Alaska in Springtime

There are an amazing number of things to do in the spring in Alaska. For as ugly as it gets in town, the mountains are still a haven for playtime, and with the longer hours, one can get out there pretty much every day. Last week, we had a lovely birthday party on Blueberry Hill to celebrate my dear friend Megan's 26th birthday (join the club sister!). The weather was gorgeous, the friends were terrific and even Mount Redoubt was puffing ceremoniously to celebrate the day.



Circle of friends.


Me with the birthday girl.


Mt. Redoubt, with a massive adjustment in contrast to bring out the image.


Unfortunately the weather for the rest of the week has not exactly been cooperating. On Thursday night I was bound and determined to sleep outside in a tent. I even had the pleasure of getting my new sleeping bag in time for this excursion. Thursday greeted me with rain and wind in town, which meant snow and wind in the mountains. Given a late start, and a lack of a trail, our original plan of camping in the ballfield had to be abandoned. So Janna and I scampered up Blueberry Hill, the site of the previous Chugach party, and pitched a tent in blowing snow. The weather made for a rather drafty evening, but all in all I was extremely glad to get out of the confines of four walls and a roof for a night.

Today, I again made my way into the park. This time just taking a quick jaunt up Peak 2 and Flattop with my neighbors' dog, L'ika. The weather up high was again less than ideal. A nasty cutting wind was ripping over the top of the ridge and the summit of Flattop was getting absolutely blasted. Needless to say, I did not hang around long, but descended to the incredible snow field leading back to the parking lot. Here I slid, rolled, shoe-skied and pretty much had a grand old time cruising back to the car. I was soaking wet by the time I got back to the van only to discover that I had lost my key during my childish snowfield antics. Fortunately I have a nice father who drove out and rescued me. More springtime adventures to follow!

I have been quiet on the blog front for the last week or so. My life has been fairly uneventful: working, going on runs in the mucky trails and just generally keeping busy with all the little things in life. A couple of notables:

I learned to tie a purcell prusik to use as a versatile personal anchor system for climbing-- a cheaper, but more bulky system than buying a pre-made personal anchor system.

Last Saturday I finally made it down to Alyeska. There was a ton of new snow; however, the visibility and humidity made the skiing less than ideal. Despite it all, it was a fun afternoon, although I feel like I may have actually taken steps backwards in learning to telemark ski.

Also, I finished reading Per Petterson's Out Stealing Horses. I am not sure if I was particularly impressed with the story as much as the familiarity of Norwegian style of language. There is something about the simplistic and direct style with which most Norwegian novels are written that makes me nostalgic for my time there.

Tomorrow, I have a day off of work, so I hope to get up into the mountains some way or another. We shall see.

Mad Dog

Yesterday, I made my first ice ascent. Somehow, I had managed to make it through almost eight months of working at AMH without swinging an ice tool. Some of the guys at work decided that this needed changing. So we headed out to Eklutna Canyon at 7:30pm after we all got off work and got in a few laps on Mad Dog. It really is amazing how long it stays light in Anchorage now.

As this was not only my first ice climb, but also my first time wearing crampons, it was a bit of a learning experience. Fortunately, my "guide", Jason was very patient and helped me along from square one. After I finally got geared up, the first part of the climb was to rappel down into the canyon. This was not really all that bad-- once Jason got me peeled off the tree I was clinging to that is, and sent me down over the edge. Cramponing around proved to be a more natural activity than I had thought, and that first rappel 90 feet down to the starting point helped to ease my nerves.

We met Clint, Danielle, and Seth at the bottom, as Seth had led up and set up their top rope. Jason sent me up first, which was good to just get after it. With a little instruction, I found hooking my tools and kicking in to the ice to be fairly intuitive. I climbed up the pillar, which was extremely thin, saying a little prayer that it would not give way, and started to get in the swing of things (pun intended). The bottom of the route was like standing in a cold shower, and I was absolutely drenched by the time I reached the top. Thank goodness we all have these fancy pro-shell arc'teryx jackets. I descended, giddy with my new found success and ice climbing prowess. While I was climbing, Galen, Cody and his girlfriend Jessica had arrived to climb the route. I only climbed once, as it was quickly getting dark, and we packed up and drove home after 10pm. Now I am looking forward to my next foray on ice.



Cody takes on Mad Dog.


Was it wet up there?


Me with my patient instructor, Jason.


Galen, climbing in fading daylight.

Back in Anchorage

Last night I finally returned to Anchorage. The plane was on time and nearly empty, arriving in Anchorage just before midnight. On arrival to Anchorage a flat gray line of ash was visible to the south over the peninsula, marking Mt. Redoubt's largest eruption of this cycle.

We spent the last couple of days at the beach house in Ocean Park-- enjoying games, movies, oysters, and a little liberal libation over at Doc's bar. On the final evening of my extended odyssey we even won a golf club on pull tabs at the bar, if only I could say my luck at shuffle board was as good.

The morning of my departure we drove to Seattle to meet up with Bryce, Eric, and Andrew, as well as Maggie, who had just flown in from Taipei. Together with Eric's girlfriend, Jenna, we enjoyed a generous dinner of pizza and too much beer at a local pub. We also tuned in to the first NCAA Basketball semi-final.

After a brief walk through the UW campus to view the blooming cherry blossoms we headed to the airport. The long trip finally came to a close, and I was back at work today.



Willapa Bay


Oysters!


Mom looks excited about what she's about to put in her mouth.


Cherry Blossoms in Seattle.


Too many Gardners: Cousin Bryce, Belle, Aunt Brenda, Uncle Al, Cousin Leslie, Jenna, Cousin Eric, Aunt Patti, Me, Andrew, Dad and Maggie


Belle Dog

The Best Food in Asia!

I am not sure this above statement is strictly true, I may have to do more traveling to test this hypothesis further. However, as far as I have tasted, this was indeed the best food in Asia. The restaurant, which we ate at twice, was a short walk from Maggie's parents' house. Both times we ate here, Maggie's sisters arrived early to fight the crowds outside the restaurant and get us a coveted table.

The restaurant was tall and skinny, with tables on several floors. The first floor was filled with an army of cooks making the fantastic dumplings. The creation and the consumption of the dumplings were both something of an art. Andrea, Maggie's sister, gave me expert instruction in this area. First, the dumpling is full of steaming juice, so to avoid spraying your neighbor, you must bite a small hole in the edge of the dumpling, allowing the juice to drain into your soup spoon. From here you drink the juice out of your spoon, dip the drained dumpling into an expertly ratioed mix of soy sauce and vinegar, before placing the dumpling back in the soup spoon and topping it with fresh ginger. The last step is to pop the treat into your mouth and enjoy.



The beautiful dumplings, two different styles, containing different meats: shrimp and beef.


Taiwanese fried pork and fried rice.


The table, full of wonderful eats, including potato leaves, pickled vegetables, drunk chicken, and the famous dumplings.

Buses, Trains & Aeroplanes

Tuesday was an incredibly long day. It was lengthened by the fact that we flew east, across the international dateline, back in time and back to the USA. In some ways it is nice to be back where the street signs can be deciphered (by me anyway) and things are familiar. However, I do miss the excitement of Taipei and the mystery of not being able to understand most of what transpired around me. I do not miss not being able to brush my teeth without bottled water.

The day started early, at the Westin Taipei, where we drove in a hired car to the airport (mode of transport MOT #1). From Taipei we flew to Tokyo on a Boeing 757 (MOT #2). After bidding adieu to my parents I flew to Seattle, anticipating heading home to Anchorage. However, on my transpacific flight, I began to ponder the reality that I might be able to extend my trip a little longer and see my family in Vancouver, WA. Upon arrival in Seattle, I scooted through customs, rode the underground subway system (MOT #3) and easily changed my ticket, taking advantage of the scores of Mt. Redoubt stranded travelers anxious to get on a plane to Anchorage.

Now my only problem was that I was in Seattle, my luggage was on a plane to Anchorage, and my relatives were 200 miles south in Vancouver. So I arranged to have my bags sent to Portland (very quickly delivered by Alaska Air yesterday morning), and hopped on a bus to Tacoma (MOT #4). From Tacoma I caught the southbound Amtrak to Vancouver (MOT #5) and happened to meet up with Andy's cousin on the train. I think she must have thought me mentally challenged, as by this point I was about 23 hours into my day without a wink of sleep. After a much delayed, and painful train ride (my head was throbbing) I finally arrived in Vancouver, Washington, where my Aunt picked me up (MOT #6) and drove me to her home. Whew, what a day.