Ice Fishing Mansions

This was another interesting assignment. A glimpse into another culture very different from mine. I am neither a northerner, nor a fisherman, so the "sport" of icefishing is lost on me. But in northern Minnesota, this is good clean fun. And in the case of the people we met, it is also somewhat luxurious. A lot of ice fishermen sit on a bucket with a pole or two in the water. An easy upgrade is some sort of shelter from the wind -some are cloth covered frames, other are more like outhouses with room for one or two inside.

They day we went out was bitter cold. I think the high for the day was -10'. We headed to Lake Milacs in north central Minnesota. A string of very cold weeks had built the ice up to about 16" - just enough to hold the weight of a ridiculously large ice fishing house.

The focus of our story was ice houses that sleep several people, have satellite tv's (multiple usually), bathrooms and kitchens. They are much like a mobile home on ice, but the ones we visited were a notch above mobile home quality. I am not exaggerating when I say that a number of these ice homes were nicer inside than my own home. I do not have a parquet, inlaid wood floor in my home - one ice house did though. My home also does not have holes in the floor with underwater (and under-ice) cameras that can watch the fish come by to inspect the bait on your line and then take it if it so desires. The ultimate fish finder!

So, these are nice places to get out of the wind if you happen to be sitting on a frozen lake. That is the biggest need that they fill however. I'm told that if you really want to catch fish you need to be mobile, able to move where the fish are. These large houses were not mobile. They are pulled onto the ice and lifted onto skids so that the ice does not melt beneath them. Inside they remain toasty and warm with antique rifles above the doors, taxidermy on the walls and your favorite television shows beamed in from space. There might even be a big pot of venison chili warming on the mini-stove. Now you're living the northern Minnesota good life.

I dig this!

I'm not actually a tree hugger, but I am a conservationalist and am quite concerned about caring for the planet we live on. So, that side of me loves this bike. Bamboo bikes have been around for a while - Craig Calfee is most noted for it - but his guy Nick Frey is going to race this bike. It weighs only 16 pounds, which is not crazy light for a race bike, but is decent. Since bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants if it can be used in this capacity, there is great potential for poorer countries to have transportation - without a dependency on oil! Nice.

I found this on Velonews, so go read more if you wish: ( no photo credit available)

http://www.velonews.com/article/72960/more-bamboo-commencal-lands-in-the-us-and-more

Gunflint Trail - Grand Marais, MN

I spent two days in Grand Marais, MN for the NY Times shooting a cross-country skiing article. The area I went to is about 5 hours from Minneapolis and literally on the Canadian border. I looked out my cabin window and could see Canadian soil across Gunflint Lake. It was a beautiful place. I stayed at Hestons Cabins in a very cozy 3 bedroom cabin on the lake. Highly recommend the place to those who like comfort, but with a little rustic flavor. To me it beats a hotel room to pieces.

Skiing was great, despite the warms temps that threatened the snow. Our skiing outing took us up on a high ridge that again, gave us views into Canada and the surrounding wilderness. The trail was "tracked", but not easy. It took dips, dives and switchbacks that sent us rolling in the snow a few times. There were crazy fast downhills where we certainly pushed our XC skis beyond their limits. It was a ball. I think we ended up going about 8+ miles.

Afterwards we dove into a dinner at the Gunflint Lodge. I devoured some antelope, bison, and venison sausage with red souce over some pasta. With our bellies full we went back to the cabin and slipped into our trunks for a visit to the wood-fired sauna. I got talked into jumping into a hole in the ice, then bolted back to the sauna. It was a great trip.

Big thanks to Jake Helmbrecht and Tom Hagerty for allowing me to photograph them for the article. They were good company. Minneapolis based writer, Greg Breining wrote the article and did a fine job as ususal. Go here to see the article. I'll add more images of the town of Grand Marais soon.

http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/travel/escapes/29gunflint.html

Snowball's Chance In Hell Bike Race

Two weekends ago on Brownie Lake in Minneapolis, a bunch of crazies gathered for the SnowBallsChanceInHell Bicycle races. (the actual name is much longer) They are held right on the lake - the frozen lake, for you out o' towners. In a nutshell, a "course is shoveled/broomed off and bikes race around for a number of laps. The course is a figure-eight, so there are frequent collisions, many intentional, and loads of screwing around. Nobody take these races too serious, it is all about fun. Refreshing. So was the temperature. I believe it was in the negative temps, or zero at best.

There were some prizes given out by the sponsors: One on One... can't remember who else, maybe CRC Coffee?

Some guys showed up with studded tires - not the wimpy store bought ones, but home-made with sheet metal screws versions. Most were without studs at all though. A number of Surly Pugsley's were there too. Again, for out o' towners, the Pugsley is a mammoth tire'd mountain bike. It is the SUV of bikes. Balloon tires are 4+ inches wide. They are specific for winter riding. The guy doing the wheelie is on one.

If anyone knows the names of guys riding, feel free to leave it in the comment section. Credit where credit due and all.

Windsled - School bus for freezing lakes

I was assigned to Bayfield, Wisconsin last week to shoot a "windsled" that kids take across Lake Superior to get to school. These kids live on Madeline Island, one of Wisconsin's Apostle Islands. Strange device to be sure. It is like a swamp boat made to go across thin ice, or lakes that are still freezing and may have open water. It is driven by two large props - which are each driven by a 502" chevy race motor. They don't put these motors in street vehicles. They are powerful mills! Anyway, if you'd like to hear more, head to the NY Times site and view the slideshow while you are there.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/us/22ice.html?ref=us

Mount Shasta!

Last spring I begged to be assigned a story on climbing Mt. Shasta that I knew the NY Times was doing. At first the reply was "no, we'll find someone closer". Bummer. Then less than two weeks before the climb, they call me and ask if I want to do it! Well, so much for training in advance. I just took what fintess I had and went for it.

Stephen Regenold, Minneapolis based freelance writer (and fellow adventurer) and I struck out to climb the 14,000+ beast. If you want to read how it went, copy and paste this link: (tried to post as a link and blogger would not do it?)

http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/06/15/travel/escapes/15Shasta.html

It was my first mountaineering climb, and as mountains go, this was a good first-timer's choice. It was not easy, but there are not heavy techincal sections. I have a long history or rock climbs, so this was something altogether new. It is basically a long, steep hike in the snow. Up, up and up some more.

Sadly, we never stepped foot on the summit. We endured 70+ mph winds and little sleep at camp (10,500') and in the morning we saw several avalanches in the area that we were to hike through. "Wind loading" was becoming bad. No other climbers made summit all week though, so we felt a little better about bailing. I am here to tell of the story rather than burried in snow. I feel good about the decision.

I got some nice photos despite the circumstances and had a good time to boot. Northern California is fantastic! Oregon is really nice too!

Enjoy the images. The guy descending is me - photo credit: Stephen Regenold.

R.I.P. Polaroid

So, Saturday I found out that Polaroid, the instant film company has quit making their products. I am sure that most of you know Polaroid for the big clunky cameras. Those ruled! However, there was a lot more to the company. We (formerly - pre-digital) medium and large format, or 4x5 users knew it as an easy way to get a preview for how our film would turn out. It was spendy, messy and likely toxic, but we loved it. I have warmed hundreds if not thousands of polaroids under my arm pits. Sometimes, when working on fashion sets, I'd have two under each arm ( to speed up the processing of the chemicals). And to dispell a myth, shaking them did not speed or help the process at all.

Polaroids had a distinct smell. A mild chemical smell, that I have to admit that I loved. I became quite fond of it. I've said too much...

So, here's to Polaroid. An american, photographic icon. So long old friend. And to my artist friends who still use and rely on Polaroid, I am sorry for your loss...

*I'll scan a few and post them here when I return home.

BMX!

These images were taken at an F-Bom (www.f-bom.org) gathering at 3rd Lair (indoor skate park). F-bom is a new site that is trying to get BMX and Freeriders on the same page. They both like to launch their bikes off of stuff, yet they genereally do not congregate together. So, Shad Holland decided that he'd try to bridge the gap with his new forum. I went to shoot some images for the sites' gallery, and to add to my biking photo collection. Some of these riders are really talented. They look really relaxed as they sail around the place. These are just a teaser. I am working on a more public display of my on-going project. Enjoy.

Idle hands are the devil's playground

Being self employed means a life unlike the average man's. I often have time on my hands in the middle of the workweek. That is how I found myself earlier this week. So, I've been reading a lot and taking oppurtunities to do things that I usually cannot, such as taking a ride with a teammate one morning. It is pretty sloppy out on the roads, so I took my cyclocross rig instead of the road bike. It got really dirty. In fact, it got dirty on top of the dirt of several CX races that I never washed off.

So, I did what any guy would do. I put it in the bathtub and sprayed it off with the shower wand. I waited till my wife left the house. My wife who only hours earlier had cleaned the entire bathroom. Well, I'm happy to say that I got it clean without her noticing. I confessed later in the day though.

So, while I don't necessarily recommend my method, it is easier than the bike-on-rack through the car wash method.

If you have a better idea, I'd (we'd) love to hear it.

PS. For viewers in warm climates, you should realize that water hoses are packed away for the winter here in MN. I really had no choice...