Mt Coumbia becomes Mt Harvard

So we intended to ascend Mt Columbia this morning as we headed into the wilderness armed with water, energy bars, cell phones, flip video camera, digital camera and EeePC... but no signs indicated a turn to Columbia and we found ourselves drifting up valley much further back in and finally faced Mt Harvard.

Well, no worries mate! Mt. Harvard is only taller and further away than Columbia, so let's go anyway. Along the route we found some mountain goat fur left from when the locals bedded down for the night. Cal wondered if maybe next year we could come back and look for more... I suggested that such a find is akin to catching a fly ball in a major league baseball park.

We summitted and attempted the live video stream. Cal had already sent some tweets (adistar756) and I let my twitter friends know I was about to broadcast. Embedded below is a recording of the first ustream video... awful in fact, but a gallant attempt. I need to figure out how to adjust the white balance because the sun was SO bright up there... but I could not read the screen to deal with the problem.

So, here is the ustream.tv feed. I am preparing a video from the flip and I have slide show to upload into picasa... so check back in a few and you can see some better images of our 7 hour escapade.

Mt. Columbia Monday

Buena Vista
We have arrived in Buena Vista and are staying at the Arkansas River Retreat and have prepared our ascent for tomorrow. Our drive up was eventful... horses loose on the highway, deer wandering into harms way, plenty of good food, and scenery that takes the breath away... even from a long time Colorado resident.

We depart from the Mt. Columbia trailhead at 7 AM. For details on Mt. Columbia, visit that most excellent (and free of any member dues) www.14ers.com.


View Larger Map

The trek begins

Santa Fe, NM
Having traveled down to my parent's home and attended a friend's wedding in Albuquerque last night, we now set off in quest of 14,000' peaks. Tonight we will be in Buena Vista and will look to make our first ascent in the morning. Dad continues his planning of every detail he can imagine. I am dreaming up inspirational messages to spout on each climb. And Calvin has remarked "I never agreed to this."

So the team is comfortably settling into our roles for the expedition. All tests of my loaner EeePC uses the cellular modem of my phone well and I have done some test broadcasts on ustream.tv. Our equipment is ready (we'll do a video of that on another post). And the road beckons.

One more dose of incomparable Santa Fe chili and we begin our quest north. And so now for my first inspirational quote... the music of "Man of La Mancha" rings in my ears:

Hear me heathens and wizards and servants of sin. All your dastardly doings are past! For a holy endeavor is now to begin. And virtue shall triumph at last! I am I Don Quixote the Lord of La Mancha. My destiny calls and I go! And the wild winds of fortune shall carry me onward. O wither so ever they blow. Wither so ever they blow! Onward to glory I go!

Destination 7AM 7-13-09: Mount Columbia Trail Head Summit by 11AM for a live broadcast.

Dinner in Buena Vista... want to find us? Send Calvin a tweet or post a comment here. Calvin's twitter account is adistar756.

Onward!

Keep tabs on us!

So next week, we plan to engage in our mountain runs to the tops of 14ners in Colorado... my Dad, my son and I. Three generations of runners ascending some of the most beautiful mountain peaks in the world... and armed with communications and publishing technology.

When: 7-12-09 through 7-17-09

My Dad: Fred Maas, KT5X will transmit via QRP low power Ham Radio.

My son: Calvin Maas, will tweet and Facebook from the summits using his cell phone. Twitter: adistar756 Facebook: Calvin Maas

Me: Dan Maas, will broadcast live ustream.tv using an ASUS EeePC Tablet and cellular modem.

Live Broadcasts are set for 11:00 AM daily on this channel:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/summit-seeking

Now for some serious summit seeking!

Summer Running

Each summer, I plunge into the Colorado mountains intent on strengthening my body for yet another quest to the top of Pikes Peak in August. Last year, my training was pretty good as I was able to get up into the high altitudes pretty regularly.

My history on the mountain is made available through Matt Carpenter's site at: Dan Maas History on Pikes Peak courtesy of Skyrunner.com

I recall racing Matt back when I was in college and he had recently graduated from CU. I had better luck on the flatter courses [;-) Since then he has certainly mastered the art of mountain running and it is always fun to see him still blazing through the trails.

This summer will be no different, although instead of the Marathon, I'll stick to the Ascent this year. If you look at my previous results, you can tell how sometimes I have failed to prepare and had a much slower performance than other years. But careful study will show that only when I was 22 and still racing competitively internationally have I been able to eclipse my performance at age 13... 3:08.40. In recent years, I've been getting closer to that time again, but still missed it.

So that's the goal for this year... beat my performance from age 13! To do that, my father and son will join me in preparation in the mountains. We will take along some communications technologies with us so we can meetup with people along the way. Look for future posts to explain how to meetup with us on the peaks of Colorado!

Cal wins his first JV race

Spring track is underway and I can tell because I can feel some mild allergies... just a nuisance, but the signal that things are starting to awake from their winter slumber.

Last week, Cal ran his first JV race in high school. He ran the first lap conservatively and then moved for the front in the second lap. Through most of the third lap he stayed on the leader slipping to take the lead on the backstretch. Driving for home over the last lap he had one pursuer: Austin. Driving down the backstretch Cal opened about 4 meters on Austin and set up a duel down the strait. Both boys sprinted for all they were worth with Austin coming from behind to nip Cal at the tape: 5:15 and change... a new PR for Cal by over 20 seconds. The boys shook hands and took congratulations from the appreciative crowd. "See you next week."

Well, yesterday was "next week" this time on Calvin's home track at Heritage. I tried taking pictures but switched to video (a father should never try to video his own son). So I missed lap 1 in which Cal again opened conservatively in 73 running in about 6th... in this video, Austin and Cal re-engage in the duel that will likely run through the season. We begin on the backstretch of the second lap. Cal is in red and Austin is the second runner in yellow. What fun!

4th Refrain of AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds" made for Racing Royalty

You're being bugged by a twerp in Track,
He's pushing you around.

You just wanna run, but he gives you smack.
Making you his clown.

Pick up the phone, his doors'll get blown!
My phone number's a must...

I'll visit his track,
He'll watch my back,

He's gonna eat my dust!

Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Cheap!

you know the rest........





do the deed