Red Rocks

After a little hiatus from van life, we were packed back up and on our way to Red Rocks.  Much to my dismay, my fingers decided to start peeling the day before we left for the desert.  Not to worry, we planned to spend the month of February exploring the sandstone boulders of Southern Nevada, so there would be plenty of time to build up a good layer of skin again.  The drive to Las Vegas was a little time consuming, but Silas was running smoothly and we were psyched to open up the 400-page guidebook and start picking out projects.  We arrived late in the evening to the Red Rock Canyon campground, and met up with Kevin, who we had met in Bishop.  We parked our Sprinter next to his and went to bed dreaming of perfect rock and lots of sending.  We had both previously been sport climbing in Red Rocks, but this would be our first time bouldering.  Although we are intrigued by the vast options for high quality trad climbing, we would be focusing on the boulders this trip so that our four-legged friends could accompany us.  

We spent our first week climbing at the Kraft Boulders.  This is the most highly concentrated area of boulders in Red Rocks, and also home to many classic lines.  As is typical for me, I got boulder ADD, and started trying tons of climbs without finishing any.  I kept adding things to my list of projects, I couldn't help myself- there was so much to try!  A few days after we got here, our friends Danny and Jules came into town.  It was great to spend the day bouldering with them before they headed out to Joshua Tree and then back to Bishop.  We ventured into Gateway Canyon, where I climbed one of my favorite lines of the trip so far, Pork Chop.  Pork Chop is hands down one of the coolest looking boulders I have ever seen, and the features lent themselves to a tricky and committing, yet fun and rewarding couple of climbs.  Chelsea and I have our eye on a couple of key projects at the Kraft that we hope to put down this coming week!

Eventually it was time for us to check out some new areas.  We hopped into Kevin's Sprinter and headed out to Oak Creek Canyon.  As we experienced in Bishop, Red Rocks is going through an unseasonably warm winter.  We have had temperatures in the high 70's for the past few days, and our trip out to Oak Creek was definitely a warm one.  We had our eyes on some classic lines, such as Blood Trails, a unique V5 that navigates a tricky arete.  The climb was baking in the sun and it took Kevin and I a decent amount of time and chalk to work out beta that would allow us to send.  Kevin sent first and I knew I had to follow suit to keep the send train going.  It took me probably another 10 tries, a bit of frustration, and a mini-meltdown before I was able to fire it.  On the send go everything felt perfect and I topped out the boulder feeling quite jubilant!  I was really happy to have sent such a classic line.  

We made our way up canyon a bit to another beautiful line, All Nightmare Long, an amazingly varied V6.  The climb starts on some crimps, then makes a huge move out to a two (or three) finger pocket.  You then do a burly cross move to some really unique pocket/sloper/dish things, with no footholds.  Then you gain a really positive side pull, match hands, and get your right foot really high.  Leaning hard on the left hand, and pressing hard on the right foot, you float out to a far crimp, cross to a good edge, cut your feet and swing them over to a ledge, and then top out on fairly good holds.  Kevin sent quickly.  I was a little doubtful about my ability to do the climb, especially given the huge reach out to the pocket.  I tried the move with my feet on the ground and my face was practically touching the wall.  Regardless, I started working the moves with encouragement from Chelsea and Kevin.  I flashed the second half of the problem and then went to work on the beginning.  I found if I committed 100% to the move out to the pocket, that I could stick it.  Soon enough, I had done all the moves in two overlapping pieces.  Now time to link!  Unfortunately, we ran out of time before I was able to put everything together. (Womp, womp, that was rather anti-climactic wasn't it?)  I can't wait to go back to this climb and go for the send.

Yesterday, Chelsea and I went to another new spot, Willow Creek.  Chelsea put in solid effort and sent Brown Round Crack, a nice V3.  She then sent Peruvian Flake, a V2 slab that required trusting the feet, not what gets Chelsea psyched, but she styled it!  Today, Kevin and I went back out to Willow to check out a two-star (out of 3) V7.  It was honestly kind of a choss pile.  After watching Kevin do the moves I knew there was no way I could even stick the first move.  Instead, I tried another climb and took an awkward fall from like 2 inches off the ground and tweaked my ankle.  Nice!  Thankfully, tomorrow is a rest day.  We have to take Silas in to get a new EGR (I think) valve, a rather expensive endeavor that puts a bit of a negative prognosis on the longevity of our trip (we'll climb til we run out of money.  Which won't take long).  Nonetheless, I'll be happy to have Silas running smoothly and hopefully have that nagging check engine light turn off for a while.  Til next time!

Adventure on. LP

Bishop

In January, the time had finally come for Chelsea and I to quit our respective jobs and set out for a few months of climbing and adventure.  Sticking to my usual strategy of procrastination, I chose to wait until a week before departure to really crack down on getting the van completed.  As the days until our departure ticked away, I checked things off of my to do list and the van began to look less like an unwelcoming metal box and more like a cozy home.  I was still completing little projects up until the moment we left, but the van was deemed worthy for our 10 day trail trip.  We planned to head to Bishop, readjust to road life, and see what things in the van needed tweaking.  Then we would head back to the Bay Area/Auburn so Chelsea could attend a bridal shower and so I could take a trip to New York with my boyfriend, Arsalan and then celebrate my birthday with family.  Any additional work would be done on the van and then we would hit the road again for a couple months in the sandstone paradises of Red Rocks, Moe's Valley, Joe's Valley, and possibly Indian Creek.  

We made a quick stop at my brother, Mike's, house in San Luis Obispo where we installed our solar panels and interior lighting.  We chose to mount two Goal Zero Boulder 30 solar panels to the roof and hook them up to a Goal Zero Yeti 400 generator.  The panels collect energy from the sun and charge the generator, which can then be used to power and charge computers, phones, lights and cameras.  The installation went smoothly and the following day we arrived in Bishop.  

Two of our friends, Danny and Giuliana had moved to Bishop for the winter season and we met up with them in the Happies.  It was great to get our skin warmed up on the rock and we saw some exciting flashes of Rene, V5, and Highbrow, V7 by Danny.  We were treated to a delicious dinner cooked by Jules and then it was time to spend the night in the van.  The four of us (me, Chelsea, Titan and Star) got situated and had a nice cozy night.  

The next week and a half was filled with lots of climbing.  We went to the Gorge, the Pollengrains, the Buttermilks, Pocketopia, and the Sads.  The temperatures were unusually high, which made our motivation to try hard a little lacking.  We did enjoy soaking up the sun, lazy as it made us.  Our rest days were filled with exploratory hikes that led us to great views and interesting rock formations.  It felt good to try a bunch of new climbs, and to visit a few old projects.  I was really psyched to send Perfectly Chicken, a V5 that had shut me down on a previous trip.  Chelsea sent Green Wall Essential, a nemesis climb that she had fallen from years previous and hurt her ankle.  It was great for her to conquer the climb this time.  During a holiday weekend, we ventured north to check out a new-to-us area, Pocketopia, and had a great time pulling on sharp pockets and avoiding the crowds.  We also experienced our coldest night there, during which all the water in the van froze.   

All in all, the van performed great.  We made a list of little things that needed to be done, and supplies that could be useful to have.  Towards the end of the trip we met Kevin, a fellow Sprinter-dweller who was also headed to Red Rocks in February.  We made plans to meet up in Nevada, checked out each other's vans, and lamented the task of driving the washboard roads to the Buttermilks and the Tablelands, an experience akin to being inside a box with all your belongings and having that box be bounced down a flight of stairs.  

Bishop is a fabulous place, filled with world class climbing.  It had been a few seasons since we had been there last, due to living out of state, and it was wonderful to be back.  We left with raw skin, lots of new projects, and a sense of excitement for the next leg of our trip.  

Adventure on. LP