Warm-Up

I was faced with a few minor hiccups before getting on the road- costly van repairs, selling my car took longer than I thought, etc., but once everything started wrapping up my friend Eric gave me a call and made an exciting proposition.  He had just been relieved of his working duties and was psyched to head out to the desert.  I was still waiting for Chelsea to finish up her employment and join me in the wonderful world of retirement, so I jumped at the chance to hit the road with someone for a month before the holidays.  Winter had not started taking shape in California yet, so we still had climbing on our minds and decided to hit up the desert for a while.  I packed up the Silas and headed for Tahoe to pick up Eric.  I jumped out of the van on Donner Summit, let the dogs out, and spent the next three hours hiking over pebbly granite, through thick trees, past several small lakes, and breathing deeply for what felt like the first time in a long time.  The sense of liberation of being on the road hit me immediately and I smiled and felt very simply happy.

Eric and I left on Thanksgiving day, which turned out to be slightly problematic because we hadn't stocked up on provisions and couldn't find any stores open, so we were on a granola bar diet for the first two days of the trip.  We had our sights set on Ibex, right across the Utah border after driving Highway 50 across Nevada.  Ibex was unique and very intriguing.  We only spent a day there but it is definitely somewhere I would return.  The rock was very featured and the landscape made me feel like I was walking on the moon.  I could feel how out of shape I was, but Eric went on a sending spree all over the boulder field.

After Ibex we headed to Moab, where we spent a day bouldering at Big Bend.  The boulders here are beautiful and STOUT!  I didn't feel bad getting shut down on most things I tried because the movement was fun the location was gorgeous.  I couldn't help but stare up at the walls all around us and get excited about roping up.  I haven't spent any significant time on a rope this year and I was anxious to see how hard the Creek would kick my ass this time around.  With our psych high, we loaded up on groceries and headed south.

I've been to Indian Creek in the Spring and in the Fall and in both seasons have experienced snow and 85 degree temps.  This was the latest in the year I had ever visited, and I was wonderfully surprised on the perfect temperatures and the complete lack of people.  We met some great new people, met up with a couple of old friends, and had a great time filling the short days with splitter cracks.  One of our new friends, Adam, celebrated his 25th birthday by climbing 25 pitches in one day (video coming!).  It was awesome to watch him complete his 25th lap in the dark on Incredible Hand Crack.

After about a week in the Creek, we headed over to Joe's Valley with our eyes on some old nemesis projects as well as a long list of new things we wanted to try.  We quickly found out that the forks were FREEZING and only got about 10 minutes of sun a day, which tamped out my motivation pretty quickly.  New Joe's was quite pleasant, and Eric and I both put down an old project each before deciding to head back to the Creek for warmer temps.  After a few more days of Creek climbing, rain was in the forecast and a big storm was projected to be coming through Tahoe.  Suddenly, thoughts of powder days consumed our minds and we were back in the van headed for Truckee.

Moe's Valley

Moe's Valley is in St. George, Utah, a mere two hours from Las Vegas.  We arrived there with plans to stay a few days and try to put some projects to rest that we had started on a previous trip.  Moe's is a great little area, very laid back, with some high quality sandstone and lots of moderates.  We spent a week walking the red dusty trails and sampling some really stellar climbs.

I had my eye on Underwhelmed, a really cool V6 that follows a horizontal roof out to an arete.  I was able to do all the moves except for one.  I must have tried that single move at least 30 times in one session, but still was not able to stick it.  Nevertheless, I was happy with the links I made on the problem and the fact that I got all the other moves figured out.  The climb is kind of my anti-style, big powerful moves, versus the more techy climbs I usually favor.

The other climb I wanted to do was Sichuan Peppercorn, V5, and possibly Kung-Pao, the V6 that traverses into the 5.  I decided to figure out Sichuan Peppercorn first and then try to do the additional moves at the start.  The features on this climb are so unique and I kept finding myself doing a right knee-bar, which put me in a natural body position to bring my right hand up to a positive crimp.  Unfortunately I needed my left hand there.  The knee-bar was so cool and I wanted to use it so bad, but eventually I had to train myself out of using it and go up left hand.  After a few sessions I sent the problem.  I then did the moves on Kung Pao, and went almost to the top of the problem, moves I had done so many times on Sichuan, but I ran out of gas before I could top out.  I was still psyched to have Sichuan Peppercorn in the bag though!

Chelsea did numerous really cool V3s and made good progress on some 4s.  The days passed by lazily as we enjoyed the sun during the day, and took the dogs on evening runs once the temperatures cooled down.  We ate well, got lots of sleep, and met some cool crusher kids from Salt Lake City.  After a week in Moe's, we woke up to a sudden downpour, lightning, and hail.  We jumped in the van and headed out, of the Valley, not wanting to test Silas' ability to climb the steep dirt hill once it became mud.  A few errands in town, and we set our sights east towards Joe's Valley, where we are currently residing and waiting for a storm to pass so we can get out on the rock!

Adventure On. LP

Red Rocks- Part 2

After enduring a dishearteningly long day at the mechanic, the van was (hopefully) in tip-top shape and we were able to focus on climbing again.  Unfortunately, the friends we had made in Red Rocks were all slated to hit the road in a few days.  Their departure made us antsy, not to mention that we were no longer splitting the cost of the overpriced campsite, and we started talking about moving on.  Before we could leave, we hoped to send a few more climbs.  

It was another incredibly warm day at the Kraft Boulders, when Chelsea and I headed out to the end of the canyon to try to finish her project, Monkey Bars, and mine, Monkey Bar Traverse.  We waited until later in the day for the temps to cool down and started putting in some effort.  We were both feeling a little low energy.  I still hadn't stuck the last hard move on the traverse, and decided I needed to focus on figuring that sequence out before taking burns from the start.  I had been trying to make a huge jump move to a precise incut hold.  I pretty quickly determined that after doing the traverse there was no way I was going to be able to make a powerful, long move like that.  I set out to find new beta.  I figured out a new sequence, that involved a match which made the next move much smaller and fairly easy with solid feet.  After a few more tries from the start, I sent the problem!  The send go again felt wonderfully smooth, and I stood on top of the boulder feeling elated.

After I sent, Chelsea was feeling the psych and jump on her project, Monkey Bars.  Before we knew it, she was topping out.  The moves that had been hard before flowed well, and Chelsea executed each sequence perfectly.  Solid day!  We decided to spend two more days in Red Rocks and see if we could complete a few more things. 

The following day we hiked back out to Oak Creek Canyon so I could try to do All Nightmare Long.  I jumped on from the start and got about halfway through the problem.  The problem is powerful, and definitely at my limit, so after each try I had to rest for 20-30 minutes before I felt strong enough to give it another go.  I had the moves totally dialed, all I had to do was execute.  On my best go, I made it almost to the top, to the moves that should have been easy, and popped off for some unknown reason.  I had been feeling incredibly good up to that point and I'm still not sure quite what went wrong.  Unfortunately, I was completely gassed after that attempt and couldn't summon enough strength to send the problem.  It was a great learning experience, however, and it was awesome to project something at my physical limit and see myself make progression on it.

On our last day, we went back out to Kraft.  Chelsea quickly put down Potato Chips, a climb that she had been unable to start at the beginning of our time in Red Rocks.  I decided to give the Pearl one last attempt.  I had tried it briefly on two previous days, and honestly wasn't a huge fan of the movement.  The climb gets 3 stars, the highest quality rating in the book, which is surprisingly stingy in doling out stars, but I wasn't feeling the quality as much as I was feeling pain from the sharp left hand pocket that you start from.  

My first few attempts were really awful.  Then the rock cooled down a bit and i started making progress.  Soon, I was matching the good crimp and going for the huge jug.  Not too long after I stuck the jug and took it to the top.  I was glad to have this one under my belt so I wouldn't have to try it any more!  With that, our climbing in Red Rocks was wrapped up.  There is endless more climbing to be explored, and we will definitely be back in the future.  But the time had come for us to hit the road again and see what was around the next bend.

Adventure On. LP 

California Coast

I love sandstone bouldering.  I love sunshine and the beach.  I love V6's.  Especially when people describe them as "the best v6 in California, or the country, or even the world."  That being said, Fort Rossta[farian] in Fort Ross seemed like an ideal boulder problem to go spend some time on.  I had a few days off, sun in the forecast, and gas in the van.  All I needed was someone to go climbing with.  With a little prodding I was able to convince my workaholic boyfriend to take a day off to go on a trip up the coast with me.

We arrived late at night and went straight to sleep in the back of the van.  The convenience of the van is still super exciting to me.  After living out of my CRV for so long and going through the rearranging process each night before going to bed, it is quite a novelty to be able to get out of the front seat and walk into the back and get right in bed.  It's also great to throw up some curtains and sleep until noon...

Needless to say, we had a lazy start in the morning.  The approach takes about 30 seconds and soon we were standing on the sunny beach looking at an immaculate block of sandstone.  The striking line up the middle of the boulder sent an exciting tingle up my spine.  "I want to send that problem," I thought.  We quickly warmed up on some casual climbs on the sunny side of the boulder.  Then we went to our main objective.  I touched the start holds.  

"It feels damp," I mumbled disappointingly.  And it was.  The moisture of the ocean and the morning fog had left the rock damp and unclimbable.  We had driven over two hours to try this problem and it was certainly disheartening to find it wet.  So I turned to my backpack full of food in search of some healing therapy in the form of bread and cheese.  We sat down on the crashpad in front of the ocean and munched away on our snacks and washed them down with Flux.  There are certainly worse ways to spend the day.  

After we had our fill we headed back down the coast a bit to a place called Goat Rock.  It was very scenic and we got on some fun lines on the very slick rock.  Soon the sun was setting and it was time to hit the road.  A great day with even better company was in the books.

Adventure On.  LP    

First Trip- Shuteye Ridge

The van is mine!

Beginning stages of van

Despite the fact that I had done almost no work on the van, by early October I was itching to take Silas on his first trip.  I was just coming back from a minor tendon injury and I was ready to get out and do some climbing.  Coincidentally, a new guidebook had just landed on our shelves at the climbing gym and the bright pictures inside depicted a pretty accurate version of my paradise.  Granite as far as the eye could see; varied terrain- cracks, face, boulders, runnels, unique features; grades from easy cruisers to hard test pieces.  California mountain air.  No crowds.  I was sold.  Chelsea met me in the Bay Area, we tossed everything into the van, made a quick stop at Trader Joe's, and we were off.  We immediately found out that Star (my tan dog) was terrified of riding in the van.  She has several other strange phobias (garages, gunshots, puppies), so this was just another one to add to the list.  She refused to sit anywhere except the very front of the van where we were, and she sat there panting and trembling (fortunately she has since become much more comfortable and relaxed, yay!).

Titan enjoying life

We drove and drove and finally reached our destination.  The van seemed to handle well, and it wasn't hard to adjust to driving it.  We picked out a climbing spot for the next day and parked on a dirt road near the approach trail.  We had no trouble driving on the smooth dirt road.  I was so psyched to be sleeping in the van under the stars for the first time.  I had slept in it a few times in the driveway previously, but that didn't really count.  The dogs were happy to finally be out of the city again, and they explored the woods.  Chelsea and I breathed deeply and savored the fresh, piney air.  We fell asleep anticipating the excitement of the following day.

Awesome views.

The next day was exciting indeed.  After breakfast we spent a hilariously long time trying to find the approach trail.  Shuteye is still relatively untraveled as far as climbing areas go and it took us a lot of turning around and searching before we found a cairn that directed us to the place in the woods where we were supposed to turn right.  The approach ended up taking us several hours, but we were stoked to be rewarded with a wonderful view and stellar climbing.  It was great for the dogs to get some good exercise as well.  The climbing was ridiculous!  Water runnels had carved some of the coolest and unique features I have seen into the rock.  There were lots of chicken heads to sling and plenty of jugs to make the climbing enjoyable without taxing my tendon.  I will say that the climbing was a bit run out in places, but thankfully we were climbing well below our limit so we were comfortable the whole time.  After cruising around on the warm, golden granite, we decided to hike down in plenty of daylight in case we got lost again.  And we got lost again.  Fortunately we found our way and made it back to the van with enough daylight to cook dinner in.

Happy climbers

Water runnels

Lichen hikin'

Where are we?!

In the morning it was time to move the van and try out another climbing spot.  We wanted something with a relatively straight forward approach to avoid a repeat of our approach fail from the previous day.  Unfortunately we had an even greater fail this time around.  First, I got the van stuck on a dirt road.  My entire driving career up to this point has consisted of 4WD cars, which I have taken over some pretty gnarly terrain.  Not only does the Sprinter not have 4WD, it also has a super long wheel base, which seems to make it a lot easier to get of kilter and get trapped with your tires spinning.  After a decent amount of cursing and mud slinging, I got the van out.  We decided to walk the road instead of driving it and parked the van back on the security of the pavement.  After walking down the dirt road for awhile, we emerged back onto a paved road instead of the lake and rock we were supposed to be at.   We were baffled.  We couldn't figure out if we were having a major reading comprehension fail or navigational issues, but we were ready to give up.  We chalked up the day to a nice hike and headed for home.

Psyche provided by Flux

Despite only getting in one day of climbing, it was still an awesome trip and a great way to break in the van and see some of its limitations as well as its assests.  It also got me really excited to get to work on the van and provided me with motivation to get going on the project list.  Van life commence!

Adventure On. LP