We were tired of shovelling snow in Laramie, so decided to take a little trip south to find the heat. Mary, my sister-in-law came along. She’d never been to the Grand Canyon.
The only problem is the snow followed us down there…..
Here we are at the North Rim. We were lucky to even get in to the trailhead, there still being drifts of snow on the road.
We started down on May 2nd with all our clothes on. Mike Coughlin drove down from Bend , OR to join us.
The Canyon was quite moody and photographic.
Our first camp was on the Esplanade. We had packed down an extra 15 liters, as this was a ‘dry camp’.
The next morning, after doing a pastel and having breakfast, we headed down to Surprise Valley.
Here’s Mary, and my sister Felicia on their way down the Red Wall. Felicia had driven out from San Diego to join us.
Surprise Valley was a couple of miles of relatively flat walking until you came to the Thunder Falls rim.
Some desert flowers…. Indian Paintbrush
Then we stared down towards Thunder Falls.
Thunder Falls comes out of the bottom of the Red Wall, which extends 1500 feet above. It is the shortest River in the world, as it takes less than a mile for it to reach Tapeats Creek.
Both Thunder River and Tapeats Creek were raging with Spring run-off. Still Mike and I tried our hand at fishing and caught a few. Here is the creek when we crossed it last time, May of ’06.
The trail down to the Colorado normally crosses the creek several times. The Park Service Guide said there was a trail the stayed on the west side, but that it was exposed, hard, and “should only be used as a last resort…” We had no other resort, the creek being at flood stage.
Naturally that was a bit of hyperbole, as one might expect from the Park Service…
We finally got warm on the Colorado, and enjoyed some more fishing.
We spent our third night on the Colorado and I got a nice pastel done of this view.
The next morning we left before dawn to avoid the heat.
One more night on Upper tapeats, where there was more fishing, pastelling and just generally enjoying life.
Then it was back up to the Esplanade.
And on the sixth day we went out.
All in all a marvelous trip.
May 18, 2010 at 7:53 pm | General | No comment
Alison and I recently installed a bamboo floor in the studio, a project we’ve wanted to do for some time.
Lots of friends and family helped out.
We put it on almost entirely on Saturday, then had a dance in the studio that night to break it in.
The floor replaces a ratty old gray carpet that was 20 years old. It’s a marvelous improvement.
Now we look like a New York Gallery…
Except for the fireplace.
November 23, 2009 at 11:28 am | General | No comment
At the Buffalo Bill Show in Cody, I am here doing a quickdraw of the Matterhorn in the space of an hour while people look on.
After the auction Alison and I went to Meteetsee to climb Franc’s Peak, 13,153 feet, with Lili Turnell and her friend Lynn. Franc’s is one of only three Wyoming thirteeners outside of the Windriver Range. It’s a volcanic peak with sparse vegetation but with a commanding view of the Absorokas, the Gros Ventres, clear to Gannett Peak.
Then it was over to the Tetons to paint some fall colors. However the weather moved in…
We decide to take a hike into Garnet Canyon and go up the south flank below Nez Perce. We left at 3:30 AM. The snow was loose and slid off of the grass as we tried to go up the mountain. It was like trying to go uphill on roller skates.
So we stopped at dawn and Alison pulled out the Jetboil to fire up some tea; very comforting since at was 16 degrees F when we left the cabin at 2:30 AM.
However the Alpenglow made all our efforts seem worthwhile…
After tea and photos we decide to keep going up, grabbing tree limbs and bushes to pull our selves along. As we ascended a fog was rolling in from the valley below.
This was an answer to prayer, since I thought of how a bit of fog at the base of the mountains would improve the composition tremendously. I have no imagination to invent such things, so God is always having to help me out.
At a flat shoulder of the mountain Alison cooked up something nourishing. The Jetboil is her secret weapon for being able to linger in the mountains in style and comfort.
Alison got a watercolor done by using hot water, and I got a pastel done. Both were rather hasty sketches. We will need to rely mostly on photos as references, but what photos!
On the way down we decided to explore the trail-less canyon east of Nez Perce.
Again, we had to rely on grabbing limbs and branches to get down the steep parts. We invented a new sport called ‘bush surfing’.
Finally we came out onto the dry hills where the snow had melted off.
All in all a marvelous trip with exquisite scenes of rare beauty.
October 7, 2009 at 1:54 pm | General | No comment
Hans and Heidi In the Swiss Alps, August 21 – 31, 2009, (AKA: Joe and Alison)
Before leaving home Hans and Heidi bought authentic Swiss outfits so that we would blend in with the locals….
Next, our weblog finds Hans and Heidi in the charming Swiss Village of Zermatt. No cars are allowed in Zermatt.
After one night in Zermatt we proceeded to the Hornli Hut, the standard overnight stop for aspirants on the Matterhorn’s Hornli Route. Most climbers had a Swiss guide and a ratio of 1:1. That’s because the Matterhorn is rather long and involved and you need to be efficient and fast. This picture shows we are in a crowd of gnarly climber types who will tear the hut apart if dinner is late….
We left after a breakfast in the Hut. The Head Guide was the first one to be let out the door. It’s considered bad form to try to beat the Head Guide out the door. As one Brit told us, “Its like riding ahead of the Master of the Hunt in a fox hunt.” Heidi and I duly queued up and left the hut about 4:20. Here is Heidi climbing with her headlamp….
Here is shot of Heidi defying gravity, with the town of Zermatt below her feet.
The climbing is all exposed but not especially difficult. We were short- roping like the guides, keeping about 10 meters of rope between us and the rest coiled around my shoulders for when the need arose. It is a fast method but requires that the guide not fall off the mountain and pull his client with him. They say that 500 people have died on the Matterhorn since it was first climbed by the Edward Whymper party. On the descent of that first climb four of a party of seven fell off the mountain, thus starting a rather disturbing trend…
This picture shows the Hornli Ridge on the right skyline. The Hornli Hut is below the clouds.
Hans, the Swiss Guide. The ‘Shoulder’ is seen above, also visible in the previous photo as a band of white snow.
Here is a view looking East toward the Klein Matterhorn, or “Little Matterhorn”.
There were lots of other people on the mountain….
Hans, unfortunately was feeling rather poorly physically, and had to admit defeat, just below the Solvay Hut, about 2/3 of the way to the summit.
Hans still got in a couple of pastels from the Hornli hut.
The next day we spent at the Schwarzee Hotel which had terrible views.
Two nights in Zermatt and a visit to a Swiss Doctor, then we were back up to the Huts. First we climbed the Rifflehorn.
And the Breithrorn
Why did Heidi keep saying, “Just a few steps closer to the edge and I’ll snap your picture….?”
Next we stayed at the Gandegghutte, which again has terrible views of nothing but rocks and ice.
Hans found an old guitar on a shelf and tuned it up for some music after dinner. A British psychologist and a computer programmer from Pennsylvania joined in the singing. Both of them were in training for the Matterhorn. Jon, from PA. took our photo. We saw him later and found out he had made the summit. He also shot this picture of a chamois in the Alps.
From the Gandegghutte we went over to the Schonbielhutte, which is up a drainage beneath the north face of the Matterhorn, being on the left in sunlight in this picture.
On the right is the Carrell Ridge or “Italian Route”.
Here again we were with a rough crowd, eating supper without plates or cutlery and braying through the night. (Dent D’Heren is in the background.)
We just stuck around the hut doing pastels, drawings and watercolors, and trying not to look offensive.
On the way back to Zermatt we stopped by the tiny village of Zmutt and did some art.
And finally, on the last morning we were in Zermatt I did the perfect Toblerone view of the Alps:
Ah, the perfect reward for all my labors….
September 21, 2009 at 6:05 pm | Artists, International Trips, Mountaineering | No comment
On this trip Alison and I encountered a lot of snow. It was a bit like winter camping. Also all the streams were raging:
Cascade Canyon Stream
The Tetons from the east at daybreak, North Cascade Canyon:
A postcard view of the Tetons from the trail above Lake Solitude:
Alison laboring up to the Pass
And the Jetboil is put to service for a dinner on the Pass
Over the Pass and into Paintbrush Canyon. Our little camp in the snow:
And a pastel is done above Holly Lake, a spot I have painted 4 times,
though this version is unique with all the snow…
And here’s the pastel, one that will be in the Alpine
Club show in London this winter.
September 21, 2009 at 5:56 pm | General | No comment
Kiener’s Route, Long’s Peak, July 18 – 19, 2009
Alison and I wanted to practice our mountaineering for the Matterhorn so the Kiener’s Route on the east face of Long’s Peak was a good choice for something comparable.
We went up to the Battle Mountain Campsite with Jason and Kristen Reid
Alison and I left the next morning for Kiener’s Route.
Dawn light over Chasm Lake
Up on the start of Broadway, a long ledge that goes beneath the Diamond.
This should be a painting someday!
Alison doing the delicate ‘step-across’ section, with 900 feet of exposure should you mis-step…..
The first pitch off Broadway is a 5-4 sort of thing.
We’ll skip ahead to the last roped pitch. Last time we were on the climb we
missed this easier exit and ended up on a 5/8 pitch. We saw another
party this time do the same error.
Alison heading for the summit.
We met Tim And Austin back at Battle Mountain. They had just been on ‘Pervertical Sanctuary’ on the Diamond, a 5/10C
September 21, 2009 at 5:55 pm | General | No comment
Alison and I wanted to return to the CMC Route on Mt Moran and get some more photos and studies done for paintings. Little did we know she would be flying off the mountain in a helicopter. But I’m ahead of myself…
Kynada Aldrich was with us on the trip. We canoed across Leigh Lake in the morning and stashed our canoes at the bottom of the long, broad coulior coming off Falling Ice Glacier. The first part is straight up.
So are all the other parts…
We finally reached the CMC Camp about noon. Although we were there at the same time as last year, there was no water in the stream this year.
I left the camp to bivouac up near Drizzlepus, where I wanted to do some pastels. I had a Jetboil to cook, a sleeping bag, ground pad and bivy sack, my camera and art supplies and all I would need for the next day’s climb. The gals would leave camp about 3 AM the next morning and catch up with me.
I caught the evening views..
and the dawn views… and got two pastels done, just finishing up as Alison and Kynada arrived.
We had a marvelous climb of the CMC Route.
and reached the summit about 2 PM.
On the way down I stopped to do another pastel of a view that I wanted to do a painting of, which features the West Horn and the Falling Ice Glacier with the lakes and valley below…
The pastel was quickly done but invaluable for color.
The painting, done in the studio looks like this 
But on with the story…
To drop into the notch between Drizzlepuss and Unsoeld Tower I was working my way down the shoulder with Kynada following, and Alison decided to drop over the side onto a steep face which she had climbed up earlier that day and considered a reasonable solo. However, halfway down the face she lost her grip and went down, falling 15 feet, breaking an ankle and then going backwards and upside down towards the steep south side of the notch. I saw this from where I was on the shoulder and it was a horrible moment for all of us indeed. Thank God she stopped and was conscious, though bleeding from numerous cuts and abrasions.
We did a primary survey and stopped the bleeding. Then we determined that if Alison was able to get up and over the steep face of Drizzlepuss then we could get her to the bivouac where, with the sleeping bag and stove it would be a fairly comfortable night until we could get help. Also if we need a chopper there was no way one could have gotten her out of the notch. We roped up and began the climb up the 100 foot face of the Drizz, me double belaying- Alison and Kynada so that Kynada could assist.
We spent the night fairly comfortably at my bivy site. With the sleeping pad and bag and a jet boil we were able to melt snow for water. The next morning at dawn some climbers came by, one of which was a physician and the other an EMT. They examined Alison’s ankle and suggested we call for a helicopter. They also had a cell phone, which I never carry, being old school. (I was planning to climb out and alert the Climbing Rangers, that method costing us 4 hours at least.) The Rangers were there with a chopper within 30 minutes to survey the scene. Then they flew back, picked up the personel and gear they would need and returned with two rangers hanging off the end of a cable. They were let down and immediately began a full survey of the patient, right down to glucose levels. Alison was attached to the cable with one of the rangers and flew off toward the Meadow Ranger Headquarters where there was an ambulance waiting. This method is called the ‘short haul’. I gave Alison the camera to take some once in a lifetime pictures…..
The other ranger and Kynada and I had to take the traditional way back, going at a sprint the whole way to keep up with the ranger. When we got back to Jackson Alison had already been released from the hospital and was recuperating at Dave and Theresa Hunger’s. She had a removable cast on her right foot, which the doctors said was a hairline fracture. Within three weeks she was trekking out to remote villages in Rwanda, but that’s another story…
May 4, 2009 at 1:33 pm | General | 2 comments
The Alpine Club is the first club of its kind, founded in 1857 in London. They have a collection of 600 artworks on the subject of mountaineering, extending back to the 18th century. A nice assortment has been compiled by Peter Mallelieu, the “Keeper of the Pictures” and featured in the book The Artists of the Alpine Club.
These are some pieces of mine in consideration for a group show at the Alpine Club in London, November 2009 – February 2010.
They are mostly smaller works, done on location while climbing in the Tetons.
This pastel, 9 x 12 in. was done from Hurricane Pass on the west side of the Tetons. The fierce aspect of the Grand presented from that side is what the Langford party encountered in 1872. A branch of the Hayden survey, they were camped in Teton Canyon when they decided to make for the summit of the Grand and left with a party of 14, passing near Hurricane Pass. Only two of the original party remained when they reached the summit, and their summit claim has been disputed right up to this day.
This view is from the Upper Saddle of the Grand, looking south over the Middle Teton. All parties on the easiest approach, the Owen Spalding Route will go by here. The last 600 feet to the summit propose the technical challenges of the climb: ‘The ‘Belly Roll’, the ‘Crawl’ and the overhanging rock in the chimney, pitches that all involve terrific exposure. Langford’s failure to describe these unique features, the absence of evidence on the summit, and his description of features that seem improbable is what has lent credence to his detractors. Billy Owen made a lifetime career out of discrediting Langford and advancing his own 1898 ascent as the first.
Members of the Alpine Club were in the area with the intent to climb the Grand prior to 1898. In 1878 James Eccles , with his Swiss guide, Michel Payot lost their opportunity when several mules strayed away and had to be found. Being with the Hayden Survey they had to continue on to Yellowstone, and so lost the window. Another member, William Baillie-Grohman was in Jackson Hole in 1880 on a hunting trip and considered the prospect of summiting the Grand to be a ‘mere trifle’ . However he procrastinated his climb until a forest fire forced evacuation of the area.
This is the view from the summit of the Grand, showing Teewinot below. I have done three pastel studies from the summit, used as inspiration for this 9 x 12 in. oil, completed in the studio. At 13770 feet the solar intensity was such that my dark pastels were very hot to the touch.
This 9 x 12 pastel was done on a spring day at Delta Lake, looking up at the East Ridge of the Grand, 4770 feet above. I had only intended to do a short hike to a spot where I did a pastel of Teewinot Falls. The day being pleasant I wandered up for a few hours more to this spot and was so inspired I had to do a picture. Since I was out of food and and was tired I didn’t feel up to the task. However I’d forgotten my camera, so I knew whatever image I brought back would be what I could do in a couple of hours with my pastels. I was so thrilled to catch a nice image my elation was hardly dimmed by the fact that my van wouldn’t start when I made it back to the parking lot. Some critter had chewed through my fuel line and all the gas was spilling on the ground!
This pencil study is the view from the summit of Teewinot. As the notes say on the sketch, “One of the finest views in the world.” You are looking directly across to the North Face of the Grand. I have in mind to do an oil of this view, 108 x 26 in. I have some pastel studies done from the summit to help with the colors.
This view is from the third Switchback on the trail to Garnet Canyon. Its a very popular trail for climbers and day hikers. Most parties climbing the Grand go this way. This is the only oil shown here that was done on location. Its 9 x 12 in.
This view of the Grand is from the north, from along the CMC Route of Mt. Moran. I bivouacked at this spot to get some pastels done in the evening and dawn light. The next day, my wife Alison and a friend came up to meet me and we continued on to the summit of Moran. On the descent Alison fell and got a fracture in her ankle, and several nasty cuts and bruises, which necessitated our using the bivouac again that night. Fortunately I had a pretty comfy bivy, what with a Jetboil, a sleeping pad and bag. The next morning a cell phone call alerted the Climbing Rangers, who very kindly got a short haul helicopter rescue in progress. (See “Helicopter rescue on Mt. Moran”)
This is the view from the CMC Route on Moran, high above Falling Ice Glacier, which is guarded by the East and West Horns. This is a 14 x 36 in. study done in the studio from photos and a pastel done on location. I liked the directional slant of the right foreground rocks which lead the eye into the background. But I put grass in to get some more color, scale and texture….
Here is a studio shot of me working on the larger version of “CMC Route, Mt. Moran”. On the left is the ‘before grasses shot.’
This 16 x 16 oil shows the East and West horns from below.
This view from the Middle Teton shows the South Ridge of the Grand where most of the climbing is done. I have done several studies and one 54 x 72 oil. This is the ‘Yellow Version’ of the view, 9 x 12 in, done somewhat with Joseph Turner in mind.
May 4, 2009 at 1:30 pm | General | 3 comments
On this trip I was helping instruct and guide fourteen students. My son, Jason and two other Solid Rock instructors had the greater responsibility, so I had the luxury of getting in some pasteling in this amazing and colorful country.
This first pastel was done as we were first descending off the rim. I worked on it about 45 minutes but had no trouble catching up as this group was painfully slow.
This is the photo:
This is the pastel:
The first campsite had great views:
And of course there was music:
1800 feet down from the rim we came across Thunder Falls, the first water we had seen.
It came gushing out, a full blown river, from the base of a 1000 foot cliff of red sandstone.
It runs into Tepeetsee River
one of the best trout fisheries in the state,
shown here in the photo:
And in the pastel:
The Colorado River was a highlight, not just for swimming:
But for a fine pastel:
Stream crossing on the way back up, Jason riding herd.
Joshua, one of the instructors had time to practice his air guitar while waiting for the troops to make it up the trail.
They made it eventually…
Shade was a real premium. We hiked early morning and evening and would rest at noon.
The guy in the middle hadn’t read the course description. He assumed we were going to drive everyday to scenic spots, then return at night to sleep in a nice hotel in Las Vegas. He managed to adjust…
This guy was hanging around Thunder Falls.
Managed to sneak in some climbing at Red Rocks
And near Moab.
It was nice to do a trip where the problem was heat rather than cold. Very comfortable sketching conditions. Would like to go back with Alison and concentrate on the painting part. Even so, I did get seven pastels done. All in all a fabulous trip!
January 31, 2008 at 9:15 pm | General, Rock Climbing, Southwest, Trekking | No comment
Drove up to Banff from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Stopped in Glacier National Park for some plein air painting and a trip up Mt. Reynolds. Fabulous views.
The evidence of the glaciers having been there is exciting.
But in Canada the glaciers are still there.
Also the rock is granite, very steep, very picturesque and a wonderland of climbing.
An international community of climbers comes to the "Bugs", many of them staying here at the Canadian Alpine Club hut.
It’s quite plush: kitchen with all the cookware and utensils, sinks, bunkbeds, electric heat and outdoor privy. The only thing lacking was a shower.
This Snowpatch Spire was one of my favorite climbs.
You can see it behind this french climber.
My climbing partner Kent Marshall is busting some moves on Snowpatch…
Pigeon Spire. Another classic.
The best was saved for last: Northeast Ridge of Bugaboo Spire. It’s listed in the Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.
This 16 x 24 inch pastel is of the view on the ‘Kain Route’ of Bugaboo Spire. There are more pastels to come.
We’ll be back….
January 22, 2008 at 8:57 am | General | 2 comments
Here we are at the North Rim. We were lucky to even get in to the trailhead, there still being drifts of snow on the road.
