Timothy H. O'Sullivan: The King Survey Photographs

Currently on view at the Art Institute of Chicago is the exhibit of Timothy H. O'Sullivan: The King Survey Photographs.  O'Sullivan cut his teeth in photography by documenting the civil war for Mathew Brady.  After the war his field photography skills led him to succeed outside the studio and naturally he became a Survey Photographer.  Never again will the intersection of adventure, science, art, and naturalist meet so symbiotically.  Such is the life of of the westward expansion era survey photographer.  These photographs were taken at the same time as John Muir's first visit to the Sierra Nevada. Some even predate Muir's exit from the Midwest.  O'Sullivan was brought to the Fortieth Parallel by Clarence King to survey the area for industrial development.  Gritty views of Mono Lake, Donner Pass, Pyramid Lake, and the Wasatch Mountains hang on the gallery walls alongside images of the mining and railroad industry and geothermal formations.  These photographs captivate the eye as much as the imagination.

 

 

The exhibit is on view until Jan, 15 2012.

Highlights of 2011

The year is just about in the books and it was so full of change it made my head spin.  Lousy PHD programs took another one of my closest friends across the country.  So there was one less number to call for last minute trips which led to a lot of solo mountain bike rides and tamer outings.  I hit up the Honky Tonk Happy Hour after work on Fridays like it was my job and found a whole new family of Honky Tonkers.  When I needed a break from it all there was always the baseball diamond.  I went to more baseball games than I ever have in a single season in 2011, and had a winning streak that lasted until the final game I went to.  My record of attended White Sox games ended at 6-1.

Opportunity came knocking more than once, I climbed Camel Back Mountain at dawn outside of Phoenix, AZ.  There was more climbing with the Chicago Mountaineering Club, I went to Devils lake 3 times, my cousin invited me on a 4 day fishing trip to Lake Clinton (I still have never caught a fish) and took a trip out to Yosemite that really got my head right.   I saw the sun rise and set all over the country.  My GoPro Hero Helmet Camera became my favorite piece of gear.  I documented my morning commute, cross country mountain biking, rock climbing and anything else that caught my eye.  I saw some amazing art and some great rock shows.  

By the numbers I spent a total of 11 days sleeping with my head in the dirt, climbed 30 pitches with 5 days on the rock,  3 days of skiing, 0 powder days.   I was on a bike around 300 days this year with an estimated 5500 miles of pavement behind me. 7 White Sox games and 2 Cubs games.

The year started off with a blizzard that shut down the whole city.

Lake Michigan right after the blizzard.

This sunset photo took me so far from my back porch where it was taken.

A happy day with Dr. Vincent Pham who was bound for sunny California.

One of many Chicago White Sox winners including my first Opening Day.

A fog on the lakefront path.

Go Go White Sox.

My Go Pro helmet camera mounted on my touring bike.

May Arizona trip to visit with Chris and his wife Kassie. 

Top of Camel Back Mt. AZ.

The "L" ride home on the Orange Line.  The end of my AZ. trip.

Go Pro Rig on my MTB.

4th of July with Melissa. 
I took this picture after every White Sox winner it was my good luck charm.
Ozzie would leave the team come the season's end.

The Beer and Crew for Tour de Fat.
 I love it when the mountain culture comes to me.

The Bikes.

The Ballyhoo.

Devils lake.  One of many trips.

Brendan leading my first multi-pitch climb in Yosemite National Park.

Atop Tenaya Peak in Tuolomne Meadows in Yosemite National Park.

California Sunset.

Brendan and me atop Cathedral Peak.  It was bad ass.

The Honky Tonkers got out of the bar and went on the road to the Homer days Harvest Festival.

At summers end this sunset appeared over the Yorkville Days festival grounds.

A day a of hiking at Devils Lake Wisconsin.

I never quite saw the park like this before.

Magic Hour atop the East Bluff Trail.

Wisconsin Dells.

Best Halloween costume ever.  Aron Ralston anyone?

 

The best Thanksgiving turkey fry in all of Chicago had me keeping the beat into the night with Steve and Jonathan. 

I did a lot of living this year. Here's to next year's adventures.

Do It Right

"You're receiving this e-mail because you're at least kind of a badass." Read the first line of an email I received almost 4 years ago. It was quite possibly the greatest compliment I had ever been paid. It came from a guy whose Monday morning trip reports read like they should grace the pages of some glossy magazine. My friend Brendan was amassing a team to climb Mt. Shasta for charity. I sat on the steps of the north garden at work while on my lunch break and mulled over it. I'd be on the hook for a pretty steep fund-raising goal and I was still paying off my trip to New Zealand. It'll mean no ski trip this year. Plus a Glacial Summit was never a consideration of mine. I rattled off a handful of excuses to decline. My reply: "All of my summits have been with a snowboard on my back ya know. Needless to say I'm on the fence." I wasn't going. It was the first time I said "No" to an adventure. My inner Indiana Jones was screaming at me. Sometimes in life you get lucky and it comes back around again. I got in touch with Brendan this past July looking for an adventure. I had RAGBRAI in mind.  It turns out Brendan was on a major road trip and was in need of a climbing partner.  He pitched a trip to Banff National Park in BC, Canada. It was my first opportunity for some multi-pitch mountaineering.  You see when climbing in the midwest rarely does a rock climbing team have the opportunity to out climb the length of their rope and therefore my longest climb has only been close to 90 feet of vertical elevation. Brendan was talking 800 feet at the least, 'Would I run out of gas halfway up? I only know like 2 knots, I've never climbed with a pack on before, hell I've never climbed with anyone besides my brother'. The excuses came right back. This was certainly outside my comfort zone and I needed to blow through that so much more than I knew.

What intended to be a Canadian Rockies trip resulted in us turning around at the boarder and driving some 18 hours to Yosemite's Serra Nevada. I had been to Yosemite the first time 7 years ago. I was with my very pregnant sister and brother-in-law. We got the last campsite on the valley floor which was reserved for the mobility impaired. I guess my sister qualified. I had no idea what to expect. The park was majestic. Every turn revealed a sight so amazing that confining its majesty to a frame of film in my camera almost felt wrong. We hiked to Yosemite and Bridalveil Fall. All the while I felt there was something wild away from the view of a paved road and the visitor center that was I missing. Had a longer stay been in the cards I may have seen it then although never as I would this past August. Climbing then was nowhere near an aspiration of mine, and there were plenty of climbers walking around like badasses.  If you told me then that I would one day be part of the wildlife like they were I'd think you were the crazy one.

We roll up to a National Forest camp site outside of Yosemite around 11:00pm and bivy sacked under the stars. My thoughts immediately turned to John Muir. I was looking at the stars just as he did. A better bedtime story has never been told.  I fell asleep to to the sound of rushing water off in the distance. After a trip to town for some gear and a guide book we headed for Tuloumne Meadows Campground. With all campsites full, our names went on the waiting list. This is August in the country's most popular national park. I figured an alternate plan was in our future.  The trip had already taken a number of unexpected turns so of course it all worked out that we would stay for an entire week in Yosemite at the last minute.  After setting up camp Brendan got to the business of explaining what to expect when multi-pitch climbing.  Things like placing gear protection in the natural openings of the rock and how to remove stubborn nuts, chocks, and cams.  We went over a 3 point anchor and nonverbal communication for when we got out of earshot.   It was a lot to take in on top of the fact that time was of the essence, getting off the rock quickly was a priority.  With the tutorial finished we dined on some camp style chili mac and laid our heads in the dirt awaiting the alpine start in the morning.

Midway up Tenaya Peak

Nervous but confident for the climb I forgot my lunch at camp and Brendan graciously shared his chow and we bushwhacked to the base of the peak and began to climb.  Brendan led the climb and I followed cleaning up all the gear pitch by pitch.  Around the halfway point I relaxed and realized that I was on the side of a mountain, in Yosemite, exposed to the entire blue sky, looking down on Tenaya Lake.  I couldn't help but think of the people who gave the ambition to be there.  It was a moment I won't soon forget. 

Brendan and me on my first multi-pitch summit.

Me on the summit.

We were up there.

After an eight hour car to car excursion we jumped into the alpine lake and looked back at the peak that we had stood on hours earlier.  On the way back to camp we stopped at the general store and enjoyed ice cream on a stick while sitting on a curb, a genuine shared experience between friends to say the least.  The next day we climbed Pywiack Dome which is in eye shot of the road and we quickly amassed a crowd of spectators.  We finished at sunset and were lucky enough for the sky to put on a show for our cameras.  A rest day next had us wandering around a mountain town and the most amazing gas station I have ever been to.  For reals the Lee Vining Mobil with the Whoa Nelly Deli.  They had a bluegrass band playing while I ate Jambalaya.

Pywiack Dome mid climb.

Rappel off Pywiack with Cathedral Peak backdrop.

Our final climb would be Cathedral Peak just shy of 11,000 feet. The first ascent was achieved by none other than John Muir himself.  As Brendan said "and he climbed it in his Levis and a loaf of bread"  This climb got technical with a chimney that I knew the entire time was going to be tricky with a pack on my back.  With a bit of grunting and adrenaline I made it through without a major hiccup.   The summit had barely enough room for two people and Brendan said it was the funnest climb he had ever been on.  Then there was a dicey down climb and hike out on the John Muir Trail. After it was all said and done we had another 8 hour car to car day with the big pay off of ice cream on the curb another genuine experience and great people watching. 

Cathedral Peak

View from the summit.  Looking at Eichorn Pinnacle.

All my climbing gear would then go into my pack, camp would be broke and I would fly out of San Francisco and back to Chicago.  Public transportation took me back to my apartment around 11:00pm.  My pack was dumped to the floor relieving my body of an extra 50 pounds and I grabbed my Nalgene water bottle out of the netting on the side to fill it up with some Lake Michigan from the faucet.  The change in atmosphere hissed out of cap as I unscrewed it.  It was like a tiny bit of physical proof of the heights I came from.  I left a week earlier feeling nervous, excited, and a bit overwhelmed with life and came back with a wave of confidence that I was not expecting.   I grabbed my Devil's Lake climbing guidebook and began earmarking all the climbs that suddenly looked more appealing.     
 

Brendan is currently at 10,000 miles of nomadic road trip action.  He recently contributed a podcast to the Dirtbag Diaries about his summit of Mt. Shasta with his longtime friend and one of the most inspiring gentlemen that I have had the pleasure of meeting.  Do yourself a favor and listen to it here.