Saturday, June 15, 2013

Will Skis Mt. Adams and Mt. Baker While Melanie Jams with Kenny Chesney

Just a little bit ;)  I went to the Kenny Chesney concert at Century Link field in downtown Seattle.  We met up with a few other of my friends before at Pyramid Brewery.  This portion of the post will be succinct...concert, out late, fun.


While I was enjoying the concert, Will was with his ski partner, Jonas, ski-touring Mt. Adams.  I told Will that after our Europe trip this year that I was not going near snow for a very long time.  Mt. Adams is the second highest peak in Washington state, standing 12,281 ft.  It is also an active volcano. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Adams_(Washington)

I'm not diving into details of the climb, it will be best to just show you pictures.  One particular note, is that Will slipped and slid over 700 feet down the mountain.  He was wearing two layers of clothing, which remained unscathed, however, I cannot say the same for his body.  All in all, he is fine, just a little banged up but I was not happy (and he is banned from climbing for a few weeks!).
False Summit

After sliding down the False Summit

Mt. Hood:  Highest Point In Oregon

Mt. Rainier

"Volcanoes in the Heavens" -- Macklemore in  "Gold"

Summit!

Mt. Adams


The Approach:  Remnant of Last Year's Fire
My friend Gwen and her husband, Cyrus, were recently in town visiting family.  While they were here, Will practiced his crevasse rescue by saving Gwen from the depths of the backyard.
Rescue Gone Wrong!


Melanie practicing Self Rescue
Undeterred by my ban, Will and Jonas (and two more friends) headed to Mt. Baker the next weekend.  Mt. Baker is the third highest peak in Washington as well as an active volcano that is heavily glaciated.  You can actually see Mt. Baker from our dining room on a clear day.

Day 1: Tim Free Solos the Snow Bank

The Marmots Were Out And About



Cookin' In The Kitchen With Jonas

Summit

The Contemplative Descent

The last few feet to the Summit Knob


Seracs!

Snow School


Camp


Don't Fall!

Crevasses

The Cauldron (i.e., Crater)



Summit Shot!
Interestingly, Will and Jonas grew up about 1.5 hours from each other and now live about 2 minutes from each other here in Queen Anne.

Icicles, Pinnacles, Applets & Cotlets

Have I captured your attention with that title?  Or have I scared you away? I bet you are thinking "what is an applet and what is a cotlet?" Read on and you will find out.

Memorial Day Weekend 2013
Will and Melanie headed to Leavenworth.  Pulling into one of the many state campgrounds, we claimed our land for the long weekend then got to work playing outside.

On our way out of camp we stopped by a German-themed Starbucks :) then headed out to Peshastin Pinnacles to climb. http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Peshastin%20Pinnacles The drive along the Wenatchee River was scenic and beautiful.












View of fruit farms below Peshastin Pinnacles.



After a few climbs at Peshastin, we headed to Icicle Creek to try and find some more routes we could tackle.  After bush-whacking for a few hours, all we found was a snake.  I screamed and left the mountain.

Our climbing adventure for day one concluded meeting up with Will's boss, who had been out kayaking all day, in a bier garden in downtown Leavenworth, ironically, owned by an ex-lawyer.
We cooked dinner at our site, enjoyed the fire and then retired to the tent.  The next morning we were greeted by rain and grey skies.  The plan was to go mountain bike riding and maybe climb again, but we ended up driving around, checking out a few little towns while waiting for the weather to improve.  The first stop was Cashmere, WA where we stopped to enjoy a cup of coffee, however, the town is famous for Applets and Cotlets :) http://www.cityofcashmere.org/

Next stop was Devil's Gulch to ride, however, the road was closed so that plan was a bust.  We drove to Wenatchee, just about 20 minutes away and both decided it was a town we didn't need to spend any time in.   Finally, we headed back to Leavenworth to a trailhead on Icicle Creek and Will mountain biked and I had a nice trail run.


Filling ourselves up with chips, salsa, and burritos in downtown Leavenworth, we headed back to Seattle.  Thanks to all our Service men and women!

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Time for Catch Up

Oh how I've neglected you, my little blog.  I'll do a quick montage to get you up to speed and then hopefully will post more often in the upcoming months.

1. Traveled for work (3 weeks)
2. Had friends over for dinner
3. Went to dinner with friends
4. Junior League
5. Junior League
6. Junior League
7. Watched beautiful things bloom in the yard
8. Enjoyed fabulous weather in Seattle
9. Rock climbed
10. Rode my bike
11. Cooked & baked

Ha! That's pretty much what my life has consisted of over the past month.
Run to Kerry Park and the beautiful view.

Bike ride to Discovery Park Lighthouse

Mt Rainier view from Discovery Park 
Cinco de Mayo dinner at our house.

San Francisco trip for work -- got to see my friend
from Alabama, Kerry Robinson Fellows.

Spring on Queen Anne Ave




Homemade cupcakes and homemade buttercream espresso icing