Living life

It all started when I saw an opportunity to hear my favorite dj perform live in Los Angeles. Matt Darey has been a long time favorite for the Vegas climbing community since I’ve been around there. I think old man Ramsey (love you, Bill) popularized him. Since then Matt has been a staple artist, an item you never leave home without, especially if you are going climbing. With his tours and some happy luck a group of climbers befriended him. Now, listening to his mixes and remixes has more meaning to us. We’re supporting a friend. Unfortunately his tours have kept him away from Vegas. Los Angeles happened to be the closest venue I could hope to attend for the foreseeable future.

After a perfect weather day climbing up at mount potosi I headed, prepacked, for LA. Everything was set to go off without a hitch. Traffic was light, the day was early enough to get me in around 9, I even managed to Hotwire a room 3 blocks from the venue. How lucky is that?

Then while driving on the 15, 30 miles from Barstow, my jeep jumps to 5k RPM. I’m on cruise and driving a straight stretch headlong into gusty winds. I tap the brakes to bring the RPMs down. The gears aren’t shifting. Traffic is light and I’m in the far right lane so I put my hazards on and see if I can get 2nd gear to respond. Nothing. I drift down to around 40mph with RPMs around 3k. I think it’s stable enough not to blow the engine and start scoping the shoulder and looking for mile markers. Nothing immediately suitable and no landmarks or exits on the horizon. Not a single sign to tell me where I am. I see a wide shoulder with a large gravel space on my right. A trucker’s cab is there as well. The check engine light had come on and with my dangerously low speed, I get off the road.

I call my insurance and am thankful, 1) that my phone has a signal and 2) that I can tell them where I am by locating the nearest town using my GPS on my phone. 45 minutes later and I’m being towed to Barstow where I will spend the night and get an idea of what I am looking at with the jeep, in the morning.

I am thankful that I picked up a quick and healthy sandwich before setting off on this trip and I have water and my puffy so stranded at sunset in the middle of the desert did not seem too dire.

While I wait for the tow, I manage to get a full refund on the hotel through Hotwire (those guys are great!) and drop a line at the event and with friends that I was no longer going to make it. I definitely was bummed to have to hang out in what turned out to be a dive of a town but I had no choice. I’ve left my computer at home, which is a rarity so any real research has to be done by friends on my behalf. A huge shout out to Julie for helping me pull something together and for picking me up in Vegas. I owe you!

Well, to give you a glimpse of the events that got me to where I am now, which is on a greyhound bound for las vegas, read on. Days like these remind me that I’m extremely lucky: lucky to be stressed about missing a friend dj live, being stuck in a dive hotel, having to eat fast food, having to deal with the underbelly of America’s finest people, and finally how to fix and fetch my jeep. These truly are first world problems and luckily they are mine. I’m thankful to have a good job to help me financially navigate these issues and good friends willing to step up if necessary.

All of these things could never happen if I wasn’t out living my life. I am most thankful for this opportunity. Hopefully I’ll make another matt darey show. Hopefully my jeep will be repaired soon and not cost me a fortune. Hopefully this greyhound ride marks the end of a series of unfortunate and unfortunately humorous set of events.

Have a good laugh, it’s worth it.

1. Jeep craps out middle of nowhere CA

2. Tow guy gets lost but finds me 45 minutes after dispatch (which it turns out is lucky)

3. Tow guy Sydney has had congestive heart failure, his buddy and partner tower recently died of a heart attack followed by a stroke. This guy Sydney works 112 hours a week. I feel bad he had to come get me. He recommends motel 6 instead of the dives near the shop ( his words).

4. I detach and leave only the jeep key, which turns out later was smart. But I definitely wasn’t thinking when I did that.

5. I take everything useful out of the jeep but leave the rope and my hiking shoes. Usually my rope is in my climbing bag but on this day Hiroshi hiked it out. I also wore sandals to be more comfortable on the drive and decide to leave those items, which I was unable to get before leaving Barstow.

6. Tow guy drops me at motel asks for room number, um, no thanks

7. I get the 2nd to last available room on the complex

8. Motel is bustling with questionable characters of all kinds of stereotypes. I imagine meth heads when I see one guest hovering at his room door. Gang members when I pass another set, white trash at another, too many people moving about to be discreet and go unnoticed. I am obviously uncomfortable but trying to pass like I do this all of the time.

9. I need food. Front desk patches me through to a pizza delivery place but the number’s been disconnected. There is a denny’s we drove past a few blocks up. I wonder if i’m brave enough to walk these streets for food. I had scoped out the surroundings from the tow drive to the motel. Cop talking to some bum on the side of the road, lots of abandoned properties and a lot of pedestrians out for 9pm in the middle of nowhere. I opt out of walking to Denny’s thinking the closer of weinerschnitzel or jack in the box would have to suffice. They were, after all, only within a block from the hotel.

10. On my way to get food I’m aware that along my path is a nightclub promoting nude girls. Just the type of crowd I want to pass at this hour, which is nearing 10.

11. An suv full of rowdy kids passes by and starts hooting and hollering at me. They don’t let up when they pass and for a brief moment I worry they will stop or turn around. I decide to jay walk. I’ve only just passed the nightclub. A man in a silver car leers at me. I need him to pass so I can cross.

12. The silver sedan crosses all lanes and veers towards me. My demeanor is unchanged. I look at him as he turns in next to me. He studies me and I almost think he is stopping when I take advantage of the lull in traffic and cross purposefully to the other side.

13. Eat in or take out. While I wait for my order which was placed by me into an ordering machine, I study the surroundings outside along the path I’d just come. I don’t see anyone obviously lingering so I retrace my steps with my food to the hotel. This time without incident.

14. I return to my room to find that the door was never shut. Fortuitous. No one disturbed my things and after my brief episode outside of the hotel, I suddenly feel safer surrounded by these neighbors than the strangers along the street. I note to make sure the door latches when closed. Then I eat, watch some news about the wild fires in Malibu then pass out. It had been a long day.

15. I wake in the middle of the night to a nose bleed. How can this air be any drier than vegas? I attribute it to the smog from the wild fire and Local pollution.

16. Good morning! What has this day got in store for me?

17. Upside, I get to watch tv in bed, which never happens at home and is a rare treat, though there is hardly ever anything worth watching. Today, however, Stanley cup playoffs are in full swing and the penguins vs islanders game is being aired. I tune in to that.

Downside: tv is tiny with poor reception. I shower and notice they don’t even supply anything more than a bar of soap. Also noted was the lack of a pen and paper. Guess that’s why the rate was so cheap.

18. Time to get my day underway. 9am the mechanic should be looking at my jeep. 9:30ish I start making phone calls. Checkout time is 12.

19. Mechanic won’t answer his office line. I have to talk through the tow company contacts. I’m supposed to get a call with an update. My guess, the mechanic will now see the jeep. I head to Denny’s for breakfast.

20. Egg whites, spinach and tomatoes. Oh and a good tasting bold coffee. Thank you!!

21. Tow guy finally contacts me. Jeep’s out of commission. Mechanic won’t do anything until tomorrow. Tow to Vegas will run me several hundred dollars. Time to think about alternative ways home.

22. All rental car agencies are closed.

23. Turns out the rental car and travel expense reimbursement is only in the event of an accident. No help in this regard for breakdowns.

24. Kenny and Julie are a huge help. Nothing to do about my situation now but sort out how bad it is in the morning. Looks like greyhound has some runs to Vegas throughout the day. It’s just noon, next bus is at 1:45. Plenty if time, but then I know how these things go…

25. Plan is to make the 1:45 to Vegas. Note, next time book the ticket online and save a few bucks.

26. Try to find a taxi to take me to get my rope, etc from the jeep, but mostly so I can get the engine codes and talk to the mechanic. He says he’ll wait for me. Only one taxi company in town and I keep getting vm.

27. Finally get a person on the line for a taxi. They are down to one car ( engine blew up on the only other one) it will be 45 minutes. It is now looking like catching the 1:45 might be close. I am tempted to buy the ticket online to guarantee my seat but without the certainty of arrival, call too check seat availability. Looks like I can risk arriving and getting my ticket up to 10 minutes before departure. I take the risk of waiting on the taxi with the hope of talking to the mechanic. I have now determined the greyhound station is an 11 minute walk, which I will absolutely do if the cab doesn’t arrive within the estimated time.

28. Cab calls me to confirm pick up. Phone loses reception and cuts us off when I try to tell her I’m in the lobby.

29. I call her back after 5 minutes, when she said she’d be here. She caught my pickup at lobby in the last conversation. She says 2 minutes out. I wait.

30. Cab arrived. We head to the shop the address of which I have given her. It’s a straight shot. She makes a turn. She’s on the phone. I ask her where she’s going. Julie tells me to get out and run to greyhound. I stay the course.

31. At the shop. No one is around. I call the tow guy, why didn’t I do this earlier to make sure the mechanic would be there??

32. Mechanic is home but driving over, 10 minutes out. Cab driver is about to leave me. I can no longer walk to greyhound. I have to bail. I call the tow guy back, tell him to tell the mechanic to go back home and explain my situation. I forgot my garage opener is in the jeep.

33. I say good bye to my jeep. Hope the items left don’t lure vandals and make it to greyhound with enough time to consolidate my bags (had hoped to have my rope to pack in one of them).

34. Forgot my ear buds when I went climbing yesterday. Bought new ones at the greyhound station so I can listen to my tunes on the bus. Also searched for some reading material but all I found where inappropriate girly magazines and sudoku. I bought a sudoku and a pen.

35. Finally, on my way home. I have a rental reserved and a ride from the bus stop. The greyhound is nice. We set off nearly on time. We pass a horrible looking accident in the southbound lanes and terrible congestion for miles after. I am glad I am not in it. Then, the sewage breaks on the bus. It smells for awhile but then clears. I have no idea why. The driver pulls over at one point to investigate but then we get back on the road. I note that I hope I don’t need that facility on this trip.

Eyes wide open, Ky TEALS students visit Seattle, WA

LCHS visits Microsoft

      This past week, 6 students, the Superintendent and Chairman of the School Board from Lee County High School came to Seattle to visit the campus that brought Introduction to Computer Science to their district. The students were given the opportunity to job shadow industry professionals in the Computer Technology fields. They also benefitted from guided tours of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, University of Washington Computer Science department and the Microsoft Envisioning Center, which aims to illustrate what technology could be capable of doing in the 5 – 10 year timeframe. In their free time, they explored the city and worked on their programming homework since they would continue to participate in the class, in-person, on the Microsoft Campus. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these students and the school. Aside from touring a piece of the Evergreen State, they learned a lot and took home memories to last a lifetime.

Sunset, photo by Jim Evans

Everyone who contributed to making this possible deserves a HUGE shout-out because without their support this program and the job shadowing opportunity could not have happened. The importance cannot be overly stressed therefore, I’m calling out the thanks, first, then concluding with my write-up of their visit.

Thank you: Microsoft!!! (Give, Youthspark, TEALs, Big Compute in Azure team and management), University of Washington Computer Science Department, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Facebook, Lee County High School, Lee County Technology Center, Lee County School Board, and a big thanks to the Industry Professional TEALs teacher and the Teaching Assistant (Isaac and Nolan). I want a group hug! Well, that’s how thrilled I am and proud of the success of all of our combined efforts to help these and future students of Lee County, Ky.

Robotics demonstration at University of Washington

TEALS is a program committed to bringing Computer Science to schools across the Nation by providing an Industry Professional to teach the course all the while training an in-service teacher to pick up the curriculum to carry it forward after the 2 year contract with Microsoft has expired. Lee County High School, located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Beattyville, Ky, was fortunate to have a nomination and win the bid for the first of two Remote teaching pilots. Most of the programs have been centered around Seattle with Industry Professionals going on-site to teach, but in this and the second case, the Industry Professional would teach from Seattle leveraging Microsoft’s Lync conferencing technology. The students would participate from their classroom, watching the instructor on a live video screen with webcams and individual sessions to get personal attention on programming assignments. As a pilot program, recruiting in a school of about 300 total students and having a match requirement meant that student enrollment was limited to those curious about the course with some level of interest in computers.  In other words, the students didn’t know what they were really getting into and we didn’t know what we were going to get.  Fortunately, we were lucky to get the Academic best of the Sophomore and Senior class as well as a surprise enrollment from a student whom we learned later that without this class, would not have understood his potential for a career in computers. See his Youthspark video, here.

Studying in Lincoln Square, on a Sunday!!
Photo by Isaac Wilson

On the weekend of their arrival, I was unable to join them and participate in some of their exploration and discovery of Seattle. When I did arrive on Sunday, however, they were already starting the week’s programming assignments, thanks to their Instructor and Teaching Assistant (Issac and Nolan). Teaching remotely has the downside of creating distance that can disconnect the student’s actual level of performance and understanding with that of the Teacher’s. With this in mind, it was imperative that they spend as much time as they could with the Instructor and TA not just doing programming assignments and lectures, but touring the city and getting to know one another on a little more of a personal level. In my 10+ years of remote work experience, this rapport is critical and should not be underestimated for anyone who works remotely. While this would turn out to be the most time everyone would have together, it would also be the last time everyone would gather in-person. The program has been running the full school year and the end is nearing, Mid-May, it’s estimated at this point.

Facebook wall

The weather in Seattle did not disappoint. It poured heavily most of the weekend and let up slightly during the week to afford a glimpse of the mountain-scape. I was most disappointed that they would leave without really knowing what the surroundings looked like. Other than that, they didn’t seem to mind the rain. They toured the Pike Place Market, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ate Indian Food, skipped rocks on the beach of Lake Washington, visited Snoqualmie Falls, but most of all, they spent a lot of time with Isaac and Nolan both in class and out of class, job shadowing to learn what computer programmers do all day. Since I was the one organizing the trip, it was important that they experience something not Microsoft, as well, and for that I give a huge shout-out to Facebook for stepping up and making it possible for them to spend an afternoon in the Facebook downtown office learning how to write a Facebook application and getting another view into the life of a computer programmer.

Creating a Facebook Application with several Facebook engineers, photo by Jim Evans

Now, I’m not a programmer anymore, but I do work in the Engineering team building products and have a huge role to play in how the products shape and what quality bar they meet. Therefore, to give the students another view into Software development, they also spent time with me. We sat in two critical meetings and illustrated how we collaborate using the same technology that is bringing Computer Science skills to them. One team meeting looked across our multiple deliverables and leveraged our China satellite in Shanghai for input and accountability. Though they didn’t understand most of what we were discussing, they got the idea that computer development can be a global initiative and the skills they were learning for remote learning could be applied to remote working. One day, I hope our society is more developed and mature to support more remote work opportunities so kids like these don’t have to leave their hometowns to make a decent living.

Snoqualmie Falls

I’m really proud of these kids and the district for making this trip possible for them. Microsoft matches volunteer time with cash and every hour Isaac, Nolan and I have spent helping the class or organizing this trip has brought money to the district. We were originally only going to bring one student out West for this experience, but the school decided (as a one-time thing) to use these funds to send the entire class of 6. Some of these kids have never flown before, let alone ever been out of their county. I know this trip will be a memorable experience for everyone involved and I only wish good things for all going forward. My single focus with the district has been to make this program sustainable so 3 years from now, CS is still a subject taught in this school and job shadowing opportunities are still available. I think we are nearly there, but there is always more work to do, especially if this model will scale to other Rural schools.

As a side note, you should know that most of the STEM and TEALs focus has been on urban schools. This program just broke that mold and is making history, but for it to continue and reach other schools, we can’t do it alone. If you want to contribute and help a student in your area, reach out to me so I can share how you can get involved.

Thanks for reading!

Ice Climbing in Western China (Part 2)

Audrey Ice Climbing

It’s my first ice climb and I’m having trouble with the altitude. We are living around 3400m (~11,000 ft) and at times I find it difficult to breathe to the point of clawing at my throat to reduce any constrictions from my clothing. Day 1 is starting out rough. I’m wearing my new boots, which I haven’t had time to break in, and the hike is a strenuous 40 minute stretch. To my horror, when we reach the ice, the surrounding ground is a mix of scree and glacier-type ice, there is hardly a ‘flat’ spot to settle in and gear up.

The experienced are navigating this terrain without hesitation and even with crampons on, the terrain feels super scary. It’s too slabby to make use of the tools and I worry that if I fall (forward or backward), I’ll slide down the mountain-side. My friend, Marcos Costa, unwaveringly aids me along the terrain and I am reminded that this is how some sport crags must feel to newbies and humor myself with the thought of how much of a gumby I was being.

With some basic instructions, I was put on the other end of the rope and followed a line

Mathieu Maynadier (Me me)

up to a belay. Marcos graciously did not attempt to do the entire climb in one pitch, though he most certainly could have. We have left our down and I have left my warmer gloves at the base. Despite the cold, Marcos goes up the last bit and swears I will enjoy it better than the first pitch.We are climbing in the shade, it is cold, I am numb, I can hardly get a full breath in at times and the whole scene went upside down for me. Chilled to the bone, I belayed but chickened out when it came to my turn. I had struggled really hard on the easy terrain and the compounding affect was that I was done ice climbing even though I had barely started. For whatever reason, I couldn’t wait to get off that mountain and as cautiously as I could, navigated my way back down, packed up and took my time hiking back to the road. It was grim, I was disheartened and wondered if ice climbing was really something I could or would want to do. Worse, this was day 1, there were 8 other days to follow. L

Min doing a Handstand
Mount Siguniang, of the 4 sisters in the background

The next day, I excuse myself from another ice adventure to let my feet, leg (which held up surprisingly well!), and mindset recover. Marcos’ friend Min, who is relatively junior at ice climbing and climbing in general, offers to go on a hike with me in the neighboring Valley, the Changping Valley home of Mount Siguniang. We get a lazy start but hike for several hours enjoying the sunshine, acclimating to the altitude and admiring the scenery. There is an active Monastery located here and I get an unexpected tour from a local Tibetan, including a 3 round pass of about 30 prayer wheels. Are you supposed to actually pray when you spin these things? They must have passed on some good karma because my 2^nd day of Ice Climbing went much, much better.

五色冰瀑（Wu Se Bing Pu）Five color fall / 50m, WI3, 30mi
photo by G. Vallot

The following day we explored the ice formations just across the street from where we were staying. I wore my approach shoes instead of my mountain boots for the hike, which spared my feet and made the hike a lot more tolerable. More scree and sketchy stances at the top, but this time I climbed 2 pitches and took my pack with my puffy and spare gloves. The first slab pitch brought back apprehensive feelings from my first experience, but I managed better and noticed I was getting more comfortable with the tools and balance though I was still not confident to lead or solo the ‘easy’ terrain. Up at the belay, better prepared, able to breathe a little better, I did my first vertical pitch. I was hooked! Slab terrain terrifies me but vertical and the steeper terrain, I was all-in! The experience was short-lived and I regret hiking out when I did. I definitely could have stayed and climbed tons more that day.

Dinner photo by G. Vallot

The group has made a reservation that night for dinner up the Valley at a restaurant. Given that we get our food homemade at the house, I wasn’t sure what to expect at this ‘restaurant’. To my surprise, the food was incredible! We must have eaten a 15 course meal, I felt like a gluttonous king served riches and not knowing when to stop lest the savory tastes disappear. Seriously, I could have dined on the bread and Yak butter tea and called that a meal. My only warning to fellow travelers, other than that the food of Sichuan is spicy, if you are offered a drink called baiju, beware.

dragons breath
Me me, Erwan, Marcos
photo by Yang

龙之涎（Long Zhi Xian)Dragons Breath/70m, WI6, 60min approach
photo by G. Vallot

Dragons Breath right

The last 2 days of ice climbing I got to log more miles and test my skills in a very controlled way. This ice structure was the most impressive of all of them in the Valley that I witnessed. This was a wall that our group wanted to establish a new mixed line on, and establish it they did. This is 龙之涎（Long Zhi Xian)Dragons Breath/70m, WI6, 60min approach. Right next door to Dragons Breath is this beautiful structure: 龙之涎旁边 Next to Dragon Breath featuring clear blue ice with water running visibly behind it. This was the coolest structure I climbed and I made sure to take the steepest route up each time. This was sooo much fun!!





You can find the guidebook with a list of all of the possible ice formations and grades with approach and ice quality information here.

To close out the adventurous week, we attended a New Year’s festival and watched our village people perform to various music, dressed in traditional Tibetan garb. It was fantastic…almost too much so that we nearly couldn’t pull ourselves away to go ice climbing!

Here are some videos capturing my ice climbing trip and the festival. Enjoy!

Ice Climbing

ice climbing

►

Chinese New Year Festivities (10 min video, but captures some of the dances and music we enjoyed. Many of the movements are traditional along with the dress, but all of the music was very modern. This surprised us.)

http://vimeo.com/25212377 (Laundry Song with English lyrics, by Soinam Wongmo), this was the song we listened to most as we watched the ladies in our village practice. It has a catchy tune and interesting lyrics, which are in English in this video–Praise to the PLA!

Ice Climbing in Western China (part 1)

五色冰瀑（Wu Se Bing Pu）Five color fall / 50m, WI3
photo by G. Vallot

It’s September 2012 and I’m supposed to fly to China on business. The airline’s crew doesn’t show for the flight and my trip is short. After the hassles of trying to reschedule, I eventually throw in the towl and cancel the trip. Fast forward to my 2^nd attempt at travel there. It’s November 2012 and this time I am scheduled to accompany my manager, but I have just taken Holiday in Argentina and returned home with a lacerated shin. I can not walk and am advised against travel. I cancel the trip but this time intentionally plan travel a little further out to give my leg time to heal and catch up on things at work. This new timing works well because I intend to take some Holiday during the trip to experience the Chinese New Year. However, unlike the other two trips, a friend I have met in Argentina, Marcos, will be returning home there and I think it would be fun to meet up with him. He has plans to ice climb in Western China with some people from Petzl (whom I have also met in Argentina and the Red River Gorge, earlier in the fall). Petzl is doing a catalogue shoot and being a Petzl athlete and having never ice climbed before, I thought it would be fun to join, especially since I’ll already be on the Mainland for business. Marcos plans everything. All I need to do is make it to Shanghai as scheduled…and find ice climbing gear and learn what I can about ice climbing in only 3 weeks!

Audrey Sniezek ready to Ice Climb!

Fortunately I have the most responsive and incredible sponsors who took the extra time to rush me gear. Items literally were arriving up to the Friday before my flight. I can’t believe we pulled that off. A huge thank you to Petzl, La Sportiva, Skhoop, Rab, Innate Gear, and the many colleagues and friends who helped me understand what I was in for and more importantly identify the gear I would need, esp. Melissa Stowe for loaning me some, too. Gear list can be found here.

I arrive in Shanghai with little incident. Read all about that experience, here. Marcos has just returned from Ice Climbing in Chamonix and he is now available to help me coordinate my ticket to Chengdu. Ctrip was the cheapest and easiest way for me to organize my flight from Shanghai to Chengdu. Intra-China travel is pretty inexpensive, but my inflexibility on dates put the roundtrip cost up around $400.

The most eventful part of my time in Chengdu was the evening street festival. The Chinese New Year would officially kick off at midnight the night we arrived and the celebration was well underway along all of the city streets—some blocked off just for this occasion. See my Chengdu post to read more about this and watch some video footage, here.

Balang Highway stop, Gateway to the Panda Kingdom

Our entire party of travelers arrived that night totaling 10 people, representing 7 different countries: France, Brazil, Korea, Japan, China, UK and USA. We arranged for a private driver to drive us to the Valley in two batches. The first would leave at 9am the next morning, the 2^nd would leave at noon. It takes around 6 hours to drive, depending on traffic. For logistics on how to get from Chengdu to the Valley, see here, which will get you to the neighboring Changping Valley home of Mount Siguniang.

5 people per vehicle cost us around 150 yuan each (at ~6:1 exchange rate to the US Dollar that works out to $25). When we were ready to return, we didn’t come back in the same groups. Some of us came back earlier because of work and therefore we reserved a car from the place we were staying. They arranged everything and even filled the car, thereby reducing our cost to about the same as on the way up. There really isn’t a need to rent a car. Once up in the Valley, you can rent a driver to drop and fetch you at any time of the day for as little as 100 yuan round trip, for the car.

Earthquake damage
photo by Marcos Costa

The drive to the Valley starts off hazy and polluted, much like the rest of my experience of China to that point. However, the skies started clearing once we drove into Wolong, the epicenter of the 2008 7.9 magnitude earthquake that demolished the town and caused widespread damage, including the loss of 80,000 people. There is a stretch of road that is still rough and unrepaired since the earthquake. You could even see bridges in various states of disrepair and a housing complex that has slid down the mountain side.

After you exit this stretch, the road becomes paved again and civilization with newly renovated and built complexes begin to line the streets at various stretches. We creep ever higher along this Balang Highway that is the Gateway to the Panda Kingdom and takes us to a height of nearly 4500m (~14,700 ft). The views are stunning—a stark contrast to the moonscape we have been traveling through moments before. Pine trees, cliffs and mountain peeks loom around us as we switchback our way up and over this magnificent pass, stopping once to take in a site and observe a prayer shrine.

National Park Entrance

The Valley is now part of a UNESCO heritage site and is marked as a National Park. As such, there are entrance fees to consider when visiting the valleys. Further, be aware that leaving the Park and re-entering could force you to pay another entrance fee. We avoided this by getting drivers who live in the park and having them speak on our behalf that we are returning and have already paid and won’t pay again. This does not work if you are visiting other valleys, however. You will have to pay a Park fee or deposit when entering certain areas.

Mount Siguniang
Qionglai Mountains

For instance, Changping Valley doesn’t allow motorists into the Valley. You must pay a park fee, take a shuttle and pay a deposit at the entrance to enter. Further, your exploration is on foot or by rented mule. We did this for the 2^nd day and chose to explore the Valley on foot, which was perfect. I just wish we had taken more time to go further up into the Valley. I believe the valley stretches back some 16km and meets up with the end of the Shuangqiao Valley. There are lakes, waterfalls, and the towering 4 sister’s peak, Mount Siguniang at 6250m to enjoy.

Where we stayed

ATM and other food or internet you might need can be found in the small town of Rilong City at the base of the fork to these Valleys. Our accommodations in the Valley served us breakfast, lunch and dinner included with the room cost. Therefore, I didn’t have a need or desire to go into town to get more food or use the internet (gasp!), but I did find myself low on cash. The group ended up doubled in rooms with a washroom included. This was the more expensive accommodation (100 yuan per night per person) and that coupled with renting taxis on a daily basis meant I ran low on cash right away. I brought with me 1000 yuan, but in the end, spent about 2500 yuan between transportation (including airport transport), housing, taxis, park fees and a few souvenirs, which covered the 9 days’ worth of expenses. Don’t plan on credit cards up in the mountains, in case  you hadn’t figured that part out, yet.

The Valleys
Shuangqiao gou is in the middle
Map from: http://www.climb.dk/Sichuan12.html

In the Valley, the crowds are not overwhelming for the Holiday Season, but I am surprised by the number of Chinese who have come to the Valley to Ice Climb. I am told our housing complex and others have sprung up in the last few years because of the demand. The temperature in the Valley never reaches positive centigrade, dipping into the negative teens regularly and snowing only once the entire time we are here. Cold and I don’t get along well so the thought of living in these conditions makes me nervous. I am prepared for anything, however, and upon arriving and seeing my room with two wool blankets on my bed, electricity, an electric water heater and an electric blanket give me surprisingly enough comfort that upon reflection I think I would gladly do it again. The rooms, otherwise, have no heat. They are drafty, cement blocks and for most of the trip, we don’t even think we have running hot water from the tap! This makes showering quite interesting. J

Life is simple up in the Mountains. Every morning feels like a crag day, but an ice crag day. The Valley offers around 30 ice features spread out and ranging in difficulty from moderate to hard, including some Mixed options. For grades and further ice climbing explanations, go here. I’m told this is the Rifle (a sport climbing crag in Colorado) of ice climbing. The approaches vary but at first glance appear intimidating. I suggest that I don’t do this type of scree hiking to get to sport crags, but that really isn’t true. It’s just weird to be doing these hikes sometimes fully geared with crampons on and tools in hand.

翅膀（Chi Bang）Jesus Shroud / 50m, WI4+, 40min approach

First stop, 翅膀（Chi Bang）Jesus Shroud / 50m, WI4+, 40min approach

Panda Kingdom – Sichuan Province, China

Chengdu New Year Celebration

Arriving in Chengdu the night of the start of the official Chinese New Year meant we had plenty of street fare entertainment and food to explore. Fireworks exploded at every interchange, some sounding as though they were directly outside my hotel window. I didn’t spend more than a part of a day on either side of my travels through this city, but I did get a chance to learn more about this vacation hub.

Giant Pandas, photo by Nitin Ticku

First, this is the gateway to the Panda Kingdom of China. 80% of the panda’s live in the Sichuan Province and Chengdu has a prominent Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding where an attempt to breed Pandas and reintroduce them into the wild has become of great importance. Pandas are nearly extinct with 113 in this Base, 6 reintroduced for the first time into the wild in Jan of 2012. 1500 are said to exist in the wild with 333 held captive, globally. The center is actually looking for Pambassadors to help care for these Giants. I found a magazine that talks all about Pandas in my hotel, which I kept and read on the plane later. Fascinating information about this rare creature. Unfortunately, I did not see one in the wild let alone in captivity.

Sichuan meal featuring the classic mapo doufu

Next, Sichuan food tends to be spicy. Not mild spice either. A classic dish is the Mapo doufu. Many dishes contain peppers and are heavy on the oil, but the taste is flavorful. I didn’t mind the spice, even when friends were sweating from the heat. Note the dish in the lower left corner, pictured here, is all pepper and little meat. That is the Sichuan way. J The mapo doufu is in the upper right corner.

Once again, Chinese food did not disappoint. Despite the street fare, we dined in an obscure restaurant and then walked the streets taking in the festivities and sampling treats as we went. In this short video you will see two men pounding out what appears to be a kind of brittle candy. Yum! The rest of our party arrived by the end of the night and the next day we gathered for breakfast, last minute food supply and ATM withdrawal. Next stop, Shuangqiaogou. We have hired drivers who will drive us there. It takes 6 hours. Logistics will be posted after the trip report is complete. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, enjoy this short video that captures some of the New Year festivities and surroundings of Chengdu before heading up into the Chinese Himalayas for some ice climbing!

Chengdu, China

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Gong Xi, Gong Xi from the Little Dragon Tales

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Shanghai, China

Shanghai, China, from Wikipedia

A land of auspicious economic endeavors and over 23 million people, this is a city the likes of which are the exact opposite of what I think I might enjoy. It is an endless site of concrete lavished with lights and video screens. Streets bustling with people and cars such that crossing the street feels like playing Frogger with your life. Towers of buildings dwarfed under grey, horizonless skies appear to loom high overhead as I stroll the streets. Magnetic Levitation (maglev) trains transport you from the airport into the city. This landscape suggests a futuristic time warp of sorts. A modern city of economic aspirations, the largest container port, one of the largest cities and the most populated of any in the world, make this city a unique and fantastic place to experience. Despite my apprehensions, I really enjoyed my time there.

I went to Shanghai on business the week before the Chinese New Year. This worked well for me to take some vacation during the Holiday to experience another side of China, but that story is for another post. I was nervous about traveling to China because I was afraid I would not be able to communicate or navigate my way around the city. Tourists get swindled easily, and I only imagined the worst traveling solo.

I was lucky to have my office organize a driver to be waiting for me when I arrived at the airport. I missed him somehow, despite the sign he was holding, and slightly panicked, felt fortunate to find someone/anyone to help. This worked in my favor because I was able to get a Chinese SIM for my phone from this same service person. I called the driver from my new number and had the woman talk with him, something I would do often while traveling in China (answer my phone or make a call only to hand it to someone nearby who could understand or speak to the person on the other end). The drive to the city is about an hour, sometimes more with traffic. Because of the Holiday, traffic kept thinning out as the week progressed. I was told Shanghai would become a ghost town as everyone left the city to head home to spend the time with family. (At one point, the night before the New Year, I could cross the street without a headlight in sight!) I arrived without incident to my westernized Hotel.

While I was in Shanghai, I was fortunate to meet a friend who toured me around a bit. Also, my colleagues took me to dinner and lunch and I was excited to dine in some interesting and unique restaurants, including a Japanese restaurant (just to mix things up a bit). I climbed at the local climbing gyms a few times, meeting some psyched and strong climbers. It snowed one day and despite the rain and snow, the air quality still hovered around 100, which I’m told is good. Fireworks started going off and the city echoed with the sounds of the blasts. I was told Shanghai would sound like a warzone soon, when people really started celebrating.

(Learn more about China’s air quality:  http://shanghai.usembassy-china.org.cn/airmonitor.html or here http://www.aqicn.info/?city=shanghai. Compared to Beijing’s 900 reading on a scale of 0 – 500, Shanghai seems healthy. By contrast, when I returned to Seattle, the AQI there was 9. Las Vegas was 26.)

New Year Decorations

The town was decorated for the New Year and I marveled at the amount of lights on display with many buildings lit in fancy arrangements. Large screen monitors playing advertisements of some sort were abundant all over town. I bought a subway card and navigated my way (with the help of my friend) around. I love cities with a good underground system. It makes getting places a lot easier. I was warned, however, that the subway can be very crowded, mind my phone (beware of pick-pocketers) and don’t cram yourself into the train. You will get jammed into the door when it shuts. Some trains do not have a safety mechanism to re-open the doors if jammed. If they did, the trains would never go anywhere as people would attempt to continuously cram themselves inside. 23 million people in this city makes for a very busy subway.

Getting around was easier than I thought. There were English signs on major markers, street signs, subway stops, etc. The challenge was if I needed to ask a local for directions, I had to have the destination written in Chinese to hand to someone.

Working in the office in the Min Hang district took me away from major things so getting around took time. One day my colleagues took me out for lunch only to find the restaurant closed because of the New Year. We walked the street and came across another restaurant that was open and found ourselves having a Western Chinese meal. This restaurant had the flavors and mix of cuisine of China, India and the Middle East. It was wonderfully tasty.

The food in China was definitely the biggest highlight. I experimented with fish, eggplant, noodles, soup, strange mixes, and the somewhat familiar. For something a little different, my friend took me to this amazing Japanese restaurant, Kota’s Kitchen, where we and some other friends dined like Kings! The week was filled with many fun and interesting things that it flew by quickly and before I knew it, I was leaving this concrete city for a different kind of Chinese experience in the Sichuan Province. Next stop, Chengdu!

Since this was my first time visiting China, I took quite a few photos. I put together a 2 minute video with a riveting soundtrack to accompany the pics in the hopes of not boring the reader too much. Enjoy!

Shanghai_2013

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Music: Torn by Nathan Lanier

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World of Opportunities

Jeremy Moore, LCHS student, @ Microsoft Corporation

I’ve been working with the Microsoft TEALS program for over a year now. In that time, I have seen Lee County High School, which is located in the Appalachian foothills in Beattyville, Ky, step up and snag this opportunity to have Introduction to Computer Science offered in their school. The Administration, Staff and Faculty have been resilient, responsive, and committed to making this initiative a success. The first steps have been taken–they won the bid to have this offering as a remote distance learning pilot taught by an Industry Professional from Microsoft Corporation back in Seattle to their students in Beattyville, Ky for this school year, which is underway currently. This simple step opened up a world of opportunities for students, the school and for one student in particular: Jeremy Moore who is featured in Microsoft’s latest YouthSpark Stars. However, it’s only the first step and while we have had some success, as a distance learning pilot, we are still overcoming challenges. Real success will be the sustainability of this program with Computer Science as a curriculum offering to include AP Computer Science as well as Introduction to Computer Science.

When I learned that Jeremy had never been an Honor Roll student and lacked an interest in school in general, I was surprised. This was not the impression I had gleaned from working with him in the Intro to CS class. He was our brightest student and the most taken with what we had to teach. Speaking with his mother, Tammy, I learned that he was a quiet boy to which I was equally surprised. Jeremy is certainly reserved and completely absorbed with computers but if you engage him on any of his computer projects, he can get a good dialogue happening. If that wasn’t enough, within the first semester, Tammy hit me with another surprise: Jeremy made Honor Roll and his attendance at school was significantly up from prior years. She was floored and attributed it all to this class.

To further encourage Jeremy’s pursuit of a Computer Science career, I lobbied for him to come out to Washington State to job shadow someone at Microsoft Corporation and visit at least one of the schools in the area. I was hoping to culture shock him a little and expose him to life as a CS engineer by showing him the workplace of the Company that brought him this opportunity. To make the case, I had him gather some letters of recommendation and write a short Bio that I could circulate. Not long after, Microsoft’s YouthSpark program was looking for inspirational stories of YouthSpark programs that had high impact on Youth. TEALs falls under this umbrella and Jeremy’s story came up for consideration. Here’s his Bio:

My name is Jeremy Moore and I’m 17 years old and I have been interested in computers for about 5 years, ever since we got our first computer. I have been fascinated with how much can be created with them and always wanted to create a computer game but thought it would never be within my reach. Then, one day I took my first steps into programming by downloading and teaching myself GameMaker Language (GML). Though it is a very limited language, at the time I was excited to be able to create simple projects. Since then, I have programmed engines for a few games using GML and in my spare time have started to take a few steps into a more advanced language by learning the basics of C++.

Computers have impacted my life in probably more ways than I know. So far, I have made many friends and learned a lot from them. I would like to continue to learn a lot more. I took the Intro to Computer Science class at my High School because I really want to be a programmer but until this class offering, had no idea where to begin.

The people involved with the class have helped me more than I thought possible. This Computer Science class has also changed my feelings towards school and now I actually feel as if there is a reason for me to go. It gives me something to look forward to because it’s something I’m genuinely interested in. This class has also taught me some good habits that have already begun helping me in other subjects. I want to get a Computer Science degree because it is something I love, and it’s something I want to do and would love to do for the rest of my life.
Jeremy Moore: YouthSpark Video @Microsoft Corporation

From all of the potential stories nominated, Jeremy’s bubbled up to the top, which meant Microsoft would showcase his story on the YouthSpark page and use him as part of future Ad Campaigns. His story would be captured on video and that meant Microsoft was sending a film crew to Beattyville, KY. The timing did not work for me to be present with them due to an accident I had in Argentina. This would make the 2^nd time non-climbers would be visiting this region and I would not be present to temper any bias or showcase the best aspects of life there. I was really nervous about impressions and such, but each time has happened without incident or bias. Everyone has come back with positive impressions and I am thankful for the people and the town for helping make that happen. If you’ve never been to Lee County, you might be in for a shock. It’s like stepping back in time. There isn’t even a Cinema in this town, let alone reliable internet! There is, however, some of the best sandstone rock climbing in the world, which is why I have any interest at all in the region. J

While I am excited that this story will be shared and we can use it to help generate interest in helping reach other kids in similar ways, TEALs, Jeremy and the school are still facing challenges. The thing I appreciate most about the kids I have in this class is not just that they are smart and challenging themselves with this class, but they are humble as well. They seriously don’t understand how smart or capable they are and confidence is not that easy to create in someone. Jeremy and his peers struggle with this every day. The focus on Jeremy with the film crew out there and the pressure to do better on his next ACT to help him with his college applications must challenge his confidence in his ability to sustain this level of performance. Likewise, I have seen students struggle in our class and want to give up. Indeed, today we lost our only girl in the class. The content and concepts are new and different and sometimes out of their league. Helping them see that they are capable, that their hard work or commitment to see this class through is important and will have a lasting impression (not to mention the experience of being a founder and contributor that makes the class better for next year and years after (hopefully)) is not easy to communicate. How can they see the future like I can see it for them?

Losing our only girl was, to me, a huge disappointment and a failure on the part of our team to engage her properly. Despite that I was living in Kentucky, have 12 years experience with remote work and was physically available to help when the remote Industry Professional could not, I still could not prevent this from happening. There were too many gaps and impressions that could not be fixed. Some of it was that I was not in the class full-time and not being there consistently meant that I missed warning signs and could not influence patterns that might have changed this outcome. However, we are a reasonable group and have since adapted the program to take into account the lessons from this first half of the year. I am sad that it’s not enough and that she won’t stick this out to see the difference. My only hope is that the other 2 students who also expressed discontent and frustration will stay and see this through. We are doing everything we can to provide the learning material they need and at a pace that works for them. In a small class, it is challenging to adapt to everyone, but we are making it work. In fact a few other unplanned successes have come out of the work and volunteer time we have contributed.

First, now, not only does Jeremy have the opportunity to job shadow in WA, but all of the Seniors have been extended this chance thanks to the money Microsoft pays to the school for every hour of volunteer time from the TEALS team. The Superintendent, Jim Evans, recently approved the use of these funds for this purpose. Unfortunately, our girl student will no longer be eligible, but perhaps her opening will afford an opportunity for the entire class of 6 students (3 Seniors and 3 Sophomores) to go. Also, recently the school has partnered with EKU (Eastern Kentucky University) to hire a Co-op who will essentially replace me in the classroom and help us with the supplemental material we are currently lacking. This person will be paid for by EKU and starts at the end of the month, which brings us closer to solving our sustainability problem.

We are still in search of a full-time, credited teacher to teach this and AP Computer Science next year. Microsoft will still be involved as a distance pilot with an Industry Professional teaching the content, but the In-Service teacher will use this resource to learn the curriculum and begin teaching the content themselves over time. Microsoft has a 2 year commitment to this to make it happen. LCHS has 1 more year with us for Intro and if awarded AP CS, will have 2 years for that. If you are still reading and know someone who would like to help out, please contact me! In-Service means this person must be living and teaching in the classroom, daily.

As you have read, this program is having a huge impact, and you can have an impact, too. Ask me how because there are more Jeremy’s that can be inspired! J