April 6 RIM Club Meeting: Kurt Jensen's slideshow will be about limestone climbing in El Portrero Chico, Mexico and Southern Thailand. He'll cover the sport climbing,both single and multipitch of El Portrero and Thailand, and deep water solo of Thailand, and give an overview for climbers of what to expect and compare and contrast the two destinations which are both popular fun climbing winter crags.

Kurt is a prolific Northern California adventurer currently living near Santa Cruz. He is part of the R.I.M. Club's extended family, having been on many climbing expeditions with our regular members in the Sierra, Alaska, Argentina, and more. A well rounded athlete, Kurt is a fine mountaineer, avid mountain biker, and is a diver at Monterey Bay Acquarium, when he is not hard at work in the medical field.

March 2, 2010

Paula Padou: The Other Afghanistan--Images of a Land and People

The pictures concern ordinary Afghans going about their daily lives (not the war/embed view); the diverse cultural and ethnic range, and finally, the great natural beauty among some of the world's highest mountains.

Paula Padou was born and raised in the Bay Area and developed a love of the mountains from an early age, along with a deep interest in other peoples and cultures long before "adventure travel" became a term. As a youngster, she enjoyed ski racing until that pursuit was replaced in later years with hiking, trekking and photography. After studying political science and foreign languages at Berkeley, she lived in Japan for several years working for a law firm and escaping whenever possible to discover the world. She has trekked in Nepal multiple times and counts a mid-winter adventure among the best experiences of all her travels.
Other destinations include Africa, South America, Asia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and a recent visit to Yemen. At home, the Carson-Iceberg Wilderness around Highway 4 is one of her favorite romping areas. She works at a law firm as a paralegal and still tries to escape whenever possible. For the last several years, Paula has continued her commitment to the Himalayan region by vounteering at the American Himalayan Foundation and sponsored a Sherpa friend, who successfully sought and recieved permission to live and work in the U.S.

Received this email describing what sounds like a really cool opportunity to learn winter mountain travel and camping skills, check it out:

Hi, folks!

I just wanted to let you know about a great resource we have here in Northern California. Mtn Ned teaches a snow course at Echo Lake, which I took this past weekend. It’s mostly aimed at PCT thru-hikers, but it does teach the basics of camping in the snow, route finding in winter and self-arrest skills. There may be folks new to your club who could benefit from a course like this. Ned is a great teacher who loves what he does. He has extensive hiking (PCT & CDT) and ski-touring experience in the Sierras. There is no charge for the class – only donations accepted. Ned and his wife are actually from Sonoma, so you’d be supporting a local, too!

More info can be found here:
http://postholer.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=25&sid=206fa14d8c74853ea04f58a353f28527

I posted some photos from the class here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/alfrescosf/sets/72157623210148399/show/

I’d love to get the word out about the course, so please share this info. (I have no affiliation, just a happy graduate!)

Happy Trails –
Lisa


Happiness is a choice!

February 2, 2010 meeting of the Rock Ice & Mountain Club Arlene Blum Breaking Trail: Molecules and Mountains From leading expeditions to some of the world’s highest and most challenging mountains to spearheading scientific research to protect human health and the global environment, Arlene Blum has led an extraordinary life. In this dramatic slide lecture Blum shares the best photos and stories from her memoir, Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life, illustrating both her scientific research and her mountaineering expeditions to the world's highest and most dangerous mountains. Arlene Blum, biophysical chemist, author, and mountaineer is the founder and executive director of the Green Science Policy Institute and a Visiting Scholar in Chemistry at UC Berkeley. Beginning with removing cancer-causing chemicals from children's sleepwear in the 1970s, Blum’s work to bring science into regulatory decisions has stopped the use of hundreds of millions of pounds of toxic chemicals. Blum’s current interest is to bridge the gap between scientific research and policy to help create a healthier safer environment. Blum holds a doctorate in biophysical chemistry, and has taught at Stanford University, Wellesley College, and U. C. Berkeley. Blum led the first American and all-women’s ascent of Annapurna I, among the world’s most dangerous and difficult mountains. She also led the first women’s team up Mt. McKinley; was the first American woman to attempt Mt. Everest; made the first traverse of the Great Himalaya Range of Bhutan, Nepal and India; and hiked the length of the European Alps with her baby daughter on her back. Her first book, Annapurna: A Woman’s Place was included in Fortune magazine's 2005 list of “The 75 Smartest Business Books We Know” and chosen by National Geographic Adventure Magazine as one of the 100 top adventure books of all time. Her new memoir, Breaking Trail: A Climbing Life tells the story of how Blum realized improbable dreams among the worlds’ highest mountains, in the chemistry laboratory, and public policy arena. The National Women’s History Project recently selected Blum as one of 100 “Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet.” Her other awards include a Purpose Prize to those over are 60 who are solving society’s greatest problems, and a Gold Medal from the Society of Women Geographers, an honor previously given to only eight other women including Amelia Earhart and Margaret Mead.