The forecast calls for pain. Well...not really. =^]


Ang Dawa Sherpa, Michael Fagin and Philll Michael enjoy a meal at Agua Verde

A bit of foul weather is scheduled to move into the Cascades this week...or so says the Michael Fagin at EverestWeather.com . At WowWeather.com , he predicts that the Cascades will enjoy an 'Upper Disturbance Low Pressure System' and the area could see upwards of a half inch of rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. He also calls for a weaker disturbance to move through the region over the weekend...but with limited precipitation and moderate winds.

Dawa and I are considering tackling the Kautz Glacier route on Mount Rainier soon...so hopefully our new friend Michael is right?! Time will tell. =^]

We did a great hike to Alpine Look Out, in the East Cascades, with Michael last Thursday. You can see some images and video from that towards the end of this blog entry.



There's a wealth of knowledge on everything to do with Mount Rainier at Mike Gauthier's Mount Rainier Blogspot . I recommend you check it out! B^)

Dawa and I have been pouring through hours and hours of video from the last year...as well as images...in an effort to complete the Sherpa podcasts for SecretSpot.TV . I wish I could feature ALL the fascinating ethnicities that inhabit Nepal....but one at a time! You''ll have to follow along over the years to learn (virtually and first hand) about the Tamnags and Newars...


The Three Singing Tamang Girls of the Solu/Khumbu region of Nepal

With the editing skills of Chris Stanko on our side, we should be posting Episode 6 of SecretSpot.TV by the end of July...or soon thereafter. B^]

You can subscribe to one of the various 'podcast engines' at Secret Spot.TV...here ...and you'll be updated about the posting via your browser or email (depending on how you have it set up).


Your SecretSpot.TV Hosts...Chris Stanko(left) and Phill Michael (right)

We shot the chatty part of Episode 6 here in Seattle, just before the Denali trip, and there's also a pretty good Sponsorship Spotlight about Oakley ! They don't just make sunglasses! B^]



I've been reading a pretty good book, that Dawa brought from Nepal with him, called 'The Last Step: The American Ascent of K2' by Rick Ridgeway. It chronicles numerous ascents of Pakistan's K2 (the second highest peak on the planet) and focuses on American attempts in the 1970's. It's a very insightful book regarding expedition planning, trials and tribulations. I think I've started reading it about 5 times...but can't seem to get the time to make it past page 53. Hopefully this week might finally allow me to read it to the end?! There are definitely some sentiments in that book I can relate to.

If you consult SecretSpot7Summits.com , you'll be able to learn a little more about K2. Dawa and I plan to claw our way to it's summit...two years from now! I'm going to have to strip off some 'Bear Meat' for that adventure! =^P

Despite having (and giving away) mountains of food on our recent Secret Spot Denali Expedition we all lost a few extraneous pounds. Here are a couple of little video snippets from the very beginning of said trip:


'Phill's Eye View' of trudging on the Kahiltna Glacier at midnight on June 12th,2008


Phill and Chris cold kickin' it at 7800ft camp on Denali's West Buttress

As I've mentioned in previous blog entries, we'll eventually incorporate the hours (and hours) of unique footage we captured on the Secret Spot Denali Expedition into our SecretSpot.TV podcasts...as well as other media projects. We plan on returning to Denali to do a traverse(!) in Spring of 2010. You can consult SecretSpot7Summits.com to learn more about that...as well as the rest of the climbs we have planned.


Alex, Phill and Dawa in the Secret Spot Video Lab

Dawa is continuing to enjoy new experience after new experience. He's seeing how the 'Video Lab' works...first hand. Now he has a new appreciation for the outrageous amount of time it takes to organize and produce this media! We're also working on a little writing project. Too bad there aren't 48 hours in each day...huh?! =^]

Speaking of more new things for Dawa, here is an image from his trip to Catalina Island of mid-July...


Dawa and Ron and Rose Stanko on Catalina Island

Ron and Rose Stanko were good enough to expose Dawa to some Southern California culture that included his first ride on the salty ocean! I'll see if I can add some more images from his Catalina trip in a future blog entry.

Like Michael Fagin predicted, it's cloudy and blustery in Seattle today...so let's look at some images from our sunny hike to Alpine Look Out last week...while I burrow deeper and deeper into the Video Lab...


Dawa in the Alpine Look Out Trail

Alpine Look Out from a distance


Dawa in the Burn


A Curious Mountain Goat at Alpine Look Out


Michael Fagin, Phill and Dawa at Alpine Look Out (6200ft)


Jim...the eyes of Alpine Look Out


The Goats of Alpine Look Out with Glacier Peak in the Background


Phill and the Curious Mountain Goat at Alpine Look Out

Until Soon

Phill =^)

PHILL MICHAEL | Expedition Leader and Summit Climber
Everest Freestyle Expedition/Secret Spot Seven Summits
SecretSpot.NET
SecretSpot7Summits.com
SecretSpotEverest.com
Blog.SecretSpotEverest.com