Team Harro

Here is a video from my Trip in the Alaska Range

2010-08-07T10:46:00.000-07:00

Alaska Range Spring 2010 from Daniel Harro on Vimeo.

Smith Rock 21st-23rd

2009-06-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Eric Williams leading

Puffies, it was cold!

More leading, can't remember the climb but we were on the backside

Still a bit chilly

Warming up!

Yet another climbing trip! Daniel, Eric Williams, and I did the short journey to Smith last weekend. It was the first time this year Daniel and I have been to Smith. It was nice weather and it a little cooler than normal for this time of year (much appreciated!). Vests and capilene in the shade even! We had fun with some good leads done by all. Our Alaska trip really put a kink in our rock climbing so it's taken me quite a while to warm up this year but I'm starting to feel a bit more comfortable without ice tools in my hands...It's funny what you get used to.

Squamish!

2009-06-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I spent 4 days in Squamish in the beginning of June.

We did a multipitch climb on The Apron called The Snake. A fun climb with lot's of laybacking.

We enjoyed great weather throughout the weekend. 70s and sunny everyday!

Even better yet, we stayed at a bed and breakfast for two nights, took naps, made dinner together, watched movies, and enjoyed this view!

Overall a relaxing, enjoyable weekend playing on Squamish's quality granite cracks :-)

City of Rocks Memorial Day Trip

2009-05-28T17:53:00.001-07:00

Daniel, Reuben, and I had the opportunity and the weather to spend yet another Memorial Day at the City of Rocks in Idaho. It was a fun, relaxing first rock climbing trip of the year for us with climbing, hot springs, and catching up on some sleep too :-) At the end of the trip we finally got to see my brother and sister-in-law's house in Boise and spend some time with Jason before the long drive home. Yet another good City trip...

Alaska Range Ruth Gorge

2009-05-16T19:17:00.000-07:00

We finally did another big trip and this trip is the biggest climbing trip we have ever done! In April Daniel and I flew into the Alaska Range to climb Ham and Eggs. It was a successful and fun trip! Enjoy some pictures!

Activity AND Relaxation are good for the soul

2009-03-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

Activity

I thought I would share some photos from crossfit at Recreate Fitness to give all of you non-crossfitters an idea of what I do at my gym every day. See, it's not torture, it's fun! Come join me for a workout some time and see if you like it!

Turkish GetUps . Tina got this really cool picture of Daniel and I. It looks posed but it's not! I love it :-)

John, Daniel, and I doing Windmills. Another cool shot.

Rope Whips

Heavy Med Ball Cleans with a 50lb ball. Nadine and I did this partner workout that involved each of us doing a total of 55 med ball cleans, 55 box jumps, 55 ringrows, and a 500m row. It was awesome and I love working out with Nadine, she's a great partner.

Kipping Pullup!

Relaxation!

We have been having a great time lately getting back to what really matters....friends and family! Here are some pictures of the cutest one-year-old ever, my niece Anastasia...and dinner at the Montage with great friends from work. I also helped Hannah clean up before her move and needed to appease Reuben, so he became the proud owner of an old jar of peanut butter to keep the anteater busy for a while.

Anastasia and her Aunty

Happy Birthday Daniel

2009-03-17T22:00:00.000-07:00

Daniel, my St. Patties Day hubby is now a quarter of a century old! He celebrated with a crossfit workout, lunch at the Red Bike Cafe (yum yum), new iPhones, dinner at Autentica (try their 3$ tacos, amazing!), and per his request dirt dessert...complete with the gummy worms. He loved his pampered chef baking stones! Here's a pic of his dirt complete with 25 candles.

Melting Pot

2009-03-03T23:02:00.000-08:00

Saturday night, May 28th, we finally got the chance to celebrate Hannah and Zach's engagement! They got engaged on New Year's Eve in Prague...so romantic. Zach and Hannah have a lot of love and I am so happy for them. Not to mention Daniel and I have a lot of fun with the two....and Daniel and Zach can boost each other's self esteems after Hannah and I wreak havoc with our sarcasm ;-)

The Melting Pot was soo much fun and oh so tasty. Our waiter Anthony...poor Anthony had to put up with us all night...but we're pretty sure all of the waitstaff was smoking something in the back anyways...

The Beautiful Couple

The ridiculous group

Canadian Rockies Feb 12-Feb 17

2009-02-25T16:15:00.000-08:00

Look a distant cousin of Reuben!

On February 12th we rolled out of Portland headed to Canmore...12.5hrs later we were there! As we were only going to be sleeping for about 4ish hours we opted to stay at a hostel called The Hostel Bear. It was actually really nice and our room was empty so it was just like having a hotel room. I just love love love Alberta Canada and I totally want to figure out a way to move to Canmore. I mean, where else can you see views out of the windshield of your car like this? This picture was actually taken in the Icefields Parkway...but very similar views are in Canmore as well.

We started out the adventure on Professor Falls on Friday the 13th. This is a climb right outside of Banff...about 5 pitches WI4...

Daniel on P1

Elisif on P4

Pitch 5...I actually led the first little section and Daniel took the last (long story)

Daniel styling up P5

Fun go-to climb, great weather, good times. After the climb, we grabbed some dinner and headed to the Icefields Parkway for more fun! We stayed at the Rampart Creek Hostel, a "wilderness" hostel. It was interesting when we first showed up...you have to park down by the road and hump all of your stuff up to the hostel and when we walked in we couldn't find the host for a while. But we soon got used to it, despite no running water, and it ended up being quite nice. Definitely worth missing out on a 2hr drive to and from Canmore each day.

Our Cozy room. Each room has 6 bunks...pretty tight, but for 2 of the 3 days we were by ourselves with plenty of room to yardsale wet gear.

On Valentine's day we did a climb called Polar Circus. It's been on our list for quite some time. It's an 8 pitch climb WI5...so a full day long commitment. Since it was a Saturday and a long weekend (apparently Monday was "family day" in Canada...what a way better country) we got a super early start just in case multiple parties had the same plans.

Daniel gearing up at the bottom of P1...waiting for daylight...go figure that once crampons were on, harness tightened, knots ties, he decided that he desperately needed to poop. Nothing to do but drop your leg loops and send one over the edge I guess.

Daniel starting up P1 WI 4 at first light....him a little lighter too!

Pitch 2

Elisif on P2 WI3

The Pencil is the unformed pillar on the left. It rarely forms...last in 2004? (not sure). When formed it goes at WI6. To the right of the pencil was a short WI3 pitch (?) that Daniel and I soloed (technically the 3rd pitch I think)

Here's a pic of the upper tier with the two WI4-5 pitches at the very top. A fairly continuous headwall with stretched out pitches...

Pitch 4 WI4 is looonnnggg, a full stretched out 70m brought Daniel to a belay directly below the ribbon

Pitch 5 is called the ribbon. It is a narrow but short section. This is where we called it day. We had had a great day so far, and though it was still early The Ribbon was a funky mix of thin ice and mushrooms...unprotectable until the very last short step. Daniel decided that he just wasn't feeling up to it so we ended on a good note. We'll be back to finish the whole thing one day though!

Daniel and I cheesing on Polar Circus. Happy Valentine's Day! No romantic dinner and a movie for us...we're slightly unconventional!

Views from Polar Circus..Breathtaking!

So back down we go with plenty of rappels. One of the raps is a free-hanging off of the pencil...you have to be fairly ginger as to not knock down the fragile pillar. Glad we didn't have to do it in the dark, fairly intimidating! This is Daniel easing his way off into thin air.

Since we had plenty of time left in the day we took the opportunity to drive over to take a peek at Andromeda....home to the impressive climb Andromeda Strain. It's also home to other alpine climbs, including The Shooting Gallery and Asteroid Alley. We had toyed with the idea of climbing Asteroid Alley (the line of ice on the middle of the right side) the next day... but we ended up making the decision to opt out as the forecast was cold and windy. As you can see from the names of the climbs there is high potential for rockfall...not worth the risk...too many other options in the Parkway!

Andromeda

So on the 15th we decided to take a more chill day and go take a look at Bow Falls 2 pitches WI4 . The approach is a great short ski tour...you can ski over the lake and the Falls are in the bowl in the background of the pic.

Skiing on Bow Lake and Bow Falls in the far background

Views from the Lake

Skiing over to Bow Falls

Bow Falls

We got to the base as you can see...and of course it was super windy and the route was in the shade (which we knew)...we hemmed and hawed...and though we were there, we just weren't feeling it. Since this was definitely not an "it doesn't have to be fun to be fun trip" we decided we were just satisfied with a good ski that day. Possibly not a decision our hardcore climber friends would have made, but definitely one we were content with.

Monday, February 16th we climbed Murchison Falls WI4+. The approach I've heard can be quite taxing in heavy snow years but with the lack of snowfall lately there was an excellent bootpack and we made it up to the base in 1.5hours.

Daniel hiking up to Murch (we climbed up to the very last tier)

I lead up the first pitch up and we simul-climbed just a little to get to some rap v-threads on the right. Daniel then headed up and left for the second pitch.
Daniel starting off...

...And still going

We got to the third and final pitch and sat there for a while deciding if it would go or not. Hopefully you can enlarge it to see but at the top are delicate mushrooms and and other formations that looked like they would come crashing down if one tried to top out. The left side was making tons of noise too (cracks and pops) so we decided to call it a day, slung a pillar and rapped down. We talked to a pair from Colorado the next day who said they did the same thing...

Pitch 3 of Murchison

Elisif on another fun rappel

I couldn't resist posting another scenery pic just to give you an idea why we love to do what we do. I think a lot of times our friends don't understand why we leave all of the time...drive so long, put ourselves in risky (calculated and safety conscious...but still dangerous in nature) situations, get hands so cold we want to barf and pee our pants at the same time, and come home with cuts on our faces and a week of unpacking and work to look forward too. It's hard to explain what the feeling is but there's something I get from seeing this/being here. Often the situations are difficult, painful, and on the occasion miserable. But the accomplishment, the peacefulness and solitude, and wonder of God's nature are truly centering.

After Murchison we drove back to Canmore. The next day, February 17th was my birthday! We had breakfast and pastries at Summit Cafe and then went to the upper hotsprings in Banff. Hotsprings with a view felt sooo good after hard, cold days of climbing!

Skinning up White River

2009-02-12T02:26:00.000-08:00

I just got around to downloading my pics from my camera. These are some pictures from a few weeks ago when Daniel, Reuben and I took a quick day trip up to Mt. Hood for a few turns on our tele skis. Great day, sunny skies, good company!

Off to Canada this morning for a week of climbing! Stay tuned...

Another Cody Ice Trip!

2009-01-21T18:05:00.000-08:00

Yay, a week or so of working and paying the bills and we are lucky enough to be able to go on another ice climbing trip. It feels good to get into the routine of working a long week and then playing a long week again. What doesn't feel good is a 16hour car ride to Cody. This time we took audio books and tons of podcasts...we are so tired of the radio. We left on Friday, I was lucky enough to get called off from work the night before, and drove all day. Slept in the car and woke up Saturday to go climb Stringer, a 3pitch WI3 climb. The climb was fun! We soloed most of the route and simul-climbed the steeper pitch. At the top of the route after a short hike we climbed Captain Chemo, a single pitch WI4. The sun was shining all day and we were both in our short sleeves and hot!

The South Fork

Stringer

Elisif on Stringer

It was hot!

Soloing parts of Stringer

Captain Chemo

The next day it was off to Cabin Creek to climb Cabin Fever (1 pitch WI4) and Wyoming Wave (4 pitch WI3).

Cabin Fever

Daniel Leading Up Cabin Fever

Pitch 1 Wyoming Wave

Elisif Leading up P1

Pitch 2 WyWave

Elisif on lead P2

We simulclimbed up the third pitch and then soloed the last pitch and headed back down. Great day!

Pitch 4 WyWave

The final climbing day of our trip we headed out of Cody at 0430 in the morning on our way to California Ice in the East Rosebud Canyon of The Beartooths. California Ice is a pretty impressive climb with a continuous headwall of WI4 climbing for a full two pitches that will each stretch your 70m rope. It reminds me just a little bit of the Icefields Parkway up in Canada as far as it's magnitude. The climb ends with a winding WI3 to take you to the notch and the walkoff. We got close to the trailhead and started off our morning with a good warmup of digging the 4runner out of the snow...what's an ice trip without digging you car out at least once! By then, it was most definitely light outside and off we went on the long approach.

Yay, you can finally see it!

Ice Ice Ice

More Ice!

Now here's where the fun begins. There was a confident pair of climbers from Billings that had been approaching with us. They had racked up and chosen the right, leaving us the left. I racked up and started climbing and immediately thought this is going to suck. The dude to my right (who said they climb up to WI5s no problem) was also having issues. The ice needless to say was less than confidence inspiring. Cold and brittle, it would finally pretend to accept an ice pick stick after multiple swings only to leave you wobbling on one tiny tip once you pulled up. It was eating up screws and both of us made belays, him hanging , and me on a ledge well short of the end of the rope.

First Pitch of the Seige

Daniel continuing to head up

The pair to our right made it to a large ledge system on their second pitch (at this point they were probably at the level where both of our first pitches should have ended) and decided to bail. At this time I was on a hanging belay as the death ice had eaten up all of Dan's screws again. I yelled down to them that I was jealous as they rappelled down to the ground off of a large tree. We were at a point where it just made more sense to keep going rather than building v-threads. The night before I was reading random trip reports on this climb and stumbled on one from 2006 about a group of two parties that had both bailed because the ice was so brittle and scary...omen?

Needless to say we laid seige but conquered the headwall in another pitch...it was ridiculous. Daniel filleted open his chin with some ice and was bleeding everywhere. Then I was still stuck on a hanging belay and Daniel, though he couldn't help it, was knocking tons of ice down. It was all pretty much hitting me which always hurts but there's nothing you can you do but duck and make yourself as small as possible. Then there was this huge chunk that hit my helmet and made the world turn black for a second! Thankfully it was quick, but I gotta be honest, that freaked me out. Can you imagine getting knocked out while on a hanging belay while belaying your husband? No Thank You.

Finally the WI3 pitch at the top!

Daniel's flapper on his chin...soon to be superglued!

So California Ice had it's way with us. Despite a split open chin, a headache and a soon to be retired helmet we both were satisfied that we continued the climb. The skies were clear, calm, and sunny and we enjoyed a few minutes at the top to relax (and decided that definitely a top-out slog to the peak was not in our cards for the day!) before we headed back down to the car and the long, dark overnight drive back to Ptown. I was proud of both of us for finishing the climb, proud of myself for climbing the hardest ice I have climbed in a long time without getting pumped, but mostly I am proud of my husband and so impressed on him leading very hard and very steep ice in difficult conditions without batting an eye. I love you!

Dribbles

2009-01-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

Ice Trip for the New Year!

2009-01-07T17:07:00.000-08:00

Ice is thataway!

New Years Day after partying it up with my friend Michelle Rose, Daniel and I started our drive to Bozeman for better late than never start of our ice climbing season. We slept in the 4runner and headed up to Hyalite Canyon in the morning of the 2nd...30 minutes up a plowed road in the Canyon when typically this drive is a continuous snowdrift was awesome!! We started off the season on Dribbles, a 4 pitch WI4 climb.

Dribbles

Windy and Cold!...Guess that's climbing. I got pelted by ice and split my left upper lip, at least it drew blood, it hurt enough to!

In rusty form I led pitch 1-3. This is me crapping my pants on pitch 3. Look at how many screws I placed. Funny!

Then off to Cody, WY. Brian, I know you missed Daniel on your shifts, so here's some eye candy. Just remember the South Fork mantra; don't stress the sheep!

We did Broken Hearts on the first day in Cody on the 3rd. Broken Hearts is a 4-7 pitch climb depending on conditions, motivation, and ability. We did pitch 1-4 (WI3+) and had a blast! On the climb we met a fun couple, Sara and Doug from Billings, MT

Pitch 1 of Broken Hearts

Daniel leading up P1

The South Fork slog between pitches when there is snow

Daniel on pitch 3, WI3+

Elisif leading P4

Sadly, we learned of an avalanche fatality on The Main Vein, a route that was actually on our list for the week. We drove up to the South Fork on the 4th, but after thinking about it in the parking area, the high winds and avi danger deterred us. No doubt, there were safe climbs in the area, but without resources besides the guide book, we decided to play it safe. We took an unplanned rest day and hung out in the hottub in our hotel and drove back to the Bozone.

Snow filled gullies above the Main Vein (right) and climbs in Cabin Creek (left)

Yay for more driving....

On the 5th we headed up to Hyalite to play around on the Unnamed Wall area.

Bingo World. I am in awe of those who can climb this!

Daniel checking out The Thrill is Gone M4 WI4. He decided to save it for another day.

The Elevator Shaft WI3+

Daniel on the Elevator Shaft

As I made it up to Daniel's belay he asked what happened. I had no idea that ice had cut up my face....again...didn't even feel it.

Scarface

We headed over to the Fat One and climbed the right side and toproped the left to play around on the steeper stuff.

Elisif on The Fat One, WI3

Back to Bozeman for some Montana Ale Works burgers after playing around on our last day, Then a drive all night to rainy Portland!

Best Wishes for the New Year!!!!!!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T16:47:00.000-08:00

Michelle Rose and I spent New Years Eve hanging out with our coworker Crystal at her friend's houseparty. We had a blast people watching character after character....waaayyyy better than the airport. Here's a few "8x10 glossies" from the night!

Michelle, Crystal, and myself

Michelle and I on the couch posing and people watching

Check out my facebook pics for more pictures with props ;-)

Christmas with the Davises and the Harros!

2008-12-30T18:20:00.000-08:00

This Christmas we had many things to look forward to! The Harros came down from Alaska to celebrate with us and we all met up in Olympia for a combined Davii/Harro extravaganza. It was also my niece's 1st Christmas!!! The only thing missing was that my brother Jason and Sister-in-law Sasha couldn't make it due to I84 being closed :-( (Though they did end up being able to make the drive to Portland on the 29th and it was so great to see them!)

My Mother with her amazing blueberry pie!

Disclaimer: Now I will be one of those people who posts way too many photos of babies...but she's just too darn cute and perfect not to! Think of it as a break from Reuben!

I want some of Grandma's cinnamon roll! Mmm sugar!

Anastasia Jae

"What's this?"

All things are edible...

Ana and Laura...she's so close to walking (Ana that is)!

Our baby and his loot! Those shreds of tissue wrapping are his handiwork. He then hoarded all of his gifts so that the other dogs couldn't steal them.

Then off to enjoy the winter wonderland!

The entire Harro family all together for the first time in over two years!

John, Denise, Laura, Mark, Daniel, and Elisif

SNOW!

2008-12-21T16:18:00.000-08:00

About a week ago it started to snow in Portland...Steadily shutting down the city in the "Arctic Blast" of 2008 per the stupid news anchors of our local news, who choose to report on each flake and its impending doom rather than giving us news that matters.

Reuben loving it

And being goofy

Walks in the snow

Then it really snowed!

Reuben experiencing "death crust" for the first time. "Mom, why am I falling through the ground and getting stuck?"....

..."And why are your making me wear these booties?" Almost got it!

Throughout all of this madness I managed to pass my CCRN certification test for work that I have been spending the majority of my free time studying for! I had to drive all the way to Salem because the night before my test I got a phone call saying the Portland testing center was closed due to inclement weather and my test was cancelled. But after an early morning drive to Salem with no issues it is finally done! It was took quite an effort to study after being out of practice for two years. Some have you may have notice that this fall/winter our blog has been empty of outdoor alpine/ice adventures typically seen in previous years (I sure have!), but now that our Peru trip is done, and my test is over with we should be back on track to doing the things we love!

The "arctic blast" continues today. Daniel's parents were supposed to fly in today but got stuck in SeaTac. My parents are awesome and went and picked them up and took them to their home in Olympia. Laura, Daniel, and I will meet up with them on the 23rd as previously planned! It all works out except they will miss our Christmas Party tonight :-( Though we aren't getting as big of a turnout tonight quite a few close friends are getting hardcore and coming over! Off to make my spiked cider!

Happy Holidays Everyone!

Fun in Hood River

2008-12-09T20:55:00.001-08:00

Hood River R and R

2008-12-09T12:06:00.000-08:00

Elisif has been studying for her CCRN test (a critical care certification test for work) for the past few weeks and with my working three shifts in a row we have not had much quality one on one time. Elisif surprised me with a wonderful hike in the Columbia River Gorge, Mitchell Point, and also an amazing night at a B&B in Parkdale, OR (just outside of Hood River) all to ourself. We had a hot tub with views of Mt. hood on a clear night, and we also ate some amazing tacos at Parkdale's local pub, the Elliot Glacier Public House. Remember that Monday night is taco night!! In the morning we woke up to spectacular sourdough pancakes with local blueberries and Vermont maple syrup. I have one amazing wife!!

Hood River B&B

Our Room

Views...

Reuben and I on the trail

Team Harro and The Man

Elisif and Reuben on top of the ridge

Crazy Reuben

Love:

True Love:

Rapping off Dragontail

2008-11-24T19:59:00.001-08:00

John trying to stay warm on route

2008-11-24T19:57:00.001-08:00

NE Face Couloir Dragontail Peak

2008-11-24T18:29:00.000-08:00

John Frieh, Dave Burdick and I were going to head out to Montana / Wyoming for some ice goodness, but due to the weather we decided to stay at our local NW crag and do some climbing on the NE Face of Dragontail Peak just outside of Leavenworth Washington.

Dave drove to Levenworth (2.5 hrs) while John and I drove together from PDX (5 hrs) we encountered cheep gas prices $1.77 which has been very nice. We all met up at 8:00 pm and headed to the trailhead to sort gear and grab a few short hours of sleep. Temps at the trailhead where nice and cold in the (20's) and clear skies.

3:00 am my alarm sounded, I love alpine climbing!! We brewed up some water for drinks and choked down some food, usually I am not that hungry at 3:00 am so it is always a forced breakfast. We hit the trail at 4:00 am and blasted to the base of the route by headlamp in 4.5 hrs. We started into the couloir at 8:30 am for some good climbing. As we stared with some M(fun) mix solo climbing the route just got better and better as we ascended. As we made our way up we found everything from fun ice pitches, high quality mixed climbing and waist deep wallowing. We reached the summit col at 1:00 pm for a easy 70 meter rape onto the glacier. Once on the glacier (south side of Dragontail) we headed down to Asgard pass for the final and most loose / slippery descent which seemed to never end. Getting back to Colchuck lake at 3:30 pm. We gatherd our gear that we stashed at the lake and headed back to the car arriving at 6:30 pm, 14.5 hrs on the go. Just another good weekend...

View a Trip Report here at Cascadeclimbers

View all photos in our Picas web album.

Daniel

Peru Trip 2008

2008-11-22T12:05:00.000-08:00

Ok so finally I post about our PERU trip- better late then never. I wanted to get all of my pictures up on picasa first. My dinosaurus computer kept freezing up, it can't handle even the slightest bit of strain on it's memory. Soon we will get a new one! This one wants to die.

October 21st we set forth on our journey at noon after I had worked 5 nights in a row. Super crappy! Daniel snuck me a benadryl and I slept like a baby. After many a layover We arrived in Cusco at 9am on the 22nd and hit the ground running. We spent 3 days in Cusco acclimitizing and exploring both inside and outside the city. We each got diarrhea once and took cipro, which cleared things up in a heartbeat. I think we each were affected by the altitude a little bit, first I had a bad day and had to go pass out for a while, then it was Daniel's turn the next day. Mr. Pukey visited me for a day and a half from the altitude, but none of our ailments ruined our trip in the slightest. Actually, I think it was good because we each got some alone time.

Then on the 25th, off for the Inca Trail for 4days, 3nights. Our group was great. This was our favorite part of our trip for sure! We spent an extra day in Machu Picchu and hiked up Wayna Picchu to get a better view the 2nd day, well worth it. The next day, the 30th we took the IncaExpress bus to Puno and saw some sights on the way. On the 31st We took a boat on Lake Titicaca and toured some the floating reed islands, did a homestay on Amantani Island, and toured Taquile Island on the 1st. Important lesson learnt by a certain individual: do not get drunk at 13,oooft elevation in Puno, it will result in continuous vomiting down the side of a bus with your head hanging out of a window on a 6hr ride to Arequipa while your husband laughs at you. Not exactly sure why that one had to be learned the hard way. Anyway...moving on! The 2nd-3rd was spent exploring Arequipa. On the 4th we went on a tour of the Colca Canyon. The night of the 5th at 8pm we boarded at flight home. Once again, after many a ridiculous layover we arrived home at 4pm on the 6th.

Check out Picasa for all of our pics http://picasaweb.google.com/TeamHarro

Here are some highlights!

We......

saw tons of churches:

Stayed in some really cool hostels:

Explored Amazing historical cities, colonial architecture, and what remains of the Incan Empire. Absolutely amazing what the Incans accomplished, and how much still withstands today:

Rode horses to ruins outside of Cusco:

Ate way too much good food:

Hiked the Inca Trail:

Made some good friends:

Got attacked by sandflies:

Experienced Machu Picchu:

Spent way too much time on a bus:

Spent way too much time on a boat on Lake Titicaca ;-) It was slow!

Spent time on an island made of floating reeds, Uros:

Did a homestay with our "mama" Valentina on Amantani Island on Lake Titicaca:

Saw condors:

And the deepest canyon in the world:

Kissed an Alpaca

And participated in odd road-side attractions:

And went a little crazy, with each other at times, with our inability to speak but a few words in Spanish, with our first time traveling....but overall had a wonderul time, really, truly nothing go wrong, came back with great memories, and both of us wishing we were back!!!!

Baby's First Hiking Trip

2008-09-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I didn't get to go because we had to work but a couple of weekends ago Nate and Pam and our parents took Anastasia on her first overnight hiking trip to Dumbbell Lake in Washington. I guess she absolutely love it and was a little champ. I couldn't resist posting some of the pictures because she is just tooo cute! I'm glad she enjoys being outside as much as the rest of it. Next trip...? Ice climbing!? ;-)

The Little Family

I Love My Backpack

One With Nature

Mom and AJ

Dad and AJ (take a look at her face with the smoke!)

Grandma and AJ (is that a future pyro?)

Grandpa and AJ

North Early Winters Spire

2008-09-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

Two days off, beautiful weather, what to do? Drive 7 hours to the North Cascades for a climb!

Earlier this summer I blogged about a climb we did on the South Early Winters Spire. The North is directly beside it. We did the Northwest Corner route, which follows pretty much the leftside of the rock in the picture. The faint white line in the left middle of the rock closer to the top marks the West Face route, next on the to do list. We thought about linking the two, but with just doing one we were able to spend some time in Seattle with Kelly and Jason, cuddle with Patrick, and catch up with Kelly's brother (and our friend) Mark, back from fishing in Alaska (into an early retirement at the ripe age of 24).

We spent the night at the Cutthroat Trailhead, woke up early and started the hike at the Blue Lake trailhead. 1hr15min later and we were flaking out the rope at the base. We were glad for our early start to beat the crowds on a Saturday for this popular area. I led the first couple of pitches, linking the two, beginning with a crack and a short chimney the book rated as a 5.8 (felt a little easier to me) and a short low 5th class to move the belay up. Daniel took the third pitch with 5.8 flakes (these felt way hard to me...possibly even the crux IMHO).

Daniel then took the 4th Offwidth 5.9 pitch. It helps to walk a#4 Cam up the challenging section at the start. An enjoyable pitch that made you work.

I took the fifth 5.9 pitch , starting off with 5.7 friction moves then a 5.9 finger crack and roof. I enjoyed this pitch a lot....easier than the offwidth too! Then the sixth pitch we soloed up a fourth class scramble to the top. It felt sooo good to be in the sun. I forgot it was September but was definitely reminded when I was layering up in the shade in the AM with hats and puffys and capilene and still not incredibly warm. When we rounded the top to the sun it was beautiful, sunny, and clear with no wind. We pawed through the summit registry and soaked in some rays before rapping down taking 3.5 hrs base to base.

Summit photo and a free-hanging rap off of the chockstone

Reuben loves the City

2008-09-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

City

Rocks

It was our two year anniversary on Wednesday the 27th! I'd like to say that that day we had a good time, but both of us were working. Daniel on a 24hr shift and me on my 8th 12hr night shift in a row. (I had signed up for some extra shifts...and then my skeleton schedule had gotten switched around, and I never got called off.....sooooo.....that was an experience. The longest I've ever done was 4 shifts in a row. It wasn't horrible to be honest, but I can't say I would repeat it either).

The Team

But back to the topic, Thursday morning all three of us hopped in the car and headed East to the City of Rocks in Idaho for a long weekend of rock climbing and spending time together. I love the City...and it turns out Reuben does too. It was so much fun to watch him free-range. He was a good boy too! He hung out in the shade while we climbed quite well and even carried his own water in his doggy backpack for the longer hikes (*not very long). Great hot weather lasted until Sunday when the sky turned from clear to dark much too quickly. Those dark clouds turned into a pouring, thundering storm that turned us back West headed for home a day early. We were having such a good relaxing time that I was sad to go, but as usual , we have added to our ticklist for the next trip! Daniel and I had a great anniversary weekend, and even got to soak with a bunch of our friends in the local hotsprings each night who had also made the trip East. Great job Shannon on your first multiple lead climbs!

Reuben at play

Reuben at Rest

Reuben and I practicing looking coy

Not a puppy anymore!

Bye City, see you soon!

Serpentine Arete

2008-08-21T02:22:00.000-07:00

Cool Views

We were planning on going back to try our luck at the Torment Forbidden Traverse again...but as the weekend crept up, so did the weather. What was once a wide weather window was turning into a narrow window....Tuesday the 19th. Eric Williams, a friend from work has just as sweet of a schedule, if not better so he came along after a foray up Mt. Washington. Monday morning we left for Leavenworth, headed up to the Pearly Gates and did some cragging in between intermittent rainshowers. That evening we went to Gustavs for some beer, burgers, and planning. And yes waitress, we do want, and can eat, three baskets of fries. Please do not try to talk us out of gorging ourselves. then off to spend the night under the bridge...Only the best for our guests! We woke up at the usual ungodly hour and started the hike in. 2hrs later we were at the lake.

A little early-morning route finding conference

Getting ready

Make a figure eight.... follow the racetrack back through...;-) (j/k Eric is a strong climber, but very fun to razz at the same time!)

Here begins a series of mishaps. Mishap #1: Hiking up the boulders/scree to the base of the climb Daniel rolled a large boulder onto his shin, which Eric had to pull off of him. Lucky Lucky Lucky we were. I had horrible visions of Daniel trying to crawl four miles out. Unscathed, we continued on. Easy, unroped climbing got us to the first 5.7 pitch. The next couple of pitches were fun 5.8 pitches.

The first was up twin cracks to a beautiful 30 foot splitter crack. Mishap #2: I followed third up this pitch and got to the top. We were sorting gear for me to lead the next pitch when Daniel asked me if I had the anchor. I looked around on my harness and realized that I had neglected to clean it when I set off at the bottom of the pitch. Can't say I've ever done that before...maybe I was too excited to start climbing? So I had to rappel down, clean the anchor, and then climb back up.

Good thing I have patient climbing partners! The second 5.8 pitch was up a shallow dihedral.

Then began the simul-climbing (for those non-climbers, we remain roped up but all climb at the same time because the terrain is easier). Holy rope-drag! We were using twin 70m ropes due to the team of three but that's a lot rope to wander through low 5th class terrain with.

Soon we got to the top and after a few pictures for posterity that indeed we had not killed Eric yet we headed down aasgard pass. Mishap #3: You got to watch out for those boulders. Daniel accidently stepped on a large, loose boulder. I was walking maybe 5 feet below him but a little off to the side when I hear him yell "ROCK" , I look up and a boulder the size of a bicycle wheel is rolling in slow motion toward me. Needless to say, I got out of the way quickly, which meant jumping into the creek. I decided wet feet were better than no feet at all. I have to be honest, the boulder incidents were the first issues of these kind I have ever had...and definitely more close calls than I would like, but I guess some days are just off days, whether you are in the mountains or not.

We got back to our packs and headed back down to the car and back home to Portland, picking up Mister Reuben from my parents on the way. Good trip, good climbing partners, good times....and yes the weather, though a marginal forecast, was accurate this time!

A few 8x10 glossies of the men at the top

Spa Day

2008-08-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

It was my friend Shannon's Birthday so we went up with a group to Olympus Spa in Tacoma, an excellent, relaxing all-women Korean spa. Check out the website, I highly recommend the body scrub!

http://www.olympusspa.net/tacoma/index.aspx

Mt. Torment-Mt. Forbidden Traverse.......Attempt

2008-08-06T15:27:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I tried to go up to the North Cascades and do the Forbidden-Torment Traverse, an alpine climb that goes along the ridgeline between the two peaks. The permits to the Boston Basin Trailhead were full, so we decided to take the less popular Forbidden Peak Trail. Note to Self: There is a reason this trail is not popular....possibly because it's not really a trail!! This inefficient choice involved 4000 feet of climbing straight up the side of a mountain, following pieces of flagging and the occasional boot track, over logs, under logs, in alder, and through alder. Oh and also, the forecast said clear and sunny...but guess what, it was overcast and raining....hmmmm.

Example A: For those of you wondering why my legs always look so banged and scratched up. If you can "Where's Waldo" well, there is a small piece of orange flagging in the upper right of the picture. This is probably the closest this trail came to resembling a trail.

Example B: But also it was like this. Yay for wet alder!

Example C: Now you see him, now you don't. That faint yellow in the upper center is Dan's backpack

But we are outside so we are happy, even though we are hiking over wet, mossy granite!

But we could tell the weather was getting worse. This is at about 3ish in the afternoon.

And we think that Mt. Torment is over there!

We got up to a ridge close to 5ish and knew where we were....but didn't really know where that was in relation to where we wanted to be. We ended up finding a flat spot and pitching the tent...and getting about 12 hours of sleep because we turned in so early!!

We woke up above the clouds.

It was beautiful. Can you see our tent in the lower right?

It was too late to do the climb from where we ended up, so we hiked up to the top of the ridge and then rappelled off in order to go down the Boston Basin trailhead. We didn't think we could stomach going back down the crap we had come up.

It was a long traverse back, but rewarding because the Boston Trail is an actual trail. We have definitely completed our fair share of recon. for when we come back. Now we know exactly where we need to go and NOT go!

"The hills are alive" on our "Torment Trailhead to Boston Trailhead traverse"

The highlight of the trip for me was getting to see Kelly and Jason Hower's little boy Patrick, who is now 2.5 months old! He is beautiful, and happy, and I am absolutely in love. He is a such a good baby. We spent some quality time with Kelly and Jason and went for walks and enjoyed the weather. I totally spaced taking any pictures so here are some pics from their blog so you can see how cute he is!

Sicky McSickers

2008-07-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

A diagnosis! So I had an appt. with my MD on Tuesday the 15th and said I'm tired, I always have a headache, I'm coughing up green stuff, congested, rashy at times, and we know I'm profoundly anemic.....what's going on?? With all of my different symptoms and the way my chest sounded she said I community acquired pneumonia. She gave me some antibiotics and told me not to go to work for a while. I was negative for mono and lupus , so at least it's a very treatable thing. It's a blessing in disguise to know what's going on, so now I don't have to think I'm crazy for feeling so bad all the time. Every night at work I would feel crummy, but not quite enough to justify going home. I'm very excited to start feeling back to normal again! I can finally let myself slowdown and take care of this thing with no more night shifts and climbing trips for a while.

OK....so I've gotta admit I have been going a little stir-crazy at home without being able to climb or do anything active. I'm not used to it at all! Granted, I do love sleeping and I do love my down comforter, Which I took full advantage of by sleeping through the first 4 days and nights, but now that the antibiotics are kicking in (I'm on my second round), it's a struggle to make myself relax. I'm sooo used to getting out of town every week and definitely not used to being sick and laid up in bed. Makes you feel very blessed to be healthy the majority of the time!

Lost Lake R&R

2008-07-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

So after getting back from the Sawtooths, I knew I didn't feel well, but I also knew I didn't want to spend the day cooped up at home doing laundry and watching TV. We decided to take an exploratory day trip up to Lost Lake outside of Hood River with the ground rule that only relaxation was to be had.
After a little sleep.......

A little sun...........

And a little summer picnic...........

....I think we all felt a lot better!

Oh Idaho!

2008-07-20T21:11:00.000-07:00

Daniel and I paired up with John and Brock (Cultivator of the rare but badass handlebar mustache/mullet combination!) to climb in the Sawtooths, a land of glorious granite. The approach to the Elephant's Perch, our first destination, was not difficult.

Taking the boat leaves only about 2 miles of easy hiking on wilderness trails.
John and Daniel setting up the tents.

The Elephants perch. Our route, The Mountaineer's Route, goes up and to the left of the light colored diamond formation to the top.

Climbing

At the top!

Climbing boys will be climbing boys. A really fun day!

The next day was much different since the first. I had been feeling sick for the past month, just bad enough to feel bad, but not bad enough to totally take myself out of the game. I wasn't so sure I wanted to go, but succumbed to peer pressure and here I was. The first day I really developed my deep, lung-expelling cough but the next day was even worse. We had decided to do a classic peak called Warbonnet. While we knew the aproach was long, I think it might be agreed that it was epic. tent to tent the hike and climb took us a total of 15 hours. During this time I felt sooooo bad, coughing up green chunks, etc...The body wasn't agreeable to being close to 10,000 feet in it's state. Thanks for all the support and patience guys! Here's a brief synopsis.

After hiking up to the first lake from our camp, the first big pass we had to hike up to is through that snow field on the left

Then over and down to very last lake you can see (hint: you have to squint your eyes to see it, it's at the end of the bowl), traveling on the left.

Oh wait, we're not even really that close yet. Once at the lakes, our next destination is the peak on the farthest left of the pic (by the tall trees).

There she blows....but check out the hike to get up to the climb...

Primarily on this....

If I was 100% I would definitely say the climb was worth it though. Check out those views!

And the rappell

But then you have to go back....bummer!

We'll be back when I'm in a full state of health, the sawtooths are worth it, even when you don't feel well! Thanks for a good trip guys!

Lopez Relaxation

2008-07-14T01:20:00.000-07:00

After some marathon days of work to pay the bills, John and Denise (Mama and Papa Harro), Daniel, and I headed up to Lopez Island for some R&R. I'm having a hard time describing how relaxing Lopez is. The majority of our days were spent reading/napping in the sun interspersed with some hiking/bakery/beachtime. There is nothing you have to do...unless you want to... the scenery is to die for....the weather was amazing....and you can only hear the sounds of birds chirping , no road noise, no city noise, just peace and quiet. Not to mention the food. When Rich and Nina Gartland and John and Denise are together there is no lack of good food to eat. Scones, cookies, homemade bread and jam, steak, pasta, etc....homemade and so so good. Reuben got to go too and hang out with Colin's service dog Benny. Definitely some teenage boy dog fun was had by the two of them. So much fun that they actually went on a little unsupervised adventure. Luckily, praise the lord, they were found about a mile away frolicking in the water!

A Full Semi-Circle Rainbow appeared the first night we were there

They cut and baled the hay field the next day we were there

A Little Hiking

A Little Puppy Love

Of Course Daniel was most excited about the fire boat ;-)

The Harros come to Portland

2008-07-10T00:08:00.000-07:00

It has been way too long since we have seen Daniel's parents so we balled up all of the missed visits into one when they came down from Soldotna, AK to Oregon for 3 weeks. Between time hanging out in Portland, Going to our friends' wedding, and vacationing in Lopez we got a chance to reconnect, spend some quality time with one another.... and have dinner waiting on the table before going to work :-D...Thanks Momma Harro!

Like Father Like Son

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Jake Gartland

2008-06-30T01:01:00.000-07:00

Off to Hood River for a beautiful wedding! Our friends Jake and Ashley got married on Sunday June 29th. The wedding was gorgeous, couldn't have been better, and you could tell Jake and Ashley are so much in love. Here's to many, many years full of love and laughter!

The Beautiful Couple

Beautiful Scenery

Daniel, the Best Man

Let the party begin....!

!!!!! Congratulations Daniel !!!!!!

2008-06-28T12:19:00.000-07:00

It's official :-D Daniel had his Firefighter badging ceremony on Friday the 27th and like I described in the 6/16 post he is done with his year-long probation. Here are some pictures from the ceremony where he was sworn in to protect life and property. I am very, very proud of him!

More pictures from Mom's Birthday Trip to Lopez Island

2008-06-28T04:53:00.000-07:00

My Beautiful Mom

Brrr cold hiking on the island!

Who Loves a Frisbee?

2008-06-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

Reuben does! He just got a Ruffwear frisbee and is finally learning that there's a world out there above his head.

There are kids that play with him in the park ....it's sooo cute..."Reuben's here!, Reuben's here!". I don't think that a lot of them had ever touched a dog or played with one before. One time when Reu was super hot and tired and his tongue was hanging out one of the little one's asked "What's wrong with his tongue?". Daniel dared him to touch it and he ran over and poked it with one finger and then ran away as fast as he could :-)

South Early Winters Spire

2008-06-18T04:33:00.000-07:00

On Monday the 16th Daniel and I left to drive up to Washington Pass to do some alpine climbing in the North Cascades. We dropped Reuben off with Mom and Dad as usual and camped overnight. Tuesday we started the climb with about an hour approach. We did the Direct East Buttress, Grade III+, 5.9 – A0 or 5.11, 9 pitches. It is granite trad with a couple of pitches of bolt ladders for aid. We really enjoyed the climb, it was varied and quality. Weather was great and clear, It started out really sunny with us in tanktops but then got quite chilly. We had felt silly initially but were really glad we brought our down puffys! Nothing like cascade climbing, going from tanktops and sunglasses to down jackets, hats, and glvoes.

Our climb goes up the right side of the tallest lefthand rock formation

Two problems with the trip. The first, Daniel didn't seal out platypus water bladder in the back of the subaru and it leaked allll over my duffel with my clothes in it. I had to go to sleep with my wet clothes on and dry clothes over the top in order for them to dry them out for the next day. Nothing like wetness next to your skin to make you feel warm and cozy. The second, I got even in stupidity. Close to the base we re-organized out geat into one small pack to carry enroute. We were juggling things around and I somehow forgot to get all of our food from point A to point B into the small pack. We discovered this maybe four pitches left and spent the rest of the time accidently snapping at each other and then laughing it off because we knew we were hungry. I even got shaky on one pitch and thought it was nerves until I continued to do it at the belay. lol, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger right?

Yay for the top!

We descended down the South Arete only to meet a very posessive mountain goat. I rappelled down to the base first and the mountain goat stalked me like a cougar. I had to boulder up a little on the rock because I wasn't sure what he would do! "Daniel hurry up!" . Maybe he just wanted to give me a little lick ;-) Definitely past the point of blood sugar alltime low, we hightailed back to our packs for some calories! Enjoy the pics...

Hanging with the Davii

2008-06-16T09:11:00.000-07:00

Daniel passed his probationary test!!! After a year-long saga of being a probationary firefighter with academy, monthly tests, training on the weekends, and hours and hours in the books, it all ended with his final written and practical test. This means most importantly no more studying, but also that he "belongs" to Scappoose and can't be fired, gets a raise, and gets firefighter on his badge. I'm so proud of him and very excited to have him back :-D

My Sexy Firefighter
Directly following we had five days off together. We had entertained the thought of going to Squamish or doing some other long climbing trip but instead decided to stay home. We were soooo tired and had so many things that had been neglected around the house and Portland. Soooo we stayed in town, we could tell that we neeeded it when we slept in until 3pm the next day.

My Men
On Saturday we went to a park in Vancouver with Nathan and Pam and AJ. Nate wanted to try out his wetsuit before the Blue Lake Triathlon he was going to do. They were babysitting their friends' yellow lab DJ so it was quite the circus with three dogs. Anastasia was super-cute wearing her little summer outfit that her Aunt Sasha had sent over from Boise!

Sporting the Aviators

Nate, Daniel, and Rogue lounging

Three's a Crowd

What do you think?

2008-06-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

I saw this in a coffeeshop and had to share. Hopefully Daniel will just stick to the pants! Well actually, maybe I take that back, his butt is waaayyyy cuter than that...hands down ;-)

Mom's 50th Birthday!!

2008-06-13T01:51:00.000-07:00

My Mom's 50th Birthday is on June 15th. I decided to take her to Lopez Island in the San Juans for a little Mother-Daughter weekend. Our friends the Gartlands were gracious and let us stay in their always wonderful house. I had a lot of fun and relaxation reconnecting with my Mom, just her and I. I hope she had a good time too!

Friday the 6th I got off work in the morning after a three day stretch of 12hr night shifts I hit the road to pick up my Mom in Olympia. I had to phone a lot of my more verbose friends in order to stay awake and left a few voicemails consisting of "please call back..I need to stay awake!" I dropped off Reuben with my Dad and we loaded up their outback with the kayaks and bikes and off to Anacortes we went. We caught the ferry after an hour wait and headed to the Bay Cafe for dinner. It is slightly pricey, but well worth it, the food, especially the seafood is sooo good. We shared a couple of plates of halibut and crab cakes and topped it off with some bourbon caramel cheesecake complete with a candle and an embarassing happy birthday song! That evening my Mother insisted on sleeping in the little daybed instead of sharing a bed with me because I apparently kick too much :-) She'll probably kill me for posting this pic but I had to immortalize it

The next morning we were off on our bikes to Holly B's bakery, so so so good. cinnamon rolls, almond danishes for breakfast and quite a few other options for throughout the day were to be had. We headed over to the Farmer's Market to peruse, then biked to Odlin park, then over to Spencer Spit Park, and back to the house. With the biking and hiking it was about a 6 hour day. Though cold in the morning the sun peeked out and it was very pleasant. When we got back Nina and Rich, Kacie, and Colin had arrived at the house. What a treat to have homemade dinner waiting for us when we got back! The Gartlands spoil us all the time but I am not complaining :-) Then back out that night to watch the sunset at Iceberg point, cold but pretty.

Sunday we woke up to action again. Of course we had to hit Holly B's and coffee in the morning. It was slightly less windy so we decided to brave the water in our kayaks. My Mom is an avid kayaker, they travel and around and take these amazing multi-day vacations kayaking with orcas etc..! but I for some reason have a huge fear of water, put me a 1000feet off the deck on a rock wall but get me in the water and I feel sooo anxious. Bless her heart, she wanted me to have a good time, so we put in at Hunter Bay and just went out and back along the coastline for a couple of hours. I actually enjoyed it this time and got into a rythm with paddling and feeling comfortable, thank you to Mom for doing something simple, I hope you weren't too bored! We then drove over to my favorite secluded beach in Watmough Bay and laid out blankets and read and napped.

Dinnertime we biked down to Buckey's for burgers and braved the hill back home with full stomachs. Finally we headed out to Shark Point for another beautiful sunset.

Monday, we packed and cleaned and took a morning ferry in order to visit my Grandpa (my Mom's Dad) in the hospital at the VA in Seattle. It was good to see him, it's been a long time. Then back home...Good times!

I hope to post more pics when I get them from my Mom!!

Team Harro and Baby AJ

2008-06-03T13:18:00.000-07:00

So my niece Anastasia Jae is very picky currently about who she likes to hang out. I think we finally developed a mutual understanding of each other a while back when I helped out Pam with getting Ana's three month professional pictures...sooo cute! Three meltdowns and subsequent rallies later the project was done! Theses are just a few I took and then I'll attach more when I can get them from Pamela.

On Monday Pam had a dental hygienist working interview to reenter the "workforce" once again. I headed over at 7:30 in the morning to take the little tyke...and then Daniel joined me around 10:00 when he got off work. We had a good day with the little baby, running errands and showing her off...the peanut attracts a lot of compliments :-) Oh my goodness though, I can't imagine having twins or triplets...or babysitting 8 kids like my Mom does...How tiring just for a day...and how difficult operating with one hand at best! AJ is very opinionated and when she finally decides she wants something she actually wanted it 5 minutes ago...and you best be turning back time to get it or she will let you know! My beautiful niece is taking after Reuben...if you're cute...you can get away with just about anything :-)

Yay for Squamish Granite

2008-05-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

So in addition to meeting my little honorary nephew Patrick, Daniel and I spent our mini vacation up in Squamish BC for some rock climbing. Once again questionable weather...we were actually going to go to the City of Rocks in Idaho but the weather was even worse there...so we took our chances with up North. I love Squamish, it feels like trad climbing paradise. Despite the wait, it was an uneventful border crossing. They are still doing a lot of work on the Sea to Sky Highway from Vancouver to Whistler, but what a beautiful drive. If I could have the money for a vacation home.... and become Canadian (*I think that's the clincher right there) I know that is where I would buy. Spend my winters in Canmore and the CA Rockies and then summer over in Squamish for some rock climbing...tough life...

The first day of climbing on the 25th we got to know the Smoke Bluffs area right in town. I was really impressed with this "crag" with tons of classic climbs of varying ability. We climbed Penny Lane 5.9 first. Daniel let it and then I led it. I was initially going to just follow it but another girl was talking about leading it when we were done...so I guess pride comes before fear in my book ;-) Great climb with a bit of a funky section at the bottom until you realize just how sticky Squamish granite really is. Then off to Quarryman 5.8 which I lead and then down to Neat and Cool. At Neat and Cool I lead Cornflackes a really easy but entertaning 5.7, and then lead Corner Crack 5.8 (fun!) . I finally convinced Daniel into leading Flying Circus 5.10a which we both were really glad he did, it was a great climb. then we toproped this unprotectable large flake called Lieback Flake5.9. We went ahead and called it a day after that, went and got coffee, and laid out in the grass and read and napped...ahh vacation...

Baby got a new pair of shoes

Dan on Penny Lane 5.9

Elisif on Quarryman 5.8

Elisif on Corner Crack 5.8

Elisif on Lieback Flake

The next day we did Diedre, one of my favorite multi-pitch climbs. It is 6 pitches with a couple of pitches of classic 5.8. We got done with Diedre in under 2 hours and decided to climb another climb on the Apron. We did Calculus Crack 5.8, a climb with 6 pitches , with the plan on climbing Karen's Math 10a up to Memorial Crack 5.9 at the top. the first two pitches are bullcrap of climbing a vertical jungle of sketchy trees who knows how many people have pulled on, the 5.8 and 5.7 pitches were really fun but that was when it started raining :-( Daniel had gotten the first pitch and ended up linking the two and I boogied as fast as I could because I wasn't sure how many pitches we had left on the climb and didn't want to be leading on wet, slippery granite. Luckily we were virtually done with the climb by the time things really got wet but I wish I had enjoyed those pitches a bit more, plus we didn't get to do Memorial but oh well, with two multipitches under our belt we headed down once again, this time for burgers and beer and not a lot to complain about!

Elisif on Pitch 3 of Diedre

Daniel on Pitch 4 of Diedre

The ominous sky

The third and last day we slept in hoping for things to dry out. We wishfully checked out Exasperator 5.10c which of course was wet and seepy...so we headed to the Smoke Bluffs again because they dry out so quickly. We went back to Neat and Cool and hung out near Cat Crack 5.7 doing that and then a 5.9, Jigsaw Flow (felt like an 8) to the left. We headed over to and I lead Pixie corner 5.8 , a little wet but really fun. We then decided to head over to Octopus' Garden...but guess what... It started raining. No biggie though, we got great climbing in and a ton of classics under our belt with a good tic list set up for next time. We grabbed coffee and headed South, stopped at my parents' in Olympia to hang out for a short while, then to Tigard to pick up Reuben, and home to get ready for work the next day! What a great, relaxing vacation, it was so nice and laidback that I was a little grumpy to be back in PDX ;-) Until the next adventure....

Patrick McCambridge Hower Enters the World!

2008-05-29T17:10:00.000-07:00

Our good friends Kelly and Jason had their baby boy! After a very long and harrowing labor Patrick entered the world at 4:44PM on May 19th. 7lbs and 15oz. Congratulations Howers!!! We got to visit sweet little Patrick in Seattle on our way up to Squamish on May 24th, just 5 days old and adorable. I felt so lucky to get to meet him in person so soon and am soooo excited to watch him grow. I wish wish wish we lived closer to Kelly and Jason, but at least our blogs' keep us together :-) Here are some pictures of our meeting with the little man and then some others of his first week. Enjoy!

Below: Patrick and his Daddy Jason, Patrick and Mom Kelly, Patrick and his proud Uncle Mark , Paddy Mac himself!

Stuart Shutdown

2008-05-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

It wouldn't be alpine season without a requisite Mt. Stuart shutdown. Armed with a few days off on Mother's day weekend we headed to Leavenworth and the trailhead. The road was great until about a mile before and then we (and at least ten other cars) got stopped by mushy snow blocking the road for about 100ft. Daniel thought the 4runner and it's prowess in 4Low could handle the blockade...but the soft snow said hell no. However, though we were stuck I almost feel that subconsciously Daniel did it on purpose....you should have seen the smile he had on his face when he was using his new winch and all of it's accoutrements. It was like a kid in a candy store. The winch did prove it's prowess and once we were unstuck we parked and loaded packs.

The trail to Mt. Stuart is not one I particularly enjoy. It is about 8 miles in (plus the extra mile from the road being blocked by snow making it 9), some of which is on a trail, this time covered in mushy snow, and some of it on a cross-country post-holing adventure. Typically what happens is you're walking along and all of a sudden you leg disappears up to your crotch. Never pleasant falling in...and definitely not pleasant trying to find the correct angle of your foot (typically not the way nature intended your foot to bend) to struggle your way out...all with a pack on no less. This is the time to be the follower and not the leader as your luck is much improved...unless you are hiking with our friend John after he has eaten freeze-dried food, and then you will be thanking your lucky stars if you get to lead in order to avoid the subsequent stench :-D

before the majority of the postholing

So off we went. The weather was supposed to be questionable, but it's just one of those things you just have to try, especially this year where a perfectly stellar alpine climbing forecast is once in a blue moon, and most likely not corresponding with any of your days off. The longer we hiked the more we realized that yes it was raining, and yes we were getting wet. it wasn't until we were about 7 miles in that we finally let ourselves realize how wet we actually were and that a decision needed to be made. It was about 5pm and I wasn't sure if I could mentally handle hiking the 18 mile round trip back to the car...plus we had all of our overnight gear and we were almost there so why not.

Wet....and postholing

Hmm...Mt. Stuart in the Morning

Once we got to the base of Mt. Stuart, it was definitely raining and definitely windy. We found a spot as much under the trees as we could and holed up in our Firstlight tent for the night. After some fairly miserable sleep (I think it was worse for Daniel, he was wedged between me and a tree) we woke up around 5am and said this sucks. Got out of the tent and took a good look at Stuart with the clouds positively whipping over the top, freezing our arses off at the base, and conceded that the mountain had won this time and started the hike out. After a quick stop at Heidleburger we headed back to Olympia to pick up Reuben. We spent some quality time with my parents, wished my Mom a happy mother's day, and headed back home to reality once again.

Getting sunny on the way out...but check out Mt. Stuart (*hint it's the one you can't see)

Team Harro's always happy to be outside though....check out Dan's bloody nose, I didn't see that until I downloaded this pic.....ewww grrrroooosss...

Oh well, there's always next time... :-)

Circus Besurkus

2008-05-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

Great Weather, the weekend off, and a husband in class....time to go climbing with John and Shannon! Once again we piled in Shannon's VW, but this time with three people, three kittens, two bassetts, and one australian shepherd. I think we qualified for the carpool lane this time! We headed to Horsethief Falls and had a good time bouldering and climbing around the crags. I'm not sure about the kittens (they chased the shade in their designer kitten bag) but I know the dogs had fun, especially Reuben who decided to make a break for it with another climber's dinner roll :-P Shoot , maybe he felt like he deserved it...he just got his first ear infection a few days ago :-( I'm pretty sure he's fine, he's still being Mister Monster all the same!

[Shannon volunteers for a no-kill animal shelter and fosters baby kittens who need bottle feedings about every three hours, quite the job!]

"What do you think Gordy, should we eat them?"

"You kids are all crazy, I think I'll just die here"

Yet Another Smith Rock Day

2008-04-28T20:33:00.000-07:00

What does Team Harro do on a random Monday off together? They go to Smith Rock! Reuben, Daniel and I packed up our bags and headed to Smith Sunday night. Reuben would like to say that he likes the river...but he doesn't like to swim. He likes camping...but he doesn't like the tent. And he likes eating grass...but he doesn't like puking it up. What can you say, he's pretty particular. All in all we had a great time soaking up the sun and getting some new tan lines in 70degree weather (much different than pdx was enjoying). We did some favorites and some climbs we haven't done in a while and had a full day of climbing. Hopefully as the weather gets warmer we can teach Reuben the fine art of using his incredibly large front paws as paddles.

My sexy husband and my baby puppy

We headed back to the Portland rain got home just in time to shower and head over to our friends', Leslie and Sam Wasmann, house for dinner. They are both excellent cooks and we enjoyed a South American themed dinner and dessert. Leslie is my friend and was my day shift preceptor when I was in my residency program for three months. She taught me sooo much and helped me be able to come back every day and fumble through my first months as a newly graduated RN :-) She just recently won the AACN National Mentor of the Year award (nominated by yours truly, one of many who are amazed at her talents!) and will soon be traveling to the American Association of Critical Care Nurses national conference to accept her award in front of hundreds! Yay Leslie, I'm so proud of you (and forever impressed)!!!

Colin Haley Slideshow

2008-04-25T05:16:00.000-07:00

April 25th, we all piled in Shannon's car and headed down to Eugene for Colin Haley's slideshow. John and Shannon in the front, McKenzie, Daniel, and I in the back, and Colin made a little nest in the trunk of the station wagon and caught some zzz's. Great trip with a lot of laughs. Making fun of John, especially in regards to a certain stalker were the highlights :-). For those who don't know, Colin Haley is an amazing alpine climber and quite humble at that! Check out his website as well as details of his presentation and climb of the Torre_Traverse Impressive!

Only 4 Weeks!!

2008-04-14T18:01:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday was my best friend Kelly's shower at my house. She is due in 4 weeks and is most definitely showing it, she is sooo cute! It seemed like everyone had a good time, and I know we had a good weekend with the Howers and the Aztets, especialy on Saturday with the sunny highs of 78!

Michelle and Sara, my partners in crime in the shower planning and prep

Reuben and Tess, the other partners in crime (just a different objective)

Game prizes, REI and the jungle theme were represented ;-)

The diaper guessing game

Jefferson Sand! He is a very happy baby :-)

The obligatory games (baby Claire is on the floor)

The expecting Kelly in the middle

My camera didn't capture the group picture, but I'll post it if I remember!

Ice Climbing Binge

2008-04-06T22:23:00.000-07:00

We were at it again! We had another wonderful ice climbing binge in Montana and Wyoming. Although it was work work work work, drive drive drive, climb sleep climb sleep climb sleep climb sleep, drive drive drive, work work work work; it was still an amazing trip and we had so much fun and climbed many classic climbs, and one rarely formed climb, that have been on my tick list. See the link to Cascade Climbers for our full Trip Report: http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/788578/Main/788578/#Post788578

Last week Daniel and I took off on Thursday the 27th and drove 12 hours all day to Bozeman, Montana. We met up with Daniel's twin brother Mark. We. spent Friday climbing in Hyalite Canyon outside of Bozeman. It was cold and snowy, both things unexpected for this time of year. -15 degrees F definitely let us know that it was still winter in the canyon!

Cold!

I can't feel my hands!

We had a great day day climbing in the canyon that day besides the cold. Comes with the territory, I guess :-) The next day Daniel and I left Bozeman and headed to a climb called California Ice. Unfortunately we were thwarted by the weather, and it was puking snow. The climb tops out close to 10,000 feet, so though it is definitely on my tick list we decided to save it for another day!

Instead we headed to Cody, Wyoming and the multitude of climbs in the South Fork. The South Fork is generally snow free, but during this time it had received more snow than the locals have ever seen. We climbed some multi-pitch classics, the first day High on Boulder, and the next day Mean Green. The last day we climbed a rarely formed 2pitch climb called Moratorium.

Yay Ice!!!

First pitches of High on Boulder

First pitch of Mean Green and crux (really really hard) pitch

Overview of Mean Green and Daniel on the crux pitch

The extra snow made for some pretty energy-taxing approaches

resulting in this occasionally :-) Attractive huh?

Moratorium was our last day and super snowy with a ton of spindrift and even one mini avalanche, which made my hardest lead ever seem even harder, but very fulfilling!

Bye Cody, we'll miss you!!!

Then back home, we drove 16 hours all night to get home and pick up Reuben (thanks Nate and Pam!!!). Then back to work :-)

We always seem to ease ourselves back in kind of rouch after these benders, but despite being behind on everything still end up getting outside as soon as we can, withdrawals I guess! We went skiing yesterday and it was amazing. A foot of new snow in the last 12hours at Meadows made Heather Canyon oh so much fun, and a lot less scary on tele skis! Then that evening Reuben visited his mom Cider over in West Linn, I'll post pics if I get them!

Baby's First Bath

2008-03-21T03:33:00.001-07:00

Cool Cat

2008-03-18T01:14:00.000-07:00

More Baby Pics

2008-03-18T01:01:00.000-07:00

Anastasia Jae

As promised, more pics from baby's "birth"day

More to come of her first bath etc...after Pam emails me the pics

But I Can't Blog

2008-03-18T00:46:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics I found while waiting for our AC adapter to get here so I can use the laptop (Reuben chewed it up the other night...see the bad dog post). Maybe I can get back at him by posting embarassing pictures of him on the internet....or maybe not...

Santa's Little Helper last Christmas

Reuben on the way home from the mountain when he was a sleepy baby

Relaxed puppy

Smith Rock

2008-03-17T23:49:00.000-07:00

So following our return from our second trip to Canada, it was 4 nights on, and then Sunday off to Smith. We picked up Rogue, my brother and sister-in-law's Aussie....aka Reuben's cousin and started our drive. I passed out in typical style to open my eyes to central Oregon. It was an awesome trip full of chill easy cragging and great weather (I was definitely in a tanktop for the majority of both days we were there). It felt so foreign to do out first rock climb of the year. Compared to ice climbing, clinging to nubbins feels a whole lot different than swinging with an ice tool. I'll spare you with a ton of pics of "from the ground up butt shots" but here's some of the dogs. They had a great time. Reuben would watch as Daniel and I would climb and cock his head. Also, Reu in his usualy destroyer style took on a dead tree one stob at a time, and Rogue had a good time swimming in the Crooked River. Either Reuben knew that the Crooked River was nasty or it was his fear that prevented him from getting in over his armpits unless he was forced...let's give him the benefit of the doubt and wait until it's warmer!

Reuben's Dead Tree

Reuben's Cave

Gotta have a pillow...even if it is a rock...
Oops, another butt shot slipped in...Daniel on Lion's Jaw, one of my favorite trad rts. at Smith

Forced Reentry

2008-03-17T22:44:00.000-07:00

There’s nothing like 12 hours in the car and then night shift to really make one want to go back to Canmore. But who am I kidding, I wanted to go back to Canmore the second I left. If only it was easier to find work in Canada and I would be there in a heartbeat

The latest adventure started on Thursday the 29th which is when, with the help of my wonderful friend Hannah, I got Daniel’s present installed on the 4runner. He has wanted an ARB bull bar for who knows how long…and I have protested for quite some time. This is the first year that we have even been able to think of it financially, so I decided to give him the ultimate surprise for his birthday. I had actually ordered it in January and continued to vehemently oppose the idea of even thinking of the possibility of owning such a thing. Despite much begging, pleading, and arguments over the money I was spending and the money he wasn’t allowed to spend, he continued to have no idea. So long story short, the day before we left, the wonderful people at Land Cruiser Northwest installed front shocks and the bull bar, spending nearly all day on it. Meanwhile, I was scrambling trying to get some sleep, pack, and drop Reuben off at my friend Michelle’s house (more to come on that). Thankfully, the rig was done by 6pm and back to work I went. Friday, Daniel arrived home to a fully-loaded 4runner complete with the fabled ARB Bull Bar, and Team Harro along with our friend Marcus Donaldson got on the road en route to the Canadian Rockies. We made it across the border without a hitch and all celebrated Marcus’ first trip to Canada in over ten years(quite the accomplishment!!). We arrived at the Canadian Rocky Chalets around 10ish and met up with Daniel’s twin brother Mark, who had drove up from Bozeman, MT to meet up with us. Saturday we went to attempt Professor Falls, a climb on Mt. Rundle right outside of Banff .... but an intentional late start and an unintentional under-estimate of the approach length from not combining two sections of the book's description left us with the need to find other options. We all settled on heading over to Field and climbing on Guiness Gully WI4 on Mt. Dennis... Unfortunately we encountered more tests of our determination to climb ice that day as the approach was by far different than that of JoJo's book (unfortunately something that occurs quite often). There is nothing like wandering around aimlessly in the trees and knee deep snow searching for something you can't find and/or see. One redeeming quality of our search was that it seemed others had experienced similar frustration as there were sets of tracks traversing all over the hill. Ultimately visualization from both near and far finally led us to the climb and we realized we only had enough daylight to get up the first pitch with our group of 4, which unfortunately lacked any aesthetic value. However, it ended up being a really fun pitch, and it left us mildly sated, but hungering for more the next day.

The next day we got an early start and did the approach to Professor Falls, which is quite easy mostly on a golf course road and then on a fairly flat trail by the river. A really short climb brought us to the falls. I'm always amazed at turning the corner on Alberta's climbs, they are so fat and beautiful to look at. Professor Falls WI 4 280 M

Marcus and Daniel climbed together and Mark and I climbed. Great climb, I love love loved it. Mark did a steller job leading the business and I climbed leashless the entire 4-5 pitches. It was an awesome full day, including Italians climbing so close beside us that I could have given one guy a kiss on the cheek midway up the last pitch, unfortunately the Italian accent doesn't do it for me as much as other countries.

Marcus on P1

Mark on P2
Elisif on P3?
The last day (Monday) led us to Haffner Creek, which is known for some pretty amazing mixed climbing (read where mixed climbing was born). The easier (in comparison) climbs we were going to weren't "in" as far the connecting ice necessary to make them easy, so we went back to the main area. Marcus started leading this pitch (the name of it I'm spacing) and ended up peeling off of it (after he had styled through the crux I might add!). I must say it's impressive to see such a tall guy fall 8-10 feet, quite the sight. But all was well and we set up a toprope and spent the day getting ridiculously pumped. We had decided to spend the day here because on the weekday we assumed it would be less crowded (it's a fairly concentrated area and is notoriously popular), however early afternoon a group of 25 students showed up with rental gear. I think we had all began to mentally check out and when we overheard one of the leaders say "ok, we've put up 4 topropes, I think we only need a few more" it was time to go.

Marcus styling up a climb in Haffner

Daniel doing the same
Looks can be deceiving, there was not as much styling on my end

Back to Canmore for the hottub once again and dinner at the Drake before Mark left for Montana and work at 5 in the morning. One last night in our suite and we were on our way home. We picked up Reuben from Michelle's house. He had a blast with their chocolate lab Abigale and their Basset Hound Sophie. Him and Sophie were fast friends and apparently spent the week either playing WWF or laying next to each other cuddling. It is a virtual puppy playland over at their house with neighbor dogs, a dog door, a puppy down the street, and Mt. Tabor dog park blocks away. I think it may have been a forced reentry for Reuben as well as it definitely took him a few days moping around the house trying to comprehend why we took him away from what he was convinced was heaven. It's not like he didn't miss us....he just wanted us to move in with him ;-)

Bad Dog

2008-03-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

So lately Reuben has been a bad boy.... I think at 8 months he has decided that he loves plastic things, stretchy things, and any paper product (maybe he is just using his own form of recycling!). Some casualties include my custom orthotics, Daniel's polarized sunglasses, my patagonia bras, and the latest is our ac adapter for our computer which resulted in the quote of one of our following blog title entries.above is the product of me being in the post office for ten minutes (ten cd cases chewed into tiny shards and maps in various stages of disarray). I swear when I came back that Reuben was looking at me saying "when you were gone there were robbers, during the struggle they got away with this, but with sheer heroics and bravery Iwas able to stop them before they stole the car, I've stood watch since then in case they came back, honest."

And here's a picture of when his mom locked him in the bathroom while she took a shower because she didn't trust him and stepped out to find this:

*sigh*

Tired Are We?

2008-02-26T22:55:00.001-08:00

I warned him that he would be worn out after his two days of over-stimulation....but I guess he had to figure it out himself!

I'm an Aunt!

2008-02-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

Proud Uncle
She was finally born! My oldest brother Nathan and his wife Pamela had their first baby last Saturday, February 23rd at 4:35. She is 7lbs 7 oz and 18.75 inches long. She is beautiful and came out with this perfect little round head and head of dark brown hair. Her name is Anastasia Jae Davis. Quite the name for such a little girl. It was great because Pam was induced on Friday and it was my weekend on at work at St. V's so I got to pop up to the 3rd floor quite a bit and say hi and check in. I saw her right after she was born when she was so wide awake. It was awesome and a little weird to see my brother and sister (in law) become parents and my parents become Grandma and Grandpa. Here are the pics I have. The room was dark so the flash had to go off, but I'll be sure to post more pictures soon!

Proud Grandma and Grandpa

Then off to Seattle on Sunday to visit my prego friend Kelly and her husband Jason. Sleep is for the weak! It was great to see the Howers, it's been way too long. Kelly is 28 weeks pregnant with her first little boy, and is also the first of our group of friends to take the plunge into motherhood. She is showing quite a bit and is every bit a cute pregnant person! It was awesome, I got to feel the baby kick. She is due May 15th, and I will become an Aunt times 2, I guess we are packing it all in this year! We had good times eating (Kelly has to feed the baby, and I just like to eat), taking Reuben and Tess, Jason and Kelly's dog to the dog park, going to Kelly's book club, and not to forget the most important, hearing about Jason's theory on his new "time system" ;-) He is convinced that if he has two PhDs he will surely be able to convince people to switch over.

Reuben and Tess

Kelly and I (I will post a preggers pic the next time)

So back to work and then off to Canada with Marcus and Mark on Friday. Stay tuned for a trip report next week! Oh and Reuben makes for a good copilot :-)

The fearless leader ... and ... a few minutes later

Making the Best of the Shrimp Chimichanga

2008-02-18T22:42:00.000-08:00

So the goal for Sunday-Monday was to go up to Darrington, WA to do the second ascent of the NE Face of Three Fingers. The approach to the climb starts at the end of a road outside of the town and is about three miles to the start of the route. While potentially a little warm, the last few days were one of the first weather-windows we have had in a while. The route was put up by our friends John and Dave last winter and is pretty impressive. It involves pitches of amazing ice and a short mixed section at the top (their route is the last pic in the previous entry).

Anyway, we drove up North about 4 hours dropping off Reuben in Olympia, only to find the road was not only plowed but they had stopped with quite a large berm at the end of where it was maintained. We were already pushing it regarding time as we really needed to get a good look at the route before our alpine start in the morning, and hiking the road would have added ~5 miles onto our approach. After a few exercises in futility and then some pointless "discussion", we decided to bag it.
Exercises in futility

We drove back home, picking up Reuben and spending some quality time with my parents. One important note is don't order the shrimp chimichanga from "La Hacienda" in Arlington, WA. Well.....actually don't order anything from that restaurant at all. It left both of us with a bad taste in our mouths....mostly of shrimp that may have been left unrefrigerated for over a week.

And thus ended my 25th birthday................................

Monday, we woke up late, really late, 12:30 late, but decided to drive up to White River Canyon for some snowshoeing. Reuben loved it and is very, very tired now. Such a pretty bluebird day, I'm really glad we went up there. While it wasn't as hardcore as previously planned all three of us had a great time! We ended off the evening in Hood River at Horsefeathers, Hmmm beer and sweet potatoe fries. And Daniel will be angry if I don't add that he beat me at scrabble by 73 points. I mean shoot, he was even telling the waitress, who I'm sure was impressed :-p

Maybe We're Just Not Yard People

2008-02-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

Hi!

I decided maybe I would try to update this thing each week with what we've been up to. Mainly for selfish reasons I suppose, It's hard for me to remember what I did yesterday half the time, let alone what I did a year ago! I'm always impressed at people that can tell these really vivid stories from their childhood. I feel like every so often someone just shoots me up with versed and erases my memory :)

Anyhoo, I digress. Daniel and I began our week in a very self-gratifying way at the Patagonia sale. Let's just say that we may have a slight problem and/or are definitely outfitted for quite a while in the down jacket/vest department. The term "we have to get it, it's such a good deal" goes a long way in our family!

We decided to do the whole Valentine's Day thing on Tuesday night as we were both going to be working. While I don't totally buy into the whole Hallmark holiday, Dan and I have been working really hard to do a date night each week, and I guess, truly, valentine's day is the mother of all holidays for a date night. I have to give Daniel kudos, it was his turn to plan and he did an amazing job. We started off the evening at Portland City Grill for happy hour. For those of you who don't know the PCG is on the 30th floor of the US Bank tower (I think) in downtown PDX. The bar area has a killer happy hour menu and panoramic windows so that you can see all of Portland. Oh, and did I mention the live piano music too? It's really a great place, both for dates and for friends. The only caveat is that at times elbows need to be thrown in order to get prime seating....it is not uncommon to see shifty-eyed people trolling around trying to gauge how close you are to being done with your dinner so that they can snag your table. But we were there early enough that life was great and it was good times. Then we went to a restaurant called 23rd and Hoyt, which oddly enough is on 23rd and Hoyt. All I have to say is that their Spanish coffee was to die for. They use Stumptown coffee (which is the best coffee I have ever had, hands down, roasted fresh every week in PDX) and it was soooo good. The food was good too, but the drink was the highlight for sure. Finally, we went to Fenouile for desert. I had never been but it's this really cool French restaurant right by Jameson Park. We had the Maison Glace (Ice cream for those of you who were smart and took Spanish rather than French in high school; beautiful language, but have I ever used it? No.). It was quite tasty, I'm excited to go back there and try dinner sometime.

Then work, because well....you gotta do that sometimes. Which brought us to Friday...which started out with "operation plant roses". They were sent bareroot and needed to be placed in soil by day 5 and I'll bet you'll never guess what day Friday was. So I hauled myself out of bed much earlier than my body wanted (I worked Thursday night) and started digging. Our soil has a lot of clay in it so digging holes for four plants turned out to be pretty much an all afternoon affair. Daniel was awesome and earns a "best husband ever" award for pretending to care about something that I'm 100% sure he didn't give a rats a$$ about. Perhaps it's his punishment for working all weekend this last fall when my family and I planted trees and landscaped.

I think after almost two years of marriage he's beginning to learn that if his wife says "I'm overwhelmed" it behooves him to take action prior to the meltdown actually occuring. Needless to say, the roses are in the ground and look good, or as good as they can look at this point in time. I'm excited to see the fruits of our labor this spring! I think the quote of the day was by Daniel about three hours in when he said "maybe we're just not yard people". I think it's quite true. Reuben however is a "yard dog" or atleast a very attentive helper and was very pleased that we too finally shared in his joy of digging and getting dirty.

Reuben, the proud owner of a pile of dirt, would like to think that he created this himself...but don't tell him that he mostly just got in the way :-) Can anyone say brown-noser?

Then off to the shower and to my 25th birthday dinner at the Siam Society (my actual birthday is on Sunday).! It was a great time with wonderful friends and great food and drinks. What a turnout too, ~23 people I believe. It's times like this that I am reminded how blessed I am to have such amazing friends and family! I'm mad that I forgot to take some pics! Thank you all so much for coming!!! It was great to see you all, I only wish I had more time to catch up with each one of you. Perhaps we should have followed through on Leslie's idea of a speed dating type seating arrangement where after five minutes everyone shifted one to the right :-) Like usual after these types of things, Daniel and I left talking about how we have such a crazy group of friends, laughing about funny and loving stories of each one of you, and thinking "man, we really need to spend more time with all of these people"! It's because of all of you that I think we're staying in Portland for quite a long time :-)

So that was our week in blogformat. Tomorrow it's off to Three Fingers in Washington for some hopefully successful alpine climbing. It's the first in a long while due to avalanche danger being so bad, I'm excited to get out and use the ol' crampons again! Stay tuned for a report on our trip.....

~Elisif

A New Leaf

2008-02-10T05:26:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure why t happened, but either through talking myself into the idea that I was too busy or that it would be too difficult, I stubbornly refused to learn how to update the blog Daniel created a year or so ago. But a few very rare but slow nights at work have made me rethink my stance. The result you might ask....well, here it is, the new and improved (I hope) Team Harro blog. And with it's renovation I would also like to insert the promise in writing (and it is one so many of us have made), that I will be diligent at keeping this updated. So if you read it, I will write it, and that is all that needs to be said about that.

I can't decide the form that this blog should take on. Of course it is an avenue for us to post our adventures, but what else? Should it be an update on thoughts and feelings, or a mere glimpse into what we do each week. Someone recently asked me what I do on my five day stretches off, and during that week , all I could say was crossfit......and then I remembered that I had done some laundry. It's crazy how life just kind of keeps racing away around you, whether you want to slow down or not. And especially with nightshift, whether you want to sleep or not.

But since I'm posting this at work, and can't post pictures since I have none I will give you the ramblings of my head, and my head alone, and see where it takes me.

I fear I'm having a 1/4 life crisis, and while you and I know that's ridiculous, I feel like there is so much more out there to do that I haven't done, so much to see that I haven't seen. And yet a huge part of me craves the stability of my full-time job with benefits and retirement,and the comfort and simplicity of my down comforter in my queen size bed. To find the happy medium, happy being the keyword, is my goal this year. And if you want, and I hope you do, come along for the ride.

`Elisif

City of Rocks Rock Trip May 2006

2006-06-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well for our post spring pre summer trip we went to the City of Rocks Idaho for some classic granite rock climbing. The fist day of climbing was amazing. We started climbing around 8:30am it was warm in the morning and then got colder and colder as the day went on. We met up with some friends from PDX John, Lani, and Eric and did some routes together. By the last climb Elisif and I were both pretty cold so we decided to call it a day at around 7:00pm we ended up getting 6-7 classic routes done. We drove to an area where we decided it would be ok to poach a camping site easily enough (John’s secret place) if we got up and out climbing somewhat early. We went to sleep with out an issue.
We all woke up around 7:00am to hear rain showers on out tents and by the time 8:00am came around the rain turned to snow so we decided to get a little more sleep and try and figure out what to do. We woke back up to a voice asking up to pay $10 dollars for out campsite, nothing way going right. We got up and go mobilized and only to see the snow start accumulation. We all jumped into our cars and headed through the City of Rocks over to Burly (45 min away) to get some breakfast at the local dinner. After some thinking Elisif and I decided to go to Boise for a few days to help out my grandma and eat some great food and head back to the City of Rocks when the weather got better.
Elisif and I were excited to come back to the City of Rocks, with warm weather and no snow we were able to get some amazing routes in. We were very lucky to get a total of five days of climbing in!! 5 day without a shower = a gross sweaty feeling…. Enjoy the photos!

Above- Elisif approches the crux as she leads Adolescent Homosapien on the Decedant Wall (5.7)

Above- Elisif leads Weat Thin on Elephant Rock (5.7)

Above- Daniel checks out the start of Bloody Fingers on Bloody Fingers Wall (5.10a)

Above- Daniel leads a "Pummpy" Bloody Fingers on Bloody Fingers Wall (5.10a)

Above- Danie leads her first 5.8 Rye Crisp on Elephant Rock (5.8)

Above- Daniel leads My Private Idaho on bath rock (5.9)

Above- Elisif reaches the roff of pitch #1 No Satisfaction (5.8)

Above- Daniel leads a fun corner (5.9)

Above- Elisif leads Skyline without a problem on The Incisor (5.8)

Above- Elisif stands on top of a route in the City.

Above- Elisif shakes off her nerves before leading her fist 5.8 route (Rye Crisp)

Above-Elisif and I on top of a climb, what a nice spring day to be in the City!!!

Mt. Hood April 2006

2006-05-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

May 4th-5th
Spring time only means one thing, alpine climbing!! After watching the weather constantly for a week we decided to climb Mt. Hood 11,249 feet via the Leuthold Couloir. Elisif got out of class on Thursday and met me at my place at 2:00pm and we got our gear together and headed to the mountain (90 min away) and started climbing at 6:00pm on a blue bird night. Starting elevation was 6,000 feet and we arrived at our campsite 9,500 feet just before 8:30pm an elevation gain of 1,500 feet per hour, good pace. We made our camp at Illumination saddle just before it got dark. Cooked some food and went to sleep.

Daniel takes off his pack at Illumination saddle 9,500'

Daniel get some gear out of his back on Illumination saddle 9,500'

Daniel takes a break right below Illumination Rock 9,500'

We woke up to a clear sky with some light wind. The temp was a little cooler, but not too bad. Melted some snow for water and made some oatmeal packed up our gear and we where climbing by 8:00am. We had to climb over Illumination saddle and down about 200 feet and across a small crevasse ridden snowfield to get to the base of our climb.

Elisif pokes her head out of the tent ready to do some climbing

Elisif gets ready, Mt. Jefferson in the background.

Once we made it across the snowfield I had to figure out what line we needed to take, this was a little difficult since I have never climbed this route before. We climbed a spiny ridge for about 1000 feet and a little bit of traversing got us to the Leuthold Couloir.

Elisif climbs the spiny ridge after a traverse from Illumination saddle.

Elisif traverses to Leuthold Couloir (Illumination saddle in the background).

Daniel approches Lethold Couloir 9,800 feet

From the base of the Leuthold Couloir we climbed another 1,300 feet on steep snow and ice. This was one of the coolest parts of the whole day other than getting back to the car. We protected this climb with flukes and pickets incase of any falls occurred, fortunately no falls did occur.

Daniel lead the fist pitch of Leutholds Couloir.

Elisif Follows on the first pitch of Leutholds Couloir

We gained altitude to the summit ridge where we were both hungry and tired, but we had to push to the summit. The summit ridge was a fun climb, but high wind made things really cold, I guess that is what alpine is all about.

Daniel nears the summit ridge 10,600 feet.

Elisif climbs on the summit ridge, tired and hungry, too the summit we go.

Elisif gains altitude on the summit ridge (Yocum Ridge in the background)

Once we gained the final amount of altitude and traversed along the summit ridge we finally made it to the summit Mt. Hood 11,249’ at 12:00 am, and yes it was cold I would estimate 5-10degrees with wind-chill. A short break and we descended through the pearly gates and down the Hogs back on our two hour decent (2,500 feet per hour) down to our car where we got to change and get some food and water. It was a great trip and we are looking forward to getting back into the mountains for many more adventures.

Daniel nears the summit on the final push. 11,100 feet.

Daniel & Elisif on the summit of Mt. Hood 11,249'

Rock Fest Spring 2006

2006-05-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

April 2006
So it's been a while since we've posted but following our epic Spring break adventures we've shifted attention to rock climbing. April has found us at a local crag called Broughton Bluffs as well as Smith Rock. We've been having fun getting back into climbing shape and Elisif has started to learn how to lead trad as well as cultivating her love for crack climbing, much to Daniel's delight ;-). The future looks good, we are heading to Leavenworth Washington in the middle of May and we are also going to the City of Rock in Idaho the last week of May. It's time to get in shape so we can do some long multi-pitch climbs next month. Here are some photos from our recent rock trips.

Elisif belays Daniel on "Classic Crack 5.9" out at Broughton Bluff

Elisif climbs "Classic Crack 5.9" out at Broughton Bluff

Jason and Alexandria's new puppy "Davie" sleeping on the quickdraws

Elisif follows "P1 of Spiderman 5.7 " at Smith Rocks

Daniel gets ready to climb "Where ever you may rome 5.10" at Smith Rocks

To Bozeman for Spring Break 2006

2006-04-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

Elisif and I went to Bozeman Montana to climb ice, tele ski, and rock climb. My twin brother (Mark) goes to school at MSU so we had the hookups for a place to stay and a good climbing partner. We climbed at Hyalite Canyon, Pine Creek (45 min away), and Cooke City (3hours away). All the ice was amazing, it was hard to get back to Hyalite canyon, but once we did we had all the ice to ourselves!!! The weather was great, freezing at night and 40-45 in the afternoon.

above left (Daniel climbes M7 at Pine Creek Falls)
above right (Elisif leads WI3 at Pine Creek Falls)
Rigth (Elisif climbes over a tree in Pine Creek)

Day #1 Pine Creek was some amazing climbs, good mixed section and some great 40-60 meter WI3-4 climbs. We got to the base of a climb called green gully the fist day and thanks to my brother who heard a “load roaring sound” yelled at our climbing party (6 of us) to get out of the way as a very large avalanche flew past us 10’ feet in font of us to the base of the climb. We all would have been buried if we were actually climbing, but since we just got to the climb all of us were just to the left of the climb and out of harms way. One guy did get all of his gear buried and it took some time to find it all again. After the avalanche stopped we went down and climbed at the falls where there is some ice climbing and some good mixed routes. We did go back a few days later when avalanche danger was lower and climbed both green gully and blue gully.
Right (Daniel climbing some rock "SketchFest!!")

Day #2 we woke up to four inches of fresh snow on the ground so we decided to go to Bridger Bowel and we tele skied in knee deep powder all day long!! First tracks on almost every run!! Nice and dry!! We got done skiing and went home and slept.
Day #3 & 4 Cooke City was our destination for some excellent ice climbing. It was cold at night 8-10 degrees and 40ish in the afternoon, all good climbs and 30-35 min approach and great ice. We spent two days their and climbed as much as we could. Soaking in the hot springs on the way back was key!! It’s called the boiling river just inside the west entrance of Yellowstone Park.
Day# 5&6 we attempted to go back county skiing and go hoaxed both days. We decided to climb some rock instead, I don’t recommend leading any crack climb in the “pass” right outside of Bozeman, and the rock is super crumbly. The sport routes are fun though!!

Top (Elisif stands below the fist climb in Cooke City)
Bottom (Elisif climbes Genisis #1 WI4 in Hyalite)

Day# 7 Hyalite canyon what can I say epic ice all to ourselves…well almost. Lots of climbs and every climb is huge right now!!! It is hard to get back their if you don’t have a snow machine or some crazy off road rig, but thankfully I am good friends with John Bowser and we rallied 14 miles through all kinds of snow in his Toyota Land Cruiser!! It was worth all of the winching and shoveling we had to do!!

Above (John get sucked into the ditch... winch and shoveling got us out everytime!)
Below (Daniel streches druing a move in Hyalite WI4)

Above (Mark climbs WI4 in Hyalite)
Below (Daniel cooks dinner in Cooke City)

Right (Elisif grinds on a park table with here tele gear in Hyalite)

Below (Elisif and I are happy to spending time togeather)

That’s all for now, great ice in the Bozeman area!! I want to give thanks to Mark and John for an excellent time in Bozeman!! What to do for our next break? Its alpine time...

2006-03-23T09:43:00.000-08:00

The Davis kids with their significant others

Daniel & Elisif

2006-03-23T09:29:00.000-08:00

Mt. Hood Back-Country by Daniel

2006-03-22T20:23:00.000-08:00

Elisif, Jason, Nat, Pam and I went up to Mt. Hood on a blue bird day for some back country Tele / snowboarding. After stopping off at the classic doughnut shop (yumm) we were on our way to the mountain. We put our skin / snow shoes on and hiked approximately 2.5 miles up Heather Canyon which is located just east of Mt. Hood Meadows ski resort located on the South East face of Mt. Hood.
We climbed a ridge to gain altitude and we climbed out of the tree line at 6,000 feet when the ridgeline opened up into two giant bowels one on the east face and one on the west face. We ate some lunch and chose the west face for our decent.