shotto abroad

Labor Day Weekend: Summer Snow and Gorge-ous DMB

2006-09-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

So for months now, I've been staring outta my window towards this distant peak, Mount Rainier. This is an absolutely enormous volcano about 15000ft high, and this weekend I at last got to climb it :-) An almost interminably long drive where the mountain hangs tantalisingly at a seeming constant distance away, and a half hour queue to get into the park, we arrived in Paradise. We walked the Skyline Trail which does a 4 mile loop up towards on of the numerous glaciers that surround the awe-inspiring mountain. The hike was awesome and we even got to have a summer snowball fight and make snow angels! The drive back was amazing - beautiful scenery and apparently cars can fly...

Mount Rainier from afar.

The peak - so near and yet so far...

Sunbathing with snow :-)

A Labor Day weekend would not be complete without at least two very exciting things, so the Sunday we headed out to see Dave Matthews Band live at the Gorge Amphitheatre. This is a totally amazing venue about 3 hours inland from Seattle set as you'll see into a natural acoustic place of excellent with a magnificent river backdrop. The concert was similarly rockin', with OAR warming up for DMB. What a show! Next time I do the 3 day camping/concert experience...

J-me, Dennis, UV, Raymond, and Krishna, and the Gorge

The guys, and...

... the man.

Extreme Whistler

2006-08-23T23:58:00.000-07:00

So the final installment of my Canadian adventures! Whistler - home of winter snow, and summer bears, lakes and extreme downhill mountain biking. After toying with the idea of going it alone for the first time ever we came to the conclusion that this would be suicide and so decided on getting a guide. Our guide dude Pat got us kitted out with bikes and armour, and thankfully switched my breaks to the "British" way round. Then we jumped on a chair-lift (a surreal experience when everything's green not white). At the top we got a brief intro to using the bikes (these things have crazy suspension and tally up at about $5000 before mods) before we set off down a "green" run. Green is usually meant to indicate easy/safe, but this certainly wasn't either. A narrow dirt track (about 1m wide) covered with rocks and tree roots and surrounded by 100m tall fir tres. Potential for sudden death at any second. After five mins of bone-shaking nerve-jittering muscle-aching riding we paused for a moment. One of the other girls in our group was in tears. Justine and I were having a lot of fun but boy is this different to cycling across Fen Causeway. After much trepidation we made it to the bottom! Woohoo! The girl who was struggling (probably wisely given what was to come) decided to stay there and pass on the next run, but despite our arms shaking uncontrably we loaded back onto the chair-lift.

"Now this time," says Pat, "we're gonna do something a little harder". Oh oh. We set off down a blue run this time (blue meaning bring it on, I've got medical insurance) and were told to concentrate on turning round the corners. I was more concentrating on not going 100 mph into a tree, but the corners were in the back of my mind. I am barely able to still hold onto the breaks with my forearms turned to jelly when we pause for a second by some funny looking wooden contraptions. "Let's do some of these" the ever optimistic Pat suggests. He points out a simple one which is basically a long very thin (maybe 3 tire-widths) plank of wood that's been raised about a foot into the air. There's a ramp at either end. He gets back on his bike and cycles up onto and along the plank. Easy. "Just look at the far end, you can't go wrong". Well apparently you can, though miraculously no injuries. Unfazed by our lack of success he turns to another wooden feature and suggests we have a go "but only if you're feeling confident". Somewhat gingerly we say we'll have a look at it. It turns out to be inlaid into the forest a little, and consists of a square of wooden planks, the path being about a foot wide, and you have to cycle round the square. Easy. Except for the fact that it's ten feet in the air. "Maybe next time" I tell Pat. "Ok, no worries. We'll head over to the drop-off then". Justine and I, the only ones left in our group by now exchange nervous glances. Drop-off?? A couple of minutes later we're paused again, but before we can complain, Pat's off on his bike shouting "just let go of the breaks and you'll be fine!". With no other option in site, we mount our bikes and head over the lip of the hill and bam - there it is - the drop-off. Kinda obvious name when you see it. Accelerating rapidly, I had the thought that with one tiny mistake I would at the very least lose all four limbs if not my whole body. Somehow tho we both made it down and on to the base of the mountain, but we had acquired an in-depth knowledge of just how crazy these people are.

Near-death experiences immortalised.

We did these jumps, honest.

After all that excitement we took it a bit easier the rest of the day going for a relaxing swim in a lake followed by a Mongolian BBQ for dinner (and before anyone asks, no I didn't make it onto the hall-of-fame for most food eaten).

Our final day of the trip dawned to the sound of ATV (that's Quad bikes for the Brits out there) engines raring. This had been advertised as a potential method for bear watching, but if I was a bear I think I would i) hear these ATVs from about 2 miles away, and ii) stay away from them. Needless to say the bears weren't forthcoming, but we did get some nice views of the valley and the ATV driving was pretty fun (tho after the previous day anything would seem tame).

A view of Whistler valley.

Nice eh?

ATV or bust.

Vancouver!

2006-08-18T23:05:00.000-07:00

Sadly our stay on Vancouver Island had to come to a close all too soon, but great things lay ahead. A pleasant sun-soaked ferry ride from Nanaimo (where incidently we had experienced an impromptu concert by a remarkably good but strangely anonymous British choir while dining on a fresh salmon steak) brought us over to the hinder island's namesake...

Vancouver, the city of dreams, the land of opportunity, sunshine, beee-a-uuutiful views, and ... Darth Vader bear!

Darth Bear

After doing battle with the dark side (and coming off with only a few bear scratches), we headed for a stroll around Gastown, getting unexpectedly drenched under the steam powered clock, and finding Franken-bear in a first-nations art shop (sorry, "store").

Franken-Bear

China town in Vancouver contains the world's narrowest office building (a remarkable 6 feet(!) wide), and the beautiful Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden which brought back fond memories of my trip in China last year. For lunch we had yummy dumplings (sadly Angel, not pigeon filled) which here are known as "pot-stickers" - prize for first person to explain why?

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Garden

As if that was not enough for one day, we hired bikes for the remainder of the afternoon, and headed off long the beach initially and over to the other side of the bridge. Upon reading a map and deciding that UBC (the university) was just 3 km away, we set off up a steep hill. 9 or so MILES later we were still heading up this enormous hill with no university in site, and decided that the map might have been wrong (or, ok, perhaps we read it wrong - you decide :-)) and we should head back. Eventually, exhausted, and drenched in sweat we made it back to the city and did the stunning cycle loop round the sea wall in Stanley Park. Wow. I wanna live here!

Beautiful. Oh and look there's a nice landscape behind too!

Hanging out in Stanley Park.

Stay tuned for Whistler adventures...

PS meanwhile back in Seattle... crazy only-in-America stuff: we headed out to work to "Wade's Guns" to fire off a few rounds from a 45. Truly bizzare.

Olympic Park and Vancouver Island

2006-08-13T22:04:00.000-07:00

So this is the first post on my trip with my sister Justine up to British Columbia in Canada! We did a crazy amount of stuff in a short time so let's get straight to it.

We decided to take the scenic route up by ferry to Victoria, involving two crossings to get first to the Olympic Peninsula (still in the US) and then over to Canada on the second leg. Eyes were pealed looking out for bears in the trees but the closest we came were the soft toy hats!

Goodbye Seattle...

... hello wilderness!

Our lodging was a little run-down :-( ...

...but still cost one hundred BILLION dollars.

We had a few hours to enjoy the natural beauty of the peninsular before boarding the second ferry to Victoria for the start of our Canadian fun... Victoria is the captial of British Columbia and while much smaller than Vancouver is very picturesque and a bit like a British sea-side resort in feel. We got to explore a bit of the city checking out the government buildings and the famous Fairmont Empress hotel, and I discovered my sister's bear obsession which almost matches her gruffalo obsession ;-)

All of Canada is bear obsessed.
(bear photo 1 of 2000).

Our whistle-stop tour continued on to Tofino a good five hour drive north-west of Victoria on the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island. This is a total surfer hang-out, but due to the extreme lack of waves, we decided it best to take the lazy option and head out on a Zodiac for some remote bear-infested hot-springs relaxation followed by whale spotting!

Two days without shaving and this happens!

The "come get me now" suit. Man I wanna take one clubbing.

There's a grey whale there honest!

It jumped the boat, honest!

Ok guys, the trip report will continue soon...

Keep it real!

Group Hike and Real Madrid

2006-08-09T21:24:00.000-07:00

So once again, an MS outing, but this time a WHOLE DAY! When will we get any work done? This was the IVM group hike to Lake Serene, a 2000 foot gain with great views of dominating cliffs at the top encompassing a serene lake. Well, supposedly. Sadly the rain was coming down hard early morning, and the clouds never lifted before we headed back down :-(. But on the plus side this made for some very atmospheric photos...

Some proper trees.

Up we go.

Lake Serene. There are cliffs there in the background, honest!

So after we got back it was straight out to watch Real Madrid on tour playing D.C. United. The match was ok, but very annoyingly the 5 minutes I stepped out to grab a beer coincided with both goals!

On the field.

Krishna, Trevor, and Rick.

The Qwest Field by night.

Deception Pass BBQ

2006-08-06T21:14:00.000-07:00

So after all that skydiving excitement some serious chill-out time was really needed. So a few of us headed up to Deception Pass state park on Whidbey Island (we had done a MSR intern trip a few weeks before) for some American-style grilling. Totally awesome views, great food, and fun company.

How great a BBQ setting is this?! (Note I resisted the adjective awesome this time!)

Some humungous driftwood.

The BBQ gang.

And the obligatory stunning sunset.

Skydiving Weekend

2006-08-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

Yeah! So I managed a total of 8 jumps last weekend - stunning weather, great DZ, just turn up at manifest and you're on a plane before you can say cut-away. Did some head-down flying for the first time getting a top speed of 161 mph :-). Plus I managed to get four friends (Kevin, Matt, Rick and Pichuan) along to do tandem jumps - all survived and were totally buzzed!

Me pre head-down exit.

Rick(?) just about to land on his tandem jump.

Pichuan looking slightly nervous...

Matt looking totally buzzed!

Another tandem landing!

More Seattle fun, back in the air, and more MS fun

2006-07-23T21:36:00.000-07:00

Had another great night out in Seattle Friday checking out the Pioneer Square area, and crashed at my friend Yuvraj's place in Captiol Hill. Amazing views of night-time and morning Seattle:

Richard and Yuvraj and the Space Needle

At long last on Saturday I GOT BACK IN THE AIR! We're talking skydiving, my long time but sadly somewhat-neglected-due-to-British-weather passion. I checked out the nearest DZ (=dropzone) www.skydivesnohomish.com and got an awesome warm welcome - everyone out here is SO friendly. Did a couple of jumps with a great guy called Jordan first some RW and then a great tracking dive - got about a mile horizontal distance covered in a minute :-) Sadly no pics this time but I'll try to get some next weekend (oh yes I'm def going back).

And today Sunday, we had the annual Microsoft company picnic at some country farm near a big mountain! Scorching hot day but good fun with food, drink, and random fairground activities. Check it out:

Volleyball antics

One of the few birds at the MS picnic.

Nice backdrop or what?!

Yeah! Bouncy trampoline things :-)

Crazy Fun Sunday

2006-07-16T21:19:00.000-07:00

!!! NB you can now post comments without having to register !!!

So a whole day of fun today :-)

First off I'd been wanting to do some paragliding for ages so I finally got to give it a go on Tiger Mountain with www.seattleparagliding.com. For those who don't understand the concept, it's simple: you run off the side of a big hill. There's a little fabric parachute-like thing above your head too. Also, randomly, I did it as a tandem with a guy called Dave Prentice who had just the day before become a US national champion, and held the World Record for paragliding distance! Awesome! Check it out:

Someone about to run off a big hill.

Someone taking their life into their hands.

Me (looking v sexy in that hat) taking my life into Dave's hands.

Dave's that good that we get above where we started!
(Mt. Rainier in the background)

Seriously, we both look better without the hats.

So after that - had the taste of the air and so headed off to check out a local dropzone to endulge my more exciting hobby of skydiving! Have found a great looking DZ and will be back next weekend to jump out of airplanes :-)

The final crazy fun thing today was seeing PAUL OAKENFOLD live at a club in downtown Seattle. Totally great and somehow managed 4 hours straight dancing on no alcohol!

Some of the dudes I was out with.

Crazy video stuff and warm up DJ (warm-up goes to 1am!).

The Oakenfold mixing his tunes.

Another intern expedition

2006-07-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

So yet again MS are taking us out on a free expedition :-) This time it was to Deception Pass and Whidbey Island. Amazing scenery (as I'm becoming accustomed to here!):

After that things got a little more random and we went to 'Shipwreck Day' in Anacortes. Very strange tradition of the whole town having a giant garage sale on the main street! As you can imagine, various amazing qualities of tack were available:

A Jazz dude.

Tiddly winks ain't just a Cambridge thing.

No comments please.

Yes that is a stuffed African wart hog for sale. Only $15.

Boat Trip and Seattle Nightlife

2006-07-15T20:47:00.000-07:00

Life as an MSR intern is great - they keep forcing us to play sports during office hours, and taking us on random expeditions with free booze. The latest of these was a boat trip on Lake Washington which separates Seattle from Bellevue and Redmond where we work. Part of the trip involved passing the big ol Bill G's house:

We also discovered that playing 'flip cup' doesn't work so well with real glass:

Had my first big night out in downtown last night. Two 2 litre bottles of very expensive sake and an introduction to sake bombing provided the fuel, and then we hit a bar in Belltown (the trendy nightlife district) called Amber which was much fun :-) Sorry no photos this time but will get some more up soon...

Climbing Mount Si

2006-07-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

Me atop Mt Si, with Rainier in the background

Spent the day climbing mount Si, a 4000 ft mountain about 1/2 hour out from Bellevue. Was hard work but the views at the top were spectacular! Could see Mt Rainier rising up ominously (and tantalisingly - must climb it soon). Also saw Mt Baker in the northern distance (good skiing apparently), and Seattle and the Olympic peninsular out to the west. A great introduction to the mountains in the area. Also discovered there's a paragliding place really near so am gonna try to get sorted for that... :-)

Anyway, check out the photos!

Mount Si from below

You can almost see Seattle and the Olympic Peninsular in the distance

Fourth of July Fireworks!

2006-07-04T22:39:00.000-07:00

BIIIIIIIIIG US flag below BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGER chinook!

Puget sound here I come...

2006-07-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

Flew in Monday to the puget sound area! Totally exhausted, but have a really nice car and apartment.