Reflection Paper

This project did not come together the way that I had hoped. Going into the fall I expected to have weekends and opportunities to hike and climb and be in the teton range. My hope was that this would be a natural extension of the outings that I would be taking anyway. Unfortunately I underestimated the demands that I was going to be under and only made it there a couple times. So I have tried to fit what little I did do into the mold that I set out for myself and I'm very dissappointed in the result. I don't now how to express the observations that get filed into the back of my head. That when I took Wahlert to Death Canyon last Tuesday it was a beautiful warm day, there was a bit of rock fall, and I was glad I wasn't heading up to the ice climbs there. It needs to be colder for that. Then again we took Erica's dad up Cascade a month before on a similiar sunny day and the canyon was suprisingly cold so maybe it wouldn't be so bad farther in. I wish I had been able to go find out. That is one and there are hunderds of others - antelope are still hanging around, wolf tracks went all the way down from coyote rock and just south of campus on the trail, moose started moving into the sage flats for the bitterbrush, the wasp nest at coyote rock disappeared sometime last week between Carson and Wahlert groups. The frustrating part is noticing all kinds of things and probably foolishly not including them because they don't fit whatever it is I thought I was putting together.

Self Eval

I love the idea of phenelogy, but not like this. I've read Turner, House, Murie, Petzoldt, parts of Craighead's and others' versions of phenology. They were all observations over numerous years, compilations of extensive experience combined with personal ways of seeing. I feel like I could tick off the new snow fall at 10,000' every day and not really know anymore about what it's like to be there. That is why I focused on reading the accounts of others when I wasn't able to be there in person. The books of the gentlemen I read give character to data. From reading Teewinot I know what it's like to close down camp on the saddle in a blizzard, from Petzoldt what it was like with primitive gear, from House - a reminder of the dark side of humanity that pushes people to the edges of the world and themselves. I understand that there is something to doing all this on my own - it's happening in my mind, but like many of these authors, it doesn't comform to dates. My real phenology has been living here. Learning that the elk bugle and rut, then start down to the refuge. That moose leave their summer places in swamps and wetlands for sage flats and slightly higher ground. That antelope stayed in the sage flats longer then I thought they should have - then disappeared as soon as I thought they would be stuck here for the winter and become wolf bait. The way bison come and go betwen the usual spots, but never completely predictable. Fox follow mice and ground squirrels. Ravens and maybe wolves feast on gut piles, but the bears miss the bulk of hunting seasons remains - at least until spring. So to get on to the point, I feel like I've learned a new way to look - what phenology is. This is not an accurate representation of that. I think that it meets the basic requirements for the assignment, but does little to show the change I've noticed in myself since September. This came through somewhat in the entries along the way, but I don't feel like its as clear as it could have been because of time constraints or the fact that the focus of my proposal didn't match what I was looking at.

For the winter portion of this project I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. The difference will be that I'll try to document what I do and see rather than try to fit it into a box of "alpine" or to only look through the eyes of a climber. Then once I get a body of work started find a theme that ties it together. For this portion I had the opportunity to hear several well respected climbers talk about their experiences, during the winter I hope to meet and talk with Jack Turner and Reny Jackson.

Hoback Shield

Zach, Don, and Dawn came up for the weekend - I drilled with Don for a year in St. George and taught him and his boy Zach how to climb after we all ended up in Salt Lake City a year later. These guys are a lot to me, when you work hard with someone you can't help but get close. 10 hrs a day Don and I got to know everything about each other. When I got to SLC Zach was having a rough time in school and I heard about that too. Climbing clicked with him and became his reward for showing up at school. It's been amazing to see what a really small amount of time, just a few hours a month for a winter. Seeing these guys was a nice reminder of why I'm here. Zach is doing lots better even without me there to haul him to the gym once or twice a month which is expected because he has parents that care.

American Pika

Ochotona princeps

Description: Body 15-22cm

American Pika are usually colored brown to gray with a buff underside as opposed to white undersides of otochono collaris. They have egg shaped bodies, no noticable tail, and front and rear legs of approximately the same length. They move in a scampering manner rather than the hopping motion of most rodents. Pika have two distinct calls, a short warning squeak and a song used during the mating seasons. Females have two litters of 2-4 young twice a year, usually having more in the first. Young Pika will nurse for approximately 18 days and reach maturity in 3 months.

I observed Pika along many hikes and climb approaches, always in their preferred habitat of talus and scree in locations ranging from the Gros Ventre slide debris to high alpine talus fields. Pika have developed an interesting adaptation in their "haying" drying and storing grasses and forbs to supplement their winter diet of cusion plants and lichen that survive beneath the snow pack. Pika do not hibernate and are well adapted to cold climates. They have also developed a large flap of skin that is used to close the ear opening, an adaptation thought to protect from severe weather.

Moss Campion

Silene acaulis

Description: 5-15cm sushion shaped clumps

Small leaves and small pink flowers

The Moss Campion I observed was growing in a scree field near the top of Paintbrush Canyon. It appeared to be growing out of the space between several rocks 10-30cm and in reasearch it was discovered that it prefers sandy rocky soil and each cushion has a solid and very long tap root which allows the plant to survive in these conditions. The dense cushion of leaves is also capable of creating significantly higher temperatures inside when exposed to sunlight, another adaptation that makes this plant well suited to high cold climates. It can be found from tundra to high alpine areas worldwide, usually in dry areas, but may also be present in slightly damp regions.

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Description:
Body - 34-58cm
Wingspan - 80 - 120cm
Weight - Female 910-1500g
Male 440 - 750g
Like many raptors Peregrine Falcons exhibit reverse sexual dimorphism with the female being up to 30 percent larger than the male. They do have similiar plumage coloration with a striped/speckled front and a darker gray/brown back.

Although the pair that I observed had some type of small rodent like prey, typical prey for peregrine falcons is medium sized birds. They take prey in a mid-air attack called stooping during which they have been recorded at speeds of over 200mph. They will prey on rodents and occasionally insects as conditions require. Peregrine flacons have also developed an adaptation to allow for breathing during high speed dives as the force of air into the birds nostrils during a 200mph dive would be enough to rupture the birds lungs if not for a bony protusion called a tubercle that prevents pressure increase in the birds lungs.

They prefer nesting sites or "scrapes" on rocky cliffs. They range worldwide from tundra to tropics and may or may not migrate depending on availability of prey and ability to survive harsh weather conditions. In the 1950's DDT posed a threat and

In this case it is likely that a smaller Pika presented an easy target and an opportunity for a good sized meal.

Where Paul Petzoldt's book was light, fun and only scattered with sobering stories of close calls and rescuses/recoveries; Steve House presents a deeper darker side of alpind climbing that the public rarely has the opportunity to experience in such a humble and sincere manner. I was constantly shocked by the aduacity that Steve has to tread in such a bold manner into such a sacred space. A free solo first ascent on Denali, another on K7, numerous climbs that even roped in with a partner push the edge of human ability. All of them with the absolute minimum amount of gear to survive the climb. And to meet him at the boulder project talk - completely unassuming. I would love to find out what makes him tick. His isn't a path I would want to walk, but wow.
(Later)
On second thought maybe I do know how someone can get to that point. I guess I wasn't far from going in that direction; I can relate to having stronger ties with climbing partners than with romantic interests. So I suppose it's a very good thing that I married my climbing partner. A round of layoffs could have been impetus to be on a wall somewhere, maybe with a partner scrounged up or more likely solo and longing for a partner. From there it's only a natural progression to something a little harder and higher.