California 14ers Grouped and the Running in the Snow

With the research continuing alongside my packing and cleaning here Sahr's Flagstaff apartment, I have found various sources of Beta including Ol' Pepper Jack's recount of his Speed Record setting back in August of '02. All of the 14ers in California in 4 days, 11 hours, and 19 minutes. Jack's sort of an endurance hero in Temecula and the Valley, where I lived before Flag'. I met him back when I ran the Mountain Shop at Sport Chalet Temecula.

I'm not interested in setting records like Jack...I wish to only climb, run and venture through the valleys of towering, icy rock; Scamper or traverse the snow-covered, windswept peaks and ridges that float above a sea of clouds and mountains.
...

Today I ran in the snow and loved every moment of it.

I cannot ride my bike and just don't want to convert the tires over...I'm leaving anyway. No trainer, no XC skis. So I put on some proper attire: gaiters over my TNF 104s;Tom's cold weather outer pants; my TNF TKA fleece; completed with some Pearl Izumi lobster gloves

I took to the Urban Trail, made my way through NAU campus and headed towards Downtown.

"There hasn't been anyone on the trails or sidewalks since it last snowed this morning...anywhere." I thought as kind of weird.

Getting into town there were a few people finally, but not much.

As I ran past Aspen Sports I noticed they were closed and then saw that Babbitt's was the same...and then it finally hit me.

Today is Christmas.

Okay, now it all makes sense.

Here I was planning to purchase some water-proof socks from Babbitt's and have a hot dog and espresso at Pay-n-Take.

No body's open.

And then Sahar calls me!

We have a lovely conversation at what is 1am in the morning for her in Paris, France.

Soon getting cold and and legs tightening up, we are forced to wrap up our call and I make for home via nearly the same route.

Here are the groupings and the order I plan to climb them in (so far):

GRP1 (Alpine Style)
-Thunderbolt-Starlight
-North Palisade(5.7 III)
-Descend to U-notc (5th Class down climb or rappel)
-Polemonium

-Sill

GRP2 (Light Alpine?)
-Parked at South Lake:
-Over Palisade group to Mid Palisade
- Mather Pass to Split Mt.

GRP3 (??)

-Shepard Pass to Tyndall
- West face of Williamson

GRP4 Day1 (Running; Trying to get Katoolas for this)
-Muir
-Whitney
-Russell (these three as one push).

GRP4 Day2 (Light Alpine...sleep on summit?)
-Langley via Old Army Pass direct

That makes 13 of the 15 14ers with Shasta and White Mountain out of the mix. In between groups I was planning to hang out in Bishop to boulder as well as climb a number of famous ridge traverses out there.

As of now, the Moto element to this project is still in, but is dependent on if I can get the KLR prepped in time.

The main mods for the bike are:

-Install a centerstand

-Stud some tires and send them to Bishop

-Heated gloves

-Hippo Hands

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!