Super bowl winner - Finally!!

What??Who?? Me, of course. :) Lol,In my fantasy leagues. After a long drawn out fight which lasted 16 weeks I came out tops both in my Office league as well as friends league. Victory is sweet. I think I can retire from fantasy football,16 weeks of managing two leagues really takes a toll. All that poring over countless fantasy sites,following twitter reports,reading up depth charts,following injury reports, doing player's history check, juggling with all the stats of yards,tackles,sacks,receptions,fumbles,the number crunching,managing your bench,contingency planning, waiver reports,trading,negotiations,whew! Last but not the least ,I dont think i could have done this without the support and help of my beloved wife who had to equally sacrifice and endure a lot - like my mood swings while watching the games which ranged from ecstasy (my wide reciever does a touchdown),to dejection (my QB throws an interception),to a sadistic glee( when my opponents QB throws an interception).Endless periods of inattentiveness to her as i would be busy poring over my fantasy players or watching a game,waking up suddenly in the middle of the night because i forgot to plug in my waiver picks and in the process waking her too.Oh,she had to endure a lot in many many different ways!! The madness finally ends!!

Human spirit!!

Free will

Do you believe in free will? I always think that there is nothing called an absolutely free- 'free will' and it is always influenced or confined within the rules of the society and also limited by our exposure to life and you cannot have a free thought and exercise it without being influenced by any of this. Just random thoughts sitting in bed on a saturday morning.

41 mile St Paul Classic bike ride.

Thought about updating it in the blog as a timeline. Did the 41 mile St Paul classic bike ride on September 9th with Divya and Madhu. Took 3 hours 6 mins 14 secs,thats an average of close to 13.1 miles per hour.Was fun riding along the river Mississippi and with gorgeous views of St paul ,discovered an amazing vista point to see entire St paul downtown with the river beside it. Have to go there during night time and take a night shot of downtown St.paul.

13.1 K trail running

Finished the 13.1 K trail running in 1 hour 32 mins 54 secs thats almost 11.625 mins for a mile.Not the best of times but hey not very bad either for a first time run of 13.1 K.Have to work on my cardio and pacing next time,the ups in the trail whipped me out towards the end. Oh yeah! That's my finisher t-shirt. :)

My First 50 miler on a bike

Today I took part in a 50 mile bike ride called 'Tour of saints'.My first ever.Jasmine did the 35 mile course and we both finished! Yay! I had underestimated her capabilities and she totally blew my notions to smithereens.Her steely determination was mind blowing especially during the last leg. I am so proud of her,extremely proud of her! I clocked at an average of 13.5 miles/hr for the entire 50 miles.The heat was intense at 85 F,and it was rolling ups and downs which made the route even worse.Both our legs ache but we are proud of what we did today. Photos shared by the photographer who covered the event and whom we befriended.

trail running

My latest interest is trail running. I took part in a relay race event(paddling,running,mountain biking) over the weekend and I was doing the running part.It was a relatively small race and my portion was to do 5 K of trail running.Easy right? I did try to run a mile two days before the race on a trail but could never figure out directions within the woods and gave up. So,I really did not know what to expect and my trail running experience was zero to say the least. I did relatively okay and met my expectations,I ran the 5K part in 33 mins 22 secs.The fastest guy did it in a blistering 20m 54 s.Whew! My numbers was somewhere in the middle in the median curve. But i realized a few things when running the trail. It is much harder than regular road running.It is more fun as I am running between the trees and more close to nature.It is more work out for my legs, I used muscles which was never used before on paved path running and i can still feel soreness in them,downhill running is tough,foot placement is totally different which means more effort on ankles and I need to be more conscious of my running and where I put my feet so that i dont trip unlike paved path where you dont really look where you place your feet. The uphill and downhill constantly changes your tempo and you cannot sustain a regular breathing like you do on regular running which means more effort. Its a totally different ball game. I realized you just cannot run a trail without training specifically for it. I have registered for a 13.1 K trail run on Sep 22nd and I am hoping to have a better time with enough training behind my back.

Devara Samaradhane

"George Mallory was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s. He was asked the question ‘What is the use of climbing Mount Everest?’ and his answer was ‘It is no use’. “There is not the slightest prospect of any gain whatsoever. Oh, we may learn a little about the behavior of the human body at high altitudes, and possibly medical men may turn our observation to some account for the purposes of aviation. But otherwise nothing will come of it. We shall not bring back a single bit of gold or silver, not a gem, nor any coal or iron. We shall not find a single foot of earth that can be planted with crops to raise food. It’s no use. So, if you cannot understand that there is something in man which responds to the challenge of this mountain and goes out to meet it, that the struggle is the struggle of life itself upward and forever upward, then you won’t see why we go. What we get from this adventure is just sheer joy. And joy is, after all, the end of life. We do not live to eat and make money. We eat and make money to be able to enjoy life. That is what life means and what life is for.”

A photo for the ages ...

On the skydeck at 'Willis tower' aka 'Sears tower' in Chicago.

Death, sadly, is part of life and when it crosses our doorstep we cannot stop or hold it up.

I'm 66 now and remember the friends I lost in a number of different environments (beyond the mountains) and wonder if a long life beats a short, dangerous one lived on the edge.

I don't know the answer still after all these years.

I have wondered many a times too.

Aurora borealis

We had a spectacular viewing of the Aurora Borealis in Minnesota yesterday night. We endured an entire sleepless night,drove 250 miles north towards the border and endured -5 wind chill cold to have one of the most amazing natural shows displayed to us. Bravo to Madhu who drove the entire night and refused to relinquish the driver's seat. I wish my photos had come out better but apparently being very dark my camera's focus was not spot on resulting in every photo being out of focus ,also it was very very windy which was moving the tripod resulting in shaken photos.But thats a moot point considering i got to see what i always wanted to see and it did not disappoint me and can cross out one more item from my life's wishlist.

We started at 6 Pm yesterday evening and came back at 6.30 AM today morning and am terribly exhausted.Caught few winks and have to go to office now for a design review ,hope i blurt out the right things.

Abhishek,Writu,Madhu and Divya - You guys were wonderful company and the best bunch of buddies ever.I am glad I did not have to go alone and had you guys for company which made the experience even more better.Love you guys!

Update:
Below photos were sent across by Divya which she shot.

VAIL..Like nothing on earth

The ski trip to Vail was a resounding success. Our customized 'Bangalore Ski and Snowboarding team' jersey with the tagline 'Mastering the art of falling since 2007' was a smashing hit among skiers on the slopes. But more importantly 'I GOT ENGAGED'. :)




Vail is BIGGGGG!!! Way bigger and longer than any of the slopes i have ever skied on in Minnesota,Wisconsin or Michigan. The gradients of the black diamonds are pretty much the same but the length of the runs leaves you with wobbly knees towards the end.There are tons of ungroomed terrain which is difficult on your knees and legs and i realized my leg and knee strength was pathetically inadequate for skiing on a mountain this big.BUT,I know what a black diamond is on the big mountains now and what to expect.

Vail is basically two huge mountains,the high point being 11,250 ft with spectacular views of colorado 14ers. Its so huge that the two days we had planned was grossly inadequate even to cover the front face of the mountain,we covered maybe 65%. You need probably a week or two to pretty much cover all the runs and i am not even talking about the double black diamonds here which is plenty.

Like i stated our jerseys were a big hit among the skiers.Many took photos,there were cheesy lines thrown across while standing in lines waiting for the ski lifts, surprisingly many people knew Bangalore and inquired whether we really came all the way from Bangalore to Vail. People stopped by to tell about their travel to India and how wonderful they found our country was. They shouted 'Bangalore ski team' from the top of the lifts,when they passed by,waved at us from high on the hills. It was really fun and we loved every moment of it!

I believe at a personal level i felt blessed to be skiing in such magnificent mountainous surroundings and i couldn't ask for more from life.My outlook on skiing changed quite a lot,i knew what i was capable of and what i was not and what i had to work upon.

I saved the best news for last - I GOT ENGAGED.Yes!! I got engaged to my sweetheart Jasmine while i was in Vail.Though i was 10,000 miles away, my family got together in Nagpur,India and had a small engagement ceremony and my girl looks gorgeous in those pics. Love you the most my dearest and looking forward to spending my lifetime with you. I will never ever forget that i got engaged while i was in VAIL - Like nothing on earth!

Ski training at Granite peak wisconsin

Me and my brother skiing at Granite peak ,wisconsin last weekend.

Want god,not religion

Just saw this on a advertising hoarding while riding the bus to office.As simple as the words are the meaning itself is pretty deep.I personally love these four simple words and can conjure up atleast a dozen reasons to support this.I think the world would be a better place.


Wonders of technology,I type this sitting on the bus.Long live the scientists and engineers of this world.

When i saw this video the first time I automatically cried. I don't know why. Maybe it was the voice,maybe it was the candidness with which he told his story,maybe the look in his eyes, maybe the questions that were asked,maybe the background music.

I guess that is the human side to all of us,there are some emotions we cannot control however old you are.We are emotional creatures.

COLD - First winter ascent in Karakoram

There are certain sections which i really liked in this interview which resonates my thoughts and ideals which i have highlighted,i could have probably highlighted the entire interview,this guy really knows how to express himself,kudos .

See the below trailer if you want to know what they did - http://vimeo.com/26767552

http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/media/film/Banff-Interview-Cory-Richards.html?page=all

When Cory Richards was invited by two of his biggest heroes to document their climb up Gasherbrum II, he didn’t realize that he would become the first American to summit any of the 8,000-meter peaks in winter. In the process he survived -50 degree temperatures and an avalanche. Director Anson Fogel’s new documentary, Cold, uses Richards' footage to capture the extreme conditions under which Richards, Simone Moro, and Denis Urubko tackled the Pakistani peak. In addition to his work on Cold, Richards recently partnered with Renan Ozturk for the short films Khumbu Climbing School and As It Happens. Richards is at the Banff Mountain Film Festival this week, where Cold has been selected as a finalist. He took a break from signing posters to speak with us.

Did the climb change how you felt about Moro and Urubko?
It’s almost paradoxical, because your heroes become just “other people.” At the same time, you gain more reverence for them because you see what they can endure. Watching them suffer and seeing how they dealt with that—I have more and more and more respect for them. They’re still my heroes, but the word “hero” takes on a different meaning. They’re my heroes because they’re very human, but they’re still tough and able to endure things that I can’t.

But—you did.
Yeah, I know. But I almost feel like I was a spectator. It was a very hard and trying experience for me, but when I talk about it, it’s more about Simone and Denis. I can’t speak to what they personally walked away with, but their characters allow me to tell my story. It’s weird. I think it’s partly because I’m still getting used to being in front of people. I’ve always been the person who takes the pictures, not talks about it.

Some of the most captivating adventure stories are near-death experiences. Do you think it’s weird to produce a product that only gets better the closer you get to dying?
It’s extremely strange. And I find it unfortunate that we have to go through these incredibly traumatic experiences to communicate something that’s as simple as, hey, this is a finite experience, and we should be doing everything in our power to live it to its fullest. That’s the tragedy of it: the message only comes through when something really bad happens. If you just get to the top and come down, that’s a really successful climb. Truthfully, that’s better climbing. But it doesn’t have the same impact as a story because you don’t have the drama.

In a high-stakes situation, do you get off on perfectionism?
I think there’s a thrill in knowing that you did everything correctly. We did everything right on Gasherbrum, up to the point where we were in a place were we shouldn’t have been. We were in an exposed terrain trap. And we knew we were making a mistake at the time, but it was sort of an unavoidable mistake, and we had to commit to that mistake. I love that, too. It shows that we can still make all the right decisions, but the mountain’s always in charge.

It sounds like you’re making a god out of the mountain.
I don’t think you’ve created a god out of the mountain, I think you’re just respecting the natural world and your place in it. Knowing that you’re engaging in something that ultimately can harm you, and knowing that you’re surrendering an element of control, I think is very liberating. That’s striking at the heart of adventure. Adventure is saying, I have a goal, and I don’t know the outcomes, and it might not end well.

You mentioned that you were thankful for everything after Gasherbrum. Did it last?
Y’know, it’s funny, you come back, and are thankful. But, over time, the freshness and the rawness that’s exposed—all those layers that are peeled back in that instant—they start to grow back, and the wound isn’t so fresh. Over time, you fall into the same patterns. That’s natural; that’s healing. But it’s unfortunate because it erases the beauty of that really raw emotion and vulnerability that’s exposed as a result of that experience.

What do you want people to take away from your story?
We spend so much time doing mundane shit that we don’t need or want to do, and I believe strongly that, because life is finite, it’s our responsibility to do what makes our hearts beat faster. The point I walked away with is universal. I want people to have their own experiences. It’s just so important for people to go out there and get after it.