mountains

FaceId on iPhone X tested in mountaineering gear

General, Photo

I was blown away by something unexpected this weekend. I looked like this but the FaceId on My iPhone X recognized me each time I looked at it!

I didn’t really expect it to detect my features but it kinda makes sense as the glasses block UV and visible light but FaceId uses IR light.

I didn’t do any additional testing to check if this was more of a false positive. But it was nice not having to unglove the hand to use a fingerprint sensor to unlock the phone in the cold, chilly weather.

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Turn around at Mt Baker summit

General

We attempted a late season climb of Mt Baker in Washington state. We were not experience enough to be just a two-person rope team – so that was kinda stupid. But we were quite risk averse in other ways. When we realized that the sun was beating quite hard and the snow bridges were beginning to melt, we decided it wasn’t safe to continue upwards. Given 80% of mountaineering accidents happen on the way down, we didn’t want to push our luck. Two other parties continued ascending and they did summit and also came back down safely. Different risk appetite, and luck.

Seattle is the sum of the city and its surroundings

Uncategorized

Sunset from Mt Rainier

Seattle is a growing city with a lot to offer with all its wilderness parks, great restaurants and bars and nightlife. However, just 25 miles in any direction, you experience things I always thought you would need a vacation to access. My wife and I have internalized the Seattle lifestyle and incorporated a lot of backcountry and outdoors into our life. We don’t take the car to work. But we do take the car to get out there where people don’t usually go and enjoy nature on a weekly basis. Here’s what Seattle looks like as experienced via half-day and full-day ventures into it’s surroundings:

You can build a snow-cave on an active volcano, two hours from the city.

You can build a snow-cave on an active volcano, two hours from the city.

You can see gorgeous sunsets any time of the year

You can see gorgeous sunsets any time of the year

You can climb a 12,500ft mountain in one day!

You can climb a 12,500ft mountain in one day!

You can go snowboarding after work

You can go snowboarding after work

Walk alongside glaciers

Walk alongside glaciers

Or plunge into a crevasse on the awesome glaciers

Or plunge into a crevasse on the awesome glaciers

Of course, you get the beautiful city views all the time

Of course, you get the beautiful city views all the time

When you start counting the stuff within a 0.5-4 hour radius of the city, coupled with the clean crisp air and beautiful city itself, the bar is set pretty high when you decide to go someplace on a vacation!