Vacation in the Yucatan

I just got back from Mexico. In my head I'm still there. Right about....

there. No seriously, I'm about ready to trade some winter coats for a one-way flight to Cancun. Anyone?

Anybody that knows me knows that I can't tell a story without at least one back story, which inevitably leads me down another back story, which... it's pretty bad. Used to be worse. I honestly try to keep it to a minimum, but sometimes context is just necessary, you know? Ok, so the story is that the company I work for gave everyone (+ guest) who had been there at least 1 year a free (yep, free, as in no paying for food, flight, lodging, alcohol, etc) trip to southern Mexico. We thought last year was the last year this trip would be offered, but we got surprised, ergo Thursday morning me, coworkers, and guest Erica (high school friend that visited Colorado earlier this year) leave the ground from DIA and touch down a few hours later in warm, humid Cancun.

The resort we stayed at was about 30 minutes south of Cancun between Puerto Morelos and Playa del Carmen, right on the beach. And speaking of, immediately after checking in, Erica and I headed to the beach to discover water so warm you could just about bathe in it. That would have to wait until tomorrow though. We had some (still free) drinks, ate at the buffet with the entire group, and then made our way to a bizarre Star Wars themed disco for some dancing. After dancing and (apparently one too many) drinks, Erica and I somehow turned a 10 minute walk back to our room into a 30 minute trek... all the resorts looked the same, not to mention we found a wooden horse to climb. Ahh well.

Friday morning we ventured outside the still-in-America resort south to Tulum for some Mayan ruins discovery. [We ventured twice, and in my opinion, these were the hidden gems of the trip.] Darren, Jenny, Chuck, Erica and I decided to take the bus/shuttle instead of a taxi for the added authenticity (and the drastic cost difference), so we found ourselves playing the classic Mexican sport of "run across the highway" which I couldn't stop laughing about. The fact that high-speed car dodging was completely normal for everyone else around us caught me off guard. We paid $2 for the ride to Playa del Carmen and then paid $3 for the ride to Tulum. For those of you not paying attention, only $5 for a 100km shuttle ride is amazing. The Tulum ruins were very interesting, and if I go back I'll get a Mayan guide to give me the full story. We decided instead to take the quick tour and hit the beach. The Tulum beach was fantastic with perfect white sand, coconut trees, turquoise water so clear you could see your feet in 4 feet of water. I had also read that the limestone cliffs offered decent bouldering, so I brought my shoes and enjoyed a little climbing. After we had our fill, we caught the shuttle back north to Playa del Carmen. We walked around in Playa del for a while and found ourselves intentionally avoiding the ultra-touristy tienda-bloated areas, ultimately deciding to eat a late lunch at a restaurant where (I was accused of being Italian for the second time that day, and) the omnipresence of English thinned out. I sat at the head of the table and was more or less the spokesperson for the table, so it was fun to practice my broken Spanish with Mexicans whose English was just as broken. The salsa was spicy, both the people-watching and food were good, and both the immense relaxation and cultural charm of Mexico were unavoidable. Tired from the day's adventure, we made our way back to the resort for dinner (sushi / habachi grill) , drinks, and a bit of dancing. Sleep that night came easy.

Saturday after another buffet breakfast we headed towards the beach where high winds denied us the opportunity to get in some sea kayaking or sailing. We played basketball in the chilly pool instead, then did as close to nothing as was possible until having an early dinner. Skipping the company dinner at 8:30, Darren, Jenny, Erica and I made our way via bus back to Playa del. This time we stayed close to 5th Avenue and did a bit of shopping. Erica seemed to come out best, bargaining her way from $120 to $55 for a handmade depiction of the Piedra del Sol. We sat for a while in front of a coffee shop with drinks watching people pass by. By this point I think I had actually forgotten the definition of "worry." On our way back to the bus, we stopped in an art studio called Sacbe, where we spoke with the gallery's director for about 45 minutes. He couldn't have been nicer, describing some of the artwork, telling of his experiences collecting the art for the gallery, and conveying a great love of his country's culture which I simply couldn't relate to. [Don't get me wrong; I love bluegrass, football, microbrews and the occasional hamburger, but this was different.] He recommended 4 cities near Mexico City to visit which I'll hopefully get to sometime in the future. I was awestruck by the peyote-inspired bead sculptures and yarn paintings of the Huicholes. When we got back on the bus (side story: a guy in line for the bus laughed at us like we were crazy when we our response to his asking why we didn't take a cab was that the bus was more fun), I began to realize that tomorrow I'd be back in Denver with bills to pay and work to do... just as I was starting to get the hang of vacation.

Sunday we woke to our first sunny morning. Given that we had little time left, we ate a quick breakfast and headed to the beach for some body surfing in 3 foot waves. Carmen, our towel distributor, remembered Erica and I from the yesterday and welcomed us for our last day. 2 hours later we had packed up and checked out. Erica and I nearly missed the bus, which I honestly would have preferred, since our plane was delayed anyways. It was sunny and 85*F as we watched Cancun disappear. When we landed in Denver it was -15*F. While that sinks in, I'll just say that a 100 degree change is a very rude awakening, and I hope to God that I never have that happen to me again. As the engine cut out on the Jeep while I brushed the windshield, I found myself very jealous of Carmen. I honestly went through withdrawal and depression on my first day back to work. It was a weird feeling because I'm usually so happy to be back in Colorado, no matter where I'm coming from, but this was tough.

The entire Riviera Maya coastline seems like a place where you could just sort of disappear into and wake up one day realizing it was 3 years later and you'd never left. Maybe I'll do that if I get the cojones to... This trip felt like my first vacation in years, and really was if you think of vacation as more than just taking a couple days off work and staying close to home. I haven't traveled much since I moved to Texas in 2004 except for work or to be home for the holidays, so this trip was short but very sweet. It reminded me how much I love travel. Note to self: update mental bride search criteria to include "love of travel" as a high-priority must-have.

Evidence: http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/sets/72157611313529820/

in pursuit of the gifts we might receive

We've all seen some crazy adrenaline junkie huck off a 70 foot cliff and then later tell the cameraman the line wasn't steep enough, or that the adventures available in the lower 48 no longer satisfy some urge they have. These people sound (and might actually be) insane, but I think I agree to a certain degree with those who are constantly in pursuit of the next biggest challenge... but not exactly in the same way.

I have been thinking recently about what it is that causes me to get immense satisfaction from something that seems painful and/or dangerous. Not only that, but why would I pursue a difficult route to a mountain summit when there is an easier way available to get to the same endpoint? (You may also question the reasoning behind hiking up/underestimating Mt. Evans recently especially after having driven up several times and therefore in theory having nothing new to accomplish.) It seems the reward increases as the pain or danger does, however I don't think that's because I lose my contentment with what has been already achieved, as is often stated by the adrenaline junkie. I think the cause instead is a greater understanding of (and a need for) the bounty. It is as if I am parched for whatever that sensation or emotion is, and the only way to quench the thirst is to go asking for more from whatever sport I am in pursuit of, in hopes of the sport yielding some of its gifts to me. This might sound blasphemous, but it is almost a religious pursuit. The joy is almost the same.

Maybe an example would help. I've been bouldering indoors quite frequently for the last year or so (after having taken many years off) and have been increasingly recognizing said pursuit and its rewards as my climbing progresses. Recently I feel like I've been able to read the routes easier, climb harder and/or longer problems without tiring, suppress the fear of going for a big move high off the floor, and ultimately feel the bliss of finishing a problem I couldn't have finished a while ago. Seeing the light, or hearing the tuning fork more clearly, you know? It seems like I have developed a keener eye for a problem with beautiful movement, which makes me pursue it that much more. It sounds crazy but it feels really good to reach for a tiny crimp or painful sloper and hang there while you move your feet in preparation for the next move, then again, and again, etc. until you get to the top and your arms are completely fried. It's as if the pain/work/burn is in actuality relaxing and comforting. I'm not a good runner, but this might be compared to runner's high. The same could also be said for riding a new mountain bike trail and being able to read the terrain to know when you really need to go all out on a steep section, know which gear to be in at all times, or pick the most appealing line through that gnarly rock garden. Maybe it sounds like a pious recognition of progress made, but it's more than that. I'm just not sure exactly what "it" is but it seems to be an addiction.

In Seven Years In Tibet, Heinrich Harrer (Brad Pitt) explains to the Dalai Lama what he loves about mountaineering:

The absolute simplicity. That's what I love. When you're climbing your mind is clear and free from all confusions. You have focus. And suddenly the light becomes sharper, the sounds are richer and you're filled with the deep, powerful presence of life.

Maybe "it" in his case is simply, as the book is titled, The Freedom of the Hills.

Whether the sport is skiing, climbing, riding, or anything else, hopefully you find the same thing and passionately pursue the gifts.

skiing and bouldering (both in November)

It has been a few weeks, so here's some catching up...

Potpourri:

• If I had a good enough excuse to wear Patagonia Capilene every day, I would.
• This week I had my first physical exam in a decade. I got a Tetanus shot, had blood drawn, and scheduled an appointment with a cardiologist. I've never had a cardio stress test, but I'm kind of excited to see how my heart performs and be able to put together some goals for improving it.
• I thought for a very long time that using the word "microclimate" when talking about clothing was bogus, but over the past couple of months I feel like I've been able to dial that in really well and truly recognize and appreciate getting it right. It really does make a big difference.
  
• Welcome to the Big Ten Dick Rod!!! Well done, Tress :)
• Austin, ready or not here I come. I expect Rudy's and Chuy's to be fully stocked on all my favorites...
  

Ok, enough of that. Last Saturday I went skiing for the first time this season with my Colorado Pass. I went to Breckenridge with Ryan, Allison and Andrew. Although the 24-hour report had 4" of new snow, due to the lack of storms in CO thus far, the snow was primarily man-made. Ahh well... it was nice to get out and test out my ski legs again. Overall I feel like it was a decent day, leaving plenty of room for improvement this season. Breck is a large resort with a great view in all directions, and I'm sure the terrain will be enjoyable once opened. Ryan and Allison took lessons all day so that left Andrew and I to explore the 2 open lifts. We enjoyed the snow, but eventually decided the early season snow was not worth the lift lines, so we headed for the lawn chairs and bar. I look forward to many days this season with those 3 companions and whoever else ends up joining me/us.

Quick side story: "you might be skiing in the early season if..." Some poor girl gets dragged up to Breck by her boyfriend and is apprehensive to even put her skis on in the lift line. She makes it off the lift ok, but then points her skis downhill on the beginner slope without thinking about gaining speed. Soon enough, she's going way too fast and headed directly for some guy sitting down. Despite observers yelling "FORE" the inevitable occurs and she plows into the guy's back. I hope both that he has fully recovered and that she doesn't put skis on for a while.

Quick commentary: I don't want to sound like a snob here, but I have to point out an observation of the difference in crowds between Breck with the resorts I went to last year (Steamboat, Winter Park, Copper and Loveland). Hopefully I don't sound like a jerk when I say this, but I prefer the crowds in the latter group because of my desire to take skiing seriously. Maybe it's because I'm not a great skier and not content with my skiing yet, but I feel like I should be focused on how my day is going rather than making fun of the guy who just ate it below me. Granted, I've laughed at or felt bad for people before, but not the entire day. I just enjoy a conversation like the following more than pointing and laughing which seemed to be the main objective of the people around me on the lifts (excluding Andrew):

Hi, how's your doing going?
So far so good. Isn't the snow nice this morning?
Yeah, I was just over at __insert name of nice run here__ and it's just starting to soften up nicely over there.
Cool, I'll check it out. Boy, I hope we get more days like today this season.
No kidding. I was up here last week and it is only getting better.
Yep, I hope my skiing keeps getting better as the snow does.
Definitely. Enjoy the powder.

Maybe it's just because it's too early to take this season seriously yet... I hope my first impression turns out to be wrong. Anyways...

Last weekend I also went Christmas shopping for myself, picking up a skiing daypack, an avy shovel and a bouldering crash pad. (When life hands you 20% off at Neptunes, I suggest making lemonade.) Today was such a beautiful day (where the heck is winter?) I decided I had no choice but to put the new crash pad to good use. I used my (apparently controversial but so far meeting my needs) Bouldering Colorado book to find a good boulder nearby with a relatively safe landing zone and beginner problems. Although I consider myself a fairly competent climber indoors despite plenty of room for improvement, bouldering outside (as was reinforced this summer in a morning on Flagstaff) is very different (primarily twofold; a: you have to leave enough stamina to be able to accurately jump to a crashpad or downclimb anything you go up if you get stuck because there are no padded floors below you i.e. the consequences force you to be more conservative especially when alone, and b: the rock chews up your hands much better), so beginner problems were definitely what I needed. I found a good rock on Flagstaff with a range of problems from V0 - V2 called Tombstone Spire which also had good information on the Flagstaff Mtn bouldering blog. There are several other rocks for the same parking area, all described at the previous link.

I ended up focusing my efforts on the beginner problem called West Side (apparently V0 / VB depending on who you ask) number 22 in the above photo. The first several moves were nice but it then the ground ("call it the deck, brah") gets slightly further away and the problem gets just enough blind and overhung to be interesting. (There is a huge "Thank you Jesus" chip and bucket at the top which you can't see, but keep reaching and you'll find it.) I ended up getting stuck a time or two and having to do some recon work from the top before completing the problem start to finish. It's a somewhat long problem and worked my forearms adequately. It was enough to give me a good workout, but I was able to ascend several times. I wouldn't call it highball by any means, but the tree branches add to the overall aesthetic :) The view from the topout, by the way, is as good as most in the Flatirons area. My photos of Tombstone Spire can be found at http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/sets/72157609770257754. I have to say there is something really nice about being on rock instead of plastic and not having colored tape to tell you where to go (even though the white chalk stains give you a pretty good idea). Here's hoping I get more days in when the weather gets warmer (if it ever gets cold enough to stop for the year, that is). Next time I'll go with a spotter (and maybe another crash pad) and test out my endurance on Pinnacle Colada, which looked really good but too high for going alone.

Boulder Adventure Film fest

Thursday and Saturday I saw several films from the Adventure Film festival. Tickets were $10 each day, and it was money well spent.

Thursday I saw 3 films about climbing; one about Mike Bearzi's last climb called Via Bearzi, one about summitting K7 called Ice, Anarchy, and the Pursuit of Madness and finally a film called Shaking the Bear which was about the first ascent climb (of the same name) in Zion National Park. Bruce Miller (a Boulder resident and Mike Bearzi's climbing partner) spoke after the first film. Chris Alstrin came up from Colorado Springs to comment on his film, the third. The first two made me want to book a flight to Kathmandu ("baby steps, dude, baby steps...") and the third made me re-realize that multi-pitch crack climbers are flat out insane (I would literally be leaving a yellow wet trail all the way up).

Saturday I went to the Patagonia store and saw Weather We Change about climate change and its affect on the winter sports industry. After the film, Alison Gannett (see also her Ambassador profile) presented her slides about how we all can reduce our carbon footprint, and I was convinced that for Christmas this year I'm just going to ask for folks to offset my yearly carbon output.

Seeing these films, if nothing else, gave me a greater appreciation for Boulder. The fact that this and other similar film fests show in few other places except Boulder is a selling point, but more so is that there is something exciting about knowing the dude in front of you at the grocery store who hasn't shaved or showered in 2 weeks may just be recovering from a recent epic climb of a huge peak in the Himalayas. If I continue to live in the Front Range for a while, I don't want to live more than a few miles from Boulder. It's a very unique town in that regard and I'm thankful every day to be here.

Mt. Evans (14er #10, Front Range finisher)

Yesterday Ryan and I finished our first ascents of the Front Range 14ers by going up Mt. Evans from Guanella Pass. For those not familiar with Colorado, Mt. Evans has a paved road to the top, but with the road closed for the winter we hoped to avoid the zoo scene we found on Pikes last summer. That goal was definitely accomplished (we were the only ones on top once we made it), as was reaching the summit (and more importantly, successfully descending to the Jeep). We also extended our streak of never being denied a summit when attempting just the two of us (doesn't include getting the Jeep stuck for La Plata, where we didn't even set foot on the trail). I wouldn't give us any style points though... due to the willows, a steady diet of ice cream, a steep gully and a fair bit of class 2 scrambling, we barely beat dusk getting back to the Jeep(!).

I had read and heard nightmares of "those awful willows" and thought we would have a solid freeze / snow to our advantage. [Me: "Yay, there will be a well defined trail on snowpack through the willows!" Willows: "Haha, sucka, you still screwed!"] It turned out that although we weren't sinking knee-deep in mud and getting into turf wars with beavers, we did end up doing a fair bit of route discovery and willow-wrestling. It seemed at times we were following tracks of folks who had no better idea of where to go that us, as was probably the case. I am really surprised that there isn't a better marked or official trail through that mess, because it increases the difficulty by an order of magnitude (if such a thing is possible, but I'm pretty sure I just made that up). At any rate, this hike seemed like it had 4 phases (which may fit since it's about 4 miles each way):

1. the willows
   
2. the gully (far easier than it looks)
   
3. exiting the gully and bonking before lunch
4. scrambling about a mile to the summit
5. enjoy a familiar view (having driven to the top several times)
   
6. scrambling back to the gully
   
7. running out of water
8. descending the gully with tired legs
9. getting horrible cottonmouth (note: eating snow doesn't help much)
   
10. trying to keep up with Ryan while we both race the sinking sun
    

That was more than 4, but you get the idea. I don't want to overdo it here, but this outing makes the Mt. Elbert outing a few months back seem like ginger beer (any Hunter S. Thompson fans out there?). It wouldn't seem as challenging if you could break off a mile or two easily here and there, but you just can't. Once you overcome the willows, you are faced with a gully, then altitude and scrambling. I was disgruntled like a freaking Michigan football fan (couldn't help myself there) after that ridiculosity. I believe we started some time around 10am and didn't get back to the Jeep until almost 7pm. 9 hours for "just" 3100' of elevation gain over 8.5 miles. Wow. Yikes. Dude, that guy who told us we should hurry up was a real jackass considering we beat him back to the parking lot. Damn, that pizza and beer tasted fine. All of the above.

Enough ranting. We did have several high points to speak about on this occasion.

1. There were far fewer people on the trail than last summer's Bierstadt outing. We kept commenting on how quiet it was, which was nice.
   
2. We saw a very beautiful alpenglow sunset on our way back to the Jeep.
   
3. We saw more wildlife than we have on previous 14er outings, including 3 Bighorn sheep, 3 mountain goats, and 2 foxes. (I'm pretty sure the 2nd fox, which we saw within eyesight of the Jeep on the return, actually spoke to us and welcomed us back to the trailhead... then again, I could have been hallucinating.)
   
4. We also completed our first range on the 14ers to-do list, which was a nice milestone. We have yet to set foot on a San Juan, Elk, or Sangre de Cristo range 14er summit, but hopefully there will be days ahead for that.
5. We completed our first 14er in the month of October. (October now joins June, July, and August for that distinction.)
   
6. Personally, I also put my new mountaineering boots, Scarpa Triolets, through their first day and they passed with flying colors. They kept my feet dry, blister-free, and warm all day long. I'm excited to use them for hopefully many snow hike/climbs in the future.
7. The views of Bierstadt and the Sawtooth ridge were very nice.
   
8. We camped at a great spot Friday night well below treeline on the south side of the pass in Park county.
9. The weather was ideal.
   

I would rate this as my 2nd most difficult 14er hike, only exceeded by Longs last summer, and honestly not by much. The huge difference between Longs and this, though, is that I was very satisfied with the accomplishment on Longs. The main thing I was satisfied with here was filling up on pizza and getting back to Boulder for a nice hot bath. (Yeah, that's right... I took a bath. My hot tub was closed.) Neither of us were terribly happy with the day, and honestly questioned why we subjected ourselves to those sort of days. While the obvious answer is Mallory's famous "because it's there" I was void of a good reply at the time. I think I'll just spend the next several months skiing instead :)

Photos: http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/sets/72157608181341572/

Am I excited for Microsoft TFS 2008?

**Warning: this post is work-related and probably going to be boring to most people.**

After loudly complaining about TFS 2005 today (for the n^th time I got an error while checking in new files that ultimately unsafely killed the devenv.exe process, thank you very much), our QA manager asked me if I was excited about our future upgrade to TFS 2008. That's a good question because I know nothing about TFS 2008 and how it's different from TFS 2005. My initial thoughts:

1. It can't possibly be worse, so bring it on!
2. I'm excited about the .Net framework 3.5, but that says nothing about TFS.

I took it upon myself to find a better answer to that question, and here's what I found:

I am slightly disappointed in what I learned about TFS 2008 because it seems the main thing they focused on is CI and build automation. At first this sounds like a good thing, and it might be, but honestly it just shows me Microsoft is still the same stubborn behemoth that refuses to recognize the open source community despite the press they'd like you to believe. There are a hundred build automation tools out there that other shops have been using since .Net 1.0 came out in 2002. Why we need another (buggy) one from MS is beyond me, except to satisfy the "it's open source so I can't call support so my manager won't let me use it" crowd. I'm not suggesting that all open source is good and MS / profit hungry corporations are evil, but attempting to compete in a free wheel segment by reinventing said wheel in an inferior manner and adding a price tag on it is insane. If you're going to be a fast follower at least be a good one, ok Zune? I can only hope they fixed the bugs in the current "RC" version.

I just don't believe Microsoft knows anything about agile or CI in particular (would they have released TFS 2005 without it if they did?), and their reputation of not listening to customers has been proven fairly true in my experience, so I frankly don't expect their CI product to actually satisy our CI needs. No CI shop is the same, so we'll need to customize the process. Hopefully that will be less painful than checking in a file in TFS 2005, and won't require a PhD or a 900 page book to do successfully. I personally would like to see us keep the CC.Net implementation we have been working on. CC.Net has been around forever, is free, has good community support and decent documentation, is built by smarty pants nerds who update it regularly, and just works. It's simple. So, for that matter, are NAnt, JIRA (not free), Bugzilla (free but I prefer JIRA), CVS and/or Subversion, and Basecamp from my experience with them. Which leads me to my next point...

I'll stop complaining about MS the company now and shift my attention strictly to the TFS product / concept. Note that this isn't necessarily specific to TFS 2008, but nonetheless is part of my exploration for an answer. Q: What is TFS and why would anyone buy it / what is the competitive advantage? A: TFS exists, in a broad generalization, because Microsoft thought it would be smart to give their customers (software shops with more than 1 developer) the ability to have one mecca uber-place where

1. their customer support / product teams track bugs and new features,
   
2. their developers store code which implements said features and bugs in a team-friendly fashion without leaving their IDE,
   
3. their QA teams pass or fail the items created in step a,
   
4. their build manager can compile a version of the product containing the new feature or bug fix to be pushed to somewhere, and
   
5. to a tiny degree, project managers can oversee this entire process from start to finish.
   

In short, the entire software development process under one roof. What a huge undertaking. That's all well and good, but means TFS essentially then acts as a bug tracking system, a source control repository, is integrated well with Visual Studio (a huge product in its own right) as a plugin, and acts in a minor way as a project management tool. As far as I'm concerned, TFS 2005 only satisfies 1 and 3 in a halfway decent way, and didn't even attempt 4 (kudos to TFS 2008), which means all Microsoft did was recreate JIRA or Bugzilla. What strikes me as especially bizarre about TFS as a product is that there are already free products out there that satisfy the 4 bullets above and cost nothing. What's the competitive advantage then? Only that it's all in one mecca uber-place. Hmm... I honestly don't mind having more than one application open at one time on my machine, and would happily trade 5 tiny-footprint apps that function well for 1 giant, slow, buggy one. It seems to me TFS is suffering from a severe lack of competitive advantage... certainly not enough to warrant the licences, extra SQL servers, CPU and RAM rape, etc. If they actually do manage to jam the entire software factory under one roof then it'll probably just remind people of how over-complicated their jobs are, but we'll see.

A few other bones to pick as a developer using TFS:

• My entire team regularly experiences bugs which crash Visual Studio while checking in code. If they fixed any of those, then YES, I am excited about TFS 2008.
• Since TFS already knows which tasks are assigned to me (or anyone else if I happen to be working on a file for my neighbor), why can't I associate files to tasks before I check them in? This would eliminate the need to track that on a spreadsheet or text file (oops! that's another app I have open) until I check in. I would really like to be able to click a "Resolve a Task" button which lets me pick a task and knows which files to check in based on my selection. How about that for competitive advantage? As far as I can find on the web, TFS 2008 does NOT have this feature. Surprise...
• The way that TFS 2005 alerts you of file conflicts on check-in sucks. TFS should only fail a check-in if it can't merge and check in at the same time for all files being checked in. I constantly have check-ins fail only to be alerted that TFS can auto-merge all files for me. If you can, then just do it. If they fixed the check-in process, then YES, I am excited about TFS 2008.
• The TFS merge tool sucks. Me and most of my teammates have installed other merge tools (free, by the way) to do our merging outside of TFS (oops! that's another app I have open). If they improved the merge tool in TFS 2008, then... I really don't care because it probably still sucks.
  

I should stop now. Am I excited? Let's just say the jury is still out.

Almont / Crested Butte fishing / fall colors weekend

This weekend Ryan, Allison and I headed southwest out of the Front Range to Almont via Cottonwood Pass. As soon as we got out of Buena Vista the aspens began putting on a show, fly fishing became easy, and my eyes were opened to Crested Butte. It's almost as if there was a magic line we crossed into the western third of the state that marked the change. Maybe it was just the Gunnison County border... hard to say. Whatever it was, we had a great weekend.

Friday night Ryan and I headed out to fish as soon as we had the Jeep unpacked. Before we even had our waders on we saw a bald eagle. Ryan and I each caught 2 kokanee salmon on the East River north of Almont. I also heard a nearby elk bugle for the first time. We had even better luck on Saturday, and probably caught over 60 salmon combined in 5 hours. It was incredible. Each fish weighed 2-3 pounds and put up a good fight as long as they weren't foul hooked. I had much more success than my trout fishing endeavors of last year, so it seemed a lot more fun. Even if we didn't catch a thing it would have been a lot of fun though. It was a beautiful place with great weather and great company... very peaceful and serene.

After lunch on Saturday we headed to Crested Butte. I had never been to Crested Butte, and was very excited to see a new place that I had heard rave reviews of. I was absolutely blown away by the drive into town... and everything about the place once we got there. 3 days later I'm still wondering how I can rig the lottery to afford playing there the rest of my life.

I don't want to overdo the praise, but I really don't think the scenery, authenticity, sense of remoteness, and culture of Crested Butte is rivaled within Colorado except for maybe Telluride. [I haven't been to Ouray or Silverton, so to be fair those should also be mentioned.] Outside of Colorado you might also add Jackson, WY into the mix, but that's honestly about it. [Again to be fair, I've never been to Alta, UT.] Crested Butte is now without doubt my favorite ski town that I've ever been to. I should probably shut up so all 3 of you reading this don't pack your bags and move there to ruin the place, but for me CB simply puts Vail, Steamboat, and Breckenridge to shame... and I really like those towns. With some of the steepest in-bounds skiing in the state, the Elks (my favorite CO range) out your back door for world class mountaineering, mountain biking, aspen and wildlife viewing, a fertile valley and fishing downstream, etc. the place just can't be beat.

On Sunday morning we headed back into town and I took a self-guided tour while Ryan and Allison were in church. I walked around with my jaw on the ground, jealous and daydreaming about dying penniless yet rich beyond my wildest dreams in terms of powder days and singletrack miles. The town is full of cool homes, neo-hippies (meant non-derogatory), more bikes than cars, prayer flags and wheels placed with pride, fences made out of old skis, front doors that haven't been locked in weeks, and a farmers market to boot. I people-watched in Camp 4 Coffee for a bit and my suspicions were confirmed; this is a true mountain town and not just a town which happens to be set in the mountains. Nearly everyone lives there for riding their bikes in the summer and their skis in the winter. Sign me up. No, seriously... where do I sign? I am praying they have free skiing in the early season again this year so I can see it again soon... not that just wanting to go back isn't a good enough reason.

None of us wanted to get back onto pavement when we crossed the Continental Divide atop Cottonwood Pass going from dirt road to civilization, but it had to be done. I don't like that feeling.

photos: http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/sets/72157607420399314/
video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vi_NMzO5T74

expecting more from the buckeyes... and me

Well, Ohio State is getting criticized by the whole world today, and it's doubtful any of my commentary will be original, but I'm going to just get this out of my system and then probably stop writing about them for a while.

• I think something happened in Columbus on 11/18/2006 after the Michigan win. Something went wrong. Since then the Buckeyes have not played up to their potential at all... especially this year. They seem to be playing with a fear of losing rather than playing to win. They're waiting for their opponent to shoot themselves in the foot and open up a chance to win instead of creating the win.
  
• It's as if a team with 20 returning starters is sleepwalking through their final campaign. Is that really how they wish to be remembered? It seems everybody except Boone and Hartline are ok about this... even Tressel. Hartline is definitely opening up a dangerous can of worms by almost pointing fingers though. I would encourage him and the entire team to rally as a group rather than start to place blame. That could spiral out of control quickly. That could, however, be the spark they need. There seems to be no spark, no passion, no offense. And not much defense either. I'd rather watch a 3-8 team that played their hearts out each weak than a 8-3 team that didn't care.
  
• I honestly don't think they should have been in the title game last year (and if other teams hadn't thrown themselves under buses then they wouldn't have been) but this year seemed like a good opportunity to get to the title game and earn some respect. Now it seems unlikely they'll even make it to the Rose Bowl. This is not the same group of guys I saw as backups to the Ginn/Smith/Gonzalez/etc group. They have digressed, and this year's dropping in the polls 3 weeks in a row indicates that.
  
• I don't know why Beanie didn't play last night. There seems to be no consensus about his condition except the doctors cleared him. Why didn't Tress play him? I can't take this crap. Who knows if the return of Beanie will lift this team, but as of right now I'm afraid to watch this team take the field again. I am not just a fairweather fan, but I have no desire to watch a trainwreck or cry when the bloodbath ensues. How has a team with this much experience not ironed out the kinks yet?
• The offensive play calling was poor at best. No deep passes or passes to tight ends? I feel bad for Nicol. And why not actively use your starting wideouts? The box score shows Sanzenbacher/Small catching 9 passes compared to Robiskie/Hartline's 7. Why in the world was that even close... even with Pryor in the game? I would expect something like 13 - 3 instead of 9 - 7 the other way. I know Boeckman was hurried, but there is no excuse for that crap. Tress seems to have no confidence in his starting lineup. They looked like the exact antithesis of the team from week 1.
  
• Boeckman has fallen from grace. Put in Pryor. If Boeckman can't get the job done when the offensive line is not holding, put in somebody who can save themselves under pressure. If Pryor is the next leader of the team (and right now there seems to be no leader) then let him cut his teeth.
  

You would think I was bi-polar today. After thinking thoughts like the above for most of the day while a bit hungover and pissed off, I drove up Flagstaff to see how much snow was still in the Indian Peaks. It was as if I had never been up there before, like heightened senses or something... but seriously one of the most beautiful afternoons of my life. If I could control the weather I would consider repeating the weather from today for the next 500 days or so. I felt great afterward. On the drive up I listened to "To the Wild Country" and the lyrics seemed to tell it pretty well.

...
To the mountains, I can rest there
To the rivers, I will be strong
To the forest, Ill find peace there
To the wild country, where I belong
...

I had a great vista all to myself for about an hour and I just sat there in awe. The mountains seem to do that for me I guess, but I felt so much better. I think that and me receiving my ski pass in the mail this weekend are collectively a sign that I need to focus on my outdoor activities and just mentally let this year's Buckeyes go.

I also did a lot of thinking about myself up there. I'm still learning about myself, and suppose you never stop that, but today I re-realized that I set very high (but not unreasonable) standards for myself and miss the mark often. I hate letting myself down, and seem to care about that more than letting somebody else down. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but I have decided to re-double my efforts and pick myself up by the bootstraps. My climbing is definitely improving of late, but that seems inconsequential compared to not living out my faith, doing my best at work, managing my finances, etc. A lot of inner turmoil going on there. I think I should just go to bed... it was not a good week, so let's hope the next one is better. If not, I'm going to need a lot more time in the mountains.

expecting more from my government

Tonight my mother basically suggested I was a Democrat because I told her I was sick of hearing about the grave terrorist danger this country faces from the speakers at the Republican convention. I thought it was funny since I have never claimed to be a Republican or Democrat and am not accurately pigeon-holed into either. It feels easy to lean one way or the other given the current administration though. To be honest, after listening to speeches from both the DNC and RNC, there are things I liked and disliked from both sides. So, since I have this little piece of web real estate, here are a few things I'd like to see / hear our next President say / put into place.

1. Cut the fat out of Washington. The only way to do this is to
   1. dilute the emphasis on political labels /parties and stop polarizing America by forcing people into one of two camps, and
   2. discourage politicians from seeking kickbacks from big industry or wasting time on projects which stuff their pockets instead of satisfying the best interests of the people they represent.
   We are lacking a utilitarianist spirit in our government. In the software world, where I have spent over 5 years professionally, the best way to kill bureaucracy is to increase agility and demand constant feedback. See IBM as an example. It seems insane to me that aside from silly polls, one of the only ways we give feedback to our elected leaders is by re-electing them or kicking them out of office every 4 or 6 years. 4 or 6 years is not a small enough feedback cycle. We need transparency into their actions as our leaders. Give me a web interface to query the history of actions by Politician A of Colorado. Let's get Washington out of the 1980s and let's stop pretending the government doesn't know all of our email addresses... I would like to be able to subscribe to emails or whatever that will tell me what the elected people of my city/state/etc voted for or against. Please don't make me watch hours of CSPAN for that. I could choose between a weekly/monthly/quarterly summary, be given links to read about what each item was about, read comments about why they voted the way they did, and be able to submit feedback on the way my official voted. If enough people participated, our officials wouldn't need silly approval rating polls, and would know the region they represent is aware that they are working to achieve what they said they would... or not. Sending out a survey asking for input before votes would also help our officials to better understand how we want them to act while in office for us... and might help them to cross party boundaries. We should be able to expose (and maybe remove elected officials responsible for?) pissing contests.
   
2. Give the opportunity to interested parties to take back responsibility from the government.
   
3. Committees in Washington or elsewhere should be given realistic goals and deadlines. Those that fail should be given the chance to explain why but eventually be disbanded for ineffectiveness. There is to much bloat in our political system.
   
4. No more drilling on environmentally sensative US soil. Not in Alaska, not in Montana, not in New Jersey. Nowhere. That's like a meth addict saying, "I'll quit in 2010." No you won't dude; you'll be dead. And so will we if we don't divert funds wasted on existing nonsustainable infrastructures and begin to replace them with sustainable ones. For example, let's put up solar panels in Nevada and Arizona in "environmentally low impact" and "productive" locations to eventually replace Hoover Dam so we can let the Colorado run all the way to Mexico. (While we're on that topic, penalize Las Vegas heavily to discourage growth in locations that are never going to be environmentally feasible for their current or predicted populations.)
5. Taxes schmaxes. I don't care if you tax the crap out of me if I can see the reward. If that's what it takes to build a high speed mass transit rail system which reduces our dependence on planes and freeways, so be it. (Can we start with the one going from Denver to Vail with stops along the way for all the ski resorts please? Seriously... I-70 is a disaster.) I do, however, care a lot about you taxing me for ridiculous things like building bridges to nowhere or killing buffalo that take 1 step out of Yellowstone because some dumbass cattle rancher thinks his cows might get Brucellosis from a bison (... which has never been documented... and the damn cows started the problem in the first place... and the cows are not nearby in the winter to be infected anyways! Seriously, you people are insane. Read more at buffalofieldcampaign.org.) People who think they are paying too much in taxes are probably correct right now, but low income people who think only the rich should pay taxes are selfish fools. Sorry buddy; that's capitalism... you rely on the police, FDA or DMV just like Mr. Rich CEO does. Americans lack a serious acceptance of responsibility and appreciation for the services the government provides. The way we pay our teachers, keep our homeland safe, and protect our incredible wealth of natural resources (National Parks for example), etc is atrocious and costs money to remedy, erego taxes. If this is the richest country in the world, we should be able to see that... and I don't when I look in our public schools or read the City of Cleveland is bankrupt, etc.
6. Phase out or reform social security. There are loads of people collecting checks that are well off financially and didn't put in near what they've pulled out.
   
7. No more rogue actions that convince the rest of the world we're a bunch of stupid idiots. I'm sorry, but if the rest of the democratic world is a bunch of pansies and is too afraid to stand up for what they believe in, they should be called out on that rather than sink the US government into enormous debt. Spineless, lethargic or apathetic nations should have their true colors shown.
   
8. All of our elected officials should have to read Thoreau's Civil Disobedience and pass a test about it before being sworn in.

That's enough for now.

Bryan and Erica visit 8/6 - 8/10

This is a tad overdue, but here's a fast recap of Bryan and Erica's visit to Boulder... it went really quickly but was a ton of fun.

Wednesday night Team Ohio, fellow Hudson '99 grads, landed... bringing clouds, thunder, lightning, and rain just like any you would find any given day in Ohio. [The previous 20-ish days had been clear as a bell, and the next 20-ish days afterward were clear as a bell...] We headed to Denver and had a night of food, beer, pool and shuffleboard at Wynkoop.

Thursday we headed up to the Indian Peaks to see Mt. Toll and company... it was beautiful but we were forced to turn around due to the weather. After lunch in Nederland, we headed into Boulder for a tour of Pearl Street, CU, etc... where we got rained on. We decided indoors was best, so we went climbing at The Spot. I tried slacklining for the first time, and didn't quite embarass myself as bad as I thought I would... was also rewarded with the advice that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step by Timmy O'Neill. (ps, it's pretty damn cool that your local climbing gym is where Timmy O'Neill, Lynn Hill and others choose to hang out)

Friday we set out for the Arkansas River by way of I-70, Mt. Evans, Leadville and Buena Vista. Unfortunately we didn't see any sheep or goats on Mt. Evans, but we did see a herd of roughly 40 elk at about 12,000'. I hadn't seen elk around Mt. Evans until then. We camped at Arrowhead Point campground. I'm not sure which was more awesome; being woken up by Erica whispering that a bear was outside the tent (which turned out to be the tent's rainfly) or being lucky enough to reserve a site next to West Virginia's finest specimen... who jammed to all-time favorites such as Rascal Flatts, Journey and 3 Doors Down into the dawn (sarcasm free of charge).

Saturday we rafted Brown's Canyon with Noah's Ark. Bryan fell out on the first rapid, which happened to be the one that they take your picture on, and I was his retrevial buddy so I had my first official man-overboard disaster recovery training... and (drumroll) was told I passed with flying colors. After we dried off we headed to Breck for food. On the way home we hit a wall and so we took it pretty easy Saturday night.

Sunday was laid back and then off to the airport. I really appreciated the visit and am looking forward to the next one. Here are some photos of the adventure...

• http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/sets/72157606683896833
• http://community.webshots.com/album/565419156iFhrdN

Mt. Elbert - 14er #9, state highpoint #5

This weekend was an interesting one. I was able to spend another night in a tent this year, and to summit my 3rd 14er this year (9th overall). But perhaps more interesting is the fact that this weekend brought the first snowfall of the 2008-09 season! Winter is coming soon to the high country! But let's not get ahead of ourselves... the objective of the day was Mt. Elbert via the East Ridge (South Elbert trail), the highest mountain in Colorado and 2nd highest in the lower 48.

Saturday night me and 11 other folks from the Boulder/Denver area camped at Whitestar Campground overlooking Twin Lakes. We drove up from Boulder through everything from sunny skies, pouring rain and snow. At the campsite the weather seemed to change every 5 minutes, and Elbert was shrouded in clouds to the point where I thought our chances of summiting were slim at best. We could, however, see a ways up Independence Pass, and La Plata was clear most of the night. It was interesting to see (with the help of the full moon) the clouds concentrating in between peaks, then breaking up, then repeating. As we went to bed it started to rain with lightning nearby. Ryan and I discussed the idea of hiking in the rain and both felt it would be somewhat refreshing to have a hike where the elements played a factor in our decision making, ability to summit, etc... although the view would not be the same with clouds. I guess this makes sense, but it still seems worth mentioning that this weekend's weather was almost identical to the same weekend last year on Grays and Torreys. At any rate, after I fell asleep the rain apparently turned to freezing rain, but we woke up to clearing skies.

I think everyone was awake by 6:30, but I don't think we started our adventure until around 8:00 with Tim waiting for us about 1.5 miles below the official trailhead. We ended up hiking about 5.5 miles each way, for an 11 mile outing. Despite the 4000+ ft elevation gain, I think the South Elbert trail was the least steep trail I've head on any of my 14ers so far. We started well below the treeline and hiked through aspen groves past several nice campsights on our way up to the ridge. The topo (yep, the lesson from "the La Plata incident" was a good one!) also came in handy at one intersection. [Note: bear right where the road splits and the left fork heads steeply into the trees past a lake to your left.] There were a few steep hills getting to the ridge (enough to get me down to a short sleeve shirt despite temps in the low 40s), but once we gained the ridge the trail eased quite a bit and the elevation/lung conditioning was the only factor separating hikers. Just before treeline the humidity, grass, flowers, and sparse evergreen cover reminded me of balds of TN, WV or VA with an almost comforting sense of déjà vu.

Our group naturally separated into sub-groups of 4, all summiting by 12:30. I felt like we made pretty good time considering about half of us were first-timers. I was pleased everyone that started made it to the top. The view was less than optimal, but the clouds broke apart enough for me to notice the basin between Elbert and Massive seemed worth exploring later. We could also see the south ridge of Elbert still had quite a bit of snow, with a stubborn (and probably permanent) cornice guarding some nice ski lines. This was the first 14er summit I've ever been on where I couldn't see at least one other 14er summit, and also continued the trend of snow on every 14er trail I've been on this year. I didn't stay on top long, as the clouds were closing in on us.



The weather on our descent varied from sunny and clear to whiteout... and changed quickly. At one point I stopped (convinced the snow was over) after whiteout followed by strong sun to take off my shell and fleece only to find that in the time I took off my pack and jackets I was getting snowed on again. If nothing else, it was good motivation to get back to the Jeep before it started raining very hard. I think everybody felt the downclimb in the same way, and we were a tired bunch driving east tonight.

By summiting Elbert, Colorado also now joins Ryan and my list of 5 state highpoints, which also includes Tennessee, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

Evidence:

• Mine: http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/sets/72157606794433798/
• Brian's: http://www.flickr.com/photos/66324109@N00/tags/mtelbert/
• Tim's: http://www.flickr.com/photos/timsegraves/sets/72157606798424417/ (And for some info from the GPS ...it doesn't quite match exactly what's on the device): http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6542208

Compassionate festival-goers

Today I volunteered for Compassion at Heavenfest festival. I was in the early shift, and our main goal was to handout child information packets in the middle of Seventh Day Slumber's set on the main stage. I don't really know much about the band, and am not exactly into "Jesus metal" (or whatever category they would be in), but the lead singer has an incredible story to tell in support for Compassion, so it was great. He took about 10 minutes in the middle of their set to talk about Compassion's mission and to encourage people to become sponsors. Apparently there were about 500 sponsor packets brought to the event (apparently they estimated 10k attendees and shot for 5% of the audience), and I'd guess we passed out 250 within 2 minutes of asking people to raise their hands if they were interested in sponsoring a child. I have to admit I was worried people would ask for a packet but not fill it out (it's easy to say you'd like to help, but you really speak when you sign on the dotted line and commit to writing letters, sending photos, money, etc.) but to my surprise and joy, so many people filled out their packets that we ran out of pens at the booth! It was a great experience and I'd like to volunteer again whenever the opportunity comes up. It feels really good to help spread the message of something I feel strongly about, and have been affected by in such a positive way. It was pretty hot so I didn't stay for the whole day, but it seemed like a really solid turnout for the event. I was surprised to see license plates from Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico and even a group of several cars from Wisconsin. I hope they do the event next summer and can get tons more third world kids helped.

recent rides and Soul Stew Revival review

I haven't written much about this summer's mountain bike outings, but will list off a few here for future reference:

1. Switzerland Trail / Pennsylvania Gulch loop: A nice and easy climb with a hair-raising descent. PA Gulch probably has too many babyheads to consider it a great downhill, but for those who like to earn their downhills, the Switzerland Trail is about as easy of a way to do that as you could find.
2. Sourdough Trail: I liked the tail, but got eaten alive by both mosquitoes and the elevation (I started at the South Terminus, 9,200'), and ultimately turned around after about 2 miles. This will be a good trail to come back to and test my lungs once the mosquitoes die off.
3. Heil Ranch with the Wild Turkey addition: Eureka! In terms of technical difficulty, this is a beginner ride for sure, but it made me feel like a beginner on the ascent, so it'll be a good one to come back to. This is probably the most enjoyable singletrack I've found in Boulder County so far. [I include Walker Ranch in that statement because I rode terribly at Walker... note to self, add both Heil Ranch and Walker to to-do list.]
   

In completely unrelated news, tonight I saw Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi Soul Stew Revival at Chautauqua Auditorium. Wow. I'm pretty sure that's all I can say about the performance. As for the ambiance...
The evening started out with several songs from Scrapomatic, who came on right as I took my seat. I immediately recognized the vocals of Mike Mattison from his DTB work, but didn't know he had a band outside of DTB. The music was good, but the surrounding audience left a bit to be desired. As soon as the ladies behind me started talking about how they hoped the show didn't go past 10:30 because that would be past their bedtime, I knew I had to move. [Captain Obvious at that point: "Well, Brett, let's just take a look around and ask why you're single, when you spend your Saturday nights at concerts with people twice your age..."] When Scrapomatic finished I got up and headed to the beer line. The Twisted Pine was worth the wait, but I was bummed to see the band walking from the bus into the auditorium with 5 people in front of me in line, and even more disappointed to see the sign telling me I couldn't take my beer into the auditorium. Okay, fine, I'll just have a water... SOLD OUT! Back to beer then... 4 minutes later (sorry Brown Ale, no time to savor...) I tossed my empty cup in the recycle bin and made my way back inside to catch the 2nd song. [According to http://dtbsetlists.com/setlist.php?id=2966, I missed Don't Do It.] By that point I couldn't find any open seats with a decent view, so I headed to the back for a stand-up dance show. The crowd was much more worthy of my company back there :) [Somebody behind me was puffing the really really kind back there.] The next 1:45 was easily one of the best shows I've ever been to. There were several covers (Freddie's Dead, The Weight, Don't Keep Me Wonderin' to name a few) but the original material shined for me. I was, however, quite impressed with the version of The Allman Brothers' Don't Keep Me Wonderin'... Derek was seriously channeling Duane at times. I laughed when it started because I wasn't sure anybody else recognized the song even though I was the one not yet born when Idlewild South came out. Speaking of channeling, I have to say I was blown away by Susan's guitar prowess. That woman can play!!! At one point she pulled out the wah-wah and it sounded like a bit like Jimi. As an added bonus, her vocals were superior to what I have heard in her studio work. I have come up with a list of things I wouldn't do for, with, or to a girl who could sing and play like that for me:

1.

(I have to admit that joke is borrowed from something I read about Erin Andrews, which I would also generally agree with even though she's a UF Gator alum, but seriously, congratulations Derek, your wife is an amazing musician and singer.)

Anyways, until the set closer (The Weight, which has been the closer at many Soul Stew shows this month) it seemed very few people were as awestruck as I was (not that I was there for validation of my opinion), but it turned out they were just old. The roar from the capacity crowd was evidence of time and money well spent. I didn't see any tapers, but if anybody knows of a source of tonight's show out there, please send me an email. I'd love to get a copy. Those of you who live in a town this show is coming to are hereby highly encouraged to get tickets if you haven't already done so. Those of you who had a chance to see it but missed it because you were tired from working on the lawn all day... well, I'm just glad I'm not you.

selling my body parts to afford Ticketmaster fees

Ticketmaster sucks.
No, seriously Ticketmaster, I can't wait for you to get "Microsoffed" into oblivion by some smaller, cheaper competitor that won't tack on 40% extra to buy a $36.50 concert ticket. Is there any justifiable reason that is necessary? And this is without the "most convenient" delivery method of "print" where you add another $2.50... for me to use my own printer, paper and ink.

Quandary Peak bluebird summit

On June 14th, Ryan and I headed into the hills again. Our objective was the summit of Quandary Peak (for the 2nd time this year) and I was really hoping to not repeat our previous turnaround with the summit in clear view. In addition to Ryan and I, 3 of my coworkers (Alex, Brian, and Xavier) joined us for their first 14er summit. With three days of snow in the week leading up to our climb, our "spring" climb turned out to be fairly winter-like, and even included a snowboard descent. Thinking back on our descent, however, causes a bit of internal controversy. To be quite honest, the whole 24 hour experience turned out to contain far better luck than planning, which unfortunately reflects my skills as a group leader since I was the one Alex, Brian, and Xavier in particular had trusted for their safety and well-being. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here is the full story:

Friday night Ryan, Xavier, Brian and I headed down 285 to Alma and headed to Kite Lake campground, on the other side of Hoosier Pass from Quandary. I hadn't put the 2 and 2 together, but realized when we got there that Kite Lake is an approach to the "DeCaLiBro" (Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross) 14er group. We had a bit of difficulty finding CR8, but eventually enjoyed an adventurous drive up to 12,000 feet, which I didn't know was our destination until looking at Brian's topo. At that point a few concerns went through my mind ("We're heading above treeline? It's going to be very cold and windy." ... "The road might not even be open all the way."), which eventually proved true. We set up tents just off the road where it was buried by snow and impassable. It turned out to be one of the windiest nights I've spent outside. Luckily, it wasn't one of the coldest, because I found out Saturday morning that Xavier didn't have a sleeping pad, and Brian used a comforter instead of a sleeping bag... even with both I only managed to sleep in 30 minute increments. I awoke at 4:55 feeling exhausted, but after noticing the first rays of sunshine I poked my head out the tent to look north up the valley to see sun warming Lincoln's east face. I wish I had a camera, because it was one of the nicest views I've taken in from a tent, and immediately I was well rested, and had a very hard time getting back to sleep. It's funny how quickly the mountains can change a mood. After we stopped in Alma we headed over Hoosier pass (giving us a good view of Quandary's east ridge and the Cristo couloir) and met Alex for our climb.

There was much discussion leading up to the weekend about taking the Cristo couloir down after climbing the east ridge (Quandary's standard route). We had been warned to get an early start and be weary of the couloir after about 11am. Brian had flirted with the idea of carrying his snowboard gear to the top for a ride descent, and ended up bringing it. The rest of us decided to leave our snowshoes in the cars, and started up the east ridge from ~10,800' at 8:30. We found the snowline before we found the treeline. It was a perfectly wind-free and clear bluebird morning, so the sunscreen, sunglasses, and chapstick were well worth their weight right away. The snow was in great shape, though, so there was no post-holing to be had until about 10am. It was fairly sun-cupped, and we still needed to kick steps at times. Ex:


Brian and I took our time with Xavier while Ryan and Alex continued up the ridge and probably gained the summit by noon. [Apparently Alex and Ryan were accompanied by Horton the Quandary Dog most of the way, and had folks convinced on the summit that Horton was theirs. I was excited to meet him after reading and hearing so much about him... I'd like to have a pair of lungs like his!] I was a bit concerned about Xavier, so I made sure he was always within eyesight until the summit ridge where it gets steeper and harder to see as far. Brian and I were on top by 1pm, and Xavier finally made it to the top about 30 minutes later. The views were incredible, similar but still a better vantage point than Mt. Sherman last weekend. The Elks stood out in the distance, with Snowmass in particular calling my name. I was elated to be on top, and felt the Bretticus of Sparticus coming on strong...


Photos from Xavier, Brian and I:

• http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/sets/72157605620751055/
• http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=56604&l=7a3c0&id=664490589
• http://www.flickr.com/photos/66324109@N00/tags/mtquandary

I was really excited for Brian, Xavier and Alex to have made it to the top of their first 14er. It was the 8th for Ryan and I, and we were pumped about that too. I think this played into what I consider to be the poor decision of descending the famed Cristo Couloir. In my opinion, there was less discussion about this decision that there should have been, and I would not make the same choice again given the option. There were way too many human factors that went into the decision, such as

• Brian had lugged his snowboard, boots, etc the whole way up and wanted to use them
  
• We were curious to descend another route, and a couloir at that, to turn our route into a loop... (what a great excuse to use the ice axes too!)
  
• Xavier had a bad headache, which we later found out probably had more to do with dehydration than altitude
• It was getting late and we wanted to get down fast
  

Those human factors, especially the last one, are exactly what need to be suppressed when making decisions about avalanche terrain. A few other strikes against us:

• We didn't have any avalanche gear and would not be prepared to dig someone out in an emergency
• Alex and Xavier didn't even have ice axes for a glissade
• We hadn't ascended this route and didn't know the conditions on a south-facing aspect
  

---

Cristo couloir seems to be notorious for lulling beginners into this behavior. Apparently the "I think I can do it. It's supposed to be a good beginner couloir..." or "It's so close to Breckenridge that it must be safe..." are common thoughts in the beginner mountaineer community. Here are two unfortunate examples from this year

• http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20080613/NEWS/514280954 / http://www.14ers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=13521 (a beginner climber fell the day before our climb)
• http://www.summitdaily.com/article/2008384835777 (man falls and breaks neck among other injuries on his "first alpine climb" in Cristo)
  

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In our defense, I had done a lot of reading about Cristo beforehand, and had read nothing but good things about the condition of the snow. However I was not experienced to evaluate the snow stability, and *most* that I had read was about much earlier times. I had spoken with a guy on the summit who *seemed* quite knowledgeable and had climbed Cristo. He mentioned that he was descending Cristo too and pointed the way for us. With excitement and a bit of hesitation we headed down the south face of Quandary. There were rollerballs near the summit, but nothing worth aborting for, so I thought.


I have since purchased STAYING ALIVE IN AVALANCHE TERRAIN and read on pg 168 that this is a 100% red light for wet snow / wet slab avalanches. Everything beyond our initial pitch seemed too wet or slushy to make sizable rollerballs on. The rest of the descent varied for the group. Brian was at the bottom of the couloir in about 15 minutes, Ryan glissaded to the bottom about 10 minutes after Brian, and Alex hiked / lunged-stepped right behind Ryan. Xavier and I took our time, with me leading the way in ~100 ft increments. Xavier did very well despite being very tired... his headache went away after drinking water and descending a few hundred feet. I was a bit concerned, however, when I began to hear water running near the edge of the couloir... it seemed we were on a big sheet of lubed snow ready to slide right down to the reservoir below us. I had read about this online (while reading someone else's account of triggering a wet slab avalanche on Cristo in May - http://www.14ers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12872&p=153059&hilit=wet+hear+water#p153059)...

There are a lot of places we we heard running water under the pack on 10-15deg slopes. If you hear that go the other way.

...and began to seriously regret the decision at that point. My concern was all the more increased when at one point I looked up to watch Xavier follow my tracks only to notice he was sliding right past me at an alarming rate. The look on his face assured me this was unintentional. I took off down the couloir after him as he gained speed, hoping to catch him and self-arrest us both (how???). As a rocky outcrop approached, I thought for sure I was going to be heading to the Summit County hospital with an injured friend that I was responsible for. Xavier remembered my 5 minutes of "self-arrest with a trekking pole" coaching and came to a stop a few feet shy of rocks that would have caused serious damage if he had collided with them while going much faster. That was an interesting dialog to say the least...

"Dude, you scared me."
"I scared YOU? How do you think I felt."
"Umm, right... sorry about this."
"Yeah, let's just get the hell off this mountain."
"Agreed."

In the end we all made it down safe, with only minor cuts from Xavier's "freeslide" incident. We had a good meal afterwards and have stories to tell of the day. For that I am thankful. I suppose everybody has some kind of wake-up call in their dangerous pursuits (a first near accident on a motorcycle, for example), and I'd say this was mine. Although it was fun, I am embarassed when I think back on it now, and definitely feel like we collectively swiped one ball from the "luck" jar and dropped it into the "experience" jar... hopefully I don't need it later in life. I think I have a new appreciation for the phrase, "there are old mountaineers and there are bold mountaineers but no old, bold mountaineers."

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Here is a bit of additional reading about wet slab avalanches which caught my eye after our climb (from http://www.avalanche.org/~moonstone/slab/avalanche%20release%20and%20snow%20characteristics.htm):

Once the potentially unstable snow layer has been warmed to 0.0 degrees C throughout, the entire amount of solar energy is available for the melting process.

As noted above, wet snow has a lower albedo than dry snow. Therefore, as the surface layers begin to melt, the wet snow is capable of absorbing more solar radiation, which in turn causes more melt to occur.

When the entire thickness of the snowcover has warmed to within 2.0 degrees C or less of freezing, the possibility of thaw-induced avalanche events greatly increases. Once this criteria is met, the next requirement is for the mean daily air temperature to exceed the freezing level and at that point avalanches occur.

Therefore, even though optimum sun angle for a south-facing slope might occur at noon, avalanching may not begin to occur until sometime later, perhaps coincidental with slopes possessing a more westerly orientation.

See Fig 27, showing East and South facing aspects slid between noon and 4pm, even though maximum direct, clear-sky solar radiation was between 9 and 11am

The slope with the more easterly aspect shows a definite time lag between maximum energy received and the beginning of avalanche activity.Looking at Fig 27 shows that there is almost no danger prior to 10am but significant danger between 10am and 4pm.

The spring cycle of 1973 occurred six weeks later in time, beginning on April 27 as opposed to March 15 of 1974. On the later date, 22% more solar energy is ideally available on a south-facing slope with an angle representative of actual release zones.

In other words, taking the date into consideration and the fact that this year was a banner year for snow, any snow that is left (and there's a lot left!) is receiving more solar energy this year than in years past where the wet slide season was earlier; ie a larger danger this year.

The occurrence of wet snow avalanches depends largely upon air temperatures, heat flux and water content in the snow. The usual period for widespread release of wet snow avalanches is spring when snow temperatures rise and melting begins as a function of the seasonal trend of air temperature. Since the initial requirement for a wet snow avalanche is melting temperatures through the bulk of the snowpack, systematic snow temperature measurements are essential in order to forecast the onset of wet snow conditions.

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Maybe I'm being a wuss, maybe I'm excessively cautious, but I think we got pretty lucky out there. I've since put it on my calendar to get avalanche certified when winter comes back. Here are some lessons learned / closing thoughts:

• Trees are good at stopping wind. Make sure to sleep near/below them for a good pre-climb rest.
  
• You don't know anything about spring snow until you've been on spring snow and been taught about spring snow. It can harm you just like a handgun or a motorcycle. Don't kid yourself.
• Luck is very helpful but should not be relied upon.
  
• Group outings are definitely harder to manage, and should be handled differently than a duo climb. Determine decision making criterion as a group before starting.
  
• Couloirs are loads of fun, but even the "beginner" ones demand respect.
  

Mt. Sherman first successful 14er of 2008 (and windiest yet)

Today Ryan and I received our first successful 14er climb of 2008 in 14,036' Mt. Sherman. Mt. Sherman lies between Leadville and Fairplay, and we approached from the east side. It had been a little while since we had turned around on Quandary, and several months since our success on Longs, so we were both looking forward to better luck this time. We drove just past Fairplay and camped at the Fourmile Campground on CR 18 just below a stretch of private property before the Leavick site (remnants of the area's mining past). The campground was perfect for us; nearly empty, wooded, close to our "trailhead" and providing a spectacular view of the stars above. It was surprisingly warm for being early June of a banner snow year above 10,000 feet.

We started at a fairly reasonable hour and parked just before where the private property begins around 11,000 feet so that we would abide the 3,000 foot rule. This added a few miles round trip to our climb (compared to others that drove past us to 12,000') but it was a good warm up and helped Ryan get acquainted with his new boots. We took our time on our ascent, and that's a good thing because I was feeling the altitude after not skiing or spending much time in the high country over the past few months. Perhaps the best part of our climb was the use of winter gear! There was continuous snow available to us above 12,500 feet. Because the rock was poor and unstable, Ryan used his ice axe while I put on my snowshoes to make progress on the more enjoyable snow fields. We gained the summit ridge and the wind picked up like I've never before experienced. We actually had the summit to ourselves for a few minutes, which was a first for us.

Below is some video footage of the ascent and summit. As you can see, the summit was so windy that I couldn't keep the camera steady. You can't even hear me with the wind resistance feature on the camcorder, except of course me cursing the wind or mentioning that you probably can't hear a word I'm saying. That's unfortunate, because the view was terrific. We could see loads of other 14ers from every range in the state except for the San Juans. Compared to last year's mid-June ascent of Huron, there is much more snow this year, so we'll probably be using our snow year at least one more time.



Here is our summit shot showing my jacket puffed up and full of wind:



The rest of the day's pictures can be seen at http://flickr.com/photos/brett_burch/sets/72157605495965263.

On our way down the wind continued to howl, and my snowshoes on my backpack acted as a sail... I had read the high wind advisories, but this was quite difficult to manage. I can only guess at this point, but I would believe we had sustained winds of 30 mph with gusts over 40 mph. At one point while descending to the saddle between Sherman and Mt. Sheridan a gust actually knocked me off my feet, which I'm fairly certain had never before happened in my life. We continued using our recently acquired ice axe knowledge by glissading 3 times for a total of a few hundred feet of descent. This was the first time I had used my ice axe outside of practice, and it was quite a thrill!

Once below the snow line, the return to the Jeep felt long, and my sore body was reminded that I was rusty (although I think most of my fatigue was related to fighting the wind instead of the mountain itself). We definitely didn't set any speed records, but we had a great time and enjoyed being up top again. I've read that Sherman is considered to be a boring 14er outing, but this was one our most enjoyable so far. It really peaked my interest in snow climbs, so hopefully I'll be able to get a few in soon :)

1 mtn lion and a wedding (... thankfully no funerals)

It has, yet again, been a while since I've updated this. This post will hopefully catch us up through May.

The weekend before Ben and Danielle's wedding I went mountain bike riding in Golden Gate Canyon State Park outside of Golden. Joe, his neighbor Dave and I rode the Mountain Lion trail, renowned as one of the best in the area. I felt very good the entire ride and was pleased with my climbing as well as downhilling... my lungs have come a long way since Walker Ranch last fall! At one point I saw what I still believe to be a mountain lion paw print in the mud/snow. It was either a mountain lion or the biggest dog I've ever seen... I'm still not 100% sure, but have a renewed appreciation for my secretive feline neighbors after seeing a print as big as I did. I'm looking forward to getting back on the trail and keeping my lungs and legs in shape this summer!

A few days later I hit the dusty trail eastward for Nashville. I took 3 days off of work (and wished I could have taken 3 more) for what turned out to be a fantastic family reunion/wedding/meet & greet with new friends/etc. To start, I was blown away by how green Tennessee and Kentucky were! I forgot how lush that part of the US is, and found I missed it. The flora and fauna seem somewhat plain in Boulder compared to that of the Appalachian foothills. Secondly, I've always loved traveling and that rejuvenated feeling which hitting the road provides. Solo road trips seem to work wonders in this way, stripping away all the debris that has collected since the last solo road trip, until I feel exactly like myself again. [Is that some sort of a warning sign that I enjoy being alone too much?] The drive from Nashville to Owensboro was no exception. [... except for the lack of bluegrass on the radio. How does one drive past the boyhood home of Bill Monroe and not find a bluegrass song on the radio??? Disappointing... but I got over it.]
I found Owensboro to be a quaint town; an ideal setting for a May wedding. It was almost as if you could see the memories of growing up there, or conjure new ones, when driving through town. Owensboro seemed old but not out of date, simple yet profound in its message to overly-complicated urban America. I also found the time spent with grandparents, siblings, parents, etc to be much needed and well received. These things I was prepared for. What I was not prepared for was the instant camaraderie found between me and the rest of Ben's friends. It was as if they had known me for years. To a certain extent, I suppose they had known a portion of me for years, and that was enough. We had a fun yet clean bachelor party, a smooth rehearsal and a perfect wedding. I can only hope that the support I surround myself with on my wedding weekend is as solid as what Ben had.
It would be impossible for me to summarize the wedding weekend here, but let's just say that I came away from it with a profound appreciation for what I had before misunderstood as my brother's misguided and lax tour through college, and a better appreciation for the way in which Ben and Danielle compliment each other. I was also unprepared for realizing in those few days that my little brother had grown up without me noticing, and discovering that he is in many respects more wise and mature than I am. While on the plane back to Denver I decided to not be the same person as I was before that trip. [Baby steps!]

To close, I'll report on the weekend after the wedding. On Sunday the 25th Tim, Darren and I attempted to boulder on Flagstaff just west of Boulder. Wow... I've climbed outside before (even in Boulder) but never bouldered. This was humbling. V0 problems felt like V∞. Having climbed around Boulder for years in a previous life, Darren gave us the official Flagstaff tour. After a few minutes my fingertips felt like they'd been scraped by a cheese grater. This, friends, was nothing like the Spot. It was humbling, yet definitely motivating. I hope to be able to traverse some of those problems with ease in the future (just don't tell my fingers). Afterwards I felt I hadn't pushed my body enough so I decided to go riding at Walker Ranch. When I got there I decided on the Meyers Homestead trail instead due to rain, since it's much easier to turn around on the Meyers trail. I had a nice ride, and did not see anyone else the entire time. Solitude proved the theme of Memorial Day weekend. All in all, my second May in Boulder was very good to me. Here's hoping June is more of the same!

catching up on April and this weekend

It's been a few weeks so I'll write up a bit here to catch you, my faithful readers, up. The past 3 weeks have been like a blast from the past of sorts, and a lot of fun to boot. Here are the details...

The weekend of the 19th-20th Janan visited from Columbus. It had been about 5 years since we had seen each other in college, and she flew out to see Ryan (and I). Friday night we went to a Colorado Mammoth Lacrosse game. Holy cow. It was what I imagine a convention of people with Ritalin prescriptions that haven't taken their meds in weeks would look like. I was a little scared to be perfectly honest. The free beer and hot dog helped though. Anyways, Saturday we went up to our old standby, RMNP, to show off the Front Range to Janan. It was good to see it again and to get out for a hike on the snow. We didn't walk very far but had perfect weather for the outing. We saw several interesting blue birds, elk, bighorn sheep, deer, and of course snowy peaks. See the photos here.

The 23rd I celebrated my 1 year anniversary of Boulder and Colorado residency. It's amazing how much things can change in a year... I could write a whole post just on that but I'll just say, "what a difference a year makes" and leave it at that. (That's not to say my life before here was all bad and everything is perfect now, but you get the idea.)

Last Saturday Ryan, Allison and I considered another attempt at Quandary, but passed after reviewing the weather forecast. Snow and low temps in Breckenridge meant even more snow and lower temps 4000 feet higher, so we decided to get some quality time in with our snowshoes back at RMNP. The snow was great and we got in about 9 miles; from Bear Lake trailhead to Emerald Lake and also from Glacier Gorge trailhead to Mills Lake. After making the 1.5 mile trip to Emerald Lake, we headed down to get out of the wind for a snack and discovered a nice hill to trigger mini avalanches on. The snow was interesting to dissect and the layering begged to be experimented with. We climbed and slid several times and then headed back down towards the car. The area between Dream and Nymph lake offered a sustained butt-slide through the trees that was quite fun. After a refuel at the Glacier Gorge trailhead, we ditched the snowshoes and hiked to Mills Lake. The view was fantastic as usual, with the lake still very solidly (mostly) covered with ice. After the 9 miles we decided it was time for Cilantro Mary's in Lyons. [Finally! After driving past several times, Ryan and I finally took the bait, and it was worth it. The food was a tad pricey, but the atmosphere/building and food was worth it. Recommended!] Check out the day's photos here.

This week, on the 29th, was my 27th birthday. Hello late 20s; be good to me. Coincidentally it was also the week Matt flew up from Ft. Worth to do some work in Denver. We got to catch up Wednesday and Thursday night. It had been over a year since we had seen each other, so it was good to swap stories with another ex-Austinite in Denver for a short time.

Finally, this weekend was a super combo ski-climb double-dip! Friday night I decorated the Jeep with my new Yakima rack so that Saturday Ryan, Tony, Shelly and I could go to Loveland to check out the 17 inches of powder that fell during the week. It was Ryan's first day ever on skis, and he did very well. Except for a short venture (read: coaching mistake) into blue/intermediate territory that affected confidence, I have to give him an A for the day. I returned to the ridge for a go at the run I botched so badly earlier in the year (Wild Child?) and did much better. It was windblown and icy, but still enjoyable. It wasn't perfect, but much better than last time. The pitch didn't scare me at all and I was able to enjoy the ride. I have to admit that I wussed out on the 5 ft cornice/drop in, and came in at an angle, but it was still very nice... a confidence booster despite not being the best skiing of my life. The powder once off the ridge was very nice, even if just for a few hundred feet of vertical. My last run, which is to say my last run of the year, was a bump run coming down skiers left of Chair 1 (Cat's Meow). There were still nice freshies in the short tree section before the bumps, and the bumps were a powder/hardpack mix. The snow was really soft at the bottom, so I covered most of the gamut in one fell swoop. I still have a lot of room for growth on bumps, but it felt really good to work my legs for a few runs... it was just nice to be out for the 15th day on my skis this season. We chose to apres at the Dam Brewery.

Today produced a lovely day of rock climbing in Boulder Canyon. M'Linda, another '03 Redhawk, and her boyfriend, Jon, came up from Telluride to help yesterdays crew discover outdoor climbing in Colorado. It had been 5 years almost to the day since I had seen M'Lin (I blame the Peace Corps), so it was great to catch up and see her again. We went to Happy Hour Crag for some 5.6 - 5.8 climbing. We made our way left to right on "I, Robot" followed by "Are We Not Men?" then "Twofers" and "Twofers Gully". I think Twofers was the most challenging and rewarding, with the roof in the middle of the route about 30 feet off the ground. The view from the top was quite nice too. I still have a bit of a "heights thing" but did better today thwarting that than in previous outings. The photos from the day can be seen here.