Quick June Recap

To sum up June...

This is a picture of the monkeys on a walk. They had been loud and crazy and fighting all day so I grabbed the camera and announced that we were going for a walk. We played "Follow the Leader" and did all kinds of crazy dances and weird struttings up the street and around the corner. Before you think I am some amazing Pied Piper of a mom, leading my recently-crabby children on a memorable, joyous, fun-filled walk around the block, the fun ended about 5 feet after this picture was taken when one monkey decided that it was his turn to lead, pushed the leading monkey, and then just took off running. Hooray for a fun 5-minute walk!


J took this picture of some yummy awesome homemade rolls I baked. They were delectable. Who knew I could make bread? Not I.


S started Cub Scouts in May after he turned 8. At the end of June he had his first Day Camp. He was so excited to go and had a blast! Look at my little boy all grown up!


This was one of our rare park days. We just needed to get out of the house and do something fun and cheap. A picnic lunch in the park almost always does the trick.

Mr. Wock

I'm going to miss it when H stops talking like this. How I love his squeaky little voice and inability to say his "R"s!



J took this video while I was running the Wasatch Back. He took the boys up Timpanooke trail to hike Mt. Timpanogos. They lasted about 3/4 of a mile. No worries though, they'll have an intimate knowledge of and love for Timpanogos just like their dad -- I can feel it!

Crevasse Rescue Practice

Just for some practice I have been pulling the kids and E up into the tree, all the while pretending that they have just fallen into a deep cold crevasse.

The first victim, the expedition leader, an experienced climber born in the desert country but always drawn to the cold bitter environments:





Working to get the frozen climber out (who would just jump back in).



The second victim, the professor. Who was on a grant to measure the rate of melting on the glacier, why? Because the man who invented the Internet claimed it was melting too fast.



The third victim, the hot shot climber who has a long list of first ascents in the Alaskan range, Himalaya, and Karakoram. The only man alive today who has climbed K2 alpine style and then skied off the face completely without any bottled oxygen.



Working the Z-pulley system to get them all out:



...and some backup (the professor has a lot of heavy gear that needs to come up):

American Fork Twin Peaks

E really likes me to post my mountain activities so here is the latest. The following pictures are of the American Fork Twin Peaks which make up the highest in Salt Lake County. This summit is the most prominent as seen from the Snowbird Ski Resort. During this trip we hit a few more peaks that are part of the Bullion Divide.

We used the Pipeline Couloir route to get up to the Twin Peaks.



During the hike up to the couloir which is hidden from view until you are almost right under it, we crossed through many a spring run off...



... and over the top of it hoping not to fall through the snow and into the cold water.



This is a view looking down from the top of the couloir



I am not sure why some of the group isn't climbing with their mountaineering axe, it was very steep and would be very difficult to self arrest with a ski or trekking pole. If one lost their balance here, it would have been a quick slide down.

A view from the top with Timpanogos in the background:



A view of Silver Lake Flat:



The Pfeifferhorn and Lone Peak:



This is a ridge that we crossed that leads over to Mt. Baldy and the Snowbird Tram.



In a few weeks I hope to have some pictures of Mt. Rainier from the Liberty Ridge route.

BFRE, Days 2 & 3

(Note to readers: You can skip the BFRE posts. They're mostly for me so I can log my progress. Truly, my feet are not so fascinating that you need to spend a few minutes of your life reading about them each day!)

So, yesterday I ran 1 mile in my Vibrams and 1.5-ish today. Feeling pretty good. My calves don't tighten up as much, which is good. No injuries to speak of. I can tell that I favor my left foot. I think it's because it's weaker and can't run correctly yet. Hopefully that will change. Tomorrow I will wear my Sauconys with my orthotics to run 3 miles. When I get home I plan to cool down a nice and easy 2 miles in the Vibrams. We'll see how it goes

Wasatch My...

Beginning.

We awoke at 4 AM after 2 hours of sleep to drive to the start in Logan. It was cold and dark when our first runner took off at 5:45 AM.

All our runners did an AMAZING job! They conquered uphills, downhills, long runs, heat, cold, dusty roads that kicked dirt into mouths, sunburn, no sleep, tummy aches, vomiting, side aches, no showers, and 188.2 miles.

Finish!


(The medals from last year were bottle openers too. I wonder if I should be opening more bottles...)

We loved it so much, we are already signed up for the Wasatch Back 2011 and the Las Vegas Ragnar in October.

Anyway, I'll post more pictures when I've caught up on my sleep and my stomach stops trying to eat itself.

Don't Think. Just Run!

Pictures

Pictures added to the post entitled, "Mountain Man." Enjoy.