Barbaresco to Barolo

September 24, 2024

When the weather turned sour in Chamonix, Dale and I considered our options and decided that riding bikes around Alba in Italy topped our list. We did a beautiful ride in the Aosta Valley on the way, enjoyed a wonderful meal in Torino, and had a low-key day in Alba checking out the local wineries and the sights while it rained. The weather looked better the next day and so we left Alba after a nice breakfast and cappuccinos just after 9:30am.

We headed clockwise up to Barbaresco first, enjoying the amazing climbs and scenery and taking a few minutes in the town itself to explore a bit. We also found the 2014 Giro d’Italia stage marker, imagining top-tier cyclists charging through these vineyard-covered hills with massive chainrings.

From Barbaresco, we went to Neive and enjoyed a cappuccino in the old town. We then pressed on through a number of hills to Diano d’Alba where we feasted on pizza for lunch. The rest of the ride to Barolo continued through magical terrain with continually jaw-dropping views. Many of the roads we took were single-lane with barely any car traffic.

In Barolo, we couldn’t not have some wine. An enchanting 2018 Albarella Barolo and lovely conversation entertained us for a solid half hour before climbing back on our steeds for the last few miles up to La Morra and back down to Alba.

It’s a Unesco World Heritage Site for a reason. Go there and ride your bicycle through it. You will not be disappointed.

Cosmiques Arete on Aiguille du Midi

September 15, 2024

I touched down in Geneva on Sunday morning after a full day of travel from Seattle, hopped on a bus to Chamonix Mont Blanc, and was greeted by my now local friend and climbing partner, Dale. “The weather is good,” he said. “We should go climbing today.”

This trip was multiple years in the making and had been postponed multiple times due to accidents and injuries. After a ski injury this spring, we’d pushed it from July to September. Inevitably, a week before I headed out, it snowed multiple feet on the massif. We decided for me to come out regardless and simply play the hand we were dealt in terms of weather and conditions. So, with good weather, we went straight for it.

We suited up, got to the cable car base station at about 1pm, and were heading down the snow arete from the Midi by 2pm. 9,000 feet above the valley floor, we had been quickly transported into a completely different world—a winter wonderland with snow crystals whipping over the arete in the wind. After a short but heads-up walk through this section, the scene changed again to that of calm on the gentle glacier below. We walked across and then spent some time at the base of the route, eating our lunch in the sun.

The first section of the route was mainly scrambling in boots and crampons with an axe handy. It wasn’t terribly exposed and was pure Type 1 fun. We eventually got to a rappel station where it seemed prudent to use our rope rather than solo down, so we did, taking in the alpine ambiance and views of both Mont Blanc as well as the Aguille du Midi looming above us with tourists leaning over railings for photographs. From the base of the two short rappels, we simul-climbed through fun terrain, eventually getting to the crux, which felt strange to have such obviously manufactured foot holds for crampons. It was fun nevertheless and we soon emerged high on the ridge with just a short traverse to the Midi observation deck.

If this climb reached the summit of a peak in the North Cascades, it would be an absolute classic—the climbing reminded me a bit of the Stuart Glacier Couloir but was more straightforward and without the solitude or nerve-wracking commitment associated with being 10 hours from the car. We’d casually left town at 1pm and were back down having burgers and beers by 5:30pm. Chamonix is a different world.

Rainier Vertfest

July 27, 2024

After doing RAMROD solo and a number of different rides in the park, I had wanted to do a ride linking Paradise, Chinook, Sunrise, and Cayuse Passes in a single ride. With the Stevens Canyon road recently reopened and a second baby on the way, I decided this summer was my opportunity to do it.

I parked outside the Grove of the Patriarchs entrance and started a little after 8am with a loop down to Packwood, up Skate Creek Road, up to Paradise and down to the car. This was about 60 miles with 5,000 feet of climbing. I tried to keep the pace reasonable, knowing I had a long day ahead of me. I took about 4:15 for this section.

After a nice half-hour break at the car for lunch with my shoes off, I donned another layer of sunscreen and headed up toward Chinook Pass. I felt pretty good on this, still trying to pace myself but with my heart rate about 20bpm higher than on the Paradise climb in the morning with the day heating up. After about 1:45 of climbing, I was at the top and it was decision time. If my legs had been smoked, I would have been able to coast back down to the car, but I decided I felt good enough to go for the full ride to Sunrise and back.

Sunrise from the Ranger’s Station was another 1:40 of climbing, but I made it without too much difficulty. Just a few cramp twinges here and there. I fueled back up at Sunrise and prepared for what I assumed would be a painful final climb up Cayuse Pass. Thankfully, I hit a second wind for this bit and actually had decent power for the final climb. From there, it was mostly coasting down to the car for a little over 128 miles with over 13,000 feet of climbing. A great day out and a nice test of my fitness.