Skookum

Where in the World is Mr. Alford?!?!

Skookum
Big, mighty, strong, true, genuine, solid (Chinook Jargon)


The hard truth is that Mr. Alford has never been an exceptional athlete,  a fact that many of his students seem to find hard to believe.

He played baseball until he was twelve years old when he made the all-star team as a catcher.  He and his buddy Nate rode the pine and base coached as they watched their team get routed by 15 runs and decided baseball wasn't his sport.

Mr. Alford's funnest day of football was when his middle-school coaches organized a game that can most accurately be described as armored rugby. Tackle football with no forward passes and no whistles, just get the ball across the other teams' line and try to prevent them from doing the same.  He enjoyed the continuous movement of the game and alluded being smashed by players twice his size by avoiding contact with the ball.  His regularly assigned position as a defensive end didn't allow the luxury of hiding from the big guys and when he reached his adult height of five-foot-nine in the 9th grade, the physics of the game ceased to fall in his favor.  

Mr. Alford's ten-year basketball career peaked when he was awarded outstanding defensive player at ValleyView Junior High School.  He possessed a strong work ethic, knew how to rebound and could take a hard offensive foul like a champ.  Despite being instructed in the formative years of his life by one of the best shooting guards in the history of Snohomish, he likely scored twelve points his entire freshman year.

Mr. Alford's basketball coaches advised him that his skill set might be a little better appreciated on a wresting mat and he grappled his way to about as many victories as losses in two years as a junior varsity wrester.  Late in Mr. Alford's Junior year he dislocated his elbow badly during a match.  He won the Coaches Award for hardest working athlete, but the following summer Mr. Alford lost another wresting match with a 700-pound cow braking the same arm and ending his wresting career.

Mr. Alford did not play in a single sport his Senior Year in High School.

Despite his overwhelming athletic averageness, Mr. Alford did make a very important decision early in his life.  When Mr. Alford was twelve-years old he decided that physical fitness was very important and made a personal commitment to staying fit.  Regardless of participation in organized sports he always made sure to get plenty of exercise, eat a nutritious & balanced diet, and maintain a healthy body composition.  It is the best decision Mr. Alford has ever made and allowed him to remain active, acquire new skills and enjoy a wide variety of physical activities as an adult.  Without having made this important choice long ago, it is unlikely that Mr. Alford would be riding his bike across America right now.

Mr. Alford wishes that all of his students grow up to be skookum adults and enjoy the richness of a life that accompanies physical fitness.  Mr. Alford sincerely believes that physical fintess opens doors for wonderful life experiences, and for this reason cannot stress enough the importance of exercising at least 60 minutes each day and taking personal responsibility for your health.

To reach this weeks' mystery adventure location, Mr. Alford and his talented Brother in Law Christian first had to cross the headwaters of the South Fork of the American River.

Armed with a rack and rope they continued on foot tracing a portion of the Historic Pony Express Trail.

 According to authors Steve Roper and Allen Steck, the route Mr. Alford is looking up at is considered to one of the Fifty Classics of North America.

Mr. Alford wonders how first ascensionists Dick Long and Allen Steck free climbed this burly offwidth crack with the equipment they had available in 1965?

Both muscular strength (the ability to generate maximum force) and muscular endurance (the ability to use your muscular strength repeatedly) are required in rock climbing.

Mr. Alford contemplates his next move on this impeccable chuck of Sierra granite.

Mr. Alford's talented Brother in Law Christian leads out on the third pitch of what Royal Robins considers the best route at Lover's Leap.

Bonus story problem:  If a full "pitch" of climbing is 60 meters, and Mr. Alford has climbed 2 1/2 "pitches" how many feet is he off the ground? (hint:  1 meter = 3.280 feet).

Christian coils the rope as the evening light fades and the traffic of Highway 50 hums in the distance.

Where in the World is Mr. Alford?

To win this week's contest, submit your guess (including the answer to the bonus math story problem) as to the exact route Mr. Alford climbed to the Where in the World is Mr. Alford Box in the library at Brookside Elementary School.  If you are a student at another school in the Shoreline School District and wish to participate, have your teacher send your answers over to Mr. Rodgers at Brookside via district mail.  Mr. Rodgers will be drawing a lucky winner on Friday, September 13th.   

Mr. Alford would like to congratulate Brookside students Sawer and Sage K. on correctly locating Mr. Alford's last location on Fannette Island in Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe.  He would also like to wish all  his readers good luck remind all of his students to do their burpees!

Kloshe Konaway

Kloshe Nanitch

Mr. Alford