-NxSrRH8EUdgOSg6BlIKdMnXABgAl0rGn3tfsR_z7CLSbdr3NuzpTRqC6JVHd4aDHqZ5Yn4/s320/2019-01-31+08.08.42.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medial incision moments before removal, 16 days post-op</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRSfXhM86nyjSGrr3t6KzUJKNuOl8zqr9k8SPrAd8iW7Ut_Emzx6gcxOPFGvnBcuiwW5Q0q2F3evvkZLTTr1pacQPR38Kd6qanexjZQBT5vZortXHw7Cy9ePmg84wvbKe1WkwkD0DDOM/s1600/2019-01-31+08.09.55.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRSfXhM86nyjSGrr3t6KzUJKNuOl8zqr9k8SPrAd8iW7Ut_Emzx6gcxOPFGvnBcuiwW5Q0q2F3evvkZLTTr1pacQPR38Kd6qanexjZQBT5vZortXHw7Cy9ePmg84wvbKe1WkwkD0DDOM/s320/2019-01-31+08.09.55.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lateral incision moments before removal, 16 days post-op</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My foot continues to feel a bit better each day but still pretty tender on the inside of the arch. I'm waling in a regular shoe now but feel like I'm really favoring the outside of my foot on each step--not good for biomechanics--to avoid the worst of the tender discomfort on the inside of the arch. From here, I'm allowed to walk on it and "do stuff" but if it hurts too much, don't "do stuff". As yet I cannot tell if my original PF pain/issue has been corrected. Too early to tell as I'm really avoiding stepping on my heel much still.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
February 4, 2019: 20 Days Post-Op</h3>
<div>
I made a concerted effort to walk normally today, using my entire foot, not just cheating to the outside of the foot. It was a sore pain but bearable and I'm stoked to have full, normal use of my foot back. I walked up to the gym and did a 15 minute bike spin followed by a 5 minute row and some core workout. My first cardio in three weeks! It was no problem and I'll plan on doing more this week. Also, I should note, I've been sleeping with the night splint every night since the surgery. I'm still worried my PF won't actual get better and I figure better to be safe...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZg8-o3on4jH0oFzpo_DGSCbG96poluZ292LnAvf5vP3bAPmYgdIkHvg4ckbVe9PpJaeJY2nweXzpppxwy0ZfLwjeybaqKnEr1FbDQKeRa1762yHUatgZB9unRFyAs1StYaI4ETNhlF4/s1600/2019-02-01+17.02.59.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZg8-o3on4jH0oFzpo_DGSCbG96poluZ292LnAvf5vP3bAPmYgdIkHvg4ckbVe9PpJaeJY2nweXzpppxwy0ZfLwjeybaqKnEr1FbDQKeRa1762yHUatgZB9unRFyAs1StYaI4ETNhlF4/s320/2019-02-01+17.02.59.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medial incision 17 days post-op (shortly after sutures removed.)</td></tr>
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<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2v8Bchiw8X29l6ELqB_lcaN0Ga2A6uAy334BXET-qibkTSeffHNu2svbOIS2zm5rY5sXUnxt4P-KyZ2sG3mww4CIkDm2WrnwfWrgitpO4-AZ8krWWHVbGT4pidnwi6h7P5SWgyWi8b30/s1600/2019-02-04+17.44.48.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2v8Bchiw8X29l6ELqB_lcaN0Ga2A6uAy334BXET-qibkTSeffHNu2svbOIS2zm5rY5sXUnxt4P-KyZ2sG3mww4CIkDm2WrnwfWrgitpO4-AZ8krWWHVbGT4pidnwi6h7P5SWgyWi8b30/s320/2019-02-04+17.44.48.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lateral incision 20 days post-op. </td></tr>
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<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
February 7, 2019: 23 Days Post-op</h3>
<div>
I'm still wearing the night splint and doing my morning stretching of both legs/feet. Old habits die hard. I really don't want PF in my left foot so the daily stretching routine continues, perhaps indefinitely to be on the safe side. Stretching my right calf and foot doesn't hurt and feels good, actually. It does, however, hurt to massage the plantar fasica with the lacrosse ball so I'm not doing that yet. Yesterday I went on my longest outing since surgery, <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2129168439" target="_blank">a 5k walk</a>. The day before that I walked about two miles around the neighborhood focusing on good form and walking normally. I've noticed in the past 15 months, and certainly since surgery, I changed my walking pattern to compensate for the PF pain. I'm doing my best to correct that by consciously focusing on my stride and foot movement as I walk.<br />
The past two nights I put on a regular climbing shoe and climbed on <a href="http://jasonhalladay.blogspot.com/2017/01/swole-hole-moonboard-shed.html" target="_blank">our home climbing wall</a>. I had done some climbing the past two weekends inside a commercial climbing gym but was using first the walking boot and then a looser-fitting approach shoe. This week was the first time I used a standard climbing shoe. It doesn't hurt at all when I climb but is still uncomfortable when I drop off the wall down to the padded floor. Still, I'm encouraged...each day my foot is feeling a bit more healed.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
February 11, 2019: 27 Days Post-Op (Not Out of the Woods Just Yet)</h3>
</div>
<div>
Just when I was thinking I was out of the woods, I noticed last night after showering that my lateral incision seemed a bit red and more painful. It's a hard incision for me to personally inspect because I'm just not that flexible. But I laid down and got a decent look at it. It was partly open and puffy. I gave it some good squeezing resulting in some pus coming out. I was bummed as I have been trying hard to keep it clean and covered as much as possible, especially after <a href="http://jasonhalladay.blogspot.com/2016/01/mortons-neuroma-surgery.html" target="_blank">my infection issue three years ago </a>after my neuroma surgery. Thinking back on it, I'm pretty sure this incision has been showing signs of infection for about a week but I didn't want to admit it. </div>
<div>
I went to visit Dr. Riniker today and she said not to worry too much about this--it's common on feet because, well, feet. I started a one-week course of Keflex (Cephalexin) antibiotics (same as three years ago!) </div>
<div>
As for functionality, the overall feeling is better each day (except the discomfort around the lateral incision due to infection.) I went <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Btr7yraBcfW/" target="_blank">mountain biking on Saturday out at White Ridge</a> and it felt great to be getting in some decent cardio again. I climbed a bit outside Friday with Allison but used an approach shoe on my right foot. Sunday we went climbing again and I used a brand new climbing shoe sized up a full size and that felt reasonable. I feel like I don't feel the PF pain anymore which is quite amazing. Still hopeful. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmaPFBarwsFhZHS0eqnVbG04GlI7149Ruq3Sut1Vh04FH6u2Z6K4HS6gzyNQNY5NdjkTnzhWXVwh1mAbDBDznd_1pY4Bv-8xi42Wh_Xz9HozRLlZO6evjEXl7EioOMF7HutBhK1qTabU/s1600/2019-02-11+11.42.07.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmaPFBarwsFhZHS0eqnVbG04GlI7149Ruq3Sut1Vh04FH6u2Z6K4HS6gzyNQNY5NdjkTnzhWXVwh1mAbDBDznd_1pY4Bv-8xi42Wh_Xz9HozRLlZO6evjEXl7EioOMF7HutBhK1qTabU/s320/2019-02-11+11.42.07.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lateral incision infected. Slightly macerated due to antibiotic ointment and band-aid </td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
February 20, 2019 - 36 Days Post-Op</h3>
<div>
I finished up my one-week course of antibiotics a few days ago. The infection in the lateral incision seems to have cleared. The incision site is still a bit tender when pushed on but less and less so each day. The medial incision has healed up really well. It looks and feels very good. Funny thing--I went to the store five days ago and was in a bit of a rush. Without thinking about it, I jogged from my car to the store's door before the realization hit me that I had just run for my first time since surgery and, more importantly, without any PF pain. Ho-lee-shit! That was an awesome feeling.<br />
Last weekend we went hiking, bouldering and camping in Roy, NM for a few days. I was paranoid about the lateral incision (I was still on antibiotics) so I was sure to clean the site with an alcohol wipe and fresh band-aid frequently. The first day of bouldering and hiking had my ankle, and whole foot, feeling pretty weird. A deep discomfort inside my ankle. I was kinda freaking out thinking maybe the infection had spread to the joint. Thankfully, the next day it felt tons better and I suspect it was just a case of not using my foot/ankle in that manner in a month or so.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63NtaStQ-8cD58grGTJp2Wvrli8dfrEktLNftd4jF9L26iMqad2ICys6OXoxg_rsfDqILZsWMl3GgoqEcGy-KRNKPBJGcoG6H7-jK4GqRoURJQK6lsI_ukmgqkr8R60f2ywQKdg-Rk5w/s1600/Center_El_Mushroom_Jason_20190217_130544.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj63NtaStQ-8cD58grGTJp2Wvrli8dfrEktLNftd4jF9L26iMqad2ICys6OXoxg_rsfDqILZsWMl3GgoqEcGy-KRNKPBJGcoG6H7-jK4GqRoURJQK6lsI_ukmgqkr8R60f2ywQKdg-Rk5w/s320/Center_El_Mushroom_Jason_20190217_130544.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bouldering in Roy, NM just shy of five weeks post-op. Note the two separate shoes...I've been using a sized-up shoe on my surgery foot for more comfort. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I'm starting to allow myself to feel some optimism that I might be over this PF chapter and it feels great. Ironically, it didn't really snow in the past five weeks while I was recovering. Then, just as I felt I was ready to try snowboarding again, we received a big dump of 12" new snow up at the little bird. What better way to go give 'er. And I was stoked! I <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2160532585" target="_blank">managed five earned laps </a>in the morning. My foot felt slightly uncomfortable towards the end but mostly a feeling of, "hey, what are you doing to me now after five weeks of taking it easy!?" Not a bad pain to have. At six week post-op, next Tuesday, I plan to do my first run post-op. Excited to see how that goes. </div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIyySUjMp9d99uy1vHVSdhwZAAF4-ZXjirBNjApIroGdoSac1MxWY_Quw9Bt0Xx1dQIfGGahAmldB3mN4afIViMeQ59c4wg1TBamQRwXzTbN9fBMriOoOj52g_Y-E0tPgQpDf-BZ8F7A/s1600/2019-02-19+12.15.53.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLIyySUjMp9d99uy1vHVSdhwZAAF4-ZXjirBNjApIroGdoSac1MxWY_Quw9Bt0Xx1dQIfGGahAmldB3mN4afIViMeQ59c4wg1TBamQRwXzTbN9fBMriOoOj52g_Y-E0tPgQpDf-BZ8F7A/s320/2019-02-19+12.15.53.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All smiles. Back in the game exactly five weeks post-op!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now, of course, some incision photos:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDNlj8ohZr-RAAg6kqfjbycvNOOBaPVFNWq5_M83fXOk4gdyUa-8v2Nj6n5-FNs4wBkupdBdZiVpRA51vK-HqqXBvnwQuvLAxCG_Dv3JNjH9xpI_RUvJXM1J326DPcNoZhwEPhQ_YnKY/s1600/Lateral_2019-02-19+16.35.29.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDNlj8ohZr-RAAg6kqfjbycvNOOBaPVFNWq5_M83fXOk4gdyUa-8v2Nj6n5-FNs4wBkupdBdZiVpRA51vK-HqqXBvnwQuvLAxCG_Dv3JNjH9xpI_RUvJXM1J326DPcNoZhwEPhQ_YnKY/s320/Lateral_2019-02-19+16.35.29.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lateral incision, just a bit more than five weeks post-op. This is the incision that has been infected. Still red and a bit tender but better.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2u5ixaPS2pAk6aL0-ADXuB_xWnaihZkN_Z7qoPWRaRVq4f92AVpCA1aNlwTlejANjgevgOpEfSziFYkPGfdQB06R7nTwaVLYSQ_EKI4K9hMq5mMtLuwa1MKWvZmem-NXpvPaPtoG65g/s1600/Medial_2019-02-19+16.35.51.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC2u5ixaPS2pAk6aL0-ADXuB_xWnaihZkN_Z7qoPWRaRVq4f92AVpCA1aNlwTlejANjgevgOpEfSziFYkPGfdQB06R7nTwaVLYSQ_EKI4K9hMq5mMtLuwa1MKWvZmem-NXpvPaPtoG65g/s320/Medial_2019-02-19+16.35.51.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medial incision, just a bit more than five weeks post-op. Nearly all healed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Saturday March 2, 2019 - Six and Half Weeks Post-Op</h3>
</div>
<div>
I cried a little bit this week. Tears of joy. I did my first run in 2.5 months and first run since PF surgery on Monday, Feb. 25 and felt NO PF PAIN. It was an easy, <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/2175280380" target="_blank">flat four miler</a> but being able to run without modifying my stride to avoid PF pain was amazing. It has been so long since I could say that. Damn. But let me back up to last weekend first. I finally felt confident enough to go for a long day in boots on a splitboard tour. I hike up a lap at Pajarito Mountain in the early morning, then splitboarded a couple laps on Rabbit Mountain and ended the day with a nice 1,200' run on Cerro Grande. A wonderful <a href="https://vimeo.com/319246165" target="_blank">tour de Jemez</a> after the solid storm Friday night. This was especially rewarding since it had been at least four years since we were able to ski Rabbit Mountain. During the day I had a couple of very brief, sharp pains in my arch but nothing disconcerting. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/319246165" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>
<a href="https://vimeo.com/319246165">Jemez Mountains Snowboarding - Feb 23, 2019</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/halladay">Jason Halladay</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
<div>
<br />
Since my run Monday, I did two more runs, spaced two days apart including an eight miler Friday. My foot felt a bit sore after each run but nothing lasting and nothing like the PF pain I had. I think it is just getting used to being run on again. Otherwise, I'm thinking about my foot less and less each day which is a great sign it's nearly normal again.<br />
I'm not claiming success yet (nor ready to actually believe it) but I'm certainly encouraged. Here are a couple photos of the incisions at 6.5 weeks post-op. The medial incision looks great and resembles a healing blister. The lateral incision, the one that was infected for 10 days or so, is healing up very well and now has a small scab on it. Homestretch!<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQlaAJTNQnfhcHD5UTiH4FwYhVXmWVsSAzSCrACYlVGQtgVXjgS-ET4185BEVQCFuWQJg1-3hWGVpqR4QnsEfNFt_N09rXGuYiD1oQypUI2q8roa28MwAJUTe9u3_e3E3JCSsChceWqU/s1600/2019-03-02+20.38.04.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="778" data-original-width="1600" height="155" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQlaAJTNQnfhcHD5UTiH4FwYhVXmWVsSAzSCrACYlVGQtgVXjgS-ET4185BEVQCFuWQJg1-3hWGVpqR4QnsEfNFt_N09rXGuYiD1oQypUI2q8roa28MwAJUTe9u3_e3E3JCSsChceWqU/s320/2019-03-02+20.38.04.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Medial incision almost completely healed. 6.5 weeks post-op</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbz1cjwown40nke9pV8eEsD6qjmMmQ8AxZ_iSpIhTpO_vLie5ayUn-s5FQ8O1yCF9xTryVV2yOUmeFSL-bRN6Zb47twxchP06KV0ywXDn3jgq4v1yqDA8E2zNhoWUMQ8k918n2BTLSPFE/s1600/2019-03-02+20.38.41.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="778" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbz1cjwown40nke9pV8eEsD6qjmMmQ8AxZ_iSpIhTpO_vLie5ayUn-s5FQ8O1yCF9xTryVV2yOUmeFSL-bRN6Zb47twxchP06KV0ywXDn3jgq4v1yqDA8E2zNhoWUMQ8k918n2BTLSPFE/s320/2019-03-02+20.38.41.jpg" width="155" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lateral incision finally looking much better with just a small scab. 6.5 weeks post-op</td></tr>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Tuesday, May 7, 2019 - Sixteen Weeks Post-Op</h3>
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I had my last podiatrist appointment related to this issue yesterday and I'm happy to report all is quite good. I'm very pleased I went ahead with the surgery. I have been running 20 to 30 miles per week for the past six weeks or so and I no longer have much noticeable PF pain. I do still feel a small bit of soreness in the heel area after a long run or hike with a heavy backpack but it's a different discomfort than the PF pain was. It's likely still the tissue and scar tissue breaking up and healing up. It doesn't really bother me. The incision scars are already very subtle and I must look pretty hard to see them.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 - 4.5 Months Post-Op</h3>
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I've been running more and more and enjoying running without constantly feeling/thinking about my PF issue. It's still not totally pain free as my heel does ache a bit after a long or intense run but it's considerably better than it has been in the past 18 months. The discomfort I feel is generally one of more of a widespread ache versus the pinpoint pain feeling of the PF. The discomfort did increase in the past couple of weeks as I ran more so I've gone back to sleeping with the night splint. The night splint is still helping. If you didn't catch it earlier in the post, USE A NIGHT SPLINT! Seriously, though, for me it has gotten results.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Wednesday, January 15, 2020 - One year Post-Op</h3>
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A year has flown by. I'm happy to report my surgery was a complete success and I've had no issues with PF, or anything else, with my foot since the surgery. I had a great year of running and logged ove 1,200 miles including a finish of the UTMB PTL run with my best friend, Bill, in late August. I'm looking forward to starting the year off uninjured and being able to run a full year hopefully injury free. </div>
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Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-81366849670871253922017-01-29T21:09:00.005-08:002020-11-30T18:43:32.376-08:00Swole Hole (Moonboard Shed)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNhhWhhlC0uzztaFlnM_IB5CpUvcM-wAdhRp7ArMb70LPGfYWYHXUuWo09O-RBT2r85dKqKX2j-6ioUnVKH4dWa9h0eux8Cb8x9rt2F66Z8XfDCmR7NZJDCxlxqEltAaTGa-a-q1tkl2Q/s1600/AllisonHoldingNewMoonBoard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNhhWhhlC0uzztaFlnM_IB5CpUvcM-wAdhRp7ArMb70LPGfYWYHXUuWo09O-RBT2r85dKqKX2j-6ioUnVKH4dWa9h0eux8Cb8x9rt2F66Z8XfDCmR7NZJDCxlxqEltAaTGa-a-q1tkl2Q/s640/AllisonHoldingNewMoonBoard.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">For quite some time, Allison and I have really wanted a home climbing wall and climbing training area. The problem is, we live in a unit that's part of a quadraplex so we don't have a garage and space is limited. Our first iteration was a build of a small <a href="http://jasonhalladay.blogspot.com/2015/05/freestanding-campus-boardhang-board.html" target="_blank">free-standing campus board with removable hangboard</a> that I built in March 2015 in one of our spare bedrooms. While this worked pretty well for Allison, I'm 6'5" so I couldn't campus on it. I was finally able to do hangboard workouts, though, because it did have a pulley system for taking weight off so it certainly did serve a purpose. It was really nice to actually be able to do some home training. </span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">But in August 2016 we got a bit more serious and decided to have a shed built with the sole purpose of building a small climbing wall in it. We measured our back yard area and determined we could barely fit a 10'x12' shed in the area. That's pretty tiny as far as climbing wall areas are concerned. We knew we wouldn't be able to have a multiple-angles climbing wall in that space. It would have to be a single wall with a single angle. We had seen some information about <a href="http://www.moonboard.com/" target="_blank">the Moonboard</a> and decided that would give us the most efficient use of the space. For those not familiar with the Moonboard, you clearly haven't been looking at climbing-related posts on Instagram recently. Shortly after we built our Moonboard in October 2016, they seemingly blew up in the United States <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/moonboard/" target="_blank">and on Instagram</a> despite being around for ages. We'll take credit for the explosion in popularity! Certainly it seems there's some animosity towards the Moonboard and its popularity, for whatever reason, but for maximizing training in a small space, we felt this couldn't be beat. </span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">To summarize the Moonboard, it's an 8' wide by 12' tall, 40 degree-overhanging wall with </span><a href="http://www.moonclimbing.com/gear/climbing-holds.html" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;" target="_blank">three hold sets</a><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> set in a precise location and orientation allowing users from all over the world to climb <a href="http://www.moonboard.com/problems/" target="_blank">the same problems</a> and share them via the </span><a href="http://www.moonboard.com/get-the-app/" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;" target="_blank">Moonboard app</a><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">. Moon Climbing makes t</span><a href="http://www.moonboard.com/how-to-build-your-moonboard/" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;" target="_blank">he build specs</a><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"> and instructions available for download from its site. The Moonboard fits in our 10'x12' shed without losing any holds. The fit is tight but it works. The caveat is, though, we can't really go for dynamic top out moves for fear of kicking the walls or flying off into the back wall--so we don't do that. </span><br />
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">The Shed</span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I knew if I decided to build the shed myself it would take months and likely not come out perfect. Therefore, we decided to bite the bullet and pay for a high quality Tuff Shed Sundance TB-700 build installed by Tuff Shed. This way we'd get a quality shed and it would be built on-site in one day. The TB-700 is a <a href="http://www.tuffshed.com/product/premier-tall-barn" target="_blank">tall barn style</a> shed. Googling the TB-700 doesn't yield a lot because the TB-700 is proprietary to Home Depot, apparently. The TB-700 doesn't show up on Tuff Shed's site but you can configure a custom TB-700 shed at <a href="https://888tuffshed.com/products/#/configurator/TB-700" target="_blank">www.888tuffshed.com</a> and then order it through Home Depot. We wanted the TB-700 because it has seven-foot sidewalls and a maximum height of 12'10"--just tall enough for a full-size Moonboard. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYvxjSBSXqKkiAhmUm_p6mda6Z_pXEDK1F3vgVTAbNTtUCC3I9vD0Xk8CpSvyYurPXOGyMwVCden-4DMhHsCwVNVgWoIuf7XKu5rUlz8rtVJ2JIqbQlDKLXKI5deUftemu9l4uWyjRBE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-01-29+at+8.27.15+PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAYvxjSBSXqKkiAhmUm_p6mda6Z_pXEDK1F3vgVTAbNTtUCC3I9vD0Xk8CpSvyYurPXOGyMwVCden-4DMhHsCwVNVgWoIuf7XKu5rUlz8rtVJ2JIqbQlDKLXKI5deUftemu9l4uWyjRBE/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-01-29+at+8.27.15+PM.png" width="387" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our custom TB-700. The transom windows above the front door and dual skylights, along with the side window, allow plenty of natural light to enter the building. The 12"x12" wall vents on each end at the top of the walls allow for good ventilation. Our custom TB-700 with the two doors, vents, skylight, smart floor and extra windows cost ~$4,000</td></tr>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We also configured our shed with a centered back door so we could access the area behind the Moonboard and use it for storage. There's quite a bit of room back there on account of the 40 degree angle of the Moonboard. We haven't insulated the shed and I don't think we will because the exposed frame makes it feel just a bit more spacious in there. That said, we haven't used it in summer yet and the heat may necessitate some foam insulation to keep it a bit cooler in there. </span></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">We've been heating the shed in winter with a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Heater-Single-Outdoor-Propane/dp/B004W7SIUG/ref=sr_1_5" target="_blank">Mr. Heater propane tank heater</a> </span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">and it's worked out well. Also, so long as the sun is out and hits it for a few hours during the day, it warms up quickly in there. </span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We did apply for, and obtain, a <a href="http://www.losalamosnm.us/cdd/Documents/BuildingPermits/SmallStorageBldg.pdf" target="_blank">Los Alamos County Small Shed (120 sq. feet or less) permit</a>. Also, because of the 12'10" height, we had to obtain a <a href="http://www.losalamosnm.us/cdd/Documents/Planning/admindeviation.pdf" target="_blank">Minor Dimensional Deviation From the Code permit</a> since the standard max height in Los Alamos County is 12'. While a somewhat onerous process, it was, in the end, relatively easy with no challenges or difficulties. </span></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We prepped the area in our backyard by clearing the area and getting it level within four inches (the installers can use shims to get it level within that four inch tolerance.) We did our best to have a two-foot clearing around all sides, as stated by Tuff Shed, but the only area we had for the shed has a chainlink fence on one side and we needed the shed to be built right up against that fence in order for it to fit. On installation day, I quickly removed the chainlink fence fabric and the installers did a fantastic job of getting the shed built right up to the fence posts. </span></span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The installers came in on October 6th, 2016 and cranked out the installation in one long 9-hour day. It was amazing to watch the skill and experience at work. </span></span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We've run an extension cord out to the shed to a five-outlet power puck, with USB ports, and run a single <a href="https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-Pro-1-Light-40-Watt-LED-Stand-Work-Light/50260965" target="_blank">40W, 3000 lumen LED shop light</a> (mounted to front wall) which is plenty of light in the space. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjHYDcjTS9oYi_xmxUVqxw_17dlzDW7JBMYmbuuOZNi7EFmWSyjGKL_LJwuJ9zDtyWQjBPedPUgOBqXmSAdswYLMLfjb3BaIKmvTBbuptSSQ4cXZYdBJrtu5uXoj9AzKSCQBlofY8MIY/s1600/2017-02-07+at+07-49-05.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGjHYDcjTS9oYi_xmxUVqxw_17dlzDW7JBMYmbuuOZNi7EFmWSyjGKL_LJwuJ9zDtyWQjBPedPUgOBqXmSAdswYLMLfjb3BaIKmvTBbuptSSQ4cXZYdBJrtu5uXoj9AzKSCQBlofY8MIY/s640/2017-02-07+at+07-49-05.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished product</td></tr>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: x-large;">The Moonboard Build</span><div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFJeXlL52N8-pINPdgsNVYUhHbVYwiQ-VsDD4IMGB3EI2ZH12dsX691HGmvbZbRx0g7Tp7J-3IpjXOmFHJw928QlTsMveXtsT4tHShoqIaY8tn_J55eE1_j4K6TGvhhKQlwmAGrw-Q6o/s1600/paintingMoonboard.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFJeXlL52N8-pINPdgsNVYUhHbVYwiQ-VsDD4IMGB3EI2ZH12dsX691HGmvbZbRx0g7Tp7J-3IpjXOmFHJw928QlTsMveXtsT4tHShoqIaY8tn_J55eE1_j4K6TGvhhKQlwmAGrw-Q6o/s640/paintingMoonboard.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Painting the Moonboard. The area to the right of the board is where the shed was placed. The post from the old chainlink fence (seen bottom center) had to be removed before the shed was installed. </td></tr>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">With the shed built, I had a blank canvas inside and three days over the Columbus Day holiday weekend to build the Moonboard. I had ideas in my mind on how I'd do it but truth be told I winged it A LOT and did a lot of engineering-on-the-fly. </span></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">This means I don't have build plans I can share with you but this time lapse video of me building it should give you an idea of how it went up. </span></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">I did build shelves in the back with an access hole from the back door up to the shelves. In</span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> three days, with multiple trips to the lumber and hardware stores, the Swole Hole was born! </span></span><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span><br />
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">Because we wanted to be able to do more than just power workouts on the Moonboard, we looked for ideas to add more holds to a typical Moonboard t-nut grid of 6x11 per sheet of plywood. I happened upon <a href="http://boulderingathenscounty.blogspot.com/2016/07/building-moonkilter-hybrid-board.html" target="_blank">this blog post</a> showing a build that added an additional 5x12 grid per sheet of plywood adding 180 t-nuts to the Moonboard's standard 198 t-nuts for a grand total of 378 t-nuts. Lots of additional potential hold locations! Therefore, in addition to the three Moonboard hold sets, we purchased a bunch of holds by <a href="https://www.atomikclimbingholds.com/" target="_blank">Atomik</a>, including some jugs, to add many more options to our board. The additional holds have allowed us to work power endurance and endurance doing some ~30 move circuits on holds that are a lot more generous than most Moonboard holds. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlbv2OpvKf6x5R16kR4EeregD9j60neazhBOv8iMgA337hn0G3CGJERMZGz0lpzMDkmFSrX1J3Z63HUOUh6Un5Gwvia5NfllGOu4ZGiaApZjE0qLbyZadvIxOW8SkZJ_Y5RDVL5S6aRk/s1600/hybrid.tnut+layout.PNG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxlbv2OpvKf6x5R16kR4EeregD9j60neazhBOv8iMgA337hn0G3CGJERMZGz0lpzMDkmFSrX1J3Z63HUOUh6Un5Gwvia5NfllGOu4ZGiaApZjE0qLbyZadvIxOW8SkZJ_Y5RDVL5S6aRk/s640/hybrid.tnut+layout.PNG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The gray arrows show the grid pattern for the additional 5x12 t-nuts per sheet in addition to the standard 6x11 Moonboard t-nut pattern (A-K and 1-6)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1VvFEL0pgA2XvTE3DAVtEEFgxOInfhnN4qUc0cfxHce5nNBe8iVyNVSbepriW2fG2Gpi_7fYXwPnf49wz5a4s0YjfcKQeCjVzv77xxlu38rClQ0aKq9hN0p_A4PWXSM95l7dmxc3UNA/s1600/MoonboardFinal.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1VvFEL0pgA2XvTE3DAVtEEFgxOInfhnN4qUc0cfxHce5nNBe8iVyNVSbepriW2fG2Gpi_7fYXwPnf49wz5a4s0YjfcKQeCjVzv77xxlu38rClQ0aKq9hN0p_A4PWXSM95l7dmxc3UNA/s640/MoonboardFinal.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our Moonboard with the three complete sets of Moon holds and additional holds on the extra 5x12 t-nut grid (per sheet of plywood) we added. Look closely at the upper corners you can see where I had to use wood glue to add the corners of the board back on after install. The corners had to be cut fit into the narrowing corners of the roof</td></tr>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif">For the floor, we have four bouldering pads with an <a href="https://organicclimbing.com/products/blubber-pad" target="_blank">Organic blubber pad</a> over the gaps between the pads. </span></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Adjustable Hangboard</span></span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">On the front wall above the front door, I've added three 2"x6" horizontal supports across the length of the wall to allow us to hang our hangboard and a removable campus board on. The hangboard is <a href="http://www.trango.com/p-232-rock-prodigy-training-center-by-trango.aspx" target="_blank">a Trango Rock Prodigy Training Center (RPTC) board</a> setup as removable/adjustable along with a pulley system for taking weight off the climber. I used the <a href="https://rockclimberstrainingmanual.com/2014/11/12/adjustable-mount-2-0-for-the-rock-prodigy-training-center/" target="_blank">RPTC Adjustable Mount 2.0 idea</a> to make the RPTC adjustable and removable. This has been great because it allows both my wife and I to use the same board but adjust it easily for our different body sizes. </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QyVlQKjOxccEwEQVBpiFnT5AgMF0t-cSJ9LngoI2jmnhpbFQJbD1puDec0Bbmy72u7c9gd8oh9pgVmIM-P_uP2zzdJ2XNxt4kGU7KUdiCfDXiGf0U-AUwZgMVVDt0lSE-ZgECQbbk3Y/s1600/SwoleHoleHangboard.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7QyVlQKjOxccEwEQVBpiFnT5AgMF0t-cSJ9LngoI2jmnhpbFQJbD1puDec0Bbmy72u7c9gd8oh9pgVmIM-P_uP2zzdJ2XNxt4kGU7KUdiCfDXiGf0U-AUwZgMVVDt0lSE-ZgECQbbk3Y/s640/SwoleHoleHangboard.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Removable Campus Board</span></span><div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">I've also built a removable campus board. The board has two sets of campus rungs on it--medium and large. It's a bit overbuilt and heavy (weighs 67 pounds.) It requires two people and a pulley to put up/take down (plus space to store it when not in use.) It's built upon the same idea of the RPTC removable/adjustable mounts using the same </span><a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-Zinc-Plated-Solid-Door-Stop-15369/202034085" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">door stop hardware</a><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;"> for hanging it up on the 2"x6" supports I put up on the wall. I'd like to whittle down the weight and will see about removing the angled side supports to see how it feels without them. But once in place, it's very solid and effective. Due to space constraints the bottom of the board only juts out from the wall about 16" so you gotta keep your swinging knees in check while getting after it. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHRWddZL51chyN6sgZGutbznMbza7UTModgChdOii-ZMNKAjUsEyWXSeX7eZlmQ2sMVNtweARIlHVV_xSN206Pn88gHSRubnj-5bvcKfQLOQv37gva4YUulqk0CU5VsujPiy4Ug588K3g/s1600/2017-01-30+17.10.39.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHRWddZL51chyN6sgZGutbznMbza7UTModgChdOii-ZMNKAjUsEyWXSeX7eZlmQ2sMVNtweARIlHVV_xSN206Pn88gHSRubnj-5bvcKfQLOQv37gva4YUulqk0CU5VsujPiy4Ug588K3g/s320/2017-01-30+17.10.39.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Campus board backside showing the door stop hangers for attaching to supports on wall</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9daaRZ19thQ8uVTaAJOlz0i-lONNP0E9t2V9KuCvKOWOp38txW4KtTYupWbBXUCK65S1KBW1CWPNnK8N_-aejQgMJn9s7Xz7RFXbKvN5MtIeoVlEmS5ZoZ4KYwhJlOlG7I1J0e5PpeI/s1600/2017-01-30+17.10.51.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf9daaRZ19thQ8uVTaAJOlz0i-lONNP0E9t2V9KuCvKOWOp38txW4KtTYupWbBXUCK65S1KBW1CWPNnK8N_-aejQgMJn9s7Xz7RFXbKvN5MtIeoVlEmS5ZoZ4KYwhJlOlG7I1J0e5PpeI/s320/2017-01-30+17.10.51.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Campus board frontside</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAPr7zSFEIocsnDU__DFZ7UbgDIDq5TTLM97Qc4Z7-eaNjI3KEPreMGoG3OjIilCPuqU2KEE15Ut6WFGLguPNFpem4ez7qERwHuRveQpwA78qTw7Fbg0mHT9SnvhYdM5GON7Z8s2hhSk/s1600/CampusBoardonPulley.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJAPr7zSFEIocsnDU__DFZ7UbgDIDq5TTLM97Qc4Z7-eaNjI3KEPreMGoG3OjIilCPuqU2KEE15Ut6WFGLguPNFpem4ez7qERwHuRveQpwA78qTw7Fbg0mHT9SnvhYdM5GON7Z8s2hhSk/s400/CampusBoardonPulley.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Removable campus board on pulley system, before campus rungs screwed onto board</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsclE6Skcn0iKXWmX5RjrZff47f_lY2ZiuxM0276S7R-c0OaIlKwwIfgA6LopvIvGNIoOp7VZcgks4CH6khDikU9I3OTPvdMFwg2RgeJ7A7vG9l-tj2rq2f40Ev91pVs4x36VpWAVodU/s1600/CampusBoardinPlace.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsclE6Skcn0iKXWmX5RjrZff47f_lY2ZiuxM0276S7R-c0OaIlKwwIfgA6LopvIvGNIoOp7VZcgks4CH6khDikU9I3OTPvdMFwg2RgeJ7A7vG9l-tj2rq2f40Ev91pVs4x36VpWAVodU/s400/CampusBoardinPlace.jpg" width="223" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Removable campus board in place with rungs screwed onto board. Two sets of rungs--Metolius medium and large rungs--eight inches apart. </td></tr>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/201793565" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-large;">More Media</span></span><br />
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">A few videos to show what it looks like to climb on the Moonboard in the Swole Hole:</span></h2>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/187035861" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlJESJaD63IRgVJE-4FzEVB3tcwUy7yP_t6aRnlHM_iOSuCOHDTYxS6cLA90Jnn5g9AE29uldKwKZV4tjbH7hh3KqoFy8mdJyqOjS2OYAQsBW6BGIy11u6Azn_8-0JAJNd7Gj2LSrFo0/s1600/MoonboardClimbing.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlJESJaD63IRgVJE-4FzEVB3tcwUy7yP_t6aRnlHM_iOSuCOHDTYxS6cLA90Jnn5g9AE29uldKwKZV4tjbH7hh3KqoFy8mdJyqOjS2OYAQsBW6BGIy11u6Azn_8-0JAJNd7Gj2LSrFo0/s640/MoonboardClimbing.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eIc-2DsnbxQ" width="560"></iframe>
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<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Our Moon Problems</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The problems we've created on the Moonboard:</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;">
(See also, the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/swole_hole/" target="_blank">Swole_Hole instagram account</a>)</span></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/103834/echo-chamber" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Echo Chamber</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (with Jamie) </span><span style="font-weight: normal;">(6b+)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/109254/call-of-the-chupasquatch" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Call of the Chupsquatch</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (6b+)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/98498/blue-flannel" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Blue Flannel</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (6b+)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/109636/bad-taste-too" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Bad Taste Too</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (with Jeffrey) (6c+)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/118744/mr-oogie-boogie" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Mr. Oogie Boogie</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (6b+) (with Owen) </span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/118753/say-it-like-you-mean-it" style="font-weight: normal;" target="_blank">Say It Like You Mean It</a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (6b+) (with Fritz and Owen)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/180685/spray-it-forward" target="_blank">Spray It Forward</a> (6c) (with Fritz) </span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/154008/banaa" target="_blank">Banaa</a> (6b+) (with Fritz)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/305679/blue-bus" target="_blank">Blue Bus</a> (6b+) (with Jeffrey)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/308122/punters-anonymous" target="_blank">Punters Anonymous</a> (6b+)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/185630/holding-pattern" target="_blank">Holding Pattern</a> (6c+) Fritz</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/325664/down-by-one" target="_blank">Down by One</a> (6b+) (with Fritz)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/328124/autumn-harvest" target="_blank">Autumn Harvest</a> (6b+)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/330237/special-sauce" target="_blank">Special Sauce</a> (6b+)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/331890/only-sparks" target="_blank">Only Sparks</a> (6b+)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/332959/high-roller" target="_blank">High Roller</a> (6c)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/334443/broken-elevator" target="_blank">Broken Elevator</a> (6B+)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/359991/y-all-ready-for-this" target="_blank">Y'all Ready For This!?</a> (6b+)</span></span></li>
<li><span face=""trebuchet ms" , sans-serif" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.moonboard.com/Problems/View/361678/go-go-gadget-flow" target="_blank">Go Go Gadget Flow</a> (6b+)</span></span></li>
</ul>
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</h2>
</div>
Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-8799548983642256262016-01-13T20:58:00.000-08:002018-11-05T13:11:00.675-08:00Morton's Neuroma Surgery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This past Friday, January 8, 2016, I had surgery on my right foot to remove a <a href="http://www.foothealthfacts.org/footankleinfo/mortons-neuroma.htm" target="_blank">Morton's Neuroma</a> that has plagued me for nearly a decade. At first, for many years, the neuroma discomfort was gradual and infrequent but as time went on, it got more painful at more frequent intervals. For many years I didn't know what the cause of the pain was and figured I just had less "padding" (skin and fat) on the ball of my right foot so I avoided walking barefoot because it was uncomfortable. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every now and then, typically while on trail runs on slickrock or really rocky trails, the neuroma would flare up and I'd be forced to stop every few miles, take my shoe off and massage my foot and toes for about five minutes at a time to get feeling back in my toes and clear the pain for bit. It worked but was annoying to have to stop frequently to take care of the issue. Then, while running the <a href="http://www.mogollonmonster100.com/" target="_blank">Mogollon Monster 100</a> mile race (MOG100) in September 2015, the pain came on around mile 14 making for a VERY long 100 mile race with frequent shoe changes (that didn't really help) and many stops to massage my foot. My guess is because the MOG100 course is so rocky, the rocks beat my feet up quite a bit. That was the final straw...I had to figure out what was going on. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A few weeks later I went to see a local podiatrist, Dr. Sauer, that had <a href="https://toeshortening.shutterfly.com/" target="_blank">surgically shortened a toe</a> on the same foot way back in April 2004. By the time I went into see Dr. Sauer, I had self-diagnosed myself with Morton's Neuroma after my friend Andy had suggested that may be what I had. Dr. Sauer was quick to come to the same conclusion and had me try three cortisone shots over about six weeks. The shots didn't really bring any serious relief and I was fed up with the pain so I opted for surgery. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaKstxdkPCoYIemNf3nupGC1eKA2tM5NxaTUgARptfqTp08H4cf0ZAi-MlvGj8RwPrBTYoxhq3TnyfIQk-AwbzRn0TiJ0rg987BVc96q-BinjtxDW2r7LeQoozUaT9K3mikchXRgeoJk/s1600/Neuroma_hospital.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipaKstxdkPCoYIemNf3nupGC1eKA2tM5NxaTUgARptfqTp08H4cf0ZAi-MlvGj8RwPrBTYoxhq3TnyfIQk-AwbzRn0TiJ0rg987BVc96q-BinjtxDW2r7LeQoozUaT9K3mikchXRgeoJk/s320/Neuroma_hospital.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too sexy</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's been five days since the surgery now and I wanted to document the surgery and my recovery a bit. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Friday morning, the surgery went very well and took about an hour. The neuroma was "quite sizable". The surgery took place in the morning and I was out of the hospital by noon and back home on the couch for the rest of the day. I kept my foot elevated and enjoyed some solid couch time. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xrhnOVk5qRE/VpBLDFhRk_I/AAAAAAABJj4/g2uL2l-0KuY/s1600/2016-01-08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xrhnOVk5qRE/VpBLDFhRk_I/AAAAAAABJj4/g2uL2l-0KuY/s320/2016-01-08.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sayonara, sucker!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Dr. Sauer placed a "suction drain" in the incision area to help drain excess fluid and keep swelling to a minimum. I had done a good bit of internet research about this surgery and the experiences of others. I hadn't read about anyone else getting a suction drain but considering I felt no post-op pain at all, I'm pretty sold on the idea of the drain.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBizGZAe5gzjWt0eFX99bGlCp3rjjwrfz0PcTrLhiYJB4Hl9kMbLYtv4peENToqy8xqnbjD8WahnD5WW4Q9ikzM4G30JJFOZrN8PJktwF8dv2NAn9RYZyNwJZApaye2ee-cJqiuL6NRIw/s1600/foot_in_boot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBizGZAe5gzjWt0eFX99bGlCp3rjjwrfz0PcTrLhiYJB4Hl9kMbLYtv4peENToqy8xqnbjD8WahnD5WW4Q9ikzM4G30JJFOZrN8PJktwF8dv2NAn9RYZyNwJZApaye2ee-cJqiuL6NRIw/s320/foot_in_boot.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Foot in boot with suction drain (two hours post-op)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The afternoon and night of the surgery I took two Percocet pills thinking my foot should start hurting and I wanted to "stay ahead of the pain." As it would turn out, I never felt any post-op pain at all and that would be the only pain pills I took. </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The rest of the weekend I spent chilling out on the couch watching NFL playoff football with my foot elevated. My foot was in a velcro boot so I could hobble around quite well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Monday morning I went to see Dr. Sauer to have the suction drain removed. It was painless and quick...just a quick snip of the suture holding it in and a fast pull of the drain tube from the incision. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mo-xlPiztdY/VpQ-h3w2TDI/AAAAAAABJkY/UuCztgmBkpc/s1600/2016-01-11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mo-xlPiztdY/VpQ-h3w2TDI/AAAAAAABJkY/UuCztgmBkpc/s320/2016-01-11.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About to remove the drain tube 72 hours post-op</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As soon as the drain tube was out, I was able to ditch the boot and slip my foot into my Altra Olympus shoes. The wide forefoot and maximum cushion of the Altra shoes worked well for my beat up foot. It was nice to only be in the boot a few days. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7w0ddBGk-DJXIfXM86b9_6SWuEgN-WsLfnS_PrxYhZGh-GBwC8MCb2-iSq32zE9UxJZF0s8pw7Hs9hXeCG-CUaGVPTDD4hlqGS7FtXnLPcloFYY-8ZCNGP8j_PozsasfDwsnPym_92Y/s1600/four_days_post_op.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY7w0ddBGk-DJXIfXM86b9_6SWuEgN-WsLfnS_PrxYhZGh-GBwC8MCb2-iSq32zE9UxJZF0s8pw7Hs9hXeCG-CUaGVPTDD4hlqGS7FtXnLPcloFYY-8ZCNGP8j_PozsasfDwsnPym_92Y/s320/four_days_post_op.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four days post-op</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now five days post-op I'm walking around pretty well but with a small "hitch in my giddy-up." But really I'm very pleased with the recovery thus far. Having no pain post-op and being able to get around with only a small limp is encouraging. The stitches will be removed eleven days from now and I'm hopeful by then I'll be walking normally and able to hike trails a bit. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZpAOa7ZJU6b4le5qKvJCB3sAAoxBlMcVL87p32S5YXyBh4dzKnQjtZtkUVDVGzd2RWcyUPRWtYTp9JxQjPQutG0g_fk3-hde0QkFiiEG2erWjcuQE9Q70ZnFArTzLQ_BJLtLBs-t9b4/s1600/foot_day5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlZpAOa7ZJU6b4le5qKvJCB3sAAoxBlMcVL87p32S5YXyBh4dzKnQjtZtkUVDVGzd2RWcyUPRWtYTp9JxQjPQutG0g_fk3-hde0QkFiiEG2erWjcuQE9Q70ZnFArTzLQ_BJLtLBs-t9b4/s320/foot_day5.jpg" width="192" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Five days post-op</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One week after surgery I was able to walk pretty normally in my wide, maximally cushioned Altra shoes but still used hiking poles for added stability on trails. My wife and I even did a little rock climbing and climbed one easy route, on top rope, without any major discomfort.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieE6trxvuKMr43l-jkQby9cyV7nvzXUymnmeC7KlQGBfIPLcQ4BojMGuAS-QTaQIjnSkvFBW5YvIxoUT-BMIRXlKHFlyUjev5xA007vbFU5CT1m1GOcyQuck9eqVKW8NupYuvNgkQQcyA/s1600/Texas_TR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieE6trxvuKMr43l-jkQby9cyV7nvzXUymnmeC7KlQGBfIPLcQ4BojMGuAS-QTaQIjnSkvFBW5YvIxoUT-BMIRXlKHFlyUjev5xA007vbFU5CT1m1GOcyQuck9eqVKW8NupYuvNgkQQcyA/s320/Texas_TR.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easy toproping with mis-matched shoes one week post-op</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6BwlP2QMwfx-R0ThLk7C7QQR56zTLsFHu0qsJzQ_BE0endCvDhIPzLWLwEasm4XxCeJYsoJZC7seYhCz4JAorX37mQ_SvvzEPrgD4gsghbqtIB6Q2NEX-izfFp1nLh0ZqLrXWx3JG7M/s1600/Foot_Day7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm6BwlP2QMwfx-R0ThLk7C7QQR56zTLsFHu0qsJzQ_BE0endCvDhIPzLWLwEasm4XxCeJYsoJZC7seYhCz4JAorX37mQ_SvvzEPrgD4gsghbqtIB6Q2NEX-izfFp1nLh0ZqLrXWx3JG7M/s320/Foot_Day7.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seven days post-op (first shower)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the eighth day I was able to stop dressing the stitches and drain incision with gauze because it finally healed up enough. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFS6v0vxVveu_UaZRdJ6R-XhsQc15x0Nruu9Vm2HRLgGSZ9rgng1RRDCmnrZIkTiAjtwtVrFupvJ3LPW0obU-Vc7wSG1bWeg4EQkUeUIAdh5S3aM4rICva2nl9njk_CELSLrVZQeGhyE/s1600/Foot_Day9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYFS6v0vxVveu_UaZRdJ6R-XhsQc15x0Nruu9Vm2HRLgGSZ9rgng1RRDCmnrZIkTiAjtwtVrFupvJ3LPW0obU-Vc7wSG1bWeg4EQkUeUIAdh5S3aM4rICva2nl9njk_CELSLrVZQeGhyE/s320/Foot_Day9.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nine days post-op</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Eight days post-op I began walking without thinking about my foot and didn't feel the need to modify my stride to avoid rocking up on the ball of my foot. Other than some slight discomfort the first few steps out of bed in the morning, walking was quite comfortable with a slight "bruised" feeling in the ball of my foot when I walked. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ten days post-op I went rock climbing again, using bigger, more comfortable climbing shoes and this felt very reasonable. I was able to lead climb and not worry about my foot much. In fact, I think climbing is good therapy because the weight is mostly on my big toe and each step is very calculated. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Eleven days post-op I did a short run of about a half mile en route to the gym to do some spinning on a stationary bike. I did the spinning with the pedal placed in the arch of my foot to avoid putting too much pressure on the ball of my foot. It felt great to work up a sweat again! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Plot Thickens - Two Weeks Post-op</b></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Right at two weeks post-op my right ankle started feeling super painful and was swollen a good bit. It was bad enough I couldn't walk stairs normally at all and had to limp around everywhere. I saw another local foot/ankle doctor and we came to the conclusion that I had incurred a small bit of Achilles tedonitis most likely from wearing zero drop shoes while modifying my gait to avoid putting pressure on the surgical area. I moved out of the zero drop shoes into more normal shoes and forced myself to walk normally as much as possible in addition to doing some PT exercises to stretch and work the tendons in my ankle. I found good relief in the ankle about three weeks post-op and neared about 80 percent normal feeling in my ankle (it hurt a bit still on deep steps down, etc.) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>February 10, 2016 - </b>Well, four weeks post surgery (February 8th), I decided to try a short run to see how it felt. My short run turned into about four miles because it felt pretty good. Unfortunately, a day after that run my forefoot was swollen, painful and, apparently, infected. I'm not sure the running had anything to do with the infection but the timing seems awfully coincidental. Also, though, I'm sure I had gotten the incision site dirty a couple weeks post-op by wearing sandals so the combo of all of this sure spells disaster.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOIBQNOlXuDi2rBBjawcc3JHknM05tVEESzxDekC8fflqojpulA0q73YqNn6HhdxtsEl8uxmLLMiERnZ3ncmKZcn2fgT-5LXTZlK_zFEqWDOLd_-tmXOBOcaa9BtAusa8fR2H92XDjSc/s1600/Foot_Feb10-FourWeekInfection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlOIBQNOlXuDi2rBBjawcc3JHknM05tVEESzxDekC8fflqojpulA0q73YqNn6HhdxtsEl8uxmLLMiERnZ3ncmKZcn2fgT-5LXTZlK_zFEqWDOLd_-tmXOBOcaa9BtAusa8fR2H92XDjSc/s320/Foot_Feb10-FourWeekInfection.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nasty staph infection 4.5 weeks post-op</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />So after a week or so of walking quite normally without pain, I'm back to swollen foot with pain and limping around. I'm doing a few epsom salt bath soaks on my foot daily and started on antibiotics (Cephalexin) yesterday to help clear the infection. <b>Lesson learned: </b>Even though my foot was feeling quite good, four weeks post-op isn't enough recovery time for me to start running again. Also, I should have been better about keeping the incision clean. Drats. My theory now is that I contracted the staph infection by showering in the public shower at work after my run four weeks post-op.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>February 22, 2016</b> - After the ten day course of Keflex (Cephalexin) my foot was feeling better and less swollen. I thought the antibiotics may had done the trick. I finished the antibiotics on Tuesday morning, 2/16. But by Thursday night, the incision area was red and swollen a bit again. I went back in to the doctor on Friday morning where he took a culture of the fluid (there was a still a small slit in the incision that had been draining fluid a bit.) I went back on Keflex starting that morning, 2/19, and back to the Epsom salt foot baths a few times a day. The Keflex made a difference and the area felt better through the weekend but now, Monday morning, it's feeling pretty tender and a bit swollen. I go into a follow-up appointment in a couple hours to hopefully find out the results of the culture. For the first time since the surgery, I'm starting to feel bouts of anxiety and worry--feelings I don't generally ever experience. I'm starting to worry things are really not good and I don't know what that means for my foot and long-term foot health. In a word, I'm scared. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>February 24, 2016</b> - It turns out the culture of the fluid showed a staph infection. On 2/22/2016 the podiatrist removed the scab from the incision and we found it wasn't very well healed deep down. He did a little bit of cleaning and now we're treating it as an open wound. It's possible the stitches were removed a bit too early to allow it ample healing time but I'm guessing I got the incision dirty (bad patient!) so it's my fault. For now I'm applying Silvadene ointment twice daily and keeping it covered with a breathable gauze pad. I'll also continue on the second round of Keflex until it's done. In the past two days I haven't really noticed an improvement but it hasn't gotten worse. There's still mild swelling in the forefoot and the area around the incision is red and tender. The area isn't shrinking but not enlarging either. At this point I'm beginning to regret having the surgery. It's been nearly seven weeks and the healing has been poor. I'm wondering if I'll be able to run this spring, or summer, and with Hardrock and PTL on my schedule, it's rather depressing to think about. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>February 26, 2016 </b>- Seven weeks post-op. The Silvadene ointment and bandage treatment seemed to help. The healing is coming along and the soreness in adjacent toes and tendons running the length of my foot is decreasing. Keeping the faith (and keeping it clean!) </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYo39c9Q1IM408DszlO2UpAWObaEfKrvCIXMFqv_3WYzMFOvTg53myMRosSIyWYHKD6tg-lUrdYE80zBJqvjqVlx7IK3EXoh-dyA1o3Wj-CZ5lt6pg5K8hxmReOe0rLp2Q5vNd366le4/s1600/Foot_Feb26-SevenWeeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDYo39c9Q1IM408DszlO2UpAWObaEfKrvCIXMFqv_3WYzMFOvTg53myMRosSIyWYHKD6tg-lUrdYE80zBJqvjqVlx7IK3EXoh-dyA1o3Wj-CZ5lt6pg5K8hxmReOe0rLp2Q5vNd366le4/s320/Foot_Feb26-SevenWeeks.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seven weeks post-op using Silvadene ointment</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>March 10, 2016 </b>- Right about eight weeks post-op I felt a noticeable change in the healing and, finally, felt encouraged that the worst was behind me. The swelling in the foot was all but gone in the morning, right out of bed, and minimal by the end of the day. My podiatrist concurred that the healing was looking very encouraging and gave me the go-ahead to start running again. I still gave it another five days before going for my first trail run since the surgery on January 8. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVABflY_0YJxH06PapxRT5V8qB98sBhaU3Y3ZSYC3cITQxGnz61B949nB2AcVopZVhxPwRJW2e1U4QYjO6tyAJsF1gYJ5FAvr5I6MAl8fctEspgKXrFBKqkrfJ9ua2Mh1V7Pb7rDi6pHs/s1600/Feet_March10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVABflY_0YJxH06PapxRT5V8qB98sBhaU3Y3ZSYC3cITQxGnz61B949nB2AcVopZVhxPwRJW2e1U4QYjO6tyAJsF1gYJ5FAvr5I6MAl8fctEspgKXrFBKqkrfJ9ua2Mh1V7Pb7rDi6pHs/s320/Feet_March10.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eight weeks post-op (four weeks post-infection.) Side by side comparison. Note the reduced redness around the healing incision site and the definition in the top of the foot again. I can actually see the tendons!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>March 16, 2016</b> - Hopefully the last update to this continuing saga and blog post! I've run the past three days in a row with no foot pain at all. I can tell it's feeling good because I don't think about it or notice it while running. I'm claiming victory at this point even though there's still some healing taking place at the incision and a scab persists. The swelling and redness are all but gone now. I really do think I would have been at this point by week five post-op had I not incurred the staph infection. That set my healing back by three weeks and was pretty scary. I haven't run long enough yet, nor on technical enough trails, to know if the neuroma pain is completely gone but I'm hopeful it will be. Once I go for my first long, tough trail run, I'll update this blog post once more. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thanks to everyone, especially Fritz, who has kept a positive attitude throughout this saga and did their best to keep me positive when I was feeling pretty down. The human body is a pretty amazing thing (as are antibiotics!) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>January 19, 2017</b> - It's been just over a year and I wanted to add a yearly follow-up. In a nutshell, I'm very glad I went through the surgery. I haven't felt any sign of neuroma pain in my foot in many month. In June 2016, six months after surgery, I ran the San Juan Solstice 50 Mile trail race. In July I ran the Hardrock Hundred 100 mile trail race and in August I ran a 165 miles around Mont Blanc in France and never once experienced any concerning foot pain. My story is a success story. If you're experiencing neuroma pain, I hope you're able to find a fix as I did. </span></div>
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Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-38712413474571596032015-11-29T20:51:00.003-08:002015-12-02T14:39:01.031-08:00Nolan's 14 Attempt 2015 (South to North)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="405" scrolling="no" src="https://www.strava.com/activities/387378586/embed/94feac060c664a935bcbc64cf9edfb7c4bd30ba3" width="590"></iframe>
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<b>Sept. 4-6, 2015</b></div>
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71 miles, 36,000' climbing</div>
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57 hours, 7 minutes</div>
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My <a href="https://www.strava.com/activities/387378586">GPS track of entire N14 attempt</a></div>
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It sounds overly dramatic, but in a way I’ve been training
and preparing for the challenge of Nolan’s 14 (N14) for over a decade now. The
notion of enchaining fourteen 14ers in a single continuous push of nearly 100
miles over much no-trail terrain embodies what I love most about mountains and
long distance running combined. I’ve never been a fast runner nor a super
talented mountaineer but I feel I’m pretty good at both disciplines so
combining the two really appeals to me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I first had done some long, multi-peak Sawatch 14er linkups
in the mid-2000s with a few friends and friends-of-friends. At that time a few
of them encouraged me to look into this route called “Nolan’s 14”. Being a
neophyte mountain runner at that time, it sounded pretty impossible but
certainly captured my interest. For the next many years, I did a few more
linkups of Sawatch 14ers and crewed friends Bill, Tom and Homie in a north to
south Nolan’s attempt in August 2009. Since then, I’ve had many a great day
scouting more of the Nolan’s route and figuring what routes I prefer. By the
time I gave my first attempt at the Nolan’s 14 route on Labor Day weekend 2014,
I had been on all of the route except the north side of Mount Princeton. But
that 2014 attempt was from north to south and I didn’t get over Mount Yale so I
still hadn’t seen the north side of Princeton. I spent a weekend scouting it
out and felt good about the entire route going into my 2015 south to north
attempt with five other friends on Labor Day Weekend again. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But first, back to <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10204860171523377.1073741900.1212018300&type=1&l=bcf7b044ba">my
2014 attempt</a>…Going north to south starting with eight or so other friends
and I had a pretty solid first go and exceeded my expectations getting nine
summits (Massive through Columbia) in 33.5 hours but as I ascended the tenth
peak, Mount Yale, at the sunset on the second day, a short but intense rain
storm blasted me above treeline and got so cold I couldn’t warm up. My attempt
was done as continuing higher as the night came on was not a smart idea. I
turned back and hiked out North Cottonwood Creek and called it good at about 60
miles and 29,000 feet of vertical ascent. I was super pleased with that outing
and my effort and learned a good bit about what it takes to complete this
route. The biggest lesson I learned during that effort is to dress super warm
for the nights. Insulated jackets, mittens and heavy duty rain gear. None of
that light duty rain gear. So for 2015 I purchased cheap but warm and dry
(read: not very breathable) <a href="https://www.froggtoggsraingear.com/">Frog
Toggs</a> rain gear. I was ready for the 2015 attempt. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Leading up to the 2015 attempt I spent a weekend scouting
both sides of Mount Princeton and the east side of Mount Huron. These two
segments are, in my opinion, the cruxes of the route so it was great to go into
it knowing these well. I also spent two weekends doing long, high altitude
mountain traverses in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. These two traverses were
two outings I’d long wanted to do but never made the time. Both traverses were
very rewarding in their own right and, as a bonus, made for great N14 training.
The first traverse was the <a href="http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=16294">Northern Sangres
Traverse</a> in the northern-most portion of the Sangres in southern Colorado. The
second traverse, a month later, was a classic traverse in the heart of the
Sangres of New Mexico, the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10207470292174762.1073741936.1212018300&type=1&l=6544b8c5ee">New
Mexico Sangres Traverse</a>. Both traverses served up roughly 30 miles of
rugged mountain ridge running in 12 to 14 hours at a time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When it came time to go for the 2015 attempt my goal was to
better my summit count of 2014 so anything beyond nine summits would mean a
successful outing for me. I still harbored no illusions of actually finishing
the entire route under 60 hours…it’s just too daunting to imagine completing
the entire route. So when we set off early on Friday morning I had my sights
set on Clohesy Lake between Missouri Mountain and Huron Peak as that would mean
I had passed over the tenth summit, Missouri Mountain. If I managed to get that
far, anything beyond that would be icing on the cake and would exceed my
expectations. My friend Julian had done a great job of setting up generous
people giving up their holiday weekend to help support the six of us attempting
N14 by establishing aid stations along the route. Additionally, my Mom and
stepfather, Matt, along with friends Bill, Rebecca, Katrina and Tom, crewed for
me meeting me at trailheads along the way with my supplies, food and gear. I
cannot express my gratitude for volunteers, family and friends that gave up their
holiday weekend to help support me in this endeavor. It’s really very touching
and I hope I can return the favor for others in their endeavors in the future. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghilhmV-qUCVCMziL7QNg0ZTwYgXHzDsxr_uZEcYfVX7e0Ng42YgW0_MNWwW5-RDHQSZxY4pBLuwemEpI4nH4YnL93zsgRezQ4ZsaharRfb3Lo04UfMifw-xcV34jMiJhIHq4630_cFN8/s1600/StartingCrew.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghilhmV-qUCVCMziL7QNg0ZTwYgXHzDsxr_uZEcYfVX7e0Ng42YgW0_MNWwW5-RDHQSZxY4pBLuwemEpI4nH4YnL93zsgRezQ4ZsaharRfb3Lo04UfMifw-xcV34jMiJhIHq4630_cFN8/s640/StartingCrew.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The 2015 crew. Will, Logan, Adam, Julian, John and me (L to R).</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When the six of us set off from the Blank Cabin trailhead
for Mt. Shavano on Friday morning at 5:04am I had only met one of the six,
Julian. I would quickly get to know the four others; Adam, John, Logan and Will
and we would spend the next many hours and miles together. It was really very
nice to have the company of like-minded folks for much of the route. Our ascent
of Mount Shavano went quickly and smooth with Julian setting a great pace the
entire way and we reached the summit of Shavano at 7:10am. We made quick work
of the jaunt over to Tabeguache Peak in 40 minutes, arriving at 7:50am. Some of
the talus between the summits was frosted over making for slippery footing but
otherwise it was a clear, calm day. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjHbXjiX6QUCa4IxJF9JODMaqpdNF2EGHaFK4-rHjqiP0oO4KWq_3U8vN7YtOb-YEVD_iSsChK2_PdQNpRcNJjZpqHDuQxNAQU6IFKLM3T831BrhLQjj2Ylc6VOscggqnGlQfkVntadw/s1600/2015-09-04+06.24.31_sunriseShavano.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDjHbXjiX6QUCa4IxJF9JODMaqpdNF2EGHaFK4-rHjqiP0oO4KWq_3U8vN7YtOb-YEVD_iSsChK2_PdQNpRcNJjZpqHDuQxNAQU6IFKLM3T831BrhLQjj2Ylc6VOscggqnGlQfkVntadw/s640/2015-09-04+06.24.31_sunriseShavano.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sunrise while heading up Shavano</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the summit of Tabeguache the only descent route I had
scouted was a talus ridge from near the saddle between Tabeguache and Shavano that
leads down to Brown’s Creek but Julian and Will had a different idea that piqued
my interest; the so-called “Hamilton route” down Tabeguache into upper Brown’s
Creek basin. The Hamilton route is named after Andrew Hamilton, the current
Colorado 14er speed record holder. It sounded legitimate and would likely beat
a couple thousand feet of talus descending so I hitched my wagon to the gang
and we all descended this route. While longer in distance, it saved some
elevation loss and was really quite pleasant. I’d certainly do it again.
Minimal willow bushwacking was encountered in Brown’s Creek basin and we were
soon making great time to the summit of Mount Antero at 10:50am. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzlFE_Ub9hizV09VZCiSe4oGzxMDK1cbCI3FyPVIrPnZp9abfuQYWTDYGOPu7_Fk8f1Y-gHKeqYmvx94rOWrK8izMkNuCtAhLrtpCIWz99iVRgQM06nWnloZrnIcEq6eaS28purfPOYR8/s1600/TabegaucheToAntero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzlFE_Ub9hizV09VZCiSe4oGzxMDK1cbCI3FyPVIrPnZp9abfuQYWTDYGOPu7_Fk8f1Y-gHKeqYmvx94rOWrK8izMkNuCtAhLrtpCIWz99iVRgQM06nWnloZrnIcEq6eaS28purfPOYR8/s640/TabegaucheToAntero.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Heading up out of Brown's Creek Basin towards Antero with Tabeguache in the background. Julian Smith photo.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Clouds were building all morning and it started to look a
little dark as we hung out on the summit of Antero for a bit. I could see a
rain cell to the north near Mount Yale but not eminent for the Antero area. The
clouds were actually quite nice all day keeping things cool but never really
opening up with rain. All six of us were still together here and instead of
taking the standard ascent/descent route off Antero as I had planned I stuck
with the gang to check out a new-to-me line off Antero. We descended about five
hundred feet to the north off Antero to a small saddle before going due west
down steep talus and scree eventually leading to a very steep treed slope going
straight down to the Baldwin Gulch road at about 10,900’. While this was very direct and short in
distance, it was a pretty leg-intensive, steep descent. I’m not sure I’d do it
again but it was fun to see a new line on Antero and I’m glad I did it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At this point, Julian, Logan and I were a bit ahead of Adam,
Will and John so we mostly walked the Baldwin Gulch road to give the others
time to catch up and we all more or less rolled into the Alpine aid station at
the old cemetery at the same time around 1:15pm. The Alpine aid station was
extremely well setup complete with a pop-up canopy—Chris has outdone herself.
We restocked with food and water. My fueling for the weekend was mostly
comprised of Tailwind powdered drink and cold Dominos pizza. I supplemented the
pizza with energy bars, Powerbar gummy chews and bacon, mostly. My stomach
would never be a problem all weekend and I was stoked about that. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was also excited to see the next section…the mysterious
but well-defined ascending traverse trail from the cemetery up to 10,700’ in
Grouse Gulch on the southwest side of Mount Princeton. I had tried to find this
trail from the top down earlier in the summer and failed miserably. It’s quite
easy to find and follow from down in Alpine, it turns out. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXj6fg13P7_RwQA7Eq-VDLBxWXCZTWdFDwCchd-OYGfoxmysos6zElThu_SG7fLJYYzRMxTKDZ_dpVm6qpNeeGrUBKA3LE1wjERkwGFxauCnX6cKg3W-SpUEchaoP4NsP8_YpUhBj-5g/s1600/2015-09-04+14.15.56_GrouseAscent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdXj6fg13P7_RwQA7Eq-VDLBxWXCZTWdFDwCchd-OYGfoxmysos6zElThu_SG7fLJYYzRMxTKDZ_dpVm6qpNeeGrUBKA3LE1wjERkwGFxauCnX6cKg3W-SpUEchaoP4NsP8_YpUhBj-5g/s640/2015-09-04+14.15.56_GrouseAscent.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sweet single track up into Grouse Gulch</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All six of us more
or less stuck together for the ascent of Mount Princeton as well. In upper
Grouse Gulch we opted to ascend a direct scree/talus slope just south of
“Blake’s Fast Scree Gully” which got us to nearly 13,900’ on Princeton’s
southwest ridge. Once on the ridge it was nice talus hopping to the summit of
Mount Princeton at 4:40pm. Much to my great surprise, my friend Walt from Los
Alamos had been waiting on the summit for nearly an hour for us bearing
freshly-cooked bacon! Yeah! It was quite an uplift to run into Walt up there
after a tough ascent of Mount Princeton. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR1VIUi3Ser9Kop9rPeKoblWtpheMlWwdRDakc__d84kTJNEVUWa8WyGvBJFvx_sBxsR-v3ISmz3X8AWFFIsAfvAyNpEIct3b3gL_nmdTz5CJJQYCBCvFczdiHCUz3iegMbk1iYRjqmQs/s1600/2015-09-04+16.41.42_PrincetonBacon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR1VIUi3Ser9Kop9rPeKoblWtpheMlWwdRDakc__d84kTJNEVUWa8WyGvBJFvx_sBxsR-v3ISmz3X8AWFFIsAfvAyNpEIct3b3gL_nmdTz5CJJQYCBCvFczdiHCUz3iegMbk1iYRjqmQs/s400/2015-09-04+16.41.42_PrincetonBacon.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Princeton summit bacon!</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
From the summit of Mount Princeton, our merry band of six
really split up. Logan was super keen to take a descent route he had scoped
earlier in the summer that went northwest over to near Cottonwood Lake before
descending down to the Colorado Trail and over to the Avalanche Gulch TH for
Yale. Julian and Adam both wanted to join Logan. It sounded a bit complicated to me and I was
really keen to try a descent into Maxwell Gulch that I had scoped earlier in
the summer but hadn’t actually taken. John and Will opted for the more
“standard” Nolan’s route down the NE ridge to the Colorado Trail. At about 5pm
we all went our separate ways off Princeton. The evening turned out quite nice
with sporadic sunbeam bursts and my descent into Maxwell Gulch turned out very
good and I’d certainly do it again. Once in Maxwell Gulch I filled up with
water again (I carried a Sawyer squeeze filter but never ended up filtering
water, opting instead to just drink the water directly.) I had heard of an old mining road in lower
Maxwell Gulch and managed to lock onto that for an easy and smooth descent down
to the CO trail just before 7pm. It rained briefly, but not very hard, as I
descended to the CO trail but once on the trail it dried up again. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqzpEbKT8-xyZIRYpdh8LNfd0Pmy9J3mv-3pdxpsHDojA0ILR1QCCn6cJOyLtW2q0Uv0R_MdWmBrACaKsJFMZ6OZMJhV1yIvmuFAkeEqVSCTp-o2bTEwCKYb5A6UgzC9URJg3Eo8Z8xU/s1600/2015-09-04+17.23.51_PrincetonDescent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxqzpEbKT8-xyZIRYpdh8LNfd0Pmy9J3mv-3pdxpsHDojA0ILR1QCCn6cJOyLtW2q0Uv0R_MdWmBrACaKsJFMZ6OZMJhV1yIvmuFAkeEqVSCTp-o2bTEwCKYb5A6UgzC9URJg3Eo8Z8xU/s640/2015-09-04+17.23.51_PrincetonDescent.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Will and John descend Princeton</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was feeling quite good and it was really very nice to
finally open up my legs and turn my brain off after so much tedious talus
hopping for the past few hours. The running along the CO trail was glorious as
the sun set. Cellular service is really good along this stretch of the CO trail
so I was able to catch up a bit on text messages and even called Allison to
chat with her for about 10 minutes as I trotted along the trail. I made good
time running the trail and got to the Cottonwood Lake road before having to
stop and bust out my headlamp. Just a couple more miles and I’d be at
Avalanche. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I got into the Avalanche trailhead aid, manned by Rita and
Gina, around 8:30pm and I was feeling great. All systems were “Go” and I was
ready to take on the night and the trek over Mount Yale. Bill would accompany
me for this section as he was looking to spend some night time on the trail
with me. Since I’ve never been up Denny Creek and have enjoyed the east ridge
of Yale the couple times I’ve been on it, it was route of choice for the
ascent. After about 30 minutes at the aid station, I left as Julian and Logan
came in. They both suggested I go for Denny Creek but I had my mind made up so
Bill and I headed up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMDEffgjY3Dv1ZBuKqoILY2LGtoBunf0J1k1JQ4hB2I2-u382EVNYhafsZOrAFFCO7hnDR9JXaJSDTqX8n8KkRo-hc4qGdDB_e75MBEdi3LYpcJgtFsgrz5_kfKn6Z7-i6RmgvaGZJBg/s1600/Bill_Jason_Yale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkMDEffgjY3Dv1ZBuKqoILY2LGtoBunf0J1k1JQ4hB2I2-u382EVNYhafsZOrAFFCO7hnDR9JXaJSDTqX8n8KkRo-hc4qGdDB_e75MBEdi3LYpcJgtFsgrz5_kfKn6Z7-i6RmgvaGZJBg/s640/Bill_Jason_Yale.jpg" width="352" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Suited up in the light rain to head up Yale through the night. Patty Simi photo.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ascent up to the east ridge proper went pretty well but
as soon as we started up the ridge proper, leaving the trees behind, the wind
and cold air really made itself known. However, I had learned from last year to
“overdress” at night so I donned my heavy mittens, insulated jacket and warm
beanie and I was in good shape. The East Ridge is steep and loose at times and
I was feeling the accumulated elevation gain of the four 14ers I’d already
ascended so I began to fade a bit. A number of times I chose to sit down and
close my eyes for just a moment or two. Clouds rolled in giving the already cold and
dark night an ominous feel for the last few hundred feet. We saw a headlamp up
on top and assumed it was Logan. Turned out we were correct. Logan had reached
the summit about 10 minutes before we had. On the summit I sat down only for a
few minutes before getting cold again and quickly motivated for the descent.
Just a few paces on the descent and we ran into Julian and his friend Steve(?)
as they neared the summit. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had done this Mount Yale descent before but in the
daylight. For the most part it was easy to follow the line I had previously
taken but damn did it feel much longer than it had in the past. We could see
Logan’s headlamp ahead of us and behind us we saw the headlamps of Julian and
Steve. Bill and I finally reached the saddle between Point 13,105’ and Point
12,619’ and it was time to descend the “airplane gully” down to North
Cottonwood Creek. The airplane gully is steep, bushy and full of vegetation.
There’s not really a trail either. The grass and vegetation was wet making for
treacherous footing and a soaking experience. By the time we got to near the
bottom of the airplane gully I was pretty frustrated, wet and super tired. Then
we had to deal with the tree deadfall. That was horrendous. In the daylight
it’s a bit easier to navigate the tree deadfall because you can see a good
distance ahead and pick a decent line that minimizes tree hopping and
ducking-under. No such luxury in the dark. I was pissed. I really felt bad for
Bill because he hadn’t been through here before and I was leading him on the
worst tree hopping/crawling/ducking expedition possible. Somehow I feel I
managed to lead us over every single possible dead tree in this section. My CPM
(curses per minute) was at an all-time high and while it embarrassed me to be
blurting out so many expletives, I couldn’t stop. That deadfall brought out the
worst of me. By the time we hit the North Cottonwood aid station at 4:30am where
my Mom, Matt and Tom were waiting, I was a full-on asshole. I apologized for my
attitude but still I shouldn’t have let it get that out of line. This was the
lowest moment of the weekend for me and I had to work hard to turn my frown
upside down. As it turned out, Julian and Logan also both had a devil of a time
with this descent so we were all happy to spend a solid hour at the aid station
to regain our composure and steel our nerves to head up into the now windy
conditions above treeline. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The highlight of the night, however, had to be the awesome
remote aid station that Shelby and Martin had put together in North Cottonwood.
Shelby was quick to hand me a warm bowl of Deb Pero’s famous potato and bacon
soup which really hit the spot. Any thoughts of calling it quits at this point
slowly faded as each spoonful of soup hit my lips. However, an unfortunate
mix-up meant that my cold pizza had been left back at the car, two miles away.
The thought of taking on Columbia, Harvard, Oxford, Belford and Missouri
without my favorite food was hard to swallow. Thankfully, the valiant Tom came
to the rescue running two miles back down to the car, grabbing my pizza and
running back to the aid station in short order. Julian and I had decided to
wait until the sun started to come up before heading up so the wait was not a
problem. In the meantime, Martin was kind enough to allow me to lay down in his
tent to get out of the drizzling rain and stay a bit warmer as we waited.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Around 6am, Julian and I motivated to head up Columbia.
Logan had headed out about half an hour ahead of us. As I plodded up the trail
behind Julian, the wind was whipping up above us and the whistling noise was
not at all motivating. We pressed on and it wasn’t long before we broke out
above treeline and up what I feel is the worst route on a Colorado 14er, the west
slope of Columbia. Steep, loose, braided and just not at all fun. It was made
even less fun with the wind, especially once on the ridge heading north to the
summit. We reached the summit around 9:30am and sat down for a snack. At this
point I still hadn’t found my mojo again and mentioned to Julian I may head
back down the way we came and call it a day. He gave me a puzzled look and I
don’t recall if he said anything but it was clear what I said was ridiculous.
I’m glad he reacted the way he did and set me straight. I was thinking nonsense
and he called me on it. It was great. After a short break we got up and
continued on our way towards Harvard. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYKnXlVzPA9v-tTp67FLpdCe7EgkdgB56KQSXC7674yRzP1uvZenQxgtjlj0qMJooIXtiLi0naAbjCE6PnCOcoJMK81jsQMa5y8hC7jJu3qddSjQowlD9jQfV1wskMgA9Oa71ZVCDYLo/s1600/2015-09-05+11.31.54_HarvardAscent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXYKnXlVzPA9v-tTp67FLpdCe7EgkdgB56KQSXC7674yRzP1uvZenQxgtjlj0qMJooIXtiLi0naAbjCE6PnCOcoJMK81jsQMa5y8hC7jJu3qddSjQowlD9jQfV1wskMgA9Oa71ZVCDYLo/s640/2015-09-05+11.31.54_HarvardAscent.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Heading up out of Frenchman Creek basin</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m accustomed to staying a good bit higher in elevation in
upper Frenchman Creek basin but it’s a ton of talus hopping and not always much
fun so when Julian headed further down in elevation to avoid the talus and stay
more on grass, I was intrigued and followed along. It worked out pretty well
and is certainly easier on the mind versus the talus hopping. Getting lower in
elevation got us out of the wind a bit more and I finally felt like I was
warming up. The warmth was nice to enjoy for a bit before we headed back up the
ridge and back into the strong winds en route to Harvard’s summit at 12:40pm. I
found a little nook in some boulders just below the summit to enjoy some pizza.
I was able to get text messages on my phone here and received a few encouraging
messages from friends which helped boost my increasingly better mood. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Julian and I made decent time on the descent of Harvard’s north
ridge and slope down to Pine Creek by around 2:45pm. It was awesome to see an
aid station down in Pine Creek. I believe his name was Richard and his wife’s
name I have unfortunately forgotten. We enjoyed some soup, chocolate teddy
grahams and pleasant conversation with Richard and his wife. Moments later,
Logan and his friend Cordis came back down to the aid station after a brief
false start up Oxford. At this point it started raining and there was some
decent thunder further up the valley so we all opted to wait it out under the
cover the trees next to the small campfire at the aid station. We ended up
hanging out for about 90 minutes, all told, before motivating to head up and
out around 4:45pm. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The ascent up Oxford went quite smooth. We all knew the
route pretty well and despite wet grass resulting in wet feet, we enjoyed
having a group of four for conversation. But again, as we got above 13,000’ the
wind was pretty strong and quite cold. All four of us got pretty chilled as we
reached the summit of Oxford just before 7pm. In fact, Cordis was cold enough
to skip the summit of Oxford and stayed lower going directly down to the saddle
between Oxford and Belford. Meanwhile, Julian, Logan and I all hunkered down in
the small summit wind block area on top of Oxford. I even took my shoes and
socks off to put them in the wind and hopefully dry out a bit. I’m not sure things dried out much, or at all,
unfortunately. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitx4pbIMuD5MJtVDbQrCClqzgRBIndOsBHG0MAF1XFcCYgPxkFmwp-Pi50exM2G7LpdcESoej51_XcqyONu-fcR5xwDg6F32YssJmhe3Pfm-ymVtJgx7SOujOUH5UMRonQwnifeWIBkXs/s1600/2015-09-05+19.10.50_OxfordSummit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitx4pbIMuD5MJtVDbQrCClqzgRBIndOsBHG0MAF1XFcCYgPxkFmwp-Pi50exM2G7LpdcESoej51_XcqyONu-fcR5xwDg6F32YssJmhe3Pfm-ymVtJgx7SOujOUH5UMRonQwnifeWIBkXs/s640/2015-09-05+19.10.50_OxfordSummit.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Julian and Logan take a load off on the summit of Oxford</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a short bit of summit time, we headed over to Belford via
the connecting ridge. I caught up to Cordis just after the low point on the
saddle and he said he was quite cold. The air temperature had dropped just
after the sun set and with the wind on the ridge, it was pretty frigid. I had
an extra Frog Toggs rain shell jacket and pants in my pack so Cordis put the
kit on. It was pretty hilarious because the rain kit was too large on me and
extremely large on Cordis. But the kit did a great job of keeping the warmth in
so he wasn’t complaining. All of us headed to the summit of Belford in the
brutal wind and tagged the summit around 8:20pm just before it got dark enough
to mandate a headlamp. Cordis continued over the summit and down to the
Missouri Gulch trailhead while Julian, Logan and I headed down to Elkhead Pass.
I scampered down pretty quickly to the pass and was able to lay down for a bit,
maybe five minutes, and close my eyes and rest some before Julian and Logan
reached the pass. The brief “doze-off” felt great. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When Julian and Logan arrived at the pass we had to decide
how we wanted to tackle Missouri. Logan and I were keen to skirt around the
southeast face of Missouri and Julian humored us. I’d been on this south face
traverse coming down from Missouri and over to Elkhead twice in the past but
both times during the day. Logan had recently scouted it too so we felt good
about it. Turns out it’s pretty difficult in the dark! We ended up farting
around a bit trying to decide when to head up. I think, in the end, we did not
traverse far enough southwest before heading up. Eventually I found a
fourth-class gully that looked good enough to me so I went for it. It worked
out well and I hit the south ridge at 13,700’ around 10:40pm. I called down to
Julian and Logan that the line went and they opted to follow me up. I had
another chance to sit and “rest my eyes” for a bit while they two of them
ascended the gully. Once we were all together we headed up the final bit to the
summit and sat on top at 11:30pm. It was breezy and a bit foggy on the summit
so we didn’t stay long. Julian and Logan were able to use the FRS radio to chat
with crew down at Clohesy Lake. The crew had been able to see our headlamp
light reflect in the clouds and it was a boost knowing they were all down
there. The three of us had a short discussion about where the route down to
Clohesy was from where we were at so I used my phone and Locus Pro app with a
GPS track showing my route from last summer to get us set straight. We headed
northwest, then west, on the ridge before dropping down to the lake. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Back when I head left the summit of Harvard, I had sent a
text message to Tom and my crew suggesting I’d called it quits at Clohesy Lake.
That would have gotten me through 10 summits and I would be very pleased with
that. Apparently my crew was prepared to give me a pep talk and get me to
continue beyond Clohesy Lake but as I rolled into Clohesy around 1:00am, I had
already decided I’d continue on through at least Huron Peak and over to
Winfield. I had a second wind come through and was feeling good mentally and
physically. No reason to stop! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The aid station crew at Clohesy Lake was chock full of
experienced ultrarunners and crew folks and the vibe was fun and very
supportive. They had a massive campfire going which helped warm us all up and
get us excited to press on into the overnight. I think I downed some Muscle
Milk protein drink, some coffee and snacked on various foods before getting
ready to head out. Julian, Logan and I spent probably close to 30 minutes
around the fire enjoying its warmth and chatting with the large crew. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We chatted about our route up Huron and I was quite keen to
take the route I’ve done a couple times up Huron—ascending the basin to the
north of the Lois Lake Basin despite the Lois Lake basin being the more common
Nolan’s route up/down Huron on the Clohesy side. Julian and Logan were both
interested to see this route so we headed out from the aid station around
1:30am. A small log bridge across the outlet stream of Clohesy Lake allowed us
to keep our feet dry on the crossing. After a short bit of bushwacking the
route into this basin goes straight up a gully full of giant, stable blocks for
about 300 vertical feet. It’s pretty engaging scrambling so it kept me mentally
focused and warded off any thoughts of sleep. We did a good job of navigating
and were soon bouncing across the talus of the upper basin before the steep
climb to the ridge. The clouds came in and gave an eerie feel to the night as
well as obscure the route for a few moments every now and then. Going through
the wee hours of our second night, the three of us started to drag. At about
4:30am the three of all sat down and, without discussion, just nodded off for
about 15 minutes. We all snapped awake when a short bit of drizzle passed over
us. It was another few hundred feet to the 13,400’ ridge north of Huron. Right
around this time, unbeknownst to me, my Delorme InReach battery died. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On the ridge a little after 5:00am we could see the
headlamps of a couple of other hikers coming up the standard route from
Winfield. The next bit of talus traversing from our ridge to the standard route
trail is normally fun talus hopping but after the freezing cold, damp night the
talus was covered in verglass and was extremely treacherous and slow-going. I
found myself often using both hands for stability along this traverse. I felt
pretty bad about this because I know Julian and Logan weren’t psyched on this
route in these conditions and it was me who had led them this way. They were
troopers to push through the conditions with no complaining. We were all pretty
chilled being up in the clouds and as we got higher we encountered a bit of
snow covering the last couple hundred feet to the summit of Huron. We reached
Huron’s summit around 6:30am and didn’t linger in the chilly conditions. The
descent was a bit slippery on the upper few hundred feet but quickly dried up
and got warmer as we got lower. <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGguWuctXUqq00eNfybStk_AQsX3rvWATSil2yHMHrOVCK1HrBvYS5BSygApv-6NHpJq1-pIvnVZk7jMIEP_hVn1f7Yh6ryyfR2y7ISsxqBlwybx_pvshmt1EESnfQgu11G-ZcoQagG6k/s1600/2015-09-06+06.51.35_Huron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGguWuctXUqq00eNfybStk_AQsX3rvWATSil2yHMHrOVCK1HrBvYS5BSygApv-6NHpJq1-pIvnVZk7jMIEP_hVn1f7Yh6ryyfR2y7ISsxqBlwybx_pvshmt1EESnfQgu11G-ZcoQagG6k/s640/2015-09-06+06.51.35_Huron.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sunrise from near the summit of Huron</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The rising sun really gave me a boost and that, along with
passing by a large number of hikers heading up the trail as I descended, I was
amped up. I was 49 hours into the outing and suddenly feeling the best I’d felt
the entire time. It was a wild feeling but I was ready to open it up and run it
into Winfield and cruise over the next 14er, La Plata. I stripped some layers
as I got down to the dirt road that leads into Winfield. Coming up the road
from Winfield was Steve Bremner and he was kind enough to turn around and run with
me for about 10 minutes giving me some company into Winfield at around 8:20am. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My Mom, Matt, Tom, Bill, Rebecca, Katrina and a host of
others were waiting at Winfield with freshly cooked bacon and breakfast
burritos! I was keen to eat a bit of food, drink up a bit and get out towards
La Plata summit’s as soon as possible so I made it a quick turnover of about 15
minutes in Winfield changing socks and shoes quickly. A fellow ultrarunner
runner from Kansas, Sophia, had put together an amazing aid station at Winfield
and I felt bad for blowing in and out of there given just how awesome it was
but I did manage to enjoy some of her freshly-cooked bacon before hitting the
road. Since it would be dirt road and trail from here on out, I grabbed my
ultra poles for the next bit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-DhLZ2WwcVo1StoJ_36vhdVgETkjzah6ec98U0IYjMf6MNshKrO4Y6Vwv_YkSZoc2fAGYshk6sH6PqvO7E59QFkyNAYmmR15bkT1sMZJLp3eydJ5SDOGcMSMFVamAimalku5Kx5_onc/s1600/LeavingWinfield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK-DhLZ2WwcVo1StoJ_36vhdVgETkjzah6ec98U0IYjMf6MNshKrO4Y6Vwv_YkSZoc2fAGYshk6sH6PqvO7E59QFkyNAYmmR15bkT1sMZJLp3eydJ5SDOGcMSMFVamAimalku5Kx5_onc/s640/LeavingWinfield.jpg" width="352" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Leaving Winfield amped up. Tom Stockton photo.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Leaving Winfield by 8:45am or so, I fired up <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS4RGbq5wOw&list=PLUEyKb2rhsn9j6AWs7do5lifsnke5eS1X">some tunes</a> from
my phone and managed to do a good bit of running up the road up the North Fork
of Clear Creek and La Plata’s southwest side. My good friend Bill quickly
caught up to me from Winfield to give me some company over La Plata. It was
great to be back in the mountains with Bill and especially great at this point
in the outing. We motivated and pushed pretty swiftly to reach the summit of La
Plata at noon making it a 5.5 hour split from the summit of Huron to the summit
of La Plata—something I was super, super pleased about that pace at this stage
of the adventure. </div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1gdSb2NPEqKYBZMkrppsMhRptfRyFkMWiN3YCtV8PdpdXf3OhcHlzBzu49s3CRulV-4T2Wm9yPzlsIgJkhsE9BbPgm5y-Gko0QnKTn7RZ0fRTxcmjTZBOxafJMgBoPYiKKyTeZ5n1jQ/s1600/2015-09-06+12.06.09_LaPlata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1gdSb2NPEqKYBZMkrppsMhRptfRyFkMWiN3YCtV8PdpdXf3OhcHlzBzu49s3CRulV-4T2Wm9yPzlsIgJkhsE9BbPgm5y-Gko0QnKTn7RZ0fRTxcmjTZBOxafJMgBoPYiKKyTeZ5n1jQ/s640/2015-09-06+12.06.09_LaPlata.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>From the summit of La Plata, looking north to the remaining two 14ers, Elbert and Massive, I did not make it to.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The day was beautiful and I was feeling great. With the
InReach dead, I was still able to send a text status update to Facebook to keep
friends and family updated on my progress and the comments and replies were
very uplifting. I was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgXObaM9i2Q" target="_blank">utterly stoked! </a><o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill and I munched on some snacks on the summit for about
ten minutes before beginning the descent down the standard route to highway 82
at La Plata gulch. It was an uneventful and enjoyable scamper down the trail
and to the trailhead at 2:07pm…a total of 57:07 for 12 peaks trailhead to
trailhead. I was so stoked with this effort! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I had given a good amount of thought about going on to
Elbert and perhaps Massive if I could have kept feeling good even though it
would easily be another 14+ hours but many factors made me decide to call it
good at this point. It was a beautiful afternoon and this adventure had only
been possible thanks to the support of my Mom, Matt and friends that had come
up to the area for the weekend. I really wanted to enjoy the rest of the
beautiful afternoon with them instead of just seeing them for brief spurts of
time at various meeting points along the route. It would have been very selfish
to ask for more support after everyone had given up nearly 60 hours of non-stop
time to help me in my adventure. It was awesome to stop, sit in a chair and
enjoy a beer with my family and friends on this gorgeous summer afternoon. Life
was great and I wanted to soak it up. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<b>Thank you</b><br />
I cannot adequately express how grateful I am for everyone that helped make this attempt so successful. Many people, from family to friends to people I hadn't ever met, gave up their weekend to give me the best chance at success possible. If you were one of those people please know that your help means the world to me and accept my heartfelt gratitude for what you've done. Thank you!</div>
Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-6182305016960600362015-05-29T14:34:00.002-07:002016-01-20T09:31:23.182-08:00Freestanding Campus Board/Hang Board Setup for Climbing Training<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;">We live in a small town home sans garage but wanted a decent campus board and hang board setup. A friend came up with a relatively easy (few cuts) 4'x8', 15-degree campus board setup. It's indoors (in a bedroom) so I wanted a decent paint job instead of just unpainted plywood. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;">I tinkered with the design a bit and am really pleased with what resulted (especially the zia paint job!) </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px; text-align: left;">Here's what I ended up with. It's super functional and I'm really proud of the end result. Allison and I (and a friend or two) have had some great training sessions on it so far...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1xTeeJhG8blwjX5IXNcdcMSXZt4ui6Hfqe5UdqtR6oW4i9GouW-rGKB8ovPvJnsQ2LAI3nLnWzwsyWgfRJpv5ITHyZVORVZVHGCz8-z_xEOK461kSMW0et1E0aSNLlSkmtrAerLbIkE/s1600/CampusBoardFourUp+IMG_1869.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW1xTeeJhG8blwjX5IXNcdcMSXZt4ui6Hfqe5UdqtR6oW4i9GouW-rGKB8ovPvJnsQ2LAI3nLnWzwsyWgfRJpv5ITHyZVORVZVHGCz8-z_xEOK461kSMW0et1E0aSNLlSkmtrAerLbIkE/s320/CampusBoardFourUp+IMG_1869.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">I'm not great with construction, or math, so it ended up at 12 degrees at first and then an easy modification got it to 16 degrees. Still have room for another set of campus rungs on the left side. <a href="http://www.metoliusclimbing.com/campus_rungs.html">Metolius wooden "medium rungs"</a> on the right side. </span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Initially, the foot board was two feet tall and on the same plane as the upper board. That didn't allow room for my knees (I'm 6'5") and was awkward for foot placements. I trimmed it down to 20" tall and set it vertical and it's way,way better now.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2SPc2Rl9jD9rnxrGVWlka9LYbktx4qoczy3DdiZyPf5QA9uvEs5NnzYYWxCcbJ-sjgkggUii9354chKc5OdvgmHX2GZ6H99lEDakkfmAayyhE6SBF3RwSHcYGA63zdK_xZNW7TqUZFQ/s1600/CampusBoardFourUp+IMG_1868.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2SPc2Rl9jD9rnxrGVWlka9LYbktx4qoczy3DdiZyPf5QA9uvEs5NnzYYWxCcbJ-sjgkggUii9354chKc5OdvgmHX2GZ6H99lEDakkfmAayyhE6SBF3RwSHcYGA63zdK_xZNW7TqUZFQ/s320/CampusBoardFourUp+IMG_1868.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">If the hangboard were up all the time, it would severely impact the campus board's usability so I found some "<a href="http://www.easternmarine.com/karavan-cross-member-bunk-bracket-227-00185-al">bunk bed brackets</a>" online</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">, mounted them to a 2x8 and that board hangs on two beefy hooks at the top of the campus board. Two wooden stops on the top inside of the frame support the hangboard board and keep it solid. The pulley system connects to eyebolts in the top of the campus board frame so the weight is on the frame, not on the removable board.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2Df-Z0XZSVO05wdRFCrKJDWzXzMtZVcgbD69lVEomlDR2vSJesIvPDbb72dxW61eau97IWyP6Ca-_ZLrW8-tRorTPnj8B-zcUGrdRQX-NuJ99NV1K1YLgqzCQt9e_0vWCRMC9EeMqA0/s1600/CampusBoardFourUp+IMG_1870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-2Df-Z0XZSVO05wdRFCrKJDWzXzMtZVcgbD69lVEomlDR2vSJesIvPDbb72dxW61eau97IWyP6Ca-_ZLrW8-tRorTPnj8B-zcUGrdRQX-NuJ99NV1K1YLgqzCQt9e_0vWCRMC9EeMqA0/s320/CampusBoardFourUp+IMG_1870.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Using the excellent plans from this <a href="http://rockclimberstrainingmanual.com/2014/11/12/adjustable-mount-2-0-for-the-rock-prodigy-training-center/">blog post at Rock Climber's Training Manual,</a> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">we've got an adjustable/removable hangboard setup. It's easy to slide the grips wider or narrower depending on who's doing a workout or take them off completely so make putting up/taking down the hangboard board easier. I found some perfect "<a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/The-Hillman-Group-Bar-Holder-Open-in-Zinc-Plated-5-Pack-851903-0/203809718">bar holder open" brackets</a> from the local Do It Best store that fit perfectly over the 2x8. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">Then the <a href="http://www.trango.com/p-232-rock-prodigy-training-center-by-trango.aspx">Rock Prodigy Training Center</a> (RPTC) board slides onto the removable board. This allows for adjustability and a lighter setup so it's easier to put up/remove the removable board.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: left;">We recently added four hand-made sloper rungs using 4" PVC pipe cut in half, lengthwise, and glueing on 80 grit sandpaper for the surface. A trimmed 2x4 behind the PVC pipe sloper rung adds stability to the rungs. And because summer is upon us, we got two <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00851LVLS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00">5" O2 Cool battery operated clip-on fans</a>. The fans clip onto the RPTC holds and add much-appreciated cooling airflow during hangboard workouts:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3YDNRTq0gxKIylbo-qnJ1XiR9RNhis0PgUxFsESm7IQLpefKaGszCDKYLN62wDxtNktiHfqdyQCKPE0q10_u3jW7P75D-nP8N1_VYeP52PhHsYVthd2USFSfm5Svwgwql3jdFLtpCwc/s1600/IMG_2136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3YDNRTq0gxKIylbo-qnJ1XiR9RNhis0PgUxFsESm7IQLpefKaGszCDKYLN62wDxtNktiHfqdyQCKPE0q10_u3jW7P75D-nP8N1_VYeP52PhHsYVthd2USFSfm5Svwgwql3jdFLtpCwc/s320/IMG_2136.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-23982568165838029482013-07-11T21:46:00.000-07:002013-07-11T21:46:45.751-07:00Dolomiti Extreme 53k 2013 Race Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pZ24NMsyL7fW9__4QftSsdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sXGsMWEHFftBSgvNQricDZCAASnpJ2FVJdk701dzjps0i4kUO9b7jHn8eXkCYKMIzf2JtzPrKAzl1j4u8G-4BPJfgT0N2Sh5Lc54RpZAIMLTDzmQ71mkfkKODTdG7h4QGVZhUcz-p9Q/s400/20130608_030822.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a>
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<a href="http://www.dolomitiextremetrail.com/">Dolomiti Extreme 53k</a><br>
June 8, 2013<br>
<a href="https://connect.garmin.com/activity/325276307">GPS data</a><br>
8:44:31, 68th overall of 316<br>
<a href="http://www.tds-live.com/ns/index.jsp?login&password&is_domenica=0&nextRaceId&dpbib&dpcat&dpsex&serviziol=null&id=5079&pageType=1&servizio=000&locale=2057">Full results</a><br>
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/DolomitiExtreme53kRaceJune82013#">My photos from the race</a>
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My left foot was throbbing and radiating pain. I couldn’t even weight it without grimacing. And I was feeling quite depressed. I was in Italy and in three days I was supposed to meet up with Bill and run the first annual Dolomiti Extreme 53 kilometer trail race in the majestic Dolomite Mountains of northern Italy. The way my foot was feeling, though, there wasn’t a chance I’d be able to run, or even walk, 53 kilometers of rugged trail. I’d spent a good deal of time and money to get here and now, just days before the race, I felt I’d be sitting in the hotel room during the race instead of enjoying the company of 350 other runners in the scenic Dolomites.<p>
Earlier in the afternoon, Nat and I had <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDHN8qf7vHgaT9u5hPi8ra8YwhJlzUNuZaOHurwCFICLshK9gTgxSn-6rNASFWXsbFdq9g3XGWB9o5l-PnzjEEaYW1q8GTkY_a_b3EuWK0p7RUGB9iuFk_sy1KeLxByP-PYUsmdHQelmw/s144/Italy%2520DSC04049.jpg">gone for a hike</a> up Cima Capi (900m) outside of the town of Torbole near Lake Garda to consume the views of Lake Garda from the summit. The day had been excellent. Our group of four--Allison, Stephanie, Nat and me--had done some rock climbing at a nice, newer crag called Bassilandia and then <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANg9hFzYEUDG2ap7RcgTm93eimONT8vby7rz11OMT-60hM0m64XujbgxGDG2hzqwNj06-yMQbIRNihugh04tAwi_XAV96cHf0KqxblrjAC9kXC0VIqUCcjnaWNHcIBzozuKixCY-jkY8/s144/Italy%2520DSC03920.jpg">explored a unique via ferrata</a> through a slot canyon-like gorge below the Drea Castle. Our hike up 2700’ vertical of Cima Capi had been enjoyable and swift. However, as we reached the top, my left foot began aching. I had banged it a little bit earlier in the day while climbing and thought that was the cause of the discomfort. So I just gritted it out. But as we descended, the pain got increasingly worse until I was obviously limping and favoring my other foot. By the time we got back to our rented apartment, I couldn’t even weight the foot. What was going on? I’d never felt this much pain in my foot. Thoughts of writing off the rest of the trip went through my mind as my attitude soured. I went to bed thinking I had done something serious to my foot and that perhaps much of my summer would be impacted, not just the race in a few days, by this injury. I nodded off to a fitful night’s sleep as my foot throbbed.<p>
When I awoke my foot was tender to the touch but feeling quite a bit better. Still, as bad as it had hurt, I planned to do nothing for the next two days to give me a shot at running at least half of the race on Saturday. Thursday morning the four of us went rock climbing at one of the more famous and historic crags in the Arco area, Massone. My plan was to just belay all day and take it easy. But I’m not very good at taking it easy and the temptation to climb was too great. I hopped on a climb and found my foot didn’t hurt while climbing. This was good news…at least I could climb for the rest of the trip. We enjoyed a great day of climbing before heading north to the Dolomites to meet with Bill and Rebecca. As the day went on, my foot felt better and better. I was even walking without a limp now. How could this be? I couldn’t even stand on it the night prior.<p>
We met with Bill and Rebecca that evening at <a href="http://www.venere.com/hotels/cibiana-di-cadore/hotel-albergo-ristorante-remauro/">our hotel</a> in the Cibana di Cadore and had a scrumptious dinner cooked by the Romano the chef at the hotel’s restaurant. Over dinner Bill had mentioned that he had once over-tightened his shoes resulting in some significant, but temporary, pain that disappeared quickly after he loosened his laces. When I thought about it, I _had_ really cranked down the laces on my Brooks Cascadia shoes because they were wet from the afternoon’s gorge exploration and I didn’t want my toes sliding down into the front of the shoes. Hmm…could that really be the explanation? It seemed way to painful for something as simple as that but, as it turned out, that must have been this issue because my foot “healed” up just fine and I got to enjoy an awesome day of running in the Dolomites on June 8th, 2013…<p>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SNao4lB4V4YAi4vkBeEfktMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqzvdMiQaias8aR3GXXtqCdXq7mQ_yYO8jhDQm6S1n9plvCdnWbERQWK1Q42UKjX70d5JLIHblr6_L-uC7_7r1U-rCvSZPgmXhRLHKxKU8hFikndyOOmilKS3Q_-PJew5ncwjMWYOIbQ/s400/20130607_232037.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><br><b>Lining up deep in the crowd at the start</b><p>
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This was my first non-American ultra race and I was super excited about it. The Europeans have a reputation for being strong ultrarunners. Also, they have a reputation for running in lycra capris and using poles liberally. All of these reputations are spot on. Bill and I stuck out like, well, Americans, at the start line in our short-sleeved shirts and non-skin-tight running shorts. We did look like everyone else in that we both had running backpacks on. The race organizers require each participant to carry a few mandatory items including a whistle, a cell phone, a flexible bandage, a space blanket, long pants, long-sleeved shirt and a rain jacket. Also, the race was advertised as being “cupless” so I carried a hand bottle in addition to the hydration water bladder in my pack. All of this mandatory equipment was much more than I would normally carry in a 53 kilometer race. And I really don’t like running with a pack. But alas, it worked out well and my old school Ultimate Direction Wasp pack served me well in yet another race.<p>
The race is a 53 kilometer loop starting and ending in the town of Forno di Zoldo in the heart of the Dolomites. The course climbs 11,500’ and descends about the same amount (the finish is uphill from the start so it’s not quite 11,500’ of descent.) At 5:30am we started from the main street in Forno di Zoldo. It starts getting light around 4:15am in the summer in the Dolomites so no headlamp was required. Bill and I were quite a ways back in the pack at the start and the race quickly funnels into some narrow streets before entering even more narrow trails. So we resigned ourselves to sticking together for a while and just enjoying the easy pace behind roughly a hundred runners in front of us. From the start the race more or less just climbs and climbs to Passo Duran, a pass with a paved highway crossing it. Rebecca met us there to take some photos and give encouragement. After Passo Duran we climbed even more towards the base of Monte Moiazza as we ran towards Monte Civetta. The course was extremely muddy through some lush meadows as we ascended. At one point my left shoe got stuck in the mud, mid-stride, leaving my shoe in the mud as my foot continued forward. I was able to stop before plunging my socked-foot into the mud, though. More steep climbing awaited us and the queue slowed to a very easy pace as we all just grunted up towards a small water stop at about mile 11. <p>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yv0PjjQQ8YEXTElRkTe3p9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHiszDra9FYvR2IC4rxwX63RBxXRINds-cgnlnRiIeUlPfeq7J3hsjBa7BYmBv3RuwfErmeQwwCfBCIZJTF8hPt05C7TbYAR5CGoyrGfx9iMUFRrcf8HcTF1vqGb29CWBsBUs9ww36Q9M/s400/20130608_014222.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><br><b>Scenic running early in the race</b><p></center>
After the water stop we descended on some steep, slick trail for about a mile before entering the top of a really steep, loose gorge/couloir. A volunteer at the top cautioned us to take it slow. I peered into this couloir and was a bit surprised the course actually went through it--it looked pretty sketchy. I worked my way down into it slowly and was being very deliberate so as to not kick rocks down on the others below. But some overly-motivated runner above me decided to be extremely disrespectful and dangerous and tred to move quickly through here. He quickly yelled, "rock!" and I looked up to see a rock the size of my torso coming down. I sucked up against the wall as the rock tumbled by and, thankfully, stopped before endangering anyone else. He apologized profusely (at least I think he was apologizing--I couldn't understand the language) and we all carried on to the more firm trail below. <p>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tGrelJ84mqh2pfPCBxYBLdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcdgdYB7IhFrpupZ-bcuutYJIclmfwt_uqBzyFkvvIlwMZu8YULiibLBs9sKJIHBy4tr_Nk8WbxO9V9lElT6MLjwduf7A8gRhR4DPfRsGqn0XRTEMXwkPkda9gOFYnT_TFcS57dQLpp0E/s400/20130608_024514.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><br><b>The gnarly descent chute</b><p></center>
The spacing between runners was opening up and I felt happy to be able to actually run and power hike quickly up the ascents for a few more miles. Because Bill and I had gone out so slowly, my energy level was high and I was feeling great as the scenic miles ticked off and I passed a number of other runners. We traversed for quite a while well below the huge faces of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Monte_Civetta.jpg">Monte Civetta</a> (the banner image for this blog post) and I watched and heard numerous avalanches tear down the rock faces above. I was thankful the course had been re-routed to this lower elevation! <br>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/L_nDlB_Xhq2fv4zA6UjpVNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNpha6oENOLn_RHUeL9VMlpAkYw2ovaRI49Mu0ay666mpYv9MPgfA4aaf-u57EsBmbZT8dPM0YbLvqcSr77Xf5DlcBX9S4QpSw35qSKUjv9UUZHNNPtQrD39RR-2ItmePN111qn8r88As/s400/20130608_040446_HDR.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><br><b>Looking up at Monte Civetta from the ski area.</b><p>
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We dropped down to the mountain town of Mareson-Pecol before heading up a ski area outside of the town. Here the air was still and the sun hot so it became a bit of a grind up the mountain. But I was still feeling pretty strong and able to pass by a number of runners before reaching the top of the ski area and heading towards the mile 23 aid station at the crossing of the major highway 251. I was looking forward to this aid station because it was the one spot on the course where I'd see Allison. Her, Rebecca and Stephanie had driven up there to cheer us on as we passed through. I could hear the cars and stepped up my pace on the easy downhill single track. I rounded a corner and there they were cheering and clapping. It was a very nice boost! <br>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ryPocaaveFzDx0XRpJMqiNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRfkM0HxpF6yDn4rBosfH6Kbu1Xa2i5gXILj6aKzzJVxNhP8AlEC9yg2etI1OvNHcC_peXWis2k2Moq6IiLS60z-zmZuS-LqrKCJ2_Kj_gBduvD9-n2jWdviFLqvkstQTgciUBn-_73o/s400/ItalyDay6-7%2520062.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a><br><b>Running down into the mile 23 aid station</b><p>
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From the aid station we climbed up a bit before running some really nice single track at treeline traversing along the base of the impressive <a href="http://www.summitpost.org/monte-pelmo-group/151266">Monte Pelmo</a>. The huge limestone walls of the west and south faces had me dreaming up coming back to climb up there. And then I began to notice the clouds. The afternoon storms were starting to roll in but it looked clear where we were headed so I figured I had some more time before I'd get wet. <br>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iCLB4Jq-K3_eSP6TxF0Y-dMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbo5FGz4AYsVGzRwG1tQ2J-JRuyZSaztK0-9cYY4X1fPbq64TxrMqD2j-w89GJ97b9_DgXnGNOSxOseauv1SiNCpO6qZ6JJOvU1TtVDr3GxNORbUL17j-G2l6gxcFIFQdHmhIL5MMDrNs/s400/20130608_062022_HDR.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><br><b>Monte Pelmo as we ran by</b>
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Nice, enjoyable running on undulating terrain kept me rolling for the next few miles before a relatively short but very steep and slick grassy descent got my attention. This section had a number of climbing ropes strung up between trees with volunteers standing by each rope to warn and assist runners. I'm pretty comfortable on steep terrain but was quite happy to have the ropes there. A very impressive descent option! <br>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qR_hfAfwSqSKJ_r-YtZtNtMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Au7JRAORdSxs7LWCL45WaVG7HgDr0whBVb6TmZV0mo1MmucvKBiSXI2jdXQZ1BGwXCqZ_ry6LVjv-xonIeHVDhLgXG_KwchQFhGnS_O8OkM8EEdycO9WO1wr8wzAcS7MrkW1HLW8U4o/s400/20130608_064035_HDR.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><br><b>The steep, rope-protected descent</b>
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Run, run and run some more and then finally I was on top of the last climb and peak of the run, Monte Pointe, with only 8km of descent back down into town and the finish line.<br>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/AgyJrAdI-sSKeA-5mJajdNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxNvmrd2v7Mu_l8bLNfw7MPi9zN_3pZs3GDWyRJAlW353SKrF2gwcLZOF4S5JcNzyVeyOPk2h_6qHZnORIQjWOIDN6bBqMNYEm4IgUFIjycPSHITrWjnYMqWFhpakm1mzbqJVG9NPXbw/s400/20130608_072227_HDR.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><br><b>At the top of Monte Pointe with the end, Forno di Zoldo, in sight</b><p>
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I ran pretty well on this last, long descent but had to make an extended pit stop in the trees to see a man about a horse. As I ran into town and hit pavement, I thought, "alright, the homestretch, I'm gonna hammer it home." I picked up the pace and started running hard and letting it all out but, wait, we're leaving the pavement and going back up again? Damn! So it was, we did another short ascent and hit some more really muddy trail for half a mile. I could hear footsteps coming up from behind me so I kept on running as hard as could splashing through the sticky mud. And then we were back on pavement again and people were cheering from houses along the road. The energy was contagious and my legs kept spinning fast as I gained on the person behind me and could no longer hear the steps. It was really cool flying through the narrow streets lined with houses and small cafes! I managed to crank by a couple of other runners with about a half mile to go and soaked in the energy of the crowd at the finish line as I crossed it in 8 hours, 44 minutes and 31 seconds. What a grand race experience!
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oaHlHMbx8zBR3YKncaub-tMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfSxNdPx5zEkXGCcXnfPc5QbBEWjw26A94t8zcafHrae-IjfjPy17FX3kuqWX5-_eyLdcESbBxlyla6sEubpB4NZDj0rpltQF8798j5A9q5tZZPLWg_3lABCXKw-_GG3q35BySZ_fENmc/s400/20130608_081411.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><p>
<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/UcPBMayxmznoL8V4vS7ELNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5Sq8iaA-ZbZWVqaruaw0fW7oM27oVzjnZMk3Y5sOhU1m-z_r2wXNW0V763N6IDk-uWMGcz0YN3-cHntCegDE2BvZ25pcHTp-5geLRxxr5MUsKSNWyL2WfENEBBgEWUrME5o2xqZO0N24/s400/ItalyDay6-7%2520081.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a><p>
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<br /></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-29373517657303115362012-12-18T18:22:00.000-08:002012-12-20T07:55:56.495-08:00Well, That Was Fast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It seems like just last month I was <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/138094863">running 12 miles</a> on New Year's Day with a big group of friends to celebrate the start of 2012. 1171 running miles and 352 days later here it is a week from Christmas 2012 already. 2012 went fast. And it was awesome. I didn't run as many races this year as normal but managed to run a number of new-to-me races including the <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/151891818">Moab Red Hot 55k</a>, the <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/209403187">Grand Mesa 50 miler</a>, the <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/220385145">Mount Taylor 50k</a> and the <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/236280072">Deadman Peaks 53 miler</a>. As usual, I didn't crush it in any of the races but ran well (with the exception of Deadmans!) and had a great time seeing new courses and meeting new people. <br>
I also was fortunate enough to make two bigger trips. The first one <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/Spain2012">was to Spain</a> with Allison in April for a couple weeks where we did some sightseeing, hiking and a fair bit of climbing. That trip was a wonderful experience. Then in June I was again fortunate to make <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/DenaliExpeditionJune2012">a trip to Alaska</a> with five great friends to try to climb and ski Denali (Mount McKinley). The weather didn't treat us well on the trip and our summit attempt was thwarted at the 17,200' camp but with poor climbing weather came great powder and lots of fabulous skiing. I just finished putting together the video from that trip, six months later!<p>
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<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/55645454?badge=0" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/55645454">Denali 2012</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/halladay">Jason Halladay</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
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With a poor start to the winter of 2012-2013, things have been dry and warm around New Mexico allowing Allison and I ample opportunities to rock climb. My <a href="http://jasonhalladay.blogspot.com/2012/09/meltdown.html">last blog post</a> detailed my hardest sport climbing route to date, <a href="http://www.mountainproject.com/v/meltdown/106233552">Meltdown</a>. From that post, and a late-summer story in the Albuquerque Journal about the Los Alamos Mountaineers Club, a writer for the ABQ Journal interviewed me in October for <a href="http://www.abqjournal.com/sports/2012/11/29/climber-takes-precautions-on-trips.html">a story in the paper's GO section last month</a>. That was a fun experience and the story turned out well despite a misplaced quote and a small error every now and then. In that story I referred to Allison as my wife. A few friends caught this and asked about that. Well, the story came out a bit sooner than I thought it might as we didn't actually get married until December 12th. But yes, that's right, after being together for 12 years and being engaged for 5.5 years, we are now married. Yahoo! We took advantage of the cool date, 12/12/12, and invited a few friends as witnesses to a brief, easy ceremony at the local courthouse with Magistrate Judge Pat Casados. Andy and Sarah were my witnesses and Allison's friend Stephanie was her witness. And that was it. No photographer, cake, best men, bride's maids or funky chicken dancing. Total wedding cost: $20.00. We saved a bundle that we'll be able to use on a two or three week trip to Europe in 2013. <br>
So yeah, the year started great and ended even greater. Here's to 2013!
<br /></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-14738332791059673572012-09-24T20:24:00.002-07:002021-06-02T14:29:31.542-07:00Meltdown<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
With the exception of playing recreational league soccer in my younger years, I grew up avoiding team sports. I was drawn to the more individual sport of skateboarding. For about ten years, skateboarding was my biggest passion. I loved the fact that I could go out, on my own, at anytime and try to perfect a new trick I had learned or even work hard to learn a brand new trick. I was never great but I was pretty good. It's what I did the most and could never imagine not doing in the future. I tried hard and saw results in new tricks landed. And while skating is an individual sport it's also extremely social. We went out with our other skating friends all the while suggesting ideas for tricks to pull off or features around town to skate on, around, up or down. A simple set of four stairs with its handrail could keep us entertained for hours, days even. We'd skate up to the stairs, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ollie_(skateboarding)">ollie</a> off, maybe do a kickflip or slide the rail. And then try to land on the board with all four of its wheels landing flat on the ground and ride away. Quite simply that was called, "landing it". Sure, anyone could ollie off the stairs and kick the board around so it flipped and spun but could you land it? That was the ultimate. Land it and ride away. For me, and most skaters in general, landing an advanced trick is few and far between. And if we landed one trick, could we land a second consecutive trick. And a third? That's when a skater is good...when he can string together multiple, difficult tricks and land them all. Most of the time I'd spend all afternoon, hour after hour, attempt after attempt, trying to land a single, more difficult trick. Most of the time I simply wouldn't land it but sometimes it would be worse than that--a slam. Not only not landing the trick but committing to it so hard that when it didn't work out, I'd fall and hit the concrete so hard it would take many minutes to recoup from the fall, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j314XVTVMSc">the slam</a>. While significant pain was inflicted in those slams it felt, in an odd way, great. I knew I had committed 100 percent to the trick and gave it my all, skin and bones be damned. <p>
One example of this mentality sits in my mind the most. I had just learned to heel flip my skateboard. While moving fast along the street I could pop off a heel flip and land it most of the time. The next logical thing to do was to try to heel flip down a set of three stairs I enjoyed skating at. One afternoon, after watching <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf0ySQv-jhQ">a particularly exciting new skateboard movie</a> part featuring Gershon Mosley, I headed to the stairs determined to heel flip down them. The first few, or twenty, attempts were weak. Skate up to the stairs fast, crouch, pop off and flip the board with my heel only to let the board fly hopelessly out of control as I did my best to avoid landing on it so I wouldn't slam. As I cycled through more attempts I noticed that each time I got more comfortable with the motion and the idea. Progress was being made and I started to commit to each attempt a little more. A couple more times and I was landing with one foot on the board, one off and then slamming. The slams hurt but not enough to overcome the satisfaction I was feeling knowing that any one of the next few attempts could be it--I could land the trick. All I had to do was commit and try real hard. I skated back up the sidewalk, spun around and starting pushing fast, rolling towards the stairs again. Commit 100 percent. I popped the heel flip, stayed above my board, watching it flip one complete rotation under my feet, waited for the right moment and stopped the flipping rotation with my feet just as the four wheels reconnected with the smooth sidewalk and my knees compressed to absorb the landing. And with that I had landed it. </p><p>
It's no real wonder that later in life I gravitated towards rock climbing--an individual sport with numerous parallels to skateboarding. Sure, most climbers need a partner to belay them as they climb so it's not <i>technically</i> completely individual but when the climber is climbing, the action is individual. When I'm climbing I'm testing myself, physically and mentally, on the rock. Can I start at the base of the wall, find a route up the wall, moving from hold to hold, commit 100 percent and reach the top without falling off? The comparisons between rock climbing and skateboarding are many. Like my skateboarding, I'm not very good at climbing either. But I try. And as I did on my skateboard 20 years ago on those three stairs and that handrail, I can spend hours, even days, at the same rock wall on the same route trying, over and over, to pull off my trick--to climb from the base of the wall to its top without falling. Trying to climb a new, difficult route I fall many times over. Thankfully, a fall while being belayed rock climbing is so much less painful than a slam on a skateboard. The rope stretches, my belayer gets lifted off the ground and the terrain below me is steep so I often
don't even hit the wall. </p><p>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://cdn2.apstatic.com/photos/climb/107029746_large_1494160302.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="554" data-original-width="800" height="445" src="https://cdn2.apstatic.com/photos/climb/107029746_large_1494160302.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Climber Jenna Lupia on <i>Meltdown</i>. Photo by <a href="http://www.mountainproject.com/v/107029746">Lee Brinckerhoff</a>.</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>
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Climbers have a term called "<a href="http://www.powercompanyclimbing.com/2013/03/attacktics-projecting-part-1-picking.html">projecting</a>". It's defined as the act of picking a climbing route that's particularly appealing to the climber and that is difficult enough that the climber cannot climb the route, the first time, without falling on the route. More often than not, a "project" is a route that is rated harder than any other route the climber has climbed before. The project is a challenge for the climber and something the climber will come back to for many hours, sometimes even days, to try to climb without falling, much like my afternoon spent trying to land the heel flip down three stairs for many hours straight. Last week I went into full-on projecting mode on a local route called <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/meltdown/106233552"><i>Meltdown</i></a> at the Dungeon. Rated 5.12c, it's harder than anything I'd ever climbed before. I had tried to climb it a couple times, every now and then, over the past two years but always felt it was too hard for me. But last week I spent an evening trying to climb it with my friend Hagen. Meltdown was hard for us both and we both fell on the route many times. But we were close. We'd fall twice on one attempt
and then only fall once on subsequent attempts. Each attempt was better than the previous attempt. We had found a new project. After each attempt we'd swap ideas and then added encouragement. We'd both send it next time for sure. Well, that next time resulted in one fall again. Every time, one fall. Then two nights later Hagen did it. It was awesome and encouraging to see that despite the route feeling nearly impossible the first few times, we could learn the route, climb it smarter and send it. It took me another night's attmepts before I really felt close to sending it. Five attempts in a row, over two days, had each resulted in one fall on each attempt. Then, last Thursday night I made a change to my foot placements and that made the difference. I climbed up, thought about where my feet and hands needed to be and committed 100 percent. Falling didn't concern me. I didn't even think of it as an option. I grabbed the rock hard, pushed my toes onto the holds even harder, gritted my teeth and popped up. And with that I sent the hardest route I've ever sent. I had <i>landed</i> it.
<br /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-36747263787515232702012-09-03T22:16:00.000-07:002012-09-05T21:34:56.296-07:00Whizzing Week<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After last weekend's <a href="http://www.taosskivalley.com/trailrun/results.html">Taos Up and Over 10k run</a> I was feeling a bit sore in my quads and my right heel so I took Monday off from running. Tuesday rolled around like any other Tuesday and I got to work around 7am. After getting through the morning's email I checked in on my friend <a href="http://homieprater.blogspot.com/">Homie</a>'s progress on <a href="http://14ers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=37125">his 14er speed record attempt</a> that he had started the previous Thursday. Homie was carrying a <a href="http://international.findmespot.com/">Spot GPS tracking device</a> and watching him make great progress, via my computer, on his endeavor was extremely inspiring. On Tuesday morning he was working up Mount Antero. I had hoped to meet up with him sometime during his attempt to give him some company and moral support but didn't have the vacation time. However, as I sat there at my desk watching his progress and reading all the positive, energetic posts on the 14ers.com thread about his adventure I just couldn't stand it anymore. I had to get up to Colorado ASAP to help out in any way I could. So I went home "sick", called <a href="http://billwright510climbing.blogspot.com/">Bill Wright</a> (a member of his support crew), packed up my gear and headed north that afternoon.<p>
By 5:30pm at was at 11,000' on Mount Princeton parking near the "trailhead" just beyond the radio towers. Homie's two-member support crew, Gerry and Jennifer Roach, were there readying food and clothes for Homie expecting him to return from 14er #33 of his attempt. I chatted with them and got more and more excited as I heard stories of the past few days. Homie was kicking some ass and everyone was excited about his prospects. He showed up back at the trailhead around 7:30pm and we drove down the road to meet up with another hiking companion, <a href="http://www.greenergrasspublishing.com/">Andy Wellman</a>, en route to the Blank Cabin trailhead for Mount Shavano and Tabeguache. I hadn't met Andy before and he turned out to be a great guy with a super positive attitude and great sense of humor--perfect for this crew we had assembled. (Andy <a href="http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=12757#">wrote up a report of his experience</a> that's very much worth reading to get a better feel for the experience than my crappy blogging right here.) <br> After a short nap and some food intake, Homie and Andy left the trailhead around midnight while Gerry, Jennifer and I all slept for about six hours. Homie and Andy returned to the trailhead at 6am and Homie was pumped! His enthusiasm was contagious and we cruised into BV for some coffee and a short breakfast before driving up to the Cloyses Lake TH.<p>
At 9am on Wednesday, Homie and I left the CloysesLake TH to traverse a major chunk of the Sawatch 14ers--Missouri, Belford, Oxford, Harvard and Columbia. I'd linked these up, along with Yale, many years ago from south to north so I knew we were in for a big day. Homie was looking strong, though, and I was confident we'd make good time. I hadn't really spent any time on the trail with Homie since August 2009 when I crewed for him, Bill and Tom in their first Nolan's 14 attempt and even longer since <a href="http://www.summitpost.org/traversing-crestone-needle-to-crestone-peak-february-2006/176913">our February 2006 winter Crestones Traverse</a>. Thus, we had plenty to talk about as we climbed over the peaks and headed south. We only encountered a couple of light rain showers during the day and minimal lightning. It was a great day as we summited Mount Columbia as the sun was setting. At the summit we were greeted by <a href="http://www.jonkeverest.org/About-Jon-Kedrowski.html">John Kedrowski</a> who would hike with us down to the North Cottonwood TH to meet the crew. <p>
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gOUXr5Jbjgitof_9oPZCadMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZatYTDoFiKLdnne60QIAQKKIaNcgmzUpGmoT0Odq-L-9wm93zwhWvKNUMogqGXGf1Kv7-c9adUTE4kDRHoveXUc7-QM9zR0Kx7bI9g-RI9IZ4RYOL1JaJSDqJf4eee5z-Pc4cQz-Rk_c/s640/14ers%2520038.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/20120828HomieS14erSpeedRecordAttempt?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">2012-08-28 Homie's 14er Speed Record Attempt</a><br><b>Cruising from the summit of Belford over to Oxford</b></td></tr></table><p>
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/QLQHQCS4VO008miuBCsSHNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPJfq92gALqe8I6UW_HruQy1u8LRIt45DujnytgLPuikeYeqMweHdNL4Ot0EfVyR2hpuMR56PnAyIrbPoBkJKdsRFEW1pIZxYyZOqYYfHw_h3pn83NliPJ0yph3C0FgUL2v2Y5RK0GrAI/s640/14ers%2520044.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/20120828HomieS14erSpeedRecordAttempt?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">2012-08-28 Homie's 14er Speed Record Attempt</a><br><b>Descending Oxford in the rain. Harvard looms in front of us</b></td></tr></table><p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzgrvJUkVMCuVupEa_DtkrRXuGCQ7hZwE9_16VF6VyjSv0-W-tESUaa4M-qwBTnUrqIcgzqnPwqYpV1eInPf_Rrz4VX1n5bT4-5gQhTUN2drjQALgeOR9AJsfH48gRko_XmogqEA8P0kA/s1600/Homie_Jason_Harvard.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzgrvJUkVMCuVupEa_DtkrRXuGCQ7hZwE9_16VF6VyjSv0-W-tESUaa4M-qwBTnUrqIcgzqnPwqYpV1eInPf_Rrz4VX1n5bT4-5gQhTUN2drjQALgeOR9AJsfH48gRko_XmogqEA8P0kA/s400/Homie_Jason_Harvard.jpeg" /></a><br><b>Homie and I on the summit of Mount Harvard, 17:15, Aug. 29, 2012</b></div><p>
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8LlueRCXZ9bjf8lfFoKP0tMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfhzAHNoEd43MBiHE6D1Q4spDw5_cWKIB7jXSeGQyzch2nSFY1x7Y_BYnQE74PTOkSMy8RExb1NBKu7wcDvDt_S6ljGUk5pqejm_eR6HqlyMdD62aqc_WsfBXwhMzgUPdFeE3-4nPyzrY/s640/14ers%2520087.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/20120828HomieS14erSpeedRecordAttempt?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">2012-08-28 Homie's 14er Speed Record Attempt</a><br><b>Ascending the final bit of Columbia as the sun was setting</b></td></tr></table><p>
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3lxe1i1pMRZr3bc-NiL9J9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXjr5MOX0q0ikFxrGUYJuli_7M9dOtBTr5lS-xWMTO0QoUG_sMnH4hOJbQA9fBbBZ-NmYA9A-JvsOg3Yi2U1tpuSxtytZ4LYDKswA9OLDVzJVrKvQdfb_OkH9Z8ZVxEcbpgJBrMBKaJE/s640/14ers%2520094.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/20120828HomieS14erSpeedRecordAttempt?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">2012-08-28 Homie's 14er Speed Record Attempt</a><br><b>Sunset over Horn Fork Basin</b></td></tr></table><p>
However, I had called in sick again to accompany Homie on this big day but had to be back in Los Alamos for work on Thursday. It was getting late and I still had a 4.5 hour drive home. I bid Homie goodbye around 8pm and then hammered down the super heinous south slopes route of Mt. Columbia and then ran the trail down to the trailhead getting to the awaiting crew (Gerry, Jennifer and Andy) around 9pm. I explained that Homie was still trucking along but his quads and shins were killing him on the descents so it would be another couple of hours before he would reach the trailhead. For me it had been <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/218662396">an ~18 mile, 12 hour and 10,000' ascended and then descended day</a>. I was a bit beat. With that, I loaded up and started the long drive home. I made good time and crawled into bed in Los Alamos around 2am Thursday morning. I was back at work at 7:15am Thursday morning after just a few hours sleep. Coffee was brillant on Thursday.<p>
Spending the day with Homie on Wednesday was very inspiring and fun. His demeanor, company and crazy-strong ability to keep on going made me really appreciate the opportunity I was partaking in. Sure, it seemed silly to drive 4.5 hours up to Colorado on whim to joining and I questioned my decision to drive up there a couple of times on Tuesday afternoon as I sped north. But once I got there and met up with Homie and his crew, there was no doubt in my mind I did the "right" thing. This was living and one never knows what tomorrow will bring so we'd better live right now. I've <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/20120828HomieS14erSpeedRecordAttempt">posted some photos</a> from my day with Homie if you're interested.<p>
Thursday evening we left on our planned Labor Day weekend trip to <a href="http://www.mountainproject.com/v/shelf-road/105744267">Shelf Road, CO</a> for 3.5 days of climbing. The six hour drive to Shelf made for a long Thursday to cap off a long, whirlwind weekend. I was very happy to crawl into my sleeping bag at Shelf Road and sleep for a solid 7 hours and then enjoy a relaxing and fun weekend of sport climbing on Shelf's fine limestone walls. I climbed well and onsighted a number of new-to-me 5.11s and, on the last route of the trip, sent a new-to-me 5.12a route called <a href="http://www.mountainproject.com/v/helter-skelter/105752923">Helter Skelter</a>. So the weekend ended on a fine note and capped a really cool, inspiring and rewarding week. Life is good. No, make that great. <p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUL9THsw8W0hQXlaCPobj_6VG2BSqvA7zsNIHY00X4_WNk27FdrHB_I8YxVwduVuFCEkVncJ6nsi_FRsdGVP8FduzSN-3xwkNNyI7mYSKnZ5GlkgEmOZkqIJWhCRfwm0dz02TUsrJ75Jw/s1600/Shelf+DSC_2493.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUL9THsw8W0hQXlaCPobj_6VG2BSqvA7zsNIHY00X4_WNk27FdrHB_I8YxVwduVuFCEkVncJ6nsi_FRsdGVP8FduzSN-3xwkNNyI7mYSKnZ5GlkgEmOZkqIJWhCRfwm0dz02TUsrJ75Jw/s400/Shelf+DSC_2493.jpg" /></a><br><b>Keith giving the finger to The Gym Arete Direct (5.12c) at Shelf Road.</b></div><p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZW_gQgl-vAYiN2hVxuUTnYaGvO-mrJdtX9Q5fA4_Q2ZucLllGf6JcifySPmnPvzlnOuv3XikGN0TnxIZC7W3RFRMqc8OayTQxSC_ltE6-e3gQLYrT6fLUBXePZeolksc7JCAKBQ3b_fk/s1600/Nat_Pi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZW_gQgl-vAYiN2hVxuUTnYaGvO-mrJdtX9Q5fA4_Q2ZucLllGf6JcifySPmnPvzlnOuv3XikGN0TnxIZC7W3RFRMqc8OayTQxSC_ltE6-e3gQLYrT6fLUBXePZeolksc7JCAKBQ3b_fk/s400/Nat_Pi.jpg" /></a><br><b>Nat getting it done on "Pi" (5.12a)</b></div><p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKiivWHnZtcVf_xrLPTzfBcFBZOI-hQqGIb8LnAaWc3V-badlG_UmqQetNUL5Mx9frSiZDq_BYaUN5fxBKe_3V00qCtmLdJsnzdg0aPfyex8l09z1nJHi_hqcm0BFkgmFG35uhz3VAA4/s1600/Shelf_sunrise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="266" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKiivWHnZtcVf_xrLPTzfBcFBZOI-hQqGIb8LnAaWc3V-badlG_UmqQetNUL5Mx9frSiZDq_BYaUN5fxBKe_3V00qCtmLdJsnzdg0aPfyex8l09z1nJHi_hqcm0BFkgmFG35uhz3VAA4/s400/Shelf_sunrise.jpg" /><br><b>Shelf Road is nice</b></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpWBQGiBO2UX0GvU-JJWdQocZbNRRSr0joCmqlIdbU3P1k7scMswAP3svyHODfURkfxBeKwhOoQhQFF5LVUJuIwh0tUVfV7bdDGbImc8KAOD0om10-J_E6haHWx95_Zps6TMOho72Qjw/s1600/Keith_Tup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlpWBQGiBO2UX0GvU-JJWdQocZbNRRSr0joCmqlIdbU3P1k7scMswAP3svyHODfURkfxBeKwhOoQhQFF5LVUJuIwh0tUVfV7bdDGbImc8KAOD0om10-J_E6haHWx95_Zps6TMOho72Qjw/s400/Keith_Tup.jpg" /></a><br><b>Keith getting his early morning workout on "Tits Up" (5.12b)</b></div>
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Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-38328698880787286352012-08-26T21:22:00.000-07:002012-09-05T15:45:19.069-07:00Taos Up and Over 10k 2012 Race<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.taosskivalley.com/trailrun/index.html">Taos Up and Over 10k</a><br>
8/25/2012<br>
6.2 miles<br>
2,600' vertical<br>
<a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/215520729">1:02:48</a><br>
Third overall, second in 30-39 AG [<a href="http://www.taosskivalley.com/trailrun/results.html">full results</a>]
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ndTmPVnij5Rx6QTuehhY1i0rXoWZwxT0opviPoVtCOFW0M4bLeD4nQOam466WIMUGuQuu8lW2Q0JYcdv4IKuBubeCYvf2vkjfAQqj_8IrLEPcLLjvoTBASdsV0dnaaFdOiQbQ5GWAok/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-08-26+at+10.16.10+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3ndTmPVnij5Rx6QTuehhY1i0rXoWZwxT0opviPoVtCOFW0M4bLeD4nQOam466WIMUGuQuu8lW2Q0JYcdv4IKuBubeCYvf2vkjfAQqj_8IrLEPcLLjvoTBASdsV0dnaaFdOiQbQ5GWAok/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-08-26+at+10.16.10+PM.png" /></a></div>
The Taos Up and Over 10k race is in it's seventh year now and has gained quite a bit in popularity. The last time I ran the race <a href="http://jasonhalladay.blogspot.com/2008/08/taos-up-and-over-10k-trail-run.html">was in 2008</a> when there were 41 total runners and I ran for third place in 1:04:05. This year there were 212 runners (I was told by one of the race officials but haven't yet seen the results to verify). Clearly the race has grown and for good reason--it's a fun summer morning race with a nice, relaxed mountain atmosphere with plenty of opportunity to chill out at the ski lodge after the race. This year there was even a bouncy house. (For the kids, not the runners!). <br><p>
The turnout from Los Alamos runners this year was excellent. There must have been at least ten of us from Los Alamos, including the female winner, Petra McDowell. <p>
I hadn't been planning on running the race this year but I recently I had been feeling very good with <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/211999928">my hill training at Pajarito Mountain</a> and had, just a couple weeks prior, reached a hard-fought goal of mine to run sub-30 minutes up a local trail called Mitchell Trail where I ran 29:59:59, <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/209403159">seriously</a>! <p>
So on Tuesday of last week I signed up for the race with my only goal being to beat my previous time. I knew that would be tough because I was running well in 2008 but I knew I'd been running and training hard recently so it was certainly doable. I looked at my race report from the 2008 TUAO and knew I had reached the top of the 2,600' climb in 43:52 so I hoped to do that climb in 42 to 43 minutes this year. I ended up reaching the top in 43:27, power hiking much of the ascent, even passing others that were "running". When I hit the top the lady said, "you're four minutes behind the leader" and asked if I wanted any water. I said, "No thanks." I had purposefully ran without my hand bottle and didn't stop for water at any of the four aid stations along the mountain. I just crested the top, took my shirt off and started running hard downhill.<p>
The descent is brutally steep in a few spots between quite runnable jeep roads. At one point we ran down a ski run for a bit. Loose and steep. I wanted to fully open up my stride the entire way but it was so steep it wasn't possible--I had to keep myself in check. As we got lower on the mountain I started looking over my shoulder as I felt like I was slowing up. But a few quick glances at my GPS watch showed I was still running between 5:30/mile and 6:10/mile. I was gaining on the runner in front of me and working hard to close the gap but it was not to be. The runner in front of me crossed the finish line about 20 seconds in front of me. I saw Allison near the finish line and strode hard to look good for the camera. I glanced at my watch and was pumped to see I had beat my previous time by 1:17. Success!<p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJzWk2KIo9ZPhvYgXv9LNTE3fM8XnEPJr4EjbJfiJewvYAkp99yNtnOgTVm00r6dLNE6XoW3-7Q9uZyieJdvJ7A1lydf52FeUlhXFg2R6mOD8D3cGit8M6tvk8F_zQofFZojX77iVzcY/s1600/Jason_TUAP+DSC_2145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="250" width="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqJzWk2KIo9ZPhvYgXv9LNTE3fM8XnEPJr4EjbJfiJewvYAkp99yNtnOgTVm00r6dLNE6XoW3-7Q9uZyieJdvJ7A1lydf52FeUlhXFg2R6mOD8D3cGit8M6tvk8F_zQofFZojX77iVzcY/s320/Jason_TUAP+DSC_2145.jpg" /></a></div>
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The race is a fun but very difficult 10k. The ascent burns my lungs big time while the steep descent really tests my quads and knees. A day later and my quads are very tender. My right heel is bruised too. I'll have to take a couple days off to let the heel heal. Still, it was worth it.
<br /></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-22151930851713130502012-08-06T21:50:00.002-07:002023-05-29T20:02:54.337-07:00Rewarding Day in the Crestones - The Prow & Ellingwood Ledges Linkup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_ouT2TKS6Ak5Szi_2deyx9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvv9JYsN8uRte7d5TEt_QRXC1fuQCtgGqeO2BbvLCWYgX4iXT3onZSI7uviEtw-BssSavxdc9C-ULtZd-mGlKiZbwXamSYaF00jVsoTA3sXJd_YYx6CzyTvaytyg9TVlVTLMovNpY5X60/s640/ProwEllingwood%2520DSC01475.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"><b>Crestone Needle sunrise.</b> <br>From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/TheProwEllingwoodLedgesLinkupAugust32012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">The Prow-Ellingwood Ledges Linkup. August 3, 2012</a></td></tr></table>
<p>Last Friday was <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/TheProwEllingwoodLedgesLinkupAugust32012#">one of those days</a>. One of those days that just flow. No worries, no troubles, no doubts--just pure, unadulterated fun and satisfaction. Maybe it meant more to me because I'd been thinking about this day for many years since hearing about <a href="http://www.wwwright.com/climbing/tripreports/2003/CrestoneLinkup.htm">Homie and Bill's 2003 linkup</a> of these two routes. Thinking about how challenging, yet rewarding, it would be if it all worked out. And work out it did. <p>
Friday morning at 3:00am was our wake-up. After some bananas, yogurt and some coffee, Nat and I started up the dirt road leading to the South Colony Lakes at 3:45am. Our plan for the day was to tackle the two Sangres classic fifth-class routes: <a href="http://www.summitpost.org/the-prow/166090">The Prow of Kit Carson Peak</a> (5.8) and the <a href="http://www.summitpost.org/ellingwood-ledges-arete/157166">Ellingwood Ledges of Crestone Needle</a> (5.7). It would be a long day consisting of about 15 miles and 8,100' vertical feet of ascent, all told. I'd climbed both routes three times each. All my experiences on the Prow were very nice and straight forward but I had only managed one dry climb of the Ellingwood Ledges route with my first two climbs of the route <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/EllingwoodLedges57OnCrestoneNeedle14197#5643545585734623010">in snow</a> and then <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/CrestolitaAndEllingwoodAreteOnCrestoneNeedle">in rain</a>. <p>
Nat is a young fella and had only climbed three 14ers to this point and had not been on either route. But I knew he was a fit hombre and certainly possessed the climbing skills necessary for soloing these two routes. To keep things simple, pure and light, we left the ropes and protection at home. Knowing the rock on both routes was generally solid and the climbing moderate, I felt confident we'd be fine without the rope and could, therefore, just enjoy the movement and the climbing. To be sure, I certainly don't consider myself a soloist and have no intention of leaving my climbing ropes at home more in the future. But I realize there's a blurry line between fourth-class scrambling and low-fifth-class climbing and I feel good about climbing low-fifth-class climbing without a rope in the alpine environment. So don't worry, Dad, this soloing thing isn't a new phase for me!<p>
We reached the old S. Colony 4WD TH around 4:40am. We wouldn't be running at all during the day but did plan to hike as swiftly as possible. It was still quite dark as we approached the saddle between Humboldt and the Bear's Playground and we could see a pair of headlamps at the base of the Ellingwood Ledges route on Crestone Needle. At 6am the light of the sunrise splashing on the Crestone group was gorgeous. We cruised through the grass and loose rocks of the Bear's Playground around 6:15am working to stay as high as possible on the north side of Spanish Creek Basin aiming to intersect the base of the Prow without losing much elevation. It appeared it was working well until we got cliffed-out at the eastern edge of Kit Carson's south gully. <p>
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XECaqMW9s7CnMiVt2C4mmdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6D5u3BRTwXYJXV6uWluxnZ5-Ip3xHHLGtdGAfw569FE0yIxjUFpdFbB2NpqqLxd2Cc2fnY4WsMtUe5lhY00hCm0Tcwhq5gGuEuNOi9fQMotEXU_xjs_MdSAsm_FZ13707H3tHXyuuNT0/s640/ProwEllingwood%2520DSC01480.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"><b>Cliffed out in Spanish Creek Basin.</b> <br>From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/TheProwEllingwoodLedgesLinkupAugust32012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">The Prow-Ellingwood Ledges Linkup. August 3, 2012</a></td></tr></table>
<p>We were forced to descend a few hundred feet and then back up to the base of the Prow at 7:30am. There, we changed into our rock climbing shoes and set off up the Prow at 7:40am. In my previous three climbs of the route I had busted out right after the initial crux bulge but that always seemed really airy and a bit more difficult than the reported 5.6. This time I stayed straight up and only slightly left to stay on the face of the Prow. This was much more enjoyable and aesthetic. The first pitch of the route is the steepest, most challenging pitch and the subsequent pitches each back off in angle and difficulty a bit more than the previous pitch. <p>
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<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Jrd5oio3zYkGc4HhewDfVtMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb_TyBOqNwyqjVyrQK3mC7sPsXBIkFoGXaAvawtUuZwA7ihSODzRRe1GiRZLaQBWMjmxPa3ma0c9JUU3tYwldX_ugu1n3WRQnlhIofk0D_kmG0_RvsrzhBRO3c8YDR7HlvrbhQDIq8dzw/s640/ProwEllingwood%2520DSC01498.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"><b>Nat on the third pitch of the Prow.</b> <br>From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/TheProwEllingwoodLedgesLinkupAugust32012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">The Prow-Ellingwood Ledges Linkup. August 3, 2012</a></td></tr></table><p>
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The climbing was stellar and it was really nice to just keep on climbing without stopping to place gear or belay a partner. Nat and I had a blast ticking off each pitch with the occasional stop to catch our breath. After all, we were climbing at or above 13,000'. <p>
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<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zy2LrgjcVXgbAzMTT9OgotMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoug2eOuF3kog14FM3xDfgR01SmXFmn7QoE7qmbvR0XMVQDEyRBFp6GJn5-GlidlnVgygce_eGOLzRlqoWPSXauBTEQpenAsAzm3NsHCdxIXglDNXMWInL-hFZJVeZIV8uoDbFUvhplo/s640/ProwEllingwood%2520DSC01500.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"><b>High on the Prow</b>. <br>From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/TheProwEllingwoodLedgesLinkupAugust32012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">The Prow-Ellingwood Ledges Linkup. August 3, 2012</a></td></tr></table>
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<p>
The climbing cruised by and by 9:00am we were on the summit of Kit Carson celebrating an exhilarating climb by eating our sandwiches. <p>
We didn't linger on the summit long as we were both excited to cruise over to the Ellingwood Ledges. We descended many hundred feet down KC's standard route before scrambling back up to the summit of <a href="http://www.summitpost.org/columbia-point-kat-carson/151723">Columbia Point</a>. We signed the register and continued east over the summit of Kitty Kat Carson before finding a nicely cairned traversing trail below the summit of Obstruction Peak en route to the Bear's Playground again. <p>
From the Bear's Playground we found a nice shortcut gully that led us directly down to the upper South Colony Lakes basin. The gully involved hundreds of feet of scree skiing and went fast and smooth. By 11:00am we were lunching at the base of the direct start to the Ellingwood Ledges route. The weather was holding perfectly and we were confident we'd be on the summit of Crestone Needle in no more than a couple of hours. <p>
We donned our rock shoes again and set off up the Ellingwood Ledges route at 11:15am. I'd never been on the direct start pitches of the route so it was exciting to be climbing some new terrain. After the first pitch I stayed straight in the corner system and found it to be a bit steep and spicey for the grade. Seeing that, Nat busted out left and did some climbing on the left edge of the corner system while I stayed in the corner system, more or less. We met back up again at the top of the direct start pitches below the hundreds of feet of fourth class climbing above. <p>
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<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5kAVlYkxY9Wq5J48qHI8u9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDZyg2JWbktpWM_Gmt6CjYP6mMooDI9ICQB-UtV9Zn3Hvw27iBdxheM5yceH6D-gSlKua8nZr5-AuCcGlRzgnzgCix6WyrTdKIb_GVbPEniaFeoOENegcCgpWtImBTLhi6Xzvf3Yl4VzE/s640/ProwEllingwood%2520DSC01559.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"><b>The first pitch of the direct start to the Ellingwood Ledges.</b> <br>From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/TheProwEllingwoodLedgesLinkupAugust32012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">The Prow-Ellingwood Ledges Linkup. August 3, 2012</a></td></tr></table>
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<p>
We switched back into our more comfortable trail running shoes for the rest of the route up to the base of the 5.7 crux pitch just below the summit. The views were incredible, the scrambling engaging and the weather perfect. It was great to be right there, right then. <p>
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<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XqxxFJX8VodP7OZ9s8k35NMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSFkOmLo_TgJm-BI0Xru94z19D34apqdYnYc_zIntI4a1ZVl6YG01ScWyhpP_yydvvNZXY8ppzHsM2tovcTaU1p2jrea6SF-M7-ChjU_CjS03rphOI9_jddBJKugbAEW22S4sI03e1cDI/s640/Nat_McKayla_Ledges.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"><b>A touch of fifth-class action. McKayla was not impressed.</b><br>From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/TheProwEllingwoodLedgesLinkupAugust32012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">The Prow-Ellingwood Ledges Linkup. August 3, 2012</a></td></tr></table>
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<p>
We reached the base of the crux 5.7 pitch at 12:30pm and again put on our rock climbing shoes for the next bit of climbing. The crux moves involve climbing through a bulge in a small dihedral. A nice crack in the corner serves up nice jamming and with some good stemming we both snaked our way through the crux without trouble. <p>
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<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/k-Ys3vNySsGTBHtywyix_9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-1-21n8Zu6oVDz04OmbqAZIdN5UfvQh2hzcT0ZAWgWgTnz3Kd1s8Trufr-vcDfRWyiY87G9WRwG6DBQBTr0DtJsd04MkVCXopRqoNHULG8VbvPjVKyU5yJJMZQgRI61CHIOcAPx2OYX4/s640/ProwEllingwood%2520DSC01581.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"><b>Nat busts through the crux moves.</b> <br>From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/TheProwEllingwoodLedgesLinkupAugust32012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">The Prow-Ellingwood Ledges Linkup. August 3, 2012</a></td></tr></table>
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<p>
At the top of the pitch we changed back into our trail running shoes one last time for the last hundred feet or so of scrambling to the summit. We popped out on the summit at 1:00pm to find we had the summit to ourselves. We finished off our remaining food while taking in the view of all the terrain we had covered. It's an impressive view. <p>
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<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8fLVMaCuET3j_3R0u-OC7NMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7aplrLVsmy91l9eLF0YxTGxodq8fZhMhBZrzdxyAO4vmNOobT-EdV01t-pBC07SPevBDbu8JaEO6ewGqCZLCXZBPh35_8STYNnzVZFE3NkQChdQhSI4TACACL3lwigx8AB6RMtnkvU4/s640/ProwEllingwood%2520DSC01587.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right"><b>Stoked on Crestone Needle's summit.</b><br>From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/TheProwEllingwoodLedgesLinkupAugust32012?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">The Prow-Ellingwood Ledges Linkup. August 3, 2012</a></td></tr></table>
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<p>
We made good time down the Needle's standard south face route down to Broken Hand Pass and then down to lower South Colony Lake where we enjoyed about 45 minutes of swimming and chilling out before getting back on the trail and finishing off the hike back to the car. About a mile from the car we decided it would be easier (and certainly faster) to run instead of walk so we did our only running of the day for the last mile getting back to the trailhead just before 4:30pm.
<br /></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-70585608335196747952012-07-31T21:09:00.000-07:002012-08-01T13:53:11.698-07:00Grand Mesa 50 Mile 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
2012 <a href="http://www.grandmesa100.com/">Grand Mesa 50 Mile</a> report<br>
Saturday, July 28th, 2012<br>
Cloudy, cool weather all day<br>
8:33:21<br>
~5,000' elevation gain<br>
<a href="http://ultrasignup.com/results_event.aspx?did=14368">4th overall</a>, 3rd male<br>
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<p>
Driving up to Grand Mesa from Los Alamos, I thought about the last time I had run a 50 mile race. I was surprised to realize it had been nearly 14 months since I ran the 2011 <a href="http://pocatello50.com/">Pocatello 50</a> miler where I had run a really good race (for me) going sub-10 for 50 miles and finishing the ~52 mile course in 10:11. But then I battled some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliotibial_band_syndrome">IT band issues</a> later in 2011 and finished the year with a couple of 50k races. Now, heading into a new race for me, I was excited to run a 50 miler again and I felt good. I hadn't had quite all the training I'd hoped for (my biggest week being a 67 mile week three weeks out) due to a bruised ball of my left foot but I had run well in training and was ready to run hard at Grand Mesa. <p>
Also, this was the first race in a while that my Mom was able to accompany me to and I was really happy about that. We've had some great times traveling and camping together for races and she's a great runner crew now. Allison, Mom and I left Los Alamos around noon on Friday for the seven hour drive to the Grand Mesa area. None of us had ever been there before so we were looking forward to some new scenery. En route, we stopped at the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm">Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP</a> since Allison nor Mom and had been there before. It's a special and impressive place. A rain storm had just rolled through and that would continue to be the theme for the rest of the day and night. <p>
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When we finally got to our camp on Grand Mesa around 9:30pm, it was very foggy and drizzling. We didn't have a view of the area at all and I couldn't wait to see it in the daylight the next day. We threw up our tents quick and hit the sack to awake at 3:45am.<p>
When we awoke it was, of course, still very dark but also still quite overcast and about 45 degrees. I ate a banana and a greek yogurt all washed down with a big cup of coffee to get the morning juices flowing. We drove down to the start/finish area at the <a href="http://www.grandmesalodge.com/">Grand Mesa Lodge</a> around 4:30am so I could check in. Things were quite damp and cool so I decided to keep my long sleeve shirt on over my first-ever singlet, a bright orange <a href="http://www.raceready.com/mens-running-tops/1501.html">RaceReady singlet</a>. I was wearing some new <a href="http://www.raceready.com/mens-running-shorts/2601LD.html">RaceReady shorts</a> and my trusty <a href="http://www.saucony.com/store/SiteController/saucony/productdetails?productId=4-105710">Saucony Peregrine</a> shoes with <a href="http://www.smartwool.com/toe-sock-mini-8999.html">Smartwool toe socks</a>. I'd start with two hand bottles of water and one 5oz flask of <a href="http://www.firstendurance.com/nutrition/efs-liquid-shot.html">vanilla EFS liquid shot</a>. Also, the 5am start dictated the use of a headlamp for the first 45 minutes or so. I hadn't changed out my batteries in a while so once we started running at 5:02am, I ran pretty conservatively for the first 30 minutes because my light was so dim and there were some seriously gnarly rock water bars that stuck straight up about 6-8 inches in many places along the trail. <p>
The first part of the course is a big 11.5 mile loop heading east from the start line. It's entirely all single track through some seriously beautiful and rugged terrain leading to an exposed ridge and the course's highpoint of ~11,200'. At about three miles into it I met a runner named Andrew running his first 50 miler. We chatted for a bit before I noticed a group of four of five headlamps coming back towards us. I said to them, "uh-oh, this doesn't look good fellas." None of us had seen a trail marker for quite some time and we all started second-guessing ourselves. Once that shadow of doubt creeps in your head, it builds. So we talked about it for a minute or two before all deciding we'd missed a turn and we started back west until a big group of runners came up to us and helped assure us all that we were on course. So we turned around and kept on going. We probably lost only five or six minutes with the little shenanigans. <p>
The sky was light now and we were climbing in earnest to the cool spiny ridge. I passed a few runners and was feeling good. The sky was overcast and the air was crisp--perfect running temperatures. I reached the highpoint on the ridge as the sun peeked above the horizon but below the cloud deck casting a beautiful orange light on the surrounding trees and lakes. It was gorgeous. I wanted to look around more but the ridge was technical, rocky trail running so I focused on my feet. Along the ridge I caught up to another runner and watched as he came to an intersection and wondered if we should turn onto a more faint trail. I was convinced we stay on the main trail so I kept going after a brief conversation with him. More technical single-track descended back towards the start/finish line, reaching the line at 7:15am. It was a quick change here swapping my two hand bottles for two new ones, filled with water, and a new 5oz flask of EFS liquid shot. Allison and Mom were great crew here and I was out fast with my iPod. <p>
The next section of the course was a very runnable, rolling dirt road/4WD road section for about 10 miles. Since I had two hand bottles I was able to skip the intermediate aid station and get into the Flowing Park aid station at mile 22 around 8:45am. <p>
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At Flowing Park, I again swapped out for two new hand bottles of water and a new 5oz flask of EFS. <p>
Going into the next section of the course, a stellar, runnable 16 mile loop I decided i wasn't drinking that much water and could go with one hand bottle so I stashed one in a bush by the trail that I'd return to after the loop out to Indian Point. <p>
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The running on this loop was spectacular. I could envision it being very hot in the full sun because there are few treed sections amongst the open meadow running but we had cloud cover still, thankfully. I was running behind <a href="http://traversetrailrunning.com/?page_id=93">Melanie Fryar</a> for many miles during this loop until around mile 30 she picked it up and left me behind for good. It was inspiring to see her bounding along, effortless-looking, and then cranking up her pace even more. I passed a couple of guys (a runner with a pacer) along this section and would later meet the pacer, a super nice guy named <a href="http://kendrickallan.blogspot.com/">Kendrick</a>. I thought the Indian Point aid station was around mile 30 but didn't get to it until roughly mile 32 and I was completely out of water. I drank 8oz or so and filled up my bottle. I also snagged three tasty green grapes--the only real food, and only aid station food, I'd eat all day. <p>
More nice single track along the relatively flat, but rocky, mesa trail took me back into the Flowing Park aid station at mile 38 around 11:45am, I think. I was well ahead of my predicted splits and still feeling pretty good. Here, Allison and Mom suggested I may be in fourth place but none of us was sure because all 60k, 50 mile and 100 milers started at the same time. Still, I was inspired by this thought and even more so by the thought that if I ran well to the finish I could finish under 9 hours. As I left the aid station with a single hand bottle and two gels, I noticed another runner coming up behind me. The next two miles of running were on a gently uphill, smooth dirt road. I decided I'd do my best to run it all and try to gain some distance on the runner behind me. I felt quite good and cranked as best I could and noticed I did put some distance on the runner behind me. I wanted badly to not lose a position between here and the finish. I ended up walking some short hills in the final 12 miles but overall I ran well for much of it. I hit the final dirt road leading up the steep hill towards the finish and ran about half of it before succumbing to walking the upper half. As it leveled out I was able to run again and, just as it started to hail a bit, I found myself cruising into the finish. <p>
This was a great run for me. Going into it I had decided my stomach bothered me in 50 milers because I ate and drank too much. In my training I figured out I didn't need as much as was suggested by most. My fueling for the entire race consisted of plain water in hand bottles, 14oz of EFS liquid shot, two <a href="http://www.viendurance.com/">Vi Endurance</a> gels and three green grapes. My stomach felt reasonable and I never felt like I was bonking. I ran hard and left it all out on the course. I'm certainly a level below the elite ultrarunners (the winner of GM50 finished an hour and 10 minutes ahead of me) but feel quite satisfied with my racing considering I average 30 to 40 miles per week. I am stoked and I'd definitely run the GM50 again. <p>
The next day we had plans to climb <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/ottos-route/105758122">Otto's Route</a> on <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/independence-monument/105744906">Independence Monument</a> in the <a href="http://www.nps.gov/colm/index.htm">Colorado National Monument</a> but it rained on us at camp at the monument most of the night including at 4am when we awoke to head out for the climb. But we enjoyed some easy hiking in the monument Sunday morning before making the drive home to Los Alamos. We'll be back to climb Independence Monument. <p>
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<br /></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-1261413154239069342012-07-24T22:08:00.001-07:002012-07-24T22:12:21.535-07:00Summer Catch Up<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well hell! Summer is flying by and it's been great. Way back in the latter part of May I enjoyed a fabulous trip to Alaska with Josh, Aaron, Sam and Andy & Sarah Thien on a trip to climb and ski Denali, North America's highest point at 20,320'. A long story short is we got turned back at the 17,000' camp by nasty weather and beat a hasty retreat off the mountain to live and ski again! While we didn't reach the summit we had a grand experience and got in a good bit <a href="https://vimeo.com/43588397">of great skiing</a> (snowboarding in my case) on Denali. It was as excellent as it could be minus the summit. I <i>still</i> haven't gone through and uploaded my photos from the trip but <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/117859609106850765649/AlaskaTravels61512747AM?noredirect=1">Josh has</a> and so <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/109962986854166761831/DenaliAttemptAlaska?noredirect=1">has Andy</a>. Check them out for all the details of our adventure. <p>
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<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/43588397?color=c9ff23" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/43588397">Denali West Buttress Skiing, May 2012</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/halladay">Jason Halladay</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>
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<p>
While enduring the cold weather on the mountain, I had many thoughts of warm, low commitment sport climbing trips with my special lady friend (SLF), Allison. So as soon as we got back from Alaska, Allison and I headed south to the Enchanted Tower of New Mexico for just that--a relaxed weekend of comfortable and easy camping with lots of hard (for us) sport climbing. We had a blast and even <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygoBnR_PKGI">saw a black bear walk</a> by our camp one evening. Since that trip, we've been back down to the Enchanted Tower twice more with our good friend <a href="http://thenatattack.wordpress.com/">Nat</a>.
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<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/c0K9PCMcYlezlnQVXylKvtMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEF18hVCIPlNehgsCM6rSkDfJ9Av6pMQTbngZ7czKaLMqvNSHZPxyGerEM35GYewLxrfMcJpBcsmq0SDr0Nk0OaPHF9_EwcGqBKoiKoZgqRoMS-OAT9eyzd5MJg6e4Fs-ZqZdIz_upN-0/s400/Enchanted%2520Tower%2520DSC_8675.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/EnchantedTowerNM20120704?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">Enchanted Tower, NM. 2012-07-04</a></td></tr></table>
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<p>
I had aspirations of running my sixth San Juan Solstice 50 mile race in late June but my toes were pretty sore and beat up from the Denali trip so I bailed out on that run. To make up for missing my favorite summer 50 mile race, I'm heading up to near Grand Junction to run the <a href="http://www.grandmesa100.com/Home_Page.php">Grand Mesa 50 mile</a> race this Saturday. It's a new course for me and I'm excited to see some new territory and run a new race. I'm not in the best running shape of my life but I'm feeling pretty good and hoping for a decent run. I even bought my first-ever <a href="http://www.raceready.com/mens-running-tops/1501.html">singlet</a> in hopes that will make me run faster. As the old saying goes, "if you want to run fast, dress like you're fast." OK, I just made that up. I'm even more looking forward to the upcoming weekend because Allison and Mom are both going with me and we hope to climb <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/ottos-route/105758122">Otto's Route</a> on <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/independence-monument/105744906">Independence Monument</a> on Sunday. It could be a toasty day up there near Grand Junction so we'll see!
<br /></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-81310765757666532902012-05-17T22:13:00.001-07:002012-05-18T08:13:14.463-07:00Denali Memoirs - Part 2<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Back on February 26th <a href="http://jasonhalladay.blogspot.com/2012/02/denali-memoirs-part-1.html">I posted part one</a> of my Denali journal from our trip in 2003. I meant to post this second part much sooner than now but...well...I just slacked. But one week from today I'll be in Anchorage and heading up to Denali again so I figured I'd better get this second part done and posted. So here goes...<p>
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<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1iZ3vEJmh7I/TLe-3R3sMeI/AAAAAAAAN4g/vpjGrZOuq6A/s640/d103.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="480" width="640" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-1iZ3vEJmh7I/TLe-3R3sMeI/AAAAAAAAN4g/vpjGrZOuq6A/s640/d103.jpg" /></a><b>Carrying gear to the top of the headwall. Mt. Foraker in the background.</b></div>
<b>Sunday, May 25th</b> - The temperature in the tent was -7F when I first awoke at 6AM. Damn cold. However, I utilized the "hot water in the nalgene bottle" technique which helped to keep my toes warm. We again slept in until the sun hit the tent before getting up. We dined on Blueberry granola cereal before gearing up to carry to 16,200'. We all left camp around 12:50pm. Janet, Bill Chris and I roped up for the carry while David headed up solo. He would not join us on the carry so he could spend the day acclimatizing. We all climbed together until 15,200'. Each step up was a personal altitude record for me, Bill, David and Janet. David turned back at that point while the rest of us continued up the fixed rope to 16,200'. The weather was warm until this point but clouds and wind rolled in. The [fixed] rope was 11mm static and in good condition with pickets every 30 feet or so. The headwall was primarily blue ice but had good duck footed steps set in. We reached my personal altitude record of 16,240 feet for our cache on the backside of the ridge. It took us 3 hours to ascend to the cache which seems quite fast compared to other teams we've watched go up. The descent was pretty straight forward on the down line. Ti took us about 1.5 hours to descend and the views from up there were astonishing. I could see ski-hill camp and a huge portion of the Kahiltna. Foraker dominated the view. Tomorrow is a rest day. <p>
<b>Monday, May 26th</b> - Memorial Day. What was I doing last Memorial Day? I don't recall, how sad. Perhaps something on the opposite end of the spectrum like some canyon hiking. Oh, the warmth with a beer at the end of the day! I'm holed up in the tent in a warm (relatively) sleeping bag while a snow storm blows outside. It's been a mostly snowy day with intermittent sun starting with +1F in the tent this morning. A warm night. I used to think 1F sounded cold. Now I'm happy to see any temperature above 0F. Today was a rest day at 14,000' I cooked up blueberry scones for breakfast before spending all day cutting snow blocks and building bigger walls around our camp. We have a luxurious camp indeed...one of the biggest at 14k. I slept well last night after the sun set at 8:30pm. I never fully sets, though, so it's light all night. I had a dream about all of my immediate family and good friends and Allison. I you Allison. I can't wait to get back to you and hopefully grab a Frontier burrito with coffee. Oh yeah! The things you think about after 10 day of dehydrated food and melted snow for water. I will really appreciate the conveniences of civilization after this trip. But I'm stoked to be doing this and seeing this truly awesome part of earth. it's a great feeling to spend weeks away from a city and modern conveniences. Tomorrow is to be windy and snowy. Another rest day at 14k camp. Hopefully we move up on Wednesday and summit Thursday. Bill awoke at 5AM this morning with breathing trouble. Tight chest and coughing when he took a deep breath. He said he could hear/feel gurgling in his chest so we had him take a dose of diamox. He'll stay on diamox through tomorrow. He says he already feels better and he took the whole day off. <p>
<b>Tuesday, May 27th</b> - Official tent day. At 2AM our southeast [snow] wall blew down in a major gust. The middle portion was scattered primarily onto Chris' tent with some blocks hitting Chris in the back. Small pieces smacked David and my tent and rudely awoke us all. The night was super windy with tons of light blowing snow. The day continues like this. The report is 4 feet of new snow at 7,800'. Hopefully our cache wand is still visible! Bill went to talk to John the doc about his HAPE symptoms. The verdict from John is to stay put through Wednesday and see how things are going then. If symptoms persist, Bill will be on his way down. I already volunteered to go down with Bill if he wants company. Bill said he wouldn't have a problem going down solo but truthfully, I wouldn't mind heading down myself. Staying put in this weather is not exactly the best thing I've ever done. Ha. A juicy steak and some Sumatra coffee sounds awesome at this time. I got up this morning to help Chris rebuild the broken wall and eat some hot granola. I then had to get my growl on which was enjoyable in this weather. However while out and about, I met a fellow named Bruce from Anchorage. He's up here from Anchorage for a repeat climb with Tom "the mountain goat" Choate. 67 years of age. Bruce is a very nice and outgoing self-described "climbing bum". Retired Navy since '94. The weather report is for more wind and snow tomorrow but not as intense with clearing Thursday and Friday. Hopefully we can move to 17k Thursday and summit Friday. Be out by Sunday. Man would that rule! Time to pee in the bottle...<br>
The day has calmed down and we had spaghetti for dinner. Followed by cinnamon coffee cake for dessert. We all piled in the VE25 to eat the cake, play a few rounds of Uno and listen to Loveline. My resting pulse is 50. It was 46 when I fell asleep last night. It sounds like I have acclimatized well so far. We'll see how Bill is tomorrow and possibly go to 17k on Thursday.<p>
<b>Wednesday, May 28th</b> - Day 12 on the mountain. A beautiful day. 12 degrees in the tent this morning. No snow is predicted so we got going early (9AM) and Chris, Janet and David moved up to 17k with the Wild Country tent. I cooked up pancakes to fuel them on their trek up. Bill and I hung back so Bill could recover a bit from his HAPE. He has no symptoms today and talked with John the medic about his condition and John said if the symptoms are gone tomorrow, head up! if the symptoms come back, immediately descend. Bill is going to give it a shot. Chris, Janet and David are going for the summit tomorrow and plan to descend back to here at 14k. Bill and I will go relatively light to 17k, drop off our sleeping bags in the Wild Country tent and hopefully continue to the summit, descend back to 17k and sleep in the Wild Country tent there and back to 14k on Friday. If Bill does not feel great tomorrow, he';l stay at 17k and I'll shoot for the summit if I feel well. The weather outlook tomorrow is great with 5F as the high at 17k with winds 10-20 MPH. A great outlook. Another low is on its way for Friday-Sunday so hopefully we can beat that and get to Talkeetna by Saturday! The lines up the headwall were crazy today. At one point I counted 80 people on the route. Out of control. Bill and I walked out to the edge of the world this afternoon. Awesome views! The Lama [helicopter] came in three times today. Twice to take climbers down and once for a resupply for the NPS. <p>
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<a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5VtgO_O-sj0/TLe-7Igk7LI/AAAAAAAAN6Q/UWeeCb1EiGc/s640/d118a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="480" width="640" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5VtgO_O-sj0/TLe-7Igk7LI/AAAAAAAAN6Q/UWeeCb1EiGc/s640/d118a.jpg" /></a><b>Busy day on the headwall</b></div>
<b>Thursday, May 29th</b> - Bill felt great today! I felt great as well. Bill and I left 14k camp at 7:45am and hauled ass up the headwall reaching the top of the fixed lines by 9:40am. We were both thinking about the summit. We picked up our food from the 16,200' cache and cruised along the ridge to 17,200' camp. The ridge was very exciting and offered amazing views to the north and south. A few section were literally two-boots-wide snow making for some adrenaline-pumping moments. Bill and I arrived at 17,200' camp 3.5 hours after leaving 14k camp. The time was 11:15am. Janet was sleeping in the tent as she felt faint--apparently she had gotten light-headed on her way to the pee hole and just laid down right next to the hole! This action got the attention of nearby climbers and had a few people concerned. So she stayed in the tent for the day. Chris and David had left for the summit only 40 minutes prior to us arriving at 17k.<br>
Bill and I boiled some water there and left for the summit around 12:15pm. we caught up to David and Chris at Denali Pass. Obviously they were moving pretty slow. They had roped up the whole travers and, at David's insistence, clipped every piece of NPS-fixed protection along the way. This protection is placed every 2/3rds rope length or so. Chris finally became fed up with the slow pace near Denali Pass and told David they'd never make the summit at that pace. I think Chris was relieved to see me show up because as soon as I did, Chris took off! Ha! I told David about Chris' position--2nd time on the mountain and so close to the summit and I think David understood. Then I too off as well! At about 18,800', I put on my overboots as my feet weren't warming up. However the weather was beautiful with only a slight breeze and the temperature near 5F. I was feeling surprisingly great with Bill in tow as well. Bill, for having symptoms of HAPE and come from 14k, was hiking as strong as I've ever seem him. Denali must have turned him into some sort of mountain animal! We all (Chris, Bill and I) hiked strong to near Football Field. At that point, I had waited about 10 minutes for Chris to catch up. He told me he was slowing down and that I ought not wait. I didn't. I turned on the jets and passed at least five teams going across Football Field and up Pig Hill. Pig Hill was a killer but I still felt great. I danced along the fun and exciting summit ridge to reach the summit at 5PM. <br>
I had the summit of Denali, the highest point in North America, all to myself for 30 minutes. I took a self portrait and a "group shot" with Aron as well as photos of the USGS summit marker and other trinkets that adorned the summit. I then took a moment to take in the view. Clouds, lots of clouds. However, Mount Foraker and Mount Hunter were protruding from the clouds which was an awesome view. The temperature on the summit was -3F with only a slight wind. (I'm at 14k camp now and it's snowing but full-on sunny.) Pretty cool. I began to descend but ran into Chris and Bill only 10 minutes down the summit ridge. I turned around and accompanied them to the summit at 6:00pm. We took some more photos and began down. I saw David in the middle of Football Field and watched him turn around. He had had enough but was very excited and elated to have reached 19,500' or whatever Football Field is at. I had ascended 7,290' feet in 10 hours all above 14,200 and I still felt great. We all made our way back down to 17k camp by around 9AM. The sun does not set until nearly midnight at 17k and rises around 7am. Bill and Chris boiled some water and then left for 14k camp. Leaving David, Janet and I at 17k camp. Bill and I had carried our sleeping gear to 17k in case we needed to sleep there that night. Apparently they got to 14k camp around 2:30AM but witnessed an awesome sunset along the ridge. I slept pretty poorly with three of us in the Wild Country tent with only a sliver of space in the tent. But it wasn't that cold. The overnight low @ 17k that night was near -20F but I slept so hard, I didn't feel it. <p>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hF99h20CMwg/TLe_ChpxKyI/AAAAAAAAN94/-YJJ8djTreg/s640/d157.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="640" width="480" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hF99h20CMwg/TLe_ChpxKyI/AAAAAAAAN94/-YJJ8djTreg/s640/d157.jpg" /></a><b>On the summit. NM represent!</b></div>
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DYjWjrlKvhA/TLe--MbW7oI/AAAAAAAAN7g/_D7TmJOSWas/s640/d160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="480" width="640" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-DYjWjrlKvhA/TLe--MbW7oI/AAAAAAAAN7g/_D7TmJOSWas/s640/d160.jpg" /></a><b>Descending into 17k camp</b></div>
<b>Friday, May 30th</b> - [Coming in part 3!]
<br /></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-29275441965705871152012-05-13T20:30:00.001-07:002012-05-13T20:30:35.642-07:00Not a lot new to report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_U_HAeLTP7d7N4XX4ZYyKzOAe4_r3BbjMLHNcBZs7uEkf2bRD-RA9vSLULj0EOk6kwt-R2xDUGo6A0dIS2nktZ1VNm2hezbpR5MAX0tFGm3IIsk5BmSTncsmAvOsyjdEXUzknYo0o30/s1600/462123_3946249413968_1212018300_33707084_1980483220_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="213" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_U_HAeLTP7d7N4XX4ZYyKzOAe4_r3BbjMLHNcBZs7uEkf2bRD-RA9vSLULj0EOk6kwt-R2xDUGo6A0dIS2nktZ1VNm2hezbpR5MAX0tFGm3IIsk5BmSTncsmAvOsyjdEXUzknYo0o30/s320/462123_3946249413968_1212018300_33707084_1980483220_o.jpg" /></a><br><b>Adam, Devin and Andy running in the Pacific NM</b></div>
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It's been "business" as usual these days. Working Monday through Friday, running at lunch, climbing in the evening and then doing more climbing and running on the weekend. In other words, life is great still.
Last weekend I spent the entire weekend up at <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/el-rito/105788273">El Rito</a>, climbing. Saturday I spent the day leading graduates of the annual Los Alamos Mountaineers Climbing School up the fun two-pitch routes at the El Rito Trad area. I really enjoy doing this every year--it's always very rewarding to expose new climbers to the beautiful and rewarding <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/el-rito-traditional-area/105788286">multi-pitch climbing</a> at El Rito. This year was particularly special when I climbed with a student that was initially quite fearful of multi-pitch climbing but found as she climbed higher she really enjoyed it. We topped out late in the day where it was clear she was completely psyched to have completed <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/juniper-direct/106275970">that climb</a> and gave me a huge hug. I was very elated to have been a part of it. <p>
Saturday night Allison and I camped up there at El Rito with our friends Hunter and Allison but instead of cooking our own dinner we drove into the town of El Rito for a super tasty dinner at the hole-in-the-wall <a href="http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=1749">El Farolito</a> restaurant. Back at camp, the night was quiet and serene with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supermoon">super moon</a> illuminating the surroundings. We slept great in the nice, cool overnight temperature. <p>
Sunday we spent the day sport climbing at the El Rito sport area. The steep conglomerate rock there offers super fun climbing and we climb many times per year there. We all climbed well, particularly Allison on her new project, A<a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/against-all-cobbs/105819875">gainst All Cobbs</a>. I finally sent an on-again-off-again nemesis route called <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/crack-attack/105819879">Crack Attack</a> so I left there pumped and pleased. <p>
At work during the week I finally released a data sync script I had been working on for a while. Even after lots and lots of testing, and many revisions, I was still nervous knowing the script would affect 13,000+ user accounts but it turns out it worked brilliantly and did more good than harm. <p>
We were back up at El Rito Friday with our friend Rick for some more sport climbing followed by guacamole, chips and margaritas at <a href="http://www.restauranteur.com/gabriels/">Gabriel's</a> in the afternoon. A fine day all around!<p>
I spent nearly all day yesterday packing food and gear for our upcoming trip to Denali. I was very productive and feel much better now having gotten that done. But I didn't do much else so I felt lazy. That said, I got up this morning and went for a hard run up my local time trial run and managed to <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/177748506">set a personal record</a> on the run. So yes, psyched! The weekend was pretty dreary and rainy all weekend so really it was a good weekend to spend inside packing and what not.<p>
This week we'll be marking more of the <a href="http://www.highaltitudeathletics.org/JemezMt.htm">Jemez Mountain Trail Runs</a> (JMTR) courses in preparation for next Saturday's races! Looking forward to it!
<br /></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-38600824597788914312012-05-02T20:11:00.000-07:002012-05-02T20:11:59.636-07:00Back into the groove of "real life"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I just noticed it's been since April 10th since I posted on my blog. Damn, the time is flying by as Allison and I returned from Spain and got back into the swing of real life home in Los Alamos. We had a great, great time during our Spain trip and it was nice to return home to family, friends, our normal routine and Smith's grocery store green chile and cheese bagels. I was seriously missing those bagels while on vacation. They're the best toasted just so and slathered with real butter. Mmmm, mmmmm!
We've had a ton of fun around home since returning back to the U.S. We've gotten back up into the Jemez Mountains many times to my favorite NM crag, <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/upper-east-fork/106382985">Upper East Fork</a>, where I sent a couple of on-again, off-again projects up there; <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/cyclops/106383039">Cyclops</a> and then the super fun <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/chupacabra/106383021">Chupacabra</a>. It was a great week for me up there and with the longer days of summer upon us now we'll be climbing there more after work in the evenings.
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<a href="http://www.mountainproject.com/images/36/73/106843673_medium_2f20b6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="480" width="319" src="http://www.mountainproject.com/images/36/73/106843673_medium_2f20b6.jpg" /></a><br><b>Chupacabra action</b><p></div>
I've had some good times helping out instructing at a couple of <a href="http://lamountaineers.org/">Los Alamos Mountaineers</a> annual climbing school sessions and this Saturday I'll be up at <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/el-rito-traditional-area/105788286">El Rito</a> serving as a leader for the school's graduation climbing day. It's always a ton of fun leading the class students up their first multipitch routes and El Rito is such a fun, nice place to spend the day. Can't go wrong.
And I've been <a href="http://www.dailymile.com/people/halladay">running a great deal</a> and running well, too. I'm getting psyched to run the <a href="http://web.me.com/grayj923/San_Juan_Solstice_50_Mile_Race/Welcome.html">San Juan Solstice 50</a> mile trail race again this year, for my sixth time, after taking last year off from the race. It's such a beautiful and difficult course it's hard not to go back year after year.
<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zb9_N9BfAfkuH1IyFDdFUdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkV11P0YHClOSWAqmaO60DmCgVK4j_uEv6mnXQP1xtVHs3b6pxtE1gxgqrEB6cBELodITyLzREfHB5LIaq0In6N0fBB5DLPyAgWpDsaSK1hF3xeQKiXwRtI8C44o34V783e__R34TRIOk/s400/Nambe%2520DSC00646.jpg" height="300" width="400" /><br><b>Andy ripping a turn in the Nambe Chutes</b></a></center><p>
Oh, and yeah, there's this little trip up to Alaska to climb and ski <a href="http://www.nps.gov/dena/planyourvisit/mountaineering.htm">Denali</a> with five great friends coming up in just three weeks. Holy shit, better get cracking on those logistics. We've had some fun weekend mountain outings the past two weekends spending time up high and riding what's left of New Mexico's high country snowpack.
<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/eTw-lX9ruC-grBxxSzMxmNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdWBr3HUyU4_4-3lTN1q4uo_uVip6-ZPkxGH4Iwil7lTi-17s1Ew3XrfVSodlgf69ubtSnTKUlT_V29qptgqArwBhCscMJub-UNduqODd7B_SGnDlBGT_1hDwjg2Qk-_XqbayZJo_DUs/s400/LakeFork%2520DSC00701.jpg" height="300" width="400" /><br><b>Sam and Aaron enjoying new spring snow on Lake Fork Peak</b></a></center>
<br /></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-25627488793826589272012-04-10T13:09:00.000-07:002012-04-10T23:19:43.058-07:00Losing track of time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-StkZDDe9nblV3pTJK4SOfABSZmWtTfbV7Q7yIp4lNwUIJijVmXggTXP14hX_Q21L87tsUfqEA1W0YhuX1-J_vJWrhhDh3qILSjqX8n9Zfye4tdpQbr66wSbaVYS9NL_Mq-CpPWQblHw/s1600/spain_day11+052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="74" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-StkZDDe9nblV3pTJK4SOfABSZmWtTfbV7Q7yIp4lNwUIJijVmXggTXP14hX_Q21L87tsUfqEA1W0YhuX1-J_vJWrhhDh3qILSjqX8n9Zfye4tdpQbr66wSbaVYS9NL_Mq-CpPWQblHw/s320/spain_day11+052.jpg" /></a><br><b>Rainbow over Ager, Spain</b></div><p>
A great indicator of really being on holiday from day-to-day life is losing track of time. In this regard, we've done great and, thus, consider this trip a huge success. It's already Tuesday night, day 11 of our trip, and we weren't sure what day it was when we woke up this morning. And we woke up to a partly cloudy sky after a few really enjoyable days the past few days.<p>
Since I last posted on this blog on Saturday, we've done quite a bit of climbing and a little bit of tourism.
Sunday we drove 45 minutes south to the village of Santa Linya to climb there. It was a gorgeous day with no clouds--a first for us since we left Barcelona. We climbed at the <a href="http://www.mountainproject.com/v/santa-linya/106497431">Futbol wall</a> outside the village and had a blast. I'd best describe the rock as "chunky" limetone--slightly overhanging, soft grips and athletic climbing. This area was a favorite of ours in Spain thus far. We both really enjoyed the style of climbing and the scene. Sunday was Easter Sunday and it was surprisingly busy around the villages. Santa Linya climbing is really know for the spectacular <em>Cova Gran</em>, a gigantic cave offering huge enduro routes. Needless to say, we did not climb in Cova Gran but did enjoy going to check it out.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg30CTdgIlp3qshuYQIaLh999yFguaelB06gSpzfPz-Zr790wcWFsjGGCiJieSzJz6L9YUl2Nds98hnxBKLr9r6ofYsNCPmhMq3wSb15aZDzOvZ8jTaWAZ3fyz1D0-icbFWOXUkNcMawCk/s1600/spain_day9+014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="179" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg30CTdgIlp3qshuYQIaLh999yFguaelB06gSpzfPz-Zr790wcWFsjGGCiJieSzJz6L9YUl2Nds98hnxBKLr9r6ofYsNCPmhMq3wSb15aZDzOvZ8jTaWAZ3fyz1D0-icbFWOXUkNcMawCk/s320/spain_day9+014.jpg" /></a><br><b>Allison takes in the view of Cova Gran</b></div>
<p>When we got back to our apartment we asked Gaspar, in my broken Spanish, if his restaurant downstairs was open for dinner. He said not normally but that he'd cook us steak and potatoes if we'd like that. Absolutely! So at 9pm, we headed down for a super tasty steak dinner with french fries. Gaspar and his wife (and another man that we don't his relation) kindly served dinner to just the two of us. In addition to the steak and french fries, we had a bottle of tempranillo red wine, bread and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jam%C3%B3n_serrano">jamón serrano</a> with olive oil drizzled on it. It was a pleasant and tasty meal. <p>
Monday we had another leisurely morning before heading down to the local crag, Collegats, to climb a few routes at a limestone sector called L'Argenteria. It was cool and shady climbing in the morning but we still enjoyed three distinctly different routes--a slabby route, a bolted crack/dihedral route and an overhanging, heavily featured route sporting badass tufas and neat rock fluting out of a cave. After a few routes we decided to head north into the Pyrenees and to the country of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra">Andorra</a> to cross "visit Andorra" off our bucket lists. Granted we didn't see much of Andorra beyond the downtown area of its capital, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra_la_Vella">Andorra La Vella</a>, but we enjoyed a tasty lunch of pizza and Allison's new favorite food, tapas de <a href="http://spanishfood.about.com/od/tapas/r/croquetas.htm">ham croquettes</a>. It's been a lot of fun driving the very European roads of Catalunya--narrow, winding and fast. In some of the towns great care must be taken on the car-and-a-half width roads. A driver with a poor sense of situational awareness wouldn't last long here. <p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJh5ZrrhvekmTRJzbfk3EZQeU2hdWBA9dYfT7yPP_Fzg3IdXZOmtHwv3zugNinkhcnK_hdNkpXIsUTOeFXGyAG2QEIc3VMl-BxyOkxHN0q_crdqTMj8WDf5Lyw8uLUunaZnv849G3J68/s1600/spain_day10+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUJh5ZrrhvekmTRJzbfk3EZQeU2hdWBA9dYfT7yPP_Fzg3IdXZOmtHwv3zugNinkhcnK_hdNkpXIsUTOeFXGyAG2QEIc3VMl-BxyOkxHN0q_crdqTMj8WDf5Lyw8uLUunaZnv849G3J68/s320/spain_day10+006.jpg" /></a><br><b>Looking down at the town of Sort, Spain with Pic de Peguera (9,776') flocked in new snow</b></div>
Today, Tuesday, we our most fun day of climbing yet. And surprisingly it wasn't at any of the "big name" crags of Catalunya but rather at a small, generally unimpressive-looking crag called <a href="http://www.mountainproject.com/v/tartareu/106485672">Tartareu</a>. For us, it was just what we were looking for--nice weather, slightly overhanging climbing with good holds on somewhat chunky rock. And what really made it nice is that we had the entire area to ourselves all day. No others smoking and no noises save the birds and winds. To top it off, we both climbed well and really ate up the athletic style of climbing. The soft grading didn't hurt our egos either. <p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABVPIcr-8cWaLklfvRI1Y8XhKf3ADjuvAS1SXcNLLJJPHy-vvOfiT3_n5zrd7huwZeHHH5AdZCvVFJcnKUWNR4UC_8irhkmmzeb1j1oP3L6EPUIqCgbZJVMoDJq9dtTMs8qo232SC-Dw/s1600/spain_day11+036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABVPIcr-8cWaLklfvRI1Y8XhKf3ADjuvAS1SXcNLLJJPHy-vvOfiT3_n5zrd7huwZeHHH5AdZCvVFJcnKUWNR4UC_8irhkmmzeb1j1oP3L6EPUIqCgbZJVMoDJq9dtTMs8qo232SC-Dw/s320/spain_day11+036.jpg" /></a><br><b>Allison being lowered off a super steep and fun 7a+ route called <em>Brom de Por</em> at Tartareu</b></div>
This is our last night in our fantastic apartment at <a href="http://www.campingbeta.net/">Camping Beta</a>. Tomorrow morning we bid Gaspar and the town of Baro adieu and head 90 minutes south to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lleida">Lleida</a>. Thursday night will find us back in Barcelona at a hotel near the airport and Friday we leave Spain and arrive back in New Mexico around 9pm (assuming no travel delays).Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-42366178751405170612012-04-07T13:45:00.000-07:002012-04-07T23:54:41.503-07:00Hooray for clearing weather<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMqm1vd8UW6-1qZ6KCGHHi3TJze4uhBXtiB4uf0DL0vehjzIGq1ZFwCg5wDTu9l_98rTj3lb1N-n1vGrd3NDBgOVneDfK1Hkn8c3yAfVeJp2Lc8jl3emHpBW_EXSdhDrr8KHIIsL7eNc/s1600/spain_day7+053.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMqm1vd8UW6-1qZ6KCGHHi3TJze4uhBXtiB4uf0DL0vehjzIGq1ZFwCg5wDTu9l_98rTj3lb1N-n1vGrd3NDBgOVneDfK1Hkn8c3yAfVeJp2Lc8jl3emHpBW_EXSdhDrr8KHIIsL7eNc/s320/spain_day7+053.jpg" /></a><br><b>The awesome Congst de Mont-Rebei</b></div>
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In my best <a href="http://www.theonion.com/personalities/herbert-kornfeld,1019/">Herbert Kornfeld</a> voice, "What tha dilly yo, mah homies?" It's been a very enjoyable few days since I rapped at 'cha ya'll. Thursday we slept in until 8am or so, brewed up some coffee and had a light breakfast before heading out into the rain with hopes that we'd find something dry to climb. If not, we'd do some hiking and exploring some other area of Catalunya because there's so much to see anyway. <p>
So we drove the few miles south to the crag nearest our apartment, Collegats. Collegats has a staggering amount of conglomerate walls as well as many limestone walls. We hiked up to the Sector Cine under dark clouds knowing that the short reprieve of rain would not last. Nonetheless, we found a route, Blue Velvet, that looked mostly dry and within our we-haven't-climbed-in-ten-days abilities. Rated 6a+ (5.10c), it was enjoyable romp up fun bulges of conglomerate cobbles for 60 feet. As I was leading it the rain starting to come down. By the time I had lowered back to the ground, it was a steady drizzle of rain. Allison chose to TR the line since wet cobbles tend to be very slick. But she was so psyched to be climbing that she TRed it twice despite water running down her sleeves each time she put her hands on the top-side of the bulges. It was fun to be climbing in a new part of the world despite getting soaked. We packed up and headed back to the car. <p>
Desiring to see a bit more of the area we drove for about 30 minutes up the nearby Vall Fosco. In addition to seven lakes, each one above the other, there's a tramway up there and we thought that would be fun. Unfortunately when we got to the tramway, it was snowing hard, visibility was zero and the tram was closed. Oh well. We beat feet and returned to the apartment and then to the local grocery store in Sort. A homey kind of day. But the rain did stop around 5pm affording me an hour or so to get in <a href="http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5389945">a nice 7 mile run</a> up the hillside outside of Baro through the small town of Arcalis. The clouds cleared long enough for me to get a great view down into the valley and see Baro and north to Sort. I didn't have my camera though. <p>
We awoke to rain Friday but it tapered off so we loaded up the car and headed south for about 40 minutes to the superb climbing of <a href="http://www.mountainproject.com/v/terradets/107371729">Terradets</a>. On the way we figured out how to fuel up our car. :-) Terradets was a blast and we got in a pretty full day of climbing there despite getting pelted by rain on our last route of the day, <a href="http://www.mountainproject.com/v/lansia/107379099">L'Ansia</a>. We climbed six pitches of rock before the rain came in again so we were psyched. <br>
We then headed to the impressive gorge of <a href="http://www.iberianature.com/regions/catalonia/congost-de-mont-rebei-mont-rebei-gorge/">Congst de Mont-Rebei</a>. It rained and snowed hard as we drove to the trailhead for the gorge but once we arrived, the rain stopped, the clouds lifted and the sun even came out for a while! We enjoyed a two-hour hike down to, and through, the gorge. It's very impressive and the blueish color of the water flowing through the gorge is mighty pretty. <p>
Today we had another leisurely morning as it looked rainy outside but quickly cleared. We headed south from our apartment to visit the lesser-known crag of <a href="http://uasunflower.blogspot.com.es/2009/03/col-de-nargo.html">Coll de Nargo</a>. It was sunny and nice to be out on some easy, single pitch routes. Nothing particularly inspiring but nice nonetheless. <p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQOuaPj0_10lNJqx9B1kStxq21VDswJvXnJhspM4Fak2pYAyNlye2n5_M0Wsk610BLXHeImwjJZ57jEk1AILcYUAcOGqJRpf-3JFuQGnJlFwHv476oxgT1E166TW2Onu17djVGwsgySCg/s1600/spain_day8+008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQOuaPj0_10lNJqx9B1kStxq21VDswJvXnJhspM4Fak2pYAyNlye2n5_M0Wsk610BLXHeImwjJZ57jEk1AILcYUAcOGqJRpf-3JFuQGnJlFwHv476oxgT1E166TW2Onu17djVGwsgySCg/s320/spain_day8+008.jpg" /></a><br><b>Allison on a fun 5.11- at Coll de Nargo</b></div>
<p>
After four routes there, we decided to go check out the world-class crag of Oliana. Oliana is the crag of multiple 5.15s and synonymous with high-end sport climbing. Last year, Chris Sharma <a href="http://climbingnarc.com/2011/05/two-5-15s-in-a-day-at-oliana-for-chris-sharma/">sent two 5.15s in a day</a> there and this spring it's been THE place for hard female climbing with <a href="http://climbingnarc.com/?s=mind+control&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Go">at least three women sending</a> "Mind Control". <p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlb7PoQNMEqia-R3xvQkkrmtUv59KTrJ8FXw62GIk-rjyc07roBwfOtoGkrcycSTqEh_NiCxrJA9rIRVU7XgfuL_Ax1u1U1aqD8eoohXGFZgHRQJpvsIh-IHsmvCL_Tt9LxmxQxbztvg/s1600/spain_day8+021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlb7PoQNMEqia-R3xvQkkrmtUv59KTrJ8FXw62GIk-rjyc07roBwfOtoGkrcycSTqEh_NiCxrJA9rIRVU7XgfuL_Ax1u1U1aqD8eoohXGFZgHRQJpvsIh-IHsmvCL_Tt9LxmxQxbztvg/s320/spain_day8+021.jpg" /></a><br><b>Olina's main wall</b></div>
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Even though we'd be looking for the less-than-5.12 routes at Oliana, It excited us to see the area in person. It was an easy ten minute hike up to the severely overhanging, orange-with-gorgeous-blue-streaks wall. It's mind-boggling to see how steep the wall is at the top and see the tiny holds the best sport climbers in the world can hold on to. We headed to the far right-end of the crag and climbed a couple 5.10+ routes before moving closer to the center of the wall where I got on the lower part of some 5.ridiculous route. The route had draws hanging on it so there was no commitment. I managed to get up to the fifth draw, through the junky-rock climbing, to where the rock got beautiful. And that was it. A couple of falls and I was done. And we were done with the day. A fabulous day! Back at the apartment I cooked up some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paella">chicken paella</a> and we filled our bellies. Buenas noches!
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNrsXjPMWwj-HvGqB_-Oqo5OZ8lXqboCpC5SaDtMINc0CTbSQGnHGQW6K1MUwlrttSrreU3jqzJP2yWs3Uao69X6jfAVq216lCl3XlH5JmuJxT0nnEBTXvl6SCeK8sdiEzrX7zVLQqBw/s1600/spain_day8+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNrsXjPMWwj-HvGqB_-Oqo5OZ8lXqboCpC5SaDtMINc0CTbSQGnHGQW6K1MUwlrttSrreU3jqzJP2yWs3Uao69X6jfAVq216lCl3XlH5JmuJxT0nnEBTXvl6SCeK8sdiEzrX7zVLQqBw/s320/spain_day8+033.jpg" /></a><br><b>Hanging out at the right end of the wall. Can't beat the view.</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibi6sFxODAEh-VZW0omcS0f_nTD7FYrK6WrHG7btkvlCA5IUhbgr-_NgtPR_60KgUJNOj8kgbOYLf9ZMGz2zpQuXlLOMjQQ-L069bMLNEP-7TvovyisIJVaYGhExnnMFd1qGFIlVra_mk/s1600/spain_day8+037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibi6sFxODAEh-VZW0omcS0f_nTD7FYrK6WrHG7btkvlCA5IUhbgr-_NgtPR_60KgUJNOj8kgbOYLf9ZMGz2zpQuXlLOMjQQ-L069bMLNEP-7TvovyisIJVaYGhExnnMFd1qGFIlVra_mk/s320/spain_day8+037.jpg" /></a><br><b>Climbing at Oliana</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg940xThtmChOtdSDKVZEwCeQOfIMsVlbUIn8qbPAqRRYW-NatuuoLykUiA2uUJf_OCHlGzyGeY6vatwA5mb5BAwaGyI7Bh28khg6vfk-nf4oZRewnL362zLIN-c-Z7AIlEktuasaSbyNg/s1600/spain_day8+044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg940xThtmChOtdSDKVZEwCeQOfIMsVlbUIn8qbPAqRRYW-NatuuoLykUiA2uUJf_OCHlGzyGeY6vatwA5mb5BAwaGyI7Bh28khg6vfk-nf4oZRewnL362zLIN-c-Z7AIlEktuasaSbyNg/s320/spain_day8+044.jpg" /></a><br><b>Approaching rain storm over an amazing amount of rock</b></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-76295312970556436532012-04-04T13:08:00.000-07:002012-04-04T13:44:47.497-07:00Established base camp<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bFMkEcaiGbfyLfLobYYBNqvIOLDbI9oxAxPKKqcva7bzpSjpfNxnz8q33Wkdlaamdp3yYIWOT6ECVa9N_sJQBng5TJImftwNnn12KhJ5O6OU2K-XMLisIkuzdshZ8jHe8wBFFX-4ltQ/s1600/spain_day5+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3bFMkEcaiGbfyLfLobYYBNqvIOLDbI9oxAxPKKqcva7bzpSjpfNxnz8q33Wkdlaamdp3yYIWOT6ECVa9N_sJQBng5TJImftwNnn12KhJ5O6OU2K-XMLisIkuzdshZ8jHe8wBFFX-4ltQ/s320/spain_day5+002.jpg" /></a><center><b>A roadside view of much of the Collegats rock</b></center></div>
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We fired up the 1.6L turbo engine of our rented <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_Meriva">Opel Meriva</a> and enjoyed a leisurely day of driving a few hours to our basecamp--a four-person apartment in Baro, Spain at <a href="http://www.campingbeta.net/">Camping Beta</a>. It was a joy to meet the owner, Gaspar, after interacting with him via email a month or so ago to make our reservation for this apartment. Shortly after our arrival, Gaspar had us down to the bar for beers and olives where he broke out a map and showed us many suggestions for places to hike and explore. We told him we were climbers and he was very impressed and also boastful of the surrounding rock. And he should be--there's multiple lifetimes of rock around here. It's simply astounding. (Quite literally as I was typing this, Gaspar knocked on our door to give us a bottle of champagne on ice along with two glasses. A super classy and generous man! If you've got ideas on how we can "re-pay" him for his generosity before we leave, please leave a comment.) <p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJx76pIL6IhOBo_9mf8PwO_MYOhrK7hX9xzvt8bYhgYbJueL2ob7aXwpGDHntURzlxr00tmxM16L1ifR8gZ-9aeugEGZCT9X0fUccb9HEF2gwATA3jDEWnHunLoBwNrmS5pFA8PWLvdb0/s1600/spain_day5+006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJx76pIL6IhOBo_9mf8PwO_MYOhrK7hX9xzvt8bYhgYbJueL2ob7aXwpGDHntURzlxr00tmxM16L1ifR8gZ-9aeugEGZCT9X0fUccb9HEF2gwATA3jDEWnHunLoBwNrmS5pFA8PWLvdb0/s320/spain_day5+006.jpg" /></a><center><b>Our apartment for the next seven nights</b></center></div>
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We're psyched about the apartment! It's very nice and spacious in an easy-to-access and scenic location in Baro along the banks of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noguera_Pallaresa">Rio Noguera Pallaresa</a>. It's a nicely-located place with many hiking trails and climbing areas within 45 minutes in any direction. <p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nQEvc9cAzpTt1VUvvyUwuF8RlgmZogHJoep_hpEexBg94QNVadOgfG75qdX01DnfUZTO_hjpKTka17WPxDT3oTscyMKUXs9vdikvZMjWVkSJ-sm4T3QEXPZW5pzx9FLYThP-zOZQsQ8/s1600/spain_day5+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-nQEvc9cAzpTt1VUvvyUwuF8RlgmZogHJoep_hpEexBg94QNVadOgfG75qdX01DnfUZTO_hjpKTka17WPxDT3oTscyMKUXs9vdikvZMjWVkSJ-sm4T3QEXPZW5pzx9FLYThP-zOZQsQ8/s320/spain_day5+010.jpg" /></a><center><b>Beer and maps with Gaspar</b></center></div><p>
We're very close to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrenees">Pyrenees</a> mountains to our north, the country of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andorra">Andorra</a> to our east, <a href="http://www.lleidaclimbs.com/p/lleida-climbs-guidebook_06.html">loads of climbing</a> to our south and more scenic trails and lakes to our west. We hit the three grocery stores in Sort, Spain this evening and cooked up a meal here in the apartment tonight. I can feel our wallets getting heavier already with all the money we're saving cooking "at home". <p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvg_a8Fadr-1d1uwnhrsOQNAHg9tqklwiltdsLTPlN4VwXJ5m7iitFhhEHodeQNendvq7SzETEAMJMzLMPaKcl2rfUGQdHww7vmElawZDRkVPZsZkC3LEWtIZPRhzrpisP4M60JuqIg2g/s1600/spain_day5+021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvg_a8Fadr-1d1uwnhrsOQNAHg9tqklwiltdsLTPlN4VwXJ5m7iitFhhEHodeQNendvq7SzETEAMJMzLMPaKcl2rfUGQdHww7vmElawZDRkVPZsZkC3LEWtIZPRhzrpisP4M60JuqIg2g/s320/spain_day5+021.jpg" /></a><center><b>Champagne compliments of Gaspar. Very generous.</b></center></div>
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We haven't done any climbing yet but this trip isn't all about the climbing and we're enjoying the experience as a whole. The travel, the relaxation, the food, the company, and the surroundings.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCd6uOg5vD3eXNu35q9Q49sZZilsfe7BPZFx21qmXOknER-YEPaK05wdFVvxrP7k83UDK1t3ctZErGND2yQwxZ6NobUXX2MK_jKjy2Aq_nsVNqXeUG7xSqEvAtyRUWYbnM0tTsCKRzhhU/s1600/spain_day5+014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="320" width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCd6uOg5vD3eXNu35q9Q49sZZilsfe7BPZFx21qmXOknER-YEPaK05wdFVvxrP7k83UDK1t3ctZErGND2yQwxZ6NobUXX2MK_jKjy2Aq_nsVNqXeUG7xSqEvAtyRUWYbnM0tTsCKRzhhU/s320/spain_day5+014.jpg" /></a><center><b>Literally the sum total of climbing we've done in Spain</b></center></div>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-82970558841210232192012-04-04T01:50:00.001-07:002012-04-04T01:50:15.041-07:00Run to the hills<center><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOIaRhtcwdzyaTo85KlCMwmSE9ux43XeN_wGS8Kzhe680gGo5bfc7bOuHwVl0oRhmDex1bU9IO9gWM6-CgwwfFXU-aCqTMw4zUAOpIboUtvhtTYW8fEq7BllXIuYIPli901JHj4WaCrw8/s1600/spain_day4+079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOIaRhtcwdzyaTo85KlCMwmSE9ux43XeN_wGS8Kzhe680gGo5bfc7bOuHwVl0oRhmDex1bU9IO9gWM6-CgwwfFXU-aCqTMw4zUAOpIboUtvhtTYW8fEq7BllXIuYIPli901JHj4WaCrw8/s320/spain_day4+079.jpg" /></a></div><b>Monistrol de Montserrat</b><p></center>
Yesterday we rented a car from the Barcelona airport and headed out of town and to the hills on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montserrat_(mountain)">Montserrat</a>. It was about an hour of driving from the airport, through one major wrong turn and to the hostel, <a href="http://www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/spain/monistrol-de-montserrat/4190/">Hostel Guilleumes</a>, in the town of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monistrol_de_Montserrat">Monistrol de Montserrat</a>.
It was a rainy morning but dried up a bit for the afternoon allowing us time to hike the trails of the Montserrat mountains, explore the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_de_Montserrat">Santa Maria de Montserrat</a> monastery and ride a funicular (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funicular_de_Sant_Joan">the steepest funicular in Spain</a>) up high into the mountains. We had hoped to some climbing on the cool conglomerate rock of Montserrat but the rain earlier in the day had left things damp and slick. <p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrTrFvlkIEtDR0bh-RKImB1h_1JUKcQtvLicL3oVw3IxKOmFka1jyeaubYkztVUG0JK8xyFp34pmuFAS4tY-rNoQbentW6vtkrFpv9zZsEQpI05CMyWlATVQQfLWtX6ABf05od7D0FqY/s1600/spain_day4+024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyrTrFvlkIEtDR0bh-RKImB1h_1JUKcQtvLicL3oVw3IxKOmFka1jyeaubYkztVUG0JK8xyFp34pmuFAS4tY-rNoQbentW6vtkrFpv9zZsEQpI05CMyWlATVQQfLWtX6ABf05od7D0FqY/s320/spain_day4+024.jpg" /></a></div><b>Exploring the hermitage ruins of Montserrat</b>
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We had a very nice three-course dinner last night in the restaurant below the hostel while watching Barcelona's futbol team <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/champions-league/9183381/Lionel-Messi-equals-Champions-League-record-as-Barcelona-wait-for-Chelsea-after-3-1-victory-over-AC-Milan.html">beat Milan 3 to 1</a> with a spirited group of fans. <p>
It rained hard, with plenty of lightning and thunder last night, so there will be no climbing today. Intead, we'll drive to Baro where we have arranged an apartment rental for the next week at <a href="http://www.campingbeta.net/">Camping Beta</a>. Hopefully we'll find some dry rock to climb later today but it's not likely. Tomorrow looks to be party cloudy while Friday looks to be wet again. However, the forecast for next week looks good right now so we're optimistic about getting some climbing in then. <p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU62Iapvg6633VWAB5dZfK6uhw9bINJOhBXdY8VLmNIFM8PcVFOVz0WrYD0rfbKIirU2m4TWHORnkTkfqcjVkKv9EKs66H3CSsJunhC4Stp0kVfOKlZ1eNtwOJHB6sw1ZwzcTsPxiTVFo/s1600/spain_day4+063.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU62Iapvg6633VWAB5dZfK6uhw9bINJOhBXdY8VLmNIFM8PcVFOVz0WrYD0rfbKIirU2m4TWHORnkTkfqcjVkKv9EKs66H3CSsJunhC4Stp0kVfOKlZ1eNtwOJHB6sw1ZwzcTsPxiTVFo/s320/spain_day4+063.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>The massive rock formations of Montserrat seen from Monistrol de Montserrat</b>
</center>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-72726284513061704812012-04-01T11:31:00.000-07:002012-04-01T11:32:32.972-07:00Barcelona<center>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMV9XHZCYGuOWQR9ucUm-Dl5EJAk-66ws43_YxvLsCQC6TsPCI_MjDBTwKDo1tGpHz8JB2i5CZUCAXklkt86PfCu7l9KiqNkRDcRTcGvV4J5iOhektJjvOUSoPxCV0S-ajx8gXca1whFo/s1600/03-31-2012+Spain+-+Barcelona+027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMV9XHZCYGuOWQR9ucUm-Dl5EJAk-66ws43_YxvLsCQC6TsPCI_MjDBTwKDo1tGpHz8JB2i5CZUCAXklkt86PfCu7l9KiqNkRDcRTcGvV4J5iOhektJjvOUSoPxCV0S-ajx8gXca1whFo/s320/03-31-2012+Spain+-+Barcelona+027.jpg" /></a><br><b>La Sagrada Familia church seen from Park Gruell</b><br></div>
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Hola desde España, peeps. After 27 hours of travel yesterday, Allison and I got settled into our hotel room in the <a href="http://www.hotelviaaugusta.com/">Hotel Via Augusta</a> in Barcelona. We were pooped! The travel went well save a small screw-up in Madrid where American Airlines apparently didn't have us properly booked on partner airline Iberia's flight to Barcelona. Sadly, I missed the <a href="http://www.bcn.travel/blog/running-barcelona/">Barcelona Marathon</a> by one week. I probably would have won. Oh well, maybe next year.
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After arriving in the hotel we immediately napped for a solid four hours. We dragged ourselves out of the room for a short stroll a few blocks up to a small pizzeria with outdoor seating in a tiny courtyard where we scored some tapas, pizza and beer before retiring back to our room. We slept hard for 10.5 hours. I think we're adjusted now!
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Today we walked and rode the excellent city metro all day today seeing many of the more popular sites of Barcelona. With a sunny, clear sky and a high in the low 60s, it was a beautiful day to be out exploring the city. And it's Allison's birthday! A super fine day! Admittedly, though, after our big day of travel I didn't realize it was already April 1st and blew it on the birthday wishes until the late afternoon. Shame on me. But we did have some birthday helado after walking around the cool <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_G%C3%BCell">Park Güell</a> designed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Gaud%C3%AD">Gaudí</a> in 1900.
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Tomorrow we plan to see more of the city including the very popular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagrada_Fam%C3%ADlia">La Sagrada Familia Church</a>. We tried to get in today but the line wrapped around the block, and then some.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCLfyFalpC2Vo9lYm7XyRQcfhJ7K5SrYObEfx-g2B8Z4LqFWKFgpoGapswXAeQcaVUGaeDOkj97nFtSMXkfg2yznLOvLToYZFEzeFPkJ7VJfVf90jtcl1wTA1BtRneuc4EvW5CPqt4QKc/s1600/03-31-2012+Spain+-+Barcelona+045.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="240" width="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCLfyFalpC2Vo9lYm7XyRQcfhJ7K5SrYObEfx-g2B8Z4LqFWKFgpoGapswXAeQcaVUGaeDOkj97nFtSMXkfg2yznLOvLToYZFEzeFPkJ7VJfVf90jtcl1wTA1BtRneuc4EvW5CPqt4QKc/s320/03-31-2012+Spain+-+Barcelona+045.jpg" /></a><br><b>Birthday helado (coffee flavor)</b></div>
</center>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-87676271380555422392012-03-29T21:49:00.003-07:002012-03-29T21:50:23.486-07:00España bound...Squeezing in a short blog entry tonight after feverishly packing for our departure for Catalonia, Spain tomorrow. Once we arrive in Spain, Allison and I will be tourists for a few days in Barcelona before renting a car and driving around the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalonia">Catalonia region</a> of northern Spain mostly rock climbing in the world famous limestone crags of the area. Moderate climbers in the hard sport climbing mecca of the world. Needless to say we won't be hopping on <a href="http://climbingnarc.com/2011/01/chris-sharma-opens-new-5-15-catxasa-in-santa-linya/">Catxasa</a> but it'll be amazing to see the areas and routes that are making the headlines these days. We bust out tomorrow, March 30, and return on April 13th. A quick trip for sure but we've found a couple of weeks at a time on holiday is generally more than enough for us. We're psyched!
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<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4cJTBSNafvGGJ5T3CVzfLNMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj78fI8TjsNoLd7zeE95e3iJpr3L2_oTfskLSv60J-n4LOqFDa-nfQOVJaC9Ae3MXoe6uz28ro127q3jwHijCgtLvp6S9MJSlkr1QYel9iaHks5z2WMOFQvnFtwbYIe8iQvPxnuoGwlDK8/s400/Hueco%2520DSC_6427.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/HuecoTanksTexas20120323?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">Hueco Tanks, Texas. 2012-03-23</a></td></tr></table>
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Last weekend we had <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/HuecoTanksTexas20120323">a super good time</a> with ten fun friends bouldering and climbing at <a href="http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/hueco_tanks/">Hueco Tanks State Park, TX</a> for a few days. It was our second visit there but the first time we really sampled the bouldering and tried hard. I didn't send anything harder than a V3 (hey, I admitted in the first paragraph that we're moderate climbers!) but sure had a blast on every problem we got on. My favorite problem of the trip was the last one we did before going home. Not sure what it was rated or even what it was called--we just passed by it while walking between areas and it looked intriguing. It had some tough body-tension crux that felt even more difficult given my tall, lanky stature. So I spent a couple times on it before figuring out some great "tall guy beta" allowing me to work past that crux with a big reach and send the problem. Fun stuff! The day before that, Allison and I climbed an very engaging classic roped route, <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/sea-of-holes/105850179">Sea of Holes</a>. 300 feet of heady, steep hueco pulling resulting in a very satisfying climb.
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<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5ESgVbEWl7_JeHcjQqxjytMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsKpD61tZmZBosDHTIbvomwTNXx6RACT17ZV0-aXdTPhmOQnjjNH7WZCsob2r87ib0kgnxlKvJ3NWUJ1xF3LVBO611nvv2IVMEUFj66cYp3NJ8LjSI-fHsaItu_eQeoKEseg5OHP1hibM/s400/Hueco%2520DSC_6565.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/106695978412049282443/HuecoTanksTexas20120323?authuser=0&feat=embedwebsite">Hueco Tanks, Texas. 2012-03-23</a></td></tr></table>
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But, on a much more somber note, today was a tough day for a number of us at work. A great person and co-worker of ours, <a href="http://cherihost.blogspot.com/">Cheri</a>, passed away after a three-year battle with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovarian_cancer">ovarian cancer</a>. Cheri was a good friend and mentor to me. I owe her a great deal for where I am in my career at LANL and learned copious amounts of knowledge from her spanning from how to write code to how to deal with irate customers or difficult co-workers. She encouraged me to take the position I now I have at work even when I felt extremely under-qualified for it. Beyond work, Cheri was an honest, open-minded and caring person. I miss her. Cancer is bullshit. It's nasty and indiscriminating.Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-7349758259490914542012-03-18T21:38:00.000-07:002012-03-18T21:38:33.883-07:00Well, that didn't go as hopedSunday night already. The weekend's passed and I'll I got was this lousy stomach flu. Friday morning Fritz and I drove down to Enchanted Tower for what was to be a weekend full of fun climbing and nice camping. We did get in some fun climbing and some nice climbing but only roughly 50 percent of what we had planned on. <p>
We didn't get out of Los Alamos until late morning on Friday due to a server issue at work that I went in to resolve. But we still arrived at the Tower with plenty of time to get wiped out by the steep climbing and rough rock. The weather was clear and toasty down there with a high in the mid-60s. I was psyched to be outside, lounging in the sun in the remote setting of Enchanted Tower. Later in the day Allison and I got on the route she had been thinking about for a long while, <a href="http://www.mountainproject.com/v/technowitch/105808777">Technowitch</a>, and neither of us sent it that afternoon on account of being pretty pumped from other routes we'd climbed already. No worries, Saturday we'd be recovered and ready to rock. We pulled the rope and left the draws on the route, which would save us some work the next day, and retreated to camp for dinner, beer and a campfire. <p>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TpUXI5v7dSYU9J9B7RY7JdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyGrto-6CiOAYIfVrqlM8VHKnHEg4-HoMC4fjXxR_yiz8RXHfpOvbDmH9nj53cGo61SPmK_VAXNXcSFDyuZ-yQQTm092QKKlKU0gTVLLCdOqBCMg-OIcWXuGIYASX1y9uGWhpMP05dVs8/s400/ET%2520DSC_7480.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a><br>
<b>Allison on <em>Technowitch</em>, April 2011</b>
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<a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_wHNjk5NJSVQmzpVtIgj-9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6UJyfDqLuvMhvUbzWz3lMSH2UE2331QzBW73pW6CV3DTEVFH1-jnqMhCvaZs6ZPceOj7nsfZrEtNBF2LtXZFpRg_BPxeQrTjbeiCZbA9RpZDm_uFM2Gvy6QzPZlNy3cVwaS7R1NktJA/s400/ET%2520065.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><br>
<b>To give a sense of how steep the climbing on the tower is...</b><p>
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Well, at 2am that night I woke up feeling really bad. Turns out I came down with the stomach bug that Allison had a week or so ago. The rest of the night was no fun with me sitting around a campfire between trips to the bushes to, well, I'll spare you the details. I was able to sleep a few more hours between 4am and 7am but woke up feeling super weak. I didn't feel like eating anything but managed to down some black coffee before strolling up to the tower again to try to climb. That didn't work out but I did have a good morning belaying Allison for a few routes before she did send Technowitch for the first time. She was stoked and I was psyched for her! It's a route that had been giving her a hard time for a long while due to a pretty reachy-for-her move right before the top but after the normal crux. She looked solid, held it together and punched it through her crux using a smaller hold a few inches below the hold most everyone else can use. It was great watching her figure out something that worked for her and then execute it. <br>
With Allison completely satisfied with the trip and me not being strong enough to get up a 5.10 route, we loaded up and came home later that afternoon making, of course, a number of stops at gas stations along the way so I could use the facilities. <br>
Sunday turned out a nasty weather day around New Mexico so it was a good day for chillin' out at home. We did make a shopping trip to Santa Fe to replace our grind 'n brew coffee machine that died Friday. I know, big news right!? OK, in bigger news, for me at least, I bought tickets to go see <a href="http://adtr.com/">A Day To Remember</a> (with <a href="http://www.riseagainst.com/">Rise Against</a> and <a href="http://sideonedummy.com/bands/title-fight">Title Fight</a>) in April down in Rio Rancho. My brother, Dylan, and Andy will be going with me and I'm psyched. A guilty pleasure of mine is listening to hard-rockin' "cookie monster" music like ADTR. Sam G. came up with that term, "cookie monster music" to describe music with guttural screaming for vocals. <p>
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</center>Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-13494848508877325122012-03-15T22:34:00.002-07:002012-03-15T22:40:48.769-07:00Logic FlawWhoah boy, good times. Last week was a good one around Los Alamos--great weather followed by a couple of small storms late in the week had me running in a t-shirt and shorts after work on Monday, shirtless during my lunch run on Tuesday and then backcountry snowboarding in 6 to 10 inches of new snow on Friday and Saturday. Sunday was spring-like weather again so we got out rock climbing at the Overlook before going to see an up-and-coming band called <a href="http://electricguest.com/">Electric Guest</a> at a live show at <a href="http://solofsantafe.com/">Santa Fe Sol</a>. Now that's a great week!
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My evening <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/155333560">run last Monday</a> was a speedy new PR for me up my "backyard" trail, Mitchell Trail, to Guaje Ridge. This is a great course to gauge fitness and I was feeling pretty fit and speedy in my new <a href="http://www.saucony.com/store/SiteController/saucony/productdetails?productId=4-105710">Saucony Peregrine</a> shoes. I ran the 2.45 miles/1,400' vertical gain in 32:52 which was definitely a PR. I descended swiftly too for a RT time of 53:26. I was psyched.
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Friday I got out for a 4,000' vertical day of backcountry snowboarding at our favorite local stash in the Jemez with Andy and Sarah. Roughly six inches of new snow on the good base made for some great turns. The turns got even better on Saturday during a big tour in the Sangres near Ski Santa Fe with Aaron, Andy and Bill. We rode some great treed lines in ~10 inches new snow. That outing had to be one of better Sangres backcountry outings ever. A great group of friends and perfect timing with the new snow. New Mexico's backcountry riding may be limited and often short with variable snow but when it's good, it's great.
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<b>Andy ripping a turn in our Jemez stash</b>
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxwvpMwyF8bkO9S8M2ttnbj_uUQ1QTO4GKyxzQT1hyc9SPAEkJsUjdeH4COJupivsYzAd6LyRwXA-R_nV6mnEk20DqV3x0762b46-aW9vXV76B-xvY9kRF7JZ6JSes92j4cEJldcBd-Q0/s400/Jason_HeavensHill.jpg"><br>
<b>Super sweet tree riding in the Sangres</b>
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Sunday's climbing at the Overlook was surprisingly warm after the two storms Friday and Saturday. It was the last day of climbing we'll have with our <a href="http://thenatattack.wordpress.com/">good friend Nat</a> for a while. He left Los Alamos yesterday loaded up in his Toyota Sienna minivan for a year of living the climbing life with his first stop being the amazing <a href="http://mountainproject.com/v/red-river-gorge/105841134">Red River Gorge</a>. Nat's a great guy and I'm psyched for his adventure.
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Later that evening Allison and I met our friends Hunter and Allison for a very intimate (~25 people) music show in Santa Fe. There were three bands playing but we had interest only in the first band, <a href="http://electricguest.com/">Electric Guest</a>. EG is a new-on-the-scene band that seems to be making some pretty good waves. They were some super cool, humble dudes to chat with and put on a nicely energetic show. Their <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/electric-guest-ep/id506091703">four-song EP</a> just dropped this week and the full length album is due out on April 24th. And they'll be on the David Letterman show in early May.
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And after all this cool shit, now for a rant about some lame-ass shit that spurred the title of this post. Just this past Monday, my friend Brett and I went down to White Rock to descend a canyon called Pajarito Gorge. He's a big canyoneer and he really enjoys training in Pajarito Gorge and taking new partners down the canyon for canyoneering practice. He wanted to install four bolted rappel anchors in the canyon and since I was interesting in checking out the descent and have a lot of experience placing bolts in rock, I went down the canyon with him after work. We took my 36v power drill and bolts/hangers and webbing/quicklines for four bolted anchor stations. The canyon was a fun, deep-but-short romp and I enjoyed going down it and seeing the gorge from the bottom instead of from above. Sadly, though, local kids (and probably some adults) have found entertainment (and probably convenience) in tossing large amounts of household trash into the gorge. We saw tires, bicycles, microwaves, latex paint cans complete with latex paint streaks down the rock and even a snow blower down in there. Brett and some friends had hosted a clean-up day in the canyon last year and piled the big trash objects into nice piles (it would be incredibly difficult to haul most of that stuff out) which helps the atmosphere a bunch. Nonetheless, it's worth checking out the gorge if you like rappeling and canyoneering.
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But now for the bullshit and my rant. Brett returned less than 48 hours later to find the third rappel anchor chopped. What the fuck? Some self-righteous MF seems to be pro-latex paint and pro-household trash but feels the need to remove a bolt anchor that actually serves a purpose and wouldn't even been noticeable to anyone walking along the canyon rim? That's just straight up backwards. This bolt chopper needs to get his priorities straight and perhaps do something about the paint on the rock or the trash in the canyon bottom instead of ruining the work of some people trying to make the canyon an enjoyable recreational outing for others to enjoy. Furthermore, the fact that this anchor was removed so soon after we put it means it was highly likely the dude was watching us put it in that night and instead of being open and honest and yelling down to us to state his objection, he chose the cowardly method of return after we finished to anonymously chop the anchor. Boo to anonymous cowards! <br>
I just don't understand people who can view some issues in complete black and white without trying to exercise some reason instead of just saying, "all bolts are bad." I've got news for you...life isn't black and white. Think about it. (And please return our hangers so we can go back in there and put them in again. Because we will.)Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7606056202798955033.post-57414871290780130122012-03-04T20:06:00.000-08:002012-03-04T20:12:39.270-08:00Migratin'The theme of this week was migration. At work we had the big cut-over day yesterday from the long-standing calendaring application, Meeting Maker, to the calendaring application in Exchange. I put in 8 hours Friday afternoon/evening, 16 hours Saturday and 9 hours Sunday working with our talented migration team to get all 7,000 users and 780+ room/equipment calendars migrated into Exchange. It's been a wild weekend for work. At times it sucked, at times it was gratifying and in the end we're all stoked to have it done. Now begins the support...it's going to be a wild few weeks while everyone first hates it because it's different, then actually gives it a chance and then, eventually, realizes it's pretty damn slick. I know that's how it's going to be because that's how it was for me when I first got involved with this migration. Generally speaking, people just hate change for the sake of hating change. But once a person spends time with the new product, the attitude eventually changes. This will be "fun" to watch at work.
So yes, I missed out on a couple of beautiful weather days this weekend while I was holed up in an windowless conference room huddled in front of a laptop eating junk food just because the food was there and what else was I going to do? But I did get out for a <a href="http://connect.garmin.com/activity/155065464">nice five mile run</a> in a few inches of new snow on Friday morning before going up to Pajarito Mountain to hike a lap up Townsight for a snowboard run down in ~6 inches of new snow. That was fun. I was the first person hiking up that day despite my leisurely start to the morning and enjoyed first tracks down the run "Hedache". I took my Dad's Hero2 camera up and mounted it on the ski pole for this fun little video:<br><p>
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<object width="398" height="224"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=37844746&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00adef&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=37844746&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=00adef&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="398" height="224"></embed></object><p><b>A solo hike and ride down Pajarito Mountain for my 63rd Pajarito hiked-for lap this season. Six inches of new made it nice.</b></p>
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Earlier in the week Allison and I nailed down a week-long apartment reservation at <a href="http://www.campingbeta.net/">CampingBeta</a> in Baro, Spain for our upcoming two-week trip there. That was a fun process communicating with the owner, back and forth via email, for a few days before going to our bank to figure out how to transfer money from the U.S. to a bank in Spain. (Hint: you need the bank account number as well as the "<a href="http://www.swift.com/">swift</a>" (BIC) number for the bank.) So now we've got lodging figured out for all but two nights while we're there. We'll figure that out soon or just once we get there. That's the fun in the adventure.
I had intended to continue my Denali 2003 journal entries this week but I'm pooped and tired of staring at computer screens this weekend so that will have to wait for another post. Stay tuned...the journal entries are about to get meaty and exciting, I promise. :-)Jason Halladayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04420963952950170838noreply@blogger.com1