Chillin in Yosemitizzle.

Faithful readers:

I'm sure you've just been dying for an update. I've been pretty busy climbing the last few days, so I haven't had a chance to post anything.

It's been a killer good time so far. Camp 4 was surprisingly empty when I arrived, and at firs there weren't too many climbers running around. But people have begun to show up, and now I have a steady supply of climbing partners.

I've been doing some cragging, longer routes, and even some bouldering. I've never been much into bouldering here, but yesterday evening we ran into a big crew working on some problems, and had a lot of fun cranking with them. Then we all went to the Pizza Deck in Curry, paid way too much for beers, and had a good time.

We had a little adventure the other day - we started out on a casual climb up the Nutcracker, 5.8, and ended up getting way off route, slabbing off into nowhere on dicey terrain above bad bolts. That was the second time I got off route on that climb, which is probably in the running for one of the most obvious lines in the park. Go figure. But we went back the next day and sent in good style.

With good climbing, good weather, and meeting new people, this valley trip has been everything I was expecting so far. Geez this place is fun.

We have arrived.

And by "we" I mean "I." We even got a spot in C4 right away. Everything's still a little wet, maybe the cookie will be dry tomorrow...

But it feels good just to be here, finally.

(Edit: I went and took a better shot today to replace that bad one. Never should have posted that...)

Meet the new ride

So far, life in the Saturn has been pretty sweet. Shockingly, I can fit everything that was in the van into that little car. The Rocket Box on top of the roof rack helps quite a bit, but I still can't believe how much space I have. I completely removed the back seat, so now I can even bivy in the trunk, with my legs stretching out into my haul bag, which is positioned in what was the rear passenger seat. So basically how I'm sleeping on that ledge in the picture, but in the car...

Pretty cush, and way stealth. The only problem is climbing out of the trunk when I get up in the morning... Hard to do that while looking nonchalant.

All in all, it uses less gas, fits all my stuff, and I can still sleep in it. Why did I buy that van? Oh well.

I've been having a great time in the Bay Area this weekend, visiting friends, climbing at Touchstone, and visiting my Uncle and Aunt. But tomorrow, finally, I'm going to Yosemite. And the weather forecast looks awesome.

The van is dead.

The van broke down last night on I-15, just north of Vegas. It's a long story, and it's 2:30 in the morning, and I've been driving for like 9 hours, so I'll get into more detail in the morning. But right now, it's sitting in Pahrump, NV. And I'm back in SLC via a fast little rental car, courtesy of AAA. I'm gonna load up the trusty ol Saturn tomorrow, and continue my trip as if nothing ever happened...

Alright it's morning. Time for the full story: So there I was, cruising along on I-15, just North of Vegas, headed to LA to visit a buddy of mine. When all of a sudden, and sudden realization started to sink in: the gas pedal doesn't work any more. Crap. I pulled over, and the engine was dead. After a few failed attempts at resuscitation, I whipped out my trusty AAA card.

"Hi, it's me."

"Oh hey Kevin, is the van broken down again?"

"You bet."

"What's your 20?"

"Just outside Vegas. Send a tow, some strippers, and a shrimp cocktail."

"Shrimp's not covered under your policy. Shell fish allergy premiums spiked last year."

"Alright forget the shrimp. Just come get me."

I settled in and cooked some dinner, did some reading, and took pictures of this little critter, who came and hung out with me for almost 20 minutes. I think he was a baby coyote or something.

"Looks like your pretty broke down, mang."

"Uh yeah coyote, I'm broken down. Not sure what the problem is."
"You got gas in that ting?"

"Yeah, should be move than half full."

"Oh mang it's probably your timing chain."

"No the E250's have meshing gears, no timing chains."

"Whatever esse. Hey have you seen a delivery truck go by? I ordered a shrimp cocktail and it's been like more than an hour."

"Sorry Coyote, I haven't seen anything. But i'll let you know."

And with that, he took off into the night.

So eventually the tow truck arrives, and takes me into Vegas. At least I got to see Vegas at night, which is always impressive. He dropped me off outside a garage, and I went to sleep in the van.

In the morning we pushed her into the garage, and a few hours later I had my diagnosis.

"$1033 if it's the timing chain, $1600 if it's the cam shaft. Which it might be. *Serious look.* It might be."

"Wait, I thought the E250's didn't have a timing chain?"

"Oh. Right yeah, there's actually meshing gears. $1033 for those too. If it's those. Which it might be."

"K lemme make a few calls."

I got on the phone with my Uncle, who's rebuilt his old van a zillion times. The thing's probably a 76 or something, and I think it's been his main ride for as long as I've been alive. He agreed that the guy at the shop was probably full of it, and that I should tow it to his property, which is coincidentally 70 miles away. Even though he lives in New York.

A few hours later, I was having a really hard time keeping the rental car under 90 mph. When you're used to driving a 12 year old half ton van, a 2007 Corolla feels like a Corvette. And they're surprisingly roomy - I fit everything that was in the van, and my haul bag didn't even have to ride shot gun.

So now I'm back in SLC, getting a little work done on the Saturn, which will become my ride for the rest of this trip. It won't be as comfortable as the van, but it'll work just fine. Meanwhile the van will chill in Pahrump, NV until I can get down there to fix her with Uncle Tom.

I'm psyched to get out to California, if the gods ever will it to be.

So long, and thanks for all the splitters.

Rad sunset image of the South Six Shooter by Elliot Barcicowski.

On Saturday, we were up at the Cat Wall, having another typical day at Indian Creek. The weather was perfect, the crowds weren't bad, and we had a big posse of stoked climbers sending tons of routes. A few friends were down for the weekend and we were all enjoying ourselves.

Towards the end of the day, the shadows were creeping into the canyon, and a few folks were already cracking beers in the parking lot. I was pretty tired, but Elliot was still stoked, so we walked over to check out one final route: Desert Moon. It was one of the most beautiful hand cracks I'd seen on the whole trip - beautiful hands splitter high up on a blank face. Everyone was pretty stoked to get on the thing as the last lap of the day. Everyone except me.

It was kinda weird - since the first time I sunk my hands into a perfect sandstone splitter, I've never been able to get enough. But looking up at that crack, instead of feeling inspired to rack up and send, I just felt a little hungry and tired. I realized I was done with Indian Creek.

After climbing hundreds, if not thousands of feet of the best cracks in the world, I'm ready for something new. In the fall I'll probably be super stoked to get back out in the desert sand and sun, but for now, I'm calling it quits.

But the timing couldn't be better! Yosemite is just about in season, so I'm heading West on Friday. I'll visit some friends and family in the Bay Area, then motor out to the valley to begin the next chapter of this trip.

Tomorrow, I'll hit the two month mark for this trip. So far, it's been incredible.

A final shot from Indian Creek

This will probably be the last Indian Creek photo you'll see on the blog for a while. Stay tuned for the change of venue...

Adam getting some goodness on Scarface.

Every Other Orange

Check out this blog, every other orange, by Porscha Doucette.

She's a Salt Lake climber, takes really good pictures, and has a way with words as well. Good stuff!

More LCC bouldering

I've been having fun over the past few days climbing locally, and I'm slowing rediscovering the joys of bouldering in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Wandering around yesterday, we ran into a posse of pretty strong climbers - some of em were locals, but some were traveling. I was a little surprised to hear that Little Cottonwood was a destination for boulderers on the road. I guess sometimes it's easy to take the climbing in your back yard for granted. Especially if it's bouldering, and you're not really a boulderer.

I also finally found a problem that really appeals to me. Well two of em, actually - a 3 and a 4. Scott's styling the V4 in that photo to the left. Most of LCC bouldering is heinous, slopey, and painful. But here's a problem that actually has good edges, and good feet. Shocking, I know. Too bad I was just resting / taking pics yesterday. I'll have to go back and give that thing a try.

After messing around a little on that boulder, we hiked way up to Prime Rib with the crew. It's a pretty stout problem so I had no illusions of trying it, but the guys were nice enough to let me take a few pictures of them working on it. Ethan is climbing, and Issac is spotting.

Good times bumming around in LCC...

Beautiful day in BCC

I always forget how much I love climbing in Big Cottonwood Canyon. You could ask for a better crag 15 minutes from your house, but then you'd be getting greedy. I know it's not the best stone in the world, but there are so many good routes hiding up in it's chossy looking cliffs.

I met up with Adam and Genevieve in the parking lot, and we started out with a visit to the Psychobabble wall. This was a perfect choice cause it was pretty crowded in the canyon, but I've never seen anyone else up at Psychobabble. It's probably because the routes are stout, and the approach is a little hairball. Naturally I was wearing flip flops, which makes the fourth class approach pretty exciting.

Adam sent Psychostemmatic in good style, and I got a beat down from Psychobabble. Must have tried that crux sequence 6 different times. Too bad I didn't get it until attempt #7, after a hang...

Then we headed down to the Slips, and got Genevieve on her first lead. I always love getting people out on lead for their first time, and Genevieve handled it with aplomb. She can count the amount of climbing days she's had on one hand, and she's absolutely killing it. This chica will be muy fuerte very soon.

A quick clipping lesson...







Then she floats her first lead with no hesitation.

A little change of scenery...

If there's one place in the lower 48 that's the exact opposite of the quiet, dry, dusty Utah desert, it's probably Disney World in Orlando, Florida. And I'm in a unique position to make that judgment - I doubt too many climbers have spent a few weeks in the desert, and then have all of a sudden been blasted out to the heat of Florida for a week-long vacation. The two destinations are not exactly on the same circuit.

But I was there this past week, running around in the Magic Kingdom, lounging on the beach, and hanging out with the family. The usual hilarity ensued when a bunch of us get together - people got lost, others were forced to do "I'm a little teapot" renditions in front of an entire restaurant, and I got sent on a few henchman missions to steal lounge chairs from other groups on the too-crowded pool deck. My mother set a breakneck pace, determined to see every attraction at every park we visited. With drill sergeant precision, she plotted a course on her map and kept us all in line. It was brutal.

All in all it was a blast, and a great break from the climbing bum lifestyle. My hands had a brief chance to heal, and I'm ready to go back and hit the desert with full force.

Meanwhile I'm in SLC, because the transmission on the van died. It's gonna set me back about $1200, which I'm not too psyched about, but what can you do. It should be fixed by Tuesday, at which point it's back to the desert!