Thursday, March 26, 2009

Ninja Night Sesh

I stare out my window watching the snow hurl itself towards the ground debilitating the city. These are my favorite snow storms as long as I am not forced into the brutal world to deal with the stresses of transporting myself. Old Man Winter rears its ugly head hopefully for the last time this season, humbling and reminding us of his capabilities. A saving grace for some, and possible death for others.

Last night Scott, Josh, Larkin, and I rigged up a highline in the peaceful calm before the ensuing storm on North Table Mountain at the Golden Spire. It was only my 4th line, and it was in the dark. The weather was unusually cooperative after its inital bouts to boot us off the mountain. We strapped on our patience pants and set up in a timely fashion. By we I mean Scott because I have a limited idea of what I'm doing. I did take the opportunity to set up my tripod and take some pictures however.

Larkin joined us as I was flailing about on the line. I had sent the downward direction, and was having trouble cruising the uphill direction. Luckily Larkin brought a few powerful portable lights, and the pictures turned out great..when we used them. Police cars flashed their lights on us from below in Golden, so we decided to forgoe the lights for the 2nd half of the session. However the ambient light from the storm and glow from the lights reflecting off the clouds were more than enough to allow us to see the short line.
It was a really great time. Scott and I reflected on how much fun these mid week excursions were, and agreed much more of these shenanigans would take place in the coming months. Here are a few pics of the Ninja Night Sesh.


Scott sorting his many lines to find the right one.

Scott and Josh kicking it at Dusk.

I asked Scott to hold still for 15 seconds for this shot. The ambience of the sky did not show up in the pictures unfortunately.

Scott sends in "Full Man" Style

Hero Picture on top of North Table Mountain.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Slacklines & Senitas

The weekend was good for being a local one. Lately partners have been injured, or more ambitious in terms of weekend trips (Read they have more time and money than I currently do).

On Saturday I attended the Slackline party at Chataqua Park hosted by Scott Rogers, a strong advocate of the slacklining community. A man who is a pioneer and pushes the boundaries of the sport. It turned out great. There were at least 50 people who showed up while I was there, and the ability of the slackers was quite unexpected and impressive. There were numerous people with the ability to do flips line to line, as well as a number of other hard tricks. There were around 12 - 15 lines, with the ~160 ft line taking center stage. I only tried to walk it once, and chickened out near the middle. I wish I had given it another go, long lines are something I don't get the opportunity to walk very often as a result of my laziness in rigging them.

On Sunday I took a few folks out to climb at Senitas. Amongst them we had some first timers, and it was a joy to watch them tackle the outdoors with such enthusiasm. It reminds me of the bliss I experienced when rock climbing first discovered me, and I absolutely love to share this great sport with those who are open minded enough to enjoy it. Lets face it, rock climbing is not for everyone, but experiencing the unbridled enthusiasm of noobies gets me really psyched. I posted the pictures I liked the best. You can find more pics of the day here on my lamebook.


Mike B enjoying himself thoroughly.

Mike B on Lower Fin.
Publish Post

Charlie on Lower Fin.