Monday, October 29, 2012
What would you do if money was no object?
Came across this video today. It's pretty short (less than 3 minutes) and honestly worth your time. Enjoy.
Trip Planning 101
I think I might have mentioned this in an older post, but this Christmas Break, I'm heading out to Colorado with my brother and some friends for a ski and snowboarding trip. As the de facto leader of our group, it was up to me to plan out the trip. To make the best trip at the cheapest price, I borrowed some tricks learned from my dad, a little bit of my own intuition, and more than a little appreciation for seeing exactly how many people you can fit in a car, hotel room, etc.
We knew that we wanted to go to Colorado, but as to exactly which resort, we had no idea. I began to research our options, taking into account the characteristics of each mountain, the price, popularity (through online reviews) and other such factors. And that is the first major step in planning a successful trip: research.
If you have never been to a place before, how can you know exactly what you want to do? Researching not only helps to clarify this, but sometimes shows you opportunities you hadn't even considered. Patience is also important, because the longer you take to explore all of your options, the better deals you often find.
For a variety of reasons, we settled on Copper Mountain, just west of Denver in the heart of Summit County. Next we had to decide on where we would stay while out west. Our options included both those on the mountain (hotels, condos, etc) and those in smaller towns a short drive away. Once again, research came into play as it became apparent that "ski and stay deals" (in which your lodging and lift tickets are a combo package) would be the cheapest option. However, we still had to choose exactly what type of lodging would be best for us.
In my past experiences, lodging is the single biggest area in which you can save money. Most of the time (at least on trips that I would take/have taken) you are there to see and do things, not to stay in a hotel. Therefore, I see no reason to spend a bunch of money on a luxury suite. Many people look down on budget chains such as Motel 6. I have stayed in Motel 6s around the country and they have all been simple and sparse, yet clean and adequate. We're only there for the night, besides a bed with clean sheets and a bathroom, what else do you really need?
That being said, there are obviously no Motel 6s in the village of Copper Mountain. There are several in Denver, however, and we will be staying in one to give us a stopover on the drive out so we will be fresh when we get to the mountain the next morning.
Food is also a major expense that can be offset with a little bit of planning. Whenever my family goes on vacation, it was understood that when we got to our destination, we would stop at a grocery store, buy a styrofoam cooler and fill it with lunch meat, fruit, and other snack that would become our lunch for the duration of the trip. Eating sandwiches at a picnic area instead of stopping at a probably overpriced restaurant (especially in areas such as national parks where you are a captive audience) is a simple thing to do, yet it can greatly reduce your daily food budget.
With this in mind, we decided on a condo at Copper Mountain, because it comes with a full kitchen. When we traveled to Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia last year, we also stayed in a condo and cooked and ate our meals there. Doing this is much cheaper that eating at the ridiculously expensive resort restaurants that cater to the extremely wealthy. Similar to last year, we plan to bring cheap foods such as hotdogs, hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, and the like. We even went as far last year as to head out into the woods before we left and bagged a couple of squirrels and doves which we cleaned and brought with us for a meal.
By following these principles, we are going to be able to afford to go out West and ski on a college budget, which we consider a minor miracle. With careful planning and research, eating on as cheaply as possible, and being willing to stay in less than luxury motels, trips can be cheaper than originally thought possible while still being just as fun.
We knew that we wanted to go to Colorado, but as to exactly which resort, we had no idea. I began to research our options, taking into account the characteristics of each mountain, the price, popularity (through online reviews) and other such factors. And that is the first major step in planning a successful trip: research.
If you have never been to a place before, how can you know exactly what you want to do? Researching not only helps to clarify this, but sometimes shows you opportunities you hadn't even considered. Patience is also important, because the longer you take to explore all of your options, the better deals you often find.
For a variety of reasons, we settled on Copper Mountain, just west of Denver in the heart of Summit County. Next we had to decide on where we would stay while out west. Our options included both those on the mountain (hotels, condos, etc) and those in smaller towns a short drive away. Once again, research came into play as it became apparent that "ski and stay deals" (in which your lodging and lift tickets are a combo package) would be the cheapest option. However, we still had to choose exactly what type of lodging would be best for us.
In my past experiences, lodging is the single biggest area in which you can save money. Most of the time (at least on trips that I would take/have taken) you are there to see and do things, not to stay in a hotel. Therefore, I see no reason to spend a bunch of money on a luxury suite. Many people look down on budget chains such as Motel 6. I have stayed in Motel 6s around the country and they have all been simple and sparse, yet clean and adequate. We're only there for the night, besides a bed with clean sheets and a bathroom, what else do you really need?
That being said, there are obviously no Motel 6s in the village of Copper Mountain. There are several in Denver, however, and we will be staying in one to give us a stopover on the drive out so we will be fresh when we get to the mountain the next morning.
Food is also a major expense that can be offset with a little bit of planning. Whenever my family goes on vacation, it was understood that when we got to our destination, we would stop at a grocery store, buy a styrofoam cooler and fill it with lunch meat, fruit, and other snack that would become our lunch for the duration of the trip. Eating sandwiches at a picnic area instead of stopping at a probably overpriced restaurant (especially in areas such as national parks where you are a captive audience) is a simple thing to do, yet it can greatly reduce your daily food budget.
With this in mind, we decided on a condo at Copper Mountain, because it comes with a full kitchen. When we traveled to Snowshoe Mountain, West Virginia last year, we also stayed in a condo and cooked and ate our meals there. Doing this is much cheaper that eating at the ridiculously expensive resort restaurants that cater to the extremely wealthy. Similar to last year, we plan to bring cheap foods such as hotdogs, hamburgers, macaroni and cheese, and the like. We even went as far last year as to head out into the woods before we left and bagged a couple of squirrels and doves which we cleaned and brought with us for a meal.
By following these principles, we are going to be able to afford to go out West and ski on a college budget, which we consider a minor miracle. With careful planning and research, eating on as cheaply as possible, and being willing to stay in less than luxury motels, trips can be cheaper than originally thought possible while still being just as fun.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Squirrels
When I first came across this story I couldn't help but laugh. Birth control for squirrels? Really? We did have a mild winter and squirrels are now more than abundant on my college campus but come on. I find it hard to believe that we have come to the point that we need to spend money on squirrel contraceptives.
Clemson University researchers claim that their school spent an estimated one million dollars on maintenance as a result of squirrel damage. As a result, they have begun offering the vermin laced sun-flower seeds, and are currently analyzing the effects of the seeds on the squirrels and their natural predators such as hawks.
I can think of an easier way to eliminate the squirrels, but, unfortunately, shooting them with a .22 is probably not a viable option on a college campus. I have never been hunting for large game, however I have been plinking squirrels since a young age.
When I was in late elementary school, my family's house backed up to a woods and, as a result, our birdfeeders were flocked with a tremendous number and variety of songbirds. As you can imagine, it didn't take very long for the squirrels to figure out where they could find an easy, constant source of food.
One of our feeders was mounted on top of a 4x4 which proved no challenge for the nimble squirrels to climb. We tried slipping an aluminum pipe around the middle of the pole, but this only stymied them for a short while as they soon figured out they could reach the feeder by taking a flying leap from a nearby bush. That left only one option.
Deciding we were too young for a real firearm, my dad bought me and my brother a pump pellet gun. It became a weekly contest to see who could get the most squirrels from our sniper perch in an upstairs window. The challenge was to pump up the gun (it was air powered) as quickly and quietly as possible, slowly (and again quietly) slide the window open, and finally to hit the squirrel. Pellet guns are not particularly powerful so a headshot was usually required for a kill.
This carried on for a few years until we finally got what we then thought was the mother of all firearms, the .22. The challenge of getting the window open quietly still remained, but once we got our sights on the poor vermin it was game over. We went on a killing spree that included my personal record of eight squirrels in barely a week. This slowed them down, but we continued to get a couple a month until we finally moved a few years later.
I hope to someday own a house near a woods, and to be able to put in some birdfeeders. But now, if we get squirrels, I know the first thing I'll do.
Clemson University researchers claim that their school spent an estimated one million dollars on maintenance as a result of squirrel damage. As a result, they have begun offering the vermin laced sun-flower seeds, and are currently analyzing the effects of the seeds on the squirrels and their natural predators such as hawks.
I can think of an easier way to eliminate the squirrels, but, unfortunately, shooting them with a .22 is probably not a viable option on a college campus. I have never been hunting for large game, however I have been plinking squirrels since a young age.
When I was in late elementary school, my family's house backed up to a woods and, as a result, our birdfeeders were flocked with a tremendous number and variety of songbirds. As you can imagine, it didn't take very long for the squirrels to figure out where they could find an easy, constant source of food.
One of our feeders was mounted on top of a 4x4 which proved no challenge for the nimble squirrels to climb. We tried slipping an aluminum pipe around the middle of the pole, but this only stymied them for a short while as they soon figured out they could reach the feeder by taking a flying leap from a nearby bush. That left only one option.
Deciding we were too young for a real firearm, my dad bought me and my brother a pump pellet gun. It became a weekly contest to see who could get the most squirrels from our sniper perch in an upstairs window. The challenge was to pump up the gun (it was air powered) as quickly and quietly as possible, slowly (and again quietly) slide the window open, and finally to hit the squirrel. Pellet guns are not particularly powerful so a headshot was usually required for a kill.
This carried on for a few years until we finally got what we then thought was the mother of all firearms, the .22. The challenge of getting the window open quietly still remained, but once we got our sights on the poor vermin it was game over. We went on a killing spree that included my personal record of eight squirrels in barely a week. This slowed them down, but we continued to get a couple a month until we finally moved a few years later.
I hope to someday own a house near a woods, and to be able to put in some birdfeeders. But now, if we get squirrels, I know the first thing I'll do.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
180° South
I was bored on a Sunday afternoon last spring when I stumbled across a movie on Netflix that piqued my interest.
The title was 180° South, and the summary read, "The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia."
I knew that Yvon Chouinard was the founder of outdoor clothing and gear retailer Patagonia, and that Patagonia itself was a remote and wild region at the very tip of South America. But I didn't know anything about Jeff Johnson, Doug Tompkins, or any epic journeys.
As you have probably figured out by now, something that says "epic journey" is right up my alley, so of course I decided to watch it.
Jeff Johnson is a man who has made his life outdoors, working odd jobs, "doing whatever it took to pay for the next big trip." Ten years before this film, he watched "Mountain of Storms," Doug and Yvon's account of their 1968 journey. He knew then that Patagonia was a place that he was going to have to visit.
Did I mention that Doug is also the founder of The North Face? When these two friends and traveling companions finally decided to "grow up" they both founded multi-million dollar outfitting companies.
Fast forward to present day. Jeff has found a stable job and is beginning to settle down. But there is still Patagonia. He could easily take his two weeks and fly down, but that would defeat the purpose. He decides that if he is ever going to make such a trip, now is the time.
Jeff finds a ride, in exchange for his labor, on a sailboat named the Sea Bear that is traveling from California to the captain's native Chile. The trip is going well and Jeff is finally starting to adjust to sea travel when disaster strikes. During his watch, the mainmast is ripped from the hull and snapped like a twig.
Lacking enough fuel to motor all the way to mainland Chile, they head for Easter Island (also known as Rapa Nui) the most remote island in the world and home to the famous stone heads (moai).
I don't want to give away too many spoilers so I'll summarize the rest, but Jeff meets a native girl, Makohe, and she accompanies him for the rest of the journey.
Jeff finally makes it to Patagonia where he meets up with Doug and Yvon who are in the midst of the largest private conservation effort ever undertaken.
Yvon agrees to join Jeff and two of his friends who have flown down to accompany him in his mission to find waves and eventually climb a mountain called Corcovado.
From here the film takes on a different role as it transitions from being purely an adventure epic to a progressive pro-conservation film. Chile, in the midst of an incredible industrialization, is used as an example of what is happening to our world, and why we must try to reverse what we have already done.
It is said that we cannot take a step back, but what if, as Yvon says, "The solution to a lot of the world's problems may be to turn around and take a forward step."
180° South has received criticism for being too preachy and that Doug and Yvon are simply self-centered millionaires who are preserving all of this land as their own personal playground. However, I didn't see it that way. Sure there are some parts that seem a bit treehugger-ish, but its true that we are losing our wild places and if something isn't done, they may eventually be lost forever.
What I took away from the film was allure of open spaces, of the epic trip, of the wild. Jeff Johnson did something that most of us can only dream about. I hope that one day I'll be able to take a few months and just go. Watching Jeff on his journey inspires, and myself, to get out and go.
"Fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all...but we were just going for it." -Yvon Chouinard
Watch the trailer and learn more about the movie here
The title was 180° South, and the summary read, "The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia."
I knew that Yvon Chouinard was the founder of outdoor clothing and gear retailer Patagonia, and that Patagonia itself was a remote and wild region at the very tip of South America. But I didn't know anything about Jeff Johnson, Doug Tompkins, or any epic journeys.
As you have probably figured out by now, something that says "epic journey" is right up my alley, so of course I decided to watch it.
Jeff Johnson is a man who has made his life outdoors, working odd jobs, "doing whatever it took to pay for the next big trip." Ten years before this film, he watched "Mountain of Storms," Doug and Yvon's account of their 1968 journey. He knew then that Patagonia was a place that he was going to have to visit.
Did I mention that Doug is also the founder of The North Face? When these two friends and traveling companions finally decided to "grow up" they both founded multi-million dollar outfitting companies.
Fast forward to present day. Jeff has found a stable job and is beginning to settle down. But there is still Patagonia. He could easily take his two weeks and fly down, but that would defeat the purpose. He decides that if he is ever going to make such a trip, now is the time.
Jeff finds a ride, in exchange for his labor, on a sailboat named the Sea Bear that is traveling from California to the captain's native Chile. The trip is going well and Jeff is finally starting to adjust to sea travel when disaster strikes. During his watch, the mainmast is ripped from the hull and snapped like a twig.
Lacking enough fuel to motor all the way to mainland Chile, they head for Easter Island (also known as Rapa Nui) the most remote island in the world and home to the famous stone heads (moai).
I don't want to give away too many spoilers so I'll summarize the rest, but Jeff meets a native girl, Makohe, and she accompanies him for the rest of the journey.
Jeff finally makes it to Patagonia where he meets up with Doug and Yvon who are in the midst of the largest private conservation effort ever undertaken.
Yvon agrees to join Jeff and two of his friends who have flown down to accompany him in his mission to find waves and eventually climb a mountain called Corcovado.
From here the film takes on a different role as it transitions from being purely an adventure epic to a progressive pro-conservation film. Chile, in the midst of an incredible industrialization, is used as an example of what is happening to our world, and why we must try to reverse what we have already done.
It is said that we cannot take a step back, but what if, as Yvon says, "The solution to a lot of the world's problems may be to turn around and take a forward step."
180° South has received criticism for being too preachy and that Doug and Yvon are simply self-centered millionaires who are preserving all of this land as their own personal playground. However, I didn't see it that way. Sure there are some parts that seem a bit treehugger-ish, but its true that we are losing our wild places and if something isn't done, they may eventually be lost forever.
What I took away from the film was allure of open spaces, of the epic trip, of the wild. Jeff Johnson did something that most of us can only dream about. I hope that one day I'll be able to take a few months and just go. Watching Jeff on his journey inspires, and myself, to get out and go.
"Fear of the unknown is the greatest fear of all...but we were just going for it." -Yvon Chouinard
Watch the trailer and learn more about the movie here
Friday, October 19, 2012
Life on the edge (sort of) part 3- Hawaii Edition
When my brother and I turned 13, my dad took each of us on a trip; for me, it was Hawaii. We went over Christmas Break of my 7th grade year and spent just over a week exploring the islands.
The trip started off with us worrying whether or not we would even be able to go as we sat in the airport and watched breaking news of the terrible tsunami that was devastating southeast Asia.
Fortunately, Hawaii was left unscathed and we were off. Our first adventure on the "edge" was in Hanauma Bay on Oahu. We had rented snorkeling gear and wetsuits for the week, and Hanauma Bay was a prime destination.
We simply walked in off the beach and swam to the reef where we were fascinated by the endless schools of colorful tropical fish, especially yellow tangs. There were a lot of yellow tangs. A lot.
We had been swimming around maybe an hour when we saw the pièce de résistance of the coral reef: a sea turtle.
While you aren't technically supposed to approach or follow these endangered animals, of course that is exactly what we did. Staying a respectable distance behind, we followed the turtle as it silently gilded across the reef. We soon lost track of time and distance and, before we knew it, we had swum all the way to the edge of the reef.
Deciding this was probably far enough, we turned around to swim back where we encountered one small problem; the current was pushing us back out to sea.
Fortunately, this was the ocean, so there was an endless supply of waves to push us back in. And so we began the process of swimming against the current, and only holding our own, while waiting for the next wave to give us a boost back towards the shore.
After a while of this we finally made it back to the reef (where we unfortunately suffered a few small scrapes from being pushed across the coral. All in all, Hanauama Bay was awesome, and I couldn't wait for another chance to snorkel.
Towards the end of the week, we were on the Big Island where we decided to snorkel in Kealakekua Bay. The bay is also the spot of the Captain Cook Memorial, the spot where the first English man set foot in Hawaii in 1779 and was subsequently killed. The bay was an excellent spot for his large ocean going ships because it stays deep extremely close to shore.
The memorial is accessible only by water, so we had to rent a kayak. The paddle across the bay was beautiful, and we beached our kayaks by the memorial before donning our masks and flippers and wading out to snorkel.
After snorkeling for awhile (the highlight of which was seeing an eel), we stopped to take a break and eat our lunch. As we were eating we noticed that the weather was beginning to turn so we decided to head back.
As we began paddling the wind started to kick up and soon small swells were breaking across the bow of our tandem kayak. We paddled harder as were we swamped with wave after wave of warm saltwater.
Fortunately, the paddle across the bay is relatively short and we made it just fine. After returning our kayak and walking back to our car I found dried salt on my sunglasses from the evaporated saltwater that had splashed on my face.
Hawaii was one of my favorite place I have visited and I can't wait to go back someday.
The trip started off with us worrying whether or not we would even be able to go as we sat in the airport and watched breaking news of the terrible tsunami that was devastating southeast Asia.
Fortunately, Hawaii was left unscathed and we were off. Our first adventure on the "edge" was in Hanauma Bay on Oahu. We had rented snorkeling gear and wetsuits for the week, and Hanauma Bay was a prime destination.
We simply walked in off the beach and swam to the reef where we were fascinated by the endless schools of colorful tropical fish, especially yellow tangs. There were a lot of yellow tangs. A lot.
We had been swimming around maybe an hour when we saw the pièce de résistance of the coral reef: a sea turtle.
While you aren't technically supposed to approach or follow these endangered animals, of course that is exactly what we did. Staying a respectable distance behind, we followed the turtle as it silently gilded across the reef. We soon lost track of time and distance and, before we knew it, we had swum all the way to the edge of the reef.
Deciding this was probably far enough, we turned around to swim back where we encountered one small problem; the current was pushing us back out to sea.
Fortunately, this was the ocean, so there was an endless supply of waves to push us back in. And so we began the process of swimming against the current, and only holding our own, while waiting for the next wave to give us a boost back towards the shore.
After a while of this we finally made it back to the reef (where we unfortunately suffered a few small scrapes from being pushed across the coral. All in all, Hanauama Bay was awesome, and I couldn't wait for another chance to snorkel.
Towards the end of the week, we were on the Big Island where we decided to snorkel in Kealakekua Bay. The bay is also the spot of the Captain Cook Memorial, the spot where the first English man set foot in Hawaii in 1779 and was subsequently killed. The bay was an excellent spot for his large ocean going ships because it stays deep extremely close to shore.
The memorial is accessible only by water, so we had to rent a kayak. The paddle across the bay was beautiful, and we beached our kayaks by the memorial before donning our masks and flippers and wading out to snorkel.
After snorkeling for awhile (the highlight of which was seeing an eel), we stopped to take a break and eat our lunch. As we were eating we noticed that the weather was beginning to turn so we decided to head back.
As we began paddling the wind started to kick up and soon small swells were breaking across the bow of our tandem kayak. We paddled harder as were we swamped with wave after wave of warm saltwater.
Fortunately, the paddle across the bay is relatively short and we made it just fine. After returning our kayak and walking back to our car I found dried salt on my sunglasses from the evaporated saltwater that had splashed on my face.
Hawaii was one of my favorite place I have visited and I can't wait to go back someday.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Mach 1.24
He did it.
Mach 1.24.
833.9 miles per hour.
This past Sunday, Red Bull Stratos skydiver Felix Baumgartner finally jumped from the edge of space, shattering the record books as he fell almost 24 miles before landing safely back on Earth.
It took him just over two hours for him to rise to a final altitude of 128,100ft, but only 9 minutes and 9 seconds to come down. He spent 4:22 of that time in freefall, accelerating to a top speed of 833.9mph (Mach 1.24 or 1.24 times the speed of sound), the highest speed ever reached by a human body. Fortunately, there were no complications as he broke through the sound barrier.
I wrote about Felix and his mission in a previous post, giving background on his goals, equipment, and safety concerns.
Early into the jump, he began to spin rapidly out of control, but was able to quickly correct this without the drogue, preserving his speed and his chance at the record books.
The date, October 24, was 65 years to the day from when Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in a jet.
In addition to the speed record, Felix also set world records for highest freefall and highest manned balloon flight.
This picture, taken by a remote-controlled camera on the balloon, shows Felix as he prepares to jump. This angle gives some perspective as to how high he really was. Although it looks like he is in space, he is technically still in the Earth's atmosphere. He said that is was hard for him to recognize how fast he was falling because of the lack of scale.
Watch the video here. Be warned, its pretty awesome.
Mach 1.24.
833.9 miles per hour.
This past Sunday, Red Bull Stratos skydiver Felix Baumgartner finally jumped from the edge of space, shattering the record books as he fell almost 24 miles before landing safely back on Earth.
It took him just over two hours for him to rise to a final altitude of 128,100ft, but only 9 minutes and 9 seconds to come down. He spent 4:22 of that time in freefall, accelerating to a top speed of 833.9mph (Mach 1.24 or 1.24 times the speed of sound), the highest speed ever reached by a human body. Fortunately, there were no complications as he broke through the sound barrier.
I wrote about Felix and his mission in a previous post, giving background on his goals, equipment, and safety concerns.
Early into the jump, he began to spin rapidly out of control, but was able to quickly correct this without the drogue, preserving his speed and his chance at the record books.
The date, October 24, was 65 years to the day from when Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in a jet.
In addition to the speed record, Felix also set world records for highest freefall and highest manned balloon flight.
Watch the video here. Be warned, its pretty awesome.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Red Bull Stratos Cancelled, Again
For what seems like the hundredth time, the Felix Baumgartner's record-breaking freefall from the Red Bull Stratos balloon has been postponed. There was originally a five-hour delay because of a radio failure, and the weather had deteriorated enough to make take-off impossible by the time the radios were fixed. For those that don't know, the Stratos website explains everything much better than I can, but I'll try to give you a quick summary.
The current record height for a parachute jump is 102,800ft, set in 1960 by US Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger. The goal of the Red Bull Stratos "Mission" (as they are calling it) is to break that record with Austrian Felix Baumgartner jumping from a height of 120,000ft.
The mission is partly for the record, but science hopes to learn from his jump as well. Based on mathematical calculation, Felix's body will break the sound barrier during his freefall, becoming the first human to do so. What exactly will happen to his body when he does, is up for debate.
Other dangers (and attempts to study human physiology at the edge of space) include freezing temperatures (as low as -90F), extreme lack of oxygen, and air pressure so low that blood literally "boils" with vapor bubbles.
To combat this, he will be wearing a full pressure suit, similar to what modern astronauts wear. Also, his capsule that he will ride up in is fully pressurized and heated. His chest pack will contain two bottles of oxygen that contain enough breathable air for 10 minutes at altitude.
Baumgartner in his suit during a practice jump. His highest practice jump was just over 97,000ft, the second highest ever.
To stop his freefall and return him safely to Earth, Baumgartner will wear three separate parachute, designed specifically for the Red Bull Stratos project. The first two are a main chute and a reserve. The third is an interesting device called a "drogue" chute which is designed to stop a flat spin. A flat spin is incredibly dangerous to parachutist because the G forces can either render them unconscious, and unable to pull their chute, or the centrifugal force will be so great that they cannot bring their arms into their body to pull their chute's ripcord. Felix hopes to not have to use the drogue because it will slow him down.
In case something goes drastically wrong, Baumgartner will have a button on his ring finger to deploy the drogue. Also, if his on board computer detects 3.5Gs for 6 continuous seconds the drogue will automatically deploy.
The jump is going to be streamed live on the Red Bull Stratos website, and I was able to watch today until the cancellation. They have yet to announce the date of the next attempt, but it will be shown live as well.
The current record height for a parachute jump is 102,800ft, set in 1960 by US Air Force Colonel Joe Kittinger. The goal of the Red Bull Stratos "Mission" (as they are calling it) is to break that record with Austrian Felix Baumgartner jumping from a height of 120,000ft.
The mission is partly for the record, but science hopes to learn from his jump as well. Based on mathematical calculation, Felix's body will break the sound barrier during his freefall, becoming the first human to do so. What exactly will happen to his body when he does, is up for debate.
Other dangers (and attempts to study human physiology at the edge of space) include freezing temperatures (as low as -90F), extreme lack of oxygen, and air pressure so low that blood literally "boils" with vapor bubbles.
To combat this, he will be wearing a full pressure suit, similar to what modern astronauts wear. Also, his capsule that he will ride up in is fully pressurized and heated. His chest pack will contain two bottles of oxygen that contain enough breathable air for 10 minutes at altitude.
To stop his freefall and return him safely to Earth, Baumgartner will wear three separate parachute, designed specifically for the Red Bull Stratos project. The first two are a main chute and a reserve. The third is an interesting device called a "drogue" chute which is designed to stop a flat spin. A flat spin is incredibly dangerous to parachutist because the G forces can either render them unconscious, and unable to pull their chute, or the centrifugal force will be so great that they cannot bring their arms into their body to pull their chute's ripcord. Felix hopes to not have to use the drogue because it will slow him down.
In case something goes drastically wrong, Baumgartner will have a button on his ring finger to deploy the drogue. Also, if his on board computer detects 3.5Gs for 6 continuous seconds the drogue will automatically deploy.
The jump is going to be streamed live on the Red Bull Stratos website, and I was able to watch today until the cancellation. They have yet to announce the date of the next attempt, but it will be shown live as well.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Freeskiing Basics
As I sit here in central Indiana, winter has arrived out west with several Colorado ski resorts set to open this week. To anyone who has ever skied or snowboarded, the allure of fresh powder so early is tantalizing.
Having just watched The Art of Flight I am even more ready for our first snow. The Art of Flight, called by critics the best snowboarding movie of all-time, features Travis Rice and his crew throwing some of the craziest moves ever attempted on some of the world's gnarliest lines. The film is a little over an hour long and my friends and I have already watched it multiple times.
I've also been spending al ot of time lately on the New Schoolers website. This is a forum-based website where people can discuss the "new school" style of skiing; freeskiing. Like the name implies, freeskiing is completely unrestricted with the only boundaries being the skill and daring of the skier. Subsets of freeskiing include park, pipe, and jibbing.
Park skiing takes place, obviously, in the terrain park. This is a place on a ski resort, usually a shorter run, or sometimes even its own area serviced by its own lift. The park is made up of a combination of jumps, rails, and boxes for the skiers (and also snowboarders) to perform tricks.
Jumps are self-explanatory, but can range in size from small "kickers" to Winter X Games behemoths with 60+ ft gaps. Skiers launch themselves off the jumps into a variety of flips, spins, and grabs. One of the appeals of freeskiing is that everyone can start off with almost no skills and can eventually perform tricks. My best to date so far is a 360 Safety, a maneuver that involves spinning in a complete circle while grabbing the bottom of my ski under my boot.
Boxes and rails are exactly what they sound like, and are platforms for the skiers to slide or "grind" down. This entails turning 90 degrees (or a larger multiple of 90 if you're good) and landing on the rail, keeping your balance, and spinning again to land forwards (or backwards) at the bottom.
Pipe skiing is the most dangerous type of freeskiing, and is therefore only attempted by the most advances skiers. A superpipe is a half cylinder built into the side of the hill that allows the skiers to rocket up and out of the pipe, sometimes as high as 25ft above the lip (and maybe twice that above the bottom of the pipe) while flipping, spinning, and grabbing, before returning back to the pipe, only to launch themselves out on the other side. The injuries in the superpipe are usually severe, and, last winter, Sarah Burke, the best women's pipe skier on the planet, was killed when she hit her head during practice.
Finally, there is jibbing, the favorite activity of my friends and I. Jibbing takes place on the hill itself, not in the park. As you ski down, you look for natural features that you can grind on (such as ledges or shelves in the snow) as well as little kickers that form, especially in the trees. This style is my favorite because it is all about creativity and no two runs are ever the same. You are constantly looking for new features and new ways to hit them.
Unfortunately for me, winter is still a few months away here in Indiana. But, until then, I will keep reading, watching, and waiting for that magical first snow.
Having just watched The Art of Flight I am even more ready for our first snow. The Art of Flight, called by critics the best snowboarding movie of all-time, features Travis Rice and his crew throwing some of the craziest moves ever attempted on some of the world's gnarliest lines. The film is a little over an hour long and my friends and I have already watched it multiple times.
I've also been spending al ot of time lately on the New Schoolers website. This is a forum-based website where people can discuss the "new school" style of skiing; freeskiing. Like the name implies, freeskiing is completely unrestricted with the only boundaries being the skill and daring of the skier. Subsets of freeskiing include park, pipe, and jibbing.
Park skiing takes place, obviously, in the terrain park. This is a place on a ski resort, usually a shorter run, or sometimes even its own area serviced by its own lift. The park is made up of a combination of jumps, rails, and boxes for the skiers (and also snowboarders) to perform tricks.
Jumps are self-explanatory, but can range in size from small "kickers" to Winter X Games behemoths with 60+ ft gaps. Skiers launch themselves off the jumps into a variety of flips, spins, and grabs. One of the appeals of freeskiing is that everyone can start off with almost no skills and can eventually perform tricks. My best to date so far is a 360 Safety, a maneuver that involves spinning in a complete circle while grabbing the bottom of my ski under my boot.
Boxes and rails are exactly what they sound like, and are platforms for the skiers to slide or "grind" down. This entails turning 90 degrees (or a larger multiple of 90 if you're good) and landing on the rail, keeping your balance, and spinning again to land forwards (or backwards) at the bottom.
Pipe skiing is the most dangerous type of freeskiing, and is therefore only attempted by the most advances skiers. A superpipe is a half cylinder built into the side of the hill that allows the skiers to rocket up and out of the pipe, sometimes as high as 25ft above the lip (and maybe twice that above the bottom of the pipe) while flipping, spinning, and grabbing, before returning back to the pipe, only to launch themselves out on the other side. The injuries in the superpipe are usually severe, and, last winter, Sarah Burke, the best women's pipe skier on the planet, was killed when she hit her head during practice.
Finally, there is jibbing, the favorite activity of my friends and I. Jibbing takes place on the hill itself, not in the park. As you ski down, you look for natural features that you can grind on (such as ledges or shelves in the snow) as well as little kickers that form, especially in the trees. This style is my favorite because it is all about creativity and no two runs are ever the same. You are constantly looking for new features and new ways to hit them.
Unfortunately for me, winter is still a few months away here in Indiana. But, until then, I will keep reading, watching, and waiting for that magical first snow.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Summer Vacation part 4
Our original plan had been to stay the night in Vancouver, and then get up early the next morning to re-enter the country and catch the ferry to San Juan Island. Like any good trip, however, there were complications.
The World Fireworks Championship was being held that night, which he had been looking forward to. This, of course, drew a large crowd to the city (about 200,000 people from what we were told). I normally am not a huge fan of crowds, but we figured we could take them for one night.
When we got to our hotel in late afternoon (after driving all day) downtown was unbelievably packed. I also began to notice something interesting about the people clogging the streets...most were wearing some sort of rainbow colored clothing. And holding hands. With people of the same sex.
Turns out that weekend was a huge gay pride parade, expected to draw a couple hundred thousand additional people to the city. And our hotel was right on the parade right, smack in the middle of the chaos.
We decided the city was going to be simply too crazy so we cancelled our hotel and set off back to America. Once we got back into the country (and back into free cell phone service) we began calling ahead to the various towns that were near the ferry dock to the San Juan Islands.
Keeping in line with the events of the day, there was a big annual art fair going on and we could not find a hotel anywhere. My brother and I had our phones out, looking up hotels and calling one after another only to hear, "sorry, we're full."
Finally, after more than an hour of searching, we found a rather sketchy motel for the whopping price of around $50 a night. But hey, it was a bed. We got up at 6 the next morning, caught the ferry, and were finally on the island by noon.
This is my family on the ferry. One of the other ferries had broken down so ours had to make additional stops at other islands, almost doubling our time to Friday Harbor, the port on San Juan Island. But that's another story.
Our lodging on the island was a cabin that a local family rents out, and it was absolutely awesome. Their property was set right on the water, away from any main roads or tourist hubs. They had their own private beach (at low tide, anyway) and I was able to go out and sit on the rocks and watch the sunset every night. It was definitely one of the best places we stayed on the entire trip.
The next morning we drove to Roche Harbor, on the northwest corner of the island, we set off on our respective adventures, my brother and I sea kayaking and our parents whale watching. I wrote about our experiences on that trip in a previous post which you can read here. Needless to say, being 30 yards from an adult killer whale in a 17ft kayak is a pretty interesting experience.
We spent our last day on the island exploring the coasts, looking for whales and other marine life, and visiting the historic American and British camps from 1859 when we almost fought the British over a pig (no really, that's the truth, read about it here)
My brother and I just outside the American camp, looking west across Haro Strait. As you can tell from the picture, we had nearly perfect weather.
When our time on the island came to a close, we reluctantly re-boarded the ferry, drove back to Spokane, and flew home.
With my brother and I both in college now, and working during the summers, this was probably our last big family vacation. I'm sure (and I hope) that we will continue to take smaller trips together, but our annual vacations to destinations as far as Alaska and as close as Michigan, will always be one of my favorite childhood memories, and I hope that I can one day give my children an equally memorable experience.
The World Fireworks Championship was being held that night, which he had been looking forward to. This, of course, drew a large crowd to the city (about 200,000 people from what we were told). I normally am not a huge fan of crowds, but we figured we could take them for one night.
When we got to our hotel in late afternoon (after driving all day) downtown was unbelievably packed. I also began to notice something interesting about the people clogging the streets...most were wearing some sort of rainbow colored clothing. And holding hands. With people of the same sex.
Turns out that weekend was a huge gay pride parade, expected to draw a couple hundred thousand additional people to the city. And our hotel was right on the parade right, smack in the middle of the chaos.
We decided the city was going to be simply too crazy so we cancelled our hotel and set off back to America. Once we got back into the country (and back into free cell phone service) we began calling ahead to the various towns that were near the ferry dock to the San Juan Islands.
Keeping in line with the events of the day, there was a big annual art fair going on and we could not find a hotel anywhere. My brother and I had our phones out, looking up hotels and calling one after another only to hear, "sorry, we're full."
Finally, after more than an hour of searching, we found a rather sketchy motel for the whopping price of around $50 a night. But hey, it was a bed. We got up at 6 the next morning, caught the ferry, and were finally on the island by noon.
Our lodging on the island was a cabin that a local family rents out, and it was absolutely awesome. Their property was set right on the water, away from any main roads or tourist hubs. They had their own private beach (at low tide, anyway) and I was able to go out and sit on the rocks and watch the sunset every night. It was definitely one of the best places we stayed on the entire trip.
The next morning we drove to Roche Harbor, on the northwest corner of the island, we set off on our respective adventures, my brother and I sea kayaking and our parents whale watching. I wrote about our experiences on that trip in a previous post which you can read here. Needless to say, being 30 yards from an adult killer whale in a 17ft kayak is a pretty interesting experience.
We spent our last day on the island exploring the coasts, looking for whales and other marine life, and visiting the historic American and British camps from 1859 when we almost fought the British over a pig (no really, that's the truth, read about it here)
When our time on the island came to a close, we reluctantly re-boarded the ferry, drove back to Spokane, and flew home.
With my brother and I both in college now, and working during the summers, this was probably our last big family vacation. I'm sure (and I hope) that we will continue to take smaller trips together, but our annual vacations to destinations as far as Alaska and as close as Michigan, will always be one of my favorite childhood memories, and I hope that I can one day give my children an equally memorable experience.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Summer Vacation part 3
I'm back, sorry its been almost a week, but I'll get back to my recap of my families vacation last summer.
When I left off, we had just left the United States and headed into Canada. We stayed one night at the famous Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton Lakes National Park before heading north to Calgary.
Calgary was the host of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, and we visited the Olympic Park where we were able to see the ski jump and bobsled run. The bobsled run is famous because 1988 was the year of the Jamaican bobsled team, forever immortalized in the movie Cool Runnings.
Later that night we went to eat at Ranchman's Cookhouse and Dance Saloon (supposedly the party headquarters of the Calgary Stampede Rodeo, the largest in the world). As soon as we walked in, my brother and I immediately recognized it as the bar where the Jamaican team got into the fight in Cool Runnings. Sure enough, the Jamaican bobsled and their four yellow helmets were hanging on the wall. Whether or not they actually got in a fight there is a mystery (and probably a Hollywood invention) but that scene was filmed there so that was kind of fun to see.
From Calgary we headed west to Banff, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. The actual town of Banff surprised me, as I had been expecting a mountain town and it more closely resembled Gatlinburg, TN.
We weren't there for the town, however, and the mountain scenery was spectacular. Specifically, we visited two pristine lakes, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake.
This is my family at Lake Louise, with a glacier in the mountains above us. The water was an incredible turquoise blue color, and Moraine Lake was even more vibrant.
We also saw an abundance of wildlife on the roads in Banff National Park including several grizzly bears, a couple black bears, a moose, and an elk, among others. We only hiked shorter trails while we were here (due to inclement weather) but the wildlife was definitely a highlight.
This was a black bear we saw from our car. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view) this was as close as we got while in Banff.
After a few days in Banff we once again headed west, traveling through Jasper and Revelstoke National Parks. We only passed through those parks, stopping off periodically to do things such as take a short hike or visit a waterfall.
This is my brother and I after venturing off trail to make our way down to the river. You can't see it from this picture but my mom (the photographer) was standing above a waterfall that we attempted to get down to. The climb back up was fun and not nearly as difficult as the picture makes it look.
We returned to the good ol US of A after a week in Canada, reentering in Washington state, near Seattle.
The last leg of our trip was spent in the San Juan Islands just off the coast of northwest Washington.
When I left off, we had just left the United States and headed into Canada. We stayed one night at the famous Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton Lakes National Park before heading north to Calgary.
Calgary was the host of the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, and we visited the Olympic Park where we were able to see the ski jump and bobsled run. The bobsled run is famous because 1988 was the year of the Jamaican bobsled team, forever immortalized in the movie Cool Runnings.
Later that night we went to eat at Ranchman's Cookhouse and Dance Saloon (supposedly the party headquarters of the Calgary Stampede Rodeo, the largest in the world). As soon as we walked in, my brother and I immediately recognized it as the bar where the Jamaican team got into the fight in Cool Runnings. Sure enough, the Jamaican bobsled and their four yellow helmets were hanging on the wall. Whether or not they actually got in a fight there is a mystery (and probably a Hollywood invention) but that scene was filmed there so that was kind of fun to see.
From Calgary we headed west to Banff, in the heart of the Canadian Rockies. The actual town of Banff surprised me, as I had been expecting a mountain town and it more closely resembled Gatlinburg, TN.
We weren't there for the town, however, and the mountain scenery was spectacular. Specifically, we visited two pristine lakes, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake.
This is my family at Lake Louise, with a glacier in the mountains above us. The water was an incredible turquoise blue color, and Moraine Lake was even more vibrant.
We also saw an abundance of wildlife on the roads in Banff National Park including several grizzly bears, a couple black bears, a moose, and an elk, among others. We only hiked shorter trails while we were here (due to inclement weather) but the wildlife was definitely a highlight.
This was a black bear we saw from our car. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view) this was as close as we got while in Banff.
After a few days in Banff we once again headed west, traveling through Jasper and Revelstoke National Parks. We only passed through those parks, stopping off periodically to do things such as take a short hike or visit a waterfall.
This is my brother and I after venturing off trail to make our way down to the river. You can't see it from this picture but my mom (the photographer) was standing above a waterfall that we attempted to get down to. The climb back up was fun and not nearly as difficult as the picture makes it look.
We returned to the good ol US of A after a week in Canada, reentering in Washington state, near Seattle.
The last leg of our trip was spent in the San Juan Islands just off the coast of northwest Washington.
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