When In Doubt, Run It Out!

Sara approaching the offwidth section of The Fox [5.10d] 

The send doesn't count if you don't bleed all over yourself and the rock.

Sara and I scrambled around Red Rocks in search of the best crack climbs. I managed a very tiring and exciting on-sight of The Fox [5.10d]. We ended the day attempting Risk Brother's Roof [5.11a]. Since The Fox went so well, I thought this one would be doable. I got absolutely spanked. As I type this with swollen hands, I'm thinking I should have taped them, or at the very least avoided fist jamming and attempting to campus through the roof.

You're Still In Vegas??? What Are You Doing?

Only in Vegas can you run into a snow park built in the middle of the street with professional riders doing all sorts of tricks.

Took Drew to Red Rocks for his first ever outdoor climbing experience. Also finally met up with Sara again! She's been on the road for almost as long as I have and we've climbed in a lot of the same places over the last couple months. I was supposed to climb in Mexico with her but I ended up heading to Vegas instead. She ended up making the trip to Red Rocks so we can finally climb together again. For Drew's first ever outdoor climb, we had him try a 5.9 finger crack. Far from the ideal first climb, but he did an awesome job. Then had him try another 5.9 and then a 5.6. Despite a fear of heights, he got out of his comfort zone and made it to the top of the 5.6 which was awesome.

Checked out the aquarium at Mandalay Bay with Drew and his cousins. Barring my disdain for aquariums and zoos, it was fascinating to see all of the different aquatic species.

The Human Experience open mic night at Hop Nuts Brewery. Great beer and great performances from locals. Loved the artistic expression and support from everyone present.

Awesome 5.11- offwidth at Red Rocks! Sara bravely led this beast and I less bravely followed on top rope.

Ever have a falling rock cut through a rope? Apparently it happens...

Another day at Red Rocks with Sara. Also climbed with Dave and Susan again, who are fellow Massachusetts natives. Feels really good to be climbing trad again! Today came with some extra excitement when a rather large boulder broke off while Sara was finishing up a climb as I was belaying her. This large boulder knocked down some other boulders, maybe 30-60 pounds each. As I looked up, I saw this avalanche of rocks tumbling off the cliff and heading right towards me. I dove to the right as Dave (who was belaying Susan at the time) ran backwards into some bushes. Thankfully we were both able to evade the boulder kamikaze avalanche and Susan and Sara were both okay on the wall. Unfortunately my rope was not so lucky. One of the rock chunks hit the pile of rope on the ground so hard that it cut it clean in half. Upon losing ~40 feet of rope, we needed to get clever with a second rope in order to get Susan off the wall safely. Everyone was safe and despite a busted rope, I'm happy to have learned a valuable lesson concerning the danger of unexpected choss, even on a popular climb.

The Emerald Cove

The Emerald Cove 

Went on a canoeing adventure today with Drew. Read about a cool little spot called Emerald Cove, located on the Colorado River just south of Lake Mead. Since I seem to have misplaced part of the foot pump for my kayak, we had to rent a canoe instead. After a couple miles of zig-zagging in the canoe (trying to figure out how to paddle straight...), we made it to Emerald Cove. The water was indeed incredibly green! We then did some hiking around the area and headed back. Saw about 20 bighorn sheep on the way out of the canyon which was a nice finish to a great day of exploration.

Treat Yo Self

Today I got my first ever pedicure (In exchange for some help in the salon. Bill said my feet really needed it). One of those firsts that I never would have guessed would happen on this trip. But Holy hell, my feet are so soft!

What Color Is The Rock?

Greg cruising through Monkey Bars [V2].

Still exploring new spots at Red Rock and making some more friends. Monkey Bars was an amazing climb. Reminded me of Hueco Bouldering. Also got really close on some V5 sends. Some of the crew I climbed with works at one of the rock gyms in town. Ended up going the next day with Drew and his friend Jess to crush some plastic 5.8s.

New England Got Some Snow. I Wanted To Commiserate With Y'all.

I'm a man of means by no means, king of the road. 

$2 to rent snowshoes? I'm sold. 

The sun is setting and the struggle is real.

Get outta here moon, you're a joke! 

You should have let me know you were stopping by, the place is a mess! 

With all the asteroids out there, they should have named it the Snickers Galaxy. 

Draggin' that shutter and zoomin' on in. Getting all sorts of abstract in here. 

Ever seen a turkey fly? Me neither. Saw about 40 of them. Not sure who put them all the way up here. 

To the bat cave!

Warning: getting artsy fartsy again. This time playing with the North Star and dragging the shutter for 20 minutes.

Campsite for the night. Nice little lake right there buddy.

Drove 4.5 hours North to Great Basin National Park. The goal was to see some pinion pines at the 10,000 foot mark. The reality was that I wouldn't make it much farther than 8,000 feet. Regardless, I want to give a shoutout to Great Basin for keeping the park free of excessive commercialization and  regulation. With so many of their dirt roads and campgrounds closed, they allowed me to drive as far as I could, park wherever, hike wherever and camp wherever (fo free!). For $2, I was able to rent snowshoes and even borrow them overnight. Even with snowshoes, the hiking was extremely rough. They've got about 3-4 feet of snow and I was sinking in up to my knees, even with the snowshoes. Made it 2 or 3 miles before I was completely beat and decided to setup camp. It got down to about 5 degrees at night but felt comfortable with a roaring fire and a snow barrier around my sleeping bag. Since hiking farther up the next day was out of the question, I decided to do a Lehman Cave tour instead. It was only $10 for a 90 minute tour of the cave, which is another testament to the awesomeness of this park. After the tour I headed south to find a warmer place to camp. A nature preserve in Alamo NV proved to be more than sufficient. The night skies in the middle of Nevada were incredible. I'm back in Vegas for the time being.

Red Rock, You Never Cease To Amaze

We hiked up high enough to experience some light snow flurries.

Incoming fog. Trying to channel my inner Ansel. 

The sun poked through for a good 10 minutes.

One of those moments when the landscape is so beautiful that it's impossible to look away. 

The setting sun enveloped the mountains in a blanket of gold.

Took Drew on a mountain excursion of Red Rock. The clouds made for a very chilly day, but also provided some incredibly surreal views. Can't really ask for much more than that.

Arizona Hot Springs

Been climbing at Red Rocks the last few days. Given some morning rain, climbing was out of the question since it greatly compromises the strength of the sandstone. Today I joined the Colorado crew for a trek to the Arizona Hot Springs. Much cleaner and hotter water at this spring compared to Gold Strike Hot Springs. The pools ranged from about 110 degrees down to around 80. Great adventure.

Day 365 - The Year-Long Project Is Finished! Happy New Year!

Keepin' it real classy at the Boulder Station Casino.

The view of the downtown fireworks from Boulder Station. Neat, but a little too far away to be amazed.

Had a quiet New Years Eve day with the extended family, then met up with my Colorado friends once they flew into the city. Since downtown would have been a nightmare, we stayed near their motel at Boulder Station Casino. It was a low key but fun way to ring in 2016. We were able to get to the top of the parking garage to watch the fireworks go off downtown. It was my first New Year spent outside of New England which felt strange... Almost as if I should have celebrated at 9:00, not midnight.

Also, I made it through my photo-a-day project!!! I made it through some stressful days trying to find something to post or playing catch-up, but I also felt like I grew a lot as a photographer. Being forced to have my camera on me every day, constantly in search of interesting or special moments, helped me develop a more connected awareness of everything around me (at least I hope it did). I have to admit though that I'm kind of excited that I can now leave my camera behind without stressing out about the day's photo.

Without getting sappy or anything like that, I want to thank all of you who have followed my blog throughout the project. I most likely would have quit halfway through if it weren't for all of you religiously checking the blog and sharing your thoughts, responses and compliments with me. With everyone having such busy lives, it meant a lot that you managed to find time to check in on my random and sometimes uninteresting life. It meant more than I probably expressed.

Given that I'm traveling and would love to continue to share my experiences with you, I'm going to continue to update this blog regularly, however it won't be every day. Only when I have interesting photos or want to check in and report on my vitals and whereabouts. Also, I'm kind of enjoying making videos in the Saturn as I spill or burn things so I'll probably keep those going too. 

Thank you all so much and I hope everyone has an amazing 2016 full of whatever it is that makes you happy. Miss you all very much and can't wait to see everyone again!