I'm back and Index River Boulders!

Hey guys! Sorry I've been gone for so long... I've returned to my natural habitat in Seattle, WA and the last several months have been relatively uneventful for me. I'm working at the Stone Gardens climbing gym in Bellevue, WA setting routes there and using my teaching degree part-time to substitute for my old colleagues at Franklin and Garfield high schools. As a result, I haven't been getting out climbing as much as I hoped for. I moved in with my girlfriend, Aubrey Jenkins and we are living in the Central District of Seattle. I got an awesome wood hangboard for Christmas from my brother who lives in London, so I've been trying to train my ass off for the prime winter temps.

Fresh grips from the U.K.

I reached some milestones this last year. Climbed my first two V11's, Ebriosity on the Five-Star Boulder and Chutzpah at the Index River Boulders. Both were really fun boulder problems, but I have to say that Chutzpah is the better line of the two.

Cold but sunny. Prime conditions at the Index River boulders.

Amidst a sea of river polished granite, the few features on Chutzpah have just enough texture to make the line go. With powerful heel-hooking and compression moves down low to a dicey finish, this problem has everything I want. If only it was a little taller :) Here are some shots of the climb taken by Aubrey.

Crux move to undercling pinch.

Tricky toe-hook.

Anyway, here's the vid, with a bonus problem in it. Enjoy! Next stop as soon as it's done seeping, Midnite!!!

Chutzpah!

Joe's Valley

Man! Two posts in a day! I'm only going to talk a little about Joe's Valley and let the movie I made and pictures do the rest.

Joe's Is Amazing. The rock climbing is phenomenal, the valley is gorgeous, and the Food Ranch is... the Food Ranch. So Orangeville and Castledale may not be the most amazing of climber towns (I just gushed all about how much I love Bishop), but the climbing more than makes up for it. I got a nice little spot down Right Fork right by a Porta-Potty.

Joe's Muthaf@#$in' Valley

Being near one of a few porta-potties is a blessing and a curse. It is nice in the mornings, but having random cars pull up to use it is a bit of a nuisance. I miss having access to a nice camping table at the Pit in Bishop, but I've been making do by cooking out of the trunk and using the cooler for a little table.

Tailgating solo

The first day I busted out to New Joe's climbing area and worked on Resident Evil. I had tried that climb two years ago, but had the mistiming of coming to it starving every time. I would arrive and only be able to try it a few times before breaking down and eating. This time I had a little more foresight and ate well before hopping on it. It felt really hard, but doable. I managed to climb the Stand-Up, which is a V7 or 8 that starts a few moves in and was only stuck on one move, the hard fall-in move with the left hand. I dinked around that area for a while enjoying the amazing friction of sandstone before going to get my camp set-up. Here's a few pictures from around there.

Me and my trusty steed, or something...

Black Lung (V13 F.A. Ben Moon) Resident Evil is on the Right

Praying for more friction on the start of Black Lung.

And, without further ado, here's a link to a little movie I've made of the climbs I've done in Joe's so far. I didn't get The Wind Below on video, unfortunately, but I caught my buddy Jeremy Ho climbing it. It is tall, awesome, and fucking scary.

Joe's Valley Bouldering

Refining my Bishop beta

After spending over 2 weeks in Bishop, I have learned many things about this town. I'm a huge fan of efficiency in all things. I like taking the straightest path between two points whenever I can. I try to make my movement economical when I rock climb, squeezing only as much as necessary to stay on. As a result, I'm constantly tweaking my experience in a new town.

What I have learnt thus far about Bishop I shall share with you now...

First, for camping, the place to be is the Pit if you enjoy hanging out with a lot of climbers. At $2 a night per car, it is incredibly affordable for extended dirtbaggery. If you prefer solitude or the company of a few friends at most, the place to camp is out at the Buttermilks near the boulders. The latter option is nice if you intend to spend most of your days climbing in the milks, and let's be real, that is where the best bouldering is in Bishop, by far. The former is nice if you like sport climbing up at Owens River Gorge or pulling down big huecos in the Happies and Sads and don't mind the occasional loud climber party.

Once you've gotten some good sleep, you wake up and think, "I would love a good cup of coffee right now." You drive in to town and have two choices, the Looney Bean and Black Sheep. After not so extensive testing, I have determined that Black Sheep is the better option for tasty coffee and snacks. First off, they have IPA on tap, so in the afternoon that is the go-to option. Secondly, they have some delicious breakfast burritos that go half-off in the afternoon. And then the coffee itself is just damn tasty. Good lattes with not over-steamed milk (my greatest pet peeve) and oily americanos. I bought a bag of beans from them just before leaving town, too, as my Fiore supply was running low. I went with the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe and so far it has been pretty good. Also, try the Happy Bagel. It is simple and satisfying.

So you just had your breakfast burrito or bagel and morning roast and are thinking, "I need some groceries for lunch and whatnot." Where do you go? The clear choice is Manor Market over Vons, the Safeway with a different name. There are always friendly checkout folks at Manor Market and they have a fantastic beer selection. This combined with the knowledge that your money is staying in Bishop to help grow their economy makes me feel a lot better. I'm all for supporting the towns I go to that support their climbers and Bishop is a fantastic town for that. Check out the smokehouse bacon that they sell at the Market. It is delicious and locally smoked at a butchers in town.

Find me on W. Line Street on the way to the Buttermilks

Ok. Food acquired and ready to go climb some rocks! How to get to said rocks? Well, there are a few paths to take to get to the climbing. If you are going from the Pit to the Buttermilks or vice versa, screw going through town and all that hassle. Just take Ed Powers Road.

Why did I ever drive through town before...

This cuts out the majority of 25 mph BS that you have to deal with on the other roads. It saves about 10 minutes, no joke. If you want to climb at the Happies, tough luck. You're still gonna park where everyone does and walk up that steep-ass hill. The Sads, on the other hand, has a nice little parking lot at the very top that is relatively accessible with a car. I was nervous going over some of the jagged rocks, but haven't popped a tire, yet!

To get to the upper Sads parking, it makes the most sense via town. Take Highway 6 north to 5 Bridges Road. Turn left onto 5 Bridges and stay on it until it turns into Casa Diablo Road just after the concrete plant. Follow Casa Diablo up the hill and take the second main left (there's a little BLM signpost). You know you went the right way if there is a big sandy pit you drive through. Eventually you hit the small upper parking lot for the Sads which spits you out right at the Ice Caves and Strength in Numbers.

Upper Sads Parking (Take left at B)

So you made it to your climbing destination fully caffeinated and stocked up with groceries. You crank hard and are exhausted. Too tired to cook a nice dinner, you bounce into town to try and find some good, cheap eats. Sadly, most of the restaurants in Bishop are over-priced and not very good. You will find a few gems amongst the rough, though. The best mexican food, by far, in Bishop comes from this little taco truck next to the Paiute Palace Casino. Everything is fucking delicious and cheap there. Get a combo plate for $6 bucks with rice and beans and three tacos. Get a horchata for $1. Walk away satisfied and smiling. The family that owns it are super nice and friendly and will toss in some delicious grilled onions and jalapenos. The only downside to the taco truck is that it is open from Thursday to Sunday. The other days you will have to go to...

Make sure it's a nice day when you go to the Burger Barn

Bishop Burger Barn! This place is fantastic! We took a chance one evening on this restaurant with only outdoor seating and were more than happy. Given that all food tastes amazing after a day of hard climbing, these burgers were really tasty. They even make their own buns there! I don't think there was a single thing that was bad on that menu, so hit that place up once, twice or more when you go to Bishop!

Lastly, if you're taking a rest day and want to grab some lunch in town, go to Raymond's Deli and get the Clubber. It is a beast of a club sandwich and may be daunting to eat solo. It has pretty wacky decor inside and the people making your sandwiches yell your name out louder than an opera singer, but the sandies are terrific.

That about sums it up for new Bishop beta. Let me know if you find more awesome food or secret routes if you get out there!

Checkerboard

I just accomplished one of my projects in Bishop, the beautiful and awe-inspiring line, Checkerboard. I wrote about it a bit the last post, but I shall go into more detail here. The holds are so beautiful and though they are crimpy, they feel good on the fingers.

Both holds are small and you have to hike your right foot up in this position

The first day of trying this problem the boulder was completely in the shade, so the holds were incredibly cold. I found myself getting to the last move 3 times and each time my fingers would feel numb. Some might say I punted off the top of the problem, though I honestly didn't know what hold to grab up there. After getting some advice from another climber, Sierra fired the climb first go. She was so psyched to climb it that she did it again almost immediately after coming down. Meanwhile, I was digesting my lunch of cheese, ham, turkey and milk and feeling really heavy. I was tired from trying it a bunch the day before, each go on it drains your energy like mad as there are about 16 moves in all. However, watching her accomplish it with such ease made me want to step up and try it again.

This time, unlike the others, the holds felt just cool to the touch, not cold, and as I went through the bottom sequence my fingers hurt but weren't numb. The climb doesn't feel like it has much of a crux on it, but rather it is the accumulation of a bunch of challenging moves on very small (but incut) holds that makes it feel so hard. On the first go of the day, I found myself getting ready for the last move. This time, though, I knew exactly where I wanted to grab.

Snatching the ear on the last hard move

Holding onto this little hold with the left hand is one of the coolest feelings. It is exactly the hold you want in exactly the right place. There is something mystical about how these holds all happen to be right where they are on this boulder to create such an amazing line and movement. In all, I am grateful that this line managed to exist in the first place, and that it was established by strong climbers before me. I am grateful for my friends to support me trying it and helping me to get psyched when I'm feeling heavy and tired. And lastly, I'm grateful to have climbed such an amazing boulder problem in a beautiful setting.

I can only describe the climb so much with words. Here are some moving pictures :)

Checkerboard (V8)

Bonus!

Here's video of me climbing Go Granny Ho, a fun little V7 on the Grandma Peabody boulder including an attempt.

Go Granny Ho (V7)

Rest day, shmest day

So it's been several days since my last post and it's not because of a lack of eventful happenings. Mainly, I write these on rest days, but I've been really psyched to climb everyday this last week. My muscles ache in the mornings (especially my elbows) but after morning PT and a bunch of pushups my body starts to feel better. Even after climbing the last 4 or so days straight, I'm still psyched to go back and work hard. I suppose having some projects that I feel really close on helps. The aforementioned projects are:

Checkerboard
Beefcake
Soul Slinger

I tried Checkerboard for the first time today and it is an absolutely beautiful climb. The photo below is of my friend, Sierra trying it. She got really close to finishing it many times today, all the way to the last hard move. It turns out that I had met Sierra years ago up in Squamish. I remember her trying and eventually succeeding to climb Sesame Street, a really challenging V9. Anyway, after getting the beta on Checkerboard down, myself, I got up to where she was getting 3 times and fell each time. Each time I was up that high, I wanted to make the last move a lock off, but I finally realized that I had to pop to reach that next hold. It is a heady last move and you're tired from a series of difficult crimp moves with high feet. It will go this trip. I believe it.

Crimpin' ain't easy. Checkerboard (V8)

Beefcake is a silly climb in a cave. I have no photos of it because it is totally dark back there. It feels like a very trollish climb, but the movement is quite beautiful. There is one point on it where I'm heel hooking with my right foot and toe hooking really hard with my left. Using both of these to keep compression I can release one of my hands to a good hold. It feels incredibly hard, especially this one drop down move off of shitty feet, but with good conditions and after a rest day, it might go down.

Lastly, Soul Slinger has always felt impossibly hard to me. I did battle with that climb 3 years ago and made little progress on it. I finally had a breakthrough a couple days ago when I moved off of the bad peanut pinch to a small dish above. I had never connected with that hold before and it felt really amazing, although that hold is utter crap. You have to then crimp really hard and slowly raise your right foot up and cross to a decent pinch before jumping to the hero bucket.

Some guy on the peanut pinch and slopey dish.

The game plan for the rest of the trip is to do these climbs. Of the three, I am most psyched on Checkerboard, though Soul Slinger is amazing as well. Beefcake is technically the hardest of the three at V10, but the least aesthetic.

Other momentous moments have been climbing and repeating Pow Pow. Flashing Rio's Crack, a stunning V6 in the Sads. Climbing Go Granny Go and Go Granny Ho, two fun climbs on the Grandma Peabody boulder. Trying and getting close on the Iron Fly Dyno. Going to the hot springs near Mammoth late at night with a nice couple from Denver. Turns out the guy, Greg Miller, was a former setter at Stone Gardens way back in the day. We reminisced about Seattle and Stoney G's together. Talking about all the good food and beer up there made me miss it all the more.

It's only been a week and a half, but it seems like ages. I've been meeting new, cool people all the time, though, and getting to hang out and just climb every day is a real treat. Maybe one of these days, I'll actually rest and then dispatch these projects. Until then, just gotta keep crankin'!

videos

For your viewing pleasure, at your leisure...

Pow Pow Sessions (V8)

Seven Spanish Angels (V6)

Fly Boy Sit (V8)

Enjoy!

Split tips and wanderings

Black Sheep has one IPA on tap and it is delicious!

Yesterday, I saw Alexander off at the Black Sheep with an Americano. We had a blast climbing together and seeing each other the last 4 days. Now he has to go back to the "real world" of graduate school (not like they need him any more than I do...) while I go back to my journey of climbing blocs.
I've slowly been getting my system down for cooking and cleaning using a minimal amount of water. I realize now how difficult it is to be economical in my cleaning and cooking. I'm experimenting with using the pasta water as my water for soapy cleaning later. I'm still not as efficient as I'd like as I'm blowing through water as fast as it evaporates out here in the desert heat.

Two burner doing work!

That being said, I love using this two burner stove! It was a last minute purchase, but has been totally worth it. I can cook eggs on one side and bacon on the other, or pasta and sauce. Crazy, I know. Anyway, since I'm just car camping the whole time I don't need anything super light and fancy and this does just the trick.

Anyway, the last two days of climbing with Alex, we spent in the Buttermilks and then the Happies. The Buttermilks were enjoyable and I finally got footage of me climbing Fly Boy Sit! Alex projected it for a while after flashing the V5 arete problem but got stuck right before doing the last big move to the lip. He'll back back to finish that one, no doubt. We then got back in the car to head a little down the road to a boulder all by itself called the Get Carter boulder. This boulder has some awesome problems on it, most notable being Seven Spanish Angels (V6). At this point, however, my fingers started to give me issues. My left middle finger pad started separating from the nail causing me intense pain and making climbing less than enjoyable.

So tender... Skin otherwise in great shape

I still managed to finish Seven Spanish Angels after an epic 2 hour session on it, but the next day in the Happies was not very happy at all. Alex, however, had a great day of climbing. We unfortunately didn't get footage, but he climbed the frustratingly hard Acid Wash Right (V9), while I got stymied on the Jug Start to Acid Wash Right which was a V7. We then took a look at a climb called Rave (V7) which would've been a hell of a lot better in cooler conditions. Even so, Alex still almost did the damn thing in the peak of the heat. It was unfortunate that our days of most psych weren't completely lined up, but it is always fun to climb together.

Today I spent the day wandering around the hills of the Buttermilks, trying to find the Pollen Grains and Secrets of the Beehive areas. I parked at the Peabody boulders and started hiking up, with no clear idea of where either of these areas are.

6 days no shower. Dat hair...

After hiking around for a few hours and not finding anything, I headed back to the car. On the way I found a pair who were top roping one of the peabody boulders and asked for directions.

Pretty view, but not the right way.

Finally, armed with good beta for how to get to these boulders, I got back in my car and drove to the proper parking lot. After a short 10 minute hike up a well worn trail, I came upon the first of the magnificent Pollen Grain boulders.

Spectre (V13) F.A. Dave Graham

Next up was the Suspended in Silence boulder that had a crazy mouth-like feature on it called Lidya's Mouth.

Suspended in Silence (V5) is the rightmost chalked line.

Lidya's Mouth (V3). You can fit inside that whole feature.

While hiking around I photographed a cool bird that was making low passes over the sagebrush. Can anyone identify what this bird is? It had a white body and black wing-tips. I think it's a bird of prey that was coursing for jackrabbits because it was making very low passes to the ground. Either that, or it was showing off for me.

Aerial Action!

Coursing.

Right after taking these pics, I got up, close, and personal with a rattlesnake. I was feeling out holds on a small boulder past the Suspended in Silence boulder and heard a rattle then fast slithering on the gravel. I flipped shit and booked it out of there like a jackrabbit running from a coursing bird. With my adrenaline pumping, I ran back to the car and drove to civilization. 

Next post I'll put up some videos of climbing Seven Spanish Angels and Fly Boy Sit. I also have a video of Alex and me sessioning Pow Pow. I'm going to take a room in a motel in a few nights and should get it all uploaded then. Until then, enjoy the stills!

~Wandering Ack