Sending In Joshua Tree

For the last 2 days Austin and I have been climbing in Joshua Tree. The climbing here is unlike anything I have ever been on before. The rock is solid, but it chews up any skin that touches it. It sorts of feels like running your hand up and down on a cheese grater, if that helps to give you a visual of what I am talking about. The grades are also really hard here. For example, the day we left Red Rocks I sent a 5.10a, but today I was destroyed on a 5.9 route, and yesterday I was definitely nervous on a couple of different 5.8 climbs. But it is all really enjoyable, and so far I have a great time in Joshua Tree. And there is so much climbing to be had here as well. We have spent 2 entire days climbing and we have not had to walk further than 4 minutes from our campsite. I could definitely spend a lot of time here. Unfortunately, we plan on leaving on Wednesday morning for San Diego to visit Austin's Aunt and Uncle, and to go to the beach and hopefully go surfing. But who knows, if the next 2 days go well we may just end up deciding to stay here and keep climbing for a couple more months. I would be perfectly okay with that scenario as long as someone is willing to fund my life for the next few months. Do I have any takers? If not, the plan is to start work back in Ashford on the 4th of May, which I am really excited about. It will be nice to start earning a paycheck again. I guess that is all for now because I need to head off to bed so I can get sleep for a long day of climbing tomorrow.

The Black Orpheus

Austin and I capped off our 2 week stay in Red Rocks with a route that I have been wanting to climb for a long time now. It is called the Black Orpheus. The route is a solid 5.10a, which is harder than anything that I have lead before. It is over 1300 feet long so needless to say, it was a major undertaking. I was a little worried about time because it is a really long approach hike, and an even longer walk off, so I made Austin get up early so we could get a head start on the day. I do not think he was excited to wake up at 5:45, but I thought it was a good idea since neither of us have ever climbed something that hard and long. But the day went off without a hitch. We sent the entire route and made it back to the car in 10.5 hours which is really fast! The climbing was unbelievable, definitely a great way to end our Red Rocks stay. I also had the luck of leading the 5.10a pitch, and I really enjoyed it. When we got to the top both of us were excited, but we both knew that we need to keep on upping the ante.

Now, we are showered up and ready to head for Joshua Tree. I am sad to be leaving Red Rocks, but also really excited to head to a new place. Joshua Tree has such a rich climbing history, and many world class climbers call it their home. I also hear the climbing there is steep and hard, so it should be a good place to grind my teeth on some harder routes.

I am still working on publishing all my pictures from the trip so they can be viewed as a slideshow, so keep on looking for those in the near future.

Last night I dropped off Lauren at the airport, and today Ryan and Courtney headed back to their home in Wichita. We had a great visit, and I think everyone really enjoyed their vacation in Vegas. We did some great climbing, had some fun on the strip, and soaked up some rays. It was Ryan and Lauren's first time climbing and they did great, and I think they might both be hooked. By the end of the trip, Courtney was itching for some harder climbing and was ready to get after it for sure. We stepped up the climbing everyday and finished the trip with a great 530 ft., 4 pitch route that we all enjoyed. Austin and I got some good practice guiding, and I think our visitors enjoyed it all, except for the small amount of short roping that we made them endure. But it was great practice, especially since we are both planning on taking the Rock Instructor Course with the AMGA this fall. But right now, we are both ready to get back to some personal climbing. We have our eyes on a couple of routes that we want to grind our teeth on. Austin and I can tell we are getting stronger and are ready for some harder, more challenging routes. It is really exciting to see our progress and to feel like we are accomplishing what we set out to do on our trip.

The weather has been gorgeous, but it is getting hotter and hotter. Today topped out at 96 degrees, and to a couple of mountain bums used to the cold and snow, that is really hot! But I do think that with some time I could really get used to weather like this. The next couple of days will be in the mid 90's and then it should cool off again to around 85. We are planning on staying in Vegas until Friday, then heading out to Joshua Tree, California. We would like to climb for a week or so there, then head up the coast back to the Washington area. The plan is to go surfing while in Cali, which should be fun since I have never been. Then spend some time on the beach working on our tans before we put on the puffy coat and pants for the Rainier season.

Bad Weather

I did not realize that the desert could actually have bad weather. Probably because I have been so fortunate whenever I have been in Red Rocks. But the last 2 days here have brought on some pretty severe weather. Yesterday the wind speeds topped out at about 50 mph, which was enough to blow down Austin's tent, and send quite a few other items flying around the camping area. The wind made it quite hard to sleep so I spent most of the night staring up at the ceiling of the tent. This morning I woke up to a completely strange sight in the desert, it was snowing. For a second, I actually thought that I was dreaming, then I stuck my hand out the tent and I realized that I was not dreaming and it actually was snowing. It was quite a cold and windy day, so Austin and I decided to just go sport climbing. The climbing went quite well, except for the ground fall that I took while leading an easy 5.9. But that kind of thing happens when you climb enough, and I am none the worse for wear, so it all worked out okay.

Lauren comes in to visit tomorrow, and Ryan and CJ the next day. They are all staying for the weekend and I am really excited to have them out to visit. It is kind of strange to have friends and family come to visit while I am on vacation, but I guess that is the way it goes when you are traveling all the time. I think they are all really excited, and the weather looks to be improving so I hope they have a great time.

Denali Seminar '09

Wow, that is about all I can say about this 6 day trip on Mount Rainier. We could not get into the park the first day beause the rode was closed; we snuck in with a private park escort the second day and that was great because it would have certainly been a bummer to do 6 days of teaching in Ashford. Then we camped for 4 days about 30 minutes outside of the parking lot at Paradise. Everyone would have loved to get higher up on the mountain but the weather just did not allow that. The wind speeds at Camp Muir on day peaked peaked at about 140 mph, crazy! In total it snowed about 6 feet on us while we were up there, and the wind never stopped for more than 10 minutes.

The clients all seemed to have a good time however. It was a Denali training seminar and 2 clients will be going to Denali in June, so they really appreciated all the training that we were able to accomplish. All in all, it was a really great

trip, and I would have to say that Rainier in the winter is one of the most amazing places I have ever been.

Red Rocks #1

Austin and I arrived in Red Rocks at 4 am on the morning of April 9th. We drove to the campsite completely exhausted only to find that all of the campsites were full. We really had no idea what to do, and the climbing area did not open until 6 am, so we decided to head back into town and take a nap inside the Tahoe in the parking lot of the nearest grocery store. We managed to get a couple hours of sleep in, fairly uncomfortable sleep by the way, and then headed out to the climbing area for our first climb of the trip. We had decided to start on a mellow route that we could finish quickly since we were both really tired. The route was fun, however, it took much longer than we expected because we were stuck behind a few other parties who were all going pretty slowly. I guess that is what we get for climbing an easy and popular route. We followed that up with a climb of Frogland the next day. Frogland is a 5.8, 760 ft. climb that was really enjoyable. Austin and I have been switching leads on all the climbs; I have been leading the first half and Austin the second.

Last night it rained so today we have been forced into taking a mandatory rest day. The rock here is sandstone, and when it rains the rock becomes brittle and breaks easily which is why you have to wait about 24 hours before you can climb again after it rains. So we are taking full advantage of our rest day. We headed into town, and I was able to take my first shower in 5 days, and it was great! Right now we are at the The Coffee Bean sipping on a latte and using their free wireless internet. Well, I guess it is not totally free since we have to pay for coffee, but I love coffee so it works out wonderfully.

Red Rocks Here I Come!

Today I leave for Las Vegas with my best friend Austin Shannon. We will be driving for about 18 hours which is by far the worst part of the trip. I went to Las Vegas last October for a month of climbing in Red Rocks, and I have been dying to go back ever since. The rock there is world class, and is my new favorite spot to rock climb. The Red Rocks National Conservation Area is about 15 minutes outside of downtown Las Vegas. I am not a huge fan of the Vegas scene, but it is nice to have a big city close by. The grocery store is only a 5 minute drive, and the local recreation center has cheap showers, so everything is easily accessible. I also enjoy the cheap buffets and the occasional night of gambling on the strip. We will be driving for 2 days, and probably arrive in Vegas on the 9th. Then its nonstop climbing for a month! I will try to post pictures when I get into town.