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| Me on the last move of checkerboard, so close.... |
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| Steven on Go Granny Go Right |
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| Unkown cool guy repeating Center Direct |
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| Micah on the Croft Problem |
Well after a 10 week hiatus I readily exchanged plastic for granite. I finally got to check out my new strengths in the wonderful playground of Bishop over Christmas break. For the drive down I caravan'd with Jack from portland and the trip went really smooth only hitting major snow in the city of Kalamath Falls, (I almost slid into an intersection and Jack almost rear ended me). On the first day we ran into Linus and his crew in town and decided to head out to the milks with them. I wanted to put some effort into Center Direct v10 and after giving it a few good burns I managed to get all the moves save the middle throw but psyched none the less as it was a new highpoint. We then checked out Checkerboard v8 and after a couple burns blew the last move because I was not going to huck up there and miss the landing, just gonna have to get stronger or braver, most likely stronger ;) .
The next day was spent at the sads and we tried some of the harder mid range climbs, Los Locos v7 and Lawnmower Man v7, yikes! I could get to the finish of locos and fell in the middle of lawnmower man and called it a day.
Disaster struck the next day when we attempted to go to Xav's roof. After driving the 'road' to the stream the pilot made it across but the oil pan didn't. After a two and a 1/2 hour tow/chain pull and two days later thankfully the Pilot was back in commision! As fate would have it Jack injured his elbow and had to head back early. Luckily Mat Gerloch, Rat Cave CEO, was there and was able to drive me around and let me crash at the house he was staying at. Also, Rob D was supposed to get a ride form the airport from Steven Meinholtz but his vehicle was out of commission at Klamath falls so Mat picked him up as well.
The rest of the trip went pretty well after this. Matt was projecting Aquatic so I joined him in the Ice Caves and gave Aquariam v12 a few goes but kept falling going into the jug, ahh downclimbing... To make up for it I started distracting myself with Shizam Sit v11. A wierd 4 move wonder. I surprised myself by pulling off the hard heelhook and realized that it could go. With another guys beta and many burns later I made the big huck and latched the stand stat jug!!!!! Yeah!!!! A hard send, finally. After this we were starting to pack up but Matt wanted one more burn on Aquatic Hitchhiker v10, lo and behold he sent! Right as the sun was setting in the caves, it was real inspiring to watch.
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| Matt cruising the top of Suspended in Silence |
Next we headed back to the tablelands but the Happy's were on the menu today. After a long warmup the crew jumped on Acid Wash v10. With a quick beta adjustment from Will I managed to send in a few goes this year by dynoing the start. I will try the drop knee one day... For a change of pace Matt, Brean, and I headed to the Pollen Grains for scary day. All three lines I did that day were excellent, Suspended in Silence v5, Drone Militia v6, Jedi Mind Tricks v4. I finally managed to get on Jedi, a lifetime project, it was so good! On Christmas, Micah, Steven, Will et. al enjoyed good tidings at the Buttermilks with me closing up Center Direct!! and Steven making quick work of Brian's project v8, a really fun(sharp) compression problem. All in all it was a fun trip only marred by the $1000 auto bill which meant 4 days in Lakewood with the fam instead of 7 days in Vegas crushing, one day I'll make it down there....
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| Long Beach |
But on the plus side it was nice and sunny in Lakewood CA and it was nice not to be shivering or being soaked, like now, in the NW...
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| Pumping Monzonite |
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| The theme of the day, punting from 16' |
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| In the wash |
One day my mother and I headed out to J-tree to do some bouldering. I managed to download the DR. Topo guide and made Pumping Monzonite v7 the goal. Well I got to the top but had no clue how to get over, next time I'll top it out! Same for a v6 in the wash area of Cap Rock, I saw the top but couldn't get there... Joshua Tree is a really cool place with unique scenery and plenty of boulders to play on. When I come back the trad rack will be in the bag though, so many lines!!!!!!
2012 was a good year but didn't included as many climbing days as I would've liked. Now the plan is trip focused with lots of training for 9 more weeks then playtime at Joe's. Time for Homework & Hangboards...
