Utah Is Still Awesome

Met up with the Gudmand family in Moab, Utah. We spent the first day together exploring Canyonlands National Park. T'was a wonderful day walking next to sheer cliffs and scaring the parents.

We saw a large chunk of the park in record time so we decided to make a quick visit to Arches National Park to see the Window Arches and the Double Arch. The Double Arch is one of my favorites in the park.

The next day we got permits to hike around the Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park. It's an area I haven't been to yet (probably because you have to pay a small fee) and it was an awesome time. It's a large area of fins, canyons, arches and towers. There's a vague path that you follow but you're encouraged to go off route and explore the endless side canyons and dead-ends. It was awesome.

Then Wid, Lynn and Peter left for the Salt Lake City airport. Christian and I then had 2 days to make our way to the Vegas airport. It was a good opportunity to show him one of my favorite camping spots in Utah. It's a canyon that meets up with the Green River. There's a road that goes all the way to the bottom of the canyon and ends up at a grove of cottonwood trees. It's a beautiful place with little to no tourists (expect the occasional ATV).

Unfortunately we woke up the next day to a flat tire. We threw the donut tire on and prayed we'd make it back out of the canyon on the treacherous and steep dirt road. And of course the Saturn delivered. So we drove into Moab so I could buy a new set of tires (I had zero tread left anyway...).

Then we drove 5 or 6 hours to St. George and camped in a really nice forest.

On the day of Christian's flight we drove the rest of the way to the Vegas area and explored Lake Mead and the Colorado River. The water was cold but a cleansing was warmly welcomed.

After I dropped Christian off at the airport I drove back north to Zion National Park to meet my friend Corey. The next day we climbed some routes in the park: a 3-pitch trad 5.10 and a 2-pitch sport 5.11. They were both stellar climbs! Here's a shot of the sport route. It follows the arete between the dark and light colored rock. The climbing and the views were both spectacular.

That night we camped near the Kolob Canyon entrance of Zion. Decent sunset...

Then we climbed at the Namaste Wall. It's a beautiful red and black streaked overhanging wall full of huecos. It's unlike any other rock that I've climbed on.

Now we're both driving to Colorado to climb at Shelf Rd for the weekend with a big group of Colorado folks.

Cheers!

Back To Utah

Per usual Bishop has been awesome. Sometimes you even wake up to rainbows in front of the Sierras.

And sometimes your friends encourage you to dumpster dive. I've been wanting to get into it for a while but haven't had the confidence to start. My first dive was a huge success: cookies, danishes, muffins and 15 loaves of sourdough bread. Been giving away bread left and right!

I also bailed for the first time on a 5.9... It's a corner offwidth called Pratt's crack. I didn't have big enough gear to protect some sections and decided to just come down instead of going for it. Nice and humbling experience.

And then I did what I thought would never happen.. I left Bishop! I've got obligations back home and need to start working back East. Plus Christian and his family will be in Utah and it would be great to see them all.

I was going to slowly make my way to Utah then I ended up driving 12 hours straight to Indian Creek with the hopes of meeting up with friends from Colorado. Unfortunately they were leaving the day I got there, but I quickly made plenty of new friends instead. Two of them being a Canadian couple that Camille and I met in Mexico!

The cacti are in full bloom now and they're stunning.

For 5 days we climbed, trying lots of classics, easy and hard. My body is worked! We also setup a fixed line on Dos Hermanos so I could practice jumaring and photographing from above. I had forgotten how much fun it was and hope to have additional opportunities in the near future.

This photo epitomizes camping in the Creek... Looking good Jaron.

The 3 Canadians: Jaron, Steven and Karell (and Moonshine).

I've left the Creek to spend a few days with the Gudmands, probably exploring Canyonlands and Arches. Then driving Christian to the airport in Vegas!

Car Cooking: Tempeh Reuben Sandwich

Watch me butcher a vegetarian version of a classic sandwich...

Swimming Pools and Alpine Hiking

Yep, still in Bishop! And it's still good. 

Explored some of the swimming holes the other day. There's several of them along the Owens River and they're really nice. It's finally warm enough to swim in them comfortably. Guess I can stop going to the church in town for free showers!

On another day I realized I hadn't done any hiking in the area yet. I tried to hike the Bishop Pass Trail, but the road was closed. So then I tried driving to North Lake and that road was closed also, but closed much closer to the trailhead. So I hiked along the road for a mile in a tolerable level of snow. Then hit an intolerable level of snow... I post-holed my way to the end of Sabrina Lake for a nice view and hauled out of there before my toes fell off. Might invest in some snow shoes soon...

And more climbing. Like trying to send this boulder in flip-flops. I couldn't do it, but managed to send it barefoot instead. It was a proud accomplishment.

Still spending my rest days working on my website. It might be ready soon!

Sport and Trad, Tuff and Granite

Warning: I've done nothing but rock climb all week.

Sorry if you're getting tired of climbing photos...

With warmer weather I joined some new friends for a day climbing in Pine Creek Canyon. Still some snow in areas but the rock was all dry.

3 of us spent the entire day climbing a single pitch. To be fair, the pitch is 180 feet tall... And it's a beauty. Think crack traverses, hand jams, laybacks and a chimney finish. All the stars!

Sheila [5.10a/b]

Here you can see Sarah belaying at the base, and Eric almost at the anchors way up there.

And here's Belyn and Brian climbing a classic 4-pitch route, Rites of Spring [5.10d].

With warmer weather and less wind, a fire was finally possible. The almost full moon was lighting up the tablelands and the Sierras magnificently. 

Professional climber Katie Lambert gave a talk/slideshow at the brewery in town. It was awesome hearing her tell all sorts of fun and exciting climbing stories.

Sometimes the sunsets in Bishop are worthy of taking cell phone photos while driving...

Another day in Owens River Gorge. Tried out a classic line in the Eldorado Roof with Brian: Looney Binge [5.12c]. While all the moves are doable, the endurance required for this line is unfathomable.

Ran into Dave and Jasmin, whom Camille and I had met and climbed with down in Mexico. So I spent a day climbing with them in an area called Little Egypt, which is known for hard crack climbing on somewhat sharp, crystally granite. We got physically worked! And it felt great!

Porch hanging with new friends while watching the sun set behind the Sierras is one of those moments that makes you wonder why you would ever want to leave a place like this.