EISPIRATEN

He's done it all before...

No snow on Mars - bonus right there.

Gravity's what , 1/3 of Earths? Might be able to hop a bit.

I wonder if meteors might be a problem? Major UV bath all the way too.

The 4 mile high escarpment might be the bizness - hella lot of rope right there.

Pfff, easy. Let's see: 150-170 miles to top of crater from that 4 mile high bottom range/wall. Near space like conditions at top, funky weather, no Sherpas, no pre-set routes...umm...I'll give you 10 yrs on the first attempt and maybe 6-7 with good weather on the second - and you still have to hitc...

A lot of what I've done in the Santa Ana's are total pain climbs. A lot of what I've done is fire road. The singletrack climbs around here are trick - gullies down the middle, overgrown both sides, no trail maint.(yet) and steep. I hit up Moro Canyon now and that's some tough climbing thru there. I...

Olympus Mons: 68,897' I would like to see a Rover shot of this from the base. Breathtaking might be an understatement. "Olympus Mons, the central edifice stands 21 kilometers (around 13.05 miles/approx. 68897 ft) high above the mean surface level of Mars (about three times the elevation of Moun...

Zé wrote:
man you recover quickly!

We'll see. Too boring hanging around the house.

I do some around OC - tho not Blackstar yet.

I usually do San Gabs - paved/fire road around Baldy/39 etc. Saturday going to do Sunset Peak from the Visitor Center in B.Village and then (if traffic's not bad) up to Manker and SA Falls. Prob. 8 am start.

I would HIGHLY recommend going up the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek and ascending via the Mountaineer's Route during the summer. Sounds OK for a seasoned hiker/climber but, I was planning on a Class 1 hike my first time up. The Paul Richins book on Whitney recommends axes and crampons on 'Mountaine...

I was on my MTB heading to a S'bucks a block from my house. I felt nothing but, when I arrived people were still yakking about the "40 second roller" that had just been through. Weird. How did I not feel that one?

Well, I didn't get a lottery permit.

But, better, I have a partner ready to go! She's an experienced hiker and we've been riding in the mtns. together for a few years so we kind of know what to expect of each other.

We'll head up on a Friday and hope for the best. We're pumped.

Epic winter summit adventure.

http://www.adn.com/2010/03/12/1181559/c ... -days.html

Yea, the compact 50-34 saves my knees. I'd rather spin more on the 9-12% sections than power up them. Compact or a triple makes for a good investment if you do those long rides with lots of climbing. I only miss the 53/12 big cruising gearing when it's a long downhill like Onyx to Redlands. I can sp...

What are you running? Standard 53-39?

My climbing rig on the roadie is a 50-34 with 11-28.

The MTB is better with the triple and 11-34 but I haul gear with that and the Manker - Notch ride can be a bear in the heat.

Bill Ruger fan here. Ruger Mk II 'Target' .22 lr Ruger 'New Model' Single Six .22 lr (8.5" barrel) Ruger 'Bisley Vaquero' .357 Mag. Ruger PC-9 Carbine (w. EOTech Holographic Sight) Also, Savage "Stevens Favorite' Single-shot Long Rifle .22 lr Glock Model 22 40 S&W My personal favorite ...

El Hombre.

http://www.adn.com/2010/03/16/1185841/m ... aight.html

The final push.

http://community.adn.com/adn/node/150708

This looks like a fun ride. Also a good way to see some trails around OC.

I'm assuming it's not too technical on the descents. My skills descending are weak - got hurled in El Moro today. Anything like the 'Redtail' or 'Rattlesnake' on this ride?

We made it to about 6000' yesterday. Without crampons and poles the rest of the way to Islip would have been a slo-go....black ice and some hardpack on the road that was fairly deep still.

Lance Mackey and Jeff King putting the hammer down.
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/150679


Livestrong

bump..

http://www.adn.com/iditarod/

Nice pics from Tuesday in Nikolai:

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/iditarod- ... gallery/54

The race vets saying that the real race is starting to take shape. Big moves, long steady runs are expected from the top teams coming out of Nikolai. Mackey gets in people's heads right about now it seems.

Lance Mackey: Fourpeat?

http://www.adn.com/2010/02/26/1160278/l ... e-son.html

Sebastian Schnuelle. Current leader on the trail.
http://community.adn.com/mini_apps/vmix ... 77&GID=118


Wiki bio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sebastian_Schnuelle

Pics of some of Mackey's dogs:

http://www.mackeyscomebackkennel.com/Kennel.html

Iditarod Trail month. The Irondog, ITI and slednecks are hammering their way to Nome. Weather has been unseasonably warm turning the trail into slushy going. Jill Homer's take on a bivy in way-sub zero and a few hundred miles into the 350 mile bike event. http://arcticglass.blogspot.com/2008/03 ... ...

It's gonna be a miracle if they get ACH open again by their stated goal of "March".

I'm heading up 39 next weekend. Doing hills around OC ain't quite the same buzz as San Gabs.

Thanks so much Simonov. Excellent pictures and commentary.

Cool.

How's Kelly's Camp in spring/summer?

Also, along the Middle Fork Trail: Commanche, Third Stream Crossing and Stonehouse?

Would like to train for bike/hikes on Baldy and am looking for camping sites around the area. Ultralite - hammock, bag and a few things. Water at any of these campsites?

This is interesting. I wondered how many people carried out 'there'. I've thought about it since I do many of my rides solo, in areas that are new to me. I rode the 2N07 fire road from GRR up to Sunset Peak last month. The bullet-riddled pipe gate at the start didn't faze me a bit. What did bother m...

Simply beautiful. Thank you.