May catchup post

Some more shots of the Mammoth Lakes hot springs:

 Friday 6 May 2011

Snowboard with Martin and Neva. They gave us free passes, which saves us $90 for the day.  I've only been on the mountain less than a handful of times, but I'm getting better.  It helps that both Neva and Martin are instructors!  They took me on a narrow run down the mountain which forced me to control my turns a lot more than on the wide runs I've been going down.  A steep drop to the left and a mountain on the right forced me to get good fast!  After that run I tried to concentrate on standing upright to save my back and get more control, and focus down the slope instead of looking at the end of my board.  By the last run I was tired and sore, but doing shallower turns in between the slashing sweeps that slowed my descent.

Saturday 7 May 2011

Boulder at the Sads.  I didn't take to it as well as I did to the Happys, although the rock is more like that area than the Buttermilks.

A couple of shots from the 'Iron Man Traverse' (V4) at the Buttermilks

 'Evilution' super-highball on the Grandpa Peabody boulder

Sunday 8 May 2011

Climb at Dilithium Crystal crag at the Inner Crag of Owen's River Gorge.  "Lieutenant Uhura" 5.11c o/s (very cool long pumper!), "Photon Torpedo" 5.11b o/s.  Try to onsight "Enterprise" - a very sweet little roof 5.12b - but fall off after the lip moves.  Not much time to rest before another try, as it's time to hike out and head home, so I fall off again at the same spot.  Would be great to get back down to this awesome area before we leave.

Monday 9 May 2011

Snowboard - last day!  Got confidence now to go through the trees on my way down the slope.  Only hit one!  Most of the run down the snow is banked up against the trees, so I'm able to slow down and turn sharp, unlike the main runs which are groomed to an even gradient.  Dodging obstacles adds something to the experience.  I'm sure I'd get bored running the same easier wide pistes, so to change things up there are the steeper Double Black Diamond runs or there are the trees.  I'll take the easier tree runs thanks!

Tuesday 10 May 2011

Climb at Dilithium Crystal again.  Send "Enterprise" with no trouble this time.

 Although the previously-unexplored headwall was a little spicy!

Try neighbouring 12d "Not For Sale" and get all moves no trouble first time.  Pumpy roof to a long gaston move to lip, with hard and tensiony core moves needed to get across.  Have one more shot before we have to leave, but fall off on gaston move.  Feels easy for 12d even though I couldn't send.  No time this trip to get back on it.

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Drive from Mammoth Lakes to Las Vegas with Vren as a passenger.  He's a climbing guide working in Mammoth Lakes, Bishop and Las Vegas.  Camp above Las Vegas on the Blue Diamond mountain. 

Thursday 12 May 2011

Drive from Las Vegas to Kingman.  Find out that diff. has leaked all oil out.  Call AAA and get towed to repair shop.  $800 to replace rear axel assembly - housing is cracked.  Stay at Motel 6 overnight.  Hopefully this is the last big expense I have to deal with on the van, but I doubt it.  Thanks the risk with buying a 5 year old car I guess.

Friday 13 May 2011

Pick up van from garage and drive to Flagstaff.  No more problems on the way back.

Saturday 14 May 2011

Climb at the Pit.  Jumped on "No Joke" again but didn't do very well.  Considering giving up on it, as I only have a few days left in Flagstaff.

Monday 16 May 2011

Climb at the Pit.  Flash "Sister of Mercy" 5.12c (Ewbanks grade 26) - easy face to hard little roof; juggy deep undercling 2 finger pocket to a high half-pad 2 finger sharp crimp over lip, hard move to small sharp crimp, big move to small sharp crimp, match, high foot, pull up and get feet above lip, then easy to top.  Short crux that would be hard to onsight, but with pre-inspection from a neighbouring route I saw that it would be ok, so long as I moved fast.  Not sure if soft for the grade, but definitely not sustained.  "God Walks Among Us" 5.12b 2nd shot.  Awesome bouldery short route with very cool moves.  Sustained for the whole route.  This wall is all very cool.  Many short hard routes to try, and all so accessible!

Tuesday 17 May 2011

Climb at the pit.  Another 3 goes on "No Joke" 5.13a/b.  First shot was the best; linked from the ground all the way to the rest, but couldn't get through the high crux.  Was advised some better beta for that crux by a local, but I couldn't get to the rest the next 2 times.  Cleaned the route.  There are a couple other 13a's that I may have more success on that I should try before I leave.

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Modify stick clip, modify Nalgene, buy foam to make bed for van.  Snowing and cold today (In late May!), so can't go outside.  Can't climb at the Pit for the next couple of days, and Monday I leave for Canada, so no time left to send "No Joke".  Felt closer last time, but I think it would still take more days than I have left to send it.

Friday 20 May 2011

Climb at the Pit.  Send "Fresh Squeezed" 5.13a 2nd shot!  Very short bouldery route (4 clips including chains) with a hard low crux and sustained boulder finish.  Tried a 12c called "Excalibur", but I'm low on power after doing the 13.  Couldn't send after 5 shots of trying.  The people I'm staying with in Flagstaff threw me a going away party, and many of the locals I've met and climbed with came to wish me well.  Great party!

Sunday 22 May 2011

Mike came home from fighting a fire in New Mexico.  Went to a new bouldering area which BK, Sweeney and Matt Hoak found and cut a track to.  Cleaned and tried a bunch of new lines.  Played Croquet with Dustin, Julie, Christine, Megan, Mike and Patty in the park.  Tomorrow looks like I'll get one more day of climbing in at the Pit with Mike and Patty, then do some shopping for the trip North.

Finally a new post!

Friday 22 April 2011

Climb at the Pit with Lori, a five foot Flagstaff local who boulders V10 (!).  Easy warmups plus do 'Purple Shark' (5.12a) again, then try the 'Joker' (5.12c) into 'Total Recall' (5.13c).  Doing this linkup ('No Joke' I think its called?) makes for a very cool 5.13a/b.  Did all the moves, but some were very hard to do off the rope, so on link I think they will be beyond me right now.  Still, a good one to train on.

Went out to Priest Draw bouldering area at night, to a camping spot nearby, and attended a going away party of some friends of BK and Lori.  Some guys decided that, see as I am a foreigner and not accustomed to the traditions of this country, I should do my first keg stand.  Needless to say, my performance was sub-par compared to the Australian stereotype!  7 seconds is apparently equal to that of a pre-teen girl, or so I was told.  They even pumped slower for me!  For me drinking comes way down the list in priorities, well after climbing, so I eased off the booze and retired to the van ready for a day of bouldering tomorrow.

Saturday 23 April 2011

Climb at Priest Draw after a very long breakfast with BK and Lori.  Tried a very cool problem called 'Wife Beater' apparently V8.  I hopped off the ground (instead of doing it static to start) and topped out, so I didn't really climb it properly, but I could do the start move fine so I'm sure I could send it.  Hard to believe it's V8 if I can do it in an hour.  Apparently the original beta is much harder than the way I was shown, so I guess that's why the grade feels off.


Dinner at Beaver Street Brewery with some bouldering friends.  I was refused bar service because I could not produce a US driver's licence or a passport!  They wouldn't accept my Australian driver's licence, and when I questioned why they couldn't just use common sense and see I was over 21 they fed me some bullshit about liquor licencing laws and so on.  Ridiculous!

Sunday 24 April 2011

Easter BBQ with some friends.  Fantastic food, great company!  Overindulged of course, but I think I can work it off at the Pit tomorrow.

Monday 25 April 2011

Climb at the Pit.  Try "No Joke" 5.13a again and refine beta a little, but still feel miles away from sending.  Left draws hanging, so will have to get back on it before we leave for Bishop later this week.  I don't have any pics of me trying it, so here's a stock photo!

Tuesday 26 April 2011

Buy snowboard.  Yay!  Also helmet, goggles, boots and bindings.  All set to rip it up!

Thursday 28 April 2011

Take draws off "No Joke" 5.13a - couldn't get through the first part of the crux on redpoint.  Will have to wait until I get back from Bishop.  Hopefully I can get stronger there and send it when I get back.

Friday 29 April 2011

Climb at the Upper Owen's River Gorge with Patty and some of her local friends. The style of climbing there is similar in some ways to the quarry climbing back home, and the grades are a lot stiffer than Red Rocks and Flagstaff.  Onsighted an 11d but didn't try anything harder.  Did an awesome 10c with a cool roof move, and fell off an 11a (!) First 11 I've fallen off of in long time!  Misread the crux sequence and couldn't make it go any other way than the obvious sequence that I only saw sitting on the rope.

Saturday 30 April 2011

Climb at a very small crag near Mammoth with Patty and her local friend Jen.  Some granite routes up to 11a.

Sunday 1 May 2011

Snowboard on Mammoth Mountain. New board is great!  Change stance from 15 degree duckfoot to a little over 0 degree duckfoot; seems to have made a little difference.  Getting S turns better on gentle slopes, but still not confident on steeper stuff.  Looking forward to doing some riding with some of Patty's instructor friends so they can give me some tips.

Monday 2 May 2011

Boulder at the Happys down at Bishop.  Do a couple of V3 problems quickly, plus a few other warmups.  A V4 called "Big Chicken", a V6 called "Incredible Hulk", and a V5 called "Serengetti".  Fantastic bouldering!  Here is a sequence of shots from Hulk:

 The crux move; toe hook in pocket and throw back over head to "The Boss"

And a few shots of Serengetti:

 Left foot heel hook above the head is very important!

 Bad left hand hold, and ordinary right hand sloper

The throw to the jug; feet cut off.  Very satisfying!

Camp out at "Wild Willies" hot spring, with pizza and wine.  The spring is a magical place to sit and soak, and relax after a hard day's climbing.  A shame so many other people feel the same way!  At least there were no nudies there!

Tuesday 3 May 2011

Wake up and have coffee and fruit with a view of the Eastern Sierras, a lake and the hot spring.  Beautiful warm morning!

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Boulder at the Buttermilks.  Onsight an unknown V3 and flash a V4 called "Iron Man Traverse".  Tried some other problems including a cool V5 "Go Granny Go" on the Grandma Peabody boulder, but didn't send anything else cool.  Checked out some of the hard classics "Mandala", "Evilution", "The Buttermilker".  Hard to see how anyone could get up these problems.  The holds are so small!






Thursday 5 may 2011

Climb at Upper Owen's River Gorge with Patty, Martin and Neva again.  Onsight an awesome 5.11b with a cool roof, and try a tricky 12c arete but couldn't do all moves, let alone send it.  Tomorrow snowboarding again!  I think we'll stay for another week, then head back to Flagstaff.  I'll stay there for a week, then I'd better start the journey up to Canada so I can fly across to France for the bro's wedding.  Should be an awesome drive, albeit a long one, but I'm giving myself almost 2 weeks to do it in case I have car trouble.

Catchup post

24 - 26 March 2011
Climb at Indian Creek - Battle of the Bulge, Donnelly Canyon, and Way Rambo cliffs.  Lots of falling off 5.10 routes!  Getting schooled here.  Highlight was "Blue Sun" (5.10-) classic hands splitter climbed onsight.  Needed to borrow a few extra cams for it.  I used 5 yellow and 3 blue C4s!  Tried "Way Rambo" (5.12-) on top-rope, but it was too thin at the top for me.

27 - 29 March 2011
Climb around Flagstaff, at the Pit and at Jack's Canyon near Winslow.  Climbed a few 5.11 routes onsight, so developing a base there it seems.  Did a drilled 5.12b in a few shots at Jacks canyon - called "Honed Improvement" (ha!) - lots of routes there are chipped, even the easier ones.

30 March - 3 April 2011
Climb back at Red Rocks.  Tried to get on "Epinepherine" with Mel and Emil, but the route was too busy.  Tried a 5.12a sport pitch in the canyon, and it was very cool, but way harder than any other 12a I've tried here so far.  Tried to get on "Epinepherine" again the next day, this time with a French-Canadian guy called Jean-Michel.  Again we came up against too many parties already on the route for us to do it.  Instead we went to another canyon and did "Black Orpheus".  ran out of water before the top and it was very hot in the sun, so it was a hard day.  We did about 6 hours of hiking all told today!  Hiked down to the car in the dark.

Sent "The Trophy" 5.12b/c first shot, after a few shots last trip to Red Rocks.  Cool route, with one big move that proved to be the crux.

Climbed at Alternative Crag in the Calico Basin - did a soft 5.12b second shot and flashed a 12a.  Also sent a V5 traverse in quick time.  A friend from Flagstaff ticked a 5.13a/b second shot - cool to see!  Especially since he spent the drive back to Flagstaff suffering from food poisoning and vomiting all the way!

 Turtle on the way to Alternative Crag

5 - 7 April 2011
Enchanted Tower in New Mexico.  Nice drive across from Flagstaff for the long weekend.  Did some easy stuff and onsight an 11d (soft).  I'm beginning to think many areas here have soft routes; either that or the grade conversion I'm using is off!  I'm sure when I hit the old school areas like Owens River Gorge, Yosemite, and Joshua Tree I'll get back on track with the grades.  Just like Indian Creek!  Did "David" - the 5.12c first half of "Goliath" (13a) second shot.  Almost onsighted it!  Maybe it's the style, but I found it very very soft for 26.  Tried the full 13a route a few times over the weekend, and got very close (one hang), but couldn't get the redpoint.  Didn't feel 28, but then again I didn't send so I can't say now can I?

 The Enchanted Tower

Friday 8 April 2011
Spend day inside in Flagstaff - snowing!  Cold.  12 inches of snow overnight.  Snowboarding tomorrow!

Saturday 9 April 2011
Snowboarding at the Arizona Snowbowl - last weekend of the season, and luckily Flagstaff got a foot of snow last night!  Conditions up on the mountain are perfect!  Learned the theory on the chairlift before we got off on the "Death Ramp"!!  Didn't fall somehow, so when we got the start of the cat track before the piste we stopped to tighten the bindings and prepare for the run down.  I joined the "Heel-Edge Mafia" - staying facing down the slope and with the board square so I couldn't pick up too much speed, and slowly sliding down the slope.  From there I learned to control the toe-side, then into the 's' technique.  Lots of falls later I was at the bottom and ready to hit the chair lift for the top again!  By the end of 5 runs I was exhausted and couldn't go again, so we bailed for beer and pizza.  I think I got the hang of it ok, even getting up the nerve to accummulate some speed before trying to self-arrest without falling down.  Almost got it!  By the end I was aggressively switching from heel to toe on the gentler slopes.

 Mike digging out his van

 My van is back there under snow!

 Upright

Still upright and loving it!

Sunday 10 April 2011
Climb at "Isolation Gorge" with Patty and Jennel.  Flash a 12a and do some easier routes.  Different rock here than at the Pit or Jacks.  Similar in style to the quarries, kind of.  Lots of incut edges though, rather than the upside-down edges I'm used to back home.  A bit of a newer area, so no crowds and not that much development - certainly nothing harder than 12a.

Monday 11 April 2011
Climb at "Priest's Draw", a bouldering spot near the Pit, with Jennel, Patty and Mike.  Almost sent "Anorexic" V6.  Need to get back on it at some stage, because I think I can do it.

Tuesday 12 April 2011
Climb at The Pit with Patty, Mike, Kym and Craig.  Onsight a couple of 12a routes, as well as have 2 shots on "The Joker" 5.12c.  Long route with a pumpy pre-crux, but there are no real hard moves on it.  Plus there are lots of great rests along the way.  Just my kind of route!

Wednesday 13 April 2011
Pilfered 6 milk crates for the van.  Bought wood to make the bed, and started planning the layout.  Going to have a fixed platform taking up half the space, and a removable one next to it.  Milk crates underneath for support, as well as some posts.

Thursday 14 April 2011
Priest Draw with Mike.  Sent "Anorexic" V6.  Couldn't do MOAB (V4), although I got through the whole roof crack until the mantle crack finish.  can't believe I punted off there!  Cool line though.  (M.O.A.B. = Mother Of All Boulderproblems)

Friday 15 April 2011
Work on the van.  Cover the chipboard with canvas and glue carpet to the top side.  Screw 6 posts to the bottom of one, and make 3 free-standing posts for the other side.

Saturday 16 April 2011
Sent "The Joker" 12c at The Pit in 3 shots total.  Went to a guy's birthday party and met some local climbers there.  Arrange to go climbing with a few of them over Easter around Flagstaff.

Sunday 17 April 2011
Jacks.  Onsight a 12a, some easier stuff, and do a 12a in 5 shots at the end of the day.  Tried a 12d a few times but the dyno was a bit scary.  Ended up hitting the wall below pretty hard on the swing, and a couple of times I swung in head first because of the way I came off the dyno hold.  Need a helmet and a dynamic belay!

Monday 18 April 2011
Work on the van - complete the bed and sort out arrangement of gear in crates.  Ready for the trip to Mammoth, almost.  A few fine-tuning adjustments and it should be all sweet.  Make a stick-clip out of a painters pole, an alligator clamp and a couple of hose clamps.  Cheaper than a squid, but not as easy to use for removing draws.  Works fine though, and cost about $14 total.  Squids are $30 plus the pole.

The (almost) finished product

Indian Creek

Tuesday 22 March 2011

Best day of crack climbing so far!  Learning the business now.  Onsight ascent of 'Puma' 511+ (was originally 5.12-), a gorgeous splitter finger crack on a gently sloping-to-vertical varnished wall with a few face holds for the feet every now and again.

It was desperate and I got pumped silly and ready to pitch off a body length and a bit above the last bit of protection right near the top.  The last bit of gear was the smallest Alien cam they make - Emil said "you got balls to go for it above such a baby little cam!" but i wasn't thinking of the lack of good pro - there were many good pieces between me and the ground, and I could see the finish!  Good fingerlocks narrowed into tips and I had to layback and throw my crimping fingers onto the nearly face FOOTHOLDS to avoid falling.  It was touch and go, but I pulled into the clipping stance for the chains and let out an exhausted sigh of relief.  I even clipped the second anchor with only a toe hook holding me in!  Awesome line and a fantastically satisfying effort!

We did a few other routes with good jambs and poor jambs, notably a thin hands splitter 5.10 that I nearly fell on but managed to grunt through, a cruisy 5.9+ with a weird offwidth section that had a bomber hand jamb in the back seemingly out of reach, and a lovely flake which Emil lead that had great fist and hand jambs for ages.

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Rest day.  Ha!  On the way into Moab we went to a local bouldering spot Emil knows of, and now my tips are just as shredded as back in Red Rocks where we were cranking on crimps for days!  Some good but sandbagged lines there to fall off, and a couple just easy enough for me to top out on.  Emil sent a couple of V4s that looked and felt harder than most boulders I've tried!  Then we filled all out water (for the next few days out at Indian Creek) up at a natural spring just out of town, then into Moab for lunch, internet and laundry.

 One very cold night!

 Tape gloves - good for a few days

Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedona, Jerome, Indian Creek

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Took the Desert View road on my way to Flagstaff so I could check out more of the Grand Canyon on the way  Every scenic pullover had a very basic tin shack with Native American art for sale.  The drive to Flagstaff from the Grand Canyon is very pretty, with the changes from desert to pine forests and back to desert, and rock towers interspersed with vast tracts of seemingly barren landscape.  There are herds of livestock here and there, and old loading yards and fencing.  There are loads of junk piles (old machinery and cars mostly, plus many old caravans) along the way.

I arrived in Flagstaff, Arizona in the evening, so after a quick tour of town i went to Collins Irish Pub for dinner and drinks.  The barman Jeff was an informative character and interesting to talk to, as were Keirsten and Lindsay - two young and very politically motivated local girls - and a retired electrician.  We talked politics and immigration into the night and compared similarities and differences between Australia and the USA.

I spent the night in the Walmart carpark, where there were lots of trailers and motorhomes.  It's good to know that I can always resort to good old Walmart if I'm short of a place to stay on the road!

Thursday 17 March 2011

St Patricks Day.  Drove to Sedona (hippy place - lots of Crystals, tarot cards, readings, and - thankfully - proper espresso coffee!) and Jerome (cool mountain town with interesting copper and prostitution history!).

 Jerome sights and history

The night was spent drinking (a lot) at various pubs in Flagstaff.  I met a few cool local and out-of-town Americans, but no-one to write home about in detail.  Sleep in good old Walmart carpark again!

Friday 18 March 2011

Drive to Moab (Utah) and pick up some supplies for Indian Creek.  Check out the town, and McDonalds for internet.  Camp at Indian Creek, in the Bridger Jack campground in the Beef Basin.

Saturday 19 March 2011

Emil and Mel arrived at Indian Creek late afternoon; I had spent the whole day eating and reading in the van!  It was a shitty day weather-wise, blowing a gale all day and sending the dust through the campground.  Real desert conditions!

Sunday 20 March 2011

Supercrack Buttress.  The business of crack climbing school begins!  Over to you Master Emil.  Show us how!  No Scotty, you're lead FIRST.  That's it.  No tutorial, no beta to copy.  Just take the sharp end and climb buddy.  If someone gives you the rope you fucken just climb mate!  Ok off we go - 'Incredible Hand Crack' (5.10).  What else would you start on?  Incredible for sure, but wide hands for skinny-wristed me.  Especially the bulge!  Roof climbing almost, with a wall at your right side to lean against as you thrutch (the only word for what I was doing, really!) up up and ever up.  Didn't fall, so job well done!  Onsight 5.10 but barely.  And the grade conversion to Ewbanks?  Grade 18 WTF!?  So hard!  Sandbaggers!  Got my firswt desert gobie (no tape gloves) on the back of the hand - a nice big raw skinless spot from the sandstone friction.  Hairy hand or no hairy hand, tomorrow I tape!

 'Incredible Hand Crack' - note the varnish worn off the wall from climber's butts!

Did the 5.9 "Twin Cracks" and found it ok, really only because I didn't have to jamb the feet so much.  Then an unknown approx. 5.10 that spat me out and had me hit my head on the wall because I was concentrating on not hitting a sharp fin below.  Ouch!  We got a bleeder!  And where is your helmet Scotty?  Um in the van... oops!  Next time I'll wear it!  But next climb, when I did wear it (next day), I fell backwards and my feet got stuck in the crack!  There was some slack in the rope and I pivoted back 180 degrees around my jammed feet and slammed into the wall arse-first!  Double ouch!  Feels like I got kneed in the buttock on the footy feild like back in school.  I need an arse helmet.  Emil suggested I should carry a pillow back there.

Next on the list was, of course, "Supercrack" aka "Super crack of the Desert" aka "Luxury Liner".  Hands to wide hands splitter for over 100 feet.  It was too wide for me halfway up, and I bailed off it for Emil to finish.  Of course he styled it, and we were done for the day.

Monday 21 March 2011

Emil suggested I apply toilet paper the the hairy backs of my hands, then tape over it.  This way they would be easy to remove.  Smart man.  So with fresh tape gloves I attacked the cracks with renewed vigor!  Sadly the technique was still not quite up to scratch and I flailed about again.  Aside from the arse injury, I avoided any other significant mishaps.  Learning the Black Diamond Camalot sizes that correspond to good sizes of crack for my hand size to jamb well.  'Green meanies' are rattly fingers and ringlocks, and maybe thin thin hands for Mel; the red #1 cams are thin hands for me; gold #2 - if not tipped out - are slammer hands for me, and the blue #3 size is cupping (horrible for me!).  I'm learning to judge the size from the ground and prepare for the size before climbing.  I don't want a repeat of Red Rocks where I took the wrong size gear!

The End of Red Rocks and on to the Gand Canyon

This is the kind of reading material on offer at the Red Rocks canyon visitor's centre:

 

A couple of interesting signs around Vegas:

 

Nothing to see here.  Just sharpening my knife as i drive along the street!

Some climbing shots:

Hoover dam:

Grand Canyon: