Running the Arc’teryx Squamish 50 23k
Photos by Lesley Morgan Loree Photos by Lesley Morgan Loree On Saturday, the 10th of August, I ran in my first ever race, road or trail, the “Squamish 50” 23k. It’s called the Squamish 50 as the main race is 50 miles long, but they also offer variants of the course that are 50km’s and 23km’s in length. Spring, the other half of pebbleshoo, ran in the 50km, a mammoth achievement, and will be posting her thoughts on that also. If you’ve been following this blog you might remember I posted about my reasons to run this race back in January, you can read that original post here: Twenty Three Well, did I hit my goal of losing 23lbs in weight? No. I did not. I’m around 15lbs lighter. I guess something changed between writing that initial post and actually running the race. Weight loss is still happening but I don’t frequently monitor my weight so it isn’t like I’ve set weight loss goals and am keeping track that I’m hitting them. I imagined I might lose around 23lbs by the race simply by being very active. I guess my body is happy with its current weight and doesn’t want it to drop much lower for now. Another aspect is that I don’t like feeling hungry. It’s an unnecessary mental distraction. Since January and when I wrote that first post about signing up for this race I’ve been doing a lot more Skiing, Mountain Biking and Rock Climbing, as well as some Backpacking and Mountaineering. Primarily though, compared to the last 3 years, I’ve cut back on Backpacking and spent a lot more of the Spring and Summer Mountain Biking and Rock Climbing. Generally, when my body is losing weight quickly, I feel hungry. When climbing it made me feel weak and when biking it made me feel shaky. This wasn’t good. I decided that I’d rather feel satiated and enjoy learning to get better at these activities than spend time thinking about food I could be eating. It seems to be working. I’m eating enough and I’m still losing weight, it’s just very, very slow. What has helped is that rather than reducing the quantity of food I was consuming I’ve changed the quality of it. I’m eating a lot more organic fruits and vegetables. I’ve cut out a lot of dairy as well, I consume no milk anymore (replaced it with Almond milk), I eat a little cheese and yogurt and trace amounts of butter. I’ve also cut back on wheat, refined sugars and canned foods. You might have noticed above that I didn’t mention running as...
Arc’teryx Cierzo 35 Backpack Review
Size: 0.58kg/20 oz 35L/40L max Activity: Rock Climbing/Ice Climbing/Alpine Climbing See link for full list of features: Arc’teryx Cierzo 35 Daypack - Black Previously the only pack I owned and used was a 55lt Gregory Pack, with all the straps, pockets and loops you would ever need. Although I still love and use this pack, mostly in winter when I want a bit more comfort, it wasn’t always appropriate for light summer trips as it tended to be too heavy and bulky. Last summer we had a 3 day traverse trip planned that would have us bivying and traveling as light as possible, so I knew right then that my good ol’ Gregory pack would need to stay home that trip. I did a bit of research and spoke to a friend who already owned and used a Cierzo 35 and decided that would be the pack for me. This pack is as minimal as it can get while still offering some durability and a small amount of comfort. I have been using this pack for everything from crag climbing, multi-day mountaineering trips, ice climbing and even a 2 day back-country ski trip. Here is what I have found since using it: Pros: 1) Extremely lightweight. When researching this bag I came across this quote: “A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery~ This really sums it all up for me. There is nothing excessive on this bag. It “does exactly what it says on the tin”. It is described as being compact and nearly weightless, and I would have to agree. 2) Sits above your harness. Because of it’s compact & compressible design(no inner frame) you can push the pack to sit above your harness comfortably. This makes it easy to climb in and because it is not sitting off or your body due to a frame, it becomes part of you and your movement. 3) With 2 ice axe loops and velcro axe keepers it was designed with the climber in mind. There is also micro daisy chains sewn to the front of the pack which makes for easy attachment of other items with carabiners or add on velcro straps. 4) Durable. I am not overly rough with my gear, but when I am out in the mountains my comfort and safety always comes before thinking about getting a tear or stain on my bag. With that in mind I have found the Cierzo to be very durable for what I have subjected it to. 5) For a 35lt bag it can store alot! This...
Ice Climbing, The Rambles: A Photo Essay
Recently we drove a few hours North in search of good Ice to climb near the Gold Rush town of Lillooet, BC. We weren’t hopeful as the conditions over the previous few weeks had not been favorable. In the 11th hour we received word that The Rambles, an area about a 30min drive South of Lillooet, was “in” meaning the ice could still be climbed. We booked a cheap Motel in Lillooet, crammed all our climbing gear into the back of our friend, Adriens, SUV and were off. Myself and Spring both popped our leading an Ice cherries over the weekend and loved it. Below is some of the photos we took over our two days there....
Ice Climbing, Canmore
Swing like you screw, kick like you poo. “I don’t screw like that” a girl replied cheekily from the back row of our Ice Climbing group. Our instructor, Carl, paused a moment, cracked a wry smile in response and moved on: “When you swing your Ice Tools get your hips in against the ice, legs extended and shoulders out, like you screw. When you want to kick, hang off your highest tool and get your butt out, like you’re going to poo and look at where you want your feet to go” We were on our second day of Ice Climbing instruction with Yamnuska Mountain Adventures near Canmore, Alberta. The previous day they’d given us an intro to Ice Climbing at the climbs Irish Mist and The Water Hole, today we were at Kings Creek to hone our technique further on some single pitch Ice. The snow gods had finally answered the pleas from Skiers all over the Rockies and on this day it was dumping snow after a rather long drought in these parts. Anything we put down on the ground for a few moments was soon buried under fluffy white powder. I imagined it might make for a rather miserable day of climbing Ice but it turned out to be one of the best. Kings Creek lies at the bottom of a gorge with steep rock walls on either side. As snow built up above eventually it would fall off branches, boulders and slopes when they could no longer hold the weight of it. It would cascade down, get funneled into gullies, gain speed, bring other loose snow with it and eventually reach the bottom where we were climbing. This made for an almost ethereal experience while climbing ice, which isn’t exactly the most normal activity to begin with. Snow cover Belaying in Kings Creek Kings Creek Climb As we climbed, periodically, these sluffs of snow would hit us in waves. It was like being suddenly shaken up inside a snow globe. You could only brace against the ice and hope your belayer hadn’t been buried below. As I finished climbing another line and shouted “Take!” to my belayer, I clipped my ice tools into my harness and lowered my hands to my sides. My hands started to ache, ache badly (In ice climbing this is affectionately known as the Hot Aches or the Screaming Barfies). I braced against the pain and resolved to stop over gripping my Ice Tools next time. I looked down and shouted “Lower” to my belayer. At that moment I could see a snow sluff from my vantage point picking up mass and momentum above and barrelling down....
Video: Shattered
I remember watching this short film last year (shortly before Ice Climbing myself for the first time) and it really touched a cord. Not only is the cinematography outstanding but the moral of it is also. It deals with the question everyone who takes risks in the Mountains asks themselves. Why? Why do it? Anyway, enjoy it. I know I do. As Ice Climbing season comes back around again I was reminded of it so I thought I’d share...
