Cycling the Santa Ana Trail

Even though triathlon season ended a few weeks ago, five dedicated triathletes spent Saturday cycling the Santa Ana River Trail.  Thanks to Daniel for these shots.

 Mr. Ball, Bulat, Marcus, Kenny, and Daniel.

Daniel (eyes on the road!), Devin (beast!), and Marcus (having way too much fun!).

Rock Climbing at Apple Valley

On Sunday, Ms. Blomberg took a few committed Webb climbers to Apple Valley.  It will be Dolly's last official climb at Webb, though she's involved in local competitions at indoor gyms.  Many thanks to Dolly for getting others involved in  the climbing program over the past couple years -- true student leadership!

 Anthony, Maggie and Dolly

 Dolly on belay...

...and climbing.

Anthony

Unbounded Days Hike of San Jacinto

During Unbounded Days, every Webb student enrolls in an intensive course for three to five days.  Our course, "Adventure Winter," was intended to take students into the depths of winter on San Jacinto. After learning navigation skills on campus, the group departed Thursday for the Palm Springs Aerial Tram, and then a hike into Round Valley.  We dropped our packs there and continued on to the peak on a sunny, crisp afternoon. Making for a surreal hike, the storm that had moved through earlier that day left ice coating the upper reaches of San Jacinto.  After retiring to our tents, a new front moved in, depositing an inch of snow by midnight.  Unfortunately, it warmed up slightly after that, and the snow turned to a heavy, wet rain.  On the hike out, even though the whole group was uncomfortable (we had contests to see who could squeeze the most water out of our gloves!), there was nary a complaint.  The reward was pizza at San Biaggio's and a hot shower at home.

 The group at the start.

 Apollo, Jackie and Raphael on the ascent.

 Dylan led with a perfect pace during the early stages of the hike.

 Ms. Bauman, Adam, Johnathan and Robert

 Once we started gaining altitude, the terrain turned surreal, as ice coated everything. Click any of these pictures to enlarge them.

 Wellman Divide is about halfway to the peak.  Here, the group shows off their micro-spikes, which we strapped over our boots to give us grip on the ice.

 Andrew gets a little snack.

 Stacy

 Johnathan and Adam take in the view on the way up.

 The sun mixed with ice to create glowing landscapes.

 Getting near the peak now…

 The final push to the peak involved scrambling over icy boulders.

 San Jacinto, 10,834'

 RJ, Andrew, Apollo, and Stacy at the peak

 Darren looking down into the wind farms surrounding Palm Springs. If you enlarge the photo, you'll see the rows of windmills below.

 Brooke and Savannah

We used the ice axe to chip away ice on some of the boulders so we could get down without slipping.

This was taken at the same spot as the first photo above.  Slightly different conditions. A huge thank you to the group for their indomitable spirits!

Fly-fishing Instruction on Campus

Last weekend, master fly-fishing instructor Dr. Soon Lee volunteered to lead Webb students in a basic introduction to fly-fishing.  The goal is to prepare students with hands-on training and video instruction so that they're ready to be in the water by this spring.  Below, Jake and Johnathan, two of Dr. Lee's most ambitious students, pose with Dr. Lee and another instructor who was learning from Dr. Lee (he not only teaches, he teaches teachers!).  Many thanks to Dr. Lee for giving up his time to work with our students!

Snowboarding at Mt. High

Though California is in a severe drought, a few students traveled to Mt. High last weekend for a snowboarding fix.  Because we've had no precipitation for weeks, conditions weren't great, but machine-made snow made for some thrilling rides.  (And an icy surface made for some hilarious spills, according to Mr. Hamilton, who led the trip.)  We're hoping for some snow in the coming weeks -- 85 degrees and sunny can get a little old in the middle of January.

Sana, Jeainny, and Alicia at the lift.  No action shots for this installment -- Mr. Hamilton decided to avoid the bumps and bruises higher up the slopes.

Brian

Hiking at Idyllwild

There is a certain group of seniors this year that has taken to hiking trips.  Eight of them traveled to Idyllwild this past Saturday for a hike to Suicide Rock.  Luckily, the destination refers to the steep drops all around and not to the group's mood.  On the contrary, this was another great trip -- clean mountain air, perfect temperatures, and long views.  Thanks to Dr. Farke and Mr. Shin for leading the trip, and to Devin for some of the these pictures.

 Devin, Kristen, Dolly, Jeainny (front), James, Kathy, Suyeon and Melissa (back).

 Near the overlook to Tahquitz Peak

 The manzanita trees near Idyllwild form vivid groves along the trail.

 The group on one of the many rocks that form the Suicide Rock overlook

Suyeon stretching her wings

 

 Kristen

Rock Climbing at New Jack City

The cooling fall weather presented a perfect opportunity to head out to the desert and do some rock climbing.  Ms. Blomberg and Mr. Dahlstrom, with the help of Dave Hamilton from Hangar 18, led a group of students on a climb at New Jack City on Sunday.  

 Ms. Blomberg, Maggie, Maya, Devin, Dolly, and James

Maggie belaying Dolly, and then climbing with her

 Devin

Devin and Maya