The Return of the King

And so now it is time for the ever popular marathon blog after a dry stint of non-posting. A lot of things have changed...some good, some bad. All in all, life has been life as usual and I have been blessed enough to continue living outside the realm of the supposed real world and persist in exploring all that is climbing.

After leaving Hueco, I returned to San Diego as a sort of home base to recharge my monetary situation and to pursue my next step in life. I have been setting at the gym in San Diego, Vertical Hold, and trying my darnedest to continue to put up great routes. We have gotten a ton of new holds recently, which has helped a lot. We added a top out to our already extensive boulder and have been slowly trying to modernize the facility as it is one of the older gyms in the country. It is kind of difficult to deal with being so entrenched in the gym culture sometimes as I just wish I could say what is really on my mind and how I think things should be done; but as far as gyms go, Vertical Hold is an awesome place to work and climb in between outdoor excursions. Good crew, good holds, and, of course, some pretty darned good setters.

Also, I have started working for a small hold company based out of San Diego called Bomber Holds. Check us out at www.bomberholds.com. The owner/shaper/pourer/sander/manager/boss Jason is a super cool guy and has some pretty awesome shapes. It has been really cool working with him and gaining a whole new understanding of the hold making process from start to finish and seeing the other end of the business of the gym industry. There are other great hold manufacturers out there, of course, but I have been really psyched on being a part of Bomber Holds because the shapes are awesome and range from jugs to miserable, the company values are right on target with what they, in my opinion, should be, and the quality of the holds is, well, bomber.

Other than that, it has been business as usual. Despite being a temporary urbanite with semi-real jobs, I have made a concerted effort to get out and climb as much as possible. I was lucky enough to finally make to Bishop in March; which I was told was unseasonably cold this year. I.e. conditions were amazing...but it sure was cold and windy. The Buttermilks were hands down some of the most aesthetic climbing I have had the pleasure of laying hands to. Big, proud boulders nestled in the foothills of the snow-capped Eastern Sierras with lines on them ranging from easy to impossible and crimpy as hell to atrociously slopey.

Despite their beauty and climbability, this Southern boy still has to say that I much prefer the Happys and Sads to the Buttermilks. The Happys/Sads are all other worldly boulders of volcanic tuft nestled in between ridges in the desert north of Bishop. The rock climbs a lot like sandstone as it harbors mostly pockety/slopey gymnastic climbing between good holds. Additionally, as the Buttermilks generally see much more traffic than they, all but the absolute classic lines there are much less polished than the Milks; which makes for much better purchase on the holds.

Climbing in Bishop was definitely awe inspiring. I have had the good fortune of being able to climb in many good areas throughout the country, but I would place Bishop firmly in my top five. If traveling to Bishop, be sure to take in some time in town too. Going to the movie theatre in town is an awesome post climb activity as it is very cheap and quaint. Be sure to check out the Looney Bean for all of your coffee needs and Wilson's Eastside Sports for all of your climbing gear needs. If you do not already own it, DEFINITELY purchase the bouldering guidebook to Bishop authored by Wills Young and published by Wolverine Press. There is a new edition that just came out, and it is the best guidebook for the area.

Also, it you are going to be there for awhile, be certain to bring a cord and some snap shackles as Owens River Gorge, which is just north of Bishop, offers some of California's best cord climbing.

Other than my time in Bishop, I have also been able to take short trips to climb in Yosemite and the Kraft Boulders in Las Vegas. Because of the impromptu nature of my trip to Yosemite, I was only able to boulder, but the bouldering was amazing nevertheless. The problems I got on were excellent, compressiony granite climbing that made for exciting problems. It also does not hurt that you can hike to some of the most beautiful places on earth on rest days with only moderate exertion. The valley is pretty crowded and touristy in all of the main areas, but once you get out to the climbing or deep on some of the hiking trails, it is much less crowded and very gorgeous.

Inversely, climbing in Las Vegas was all about embracing all that is capitalism. The Kraft boulders are located just short of the majority of roped climbing in Red Rocks Canyon in a open desert field behind a small housing community. The breadth of climbing there is fairly small, but the quality of rock was very high. A lot of the climbing tends to be plate crimps, but there were also several slopey/compressiony climbs and one large boulder simply larded with pockets with lines ranging from v3-v9ish.

Climbing there was a great deal of fun, and it was equally enjoyable to finish climbing for the day and then wander around the Las Vegas strip with excellent company while oscillating between merriment and bitter contempt for the all that is Las Vegas. Overall, it was a great short trip. Ideally, I would like to spend some more time there and check out some of the routes in Red Rocks Canyon, but the spectre of materialism in the city makes me think that perhaps it could be a dangerous venture.

The gate to the top of Black Mountain, located just outside of Idylwild, has been re-opened for the season. I have already taken a couple trips up there this season, and I am psyched to try to put down some projects left undone from last season.

I recently got a bunch of clothes from Moon Climbing and have to say that they are awesome to climb in. The clothes are super comfortable to wear and climb in, seem really durable and just look darned good in general. Their distribution in the United States is still pretty small (they are based out of the UK), so their products can be hard to find in stores, but they have an awesome website that is easy to navigate. Also, they are very easy to deal with and are very helpful in getting you the right sizes and offering any assistance you might need. Their bouldering pads are a dream to land/sleep on, are very well made, and offer innovative technology to keep you and your stuff nice and clean. If you have not already, check them out at www.usa.moonclimbing.com.

On a thoroughly separate note, rapper T.I. is out of prison. I am psyched for his new album to come out so I can listen to it at a comfortable volume in my truck-home while obeying all laws of the road.

There is a lot more news to share, but I fear this post has been long enough already. I have been at the International Climbers Festival in Lander, Wyoming for the last week with Bomber Holds. It was an awesome experience and a really cool event. Be sure to check back soon for more updates on the event and life as it happens.

Adios