PORTLAND LOSES ITS CLIMBING FOOTWEAR RESOLER

Getting footwear resoled just got a little harder for local rock climbers and mountaineers.

As part of its recent business transformation, Portland's Mountain Soles has stopped all resoling work, with the exception of resoling Patagonia footwear.

The company is going to continue doing outdoor equipment sewing and repair work, but those jobs will need to be dropped off at a local REI, or mailed to the non-retail space that Mountain Soles will soon be moving to.

Mountaineers are in luck: various shoe repair places around the Portland area can resole mountaineering boots with Vibram soles.  But if you're a rock climber, it looks like you'll be mailing your blown-out rock shoes out of town.

Here are a few places you can send your shoes:

Ramutas Resoles - Helena, MT
Cascade Cobbler - Winthrop, WA
Fly'n Brian's Resole - Las Vegas, NV
ProDeal Resoles - Pueblo, CO

Or, maybe you can do it yourself.

PUNKS IN THE GYM - FIRST FEMALE ASCENT

Check out this video of Mayan Smith- Gobat's first female ascent of Punks in the Gym, at Australia’s Mt. Arapiles.  This route was first established by Wolfgang Güllich in April 1985 and was one of the hardest routes in the world at that time.  It is said to only have been climbed by about 30 male climbers thus far and it was one of the first routes that took sport climbing to the next level.  Smith-Gobat spent more than two years working the route before finally redpointing the line on October 28.  Really fun video to watch!

iNeverSolo: A LITTLE HELP FOR YOUR FRIENDS BACK HOME

File your plan with ineversolo, and if you don't return as expected, the site gets in touch with your emergency contacts, fills them in on the details of your plan, and lets them know that you are late coming back. 

FOREST SERVICE APPROVES A MOUNTAIN BIKE PARK ON MT. HOOD

Finding no evidence of significant impact, the United States Forest Service has given permission to RLK Company to develop a mountain bike park at Mount Hood’s Timberline Lodge and ski resort. This recent decision would allow the park to begin operating by summer 2014. Opposition groups have 45 days to file an appeal, though the process is limited only to those who were engaged in the comment period.

Here's what Timberline Lodge has to say about the project, and here is a complete collection of related documents from the U.S. Forest Service.

DECEMBER HIKES AND SNOWSHOES - PLAN AHEAD!

Dog Mountain in winter

Mazamas get out in winter-- a lot!-- and you can join us.  Our hiking schedule is now updated through New Years:  from now to the end of December we have 37 hikes and snowshoes planned, from simple (Mount Tabor laps) to challenging (14 mile Larch Mountain climb) and everything in between.  Fight the winter doldrums by getting out there!

CHASING ICE

The National Geographic film Chasing Ice is currently showing at the Hollywood Theater until the end of this month.  Chasing Ice is the story of James Balog's mission to provide the world with undeniable evidence of climate change through photographs.   Balog places time-lapse cameras in the most extreme Arctic conditions to capture the world's changing glaciers over many years.  The film not only shows the reality of our changing planet but captures stunningly beautiful shots.  Definitely worth a watch.  For tickets you can visit the Hollywood Theater website.

ON MOUNT HOOD: A BIOGRAPHY OF OREGON'S PERILOUS PEAK

On Mount Hood: A Biography of Oregon’s Perilous Peak tells the story of Oregon’s greatest mountain, a mountain that has shaped the very land of the Northwest. The mountain itself helps create the notorious Oregon rains and deep alpine snows, it draws millions to its textbook beauty every year; it paved the way for snowboarding in the mid 1980s, its forests provide some of the purest drinking water in the world, and its snowy peak captures the attention of the nation almost every time it wreaks fatal havoc upon climbers seeking the summit.

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MAMMUT ISSUES A STERN WARNING ABOUT PERMANENTLY INSTALLED QUICKDRAWS AND CARABINERS

Source: Mammut

Mammut is urgently calling for the immediate discontinuation of use and removal of permanently installed quick draws and carabiners in climbing areas. Irrespective of the manufacturer of such equipment, repeated wear can result in the formation of sharp edges capable of damaging or completely severing ropes, even in relatively small falls. Investigations by Mammut have shown that this known problem is actually far more dramatic than previously assumed and represents a very high risk for climbers.

PRE-SEASON NORDIC FEST AT MOUNTAIN SHOP: November 17 and 18

This is your chance to tune up your skis and skills for the upcoming Nordic season.

The Mountain Shop is sponsoring a weekend of free clinics with local Nordic experts, ski testing and evaluation of your old skis, tours of our new ski repair, tuning and waxing laboratory, High Performance Demo and Rental Services department.

We will have on hand information on local clubs, destinations and resources that support of local Nordic Way of Life. Click "Read More" below to get the complete two-day schedule. And don't forget to bring in your old skis for $15 dollars off any Custom Tuning and performance hot box waxing, good only the weekend of the Preseason Nordic Festival. We will have special prices on select Nordic skis, waxes and brushes and tools from Swix and Toko, as well as much as 50% percent off on our demo skis.

COMING SOON (WITH YOUR HELP): THE OREGON DESERT TRAIL

Inventorying trail in the Pueblo Mountains.
Photo: Jeremy Fox

With 4000 members and supporters behind it, the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA) is mapping a 750 mile hike linking a series of remote, high desert areas between Bend and Idaho.  Beginning at Hart Mountain in the Oregon Badlands Wilderness and ending just short of the Idaho border at Lake Owyhee State Park, the trail passes through towns, water sources, and campsites as it guides hikers and horseback riders through ONDA's favorite high desert expanses.  The route relies entirely upon trails and jeep tracks that already exist: no new trails will be built.  Volunteers have spent the last few summers inventorying the route: they're half finished with the project and hope to complete the job in the next two years.

For more information about this project, contact Oregon Natural Desert Association, 50 S.W. Bond St., Suite 4, Bend; 541-330-2638, onda.org.

Sources: ONDA and OregonLive.

PORTLAND GETS A NEW CLIMBING (AND MORE!) GYM

Planet Granite Sunnyvale

California based Planet Granite  is expected to open a new location in NW Portland.  The Portland location will be their largest gym at 32,000sq.ft. and is expected to open in 2014.  Not only will the gym contain 55ft walls and bouldering, they are also planning to have yoga studios, a fitness area, and a steep training ramp. For more information and to track the progress visit their website.