Climbing Site

Boulder Daily Camera:

Being a climbing guide rarely feels like getting paid to climb. It’s dangerous work that leaves little energy to pursue one’s own passion for the sport.

I cut my teeth as a rock and mountain guide in Washington’s Cascade Range for five summers before I moved to Boulder in 2001, where friends landed me a guiding gig that spanned three summers.

The upshot of guiding is that every client on every climb is unpredictable.

Read the whole story: Boulder Daily Camera

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A 31-year-old Bangor man who decided to break into his ex-girlfriend’s home on Wednesday by climbing through the kitchen window was caught and charged with criminal trespassing, Sgt. Paul Edwards said on Thursday.

Glenn Curtis told police he had left some items behind when he moved out and was attempting to retrieve them, Edwards said.

Curtis was taken to Penobscot County Jail and remained there on Thursday, a jail official said. (Nok-Noi Ricker, BDN)

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A 17-year-old Bangor teen was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and a wanted Bangor man was arrested Wednesday after Bangor police Lt. Tom Regan stopped by the corner of State Street and Broadway to see what two groups of young people were doing out at 11:21 p.m.

The teen was listed in the police computer system “as having weapons before,” Sgt. Paul Edwards said on Thursday. He was searched and had a pair of brass knuckles in his pocket, Edwards said.

Donald Galleck, 21, was wanted for unpaid fines for convictions for theft and carrying a concealed weapon. When he arrived at Penobscot County Jail, prescription pills reportedly were found in his boots and he was charged with possession of diverted prescription drugs. He remained in jail on Thursday, a jail official said. (Nok-Noi Ricker, BDN)

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The smell of marijuana was reported on the fourth floor of Oxford Hall late Wednesday night and when University of Maine public safety officers arrived they found a green leafy substance and a glass marijuana pipe in one of the rooms, university spokesman Joe Carr said Thursday.

Andrew Fitzpatrick, 18, who lives in the dorm room, and fellow student Alexander Hess, 18, both were charged around 11:36 p.m. with possession of a usable amount of marijuana. (Nok-Noi Ricker, BDN)

Touted as Canada’s next star of women’s mountain bike racing, Emily Batty, came to the world championships in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que., looking to claim the under-23 title.

Celebrated by fans across the country, the 22-year-old dynamo from Brooklin, Ont., already has multiple international class wins to her credit, and has left an impression on the World Cup elite group, notching a top-10 finish in Offenburg, Germany, last season.

On Thursday, Batty scored her best finish at a world championships, but missed her goal, placing a hard-won fifth in the U-23 race.

“It took me a while to get my lungs warmed up,” said Batty, who has been suffering from a cold. “I didn’t have the greatest start, and I didn’t want to have to say that at the end, but that’s the way it is.”

Success at the world level has already happened for Batty, who finished 2009 ranked second in U-23 competition. The 2010 season has been full of ups and downs for Batty in her first year of racing as a full-time professional (part of the Trek World Racing team). The step up has been a landmark achievement for a rider who counts Canadian Olympic silver medalist Marie-Hélène Prémont as one of her idols.

At the 2010 season opener at the Dalby Forest, England, Batty finished 15th – 3 minutes 28 seconds back of first place.

“I was happy with it because the gap from first was far less than what it was for my top 10 in Offenburg,” she said.

During her race Thursday, the trails were lined with family, friends and fans – all cheering her name, many wearing Emily Batty Fan Club t-shirts specially made for the event.

“It was absolutely insane the number of people out there … just screaming my name. It was so inspiring,” said Batty, who aside from being a top-notch racer, is a marketing dream.

With blue eyes and long, blonde hair that curls out from under her helmet, Batty always races wearing earrings and a pearl necklace. Savvy to her sponsors needs, she makes sure logos and gear are visible for media photos and video. Through everything, she remains humble and open.

Raised on a farm, Batty is the third of four children in a family where cycling has been a way of life. Her oldest brother, Eric, was introduced to the sport by a neighbour. Since then, the whole family has embraced it.

Eric Batty competes for the Trek Canada team, while brother Mark Batty races road bikes in Europe. The younger sister, Charlotte, rides for fun after giving up racing last year to pursue other interests.

“Our parents have been totally supportive,” said Emily Batty, recalling how at 9, she started helping out in the feeding zones for her brother’s races. Three years later, she was racing.

“I’ve always been able to watch my brothers and their friends,” Batty said. “I’d be inspired, and learn how to ride better. Biking has been dinner-table conversation since I was 10. It’s just fun. I really don’t see how you can do the sport and not have fun.”

Batty admits the pressure before a race makes her nervous, but quickly adds: “It’s the same before every race, from provincials right up to World Cup. … The same at the world championships this year. It’s my last year of under-23 racing, and it’s a home event, with home crowds. A lot of friends and family have come to watch me.”

Included in that group is her boyfriend and coach, Adam Morka, who also races on the Trek Canada team.

“Before a race, Adam or my dad will say to just go out and have fun. It helps me deal with the nerves and be able to relax,” said Batty, who is excited about the opportunities that lie ahead on the World Cup circuit.

“This year, there are more women, there’s more funding opening up and the sport is getting more exposure. There has been no dominating woman this year, and every even has been a different podium.”

The widening field is encouraging for Batty, who knows that with a good race, she, too, can step on the podium.

“The rainbow stripes [of the mountain bike world champion] and the Olympic rings have always been a goal, Now, they’re just becoming more realistic.”

Her competition finished in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Batty plans to spend the rest of the weekend doing the same stuff that got her excited about the sport to begin with.

“I’ll be running around, cheering on the Canadians,” she said. “I’ll just be a fan.”

Special to The Globe and Mail

SACO – When he first conceived a plan to climb Maine’s tallest mountain on the longest day of the year, Lee Perkins, 67, of Saco had no idea he would end up with a group of 43 people, including friends and family, who wanted to take part in the adventure.

Perkins retired earlier this year, after working most of his career as a sourcing and materials engineer for the Marine Colloids Division of FMC in Rockland, and decided it was time to pursue his lifelong dream of climbing the 5,267-foot Mount Katahdin in Baxter State Park. As a young man, he had worked as a guide in the Allagash River region, but he’d never had the chance to climb the mountain.

As Perkins began mentioning his plan to friends and family, more and more people wanted to sign on, until he ended up with a large group of locals who took the trip to Mount Katahdin over Father’s Day weekend in June.

Of the 43 who caravanned up to Big Moose Inn & Resort on Millinocket Lake, 18 actually climbed the mountain and 11 made it to the summit. Unfortunately, Perkins was not among them. His trip up the mountain ended at Chimney Pond, 3.6 miles from the trailhead.

As the trip coordinator and overall guide, Perkins saw himself as a shepherd for the climbing group. One of the climbers suffers from multiple sclerosis and could only get as far as Chimney Pond. Perkins decided to turn back with her and make sure she made it safely down the mountain.

Even though he didn’t reach the top, Perkins said the trip, which was six months in the planning, fulfilled him spiritually.

“I may not have made it to the top, but I accomplished everything I wanted to. It was a true pilgrimage in every sense of the word,” Perkins said.

Those who accompanied him on the trip included his wife, Martha, his 4-year-old granddaughter, Molly, and an 81-year-old female friend who made the tough hike up to Chimney Pond. Those who went all the way to the top included several teenagers and a 70-year-old man.

The group, which was composed mostly of members of First Parish Congregational Church in Saco, also included four ministers, including Doug Nielsen, First Parish senior minister, and his wife Karen.

Several of those who climbed the mountain had been up Katahdin before, but for most of the climbers it was their first trip, Perkins said. Those who stayed at base camp got a guided tour of Millinocket Lake and organized food support, he said.

Perkins said the best part of the trip was the mix of people, the fellowship and the joy experienced by everyone, from the youngest member of the group to the oldest.

The night before the climb, there was a severe thunderstorm, but after the storm clouds broke a rainbow appeared. “That’s when I truly knew this trip was blessed,” Perkins said.

Although everyone who intended to climb the mountain did a lot of preparatory work, including walking and other forms of conditioning, Perkins said he was not prepared for just how steep and difficult the trail up the mountain would be.

“It was a very hard climb. Often you couldn’t even stand up straight because of how steep the trail was. Katahdin is definitely a serious mountain,” he said.

Perkins, who once worked as an emergency medical technician, included about 20 pounds of first aid equipment in his gear, but luckily the group “never even had to break out even a single Band-Aid.”

Perkins said the climb to Chimney Pond and back took his group 10 hours and 40 minutes, so he was glad he’d timed the trip to coincide with the longest day of the year, Monday, June 21.

Perkins said those who took part in the Katahdin trip are planning a reunion sometime this fall at the KOA campground in Saco. At the reunion the group will plan their next adventure, he said.

INDEX – A group of rock climbers announced Friday that they’ve raised enough money to buy the Index Lower Town Wall.

The Washington Climbers Coalition stepped up to purchase the rock climbing wall after a private landowner considered selling the property to a quarry.

The coalition got their funds from a loan from Access Fund, a national climbing advocacy group based in Boulder, Colo., and donations from climbing organizations and businesses.

The coalition also announced it is working with Washington State Parks on a possible donation of the property.

The Lower Town Wall is the state’s most famous climbing destination apart from Mount Rainier. The Lower Index Town Wall is granite riddled with huge cracks to grab and edges that provide challenge and variety for rock climbers.

As early as the 1950s, mountaineers practiced scaling the sheer walls that zoom up 500 feet and higher. In the years since, climbers have established hundreds of climbing routes.

Rule Breakers analyst Karl Thiel told subscribers recently that he thought Momenta Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: MNTA) was likely undervalued, but that the company wouldn’t reach full value until investors get over their “wall of worry.”

After handing down a ruling yesterday that Momenta’s generic version of sanofi-aventis‘ (NYSE: SNY) Lovenox could stay on the market, it seems that a judge pulled out a ladder and helped boost investors closer to the top of that wall. Sanofi had filed a lawsuit claiming that the Food and Drug Administration shouldn’t have approved the generic version of the complex molecule.

It was a long shot by Sanofi, but the loss of generic Lovenox would have been a huge deal for Momenta, since that’s its only product. Shares are up 4% today.

The wall of worry hasn’t crumbled completely, though. Momenta’s deal with marketing partner Novartis (NYSE: NVS) calls for Momenta to get 40% to 50% profit share if there is only one generic on the market. If the FDA approves another one, Momenta would take a triple hit: The market share for generic Lovenox would go down, the price would fall because of competition, and Momenta would only get a royalty in the high-single to low-double digit range. Investors will likely remain worried until the FDA makes a decision about a pending application from Teva Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TEVA), and another from Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, which is partnered with Watson Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: WPI).

Trying to figure out what the FDA will do in this situation is nearly impossible. The agency took nearly five years to approve Momenta’s drug, because the company had to convince the FDA that it could fully characterize the complex molecule that makes up Lovenox’s active ingredient. Without a lot of inside knowledge, it’s impossible to know whether Teva or Amphastar have the same capability to satisfy the FDA.

A quick rejection that sends potential competitors back to the drawing board would be the best thing for Momenta’s stock. But at this point, time is working in favor of the company as well. The longer Momenta goes without additional generics being approved, the more money the company makes, and the more likely investors are to scale that wall of worry on their own.

To see the analysts’ current thinking on Momenta, which was recommended back in 2006, grab a 30-day trial subscription to the Motley Fool’s Rule Breakers newsletter. You’ll get access to all our back issues and the most recent picks.

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LIVERMORE — The Valley Rock Climbing Gym has gotten a one-year reprieve from the Livermore Area Recreation and Park District.

Gym supporters were relieved to hear that the facility will stay open, but say this is just the beginning of a busy year.

The three park board members at Wednesday night’s meeting voted unanimously to adopt a final budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, which gives gym supporters until early next year to prove the gym can significantly cut expenses and increase revenue. Board members Maryalice Faltings and Scott Kamena were absent.

In order to balance a $16 million budget and close a $460,000 deficit, general manager Tim Barry had proposed cuts to several programs, including the gym.

The gym has had annual losses of more than $40,000 per year since the park district took over operations in 2007, but it was spared from imminent closure in June when the board had to balance its preliminary budget.

Members from Save Valley Rock Gym, a grassroots group of climbers and parents, have been working feverishly since then to submit a business plan to prove they can make it break even within two years.

“We need intuitive thinking,” Save Valley Rock Gym spokesman Bob Sanchez said. “It needs to be managed more like a business.”

He said gym staff needs to identify slow periods, when it would be okay to cut back hours — such as opening later on Tuesdays or closing earlier on slow nights.

District

assistant general manager John Lawrence agreed but cautioned against changing hours without fair notice. He said one idea might be to simply list the gym’s phone number in brochures, instead of exact hours of operation.

District and community members alike are hopeful they are headed in the right direction after seeing particularly positive results in July.

With a $2,000 increase in revenue in July and a $2,000 decrease in expenses compared to last year, the program looks on track to see the year-end loss drop down to $13,000, Lawrence said.

By efficiently managing staff time and operation hours, Save Valley Rock Gym members are confident they can meet that goal — having provided an even lower $11,000 estimate for their year-end deficit.

The group said the next step is to continue increasing awareness for the gym and to maintain a good working relationship with the park district to stay on track.

“We got a good start but we need to keep the momentum going,” Sanchez said. “We’ve got work to do now.”

For more information about Save Valley Rock Gym, visit www.savevalleyrock.com.

Contact Kimberly Chua at 925-847-2164. Follow her at Twitter.com/kimberlyachua.

Climbing hard A Rocky Mountain goat nanny and kid hump it up a steep ridge somewhere in the Pioneer Range last weekend, their tongues hanging out from the effort. A group of hikers noticed the goats coming up the ridge behind them and hunkered down behind rocks to wait, resulting in close-up shots of the sometimes elusive critters. Mike Reeder photo

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August 23, 2010, 10:40 AM EDT

By Yi Tian and Alistair Holloway

Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) — Coffee prices were little changed after climbing to the highest price in almost 13 years on concern that global supplies will be further reduced as production slips.

Heavy rains may have harmed arabica crops in Colombia, the world’s second-largest producer, Kona Haque, an analyst at Macquarie Group Ltd. said last week. Coffee stockpiles in warehouses monitored by ICE Futures U.S. are the lowest since May 2000, and robusta inventories are down 39 percent this year in London.

“Roasters are concerned that the supply is limited at the moment,” Eugen Weinberg, the head of commodity research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said by e-mail today. “Stocks continue to dwindle.”

Arabica coffee for December delivery rose 0.05 cent to $1.85 a pound at 10:36 a.m. on the ICE. Earlier, the price reached $1.8865, the highest level for a most-active contract since Sept. 11, 1997.

“The fundamentals are very positive,” said Hector Galvan, a senior trading adviser at RJO Futures in Chicago. Prices may rise to $1.90 a pound “very easily” and $2 is still the target, he said.

Before today, the commodity gained 36 percent this year after Colombian output dropped to a 33-year low. Brazil is the top producer.

On the Liffe exchange in London, robusta-coffee futures for November delivery declined $9, or 0.5 percent, to $1,782 a metric ton.

Arabica coffee is grown mainly in Latin America and brewed by specialty companies including Starbucks Corp. Robusta beans, used in instant coffee, are harvested mostly in Asia and parts of Africa.

–Editors: Michael Arndt, Daniel Enoch.

To contact the reporters on this story: Yi Tian in New York at ytian8@bloomberg.net; Alistair Holloway in London at aholloway1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Steve Stroth at sstroth@bloomberg.net.