So I just realized I will loose out on about 20 bucks for this week that I don’t get to use my monthly unlimited subway card!!!!! ARH! So not only do I have to walk to work, I am paying for it too. Bastards.

Skipping work Walking to work, Day 2 of the New York transit strike

The strike was novel at first. Now it is a pain in the ass. Walked a ton yesterday… same today. Oy.
Not much new to report. The pic is of me walking home last night. Do I look tired?

The worst weather on earth

So, I am going to try and do this alpine climbing and ice climbing weekend thing on Mount Washington, in NH this January. I was just looking at the current temperature and its 3.7 degrees. For my overseas friends, that’s -15.6 Celsius.

At an altitude of 6,288 feet (1,916 meters), Mount Washington is the highest point on the east coast. It is situated at the convergence of three major storm tracks. Its geography, slopes, and other near by mountains and valleys causes increased wind speeds. All these factors are what make it known for having the worst on earth.

The two pictures you see were taken three days ago at the summit by Mike Colclough who volunteers at the summit. They give you a good idea how horrendous it is up there. These guys and gals at the observatory work in something like 1 week shifts, and somebody has to go outside every hour to make various weather observations.

Some interesting facts about the mountain obtained from the observatory:

*It holds highest land wind speed record in the world at 231 MPH
*Average annual snowfall is about 21 feet
*Winds exceeds hurricane force (75mph) on an average of 104 days a year (that’s about every 3-4 days)
*50 years ago to this date, the low temperature for the day was -36 F

Skipping work Walking to work, Day 1 of the New York transit strike

Incase you haven’t heard, there is a strike in New York City, and there are no subways or busses available. So I started walking from 73rd all the way down to 17th street. It’s a bit under 4 miles of walking and took me about 50 minutes. Wow, cold weather is one thing when your out for 10-20 minutes, but its another when your out for an hour. My core was fine but after a while, the cold began to percolate deep into my muscles and bones of other body parts. My ears numbed around 50th (I didn’t wear a hat so I wouldn’t ruin my hair… and of all days, I couldn’t find any of those street vendors selling those warm ear things). I could begin to feel my jaw stiffening around 30th, and by 23rd my thighs… what thighs?

The wind was pretty fierce today. Eh, but it wasn’t that bad. To be honest I enjoyed walking the whole way. It was a nice change from the standard 7 minute walk to my subway, 15 minute ride including a transfer, and then 8 minutes walking again to work. It didn’t even use my mp3 player. I picked up a grande egg nod latte at Starbucks and enjoyed the people watching. The streets were filled with a pretty decent amount of people walking. There were cops at just about every block.

See, today is when I could have used this new jacket (which I have yet to receive). My problem was my core was a bit too warm, and I didn’t have an easy way of airing the heat out without opening my pea coat

I am now at work drinking a warm tall glass of milk and my jaw is starting to hurt. I think it’s because it’s coming back to temperature.

It all starts with the desire for a jacket... let's see where it goes

I have a illness. Don’t worry, it’s not easily contagious. This disorder/illness makes me get extraordinary enjoyment from being in possession of hi-tech items. It usually starts with me getting infatuated with a certain product, then I research it for a long time till I know everything possible about it and figure out the absolute best of its kind.
So for the past 2 months or so I have been researching a certain type of jacket on the market. They are called soft shells, and are very versatile. Some the higher end ones are commonly used by ice climbers. They stretch 4 ways, breath very well during exertion, yet are windproof and pretty much waterproof.
I went through 3 different phases of jackets I liked that were in this category. First was the Mountain Hardware Alchemy jacket phase. Then the Arcteryx Gamma jacket phase. Currently I am in the final and last phase which is the Beyond Fleece Cold Fusion jacket phase. Why is it the final stage you ask? Well, I determined it is one of the best jackets out there. Excellent weight to warmth ratio, great features, pretty warm, and the best part is that the jacket is sewn to order. Basically, as we speak my jacket is currently being put together to fit me and my body alone. I had several extra pockets sewn in, a special watertight zipper, and a few other nifty features such as thumb loops (so the sleeves do pull up and away when reaching). So, I was looking into all these jackets so that I could have a full features jacket that can be used for 3 seasons.
Anyway, I figured when life gives you an ice climbing jacket, why not go ice climbing. So right now, I am thinking of going on a weekend alpine climbing and ice climbing trip. It’s just a weekend thing on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Mount Washington intrigues me. It’s the highest point on the east coast, and has some of these most sever weather in the US. It’s known for the highest land wind speed on earth, and in the winters it get extremely freezing and mighty dangerous. So…. If all that goes well and I come out alive, I might plan a trip to Ecuador to climb a couple volcanoes. Ice capped volcanoes.
So yeh, lets see if anything comes of this. It’s seems pretty cool to take up ice climbing. Many sharp tools and soft human flesh is always a bad mix. Then there is the ice its self… ice ‘walls’ are temporary and ever changing structures. Falling, cracking and always changing.

Tipped my Guinness a bit too much.

Kayaking this past summer.

Macanudo Robust Prince Philip

Adrien Brody

I saw actor Adrien Brody tonight, doing some publicity for King Kong. He is the one with his eyes shut, and wearing the light pants. Doesn’t look like he is any blockbusters, but for those of you that might be familiar, he has been in The Village, The Jacket, The paints, The Thin Red Line, and many other movies whose title starts with “the”.

Life size King Kong

Caught a glimpse of a life size King Kong in Times Square. Also saw mayor Bloomberg, and herd him speak as he declared today, December 5th, as King Kong day in New York City.

Trekking

Hanging in the city.