Edge-On Blog

Why Whitewater Courses (Part 2): What Next? Build a Park?

admin — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:38:41 +0000

By John Davis, President, C6K, Inc.

Remember in the first article I had just had my first whitewater experience. So, there I sat on the café terrace overlooking the whitewater park. I was reliving the thrill of that first big drop and all of the subsequent dangers that were thrown in our faces. I was exhilarated, fatigued and a bit sore, but most of all, I was bursting with self confidence. I couldn’t help thinking, what next?

OK, I can set up a few more rafting excursions at the park. Maybe I can get a bunch of people from my office, or my church, or the community center, or even a load of my pre-teen son’s friends and arrange an “outing”. I’ll bet we could form some sort of team building exercise or leadership training or motivational experience. After a few more visits I think we could try out our new skills or a real river. But I want to do more.

I noticed there was a sign about all kinds of offerings for training and education. Kayaking, whitewater canoeing, climbing and rappelling classes available. I can even get outfitted here. Hmmmm, I think it’s kayaking I want to go for first. I wonder if I could get good enough to enter one of the competitions I saw on a poster in the lobby? I wonder if the events will be televised. Hold on a minute! I don’t live in this city, I’m on a business trip. What to do, what to do?

Then it came to me! Build a whitewater park and climbing center in my city. Yeah, great idea! Whoa! Wait a minute. How in the world can I do that? I’m a software engineer for the federal government. I know how to build systems and navigate through a morass of bureaucracy, but actually engineer and create a business that truly has a value to the community….I don’t know. I mean, I’ll need to find the right engineers, a business consultant, a risk consultant, a location and, oh yeah – funding, moola, dinero. I know how to waste other people’s money but put it to good use, I’m not so sure. I’ve got to give this some thought.

Alright, it’s been a couple of weeks and I’ve coerced some solid people to join the effort. We’ve done some research at home and made use of the vast unused resources at the office. I think we’ve come up with a good start to organize our thoughts and ideas:

Where would we build this park? It seems that the best locations are where you can count on a reliable stream of customers. What are those locations? Well here’s a few ideas in order of viability:

Urban areas or population centers are strong candidates. There are over fifty population centers in the US that would fit the bill. My metropolitan area has a population of about 4 million people who could be anywhere from 5 to 60 minutes from the park. A partnership with a municipal or county park and recreation department may be possible. A park wisely located in close proximity to commercial centers would be beneficial to ancillary businesses in the area — that is businesses that would benefit from such a course, either directly or indirectly. They would include everything from restaurants, to sporting goods stores, to hotels, to just about any business in town. And from all the kayaks and canoes I see on the tops of cars, it seems that paddling is popular here.
Partnering with a year-round resort to build a park could be a real hit. You could share the cost of construction and operation, have the resort provide the property and take advantage of the visitor traffic. Such a unique feature would be a real boon for the resort and have a very positive impact on the number of visitors.
Another possibility that is as viable as a resort is in a resort area. There are many areas in the US that offer year-round activities that draw visitors. I’m primarily thinking of areas that have several ski resorts but draw visitors for other activities in the warmer months. This could include New Hampshire, upstate New York, Vermont, Maine and on and on. These areas could be conducive to forming a consortium of resorts in the area to partner in the project with or without the involvement of government park and recreation entities.
If partnering with a resort is a good idea, then how about a theme park? We guess there are things to consider like location of the park, visitor traffic, and seasonal schedule. But, it could work in much the same way as a resort.

Now, who would we get to help with the design, construction and development of operational plans? We could go to architects, construction companies, and/or hydrology engineering specialists. Our guess is that there is someone that has the knowledge and proven experience to design and build a whitewater park. Maybe we will make a call to Whitewater Parks International.

Now that we have all that out of the way, how are we paying for this? It’s time to get creative. The number one thing we don’t want to do is burden the tax payers with a construction and operations bill. We don’t want to get into debt financing or venture capital in order to keep the number of “fingers” in the pie manageable and to keep our vision “pure”. So, after some brainstorming we came up with these options:

We can form a corporation, make shares available for F&F (friends and family) and then submit a PPM (private placement memorandum). This means we have to develop a comprehensive business model and plan to present to potential investors. We make enough shares available to finalize the initial park design and build and operate the park. Then when we are ready to open a second park we can form an LLC and solicit for investments for that park. Our exit strategy for investors – go public.
We could form the corporation as above but establish the park as a franchise and partner with another entity who would finance the park and operate under the control of the corporation. This would work well for resorts, resort areas and theme parks.
Although we want to stay away from using tax dollars, there is another option. We could, in the right city, county or state, determine if it is possible to float a government secured bond to build and operate a park. This would require that the park be located in an area that is extremely conducive to the success of the park. We would require that our return-on-investment or cost-of ownership be very aggressive – 4 years or less. A successful park would not rely on tax dollars, but would pay a dividend to bond holders. In other words, new revenue would go back to the city, county or state. This could also backfire on the community should the park fail, so we would need to take great care in responsibly establishing the marketing and business plans.

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are more ideas on how to finance, suitable locations, activities, marketing opportunities, corporate structure, risk analysis, design and so much more. But, we’re heading off to go raft a real live river with a good outfitter and we have a four hour drive ahead of us. We do have our priorities so we’ll have to get back to you later.

Exploring the Old Man Stump: Franconia Notch - Expedition 2

admin — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 05:21:07 +0000

By Edge Mugga, for Edge Ascension LLC, as told by Edwin Mudge and Carol Jens.

One of the last images of the Old Man of the Mountain taken just before its fall, this image was taken by Jeffrey Joseph on April 26th of 2003.

On September 10th 2008, we undertook our second expedition into Franconia Notch State Park, taking the Kinsman Trail up the north side of the Cannon Mountains. This time around, it was only Carol Jens and myself. Our goal was to explore one of the alternate trails to the Old Man Stump. We were to either find the Old Climbers Trail, which had been recommended to us by a ranger on our previous attempt to climb the Old Man, or to take the Kinsman Trail from the base of the mountain to a bush whacking trail that leads to the Old Man Stump.

Our planning had started several weeks earlier, and had originally included trekking into the mountains with Nelson Piper and his son on August 20th. However, on the day that we had planned to go, Carol and I had been unavoidably delayed and couldn’t make it to our rendezvous on time, and so had to cancel our plans. Nelson and his son had been on the mountain many times and knew the Kinsman Trail approach quite well. They had no trouble in reaching the Old Man site on the day of their attempt. On that day the weather was perfect and the trek went without incident.

The weather on the 10th of September was very different. It was cool, almost cold, and overcast, but rain wasn’t forecast until the following day. We left mid to late morning and arrived at the trail head around 2:45 PM. At the time of our arrival the clouds were mostly off the mountain, and, while slightly broken, were thick with moisture just the same. Upon our initial arrival to the area we had determined to go visit the Park Operations Manager, John DeVivo, to introduce ourselves and to inquire about the location of the Old Climbers Trail.

We had been in correspondence with Mr. DeVivo regarding the necessity for special use permits, if any. It occurred to us, that as long as we were going to be in the area, it might speed things up to drop by for an impromptu meeting in order to get to the fullest understanding.

John DeVivo, JD as he liked to be called, is a great person to visit with, very helpful and knowledgeable about his work. It helped a good deal that he was also easy to talk to. We enjoyed our visit with him immensely. JD confirmed for us that there was indeed an Old Climbers Trail. So called because it was cut in and is maintained by climbers who ascend the mountain and frequently need a safe and quick route up or down, and it has been around for a long time. He wasn’t able to show us where it was on a map at the time, but offered to find a park ranger who we could hire as guide. But we felt the cost was too much, and took a rain check on the offer.

Note: The Old Climbers Trail is actually the quickest and safest trail by which to visit the Old Man’s stump. However, we believe the park keeps it a secret because of its proximity to the site, and a desire to keep unskilled hikers away from high risk areas of the mountain.

During our visit, we inquired about what the rules were concerning climbing the mountain in general and specifically the Old Man site. We were particularly interested in ascertaining the necessity of any permits for climbing or surveying. JD asked what our interests were in conducting a survey. We explained that we were in conversation with certain parties that were interested in possibly rebuilding the Old Man of the Mountain, if it were determined to be feasible. So, our interest was in doing some preliminary ground work that would be of value in moving the conversation forward. We further explained that we would be interested in supporting the Legacy Committee plans for a memorial at the base of the mountain in any case, as long as everyone was willing to work with us.

JD explained that anyone is welcome to access the mountain for climbing, hiking or whatever without restrictions. But, that there were occasions when use permits may be required. He gave the examples of such activities as a wedding on the cliff face, or any business use involving a for profit activity such as a professional survey. He went on to say that in his experience there has not been a single request refused, but that no one had been absolutely required to have one either — in other words, the permits were discretionary. He further explained that we would have to show appropriate liability insurance for all involved in any business venture.

We explained that we were only interested in exploring the mountain out of personal interest, and that while there was an interest in conducting a formal survey, we would only be exploring the Old Man stump using experienced volunteer climbers as private individuals to gather preliminary details that could facilitate planning of a formal survey. If private individuals were going to hire a professional team at great expense to conduct a survey, it would help to have some preliminary details to assist in forwarding the professional engagement with confidence. In other words, someone would have to have first hand experience not only of the mountain, but specifically of the Old Man stump.

Note: The volunteer climbers climb different mountains nearly every weekend, and would do it simply to be able to make a contribution in some way to further the understanding of the mountain, and to possibly draw interest to climbing as a sport. Our lead climber, Brian Faucher, was brought to our attention as recommended by other climbers to be one of the most experienced among them. He additionally is engaged in mountain search and rescue. One of the stories told of him is how he single handedly rescued a fellow climber from a precarious ledge after she had passed out there. She said that the next thing she knew was that she woke up on safe ground and that everyone told her that Brian had recovered on his own.

I explained to JD that we would need clarification within 30 days to be able to get our work done before the winter set in. He said that he now fully understood what we were requesting and that he thought that what they called a Special Use Permit (SUP) would not be necessary just to go climb the mountain. He said that he was sending a follow-on request to Torene Tango-Lowy, an NH state administrator from the Department of Resources and Economic Development, and would copy us on the thread, including what he had already sent.

JD copied us on a very well written request for a permit to allow us to conduct a formal survey. In the thread that JD forwarded, Mrs. Tango-Lowy had replied with a notice that she would forward the issue to Mr. David Wunsch, the state’s geologist working at the Department of Environmental Services (NH-DES).

Note: Unfortunately, we never received a formal reply from any of the parties. Our team, which eventually grew to seven people, spent several thousand dollars on four treks into the mountains over a period of several months in preparation for an eventual survey, just to find out in a chance phone call that our request for a Special Use Permit (a permit that was never known to have been refused) had been declined for unspecified reasons.

In concluding our meeting with JD, he walked us to our car and we bid him farewell, as we had a trail to climb and the day was growing short. Along the way to the car, JD stopped to pose for a picture as we departed.

JD and Mr. Mudge in front of the parks administrative office building at Franconia Notch State Park.

We drove the half mile from the administrative offices to the parking lot of the base lodge for the tram that delivers people to the top of the Cannon mountain, situated on the north end of the mountains on the valley floor. This time we were not interested in the tram, but in convenient parking for hiking the Kinsman Trail to the elevation of the Old Man’s stump. There we wished to bushwhack our way around the mountain in an attempt to reach the site by way of this alternative route.

Our purpose this time around was to explore the route for possible future use in visiting the stump. Additionally, we believed that if we made it to the stump, we might be able to find the Old Climbers Trail to return on. Thus, we would have pretty fully explored all possible routes, short of scaling the cliffs to access the stump. This last is actually an intriguing idea, but requires some experience and a more aggressive fitness regimen.

As mentioned, we reached the trail head around 2:45 PM, stopping only long enough to change into our hiking shoes. Carol wore the same boots that she had worn the previous trek, which did worry me some. While I had worn my mountaineering boots, a pair that I had owned for decades, but had rarely worn. These boots were quite good on the wet rocks, as they have Vibram soles. And they have excellent ankle support, and cushion around the ankles to buffer chafing.

Note: A little known rule of foot care is to avoid shoes with sculpted insoles, insole cushioning and spongy outer soles. It apparently destabilizes the balance of the foot and causes wear and possible injury, not to mention fatigue and stress to other body parts caused by misalignment and the body’s efforts to compensate. See: Fix Your Feet, by Dr. Philip Maffetone.

From the parking lot the trail head was eastward at the back and left as one heads towards the mountain into a large clearing off the main clearing. The grade of the mountain at the trail head was slight and increased gradually as we ascended into the mountain. It was very cool and humid, and we had lost the sun to clouds. We worked the trail as quickly as possible, in the hope of reaching our destination before the clouds descended upon it forming an encasement of fog. At this time, the clouds still appeared to be off the mountain. But, it had rained while we were meeting with JD, and so everything in the mountain was wet or damp.

Kinsman Ridge Trail (curvy dotted line) extending from peak of Cannon Mountain (black triangle at lower left) northeasterly down the mountain to its base (center), roughly paralleling tramway (straight diagonal line).

Satellite view of the Cannon Mountain courtesy of Google Earth, showing tramway in dark area at center.

Near the base of the mountain, the trail is covered with the dead materials mainly fallen from trees and ground down by the many trekkers who frequent the park. Even though it was a weekday on a late rainy afternoon, we passed several parties heading the other way as we progressed upwards. This speaks to the attraction of the mountain to would be trekkers and tourists. Even without the Old Man, the mountain is a wonderful invigorating place to visit.

The trail was at first mainly a kind of dirt and mulch trail, but began to have occasional boulders as the inclination increased the further up we went. Gradually, the boulders became more frequent and the consistency of the soil changed to more of a fine gravel of crushed granite. The boulders increased in size as well, and the roots of trees became more exposed on the trail. So, much so that boulders and roots became the predominant elements of the trail, aside from moss, mold and dirt. The foliage thickened as the inclination of the trail increased as well. This wasn’t a problem, as we’d not yet reached a point of our trek where bushwhacking was necessary, and the trail was quite passable.

Trail near base of mountain strewn with boulders.

Once the inclination of the trail reached a certain point, the boulders became so prominent as to be suitable stairs up the mountain. However, this soon became a bit of a drudge, as some of the boulders required scaling to pass over. At other points along the way, there were deep groves cut into the rock where weathering and the passage of many human feet had warn away the stone into channels. Where this occurred on large boulders, it was sometimes difficult to ascend and alternate routes needed to be worked out.

My shoes were a great help this time around, as the Vibram soles behaved excellently on the wet slippery stones. Carol’s shoes, though having high ankles and a good tread pattern, were of a more pedestrian rubber sole, and so had little grip and were too flexible. Not to mention they were loosely fit and so tended to be unstable. My shoes had the added advantage of weight. The weight of my shoes gave me a keener sense of a lower center of gravity, so I could walk upright more easily on the inclined terrain.

Boulder and gravel stairs on Kinsman trail.

As the trail became heavy with boulders, the forest became thick and closer in to the trail. And as noted before, the boulders increased in size. They were also more jagged, not having weathered as much as those lower down. Occasionally, there was a runoff of water either down the trail, or across it. If the water cut across the trail, it was usually in a flow like a gentle brook flowing down a cascade of rocks, usually in a channel. These channels were easily passable, but could very easily be filled with swift water in a heavy downpour.

Fallen tree leaning onto trail and across a small rivulet running under foot.

Occasionally, there was an obstacle such as a fallen or at least partially fallen tree across the path. These were for the most part passable. Sometimes they even were of benefit to getting up the rocky mountainside that constituted the trail. About a third of the way up we started noticing larger slabs of granite that had not yet decomposed into the boulders that littered our path. These large slabs were usually at a pitch that made them difficult to traverse. We occasionally had to walk the slabs on all fours or crawl on hands and knees.

The shape of the mountain along the Kinsman Trial was very convoluted, so that one would walk on the perpendicular to the slope of the mountain for a ways, then switch to walking parallel with the slope, then back again, and so on. This added much interest to the trek. Of note, there were no switchbacks on this trail, as might be expected.

Every so often the trail came to a place where the forest would open and you could see out into the expanse of the surrounding valley and to unique views of the horizon. These views were spectacular, and could quite literally be breathtaking to behold. They were made even more extraordinary by the interplay of light in a cloud splattered sky. And still more so by individual perspective. The subtleties of each view can very noticeably even across the range of perspective availed by variations in human stature.

Through some breaks in the trees we could see Echo Lake backed by Bald Mountain and Artist’s Bluff on one side and Mount Lafayette on the other. Beyond them the Bigford and Scarface Mountains, and Cleveland Mountain and Mount Agassiz, and maybe Garnet Mountain beyond that. Peering out from the trees, its always a slice of the overall view that one sees, never the totality.

In this area, you are very close to the ski runs, but there is so much forest that you only occasionally see evidence of human habitation — the tram lines or towers or deforested cut outs of the runs themselves. Mostly you find the trees, underbrush and thick moss that grows in abundance on the mountain. The features of the trail are blended so with the environment, that every now and then, you find yourself having to concentrate on where the trail goes, so as not to lose your way. At other times you can’t believe that it takes the course up the mountain that it does.

Forest naturally encroaching on trail…

As we entered the mountain, there was a misty rain that persisted throughout our trek on this day. Ensuring that everything was wet, and slippery, and promising to keep our clothing wet and cold the entire time. This made the trail harder to walk and climb. The wetness made our clothing cling to our skin and restricted our movements. Additionally, it made everything a bit heavier. But we persevered, and enjoyed the uniqueness of the experience just the same.

Since the trail winds mostly clockwise around the mountain, the trail to the Old Man stump necessarily comes in from the left. As we were climbing we found that there are no natural means to identifying the elevation of any position on the mountain directly, short of previously set markings. Therefore, without some means, such as a GPS device or an astronomical means of telling our elevation, we had no way of knowing how far we had climbed.

As we passed trekkers descending the trail, we would ask occasionally how far from the top they estimated we were. This seemed at the time to be useful information, but people traveling in opposite directions on a mountain side will have very different perspectives on distance and time. So, for someone heading down, 15 minutes from the top might be 45 minutes or an hour and a half to someone headed in the opposite direction, depending on the terrain.

At one point about two hours up, we came to a place on the trail where there was a clearing that ran in the opposite direction around the mountain for about thirty feet. At the far end was an orange trail marker on a fallen tree. It seemed to us that the tree had been marked for cutting and removal. But it turns out that Nelson had left a marker for us to indicate where to start our bushwhacking. However, not knowing this, we didn’t recognize that we were at the fork we were seeking, and we continued our climb.

The trek was taking us much longer then we had expected, and no knowing our elevation, and lacking any good estimate of distance from the top, we were at a loss for exploring off the main trail. We decided to climb to the top if we couldn’t find the cut off for bushwhacking to the Old Man’s stump. But, eventually, it was clear we wouldn’t make it even to the top of the mountain. Our climb had been slowed by Carol’s poor footwear, and the wet conditions that we found the mountain in this day. At about 6:45 PM we decided to abandon the mountain and return to the car, so after a rest we started back down.

As evening set in, the clouds settled onto the mountain more heavily and it became very wet, though there was still no appreciable rain. It was due solely to the dense moisture of the clouds’ foggy embankment. We descended the mountain rather quickly, but it still took us a good time to get down. By now Carol was having severe problems with her feet and legs, and though we moved relatively swiftly down, we took many breaks to allow her to attain a sense of stability before moving on.

As the darkness settled in around us, the mountain became an even more deeply mysterious place. We were essentially trekking by the light of thick clouds back lit by the moon alone. Though we had a flashlight, our eyes adjusted so well to the low light conditions that we found it unnecessary to use it until we cleared the path. This worked well, as it was more important to have our hands free in our descent than to hold a flashlight.

When trekking in the mountains, one finds oneself using all of one’s available limbs at any given moment — even more so when trekking in the dark. As we neared the base of the mountain, we could see little of the actual trail, though we did see enough of it to know we were on it. Our primary sense of the trail was by feel, in spite of the ample visual queues. We could literally feel the trail widening and leveling as the grade of the slope became more gradual under our feet. This was very reassuring, as going up, once off the initial slope of the mountain, the trail tended to be increasingly chaotic. But upon returning it became increasingly more regular and predictable.

We returned to our car at approximately 8:30 PM, and sat on its tailgate for a long time drinking water and tea, and taking our time changing shoes, and resting for the long ride back. Before leaving the park, we went to the local camp ground, the Lafayette Camp Ground, and showered, changed clothes and then went to Murphy’s Taproom in Manchester, to join our friends and share stories of our adventures. A perfect end to a wonderful day.

Free the Living, Riff

admin — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:53:57 +0000

Edge Mugga, Copyright January 20th, 1990

Ascension to Climber’s Edge
A Riff on the Value of Communion

No altruist can wear my soul by ruse
Saying we not I meaning me their prey
False giving virtue rends the worlds they use
Reasoning I hold taught as their spirits fray

I will to survive false love’s feigned relief
Of lines so frail they make dependency dear
Not tending from holds of crumbling true belief
I ascend to an edge swinging finally clear

In rising unmoved like the stone I climb
On moral fiber that by necessity touches all
Seeing other wills tend my way in time
I go higher taking care not to fall

My life affirming actions make me well defined
With the nature of existence my only plea
This mountain has a purpose I have divined
Letting reason be it sets the living free

New Hampshire Proposal to Rebuild The Old Man of the Mountain: HB 192

admin — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:46:28 +0000

Edge Mugga

There is a tremendous amount of mis-information regarding the issues surrounding rebuilding the Old Man Of the Mountain, as can be seen by the reaction to a recent article in the Manchester Union Leader. This article will attempt to dispell some of the misconceptions and misunderstandings being floated about.

First, while Rep. Gidge does has a specific plan in mind, and has made some calulations, and he does know roughly what it would cost to place a monument of a specific type on the mountain, his estimate seems to be a best guess estimate. He isn’t proposing hanging anything on the cliff face, though he doesn’t leave out the possibility.

The driving factors in any estimate of this kind are the mass of the fascia to be supported, the mass of the support structure, and the anchorage for the overall structure. When the surface area of the fascia is known, the supporting structure and the extent of anchorage is determined, then the cost can be derived. A rough, estimate of the projected cost of restoring the Old Man, as proposed by Edge Ascension, is in the range of $800K to $3M.

There is no need to use government money for such an endeavor. There are private interests who would put up the money for any proposal that is worthy of the investment. If private money isn’t forthcoming, then any investment is simply unworthy.

The reason the memorial isn’t being funded isn’t the economy, it’s that either the committees approach to fund raising is unimaginative, or their proposed memorial is unworthy of funding. If the private sector is unwilling to buy into an uninspiring plan, or is uninspired by a marketing program for a plan, there’s a very weak case for state funding. Why should taxpayers be forced to pay for something that private donors or investors find ill-advised?

Do to the anticipated catastrophic collapse of the economy, times ahead look very dismal, and the root cause of this eventuality lies squarely at the feet of governance for spending recklessly and interfering in the market. One of the main features of the ongoing collapse is government spending of taxpayers’ money to subsidize everything under the sun, or worse still, the outright theft of that moneys value by means of inflation.

We are all familiar with the old saying, “Don’t steal, the government hates competition.” Well, the emphasis is on hating competition. And here is a perfect example of that in progress. The action of poor governance is to dictate solutions, not to allow them to compete, and invariably the proposed solutions lead to taxes being spent on the solutions. If we allow these two ideas to compete one will win out and the best solution will prevail in the free market of ideas.

We don’t need government stimulus (tax payers money) to get private money involved, we need competition. Whichever approach is most worthy of funding will achieve it. The others will either succeed slowly, languish, or fail of their own accord. We don’t need government limiting the possibilities either. Either building the memorial at the base, rebuilding the Old Man on the cliff, or building a monument to it on the mountain top have merit. But, the market must determine the value of each — that is, what people are willing freely to spend.

Dr. Brian Fowler, as mentioned in the Manchester Union Leader article, is an eminent geologist with much experience on the Old Man site. However, his pending evaluation is derived from historical data, and conversations with climbers who have visited the site of the Old Man. It is not based on an actual current geological survey of the Old Man site. So, it appears in some respects to be anecdotal.

Dr. Fowler’s claim, as reported in the Manchester Union Leader, that “new memorial designs that would physically replace the profile on the cliff in its original size and configuration make the assumption that all unstable parts of that area fell away with the collapse, and ignore the reality that substantial portions of the various rock slabs remain unstable and unsuitable for founding such structures” is debatable.

For one thing, it neglects the fact that there has been no comprehensive survey of the mountain since the fall to ascertain the exact condition of its geology. Any effort to replace the Old Man profile would necessitate such a survey to validate the conception and elucidate feasibility of any proposal — to consider rebuilding mandates such a survey as a first step.

On another point, Dr. Fowler is a member of the Legacy Committee overseeing the memorial, and as such is guided and informed by its society. In other words, he is not completely an objective and independent third party speaking on the issue. Prior to joining the committee, he reportedly shared the author’s view. How could his science account for this change of perspective?

Rebuilding the Old Man would necessarily entail scalers removing any loose debris from the site, and possibly having to forcefully remove some unstable elements of the existing rock structure. The point of conducting a proper survey would be to clarify what would have to be stabilized or removed, and whether it is worthwhile to do so. Clearly, if it were necessary to blast half of the mountain away, it would not be a worthwhile undertaking.

Within the last year it is reported that there was a group of interested individuals who were ready to help with privately funding a survey of the Old Man site and were committed to helping with acquiring additional funding for the memorial, but they were turned away when they sought cooperation from those associated with the committee. Such a survey would have determined once and for all whether the existing geology of the Old Man site would in fact sustain physically replacing the profile. Dr. Fowler had expressed interest in being the geologist for this undertaking prior to joining the committee. And he knew that the intention of the undertaking was to get at the question of feasibility of reconstruction. Therefore, his claim as given in the Manchester Union Leader is false.

Just the same, one should be informed by Dr. Fowlers’ work in comprehending the risk of constructing on the cliff face. But, the question to ask first isn’t whether or not the Old Man should be rebuilt — as this is primarily an ethical question asked in balancing the risks. Rather, one should ask, if it could be rebuilt, what would it take to do so, and how would it best be undertaken? When these questions (questions which get at the risk) have been answered, then one can objectively answer the question as to whether it should be done or not.

A second bill appears to have been hastily put forward to supersede HB 192 — while Rep. Gidge is, no doubt, being quietly presured to drop his bill. This second bill, a clear response to the first, put forward by “rep. Kathleen Taylor, D-Franconia, … seeks partial state funding for the memorial design.” As the committee already has on record that they have collected almost $500K that are for the most part not yet spent, why would they need additional funds for design at this juncture? Especially considering that they’ve already published designs — just look at their website. If they are seeking funding for implementing their designs, why have they shunned offers of assistance to achieve their goals privately. The difficulty here is that once the committee has a small amount of state money, they will have set a precedent, and will feel encouraged to seek more funding later. So, if taxpayers are going to say no, now is the time to do so.

While Rep. Gidge’s idea has merit, the notion of making an actual face out of it is not a very pleasing idea to many. For one thing, it doesn’t honor the history of the formation. Nor does it inform the public as to what the formation consisted of. Clearly, a more preferable tack to take would be to do a near photographic replication of the Old Man, either on the cliff, or if not feasible, then on some structure nearby, and if this is not possible, then something at the base of the mountain.

Edge Ascension LLC proposes rebuilding the Old Man in just this way. It could be done by possibly building it in conjuntion with some money making venture that is associated with the park and possibly resides within the park. One idea being floated is to build a whitewater course on the edge of Echo Lake at the base of the ski runs. Such a facility could be operated year round, and could be done so as to minimally impact the environment. The local commmunity would benefit by having a broader venue of attractions to the area, and there would be an increase in local employment. Having the Old Man rebuilt as part of the funding for such a project would create a synergistic draw for tourism, where each would complement and build on the other.

The materials and the means to accomplish rebuilding the Old Man have for the most part already been worked out. What is most needed is to conduct a survey as part of a feasibility study. When feasibility is understood, then seeking funding or dropping the pursuit based on science and economics.

Another idea being floated is to place cameras on the Old Man stump (or on the fascia of the rebuilt Old Man) and to build a replica at the base of the mountain so as to be the side of a theater which would have the realtime display of the Old Man’s view played in high definition. Viewers on the ground, who could not normally make it to the top of the mountain, could than experience the thrill of standing at the cliff and taking in the expanse, including seeing the structure of the Old Man up close. Additionally, similar theaters could be setup elsewhere at remote locations as special attractions. This would be a great way to drive interest and revenue into Franconia State Park.

On the question of private funding… Private funding is the most efficient means of achieving any human endeavor. With private funding, the source of the funding makes a first hand judgement as to the risk and desirability of an expenditure. The person who judges not to expend their resources on such an undertaking or can’t afford to, while it has no cost to them, still has the benefit that results from those who do. When there are more minds making independent decisions, you get better decision making.

Ask yourself this, would you force your neighbors, your family members, all of your friends and acquaintances, even strangers to agree with you at the point of a gun? Would you have them arrested and thrown in jail, or possibly shot for arguing against you or for refusing to support you? If your answer is yes, you have precluded any possibility of agreement. If your answer is no, then you must see that taxing others as a means to funding such projects is the same thing — no matter how good your intentions or what the supposed benefits of the proposed project might be.

Truly, the Old Man is gone. But to forsake the image of the Old Man watching over the expanse of the valley, and by extension the state, is a small way to live. To have it that rebuilding the Old Man is in some way fakey, but to make cardboard cut outs for sale to tourists to hold up to their eyes while standing at the observation station next to the cliff, so as to see what the Old Man used to look like as a worthy tourist attraction is simple minded at best.

The prospect of rebuilding the Old Man is a challenge. It requires having a vision of restoration and rejuvenation where there was previously a sense of loss and helplessness. It requires the determination to achieve beauty and elegance in an enduring iconic structure, where previously there was ruin and deformity of nature. It is not fake to construct a masterful creation that all can enjoy and relate to for generations. It is fake to be altruistic in the face of matters of science and economics.

The real problem the state has right now is that its main industry, tourism, has reportedly fallen 60 % year to year since the Old Man’s collapse. Building an artistic memorial to the Old Man at the base of the cliff, and an expensive museum won’t change that, as it doesn’t make the state a destination for the lost tourists. Tastefully replacing the Old Man however would make the state once again a destination. And yes, once people come here to see the Old Man, they might enjoy visiting a museum as well.

The most important thing to understand is that in order for the people of New Hampshire to have jobs, the area needs to be someplace to go to. Representative Gidge has put forward a proposal that doesn’t require state funding, will provide jobs, increases the image of the State of New Hampshire so positively as to make it a destination, and is completely funded voluntarily. Having it that the money would be well spent otherwise makes no sense — it’s no one else’s to spend, but those who donate or invest it, and they would be the best judge of that. Mr. Gidge deserves our admiration, and respect for what he is trying to accomplish — not to mention our support.

Exploring the Old Man Stump: Franconia Notch - Expedition 1

admin — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 22:24:40 +0000

The Fallen
An Etching by Robert Viana (Printmaker, Painter - Artist).
Image courtesy of RobertViana.com

The Old Man of the Mountain was a geological artifact that hung on the side of a prominent cliff at Franconia Notch on Cannon Mountain. When viewed from the side, this prominence presented the appearance of an old man’s face in profile. This formation was at least 200 years old, perhaps much more. Five years ago the rocks that made up this artifact fell away from the cliff and the state of New Hampshire (the Live Free Or Die state) lost the physical manifestation of its emblem.

Image of cliff upon which the Old Man of the Mountain used to grace. Now only the stump of the formation persists.

Our principal interest in climbing the Notch is to explore the Old Man’s Stump for planning purposes, in order to eventually conduct a geological survey of the feature to answer questions relevant to the possibility of rebuilding it — but also relevant to preservation of the entire mountain. Since its fall in the spring of 2003, there has not been a formal geological survey conducted of the site, though the committee charged with determining the fate of the site claimed it had relied upon such a survey in coming to its decision not to permit its reconstruction.

Curious about the Old Man of the Mountain’s stump, it seemed only reasonable to set about visiting it on the most easily accessible and well known trails. We contacted Franconia Notch Park visitor center and asked what the easiest way to visit the Stump would be.

We were advised that the easiest way up would be to take the tram ride up the Cannon Mountain at a cost of $12 per head and to hike to the Kinsman Trail from the top of the Tramway. Then from there, follow the Kinsman Trail across the saddle of the mountain, to either take the Kinsman Ridge Trail down to the left, or to go right and bush-whack over the top and down to the Old Man site.

Tramway up the northern side of the Cannon Mountains.

Trail map section showing the recommended route (red), and the deviation of the route taken (blue).

Taking the Kinsman Ridge Trail down to the left would have entailed getting off the trail at the correct elevation and bush-whacking a great distance around the sides of the mountain. It therefore seemed easier to do the latter and bush-whack over the top and down.

Fine topographical map of mountain top near the Old Man site, showing rough detail of trail taken (purple) to the Old Man Stump.

As it turned out, this approach was fraught with danger. To start, you have to climb down a boulder trail from the top of the Cannon Mountain onto the saddle (or col), on the topo map it is labeled the Ridge. The saddle is nothing more than a large expanse of boulders with low growing brush and trees on it that connects two adjoining peaks on the mountain. The trail across it has perilous footing and when you get into the trees, there is dirt and standing water on the trail that is deep enough to lose sight of your hiking boots in. Standing water with jagged boulders and rocks just below the surface is not good ground to walk on.

The lower peak that tops the mountain, upon which the Old Man used to hang, is covered with large slabs of granite. Near the top, these slabs are more or less on the horizontal, but, as they near the sides of the mountain, they tilt ever more to the vertical. At the steeper places around the sides of the mountain they frequently slide off in a process known as sloughing. One could easily step onto a slab with too much of a pitch and fall off the side of the mountain, or step onto one that is precariously balanced and become an unwilling passenger to an unplanned destination.

Image of slabs near cliffs edge on Cannon Mountains.

Note the puddle in the foreground for scale, a pair of size ten and half mountain boots could fit in this puddle.

The slabs are caused by the natural forces of hydrology, gravity, temperature variations, and possibly some chemistry conspiring to erode away the rock. The water seeps into the granite’s pores, and leaches away minerals and opens cavities in the stone. When water in the rock freezes, it expands and causes cracks to occur, and further expands existing cracks. The minerals that are leached from the rock can be deposited in the cracks and are very slippery when water is introduced.

In the image above, a group of slabs has been caved from the mountain and sit at the cliffs edge tilting left of vertical center, probably pinned in by some debris. The entire stack looks poised to fall. This image illustrates how slabs are caved and in a very slow migration are sloughed from the mountain as a result of hydrological processes. Eventually, whatever is pinning in these slabs will give way and most, if not all, of them will fall to the bolder field between the base of the mountain and the valley floor below.

When water is present on the rocks, it moves the residual minerals around, and deposits them in concentration as it dries. The expansion and contraction of the rock due to temperature adds to the process, and can influence how and when a boulder is created and moved. Further, when icing occurs things get really dangerous on the mountain. As ice builds up in the cracks, it acts in such a way as to jack the boulder up a very small amount, and allows for more water to flow and for further buildup of sediments in the expanded interstice. Large and small boulders are produced and moved in this way, and the mountains’ sloughing of them is largely driven by it.

This was the fate of the Old Man feature on the Cannon Mountain. The night before it fell, there was rain and a freeze. The Old Man was composed of five layers of fractured granite that were stacked upon the chin and balanced such that the center of gravity of its mass was just behind that of the balance point of the chin. The chin was held in place by a small outcrop of stone that kept it from slipping away. While the chins center of mass was forward of the wedge of stone that held it up, the weight of the stones above it kept it from falling forward. It is thought that in the early morning of that fateful night, the water, upon freezing, and in combination with the wet viscous mineral residue, expanded just enough, and provided just enough lubrication, that the chin slipped out and the feature collapsed as a result.

For the type of site that the Old Man Stump is, we needed an experienced climber. We inquired with friends who had some experience in climbing and eventually were referred to Brian Faucher, who is an excellent climber and mountaineering EMS specialist. We explained to him what our interest in the site was, and the importance of apprehending first hand the conditions of the mountain at the Stump.

Brian agreed to be the expedition lead climber and we determined that we should hike to the site to reconnoiter as an initial step in conducting a more rigorous preliminary survey. This preliminary survey would consist of scaling the Stump to ascertain working conditions for an eventual formal geological survey.

After several false starts, attempts to visit the site that weren’t executable, which failed mainly due to weather, we finally had a day that was suitable for being on the mountain. On July 27th 2008 we met at the base at around 2:15PM and took the tram to the mountain top, arriving around 2:30PM. We set out from the top of the tramway and first hiked up to the top of the Cannon Mountain’s 4100 foot peak. The top of the tramway is just above 4000 feet, with the valley floor 2000 feet below. The top of the mountain at this point is less then 180 vertical feet up.

A Google Earth view of the norther peaks of the Cannon Mountains, including a good view of the col.

We then began our trek down the Kinsman Trail onto the saddle. The trek down was difficult, as there was no clear path, though now and then there was a paint swatch on an occasional boulder. Just enough to remind us that we were generally headed the right direction. Though with so few properly marked queues, there is a tendency to take wrong turns and be forced to backtrack up the mountain again.

Brian led, and he was quite vigorous at pursuing the trail, as we were late in the afternoon and needed to be back by 5PM to catch the final return tram ride. Otherwise we would be faced with returning to the lower peak of the Cannon Mountain to take the Kinsman Ridge Trail down, possibly having us hiking on the mountain in the dark. Something we were not prepared to do.

Aside from Brian and me, we were accompanied by Carol Jens, who was along to help in our assessment of the Stump. While Brian knew what to bring in terms of proper footwear, Carol and I were mistakenly wearing shoes more suited to general trail hiking. I wore tennis shoes that lacked ankle support and had just rubber soles, and Carol wore a boot that was too loose and had very slippery rubber soles. The best shoe would have high ankle protection and either a Vibram or stealth rubber sole.

Mainly because of the difference in shoes, but also physical fitness, Carol lagged behind, and was slower on the trails. She couldn’t get sure footing anywhere, and wasn’t able to maintain the pace. Brian was pushing far ahead, while I was pulling double duty, catching up and then going back to ensure that Carol was in good stead and able to continue.

When we finally made it to the juncture of the Kinsman Trail and the Kinsman Ridge Trail, Brian and I went to explore the east side of the mountain top in hopes of ascertaining where the Old Man Stump was located. Carol, on the other hand, hadn’t made it off the clearing on the saddle yet – the halfway point to where we were.

Finally, it occurred to us that Carol could literally be in peril, if we went further without her in our company. We determined that I should return to bring Carol in, as this part of the mountain was mainly steeply sloped slabs leading down to a cliff face that dropped several hundred feet. Anyone slipping in this area could potentially roll right off the cliff.

Brian thought that we may have come out north of the Stump and headed south exploring along the slabs nearer the cliffs edge, as I headed back to find Carol. When I finally caught up with her, she was just coming into the wood at the low point of the saddle. I hastened her along, and we made our way to the east side of the mountain to find that Brian was nowhere in sight.

Having a good sense of how far I had traveled since our splitting up, and how fast Brian moved, it seemed that he could be anywhere in either direction. The logical thing to do was to retrace his steps to the south, until it was clear whether the Old Man Stump was in that direction or not.

Carol and I made it down the slabs in a more northerly tack from due east, but found that route wasn’t passable. We climbed back up and tried again moving more due east down the slabs, which was more difficult, but not impassable. It was only a matter of which route to the slabs nearer the cliffs edge was passable, and heading down a northeasterly diagonal seemed the easiest route when viewed from the top.

Carol didn’t have the strength or body sense at the time to navigate the slabs properly and soon had to turn back to safer ground. Strength and motor skills are acquired quite readily in mountaineering through repetition and training. In our subsequent expeditions, Carol’s abilities improved dramatically. It was impressive how far along she was able to go on this first expedition. But, this being her first time out, I was forced by circumstances to take her back up before heading down again to find Brian. I had only just made it down to the cliff’s edge when I could hear voices from up above calling down to me.

Brian had returned from who knows where and was urging us to abandon the mountain in order to get to the tram in time. I climbed back as far as I could, while Brian came down to assist my return ascent. At several junctures going down, it had been necessary to jump off of one slab onto a lower one. At about the time that Brian and I met up, I had come to an impassable return point, where I was ill equipped to climb unassisted up the slab I had come down from. Luckily Brian was at hand, otherwise, I’d have had to scout another approach to getting back up. I was able to get part way up, and he gave me a hand up for the last part.

We stayed together, all three of us, until we reached the branch for the return across the saddle and up the slope on the other side to the tram. At this point we cut Brian loose to ensure that the tram would be held until our return. This last leg was particularly exhausting for me, as all of the back and forth trekking had worn me down. By the time we returned to the tram, I was completely spent.

In our time apart on the sloping slabs of the mountainside, Brian had doubled back to the north and located the Old Man Stump. He said that it was a very difficult passage and not a suitable route for our purposes. He explained that he had had to bush-whack for a good part of the way. At several points he had found it necessary to bodily climb over the top of the impassable brush on the northeast side of the mountain. At other times he pushed through such thick brush that he’d torn his clothing and gotten cuts. We had to find a different route. We’ll go into what Brian found further on.

We returned to the tram at exactly 4:55PM, and were able to rest a bit before it returned like clockwork at 5PM. When we reached the guest center at the bottom, it was necessary to wash my hands, arms, face and neck in the washroom, to refresh myself. While standing there drying my hands and face with the air blower, a very affable and helpful Park Ranger happened by. I explained to him that we had just been out trekking to the Old Man Stump, unsuccessfully, and asked if there wasn’t another route that would be easier.

The Ranger advised that there was the Kinsman Ridge Trail, but for climbing the Stump, he suggested using the Old Climbers Trail. When I told him that it wasn’t marked on any map that I had seen, he said that it was a well kept Park secret. He explained that it was a trail that had been cut in and was maintained by climbers, and that it was a much better trail than either of the Kinsman trails. I asked where it was located and he said it was just off of Profile Lake. He said that the next time up, if we were interested, that we should just ask and they would be happy to show us where specifically it was located.

Brian had managed to take pictures of the site. He had even found a helicopter landing pad, which had been constructed for the preservation work that had taken place on the Old Man long before its collapse. He reported that the pad appeared to be in serviceable condition. He had even managed to take some video of the site. As we drove away from the parking area at the base of the tram, Brian was able to take several pictures through the window of the moving car. These pictures actually turned out quite good, considering.

In the weeks following this expedition, Nelson Piper found someone who knew of a climber’s trail off the Pemi Trail that follows the base of the mountain between the woods and Profile Lake and along the creek running south from the lake. Believing this to possibly be the Old Climbers Trail, it would become the subject of our third & forth expeditions into Franconia Notch Park. But we were unable to acquire exact details of its location and were forced to try taking the Kinsman Trail up the mountain from the northwest side in our second expedition.

Free the Living, Seque

admin — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:43:31 +0000

By: Edge Mugga, Copyright January 20th 1990

Grasp Over Climber’s Fall
A Segue on the Mastery of Self

I long to climb into the light
To have gods’ hands at my arms reach
And fall into spacious rifts of sight
By grasping the world climbing minds focus complete

I choose to think to move the earth
To make life a higher hill to breach
That I may see beyond the horizons dearth
And blinding fog from darker ways of speech

As I ascend such murmured heights of bane
By observing the world in my objective way
I gaze out into the collective’s plain
Hearing no mind speak I see echoes sway

My view so trued I climb higher still
To reach a new plateau over grander fall
And find joy in moving what I will
By this my life is best of all

Why Whitewater Courses (Part 1): What, me? Whitewater?

admin — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:16:58 +0000

By John Davis, President, C6K, Inc.

Poised on the edge of whitewater at Reno’s Truckee Park.

You’re sitting in a raft with 5 other intrepid souls paddling towards an ever increasing roar. You feel the air cool; you notice a change in the water from still to nervous. You look downriver and see just the tips of boiling whitecaps below a definite horizon on the water’s surface that does not look quite right. As you approach the ominous horizon on the water, you realize that you are about to careen over the top of a drop in the river and hurtle down into a cauldron of whitewater and waves.

Aproaching the horizon of a drop into a thrilling whitewate experience…

You brace yourself as the guide you have entrusted your life to barks out orders;” left back, right forward! right back, left forward!” you look over the top and down into a hole of water you could park your minivan in, then – “All forward! Dig! Dig! Dig!” The raft makes a controlled tumble into the hole of water and then blasts through the top of the wave as the guide continues to exhort the crew to “Dig! Dig!” It seems that as soon as it starts, it’s all over, as your guide says “all stop, relax.” Everyone is safe, hearts are pounding, and smiles are on every face.

Your engaged in a controlled tumble into a hole of water and about to blast through the top of the wave.

As the guide turns the raft upriver, you have a chance to look at what you and your team have just faced and conquered. You think to yourself; what a wild river, what a ride! Then you remember, you’re not on some wild natural river, you’re on a man made whitewater course. You could be anywhere, in the middle of a city, in the suburbs, in a resort – ANYWHERE! You say, almost out loud, to yourself “This is so cool! I’m minutes from home! I didn’t have to drive five hours! – Wonder where I can go with this?”

You could be anywhere, in the middle of a city, in the suburbs, in a resort – ANYWHERE! You could even be in Reno Truckee Park.

The excitement and joy possible at a whitewater park is not a new or novel idea, neither is the idea and methodologies of building whitewater parks. As early as 1972 a whitewater park was constructed in Augsburg, Germany to serve as the whitewater paddling venue for the ’72 Olympics. This course is an “in-stream” modification. The course has remained open to the public since the close of the Olympic games.

In 1972 the first whitewater park was constructed in Augsburg, Germany.

Since the ’72 Olympics, other cities have opted to build whitewater parks in lieu of locating suitable natural venues to support the whitewater paddling events. Barcelona, Sidney, Athens and Beijing have all chosen to construct man made waterways to support the events. These courses are constructed in concert with an existing natural waterway or have been entirely recirculating.

Whitewater courses are constructed in concert with an existing natural waterway or are entirely recirculating.

Atlanta constructed a course for the Olympic Games, but opted for an in-stream conversion on the Ocoee River in Tennessee. In-stream conversions may mean modifying the natural river channel and adding whitewater features or constructing an entirely new channel and rerouting the river. In-stream modifications may be extremely cost effective to construct but are very difficult to maintain.

Raging Ocoee River Whitewater…

Construction of whitewater parks is not relegated to just Olympic competitions. There have been many in-stream modifications in locales such as Aspen and Denver, Colorado and Reno, Nevada. Recently two new completely man-made or artificial parks were built and opened for paddlers. ASCI in Wisp, Maryland (co-located with a ski facility) and the NWC outside of Charlotte, North Carolina both opened their head dams in the last several months. All of these parks have been built as a public work or a privately/publicly funded public work. The commercial viability of these parks is positive in varying degrees. However, the benefits of artificial whitewater parks are numerous.

Whitewater Kayak Rodeo, Kendall Camp Wisp Resort Deep Creek Lake Maryland Whitewater

The Denver, Aspen and Reno parks, all in-stream modifications, built their parks with mostly the same goals in mind. A whitewater park gives paddlers local access to whitewater activities, reclaims or enhances existing parks, creates new business revenues in concert with the park and increases tourism, which benefits existing businesses. Reno had realized a tremendous revenue benefit even with their very short paddling season. The parks at Wisp and Charlotte, while having many of the same goals in mind, also recognized the stake in providing suitable venues for Olympic style competitions and training, and co-locating other adventure sport activities such as hiking, skiing, climbing and mountain biking.

Whitewater rafting - Tully River - Australia…

Besides the obvious benefits of location, activities, training and revenue generation, there are many more useful applications and benefits. The goals of C6K are not only to take advantage of the opportunities other communities and locations have realized from a whitewater park, but to also capitalize on other applications and provide services for community organizations. Whitewater parks are suitable for any urban or resort area. Parks can enhance a resort area with a unique and exciting alternative year-round activity. An urban park can provide the same benefits in any city and provide the community with a resource for many programs. The possibilities are too numerous to get into this time around. We will get back to that in another installment.

Specialty Rigging Products

admin — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:52:28 +0000

Notes and Specifications on Blue Screen / Black / Green Screen Cables

By Allen Fischer

The right cable for your CGI work.

As you may know, film CGI technology has increased by leaps and bounds in the last few years. CGI film technology is very expensive, not only in terms of software but mainly in post production costs. If you have a simple shot with a digicomp green background it is very simple to replace the background with a still or moving shot. If however, you have a dynamic shot that involves rigging of any kind, the current standard is to use black coated cable to suspend your props or actors and then edit them out in post production with CGI software.

This is an incredibly time consuming and costly process. The black coated steel cable currently used in the industry is too expensive, too shiny (reflects light), and very difficult to strip (you must strip the coating off the cable in order to crimp custom lengths). Black cable is also extensively used for tactical and night shots.

Our products have been developed to address all of these issues. By being able to use green cable and hardware for dynamic shots the need for post production CGI editing is greatly reduced.

Our black and green cable (1/16, 1/8, 3/16 sizes) has been specifically developed to be supple (to run through pulleys), cost effective and easy to strip with a special tool which we provide. All of our hardware (see list below) is available in green and tactical black and is exclusively manufactured for us by Petzl America. Petzl is currently the lead supplier of live rigging hardware for stunts, special effects, and specialty riggers. Marrying the cable products to Petzl hardware will lend added credibility.

I have placed samples with the leading special effects and riggers in the Vancouver market and the positive response has been overwhelming. Typically, a key grip will order a kit for his truck.

This kit will consist of :

* 6 - 500ft rolls of cable (3 green and 3 black in 3 sizes)

* 100 P-15 (small) mallions in green and black

* 30 P-10 (large) mallions in green and black

* 30 locking carabiners in green and black

* 4 swivels in green and black

* 4 bear paws (rigging plates) in green and black

* 1200 crimps (1/16, 1/8, and 3/16) in green and black

* 600 thimbles (1/16, 1/8, and 3/16) in green and black

* 6 specialty stripping tools (2 sizes)

After their initial purchases, they will order specific gear for each production, for instance, Cory from SPFX (major special effects company) places custom orders of between $30,000 and $80,000 for rigging gear for each major production (he is very excited about these products).

In addition to the products listed above, we will also be offering :

* Uncoated 1/16, 1/8, 3/16 cable, crimps and thimbles.

* 10 ml static rope in green and tactical black

* 10 ml static camo rope in jungle, urban and desert

* 8 ml sheathed kevlar rope in green and tactical black

* 1/8 and 3/16 Tek-12 specialty rigging rope in green and

tactical black

* 1 inch tubular webbing in green and tactical black

Applications and Specifications

Cable applications

Galvanized steel cable is used extensively in the film industry by grips, Stunts and special effects.

Grips use massive volumes of uncoated steel cable to rig lighting, props, backdrops, mats etc. In Vancouver they purchase the cable from suppliers that are not directly involved in the film industry. The key grips I am working with are very exited about purchasing their rigging equipment from a company from inside the film industry that understands their needs and can provide better and knowledgeable service.

Stunts and special effects use uncoated steel cable for out of camera rigging and nylon or PVC black coated cable for special effects, swat, tactical and green screen CGI shots (black cable must be edited out on the computer). The black coated steel cable currently used in the industry is too expensive, too shiny (reflects light), and very difficult to strip (you must strip the coating off the cable in order to crimp custom lengths). Black cable is also extensively used for night shots.

CGI film technology is very expensive, not only in terms of software but mainly in post production costs. If you have a simple shot with a 703digicomp green background it is very simple to replace the background with a still or moving shot.

If however, you have a dynamic shot that involves rigging of any kind, the current standard is to use black coated cable to suspend your props or actors and then edit them out in post production with CGI software. This is an incredibly time consuming and costly process.

Our new green screen coated cable has never before been available to the film industry. By being able to use green cable and hardware for dynamic shots the need for post production CGI editing is greatly reduced.

Our black and green cable (1/16, 1/8, 3/16 sizes) has been specifically developed to be supple (to run through pulleys), cost effective and easy to strip with a special tool which we provide.

Cable Specifications – 9 products

Specified Breaking

Minimum Actual

* 1/16” 7×7 galvanized steel 480 lbs 653 lbs