400-Year-Old Color 2012-05-22

My neighbor Curt is a cello maker and restorer, and I spent a few minutes in his shop the other day.

I am hoping to spend more this summer. The color of a 400-year-old cello is hard to beat…

Photo Phriday – Big Head Edition 2012-05-11

Even a Blind Squirrel… 2012-05-01

…finds an acorn once and a while.

A winning image in PDN’s Top Knots wedding photography contest…

Tuckerman’s Ravine 2012-04-25

I have always wanted to climb up to Tuckerman’s Ravine on Mount Washington, and managed to accomplish this feat a few weeks ago. I am not much of a hiker – it always feels to be a bit of a chore – but the lore and history of Tuckerman’s was enough to motivate me this one time.

Tuckerman’s Ravine has been the site of an annual spring skiing ritual for a very long time. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people make the hike after the worst of the winter is over, and because of its bowl shape and vast amounts of snow, it is a fairly unique experience for those who ski mostly in the East.

The day began with a fairly vigorous two hour hike – it almost did me in – but as I mentioned above, I’m not a big fan of climbing things. If you want to ski, you have to carry all of your stuff on your back. Once in the ravine itself, the experience is pretty great. The floor of the ravine provides a stunning view of the entire bowl, and you can comfortably watch the poor rugged souls who have decided to climb up the face of the bowl itself in order to ski back down it. Because of the warm winter we had, the conditions this spring have not been particularly good in Tuckerman’s, so the skiing was fairly poor. This not deter the many who ventured forth and faced either a hair-raising ski on a hard, crusty surface if they were lucky, or a head-over-heels tumble the length of the headwall if they were not.

As I chose to photograph the festivities rather than ski in them, I spent the day clinging to the hard-packed surface hoping not to tumble myself. Thank goodness for the fancy pair of Microspikes I purchased the night before – my one capitulation to rigors of outdoor adventuring. Even in good weather, Mount Washington is cold and windy,* so my camera batteries would conk out regularly. I had to swap the dead batteries with extras I kept warm in my armpits. Invariably, I would forget that the batteries were there as I scampered about, and they would either fall down into the sleeves of my long-underwear, or go the other route and wind up somewhere in the depths of my well-layered middle regions. Either way, I practically had to disrobe to get them out.

The trip back down was when I learned why people recommend sturdy, lace-up boots for hiking. The slip-on “casual” boots I wore did not do the trick, and resulted in some blistering. Not to worry, I can walk now.

* From Wikipedia: “Fastest recorded with an anemometer outside of a tropical cyclone: 372 km/h (231 mph) sustained 1-minute average; Mount Washington, New Hampshire, April 12, 1934.”

You Decide… 2012-04-13

I climbed up to Tuckerman’s Ravine last weekend, and am putting together an edit.

I can’t decide which of theses I like better, leaning towards the second…