Monday, August 19, 2013

One Day to Go


“Do nothing in haste, look well to each step, 
and from the beginning think what may be the end.” - Edward Whymper

By "the end," I am going to assume that Mr. Whymper (first ascent of Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, and the Matterhorn to name a few) is referring to the safe return from summit to parking lot, not...the end...but who knows. Anyhoo...

Tess and Nu fly out from LGA tomorrow, destination Bakersfield. They will then hire 200 Balti porters (or, if negotiations fail, a car from Hertz) to make the trip to Independence, CA. Night one will be spent at Ray's Den Motel. The following morning, our heroes will pick up their wilderness permit at the Inyo National Forest ranger station, buy some fuel for their JetBoil, pick up some sandwiches at Subway, and then make their way to the trailhead. If all goes to plan, we'll be on the trail by 10am Pacific Standard Time.
3D printin'




Speaking of JetBoils, our heroes will be getting some extra support from local 3D printing smith R4UT10 who is printing out a base for the stove. This way, it won't tip over when we're cooking! Pics to follow.





The Crevasse


Since the last blogpost, our heroes (and Gunks expedition leader Kirill) visited the Gunks for some scramblin' practice.
Check out the pic of the famed "crevasse."



Note the excellent form
 

At the end of the day trip, Tess refreshed with a well earned dunkaroo. 
 









Calves feel strong, morale is at an all time high, HASTA LAS CUMBRES!!!!

Thursday, August 8, 2013

More Training

"It is too bad you do not have another month to train..."

Our heroes are slowly building up their leg muscles. We found the longest public staircase in NY on this awesome site, dedicated to public stairs!


The View Down
The View Up



















The longest public stairs in NY (according to this website) ascend from the depths of the Roosevelt Island subway stop. The website lists 159 stairs, but I count at least 1000!!!!


Our heroes are eager to find even more stairs to climb! Stay tuned